Житие и страдание святой преподобномученицы Февронии

During the reign of the wicked king Diocletian, the eparch 4121 Anthimus lived in Rome, who had a son Lysimachus, whom he betrothed to a beautiful maiden, the daughter of the senator 4122 Prosphorus. Having fallen mortally ill, Anfim called his brother Selin and told him: - My brother! So I part with my life and entrust my son to you: be his father instead of me, and let him be your son instead. When I die, hasten to unite him in marriage with his bride, the daughter of Prosphorus. After listening to his brother, Celine promised him to do everything as he asked. Anfim, after three days, died. After the death of Anthimus, Diocletian summoned Lysimachus and his uncle, Selinus, and, having received them especially, said to Lysimachus: “Remembering your father’s love for me, I would like to appoint you as eparch instead of him, but I heard a rumor that you have a penchant for the Christian faith.” Therefore, I postponed my intention until it became clear whether they were speaking about you fairly. In the meantime, as a test, I decided to send you to the East so that you eradicate the Christian faith there; and when you return to us, having fulfilled your assignment, then you will be awarded from us the rank of eparch. Lysimachus did not dare to object to such a speech from the king, since he was very young, about 20 years old. But Selin, his uncle, falling at the feet of Diocletian, said: “I beg you, great and immortal king, allow Lysimachus to stay here for a few days to marry the daughter of Prosphorus, and when he marries, I will go with him, and together we will do everything as your Divine authority commands us.” “First, go where I am sending you and destroy the Christians, and when you have completed the task entrusted to you, return here, and then I will celebrate the marriage of Lysimachus with you.” Hearing this, they did not dare to utter another word and meekly obeyed the king - having taken the decree and troops, they went to the East. Lysimachus took with him his relative, Comite 4123 Primus, who was the son of his mother’s sister, and entrusted him with command of the army. Having arrived in the East, they stopped in the region of Palmyra 4124, and all the Christians who were there began to be subjected to various cruel tortures: some were burned with fire, others were given to be eaten by animals, and others were flogged with a sword and their bodies were thrown to dogs. Celine, Lysimachus's uncle, was very harsh and inhuman. Fear gripped many at the sight of Selin's cruelty. Lysimachus was very compassionate towards Christians, since his mother was a Christian, and from her he learned the knowledge of Christ. One night he called his relative, Comite Primus, and said to him: – Dear Prim, you know that my father was a Hellenic by faith 4125 and died as a pagan, but my mother died a Christian and during her lifetime she tried to make me a Christian. But fearing my father and the king, I could not do this openly and made a promise to my mother that I would not destroy a single Christian and would try to become a friend of Christ. Now I see that Christians are cruelly tortured and killed by my uncle Celine, and my soul suffers greatly from this; for in secret I want to spare Christians and those of them who are held in bonds, to release them so that they can run away and hide where they can. Komit agreed to help him, and they entered into an agreement with each other, pledging to mutually spare Christians. As soon as they opened Christian churches or monasteries somewhere, they immediately sent secret news there, warning about the invasion of the tormentors, and gave advice to hide. Moreover, the committee ordered the soldiers who were like-minded with them not to seize Christians for torture, and ordered those captured to be released. Having stayed in Palmyra for quite a long time, Selin, after he had tortured many Christians, wanted to go to Sivapol, a city lying within the Assyrian borders 4126, which was part of the region subordinate to Rome. In this city there was a convent consisting of 50 nuns, whose abbess, Brienna, was a student of the blessed abbess, deaconess 4127 Platonida, and strictly followed the rules of her mentor. Platonida's charter was like this. On Friday, none of the sisters had to work, but everyone went to church and prayed or read Divine books from morning to evening. First, Deaconess Platonida herself read to the sisters until 3 o’clock in the morning, and then she gave the book to Vrienne, ordering her to read until the evening. Brienna later did exactly the same thing, who, after accepting the leadership of the monastery after the death of her mentor, imitated her in everything. Abbess Vrienna raised and prepared for monastic life two young women: Prokla and Fevronia. Procles was 25 years old, Fevronia was 20. Fevronia was the niece of Vrienna, i.e. the daughter of her brother, and shone with such wondrous beauty that no artist could perfectly depict the blooming beauty of her face. This beauty worried Vrienna very much, and she thought a lot about how to keep Fevronia chaste, away from the temptations of the world. All the sisters of the monastery took food only once daily, in the evening, and then in very small quantities; but Vrienna ordered Fevronia to fast until another day, so that she would remain without food the whole day, and eat only in the evening of the next day - she hoped that thanks to such abstinence, Fevronia’s beauty would fade. Fevronia, wanting to mortify her flesh, on her part exerted all her strength into such great abstinence, and never ate or drank until she was full, but through thirst and hunger, through many labors and exploits, she steadily exhausted her flesh, abstaining, moreover, from sleep. Her bed consisted of one bare board without any bedding; it was 3 cubits long and 1.5 spans wide; Exhausted by excessive fasting, Fevronia fell asleep on this board, or on the bare ground, and, moreover, for a very short time. And when the devil tried to seduce her with sleepy visions, she immediately got up, fell to the ground, prostrate in the shape of a cross, and prayed to God with bitter tears that He would deliver her from the devil; then, taking the books of the Divine Scripture, she diligently read them and received spiritual pleasure from them. Fevronia was by nature so inquisitive and sharp-minded that Vrienna herself was much surprised at her intelligence. On Fridays, when all the nuns gathered in church to read the Word of God, Abbess Vrienna instructed Fevronia to read the Holy Scriptures. And since lay women often came to the church together with the nuns to listen to spiritual teachings, Vrienna ordered Fevronia to read behind the veil so that she would not see the appearance and decorations of these women, whom she had never seen before. And good rumors about blessed Fevronia spread throughout the city - everywhere they praised her knowledge and intelligence, her beauty and good nature, for she was meek, humble, chaste and adorned with all sorts of virtues. One woman of a senatorial family, named Ieria, heard about all these qualities of the holy