Eulogies to the Holy Forty Martyrs (2nd)

The sermon “Eulogy to the Holy Forty Martyrs (2nd)” was delivered by St. Gregory of Nyssa on March 10, 383 in Sebaste, in the chapel at the site of the death of 40 martyrs. *The title of the work in Greek is ᾿Εϒκώμιον εἰς τοὺς ἁϒίους τεσσαράκοντα μάρτυρας. Λόϒος Β´. *The title of the work in Latin is Encomium 1 in XL martyres. Yesterday the martyrs called the people to them; Now, having come themselves, they are received as guests in the hotel of the Church. But there is some law for feasts, so that these treats are given to the feasters mutually in turn. And so it is necessary for us to reward the martyrs for treating them to a similar feast. But since we do not have sufficient means of speech, it is good for us to treat them with the remnants of their own (meal) - them, yesterday's hosts, and today's guests. For even a small portion of a rich meal is enough to prepare a great feast, as soon as the remainder is like that. What is this remainder? Remember, of course, where we stopped in the word when this longed-for and pleasant noise from the multitude of those gathered prevented us from listening to what was being said; when this animate church sea, overflowing with a multitude of influxes, was agitated by the pressure of the constantly crowded, like the real sea and in the noise that struck our ears, like the noise of waves. And so where we stopped the word, overwhelmed by noise, of course, you remember, who care to have the martyrs in your memory. We seem to have settled on the fact that those chosen for this feat were not any of the ordinary people, and not some simple and unknown crowd rose from low occupations to such dignity; but firstly, surpassing others in slenderness of body, beauty, strength and excess strength, they were included in the military lists; then, having distinguished themselves by a virtuous life and a chaste life, at their death they received the grace of martyrdom, as if some honor and reward for courage. And to make our word more pleasant, if you wish, we will again recall in order everything about the martyrs, as if for a spectacle, presenting to the eyes of the present assembly their exploits. In ancient times, in a neighboring city there was a military detachment that protected the entire people from attacks by barbarians. These warriors, according to some former divine revelation, were more zealous about faith than about military affairs. And perhaps it is not untimely to tell in passing about one work of faith of these men. Once, when they had a war with the barbarians and all the convenient places were previously occupied by the enemy army, so that the water was in the power of the enemies, they came into extreme danger, either due to the inexperience of our leaders or because of no better and more divine economy, so that through this the difference between Christians and those alien to the faith would be most clearly manifested. When they did not know what to do in these circumstances, there was great difficulty, because they did not have any source or stream of water in sight in this place, so there was a danger of falling to the power of their opponents due to thirst; Then these valiant (warriors), abandoning hope of weapons, decided in these terrible circumstances to call for invincible and irresistible help. Leaving in the camp those who have not yet accepted the faith and separating themselves from them, they imitate the miracle-working that happened under Elijah the prophet, asking with a common and collective voice for deliverance (them) from an inevitable disaster. They prayed; the prayer was immediately fulfilled. While they were still kneeling, a strong wind blew a cloud from somewhere into the air above the enemy camp; then bursting into extraordinary thunder and striking those under it with fiery lightning, it poured down water more abundant than rivers, so that for the enemies it was the cause of complete destruction both from a continuous whirlwind with lightning and from a lot of rain, and for those who fought with prayers, this cloud was enough for both - both for victory over opponents, and for quenching thirst, since streams of rain brought them drinking plenty of fluids. Our military face was also included in this host of warriors; having strengthened themselves in faith by the stories about this event, and having educated themselves through similar exercises, they rose to such greatness that by the superiority of virtue they aroused envy against themselves. For, as we learned from what was read to us today from the story of Job, the enemy of the human race considered the glorification of Job to be an insult to himself and therefore sought misfortune for him because Job saddened him, being true, just and blameless; In exactly the same way, these great ascetics were looked at with an evil eye by those who rebelled against the good and could not bear to see moral valor in their youth. He saw the blooming state of the body, adorned with chastity; I saw a certain armed formation, militaryly rejoicing before God; I saw men who were beautiful to look at, menacing in appearance, cheerful in spirit, I saw the speed of their legs, the abundance of strength, the proportionality of the members of the body, and with all the advantages that they possessed, spiritual virtue eclipsed with its radiance physical perfections. He who goes around the world with envy also walks among them (Job. 1, 7); he sees not one true person, but a whole divine host of people who are