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By Fr. George Dorbarakis
Saint Agatha was from the city of Panormos (modern-day Palermo) in Sicily, shining from her youth with purity of body and beauty of soul, and she was also wealthy. In the time of Emperor Decius, she was brought before the governor Quintianus. At first she was handed over to an unbelieving, immoral woman, so that she might turn her away from faith in Christ. But because she held firmly to this faith and preferred death by martyrdom, they beat her harshly and cut off her breast, which the all-glorious Apostle Peter restored to health. Then they dragged her over shards and burned her with fire. Finally they threw her into prison, where she surrendered her spirit to God. It is said that at her tomb an angel brought a tablet on which were written the following words: "A venerable mind, self-willed, honor from God, and the redemption of the fatherland."
Saint Theophanes, the hymnographer of Saint Agatha, finds the opportunity in the Canon he composed for her to emphasize once again that our Church is clothed in red by the blood of her holy martyrs. The martyric blood of each Saint is, moreover, an ornament for her, a sign that martyrdom constitutes the glory of the Church. "Let the Church today be adorned with a glorious purple garment, dyed by the pure blood of the Martyr Agatha." And he takes the occasion to remind us of what is self-evident: the Saint gave her life for the sake of her faith in Christ, precisely because she loved Him completely and therefore sought to order her existence according to His holy commandments. "Of all the pleasant and delightful things of life, you chose Christ, Agatha, having been captivated by divine longing."
Saint Theophanes naturally dwells on what he sees as a paradox in the life of the Saint: an angel of the Lord bringing a tablet, with phrases engraved declaring her holiness — a sign that God wished to make her manifest to the world. And he draws the association: Moses too, on Mount Sinai, received tablets from God with His Law engraved upon them. "A paradoxical miracle occurred in the contest of the all-glorious Agatha, Martyr of Christ God, equal to that of Moses. For he, while giving the law to the people on the mountain, received the God-engraved Scriptures written on tablets; here, on the other hand, an angel brought from heaven to the tomb a tablet inscribed: 'A venerable mind, self-willed, honor from God, and the redemption of the fatherland.’" Who would have imagined that a young maiden in southern Italy would be compared with the patriarch Moses, the God-seer? Once again it is confirmed what the Lord said, that even the least in the Kingdom of God — that is, after His coming — is greater than the greatest in the Old Testament.
The Hymnographer, Saint Theophanes, however, is also struck with amazement by two more miracles that occurred through the Saint. The first was when Mount Etna erupted and the burning lava was about to destroy the nearby city. The inhabitants who honored the Saint and her honorable relic called upon her with faith. And behold, the miracle! The unstoppable flame of the lava was halted. The city was saved; the Saint acted. "You restrained with your prayers the unstoppable onrush of the fire of Etna, O you who are named for Goodness, and you saved the city which honored your venerable relic, O martyr, from which it joyfully draws the rivers of healings, by the grace of the Holy Spirit."
The second miracle occurred when the Saint herself, while undergoing her martyrdom, saw her breast healed after it had been cut off, through the wondrous presence of the Holy Apostle Peter. He appeared while the Saint was under guard and healed her wounds. "The disciple of Christ appeared to you in radiant fashion while you were imprisoned, O unconquered Virgin Martyr of the Savior, healing your dreadful wounds, which indeed you endured with joy." This wondrous healing of her breast, the poet notes, drove her persecutor into dreadful madness and great astonishment, while she glorified her Bridegroom, Christ. "The evil persecutor was seized by terrible madness and was utterly amazed, beholding your renewal and the regrowth of your breast; but you, O martyr, rejoicing, cried out to your Bridegroom with a loud voice: Blessed are You, O God of our Fathers."
It is hardly necessary to note that Saint Agatha appears to have striking relevance in our own time. By the grace of God she can both restrain the fire of the manifold crisis, which like volcanic lava threatens to destroy us, and heal women who suffer from any problem of the breast. Little known to many, Saint Agatha nevertheless possesses great grace from God and great power of beneficence toward the world.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
