May: Day 7: Teaching 2:
Holy Martyr Akakios the Centurion
(On the Holy Martyrs)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
Holy Martyr Akakios the Centurion
(On the Holy Martyrs)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
I. Saint Akakios, commemorated today by the Church, a martyr of the 4th century, was a native of Cappadocia, a Roman centurion by rank, and suffered during the reign of Maximian. For his resolute refusal to sacrifice to idols and for his fearless confession of Christianity, Akakios was subjected to cruel tortures, beaten with ox sinews and tin rods, then thrown into prison, where the Holy Martyr remained without food for 7 days. From prison, in heavy chains, he was brought to Constantinople and here, after new tortures, he ended his life under the executioner's sword. Constantine the Great erected a church in honor of the Holy Martyr Akakios on the site of his burial.
II. On the day of commemoration of the Holy Martyr Akakios, let us reflect on the sufferings of the holy martyrs and draw edification from this.
a) It is terrible to even imagine the executions to which the victorious confessors of the name of Christ were subjected! Prisons, hunger, chains, beatings with clubs, slicing of the body, dismemberment of limbs, burning with red-hot iron, burning in fire, drowning in water, beheading, crucifixion on the cross - all this and more was used by the wicked torturers. And one can, without exaggeration, say that then all hell rose up against Christ in the person of His faithful followers. But it was not the martyrs who became exhausted in patience, but the torturers in inventing the kind of torture. And who conquered these hordes of hell, if not Christ Himself, acting in the confessors of His name by His grace and almighty power? Who suffered in the martyrs, if not He Who suffered for the whole world on the cross? Therefore, the holy martyrs often did not feel the dreadful pains they endured amid tortures, and after sustaining wounds, they were suddenly healed by an invisible hand. Thus, in their sufferings, so many signs and wonders were accomplished that often the persecutors themselves fell down before the name of the Crucified One and became martyrs. With such protection from God, could Christianity be exterminated and the Church of Christ perish? No. The more they persecuted Christians, the more they multiplied; the more they persecuted the Church of Christ, the more it spread and grew stronger, and finally, in the days of the faithful Emperor Constantine, it shone forth in all its grandeur and glory, becoming dominant throughout the entire Roman Empire and receiving into its mother's bosom, as an obedient son, the very possessor of the world. Thus again the word of Christ was fulfilled, which He said about His Church: “The gates of hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18).
b) Look, brethren, what Christians were like in the past! See how great was their faith in our Savior God! If we compare the faith of the martyrs with our faith, and their patience with our patience, we are irrevocably guilty before Christ, our Redeemer. The martyrs did not want to fall away from the faith in Christ for anything. They could not be “separated from the love of God by any tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or trouble, or sword” (Rom. 8:35). But we almost hourly betray Christ, sometimes out of flattery, sometimes to please people, sometimes out of fear of losing honor, losing the favor of the powerful, or suffering damage to our own interests. What is our faith, when we think little of God our Savior, when we subordinate our fate not to the providence of God, but to our own calculations - when in case of troubles, misfortunes, illnesses we turn not to the power of God, but to human help! Where is our patience, when we are burdened by all Christian duties: vigil and prayers and fasting, and cannot deny anything to our sensual desires and passions? Woe to us, brethren! How can we excuse ourselves for the impoverishment of our faith and deeds of Christian piety? By some external obstacles? But we live in a blessed time of Christian peace: we have pious kings, champions of the faith and patrons of the Holy Church; we are daily and openly called to serve the true God; we are urged and encouraged to confess the name of Christ and to fulfill all Christian duties. Is it because of our own weakness? But were not the martyrs the same people? Were they born bodiless, or with a different flesh than we have? No. They, like all the saints, were, in the words of the word of God, “like us” (James 5:17), that is, they had the same weaknesses, the same nature corrupted by sin; but, armed with faith and love for Christ, they courageously struggled against all the temptations of the flesh, the world and the devil, and behold, God granted them grace and strength, with the help of which they triumphed over all their enemies, and received for themselves crowns of victory. Why should we not be imitators of them? After all, heavenly help is always ready for us. "God," says the Scripture, "desires all men to be saved" (1 Tim. 2:4), and "Jesus Christ," our Helper and Savior, "is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb. 13:8). Let us only begin the work of our salvation, and the "power of God," ready "for the salvation of every one that believes" (Rom. 1:16), will not be slow in visiting us.
III. Let us, brethren, be inspired by the faith and patience of the holy martyrs and zealously walk the path of our Christian life, overcoming sinful passions and the corrupt customs of the world, so that the holy martyrs may be our intercessors and helpers in our weaknesses, and not our accusers before God. Amen.
Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