maiden, and was inflamed with a strong desire to see Fevronia and talk with her. This woman belonged to the Hellenic faith, was young in years and was already widowed, having lived with her husband for only 7 months; After the death of her husband, she lived in the house of her parents, who also belonged to Hellenic wickedness. Arriving at the monastery, she, through the gatekeeper, informed Abbess Vrienna of her desire to see Fevronia. When Brienne came out to her, Ieria fell at her feet and, hugging them, prayed to the abbess: “I conjure you by God, who created heaven and earth, do not disdain me from the wicked, hitherto pastime of idols and demons, - do not deprive me of instructive conversations with our sister Fevronia, so that she will guide me on the path of salvation.” Then I hope to find from Christ the True God what is prepared for Christians. So, deliver me from the vanity of this age and from idolatry wickedness, for my parents are forcing me into a second marriage, but I want to start a new life, spending time in instructive and soul-helping conversations with Fevronia: the previous years I lived, out of ignorance, in wickedness, are enough for me. Saying this, Jeria shed tears at the feet of the abbess, urging her to show mercy. Brienne, having listened to her, said: “The Lord is my witness, Madam Ieria, that the young woman Fevronia has been taken into my care since she was two years old, and now she has been living in the monastery for 18 years hopelessly, not having seen until now either men, or worldly women, or their clothes and decorations, or anything worldly.” Even her nurse had not been able to see her until then, and although she had begged me many times to see her and talk to her, I did not allow this. But now, seeing your zeal and understanding your love for God and hoping for your salvation, I will bring you to her; but only you change your worldly clothes to monastic ones. Jeria immediately happily fulfilled this condition, and Vrienna took her to Fevronia. Seeing Ieria in monastic robes, Fevronia thought that some wandering nun had come to them; so she bowed to her to the ground and embraced her and kissed her as if she were a sister in Christ. Brienna ordered them both to sit down and practice the instructive reading of Divine books. Then Fevronia, taking the books, began to read the Priests, and she was so moved by everything she read that she remained awake all night. So both of them, remaining without sleep, practiced reading Divine books, and neither Fevronia got tired reading the books, nor Ieria, listening to the reading. At the same time, Jeria shed so many tears that even the earth was wet with her tears; for, being a Hellenic by faith, she had never heard such soul-helping instructions. When morning came, Jeria could barely obey the abbess to go to her house. Having said goodbye to Fevronia in tears, she went to her parents. Fevronia asked the assistant abbess Thomaida: “I beg you, lady, my mother, tell me who was that wandering nun who was so shedding tears, as if she had never heard the Divine words.” – Don’t you know who you were talking to? - Thomaida told her to this. - How can I know a wandering nun whom I have never seen? Then Thomaida said to her: “This sister is none other than Jeria, a noble woman of our city.” “Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier,” Fevronia noted, “I talked to her as if I were a sister.” “That’s what our lady abbess ordered.” After such words, Fevronia fell silent and began to pray to God in the depths of her soul for Ieria, so that God would turn her to the true path and accept her into his chosen flock. Jeria, having come home, told everything that she had heard from Fevronia, and began to convince her parents to leave the Hellenic delusion and know the one true God - Jesus Christ. They listened to the prudent advice of their daughter, believed in Christ and accepted holy baptism with the whole house. This is how the prayers and instructions of Saint Febronia affected them. Soon after this, Fevronia became seriously ill. Jeria came to her and looked after her during her illness. Suddenly the news spread that Selin and Lysimachus were approaching the city to torture Christians. Then all the Christians, not excluding the clergy and clergy, and even the bishop himself, leaving everything, fled from the city, driven by fear, and hid wherever they could. Hearing this, the nuns of the monastery of Vrienna came to her and said: - Our lady mother, what should we do? Fierce beasts - wicked tormentors - are approaching the city, and all the faithful Christians fled, fearing torment. Vrienna, for her part, asked them: – What do you think and what do you want to do? - Command, O our mother, that we should take refuge in order to save our souls. “You haven’t seen a fight yet, but you’re thinking about flight, the hour of heroism has not yet come, and you already want to be defeated; no, children, I pray you, do not do this; It’s better for us to stay here, endure torment, and die for Christ, who died for us, so that we might live with Him forever. Hearing these words, the sisters fell silent. But the next day one sister, named Epheria, said to the others: “I know that because of Fevronia, Mother Abbess won’t let us escape; she wants, I think, because of her alone to destroy us all; but let's go to her again, and I will tell her for everyone what should be done. Hearing this, some nuns agreed with Epheria, while others began to object to her, but finally, everyone came to an agreement and went to the abbess. Vrienna, realizing why they came, asked Epheria: “We pray to you, our mother, allow us to escape from the impending troubles, for both the bishop and the entire clergy have left.” Remember, O our mother, that among us there are young girls for whom we need to fear, lest they, captured by wicked warriors, lose their virginity and lose their reward from God. We also need to be afraid that we will not endure the torment and, by denying Christ, we will destroy our souls. They also ordered us to take our sister, the sick Fevronia, with us, in order to hide her from here too. Hearing this, Fevronia said: “My Christ lives, Whose bride I consider myself and to Whom I give my soul, I will not leave this place, but here I will die and be buried.” Then Vrienna, turning to Epheria, said: “Look what you are doing, embarrassing the sisters,” you see, “I am innocent of what you think of me.” Then, turning to the others, she said: – Let each of you decide in the way that seems most useful to her. Then all the sisters, fearing the impending torment, said goodbye to the abbess and Fevronia and, crying and sobbing, beating their chests, left the monastery. Prokla, Fevronia’s peer and classmate, hugged and kissed her, cried and said: – Pray for me, my lady and sister. Fevronia, holding her hand and not letting her go, persuaded: - Fear God, my sister Prokla, do not leave us. You see, I am sick and will soon die. Our mother Brienna cannot bury me alone, so stay and help her bury me. - Okay, my sister, I will stay here as long as you tell me. When evening came, Prokla did not keep her word and secretly ran away