"The
Seven Youths of Ephesus: Maximilian, Iamblicus, Martinian, John, Dionysius, Exacustodianus
(Constantine) and Antoninus, lived in the third century. St Maximilian was the
son of the Ephesus city administrator, and the other six youths were sons of
illustrious citizens of Ephesus. The youths were friends from childhood, and
all were in military service together.
When the
emperor Decius (249-251) arrived in Ephesus, he commanded all the citizens to
offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. Torture and death awaited anyone who
disobeyed. The seven youths were denounced by informants, and were summoned to
reply to the charges. Appearing before the emperor, the young men confessed
their faith in Christ.
Their
military belts and insignia were quickly taken from them. Decius permitted them
to go free, however, hoping that they would change their minds while he was off
on a military campaign. The youths fled from the city and hid in a cave on
Mount Ochlon, where they passed their time in prayer, preparing for martyrdom.
The
youngest of them, St Iamblicus, dressed as a beggar and went into the city to
buy bread. On one of his excursions into the city, he heard that the emperor
had returned and was looking for them. St Maximilian urged his companions to
come out of the cave and present themselves for trial.
Learning
where the young men were hidden, the emperor ordered that the entrance of the
cave be sealed with stones so that the saints would perish from hunger and
thirst. Two of the dignitaries at the blocked entrance to the cave were secret
Christians. Desiring to preserve the memory of the saints, they placed in the
cave a sealed container containing two metal plaques. On them were inscribed
the names of the seven youths and the details of their suffering and death.
The Lord
placed the youths into a miraculous sleep lasting almost two centuries. In the
meantime, the persecutions against Christians had ceased. During the reign of
the holy emperor Theodosius the Younger (408-450) there were heretics who
denied that there would be a general resurrection of the dead at the Second
Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some of them said, "How can there be a
resurrection of the dead when there will be neither soul nor body, since they
are disintegrated?" Others affirmed, "The souls alone will have a
restoration, since it would be impossible for bodies to arise and live after a
thousand years, when even their dust would not remain." Therefore, the
Lord revealed the mystery of the Resurrection of the Dead and of the future
life through His seven saints.
The owner
of the land on which Mount Ochlon was situated, discovered the stone
construction, and his workers opened up the entrance to the cave. The Lord had
kept the youths alive, and they awoke from their sleep, unaware that almost two
hundred years had passed. Their bodies and clothing were completely undecayed.
Preparing
to accept torture, the youths once again asked St Iamblicus to buy bread for
them in the city. Going toward the city, the youth was astonished to see a
cross on the gates. Hearing the name of Jesus Christ freely spoken, he began to
doubt that he was approaching his own city.
When he
paid for the bread, Iamblicus gave the merchant coins with the image of the
emperor Decius on it. He was detained, as someone who might be concealing a
horde of old money. They took St Iamblicus to the city administrator, who also
happened to be the Bishop of Ephesus. Hearing the bewildering answers of the
young man, the bishop perceived that God was revealing some sort of mystery
through him, and went with other people to the cave.
At the
entrance to the cave the bishop found the sealed container and opened it. He
read upon the metal plaques the names of the seven youths and the details of
the sealing of the cave on the orders of the emperor Decius. Going into the
cave and seeing the saints alive, everyone rejoiced and perceived that the
Lord, by waking them from their long sleep, was demonstrating to the Church the
mystery of the Resurrection of the Dead.
Soon the
emperor himself arrived in Ephesus and spoke with the young men in the cave.
Then the holy youths, in sight of everyone, lay their heads upon the ground and
fell asleep again, this time until the General Resurrection.
The
emperor wanted to place each of the youths into a jeweled coffin, but they
appeared to him in a dream and said that their bodies were to be left upon the
ground in the cave. In the twelfth century the Russian pilgrim Igumen Daniel
saw the holy relics of the seven youths in the cave.
There is
a second commemoration of the seven youths on October 22. According to one
tradition, which entered into the Russian Prologue (of Saints' Lives), the
youths fell asleep for the second time on this day. The Greek Menaion of 1870
says that they first fell asleep on August 4, and woke up on October 22.
Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus, Troparion, in
Tone IV
In their sufferings, O Lord,/ Thy martyrs
received imperishable crowns from Thee, our God;/ for, possessed of Thy might,/
they set at nought the tormentors and crushed the feeble audacity of the
demons.// Through their supplications save Thou our souls.
Kontakion, in Tone IV, "Having been
lifted up..."
Spurning the corrupt things of this world and
accepting gifts of incorruption,/ though they died yet did they remain
untouched by corruption./ Wherefore, they arose after many years,/ burying all
the unbelief of the wicked.// O ye faithful, praising them today in laudation,
let us hymn Christ!
Source: http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com.by/2011/08/holy-seven-youths-of-ephesus.html
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