Born in Tuscany, St. Martin was educated with Church doctrine and joined the clergy of the Church of Rome. As a priest Fr. Martin represented the See of Rome in Constantinople. After the death of Pope Theodore I in 649, Martin was chosen to succeed him. He appointed John, bishop of Philadelphia (Amman) to be Administrator of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem after the death of Patriarch Sophrónios, who had died in 638. Martin, as Pope, justified this appointment "by the apostolic power which came to him from Jesus Christ through St. Peter."
During his papacy, the Monothelite heresy began to question Church doctrine. The heresy advanced the teaching that Christ had two natures but one will, contrary to the Orthodox position that he had two wills - human and divine. The heretics were able to find adherents in high levels of society, such as Emperor Constans (641–668) and Patriarch Paul of Constantinople (641–654). Emperor Constans even published a book entitled "Pattern of Faith" that all people were forced to read. The book supported the heresy. When St. Martin read the book, he staunchly supported Orthodoxy and even convened the Lateran Council at Rome in order to condemn the Monothelite heresy.
When the emperor learned this, he sent a military commander to kill the pope. Since the commander was too scared to assassinate the pope himself, he hired someone to perform the deed. The hired assassin became blinded upon approaching St. Martin and was unable to kill him. The military commander fled from Rome in fear and soon died in battle.
The emperor continued his pursuit to eliminate the saint by hiring another military commander to accuse him of heresy. Unable to dethrone the pope on these claims, the commander resorted to capturing St. Martin at night and bringing him to the island of Naxos in the Aegean Sea in the year 654. During the course of a year on this small, scarcely populated island, St. Martin was starved and abused by prison guards.
The saint was brought to trial, weak and ill from the abuses he endured in prison, and stood against false witnesses who claimed he was treasonous to another group of peoples. The judge condemned the saint without hearing his defense. Unable to bare the tortures anymore, the saint said, "The Lord knows what a great kindness you would show me if you would deliver me quickly over to death." Many believed the false witnesses and jeered him as he was brought to prison, while those who believed the saint were not able to bear seeing him so humiliated and fled in tears. The saint was to be deposed from his rank and executed.
When Emperor Constans reported this to Patriarch Paul, the patriarch realized the faults of his ways and ordered for the torments to stop. St. Martin boldly declined the patriarch's request, not wanting to adhere to the Church of Constantinople since it was still under heretical doctrine. His death sentence to exile was carried out at Chersón in the Crimea. Saint Martin died due to hunger and sickness on September 16, 655.
VARIOUS QUOTES FROM THE LOVERS OF GOD “But now that the Savior has raised His Body, death is no longer terrible, but all those who believe in Christ tread it underfoot as nothing, and prefer to die rather than to deny their faith in Christ, knowing full well that when they die they do not perish, but live indeed, and become incorruptible through the Resurrection.”
Saint Athanasios the Great
“Oh if you only knew what joy, what sweetness awaits a righteous Soul in Heaven!”
Saint Seraphim of Sarov
“All my hope is in God’s Mercy.”
Saint Ephrem the Syrian
“Our grief over the death of our close ones would be inconsolable and boundless if the Lord had not given us Eternal Life. Our life would be meaningless if it ended with death. What benefit, then, would there be from virtue or good deeds? They would be right who say, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!’ But man was created for immortality.”
Saint John Maximovich
“God takes each person at the very best time of his life, in a particular manner, in order to save his Soul.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
“If God has taught you a Spiritual knowledge of created beings, you will not doubt the words of Scripture concerning the Blessings held in store.”
Saint Thalassios the Libyan
“Strive to be united first with the Lord, and then with the Saints, so that after death they may receive you as familiar friends into the everlasting dwellings.”
Saint Anthony the Great
“Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and to those in the tombs, He is bestowing life.”
Paschal Troparion
TO PONGER: The photo below was included in yesterday's PARAGON (Tuesday April 25 ns).
If you believe the words of our Lord, then you know that you are a transient in this world BUT you are filled with joy, hope and anticipation of a glorified self in Paradise or, you may have had a taste of it already.
Honor Christ in any saint, and he or she will grant you a taste of the Kingdom of Paradise and you will know that the beauty of this world cannot compare to that of the next which includes the repentant sons of Adam.
So there is no need to be without faith, hope and love at the departure of youth, beauty and strength and the arrival of weakness and wrinkles.
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