January: Day 5: Teaching 3: Holy Martyrs Theopemptos and Theonas

January: Day 5: Teaching 3:
Holy Martyrs Theopemptos and Theonas
 
(Why Are We Afraid of Death?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Theopemptos, commemorated today, was Bishop of Nicomedia (in Asia Minor) and lived in the second half of the 3rd century, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. He was the first to suffer from the persecution of Christians in Asia Minor, refusing to bow down to idols and offer sacrifices to them in the presence of the emperor himself. "Those you worship," Theopemptos told the emperor, "are not gods, and no matter what torments you threaten me with, you will not compel me to honor them." Diocletian ordered the Bishop thrown into a fiery furnace; anticipating his intention, Theopemptos entered it himself, and the next day soldiers found him unharmed. Superstitious pagans often saw the work of magic in Christian miracles; such was the case here. Convinced that Theopemptos was aided by magic, Diocletian ordered a sorcerer to be found who possessed this art to an even greater degree. One sorcerer, named Theonas, answered the emperor's summons; the latter promised him great honors and rewards. "I will perform two experiments on you," Theonas told the Bishop, "and if you survive them, then I too will believe in your God." He then gave him two small cakes laced with poison to eat; Theopemptos remained unharmed. Astonished, Theonas gave him water laced with a poisonous herb to drink; but it, too, did not harm the Bishop. Then the sorcerer fell at the Saint's feet in amazement and exclaimed, "There is no other God but the One in whom you believe; I am a Christian and I worship Christ." In prison, where Diocletian ordered both confessors to be taken, the Bishop confirmed Theona in the Christian faith and baptized him. After further torture, having exhausted all means to destroy the Saint, the emperor finally ordered Theopemptos's beheading (303). "The Saint joyfully received this news and exclaimed, 'Blessed be God, who has deemed me worthy to attain the day I have always desired.'" After the martyrdom of Saint Theopemptos, Diocletian, through threats and promises, attempted to persuade Theonas to renounce Christ, but met with a firm refusal. He then ordered him thrown into a deep ditch and covered with earth. Theonas died in 303.

II. Christian brethren! Saint Theopemptos rejoices at the news of his approaching death and joyfully passes from earth to heaven. Why, then, do we not feel anything similar when we think of our mortal hour and in moments of mortal danger? Why, on the contrary, do we even fear to think of death, when for a Christian, death is nothing other than a transition from earth to heaven, a change from worse to better?

a) We fear death, unwilling even to think about it, because we love our Savior so little. He who loves someone longs for them with all his soul, eagerly awaiting the moment when he can see his beloved. Saint Paul, for example, loved the Savior Jesus Christ, to whom he gave himself entirely, dedicated his entire life — and look what he desires most — "having a desire to be released and to be with Christ" — desires the release of what? The release of the soul from the body, that is, death, as the only means to be inseparable from Christ and contemplate Him for everlasting ages. But our love for Christ is very weak, and therefore we neither desire to go to Him nor do we desire to die. Just as in this life, while we are in the body, we find no sweetness in love for Christ — just as here we are mostly cold to the Church — Christ's primary abode on earth — and to the Mystery of Communion, in which a Christian is secretly united with Christ — just as here we find no pleasure in fulfilling Christ's commandments, even considering it a burden to live according to Christ's will — in short, we have always been more or less distant from Christ here — so we cannot imagine the blessedness of being with Christ in heaven. And unable to imagine this blessedness, we do not strive for it — we flee the thought of death, and dread death itself as the most terrible event for us. Christian! Love Christ, dedicate your life to Him, live for the glory of His name, so that you may be deemed worthy of life in heaven with Him — and you will not fear death; you will even rejoice when illness — the herald of death — comes to you.

b) Why else do we fear death — dislike the thought of it? Because we are so attached to this life. Of course, we should love life, but only as a gift from God, and not to the point of placing it above all else. There are things more worthy of love — firstly, the Giver of Life Himself — the One who gave us life — the blessed eternity for which this present life was given to us. But we love life not as a means to eternal life, but as a means to consolation, to various pleasures in this world — we see it as a means to enjoyment. To part with life means to part with our beloved pleasures, and we regret this. Hence the sorrow at the thought of death. But let us not become attached to life and its blessings; let us love everything in the Lord, for the Lord, and in no way more than the Lord. Let us use everything that God sends us in this life in such a way as to be always ready to leave it with joy — without regret. Our hearts will not be attached to the blessings of life, and death will not be terrible for us, we will meet it easier, calmer than many meet it now.

c) Death is also terrifying to us because we are so poorly prepared for it. A disciple well prepared for trials fears no severity. A steward who is always faithful to his master, who conducts his affairs conscientiously, does not fear his master's arrival, whenever he arrives. He is always ready to render an account to him. But we lack this readiness to appear before the impartial Judge. We think little of our souls, are unfaithful to the vows we made at baptism, do not live according to the Gospel. We are careless, negligent, and neglect to adorn our souls with good qualities, especially deeds of mercy, but are more concerned with our well-being here below. Our conscience convicts us of all this, convicts us often, and sometimes very strongly — relentlessly. After this, it's clear whether the thought of death can be sweet to us. We fear it as our worst enemy, because we don't know what will become of us — our souls, who will defend us at God's judgment, or whether we will escape the eternal torment prepared for careless, unrepentant sinners. But even in this case, there is a way for us to avoid the fear of death. This is faith in the merits of the Savior, this is the spirit of repentance, the spirit of prayer. 

Thus, offer this repentance, make every day a beginning to your conversion to the path of salvation, believe in the merits of the Crucified One, for which the Heavenly Father is ready to forgive the repentant the most countless sins – watch over your thoughts, desires, words, and deeds, as often as possible, direct your prayerful gaze to heaven, have a firm desire to act according to Christ's commandments in everything – hasten to unite with Christ more often in the Mystery of Communion – and then death will lose its terror for you. 

Therefore, sinner, fear not death, but sins. True, death sometimes terrified even the great righteous. But in this same righteousness, in this purity and innocence, they found both peace for themselves and the most powerful weapon against the fear of death. Thus did Saint Hilarion calm his soul, troubled by the fear of God's judgment, at the hour of death: "Depart, my soul, depart, what are you afraid of? Why do you hesitate? You have served Christ for almost 70 years – and you are afraid of death."

III. Lord! Grant us to face death without fear. Grant us after death not to see a new eternal death, but to be deemed worthy of eternal life with all the saints. Amen. 

 

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