Житие и страдание святого священномученика Климента, епископа Анкирского, и святого мученика Агафангела и прочих с ними

Two hundred and fifty years after the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, during the reign of Valerian 910, the capital city of Galatia, Ancyra 911, grew from the honest family of the holy martyr Clement, like a juicy young branch of grapes, abundantly filled with clusters of many spiritual gifts. But his parents were not of the same faith: his father was a pagan who served the wickedness of idols, and his mother was a Christian, descended from Christian parents and raised in Christian piety and good habits. Her name was Euphrosyne. She was forced into marriage, and not of her own free will entered into an alliance with an unfaithful husband, since her parents hoped for the fulfillment of the words of the holy Apostle: “An unbelieving husband is sanctified by a believing wife” (1 Cor. 7:14). But it did not happen as they hoped, for the husband remained immersed in the depths of wickedness and enveloped in the darkness of idolatry. Not only did he not want to turn to the light of Christ, but he also tried in every possible way to entice his wife Euphrosyne to his wickedness. She also tried to guide him on the path of truth, convincing him day and night and showing him by her example the saving path of life, but she did not succeed in this, since his heart hardened. She prayed to Christ to send them mercy - that they, united in bodily union, would be united in spirit in the holy faith; if this is impossible, then they should be separated physically, since they do not have unanimity in faith. Our Lord Jesus Christ, hearing the prayers of his servant and having mercy on her, soon freed her from the yoke of her unfaithful husband: He completely rejected him, as an indecent man, hardened in heart, and commanded him to pass on to eternity. The pagan died, leaving behind his wife a small first-born male child, still in the cradle. His blessed mother Euphrosyne fed him more with piety than with milk, and then brought him to Christ, enlightening him with holy baptism. She gave him the name Clement, which translated from Greek means “young branch of the grape” 912. Very successfully she gave him this name, like a prophetess, foreseeing that he would be the offspring of the true vine, Christ, who would bring many mature hands - human souls turned to Christ. By her very name she predicted that he would be a famous confessor of the most holy name of Jesus Christ, would shed his blood and lay down his soul for Him and would become a sufferer and martyr for Christ. She taught her son to read sacred books and good behavior, and also instructed him in every virtue. While the boy grew in years and intelligence and had already reached the age of twelve, his mother, Saint Euphrosyne, was approaching her blessed death. Having foreseen about the latter and already reclining on her sick bed, she wanted her son not so much to be the heir of her meager material acquisition, but rather the heir of the immaterial, spiritual wealth of her virtues. With motherly solicitude she instructed him, hugging and kissing him: “My child, my beloved child, a child who was orphaned from the cradle and learned about his orphanhood before about his father!” You, however, are not orphaned, my son, for your Father is Christ God, who enriches you with His gifts. I gave birth to you, my son, in the flesh, and Christ God regenerated you in the spirit. Therefore know that He is your Father; Recognize yourself as His son and try to ensure that your adoption to God is not in vain. Serve the One Christ the Lord and place your hopes in Christ, for He truly is our salvation and the source of immortality. He came down to us from heaven to take us up to heaven with Him; He made us His beloved children and established our fellowship with God. He who serves this Lord will be freed from all devilish wiles, destroy serpents and scorpions and defeat all enemy forces. He will not only put to shame the wicked kings, princes and tormentors who worship idols and demons, but he will also crush the heads of the very demons they worship. Shedding copious tears during this conversation, the saint’s mother was filled with Divine grace and began to prophetically predict what would happen to him. “I beg you, beloved son,” she said, “I beg you to give me the only gift for all my illnesses and worries about you, for difficult times are coming.” Persecution is already close, breathing with terrible rage and threats. Therefore, be prepared, as our Lord says, that they will lead you to rulers and kings for Him (Matthew 10:18). Son, do me this honor: stand for Christ boldly and courageously and maintain a strong and unshakable confession of His name. I trust in my Christ, oh my child! Soon the crown of martyrdom will bloom on you in honor of me and for the salvation of many souls. Prepare your heart for the feat of suffering, so that the time of exploits does not overtake you unprepared. Know that it is good to be tempted by adversity, like gold in a furnace. But do not be afraid: the suffering will be temporary, but the reward for it will be eternal; sorrow will soon pass and joy will last forever; There will be dishonor here for a short time, but eternal glory awaits you with God. The intrigues of the tormentors and plagues continue for one day, and the rage of the kings of the earth is ridiculed by the martyrs, their glory fades, the fire they prepared for the martyrs of Christ is extinguished. Their sword is consumed by rust, their strength perishes. Therefore, there is nothing that can separate you from Christ the Lord; you look to heaven and from there expect a great, rich and eternal reward from God. Fear His greatness, be horrified by His judgment, tremble at His all-seeing eye, for those who rejected Him will inherit the unquenchable fire prepared for them and the torment of the never-ending worm. Those who, having cognized the glory of His Divinity, never fall away from Him, await indescribable joy, joy and consolation with the holy confessors. May it be to me from you, my beloved son, as a reward for the illnesses I received at your birth and for the labors of upbringing that you, who came from my womb, will become a confessor of the Lord, and I will be called the mother of a martyr and will be glorified through my son who suffered for Christ. Therefore, try to endure for the One who suffered for us, and you will be worthy of many benefits from Him, and I, for your sake, will be worthy of communion with the saints. Here I am, my son, standing at the door of my death; this visible light will not shine for me tomorrow, but you are my light in Christ and my life in the Lord! Therefore, I beg you, my son, that you do not put me to shame in the hopes that I have, but that I may be saved, according to the word of the Apostle, for the sake of childbearing (1 Tim. 2:15). I gave birth to you, my son, to suffer in you as in my own body. Shed the blood received from me without sparing, so that I, for her sake, may receive honor. Give your body to be wounded, so that I too may rejoice over them before our Lord, as if I myself had suffered for Him. One Jewish woman once brought seven sons to God as martyrs for piety and, suffering as one soul in the seven bodies of her sons, she remained invincible 913. You alone are enough for me to gain glory from my Lord, if you strive zealously for piety. Now I am leaving you and will appear before you before God. I am leaving in body, but I will remain with you in spirit, so that I may be worthy to fall with you to the throne of Christ, to boast before Him of your sufferings and to be crowned with your exploits, for the root of a tree, hidden under the ground, is watered by the same dew that waters the branches clearly visible on earth. Thus, throughout the entire day, before her holy death, the blessed mother instructed her beloved son, hugging and kissing his head, face, eyes, lips, chest and hands. “Oh, blessed am I now,” she said, “for I kiss the members of the body of the martyr!” After such abundantly instructive speeches, she bowed her head, gave up her soul in the hands of her Lord and rested in peace. After Clement’s natural mother died a blessed death and was buried, the