Artemy in Orthodoxy. Artemia name day

About the holy martyr Artemius, ancient legends say that he was from a noble Roman family, had the title of senator, and under the emperor Constantius was in charge of all the royal property.

Artemy began his service under Constantine the Great, in the troops of this pious emperor. When, together with Constantine, he had to see the miraculous sign of the holy cross in heaven, he established himself in the Christian faith and became a faithful servant of Emperor Constantine and his household.

After the death of Constantine, he always stayed with his son, Constance 2, as his best friend, and the king gave him the most honorable assignments. So, when Constantius learned from one bishop that the bodies of Christ's apostles Andrew and Luke were buried in Achaia 3, he instructed Artemius to transfer these precious treasures to Constantinople. Artemius, fulfilling the royal command, with great honors transferred the relics of the holy apostles to the reigning city, and for this he received from the king a promotion, which he was quite worthy: it was the king who made him a dux and augulus 4 of Egypt, and Artemius lived there, pleasing God. Spreading the honor and glory of the name of Jesus Christ, he overthrew and crushed many idols in Egypt.

When the king Constantius, the son of Constantine the Great, died, the impious apostate Julian 5 took over the power over the entire Roman Empire, who had previously secretly, but now openly rejected our Lord Jesus Christ and openly began to worship idols. He sent a decree to all the countries of his kingdom, eastern and western, that those churches that in the reign of Constantine the Great were taken away by Christians from the pagans should now be given back to the pagans; at the same time, he ordered in these temples to put idols again and make sacrifices to the gods.

Thus, this impious king restored polytheism everywhere, which had fallen under the holy Emperor Constantine, but subjected Christians to severe oppression, torturing and killing them, plundering their property and spewing blasphemy against the holy name of Jesus Christ.

In order to humiliate Christianity, the wicked Julian, taking from the shrine the bones of the holy prophet Elisey and the relics of the holy John the Baptist - except for his honest head and right hand, which lay in Sebaste - and mixing them with the bones of animals and wicked people, burned them, and scattered the ashes over air; the Christians collected those ashes and bones from the burning and kept them in a place of honor.

Then he learned that in the city of Paneades 6 there is a statue of Christ the Savior, arranged by a bleeding woman who was healed by touching the edge of Christ's robes (Matt. 9:20). The king overthrew this statue and ordered it to be dragged across the square until it was all broken; only one Christian stole the head of this statue and kept it. In the place where this statue stood, the king ordered to put his statue, which, however, was broken by a lightning strike.

Gathering a large army, the impious Julian decided to go against the Persians, and during this campaign, having arrived in Antioch, he raised here, according to his custom, persecution of the Church of Christ, killing the believers.

At that time, two presbyters of Antioch, Eugene and Macarius, were brought to him, men of learning. With them, Julian argued for a long time about the gods, citing various words of pagan Greek writers to prove his impious thoughts, but he could not force the boda-speaking lips of the wise elders to silence; on the contrary, he himself was struck down by them, put to shame, and convicted of ungodliness. Unable to bear his disgrace, Julian ordered the saints to be beaten mercilessly, having first exposed them, and Eugene was given five hundred blows, and Macarius without number.

When these saints were subjected to severe torments, at that time the great Artemy happened to be at the place of execution. Hearing that Julian had reigned, and that he was going on a campaign against the Persians - in view of which a decree was sent to him to arrive with all his troops in Antioch - Artemius came here with his troops, paid Julian the respect due to the king, offering him with these gifts, and stood near the king at the time when the holy confessors, Eugene and Macarius, were being tortured. Hearing how the wicked Julian blasphemed the Lord Jesus Christ with his filthy lips, Artemy was filled with jealousy and, going up to the king, said:

“Why do you, sir, so inhumanly torture innocent and consecrated men and force them to depart from the Orthodox faith?” Know that you, too, are a weak man; even if God has made you king, you can still be tempted by the devil; I think that the first culprit of evil is the evil devil. Just as he once asked God for permission to tempt Job 7 and received it, so he raised you up against us and brought against us, so that with your hands he could destroy Christ's wheat and sow his tares. But his efforts are in vain and his strength is insignificant; for since the Lord came and the cross was erected, on which Christ was lifted up, demonic pride has fallen and demonic power has been crushed. So, do not deceive yourself, king, and do not persecute, in the pleasing of demons, the God-protected Christian people. Know that the strength and power of Christ is invincible and irresistible.

Hearing this, Julian was inflamed with anger and shouted with a loud voice:

Who and where is this wicked man who so boldly addresses us and dares to insult us to our face?

Those who came to the king answered:

- Tsar! This is dux and Augustal of Alexandria.

- How? - said the king, - is this vile Artemy, who participated in the killing of my brother Gallus 8?

“Yes, sovereign tsar, it is he,” those present answered.

