March 10
THE FORTY HOLY MARTYRS
The
Forty Martyrs of Sebaste or the Holy Forty were a group of Roman soldiers in
the Legio XII Fulminata (Armed with Lightning) whose martyrdom in 320 for the
Christian faith is recounted in traditional martyrologies.
They
were killed near the city of Sebaste (present-day Sivas in Turkey), in Lesser
Armenia, victims of the persecutions of Licinius, who after 316, persecuted the
Christians of the East. The earliest account of their existence and martyrdom
is given by Bishop Basil of Caesarea (370–379) in a homily delivered on the
feast of the Forty Martyrs. The feast is consequently more ancient than the
episcopate of Basil, whose eulogy on them was pronounced only fifty or sixty
years after martyrdom.
Martyrdom
According
to Basil, forty soldiers who had openly confessed themselves Christians were
condemned by the prefect to be exposed naked upon a frozen pond near Sebaste on
a bitterly cold night, that they might freeze to death. Among the confessors,
one yielded and, leaving his companions, sought the warm baths near the lake
which had been prepared for any who might prove inconstant. One of the guards set to keep watch over the martyrs beheld at
this moment a supernatural brilliancy overshadowing them and at once proclaimed
himself a Christian, threw off his garments, and joined the remaining
thirty-nine. Thus the number of forty remained complete. At daybreak, the stiffened
bodies of the confessors, which still showed signs of life, were burned and the
ashes cast into a river. Christians, however, collected the precious remains,
and the relics were distributed throughout many cities; in this way, veneration
of the Forty Martyrs became widespread, and numerous churches were erected in
their honour.
Chapel of the Forty Martyrs in the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre, Jerusalem.
Early
veneration
A
church was built at Caesarea, in Cappadocia, and it was in this church that
Basil publicly delivered his homily. Gregory of Nyssa was a special client of
these holy martyrs. Two discourses in praise of them, preached by him in the
church dedicated to them, are still preserved and upon the death of his
parents, he laid them to rest beside the relics of the confessors. Ephrem the
Syrian has also eulogized the forty Martyrs. Sozomen, who was an eye-witness,
has left an interesting account of the finding of the relics in Constantinople,
in the shrine of saint Thyrsus built by Caesarius, through the instrumentality
of the Empress Pulcheria.
The
cult of the Forty Martyrs is widespread all over the East. The Forty Saints
Monastery in Sarandë, modern day Albania, which gave its name in Greek to the
city itself (Άγιοι Σαράντα, Hagioi Saranda), was built in the 6th century AD,
and is thought to have been an important pilgrimage site. The Churches of
St. Sophia in Ohrid (modern-day Republic of Macedonia) and Kiev (Ukraine)
contain their depictions, datable to the 11th and 12th centuries, respectively.
A number of auxiliary chapels were dedicated to the Forty, and there are
several instances when an entire temple (church building) is dedicated to them:
for example Xiropotamou Monastery on Mount Athos and the 13th-century Holy
Forty Martyrs Church, in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria. In
Aleppo (Syria) the Armenian Cathedral is dedicated to the Forty Martyrs.
MASS PROPERS
Thursday
of the Fourth week in Lent
FORTY HOLY MARTYRS
Commemoration for Feria in Lent
Semi-double - Red vestments
STATION AT THE
CHURCH OF SAINTS SYLVESTER AND MARTIN
(Indulgence
of 10 years or 10 quarantines)
INTROIT
Clamaverunt
justi, et Dominus exaudivit eos: et ex omnibus tribulationibus eorum liberavit
eos. Ps. Benedicam Dominum in omni tempore: semper laus ejus in
ore meo. Gloria Patri.
The
just cried, and the Lord heard them; and delivered them out of all their troubles.
Ps. I will bless the Lord at all times:
His praise shall be ever in my mouth. Glory be to the Father.
Ivory relief icon from Constantinople, 10th century
(Bode Museum, Berlin).
COLLECT
Grant,
we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that we, who acknowledge the boldness of thy
glorious Martyrs in confessing Thy name, may experience likewise their loving
intercession for us. Through our Lord.
COLLECT
Grant,
we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that we who have undertaken to chastise our
bodies by fasting may, even in this devotion, find cause for rejoicing:
forasmuch as earthly passions being thereby subdued, we are the better able to
fix our hopes on the delights of Heaven. Through our Lord.
EPISTLE
Brethren:
the saints through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought justice, obtained promises,
stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of
the sword, recovered strength from weakness, became valiant in battle, put to
flight the armies of foreigners: women received their dead raised to life
again: but others were racked, not accepting deliverance, that they might find
a better resurrection; and others had trial of mockeries and stripes, moreover
also of bands and prisons: they were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were
tempted, they wandered about in sheep-skins, and in goat-skins, being in want,
distressed, afflicted of whom the world was not worthy: wandering in deserts,
in mountains, and in dens, and in caves of the earth. And all these were found
approved by the testimony of faith, in Christ Jesus our Lord.
GRADUAL
Behold
how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is
like the precious ointment on the head, that ran down upon the beard, the beard
of Aaron.
TRACT
They
that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
Going, they went and wept, casting their seeds. But, coming, they shall
come with joyfulness, carrying their sheaves.
Ecce merces vestra multa est in caelo.
Behold your reward is great in heaven.
GOSPEL
At
that time, Jesus coming down with them, stood in a plain place, and the company
of His disciples, and a very great multitude of people from all Judea and
Jerusalem, and the sea coast both of Tyre and Sidon, who were come to hear Him,
and to be healed of their diseases. And they that were troubled with unclean
spirits, were cured. And all the multitude sought to touch Him, for virtue went
out from Him, and healed all. And He, lifting up His eyes on His disciples,
said: Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the
kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now: for you shall be filled.
Blessed are ye that weep now: for you shall laugh. Blessed shall you be when
men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you, and shall reproach you,
and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake. Be glad in that day
and rejoice; for behold, your reward is great in heaven.
OFFERTORY
Be
glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye just; and glory, all ye right of heart.
SECRET
Look
down, O Lord, upon the prayers and oblations of Thy faithful; that they may be
agreeable to Thee on the feast of Thy Saints, and obtain for us the help of Thy
propitiation. Through our Lord.
SECRET
Purify
us, O merciful God, that the prayers of Thy Church, which are pleasing to Thee,
may become the more pleasing from the purified hearts with which they bring the
gifts of devotion. Through our Lord.
PREFACE
It
is truly meet and just, right and availing unto salvation, that we should at
all times and in all places give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty
and everlasting God. Who by the fasting of the body dost curb our vices,
elevate our minds and bestow virtue and reward; through Christ our Lord.
Through whom the angels praise Thy majesty, the dominions worship it, and the
powers stand in awe. The heavens and the heavenly hosts, with the blessed
seraphim join together in celebrating their joy. With these we pray Thee join
our voices also, while we say with lowly praise…
COMMUNION
Whosoever
shall do the will of My Father who is in heaven, the same is My brother and
sister, and mother, saith the Lord.
POSTCOMMUNION
Appeased,
O Lord by the intercession of Thy Saints: grant, we beseech Thee, that we may
obtain by the celebration of this temporal act our eternal salvation. Through
our Lord.
POSTCOMMUNION
Suffer
not Thy heavenly gifts, we pray Thee, O Lord, to become the occasion of
judgment to those who receive them, for Thou hast provided them unto the
healing of Thy faithful. Through our Lord.
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