Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon
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Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon
Probably every Orthodox church has an icon depicting a handsome young man. In one hand he holds a martyr's cross, and in the other a box of medicine. Those who are sick and doctors pray to him. This is the great martyr and healer Panteleimon.
At birth the saint received a different name. His father, a rich and noble pagan from the Roman province of Bithynia, named the boy Pantoleon - which means “like a lion in everything.” The father dreamed of raising his son strong and warlike, teaching him to worship the gods, and transferring his possessions to him. This happened in the third century, during times of severe persecution of Christians. But Pantoleon’s mother secretly professed faith in Christ, and from early childhood the boy listened to her stories and learned to pray.
His mother died very young, and while still a child, Pantoleon quickly forgot her instructions. Under the influence of his father, he began to worship idols.
The young man was sent to medical school by one of the best doctors of that time. Soon, with his efforts and abilities, he won the favor of the teacher. The famous doctor began to take his best student with him to the royal chambers.
But one day, on the way from home to his teacher, he met a strange man. It was already quite an old Christian priest. Hiding from persecution, he led a quiet and inconspicuous life. The conversation with him amazed Pantoleon: he remembered his mother’s stories, the words of prayers, and began to come to the elder every day for a conversation.
One day, on the way to the house, the young man saw a child lying on the ground. He ran up, hoping to help, but medicine was powerless - the child was bitten by a snake, he was dead. “Lord,” the young man exclaimed, “I am not worthy to ask for help, but if You want me to become Your servant, revive this youth.” And then the child woke up, and the snake lying next to him broke into two parts.
After this incident, Pantoleon asked the priest to baptize him.
The young man loved his father and wanted him to renounce his idols. Following the commandment to honor parents, he did not argue, but spoke softly and carefully, and with his speeches aroused doubts in the soul of the pagan. When his son healed a blind man before his eyes, the father renounced his gods and believed in the One God.
Pantoleon began to help the sick without asking for payment, and after the death of his father, he also distributed his property to those in need. Many, seeing his deeds and hearing his words, became Christians. The news that the best student of the famous doctor and the emperor’s favorite had exchanged royal favor for communication with the sick and poor quickly reached Maximian. He demanded the young man to come to him.
The young man was tortured for a long time, but could not be killed. The people had already asked the king to release the young man. Maximian did not listen - he ordered the martyr’s head to be cut off. And again they could not execute the saint: the iron sword became soft as wax. Everyone who saw this fell to their knees before the saint of God. Then the Lord turned to him from Heaven, calling him to Himself and calling him with a new name: Panteleimon, which means “merciful to all.” The saint was executed, his body was thrown into the fire by the emperor, but remained untouched. And the believers, of whom there were much more in Bithynia in a short time, took him away and buried him. Emperor Maximian retired, a few years later again became involved in an unsuccessful struggle for power, and then committed suicide.
The great martyr and healer Panteleimon still helps those who turn to him in prayer today. Particles of the relics of the great martyr are found in different parts of the world, and his head is kept in the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos. This monastery contains many letters about miracles that occurred through the prayers of the saint.
"Rest with the Saints"
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Photo of the choir from the international festival of church music "Hainowka"
The life of any person one day comes to its end. But Orthodox Christians perceive death not as a hopeless tragedy, but as a transition from the temporary world to the eternal world. Death becomes a continuation of life, its logical development. If a person lived with faith in God, then even after death he will be with God. If he avoided the Lord, then the Creator will not insist, violate freedom and allow the deceased to exist without His participation. Let this entail the most unpleasant consequences. According to Orthodox doctrine, the Church is called to pray for its members - both living and dead. And the Church has the opportunity to intercede before God for people who have passed into another world, so that there, beyond the threshold of death, they find peace and joy in the Kingdom of Heaven. Among funeral prayers, the chant named after the first words, “Rest with the Saints,” is widely known. Priest Anthony Borisov talks about its contents:
The prayer “Rest with the Saints” is sung at every funeral service - whether it is a funeral service, a memorial service, or a service on Parental Saturday - a day of special remembrance of deceased Orthodox Christians. The chant “Rest with the Saints” expresses the essence of Christian teaching about death and the ability of the Church to pray for a deceased person. This is what the Church Slavonic text of the prayer looks like:
“With the saints, O Christ, rest the soul of Your servant, where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life.”
And this is what the translation of the prayer book into modern Russian looks like:
“With the saints, rest, O Christ, the soul of Thy servant (or: Thy servant), where there is no pain, no sorrow, no groaning, but endless life.”
Through the words of the chant, the Church asks God to forgive the deceased all his mistakes made during life. This request is due to the belief that everything is subject to the Lord. Among other things, He can sanctify the human person, erase the mistakes of the deceased - make the deceased worthy of staying in the Kingdom of Heaven.
The prayer book “Rest with the Saints” is sung approximately in the middle of the service dedicated to prayer for the deceased and is its semantic pinnacle. While singing “Rest With the Saints,” the priest censes. By this action he shows that sincere prayer ascends to God just as incense smoke rushes upward. Let's listen to the chant “Rest with the Saints” performed by the joint choir of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and the Moscow Theological Academy.
Elijah: the life of the holy prophet
Elijah was born in the ninth century BC. He was born in Tisvah, for which he received the nickname “Tishbite.” His name translates as “my God.” True to his name, the saint was a believer all his life, a fighter against paganism. He spent time in prayer while living in the desert.