from the monastery. Only Brienna and Thomaida remained with Fevronia. Abbess Vrienna, seeing the empty monastery, sadly entered the church, fell to the ground and sobbed bitterly. Thomaida, calming her down, said: - Stop it, my lady and mother. For God is able to create “relief” in sorrow and adversity (1 Cor. 10:13). He will help us endure the disasters that come upon us (Sir.2:10). Remember, has anyone who believes in God been put to shame, and abiding in the fear of God has been left without His help? - Yes, my lady Thomaida, everything is so; but what should I do with Fevronia? Where to hide and save it? With what eyes will I look when the barbarians lead her away as a captive? – Raising the dead, the Lord can strengthen Fevronia and save her unharmed from the barbarians; I pray you, my lady and mother, stop being upset and crying; It’s better if we go to the sick Fevronia, we’ll console her and strengthen her. When they came to Fevronia, Vrienna again began to sob bitterly. Fevronia, looking at Thomaida, asked: – What do the tears of our mother Vrienna mean? Turning to her, Thomaida answered: “These motherly tears are because of you, because you are young and beautiful.” Now cruel tormentors will come to us to cause us great sorrows: they will immediately kill us, old women, but they will preserve you, a young and beautiful-looking maiden, to seduce you with the temptations of the world - and we are afraid that with flattering words and violence they will destroy your virginity and deprive you of the palace prepared by your Heavenly Bridegroom. “I beg you to pray to the Lord for me, so that He will look upon my humility, strengthen my weakness and give me patience, as He gives to all His servants who have loved Him with all their hearts.” - My child, Fevronia! The time of achievement is coming. If wicked tormentors tempt you with flattering words, gold, silver and costly garments, or any vain delights of this world, be careful and attentive to yourself, do not listen to their admonitions, so as not to lose your reward from the Lord for your previous labors. Be careful that you do not become the laughingstock of the devil and the playground of idols. Remember that there is nothing more glorious than virginity, and great is the reward awaiting virgins. For the bridegroom of virgins is immortal, and gives immortality to all who love Him. So, my lady, try to achieve what you have dedicated your whole life to. Watch yourself, my daughter, so that you do not lose the guarantees of your bliss - i.e. the grace of baptism and monastic tonsure. For the Lord will be terrible when He sits on the throne of His glory to judge everyone and reward everyone according to his deeds. Hearing these words, Fevronia strengthened in spirit and courageously prepared to enter into a valiant battle with the devil. Then she said to Thomaida: “You did well, my lady, by confirming your servant in the faith and making my soul ready for valiant deeds.” Let it be known to you that if I had not had the desire to die for my Groom, I would have fled, along with the other sisters, to hide from the terrible suffering. But since I love my heavenly Bridegroom with all my heart, to whom I have become engaged with my soul and to whom I have dedicated my body, I dare to go to Him along the path of martyrdom, if He deigns me to suffer and die for His name. Brienna, having listened to such speeches from Fevronia, said to her: - My daughter, Fevronia! Remember my labors and concerns for you, remember that from the age of two I took you into my care from the hands of your nurse, and that until this day none of the laity have even seen your face. Until this day, I puked at you like the apple of my eye. And now I don’t know what to do with you and how to look after you. Take care of yourself, so as not to sadden my old age, not to destroy the labors that I, your spiritual mother, have put into your upbringing. Remember the passion-bearers who before you courageously and valiantly suffered for Christ and have now received a crown from Him, among whom were not only men, but also women and children. Remember Livia and Leonida - these glorious sisters who courageously laid down their souls for Christ. For Livia and Leonidas, one being beheaded by the sword, and the other being thrown into the fire, both went together to the palace of their Heavenly Bridegroom. Remember the twelve-year-old girl Eutropia, who was tortured along with her mother. Haven't you always been amazed at her obedience and patience? You know how the judge, having released her from her bonds, wanted to frighten her with arrows, thinking that she would run away from them. But then she heard her mother’s voice saying to her: “My child, Eutropia, stop,” and the girl courageously stood like an immovable pillar until she was all wounded by arrows: then she fell to the ground, surrendering her spirit to the Lord. This young woman was simple and uneducated; and you yourself studied the Divine books well and were a good teacher of many. So, think how courageously you should stand for your Lord. This and much more they said to each other until the night passed and day came. When the sun rose, there was great confusion in the city. It was Selinus and Lysimachus who entered the city, whose soldiers had already begun to seize many Christians and throw them into prison. Some Hellenes told Selin about a nunnery located in the city. Celine immediately sent soldiers to take all the nuns. The warriors, having arrived at the monastery, surrounded it on all sides and, cutting the doors with axes, entered it like wild animals. Having captured Vrienna, they wanted to kill the old woman with a sword. But Fevronia, seeing the danger, fell at the feet of the soldiers and began to cry out loudly: “I conjure you by God, kill me first so that I do not see the death of my mistress.” When Fevronia was crying out like that, Prim, the commander, came there; he angrily drove the soldiers away and asked Brienna: – Where are the other nuns who stayed in this monastery? - Oh, if only you could run with them! But even now you can freely do this and run wherever you want - I grant you this favor. Having said this, he left the monastery and took the soldiers with him. When he came to the praetorium to Lysimachus, he asked him: – Was it true that they told us that there is a Christian monastery nearby? “True,” said the committee. Then, taking Lysimachus aside, he said to him privately: “Almost all the nuns fled from that monastery, and I did not find anyone there except two old women and one young nun. At the same time, I have to tell you something wonderful that I saw in that monastery: I saw a young monk of such great beauty that I had never seen such beautiful women before. God is my witness that I am telling you the truth. Seeing her, I was surprised at the beauty of her face, and if she had not been dressed in squalid clothes, I would have considered her worthy to become your wife, my lord. – If I do not want to break the commandments of my mother and shed Christian blood, but want to spare Christians in every possible way, then how can I be a seducer of the brides of Christ? I