FROM THE PASTOR
August 17: The Seven Holy Martyred
Youths of Ephesus (the Seven Holy “Sleepers”)
The youths were friends from childhood, and all were in military service
together. When the emperor Decius (249-251) arrived in Ephesus, he commanded all
the citizens to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. Torture and death awaited
anyone who disobeyed. The seven youths were denounced by informants, and were
summoned to reply to the charges. Appearing before the emperor, the young men
confessed their faith in Christ.
Their military belts and
insignia were quickly taken from them. Decius permitted them to go free,
however, hoping that they would change their minds while he was off on a
military campaign. The youths fled from the city and hid in a cave on Mount
Ochlon, where they passed their time in prayer, preparing for martyrdom.
Learning where the young men
were hidden, the emperor ordered that the entrance of the cave be sealed with
stones so that the saints would perish from hunger and thirst.
The Lord placed the youths
into a miraculous sleep lasting almost two centuries. During the reign of the holy emperor
Theodosius the Younger (408-450) there were heretics who denied that there
would be a general resurrection of the dead at the Second Coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Some of them said, "How can there be a resurrection of the
dead when there will be neither soul nor body, since they are
disintegrated?" Others affirmed, "The souls alone will have a
restoration, since it would be impossible for bodies to arise and live after a
thousand years, when even their dust would not remain." Therefore, the
Lord revealed the mystery of the Resurrection of the Dead and of the future
life through His seven saints.
The owner of the land on which
Mount Ochlon was situated, discovered the stone construction, and his workers
opened up the entrance to the cave. The Lord had kept the youths alive, and
they awoke from their sleep, unaware that almost two hundred years had passed.
Their bodies and clothing were completely undecayed. Going into the cave and seeing the saints
alive, everyone rejoiced and perceived that the Lord, by waking them from their
long sleep, was demonstrating to the Church the mystery of the Resurrection of
the Dead.
Soon the emperor himself
arrived in Ephesus and spoke with the young men in the cave. Then the holy
youths, in sight of everyone, lay their heads upon the ground and fell asleep again, this time
until the General Resurrection.
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*Our Parish Website is up and running thanks to the efforts of our Communications Subcommittee and in particular, Kevin Gomez. As with so many things, it seemed like our efforts were exhausted, and then all of a sudden God showed us the way. The website was able to be created thanks to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in America which launched a new program for all Orthodox churches in America. The Archdiocese provides the web-hosting at no charge through ForMinistry, and any Orthodox church in America can create its website using that host and the structure provided. In the past week there were several nights work went on until the very early morning hours, and thanks to that effort anyone who has access may visit our website at www.stmarysorthodoxchurch.org. The site is still under construction and will be added to and modified in the weeks and months to come, but we now have a parish website up and running by the grace of God. The Communications Committee welcomes any feedback you may have about the site.
