The image is reproduced from the publication: To the Origins: Early Christian Icons: [Calendar Book for 2010]. Minsk: Intern. societies. Association "Christian Educational Center named after. Sts. Methodius and Cyril"; Milano: La Casa di Matriona, 2009.
Saints Sergius and Bacchus
Constantinople master (?), 7th century.
Kyiv, Museum of Art. Bogdan and Varvara Khanenko.
From the monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai.
Encaustic, board; 28.5 × 42 cm.
This is one of four Sinai icons painted in the encaustic technique, brought in the middle of the 19th century by Archimandrite Porfiry Uspensky. Since 1940, she has been in the Kiev Museum of Art. Bogdan and Varvara Khanenko. A long horizontal crack damaged the eyes of the saint on the left and the lower part of the saint's face on the right, which were rewritten along with some details of the robes in the 17th century.
Before us are half-length images of saints dressed in brown chitons and white mantles, on their necks are heavy gold necklaces with uncut precious stones, the characteristic attributes of the holy warriors Sergius and Bacchus. Their names are also read in later inscriptions in the upper corners of the icon. Serving in the personal bodyguard of the Emperor Maximinus Daiya (309-313), they refused to offer sacrifices to the pagan gods and were subjected to martyrdom, which is reminiscent of the crosses in the right hand of every saint. Faces very pale in tone are framed by dark curls descending onto the forehead, wide-open eyes devoid of emotionality are fixed on the viewer. The heads are surrounded by evenly drawn halos. Between them is placed a medallion with the face of Christ depicted with long hair and a sharp beard. According to Hans Belting, this is a reference to a specific icon of the Savior.
The style of the icon is sustained in the spirit of aloofness, transmitted due to the frontal and symmetrical relative to each other arrangement of the saints and the concentration of their gaze directed into the distance. However, despite the commonality of the typology of the saints and the hieratism of their images as a sign of spiritual unity, the artist managed to introduce subtle differences between them, which softened the severity of the composition and outlined some psychological nuances: Sergius and Bacchus are slightly turned towards each other, the figure of Bacchus is denser, the body of Sergius is more exhausted and ascetic. Comparison with mosaics
The Holy Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus, Romans by origin, were noble dignitaries 1 and the first of the nobles at the court of Tsar Maximian. The king loved and respected them very much for their prudent advice at meetings, for their courage in war and for their loyalty in service.
And rarely could anyone turn to the king with a request otherwise than through these of his most faithful advisers: they were in such favor with him as no one else.
However, Sergius and Bacchus sought mercy not so much from the earthly king as from the Heavenly King: because they believed in our Lord Jesus Christ, tried to please Him with their lives and diligently served Him.
But because of the fear of the king, they hid their faith in Christ for a time, for Maximian treated Christians with immeasurable hatred and indomitable fury. For a short time, however, the light of the faith of Christ was concealed in them under a bushel, and soon it was openly revealed to everyone.
Some, envious of their high position and royal love for them, and wishing to draw on them the hatred and wrath of the king, informed him that Sergius and Bacchus were Christians and that they refused to worship idols. Maximian did not want to believe that people who enjoyed such his disposition would not agree with him in the veneration of the gods - and he was ashamed to ask them about this or to accuse them, not yet knowing it for certain. However, he decided to test them in the following way.
Once he appointed a feast in honor of his gods and went with all the princes and dignitaries, with soldiers and servants, surrounded by all his royal grandeur, to the temple of the main god Zeus 2 to offer him a solemn sacrifice there. At the same time, he carefully watched whether his beloved nobles, Sergius and Bacchus, would enter the idol temple with him.
But when the king entered the temple, the servants of Christ remained outside it and did not enter with the king into the vile temple; stopping in the distance, they prayed to the true God, asking Him, - may He enlighten the blindness of the darkened eyes of that wicked people, and may He glorify His most holy Name through them. The king, seeing that Sergius and Bacchus did not enter the celebration with him, sent servants to take them and bring them to the temple by force.
