by Saint Nikolai Velimirovic
In the
time of the suffering of St. Demetrius the Myrrh-gusher, there was a
young man of Thessalonica, Nestor, who learned the Christian Faith
from St. Demetrius himself. At that time Christ's enemy, Emperor
Maximian, organized various games and amusements for the people. The
emperor's favorite in these games was a Vandal by the name of Lyaeus,
a man of Goliath-like size and strength. As the emperor's gladiator,
Lyaeus challenged men every day to single combat and slew them. Thus,
the bloodthirsty Lyaeus amused the bloodthirsty, idolatrous Maximian.
The emperor built a special stage for Lyaeus's battles, similar to a
threshing floor on pillars. Spears, points upward, were planted
beneath this platform. When Lyaeus defeated someone in wrestling, he
would throw him from the platform onto the forest of spears. The
emperor and his pagan subjects cheered as some poor wretch writhed in
torment on the spears until he died. Among Lyaeus's innocent victims
were many Christians: when no one volunteered to duel with Lyaeus, by
the emperor's orders Christians were arrested and forced to duel with
him. Seeing this horrifying amusement of the pagan world, Nestor's
heart was torn with pain, and he decided to come forward for a duel
with the gigantic Lyaeus. But first, he went to prison to see St.
Demetrius and sought a blessing from him to do this.
St. Demetrius
blessed him, signed him with the sign of the Cross on the forehead and
on the chest and prophesied to him: ``You will defeat Lyaeus, but you
will suffer for Christ.'' Thus, young Nestor went to duel with Lyaeus.
Maximian was present with a multitude of people; everyone felt pity
for the young Nestor, who would surely die, and tried to dissuade him
from dueling with Lyaeus. Nestor crossed himself and said: ``O God of
Demetrius, help me!'' and with God's help, he overcame Lyaeus, knocked
him down, and threw him onto the sharp spears, where the heavy giant
soon found death. Then all the people cried out: ``Great is the God of
Demetrius!'' But the emperor, shamed before the people and sorrowing
for his favorite Lyaeus, was greatly angered at Nestor and Demetrius,
and commanded that Nestor be beheaded and Demetrius run through with
lances. Thus, the Christian hero Nestor ended his earthly life and
took up his habitation in the Kingdom of his Lord in the year 306.
From "The Prologue "
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