The phenomenon of child holiness. Children are the best of human names. Holy infant martyrs.

The children of the royal Romanov family - Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, and the heir Tsarevich Alexei - were extraordinary in their ordinariness. Even though from a worldly point of view they were born into one of the highest positions in the world and had access to all earthly goods, they grew up like ordinary children. And what is even more surprising is that, surrounded by the rotten and apostate palace nobility, they nevertheless grew up to be believers and fearers of God. Their royal father made sure that their upbringing was similar to his own: that they were not treated like hothouse plants or fragile porcelain, but were given homework, prayers, games, and even moderate fights and mischief. Thus, they grew up as normal, healthy children, in an atmosphere of discipline, order and almost ascetic simplicity.

They also grew up in an atmosphere of extraordinary spiritual love. The marriage of their parents truly earned God's blessing, and the Lord granted the imperial couple rare happiness on earth - a strong and close union, incl. for ten years they were blissfully happy both in marriage and family life, and all children were born into this atmosphere of love, bliss and tenderness. Moreover, this model family represented a true domestic church. Both parents were deeply religious and expressed the ideal of both aspects of Orthodoxy - born and received.

Tsar Nicholas, of course, was born Orthodox, grew up in a strong Orthodox environment and had a thousand-year legacy of Orthodoxy behind him. But this inheritance bore such abundant fruit in him mainly due to his personal spiritual qualities: piety, modesty, mercy, gullibility, tenderness of soul and compassion for every creation of God. And this inheritance, successive and personal, he passed on to his children, who embodied it in themselves with the same beauty.

Queen Alexandra, although born Lutheran, also grew up in a deeply religious family. That is why, having accepted her faith sincerely and honestly, she did not agree for so long to convert to another faith, even with all her great love for the Tsar. And only after she realized Orthodoxy as the only true faith, she was able to convert to it. But having converted to Orthodoxy, the Queen accepted the new faith completely, with all the sincerity of her soul, and became a truly Orthodox Christian. And she passed on this sincerity and honesty of faith to her children, and faith became an integral part of their lives.

The royal children were beautiful - not only for their appearance, but mainly for their spiritual qualities. From their father they inherited kindness, modesty, simplicity, an unshakable sense of duty and a comprehensive love for their homeland. From their mother they inherited deep faith, integrity, discipline and fortitude. The Queen herself hated laziness and taught her children to always be fruitfully busy. When did the first one start? world war The Tsarina and her four daughters devoted themselves entirely to military affairs: they tirelessly visited military hospitals, bringing joy and comfort to wounded soldiers, and in addition, the Tsarina and two eldest daughters also became sisters of mercy, often working as surgeon’s assistants. “The higher a person’s position in society,” said the Martyr Tsar, “the more he must help others, never reminding them of his position.” Being himself an excellent example of gentleness and responsiveness to the needs of others, the Tsar-Martyr raised his children in the same spirit.

Holy Martyrs 14,000 infants killed by King Herod in Bethlehem. When the time came for the greatest event to take place - the Incarnation of the Son of God and His Birth from the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Eastern Magi saw a new star in the sky, foreshadowing the birth of the King of the Jews. They immediately headed to Jerusalem to worship the Born One, and the star showed them the way. Having bowed to the Infant God, they did not return to Jerusalem to Herod, as he ordered them, but, having received a revelation from above, they left for their country by a different route. Then Herod realized that his plan to find the Child had not come true, and ordered the killing of all male children aged two years and younger in Bethlehem and the surrounding area. He expected that among the killed children there would also be the Infant of God, in whom he saw a rival. The destroyed babies became the first martyrs for Christ. Herod's anger also fell on Simeon the God-Receiver, who publicly testified in the temple about the Born Messiah. When the holy elder died, Herod did not allow him to be buried with dignity. By order of the king, the holy prophet priest Zechariah was killed: he was killed in the Jerusalem temple between the altar and the altar because he did not indicate where his son, John, the future Baptist of the Lord Jesus Christ. The wrath of God soon punished Herod himself: a severe illness befell him, and he died, eaten alive by worms. Before his death, the wicked king completed the measure of his atrocities: he killed the high priests and scribes of the Jews, his brother, sister and her husband, his wife Mariamne and three sons, as well as 70 of the wisest men, members of the Sanhedrin.

