Commemorated on August 4/17
The Seven Youths of Ephesus: Maximilian, Iamblicus, Martinian, John, Dionysius, Exacustodianus (Constantine) and Antoninus, lived in the third century. Saint Maximilian was the son of the Ephesus city administrator, and the other six youths were sons of illustrious citizens of Ephesus. The youths were friends from childhood, and all were in military service together.
When the emperor Decius (249-251) arrived in Ephesus, he commanded all the citizens to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. Torture and death awaited anyone who disobeyed. The seven youths were denounced by informants, and were summoned to reply to the charges. Appearing before the emperor, the young men confessed their faith in Christ.
Their military belts and insignia were quickly taken from them. Decius permitted them to go free, however, hoping that they would change their minds while he was off on a military campaign. The youths fled from the city and hid in a cave on Mount Ochlon, where they passed their time in prayer, preparing for martyrdom.
The youngest of them, Saint Iamblicus, dressed as a beggar and went into the city to buy bread. On one of his excursions into the city, he heard that the emperor had returned and was looking for them. Saint Maximilian urged his companions to come out of the cave and present themselves for trial.
Learning where the young men were hidden, the emperor ordered that the entrance of the cave be sealed with stones so that the saints would perish from hunger and thirst. Two of the dignitaries at the blocked entrance to the cave were secret Christians. Desiring to preserve the memory of the saints, they placed in the cave a sealed container containing two metal plaques. On them were inscribed the names of the seven youths and the details of their suffering and death.
The Lord placed the youths into a miraculous sleep lasting almost two centuries. In the meantime, the persecutions against Christians had ceased. During the reign of the holy emperor Theodosius the Younger (408-450) there were heretics who denied that there would be a general resurrection of the dead at the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some of them said, “How can there be a resurrection of the dead when there will be neither soul nor body, since they are disintegrated?” Others affirmed, “The souls alone will have a restoration, since it would be impossible for bodies to arise and live after a thousand years, when even their dust would not remain.” Therefore, the Lord revealed the mystery of the Resurrection of the Dead and of the future life through His seven saints.
The owner of the land on which Mount Ochlon was situated, discovered the stone construction, and his workers opened up the entrance to the cave. The Lord had kept the youths alive, and they awoke from their sleep, unaware that almost two hundred years had passed. Their bodies and clothing were completely undecayed.
Preparing to accept torture, the youths once again asked Saint Iamblicus to buy bread for them in the city. Going toward the city, the youth was astonished to see a cross on the gates. Hearing the name of Jesus Christ freely spoken, he began to doubt that he was approaching his own city.
When he paid for the bread, Iamblicus gave the merchant coins with the image of the emperor Decius on it. He was detained, as someone who might be concealing a horde of old money. They took Saint Iamblicus to the city administrator, who also happened to be the Bishop of Ephesus. Hearing the bewildering answers of the young man, the bishop perceived that God was revealing some sort of mystery through him, and went with other people to the cave.
At the entrance to the cave the bishop found the sealed container and opened it. He read upon the metal plaques the names of the seven youths and the details of the sealing of the cave on the orders of the emperor Decius. Going into the cave and seeing the saints alive, everyone rejoiced and perceived that the Lord, by waking them from their long sleep, was demonstrating to the Church the mystery of the Resurrection of the Dead.
Soon the emperor himself arrived in Ephesus and spoke with the young men in the cave. Then the holy youths, in sight of everyone, lay their heads upon the ground and fell asleep again, this time until the General Resurrection.
The emperor wanted to place each of the youths into a jeweled coffin, but they appeared to him in a dream and said that their bodies were to be left upon the ground in the cave. In the twelfth century the Russian pilgrim Igumen Daniel saw the holy relics of the seven youths in the cave.
11/3/2017
Canon of the saints, Tone II
Ode I, Irmos: Come, ye people, let us chant a hymn to Christ God, Who divided the sea and guided the people whom He had led forth from the bondage of Egypt, for He hath been glorified.
Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus, pray to God for us.
Come ye, and with faith let us honor the youths who have shone forth, seven in number; for they shed greater light upon the Church of Christ than the seven lamps did upon the temple of the law.
Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus, pray to God for us.
While alive of old, the seven youths were clothed in Christ’s mortality of flesh, and, most gloriously receiving death as a dream, they confirm the doctrine of the resurrection.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Jericho fell at the seventh sounding of the trumpets, and the uprising of falsehood hath now fallen down to hades and been destroyed through the sevenfold proclamation of the athletes’ faith.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Thou makest birthgiving new again, O thou who knewest not wedlock; for the everlasting Word, Who with the Father and the divine Spirit is equally without beginning, became incarnate of thee, without forsaking His union with Them.
Ode III, Irmos: Establish us in thee, O Lord Who hast slain sin by the Tree, and plant the fear of Thee in the hearts of us who hymn Thee.
Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus, pray to God for us.
Ye were shown to be seven fixed stars shining with faith, O athletes; and ye have guided to the haven of salvation those who are sinking in the abyss of falsehood.
Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus, pray to God for us.
Standing undaunted before the tribunal, O holy ones, as the Maccabees once did, having enrolled in the army of Christ, ye resigned from the army of corruptible life.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As is meet, O holy youths, ye showed yourselves to be a sacrifice of prayer pleasing unto God, firmly dispelling the foul stench of falsehood with a savor of sweet fragrance.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The bush on Sinai prefigured thine all-glorious birthgiving, O Virgin; for thou wast not consumed by the fire of the Godhead when thou didst receive it into thy womb with faith.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Sessional hymn, Tone IV, Spec. Mel. “Go thou quickly before…”: As pillars of the Church of Christ, ye firmly overturned the ramparts of unbelief, O ye seven martyred brethren. Wherefore, having dispelled the wrath of the Greeks before your death, and the tempest of heresy again after your death, holding fast to your faith in the resurrection, pray ye that we be made steadfast in the Faith.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Theotokion: O most immaculate Virgin who gavest birth to the transcendent God, unceasingly entreat Him with the incorporeal ones, that, before the end, He grant remission of transgressions and correction of life to us who with faith and love hymn thee as is meet, O thou who alone art most hymned.
Stavrotheotokion (replaces the Theotokion on Wednesdays and Fridays): As she beheld Thee, O Word of God, suspended upon the Cross, Thine all-pure Mother exclaimed, lamenting maternally: “What is this new and strange mystery, O my Son? How is it that Thou, the Life of all, dost taste of death, desiring to bring life to the dead, in that Thou art full of loving-kindness?”
Ode IV, Irmos: I have heard, O Lord, of Thy glorious dispensation, and I have glorified Thine unapproachable power, O Thou Who lovest mankind.
Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus, pray to God for us.
We hymn the seven honored youths, the sacred company manifestly honorable in their number.
Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus, pray to God for us.
The youths of Ephesus showed the ungodly emperor to be foolish, whose mind was filled with the vainglory of falsehood.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
O holy youths, through your faith ye were truly shown to be all-immaculate offerings and sacrifices for the Lord.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O pure and ever blessed one, cease thou never to pray for us, that we may be delivered from all tribulation.
Ode V, Irmos: O Lord, Bestower of light and Creator of the ages: guide us in the light of Thy commandments, for we know none other God than Thee.
Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus, pray to God for us.
Dying first a common death on earth without feeling it, O youths of Ephesus, ye straightway arose in manner transcending nature, manifestly assuring all of the resurrection of the dead.
Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus, pray to God for us.
Consecrating yourselves to God through the confession of the true Faith, as lawful athletes of the Lord ye were delivered from prison and wounds, O wise ones, and have received crowns.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Having firmly vanquished the falsehood of idolatry and the teachings of impious heresies, O glorious martyrs, ever preserve those who confess the resurrection of the dead.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The Transcendent One, Who, without confusion, is perfect man and perfect God and was born of the holy Mother, existeth in two natures but one hypostasis.
Ode VI, Irmos: Whirled about in the abyss of sin, I call upon the unfathomable abyss of Thy loving-kindness: Lead me up from corruption, O God!
Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus, pray to God for us.
Let the seven holy youths, equal in number to the pillars of the wisdom of God, be praised, for with their words they crushed the ungodly command of the tyrants as with stones.
Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus, pray to God for us.
Preserved by the law of divine providence, ye received ready burial in the cave, O saints, wherein ye were revealed as both dead and incorrupt.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Ye arose as witnesses to incorruption, driving away a corrupt and moribund religion, and pray to God in behalf of those who set their hope on the resurrection.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Now hath women’s nature rejoiced! Now hath grief come to an end and joy blossomed forth! For Mary hath given birth to Joy: Christ, our Savior and God.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone IV, Spec. Mel. “Having been lifted up…”: Spurning the corrupt things of this world and accepting gifts of incorruption, though they died yet did they remain untouched by corruption. Wherefore, they arose after many years, burying all the unbelief of the wicked. O ye faithful, praising them today in laudation, let us hymn Christ!
Ode VII, Irmos: The all-wise children did not worship the golden body, but entered into the flame themselves and mocked the gods of the heathen. They cried aloud in the midst of the flame, and the Angel bedewed them, saying: The prayer of your mouths hath already been heard.
Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus, pray to God for us.
The youths have been shown to be pure and chosen vessels of God. Through them the doctrines of heresy are driven from the Church and Orthodoxy shineth forth, for He is the resurrection of every soul and all flesh, in that He hath been born.
Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus, pray to God for us.
Truly the holy youths were shown to be steadfast in their suffering immediately before death; and after death they were shown to be alive through divine glory, in themselves piously assuring the true resurrection.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
“The resurrection will be for both souls and material bodies; for as it is not possible to come into the world without a body, so can the body not exist without a soul!” the all-praised ones said; “The soul is either glorified or put to shame.”
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O Mary who gavest birth to God, the Savior of all, thou art the setting aright of the despairing, the restoration of sinners, the hope of the hopeless and the help of those who chant: Blessed is the God of our fathers!
Ode VIII, Irmos: Thou didst once prefigure Thy Mother in the furnace of the children, O Lord; for her image drew from the fire those who entered it, without being consumed. We hymn and exalt her supremely for all ages, who through Thee hath been made manifest today to the ends of the earth.
Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus, pray to God for us.
O divine youths, having severed the root of ungodly bitterness and the falsehood of heresy which grew malignantly, ye bring forth the fruit of faith; and, buried alive for your faith, ye rose from the dead.
Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus, pray to God for us.
O ye seven holy youths and athletes, foremost among the Ephesians, ye have been shown to be the divine confirmation of the Church of Christ and the kingdom of the faithful, which we exalt supremely for all ages.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Showing themselves to be steadfast on the earth and equal in number to the stars making an unwavering transit of the divine faith, the youths cried out: We exalt Thee supremely, O Christ, forever!
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
No one hath perished, O pure Mother of God, who, in Orthodox manner, placeth his hope and faith in thee, but only they who out of envy refuse to venerate the image of thy countenance.
Ode IX, Irmos: Thee do we magnify, O blessed and most pure Theotokos, who through thy virginal womb ineffably didst make God incarnate, the Luminary Who shone forth before the sun and hath come to us in the flesh.
Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus, pray to God for us.
The resurrection of the saints hath now been revealed as a wealth of wonders and a revelation of the mysteries of God; for though they once died a natural death, they have now risen devoid of corruption, arrayed as though they had never died.
Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus, pray to God for us.
A treasury of strength and a firm bulwark of faith hath the cave of the children been shown to be, proclaiming the coming resurrection of all; for it hath resurrected not Lazarus four days dead, but those dead for centuries.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
O ye seven youths, pillars of the wisdom of God, having suffered lawfully, ye have been invested with the crown of martyrdom; and by your Orthodox teaching ye have revealed the resurrection, as champions of the Church who pray for those who hymn you.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Thou didst preserve thy soul and body undefiled, O pure one, and Christ the King desired thy beauty and showed thee forth as the Mother of His incarnation, O all-glorious Mary, ever bestowing salvation upon me.
Troparion, Tone IV: In their sufferings, O Lord, Thy martyrs received imperishable crowns from Thee, our God; for, possessed of Thy might, they set at nought the tormenters and crushed the feeble audacity of the demons. Through their supplications save Thou our souls.
Or this troparion, in the same tone: Great is the wonder of faith! The seven holy youths abode in the cave as in a royal chamber, and died without falling into corruption; and after much time they arose as from sleep, as an assurance of the resurrection of all men. Through their supplications, O Christ God, have mercy on us.
