lived in the third century. Saint Maximilian
was the son of the Ephesus city administrator, and the other six youths
were sons of illustrious citizens of Ephesus. The youths were friends
from childhood, and all were in military service together.
When the emperor Decius (249-251) arrived in
Ephesus, he commanded all the citizens to offer sacrifice to the pagan
gods. Torture and death awaited anyone who disobeyed. The seven youths
were denounced by informants, and were summoned to reply to the charges.
Appearing before the emperor, the young men confessed their faith in
Christ.
Their military belts and insignia were quickly
taken from them. Decius permitted them to go free, however, hoping that
they would change their minds while he was off on a military campaign.
The youths fled from the city and hid in a cave on Mount Ochlon, where
they passed their time in prayer, preparing for martyrdom.
The youngest of them, Saint Iamblicus, dressed
as a beggar and went into the city to buy bread. On one of his
excursions into the city, he heard that the emperor had returned and was
looking for them. Saint Maximilian urged his companions to come out of
the cave and present themselves for trial.
Learning where the young men were hidden, the
emperor ordered that the entrance of the cave be sealed with stones so
that the saints would perish from hunger and thirst. Two of the
dignitaries at the blocked entrance to the cave were secret Christians.
Desiring to preserve the memory of the saints, they placed in the cave a
sealed container containing two metal plaques. On them were inscribed
the names of the seven youths and the details of their suffering and
death.
The Lord placed the youths into a miraculous
sleep lasting almost two centuries. In the meantime, the persecutions
against Christians had ceased. During the reign of the holy emperor
Theodosius the Younger (408-450) there were heretics who denied that
there would be a general resurrection of the dead at the Second Coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some of them said, "How can there be a
resurrection of the dead when there will be neither soul nor body, since
they are disintegrated?" Others affirmed, "The souls alone will have a
restoration, since it would be impossible for bodies to arise and live
after a thousand years, when even their dust would not remain."
Therefore, the Lord revealed the mystery of the Resurrection of the Dead
and of the future life through His seven saints.
The owner of the land on which Mount Ochlon was
situated, discovered the stone construction, and his workers opened up
the entrance to the cave. The Lord had kept the youths alive, and they
awoke from their sleep, unaware that almost two hundred years had
passed. Their bodies and clothing were completely undecayed.
Preparing to accept torture, the youths once
again asked Saint Iamblicus to buy bread for them in the city. Going
toward the city, the youth was astonished to see a cross on the gates.
Hearing the name of Jesus Christ freely spoken, he began to doubt that
he was approaching his own city.
When he paid for the bread, Iamblicus gave the
merchant coins with the image of the emperor Decius on it. He was
detained, as someone who might be concealing a horde of old money. They
took Saint Iamblicus to the city administrator, who also happened to be
the Bishop of Ephesus. Hearing the bewildering answers of the young man,
the bishop perceived that God was revealing some sort of mystery through
him, and went with other people to the cave.
At the entrance to the cave the bishop found
the sealed container and opened it. He read upon the metal plaques the
names of the seven youths and the details of the sealing of the cave on
the orders of the emperor Decius. Going into the cave and seeing the
saints alive, everyone rejoiced and perceived that the Lord, by waking
them from their long sleep, was demonstrating to the Church the mystery
of the Resurrection of the Dead.
Soon the emperor himself arrived in Ephesus and
spoke with the young men in the cave. Then the holy youths, in sight of
everyone, lay their heads upon the ground and fell asleep again, this
time until the General Resurrection.
The emperor wanted to place each of the youths
into a jeweled coffin, but they appeared to him in a dream and said that
their bodies were to be left upon the ground in the cave. In the twelfth
century the Russian pilgrim Igumen Daniel saw the holy relics of the
seven youths in the cave.
There is a second commemoration of the seven
youths on October 22. According to one tradition, which entered into the
Russian Prologue of Saints' Lives, the youths fell asleep
for the second time on this day. The Greek MENAION of 1870 says that
they first fell asleep on August 4, and woke up on October 22.
There is a prayer of the Seven Sleepers of
Ephesus in the Great Book of Needs (Trebnik) for those who
are ill and cannot sleep. The Seven Sleepers are also mentioned in the
service for the Church New Year, September 1
