The 40 Holy Martyrs celebrated “For the pains of the Saints who have suffered for You, be merciful, O Lord, and heal all our pains, O Lover of men, we pray to You.”
On the feast day of the 40 Holy Martyrs of Sebastia, on March 22, 2024, with the blessing of His Eminence Vladimir, His Grace Siluan, Bishop of Orhei, Metropolitan Vicar, officiated the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Nativity of the Lord in Chisinau. The arch-pastor was assisted at the service by a choir of the Cathedral clergy.
On this day the Church commemorates the 40 soldiers who were tortured in the Armenian Sevasta at the beginning of the 4th century. The parable of courage and steadfastness in the faith of the martyrs frozen in the cold water remains an extremely eloquent example for all Christians today, who all too often put comfortable and relaxed living first.
Tradition tells us that Governor Agricola, during the reign of Licinius, found out that some soldiers believed in Jesus Christ and ordered them to be captured and imprisoned. After they were offered to renounce their faith and refused, the soldiers were punished. As an extreme measure, the 40 soldiers in question were thrown into the freezing lake near the town of Sevasta in Armenia, now Sivas in Turkey.
The sacrifice of the Holy 40 Martyrs who overcame fear, pain, cold and even death in the icy water of Sebastia represents the foundation of the confession of faith in the One who forgives, loves and will send to the end of time witnesses of His sacrifice, strengthening the Church and its members.
After the service, the canon of St. Great Martyr Theodore Tyron was read and the coliva was blessed. This rite is performed in memory of the miracle that Saint Theodore showed in the time of Julian the Apostate.
Synodal Sector for Institutional Communication and Media Relations
Source: https://manastireacurchi.md