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- St Abercius, Bishop of Hierapolis, Wonderworker and Equal to the Apostles (167)
- He was bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia of Asia Minor, during the
reign of Marcus Aurelius, a persecutor of Christians. During a pagan
festival, Abercius was instructed by an Angel to throw down the idols of
Apollo and other pagan gods. When his work was discovered, the people
of the city were outraged; but instead of hiding, the bishop went to the
marketplace and openly confessed the Christian faith. The people grew
angrier still, but when Abercius healed three possessed men they were
amazed and listened to him more closely. He preached the Faith with such
power that the entire city and surrounding countryside became
Christian.
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These miracles reached the ears of the Emperor, whose daughter was
suffering from demonic possession. The Emperor summoned Abercius to
Rome, where he was enabled to cast out the spirit and perform several
other miracles. The Empress offered him a large reward of gold for
healing her daughter, but he would not accept it. On his way home, he
was instructed in a vision to travel to Syria. He travelled first to
Antioch and surrounding cities, then as far as Mesopotamia, proclaiming
Christ and teaching the faith everywhere he went. No other bishop of his
time travelled so widely in the service of the Gospel; for this reason
he is called Equal to the Apostles.
- After several years he returned to Phrygia, where he lived the remainder of his life in peace, shepherding his flock.
- Holy Seven Youths (the "Seven Sleepers") of Ephesus (250 & 5th c.)
- During a persecution of Christians under the Emperor Decius, these
seven Christian youths hid themselves in a cave outside Ephesus. When
they were discovered, their persecutors sealed them in the cave to die;
but God instead sent them a miraculous, life-preserving sleep. There
they rested for about two hundred years. In the time of the Emperor
Theodosius the Younger (408-450), a heresy that denied the bodily
Resurrection of the dead began to trouble the people. The Emperor prayed
God to reveal the truth to the people. At this time, some shepherds
removed the stones blocking the cave in order to build a sheep-pen. They
discovered the seven youths, who awoke in full health and told their
miraculous story. The miracle was told throughout the empire, and the
Emperor himself came to Ephesus and spoke with the youths. A week later,
they again fell asleep, this time in death.
source: http://www.abbamoses.com |
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