Stories about saints. Bethlehem babies. Broadcast of the TV channel “My Joy”.

Bethlehem tragedy

When a person first reads the Gospel, he may be horrified by the fact that 14,000 innocent babies were killed in Bethlehem. The meaning of their suffering and death is discussed by teachers of Minsk Theological Schools: Biblical history - Konstantin Konstantinovich Machan (he is the first to answer our questions) and philosophy - Priest Sergei Lepin.

How do you assess the meaning of the suffering of the Bethlehem babies? And what place is destined for them in the afterlife?

No suffering remains meaningless before God. This is also evidenced by numerous evidence from Holy Scripture, and examples from the lives of people suffering in this world for one reason or another. God's providence for man and the world directs everything for good, but human sensory understanding does not always manage to realize and see this immediately, in an instant. And sometimes distant historical examples remain inexplicable to us from the point of view of the justification of suffering. The Bethlehem babies became the first martyrs for Christ, shedding their innocent blood for the Savior of the world. Although they became martyrs unconsciously, this happened according to the Providence of God. After the Savior’s Sacrifice on the Cross, suffering for Him becomes for a person a testimony of faith. After all, in Greek “martyr” means “witness”. But what can we say about the righteous of the Old Testament, suffering for the True God even before the coming of Christ, or about the suffering of the Bethlehem babies - peers of the Infant Savior? Without a doubt, they are no less important to God than those of the New Testament, with the only difference being that Christ suffered for them on the Cross and freed them from sin, curse and death after their earthly life.

The variety of examples of martyrdom can be divided into two groups: martyrdom of choice and martyrdom of necessity (without options). In the first case, the martyr is asked to renounce Christ and continue to live without Him on earth and in the afterlife or with Him, having suffered for Him: “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, him will I also confess before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10) :32). The second feat of martyrdom includes those cases when a person does not choose “life or faith” and accepts suffering because someone, for religious or political purposes, needs to remove his opponents. King Herod the Great, having learned about the newborn King of the Jews (according to prophecy - born in Bethlehem) and fearing that He would not take away his kingdom over time, “sent to kill all the babies in Bethlehem and throughout its borders, from two years old and under "(Matthew 2:16). According to legend, there were 14,000 of them. Not knowing exactly where Jesus was, Herod wanted to destroy the newborn Christ among these innocent sufferers. These babies had no choice - they had not yet realized life with its vicissitudes, none of them were asked whether they were choosing this path or not. But this was precisely their road to the Kingdom of Heaven. For his great atrocities, Herod did not escape God's punishment - his body was covered with painful wounds. There was not a single person next to him who sympathized with his suffering. But even on his deathbed, Herod continued to multiply evil: he ordered the death of his brother, sister and her husband, and finally put his wife Mariamne and three sons to death, seeing them as rivals.

Why did the Lord allow the death and torment of innocent children? After all, they did not commit evil and sin?

Here you can answer regarding their earthly fate. Saint John Chrysostom says: “If someone took several copper coins from you and gave you gold coins in return, would you really consider yourself offended? On the contrary, wouldn’t you say that this person is your benefactor?” Here are several copper coins - our earthly life, which sooner or later ends in death, and gold - eternal life. Thus, in a few moments of suffering and torment, the babies gained a blissful eternity, found what the saints achieved through the exploits and labors of their entire lives. The Bethlehem babies inherited eternal life in the company of Angels. For them, suffering was the mysterious door that led them to the Kingdom of Heaven.

The prophet Jeremiah writes: “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and wailing and crying; Rachel weeps for her children and does not want to be comforted, for they are not” (Jer. 31:15). Does this apply only to the Bethlehem babies or to all generations of Christian infant martyrs?

Ramah is a place in Israel where Rachel, the wife of the Old Testament patriarch Jacob, son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, was buried. According to legend, when Rachel’s son, Joseph, was led to Egypt as a captive and slave, he, passing by his mother’s tomb, began to cry and shouted: “My mother, can you hear me? My mother, do you see where your son is being taken?” In response, a sob was heard from the tomb. Then, when the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar crushed and destroyed the Kingdom of Judah in 586 BC, he ordered its inhabitants to be resettled in Babylonia, and Rama was the city where the Jewish captives were gathered to take them to a distant country.

