The Holy Seven Maccabees, their Mother Solomone and their Teacher Eleazar as Models for our Lives

(Feast Day - August 1)

 

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

The holy seven Maccabean martyrs lived and were martyred before the incarnation of the Son and Word of God, but the holy hymn writer calls them, apart from "guardians of the doctrines of the law", also "martyrs of Christ", that is, of the Incarnate Word. And he calls them so, because these martyrs also had communion with the Son and Word of God, since all the appearances of God in the Old Testament, namely to the Patriarchs, the Prophets and the Righteous, are appearances of the Pre-Incarnate Word.

These, then, the seven martyrs lived in the years of the Syrian king Antiochus, who was a cruel, barbaric and deadly persecutor of all those who worshiped the true God. Therefore, this ungodly king, after first arresting, torturing and killing their ninety-year-old teacher Eleazar, who remained steadfast in his faith and teaching on the exact observance of God's law, then arrested them as well. At first he treated them with feigned kindness, offering them honors and positions, if they would deny their faith in the God of their Fathers. In fact, he offered them delicious food, which, however, was forbidden by the law given by God to His people, through the Prophet Moses, and insisted that they try it. They refused and then Antiochus showed his true face, the cruel and inhuman one. He had each of them, one by one, endure wheels, javelins and fire. Their mother Solomone was constantly near them and strengthened them, and then followed them in martyrdom. She was also thrown into the fire and thus everyone received the unfading wreath of martyrdom.

The Chapel of Saint Solomone With the Sea Turtle Located at the Base of Mount Olympus

Litochoro is a town located at the base of Mount Olympus, on the western shore of the Thermaic Gulf. "Hidden" in the picturesque alleys of Litochoro, the small Chapel of Saint Solomone is really very small for the great history it carries. There are many features and peculiarities that make it unique. The magnificent frescoes inside, which testify to the antiquity of the building. Its history and contribution during the years of Ottoman rule as a secret school. Saint Solomone to whom it is dedicated, is a Saint who is not widely known. And finally, the shell of the sea turtle, which is in a showcase of the Narthex. These make it one of the most remarkable chapels of the wider area. For all these reasons, it has been designated since 1992 as a historical monument, by decision of the Ministry of Culture (ΦΕΚ461/Β/15-6-92).

The Cult of the Maccabees in the Eastern Orthodox Church

Oration 15: On the Maccabees (St. Gregory the Theologian)

Homily on the Holy Maccabees and their Mother (St. John Chrysostom)

Homily on the Holy Maccabees and their Mother

By St. John Chrysostom

1. How bright and festive is our city and how more brilliant this day than the rest of the year, not because the sun is today sending to the earth rays that are more visible than usual, but because the holy martyrs’ light is lighting up our city well beyond any lightning flash. For they are more brilliant than ten thousand suns and more visible than the major stars. Because of them today the earth is more majestic than heaven. Please don’t mention the dust, nor think about the ash, nor the bones that have been consumed by time, but open wide the eyes of faith and see God’s power that accompanies them, the that surrounds them. The rays sent from the sun’s orbit to the earth are not of the same type as the flashes and glitters that bound forth from these bodies and blind the very eyes of the Devil. For just as when the leaders of gangs of thieves and grave-robbers see imperial weaponry lying casually around—a chest-plate or shield or helmet, gleaming all over with gold—they immediately jump back and dare neither to approach nor to touch, suspecting great danger if they were to dare anything of the sort; so too, in fact, wherever the demons, the true leaders of gangs of thieves, see martyrs’ bodies lying around, they flee and immediately jump back. For they don’t have regard to their interim mortal nature, but to the ineffable dignity of Christ who wore them. After all, these weapons no angel, no archangel, no other created power has put on, except the Master of angels himself. And just as Paul proclaimed as follows: “Do you seek proof of Christ who speaks in me?” (II Cor 13.3), so they too can proclaim and say: “Do you seek proof of Christ who competed in us?” For their bodies are precious, since they received blows for their very own Master’s sake, since they bear identifying marks because of Christ. Indeed, just as an imperial crown decorated all over with a diverse array of gems emit different flashes of light, so too the holy martyrs’ bodies, since they are marked with wounds, like precious gems, for Christ’s sake, appear more valuable and majestic than any imperial diadem.

Seven Maccabees Resource Page

Holy Seven Maccabees (Feast Day - August 1)

 

Synaxarion of the Holy Seven Maccabean Martyrs

 

The Holy Seven Maccabees, their Mother Solomone and their Teacher Eleazar as Models for our Lives

 

August: Day 1: Teaching 4: The Holy Maccabean Martyrs 

 

On Martyrdom and the Maccabees (St. Cyprian of Carthage)

 

Oration 15: On the Maccabees (St. Gregory the Theologian)

  

The Maccabees as Christian Martyrs (St. Gregory the Theologian)

  

Homily on the Holy Maccabees and their Mother (St. John Chrysostom)

 

The Fasting Maccabees (Demetrios Panagopoulos)

 

Homily on the Holy Seven Maccabees - Our Faith is True (Metr. Augoustinos Kantiotes)

The Cult of the Maccabees in the Eastern Orthodox Church

  

The Search for the Tomb of the Maccabees

  

The Incorrupt Relics of Saint Solomone

 

Euphemia, Theophano and Solomone

The Chapel of Saint Solomone With the Sea Turtle Located at the Base of Mount Olympus

 

The Intercessions of the Departed Saints 

 

There Ought To Be No Contradiction Between Our Public and Private Virtues

 

Greeks, Jews & Hanukkah - A Story That Still Needs To Be Told
 

Protestant Myths About the Deuterocanonical Old Testament Books