youth Clement was completely orphaned, having only God as his father. God, the common provider of all, caring for orphans and the poor, gave blessed Clement, at that time still a child, another mother. In the same city lived a noble, honest and rich woman named Sophia, a friend of Clement’s mother, Blessed Euphrosyne. Sophia lived a godly life, spending day and night in prayer. Being childless, she took to her, instead of her son, this blessed youth, Saint Clement, and loved him as her own child, taking care of him in every possible way. At this time there was a great famine in Galatia. The wicked pagans abandoned their children along the roads, because they had nothing to feed them and they themselves died of hunger. Then Saint Clement gathered those children into the house of Sophia, his second mother, and fed them from her wealth - he clothed them, taught them, and brought them to holy baptism. Thus, he made Sophia’s house an educational shelter and school, and she herself became a mother according to God for many children, much better than their mothers according to the flesh, for she gave birth to them spiritually, raising them in the Christian faith. Saint Clement, being still very young in age, but having already acquired the mind of a perfect husband, began from his youth to mortify his flesh by fasting and abstinence, living like a monk. He abstained from meat food, and ate only bread and cereals; His drink was water. In this he was like the three holy youths, whose bodies, thanks to fasting, remained undamaged by double fire - both internal - natural lust, and external - the burning furnace 914. For the few Christians who then lived in this country, Blessed Clement was, as it were, a Divine luminary, enlightening everyone with the light of the knowledge of God. But the time had already come for this shining lamp to be placed on the candlestick - Saint Clement, shining with virtues, to ascend to the level of sanctification, in order to enlighten the greatest number of people to guide them on the path of salvation. By God's providence and will, and by the unanimous election of all the Christians in Galatia, he was appointed first a reader, and then a deacon and presbyter. Two years later, he was elevated to the rank of bishop, while still young in years: he was then no more than twenty years old. He became the second Daniel, who, being young, surpassed the elders in intelligence and virtue and showed that old age is determined not by the number of years, but by a virtuous life and wisdom. Having accepted the episcopal rank, Saint Clement became a teacher not only of children, gathering many of whom he taught books, but also of elders: by bringing pagans to the Christian faith and baptizing them, he increasingly increased the Church of Christ. Then the prophecy of his blessed mother Euphrosyne began to come true and a martyr’s crown began to be woven for him. The persecutor of Christians, Diocletian, having ascended the Roman throne, in the first year of his reign, sent out his decrees to all regions of the Roman Empire, to princes and leaders, his governors, hegemons, governors and city governors, ordering the killing and destruction by various types of death of all those professing the name of Christ. At the same time, in his messages, he threatened with executions all those rulers and princes who would dare to not fully zealously carry out his decree on the extermination of Christians, and prescribed for them the same torments and executions as for Christians; He promised riches and honors to those who were more zealous in torment. Then, in all regions and cities, the royal governors and rulers, some out of fear of the king’s anger, and others out of a desire to please him and receive honor from him, began to make every effort to destroy the very name of Christians in the state. At the same time, the royal governor Domitian arrived in Galatia and zealously searched for Christians by royal command with the goal of exterminating them. Saint Clement, Bishop of Ancyra, was slandered by the pagans in that he forbids many to worship the great gods and leads them to their Christ. Domitian immediately ordered to seize him and bring him to him. At first he tried, with gentle and flattering speeches, to attract the saint to his wickedness. He said: “I do not consider the slander leveled against you to be the truth at all, for your face, truthful look and meek disposition reveal in you a worthy, noble, wise and reasonable person, and everything said about you exposes the childish madness of the slanderers. Tell us about yourself: from yourself we will sooner learn the truth if you tell us at least a little something from your wisdom. The holy bishop answered him: – Our wisdom and understanding is Christ, the Son of God the Father, by whose word all things were created. From Him we have the gift of speech and understanding. “Now you,” interrupted his tormentor, “have quietly insulted us, beyond all hope, by starting to talk idle talk at the very beginning; but I advise you: leave all this useless talk and make sacrifices to our gods. Know that anyone who humiliates the gods will face torment, but whoever honors and worships them will receive honor. You see an example of this in us: thanks to the veneration of these gods, we have achieved such a high rank and we thank the gods for their benefits, giving honor to those who worship them and executing those who do not want to worship them. At these words of the governor, the saint laughed and said: - We, ruler, think completely opposite to your words. We recognize your gifts as insignificance, your honor as dishonor and your high rank as the work of a captive. On the contrary, dishonor, threats, torment give us joy and consolation, and what most of all will unite us with God. Knowing this, you do not hope to turn us away from piety - neither with the promise of honors and gifts, nor with threats of torment. Such words of the saint aroused the anger of Domitian. Looking closely at the saint, he said: “As I see, I aroused pride in you by meekly talking to you, and this is not surprising, for, as I heard, you, constantly being with children, like them, have a child’s mind.” However, know that if you do not appease the gods with sacrifices, you will be executed by death, and not in the way you hope to die soon, but first you will accept many and various torments, and then you will die in suffering from the most severe execution. So, being wicked, you will suffer grievously and serve as an example for others, so that they too may learn for themselves from your terrible death. Saint Clement responded to this: “Since you reminded me of children, know that I made an effort to teach children that wisdom that your oldest and wisest men do not know, for the true wisdom of God is hidden from the wise and prudent of this world and is open to infants.” I proudly affirm that I offer rational and verbal sacrifices to my God, and not as your priests bring streams of blood, smoke and all sorts of abomination, with which you please the gods you worship. When I shed my blood for my God and offer it to Him as a sacrifice, then, if not completely, at least in part I will repay my Lord for shedding His blood for me, for Christ, my King, has redeemed me with His honest blood. When the martyr delivered this speech with great boldness, the governor abandoned his feigned meekness and clearly revealed his natural ferocity and madness. He ordered the saint to be hanged naked on a tree, and then his body was to be planed and cut with sharp iron tools. Carrying out what was ordered, the servants shouted to the martyr so that he would not neglect the royal command. They dug deep furrows on the saint’s body, as if in a field, so that his body fell off in pieces: his entrails were already clearly visible; The torturers themselves could not look at this with indifference. He did not waver in his mind at all, did not change the expression of his face, did not utter a single sound from unbearable pain, did not say a single word of complaint, did not even groan under such severe torment. He was stronger and more courageous than those who looked at his torment. He seemed to suffer less than his tormentors. He calmly thanked the Hero of God - Christ God, looking