will never do this; but I turn to you, my lord, with an earnest request: take those old women and the young monk out of the monastery and keep them somewhere so that they do not fall into torture in the hands of Selin, my uncle. When they were talking to each other like this, one of the worst warriors who was in the monastery, hearing their conversation, immediately went to Selinus and told him that they had found a very beautiful maiden in the nunnery, and that the committee was advising Lysimachus to take her as his wife. Selin, filled with rage, immediately sent soldiers to guard the monks found there, not giving them the opportunity to hide. Then he sent some of his closest and most faithful servants so that they would look at that maiden and find out her name. They went and, returning, told Selin that in heaven there would probably not be a single woman who could compare in beauty with the girl they had seen. After such words, Selin immediately sent a herald to shout in the city, so that the next morning all residents of both sexes and all ages would gather to watch the feat of the young maiden Fevronia. Hearing this, all the people living in the city and surrounding villages gathered at the spectacle in large numbers to see the feat of Saint Febronia. When morning came, the tormentor sent the most ferocious warriors to the monastery and ordered them to bring the holy virgin from there to the trial seat. The soldiers, having arrived at the monastery, mercilessly grabbed Fevronia and, shackling her neck with chains, dragged her out of the monastery. Then Brienna and Thomaida, tearfully hugging their student, began to cry bitterly and pray to the soldiers to allow them to talk a little with Fevronia; the warriors agreed. And again Brienna and Thomaida began to beg the soldiers to take them with them to the same feat that Fevronia was facing; for the old women were afraid that she alone, without support from them, would be afraid of torment. “We were not given the order to present you at the trial, but only Fevronia alone.” And so Brienne and Thomaida began to affirm Fevronia in the faith. - Here you are, my daughter Fevronia, now going to a suffering feat. Know that the heavenly Bridegroom will look upon your suffering, and the Angelic forces have already prepared a victorious crown for you if you courageously suffer to the end. Take care that you do not fear torment and become a reproach to demons. Do not feel sorry for your body when they begin to crush it with wounds, for even if we did not want it, it will still, after some time, move into the coffin and turn to dust. So I will wait with bitter weeping for good or sad news about you. Take care, my daughter, - I earnestly pray to you for this, so that I can hear the good news about you. Oh, who would bring me the good news that Fevronia suffered as a martyr for Christ and joined the hosts of martyrs! To this Blessed Fevronia answered Vrienne: “I hope, my mother, that just as I have not transgressed your commandments before, so now I will invariably observe your instructions and commands.” And people will see and be surprised and praise the work of Brienna, saying: this is truly the planting and sprout of Brienna - that great old woman! For in a female body I will demonstrate masculine fortitude; You pray for me and do not hinder me from going to the task ahead. Then Thomaida said to her: “The Lord lives, my sister, Fevronia, that I too will follow you.” I will dress in worldly clothes and, standing among the people, I will look at your feat. When the soldiers began to hurry Fevronia and already wanted to drag her along with them, she said to those holy elders: “I pray you, my mothers, bless me on my journey and pray for me.” And Brienne, raising her hands to heaven, began to pray like this in a loud voice: - Lord Jesus Christ, who once appeared in the image of Paul to Your servant Thekla during her suffering, now appear to Your humble servant Fevronia at the hour of her exploit and invisibly strengthen her from above, so that through her Your holy name may be glorified. Having prayed thus, Vrienna hugged Fevronia with tears and, kissing her, let her go. The soldiers, taking the holy virgin, led her to the tormentor Selinus. Having seen off her beloved spiritual daughter for a little while, Vrienna returned to the monastery weeping and sobbing and, throwing herself to the ground in the church, cried out, praying to God for Fevronia. Thomaida, leaving Brienna crying in the church, put on the clothes of worldly women and followed Fevronia to the disgrace. Those women who came to the monastery every Friday to listen to book teachings from the lips of Fevronia also went there, beating their breasts, they hurried to the disgrace with tears, and were in great sadness at the fact that they were deprived of their teacher. The news that Fevronia was being led into disgrace also reached Ieria, and she sobbed so loudly that her parents and everyone in the house were horrified and began to ask: “My sister Fevronia was taken to shame, my teacher was sent to suffer for Christ,” answered Ieria amid sobs. Ieria's parents tried to calm her down, but she cried even more and told them: “Leave me alone,” I will not stop crying for my sister and teacher Fevronia. When she said this, her parents also wept, and the whole house resounded with weeping for Saint Febronia; Jeria began to ask her parents to let her go to the disgrace, and they did not interfere with her. Taking many slaves and slaves, she went to the disgrace with a sob and overtook many wives, who were hurrying there with tears; among them was Thomaida, walking in worldly robes. Recognizing her, Jeria went with her, and they both, shedding many tears, came to the appointed place. Countless people had gathered there, and the judges were already sitting in their places. When everything was prepared, Selin and Lysimachus ordered Saint Febronia to be brought to them. The saint appeared before them, with her hands tied behind her and her neck bound in chains; Seeing this, almost everyone present there burst into tears and indulged in bitter crying and sobbing. The tormentor Selin, giving a sign for silence, said to Lysimachus: - Subject this woman to interrogation and listen to her answers. And Lysimachus began to interrogate Fevronia. First he asked her: - Tell us what rank you are - are you a slave or a free one? “Yes, I am a slave,” answered Fevronia. “Christ’s,” the holy virgin boldly confessed. Lysimachus asked her again: – I call myself a humble Christian. - We want to know your name. “I have already told you that I am a Christian,” answered Fevronia, “but if you want to know the name that was given to me at birth, then I will answer you: my mother named me Fevronia.” Then the tormentor Selin ordered Lysimachus to stop the interrogation and himself addressed the holy virgin. “I call the gods to witness, Fevronia, that I did not want to condescend to talk with you; but since your meekness and the beauty of your face have overcome my anger towards you, then I will ask you no longer as a condemned person, but as my daughter. Listen, my daughter, let the gods be witnesses that