In my own way geographical location the city of Rama is located 12 kilometers from Bethlehem. Therefore, it can be assumed that when King Herod “sent to kill all the infants in Bethlehem and in all its borders” (Matthew 2:16), this territory included Ramah. IN Old Testament The prophet Jeremiah describes the inhabitants of Jerusalem being taken to a foreign land (Jer. 1:15), and these words about the weeping Rachel were spoken about them. On this sad path they pass by the city of Ramah, the burial place of Rachel (1 Samuel 10:2); and Jeremiah depicts Rachel weeping even in the grave over the fate that befell her people in the Babylonian captivity.

But centuries later, a more terrible tragedy occurred. It was no longer the enemies who were taken captive, but their fellow tribesmen who killed innocent children. In our time, remembering the babies from Bethlehem, we remember all those killed - killed just like that, without accusation, without any “corpus delicti”, killed just like that, for the reason that it was necessary for numerous “Cains and Herod."

Protodeacon Andrey Kuraev on the massacre of the Bethlehem infants.

Tradition says that there were 14,000 babies; the Gospel says nothing about this. Does this number have any significance?

There were, as the Byzantine tradition indicates, 14,000. It is clear that so many children “from two years old and below” simply could not be in little Bethlehem and its environs. From this it becomes clear that this number has a symbolic meaning. It speaks of the mass nature of such a phenomenon as the killing of innocents, as repression, which most often falls not on just a few, but on thousands and even millions. Euthymius Zigaben, a Byzantine theologian of the 12th century, writes about it this way: “Herod believed that the star that announced the Nativity of Christ to the wise men from the east did not immediately appear to them, but that the Child was born long before its appearance. For greater security, he ordered to advance the time by two years.”

At the same time, we can talk about the symbolism of the number “14” as the number of “sons” of Rachel. In the Bible, the sons of Rachel are called not only Joseph and Benjamin, born by her, but also grandchildren (the sons of Joseph and the sons of Benjamin) - “these are the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob, fourteen souls in all” (Gen. 46:22). Rachel cries for 14 thousand “her sons” 17 centuries after her earthly life.

In general, the number “14” is often found in the biblical tradition. For example, in the genealogy of the Savior there are “fourteen generations of all generations from Abraham to David; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to Christ there are fourteen generations” (Matt. 1:17). The Church began to commemorate the infants beaten in Bethlehem already in the 2nd century. It was probably then that the figure “14,000” was determined.

Icons and paintings

Infant Martyrs of Bethlehem. Russia. End of the 16th – beginning of the 17th century.

Prayers

Troparion, tone 1

Through the illnesses of the saints, who suffered for You, / pray, O Lord, / and heal all our illnesses, / Lover of humanity, we pray.

Kontakion, tone 6

In Bethlehem, the King was born, wolves from Persia came with gifts, / guided by a star from above, / but Herod was embarrassed and reaped babies like wheat, / and wept to himself, / because his power would soon be ruined.

Kontakion, tone 4

The star of the Magi sent an envoy to the One who was born,/ and Herod sent an unrighteous army of envoys fiercely,/ to kill me in the manger, like a lying Child.

We are amazed at the patience of the holy martyrs and martyrs, we glorify their exploits, their suffering for Christ. Not only men, but also young men, and virgins, and pious wives joyfully went to death for the name of Christ, for the holy faith in Him, and died, rejoicing in spirit and praising the Lord, glorified and worshiped in the Trinity. But, what is especially worthy of surprise, in the bright face of those who suffered for Christ, we also see infants who fearlessly confessed before the tormentors their holy faith in the Lord Jesus and laid down their innocent souls for Him: truly, “from the mouth of a child and those who pissed he gave praise” to Your name , God!

We offer several touching stories (from the Chetia Menaion) about the wondrous patience of these small in age, but great in spirit, martyrs of Christ. Looking at their infantile courage, let us be ashamed of our laziness and cowardice in our small sorrows, seeing their fiery love for the Lord, let us learn to love the Lord with all our hearts and all our souls: marveling at their great faith, we ourselves will ask the Lord for even a small a spark of this living faith for our heart, cold in faith, for the Lord Himself said: “Unless you are like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven...”

