The Passion of the Holy Martyr Elikonides

The memory of 28 May The Holy Martyr Elikonida lived during the reigns of Gordian and Philip; she was born and brought up in Thessalonica, a very important ancient city of Macedonia, on the shore of the Fermian Gulf near the Aegean Sea.

In the history of the Russian Church, this city is remarkable as the birthplace of the holy first teachers of the Slavs, Kirill and Methodius (see their lives on May 11).

When the persecution of Christians began, she came to Corinth [a bustling ancient city on the southeastern corner of the Gulf of Corinth between the Ionian and Aegean seas, now the site of ancient Corinth, a town of 5,000 inhabitants called Corinth].

Behold, I see that ye have turned to idols, and have forsaken the living God. Look at the height of the heavens, and at the breadth of the earth: who hath stretched out the heavens above you, or laid the earth upon nothing? Who hath subdued the mighty waves of the sea, or formed man out of dust, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life?

"For all the gods of the peoples are idols" (Ps 95:5) - they are dumb and soulless; let all who worship them be like them! While the saint spoke this freely and loudly, the wicked pagans seized her and brought her to trial before her patron Perinius.

And Hegemon looked on her, and saw that she was fair and fair in countenance, and he spoke kindly to her, and said, Good, my fair daughter; for I thought that thou didst believe that our gods abide for ever; and I rejoiced in thee.

"What joy can the wicked have? Your joy, Aegemon, will turn to mourning, and your pride to weakness. I believe in God, who reigns over all things, and I rejoice that it has befitted me to enter this contest for my God, in which I certainly hope to receive the crown of victory". Aegemon said, "Do not be like the many foolish women in your talk, but tell us gently and briefly what your name is".

I am not mad, but wise in Christ Jesus my Lord. If thou wouldst know my name, I am called Elyconides.

"No, I am justly called Eliconides, for the mercy of my God is always with me, and I am shooting arrows at your father the devil. " Likewise, you are justly called Perinius, because your wicked and hanged body, together with your filthy soul, will be driven to perdition by the fiery furnaces.

Then the priest said, "Tell us briefly whether you sacrifice to the gods or not. I swear by my god, my physician Asclepius, that I will not spare you unless you obey the king's command and worship our gods".

And the devil was wroth, and began to torment her, and laid her naked, and smote her, and cut off her feet, and cast her into a pit of boiling pitch; and behold, an angel of the Lord came and quenched the pitch, and turned the pitch into water, and the smell thereof came forth.

And the holy woman said unto him, Wilt thou now consider thy gods, Dionysus, and Asclepius, to be great gods, after that they have been ashamed of a woman, the servant of Christ? And when he heard these words, he was filled with more wrath, and called the holy woman a sorceress, and commanded her hair to be plucked from her head, and her head and her breast to be burned with candles; and all these torments the holy woman bore valiantly, as though she knew no pain.

And when he had turned his anger into meekness, he said to the saint with flattery, My dear daughter, come and sacrifice to our gods, especially to Venus and Minerva, and I will make you a priestess of the great Diana, and I will make you equal to the wives of the senators.

I will set up a golden pillar for thee in the midst of the city, and I will write of thee unto the kings, and thou shalt be as the mother of the whole city. And the holy one said, Take me to the house of thy gods, that I may sacrifice unto them. And when he heard it, he rejoiced greatly, and commanded the trumpeters and the heralds to proclaim it in all the city. And he brought the holy one into the house of the idol with great triumph. And the holy one went into the temple, and said unto the priests,

And the priests did as she was commanded, and left her alone in the chapel, and they themselves stood outside the chapel, rejoicing and shouting with trumpets and timbrels. Meanwhile, the bride of Christ, entering the chapel, took the idol of Venus, and broke it in three pieces, and likewise cast down the idol of Miderna, which, falling to the ground, was completely shattered.

And she cast Asclepius down from the altar, and cut off his hands and his feet and his head, and did the same to the goddess. And the people that were without heard what was done in the temple, because the sound of the trumpets and the timbrels overcame all, and all stood outside the temple, waiting for the virgin to pray and offer sacrifices.

