June: Day 25: Teaching 1: Holy Martyr Febronia of Nisibis

 

June: Day 25: Teaching 1:
Holy Martyr Febronia of Nisibis

(Do Parents Have the Right to Force Minor Children to the Service of God?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Febronia, who is remembered by the Church today, was given to a community of ascetics in the third year of her life, which was in Mesopotamia and founded by the deaconess Platonida. Mesopotamia at that time was one of the regions of the vast Roman Empire. When Febronia reached the age that allowed abstinence, she began to eat every other day on the advice of her aunt, the pious Bryene, who was then the abbess of the monastery. Since Febronia's health did not suffer at all from fasting, she soon increased her abstinence and ate the smallest amount of bread and water. To this she added the strictest life, slept on a narrow and short board, often got up at night and read the Holy Scriptures or prayed. 

Meanwhile, a persecution of Christians arose in the Roman Empire, and to persecute them, the Emperor Diocletian sent his dignitaries Lysimachos and Selenos to Mesopotamia. Selenos was a cruel man and in his hatred of Christians he was not inferior to the Emperor himself. Lysimachos, who was only twenty years old at the time, was kind and gentle and had heard many good things about Christians from his mother in his childhood, who, being a Christian herself, had bequeathed to her son before her death to protect Christians. Having sent Lysimachos to Mesopotamia, Diocletian did not particularly trust him, suspecting his inclination towards Christianity, and therefore gave him Selenos as his leader. The inhabitants soon heard with horror about the cruel actions of Selenos in Mesopotamia and Syria, how he exterminated Christians with the sword and gave them over to be torn apart by wild beasts. Many of the Christians, among them presbyters, hermits and the bishop himself, fled when Selenos approached. 

The nuns of the monastery of Bryene wanted to follow their example, but Bryene persuaded them not to lose courage and to accept death for Christ, Who also suffered and died for us. The abbess's admonitions had an effect only on two nuns, Febronia and the aged Thomais, who remained in the monastery with the abbess; the other nuns left. Bryene and Thomais urged Febronia not to despair and to strengthen her spirit. "You have always been my obedient daughter," Bryene said, "comfort my old age with faithfulness to the Lord." 

The next morning, Roman soldiers entered Nisibis, seized many Christians and took them to prison. Then the soldiers entered the monastery, wanted to put the abbess to death, and were already raising their swords when Febronia threw herself at their feet and begged them to kill her first, so that she would not see Bryene's death. The soldiers placed an iron ring on her neck, shackled her and led her out of the monastery. Wanting to persuade the Saint to renounce Christ, Selenos addressed her with a flattering proposal: “I swear by the gods,” he said, “I should not show you leniency, but your beauty and modesty disarm me. Listen: although Lysimachos’ father has already chosen a rich and noble bride for him, I am ready to join your hand with that of Lysimachos. I have no children and he is my heir: the emperor will show him many favors. But know also that if you do not accept my advice, you will not live.” Febronia fearlessly answered: “I have a heavenly Bridegroom and do not seek marriage on earth. No threats or promises will change my decision.” 

Irritated by this answer, Selenos ordered the Saint to be tortured. The extraordinary steadfastness with which she endured the torture aroused the surprise and pity of all those present. Selenos ordered the torture to be stopped only when Febronia lost consciousness. The sufferer was brought to her senses with water. The torturer asked her if she had changed her mind; Febronia remained as firm in spirit as before. Then she was subjected to new tortures. Selenos ordered her arms and legs to be cut off, saying: “I will not leave until I see her last breath.” When Febronia died, Selenos retired to his room and there he had a fit; he went into a frenzy, fell and smashed his head on a stone.

II. As a three-year-old maiden, Saint Febronia was given to the monastery. Let us, brethren, turn our attention to this circumstance and resolve the following question:

Do parents have the right to act in this way today? Can they entrust their young child, or one yet to be born, to God, to serve Him?

a) Apparently, Holy Scripture itself favors the early assignment of man to the sacred service of God. "It is good for a man," says the Prophet, "to take the yoke in his youth." Is it not better for the flexible neck of a youth to bow beforehand to that yoke, the whole weight of which must lie upon him when he reaches the years of manhood?

But what yoke does the Prophet speak of? It is the yoke of humility and uncomplaining submission to the testing Providence of God. It is good for a man if he has learned from infancy to obey God and to bear the yoke of following Christ, who said: "Take My yoke upon you" (Matt. 11:29).

From this common yoke one must distinguish the private yoke of sacred service.

The first must certainly be acceptable to each of us, and it is already imposed on us at baptism. The latter requires maturity of thought in order to recognize the breadth of the duties imposed upon oneself and to weigh the great responsibility for them; it requires determination of will in order to accept them; patience in order to bear them; constancy and courage in order not to cast them off. Who will predict that the child, when he grows up, will be ready for all this?

b) Even if some parents forced their child to the sacred service of God, their promise will only take effect when this child, having grown up, decides her own fate, as did the Holy Martyr now commemorated. Saint Basil the Great gave the following rule regarding young girls brought to women's monasteries: "Parents bring many before they reach adulthood... Such should not be accepted lightly until we know their own disposition. But one who is sixteen or seventeen years old, who has been tested for a long time and has remained firm in her intention, should finally be accepted into the rank of virgins" (Rule 18).

c) Not only fear, but even despondency may come to an adult son, as soon as he learns that without his knowledge and consent, before his birth, he was forced by his parents to the labors of the sacred calling. This plunges into horror not only the weak, but also the strong-willed and pure-hearted. The mother of Saint Gregory the Theologian, even before his birth, forced him to the sacred service of God. Her son later learned this from her herself; but when the rank of shepherd was offered to him, he began to decline, fearing responsibility. Having experienced inner anguish, he accepted ordination, and later he himself said about himself: “For a long time I struggled with my thoughts, being between two fears, one of which held me below, and the other urged me to go up. In the midst of perplexities, like a stream driven by the winds, I yielded to the stronger: I was carried away by the fear of being disobedient. I withdrew to examine myself, but now I am ready to praise the Lord in the great church” ("In Defence of His Flight to Pontus").

III. And so, brethren, we should not condemn children to any particular field, but take them to church more often, accustom them to prayer and spiritual pursuits, so that they themselves will learn to ascend higher on the steps of useful activity, and bear the yoke of submission to the commandments of God. And when they come of age, they themselves will choose what they wish to be. For he who is brought up in piety, and who with heartfelt prayer turns to the Supreme Decider of our destinies, will not be deprived of the guiding directions of Providence: “Tell me, O Lord, the way in which I shall go” (Psalm 142:8). Amen.  

 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.