By Fr. George Dorbarakis
1. These Saints lived during the reign of Maximian. Sergius was a Primicerius, that is, a leader, of the school of the Kintilians, while Bacchus was a Secundicerius, that is, second in rank, of the same school. From the beginning they were initiated into the Christian faith and learned the God-inspired Scriptures well. For this reason, they were accused before the emperor as Christians, and he ordered them to offer sacrifice with him to the idols. Because of their refusal, their belts and collars were removed, and they were dressed in women’s garments. With irons on their feet, they were paraded through the center of the city for mockery and insult, and afterward they were led to the governor Antiochus, in the city of Euphratesia. As they approached, an angel appeared to them and filled them with strength and courage. Bacchus, after being beaten for a long time with raw sinews, gave up his spirit amid these tortures, while Sergius, after being interrogated in various ways, had his feet fastened in iron sandals. After being forced to run for a long time, he was then shut up in prison, and again had his feet fastened in the same sandals, until finally his head was cut off with a sword.
2. Saints Sergius and Bacchus do not belong merely to the ranks of the martyrs of our Church, but to those of its Great Martyrs. In the Byzantine period, moreover, they were especially honored, and for this reason Justinian built a monastery in their honor, which today is one of the most important surviving Christian monuments of the early Byzantine period, and bears the name Küçük Ayasofya, that is, Little Hagia Sophia. According to the Hymnographer, even the heavenly gates revered their holiness and martyrdom, and opened immediately for the martyrs, because their martyrdom was graced by the Lord Himself, while it put the ranks of the demons to flight: “The heavenly gates are opened for the prize-bearing Martyrs, reverencing the august suffering, which was graced by the esteem of our God and puts the ranks of demons to flight.” The reason, of course, for God’s particular delight in the martyrdom of the Saints was their motive: their longing for Christ, which made them abhor every worldly glory and allure, and look only to the Lord, striving lawfully for Him, that is, without losing at all their love even for their tormentors. "Having chosen to compete lawfully as servants of Christ, you, O prize-bearing Martyrs, loathed perishing and fleeting glory, the entire world, and the ruler of this world, with a God-minded intellect, out of your intense longing for the Creator."
What makes a particular impression in the hymnography of the Saints today is that the Hymnographer emphasizes, not once but many times, the bond between these two Saints, a bond that was founded not on ties of blood — for the Saints were not, of course, brothers according to the flesh — but on their common faith in Christ. “In the manner of David, the martyrs Sergius and Bacchus cried aloud: ‘Behold now, what is good, or what is pleasant, but for brothers to dwell together?’ Not being bound by the relationship of nature, but by the manner of faith.” And elsewhere: “Those whom nature did not know as brothers according to the flesh, faith compelled to think as brothers even unto blood.” And this common faith that bound them together as brothers and more than brothers was, of course, due to the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, living in their heart and in their very being, made them of one soul and one heart: “not through the following of nature, but through the unity of faith in the Holy Spirit.”
We do not think that the Hymnographer’s particular emphasis on this truth is accidental. The Hymnographer knows that sometimes the natural bond does not function as it should, that is, within the framework of love. There are times when hatred possesses those who are connected by ties of blood. There is even a proverb about this: “They hate each other like brothers” — a tragic reality, unfortunately. But the bond that remains indissoluble, that truly unites people, is the bond created by the Spirit of God Himself upon their common faith in Christ. And this is because wherever the Spirit of God is present, there is true love, such that even death is powerless before it. The living example of Saints Sergius and Bacchus is one of many proofs of this.
This unity of faith in Christ with the grace of the Holy Spirit is particularly relevant in our days. For the crisis that our homeland is experiencing, as certainly is the rest of the world as well, but especially our homeland, cannot, we believe, be overcome unless harmony and love among us come into operation. If there is love, we will see the lack of one being replenished by the abundance of another. For wherever solidarity has been at work, acute problems have never arisen. And if this is true, then the solution for Greek society is a one-way road: the Church community must be given prominence, and the Parish, as the gathering and loving relationship of the faithful, must take its proper place. If we, the faithful, begin to live the life of the Church correctly, that is, with love toward God and our fellow human being, we will very quickly, or relatively quickly and painlessly, get back on our feet. For then we will also see tangibly and visibly the intervention of our God Himself. But what usually happens? Many, or at least some, but with influence over the great mass of the people, attack and marginalize the only force of unity in our society, the Church. But where else can one find the strength to live with love? Who else, apart from Christ whom the Church lives, can provide this love? We have the impression that amid the difficulties of the crisis and the dead ends it creates, we ourselves are, as the common saying goes, gouging out our own eyes. We hope that at least some among us who are considered Christians will understand the reality and turn in repentance to the only One able to save, Christ, which means turning to His living Body, the Church. Provided that we do not make the mistake of identifying Christ and the Church with certain clergy who perhaps conduct themselves in the world in an unworthy and faithless manner.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
