Bethlehem infant martyrs: History, icons, prayers. Massacre of the innocents. Icon. Prayers Icons and paintings
On June 3, 2013, Orthodox bikers of Krasnoyarsk - participants in the motorcycle rally “Fathers of Russia for a Large Family” - brought an icon of the Holy Infants of Bethlehem to Tomsk.The icon is a kind of liturgical symbol of the movement in defense of the life of unborn children and its banner. A copy of the ancient Bethlehem icon was painted specifically for the all-Russian program “The Sanctity of Motherhood,” aimed at preventing abortions and saving unborn children.
What remains is waste, fragments confirming that “a defenseless person lived there.” The doctor claims that Rohe is against it. Wade performed one hundred thousand legal abortions a year and several illegal ones. In the first year after the decision is made, an industry appears that reaches 700 thousand abortions. Images of fruit and bone remains are shown. It says that women are victims as much as children because they did not show them the true character of the child. He returns to the science of fetiology as proof that the fetus belongs to humanity.
The stay of Orthodox bikers in Tomsk began with a prayer service in Epiphany Cathedral (Lenin Square, 7) at 10:30 and at 13:20 they delivered to the Znamenskaya Church in Tomsk an icon painted in Krasnoyarsk of the holy martyrs of fourteen thousand infants killed by Herod in Bethlehem.
The Gospel tells us that Herod ruled in Judea at the beginning of the 1st century AD. He did not have hereditary rights to the throne, since he did not belong to the descendants of the famous Maccabee family, who liberated their homeland from the rule of the Greek Seleucid dynasty. Feeling like a temporary worker on the throne, Herod was afraid of losing power. He saw enemies and rivals everywhere, even in his own wife and children. Therefore, when the Magi travelers arrived in Judea and began asking everywhere where the King of the Jews, to whom they wanted to bring gifts and worship, was born, Herod was terribly afraid. He hastily assembled a council of high priests and scribes to find out the place of birth of the newborn King. He was informed that, according to an ancient prophecy, this was the city of Bethlehem. Having called the wise men, Herod learned from them the time of the appearance of the star that announced the coming of the Messiah, and, sending them to Bethlehem, said: “Go, carefully investigate the Child and, when you find it, notify me, so that I too can worship Him” (Evangel. from Matthew 2:7-8). He said this with the secret intention of killing the newborn. Having found the Infant Christ in Bethlehem and bringing Him their gifts, the Magi, having received a revelation from above, did not go again to Herod, but went to their own country. After the departure of the Magi, St. Joseph the Betrothed, who received God's command in a dream, fled to Egypt with the Infant God and His Mother. Herod, although he wanted to destroy the newborn King of the Jews, but not knowing where He was exactly, sent soldiers to Bethlehem to kill all babies two years old and younger. Then 14 thousand children were killed.
Abortion is a social problem. His solution is love, compassion and respect for the priority of human life. Ultrasound imaging is technophot. As the documentary shows an abortion scene, it is the technophobe who becomes the victim. The documentary tries to demonstrate that a three month old fetus goes through physical suffering and tries to protect itself. Brain waves indicate the existence of a rational subject in the forms of the concept of man as an individual.
The opening of the film shows an image of surgical instruments. A speaker at the Center for Bioethical Reform talks about the images: 8- to 12-week-old "babies" collected in a trash can from a Houston abortion clinic. There are already brain waves from 6 weeks and the heart is fully formed. He mentions the crackdown on anti-abortion activism. Makes the case for the production of Holocaust imagery in order to respond. The narrative is suppressed to allow the viewer to focus on the images. These are images of development from the very first cells.
Herod's sin was so terrible that it forever went down in history as an example of inhumanity and terrible cruelty towards the innocent, weak and defenseless. History says that Herod died from a cruel and painful disease: his body rotted alive.
The Orthodox Church says that abortion is not just some kind of immoral act, it is a deliberate murder, it is a mortal sin for which one must bring long-term repentance, even if it was done out of ignorance. We must go to church for confession and repent. This murder is more sinful and more punishable than any other murder, since it takes the life of a human being even before he sees this life, and most importantly, before baptism is performed on him. It is impossible to pray for the unbaptized, and therefore unborn babies are deprived of church commemoration and funeral services.
There is background music: The most sublime thing God can give us is our own life, a gift from someone who knows how to love. Life is a great value, a reflection of God, which is fertility. just start at 4 o'clock. Tweezers pull out the structures, then the head is processed. Black head. Then the brain with the eye. There are several images of identifiable fragments: pieces of a face and limbs with arms and legs. an image of a fetus with hair at a much earlier stage, all inside a swimming pool.
Images of pieces of fruit with police coming to the demonstration and pulling out activists, or beating with batons alternate. There are many images of faces and heads being torn apart, with fragments of the head, torso and open arms in the form of a cross on white cloth. These images of larger, whole fetuses, some of which are greyish, appear from broken pieces of fetus in formaldehyde, as well as from bloody fetal fragments. Both fetuses are seen as victims of medical perpetrators, as anti-abortion militants become victims of the police, creating an aura of heroism around themselves.
Abortion always affects family well-being, the mental and physical health of spouses and their children, because according to spiritual law, the life of a family cannot be built safely on the blood of innocent victims. Before the icon of the saints, 14,000 infant martyrs pray to those who are guilty of the sin of killing children. There is nothing worse than losing your own child. And there is nothing more important than his right to life. Gradually, the day of remembrance of infant martyrs from an “ordinary” holy day becomes a day of repentance for mothers who have ever committed a terrible sin against their children.
The physician made a diagnosis of anencephaly, confirmed by follow-up and by a colleague, and referred the pregnant woman to high-risk prenatal care and was against abortion. The doctor says this is a classic case of anencephaly because the cortical structures are missing: an anomaly that occurs in one in every thousand births and warns of exceptional survival with a prognosis of 3 to 7 days. Marcela's father and mother rejected proposals to terminate the pregnancy.
The reports represent the life of the relationship: according to the doctor, Marcela is frightened by telephone noise and recognizes her mother's voice because she has a perfect ear canal, but does not understand why she does not have a cortex where to process the data. Her spine fits perfectly, so she has a feeling of pain and warmth. The mother reports that she smiles, screams, moves when uncomfortable, and feels because she spits out food that she does not appreciate. Few paintings show Marcela's head uncovered, with encephalic indicators, almost all of them have a cap on her.
Parents - fathers and mothers, as well as grandparents, who did not allow their children to be born, will be able to light a candle for the salvation of the souls of their unborn children, take part in repentant prayers and venerate the relics of the holy martyrs. For those wishing to pray, we inform you that in our church on the last Sunday of each month, penitential prayers will be held, beginning at 18:00.
There is a consistency of family accounts of the relationship with Marcela. Marcela's mother talks about her love for her daughter: "Marcela is special because she won't live for fifteen seconds." Sister says: Marcela is an angel who came to enlighten us. She completed 1 year and 2 months.
