Wednesday, March 9, 2016

THE FORTY HOLY MARTYRS - MASS PROPERS


                  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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