SACRED REMAINS

-Part Two-
Compiled by Metropolitan Ephraim of Boston
from various sources

The holy martyrs were beheaded, and so they perfected their

testimony in the confession of the Savior.
Some of the faithful secretly removed their bodies and laid them
in a suitable place.
The Martyrdom of the Holy Martyrs Justin, Chariton,
and others in Rome ( 167).

The death of martyrs is also praised in song. The death of His

own saints is precious in His sight, as David sings.
Tertullian (c. 213), Scorpiace - Antidote for the Scorpions Sting,
chap. 7 and 8.

The importance of commemorating the martyrs:

You who were concerned in these matters may be reminded of

them again to the glory of the Lord, so that you who know them by
report may have communion with the blessed martyrs, and through
them with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Passion of St. Perpetua and Felicitas
of Carthage ( 202), Preface.

We always offer sacrifices for them (as you remember) as often

as we celebrate the passions and days of the martyrs in the annual
commemoration.
St. Cyprian (c. 250), Epistle XXXIII, 3.

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 Take note of the days on which they depart, so that we may
celebrate their commemoration among the memorials of the
martyrs We celebrate oblations and sacrifices here for their
commemorations, which things, with the Lords protection, we shall
soon celebrate with you.
St. Cyprian, Epistle XXXV, 2.

Those holy martyrs, who were once with us, are now seated with
Christ. They are sharers in His Kingdom and partakers with Him in
His judgment. They act as His judicial assessors.
Dionysius of Alexandria (c. 262), Epistle III, 10.

The most joyful festival of all, however, has been celebrated by

those perfect martyrs who have sat down at the feast in Heaven.
Dionysius of Alexandria, as quoted by Eusebius, Epistle XII, 2.

Now concerning the martyrs, we say to you that they are to be

had in all honour with you, as we honour the blessed James the
bishop, and the holy Stephen our fellow-servant. For these are
reckoned blessed by God, and are honored by holy men, who were
pure from all transgressions, immoveable when tempted to sin, or
persuaded from good works, without dispute deserving encomiums:
of whom also David speaks, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the
death of His saints (Ps. 115:6); and Solomon says, The memory of
the just is praised (Prov. 10:7).
Apostolic Constitutions, Bk V, sec. 8.

Sing for the martyrs that have fallen asleep and for all the saints
from the beginning of the worldas well as for your brothers who
are asleep in the Lord. And offer the acceptable Eucharist, the
representation of the royal Body of Christ, both in your churches and
in the cemeteries.
Apostolic Constitutions, Bk. VI, sec. 30.

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 Let [the servants] rest on the day of the first martyr Stephen and
the other holy martyrs who preferred Christ to their own life.
Apostolic Constitutions, BK. VIII, sec. 32.1

From the Life and Martyrdom of St. Lucian of Antioch

(312):

Then the Emperor threw [the Saint] into prison, where the holy
Martyr bore many and various torments: they put him in irons, beat
him with sharp stones, and for a long, long time deprived him of
food and water. Among the other tortures inflicted on him, his limbs
were wrenched from their sockets, and he was laid out supine on a
bed of sharp potsherds. He remained there fourteen days.
When the Feast of Theophany arrived, the Saint desired that he
and the other Christians with him partake of the holy Mysteries of
Christ. He prayed that God might grant him his wish, and God
arranged that, through the negligence of the guard, certain of the
faithful visited Saint Lucian and brought bread and wine with them.
Then Saint Lucian said to his disciples and to all the Christians
present, Surround me and become a church. For I believe that a
living church is more pleasing to God than one of stone or wood.
When they had all surrounded him, he said, Let us serve the
Liturgy and communicate of the holy Mysteries.
Then his disciples said, Father, where shall we place the bread
for the consecration of the holy Mysteries, since we have no table?
And he, shackled face up on his bed of potsherds, said, Place
them on my breast, and it will be a living altar to the living God.
Thus, in prison, on the Saints breast, the Divine Liturgy was
served with all the prescribed prayers, as it should be, and all
partook of the Holy Mysteries.
On the following day, the Emperor sent his minions to see if
Lucian were still alive. When they entered the prison, Lucian,

1
All the preceding translations are from the Ante-Nicene Fathers, ed. by A. Roberts and J. Donaldson,
Hendrickson Publ., Peabody, Mass., 1994.

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 catching sight of them, exclaimed three times, I am a Christian.
And with these words he commended his spirit into the hands of
Christ God.2

The account goes on to recount how the Saints body was thrown into the sea, but
after thirty days it was recovered and given burial. St. Helen, the mother of St.
Constantine the Great, built a church over the Saints tomb years later.
The account from St. Lucians life tells us something about another sacred article in
the Church: the antimension. Antimension is a hybrid word, taken from Greek and Latin.
Anti is a Greek prefix signifying instead of; mensa is the Latin word for table. So, the
antimension is a cloth that is used over or in place of a consecrated holy table. Later, the
antimension was signed by the new bishop of a diocese, and distributed to all the parishes
commemorating his name in the divine services. Since the antimension has small portions
of the holy relics of the Saints sown into it, every service in the Orthodox Church to this
day is celebrated literally on the holy relics of a Saint, as we see in the account about St.
Lucian above.
From all these accounts, we can see that Christians believe that the very bodies of
the Saints are suffused through and through with the Grace of God right down to their
very bones. Indeed, their very aprons and handkerchiefs (and even their shadows!) were
permeated by Divine Grace! When our Saviour was transfigured before His disciples,
even His raiment was white and glistening from Gods glory; the same is true of the
bodies of the Saints. They are glorified in both soul and body, and so their very flesh is
treasured as being more precious than the most exquisite jewels, and more purified than
gold, as the account of the martyrdom of St. Polycarp of Smyrna tells us.
Truly, together with St. Paul, the Saints can say with equal boldness: I am
crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life
which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God . (Gal. 2:20).
Of course, there are countless more testimonies about holy relics, but the point has
been made. From Old Testament times, these are the beliefs and practices of the People
of God, and certainly not a curious superstition or the invention of medieval monks, as
some allege.

Holy Martyrs of God, intercede for us!

2
Copyright, Holy Orthodox Church in North America, trans. by Margaret Jerenic, The True Vine,
Issue No. 19, 1994, p. 10.

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And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the
souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and for the
testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice,
saying: How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge
and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And
white robes were given unto every one of them: and it was said
unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their
fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as
they were, should be fulfilled.
(Rev. 6:911)