By Fr. George Dorbarakis
These Saints lived during the time of Diocletian. And Agapios was from the city of Gaza, Timolaos from Pontus, the two Dionysioses from Tripolis of Phoenicia, Romulus was a subdeacon of the Church in Diospolis, and Plesios and the two Alexanders were from Egypt. All of them, after first binding their souls with longing for Christ, then put their hands into chains and came before Urbanus, the governor of Caesarea, confessing that they were Christians. Then he, since he could neither bend them by threats nor by flatteries, nor indeed remove them from the faith of Christ, ordered their heads to be cut off with the sword.
It is logical: Saint Joseph the Hymnographer takes as the basis of his divine inspiration for the seven martyrs — the first of whom is Saint Agapios — precisely the name of Agapios. In almost every troparion of the Service which he composed for them, he emphasizes that the motive of their martyrdom and of their struggle in general was their fervent love for the Lord. For example:
“You have been wounded by love, of the Master of all, O most admirable Martyr Agapios, and you desired beforehand to die for Him” (Ode 1).
“Having greatly desired Christ, O Agapios, you courageously imitated His sufferings” (Ode 4).
The love of Saint Agapios and those with him for the Lord, which led them to imitate even His martyrdom, becomes even more intense when one considers that their martyrdom too was voluntary, like that of Christ. And this voluntary character the Holy Hymnographer also presents in a strong way:
“Most admirable martyrs, you delivered yourselves to voluntary slaughter” (Vesperal sticheron).
“O most admirable great martyr, you were slaughtered like a lamb of your own will” (Ode 4).
This voluntary martyrdom of the Saints, the fruit of their fervent love for Christ, which made them resemble the Lord in every way, leads the thought of Saint Joseph also to another observation: such people who reveal Christ to the world cannot but sanctify the earth with their blood, and even illumine the air through which they pass.
“And the earth with your blood you sanctified, and the ether you made radiant by your passage” (Vesperal sticheron).
And this is understandable: the saints, living richly the grace of God in their being, offer this grace also to the world in which they are found. Wherever a saint sets foot he sanctifies the place and drives away the demons. And not only during life, but also after death with his sanctified relics. Our Church chants this unceasingly in the well-known troparion:
“Martyrs of the Lord, you sanctify every place and heal every disease.”
From this point of view our saints constitute the greatest benefaction for the world. In a world that lies in the evil one and is influenced by his activities — therefore distorted and altered, insofar of course as the Lord who providentially governs all things permits — the saints function as healing medicines. And if our world still continues to exist, as many saints have pointed out, it is because the Lord prolongs His goodness on account of the presence of these saints and their prayers.
Therefore, if there were even a basic intelligence and the slightest percentage of open spiritual senses, everyone — especially those who hold authority — ought to stand with attention before the saints, and also before the womb that produced them: our holy Church.
But unbelief usually coexists with foolishness: the evil one is evil but not intelligent, and for this reason he usually puts out his own eyes.
The Holy Hymnographer confirms the above truth also with the following:
“You appeared like swords, cutting into pieces myriads of demons, O blessed ones, by the grace of God.” (Ode 3).
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