In the city of Iconium there was a widow, young and noble, named Julitta, a Christian by faith. At that time, Diocletian, the wicked king, launched a great persecution against Christians. Having taken up his son, Cyricus, a three-year-old youth, he left the city and wandering at night from Iconium, remembering what was said in Scripture: “When you are persecuted in this city, flee to another,” and you went to Tarsus, the city of Cilicia, and lived in that between the wretched. But in time, Alexander the hegemon came to Tarsus to torment Christians, and Saint Julitta was known about certain people, and she was brought before the hegemon, having in her arms the three-year-old youth of Saint Cyric. Having been asked by the hegemon, we boldly confessed our Lord Jesus Christ. The hegemon was angry, he took the boy away from her, and, pulling her away and stretching her, beat her without mercy with harsh veins. The beaten martyr, looking up to her as a child, wept, and was tormented from the hands of those holding him, and his mother-in-law to his mother. The hegemon, seeing the red thing as a child, ordered him to bring it to him, and sit him down on his knees, and console him, let him not cry, and stroke the head of the child, and kiss her, and speak kind words to him. The child, having taken himself from his hands, and turning his head away from the hegemon, not allowing himself to be stroked, was kissed by his nasty lips, looking to his mother, and crying childishly, crying out: “I am a Christian, let me go to my mother!” - and raked the hegemon’s face with his nails, renouncing him with his hands. Filled with passion, the hegemon threw himself on the floor and kicked him in the ribs, throwing him down from his high seat. The youth, falling like stones, and with its head on the grave sharp corners, marveling and contrite, filled that whole place with blood and betrayed your holy and immaculate soul into the hand of God. Thus the youth Kirik was crowned with martyrdom. His mother, blessed Julitta, suddenly saw her dear child, lying dead in blood before the judgment seat, filled with joy and thanking the Lord for him. Through many torments, she herself was truncated... (July on the 15th day).

When the holy martyr Romanus was hanged with various weapons and iron shavings, standing there not far away was a certain Christian youth named Varul. The martyr looked at him and spoke to the tormentor: “This little child, more intelligent, is more than your old self, even though he is a child, he is still the message of the true God; but you, full of years, do not know Him.” The eparch, calling the youth to himself, asked: “Whose God do you honor?” The youth answered: “I honor Christ.” Again, the dioceses asked: “Which is better: to honor one God or many?” The boy answered: “It is better to honor the one God Jesus Christ.” The eparch again said: “Why is Christ better than all the gods?” The baby answered: “Christ is the better, for He is the true God, and He created us all; but your gods are demons, and have not created anyone.” And many times that child spoke, as if he were a wise theologian, for the Holy Spirit was acting in him, bringing forth praise from his lips, as if he would put the idolaters to shame. The tormentor and all those who were with him were surprised by his wise words, and filled with great cold, as if they could not change his words, for this reason the tormentor commanded that baby to be beaten with rods without mercy. Bien for a long time, beginning to be exhausted, and drinking more easily. His mother, even standing there among the people and looking with joy at the suffering of her son; Seeing him exhausted and asking for drink, raise your voice with anger, commanding him to endure courageously to the end. I commanded the tormentor to visit the baby with a sword, taking his mother in his hand and carrying him to the place of beheading. Embracing and kissing, comforting and strengthening him, let him not be afraid, seeing the sword over his head. The verb says: “Do not be afraid, my son, do not be afraid, my sweet child, do not be afraid of death, you will not die, but you will live forever. Do not be afraid of the sword, for you have been cut, go to Christ and see His glory: He He will accept you and embrace you kindly, and you will live with Him in unspeakable joy, rejoicing with His holy angels.” Such a pious mother, comforting her child, brought her to the place of beheading. I beheaded the former child, the mother collected his blood in a clean vessel, and, having received his body, washed it with joyful tears, and rejoiced sweetly on his forehead, and honestly buried his son’s body (November on the 18th day).