all true, righteous, pious - he sees and begs them to his will. And first he instills in the idolatrous military leader the advice that he will win the victory over the barbarians in no other way than by sacrificing those who worship the name of Christ. When they very quickly declared themselves to be good by their confession and themselves rushed to death through suffering; the enemy immediately arranged for them to be prescribed, as something philanthropic, death by the sword; they were bound with iron bonds, and this was the beginning of their torment. But for them the bonds were also an adornment; it was a beautiful and pleasing sight to the eyes of Christians: the chosen young men, in such a number, blooming in beauty, superior in age, were all tied together with ties, like some kind of crown or necklace tied around with even pearls. Such were these saints, united by faith and bound together by bonds, each in itself was beautiful and served to exalt the beauty of the other. What a wonderful sight is the clear and pure sky, speckled with beautiful stars, when each of them brings its own brilliance to the overall decoration of the sky: the sight of these saints was just as wonderful, truly, as the Prophet Ezekiel says somewhere, “the vision of the candle of those who come together” (Ezek. 1:13). Our word readily stops at visible beauty; for it knows how, as Wisdom says, “from the majesty” and “beauty of creatures” to cognize the hidden beauty (Wisdom 13:5), since the purity of the soul shone in their appearance and the visible person was a worthy abode of the invisible. And so a beautiful spectacle was presented then for the spectators - beautiful, I say, for those who want to see the beautiful, beautiful for the Angels, beautiful for the super-worldly forces, but bitter for the demons and for the followers of demons - these people, if only they can be called people who have so surpassed others in the greatness of nature - these warriors of Christ, warriors of the Holy Spirit, defenders of the faith, strongholds of the city of God! As if at some childish foolishness, they laugh at every torment and insult, at every intimidation, at every attack of threats, as if they were giving up not their bodies, but the shadows of bodies for beating; Having conquered flesh with flesh, by disdaining death and showing contempt for all the intimidations of their tormentors, they showed themselves to be superior to human standards. Oh, how wonderfully you trained to obtain material trophies, and how wonderfully you applied your military experience to the fight against the devil! They went against the opposing force, not with a sword, armed with their hands, and not covered with a wooden shield, not with a copper helmet and knee pads, but taking on the whole armor of God, which the leader of the Church, the divine apostle, calls a shield, armor, helmet and sword (Eph. 6:13-17). They were led by heavenly grace; and the army of the devil - having the “power of death” (Heb. 2:14). The place of battle for them was the trial court of bloodthirsty killers: here, standing together, they entered into battle, some throwing arrows with threats, others repelling them with patience. Opponents suggested that they either renounce their faith in the Lord, or be executed by death; The valiant warriors answered that they would remain in the confession until their death. At the same time they threatened them with fire, sword, casting into the abyss and other types of executions. To all this one voice was heard: Christ, confessed through the mouth of the saints. This was a blow to opponents; This kind of spear they put up against the enemy; with this voice the enemy was struck to the heart. It was a stone thrown from a sling by the hand of David, which fell under the helmet of the enemy (1 Samuel 17:49), for the confession of Christ is the sling of a good warrior. The enemy falls headless. But our bold word rushes further, goes beyond boundaries, dares to touch the ineffable, is prompted to speak about the invisible, as if it were an eyewitness: with this voice of the bold confession of Christ there was approval of grief, praise from the holy Angels, greetings from the citizens of the heavenly city who applauded the feat, joy of the entire heavenly assembly. For what a spectacle then presented itself to the Angels in the human world! What a struggle between the devil and people the spectators of our lives saw! How opposite was the outcome of this struggle in comparison with the first, when the serpent defeated Adam! At that time, man could not bear even one attack from the enemy; (seduced) by the beautiful appearance of the delicacy offered to him, as soon as he was attacked, he was overthrown and fell. Against them, all the enemy’s military art was in vain and ineffective. He showed hopes, but they were trampled upon; threatened with horrors - they chuckled. Only one thing was scary for them - to renounce Christ; one good thing is to be with one Christ; everything else - laughter and shade, idle talk and sleepy dreams. Therefore, our word dared to touch the invisible and say that all the powers of the world rejoiced at the feat of these fighters. But our word also decides on something that is not accessible to boldness; He also dares to tell about the most worldly thing, that when this was happening here, in this struggle with the opponents, the righteous Hero laid victorious crowns, the Leader of the divine forces prepared rewards for the winners, and the Holy Spirit gave them