up at the heavens with a joyful face and saying: “Glory to Thee, Christ, my light and life, my breath and joy! I thank You, Giver of life, for worthy of me such salvation. My soul rejoiced on the path of fulfilling Your commandments. I am pleased with all suffering for Your love. Glory to You that You strengthen me with patience! You extended Your all-powerful hand to me, a sinner, delivering me from the wrath of the ruler and from the hands of my tormentors, for You Yourself are a refuge for all those who mourn.” When the saint prayed like this, his tormentors weakened and stopped tormenting him. Seeing the inaction of the servants, the governor said to the martyr: “Don’t you think that I am already defeated by your patience, if my servants are tired in one hour?” “I don’t think so, but I believe and hope in Christ abiding in me, for He has conquered, is conquering and will conquer every enemy.” Then the governor ordered other servants to approach the saint and torment his body harder than the first. They also tormented the invincible sufferer for a long time, until they themselves were exhausted and became as if they were dead. The governor, looking at this, and either surprised or ashamed of the powerlessness of his servants, ordered the martyr to be taken down from the tree. The saint had such an appearance that it was scary to look at him, and impossible to touch him with your hands. He was completely naked from the body, as from any clothing; only his bones were visible in the blood, and it was hardly possible to recognize him as a human being. The governor, seeing that nothing could be achieved by torment, again began to talk with the martyr in meek words. He, cheerfully objecting to the tormentor, as befitted a courageous warrior of Christ, again infuriated him. Then Domitian exclaimed loudly: - This man is truly daring! Strike him in the face and on the lips, for these parts of his body are still intact; That’s why they answer so impudently. Let them be like the whole body. Beat them mercilessly. Then the servants began to hit the saint hard on the face and lips with their palms, so that he fell to the ground from the strong blows; but even after that on the ground they mercilessly struck his mouth with stones and crushed his teeth. The martyr, rejoicing, said: “You, ruler, rather show me honor than torment me, for my Lord Jesus Christ was beaten on the lips and buffeted on the cheeks, and I, unworthy, have now been honored with the same.” Stephen the First Martyr was stoned, and I was adorned with the same. It brings me relief in my torments that I see myself as an imitator of the passions of my Christ. All my suffering is alleviated by the fact that I am given the same great honor as those greater and better than me, being a participant in the same suffering. The torturer, amazed at such greatness of the martyr’s spirit, ordered him to be taken to prison. Believing that he would not be able to walk on his own, since his whole body was a complete ulcer, he ordered the servants to carry him by his arms and legs. But the saint pushed aside those who wanted to take him, stood up and walked himself, strengthened by the power of Christ, singing the words of the psalm: “This is the best oil, which will not hurt my head” (Ps. 140:5). Seeing this, the governor said to those around him: - Oh, what patience and what courage this man has! These should be the king's warriors, so that they would be above all disasters. It is not proper for me to judge him again; I will send him to King Diocletian, for unless he himself will be able to defeat him, since he is very skilled in torment. He always invents such tortures and executions that the entire city of Rome trembles at his judgment. A few days later, the saint, while in prison, by the grace of Christ was healed from his wounds and became healthy. Then the governor sent him to Rome, to King Diocletian, writing in detail about him. When the saint left the city, led by soldiers, he prayed to God like this: “O God, King of heaven and earth and the whole universe, the One who fills everything and does not leave a single place without provision! In Your hand I betray this city; save him and the souls of all who believe in You. Keep Your Church unharmed, so that dogs and wolves do not disperse Your small flock in this city. Do not let the number of Your verbal sheep perish or decrease, but multiply them even more for the glory of Your holy name. Do not remove me completely from this city, but being with me on the way and during my suffering, bring me back here again, as you once returned Jacob to his father’s house and delivered him from the hand of Esau, as you once commanded his people to carry Joseph’s bones out of Egypt and place them in his father’s tomb (Gen. 36; Exod. 13:19), so that Your name may be glorified forever and ever.” After this prayer, the saint was sent on his way. When he was brought to Rome and placed before the wicked king, the king was greatly surprised to see the radiance on the martyr’s face and his bodily strength. He did not want to believe Domitian’s letter, which reported what suffering this Christian had endured. He saw that the saint was healthy in body and cheerful in face, as if he had never suffered any disasters. He asked: “Are you the glorious Clement, who endured such great torments?” Then he ordered to offer the saint from two sides many and different things, mutually opposite: on the one hand - a lot of gold and silver, royal decrees granting the great martyr high honors, precious clothes, all kinds of wealth and distinctions, and on the other hand - instruments of torment: iron pincers and claws, iron boxes with nails, sharp razors, hot coals, red-hot cauldrons and helmets, sharpened stakes, wheels, heavy chains and other countless instruments of torment. When this was proposed to the martyr, the king, looking at him and pointing his hand at the gold and rich gifts, said: “Our gods give this to you if you, turning to them, begin to honor them with worship and sacrifices.” The saint turned his eyes away from these gifts, as insignificant, nasty and stinking things, even unworthy of contemplation, and said with a sigh: - May these gifts of your gods be to your destruction! Then the king, looking menacingly, pointed his hand at the instruments of torment and said to the saint: “This is reserved for those who do not believe in our gods.” To this the courageous martyr of Christ answered him: – If you think that the torments you have invented are terrible, then why do you neglect the torments that God has prepared for those who do not believe in Him? In the same way, if your gifts seem tempting, worthy of wonder and honorable to those who seek earthly blessings, then how much more worthy are the gifts given in heaven, which God has prepared for those who love Him, “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man” (1 Cor. 2:9). Gold and silver are barren land and are mined by people for external decoration. They are changed by fire and iron, eaten by rust, destroyed by friction; they are taken by robbers and stolen by thieves. Light clothes are the work of a worm (mulberry) and food for moths; they are made from wool, which is necessarily taken from dumb animals. Those who make clothes should be admired more than you who adorn themselves with them, for they, thanks to a certain art, create a thing, turning the worst into the best; Meanwhile, such artists are despised as simple and insignificant people. On the contrary, those who adorn themselves with their products are proud and exalted, although they borrow their splendor from insignificant dumb animals. The gifts of our good God are not borrowed from anyone, but are His own and unchangeable possessions, abiding in Him by His will, and not as a result of human art. They have immeasurable glory and eternal dignity; they are not afraid of any change from the length of time; they are not eaten by moths or spoiled by decay, and even in endless centuries they cannot decay. Diocletian said to him: “You speak well, but you understand poorly.” Therefore, I try to lead you to the knowledge of the gods and for this reason I meekly talk to you, convincing you so that you do not rely on mortal man, that He whom you honor as Christ, having endured many