Страдание святого великомученика Феодора Тирона

The wicked kings Maximian and Maximin 1416 sent a command throughout their kingdom that everyone who accepted the law of Christ would be freed from execution if only they partook of idol sacrifices; those of them who refused this would be put on trial. At that time, Saint Theodore Tyrone 1417, who had recently been elected a soldier, was appointed to the Marmarite regiment, which was under the command of a preposite 1418 named Vrinka; This regiment was then stationed in Amasia, a Pontic city in 1419. When Saint Theodore was brought into that regiment, the unbelievers began to force him to make a sacrifice to idols; The true warrior of Christ, Theodore, faithful to God, filled with the Holy Spirit, said publicly: “I am a Christian, and I am commanded not to make sacrifices to vile pagan gods, for I worship Jesus Christ, the True God and Heavenly King. Then the priest Vrinka began to convince the saint: “Listen to me, Theodore, take all your weapons with you and, like a warrior, come and make a sacrifice to the gods.” Saint Theodore answered him: “I am a warrior of my King Christ, and I cannot be a warrior of any other king.” To this preposit Vrinka said: “All these soldiers are Christians, and yet they are soldiers of the Roman king.” “Everyone knows whom he serves,” answered Saint Theodore, “but I serve my Heavenly King and Master - God and His Only Begotten Son - Jesus Christ.” Then the centurion Posidonius, who was standing here, asked: - Does your God, Theodore, also have a Son? – He truly has a Son, the Word of Truth 1420, through whom He created all things. – Can we know Him? To this the saint answered: “I would like God to give you such understanding, so that you might know Him.” Then Posidonius asked him: – If we know Him, can we leave our kings and come to Him? “Nothing prevents you,” answered Saint Theodore, “leaving darkness and temporary earthly kings, approaching the living God, the Eternal King and Lord and being His warriors, like me.” Then Preposit Vrinka said to the centurion: – Let’s leave him (Theodore) for a few days, let him think and decide for himself what to do. During all the time that was given to Theodore for reflection, he prayed incessantly and praised the Lord; and the wicked, breathing rage against some other citizens who believed in Christ, took them and took them to prison; when they were led, Saint Theodore, following them, taught them faith and patience and convinced them not to reject their Heavenly King - Christ. When they were imprisoned, Saint Theodore, choosing a convenient time, lit the church of the mother of the gods at night 1421. Some citizens saw the saint setting fire to the church and reported him to the authorities. Then the mayor Kronid, fearing that he might have to answer for Theodore, took him, brought him to the hegemon Publius and said: “My lord, this husband, recently elected to the military, is a harmful man; with evil intent he came to our city, burned the church of the mother of our gods and dishonored the gods; Having taken him, I brought him to Your Majesty, so that, by the Divine command of the rulers of the universe - by order of the kings, he would receive a completely worthy execution for his insolence. The hegemon, calling the preposit Vrinka, asked him: – Did you allow the warrior Theodore to burn the church of the mother of our gods? “I often admonished him, and finally set a time for him so that, after reflection, he would make a sacrifice to the gods. And if he acted in this way, then it means that he completely turned away from our gods and despised the royal command; Therefore, you, as a judge, do what the kings ordered. Then the hegemon, having sat down at the judgment seat, called blessed Theodore to him and asked him: - Why, when it was necessary to bring a sacrifice and a censer to the goddess, did you bring her fire? Saint Theodore answered: “I won’t hide why I did this.” I lit the wood so that the fire would burn the stone. Is your goddess so powerless that fire can touch her and scorch her? Angered by these words, the hegemon ordered to beat him, saying: “My meekness makes you bold.” But I advise you not to talk too much. For if you do not fulfill the royal command voluntarily, then we will force you to fulfill it with cruel torment. “I am not afraid of you or your torment, no matter how fierce it may be.” Do what you want; I hope in my Lord, I hope to receive a reward from Him in Heaven and I am ready to suffer for Him. “Make sacrifices to the gods, Theodore,” said the judge, “and you will be free from the torments that lie ahead for you, otherwise a terrible death awaits you.” But Saint Theodore courageously objected to him: - Your torment is not scary to me. For before me is my Lord and King Jesus Christ. He will deliver me from your torment. But you cannot see Him because you cannot see with spiritual eyes. The judge, filled with rage like a wild beast, ordered the saint to be thrown into prison and, having sealed the doors, left him there to die by starvation. But the Holy Spirit strengthened the blessed one with His grace. Moreover, one night the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him and said: - Be bold, Theodore, I am with you; Do not partake of earthly food or drink, for eternal life is prepared for you with Me in heaven. After this, the Lord disappeared from the saint’s eyes. Comforted by the vision, blessed Theodore began to sing psalms and rejoiced in his soul. A great multitude of holy Angels listened to him. The prison guards, hearing this sweet singing, approached the prison doors. Seeing that the doors were locked