The Great Martyr Anastasia the Deliverer from Potions, a Roman by
birth, suffered for Christ at the time of Diocletian’s persecution of
Christians. Her father was a pagan, but her mother was secretly a
Christian. St Anastasia’s teacher in her youth was an educated and pious
Christian named Chrysogonus. After the death of her mother, her father
gave St Anastasia in marriage to a pagan named Publius, but feigning
illness, she preserved her virginity.
Clothing herself in the
garb of a beggar, and accompanied by only one servant, she visited the
prisons. She fed, doctored and often ransomed captives who were
suffering for their faith in Christ. When her servant told Publius about
everything, he subjected his wife to a beating and locked her up at
home. St Anastasia then began to correspond secretly with Chrysogonus,
who told the saint to be patient, to cleave to the Cross of Christ, and
to accept the Lord’s will. He also foretold the impending death of
Publius in the sea. After a certain while Publius did indeed drown, as
he was setting out with a delegation to Persia. After the death of her
husband, St Anastasia began to distribute her property to the poor and
suffering.
Diocletian was informed that the Christians who filled
the prisons of Rome stoically endured tortures. He gave orders to kill
them all in a single night, and for Chrysogonus to be sent to him at
Aquileia. St Anastasia followed her teacher at a distance.
The
emperor interrogated Chrysogonus personally, but could not make him
renounce his faith. Therefore, he commanded that he be beheaded and
thrown into the sea. The body and severed head of the holy martyr were
carried to shore by the waves. There by divine Providence, the relics
were found by a presbyter named Zoilus who placed them in a coffer, and
concealed them at his home.
St Chrysogonus appeared to Zoilus and
informed him that martyrdom was at hand for Agape, Chione and Irene
(April 16), three sisters who lived nearby. He told him to send St
Anastasia to them to encourage them. St Chrysogonus foretold that Zoilus
would also die on the same day. Nine days later, the words of St
Chrysogonus were fulfilled. Zoilus fell asleep in the Lord, and St
Anastasia visited the three maidens before their tortures. When these
three martyrs gave up their souls to the Lord, she buried them.
Having
carried out her teacher’s request, the saint went from city to city
ministering to Christian prisoners. Proficient in the medical arts of
the time, she zealously cared for captives far and wide, healing their
wounds and relieving their suffering. Because of her labors, St
Anastasia received the name Deliverer from Potions (Pharmakolytria),
since by her intercessions she has healed many from the effects of
potions, poisons, and other harmful substances.
She made the
acquaintance of the pious young widow Theodota, finding in her a
faithful helper. Theodota was taken for questioning when it was learned
that she was a Christian. Meanwhile, St Anastasia was arrested in
Illyricum. This occurred just after all the Christian captives there had
been murdered in a single night by order of Diocletian. St Anastasia
had come to one of the prisons, and finding no one there, she began to
weep loudly. The jailers realized that she was a Christian and took her
to the prefect of the district, who tried to persuade her to deny Christ
by threatening her with torture. After his unsuccessful attempts to
persuade St Anastasia to offer sacrifice to idols, he handed her over to
the pagan priest Ulpian in Rome.
The cunning pagan offered St
Anastasia the choice between luxury and riches, or grievous sufferings.
He set before her gold, precious stones and fine clothing, and also
fearsome instruments of torture. The crafty man was put to shame by the
bride of Christ. St Anastasia refused the riches and chose the tools of
torture.
But the Lord prolonged the earthly life of the saint,
and Ulpian gave her three days to reconsider. Charmed by Anastasia’s
beauty, the pagan priest decided to defile her purity. However, when he
tried to touch her he suddenly became blind. His head began to ache so
severely that he screamed like a madman. He asked to be taken to a pagan
temple to appeal to the idols for help, but on the way he fell down and
died.
St Anastasia was set free and she and Theodota again
devoted themselves to the care of imprisoned Christians. Before long, St
Theodota and her three sons accepted a martyrdom. Her eldest son,
Evodus, stood bravely before the judge and endured beatings without
protest. After lengthy torture, they were all thrown into a red-hot
oven.
St Anastasia was caught again and condemned to death by
starvation. She remained in prison without food for sixty days. St
Theodota appeared to the martyr every night and gave her courage. Seeing
that hunger caused St Anastasia no harm whatsoever, the judge sentenced
her to drowning together with other prisoners. Among them was
Eutychianus, who was condemned for his Christian faith.
The
prisoners were put into a boat which went out into the open sea. The
soldiers bored holes in the boat and got into a galley. St Theodota
appeared to the captives and steered the ship to shore. When they
reached dry land, 120 men believed in Christ and were baptized by Sts
Anastasia and Eutychianus. All were captured and received a martyr’s
crown. St Anastasia was stretched between four pillars and burned alive.
A certain pious woman named Apollinaria buried her body, which was
unharmed by the fire, in the garden outside her house.
In the
fifth century the relics of St Anastasia were transferred to
Constantinople, where a church was built and dedicated to her. Later the
head and a hand of the Great Martyr were transferred to the monastery
of St Anastasia [Deliverer from Potions], near Mount Athos.
Source-OCA.ORG
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