torments from the Jews, was finally killed and died, and our gods are always immortal and never suffered. “You say rightly, king, that your gods are immortal and impassive, for how could they die if they never lived? How could they get hurt if they are insensitive? Don't you know that after beating and forging, cutting and rubbing, they came out of human hands? Indeed, your stone gods are carved with an ax and a scraper, your wooden gods are carved with a knife and saw, and your copper and iron gods are forged with a hammer; They accepted many other dishonors, beatings and insults, but remained insensitive. Truly, they are immortal because they have never lived, and they are crushed as if they had never existed before. My Lord and God, Jesus Christ, by human nature deigned to die in the flesh in order to save the world and destroy death itself by His Divine power. Having done this, He rose again on the third day and gave us Himself for eternal life. Diocletian, listening to this free and bold speech of the saint, became very angry and ordered him to be tied to a naked wheel, to rotate the wheel and to beat the saint with iron sticks. As the wheel turned, when the saint was at the top, he was beaten with sticks, and when he found himself at the bottom, where a space was deliberately too narrow, he was severely tormented with a sharp stake, so that his bones broke, and his body, which had grown back after the first torment, fell off. Tormented for many hours, the martyr of Christ prayed like this: “Lord Jesus Christ! Help me and ease my torment, eliminate the fierce pain, for, trusting in You, I gave myself up to the wounds. Help me, as you once helped Your holy Apostle Paul, and look at my flesh, which is so ulcerated! I wish to be unharmed and healthy for the glory and confession of Your holy name and to accept great torment for You - to the shame and ignominy of the wicked. Strengthen me for Your name’s sake, for I have placed my trust in You, the Giver of life!” While the saint was praying in this way, the wheel stopped motionless, and those who turned it became tired and exhausted. The saint, untied by an invisible hand, again became unharmed in his whole body and healthy. Many who had gathered there, seeing this, exclaimed in amazement: - Great is the Christian God! And Saint Clement, this true vine of Christ’s grapes, realizing in spirit that many grapes could come from his suffering deeds, loudly sent praise to God, exclaiming: “I thank You, God, Heavenly Father, because You have made me worthy to suffer in this great city for Your Only Begotten Son, who suffered for us and shed His precious blood for our redemption, - Whom Saint Peter preached here, Paul proclaimed, my same name Clement glorified, and Onesimus also confessed. (Here we mean the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and from the face of the seventy apostles: Clement, Pope of Rome (commemorated on November 25) and Onesimus (commemorated on February 15)). They suffered for Him and died, and now they are glorified in heaven, revered by many on earth, and by an even greater number of people they will soon be glorified above the kings of the earth. The faithful kings themselves will worship them.” The saint said this, announcing the coming time when the worship of idols will disappear like darkness, and the faith of Christ will shine like the sun and enlighten the entire universe. These words of the saint burned the heart of the tormentor Diocletian like a flame, and aroused even greater rage in him. Not paying any attention to the miracle performed by God's power and blinded by malice, he became inflamed with even greater cruelty of torment. He ordered to beat the saint’s mouth with thick iron sticks and break his teeth. The saint did not stop speaking even during this torture, irritating the tormentor, although the servants forbade him to do so, commanding him to remain silent. But like copper, which the harder it is struck, the clearer the sound it produces, the martyr of Christ, the more he was forbidden to speak, crushing his lips and teeth with iron, the louder he cried out, saying what served to the glory of God and to the shame of the proud tormentor. When, finally, Diocletian himself became tired and exhausted from rage, he ordered the martyr to be bound with iron chains and thrown into the people's prison. When the saint was sitting in prison, a lot of people came to him in the evening, men and prudent women with children, who were in the square during the execution and saw the courage of the saint. They unanimously fell at his holy feet and asked for holy baptism. The saint thanked God that during such severe persecution the number of His confessors multiplied. He immediately began to teach them the holy faith in Christ and baptized everyone, young and old, for there was enough water in this prison. At the same time, he sang joyfully: “Blessed is he whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered” (Ps. 32:1). When midnight came, a great light from heaven illuminated this prison, and everyone who looked up saw a beautiful young man, shining with lightning clothes and with outstretched wings descending to the holy martyr. Approaching him, the young man gave him clean bread and a cup of wine, and immediately became invisible. Saint Clement, realizing that this was the Body and Blood of Christ, said the usual prayers and gave the communion of the Divine Mysteries to all the newly baptized, when it was already dawn. Believers came to him in all subsequent days, bringing with them many who thirsted for holy baptism. Thus the flock of Christ multiplied, and the prison became, as it were, a church in which praises were sent to God. Seeing this, the guards announced this to the king. And so, when at night many believers gathered to the saint, soldiers came, by order of the king, and, capturing everyone, led them out of the city, like sheep to the slaughter. Before the beheading, everyone was asked: – Do you renounce Christ in order to stay alive? And not one was found who feared death; on the contrary, everyone preferred to die for their Lord. Then many many husbands, wives and children were beheaded for Christ. Only the young man escaped the hands of the executioners, not out of fear of death, but out of a desire to endure great torment for the true God. The name of this young man, who is discussed below, was Agathangel. After this, Diocletian again summoned the saint to trial and subjected him to prolonged and severe torture: first, he stripped him naked and stretched out on the ground, beat him for a long time and hard with ox sinews, and then, hanging him, he whittled him with iron claws until the bones were exposed and until the whole body was shaved. The saint said to the tormentor: “This body that you are whittling is not something that came out of the mother’s womb; that was long ago and completely removed from the bones by the governor Domitian. Christ, my Creator, has clothed me in this new body. And since you are trying to sharpen it from my bones, I believe in my Christ that He will clothe me again in the same flesh according to His omnipotence: but in fact, will there not be a shortage of clay for the potter? On the contrary, is there not an abundance of material for him? Then the tormentor ordered his sides to be scorched with candles, but the saint joyfully endured everything for the Sweetest Jesus. Diocletian, amazed at the patience and courage of the martyr, said to those around him: “I have tortured many damned Christians and have never seen one so invincible.” Now I will send him to Nicomedia to Maximian, as something new, never seen and unheard of. Let him also marvel at the invincibility of this body in the torments! I think that he has never met such a strong mind and strong body. He ordered the saint to be tied up and, having been put on a ship, taken to Nicomedia to another king, Maximian, 915, and he wrote to him about everything that Saint Clement had suffered from him in Rome, and earlier from Domitian in Ancyra. When the saint was about to enter the ship, the above-mentioned Agathangel, who had escaped at night from the hands of the soldiers who were killing Christ’s flock with swords outside the city, had previously entered the ship unnoticed and