We hear the word used in our contemporary society, and it is 'thrown around' as if it should apply to many. But while there have been many martyrs, those who have earned the crowns of martyrdom share little (and I might go so far as to say "share nothing") with those who are improperly associated with the name today.
Per Webster, a martyr is "one who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty for refusing to renounce his religion." The more appropriate definition would come from the Greek root, which means "witness".
Note carefully that in neither of these defining forms is there mention of one who murders others for a cause.... Curious, then, that the term has been subverted to use for people who choose to commit suicide in the process of killing others. We should be righteously indignant at the improper use of the word in contemporary society for those who should simply be labeled "mass murders"? Shall we agree that any who deserves the name "martyr" has not committed murder - either of self, or of others?
With that starting premise, this article focuses on Saint Sophia, whose feast was celebrated in September, and who serves as the patron of our parish Sisterhood. With her we recognize as martyrs her daughters, Faith, Hope, and Love. Named after the three Christian virtues, her daughters were examples who lived up to their virtuous names.
Under the evil rule of the Emperor Hadrian, these four were called to his court, and the daughters one by one were called upon to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ and offer sacrifice to pagan idols. As they refused, one by one, they were exposed to cruel tortures, and ultimately beheading. For their faith, they indeed received their martyr's crowns.
But what of Saint Sophia? Her name translates to "wisdom". She stood by and witnessed the torture and murder of her beloved daughters. In the Troparion we offer in her honor, we sing, "In your contest you offered to Christ the sweet fruit of your womb, your daughters Faith, Hope and Love."
It is difficult for us, I think, to put ourselves in the position of Saint Sophia. Which of us could contemplate going to a courthouse in our current day, with children in tow aging from 9 to 12, and encourage them to say things to the judge which would bring about their torture and ultimate death? It's unfathomable. And yet, this is the contest and offering of Saint Sophia.
Her encouragement to her daughters was not about giving up a glorious life on earth. She knew that the only glorious life is in Christ, in the Kingdom of Heaven. And so her encouragement to her daughters was to seize their opportunity to lay claim to their places near to their Master, to our Lord and Savior.
Saint Sophia suffered none of the tortures levied at her daughters. She left Hadrian's court physically possessing all that she had when she entered. And yet, the Church recognizes her as no less a martyr than any other throughout the history of the Church, and no less than her own daughters. For she witnessed to her faith, she stood and witnessed to the love of Christ by her remaining steadfast in encouraging her daughters to endure, even to death. And because of her faithfulness in so doing, she too was rewarded with her own martyrs crown, giving her life after burying her beloved daughters.
Why the repeated reference to "crowns"? From 1Peter 5:4 - "When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away." From Revelation 2:10, to the Church of Smyrna - "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life." From Revelation 3:11, to the Church of Philadelphia - "Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown." Finally, from Saint John Chrysostom, "On the Priesthood", Book 2 - "For Christians above all men are forbidden to correct the stumblings of sinners by force.... It is necessary to make a man better not by force but by persuasion. We neither have authority granted us by law to restrain sinners, nor, if it were, should we know how to use it, since God gives the crown to those who are kept from evil not by force, but by choice."
No human body was put in danger by Sophia and her daughters. No human life was threatened. No ill came to any at the hands of these whom we recognize as martyrs. In fact, today in the Kingdom, these four intercede before the Lord for any who are set upon by unrighteous acts of mankind toward those who with wisdom follow the Lord in faith, in hope, and in love.
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