Страдание святых мучеников Тимофея и Мавры

During the persecution of Christians, erected by the wicked Roman emperor Diocletian 2925, hegemon Arrian 2927 was appointed to persecute Christians in Thebaid 2926. Among the other Christians brought to him for testing was Timothy, a church reader 2928; he came from the village of Perapei, was still young in age, and not long before he married the girl Mavra. Twenty days after the wedding, he was taken by the pagans and brought for questioning to the hegemon. When the hegemon saw him, he first of all asked: – Who are you and what position do you hold? – I am a Christian and am a reader of the Church of God. “Are you the only one who hasn’t heard about the royal decree commanding that all those who do not make sacrifices to our great gods be subjected to torment and even death?” “I believe with all my heart and belong entirely to my Lord, Jesus Christ, and therefore I cannot make sacrifices to your gods.” “Don’t you see the instruments prepared for torment lying near you? - In any case, you do not see the Angels of God strengthening me. - Give me your books 2929 so that I can understand the magical power contained in them. - A mad and senseless man! Don't you know that no one ever gives up their children to die? And the books I have copied are my children: when I read them, the Angels of God stand before me. “You don’t want to make sacrifices to our gods or show your books.” See that this disobedience of yours is not the cause of your torment. Saint Timothy responded like this: - I will not make sacrifices and will not show you my books, because I am a Christian. Then the angry hegemon ordered his servants to bring two sharp iron sticks, red-hot, and put them in the ears of Saint Timothy. Due to unbearable pain, the martyr’s eyes bled, so that he could not see anything. After this, the hegemon’s servants said to the saint: - Since you did not want to make sacrifices to our gods, now you have lost your sight. Saint Timothy answered this: “My bodily eyes, which have seen many inconceivable things, have now suffered, being blinded; but my inner, spiritual eyes enlighten my soul. After the saint said this, the hegemon ordered, tying the saint’s hands behind him, to put a piece of wood into his mouth and hang him upside down; To increase the saint’s suffering, the torturer ordered a heavy stone to be tied to his neck. When the servants of the hegemon began to carry out this wicked order of the hegemon, the saint, raising his eyes to heaven, said: “I believe that there is a God in heaven who can deliver me from this torment.” The suffering that Timothy experienced was so terrible that even the tormentors themselves felt pity for him and asked the hegemon not so much with cruelty as with mercy to persuade Timothy to carry out the king’s orders. At the same time, wanting to appease the hegemon, the servants told him that Timothy only got married twenty days ago and that his wife was still a very young woman. Hearing this, the hegemon ordered his wife Timofeev to be brought before the court and said to her: “My name is Mavra,” answered the saint. “I am very sorry for your misfortune, since you, being so young, are already preparing to become a widow.” I command you: put on your best clothes, braid your hair, adorn your face and go immediately to your husband; Having come to him, persuade him to make sacrifices to the gods, so that you really do not become a widow at such a young age. If you persuade him to make sacrifices to the gods, then I will reward you with many gifts, gold and silver. Mavra did everything as the hegemon ordered her. Dressed in light clothes, she went to her husband and for a long time exhorted him to fulfill the hegemon’s orders, at least for a while, in order to thus get rid of many torments. But her husband could not say a word to her, since a piece of wood was placed in his mouth, preventing him from speaking. Then Mavra returned to the hegemon and began earnestly asking him to make an order that the tree be taken out of her husband’s mouth, through which he would be able to speak. The hegemon agreed to fulfill her request. The tree was taken out of the martyr's mouth, and Maura again went to Saint Timothy. The saint (who had no sight), smelling the fragrance from Mavra’s clothes, cried out loudly: -Where is my father, Presbyter Picolpos? His father, who was standing not far from there among the people and watching his son’s suffering, came up to him and said. – What do you need, my beloved son? “I ask you, father, do a good deed for me: take some rags and cover my face with them so that I don’t smell the harmful fragrance emanating from Mavra’s clothes; this fragrance is harmful to people, it prepares Gehenna for them; this aroma is a source of lust, a companion of the devil; he is disgusting and abominable to holy and righteous people. When the saint finished speaking, Mavra said to him: - Beloved Timofey! Why