was waiting for Saint Clement. When the saint was already brought in, he fell at his feet and, telling about himself that he had been baptized as a saint, told him everything about the death of the believers and about his flight, explaining that for this reason he came to the saint in order to endure all kinds of torment with him for Christ the Lord and die together. Saint Clement rejoiced over blessed Agathangel, seeing his zeal and love for Christ God, and considered his very arrival as the coming of an Angel of God. He gave thanks to the Lord of all and asked Him for strength and help, so that He would give the young man the courage and strength to endure to the end and be worthy of the crown of martyrdom. During the voyage, the saints remained in prayer day and night and did not take food at all. Saint Clement did not care about this at all and said: – I have bread in my heart, Jesus Christ Himself, and therefore I am not hungry; I have living water, the grace of Christ, and therefore I will never thirst. The soldiers, seeing that Clement and Agathangel had not eaten or drunk for many days, took pity on them and offered them bread and water. They praised the soldiers for this good deed, but did not accept food or drink from them, saying that they were fed by God, the Provider of all: The Angel of the Lord brought them food from heaven at night and strengthened them. After a long voyage they landed on the island of Rhodes 916. While many were leaving the ship for the city to buy food, the saints begged the remaining soldiers to let them go to the Christian Church to partake of the Divine Mysteries, the life-giving Body and Blood of Christ, for it was Sunday. The bishop of this island, the God-loving Photinus, having heard about Saint Clement, came with his clergy and other Christians and asked the commander of the soldiers to free Clement from the shackles and let him go to them for a short time together with his disciple Agathangel. He promised to bring them back to the ship without delay. Saint Clement was released at the request of the bishop. The saints were brought into a small church, since there were few Christians on the island then. When the bishop ordered a reading from the Divine Gospel, the cleric opened the book and began to read the following revealed words: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28). Hearing this, the saints raised their eyes upward with a sigh, and the Christians standing in the church, looking at them, began to cry, so that the whole church was filled with groans and cries. Then the bishop began to ask Saint Clement to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. When the saint officiated, some of the clergy and even ordinary people who were worthy saw a large coal on the paten, very hot and burning. An indescribable brilliance emanated from it, which illuminated the saint and those present, and above the altar the holy Angels were visible, soaring through the air. Those who saw this miracle fell prostrate to the ground and did not dare to look at the saint. After the service, Bishop Fotin took the saints and other Christians to his house and offered refreshments. Many sick people were brought and brought to Saint Clement, not only from believers, but also from pagans. The martyr of Christ healed them all with prayer and the sign of the cross. Therefore, many pagans began to openly confess that Christ is the True God, and asked for baptism. The soldiers, seeing that many people were flocking to Saint Clement, were afraid that the people would take their prisoner away from them and attack them. Therefore, taking the saint, they took him to the ship and again put shackles on him. The believers saw him off with tears and sobs, not wanting to part with him. Finally, having said goodbye to the saint and kissed Clement’s bonds, they returned, as the soldiers urged them to sail from there as quickly as possible. With the help of a fair wind, they crossed the Aegean Sea and reached Nicomedia. The wicked king Maximian, who lived in Nicomedia, having received Diocletian’s letter and seeing the martyr, was amazed at his great patience and courage, invincible by any torment. But he himself was afraid to torture him, so as not to be disgraced, and therefore handed him over to the governor Agrippina for torture; he himself showed that he was very busy with other government affairs. Agrippinus, calling the saints to his court, turned to Clement: “I am a servant of Christ,” answered the martyr. The governor ordered to hit him on the mouth with fists, saying: “Why don’t you call yourself the king’s servant, but Christ’s?” The saint, being beaten, answered: “Your kings should also be servants of Christ; Then their reign would be peaceful and all nations would be subdued by my Christ. Then the governor, looking at Saint Agathangel, asked: -Who are you? Nothing is written about you in Diocletian's letter. Agathangel, looking up to heaven, said: “I am a Christian, and I have been honored with the name of Christian through this servant of God, Clement.” - This means that he is the culprit of your delusion and the cruel death awaiting you. Then he ordered Saint Clement to be hanged naked and his body cut with razors, and Saint Agathangel, also naked, he ordered to be severely beaten with sinews. During his torment, Saint Clement prayed to God that He would strengthen Agafangel in his suffering. After these torments, the governor ordered both sufferers to be thrown into prison. There were many other prisoners in the dungeon, convicted of various crimes. They, seeing the fervent prayers of the saints to God and contemplating that the Angels of God visited and consoled the servants of Christ, were touched in their hearts and, falling at their feet, asked them to lead them to their God. It happened, by God's will, that there was enough water for baptism. Having instructed them in the Christian faith, Saint Clement baptized everyone, then opened the prison with prayer and released them, saying: - Come out, children, and be saved from the hands of the wicked. May the Lord Jesus Christ protect you! The next morning, the governor Agrippinus, having learned about the release of the prisoners, became very angry with the saint and, having built a high platform, gave them to be devoured by beasts. But the beasts did not harm the saints; on the contrary, they caressed towards them like domestic dogs towards their masters. Then the tormentor ordered to rotate each finger on the martyrs’ hands with red-hot iron rods up to the elbow. Seeing this, the people could not endure such torment and demanded from the governor with threats that he release the innocent. But the governor became even more angry and ordered other pointed, red-hot tools to rotate their arms up to their shoulders. Then the indignant people grabbed stones, threw them at the governor and loudly exclaimed: The governor, fearing the excitement and murmur of the people, fled and hid in his house, and the holy martyrs went completely unhindered to the mountain called Pyramis, on which the pagans usually made sacrifices to their gods. There they entered the pagan temple, crushed the idols with prayer, and drove out demons from there. A few days later, the governor learned about the whereabouts of the saints and went there with the priests and his troops. There he severely beat the holy martyrs with thick sticks and, having crushed their bones, ordered each one to be sewn into a bag separately, along with the stones placed there, and thrown from the mountain into the sea. The saints, having rolled down the mountain rapids in their sacks, fell into the sea and drowned in the deep abyss. Everyone already considered them dead. Some of the believers, having learned about the drowning of the saints, walked along the shore in the hope that the sea, which usually throws up the dead, would also throw up the bodies of the holy martyrs. Soon they noticed two bags floating on the sea, and, getting into boats, swam towards them. Having untied the bags, they found the saints unharmed and glorified God. The saints rested on the shore that night. The angels of God visited them and strengthened them with food. When morning came, Saints Clement and Agathangel went into the city and, standing in the middle of the