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Tuesday, May 2, 2006
SUFFERING FOR CHRIST KNOWS NO AGE LIMIT!
On the cover of today's church bulletin, we see a saint who suffered martyrdom at the age of 113! The Priest-Martyr CHARALAMPOS lived in the town of Magnesia in Asia Minor in the 2nd century. He humbly served the Lord his entire life -- first as a parish priest and later as a bishop. At a time when Charalampos was content to live out his life peacefully, the Emperor launched a series of brutal persecutions of Christians. The aged bishop refused to hide from the persecutors. Instead, he openly preached Christ's Gospel, even after being arrested and ordered to denounce Him.
Charalampos was forced to endure tortures that are almost too terrible to describe. He was tied to a post and lashed repeatedly with knives. He was dragged through the streets by his beard. To the dismay of his persecutors, Charalampos not only survived all this, but he responded with these words: "THANK YOU, MY BROTERS, FOR SCRAPING OFF THE OLD BODY AND RENEWING MY SOUL FOR ETERNAL LIFE".
Seeing that the example of the bravery of Charalampos was actually WINNING converts rather than DISCOURAGING them, the Emperor ordered Charalampos to be executed by beheading. Miraculously, the saintly bishop died only minutes prior to his appointed execution. It is said that the two men commissioned to carry out this sentence became Christians after witnessing the blessed manner in which Charalampos was called to his eternal home.
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