A Sermon of Remembrance
Gregory of Nyssa slowly ascended the podium. It was March 10, AD 370, the Feast Day of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, and Gregory was standing in front of a hushed audience in the church of Caesarea that was dedicated to their memory-the Church of the Forty Martyrs. As the bishop of Nyssa, Gregory was well-known for his defense of the Nicene Creed and his theological writings on the Trinity and the infinite power of God. On this day, however, his sermon would not be scholarly; he would speak simply about the forty martyrs-and the encouragement they were to Christians everywhere.
The Testimony of the Forty Martyrs
Gregory’s audience was well aware of the forty martyrs’ testimonies. They were Roman soldiers in the prime of their youth who, fifty years earlier, had refused to worship pagan idols at the command of Licinus, co-ruler of Rome with Constantine I. The soldiers who defied the command “formed a battle rank because they were distinguished and fortified in the love of Christ. These soldiers were confident in the Spirit’s power and openly resisted the decree issued by such a brutal man.” For that crime, they were sentenced to an exceptionally cruel death. Bishop Gregory spoke of them with reverence:
When that cruel tyrant who issued such a harsh decree observed the saints’ attitude, he cunningly matched it with passionate vengeance and planned a new, extraordinary torture for these intrepid souls. “If I menace them with the sword, they will not be disturbed and will refuse to submit. If I threaten them with other torments, they will bear them nobly. They are experienced in such things and will sustain blows and wounds because trained soldiers are accustomed to such hardships. If I devise other torments, they would bear them nobly and would remain unaffected by wounds and blows. These soldiers do not fear fire because they are constant.” He was now compelled to find some torment designed to inflict sharp, prolonged pain.
Condemned to the Armenian Winter
What did that crafty evil man devise against the saints? He carefully looked around until he found a place and time when they could be exposed to the hard climate of eastern European weather. The time was winter and the location was Armenia, a province known for its harsh climate. In this place [Armenia], winter has not loosened the ground for sowing, and the harvest occurs when it begins to snow. Winds afflict the harvesters if they do not wear warm clothing for protection against the winds’ violence. Late autumn and spring do not exist because the evil of winter sweeps it away.
Gregory describes how the forty men were condemned to stand outside, on a frozen pond, without clothing, while, within easy reach, warm baths were prepared for their relief-if they would recant their Christian faith.
To Be Continued…
Date: 20th April 2024
Martyr: Not Specified
Location: Not Specified
Source: God’s Generals – The Martyrs
Author: Roberts Liardon
Suffering Saturday 087
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