Ending background music: The sound of your love makes me play the song. Pour light on me, on us. The restrictions in the life of Marcela's relationships, the criterion for recognizing the existence of human life, are reduced to a minimum, with the exception of the film, which tries to show the connection of the family with the aneurysed child, but also the relational capacity of the girl, one of the attributes of recognizing the presence of human life. The first slide is entitled “Let me be born!” and shows "7 week old baby". Slides 2 to 10 start a series of questions and answers.
Many Orthodox believers associate the memory of the holy infant martyrs of Bethlehem with the fight against abortion. And this is no coincidence. All babies under two years of age were killed in the vicinity of Bethlehem by order of King Herod, who committed this atrocity, fearing to lose power, wealth and honors. And now in Russia, for the same reasons - fearing to lose material goods and pleasures - parents repeat Herod's sin - they kill their babies in the womb, putting them to a painful death.
From 2 to 5 the question arises: “When does human life begin?” The first answer: in fertilization, stating that any way to destroy this life is murder. From 6 to 10, the questions refer to the state of the fetus, called a child in the womb: if it is a human being; if it is part of his mother's body, with the answer that it is a different person because he is endowed with his own genetic code, which gives him a unique identity; if he has the right to life, the right is considered inalienable; and if you need protection.
These are images of the intended fetuses of infants from 7 weeks of pregnancy to six months. Photographs are crisp and clear, and now focus on the entire body from the front or in profile, sometimes a close-up of parts of the body: the face, particularly the mouth, head ears, hands, feet, legs, sometimes with nails, cord, usually combining these elements according with the position. The embryos seem to float in the void. Another series begins on slide 31, titled “Abortion.” The question of whether abortion should be decriminalized has an answer: the “crime” must be prosecuted, never “turned” into law.
Holy Bethlehem infant martyrs, pray to God for us!
Icon “Jesus Christ’s Cry for the Murdered Babies.”
This icon is a symbol of healing repentance.
The popularity of this icon among Orthodox Christians is growing every day. Many women and men guilty of killing their unborn children near this icon find repentant peace.
The painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary illustrates the sequence. Photographs of the fragments show faces, pieces of heads, arms, hands, feet and legs, some constructed by reassembling head, torso and limb fragments on disposable gloves or creating images of hands and feet on dollar coins. The contrast with adult or hand coins indicates the reduced size of aborted embryos. In three photographs, the most developed whole fruits are pointed by hand. The inky color suggests its preservation in formaldehyde.
Duty without LOVE makes a person irritable.
Justice without LOVE makes a person cruel.
Truth without LOVE makes a person a critic.
Faith without LOVE makes a person a fanatic.
Of course, this icon cannot be considered canonical. But this icon has already been consecrated by nationwide repentance. In the Orthodox tradition we have many allegorical icons.
The construction of these images is contrapung with the development of developing fetuses, not only because they indicate death and destruction, but also the isolation of the former. The image is again grotesque, with emphasis on the monstrosity of the fragments. It emphasizes the inviolability of the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution. Here again there is a legal device creating technology.
Closing the lecture resumes the religious language. Slide “What is legalized abortion?” summarizes the conversation. Defines abortion from several points of view: legal: denies the child’s right to life; doctor: kills a child and harms a woman; ethical: discriminates against people; social: dehumanizes society; religious: ignores the supernatural dignity of man; actual: does not reduce maternal mortality. The illustration is a painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The following slides call for saving children from abortion and ask for prayer to rid Brazil of the crime of abortion and pro-life.
Icon “Praise the Lord from heaven..”
The icon illustrates the text of the 148th “praise” psalm.
The All-Seeing Eye is a complex symbolic and allegorical composition in icon painting, symbolizing the All-Seeing God. Appears in Russian iconography from the end of the 18th century as a dome image in churches: at the top of the vault or any part of it. Later, from the dome image it turns into an image made on an icon board, like an icon.
The projection ends with the face of the developing fetus. This article examined films that addressed pro-life and pro-choice issues in an attempt to capture the isolation of images conveyed in the anti-abortion process and test reactions among those fighting for legalization. The examination did not stop at visual images, but extended to oral or written narratives found in films. It was decided to consider only the documentary format.
Pollack affirms the importance of film as a support for capturing memories in memory objects, emphasizing the role of the testimonial film and documentary genres as tools for regrouping collective memory. If discourse analysis is part of an anthropological subroutine, analyzing films and their construction as visual artifacts imposes a specific challenge. It is important to consider the nature of this type of image: Images, in particular those that are the result of modern methods of reproduction such as film or photographic, are signs that require complete identity with the thing depicted, as if they were not signs.
Sophia-Wisdom of God
The icon, found in the Orthodox East and unknown to the non-Orthodox West, exists in many churches in Russia. Differing in some particulars in its composition, it has two main types or types - in the Novgorod and Kyiv icons. The icons of the same name located in the Arkhangelsk and Vologda St. Sophia Cathedrals are similar to the first, and the temple icon of the Tobolsk St. Sophia Cathedral is similar to the second. All other icons of the Holy Wisdom of God in Russian churches represent variants of the icon of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral, with various additions.
This article sets out to explore the eloquence of images conveyed in public debates about abortion. Bazin attributes the power of authenticity of photography to the following aspect: “Photography benefits from the transfer of reality from the thing to its reproduction.” The choices ranged from award-winning films at film festivals, such as the story of Severin, on the one hand, to the aesthetics of the grotesque in slice-of-life documentaries that seek realistic depictions of unmediated abortion. A sign of certain aspects of the production of these films was the presence of picketing in front of abortion clinics in the latter.
The meaning of the differences between symbolic-allegorical images and specific figurative images is that conventional and laconic allegorical images awaken in the soul closeness to eternity, evoke a repentant feeling, which is so necessary for a daily sinning person. Icon “The Lamentation of Jesus Christ for the Murdered Babies” we can recognize as allegorical.
Images of fruits were obtained from international organizations. They would be remains collected from the dumps of abortion clinics, according to the explanation given in the films, but in several photographs there are remains with a certain arrangement. The Let Me Be Born slideshow for lectures has been updated at the beginning. The study of this material allows us to think about what this figure acquires in modern society as a form of moral legitimation of social demands. As Sarti noted, the paper also focuses on how society manages conflict in the modern world.
All Orthodox aesthetics has a deeply symbolic character. From the point of view of Father Pavel Florensky, a symbol appears as “an organically living unity of the depicter and the depicted, the symbolizing and the symbolized.” The sensory world is an image of the spiritual world, embodies it in itself and thus turns into a symbol. The symbolic-allegorical image played a special role in early Christian aesthetics. These allegorical images helped to understand both the Bible and the Universe as a whole. This problem was first posed by the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria, and then by the Alexandrian school, especially Clement of Alexandria. Clement believed that there are two types of images: some are acceptable for believers (Christian symbols), others are false and unacceptable (naturalistic images). In the works of Justin the philosopher, all biblical texts are considered as a system of symbolic and allegorical images. Parables played a special role: they hid the truth from the uninitiated and at the same time were understandable to believers. Holy Scripture uses a metaphorical mode of expression.
The films represent the meanings that the concept of victim takes on in different contexts. According to Sarty, “the construction of man as victim in the modern world is seen as a way of appropriating social recognition of suffering.” Sarty comments on the influence of individual social movements in the fields of law and health, which are formulated through the process of victim production. The state acts as an agent that exacerbates the suffering of women who may have abortions in a context of illegality.