many different grace-filled gifts; since they confessed faith in the Trinity, grace was given to them from the Trinity. What kind of grace? The very thing is that they showed themselves to be superior to the first warriors of Adam and Eve. They, through sin, overthrew human nature, which still stood; these - she, overthrown by the fall of her ancestors, was again restored by patience. Those from paradise are cast out to earth; these from here moved to paradise. They gave themselves the weapon of death; for as it is said: the weapon of “death is sin” (1 Cor. 15:56); These, with their courage, weakened death, armed with sin, dulling the sharper sting with the patience of suffering, so it is appropriate to say: “Where is the sting, death, where is the victory?” (1 Cor. 15:55). What is more insignificant than a tree fruit? What is an unimportant tree? But the fruit, adorned with a beautiful appearance and a pleasant taste, caused the pleasantness of paradise to be neglected by these great ascetics, and the sun itself did not seem pleasant; and this they voluntarily deprived themselves of, so as not to fall away from the true light. What does scripture say about Eve? (I continue the story about my ancestors beyond due limits). “And I saw...,” it is said, “as a good tree for food, and as it pleases the eye to see” (Gen. 3:6); Thus, they exchanged paradise for the pleasantness of these fruits. And thus everything visible was presented for pleasure and pleasure: the sky, the sun, the earth, people, fatherland, mothers, brothers, friends, relatives, peers. What is more pleasant to see than this? What's better than enjoying this? Children, you know the love for parents; fathers, you know the affection for children; You, the seer, know the pleasantness of the sunlight; As a brotherly lover, you are not unaware of your natural affection for your brothers; You, young man, know the pleasure of companionship, how it delights your life. But everything was hostile to them, everything was alien. There was one good thing for them - Christ; they renounced everything in order to gain Him. The time spent in prison was not short; but among the saints, along with the length of punishment, the desire for perfection increased. And as those who care about bodily strength, after they have acquired sufficient strength in the gymnastics school, they boldly go to competition; In the same way, these too, having sufficiently perfected themselves in piety through chains and prison, strive for the crown of exploits. Our word consistently came to the end, or, better, to the very top of the entire feat. This was the time then, these very days of exploits; this eve of Easter is the sacrament of the holy Pentecost. Forty days (appointed) to us for propitiation and the same number of crowns for the saints. Have I said too much and do I seem too chatty to you, telling you about your miracles and pleasing your ears with your own? But so that the word does not remain unfinished, we, together with the saints, will flow to the end of their exploits. It was frosty that day. Of course there is no need to tell you how cold it was; you can judge that by the present day, when the frost penetrates even the very hair. Both the aliens in these places and the natives know the extreme severity of the cold, and there is no need to talk about it. And can an outsider tell you about your amazing winters, how constantly flowing rivers stop pouring in, held back in their flow by frost that petrifies the waves? And the neighboring lake needs some signs to recognize that it is a lake; it hardens so much from the frost that those who wish usually ride on it on horseback, on top of its waves. I also know that the natives often resorted to obtaining water by means of fire, when, having broken off a piece of ice, they melted it as if it were some kind of copper or iron and made water from the stone. Such was the weather during their exploit, and this disaster was further intensified by the extraordinary northern winds, as we heard from the narrators of their miracles. So, when they openly proclaimed the name of the Lord before all the people and, having already revealed themselves as crowned victors for such a confession, they flowed towards the end of (suffering) death, the following image of the feat was invented for them: a command comes from the tyrant - to take the lives of ascetics with frost. Oh, how powerless my words and thoughts are! How much lower is the word than the dignity (of the subject)! An order for death - frost, torment, anticipation of such an execution - and the blissful youth with laughter and childish gaiety rushed to the place of execution; The ascetics rushed to suffer; it was a sacred and orderly run; it was a competition to anticipate the crown of confession; they all had the same desire to win; no one was the last to be ready, on the contrary, everyone was unanimous, having reached this very place, as if there were no public baths then, and as if they themselves had the intention of refreshing their bodies with washing, they immediately took off their clothes, all repeating the words of Job: naked we entered into the world, naked we will go to Him who brought us into the world (Job. 1, 21); We brought nothing into the world, and we should not endure anything; better yet, having entered naked, we will leave filled with the treasures of a good confession. Saying this and encouraging themselves with such words, they handed over the body to be frozen; visible nature suffered from the