My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
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ON SEPTEMBER 28th OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE HOLY FATHER, THE MARTYR CHARITON THE CONFESSOR
Our Venerable Father Chariton was born in the city of Iconium in Asia Minor, where he was reared in the ways and standards of God. When he reached manhood, he became famous for his piety and achieved prominence in that city. In those days, the pagan Roman emperor Aurelian (270-276 A.D.) reigned in Rome. In the beginning, he did not persecute the Christians nor prevent them from worshiping the True God, even though he, himself, was an idolater. Later, though, incited by the demons that he worshiped, he raised a terrible persecution against the Christians by dispatching godless decrees to all the provinces, requiring the governors to coerce the Christians--by any means possible--to return to the worship of the idols. Those that refused to submit to his orders were to be tortured and suffer a painful death.
The pagan emperor's orders arrived also in Iconium. Saint Chariton was therefore apprehended and led by the soldiers to the imperial court. He was presented to the second-in-command and questioned by him as to his identity and beliefs. He replied that his name was Chariton and that he believed in Christ the True God. When asked why he defied the emperor's orders and refused to sacrifice to the immortal gods, the holy one answered courageously: "I refuse to pay homage to your gods because they are not gods in truth, but subtle demons that have deceived you into believing that they are gods, for two reasons: Firstly, so that they may be honored with the glorious appellation of gods, because they rejoice when they are honored as such--being proud in nature; and, secondly, that they might draw their worshippers with them into everlasting damnation."
When the judge heard this, he said, "I should show thee my anger by submitting thee to the worst punishment, O Charition, for thou blasphemest the gods! However, because they too are merciful and forgiving, I shall emulate them by advising thee to do what is for thine own good. Sacrifice to the gods, that thou mayest obtain honor and rewards at the hands of the emperor!" The valiant soldier of Christ answered him: "If these deaf and inanimate objects are gods, O judge, then thou art wrong to tolerate the abuse I heap upon them. If they are not gods--as indeed, they are not--then thou dost toil in vain, urging me to do wrong, for in no way will I ever deny the True God and worship the vile demons. I am an emulator and follower of Thekla, our first martyr, who shines like the sun with the rays of her martyrdom in this very city of the Iconians. Likewise, I am a disciple of the great teacher of Truth, Paul, who encouraged Thekla to withstand the tortures of martyrdom for the love of Christ. Therefore, I, too, declare before all, according to what the divine Paul has written in his Epistle to the Romans: "Who shall separate me from the love of Christ? Shall affliction, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?" (Romans 8:35). Or shall any other evil or good? Nay! None of these shall separate me from the love of my Christ."
The Magistrate, desiring to win Chariton over to his side, said to him in a mild voice: "My good Chariton, if our deities are not gods, as thou sayest, then why is it that the pious emperors, who worship and venerate them, and we Magistrates as well, attain such glory and happiness?" The Martyr answered: "Deluded indeed are the idolaters, claiming that these wooden objects, which are made by men's hands and possess neither mind, nor reason, nor senses, are gods. As the Scripture says: "The idols of the nations, are silver and gold, the works of the hands of men. They have mouths but shall not speak, eyes have they and shall not see. Ears have they and shall not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouth. All that make them and put their trust in them, let them become like them" (Psalm 134:15-18).
"...When the tyrant heard this, he ordered that they whip him the more. They lashed him so many times that there was no more flesh on him, and his bodily organs were exposed. He was then rendered speechless from the pain, but the pernicious ones continued to beat him. The emperor's deputy then ordered the torture stopped--not out of pity, but lest he die and escape the rest of the tortures. The servants lifted up the blessed man, who was nearly dead, and carried him on their shoulders to prison...So the holy Chariton was subjected to more punishment. He was burned with torches and cast into prison again. Not long after, though, the impious emperor was censured by God for the wicked deeds that he perpetrated against the Christians, and died an evil death. His successor, Tacitus, was taught a lesson by Aurelius' demise, and therefore, he feared that if he, too, persecuted the Christians, he would indeed be punished like his predecessor. Consequently, he put an end to the persecutions throughout the provinces of the empire. This came to pass by God's economy, so that the holy Chariton might not suffer death, to the loss of many who would gain by his remaining among the living. Therefore, that many might benefit, Divine Providence, granted that Chariton be released from his fetters and imprisonment. The new imperial decree granted freedom to all.
Saint Chariton, even though he did not repose in this martyric state, bore on his body the signs and vestiges of his victory for Christ. He was like one dead in this temporal life and had a desire to live alone in Christ; therefore, he trod the narrow road of asceticism. However, once again, he encountered many temptations. On his way to Jerusalem, he was taken captive by violent thieves and criminals. Tying the blessed one's hands behind him and placing a chain about his neck, they brought him back to their caved, leaving him bound.
As the holy Chariton pondered upon these matters, he was unaware that a poisonous snake had crawled into one of the wine jars lying about and secreted its venom. When the criminals returned to their hideout they were parched from thirst and drank the poisoned wine. Instantly, they died in their sins. Straightway, the holy Chariton was loosed from his bonds. Inasmuch as the location was ideal for quietude, he remained and thus inherited their booty, which was well spent. He distributed part of it to the poor and to the fathers of the desert and, with the rest, constructed a church of God and a monastery in the cave, naming it Faran. Eventually, the church was consecrated by Patriarch Makarios of Jerusalem, who was one of the 318 God-bearing Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod.
The Testament of the Saint
"Moreover, keep yourselves blameless and do not take part in any evil things, and if you cannot attain to this state, diligently seek to cleanse yourselves daily. Keep inviolate the virginity and sanctity of your bodies to the point that you may become pure temples, that the All-Holy God may dwell in your hearts and fill your souls with His blessedness and ineffable fragrance. Anger and wrath are the greatest evils; no other passion sullies the love of neighbor as do these..."
These were Saint Chariton's last instructions, as he wished them the salvation of their souls from on high. Then, without any apparent illness or pain, he fell on his bed, stretching out his legs, and surrendered his soul to the holy Angels. Thus, in the year 276 A.D., he was translated to eternal bliss, where rest awaits those who have sorrowed and toiled in the vineyard of the Lord and have trodden the narrow and difficult road of virtue. The deeds of the ever-memorable Chariton that have escaped all-consuming time and oblivion we have narrated for your ears, O blessed disciples of virtue, by the present biography, to the glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the one Godhead and dominion, to Whom be glory, honor and worship, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. (Source: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church)
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -- Saint John Chrysostom
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry)
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George