But all this, as temporary and soon to perish, was soon taken into consideration, and the outcast little by little began to come to his senses: his conscience began to convict him of his deep fall. The Lord God, seeing the heartfelt contrition of the outcast, inspired him with a good thought: to turn to his confessor and repent of his fall. Constantine asked his confessor for a blessing so that, without leaving Rhodes, he would now renounce the vile Mohammed and again confess himself a believer in our Lord Jesus Christ. The confessor saw his jealousy, but was unsure of his courage, moreover, he was afraid that at such a young and youthful age, fearing fierce torment, he would renounce Christ a second time. Therefore, he rejected Constantine from this untimely thought and desire, leaving his intention to the time and the age at which a person is more firm in his convictions, and then, having previously prepared by fasting, vigil and prayer, one can perform the feat of martyrdom, but even then only if it is the will of God.
Constantine obeyed his spiritual father. Arriving at Hassan’s house, he collected his property and money and, having distributed everything to the poor, a few days later he left the ill-fated house and retired to the Crimea. And three years later, Constantine went to the Holy Mountain and there he entered the brotherhood of the Iveron Monastery, where he began to undergo obedience with zeal and love. He often turned with fervent prayer and tears to the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, called Portaitissa, and begged the Most Pure One to pacify his heart and make him worthy to suffer for Christ, whom he denied through his own foolishness, being seduced by the splendor of wealth and glory. And thus his heart became more and more inflamed with love for Jesus Christ, for Whom he was ready to endure not only suffering, but also thousands of deaths. From that time on, his thoughts began to force him to indulge in torture.
Being in an excited state, he revealed his thoughts to the confessor of the Baptist monastery, Hieromonk Sergius, and the elders, who, however, did not advise him to commit martyrdom, saying that it was possible to save his soul without torment. But Constantine, burning with heartfelt love to suffer for Christ, could not follow the advice of the elders and soon left the Holy Mountain and went to Rhodes to confess the name of Jesus Christ.
After arriving in Rhodes, he confessed to his confessor and, having received the Holy Mysteries, revealed his intention to enter into a fight with the devil. But the confessor, fearing that he would become faint-hearted in torment, rejected him, like the Athonite elders, from such an intention and advised him to return back to the Holy Mountain. But Constantine firmly decided to suffer for Christ.
Having prayed to God and strengthened his heart with prayer, he went to the house of his former master Hasan and said to him:
- Hello, my lord! I testify to you of the obedience of your former servant, whom you three years ago, by deception, flattering and insidious words, convinced to renounce my Lord Jesus Christ, whom I now confess as the true God, but I curse your false prophet Mohammed as a deceiver and destroyer of human souls!
- Unhappy! - Hassan said. “I do not recognize you as a former servant, since you are dressed in monastic clothes.” Take off these black and deplorable clothes, and I will order you to be dressed in the most expensive and best colored ones, and I will recognize you as my servant, and I will enrich you with even greater honors and wealth than before.
- Master! - answered the confessor of Christ. “On the contrary, I advise you to abandon your wickedness.” All the evil that you did to me by seducing me into accepting Mohammedanism, because of which I was tormented and tormented by my conscience for so long - I forgive you all that, but only so that you believe in Jesus Christ the true God. So, be prudent and do not waste time, but convert to the Christian faith.
- Despicable! - Hassan shouted with anger. “Who taught you to offer me such idle talk?” I brought you happiness and subsequently wanted to marry my daughter. And you, despising all my worries, inflict such an insult on me.
At this time, one of Hassan’s servants hit the martyr of Christ on the cheek, to which Saint Constantine replied:
- Glory to You, Christ God, that You have vouchsafed me to receive a blow on the cheek for confessing Your name and have vouchsafed me to be an imitator of Your passion on the cross. For even You, my Lord, the despicable servant of the wicked high priest Anna, dared to strike You on the cheek with His foul hand at the judgment seat.
After much persuasion and detention in prison, the wicked Hasan ordered the saint to be beaten on the back and legs with sticks. From numerous blows, the body of the holy martyr was torn from the bones, and his toenails all fell off, and he fell to the ground from exhaustion and lay as if dead. The torturers, thinking that the martyr of Christ had already died, picked him up and threw him into prison.
Three days later, the tormentor Hassan ordered his servants to throw out the corpse of the sufferer of Christ from prison, thinking that he had already given himself over to decay. But what was the surprise of the servants when, entering the prison, they saw the martyr of Christ healthy, unharmed and with a radiant face! They immediately reported this to their master, who was also surprised and ordered him to be brought. When the holy sufferer came to Hassan, instead of believing in Jesus Christ, seeing an obvious miracle, he began to persuade him to renounce the Christian faith, while promising great honors and riches.
The Martyr of Christ, seeing Hassan’s spiritual blindness, said to him:
“Listen, sir, you know very well that three days ago your zealous servants injured my body, tore out all the hair on my head, and knocked off all the nails from my toes. And now, look, I'm healthy. So, glorify my Lord Jesus Christ, who did not disdain to come to me in a stinking prison, healed my wounds and commanded my hair and nails to grow again. Therefore, is it conceivable to renounce the Source of life and believe in the false Mohammed - the teacher of all uncleanness and vices! I advise and beg you from the bottom of my heart: open the eyes of your soul and again believe in Jesus Christ, in whom your parents believe and you once believed.
Hearing the denunciation of apostasy, Hasan, thinking that no one here knew about this, became embarrassed and quickly ordered, imposing heavy chains, to throw the holy martyr into prison. The holy martyr spent three days and three nights there. At this time, eight more Christians from the village of Soroni were imprisoned in the same prison, among whom were two priests, as well as four Turks. One night, God, who glorifies His saints, wanted to console His servant and glorify him among the prisoners, so that they would subsequently, in confirmation of the Christian faith and to the shame of the enemies of the cross, tell about the next miraculous phenomenon. At midnight, suddenly a light similar to the sun shone in the prison, and at the same time the heavy chains fell off the holy martyr. Seeing himself freed from his chains, the holy sufferer immediately began to pray. The priests and other Christians, seeing such an unusual miracle, were moved and began to pray, and the Turks fell prostrate to the ground out of fear. The guards, who saw an extraordinary light in the dungeon, thought that there was a fire there.
But what was their surprise when, upon entering the prison, they found everything in order, and the holy martyr freed from his bonds and standing in prayer! The guards immediately reported this miracle to Hasan, who, wanting to suppress this miracle, like the first, ordered the guards not to disclose it to the people. Prisoners - both Christians and Turks - were also forbidden to talk about the miracle in order to avoid terrible punishments. Then they were released from prison. He ordered that the holy martyr should no longer be brought to himself, but that in prison he should be struck daily. But the Lord, having tested the saint’s patience, no longer allowed his tormentors to reach him. Thus, one Turkish imam wanted to strangle a saint. But the moment he raised his hand, it turned black like coal.