are you humiliating me like this? After all, I haven’t insulted you yet! Only twenty days have passed since you and I got married, and you have not yet properly learned my character, just as I have not yet properly studied your house. I am far from the vice of which you accuse me, because I have not yet promised to give myself to any man. Now, seeing you in such great torment, I weep bitterly for you and suffer unbearably in my heart, because you endure the torment innocently. Your suffering also hurts my soul, since you want to leave me a widow. But maybe you borrowed money from someone and, not having anything to pay off the debt, are now suffering from the lenders? If this is so, then let us sell our best clothes and pay off the debt; and if you suffer such great torment because of the national debt, because of taxes that you have nothing with which to pay, then here in front of you are all our utensils, gold and all our clothes; sell it all and pay taxes to the king. After this, Saint Timothy said to her: - My sister, Mavra! When I saw you with my spiritual eyes leaving the house, I noticed the devil walking on your right side. He held in his hands the key with which he turned your heart to worldly pleasures and affections. - My brother, Timofey! I'm looking for you; and then where will I find you? When Saturday or Sunday comes, who will read your books? Saint Timothy answered her: - Leave the vanity of this world and come with me to this valiant feat, O Mavra! God will forgive us all our sins for this feat and grant us grace-filled crowns in His kingdom. “When I went to you, my heart was indeed filled with worldly passions, but as soon as you began to talk to me, the grace of God overshadowed me. Know, my beloved brother, that I also desire the same thing that you desire. - If you really speak the truth, then go to the hegemon and expose his wickedness. Saint Maura said to this: “I’m afraid, my brother, that I might be afraid after I see many instruments of torment and an angry hegemon.” I am afraid that I will not endure severe torment, since I am still too young in age - I am only seventeen years old. – Trust in our Lord and God Jesus Christ, and all your torments will be like oil poured on your body, and like dew, refreshing your bones and alleviating all your sufferings. Then the holy martyr began to pray to God for her, saying this: “God and the Father of all grace, who gave help to the three youths (Dan. 3) thrown into the fiery furnace; who delivered Daniel from the mouth of the lions 2930, who sent food to the prophet through the prophet Habakkuk, who helped not only in the lion’s den, but also in the fiery furnace, and who saved those who trusted in You as a testimony to everyone of Your love for mankind, by the power of which You made prophets and martyrs from captives: You, Lord, Lord, look now upon Your servant Maura! You, Lord, who united us in marriage, unite us in this feat, so that we are not excommunicated from the face of Your holy martyrs; You, Lord, give us the strength to courageously endure all torment and death itself, so that all our opponents, who will not be able to separate us from the one faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord, will be put to shame. To him belongs, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, all glory forever, Amen!” After Saint Timothy prayed to God for his wife Maura, the latter, being animated by the Holy Spirit, went to the hegemon and, presenting herself to him, said: - O wicked hegemon! You promised to give me silver and gold in order to bring my soul to destruction; You want nothing more than to bring human souls to destruction! However, you will not overcome me with any temptations, because I stand before you, having put on the whole armor of our Lord and God. Hegemon Arrian said to his advisors and servants: “Didn’t I tell you that Timothy is a sorcerer?” So he charmed his wife with his magic, inspiring her to resist our order. Then, turning to Mavra, the hegemon told her: – And you, together with Timofey, choose death instead of life. Think a little, and you will see that you are depriving yourself of this sweet life and abandoning yourself to bitter torment. But maybe you, foreseeing the death of your husband and your widowhood, decided to die with him? In this case, do not be embarrassed and do not be sad, for you will not be a widow: I will give you in marriage to one of my best and richest centurions 2931, so that you will enjoy this life with him and become even more exalted, since you will have a nobler husband than the first. Saint Maura answered this: – I renounced all worldly vanity; Therefore, I do not need your centurion, but I tell you truly that I have betrothed myself to the Heavenly Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, the Son of God; Trusting in Him, I appeared before you with a courageous heart and am not at all afraid of your unjust judgment. The