О святом священномученике Вавиле *14

St. Babylon is the bishop of Antioch and a martyr. The possibility for a martyr of exploits even after death, certifying the resurrection. Julian's apostasy, his efforts to exterminate Christianity; the impossibility of this, proven by events. Transfer of the relics of a saint from the suburbs, at the request of the oracle. It is not the dead body that is defilement, but evil will. Julian's fear of the relics of the martyr. Burning of the church of Apollo by lightning. Praise to the zeal of the Antiochians and their bishop towards the martyr. 1. Today I wanted to repay the debt that recently, when I was here, I promised you; but what should I do? Blessed Vavila, who appeared in the meantime, called us to him, not suppressing his voice, but attracting us with the brilliance of his appearance. Do not therefore be angry at the delay in payment; in any case, the more time passes, the more the profit for you will increase: we will pay the silver with interest, because the Master who entrusted it to us commanded so (Luke 19:23). So, without doubting about this debt, since both the capital and the interest remain for you, let us not miss the profit that happened today, but let us enjoy the exploits of blessed Babyla. However, how he ruled our church, and saved this sacred ship in the midst of bad weather, storms and waves, what boldness he showed before the king, how he laid down his life for the sheep and accepted that blessed slaughter, we will let the eldest of the teachers and our common father (the bishop) talk about this and the like. The elders can tell you very well about the most ancient events, but what happened recently and in our lifetime, I, the young one, will tell you this - I mean what happened after the death of the martyr, after his burial, and at the time when he was on the outskirts of the city. I know that the pagans will laugh at this promise of ours, when we promise to talk about the glorious deeds, after death and burial, performed by those buried and turned to dust; but because of this, of course, we will not remain silent, and for this very reason we will speak most of all, so that, by actually showing such a miracle, we will turn laughter on their heads. A person, of course, does not have any heroic deeds after death; but a martyr can have many and great ones, not in order to become more glorious (he does not at all need the approval of the people), but so that you, an infidel, understand that the death of martyrs is not death, but the beginning of a better life, an entry into a more spiritual life, a transition from worse to better. Don’t look at the fact that the naked body of a martyr lies before you, devoid of spiritual activity, but consider the fact that in it there is another power, higher than the soul itself, the grace of the Holy Spirit, which through its miracles speaks to everyone in defense of the resurrection. If God gave the bodies of the dead and those turned to dust greater strength than all the living, then much more will He give them a life better than before and more blessed during the distribution of crowns. What are the exploits of this martyr? Don't be embarrassed if we talk a little from afar. After all, those who want to show the pictures well take the audience away from the board a little and then open them, allowing them to see more clearly from a distance. Please be patient while we take back the word. When Julian, who surpassed everyone in wickedness, ascended the royal throne and accepted the scepter of domination, he immediately raised his hands against his Creator God, renounced his Benefactor, and from below, from the earth, looking at the sky, barked like mad dogs who equally bark at those who do not feed them and at those who feed them, or - better - began to rage worse than them. They equally disgust and hate both their own and strangers, and he, before the enemies of salvation, demons, wagged his tail and rendered them all kinds of service, while the Benefactor and Savior, who did not spare even His Only Begotten for him, rejected and hated and reviled the Cross, the thing that restored the universe lying in the dust, drove away darkness from everywhere and illuminated us with a light more brilliant than the rays of the sun. And he did not stop there in his fury, but promised to destroy the race of Galileans from the universe: that’s what he usually called us, although if he considered the name of Christians an object of disgust and a completely shameful thing, then why did he want to dishonor us not with this very name, but with someone else’s name? He knew well that the name, meaning closeness to Christ, serves as a great decoration not only for people, but also for angels and the highest powers. Therefore, he used all measures to take away this decoration from us and transform the sermon. But this was impossible, pathetic and unfortunate man, just as it was impossible to destroy the sky, extinguish the sun, shake and overthrow the foundations of the earth. Christ also foretold this, saying: “Heaven and earth will pass by, but My words will not pass by” (Matthew 24:35). But you cannot stand the words of Christ: so listen to the voice of events. I, who have been worthy to know what the saying of God means, how powerful and irresistible it is, believe that it is more reliable than both the order of nature and the experience of all events; and you, who crawl on the earth and are addicted to the study of human opinions, accept the evidence of events - I do not contradict or argue in anything. 2. What do events say? Christ said that it is easier for heaven and earth to perish than for any of His words to perish; That king began to speak against this and threatened to destroy these dogmas. Where is the king who made such threats? He died, disappeared, and is now awaiting his inevitable punishment in hell. Where is Christ, who spoke those words? In heaven, at the right hand of the Father, he occupies the highest throne of glory. Where are the king’s blasphemous speeches and unbridled tongue? He became ashes, dust, and food for worms. Where is the saying of Christ? It shines with the truth of deeds, and consequently shines in the event, as if from a golden pillar. The king did not omit anything then, intending to wage war against us, but he also summoned wizards and gathered sorcerers, and everything was filled with demons and evil spirits. What was the reward for this service? Destruction of cities and famine, the most severe of all famines. You, of course, know and remember how empty the marketplace was without goods, how full of turmoil the workshops were, when everyone tried to grab what caught their eye before the others and leave. And what am I talking about famine, when the very springs were left without water, springs that overshadowed the rivers with an abundance of water? But since I mentioned the sources, let us finally ascend to Daphne and turn our speech to the deeds of the martyr. You, of course, still want to expose the abominations of the pagans to shame, but even so, having him with us, we will force them to retreat, because where the memory of the martyrs is, there, in any case, is the shame of the pagans. So this king, having ascended to Daphne, constantly pestered Apollo, pestering him with requests and entreaties to tell him something about the future. What about the soothsayer, the great god of the pagans? The dead, he said, prevent me from speaking, but you destroy the tombs, dig up the bones, transport the