By Fr. George Dorbarakis
These Saints lived during the reign of Diocletian and were the children of pious parents. Zenobios was arrested and brought before the emperor. As he was being interrogated, his sister Zenobia appeared on her own. They were both beaten and thrown into a cauldron. However, by the grace of Christ, they were preserved unharmed, and so they accepted death by the sword.
Saint Joseph is the Hymnographer of the Canon of the Saints celebrated today. Apart from him, however, other hymnographers also extol their holiness, such as for example the monk John, who also with his excellent poetic pen highlights the bravery of the two siblings, Zenobios and Zenobia, who were martyred fighting for their faith in the Holy Trinity, while they received the crown of martyrdom, drowning the evil devil in their blood: “For they have become champions of the Trinity; and in the arena they bravely struck down the invisible enemy with their august blood, and they gloriously received the crown of victory." The last remark is very important. For, indeed, there is, according to our faith, no more powerful weapon that burns the devil than the blood of the martyrs. Where their relics are scattered, any demonic energy flees. It is no coincidence that a consecrated temple, in which bloodless worship, the Divine Eucharist, is celebrated, is considered the most powerful thing against the Evil One. For it is precisely there that the Blood of our Lord is found – the ultimate weapon – and with it the relics of the martyrs that are deposited in the holy altar. I wish the faithful were aware of the powers that we have with us, especially when we are inside the temple.
Saint Joseph in his Canon insists very much on the fact of the priesthood of Saint Zenobios, which he connects very closely with his martyrdom. The Saint, he says, appears before the throne of God, “as a priest well received and an excellent martyr,” while his bloody martyrdom made the color of his priestly vestment more intense, making it more holy by the grace of God. “Having stained your vestment, Zenobios, with the blood of martyrdom, it became, glorious one, more sacred in grace.” The Holy Hymnographer in this regard points out a basic truth: the martyric dimension of the priesthood – a consequence of participation in the High Priesthood of the Lord Himself – which is simply intensified by the martyrdom of blood. Priesthood and martyrdom are therefore on the same wavelength, a sign that the priest of Christ is always on the Cross: his ministry is sorrow and suffering. However, lived correctly, it also reveals the resurrection that is included in it. And it is understandable that we must also understand this in terms of the spiritual priesthood of every baptized and anointed believer. Let us not forget that every believer, even a simple layman, is also a sharer in the priesthood of the Lord.
Expounding the priesthood of Saint Zenobios, within the framework of its martyrdom dimension in this world, Saint Joseph refers to the way it was exercised: “he served as an angel,” with such power of prayer on behalf of his flock, that it was accepted by the Lord “as incense.” And this “supplication of his divinely-inspired soul” was combined with his teaching, which functioned as a watering rain in the hearts of the faithful entrusted to him by Him. The image used by the holy poet is very beautiful: “Your tongue, Zenobios, became like a rain-bearing cloud, showering down piety, watering the hearts of the faithful and leading minds to bear fruit in virtuous deeds.”
Thus, the priestly ministry of the pious Zenobios led to a double result: first, that more and more people be saved, growing on the path of virtue; second, that impiety be continually diminished by the increase of piety, that is, of true faith. “You reduced impiety, Martyr, with the increase of true piety... and saved those who were being tossed by the waves of error." It is understandable how important this truth is for us today: the reduction of impiety, as a heresy and as a selfish way of life, comes to the extent that we increase our piety. If today there are so many heresies and so many deviations from the right way of life, a large percentage of it is due to our own lack of piety.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