When the saints were led into this ungodly assembly, Maximian ordered that they bow down to idols with him, make a sacrifice, and partake of the offerings made to idols.
But Sergius and Bacchus did not want to fulfill this royal order.
“We have,” they said, a God in heaven, not a false and insensible God, as your idols are insensible, but a true and living God, containing the whole world in His power, and we worship Him.
And they began to denounce the king for his wickedness, that he gives honor due to the One God to idols - blind, deaf and dumb.
Then the tsar, angry, ordered to remove from them all the distinctions of their high rank: military belts, and golden hryvnias, and rings, and all clothes, and for reproach, dress them in women's underwear, and put iron hoops on their necks.
In this form, the saints began to be led around the city, so that, in this way, such glorious and noble Roman nobles would be scolded and ridiculed by all the people for the veneration of the One true God and the reproach of false pagan gods, or, rather, the demons themselves, to whom they did not want to bring these sacrifices are the servants of God, who have already offered themselves as a sacrifice to Christ.
At the end of the ungodly sacrifices, Maximian returned to his chambers and, taking pity on Sergius and Bacchus, as he loved them very much, called them to him and said:
My dear and faithful friends! Why did you think to dishonor our gods, and grieve your king, who is so merciful and supportive of you? Why did they bring such dishonor upon themselves? Although I love you very much, I cannot bear the abuse of my gods and I will have to put you to torment, even against my will. Therefore, I ask you, my friends, leave this Son of Tekton 3 Whom the Jews, as a villain, hung on the cross with the villains, and do not get carried away with Christian fables and sorcery; turn again to our great gods, and I will show you even more honor and my even greater mercy to you, and you will enjoy my love and enjoy all the blessings of my kingdom inseparably with me.
But Sergius and Bacchus, not wanting to fall away from the love of God for the sake of royal love and to lose eternal blessings for the sake of temporal blessings, did not obey the king. Filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, they boldly and convincingly began to prove to the king all the impotence of his false gods, boldly confessed before him the power and divinity of Jesus Christ and advised the king to know this heavenly truth himself. The impious king, whose heart was hardened and his mind blinded, did not accept their good advice and, on the contrary, was inflamed with even greater anger and fury.
Out of his love for them, not wanting to betray them to torment himself, he sent them to the eastern hegemon 4 Antiochus. This man was a cruel persecutor and tormentor of Christians; he reached hegemon rank through the intercession of Sergius and Bacchus before the king, and after that he was sent to the East. The saints were now sent to this hegemon.
The king thought that they would be afraid of his ferocity, the rumor of which spread throughout the empire, and at the same time be ashamed to be in the power of one who had previously been almost a slave to them, and thus, out of fear and shame, they would deny Christ.
But if this had not happened, then the king, in any case, would have been more desirable that they be martyred in a remote area than before his eyes.
And so the saints in chains were led out of Rome. After a whole day of travel, the soldiers who accompanied them stopped for the night in a hotel. Here, at midnight, when the soldiers who led them were fast asleep, Sergius and Bacchus stood up to pray and began to ask God for strength - to courageously endure all the suffering that lay ahead of them.
While they were praying, the Angel of the Lord appeared to them, illuminating them with heavenly light and strengthening them with the following words:
– Dare, servants of Christ, and, like good warriors, arm yourself against the devil: you will soon defeat him.
After these words, the Angel became invisible.
Sergius and Bacchus, filled with indescribable joy, began to send praise to the Lord, who deigned to visit His servants with such an angelic appearance.
Throughout their long journey to the East, the holy martyrs spent their time in prayer and psalmody, and in this way armed themselves even more against the invisible spirits of evil.
