|
Commemorated on May 9
The Holy Martyr
Christopher lived during the III Century and suffered in about the year
250, during the reign of the emperor Decius (249-251). About his life and
miracles there exist many various accounts, and his memory is venerated in both
the Western and Eastern Churches. (The memory of the Martyr Christopher is
especially venerated in Italy, where they recourse to him in prayer during
times of contagious diseases). Various are the suggestions about his descent.
According to some historians, he was descended from the Canaanites, according
to others – from "Cynoscephalai" [literally "Dog-heads",
located in Thessaly].
Saint Christopher was
a man of great stature and unusual strength, and his face was brutish. By
tradition, Saint Christopher at first possessed an handsome appearance, but
wishing to avoid temptation for himself and others, he besought the Lord to
give him an unseemly face, which was done. Until Baptism he had the name
Reprebus (Reprobate) which was connected with his disfigured outer appearance.
Even before Baptism, Reprebus confessed his faith in Christ and denounced those
who persecuted Christians. For this he was once given a beating by a certain
Bacchus, and he took the beating with humility. Because of his reknown
strength, soon after this there came after him 200 soldiers, so as to bring him
before the emperor Decius. Reprebus submitted without resistance. On the way
miracles occurred: a dry stick blossomed in the hand of the saint, by his prayer
bread-loaves were multiplied, and the travellers had no lack thereof, similar
to the multiplication of loaves in the wilderness by the Saviour. The soldiers
surrounding Reprebus were astonished at the miracles, – they came to believe
in Christ and together with Reprebus they were baptised by the Antioch Bishop
Babylos.
When Saint
Christopher was brought before the emperor, the emperor became terrified by his
appearance and decided to coerce him into renouncing Christ, not by force but
by cunning. He summoned two profligate women, Callinika and Acelina, and
commanded them to sway Christopher into a renunciation of Christ and gain his
consent to offer sacrifice to idols. But the women were themselves converted by
Saint Christopher to the faith in Christ, and having returned to the emperor,
they declared themselves Christians, for which they were subjected to fierce
beatings and died as martyrs. Decius sentenced to execution also the soldiers
who had been sent after Saint Christopher, but who now believed in Christ. The
emperor gave orders to throw the martyr into a red-hot metal box. But Saint
Christopher did not experience any suffering and he remained unharmed. After
many fierce torments they finally beheaded the martyr with a sword. This
occurred in the year 250 in Lycia. By his miracles the holy Martyr Christopher
converted to Christ as many as 50 thousand pagans, about which Saint Ambrose
(of Milan) testifies to. The relics of Saint Christopher were later transferred
to Toledo (Spain), and even later – to the abbey of Sainte Denis in France.
© 1996-2001 by translator Fr. S. Janos.
|
Close window |