There is also violence in having to wait for judicial approval in order to end a non-viable fetal pregnancy and reduce the suffering of the pregnant woman. Documentaries report on what remains in the realm of the unspeakable and occurs in underground form, or even when legally allowed to be hidden. After an ethnographic public discussion of unsafe abortion, in which the present about the choice of films analyzed are an integral part, the beliefs of society and the state are observed to show how many women die or suffer consequences for illegal abortion, i.e. are victims seeking help.
Many images from the 1st-3rd centuries from the first Christian churches have survived to our time, where shrines were depicted in the form of symbols known only to Christians. Then the icon was not yet dogmatic, but only symbolic. Archpriest A. Schmemann writes: “The early church did not know the icon in its modern dogmatic meaning. The beginning of Christian art - painting of the catacombs - is symbolic in nature... This is not an image of Christ, saints or various events of sacred history, as in the icon, but an expression certain thoughts about Christ and the Church...In art of the signative type, what is indicative is not the interpretation of its themes (for how they are interpreted is indifferent for its purposes), but their very choice and their combination. It tends to depict not so much a deity as the function of a deity.” Catacomb icon painting was of an allegorical and conspiratorial nature; it was a forced secret cipher painting. During the reign of Emperor Constantine, catacomb art, together with Christianity, became state art.
Most women undergo an abortion because they are not aware of the essence of the operation - the murder of their own child. They go for an abortion under the pressure of severe informational and social pressure. Having paid a huge price for this mistake, many of them are now experiencing psychological and physical suffering. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the majority of women and men who decide to end the life of their child by murder (abortion) are Orthodox Christians by the sacrament of baptism.
From a Christian point of view, abortion is a modern version of sacrificing children to the demons of fornication and love of money, similar to the ancient satanic rituals described in the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament:
35 But they mixed with the pagans and learned their works;
36 they served their graven images, which were a snare to them,
37 And they sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons;
38 They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was defiled with blood;
39 They defiled themselves with their deeds, they committed adultery with their actions.
40 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against His people, and He abhorred His inheritance
41 And he delivered them into the hands of the Gentiles, and those who hated them began to possess them.
(Ps. 105:35-41)
The allegorical icon of the Lamentation of Jesus Christ for the murdered babies,” sometimes called “The Lamentation of Jesus Christ for Abortion,” comes from the Greek Orthodox monastery of St. Gerasimos of Jordan, located near Jerusalem. The author of the icon is Abbot Chrysostomos. Under the main monastery church there is an underground church with a cave, where, according to legend, the Holy Family stayed during their flight to Egypt.The miraculous icon of the Mother of God of the Mammal is also located here.
The icon “The Lamentation of Jesus Christ for the Murdered Babies”, due to the increasing awareness in modern society of the problem of abortion, can be found in churches and monasteries of the Russian Orthodox Church from Crimea to Vladivostok. Before her, prayers of repentance are served by Orthodox Christians who, out of ignorance and unbelief, committed the terrible sin of killing their own children (abortion).
This icon is a symbol of healing repentance. Tears that water a tormented soul cool the torment and reconcile with children, as F. M. Dostoevsky wrote about this. By praying before this icon, those who have committed a mortal sin will be able to become like the biblical Ninevites, who repented and were pardoned by the Lord.
It is appropriate to cite here sixth commandment Mosaic Decalogue.
6th commandment: Dont kill.
This commandment protects the human right to life. Only the Lord God is recognized as the culprit of human life, and therefore the right to dispose of life belongs only to Him. The Creator has a certain plan for each person, but to take the life of a neighbor means interfering with God’s plan. To take the life of yourself or another is to try to stand in the place of God.
All actions that shorten life undoubtedly cannot bring happiness to a person. Observance of this commandment implies reasonable respect for the laws of life and health. In the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament, the attitude towards everyone involved in the sin of murder is quite strictly defined. But the worst thing you can imagine.
“Cursed is he who takes a bribe to kill a soul [and shed] innocent blood! And all the people will say: Amen."(Deut.27:25) The description is suitable for modern abortion clinics and everyone who works in these places.
The mother seems to imagine herself as having the right to control the life of the one who grows in her womb. In fact, she has no such right. How pregnant women are commemorated in churches - the one who is pregnant. It is only in the womb that she accepts the opportunity to bear. It is a lesser sin if the mother who carried the child leaves her child in the care of the state (although this is also monstrous). But murder, especially the murder of an innocent baby, entails a CURSE.
And if such a sin has already been committed, you cannot take it back. But for a repentant sinner there is always the possibility of trusting in God’s mercy.
The icon “The Cry of Jesus Christ for the Murdered Babies” is precisely an expression of that repentant feeling that should be fulfilled by everyone who has committed such an atrocity.
During the time of godlessness, Orthodox Russians were instilled with the idea of the naturalness of this shameful murder (abortion). Today, every Pastor of the Orthodox Church is horrified by the number of murders (abortions) committed by baptized Christians. Therefore, the icon “The Cry of Jesus Christ for the Murdered Babies” is a necessary expression that appeared in Orthodox churches in a timely manner to quench the thirst for repentance for the sin committed.
In the Lipetsk Church of the Hieromartyr Uar, the first Bishop of Lipetsk, the icon “The Lamentation of Jesus Christ for the Murdered Babies” was painted. As we know from established tradition, this icon is especially revered on Memorial Day HOLY MARTYRS 14,000 BABIES OF HEROD IN BETHLEHEM BEATEN Feast day December 29 - January 11.
To the shchmch temple. War priest Mikhail Knyazev donated a piece of relics from the saints of 14,000 murdered babies. The rector of the parish, Rev. Alexander Surikov put a capsule with a particle of holy relics into the icon “The Lamentation of Jesus Christ for the Murdered Babies.”
Currently, anyone can venerate this icon with a piece of its relics. At the request of believers, special repentant prayers are performed for the grave sin of killing one’s own children (abortion).
We all know about the tragic events that occurred in Bethlehem - the massacre of infants. King Herod destroyed the lives of the holy martyrs of 14,000 infants. When a new star lit up in the sky, which the Eastern Magi saw, they realized that the time had come for the greatest event in the world - the Incarnation of the Son of God, a harbinger of the birth of the King of the Jews from the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Magi immediately headed to Jerusalem, where the star showed the way, to worship the Born One. After worshiping the Infant God, they, having received a revelation from above, went another way to their country, and did not return to Herod in Jerusalem, as he ordered them.
Herod realized that his secret plan to find and kill the Child had failed. And he then ordered in Bethlehem itself and its environs to kill all boys, male children under two years of age. He hoped that in this way they would kill the Infant God, who, in his opinion, should be a rival. These children, killed by 14,000 infants, became the first holy martyrs for Jesus Christ.
Simeon the God-Receiver publicly testified in the temple about the Born Messiah, thereby arousing the wrath of Herod upon himself. The holy elder was killed, but even here Herod showed his attitude towards him, he ordered that he not be buried with dignity. Also, by order of the king, they killed the holy prophet priest Zechariah, who did not indicate to Herod where his son John was, who in the future became the Baptist of the Lord Jesus Christ. The priest Zechariah was killed in the Jerusalem temple itself between the altar and the altar.