Having passed many cities and villages, they finally reached the eastern city of Varvalisso 5, where at that time hegemon Antiochus was located, to whom the soldiers handed over the brought prisoners, along with a royal letter of the following content:
- Maximian, the eternal king, Antiochus, hegemon of the East. - Rejoice! Our gods do not allow any person, and especially the champions and servants of our kingdom, to be evil people and not participating in sacrifices to them; therefore, we condemned Sergius and Bacchus and, as followers of the wicked Christian faith, considered them deserving of the death penalty. But since they are unworthy of accepting punishment from the king himself, we sent them to you. If, repentant, they listen to us and sacrifice to the gods, then show them indulgence and free them from the appointed torments; at the same time, promise that we will also be merciful to them, and that each of them will receive his former dignity and deserve from us a greater favor than before. If they do not obey and remain in their former evil faith, then give them over to well-deserved torments and condemn them to death by beheading with a sword. In the hope of a long life - be healthy.
After reading the royal letter, Antiochus ordered Sergius and Bacchus to be taken into custody until morning. In the morning, entering the praetorium, 6 he sat down in the judgment seat, and placing the holy martyrs before him, he began to say to them thus:
“My fathers and benefactors, who have given me this dignity, the authors of my real glory, how your situation has changed! Now I sit before you as a judge, but you, bound prisoners, stand before me, you, to whom I formerly stood as a servant. I beg you, do not do yourself such harm, listen to the king and sacrifice to the gods - and you will again receive your former dignity and will again be honored with glory; if you do not do this, then I, even against my will, will have to torture you to fulfill this royal command: after all, you yourself heard what the king orders me in his message. Therefore, my lords, be merciful to yourselves, and also to me, for I would not at all wish for you, my benefactors, to be a cruel tormentor.
The saints answered him:
- In vain do you want to seduce us with your speech: for those who seek heavenly life - both honor and dishonor, and life and death - are decisively indifferent: " For to me life is Christ, and death is gain"(Philip. 1:21)..
And Sergius and Bacchus said many other things, reproaching and denouncing the idolatry and godlessness of the wicked. After this, Antiochus, angry, ordered that St. Sergius be put in prison, and Bacchus, having stripped him and laid him out on the ground, beat him mercilessly. The saint was beaten all over his body for such a long time that even the servants who beat him, exhausted from fatigue, alternated with each other. From these beatings, the body of St. the martyr, as it were, fell off his bones, and blood poured out of him like water. In the midst of such torments, Saint Bacchus gave up his soul in the hands of the Lord. Antiochus ordered the body of Christ's sufferer to be taken out of the city and thrown somewhere far away to be eaten by animals and birds. But the Lord preserved his bones: some of the Christians, who were hiding out of fear of idolaters outside the city, in caves and ravines, came out of their shelters at night, took the body of the saint and honorably buried him in one of those caves in which they themselves hid.
Sergius, sitting in prison and hearing about the death of his friend, was greatly saddened and mourned for a long time about parting with him.
“Alas for me, take my Bacchus,” he repeated repeatedly, “now you and I can no longer sing:“ How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together!"(Ps. 132: 1): you left me alone.
While Saint Sergius was lamenting in this way, the very next night Saint Bacchus appeared to him in a dream, with the face of an angel, in clothes shining with heavenly light. He began to comfort him, announcing to him the retribution prepared for them in heaven, and strengthened him for the soon-to-be martyrdom, for which he would receive great mercy and boldness from Christ the Lord. After this appearance, Sergius was filled with joy and in gladness of heart began to sing of the Lord.
Soon the hegemon, going to another city, called Sura 7, ordered Sergius to follow him. There, sitting in the judge's seat, he began to say to the saint thus:
- The wicked man, named Bacchus, did not want to make sacrifices to the gods and agreed it would be better to die a violent death than to honor them, - and so he accepted an execution worthy of his deeds. But you, Sergius, why are you seduced by this godless teaching and expose yourself to such a great misfortune? My benefactor, do not give yourself over to torment! I am ashamed of your former good deeds to me and your dignity: after all, you stand before me as a condemned man, and I, sitting, pronounce judgment on you: once an insignificant person, now, thanks to your intercession before the king, I have been exalted with a great dignity and now already higher you; but you, who asked the king for so much and for so many good things, now you wish yourself harm. I beg you - listen to my advice - fulfill the royal command, make a sacrifice to the gods - and you will be elevated to your former rank and honored with your former glory.