dead. What could be more wicked than these commandments? The demon introduces strange laws for digging up tombs and invents new ways to expel strangers. Who has ever heard of the dead being cast out? Who has ever seen an order to transfer soulless bodies from one place to another, as he commanded, completely destroying the general laws of nature? The general laws of nature for all people are to cover the deceased with earth, bury them and bury them in the depths of the mother of all - the earth. Neither a Hellene, nor a barbarian, nor a Scythian, nor anyone else even surpassing them in rudeness has ever shaken these laws, but everyone honors and observes them: so they are sacred and respectable for everyone. But the demon, having taken off his mask, with his head open, rebels against the general rules of nature: the dead, he says, are defilement. It is not the dead that are defilement, the craftiest demon, but evil will that is an abomination. If something surprising must be said, then it is more likely that the bodies of the living are filled with evil than the bodies of the dead are unclean, because they serve the dictates of the soul, while these lie motionless, and the motionless and without any feeling is free and from all guilt. However, I do not say that the bodies of living people are by nature unclean, but that everywhere an evil and corrupted will is responsible for the crimes of everyone. No, Apollo, it is not a dead body that is defilement, but to chase after a chaste maiden in order to deprive her of her virginal honor, and to cry when not receiving success in a shameless deed, is worthy of both condemnation and punishment! We also had many wondrous and great prophets, who predicted many things about the future, and they never commanded those who asked to dig up the bones of the dead; and Ezekiel, standing close to the very bones, not only did not encounter any obstacle in them, but also brought them back to life again, clothing them with flesh, veins and skin. The great Moses not only stood next to the dead bones, but even carried a whole dead man with him - Joseph - and at the same time predicted the future. And this is quite natural, because their words were the grace of the Holy Spirit, and the words of those are deception and lies that cannot be covered up by anything. That those words were an excuse and a pretext, and that he was afraid of blessed Babyla, is clear from what the king did: leaving all the other dead, he suffered only this martyr. And moreover, if he did this, abhorring it, and not being afraid, then it would be necessary to order that the tomb be broken down, drowned in the sea, removed to an empty place, or destroyed in some other way: this was characteristic of someone who abhors it. This is what God did when he spoke to the Jews about the abominations of the pagans: He commanded that their pillars be destroyed, and not that these abominations be carried from the suburbs to the cities. 3. So, the martyr was transferred, but the demon did not enjoy safety even after that, but immediately learned that the bones of a martyr could be transferred, but it was impossible to escape the hands of a martyr. At the same time, this tomb with the body was taken to the city, and lightning from above struck the head of the idol, and everything was set on fire. At least then, if not before, the wicked king should have become angry and poured out his anger on the church of the martyr; but even then he did not dare: such fear took possession of him; and although he saw that the fire was unbearable and knew exactly its cause, he was still quiet. And not only is it surprising that he did not destroy the church of the martyr, but also that he did not dare to cover the church with a roof again. He knew, he knew for sure, that this blow was sent from God, and he was afraid that with his further plans he would not call the same fire on his own head. Therefore, he patiently looked at the church of Apollo, which had been brought into desolation. And there was no other reason why he did not correct what had happened other than fear, for which he involuntarily humbled himself, even knowing how much dishonor he was leaving to the demon and how much glory to the martyr. And now these walls stand instead of trophies, louder trumpets make a sound and with their appearance they announce to those living in Daphne, in the city, coming from afar, present and future, about everything - about the struggle, about the battle, the victory of the martyr. For someone living far from the suburbs, seeing both the church of the saint without a tomb and the church of Apollo without a roof, it is natural to ask about the reason for both, and having thus learned the whole story, leave from here. Such are the feats of the martyr performed after his death! That is why I please your city because you have shown much zeal for this saint. At the time when he was returning from Daphne, our entire city flowed onto the road, and the marketplaces were desolate without men, and the houses were desolate without women, and the inner chambers became empty without maidens: so every age and every sex rushed out of the city, as if to greet a father returning from a long journey after a long time! You gave him to the choir of his equals in jealousy; but the grace of God did not allow him to remain there forever, but again moved him to the other side of the river, so that many places were filled with the fragrance of the martyr. And upon arrival here he should not have been alone, but soon received a neighbor and cohabitant of his own 11. And this one had the same power as him, and showed equal boldness in piety - therefore it was not in vain, it seems, that this wondrous follower of the martyr received the same dwelling as him. He worked there for so long, constantly sending letters to the king, disturbing the bosses, and offering corporal service to the martyr. You probably know and remember how, in the summer, when the midday rays were heating up the sky, he and his employees went there every day, not just as a spectator, but to participate in the work. He often carried stones and pulled ropes, and more diligently served everyone who needed help during construction than the workers. He knew, truly knew, what rewards would be in store for him for this, and therefore he incessantly served the martyrs, not only with beautiful buildings and continuous festivities, but in an even better way. What is this method? He imitates their lives, competes with their courage, and in every possible way affirms in himself the image of martyrs. Look: they handed over the bodies to the slaughter, and he “Murder your lives that are in the earth” (Col. 3:5); they withstood the flame of fire, and he extinguished the flame of lust; they fought with the teeth of beasts, but he also tamed the most cruel of our passions - anger. For all this, let us thank God, for He has given us such valiant martyrs, and shepherds worthy of martyrs, “for the perfecting of the saints in the building up of the Body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12), with whom be glory, honor, power to the Father, with the Holy and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. Memory of St. Vavila was celebrated on January 24, to which time should the delivery of the conversation be attributed; the year of pronunciation - according to a probable assumption - is the 387th. Probably the Bishop of Antioch, buried in the same church with St. Vaviloy in Daphne. You might be interested in: