The story of the life and crucifixion of Jesus Christ is known even to children, but few know about the life of the contemporaries of the son of the Lord. October 29 in the Orthodox calendar is the day of remembrance of the holy martyr Longinus the Centurion, a Roman soldier who took part in the execution of Christ. On this day, prayers are read to the saint, which have special power.
The history and miraculous healing of Longinus the Centurion
Memorial Day: October 29
Gaius Cassius Longinus served Pontius Pilate, ruler of Judea. He was one of the guards who guarded Jesus crucified on the cross, and then his tomb, which is why you can sometimes find the name Longinus the Gatekeeper. And Longinus received the name Sotnik because of his service - some soldiers were called centurions. It is known that Sotnik suffered from eye disease, cataracts. He was saved from the disease by the divine blood that splashed onto Longinus’s eyes from the wound of Christ when he pierced the crucified man in the rib with a spear. This is described in the Gospel as follows: “... he pierced the ribs of the crucified Lord Jesus Christ, and from the blood and water that flowed out he received healing for his sore eyes.”
3 days later, while Longinus was on duty at the Holy Sepulcher, another miracle happened, after seeing which, the guard finally believed in God. “The centurion and those who were with him guarding Jesus, seeing the earthquake and everything that happened, were greatly afraid and said: Truly this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54. Compare Mark 15:39 and Luke 23:47) . The soldiers became eyewitnesses of the Resurrection of Christ. This event shocked the guards so much that they became preachers of this miraculous phenomenon, and they were the first to tell Pilate about everything.
The ruler was furious when he learned about the resurrection; he wanted to buy the guards’ silence and conceal what had happened, but Longinus and other witnesses to the miracle refused and only began to testify more persistently. This behavior only infuriated Pilate, and he directed all his anger at the Centurion. All witnesses were executed by beheading. There was not even a burial; their heads were simply thrown outside the city walls. The blind woman found the heads of the martyrs and buried them, but as soon as she touched Longinus’s head, the disease subsided and the woman regained her sight.
Saint Theophan the Recluse. Thoughts for every day of the year
Col. 2, 20-3, 3; OK. 9, 23-27
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Do not be ashamed to confess the Lord Jesus Christ as the incarnate Son of God and who redeemed us through His death on the cross, and through His resurrection and ascension who opened for us the entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven. If you are ashamed, then He will be ashamed of you, “when He comes in His glory and the Father and the holy Angels.” Nowadays it has become a fashion in society not to talk at all about the Lord and salvation, whereas in the beginning there was only talk about these expensive objects. Where the heart lies more, the conversation flows more readily. Has your heart really begun to turn less toward the Lord? Judging by the speeches, it should be so. Some do not know Him at all, others are cold towards Him; For fear of falling in with such people, those who are warm towards the Lord do not start talking about Him, and the priesthood remains silent. And it turned out that speech about the Lord Savior and about our main task - salvation - was excluded from the range of speeches accepted in society. Well, you say, can we really just talk about this? Why only talk about this? Everything can be talked about from this point of view, so that the speech will generally be shaded by the spirit of Christ. Then it will be possible to guess whether Christians or pagans are speaking, but now you will not guess this either from speeches or from writings. Look through all the magazines, what don’t they write about? But no one wants to speak in a Christian way. Wise times!
How do prayers to Longinus the Sotnik help?
The witness of the Resurrection of Christ is revered in Christianity as a great martyr. Most often, prayers are read to Longinus the Centurion for the healing of the eyes, because he was not only cured himself thanks to the Lord, but his relics brought healing to other believers. They turn to the saint to get rid of problems and visual impairments.
It is believed that the troparion and prayer to Longinus the Centurion are able to protect the house and protect the household. The image of a saint is compared to a watchman, protecting from enemies and guarding peace. The guard's spear has long been a symbol of reliability and protection.
They pray to the holy martyr Longinus the Centurion in order to strengthen their faith, because he did not come to Christianity right away and became a witness to a true miracle. The saint is also revered as one of the first preachers who spoke about the power of the Lord.
Prayers
Troparion of the Martyr Longinus the Centurion,
tone 4
Thy martyr, O Lord, Longinus,/ in his suffering received an imperishable crown from Thee, our God:/ having Thy strength,/ overthrow the tormentors,/ crush the demons of weak insolence./ Through his prayers// save our souls.
Kontakion of the Martyr Longinus the Centurion
voice 4
The Church rejoiced joyfully/ today in memory of the ever-memorable/ sufferer Longinus,/ crying out: You are my power, Christ,// and affirmation.
Troparion of St. Longinus, goalkeeper of Pechersk, in the Far Caves
voice 1
Reverend and God-blessed Father Longinus, / dangerous to the guardian of the monastery gates, / most dangerous and vigilant of his feelings / to the recluse from all worldly vanities, / pray to the Lord of Glory, who has named Himself the door, / that He will open for us the door of His mercy.
Kontakion of St. Longinus, goalkeeper of Pechersk, in the Far Caves
voice 8
Having crouched down at the earthly gates and obediently observed them with outer eyes, / You have always observed the heavenly gates with your intelligent eyes, Reverend Longinus, / you have already entered into the kingdom and have been vouchsafed the beauty there, praying to the Lord, / so that we too will receive the entrance of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Troparion of St. Longinus
voice 1
Having been enlightened from above by Divine grace, O God-Wise One, / with much patience you have completed the course of temporary life, / even after your dormition, you exude grace in miracles, / to those who come with faith to you, O all-blessed Longina. / Glory to Him who gave you strength, / glory to Him who glorified you in miracles, / glory to the One who works for you to bring healing to all.
Kontakion of St. Longinus of Yarenga
voice 2
You have improved the high ones, wisely, desiring,/ you have offended the red ones, wisely,/ and you have shared with Christ the impoverished,/ rejoicing, you followed, O Longina,/ and diligently and unceasingly praying to Him for all of us.
Prayer to the holy martyr Longinus Sotnik
Oh, holy martyr Longinus! Pilate commanded you and the soldiers to stand guard at the Cross of the Lord Jesus. But you, having ailments in your eyes and being healed by a drop of the Lord’s blood that dropped into your eyes, gained spiritual insight and, seeing the miracles that took place at the crucifixion of the Lord, and the coward, and the solar eclipse, and the resurrection of the dead from the graves, you clearly confessed Jesus Christ as the Son of God . And being with the custodians at the Holy Sepulcher, and the Resurrection of Christ in awe in vain, the pieces of silver given by the Sanhedrin for concealing the resurrection, you rejected and, having preached Christ, you were beheaded. And after the truncation of the head of a certain widow, who was displeased with her eyes, you appeared in a dream, and to her, who found your honest head, you granted insight. We pray to you, holy martyr of Christ Longinus, show your quick help to those who are sick in the eyes and heal them, so that, having been freed from their illness, they would not want to see anything that inflames voluptuousness, but would rush to the contemplation of spiritual beauty, glorifying God. Amen.
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Parable about faith
There's a lesson in progress. The teacher asks:
- Children! Name a miracle.
A girl raised in a Christian family raises her hand. The teacher reluctantly asks her.
“There was a miracle when God led the Israelites across the Red Sea.
The teacher, apparently not believing in God, decided to find fault:
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- This cannot be called a miracle. Scientists have determined that in a certain place, at a certain time, this sea is knee-deep and you can safely cross it.
The teacher asks further:
- Children! Well, can anyone name a miracle?
Again this girl reaches out her hand. The teacher has nowhere to go. He asks.
- I understood. There was a miracle when the entire Pharaoh's army drowned in the sea, where there was knee-deep water.
Word of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill
Not every suffering is a cross. For example, if a person who abuses alcohol gets behind the wheel while intoxicated and kills someone, after which he ends up in prison, then this is not a cross - it is simply a punishment for lawlessness and licentiousness. The one to whom this happened brought disaster upon himself. The cross is placed on a person from above. Why? Yes, because, overcoming sorrow and suffering, we mobilize all our strength, and everyone knows this. If a person gets sick, he tries with all his might to recover. If he finds himself in difficult life circumstances through no fault of his own, he strives to escape from them. Suffering is a huge challenge for a person, and in response to it, a person mobilizes all his internal strength and certainly changes for the better if he wants to overcome these sorrows.
Life
The Life and Works of the Apostles – Saint Longinus the Centurion
Originally from the village of Ardales in Cappadocia. He stood guard at the Cross of the Lord and His Tomb and witnessed His suffering, death and Resurrection, and the miracles that accompanied them. He believed in Christ and, returning to his homeland, began to preach the Gospel there. For this, the soldiers sent by Pilate on the machinations of the Jews beheaded St. Martyr Longinus. They brought the head of the martyr to Jerusalem for identification, and then threw it without burial outside the city walls.
Subsequently, the honest head of the saint was miraculously found by one blind woman, who at the same time received insight.
Together with St. Longinus also suffered two other soldiers who also believed in Christ.
See also: “The Life and Suffering of the Holy Martyr Longinus the Centurion” as presented by St. Demetrius of Rostov.
Reverend Gall
Saint Gall was born in 541 in Ireland. He was educated at the Bangor monastery, became a monk and went with the Monk Columban to Gaul to preach. He followed his spiritual father on missionary trips, helping to preach and overthrow idols. Once, through prayer, he expelled a demon from Friedeburga, the daughter of the Duke of the Alamans Gunzon, who was engaged to the Frankish king Sigebert. In gratitude, the king donated part of the land on the shores of Lake Constance to Gall. On her wedding day, Friedeburga announced that she wanted to dedicate her virginity to our Lord Jesus Christ. The king, trusting in the will of God, dressed the bride in royal clothes, brought her to the altar and said: “In the same attire that was prepared for me, I give her as a bride to the Lord!” Saint Columban forbade the Monk Gall to perform the liturgy during his lifetime. In 615, Saint Gall learned of the death of his spiritual father thanks to a prophetic gift and celebrated the liturgy on the same day. The Monk Gall reposed in the Lord when he was about 100 years old.
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