cold, and the nature of the martyrs seemed not to be subject to it; or better to say, the nature of the body endured what was characteristic of it and accepted suffering, and the great spirit of the ascetics fought with nature itself. For while the strength of the body, exhausted and destroyed by freezing, little by little disappeared; the strength of spirit became greater and greater. The beautiful appearance of the body darkened, its beauty faded; the fingers fell off, little by little cut off by the frost; all members and sense organs froze from the severity of the cold. The body gradually became covered with deathly pallor and, swelling and cracking at the limbs, fell away from the bones; the suffering before death was felt - and thus death, gradually approaching, lasted for three days. During all this time the feeling did not leave them and they remained in the same order as they had become at first, being victorious over the enemy in everything. But who will adequately tell me about what followed? What word will describe this divine solemn procession, when these holy bodies were taken on carts to be burned? How, instead of someone rejected by the devil, was a prison guard introduced into the ranks of the martyrs by grace? Who will tell me about this mother, the worthy root of a martyr, who, when the one born to her, as if still breathing, was abandoned by the executioner, and not put with others on the chariot, seeing the executioner’s love of mankind for the ascetic, did not bear such an insult, but scolded him for separating the ascetic from his companions? She herself stood near the martyr, already numb, motionless from the cold, saw his cold and weak breathing, saw how he was still alive enough to feel suffering, looking at his mother with a weak and fading gaze, with a dead and powerless hand encouraging and comforting her, admonishing her to bravely endure (the misfortune). Seeing all this, did the mother allow herself anything maternal? Did her womb shake? Did you tear your clothes? Or, hugging your son, did you warm him with warm hands? Enough! And it is not appropriate to say anything like that. We truly recognize a tree by its fruit; A rotten tree cannot bear good fruit. So, since the fruit of torment is good, we praise the valiant parent - the mother, according to the word of the Apostle, who is saved “for the sake of childbearing” (1 Tim. 2:15); for having presented such a fruit to God, she appeared as a defender of the rights of the entire female sex. You are not my child, she said, you are not the product of my womb; Having perceived God, you are born of God; you have received the power to be a “child of God” (John 1:12). Hurry to your Father, keeping up with your peers, so as not to come second to the crown; do not make your mother’s prayer in vain; You will not upset your mother by becoming crowned, a winner, adorned with signs of victory. Saying this and strengthened beyond natural courage, or better yet, strengthened by the Spirit, she herself carries the one born by her to the others onto the chariot, escorting the ascetic with a bright face. What happened after this? The saints labored in the air; They also sanctified the fire that touched them when they became food for the flame; They also brought blessings to the water. The Divine decrees were fulfilled in everything. The three youths include cold and heat in the common song (Dan. 3, 66, 67): cold from frost, heat from burning; Thus they passed through fire and water. But our word wants to pass this by as well-known, and now, by the way, to say something relative to what we had a question about before. When man was expelled from paradise, “flaming weapons of conversion” (Gen. 3:24) were placed to guard the entrance to paradise; The reason for this will of divine providence was so that man would not come to the tree of life, would not touch it and would not become immortal. Remember, of course, what we talked about; Remember well and solve what we found for this question. But if we wanted to conduct the study again from the beginning and repeat what we said, then our word would continue more than the present time allows. The question was: is paradise really inaccessible to the saints from converted weapons? Is there really a paradise for ascetics too? Where, finally, is the promise for the sake of which they undertake deeds of piety? And won’t they receive less than the thief to whom the Lord said: “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43)? since the thief did not ascend to the cross voluntarily: “but since he was near salvation,” this shrewd and noble predator saw the treasure and, seizing the time, stole life, beautifully and shrewdly using his art of stealing when he said: “Remember me, Lord” in Thy kingdom (Luke 23:42). And so he is awarded heaven; Is it possible that a flaming sword blocks the entrance of saints? But here the question also finds a solution; That’s why Scripture calls the sword not constantly standing against those who enter, but presents it to those who are turning, so that for the unworthy it can be a point directed forward, and for the worthy it is turned back, opening up for them a free entrance into life. And the holy martyrs have already entered this life with the boldness of their exploits, painlessly passing through the fire, which we, too, having fearlessly passed through, will reach paradise, strengthened by their prayer to the good confession of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. You might be interested in: