On March 22 , according to a new style, Orthodox Christians celebrate the feast of the Forty Saints or, as it is also called, the Day of the Forty Saints of the Martyrs of Sevastia.
What does the feast of the Forty Saints mean?
The history of the feast of the Forty Saints originates from early Christianity. In 313, in some parts of the Holy Roman Empire, the Christian religion was already legalized, and persecution of believers ceased. However, this was not the case everywhere. In Sebastia, which was located on the territory of modern Armenia, Emperor Licinius ordered the purge of army ranks from Christians, leaving only the Gentiles. In Sevastia served the ardent pagan Agricolius, and under his command were forty soldiers from Cappadocia, professing Christianity. The military commander demanded from the soldiers that they confirm their devotion to the pagan gods, but they refused to do this and were imprisoned. There they assiduously surrendered to prayers and heard the voice of God, who cheered them up and instructed them not to reconcile before the trials. The next morning, Agricolius tried again to break the soldiers, resorting to all sorts of tricks and flattery, glorifying their military exploits and persuading them to return to pagan faith in order to gain freedom. Forty Cappadocians once again firmly suffered the test, and then Agricolius ordered them to be closed again in the dungeon.
A week later, a dignitary, Lysias, arrived in Sevastia, who interrogated the soldiers, but after they again refused to swear allegiance to the pagan gods, he ordered the Cappadocians to be stoned. However, the stones miraculously did not fall into the soldiers, scattering in different directions. The next test, which was to break the resistance of the Sevastian martyrs, was the standing naked on the ice, to which Lysias had condemned them. To the soldiers was even more difficult, near the river melted the sauna. At night, one of the Cappadocians could not stand it and ran to the hot unheated hut, however, only stepping over its threshold, fell dead. Others staunchly continued to stand on the ice. And again a miracle happened. The Lord spoke with the Sebastean martyrs, and then he warmed everything around them, so that the ice melted and the water became warm.
One of the guards, Aglalia, who was the only one who did not sleep at that time, when he saw the miracle, exclaimed: "And I am a Christian!" And stood in line with the Cappadocians.
Arriving next morning to the river, Agricolius and Lysias saw that the soldiers were not only alive and not broken, but among them was one of the guards. Then they commanded to kill their shins with a hammer so that they would die in agony. Later the bodies of the Sebastean martyrs were burned, and the bones were thrown into the river. However, the Bishop of Sevastia, blessed Peter, at the direction of God, was able to collect and bury the remains of holy warriors.
The Signs of the Feast of the Forty Saints
The significance of the Church holiday of the Forty Saints is that the true believer does not doubt his faith, and then she saves him, even if he suffers or even suffers an agonizing death. A true Christian should be firm in his convictions and not deviate from them in any situation.
On this day it is customary to remember the forty Cappadocian soldiers who gave their lives for their faith in God. In honor of them, a special treat is served in orthodox families - buns in the form of larks. These birds, their flight, are associated with the behavior of the Sevastian martyrs. The bird boldly flies up towards the sun, but resigns itself before the greatness of the Lord God and sharply dives down. So the Forty Holy Martyrs, having reconciled themselves to the inevitable and terrible death, were able to ascend to the Lord and receive his grace.