Orthodox America
Commemorated December 13
I
CANNOT remain silent, states Saint Nicodemus, concerning the joyous miracle
wrought by these five holy Martyrs, as it was recounted by the pious
Protopresbyter Nicholas Malaxos at Nauplion. It all took place in a metochion
of the New Monastery at Chios, which is honored by their name. I shall describe
it here in brief for the benefit of pious Christians. This small metochion is
subsidized by the main monastery, which provides for all its needs, including
the essentials for the celebration of the memory of these saints. Once, a
severe winter storm visited the area on the Saints' feast day. The snow was so
deep that the fathers could not leave to go to the metochion with the necessary
items for the Divine Liturgy, nor could the local populace get to church. Only
a few of the faithful attended vespers. At matins, the priest alone lit the
lamps, sounded the bells, and began to read the service.
Suddenly, he
saw five men reverently enter the church. They were well dressed and decorous,
and one could see by their clothing and manners that they were strangers. In
appearance, they resembled the five glorious martyrs Eustratius, Auxentius,
Eugenius, Mardarius and Orestes, as they are depicted in their icons. Having
entered the church, two of the men stood on the right side and two on the left,
while the fifth, who resembled Orestes, stood at the analogion [reader's
stand]. When it was time, he intoned in a resonant and clear voice, leading the
others who chanted the sacred hymns in a sweet and exalted tone from both sides
of the church.
Beholding all
this, the priest rejoiced and was delighted in his heart, praising the Lord Who
had sent such help to assist him at a time when there was no one else
available. He was near ecstasy, not only because of the striking resemblance
these strangers bore to the saints in the icon, but also because of the
eloquence of their reading and the quality and rhythm of their voices. He
wondered whom they were and was perplexed as to what to do; for he was eager
from the outset to inquire concerning their provenance. But seeing their
stateliness, zeal and expertise, he decided to wait and question them at the
dismissal.
When it came
time for the reading of the saints' synaxarion, [1] the one who resembled
Orestes stood in the center of the church. He read with a splendid voice and
great authority, while the others listened attentively and admiringly to the
reading. When he reached the part where Agricola orders thc glowing hot iron
bed to be brought in, that Orestes might be stretched out on it, and that the
holy martyr feared, the reader changed the verb 'feared' (edeliasen) to
'sneered' (emeidiasen). Now the one who resembled Eustratius heard this and
lifted up his eyes, staring intently at the reader. "Why," he asked
him, "didst thou alter the verb and not say it as it was written? Read it
again as it is written." But the reader again altered the verb,
embarrassed to admit that he had feared. Then Eustratius said with a loud
voice: "Read the passage as it really happened, because thou didst not
sneer when thou sawest the bed; thou feared!" After all this was said,
they all vanished from sight.
Overcome by what
he had just witnessed, the priest fell speechless, and it was some time before
he was able to complete the service. At the end of the Divine Liturgy, he
related the vision to the Christians who had later filed into the church, and
they all glorified God Who glorifies His saints. Amen.
(From The Great Snaxaristes of the Orthodox Church.
Athens: Archimandrite Matthew Lagges, publisher, 1974. Translated from the
Greek by Leonides J. Papadopoulos and Georgia Lizardos. Edited by Reader Isaac
E. Lambertsen.)
[1] A brief account of the life of the saint whose feast it
is, or a commentary on the meaning of the mystery that is being celebrated, In
the Greek use, the Synaxarion is read daily at Matins between Canticles Six and
Seven of the canon, immediately after the kontakion and its ikos. These
readings are contained in a book by the same name.