TODAY WE CELEBRATE SAINT JANUARIUS: It is believed he resurrected the dead, and miracles occur at his grave!

The Serbian Orthodox Church and its faithful today celebrate the day dedicated to the Holy Hieromartyr Januarius.

During the persecution of Christians under the pagan emperors Diocletian and Maximian, the Bishop of Campania in Italy, Januarius, was brought before the governor of Campania, Timothy. The governor first tried with flattery and then with threats to win him over to idolatry. But when he saw that Bishop Januarius was as steadfast as a pillar in the Christian faith, the governor ordered him to be thrown into a fiery furnace. But the holy martyr, like the Three Young Men in the Babylonian furnace of old, stood unharmed in the midst of the flames, singing and glorifying God, for the Angel of God descended to him and cooled the fire with an invisible dew.

And when he came out of the furnace, everyone was astonished to see that the fire had not even touched his clothes. And the governor, considering that the Christian bishop had been preserved from the fire by some magic, became even more enraged and ordered the martyr to be stretched on the rack so violently that his joints cracked, and then to be beaten without mercy. After stretching the martyr in this way, they scraped his body with iron brushes until his bones turned white, and the earth was soaked with blood. Among the people stood Deacon Faust and Reader Diziderius, watching the sufferings of their bishop. And on the one hand, they rejoiced in spirit because of his heroic endurance, and on the other hand, they wept because of his bitter torments. And when the veins of the saint were cut, they cried out loudly. By this they were recognized as Christians. Therefore, the pagans seized both of them, bound them together with the holy martyr Januarius, and brought them before the governor to the city of Potioli, and there threw them into prison. In the same prison were also the deacons of Potioli, Proclus and Sosius, and two simple Christian men, Eutychius and Acutius, for the sake of Christ.

FIND OUT MORE:

The next day, all seven were brought out and thrown to the wild beasts. But God, who glorifies Himself in His saints, closed the mouths of the beasts, as He once did for Daniel in the den, and the beasts did not touch them, but all came meekly like sheep and fell at the feet of the holy bishop. This supernatural miracle astonished and frightened all the onlookers. But the governor attributed this divine power to Christian magic as well, and considered how he might put the holy man of God and those with him to death. While he was thus struggling with this, he suddenly went blind and asked for a guide. And the innocent saint and martyr of Christ, Januarius, prayed to God for his enemy, Governor Timothy, and he immediately regained his sight. He regained his physical sight, but not his spiritual sight.
Of the spectators who witnessed these miracles, five thousand people believed in Christ.

And the ungrateful and hard-hearted governor, although healed of his sudden blindness by the prayers of the martyrs, not only did not recognize the truth, but became even more frenzied. For, instead of offering thanks to the true God – Christ our Lord, he began to blaspheme against Him. And furious that so many people had converted to Christ, he ordered the holy martyrs to be beheaded with the sword.

And so the holy man of God, the hieromartyr Januarius, and his fellow sufferers: the deacons Faust, Proclus, Sosius, the reader Diziderius, Eutychius, and Acutius, were beheaded with the sword outside the city of Potioli, and received the crowns of martyrdom.

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by SERBIAN TIMES & Serbian News (@serbian.times)

And the bodies of the holy martyrs were taken by the nearby cities, each one body, so that they might have their intercessors before God. The body of the hieromartyr Januarius was taken by the Christians of the city of Naples, secretly transferred to their city, and honorably laid in the church. When the body of Saint Januarius was taken in the city of Potioli, the Christians collected his congealed blood from the ground in a glass vessel and kept it honorably. And whenever they placed it near the martyr’s head, it would immediately liquefy and become as fluid as if it had just been shed. To this day, countless miracles have been manifested at the grave of this saint. One of them is this: Once when Mount Vesuvius began to erupt with fire and mighty lava, threatening both nearby and distant settlements, the people took refuge at the grave of the holy hieromartyr Januarius, and with tears invoked his help. And immediately at his prayers, the volcano ceased its activity and caused no damage.

This extraordinary miracle should also be mentioned: The only son of a widow named Maximilla died, and she wept inconsolably over him. In her sorrow, she did this: remembering how in the Old Testament the holy prophet Elisha miraculously resurrected the son of the Shunamite woman, she took down the icon of the holy Bishop Januarius made of wood, which hung above the church door, placed it on her dead son, eyes to eyes, mouth to mouth, body to body, and began to pray to the saint with all her heart, with tears and sobbing, saying: Servant of God, have mercy on me and comfort me in my grief: resurrect my son, my only son!

When she prayed in this way, the boy immediately came to life and stood up healthy. And all who had come for the funeral were amazed at this glorious miracle, and glorified and thanked God, who works wonderful deeds through His saints, and offered gratitude to the holy martyr Januarius as a swift helper.

Therefore, it is very important to say the following prayer on this day, because it is believed that a miracle will then occur:

“Through his holy prayers, may the Lord show us His mercy forever, amen.”