I am telling you the truth. You see my nephew Lysimachus sitting with me; I and his father Anfim, now deceased, chose a noble maiden, possessing many riches, the daughter of Senator Prosphorus, as his wife, and have already betrothed him to her. Now, if you confess your guilt before the gods, then we will destroy the marriage contract with the daughter of Prosphorus and establish a new one - with you. And you will become the wife of Lysimachus and, like a wife, you will sit at his right hand, as I sit now. You see that he is handsome, just like you. Listen to my advice, as to your father; as a reward for this, I will make you noble and rich, and you will never know poverty. I have neither wife nor children, and I give you everything I have, making you mistress of all my possessions. I will give all this as a dowry for you to my lord Lysimachus, and I will be your father. Then, seeing how great an honor you have been awarded, all the women will glorify and please you; our valiant king will rejoice over you and, for his part, will also reward you with many things, for he promised to make Lysimachus eparch of Rome. Now you heard everything I told you. Tell me that you do not turn away from our gods, this will bring great joy to my soul. If you do not listen to my admonition, then, I swear to the gods, you will not live even three hours. So, choose what you want and tell us. To this Saint Febronia answered Selin: - Judge! I have in heaven a palace not made by hands, in which an indissoluble marriage takes place forever, and the entire kingdom of heaven is given to me. Having an Immortal Bridegroom, I do not want to unite with a mortal and perishable person. And I don’t even want to listen to what you promise me. No, don't bother, judge! You will not achieve anything with flattery and temptations, nor will you frighten me with threats. Hearing such an answer, Selin became very angry and ordered the soldiers to tear her clothes to pieces, then to gird her with thin and short rags, and put her almost naked in shame in front of everyone; he hoped that the holy virgin, seeing herself in such dishonor, would be ashamed of her shame and repent of her stubbornness. The soldiers immediately carried out Selin's orders and placed the martyr almost completely naked in front of everyone. - What do you tell me now, Fevronia? You see what dishonor has become your lot, while you could have enjoyed great benefits. To this Fevronia said to the tormentor: “Know, judge, that if you strip me of not only those clothes, but even this rags, and leave me completely naked, then I will attribute this shame to nothing.” For One is the Creator of husband and wife; For His sake, I am ready not only to endure the shame of nakedness, but I even want to be beheaded by the sword and burned with fire. Oh, if only He who voluntarily endured countless sufferings for me would have made me worthy to suffer for Himself! - O shameless one and worthy of all dishonor! - exclaimed Celine, - I see that you are proud of your beauty, and therefore you do not consider the dishonor of nakedness to be a shame, for you hope to become famous for your beauty, standing naked among the people. “Christ is my witness that until this day I have not even seen the face of a man, just as none of the worldly people have seen my face. Will I really be shameless now, being in your power? No, you yourself are shameless, exposing your girlish body to everyone. But tell me, mad judge: if a wrestler enters the Olympic competitions 4128, will he not fight naked until he defeats his opponent? In the same way, I, having come out here to fight against the enemy and expecting wounds and fire for my body, how can I endure them while remaining in clothes? Is it not the naked body that receives wounds? And so I go out naked, so that, despising torment, I defeat Satan, your father. Then Celine said to the servants: “Since this woman herself is looking for torment and says that she is not afraid of fire and wounds, then lay her out on the ground, light a fire under her, and let four warriors beat her with sticks on the ridge.” Immediately the soldiers began to torture the saint, as they were ordered. They beat the saint for a long time, so that blood flowed from her body in streams. And so that the fire kindled under her would not go out, the tormentors poured oil on it, so that the flame would become larger and scorch the martyr more powerfully. When the saint was being tortured like this, many of the people began to shout to Selina: - Have mercy, have mercy on the young girl, dear judge! But he, not listening to the prayers, ordered the holy virgin to be tortured even more; then, having calmed down a little from his anger, he ordered the torment to stop. The soldiers left Fevronia and, considering her already dead, threw her outside the fire. Thomaida, seeing such severe torment of Fevronia, became exhausted in spirit and body and fell to the ground at the feet of Ieria. Seeing this, Jeria cried out loudly: - Woe, woe is me, my sister Fevronia! Woe is me, my teacher! I will no longer hear your teaching. And not only will I lose you, but also Thomaida; for she too, in sorrow for you, dies. These words of Ieria were heard by Fevronia, who was lying on the ground, and began to beg those standing nearby to pour water on the face of the exhausted Thomaida. They fulfilled this request, and Thomaida came to her senses and stood on her feet. Seeing that Fevronia was still alive, Celine addressed her with the following mocking words: - What do you say to Fevronia? How sweet did your first suffering feat seem to you? “You see,” answered Fevronia, “that, despite your efforts, I remained invincible, because I despise all torment.” Then Celine ordered the servants: Hang her on a tree and plan her sides with iron combs, and scorch her wounds with fire so that her bones are also burned. The torturers immediately began to carry out this order. In the midst of such suffering, Fevronia raised her eyes to heaven and began to pray to the Lord: “Come to my aid and do not despise Your servant at this hour.” And after these words she fell silent. When her body was mercilessly planed and burned with fire, many of those gathered at the disgrace could not look at such terrible torment and moved away from there; others began to shout to the judge to spare the young and innocent girl. Then Celine ordered the servants to stop the torment. Then he began to ask Fevronia, hanging on the tree, some questions, but she was silent. Again inflamed with rage, the tormentor ordered her to be taken from the tree and tied to a stake erected on the ground - then he said: “Since this nasty woman does not want to answer me, cut off her tongue and throw her into the fire.” Hearing this, the holy martyr immediately extended her tongue from her lips and gave a sign to the warrior to carry out the order. But as soon as the warrior touched his tongue to cut it off, the people standing there began to shout loudly, conjuring the judge in the name of their gods and begging him to cancel his order. Condescending to the requests of the people, Celine gave the order not to cut the tongue, but instead