angry hegemon ordered her hair to be tormented until all of it was torn out. Then he said to the holy martyr: - The hair has already been torn out from your head; I advise you to make a sacrifice to the gods so that you do not have to experience many other, even more severe, torments. Saint Maura responded to this: “Now I know, O hegemon, that Christ Himself accepts me to Himself and forgives me my sin, committed out of ignorance, namely, that, having listened to your evil advice, I decorated my hair in order to seduce my husband; and you did well to pluck them out, because when my hair is taken away, great sin is taken away from me; Now I will no longer serve as a temptation for the people standing around, watching me. Hearing such words from the saint, the hegemon became very angry and ordered her fingers to be cut off and thrown to the side. Saint Maura said to him: “And by this you do me good, because you take away from me my fingers with which I placed vain adornments on myself; know that you yourself do not understand what you are doing, because you cleansed me by cutting off my fingers from my second sin. Therefore, I come before you with joy and joy, being ready for all torments. The hegemon was greatly amazed at such great patience of the holy martyr. Presbyter Picolpos, father of Timothy, being near that place, among the people watching the interrogation of the saints, marveling at the feat of Saint Maura, said to her quietly: - Oh Mavra, my honest daughter! How could you bear to have your fingers cut off? Saint Maura answered him: “Just as you, father, saw how branches were cut off from a plant in a grape garden, so I looked with the same feeling at the cutting off of my fingers and therefore did not feel any pain.” After all this, Hegemon Arrian ordered his twelve soldiers to fill a large cauldron with water and, having lit it, cast Saint Maura into it. When the water in the cauldron began to boil and began to rustle from the fire, Saint Maura was thrown into the cauldron. But, standing in the middle of the cauldron and not at all scorched, she said to the hegemon: “Again, I thank you for ordering me to be washed and cleansed from my sins, so that I would approach my God with a pure heart and receive from Him the crown of eternal life.” The suffering that I accept from you grants me salvation from Christ and my Lord. But you, it seems, were too hasty in throwing me into this cauldron, which is not yet completely heated, because the water in it is very cold and I do not feel the heat at all, just as I did not feel other torments before. The hegemon, becoming very angry, began to think that the soldiers, out of compassion for the martyr, poured hot water out of the cauldron and poured cold water instead in order to keep Mavra alive for their carnal lusts. The hegemon immediately left his seat of judgment and approached the cauldron, wanting to find out whether the water in the cauldron was really cold. Approaching the cauldron, he said to the saint: “Pour some water on my hand so I can find out if the water here is cold.” “This water is very cold, and I don’t feel its warmth at all.” Therefore, if you have nothing else to light the boiler with, send one of your servants to my father and he will give you a bundle of firewood, since he is a carpenter; With this wood you will light the boiler. Having said this, the saint poured boiling water from a cauldron onto the hegemon’s hand, and immediately the hegemon’s hand was burned, so that the skin came off; the hegemon himself screamed loudly in pain and said in surprise in the ears of everyone: - Blessed is the Lord God Mavrin, and there is no God but Him, through whom Mavra is now glorified. Having said this, he ordered the saint to be released. However, before the saint had time to move away from the place of torment, the devil again entered the heart of the hegemon and aroused him to oppose all those who had the right faith in God and kept a clear conscience. Calling the martyr to him, he said to her: - Do not put your trust and hope, Mavra, in your Christ; Better make a sacrifice to our gods. “I will not sacrifice to idols, because I have Christ who will protect me.” “I will fill your mouth with burning coals if you do not make sacrifices to our gods.” “You don’t understand what you intend to do because of your madness: you want to fill my mouth with burning coals so that I can be cleansed from my sins committed by my tongue and lips.” For my Lord, when He revealed His glory to the prophet Isaiah and deigned him to hear the singing of the Angels, in order to cleanse him from his sins, sent to him one of the Seraphim, who had a burning coal in his hand, taken with tongs from the altar; Seraphim touched this coal to the prophetic lips and said: “This has touched your lips, and your iniquity is taken away from you, and your sins are cleansed” (Is. 6:7). And if the prophet received forgiveness of his sins after