By Fr. George Dorbarakis
1. Saint Hermias lived during the reign of Emperor Antoninus, in the city of Comana, and was a soldier. He was advanced in age and had white hair. He was arrested because he confessed his faith in Christ and was brought before the governor Sebastian, who ordered first that his jaws be broken, the skin of his face removed, and his teeth torn out. Then they lit a furnace and threw him into it. Yet he remained unharmed by the fire, so an order was given that he be killed with poisonous potions. He drank the poisons, and when he remained unharmed by them as well, he drew to the faith of Christ the very man who had administered them to him. Because that man confessed Christ as God, they cut off his head. Then they tore out the sinews of the Saint's body and cast him into a red-hot cauldron; afterward they pierced his eyes, and for three days they hung him upside down. Finally, after cutting through his neck, he departed to the Lord.
2. It is natural to see courage and bravery in young people. To see them, however, in people who are old and advanced in years is something marvelous and extraordinary. For the elderly person, seeing his strength abandon him, feels more vulnerable and usually seeks shelter and security. Thus fear becomes a characteristic of old age, increasing along with advancing years.
Of course, all this is true where great faith in Christ is absent. Or rather, it remains true, but it is fought against and overcome by faith in Christ. For this is the distinguishing mark of the Christian faith: the strengthening of the human heart and the elimination of every fear. The presence of Christ in a person's life, regardless of age, is always accompanied by the exhortation: "Do not be afraid; only believe." Therefore the Apostle Paul also notes that "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound judgment."
And such a great faith, a grace-filled faith that overthrew all the things considered secure and immovable, was the faith of the Holy Martyr Hermias. The Saint was advanced in age, "having his hair made white by time," according to the Synaxarion. And yet! His resolve was so courageous, his bravery so dazzling, that the young people of every age pale and draw back before him.
Even more applicable to him — as also to the other aged holy martyrs of the faith, such as Saint Polycarp, Saint Haralambos, and even the young Christian maidens who suffered martyrdom — are the words spoken by a distinguished man when he met the heroine of the Greek War of Independence, Bouboulina, and marveled at her boldness and courage despite her feminine nature: "Before her the brave bowed their heads, while the cowardly were afraid."
Saint Joseph the Hymnographer repeatedly points out this reality. It is not accidental that already the first sticheron of Vespers — the first hymn dedicated to the martyr Hermias — refers precisely to this:
"The irresistible grace of Him who strengthens you, O martyr, displays His power to all through the weakness of your nature. Therefore He strengthened you in a mortal body to struggle mightily against the bodiless one and to receive the victory prizes." (Sticheron at Vespers)
"Being strengthened by the might of the Divine Spirit, O all-wise one, you rejoicingly humbled the dragon who is powerful in evil." (Ode 3)
Even in the casting of the Saint into the fiery furnace, he appears to enter it without fear, recalling the Three Holy Youths in the furnace.
"You entered fearlessly into the furnace that had been made red-hot, O glorious one, and like the Youths you remained unharmed by fire through divine sovereignty." (Ode 4)
His youthful courage caused him to cry out his fearlessness and confess his faith in the true God:
"I am not terrified by any intensification of sufferings that comes upon me, nor do I render honor to those who are not gods, you cried out, O all-blessed one. One alone do I worship: Jesus the Lord, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate." (Ode 8)
Of course, Saint Joseph cannot fail to point out the cause of this great faith of Saint Hermias and the tremendous courage of his heart. It was nothing other than his fervent love for the Lord. The driving force, the effective cause of his unwavering determination to endure all the terrible tortures until the very end, despite his advanced age, was the filling of his heart with the flame of Christ's love and therefore his constant contemplation of Him.
"Being sharpened by the fire of Christ's love, you truly became a two-edged sword." (Ode 6)
"Looking toward God, who is able to save, with uprightness of mind you endured the pains bravely, O Hermias." (Ode 7)
In the end, the only thing that truly matters in this life is neither age nor any other earthly advantage, but the disposition of the heart itself. And the heart that can endure even death itself with awareness and meaning is the heart of the Christian, that is, the heart filled with faith in Christ and love for both Christ and fellow man.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
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