Saint Sergius answered him:
- Temporary honor and glory are vain, while temporary dishonor is followed by eternal glory, and for me this earthly dishonor is nothing, and I do not seek temporary glory, for I hope to be awarded my true and eternal honor from the Savior in heavenly glory. You remember my former good deeds towards you - that I interceded for you such a great dignity from the earthly king; now I say to you, - listen to me and, knowing the truth, reject your false gods and bow with me to the Heavenly God and the King of the ages, and I promise to intercede from Him for you even more good than from Maximian.
Then Antiochus, convinced that he could not turn him away from Christ and force him to submit to the royal will, said:
- You make me, Sergius, forget all your good deeds and betray you to fierce torments.
Sergius replied:
- Do what you want: I have Christ as a helper, Who once said: do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; now you also have power over my body to torment it, but neither you nor your father, Satan, have power over my soul.
After this, Antiochus, angry, said:
“I see that my long-suffering only makes you even more daring,” and ordered that he be shod in iron boots, with sharp and long nails on the sole, which pierced the saint’s feet. In such shoes, Antiochus ordered Sergius to be driven before his chariot, while he himself went to the city of Tetrapyrgy 8 , from where he was supposed to go to the city of Rozafa 9 .
Enduring such suffering, the saint on the way sang: “I firmly trusted in the Lord, and He bowed down to me and heard my cry; pulled me out of a terrible ditch, out of a muddy swamp, and set my feet on a stone and established my steps ”(Ps. 39: 2-3).
When they arrived at the city of Tetrapyrgy, which was twenty miles away from Sura, they took the martyr to prison. On the way to her, he sang: “Even a man at peace with me, on whom I relied, who ate my bread, raised his heel against me. But you, Lord, have mercy on me and raise me up, and I will repay them ”(Ps. 40: 10-11).
At night in prison, when the martyr was praying, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and healed his wounds. The next day, Antiochus ordered St. Sergius to be taken out of the dungeon, thinking that because of the pain he could not even step on his feet. Seeing from a distance that he was walking like a perfectly healthy person, not even limping at all, the tormentor was horrified and said:
“Truly, this man is a sorcerer, for how is it possible to walk without limping after such torment?” And it's like he's never even suffered with his legs.
After this, Antiochus ordered that the martyr be shod in the same boots and lead before him to Rosapha, and from the city of Sura there was a distance of 70 stadia from him. Here, having ascended to the judgment seat, Antiochus began to force Saint Sergius to worship idols; but could not tear him away from the confession of Christ, and condemned the martyr to death. When the saint was brought outside the city, to the place of execution, he asked for time for himself to pray. While praying, he heard a voice from heaven, calling him to the heavenly abode, and, joyfully bowing his head under the sword, died. His body was buried in the same place by Christians.
After some time, the Christians of the city of Sura agreed to secretly take the body of the saint from Rosafa and transfer it to their city. When they approached the tomb at night, a column of fire appeared from the tomb, its height reaching to the very sky. Some of the warriors who lived in Rozafa, seeing at midnight a pillar of fire that illuminated their entire city, went armed to that place and saw the Sura citizens seized with horror at the sight of this fiery phenomenon. Soon the phenomenon of the miraculous pillar disappeared. After that, the Sura citizens realized that Saint Sergius did not want to leave the place where he shed his blood and laid down his soul for Christ; in honor of the martyr, they set up only in that place a wonderful, stone tomb. After the spread of Christianity, a temple was built in the city of Rozafa in the name of the holy martyr Sergius.