Soon the wrath of God punished Herod himself. He suffered from a severe illness, his death was terrible, he was eaten alive by worms. But even before his death, he committed his dark deeds, his atrocities. He killed not only his own brother, but also his sister and her husband, killed his wife Mariamne and three sons, and also punished the high priests, Jewish scribes, seventy wise men and members of the Sanhedrin.
Memorial Day: December 29
In the Moscow studio of our TV channel, the rector of the temple of the holy righteous warrior Theodore Ushakov in South Butovo, Abbot Damian (Zaletov), answers questions.
(Transcribed with minimal editing of spoken language)
Today our program is dedicated to the memory of the murdered Bethlehem babies. Please tell us about the New Testament events that the Church remembers on January 11th.
Indeed, we are now experiencing Christmas days associated with events that occurred before, during and after the birth of Christ. The birth of a person is not a one-day process, especially since the events of the Nativity of Christ are full of different nuances. Even before the Nativity of Christ, a week ago, we read the Gospel about the forefathers, holy fathers, ancestors of Christ, and the righteous people of the Old Testament. And they read in great detail about the Nativity of Christ - not just one day, but several days. Divine services have already constantly repeated these events to us, including in all divine services Herod was mentioned with his evil plans and the amazing sacrifice for Christ - the Bethlehem babies. This theme is already constant, cross-cutting in the Nativity of Christ. A few days after Christmas, based on the Gospel sequence, their memory is carried out in a “basic form”, in a point-by-point, optimal form - the memory of the Bethlehem babies themselves. As far as we know, they died just a very short period after the birth of Christ, when King Herod realized that he was not receiving the necessary information from the Magi. Then he realizes his lawless plans: on a large scale, in an attempt to kill Christ, he kills many babies in Bethlehem.
- In Bethlehem and its suburbs.
Yes, in the surrounding area. Accordingly, this event takes place in a few days... Therefore, the Holy Church established a separate memory of the Bethlehem babies. That is, if the memory of saints for various reasons can be at different times, then the memory of the Bethlehem babies logically falls after Christmas. Although the thought of their feat, as I already said, constantly runs through all the services of the Nativity of Christ. Therefore, their image is very important in understanding the Nativity of Christ.
Accordingly, this is a very non-random providential feat, a feat of innocent suffering, I would say so. He points us to the feat of Christ. Therefore, the Bethlehem babies became a model, an icon of the service that Christ takes upon Himself - innocent suffering for the human race. And in this sense, we are reminded that the Nativity of Christ itself is not just an event of a humanistic-anthropological nature - well, he was born... After all, as the Holy Scripture says: joy occurs when a person is born into the world. Joy. And we have a certain joy, Christ was born into the world, the God-man appeared. But on the other hand, the Nativity of Christ is unique, since it is not just joy, but is a feat of the Eternal God, Who belittled Himself for our sake and from the first day of His presence on earth had already doomed Himself to suffering.
And the very act of Christmas is already, according to the thoughts of the holy fathers (one can say so, so that it is clear), the first crucifixion of Christ. Therefore, it is no coincidence that we prepare ourselves for Christmas by fasting - perhaps a weaker one, but nevertheless a long one. The week before Christmas is very reminiscent of Holy Week. There are canons and successions that are directly parallel to the canons and successions and services of Holy Week - in text and chants. And in terms of content, of course. Therefore, the Holy Church tells us not to forget who comes into the world and why. This is not just a joyful event, some kind of optimistic one, but it is the beginning of the ministry of Christ. This idea is very well, clearly, clearly emphasized by the example of the Bethlehem babies. It turns out that, no matter how formally they were disciples of Christ, they were babies; secondly, they were born almost parallel to Christ and did not hear the gospel teaching...
- ...did not confess Christ.
They did not profess, but with their short but life filled with suffering they showed an example of Christianity. Of course, they were themselves members of the Old Testament Church.
- That is, they were not baptized into Christ.
Yes, they were in the Old Testament Church, this is also important. But not only that, they demonstrated the feat of Christ by their feat of innocent suffering, that is, they served as a sermon, they were forerunners. And their image remained for us in the future as a hint, for admonition, for inspiration in understanding Christ Himself.
But they had no choice. If the martyrs of their own free will went to the feat, to martyrdom, then the babies simply did not have their own will...
I think this is quite a complex theological question. Yes, there was no will, but, on the other hand, this is a calling on all creation to serve God, glorify God, and participate in His goodness. They may not have had any personal will, but they were called... The whole world was called to the glory of God. And in this sense, it may be easier for them in some ways. On the other hand, this is an equally difficult feat, but they pulled it off. I think they now rejoice and triumph in the Kingdom of Heaven and remain preachers of Christ for centuries. Therefore, I think there is no harm from this.
Not only is all creation, man is called to the glory of God. It is also important that they, as I said, are members of the Old Testament Church, that is, by the fact of their birth they were already disciples of the True God - the God of Israel, therefore they were followers already initiated into circumcision (in most cases), or in the faith of their parents - followers of the expected Messiah. Therefore, these are not just some strangers who, by the way, suddenly, by chance, were at hand, they were so unlucky... They were already called to life in Christ and thus realized it. Therefore, they were, as they say, in their place in this sense.
There are 14,000 killed babies. There is an opinion that this number is implausible, that in such a small town of Bethlehem and its environs there could not have been so many male babies under two years of age (by order of Herod, these were the babies that were supposed to be killed). What is this number? Is this an exaggeration, a fact or a symbol?
I think we can argue in two ways here. On the one hand, the number of babies is not conveyed to us in the Holy Scriptures. This is a kind of church Tradition, church experience. In this sense, we can say that this number is like a symbol. This is also not accidental, because, for example, 14,526 was not indicated there... In general, numbers that are divisible by seven associated with this are deeply symbolic numbers that speak of the completeness and depth of the event taking place. I think (and this is a kind of bridge for further reflection), the Bethlehem babies are not only those who once suffered in Bethlehem. I think this is a certain number that is replenished in the centuries of Christianity.
And here we can speak differently. Well, this is always a separate question... As Christ said, be babies: He who does not accept it as a baby will not enter the Kingdom of God. Therefore, those who in purity and zeal, in sincerity, perceive the faith of Christ and devote themselves to God, are infants. For example, monastic clothes are like images of infant clothes (dolls, mantle); this topic again... So, I think babies are all true Christians. In this sense, the 14,000 babies of Bethlehem are an image of the Church and the fullness of the Church, sincerely believing in Christ. By the way, the images of Revelation are very close. There were also sealed twelve thousand from such a tribe, twelve from such a tribe... Why twelve thousand? Basically, these are symbolic numbers that speak of the fullness of service to Christ.
But on the other hand, there is also a perception of these figures, even in some opinions that take them literally, since it is believed (and for us this understanding is relevant now) that a true family strives to multiply itself. Family". It is therefore not surprising that there were large families in the ancient world. There may have been a high infant mortality rate, but there were also large families. Therefore, who knows... It is obvious that now our modern families would definitely not reach this number. And who knows, that number was also considerable, since it was present in life, such a focus on childbearing, not limited by anything - neither fears, nor embarrassment, nor any reasoning. We know this from the recent history of our Fatherland.