ordered the teeth to be pulled out. Immediately one of the tormentors took an iron tool and began to pull out the martyr’s teeth one by one. When he pulled out 17 teeth, Celine ordered this torment to stop. Meanwhile, whole streams of blood flowed from the saint’s lips, and her body was completely exhausted from cruel suffering. A doctor was called in and stopped the flow of blood. Then Celine again began to question the saint, addressing her with the following words: “At least now, Fevronia, you would submit to the demands of the court and confess your faith in the gods.” - Anathema 4129 to you, cursed and iniquity-grown servant of the devil! How long will you hinder me on my path, blocking my entrance to my Bridegroom Christ? Hurry up to quickly free me from this mortal body of mine, since my Bridegroom is already waiting for me. To this Selin said to Fevronia: “Here I will order your body to be completely torn to pieces, betraying it to the sword and fire.” For I see that you are shamelessly proud of your youth. But this will not do you any good; your pride will bring you even greater evil and gravest torment. The holy martyr, exhausted by excessive torment, could not say anything more, but her silence inflamed the rage of her tormentor even more: the cruel Celine ordered Fevronia’s maiden breasts to be cut off. The people shouted, begging the judge to spare the girl and cancel his order. But Celine, angry at the tormenting servant, said to him: - Why are you delaying, you disgusting enemy of our gods? Why don't you do what is commanded to you? Then the servant, taking a razor, began to cut the right breast of the holy martyr. She, raising her eyes to heaven, prayed to God in a loud voice, saying: “Lord my God, look at the torment I have endured, and take my soul into Your hands.” Having said this, she fell silent and said nothing more. When they cut off both nipples and threw them to the ground, Selin ordered to bring fire and use it to burn the ulcers that formed at the site of the cut off nipples. In the same way, he ordered the womb of the martyr to be burned, so that all her insides were destroyed. At the same time, many of the people, not being able to look at such torture, moved away from the disgrace and loudly cursed Diocletian and his gods. At this time, Thomaida and Jeria sent a slave to the monastery so that she would inform Brienne about everything that had happened. Hearing the messenger’s story, Brienna was filled with spiritual joy and joy and with tears began to cry out to God like this: - Lord Jesus Christ, our God, come to the aid of Your servant Fevronia! Then, falling to the ground, she cried and sobbed: – Where are you now Fevronia? Where are you, my meek daughter? Where are you, servant of Christ? Where are you, decoration of the monastic order? Finally, rising from the ground and raising her hands to the sky, she exclaimed: - Lord! Look upon Thy humble servant, and help her in her feat! Grant me the privilege of seeing her die as a martyr and be enshrined in the ranks of the holy martyrs. At this time, the following happened in disgrace: the tormentor Selin ordered Fevronia to be untied from the stake to which she was tied; They untied the saint, and she, unable to stand on her feet, immediately fell to the ground. Seeing this, Comite Primus quietly said to Lysimachus: - Why is this young girl suffering such cruel torment? Isn't it time to stop the torture? “Wait, brother, because her suffering will be beneficial for many who look at her.” And I think that this suffering will be my salvation. I heard a lot from my mother, who said how the martyrs, with their courage, converted many to the path of salvation. May this girl also endure her martyrdom to the end in order to save me and many others. At this time, Ieria, seeing Fevronia falling to the ground, exclaimed loudly, turning to Selin: - O inhuman tormentor! Wasn’t the first torment to which you subjected this innocent girl enough for your cruelty? Don't you remember your mother, who also had female flesh? Have you not yourself fed on breasts similar to those which you ordered to be cut off? Were you really suckled on women's breasts in order to show such cruelty to women? I am surprised that nothing can tame your cruel and inhumane temper. But know: just as you did not spare this girl, so the King of Heaven will not spare you. Thus exclaimed Jeria. Selin, hearing her speech, was again filled with rage and ordered the soldiers to seize Ieria from the crowd, intending to immediately subject her to torture. Hearing the command, Jeria joyfully went to meet the soldiers, paving the way for herself among the crowded people; at the same time she repeated: - Lord God of Your servant Fevronia! Accept me with her, Your humble servant. But before she reached the court, Selinus’s friends began to advise him not to subject Jeria to torture in front of all the people - in view of her noble origin. “We are afraid,” they said, “that the whole multitude of the gathered people, having seen her suffering, might want to suffer with her, and then we will have to deal with the whole city.” Selin listened to their advice and did not order Jeria to be tortured, but only angrily exclaimed, turning to her: - Listen, Ieria! I swear to the gods that with your daring and shameless speeches you are bringing even greater torment on Fevronia. Having said this, he immediately gave the order that both hands of Saint Febronia be cut off. The squire, placing a tree under the right hand of the martyr, struck her with an ax and cut her off; in the same way he cut off Fevronia’s left hand. Not satisfied with this, the cruel tormentor ordered the right leg of the martyr to be cut off. Placing a tree under the saint's feet and taking the ax in his hands, the squire struck with great force above the knee with the ax, but could not cut off the martyr's legs - then he struck a second time, also unsuccessfully. At the sight of this, the people began to cry and confusion, and everyone was indignant at the cruelty of the tormentor. The squire hit the leg a third time, and only then barely cut off the leg. Fevronia trembled with her whole body from such fierce torment and, although she was already on the verge of death, however, as far as she was able, she stretched out her other leg, placing it on a tree so that she too would be amputated. Seeing this, Selin said: “Look how much power this shameless woman has.” Then, turning to the squire, he said in great anger: “Cut off her other leg too.” He immediately carried out this command. Then Lysimachus, rising from his seat, said to Selin: “Do you really still want to torment this poor girl?” Let's get out of here, because it's time for lunch. But the wicked Celine replied: “I swear to the gods that I will not leave her alive, but I will be here until she dies.” But the soul of the martyr did not leave her body for many hours; then Celine asked the squires: “Is this shameless woman still alive?” “Yes, she’s still alive,” they answered him, “the soul still remains in her.” Then Selin ordered to cut off the martyr’s holy head. The warrior, taking a sword in one hand, with the other grabbed