And when the priests, being weary of waiting, had entered into the temple, and had seen their gods fallen to the ground, and the holy woman sitting upon the altar, and praising her God's Christ, they rose up, and rent their garments, and took the virgin, and dragged her into the chamber of the chamber, and came to the chamber, and said, Put this sorceress to death.

And there was a great uproar among all the people, and they cried out, saying, O Aegemon, destroy this sorceress quickly! And Aegemon commanded the holy martyr's nipple to be cut off, and to be cast into prison, that they might have time to think how to put her to death. And she was kept in prison five days. And at that time another Aegemon, named Justinus, came to Corinth in the place of Pernias.

And it came to pass when he heard of the martyrdom of Elyconides, and of her suffering, and of the breaking of the idols by her, that Justin, being very jealous of his gods, was very wroth with Elyconides for her breaking of the idols, and commanded the furnace to be burned as hot as possible. And the furnace was kept burning three days, and then Justin commanded that this holy Elyconides should be cast into the furnace.

And the holy woman rejoiced in the midst of the furnace, as the youths of old in Babylon, praising and blessing Jehovah; for the fire was to her as the dew, and the flame of the fire as a cool wind.

"Tell us, wicked woman, by what sorcery hast thou overcome the power of fire?" The saint answered, "Christ, my Lord, whom thou hast not seen, and whom thou canst not see, came to me, and cooled the flame of the furnace.

"Now let us see if Christ will come to save her. "While the saint was in such agony, so much blood flowed from her that she extinguished the fire, and her bed became cold. "Then the martyr was taken from her bed and taken to the prison, where she fell to the ground and prayed, "Jesus, our strength and strength, Jesus our glory, Christ our hope, be my helper and healer of my wounds, good physician, who saves by his grace all who trust in you.

While she was still praying, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, stood beside her in a radiant light. The archangels Michael and Gabriel were with her. The Lord reached out and took her by the hand and said to her, "Stand up and be strong. I am with you. I have seen what you are doing. I will heal your wounds by the power of my God".

Jesus, my God, heal thy servant, and give me victory over my enemy, that I may enter thy temple with singing and rejoicing.

And the Lord ascended into heaven, and the holy angels gave to Elichon bread as pure as the sun. And when he had tasted of the bread, Elichon felt himself perfectly sound; and his face shone as the sun, and his body became as white as snow. And he blessed the holy God, and praised him until the morning.

And it came to pass in the morning, that the holy woman was brought forth out of the dungeon, and was taken to the judgment-seat, and was given to be devoured by the beasts, and two hungry lions were let loose upon her, which had not eaten for three days.

And he said, Surely this woman is a sorceress; for she hath charmed the beasts, that they dare not come near her.

And it came to pass, as the people spoke, that the doors of the house of the king's house were opened, and the lions came out, and fell upon the people with great fury, and with a loud roar; and the people fled, and the chief of the people fled into the praetorium; and the lions pursued after them, and slew of the people a hundred and twenty men.

And when she was taken into the city to be hanged, she lifted up her hands to heaven, and began to pray, saying, O Christ, my God, come now unto me, and to thy servant, at this hour, and fulfil thy word, and bring me into thy holy court, and number me among thy blessed sheep.

Unite me to the women you have chosen: Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Susanna, and to your Immaculate Mother, the Immaculate Virgin Mary, and to Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus, and to the prophetess Anna, who bore witness to you with St. Simeon the receptor of God at your meeting; unite me to Elizabeth, the mother of your ancestor John, and to the first-born, Fecla; unite me to them, and make me to dwell with them forever.

While the saint was praying like this, a voice came from heaven: "Come, my daughter, for your crown and throne have been prepared.

When she was cut, milk flowed out of the wound instead of blood, which was a sign of her purity. Her body was buried with reverence, glorifying the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the one God in the Trinity, to whom be glory, honor, and worship, now and forever. Amen.