So the number is not inconsiderable, that’s obvious. But I think it’s useful to think both ways. Therefore, the Holy Church established this number, which speaks of a very large number of sacrifices for Christ. On the other hand, it is very sublime and precise that this is also a symbolic number - like the fullness of believers in Christ, who continue the image of these babies, pure, immaculate, devoted to Christ from childhood and giving all of themselves to God to the end.
To kill Christ, Herod gives such a cruel, inhuman order to kill babies. Why does Herod have such wild anger? In general, why do people resist what is good, resist Christ?
We said that the birth of Christ already points us to Golgotha, that this is the first crucifixion of Christ. Therefore, Herod already reminds us of those Old Testament high priests, Pharisees, and Roman soldiers who later crucified Christ. And by the way, in the service Pontius Pilate is mentioned along with Herod - as Herod began, so Pontius Pilate finished. That is, this is a kind of constant presence of hatred towards Christ and an attempt to destroy Him. And why? Christ explained this well to us: because you do not accept My words, you cannot contain them.
People who are oriented towards the earthly, towards power, money, comfort, pleasure (even being religious, they create the Kingdom of God on earth, they want it to be on earth, with all the pleasures and embellishments; they do not need it in heaven, and God as such is not needed), there is a version: the Kingdom of God on earth, the Tower of Babel, heaven on earth. The concepts are also clear to us, especially now. They don’t need Christ, He is dangerous, He interferes, destroys these illusions and conjectures. Why did the Jews of that time, including the elite, hate Him? He interfered with their ideas about life.
It would seem that we could simply be indifferent to this, step aside, let Him live like this, and we will live like this... Why such anger?
Because He is the True God, He spoke as one with authority, and they heard in His words not just one of the sermons that can be ignored. They heard the conviction, the reproach, and the shaking of the foundations of their error, their towers of Babel. They knew He would destroy them.
- So they understood that they were wrong deep down?
Well, yes, and Christ, by His existence, not to mention his preaching, convicted them. Not only them, but all earthly untruths - starting from the devil. As the devil shouted (and he is probably the very first and main “object”): “You have come before your time to torment us.” And behind him, his followers also suffered, wanting to become like gods; as it was said, “you will be like gods” - that is, you will become gods here, gods without God, you will do without salvation, you will do everything on earth yourself. For them, of course, these words of Christ were a shock, torment, they felt danger, they felt that this would happen, that their entire worldview would be destroyed, which is not the truth of God. Of course, due to human limitations and weakness, what remains? Just try to kill. What other options? Kill and destroy. It is clear that they tried to slander, bribe, and deceive; Christ also went through all this. First the devil tempted Him, then people: whether Christ would give a tax, and how He would act in this situation... We know these constant temptations. The Lord said: hypocrites. And he always destroyed their petty malice. And when nothing worked, all that was left was to kill.
Being religious people, they knew subconsciously (maybe they understood at the level of conscience, just as the devil understands) that, no matter how hard you try, it will be God’s way. But all the same, when people take this false path, bow to evil, they still use all their means to the end. Herod knew that the True King of Israel would come. I don't know how he embraced the messianic meaning, but he knew about the True King. But Herod was not a true king, he was, so to speak, a temporary worker, an upstart - and suddenly he hears reports that a True King has been born. That is, this is the first, even some kind of political hesitation. An enemy, a competitor, has appeared.
And then it is clear that the true and false kingdoms are different in any case. The false kingdom is unstable, it is based on fear, anger, and force. Because it is weak. And so what remains? You just need to destroy, be cruel, so that everyone is afraid, trembles, and that’s all you need to stick to. Therefore, although Christ was a Baby, He already aroused fear as the true king from David and as the future King, Messiah and Savior. Because His true religious rules, which David had, for example, the true king, his true descendant, were at odds with the kingdom of Herod - in a specific and broad sense. Therefore, on earth there is a constant struggle between the true Kingdom of Christ, which is constantly coming until it arrives, and the earthly kingdom, based on earthly laws, constantly leaning toward Herod’s “consistency.”
- That is, it is easier for a person to destroy the truth than to admit it and repent?
Depends on a person’s orientation... If people are oriented towards earthly things and evil, then they have no other options. And if they seek truth, God, then, of course, they overcome some existing shortcomings and strive for the Kingdom of Christ. But this is about a completely different Kingdom, which Christ preached about. It was necessary to accept it and work hard, there is a whole gospel story about this. And the Bethlehem babies became the first members of this Kingdom of Christ.
Then, after some time, Christ again remembers the babies, we have already mentioned this, it is very interesting and important. Be like babies if you want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This is no coincidence. This is where it really began, and then the Lord points to this constant example. An example of simplicity, loyalty, devotion, not some kind of humanity, selfishness, such false adulthood: we ourselves with a mustache, adults already, we will figure it out, we will think. The Lord says: accept in simplicity - and it will open. You cannot discover this Kingdom yourself, unravel it, get it, force people to come to it, organize it; it must be accepted in simplicity, trust and purity, and it will open and become accessible. Therefore, the image of babies is constantly present in the gospel story. When the apostles did not allow infants to come to Him, He was indignant and called them, blessed them, embraced them and said that such was the Kingdom of Heaven. This, of course, is about the Bethlehem babies first and foremost.
The murder of the Bethlehem babies echoes such a terrible scourge of today as abortion. That is, in essence, also the murder of innocent babies. What worldview leads people to such a decision - to have an abortion?
I think the image of the Bethlehem babies is a clue for us who we are and how to comprehend this situation. With all the humanistic and social conversations on this topic, there is, however, no justification and a plurality of options. Like Herod’s thinking among people... That is, earthly questions, earthly well-being, earthly problems, even insoluble, difficult ones... But I will sacrifice someone’s life to my problems. We often encounter these problems, unfortunately, in our time. This was unthinkable a hundred years ago, or even a few years ago, but now it has become a legalized practice. Scary. There is nothing worse than legalized sin, this is already something apocalyptic, because people have always sinned a lot, but the worst state of sin is legalization, that is, it is no longer a sin, it is an option if you make such a reference.
Our time in this sense is already eschatological in many matters, not only in abortion. Gender issues and so on are very serious. This is Herod's thinking. Here the family has collapsed, an unloved person; or it just happened by chance, but we didn’t plan it, and it’s like a burden... Yes, whatever. Any question can be, even material questions. It’s difficult for me - yes, yes, but I will sacrifice the child. It’s difficult for me, I have such a problem, but I will sacrifice him to solve my (not the baby’s!) problems. That is, to resolve earthly issues, to achieve some kind of human truth on earth. Yes, there is a certain logic: why do I need this child if we are divorced; or it’s from a stranger, whatever...
-…Herod’s logic.
Yes, Herod's logic. So let the baby pay for it. I somehow formed a personal, private opinion that the babies killed in abortions just complement this number of Bethlehem babies. Many people wonder: they were not baptized, they were killed in the womb, where are they, where did they end up? Wait, they were killed from obvious evil, from evil will, which means from sin, from the devil, they are victims of the devil, sin and evil. This means that they are in this sense, being innocent in our human image (this is a convention, but nevertheless these are earthly images of innocence, such was the righteous Job, the same Bethlehem babies; absolute innocence is only in Christ, of course, but examples of innocence are possible and from people), martyrs for Christ, killed in abortions, like the martyrs in Bethlehem. They may not have known Christ directly, but they nevertheless suffered for Christ.
It's the same here. Even if the unbaptized did not know about Christ, they suffered from evil to fulfill the righteousness of God. Their death is a baptism of blood; There is such a concept in the Church. Therefore, my opinion: such a situation is martyrdom for Christ. They complement exactly the number of Bethlehem babies, and precisely the number 14,000 shows a certain limitlessness and comprehensiveness of such situations of innocent suffering of babies for Christ.
This, of course, inspires some optimism and joy for them that they have received true existence and joy in Christ. Being on earth is, of course, important, but earthly existence, earthly life is only a projection, only a plan for eternity. Therefore, they immediately received eternity. It is clear that the martyrs consciously lived their whole lives in Christ... But with God, as it is said, there are many abodes, everyone will find their place, so everyone will receive what they deserve. I think they also deserved mercy through their martyrdom. We are talking about those killed in abortion, first of all, and, in general, about the Bethlehem babies. Therefore, in this sense, you feel joy and optimism for them. This is not an endorsement, but in any case it is a consolation for their fate.
At the same time, you feel fear and trembling for the many millions of Herods of our time. Moreover, perhaps, when they have no excuse at all, being direct parents. By the way, this is not only the mother, this is the father too, we must not forget.
- Is the father also responsible?
Yes, the same responsibility. For us it’s somehow blurred. Bears the same responsibility. It's even scary. Although Herod was also called king. What is a king at that time? This is not a president as a certain position to perform some functions, and even then everyone strives to become a father for his people. In fact, this is the natural desire of a good ruler. And those rulers were directly oriented towards being fathers. And when a father kills his population, even children, this is also similar in this sense...
Yes, it's absurd. To solve his earthly issues, some, as it seems to him, more important. This is a very deep, important example. Do you see how relevant it is today? Therefore, the memory of the Bethlehem babies is very important; it permeates the entire Nativity of Christ as an example of innocent suffering. He helps us understand Christ’s feat, His Nativity as Golgotha. And second, it creates a projection to this day as innocent suffering continues. The number of Bethlehem babies is growing.
- How can you convince a woman not to have an abortion?
You know, this is the same as issues related to alcoholism and drug addiction. Where do these problems come from? From mistakes of the inner world, consciousness. People who are really not with God are on the wrong path, enslaved by the beginning of this world, they are focused on themselves. This is very important, they put themselves in the place of God, their earthly questions. You can help. There is such a thing as a universal medicine, a panacea. It is not in medicine, it is a fairy tale, a legend; there is no cure for all diseases. But in the Christian worldview, the Christian faith, there is a panacea - a religious living Christian life. A panacea for all spiritual problems. If you want not to be Herod, a sinner, not to be in destruction, find Christ, look for the meaning of life first, don’t sleep, don’t be lazy. Seek God as the meaning of life, find Christ - and you won’t have to drink, take drugs, or kill your children. It turns out there won't be a need. If you believe in God, follow Christ, you have a meaning in life, you are a child of eternity, nothing earthly limits you, burdens you, at least absolutely does not bind you, if your ego is not a compass for your existence... all questions disappear, nothing needs to be done, such things are not needed. So it is a panacea to live a Christian life. We take the Gospel, prayers, spiritual literature in our hands, we work, we come to know Christ, we seek truth, righteousness - and we change our lives.
- This process is very long...
We have been given our whole life for this. Life, being. A very important concept is “being”. Just as the Apostle John the Theologian has the concept of “grace on grace”; being with the help of God strengthens being, life lives - we have such a concept in Easter terminology. And there is another good term - “dead souls”, a well-known Gogolian term. That is, immortal souls - and such a contradiction, a wonderful oxymoron. The soul is immortal - and it is suddenly dead. This was a wonderful sermon by Gogol. Well, then he deciphers it using the images that he showed in the book - the images of dead souls. It would seem that they were living people who probably lit candles and thought about themselves that they were good, and something in general in a broad sense. But in reality - dead souls.
But when we are with God, then life lives, then souls are alive. Living souls are blessed souls. To bless the soul, none of these terrible things are needed, vicious, sinful, and therefore extra-existent, disastrous. What does drug addiction, alcoholism and the direct murder of one’s own children lead to... And now the discussion begins about what a fetus in the womb is, does it have any significance, since when (in my opinion, in Catholic teaching there were disputes about about this, discussion). But what sense does this make when a person only happens like this (shows a line with his hand)? If you interrupt this process at some stage, it is clear that the person will not happen. Even the logic is clear, what is there to discuss?
Therefore, a believer who seeks God and lives with God, on the contrary, himself becomes the source of being. There is a wonderful gospel image: He who believes in Me will become a fountain of living water springing up to eternal life. This is written by the Apostle John in the Gospel of John. I think this image is very different, first of all as regards the person himself, of course, as a child of eternity and the Kingdom of God. But a believer also becomes a source of life for others: he has a wonderful family, many children, he becomes a participant in God’s creation. Together with God, he continues the creation of the world. What is childbirth? Co-creation at its finest. Together with God, a new being, a new personality is created. This is the greatest service!
- That is, not wanting to have children is...
-...serving selfishness, oneself, so to speak, not following the will of God, ignoring it. That is, one must be a believer and strive for God. This is the first, most important condition. But further we do not deny that man is weak and infirm. Of course, we not only stand before God personally, we are also a society, a family. If we are believers, then we are still brothers and sisters. Therefore, of course, we all need help and support, a shoulder, a hand nearby. When it’s a normal family, there’s your wife and your hand next to you, and then there’s your loved ones. And by the way, when a family is destroyed, the first consequences are that there is no support, no support, you are alone, scared and make stupid things and terrible mistakes.
Therefore, one of the consequences of family destruction includes abortion. This doesn't happen on its own. And in general, not wanting to have children is a process of destruction of the family, God’s creation. Family is God’s creation, God’s plan for man, this is a separate big topic. Adam and Eve are a separate issue. Therefore, this is also worth thinking about. But we compensate for this if we fulfill God’s commandment about mercy and love for our neighbors.
Remember the wonderful parable: who is my neighbor? Of course, so to speak, it is the “job responsibility” of our neighbors - spouses, grandmothers, grandfathers, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles. This is such a circle that we are neighbors by position. But this is not enough. The Lord says: neighbor - everyone in relation to another who does good and fulfills the commandment of Christ will be an example of Christ Himself. Therefore, we must support the weak, strengthen those who are hesitant, and take a place with those who were never able to become neighbors. Psychological help, a kind word, a Christian word above all, and support in general are important here. Moreover, from the parable we know that the man was not simply patted on the head and told, as they say now, “hang in there.” No, the Samaritan puts the victim in a hotel and gives money to the hotelier: look after him; If you need anything more, I will help you again. That is, it should not only be in words (it should also be in words, psychologically, morally, ideologically), but material things are also necessary. We understand this too.