When she beheaded the holy martyr and great Aretha, as well as the other 340 holy martyrs, a certain wife, a faithful Christian, having a son with her, was a little boy, no more than five years old, seeing the beating of the holy martyrs with a sword, and came to them and, having received little for blood them, anointing himself and his son. Filled with jealousy, you cursed the king and said loudly: “That Jew will be like Pharaoh.” Look at the food, leading it to the king, and saying everything she said. The king, not allowing her to speak any more, ordered her to burn her with fire. The tormentor who began to bind that blessed wife, so as to throw her into the fire, began to cry as a little girl, and, seeing the king sitting, she came to him, full of tears, and stood behind his nose, praying for her mother, as much as she could. The king, receiving her into his bosom, spoke eloquently and kindly, and asked: “Who do you love more, us or your mother?” The boy answered: “I love my mother, and for this reason I came, I pray to you, that she may be allowed, and take me with her to torment, and often teach me to him.” The king asked: “What is torment, as you say?” The child, filled with the grace of God acting in him, answered the king: “It is torment to die for Christ, and then to live with Him.” The king asked: “Who is Christ?” The baby answered: “Come with me to church, and I will show you Him.” Paki, looking at his mother, cried to the king: “Leave me, let me go to my mother.” The king said: “Do not go to her, but stay with us, and I will give you apples and nuts and all kinds of red fruits.” This king spoke like a simple youth, thinking that he has the mind of a child. The youth answered: “I will not be with you, but I want to go to my mother; because I know that you are a Christian, and I came to pray for my mother, but you are a Jew, for this reason I do not want to be with you, less than from your hands.” accept me, just as I want, but let me go to my mother.” And the king marveled at such a mind existing in small adolescence. As a child, when you saw your mother being thrown into the fire, bite the king hard. The king, having fallen ill with the nobles, rejected him from himself and ordered him to be taken from the upcoming nobles, so that he would be raised Jewishly, in their law and rejection of Christ. He, having eaten as a boy, went into his tent, marveling at the meaning of the boy, and, meeting with a certain friend, a hundred, and the one who had told him about that boy. Standing not far from the fire, the holy mother of that child was thrown into it, and those who were talking to him, having burst forth as a child from the hands of his leader and flowing quickly, jumped into the fire, and, enveloping his burning mother in it, and she herself burned: and the mother and son became a sacrifice and burnt offering that was fragrant to God. Glory to God, who made such a small child wise! (October on the 24th day).