the hair on the head of the martyr and slain it in the neck, as they slaughter sheep, and then cut off the head. Immediately after this Celine got up and went to dinner; Lysimachus also walked with him, shedding tears. After the martyrdom of Saint Fevronia, the faithful who were among the people wanted to carry away her honorable relics. But Lysimachus assigned soldiers to them with orders to guard them so that not a single member of the martyr’s body would be stolen. And he himself, not wanting to eat food with Selin out of great sadness and sorrow, locked himself in the bedroom and wept bitterly there about the murder of Fevronia. Selin, seeing Lysimachus's lament, was saddened and also did not want to take food, but got up and began to walk around the chambers of the palace, experiencing extreme embarrassment. When he accidentally raised his eyes up to the heights of heaven, great fear and horror suddenly fell upon him and he became mute. Then, exclaiming in a loud voice and roaring like an ox, he hit his head against the marble column that was in that chamber, and, breaking his head, fell to the floor dead. There was a cry among Selene's servants and warriors, and there was confusion. Lysimachus came from his bedroom to their screams and, seeing his uncle lying on the ground and dead, was surprised and filled with horror. Having come to his senses, he ordered the screams to stop and began to ask: Those present told him what they saw. Nodding his head in surprise, Lysimachus said: - Great is the Christian God! He is truly worthy of veneration, for he avenged innocent blood! Having said this, he ordered Selinus’ corpse to be taken out of the city and buried according to Hellenic custom. Then Lysimachus called the Comite Primus to him and said to him: “I adjure you by the Christian God, do not break my commandment that I give you.” Try to quickly prepare an ark for Fevronia’s body from trees that do not rot and send out messengers, calling Christians to the burial of the holy martyr: let them gather fearlessly, since Selin has already died. Here, you know, beloved Prim, is my wish. Take a detachment of soldiers and, having collected all the severed members of Fevronia’s body, take them to the monastery; At the same time, see that not a single part of the saint’s body is lost or missing. And so that the dogs do not lick the ground on which the blood of the martyr was spilled, for this, order it to be cleaned off, then collected and taken, along with the relics, to the monastery. Komit immediately called the soldiers, and, according to the wishes of Lysimachus, ordered them to carry the body of the martyr to the monastery; and he himself, collecting the severed parts of her body: head, arms, legs, nipples and teeth, and wrapping them in his mantle, went after them, accompanied by a multitude of people. Arriving at the monastery, the committee did not allow anyone inside except Thomaida and Ieria. The abbess of the monastery, the honest old woman Vrienna, seeing the lifeless and mutilated body of Fevronia and her severed ouds, her body became weak from great sorrow and pity and fell to the ground as if dead. Komit, having placed a military guard at the monastery, returned to Lysimachus. Only after several hours did Vrienna come to her senses. And rising from the ground, she fell to the body of the martyr and, hugging him, cried out: - Woe to me, my daughter Fevronia, now you have already been taken from the eyes of your mother. Who will now read the Divine Scriptures to the sisters? Whose arms will straighten the books you were holding? At this time, all the nuns who left with Epheria returned to the monastery and with tears bowed down to the very ground to the body of the holy martyr Fevronia. Blessed Jeria also wept bitterly at the relics of the holy martyr, crying out: “I will bow to the holy feet that trampled the head of the serpent, I will kiss the holy wounds that pour grace-filled currents of healing into my soul, I will crown the head of the one who crowned the entire female race with the greatness of her feat. And all the sisters cried over the relics of the martyr. Then, having washed them, they laid them on the board on which the saint rested during her life, when she gave herself up for a short rest; - having placed the body of the martyr on this board, they placed all the severed limbs on the wounds in their place and, with psalmody, carried the venerable relics to the church. When evening came, Brienna ordered the monastery gates to be opened so that everyone could enter the church and, seeing the martyr, they glorified God, who had given her such great courage and patience in suffering. And many people came. Lysimachus also came there with the commander Primus; for he said to the committee: “I renounce all my father’s customs and idolatry and leave all my riches and go and unite with Christ.” To this the committee answered him: “And I will do the same with you.” Let Diocletian and his reign perish, I will no longer serve him, but leaving everything behind, I will serve Christ. So they both, agreeing with each other, left the praetor's palace 4130 and came to the monastery to the relics of Saint Febronia. The bishop of that city also came there with the priests and clergy and many monks, and they performed the all-night praise to God with tears and spiritual joy. When the day came, they brought a beautifully constructed ark for the body of the martyr and placed this honorable body into it with reverence; then they applied each severed member to it, and placed the teeth on the martyr’s chest. After this, they anointed the relics with myrrh and aromas and buried them in the church, glorifying and thanking the Lord. And healings were given from the holy tomb to the sick, so that many Greeks believed in Christ and were baptized. Lysimachus and Primus also received holy baptism. At the same time, they resigned their rank and did not want to return to the evil Diocletian, but rejecting the world, they went to Archimandrite Markell and accepted monasticism; Having lived a godly life in the labors and deeds of fasting, both of them ended their lives in peace and passed over to Christ. In exactly the same way, the noblewoman Ieria, having given all her estates to the monastery of Vrienna, approached the latter with the same request. “I beg you, my mother,” she said, “accept me as your daughter, instead of Saint Fevronia, and I will serve you, showing obedience in everything, as Fevronia served you.” Having said this, she took off all her precious women's clothing and gave them to decorate the church; she herself, having renounced the world, became a nun. The celebration in honor of the holy martyr Fevronia was held in the monastery of Abbess Vrienna after her martyrdom every year in June on the 25th day, on which the saint accomplished her valiant feat for Christ. And on the day of the holiday every year, a significant miracle took place: during the all-night singing, among the singing sisters, the holy martyr appeared in the church and took her former place. When this happened for the first time, all the nuns, seeing the saint among them, were afraid, and Brienna