square, spoke to people about the greatness of God, then, stretching out their hands to heaven, they began to pray: “We thank You, Lord Jesus Christ, that You have not abandoned us who trust in You, but have delivered us from fierce torments and have not made our enemies glad about us, but have glorified Your holy name in us.” There were two blind men here; in addition, one withered and one relaxed. The saints healed them immediately through the laying on of their hands. Seeing this, the people began to bring to them their sick and those possessed by unclean spirits. All of them were healed by prayers and the touch of the hands of the martyrs. The name of the Lord Jesus Christ was loudly glorified by the people. Hearing about this, the governor Agrippin fell into fear and, being at a loss, went to inform the former king about everything. The king was also greatly surprised that the saints who were considered dead at sea turned out to be alive. Having learned that Saint Clement was from Ancyra, he ordered to send him along with his disciple to Ancyra, saying: “Let the city that produced and raised him take him and execute him as he pleases.” Then he wrote about Saint Clement to the Ancyra prince Curicius; The soldiers took both saints, bound, to Ancyra. The holy martyr Clement, entering his native city, said with joy: – Glory to You, God, for hearing my humility! Glory to Thee, Christ, for making me worthy to see my native city! Both saints were presented to Prince Kurikius. He, having interrogated them, began to torture them. First of all, he ordered Saint Clement’s sides to be scorched with very hot iron boards, and then, tying him to a post, he beat him mercilessly, so that his body fell off in pieces. He ordered Saint Agafangel to be hanged and flogged with iron claws. At the same time, he grinned and asked them: – Do you not feel pain in your bodies? Saint Clement responded with the apostolic words: “But even if our outer man is decaying, our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16). Then the tormentor ordered the iron helmet to be lit red-hot and placed on Saint Clement’s head. When this was done, thick smoke began to emanate from the nostrils, ears and mouth of the saint. He, enduring unspeakable torment, cried out to his Lord: “Inexhaustible source, living water, saving rain! Heal me with the dew of Your grace. You brought us out of the water; deliver Thy servants also from the fire.” While the saint was praying like this, the iron helmet on his head immediately became cold. Seeing this, Prince Kuriky was horrified and, wondering what else to do with them, sent them to prison, and wrote to Tsar Maximian in detail, reporting what had happened. Blessed Sophia, the second mother of Clement, came to prison at night. She kissed him with great joy and tears, rejoicing over her betrothed son, who turned out to be a worthy sufferer of Christ and a glorious conqueror over torment. She kissed the wounds and bonds of the saints; then she washed and wiped away their blood and bound their wounds with clean handkerchiefs. At the same time, she questioned Saint Clement in detail: how he suffered, where and from whom. She brought them food and strengthened them. On all subsequent days she came and ministered to the prisoners of Christ. After some time, an order came from the king to Prince Curicius to send the holy martyrs to another city called Amisia 917, to another, more cruel tormentor, the royal governor named Domitius. Blessed Sophia accompanied the holy martyrs far away along with those children who were gathered by Saint Clement during the famine into her house and raised by her, after which they became, as it were, her own children. Some of them did not want to part with the holy passion-bearers and followed them, attached to them with heartfelt love. On the way, by order of the king, they were stabbed to death by soldiers, which was immediately reported to the king. In Amicia, the holy passion-bearers were thrown into boiling lime by Domitius on Friday, at the second hour of the day, and on Saturday, at the third hour, they turned out to be alive and well. Seeing this, two soldiers believed in Christ and publicly declared themselves Christians, for which, on the same Saturday, on the seventh day of September, they were crucified by the wicked. Their names are Fengon and Eucarpius. And the torturer ordered Saints Clement and Agathangel to rip the skin off their shoulders and beat them with a stick for a long time. Then he ordered to place them on red-hot iron beds and burn them strongly, pouring sulfur and resin on them. The saints, resting without any harm, as if on a soft royal bed, fell asleep in a sweet sleep and saw in a sleepy vision Christ the Lord with many His holy Angels. The Lord came down to them from above and said: - Don't be afraid. I am with you. When they woke up, they happily told each other about this vision. The saints were tortured on hot iron beds for a long time. When Domitian saw that the fire did not harm them at all, he was at a loss what to do with them: he ordered them to be taken down and taken to prison. The saints spent a long time in this prison, and then they were sent back to King Domitian, who lived in Tarsus at that time. When they went there, they suffered from thirst, and the soldiers leading them were especially exhausted, for this country was deserted and waterless. Through their prayer, the saints brought out a source of living water from the dry land. Everyone was drinking and cooling off; The soldiers took with them on the journey as much water as they needed. During this journey, Saint Clement fervently prayed to Christ God, that God would grant him all the days of his life to endure torment for His holy name. Then he received a revelation from God that with the years of his torment having already passed, before the complete accomplishment of the martyrdom, he must live twenty-eight years amid continuous suffering. The saint was very happy about this, for he was completely absorbed in the unspeakable love for Christ his God. He wanted to remain in fierce torment for Christ for a long time and die many times all the days of his life. When the saints were presented to King Maximian, he was greatly surprised how they still remained alive and invincible after so much torment. Having interrogated them again and finding them adamant, he ordered a fiery furnace to be lit, as Nebuchadnezzar once did in Babylon, and plunged Christ’s soldiers into it. The saints stayed in this oven day and night and turned out to be alive and unharmed. Seeing this miracle, many of the people believed in Christ. Then the saints were thrown into prison and remained there for four years. The wicked king hoped that the saints, tired of their long imprisonment and having endured many disasters in prison, would rather turn to the pagan faith. After four years of imprisonment, the king, recognizing them as unworthy of his royal court, but at the same time ashamed of the invincible greatness of spirit discovered by their own deed, entrusted them to one very cruel ruler named Sakerdon, who destroyed countless Christians with cruel tortures and terrible deaths. He had to force the holy prisoners to worship pagan gods. Not having time to convince the holy martyrs Clement and Agafangel with either flattering words or threats, he ordered, tying them naked to a tree, to beat them cruelly and plan their bodies so hard that the shoulders and backs of the saints were completely planed to the bone. Bare bones and joints were already visible, but all the flesh had fallen away. The torturer, believing that they would die immediately, ordered them to be untied and taken to prison. But seeing that the saints were standing on their own feet and feeling cheerful, and were going to prison on their own, he was greatly ashamed and his body was exhausted from rage and shame. He was barely alive, so he was carried home from the court in the arms of his servants. The saints going to prison had their flesh fall away in parts along with their blood from their bodies. Believers collected it along the way along with sand and kept it as their greatest and most precious treasure. When the king learned about Sakerdon’s physical weakness, he laughed and said: - Behold, the