Children in Russkaya Orthodox Church glorified saints

Among the martyrs of all times, children occupy a certain place in the Orthodox calendar. Since the time of the Maccabean martyrs and the 14 thousand infants exterminated by Herod in Bethlehem, Orthodox piety has been especially loving towards children who have become victims of sudden violent death. In their case, sacrificial death was combined with the purity of their innocence. Thus, youths and infants who were not yet fully mature in the physical sense became the true “salt of the earth” and “light of the world.”
Hence the numbering of many infants and youths who were martyred for their faith by pagans in the first centuries of Christianity, as well as those who subsequently suffered from other faiths, heterodox and atheists, among the saints.
Bishop Seraphim of Belotserkovsk and Boguslavsky writes: “We have a solid example of the attitude of Jesus Christ towards children: “Do not hinder children from coming to Me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:14)... Children baptized in the Orthodox Church are component Church of Christ. Thus, from the history of the Orthodox Church we know child martyrs: the holy martyrs Faith, Hope and Love, who suffered at the age of 8, 10 and 12 years, the holy martyr Gabriel of Belostotsky, the martyr Tsarevich Dimitri... The prayer of such children works miracles, just like prayer great saints of God, who shone in their exploits.”
.Holy muchch. Theodore and his son John Varangians of Kyiv (983) - killed by pagan Kievites: at St. Theodore demanded his son, on whom the lot fell to be sacrificed to the pagan gods; when St. Theodore said: “I will not give my son to the demons,” the crowd killed both. First Martyrs of the Russian Church, commemorated July 12.
.St. much Georgy Ugrin (i.e. Hungarian) (1015) - youth, servant of St. passion-bearer Boris, killed for trying to protect his master from hired killers sent by the prince's brother, commemorated July 24.
.Blagov. knn. Theodore, Eupraxia and their son John the Child. Martyrs of Zaraisk (1237) - suffered from the Mongols during the Batu invasion, commemorated on December 21.
.St. much Demetrius the Child, Prince of Vladimir (1238) - burned by the Mongols during the assault on Vladimir along with other townspeople in the cathedral, memory of February 3.
.St. baby, unknown by name, from among the 72 St. martyrs, together with the presbyter St. Isidore victims (1472). The Master of the Livonian Order immediately after Epiphany, January 8 (21), 1472, ordered the priest and parishioners of the St. Nicholas Church in Yuryev (Tartu) to be thrown into the Omovzha River, the waters of which Father Isidore blessed on Epiphany. When the Catholic Germans drowned the martyrs for the confession of Orthodoxy in the very ice hole where they performed the Great Blessing of the Water on January 6, a three-year-old baby was taken away from his mother; then he began to scream, escaped from his tormentors, crawled to the ice hole, crossed himself and with the words “And I am Orthodox” rushed into the ice hole. Memory January 8.
.St. Blagov. Dimitri, Tsarevich of Moscow, Uglech passion-bearer (1591) - seven-year-old son of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, killed in Uglich. The murder, in fact, remained unsolved, and persistent popular rumors accusing Boris Godunov of the murder of Saint Demetrius, as well as rumors that the heir to the Russian Throne did not die, ultimately plunged Russia into the Time of Troubles. The holy passion-bearer was glorified by the Lord by the incorruption of his relics and numerous miracles. Memory of May 15 and October 19.
.St. right Glyceria the Virgin, Novgorod (c. 1522) - daughter of the headman of Legoschey Street in Novgorod, a pious virgin, died at a young age. In 1572, her incorruptible relics were found, commemorated on May 13.
.St. righteous Jacob, Borovichi (before 1540) - in 1540, in the village of Borovichi, Novgorod diocese, the incorruptible relics of an unknown youth were found. His name was revealed to some villagers in a dream vision, and miracles began from the relics. Memory October 23.
.St. righteous Artemy the youth, Verkolsky (1545), and his sister Paraskeva Piriminskaya - residents of the village of Verkola, Pinezhsky district, Arkhangelsk province. Right Artemy died from a lightning strike at the age of 12 during agricultural work, and his sister also died at a young age. Glorified by the Lord through the incorruption of relics and miracles. General memory October 20, separate memory of St. Artemy June 23.
.St. righteous Jacob and John youths, Menyuzhsky (c. 1566 - 1569) - siblings who died at the age of 5; Since ancient times they have been revered as passion-bearers, commemorated on June 24.
.St. Martyr John the Child, Uglechsky (1663) - a seven-year-old boy killed by an employee of his father, Uglich townsman Chepolosov, memory 25 June.
.St. much Gabriel the Child, Bialystoksky, Zabludovsky and Slutsky (1690) - a six-year-old boy, a victim of a ritual murder committed by a Jewish tenant and his accomplices, commemorated on April 20. One of the most “debated” Russian saints, whose holiness was repeatedly tried to be denied, but the Lord clearly glorified St. martyr by miracles and the incorruption of his relics. Born into a family of pious peasants, he grew up meek, gentle, and had a noticeable tendency toward contemplative solitude. In 1690, on April 11, Gabriel's mother brought her husband lunch in the field. The holiday of Holy Easter was approaching. At this time, a Jewish tenant climbed into the house, caressed the child and secretly took him to Bialystok, where the baby was tortured: he was crucified, his sides were pierced, gradually bleeding out. On the ninth day, the child died, he was thrown into a field at the edge of the forest near the village. The hungry dogs that found the body not only did not tear it to pieces, but even protected it from birds of prey. Hearing the barking of dogs, the villagers came, found the body of the martyr and recognized that the baby had died as a result of ritual murder. The body of the tortured Gabriel, with a large crowd of people, was buried near the temple. 30 years after the burial of the relics of St. Gabriel remained incorrupt. In 1746, the temple in which the baby was buried burned down, but the holy relics survived. The handle was partially burned, but when the holy relics were transferred to the monastery, the handle miraculously healed and was covered with skin again. St. Gabriel is considered a healer of children. In 1820, the baby Gabriel was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Righteous Mercury Child, Loginsky, Kaluga (XVII) - from the boyar family of the Kolychevs, a relative of the holy Metropolitan Philip II, is revered on Kaluga land for the miracles that occur through his intercession. He was not officially canonized, but was revered for a long time, as Saint Nikon of Optina testifies. Memory January 9.
.St. Martyr Eustathius the Youth, Crimean (1752) - a youth of 14 years old, confessed Christ before a Turkish judge in Cafe (now Feodosiya) and was beheaded, commemorated on May 10.
.St. Martyr John the Child, Beijing (1900) - the eight-year-old son of the first Orthodox priest of Chinese origin, St. holy martyr Mitrofan Ji Chun. On June 11, 1900, detachments of pagan Yihetuan entered Beijing. The wrath of the rebels fell largely on the Orthodox Chinese. During the Boxer Rebellion in China, the Yihetuan pagans captured St. John, and, mockingly, they called him “ermaoza” - the devil’s spawn, and when he answered: “I am a believer in God, not ermaoza,” they first cut off his toes, then chopped off his shoulders, and a few hours later they cut off his nose and ears, and when after that they discovered in him the strength of spirit and confession of the Orthodox faith, they killed him. Commemorated among the 222 holy martyrs who suffered in those days in China, June 11. Among them there are also children: Catherine, Muse, Sira, Thomas, Nikolai, Mark, Elena, Maria, Maria, Nina, Vasily, Agafia and those whose names remain unknown.
.St. Martyr Tsarevich Alexy, son of the last Russian Emperor St. Nicholas II and his wife St. Alexandra - tortured by the Bolsheviks along with his parents and sisters when he was 14 years old. Commemorated on July 4 and on the day of remembrance of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.

Children in the Russian Orthodox Church glorified as saints

Among the martyrs of all times, children occupy a certain place in the Orthodox calendar. Since the time of the Maccabean martyrs and the 14 thousand infants exterminated by Herod in Bethlehem, Orthodox piety has been especially loving towards children who have become victims of sudden violent death. In their case, sacrificial death was combined with the purity of their innocence. Thus, youths and infants who were not yet fully mature in the physical sense became the true “salt of the earth” and “light of the world.”
Hence the numbering of many infants and youths who were martyred for their faith by pagans in the first centuries of Christianity, as well as those who subsequently suffered from other faiths, heterodox and atheists, among the saints.
Bishop Seraphim of Belotserkovsky and Boguslavsky writes: “We have a solid example of the attitude of Jesus Christ towards children: “Do not hinder children from coming to Me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:14) ... Children baptized in the Orthodox Church are an integral part of the Church of Christ . Thus, from the history of the Orthodox Church we know child martyrs: the holy martyrs Faith, Hope and Love, who suffered at the age of 8, 10 and 12 years, the holy martyr Gabriel of Belostotsky, the martyr Tsarevich Dimitri... The prayer of such children works miracles, just like prayer great saints of God, who shone in their exploits.”
Holy muchch. Theodore and his son John Varangians of Kyiv (983) - killed by pagan Kievites: at St. Theodore demanded his son, on whom the lot fell to be sacrificed to the pagan gods; when St. Theodore said: “I will not give my son to the demons,” the crowd killed both. First Martyrs of the Russian Church, commemorated July 12.
St. torment. Georgy Ugrin (i.e. Hungarian) (1015) – youth, servant of St. passion-bearer Boris, killed for trying to protect his master from hired killers sent by the prince's brother, commemorated July 24.
Blagov. knn. Theodore, Eupraxia and their son John the Child. Martyrs of Zaraisk (1237) - suffered from the Mongols during Batu's invasion, commemorated on December 21.
St. torment. Demetrius the Child, Prince of Vladimir (1238) - burned by the Mongols during the assault on Vladimir along with other townspeople in the cathedral, memory of February 3.
Holy Child, unknown by name, from among the 72 saints. martyrs, together with the presbyter St. Isidore victims (1472). The Master of the Livonian Order immediately after Epiphany, January 8 (21), 1472, ordered the priest and parishioners of the St. Nicholas Church in Yuryev (Tartu) to be thrown into the Omovzha River, the waters of which Father Isidore blessed on Epiphany. When the Catholic Germans drowned the martyrs for the confession of Orthodoxy in the very ice hole where they performed the Great Blessing of the Water on January 6, a three-year-old baby was taken away from his mother; then he began to scream, escaped from his tormentors, crawled to the ice hole, crossed himself and with the words “And I am Orthodox” rushed into the ice hole. Memory January 8.
St. Blagov. Dimitri, Tsarevich of Moscow, Uglech Passion-Bearer (1591) - seven-year-old son of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, killed in Uglich. The murder, in fact, remained unsolved, and persistent popular rumors accusing Boris Godunov of the murder of Saint Demetrius, as well as rumors that the heir to the Russian Throne did not die, ultimately plunged Russia into the Time of Troubles. The holy passion-bearer was glorified by the Lord by the incorruption of his relics and numerous miracles. Memory of May 15 and October 19.
St. rights Glykeria the Virgin, Novgorod (c. 1522) - daughter of the headman of Legoschey Street in Novgorod, a pious virgin, died at a young age. In 1572, her incorruptible relics were found, commemorated on May 13.
Holy Righteous Jacob, Borovichi (before 1540) - in 1540, in the village of Borovichi, Novgorod diocese, the incorruptible relics of an unknown youth were found. His name was revealed to some villagers in a dream vision, and miracles began from the relics. Memory October 23.
The holy righteous Artemy the youth, Verkolsky (1545), and his sister Paraskeva Piriminskaya are residents of the village of Verkola, Pinezhsky district, Arkhangelsk province. Right Artemy died from a lightning strike at the age of 12 during agricultural work, and his sister also died at a young age. Glorified by the Lord through the incorruption of relics and miracles. General memory October 20, separate memory of St. Artemy June 23.
Holy righteous James and John the youths of Menuge (c. 1566 - 1569) - siblings who died at the age of 5; Since ancient times they have been revered as passion-bearers, commemorated on June 24.
St. Martyr John the Child, Uglechsky (1663) - a seven-year-old boy killed by an employee of his father, Uglich townsman Chepolosov, memory 25 June.
St. torment. Gabriel the Child, Bialystoksky, Zabludovsky and Slutsky (1690) - a six-year-old boy, a victim of a ritual murder committed by a Jewish tenant and his accomplices, commemorated on April 20. One of the most “debated” Russian saints, whose holiness was repeatedly tried to be denied, but the Lord clearly glorified St. martyr by miracles and the incorruption of his relics. Born into a family of pious peasants, he grew up meek, gentle, and had a noticeable tendency toward contemplative solitude. In 1690, on April 11, Gabriel's mother brought her husband lunch in the field. The holiday of Holy Easter was approaching. At this time, a Jewish tenant climbed into the house, caressed the child and secretly took him to Bialystok, where the baby was tortured: he was crucified, his sides were pierced, gradually bleeding out. On the ninth day, the child died, he was thrown into a field at the edge of the forest near the village. The hungry dogs that found the body not only did not tear it to pieces, but even protected it from birds of prey. Hearing the barking of dogs, the villagers came, found the body of the martyr and recognized that the baby had died as a result of ritual murder. The body of the tortured Gabriel, with a large crowd of people, was buried near the temple. 30 years after the burial of the relics of St. Gabriel remained incorrupt. In 1746, the temple in which the baby was buried burned down, but the holy relics survived. The handle was partially burned, but when the holy relics were transferred to the monastery, the handle miraculously healed and was covered with skin again. St. Gabriel is considered a healer of children. In 1820, the baby Gabriel was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Righteous Mercury Child, Loginsky, Kaluga (XVII) - from the boyar family of the Kolychevs, a relative of the holy Metropolitan Philip II, is revered on Kaluga land for the miracles that occur through his intercession. He was not officially canonized, but was revered for a long time, as Saint Nikon of Optina testifies. Memory January 9.
St. Martyr Eustathius the Youth, Crimean (1752) - a youth of 14 years old, confessed Christ before a Turkish judge in Cafe (now Feodosia) and was beheaded, commemorated on May 10.
St. Martyr John the Child, Beijing (1900) - the eight-year-old son of the first Orthodox priest of Chinese origin, St. holy martyr Mitrofan Ji Chun. On June 11, 1900, detachments of pagan Yihetuan entered Beijing. The wrath of the rebels fell largely on the Orthodox Chinese. During the Boxer Rebellion in China, the Yihetuan pagans captured St. John, and, mockingly, they called him “ermaoza” - the devil’s spawn, and when he answered: “I am a believer in God, not ermaoza,” they first cut off his toes, then chopped off his shoulders, and a few hours later they cut off his nose and ears, and when after that they discovered in him the strength of spirit and confession of the Orthodox faith, they killed him. Commemorated among the 222 holy martyrs who suffered in those days in China, June 11. Among them there are also children: Catherine, Muse, Sira, Thomas, Nikolai, Mark, Elena, Maria, Maria, Nina, Vasily, Agathia and those whose names remain unknown.
Holy Martyr Tsarevich Alexy, son of the last Russian Emperor, St. Nicholas II and his wife St. Alexandra – tortured by the Bolsheviks along with his parents and sisters when he was 14 years old. Commemorated on July 4 and on the day of remembrance of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.