touching a coal to his lips, then, I pray you, not only fill my lips with burning coals, but also cover my face and head, as well as my whole body with burning coals and burn it, so that through this I may become the fragrance of Christ. God, having once cleansed the sins of the prophet, will cleanse me from my sins. Hearing such words from the saint, the hegemon became even more angry and ordered to bring a lamp filled with sulfur and resin in order to burn the martyr. The people who stood near that place and saw everything began to cry out to the hegemon in a loud voice, saying: - How long will you come up with more and more new torments for the young girl! Stop being angry, hegemon, for we are very surprised at her patience. Saint Maura, turning to the people, said: – Let each of you take care of your own affairs: let men carry out their affairs and duties, women – theirs; Let none of you care about me; I do not ask you for help and protection, because I have a Protector - God, in Whom I trust. While the saint was saying this, the hegemon ordered her body to be scorched with a lamp. The saint, looking at the lamp, said to the hegemon: “You think to frighten me with this lamp, as if you haven’t tested me enough with early torments.” Didn’t you immerse me in a large and terrible cauldron, boiling strongly, and, however, did not harm me, since it seemed to me to be filled with cold water? You yourself witnessed that while your hands suffered from the water and were scalded by it, I was not hurt at all. Do you really think that I will be afraid of this small lamp? If you want, hegemon, light a whole furnace and throw me into it, and you will see the power of my Christ, whose servant I am; I believe that my God, who called me to this feat through the mediation of my blessed husband Timothy, will not abandon me. As for the lamp with which you scorch my body, for me it seems like morning dew descending to the ground and promoting the growth of trees and fruits. Having been defeated by the words of the holy martyr, confirmed by the deed itself, and not knowing what other torment to think of for Saint Maura, the hegemon became very sad. Then he ordered Timothy and Maura to be crucified on crosses, facing each other. When the saints went to the crucifixion, Mavra’s mother met them and, hugging her daughter, said to her: - My daughter, Mavra! Why do you leave your mother looking for you? Who will wear your jewelry? Who will get your silver, gold and precious clothes if you, my daughter, do not survive? Saint Maura responded to her mother in the following way: - Gold and silver will perish, and moths will eat your clothes; The beauty of a young face will also disappear over time, but the crown that Jesus Christ gives me will be unfading forever. And the mother could not object to Saint Maura. The martyr, breaking free from her mother’s hands, went to the place of crucifixion, saying to her mother: - Why are you distracting me from the cross and not allowing me to enjoy the crown from my Lord, Whom I want to become like in my death? Then the soldiers crucified the saints, turning their faces to each other. The saints remained on the cross for nine days and nine nights, mutually admonishing and comforting each other. Saint Timothy taught his wife until the evening, and Saint Maura exhorted the fellow sufferer until the morning. At the same time, Saint Maura said to Timothy: “Let us not give ourselves over to sleep, lest our Lord, Jesus Christ, coming, find us sleeping and become angry with us.” And in the house of a person who does not sleep at night, a burning candle prevents the arrival of thieves, and, conversely, when the candle is extinguished, a thief easily enters the house and steals it. Let us watch and constantly pray that our Lord will find us patiently awaiting his coming; just as the enemy will not dare to approach us who are on the crosses, and will not dare to insult us. After some time, Saint Maura again said to Timothy: “Cheer up, my brother, and drive away sleep from yourself; stay awake and understand what I saw: it seemed to me that in front of me, as if in ecstasy, there was a man who had in his hand a cup filled with milk and honey. This man said to me: “Take this and drink it.” But I told him: “Who are you?” He answered: “I am the Angel of God.” Then I told him: “Let’s pray to the Lord.” Then he told me: “I came to you in order to ease your suffering. I saw that you were very hungry and thirsty, since until now you had not eaten any food.” Again I said to him: “Who prompted you to show me this favor? And what do you care about my patience and fasting? Don’t you know that God is able to create even what is impossible for people?” When I prayed, I saw that the man was turning his face to the west. From this I understood that it was a satanic deception; Satan wanted to tempt us on the cross. Then soon the vision disappeared. Then another man came up, and it seemed