Homily for the Commemoration of the Martyrs Faith, Hope, and Love and Their Mother Sophia (Fr. Daniel Sysoev)

Homily for the Commemoration of the Martyrs Faith, Hope, and Love and Their Mother Sophia

By Fr. Daniel Sysoev

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!

I congratulate you all on the commemoration of the martyrs Faith, Hope, and Love and their mother Sophia! They suffered in Rome in the second century. The eldest daughter, Faith, was twelve years old; Hope was nine, and the youngest, Love, was seven. Their mother Sophia named them after the Christian virtues. They courageously confessed Christ before their persecutors and tyrants and showed that they were true sufferers for Christ, conquerors of death. A martyr is not one who is tortured, but one who bears witness to God, conquering the world by the word of Christ. Christ is the only true way to the Heavenly Father. We know that witchcraft, magic, sorcery, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism are all evil paths that do not lead to God.

There is only one way—the way of our Lord Jesus Christ—which saves people: “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11–12).

Holy Martyrs Sophia, Faith, Hope and Love in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. These Saints lived during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Saint Sophia was widowed at an early age and was compelled to move to Rome with her three daughters, Faith, Hope, and Love. The emperor learned that these four women were Christians, and therefore he sent men to arrest them. He first summoned the eldest sister, Faith, who was twelve years old, to give an account of herself. At first, he tried with enticing words to persuade her to deny Christ, but, of course, he did not succeed. Enraged, he ordered that she be beheaded. The emperor met with the same outcome with the other two, ten-year-old Hope and nine-year-old Love. Seeing their steadfastness as well, he again ordered that they be beheaded. Saint Sophia was not only ungrieved by what had happened, but also felt a particular pride in the faith of her daughters. Therefore, she buried them with honors, while remaining for three days at their graves, fervently beseeching the Lord to receive her also into His Kingdom. God heard her prayer, and thus Saint Sophia gave up her spirit beside her children.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: September 17

The Month of September

Day 17

18. On How Mothers Should Raise Their Children

(From the Life of the Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope, and Love and Their Mother Sophia. September 17, Menaion.)

The responsibility for raising children rests primarily upon you, Christian mothers! God Himself has entrusted this responsibility to you. Look at a child: who has instilled in him such love for you that he does not hasten to anyone as he does to you, show affection to anyone as he does to you, and can hardly live without you? You will certainly agree that God Himself has placed this love within him. But why? The reason is obvious. He placed it there so that you would understand that if a child, so to speak, never leaves your side, he does not do so without reason. God Himself has commanded him not to leave you and, by this, to require of you that you keep constant watch over the development of his inclinations and understanding and that, as far as possible, you develop his spiritual and bodily faculties. Hardly anyone will dispute this truth, and I think you yourselves will agree with it. And if you agree, you will even more readily agree that the duty of raising children is a difficult one, and that not every mother is capable of fulfilling it properly.

Homily on the Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope and Love and their Mother Sophia (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily on the Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope and Love and their Mother Sophia 

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered in 1964)

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Holy Church celebrates the memory of the Holy Martyrs Faith (Vera), Hope (Nadezhda) and Love (Lyubov) and their mother Sophia, honoring their suffering for their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

To understand the nature of the suffering of the Holy Martyrs, it is necessary to recall the time and circumstances in which their martyrdom took place. Saint Sophia lived in the city of Rome, Italy, during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. Having lost her husband in her youth, she took on the upbringing of her young children — her daughters Vera, Nadezhda, and Lyubov. Vera was the eldest, twelve years old; Nadezhda was ten; and Lyubov was nine. Being a pious and zealous Christian herself, she strove to instill in her daughters the same spirit of piety, faith, and love for our Lord Jesus Christ. Having ample material resources, Saint Sophia devoted herself entirely to Christian philanthropy, helping the poor. Her children, who are generally drawn to good examples, saw in her life a good role model, and so it is not surprising that they were quite pious.