The story of the life of the prophet is contained in the books of the Old Testament (3 and 4 Books of Kings). At this time, the wicked king Ahab reigned. His wife Jezebel was not from a Jewish family and worshiped pagan idols. She taught this to her husband, and then to the entire Israeli people.
The Prophet denounced them, but they did not think of repenting. The prophet predicted famine for the country if the king did not repent. But even then he did not turn from his iniquity. Elijah prayed, and there was a drought for three years. The people began to starve.
Jezebel then . He retired to a deserted place where he prayed to God, and a raven brought him food every day. When the spring where the prophet lived dried up, Elijah returned to the city.
He found a poor widow and settled with her. While Elijah was in her house, she did not run out of flour and oil. This was a reward for this woman's mercy and hospitality. When the widow's son died, the prophet resurrected him through prayer.
Return
There is a prophecy that Elijah must return to earth before the second coming of Christ . When the Antichrist comes into power, Elijah and Enoch (who also did not taste earthly death, but was taken to heaven alive) will come back in an earthly body. Together they will denounce the Antichrist. For this he will kill them, and their bodies will lie in the square. On the third day they will be resurrected and return to heaven.
The New Testament states that Elijah must come before the first coming of Christ . This name meant John the Baptist. He prophesied about Christ and baptized Him in the Jordan.
Also on Mount Tabor, when Christ was transfigured before the apostles John, James and Peter, Elijah and Moses appeared to them. They talked with Him about Christ's death on the cross.
Elijah the Prophet
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The fiery ascent of Elijah the Prophet to Heaven.
The feast in the palace of the Israeli king Ahab was in full swing when a barefoot man in a rough cloak made of camel's hair, with a staff in his calloused hands, suddenly appeared on the threshold of the hall. “How dare he? Who let him in here?”, holding back his rage, the ruler rose to meet the guest, but he stopped him with a gesture of his hand, and none of those present dared to object to the newcomer. The voice of the prophet Elijah - and it was he, sounded in complete silence.
Prophet Elijah:
Listen to me, Ahab, king of Israel! The wickedness into which you plunged the country has overflowed the cup of Divine patience, and behold, I announce to you that the hour of punishment has come! From now on, the sky will be closed, not a drop of rain will fall on the land of Israel for three years, and famine will reign over it!
Before the feasters came to their senses, the prophet left the palace. He was one of the few Israelites who maintained faith in One God during the reign of Ahab. The wicked king made the cruel cult of Baal, the pagan belief of his wife, the Phoenician Jezebel, the state religion. Temples of this idol stood everywhere, and its priests lived at the palace.
What was predicted was soon fulfilled exactly - the earth was cracked from drought, the springs dried up, people began to die of hunger and thirst. The prophet Elijah withdrew into the desert to avoid the persecution of Queen Jezebel, who vowed to kill all the servants of the One God. But three years later he again appeared before the monarch at the royal court. Ahab was quite surprised by this daring visit!
Ahab:
Is it you who troubles the people of Israel?
Elijah answered the king without fear or doubt.
Prophet Elijah:
It is not I who trouble Israel, but you and your father’s house, because you have despised the commandments of the Lord and are following Baal!
Ahab:
What will you say this time to the people suffering from heat and thirst according to your word?
Prophet Elijah:
And I’ll tell him that stop limping on both knees! If Baal is your god, then follow him, but if the Lord of Israel is true, then serve Him!
The people were silent, puzzled by Elijah's words, and he continued his speech.
Prophet Elijah:
I am the only prophet of the Lord left, and there are four hundred and fifty priests of Baal. Let them make a sacrifice on Mount Carmel to their idol, and I will make mine to the One God. On which fire falls from heaven, she will become an indication of whose God is true! And everyone will have to worship Him, and those who do not recognize Him will be put to death!
The king grinned at the words of the prophet and ordered that the proposal be fulfilled, confident in the victory of the priests. From morning until evening, the servants of Baal rode on the mountain in front of the temple. They stabbed themselves with knives and stakes, shedding blood, and screamed in wild voices - but never got an answer from the idol.
Then Elijah restored the altar, destroyed by the servants of Jezebel, and then ordered to dig a deep ditch around it and fill it with water. Both the sacrifice itself and the firewood under it were also abundantly watered so that no one would have any doubt that the fire could ignite here only by a miracle. And then the prophet spoke these words.
Prophet Elijah:
Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, hear me! Let the people know that You are God alone, and that I am Your servant and have done everything according to Your word. Turn, Lord, the hearts of people to You!
As soon as this prayer sounded, fire fell from the sky and engulfed not only the altar, but also the moat with water around it! “Truly the Lord is God!” the Israelis said to each other with tears of repentance.
The priests of the cult, which spread debauchery and cruelty among the people, were exterminated, and Queen Jezebel could not forgive the prophet Elijah for this. He disappeared into the desert, and paganism began to take hold again on Israeli soil. The prophet was on the verge of despair - it seemed to him that there was no one left on earth to whom he could convey faith in the One God. And then the Lord appeared to Elijah in a quiet breath of wind and consoled him, pointing to Elisha, who then accepted the prophetic ministry.
It was Elisha who witnessed how a chariot of fire took Elijah from earth to heaven. According to the tradition of the Church, the prophet was taken alive into the Heavenly Kingdom in order to come to people with a formidable sermon before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and by his martyrdom to testify to the truth of the One God.
