The Art of Salvation by Elder Ephraim

Author:Elder Ephraim [Ephraim, Elder]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780972550444
Amazon: 0972550445
Publisher: Saint Nektarios Greek Orthodox Monastery
Published: 2014-01-14T23:00:00+00:00

Finally, when he arrived at the place of his execution, he stirred up the executioner,

“Let’s see what type of a man you are! Do you think you can cut my head off with one swipe?”

What bravery and beauty! This provoked the executioner, and he responded arrogantly, “You bet I can …”

He struck him with his sword, and his head rolled away on the first blow.

We see that this cloud of martyrs was full of zeal—and of course during a time period that is not too far before our days, even though they had the same desire and love for martyrdom as the first Christian martyrs—and they were crowned with the same glory as the great-martyrs of old. The same God Who existed then exists today, and He will remain the same in the future. The Holy Spirit is also the same. Just as He strengthened them, He will strengthen us. If God (out of love and compassion) decides to have mercy on us, concedes, and deems us worthy of making the good confession before impious atheists, we may also be blessed with martyrdom. Our works are worthless, our sins are numerous, our passions are uncontrollable beasts—only a martyrdom and a confession of the faith can save us. The saints of the final years will be confessors: they will be the ones who confess, as we stated in the beginning of our talk, that our Christ is the true God Who came in the flesh.

Imagine how beautiful it will be for a Christian of the present age to bear witness to the Divinity of Christ and the Trinity before impious people, to become a confessor, and to have his soul taken by the angels who will begin chanting heavenly anthems of victory and praise!

All of us wonder: “How will we be able to endure martyrdom? We cannot even tolerate a toothache!” I am the first who cannot. If a needle or another sharp object pricks us, we immediately feel pain, we cry, we look for alcohol and other medical supplies. As soon as we feel even the slightest pain, we reach for medicine and run to our doctor. Things will not be so in the case of martyrdom. All that will exist then are the horrific tortures! What will happen then? Desire for martyrdom exists; however, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (cf. Mt. 26:41). The body resists, objects, and does not want to endure pain and suffering.

I will give you an example of a young boy who was martyred many centuries ago, and you will see how a person endures martyrdom and how “with the temptation there also comes a way of escape” (1 Cor. 10:13). When God calls a person to martyrdom, the former coward who feared pain becomes a lion. How does this take place? Listen.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.