loudly exclaimed: “My daughter, Fevronia, has come to us!” At the same time, she joyfully rushed towards her, intending to embrace her with a motherly hug. But the saint immediately became invisible. From that time on, no one dared to touch the one who appeared, or to say even a word to her; but every time they looked at her with horror and surprise, and from the vision of the saint they felt great joy in themselves and were touched in their hearts, involuntarily shedding tears. For three hours the saint stood among the singers, visible to everyone, and then again became invisible. The bishop of that city greatly revered the name of Saint Febronia: he founded a church in the name of the martyr, which he built over the course of 6 years. Having finished the construction of the church and decorated it, on the day of memory of Saint Febronia, he gathered the surrounding bishops to consecrate the church and wanted to transfer the venerable relics of the martyr into it. After the all-night singing, the bishops with the entire council of clergy came to the monastery and, having prayed, opened the saint’s coffin and saw her holy relics, shining with unearthly beauty, like a ray of sunshine. At the same time, all the nuns cried and sobbed, grieving that such a valuable treasure was taken from them. When the bishop's hands touched the ark to take it, a thunderclap was immediately heard in the air, so strong that everyone fell to the ground in fear. After one hour had passed, the bishop again dared to touch the ark; but suddenly there was such an earthquake that the whole city shook. Then everyone understood that the holy martyr did not want her relics to be taken from their burial place. The bishop was filled with great sorrow and no longer dared to touch the ark, but began to ask Brienne: “Listen to me, my sister, you know with what zeal I erected a church in the glory and honor of the venerable martyr, which took six whole years. And so the holy martyr did not deign to listen to my prayers and does not want to go to the church created in her honor. Therefore, I beg you: take with your own hands at least one of the severed members of her body and give it to us, so that my labor does not remain unrewarded. Brienna stretched out her hand and touched one of the saint’s hands, intending to give it to the bishop, but the abbess’s hand was held back by an invisible force and became as if dead. Then Brienna, shedding tears, began to speak, turning to the saint as if she were alive: “I beg you, my daughter, holy martyr Fevronia, do not be angry with me, your mother, remember my labors for you, and do not disparage my old age.” When she said this, her hand became free. After this, Brienna again said to the martyr with tears: - Give us your blessing, our lady, and condescend to our request to you. Having said this, she again stretched out her hand, took one of the martyr’s teeth that was lying on her chest, gave it to the bishop, and immediately closed the ark. The bishop joyfully accepted the tooth, put it in a golden vessel and, with other bishops, his clergy and all the people, returned to the newly created church, carrying the received gift with psalmody, accompanied by candles and censers, with general popular rejoicing. Having brought this gift into the church itself, the bishops consecrated it. That day in the newly consecrated church there were many healings of the sick through the prayers of the holy martyr: the lame received strength in their legs and walked, the blind received their sight, the possessed were freed from demons; Anyone who was possessed by any ailment, barely touched with his lips that small part taken from the relics of the martyr and kissed her, immediately received healing and went home healthy, rejoicing and blessing God. After the consecration of the new church in the name of Saint Fevronia, the Venerable Abbess Brienna lived for another two years, and, approaching her blessed death, she installed Thomaida as Abbess in her place, after which she reposed in the Lord. “I,” says the writer of this life, Abbess Thomaida, “after the repose of our mother Brienna, wrote the life and sufferings of the holy martyr Fevronia, as I saw with my own eyes; and regarding Lysimachus she wrote what she heard from his own lips. I wrote all this for the benefit of those who read and listen to what is read, for the glory of Christ our God, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.” Amen. My sweetest bridegroom, Christ, calling upon Fevronia, it is not difficult for my mother-in-law to follow you; for the sweetness of your love guides my soul with hope; and the beauty of Thy mercy, sweeten my heart, drink the cup of suffering for you: may I be worthy in the devil with the wise virgins to rejoice in You. Likewise, Reverend Passion-Bearer, who honors the feats of your labors, we pray to you: pray that the palace doors will not be closed to us. Eparch – city governor, regional governor. Senator - a member of the Senate, i.e. council of elders; the title senator subsequently became an honorary title. Comite - companion of the emperor, or the highest official; this name designated the persons who were in their retinue. Palmyra was once a city in Syria, located in one of the oases between Damascus and the river. Euphrates. This city was founded by Solomon. Under Nebuchadnezzar it was ruined, but soon, thanks to its advantageous position between the Mediterranean Sea and the Euphrates Valley, it was rebuilt again and became an important trading point. Under the Romans, Palmyra with its region at one time represented an independent state, but then it was conquered by the Romans: the victors destroyed the city; but under the emperor Diocletian it was restored. During Arab times, the city was again destroyed and turned into a miserable village. Those. professed the Greco-Roman pagan religion. Assyria was located east of Syria, on the upper, northern part of the Mesopotamian plain. A deaconess is a church servant. The ministry of deaconesses consisted of the following: they prepared women for baptism, teaching how and what they should answer the questions of the baptizer and how to behave after baptism, helped the bishop in baptizing women and instead anointed parts of the body, with the exception of the forehead; They looked behind the church door through which women entered the church, placed women in their places and observed that they behaved decently, were present at conversations of bishops and elders with women, and took care of charity towards women. In the first centuries, deaconesses were ranked among the clergy, and then they were appointed to their positions by special ordination; subsequently, ordination was prohibited, and then the very ministry of deaconesses ceased. This refers to wrestling and running competitions that took place every 4 years in Olympia, a city located in the south of Greece. These competitions had the character of Greek national celebrations. Anathema means excommunication. This is the tradition of the excommunicated to the judgment of God. The Praetor's Palace is the palace of the prefect, the head of the province. You might be interested in: