Santi sette giovani "dormienti" di Efeso.

 

Santi sette giovani "dormienti" di Efeso.

Murati vivi in una grotta nei paraggi di Efeso ai tempi dell'imperatore Decio e condannati a morire di fame e sete, caddero in un sonno miracoloso da cui si risvegliarono ai tempi dell'Imperatore Teodosio II.
Quando il proprietario del terreno scoprì la caverna con i relativi sigilli diede ordine di abbattere la muratura e vi scoprì i 07 giovani dormienti. Questi si risvegliarono ed andarono in città convinti di dover affrontare il martirio, anzi comprarono del pane pagandolo con delle monete effigianti il vecchio imperatore pagano Decio.
Vennero subito informati sia il vescovo di Efeso che l'amministratore locale, anche l'imperatore volle vederli, poi i 07 ragazzi si riaddormentarono e la grotta venne richiusa

I loro nomi erano Massimiliano - Iamblico - Martiniano - Giovanni - Dionisio - Exacustodiano (Constantino) - Antonino.

Les SEPT DORMANTS D'EPHESE: saints MAXIMILIEN, EXACUSTODIEN, JAMBLIQUE, MARTINIEN, DENYS, ANTONIN et CONSTANTIN (ou JEAN), martyrs sous Dèce (vers 250). (Autre mémoire le 22 octobre.) (Office traduit en français par le père Denis Guillaume au tome VIII des Ménées.)

http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/92466

Troparion — Tone 4

Your holy martyrs, O Lord, / Through their sufferings have received their incorruptible crowns from You, our God. / For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries, / And shattered the powerless boldness of demons. / Through their intercessions, save our souls!

http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2009/10/historicity-of-seven-sleepers-of.html

Kontakion — Tone 4

Those who renounced the perishing comforts of this world, / Preferring the eternal things of Heaven, / Were incorrupt after death and rose from the dead / And buried the snares of the devils! / O Faithful, let us then honor them, singing a hymn of praise to Christ!

Troparion (Tone 4)
O miracle of faith! The seven holy youths remained in a cave as though in a royal palace and died without corruption. After many years they rose up from sleep to convince all men of the Resurrection. Through their prayers, O Christ our God, have mercy on us all.

Emperor Decius went to Ephesus to hold a great pagan celebration and to slaughter the Christians there. Seven youths, who were all soldiers and sons of a high-ranking government official in the city, prayed for God to save the Christian people. They were accused before the Emperor, so they hid in a cave on Ochlon Hill outside Ephesus. The Emperor discovered their hiding place, so ordered the cave's only entrance to be walled in. But God caused a long-lasting sleep to fall on them. Imperial courtiers Theodore and Rufinus, who were secret believers, had plaques made with the names of the young men and their death by martyrdom under Decius and fastened them to the wall. Their names are Jambilicus, Martinian, Constantine (also known as Exacustodianus), Anthony, John, Dionysius & Maximillian. More than 200 years passed. During the reign of Emperor Theodosius the Younger (408-450), there was a controversy over the resurrection of the dead and Theodosius prayed that God would reveal the truth to the people. Some shepherds were building sheep pens by Ochlon and took the stones from the wall of the cave to build them. The youths woke up in full health, just as if they had only slept a night. The news of this miracle was broadcast so far that the Emperor himself came to meet them. He spoke with them privately. After a week, they entered the cave and fell asleep again, but this time it was the sleep of death. Theodosius wanted to build golden coffins for them, but they appeared to him in a dream and told him to leave them in the earth, as they had been, to await the General Resurrection