glorious Sakerdon, who defeated many Christians, is himself defeated by two! At this time, one prince named Maxim stood before the king. He begged the king to give the holy martyrs into his hands, boasting that he would either force them to sacrifice or torture them to death. When the king allowed this, he took the saints to himself, and did not immediately begin to torture them, but first he talked with them in a friendly manner for many days, exhorted them to worship the gods, and then one day he called them to him and said: - Rejoice, men, the immortal gods love you as their true sons and take care of you. They told me about you many times in my dreams and clearly told me in response to my questions that you would turn to them. That is why they restrained your tormentors so that they would not destroy you, for the gods are waiting for your conversion, which is already close. Last night, the great among the gods, Bacchus 918, appeared to me and said: “Bring those two men to me.” Now, men, the church of Bacchus is open, the altar is decorated, the sacrifices are prepared; come and offer sacrifices to him. – You lie shamelessly, judge! For your gods are known to be dumb; in the same way, they cannot say anything in their sleep. Moreover, which Bacchus told you? After all, you have two idols of Bacchus here: one is stone, and the other is copper. If the stone one spoke, then we prophesy to him that the time will soon come when he will be broken into pieces, or will be placed along with other stones in a wall made of stone, or, finally, will be thrown into the fire and turn into sand. If the copper Bacchus told you, then soon it will be converted into jugs and other insignificant vessels. Unable to listen to these speeches, Maxim began to cruelly torture them. The torment was this: he ordered various sharp iron tools to be driven into the ground: pricks, knives, nails, tridents and other very sharp objects that he could invent - moreover, with the tip up and at a close distance from each other. The height of these points was equal to the length of one foot. He ordered to place Saint Clement naked on the spear, face up, and beat him with thick sticks, and he ordered Saint Agathangel to pour melted tin on his head. While Saint Clement was beaten with sticks on the chest and all over his body, from head to feet, his whole body from below was chipped and cut by those sharp instruments; some iron points went to the heart, others to the chest, others to the insides of the stomach, and others finally passed right through and were clearly visible above. When, after a long beating, the tormentor ordered the martyr to be removed from that place, barely a few people were able to free him from there with great effort. Maxim was perplexed and amazed at such great patience, especially since no torment could either convert the martyrs to the gods or kill them. The Most High God Himself kept their souls in them, not separated from the body, for the sake of the great glorification of His holy name and for the shame of the wicked. The saints were again thrown into prison. Upon learning of this, King Maximian condemned the saints to eternal imprisonment, in which they were to die a natural death. Then another nobleman named Aphrodisius, a Persian by birth, a skillful inventor of all sorts of fierce torments for Christians, asked the king to allow him to take these martyrs, hoping to destroy them. Having received consent, he led them to his house and, offering them a rich meal, hoped to treat them. He urged them to eat and drink and have fun with him. But they answered him: - We feed on heavenly food and drink. He who eats and drinks from them will never hunger or thirst, and will forever be in joy. Aphrodisius, considering their refusal a dishonor for himself, said: “Tomorrow I will give you another supper that you are looking for - the most cruel death.” When morning came, Aphrodisius ordered to bring two millstones and, hanging them on the necks of the saints, drag them throughout the city to mock them. When the saints were dragged through the city, many crazy people took stones and beat them, while others, surprised at such a long and severe suffering, considered them immortal and turned to Christ. After this, the saints, according to the royal definition, were imprisoned for life on the understanding that, exhausted from prolonged imprisonment, they would die. The saints remained in prison for many years, until the end of the twenty-eight years of their suffering approached, which was announced to Saint Clement in Tarsus, when they led him to the king, by revelation from God. Already many of the holy confessors of Christ, who began their suffering deeds, finished their career, but these two sufferers continued their martyrdom and performed their deeds. After King Maximian, Maximin entered the kingdom in 919. At this time, a lot of Christian blood was shed mercilessly. The prison guards, bored with guarding Clement and Agafangel, who had been kept in prison for too long, came to King Maximin and said: - What do you command regarding these two prisoners, who for many years were tortured by many kings and rulers, moreover, with all the most perfect instruments of the most severe torment, and yet did not die? They are still alive and in bondage. Although they do not receive any care and care necessary for life, they are healthy and bright in complexion. We think they are immortal. In response to this, King Maximin first blasphemed his gods with many shameful words because they were unable to take away temporary life from those prisoners. Then he asked about them: who are they and where are they from? Having learned that they were from Galatia, from the city of Ancyra, he ordered them to be immediately sent there to Prince Lucius, who was in charge of Ancyra at that time. The saints, having learned about this, were very happy, for Saint Clement very much wanted to finish the field of his ascetic life in his hometown. He prayed to the Lord Christ for this and received what he asked for. When the saints were brought to the city of Ankyra and presented to Prince Lukiy for interrogation, he did not immediately begin to interrogate them, but first put them in grave imprisonment; At the same time, he ordered their legs to be hammered into a block, iron shackles to be placed on their necks, arms and whole body, and also to be hung with heavy stones, so that they were unable to move their bodies or stretch their legs. The next day he ordered one holy martyr Agathangel to be brought to trial. At first, he seduced the saint for a long time with caresses, trying to attract him to his evil faith; but seeing the inflexibility of his convictions, he began to torment him: he pierced his ears with iron rings heated on fire, burned his ribs with burning candles and, finally, beheaded his holy head with a sword. The honorable body of the martyr was taken by the above-mentioned blessed Sophia, the named mother of Clement; she wrapped him in clean shrouds, anointing him with aromas, and laid him in a cave in which there was a small Christian church. Due to severe persecution from the wicked, the believers could not have their own church, but they made themselves a small church in a cave and there they performed services to God. Thus, the holy martyr Agathangel suffered from various tormentors: from two kings, Diocletian and Maximian, and from the rulers: Agrippina, Curicius, Domitius, Sacerdon, Maximus, Aphrodisius and Lucius. He finished his feat of suffering on November 5th. Saint Clement, having learned about the death of his disciple and fellow sufferer, the holy martyr Agathangel, was filled with unspeakable joy, since he had sent him to God before himself as an intercessor. Lying prostrate on the ground and burdened with the weight of his bonds, he gave deep thanks to God for Saint Agafangel for the fact that God had vouchsafed him to finish his career in life, to preserve his faith, to courageously endure all the torments and to be numbered among the holy martyrs triumphant in heaven. He also prayed for himself, that God would grant him to endure to the end, to erase the wily head of the enemy and move in triumph to the desired heavenly abodes. After the execution of Saint Agathangel, the torturer Lucius ordered