and the seal was intact, they looked through the window and saw many men in white robes chanting with Saint Theodore. In fear, they announced this to Hegemon Publius. He immediately went hastily to the dungeon and, arriving at the place, saw that the doors were bolted and the lock with the seal was intact. And since the hegemon heard the voices of those singing inside along with Saint Theodore, he ordered armed soldiers to surround the prison on all sides. He thought that some of the Christians were in prison with Theodore. But entering the prison, he found no one there except the faithful servant of God, Saint Theodore, who was bound. Fear and trembling attacked the hegemon and everyone with him. Coming out of the dungeon, they closed the doors again and left. The judge ordered that the saint be given a small portion of bread and a little water every day. But in confirmation of the words of Holy Scripture: “the righteous shall live by his faith” (Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:17), Saint Theodore did not want to accept bread and water, saying: – My Lord and King – Jesus Christ – feeds me. In the morning the judge ordered the saint to be brought to the trial seat and said to him: - Listen to my advice and do not force me to order you to be tortured and tormented: make a sacrifice to the great gods. Then I will write about you to our kings, the rulers of the universe, and they will make you the chief priest of the gods, so that you will then receive honors equal to me. Looking up to heaven and overshadowing himself with the sign of the cross, Saint Theodore answered his tormentor: - Burn my body with fire, give me over to various torments, cut me with swords, give me to be devoured by wild beasts, but I will not deny my Christ until the end of my life. After consulting with the priest, the torturer ordered the saint to be hanged on a tree and his body to be planed with iron teeth. The saint was tortured in this way until the bones became visible. The blessed one did not say anything to his tormentor, but only sang: “In him the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written: The righteous shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:17). “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise is continually in my mouth” (Ps. 33:2). “To gain wisdom is far better than gold, and to gain understanding is better than choice silver” (Prov. 16:16). The torturer, amazed at such courage and patience of Saint Theodore, said to him: “Aren’t you, the most vile of all people, ashamed to trust in a Man called Christ, Who Himself was executed by a dishonorable death?” Are you really exposing yourself to torment so recklessly for the sake of this Man? The martyr of Christ answered this: “Let the same dishonor befall me and the lot of all who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!” Then the people began to shout and demand that the execution of Saint Theodore be carried out as soon as possible. Hearing the cry of the people, the judge asked Theodore through a herald: “Do you want to make a sacrifice to the gods, or do you intend to endure even greater torment?” The martyr of Christ boldly answered this: – Wicked man, filled with all kinds of filth and flattery, servant of the devil, don’t you fear God, who gave you such power and strength: for – By Him “kings reign and rulers legitimize righteousness” (Prov. 8:15). How can you force me to leave the living God and worship a soulless stone? After thinking, the judge said to Theodore: -What do you want: to be with us or with your Christ? With great joy the saint answered: – With my Christ I was, I am and I will be; you do what you want. The judge, seeing that nothing could overcome Theodore's firmness, pronounced a death sentence. “Theodora,” he said, “who does not obey the authority of the great kings, does not recognize the great gods and believes in Jesus Christ, crucified, as the Jews say, under Pontius Pilate, I command that he be put to the fire.” This order of the tormentor was quickly carried out: his servants collected a lot of firewood from nearby houses and baths, built a huge fire and brought Saint Theodore to the fire. The fire, set on fire from all sides, flared up with a bright flame. Entering the fire, Saint Theodore crossed himself, and suddenly the Holy Spirit descended and in the midst of the flames gave coolness to the holy passion-bearer. The saint, singing and praising God, gave up his spirit to Him in peace. “And we saw,” writes one eyewitness to the blessed death of the great martyr, “his honest and holy soul ascending like lightning to heaven.” One pious and virtuous woman, named Eusevia, asked for the body of the holy, glorious Great Martyr Theodore. When they gave her the honorable relics of the saint, she anointed them with fragrant myrrh and, wrapping them in a clean shroud, buried them in her home in the city of Euchaitis 1422, in the metropolis of Amasia, and annually celebrated the holy memory of the martyr. The Holy Great Martyr Theodore of Christ died on February 17, around the year 306, during the reign of Emperor Maximian. About the miracle of the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Tiron. After the son of Constantine the Great, Constantius, Julian the Apostate ascended the royal throne in 1423. He renounced Christ, began to worship idols and instigated a great persecution against Christians. Julian persecuted Christians not so much openly as secretly; for he did not dare to openly subject all Christians to cruel and inhuman torture, since he was afraid that many of the pagans, seeing the courageous patience of the tortured