Fifteen bishops of the surrounding towns, having gathered, solemnly transferred the incorruptible and fragrant relics of the holy martyr to the newly created church and decided to celebrate his memory on October 7, the day of his death. In this and that place, both in the church, with the relics of the martyr Sergius, and in the place where he died and was buried, many demon-possessed and sick people received healing from their ailments 10 .
It is noteworthy that every year, on the feast day of the saint, wild animals, as if observing some kind of law, came out of the surrounding deserts and gathered at the place where the holy martyr was first buried.
At this time, their wild temper was replaced by the meekness of the lambs: they did not attack either people or cattle, but, calmly bypassing St. place, returned to their deserts again. So God glorified His saint that not only people, but also animals, as it were, inspired to celebrate his memory.
Through the prayers of St. Sergius, may the Lord tame the fury of our enemies, as He once tamed the ferocity of these wild beasts, to His glory forever. - Amen.
TO THE MARTYRS SERGIUS AND BACCHUS
Troparion, tone 4
Thy martyrs, O Lord, / in their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from Thee, our God, / having Thy strength, / dethroning the tormentors, / crushing the demons of weak insolence. / Those prayers / save our souls.
Another troparion, tone 5
Fertilizer of Christ's passion-bearers / and the eyes of Christ to the Church, / eyes enlighten our souls, / Sergius the long-suffering and Vakshe the most glorious: / pray to the Lord, / that we may flee the darkness of sin / and the Light will appear as a companion of the non-evening / by your prayers, saints.
Kontakion, tone 2
Having masculinely armed the mind against the enemies, / destroy all those flattery, / and receive victory from above, martyrs of all-praise, / unanimously crying out: / it’s good and red to be with God.
1 In the hagiographic original, Sergius is called "primicar", i.e., the first head of the "Gentilian regiment", which consisted of allies (who were called: gentilles) of the Romans, and Bacchus - "secondotory", i.e. second commander of this regiment.
2 Zeus, or Jupiter - the Greco-Roman god, revered by the pagans as the ruler of heaven and earth, the father of all, gods and people.
3 i.e. Jesus Christ, whom the Jews of his day called the “Son of Tekton” (Evang. from Matt. Ch. 13, Art. 55), considering Him to be the son of the betrothed of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Joseph, who was engaged in carpentry skills (“tekton” - from Greek: carpenter , builder). This name was adopted later by the Roman pagans, applying it to Christ, in the form of mockery and mockery of the King of Christians.
4 That is, to the ruler of the eastern, Asian provinces of the Roman Empire.
5 Varvalisso is a city in Mesopotamia, on the western side of the Euphrates River.
6 Pretoria is the highest judicial place in the central cities of the Roman provinces, where cases were decided by the governors of the Roman emperors, i.e. hegemons or rulers of several provinces.
7 Sura is a city on the western side of the Euphrates.
8 Tetrapyrgia is a city between Sura and Rosapha near the Euphrates.
9 Rozaf or Rezaf, later renamed after the famous monastery founded in it in honor of the holy martyr Sergius Sergiopol, is a city located 6 versts from Sura.
10 The memory of the holy martyrs Sergius and Bacchus from ancient times was greatly honored throughout the East, and many made pious journeys to their relics. The annual celebration of the martyr Sergius has been known since the beginning of the 5th century. In the same century, Bishop Alexander of Hierapolis built a magnificent church in honor of these martyrs. Their honest, imperishable heads were kept for some time in Constantinople, where they were seen by Russian pilgrims: monk Anthony (1200) and Stefan of Novgorod (c. 1350). The Byzantine emperor Justinian the Great (527-565) fortified the city of Rozafa, where St. Sergius and where his relics were, and at the beginning of his reign he built a magnificent church in the name of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus for saving him from prison even before his accession. When the Persian king Khozroy (532-579) approached Rozafa, already renamed Sergiopol, the small inhabitants who fortified in this city gave him all the precious things so that he would spare the city, except for the relics of St. the martyr Sergius, who rested in an oblong, overlaid with silver, cancer; learning about this, Khozroi moved the entire army to the city, but on the wall there appeared an uncountable number of soldiers armed with shields and ready to defend; Khozroi realized that this miracle was being performed by a martyr, and, stricken with fear, he withdrew from the city. The well-known Frankish chronicler of the 5th century, Gregory of Tours, writes that in his time this saint was highly revered in the west for many miracles and good deeds that came to him with faith.