to me that he led me to a river flowing with milk and honey, and said to me: “Drink.” “But I answered: “I have already told you that I will not drink water or any other earthly drink until I drink the cup of death for Christ my Lord, which He Himself will dissolve for me with salvation and immortality of eternal life.” When I said this, that man drank from the river and suddenly he and the river with him disappeared. I also saw the third husband, beautiful in appearance; his face shone like the sun. Taking me by the hand, he took me to heaven and showed me a throne covered with white clothing and a crown, beautiful in appearance. Surprised by such beauty, I asked the husband who led me to heaven: “Whose is this, sir?” He told me: “This is the reward for your feat, this is the throne, and the clothes, and the crown.” Then the same husband took me a little higher and showed me another throne, just as beautifully decorated, and a white robe, and a crown. I again asked the husband who brought me: “Whose is this, sir?” He told me: “This is your husband, Timothy.” “I dared to ask him: “Why are these thrones not nearby, but at a great distance from each other?” He answered me: “Because there is a big difference between you and your husband. Don’t you know that you yourself took upon yourself the feat of martyrdom at his own admonition, and therefore he is, to a certain extent, the culprit of your crown. But now return to your body; In the morning, at the sixth hour, the Angels of God will come to take your souls and lift them to heaven. However, continue to watch, so that the enemy does not tempt you again.” Saint Maura told this vision to her brother Timothy, and they mutually consoled themselves in the Lord. When the sixth hour of the tenth day arrived, the Angels of God came to take the souls of the holy martyrs. At the same time, Saint Maura, turning to the people who were looking at her suffering, said in a loud voice: - Brothers and sisters! Remember that we lived humanly (worldly) when we were among people; but then we lived according to God, being servants of God. And now we will soon receive immortal crowns from our Lord Jesus Christ. In the same way, while you do everything that human nature requires, try to do what pleases God; then you will receive forgiveness of sins and accept crowns from the same Master and our God. When Saint Maura finished these words, both saints gave up their honest souls into the hands of God 2932. Thus their suffering concluded with a crown of righteousness from Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom glory is given with the Father and the Holy Spirit, forever. Amen. Having endured manifold plagues and received crowns from God, pray for us to the Lord, who commemorate your all-sacred memory, the great Timothy, and the glorious Mavro, who pacified the city and the people: for that is the affirmation of the faithful. Diocletian ruled from 284 to 305 the eastern half of the Roman Empire. Thebaid is a region in Central Egypt. Hegemon Arrian subsequently turned to Christ himself and was honored to receive the crown of martyrdom. His memory is celebrated on December 14. Reader or clerk; Timothy's duties consisted not only of reading, but also of keeping liturgical books. It should be noted that Diocletian's decree ordered not only the persecution of Christians themselves, but also the destruction of their churches and the burning of their sacred books. On this basis, Hegemon Arrian demands from Timothy his liturgical books Daniel is the fourth of the “great” prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel); came from a royal family and, as a young man, was taken to Babylon along with other captive Jews. Gifted with excellent mental and physical qualities, he learned the language and wisdom of the Chaldeans here and, together with his three comrades: Ananias, Azariah and Misail, was taken into service at the royal court. Daniel interpreted his wonderful dreams to the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar and was himself rewarded with repeated visions in which the most important and remarkable sacred events were revealed to him. At the accession of Darius to the throne, he was made one of the three rulers of the empire and was miraculously saved from the lions into whose den he had been thrown for his attachment to the faith of his fathers (Dan 6:10–24). The history of his life and work is described by himself in the sacred book named after him. His memory is celebrated by St. Church on December 17 A centurion is the leader of a detachment of soldiers, usually 100 people. The death of the holy martyrs followed ca. 286 In Constantinople, the memory of the holy martyrs Timothy and Maura was subsequently solemnly celebrated in a church built in their honor near the palaces of Justinian; Based on this, it can be assumed that this church contained their relics or part of their relics. You might be interested in: