December: Day 22: Teaching 2: Holy Great Martyr Anastasia the Deliverer from Bonds

 

December: Day 22: Teaching 2:
Holy Great Martyr Anastasia the Deliverer from Bonds
 
(On the Motivations for Compassion for Prisoners)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Anastasia the Deliverer from Bonds, who is celebrated today, is distinguished by the title of "Deliverer from Bonds" because she voluntarily took upon herself the special task of providing philanthropy to prisoners and alleviating the plight of those confined in dungeons. Saint Anastasia came from a wealthy and noble family and lived in the third century after Christ. Her father, as was often the case in those days, was a pagan, and her mother secretly professed faith in Christ. Instructed in the Christian faith under her mother's protection from a young age, the future Great Martyr fully embraced the Savior's most important commandment about love for God and neighbor. Her impressionable, still young soul was imbued with that spirit of love and compassion for all the unfortunate and suffering that distinguishes the Gospel teaching from all other faiths. 

Having lost her mother, Anastasia was unwillingly married by her father to the distinguished Roman senator Pompilius. Finding no sympathy from the rude pagan, she secretly tried to help those imprisoned for Christ's sake as best she could, unbeknownst to her husband. To this end, she exchanged her usual light clothing for beggarly attire, made the rounds of the prisons, bribing corrupt guards, visiting innocent sufferers languishing in confinement, washing their wounds, and generally assisting them as time and circumstances permitted. Some time passed, and Anastasia's selfless deeds became known to her husband. Unable to comprehend the depth of her exploits in the hardness of his heart, Pompilius subjected his wife to severe beatings and imprisonment for them. However, nothing could weaken Anastasia's holy zeal for serving the prisoners: she still found time to visit the prisons. 

The subsequent death of her husband gave Saint Anastasia the opportunity to devote herself entirely to her chosen deeds. At that time, the confessors of Christ were in dire straits. Emperor Diocletian, a cruel persecutor of Christians, reigned supreme in the Roman Empire. By his order, Christians were sought out and thrown into prison in large numbers, awaiting a terrible execution, so that all the prisons were overflowing with Christian prisoners. During this perilous time, Anastasia showed her love and compassion for the prisoners to the fullest extent. Having ample resources inherited to her, she spared no expense to offer any comfort to the martyrs for Christ. Strengthened by her faith and hope in Christ, she boldly traveled from city to city, from country to country. Abandoning the timidity and apprehension typical of women, the holy ascetic infiltrated the prisons wherever she went, bringing food and clothing for the prisoners, and, having presented the guards with gifts of gold, sometimes removing the holy ones. The iron shackles of the martyrs for Christ chafed the innocent sufferers to the bone. Appearing like a bright angel of comfort beneath the dark vaults of dungeons, Saint Anastasia brought not only physical relief to the prisoners, but also encouragement, consolation, and joy to their souls. She conversed at length with the innocent sufferers for the name of Christ. With her inspired words, she infused them with the strength of patience and thus prepared them to receive the crown of martyrdom. 

Having served many for the good of others, the Holy Deliverer from Bonds herself did not escape the common fate of Christ's true followers. Arrested for her sympathy and assistance to Christians, Saint Anastasia openly confessed her faith in Christ, despite the prohibitions, threats, and treacherous promises of the pagan authorities. Remaining steadfast in her Christian faith to the end, she, along with the other confessors, suffered a martyr's death and through all this earned for herself eternal blessedness in heaven and the unceasing glorification of the faithful on earth.

II. While honoring the Holy Great Martyr Anastasia, who dedicated her entire life to serving prisoners, let us not forget, Christians, that the Saint’s example can also be applied to our Christian activities, giving strong motivations to our Christian compassion for unfortunate prisoners.

a) True, in our time there are no prisoners like those who filled the prisons during the dark centuries of Christian persecution. There are no prisoners now who languish in prison for the Christian faith. Nevertheless, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself endured beatings and blows, bonds and condemnation to death on the cross for our salvation, considers service to those in prison and chains a distinctive merit for Christians. At the final, general and dread Judgment, He will remember those who, during their lives, did good to prisoners. "I was in prison and you came to Me," He, the All-Merciful One, will say to those standing at His right hand. "Lord," will ask those who have been deemed worthy of His merciful and universally desired Judgment, "when did we see You in prison and visit You?" And the King answered and said to them: “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:36 et seq.).

Keeping in mind these words of the Savior, Christians have always considered it their sacred duty to provide philanthropy to those imprisoned.

b) Our ancestors, especially the Christ-loving tsars and noble boyars, had the pious custom of visiting prisons on the eve of, and even on, major feast days, ransoming debtors and giving generous alms to prisoners, urging us to follow their holy example. And to this day, among the wealthy residents of large cities, there are compassionate individuals who, on major feasts, send generous donations of food and supplies to those imprisoned. How much joy and comfort this lively concern for their plight from outsiders must surely pour into the souls of prisoners!

c) Finally, the Lord's commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves compels us not to remain indifferent to the unfortunate plight of those imprisoned. Granted, among them are often hardened criminals, tainted by heinous crimes. But can even such people be deprived of all compassion? After all, they, too, are adorned with the image and likeness of God; after all, Christ suffered for them; after all, the Lord still awaits their repentance and reform. And He, the Lord of mercy, will be pleased that we not turn away from hardened criminals, but rather extend to them a hand of brotherly assistance and assist in their conversion to the path of truth through words and deeds of Christian love, which has often rescued even hardened sinners from the power of the enemies of our salvation and made them children and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven. And what can we say about those who were accidentally tempted to commit a crime, who lost their freedom through ignorance, or who were driven to prison by a difficult life? All such people undoubtedly deserve Christian mercy in the eyes of every Christian, even the most infantile at heart. Indeed, nothing touches the soul of a criminal so powerfully and salutarily, nothing reforms them so much as compassionate concern for them, the combination of a just judgment and Christian mercy. Every act of mercy shown to them encourages the criminal to see and appreciate the good in others, compels them to repent of the harm or injury they have caused their neighbors, and to recognize their guilt and the need for self-correction. Therefore, while upholding truth and justice, our state court does not lose sight of mercy, and strives to act in such a way that mercy and truth meet in every case, as far as possible, and that justice and mercy are united according to the words of the Psalmist: "Mercy and truth have met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other" (Ps. 85:10).

III. Let us, beloved brethren, imitate Saint Anastasia the Deliverer from Bonds and, to the best of our ability, show Christian compassion to our unfortunate brothers languishing in prison, thereby leading them to God and eternal salvation.

 

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