In contact with
Holy mu-che-ni-kov Ser-gius and Vak-ha im-pe-ra-tor Mak-si-mi-an (284-305) meant-chil to you-so-should-but -sti in the army, not knowing that they are Christians. It’s not good-ro-the-la-te-whether it was Mac-si-mi-a-well that his two in-the-first-no-ka-no-chi-ta-yut language che-sky gods, and this was considered a state-state crime.
Im-pe-ra-tor, wanting to give-to-believe-sya in the right-whether-to-no-sa, pri-ka-zal to Ser-gii and Vak-hu pri- do not sacrifice to idols, but they from-ve-ti-li that they honor God One-no-go and only worship Him.
Mak-si-mi-an p-ka-hall to remove from mu-che-ni-kov the signs of their in-s-so-san-on, put on women’s clothes and drive in the city with irons on the neck, in a mixture of on-ro-du. Then, again, he called Ser-gius and Vak-ha to himself and other-ski-so-ve-to-val not to be flattered by hri-sti-an-ski-mi bass-nya- mi and ob-ra-tit-sya to the Roman gods. But the saints would be adamant. Then they-pe-ra-tor instructed them to send them to the right-vi-te-lu in the waste part of Syria An-tio-hu, lu-to-mu nena -wist-nee-ku hri-sti-an. An-tioch received this position with the help of Ser-gius and Vak-ha. “Fathers and b-go-de-they are mine!” he said to the saints, “be kind-lo-sti-you not only to yourself, but also to me: I would not want to pre-da-vat you mu-che-no-yam. The holy mu-che-no-ki from-ve-ti-li, that for them life is Christ, and death for Him is a blessing. Once-angry-van-ny An-tioh came to beat Wak-ha bi-cha-mi without mi-lo-ser-diya, and the holy mu-che-nick went to the Lord du. Ser-gii was shod in iron sa-po-gi with on-be-you-mi nails in them and from-ve-whether to court in another city, where he was truncated with a sword (c. 300).
Emperor Maximian (284-305) appointed the Holy Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus to high positions in the army, not knowing that they were Christians.
The ill-wishers reported to Maximian that his two commanders did not honor pagan gods, and this was considered a state crime.
The emperor, wanting to make sure that the denunciation was fair, ordered Sergius and Bacchus to sacrifice to idols, but they replied that they honor the One God and only worship Him.
Maximian ordered that the signs of their military rank be removed from the martyrs, dressed in women's clothes and led around the city with iron hoops around their necks, to ridicule the people. Then he again called Sergius and Bacchus to himself and friendly advised not to be seduced by Christian fables and turn to the Roman gods. But the saints were adamant. Then the emperor ordered that they be sent to the ruler of the eastern part of Syria, Antiochus, a fierce hater of Christians. Antiochus received this position with the help of Sergius and Bacchus. “My fathers and benefactors! - he said to the saints, - be merciful not only to yourself, but also to me: I would not want to betray you to torment. The holy martyrs answered that for them life is Christ, and death for Him is gain. Enraged, Antiochus ordered Bacchus to be beaten with whips without mercy, and the holy martyr withdrew to the Lord. Sergius was shod in iron boots stuffed with nails and taken to another city for trial, where he was beheaded with a sword (c. 300).
Prayers
Troparion of the Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus, tone 5
Fertilizer of Christ's passion-bearers / and the eyes of Christ to the Church, / eyes enlighten our souls, / Sergius the long-suffering and Vakshe the most glorious: / pray to the Lord, / that we may flee the darkness of sin / and the Light will appear as a companion of the non-evening / / by your prayers, saints.