that Saint Clement be tormented daily in prison. The torment consisted of the following: with rods studded with sharp branches they beat the martyr on the face and head, inflicting one hundred and fifty wounds on the saint’s body every day. This is how they tortured the saint from November 5th to January 5th. While the saint was severely ulcerated with wounds during the day, so that his entire prison was stained with his blood, at night the grace of God, sent to him through the holy Angels, healed his ulcers. The pagans were in great bewilderment: coming every day and finding him healthy, they were amazed and beat him even more cruelly; They stung his head and face with strong and deep blows, up to one hundred and fifty in number. When the feast of the Epiphany was approaching, another commander named Alexander arrived from the king in the city of Ankyra, instead of Lucius, who was recalled to the king. With the onset of night, when the all-night vigil for the feast of the Epiphany was to be celebrated, Blessed Sophia gathered Christians, as well as her servants and the boys and girls raised by her, and went with them to prison to Saint Clement. God, who promotes the intentions of those who believe in Him, brought a deep sleep upon the guards. Only the guard was awake, but he was a secret Christian; He opened the prison for those who came. The believers, having gone inside with the wise Sophia, freed the saint from his shackles and led him to the church, which was in the cave. Here they celebrated joyfully, thanking God. As the day approached, Saint Clement performed the Divine Liturgy, and everyone partook of the Divine Mysteries from the holy hands of their shepherd. The Bishop of God offered an extensive teaching to those gathered, in which he predicted his death. He predicted that he would soon be killed and consoled them with the words: - Do not be afraid, brothers, none of you will die or suffer. Neither of you will be kidnapped by wolves; Only I and two clerics will lay down my soul for the great Bishop Christ, who laid down His soul for us. He also predicted that persecution would soon end, idolatry would disappear and holy faith would flourish, for the Heavenly King would erect on earth a king who, having been enlightened by holy baptism, would enlighten all areas of the Roman state and erect a new Rome, after which piety would shine everywhere. Having predicted this to his verbal flock, the holy martyr Clement rejoiced the souls of his listeners. Then he went to the house of his named mother Sophia, who invited all the people who were in the church and offered them a rich feast. Saint Clement stayed in her house until the twenty-third of January. During all this time, Governor Alexander considered various matters concerning the people and government. Finally, it was reported to him that the Christian Bishop Clement had left prison at night. Then they began to look for him. When Sunday came, the bishop of God, Saint Clement, went to the cave church to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. The wicked found out about this and informed the governor. The latter immediately set off with the soldiers and, entering the church, found Saint Clement standing before the throne of God and making a bloodless sacrifice. The governor ordered one of the soldiers to draw his sword and strike the bishop from behind in the neck. When the warrior struck with his sword, the head of the holy martyr Clement fell on the Divine Throne and on the prepared Gifts 920. Thus, the Bloodless Sacrifice and the entire holy altar were stained with his blood. All believers were in great fear and horror: they expected death for themselves; However, they did not regret themselves, but about their shepherd, and therefore began to sob loudly. The governor immediately left without causing any harm to those gathered, and only two clerics were beheaded in the altar along with Saint Clement. Their names were Christopher and Chariton, both of them were deacons. Blessed Sophia, with tears and joy, prepared for burial the honorable body of her dear adopted son, in fact her spiritual father and shepherd. She cried that she had lost him on earth, and rejoiced that he, having zealously gone through the field of suffering, went to Christ the Lord. The saint was buried with honor, together with both deacons, by the zeal of Sophia and the entire Christian population who were there, near the tomb of the holy martyr Agafangel, in the cave church, on the twenty-third of January. Thus the holy martyr Clement ended the long feat of his suffering, enduring countless and unspeakable torments for Christ for twenty-eight years. The Greek historian Nicephorus 921 speaks about him this way: “From the very creation of the world, all those who suffered any kind of torment for God, namely: from fire, iron, from stones, from hanging on a tree, as well as those who fought with animals in circuses or were tortured by prolonged imprisonment in chains, or died from various deaths in water, in earth and in the air, or were destroyed by severe frost, or they lost their lives due to the heat, or from some other type of torture and execution - all such martyrs Saint Clement and Agafangel significantly surpassed in their suffering. He suffered in various cities from eleven tormentors: in Ancyra from the Galatian governor Domitian, in Rome from King Diocletian, in Nicomedia from the governor Agrippina, again in Ancyra from Prince Curicius; in Amisia from the royal governor Domitius, in Tarsus from King Maximian, there from the ruler Sakerdon, and then from Prince Maxim and the nobleman Aphrodisius, again in Ancyra from Prince Lucius and, finally, from the governor Alexander. All then former tormentors sent him to each other, like some kind of miracle, never seen, for for so many years and with so many different fierce torments he could not be defeated or shaken together with his disciple Agafangel. For the sake of the glory of His holy name, God, our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthened him, to whom, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, belongs glory, honor and worship from every creature. Amen. The vine of reverence and the stem of suffering, the most sacred flower and the fruit given by God, you have given to the faithful, all-sacred, ever-blooming: but as a fellow-sufferer of the martyrs and the hierarch of fellow thrones, pray to Christ God to save our souls. You were the venerable rod of Christ, the long-suffering Clement of all, who appeared and cried out to the suffering: you are the bright joy of the martyrs. Valerian - Roman emperor, reigned from 253 to 259. Galatia is a small region in the middle part of Asia Minor. Ancyra - now Angora - is a flourishing, populous city of Galatia, which still retains important trade importance for Asia Minor. From the Greek word κλημα - broken off young branch, young shoot, branch of a vine. Here, of course, Solomonia, mother of St. Maccabean martyrs: Anima, Antonina, Gurias, Eleazar, Eusevo, Alinus and Marcellus. Their memory is celebrated on August 1. Here we mean three Jewish youths: Ananias, Azariah and Mishael, who were not burned in the kindled Babylonian furnace. See Dan 1:3. Maximian II Galerius, son-in-law and co-ruler of Emperor Diocletian until 305, who then reigned independently until 311. Rhodes is a large island in the southwestern part of the Aegean Sea (Archipelago), separated from the southern coast of the Asia Minor region of Caria only by a rather narrow strait. A city in Pontus, in northern Asia Minor. Bacchus or Bacchus (Dionysus among the Greeks) was revered by the ancient Greeks and Romans as the god of grapes and winemaking, the gift of wine, delighting the hearts of people and dispelling sadness and worries. Emperor Maximinus Daza reigned over the eastern half of the Roman Empire from 305 to 313, initially at the same time as Maximian II Galerius, who died in 311. St. Clement died on January 23, 312. His relics remained for a long time in Constantinople, where there were two churches in his name. Stefan Novgorodets (in 1342) and Hierodeacon Zosima (in 1420) saw his relics in the Monastery of Constantine in Constantinople. Nikephoros Callistus - Greek church historian of the 14th century. You might be interested in: