The Holy Hieromartyr Damascus was born in the village of Gabrovo, Ternovo diocese, in Bulgaria. Having left his fatherland, he arrived at the Holy Mountain and, having accepted monasticism in the Hilandar monastery, was subsequently ordained a deacon, then a hieromonk, and finally elevated to the rank of abbot of the same monastery. Due to some needs of the monastery, he had to go to Bulgaria, to the village of Sistovo, from where, having fulfilled the instructions and needs of the monastery, he intended to return to the Holy Mountain, and was already getting ready to set off. But since some of the Turks remained in debt to him, he demanded the debt from them. The Turks not only did not want to give up their duty, but, after consulting among themselves, they took away from him what he had of his own in the farmstead.
It was not enough to offend the humble monk in this way - the Turks secretly took one of the Turkish women of suspicious behavior to the courtyard, left her inside the monastic dwelling and then attacked the meth, broke the door with noise and screaming and, having found the Turkish woman in the monastic courtyard, immediately tied up the innocent Damascene; They stole everything they could from him and finally, as guilty of kidnapping a Mohammedan woman, they presented him to the Turkish court, raging and slandering the reverend elder that he had desecrated their law. The ruler of the town clearly saw and understood that this was slander, and therefore tried in every possible way to justify the innocent, but the cry of the angry crowd of the Turks prevailed, so that contrary to the court and laws, not heeding either the threats or the demands of the chief foreman, they grabbed the divine Damascus and led him to the gallows.
There was only one way to get rid of an undeserved death: in renouncing Christ and recognizing Mohammed as a prophet, but the sufferer, despite the caresses and promises of the Turks, who three times offered him all kinds of benefits and pleasures of life, if only he renounced his faith and accepted their law, despite death itself, calmly answered:
“I was born a Christian, and I will die a Christian.” To renounce Christ is the same as to renounce eternal life: without Him there is no salvation for sinners, like all of us, me and you. He is the reconciler of God's truth with sinful humanity; He is the giver of the grace of God necessary to fulfill the will of God. I feel sorry for you if you don't understand that. But it would be madness if I agreed to buy eternal destruction for temporary life. Take me wherever you want.
Then they brought him to the place of execution, with his hands tied back. While the Turks were preparing to hang Saint Damascus, he asked them for permission to pray to the Lord. The Turks did not refuse him this - and the holy martyr, turning to the East, prayed, protected himself with the sign of the cross and told the murderers that he was ready to die. He was hanged. This is how Saint Damascus received the crown of suffering. However, Divine wrath soon befell his frantic killers. Following his death, crossing the Danube, they drowned and thus, still here on earth, received due punishment for the innocent blood of the Holy Martyr Damascus. May the Lord save us through his prayers. Amen.
The Holy Hieromartyr Damascus suffered in 1771, January 16
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Icons of the Mother of God of Vatopedi “Consolation” or “Consolation”