Christians, would themselves turn to Christ. Therefore, this wicked king plotted to secretly desecrate Christians. He knew that in the first week of Great Lent, Christians observe special purity and repent of their sins. And so he called the governor of Constantinople to him and ordered him daily, during the first week, to desecrate the supplies sold in the marketplaces with the blood of idolatrous sacrifices, from which Christians are always obliged to abstain (see: Acts 15:29). The king's order was carried out, and food desecrated by unbelievers was placed in all the markets. But the Omniscient Lord, shaming the pagans and caring for His true servants, destroyed this secret deceit. He sent His holy passion-bearer Theodore to the Archbishop of Constantinople Eudoxius 1424, who many years before had suffered for Christ and was in glory in the Heavenly Kingdom. Saint Theodore appeared to Eudoxius not in a dream, but in reality and said to him: “Gather the flock of Christ immediately and order all Orthodox Christians so that none of them buy food at the marketplaces, for they, by order of the wicked king, are defiled with blood sacrificed to idols.” The bishop, in bewilderment, began to ask what could be used to replace the food purchased at the markets for poor people who lack household supplies: “By giving them kolivo, you will save them from difficulties!” But the bishop continued to show bewilderment, since he did not know what kolivo was. Then Saint Theodore said: – Kolivo is wheat boiled with honey 1425. This is what this dish is called in the Euchaites. Then the bishop asked the saint: – Who are you and why do you care so much about Orthodox Christians? – I am the martyr of Christ Theodore; I, by God's command, have been sent to help you. Having said this, the saint became invisible. The bishop immediately gathered all the Christians and told them what he had seen and heard. By preparing kolivo, he saved his herd from the enemy’s treachery. The wicked king, seeing that his machinations were destroyed, was very ashamed and ordered undefiled food to be delivered to the marketplace. And Christians, thanking the Lord for His ineffable mercy and praising Christ’s Great Martyr Saint Theodore, on Saturday of the first week of Great Lent celebrated the holy Great Martyr, blessing in honor and memory of him Kolivo for food for consumption by the faithful. And from that time, even to this day, the Church consecrates the kolyva on the first Saturday of Great Lent in memory of the miracle that happened under Archbishop Eudoxia and glorifies the passion-bearer of Christ Theodore in order to give believers a constant reminder of God’s merciful Providence for His servants - and of the help of the Holy Great Martyr Theodore to Christians 1426. With the great faith of correction, in a fountain of flame, as if on the water of repose, the holy martyr Theodore rejoiced: for he was burnt with fire, as sweet bread was brought to the Trinity. Through his prayers, O Christ God, save our souls. We accept the faith of Christ like a shield inside your heart, you trampled on the opposing forces, the long-suffering one: and you were crowned with the heavenly crown forever, Theodore, as if you were invincible. By Maximian here we mean Maximian Galerius, the son-in-law of Emperor Diocletian (284–306), his co-ruler in the East, and later his successor (305–311). Maximus Daca was a co-emperor of Maximian Galerius, to whom he was a nephew. From his uncle he received possession of Syria and Egypt with the title of Caesar. Reigned almost simultaneously with Galerius (305–313). Tyrone is a Roman word meaning: recruit, new warrior. Prepositus is a Latin word meaning chief. Amasia is a strongly fortified city in Pontus, on both banks of the Iris, the former capital of the Pontic kings. Pontus is the northeastern region of Asia Minor, stretching along the shores of the Black Sea or Pontus Euxine, as this sea was called in ancient times. Thus, the Pontic region received its name from the sea. The name of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Word, was borrowed from the Evangelist John the Theologian. Evangelist John begins his Gospel with inspired lines about God the Word, who before centuries was with God the Father - the Word, “All things came into being through Him, and without Him nothing came into being that was made” (John 1:1-3). Here, of course, is the pagan goddess Cybele, daughter of heaven (Uranus) and earth (Gaia); she was revered as the great mother of the gods, since Greek mythology considered her the mother of the Olympian gods with Zeus at their head. Euchaites is an insignificant city located in the Pontic region, near Amasia. Julian took over the kingdom in 361 and reigned until 363. Raised in the Christian faith, as soon as he became emperor, he renounced Christianity and went over to the side of paganism. For this reason he is called the “Apostate.” Saint Eudoxius occupied the See of Constantinople from 340–341. Kolivo, otherwise kutia, or sochivo, is a meager food. It consists of dry grains of wheat, lentils and barley, which, after soaking in water, are eaten with honey. The celebration in memory of the miraculous appearance of the Great Martyr Theodore to Archbishop Eudoxius begins on Saturday evening - on Friday at the liturgy of the prayer behind the pulpit. At this time, the blessing of the koliva is performed along with the singing of the prayer canon for the great martyr, compiled by Saint John of Damascus. On Saturday, the Church decided to read a word of praise to Saint Theodore and sing the canon of John, Metropolitan of the Euchaites. You might be interested in: