By Fr. George Dorbarakis
These Saints lived in the times of Maximian and were fellow-soldiers and relatives of Saint Theodore the Tiro, being from the land of the Cappadocians. They were therefore led before Asclepiodotus the governor because of their faith in Christ and were severely beaten. Saint Eutropios in particular was wounded in the mouth, because he insulted the governor.
There in the torments, the executioners indeed were exhausted because of the force they expended for the tortures, while the martyrs became healthy, because of the presence within them of the Lord and of the glorious martyr Theodore. Since therefore, because of this extraordinary occurrence, many believed in Christ, they accepted death by the sword.
The governor then changed his stance and attempted, with flatteries, to turn Saint Kleonikos away from the faith of Christ — that is, sometimes with promises and sometimes with gifts. The Saint, however, not only did not relax or bend at all, but on the contrary, becoming stronger and indignant, mocked the foolishness of the governor and ridiculed the weakness of the idols. For this reason also, at the very hour when sacrifice was being offered to them, he cast down by his prayer the idol of Artemis.
Then the idolaters burned pitch and asphalt in three cauldrons and poured them upon the martyrs. And they indeed were preserved unharmed, while the servants of the idols were burned up. Afterward Kleonikos and Eutropios were crucified and thus were perfected. Saint Basiliskos, however, was thrown into prison, and after some time he also was perfected.
Saint Theophanes the Hymnographer first of all makes use of the triad of the martyrs in order to emphasize their faith in the Holy Trinity, in the sense that on the one hand they proclaimed Them before many people, and on the other hand they have boldness to intercede to Them on our behalf.
“The triad of the martyrs confessed the venerable Trinity before a great multitude of people” (kathisma of Matins).
“O saints, equal in number to the Holy Trinity, propitiate Them for us” (Ode 1).
And further: their being equal in number with Them becomes an occasion for the Hymnographer to manifest their equal-mindedness, but also the same recompense of their labors.
“Having been shown clearly equal in number to the Trinity, O Martyrs, being of equal mind in faith toward Them, you found an equal crown” (Ode 1).
It is worth noting the fact that the Hymnographer attempts to make use of everything about the Saints, even their number, in order to see them not as a detached and isolated phenomenon, but as integrated within the framework of our Triadic God.
He sees their triadic character further as an element of their unity. That is, according to Saint Theophanes, the Saints were bound together among themselves with the bond of peace, and this bond gave them the strength, by the grace of God, to rout the delusion of the enemy.
He explains, however, that this bond of theirs was not based on something external, but on their common faith, the result of their acceptance of the words of God in their heart. And this means: whoever truly and consciously feels the operation of the words of God is bound with bonds of peace to his fellow human beings and receives strength to overcome all the attacks of the evil one and of his instruments.
“Having been resounded with the divine words spiritually, O martyrs, and being joined together in the same purpose, holding within yourselves the bond of peace, you routed the delusion of the enemy” (Ode 1).
The same truth Theophanes presents elsewhere (Ode 4) in a different way:
“Having been firmly established upon the rock of truth [that is, Christ], you appeared unshaken in the assaults of torments.”
The observation of the previous hymn that the martyrs “were resounded with the divine words spiritually” requires further commentary. For it is not enough for one to hear the words of God or simply to read Holy Scripture. Many hear and read, but the word does not act within them. The study or the hearing must be done “spiritually,” that is, with illumination from the Spirit of God, therefore with a disposition of humility.
“Not the hearers, but the doers of the Law shall be justified,” notes the word of God. It is what the Lord says in the Parable of the Good Seed. The seed may fall on many soils, but only in the good soil does it bear fruit. On the trampled and hardened soil it does not even manage to take root. “An enemy,” that is, the devil, comes and takes away the word.
Consequently, the word of God indeed has tremendous power, as we see also in the three Holy Martyrs today, but only when man himself also has the disposition to hear it, so as to accept it into his heart and there to bear fruit. And a disposition of accepting the word of God means a heartfelt seeking of God by man. The three Holy Martyrs guide us also in this.
“Having directed their whole inclination toward their Creator,” Theophanes again notes, “they appeared invincible.”
“Having stretched their whole desire toward the Creator… you appeared unconsumed” (Ode 4).
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