Now the social activities of the Church are focused on all these areas. After all, not so long ago this could not have been done. Maybe there was no experience... There is also something new from our time. It is clear that in her time, even if such a crime was committed, it was an emergency, a unique incident. It was a completely different situation. And now this has become common, natural, understandable, commonplace. That is, only our time has been highlighted by this issue. Therefore, the Church has just become involved in this issue and is trying and calling on all levels... This topic is being developed so that people in such a dangerous situation (primarily mothers, pregnant women) have support and support - moral, spiritual, ideological, and a kind word ; and the financial situation should be taken into account, there would be some kind of support, they would be given some rooms, there would be houses for special care of those like them, so that they would know that they would not remain on the street.
Although if there is any discussion on this topic, it is clear that at all times one can always avoid doing evil. There are always orphanages, for example. If you want your conscience not to convict you later and not to think all your life (I repeat, a man also has something to do with this, but we always narrow it down a little) what will you answer at the Last Judgment (and you will have to think about this all your life, maternal the heart can never calm down here, and the Christian conscience even more so), then there is always a possibility. Give life, fulfill your function, and if you have objective problems, there is an orphanage where there will be care and support. And then, perhaps, the child will be taken in by people who have the strength, the desire, and perhaps the need for this - for lack of one of their own. And everyone is happy. You will probably have to suffer less: maybe your child is happy somewhere - an astronaut, a warrior, a doctor, alive, healthy... And a Christian, God willing, to boot. Well, you did what you could. There was always an option, and now it remains, but for some reason false shame, false premises... Yes, it’s easier to kill - and it’s hidden.
- In fact, it will never be a secret, because conscience will always expose a person.
Of course of course. So this option always exists and always has been. There are just discussions about the nuances. Remember, in the West now there are special windows for dropping off children. We are having a debate about whether this is necessary or not. You see, so as not to hurt this mother’s ego... And before, they simply left it in a basket in front of someone’s door - that’s all. And now you can... Yes, all this is not very pleasant, but I think that it is much more unpleasant to kill. And if you have some good reasons, well, we understand. Good reasons - leave the child alive in the orphanage. It could always work. And here, with our millions of abortions, it’s simply scary. There are no excuses. Of course, we strive for the child to remain with his mother, this is ideal, and we must be oriented towards this. But nevertheless, murder cannot be justified in any way, and there is always an option to resolve this issue.
Unfortunately, our time for transmission is coming to an end. Final question: what does the day of remembrance of the murder of the Bethlehem infants teach us?
In short, first of all, it teaches us to comprehend the path of Christ, the path of suffering for us, for our sins, the path of Calvary and resurrection. This is the first. Secondly, be like children, that is, let us accept the Kingdom of God, the preaching of Christ with childlike trust, with naivety in a good sense, with kind simplicity - and the Kingdom will be revealed to us. Thirdly, let us remember about our children, since this is the question, about our grandchildren, we will take care of them and bring them to Christ. And from this they will become wonderful people, live a wonderful, rich life, and enter eternity. Lastly, the bitter experience of the Bethlehem babies reminds us to fight evil in the world, so that evil does not triumph and does not make such sacrifices for itself. It depends on you and me whether we give such an opportunity to evil, whether we allow evil to do this. If we allow it, like Herod, it happens. And if we say no, then it won’t happen. Depends on each of us. May the Lord enlighten us through the prayers of the Bethlehem babies and strengthen us to be true Christians.
- Thank you, Father Damian, bless our viewers.
May the Infant Christ be with us all on these holy days, Christmastide, and all the days of our lives. God help you, dear TV viewers.
Presenter Denis Beresnev
Recorded by Margarita Popova
In the Serapion Chamber of the Trinity Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra there is kept an ark with particles of the relics of the infant martyrs who were beaten by Herod in Bethlehem.
Herod, seeing himself ridiculed by the wise men, became very angry (Matthew 2:16). Who was he angry with? On the one hand, at the wise men who ridiculed him, on the other, at the newborn King of the Jews. He was angry with the Magi because they did not return to him and announce the Baby; He was angry with Christ for fear that He might take the kingdom from him; for, not knowing that the kingdom of Christ is “not of this world” (John 18:36), Herod believed that Christ would rule the earthly kingdom. What did the accursed Herod do, being unable either to take revenge on the Magi, for they had already left, or to kill Christ, for He could not be found? He vented his wrath on innocent babies. Like a fierce beast, when it is wounded, it often does not look at the one who wounded it, but rushes straight at what is in front of its eyes, and in rage torments it, as if it were the culprit of its wound; So Herod, tormented by anger and not finding the culprits of his anger, turned his rage on the babies, innocent of anything before him. He sent soldiers armed, as if for war, to “beat up all the infants in Bethlehem and in all its surroundings from two years old and under, according to the time that he found out from the wise men” (Matthew 2:16). Herod remembered the time indicated by the Magi for the appearance of the star, which, according to the interpretation of St. Chrysostom and St. Theophylact, appeared even before the Nativity of Christ. But how long exactly? If she appeared at the very hour of the Annunciation, then nine months passed from the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos to the Nativity of Christ. But the wise men came to Jerusalem on the very day of Christmas and worshiped Christ in Bethlehem, and went to their country in a different way: therefore, Herod did not immediately know that he had been ridiculed by them, but at first believed that they, having not found the sought-after child and being ashamed of their mistake, they did not dare to come to him and secretly, with shame, returned to their place. Then, forty days later, a glorious event took place in the Temple of Solomon: Elder Simeon and Anna the prophetess met here the Divine Child, brought by the Mother of God on the day of purification 1, and testified about Christ and clearly preached much about Him to the people. The rumor about everything that happened in the temple during the Presentation of the Lord spread throughout Jerusalem and reached the king. Then Herod realized that this was truly the sought-after Baby and that what the wise men had said about the newborn King, whom they found in Bethlehem, but did not return to Herod, despising his power, was true. The lawless Herod became unusually furious. He immediately began to try to find the Child with the help of cunning and secret tricks, but he could not, for Joseph fled with Him to Egypt immediately after the vision he had. Herod's efforts to find Christ continued for a year. After this, for some reason, he needed to go to Rome to Caesar, and Herod was in great confusion that he had not yet found the sought-after Baby, for he was afraid that in his absence a new king might be found and become famous among the people, and would take away If only he had the kingdom of Judah. Therefore, he immediately decided in his mind to beat all the children of Bethlehem in order to destroy, thus, along with them, the born King. And this lawless infanticide took place in the first year after the Nativity of Christ, on December 29; On this day it is customary for the Church to celebrate the memory of the beaten infants. Then one year and nine months passed from the time the star appeared. And the fact that Herod beat infants from two years old and below, he did this out of fear and for greater safety. So Saint Chrysostom says: “Do not be surprised that Herod ordered the beating of infants from two years old and below: rage and fear came together in the tormentor; Therefore, Herod became very careful, and out of great fear he condemned even older people to murder.” In agreement with this, Euthymius 2 also says: “Herod believed that the star did not immediately appear to the wise men, but that the baby was born long before its appearance. For greater security, he ordered to advance the time by two years.”
The babies were beaten in different ways: some were killed with a sword, others were smashed against stones and walls, others were thrown to the ground and trampled underfoot, strangled with their hands, torn and torn into pieces, pierced, cut in half. The mothers wept bitterly: their great cry reached the heavens; they tore their hair and clothes and tormented themselves, so that the words of the prophet Jeremiah were fulfilled: “A voice was heard in Rama, weeping and mourning and a great cry; Rachel cries for her children and does not want to be comforted, for they are not there” (Jer. 31:15; Matt. 2:18).
Rama was the name of the city that stood on a hill within the tribe of Benjamin. Some called Rachel Bethlehem, because Rachel, the wife of the patriarch Jacob, the mother of Benjamin, was buried there. From her tomb Bethlehem received the name Rachel. So, when in Rachel, that is, in Bethlehem, babies were beaten, then in the city of Rama, which was not very far from Bethlehem, weeping, sobbing and a great cry of mothers were heard crying for their murdered children. This lament is partly described by two Saints John: Chrysostom and Damascus. The first of them says the following.
Seeing this, the mothers asked the killers:
– Why are you killing our children? What offense did they cause to the king or to you?
And there was no one who would answer why this futile murder was being committed, there was no one who would console them in this great grief. They cried out to the soldiers:
- Spare us, have mercy! Don't you have mothers yourself? Don't you know a mother's love? Don't you have wives? Were you not loved by your mothers? Aren't you afraid that the same thing will happen to your children? Have mercy on us! Do not deprive us of our children, but first beat us ourselves, for we are not able to bear the death of our children! Pierce ourselves! If our children have caused you any harm, then may we die with them!
So they cried out in heartfelt anguish and, maddened with sadness, forgetting shame, tore their clothes, beat their chests in grief, tore their faces, tore their hair, and called the heavens as witnesses, crying out to God:
- O our Lord, Lord! What does this great cruelty of the king mean? He rebels against Your creation: You created, and he kills; You gave us children, and he takes them away from us! Why did we bring boys into the world if our babies must be subjected to such a cruel death?
Saint John of Damascus narrates this lament as follows: Mothers who had endured suffering at the birth of their children sat next to the corpses of the murdered babies, with loose hair, raising their hands to the sky, they tore their hair, sprinkled dust on their hair, called heaven as witnesses and, shedding tears, they said this to the absent Herod, as if to a present one:
- What does this command of yours mean, king, directed against us? Aren't you the father of your children? Don't you know how great the love of parents is for their children? Did the star insult you? But why then don’t you aim your arrows at the sky, but dry up the milk in our breasts? Have the Magi done you harm? But then why don’t you fight with Persia, but deprive Bethlehem of its children? If a new king has been born and you have learned about him from books, then seize Gabriel and put him in prison.
Soon after the massacre of the holy infants, whose number was fourteen thousand, the execution of God befell the murderer himself, King Herod. The end of his life was cruel, as Saint Theophylact tells about it: obsessed with fever and illness of the insides, swelling of the legs, blockage of the nostrils, shaking of the whole body and disintegration of all members, the evil king, eaten by worms, gave up the ghost in terrible torment. It is also narrated that it was not enough for him to beat the infants of Bethlehem, but even at his very death, he put to death many of the noblest and most glorious citizens of Jerusalem: so he executed Hyrcanus, the high priest of Judea, as well as all those high priests and scribes of the people whom he had previously asked: “ Where should Christ be born? - and who answered him: “In Bethlehem of Judea.”
He subsequently killed everyone with a sword. And this was God’s righteous judgment for them, so that they all, together with Herod, died in cruel torment, as the Angel announced to Joseph in Egypt:
– Those who sought the soul of the Child died.
Obviously, it was not Herod alone who was searching, but all his advisers, the high priests and scribes. Therefore, not only Herod died, but also everyone who searched with him for the soul of the Child. He was killed by God himself, and these were beaten by Herod. With whom they sympathized, they met a cruel death. And that they all sought to kill Christ and were unanimous with Herod, this is clear from this: when the righteous elder Simeon the God-Receiver, who testified about Christ in the temple and before all the people, died, for this they did not grant him a worthy burial, which would befit such a saint husband, wise teacher, perspicacious prophet and respected elder. They also put to death the holy prophet Zechariah because he placed in the place of maidens, where it was not appropriate for married women to stand, the Most Pure Virgin, who entered the temple with the Child for purification. This is mentioned by Gregory of Nyssa, Cyril of Alexandria and Andrew of Crete.
When the scribes and Pharisees saw this, they became indignant; Zechariah opposed them, confirming that this Mother remained a pure Virgin even after Christmas. They did not believe him, and then the saint said that human nature, together with every creature, is subordinate to its Creator and that it is in His omnipotent will to arrange His creation according to His will and to make sure that the Virgin gives birth and remains a Virgin at Christmas.
“Therefore,” he said, “I allowed this Mother to take the place of the maidens, as a true Virgin.”
The scribes were furious in their hearts at Zechariah, as at an obvious lawbreaker, and, consumed by envy, they were angry both at the fact that the mother of the Child was placed in the place of the maidens, and at the fact that such testimonies about the Child were proclaimed. They did not hide their feelings before Herod, but showed them to him, and immediately began to look for the Child, but did not find Him, because Joseph, meanwhile, fled with Mary to Egypt. From then on, the scribes began to be very angry with Saint Zechariah, and with him, with Elder Simeon. Simeon soon died, and they did not give him a worthy burial. Zechariah was subsequently condemned to death by Herod, at their request. During the massacre of the Bethlehem infants, Saint Zechariah was killed between the church and the altar because he did not give up his son John to be killed. Thus the scribes and Pharisees took revenge on him for his testimony about the Most Pure Virgin and for placing Her in the temple in the place of the maidens. Soon they themselves accepted a well-deserved execution at the hands of their own king, Herod. With whatever measure they measured, that was what was measured to them. Separately from them, Herod also beheaded 70 of the wisest men, whose assembly was called the Sanhedrin 3. He left only one of them alive, but he also ordered him to be blinded. There were two wise, famous and beloved teachers in Jerusalem at that time: Judas. called Avritheus, and Matthew Garguloei; He ordered them to be burned alive along with some of their friends; but even before this, Herod fiercely rebelled against his own house: he executed his brother Pheroras, his sister Salome and her husband, who came from the tribe of David, his wife Mariamne, also from the tribe of David, 4 his son Antipater born from her, then two more sons of Aristobulus and he innocently put Alexander and many others to death. Finally, when he was already dying, Herod bequeathed to the most faithful of his soldiers regarding the other glorious men of the Jews, of whom he still had many left in chains, so that when he gave up the ghost, the soldiers would immediately kill all these prisoners: let the Jews not rejoice over his death, but rather let them cry at the sight of so many of their husbands killed 5. So the evil one died an evil death, destroying many along with him. He moved into hell, along with his like-minded people. The holy infants, who were slain for Christ, were established with the Angels in heaven, for to such children truly is the Kingdom of Heaven (Luke 18:16) in Christ our Lord, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