Kontakion of Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus, tone 2
Having masculinely armed the mind against the enemies, / destroy all those flattery, / and receive victory from above, martyrs of all-praise, / unanimously blatantly // it’s good and red to be with God.
Memory Holy Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus takes place in the Orthodox Church on October 20 according to the new style.
Saints Sergius and Bacchus carried out military service under the emperor Maximian, whose reign took place at the end of the third - beginning of the fourth century. The pagan ruler had no idea that the saints of God were Christians, so he appointed them to high positions in the army. Soon after the promotion, people suffering from the disease of envy appeared, who informed the pagan ruler that his military commanders Sergius and Bacchus did not perform sacrifices to pagan idols.
The ruler was an adherent of paganism, and refusal to worship idols was considered a state crime, for which there could be a death penalty. Sergius and Bacchus knew about this, but remaining faithful to the Lord was dearer to them than temporary well-being. In order to check how true the denunciations of these military commanders were, Maximian gave the command that Saints Sergius and Bacchus worship pagan idols. The martyrs boldly defended the fidelity of their convictions and firmly expressed their Christian position. The saints said that they could not worship soulless idols, but that all honor should be given to the One God, who created everything in heaven and on earth.
In order to punish the warriors who were unfaithful to the pagan dogma, Emperor Maximian gave the order to remove the signs of their military dignity from the guilty, dress them in women's outfits, and hang metal hoops around their necks. In this form, the saints of God were taken along the central streets of the city so that its inhabitants could ridicule these people and their refusal to obey the emperor. After that, the ruler began to talk with the soldiers Sergius and Bacchus, affectionately urging them to abandon their Christian beliefs and worship idols. Seeing the firmness of the hope of the holy warriors in God, the ruler ordered that the martyrs be sent to the governor Antiochus, who ruled the eastern part of Syria and was distinguished by his especially vicious attitude towards Christians. As it turned out, the ruler Antiochus began to occupy such a high position in society thanks to the help of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, so he began to beg them in a friendly manner to perform a pagan sacrifice in order to avoid the death penalty prescribed by law. The saints of God were not afraid of the death penalty, explaining that the life for them is the Lord Jesus Christ, and they understand death for the Lord as gain. Hearing such speeches from the soldiers, Antiochus was furious: he gave the command that Bacchus be beaten to death with special scourges, and Sergius, in metal boots with sharp nails inside, was taken to another city, where they beheaded with a sword.
The death of the saints of God followed about the year 300.
The Holy Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus showed the sincerity of their faith even in the face of death. Their courage was manifested not only in the valiant military service to the earthly ruler, but shone with an unquenchable ray in the Kingdom of Heaven. They carried their official duties with great zeal until the moment when their performance did not come into conflict with the service of the One True God. The example of the life of the holy martyrs Sergius and Bacchus serves as a vivid confirmation that between achieving prosperity in a temporary earthly life and the heritage of the Kingdom of Heaven with the Lord, a Christian must always choose to serve the Lord, even if this requires damage to his health and loss of life. A Christian is required to fulfill his obligations to the earthly authorities responsibly, to the extent that this does not interfere with the service of the Lord.
Troparion, tone 5:
Fertilizer of Christ's passion-bearers / and the eyes of Christ to the Church, / eyes enlighten our souls, / Sergius the long-suffering and Vakshe the most glorious: / pray to the Lord, / that we may flee the darkness of sin / and the Light will appear as a companion of the non-evening / / by your prayers, saints.
Kontakion, tone 2:
Having masculinely armed the mind against the enemies, / destroy all those flattery, / and receive victory from above, martyrs of all-praise, / unanimously blatantly // it’s good and red to be with God.
Greatness:
We magnify you, passion-bearers of Christ, and we honor your honest suffering, even for Christ you have endured in nature.