The king said:

- I have to thank the immortal gods, and most of all the Daphnian Apollo 9, because they betrayed me into the hands of this enemy, who himself came here. So let this wicked one be stripped of his dignity; let them remove the belt from him 10 and now subject him to punishment, and tomorrow, if the gods please, I will pronounce judgment on him for the murder of my brother. I will avenge innocent blood on him and destroy him not with one execution, but with many executions, for he shed the blood of not an ordinary person, but royal.

When the king said this, his squires immediately took Artemy and, having removed from him the military commander's belt and other signs of dignity, they stood him naked. And the saint was given into the hands of the executioners, who, having tied his hands and feet, stretched him on four sides 11, and beat him on the back and belly with ox sinews for so long that four pairs of executioners were replaced from fatigue. But the saint showed truly superhuman patience, and seemed to everyone as if completely insensible: he did not emit a single sound, did not groan, did not make a single movement and did not show any sign of suffering, as people who endure torment usually show. The earth became drunk with his blood, and he remained unshakable, so that everyone was surprised at him, even the wicked Julian himself. Then the tsar ordered them to stop beating him, and the saint was taken to prison with the holy martyrs Eugene and Macarius. The martyrs at this time sang: “You tested us, God, melted us down, as silver is melted down. You led us into a network, put shackles on our loins, put a man on our head. We entered into fire and water, and You brought us out to freedom "(Ps.65:10-12) 12 .

Having finished singing, Artemy said to himself:

- Artemy, here are the plagues of Christ inscribed on your body - it remains for you to give your very soul for Christ with the blood remaining in you; and he remembered the prophetic word: I gave my back to the strikers and my cheeks to the smiters"(Is.50:6) 13. But did I suffer, unworthy, - he said, - more than my Lord? He was covered with wounds all over his body: from the feet to the head there was no healthy place in Him, His head was I was pierced with thorns, my hands and feet were nailed to the cross for my sins, while He Himself knew no sin and did not even say a single unrighteous word. I rejoice and rejoice, because I am adorned with the sufferings of my Lord: this eases my sufferings. I thank You, Master, for having crowned me with Your sufferings! I pray You, bring me to the end on the path of confession; do not let me to be unworthy of this feat that I have begun; for I have placed my hope in Your bounties, most good Lord, Lover of mankind!

Thus, having prayed within himself, the saint reached the dungeon and remained there for the whole night together with Saints Eugene and Macarius, glorifying God.

When morning came, Julian the Apostate again commanded the martyrs to appear at the judgment seat, and here, without interrogation, he separated them: he left Artemius with him, while he sent Eugene and Macarius to prison in Oasimus of Arabia. That country is extremely unhealthy: disastrous winds blow there, and none of those who come there can survive more than a year, because they will certainly fall into a fierce disease, ending in death. And so, Saints Eugene and Macarius, being sent there, after some time reached a blessed end, 15 while Saint Artemy endured many sufferings. But first, Julian, like a wolf putting on a sheep's skin, meekly, as if condoling with Artemy and pitying him, began to say this:

- By your reckless insolence, you forced me, Artemy, to dishonor your old age and damage your health, which I regret. Now I ask you, come and offer a sacrifice to the gods, first of all to the Daphnian god, Apollo, who is especially revered by me. If you do this, then I will forgive you the crime against my brother and reward you with an even more glorious and honorable dignity: I will make you the high priest of 16 great gods and the head of the priests of the whole universe; I will call you my father, and you will be the second person after me in my kingdom. You, Artemy, you yourself know that my brother, Gallus, innocently, out of envy alone, was put to death by Constantius. Our family had more right to the throne than the family of Constantine, for my father, Constantius, was born to my grandfather, Constantius, from the daughter of Maximian, while Constantine was born from Helen, a woman of a simple rank. In addition, my grandfather was not yet Caesar when he had a son from Helen, and my father was born to him when he had already ascended the throne. But Constantine boldly stole the royal power. His son, Constantius, killed my father and his brothers, recently killed my brother, Gallus. He wanted to kill me too, but the gods saved me from his hands. In hope of them, I renounced Christianity and turned towards the Hellenic religion; I know well that the Greek and Roman faith is the most ancient faith, while the Christian one appeared recently, and Constantine accepted it, rejecting the ancient and good Roman rules of life, only out of his ignorance and foolishness. And the gods hated him as impious and unworthy of their trust. The gods hated and rejected him from themselves, and his wicked offspring were destroyed from among the living 18. Am I telling the truth, Artemy? You are an old and wise man - judge whether I am telling the truth? So, recognize the truth and be ours, for I want you to be my friend and helper in managing the kingdom.

Hearing this and after a little hesitation, Saint Artemy began to speak like this:

- First of all, regarding your brother, I will tell you, king, that I am innocent of his death - and in general I have never harmed him by deed or word; no matter how much you investigate, you will not prove in any way that I was responsible for his death. I knew that he was a true Christian, pious and obedient to the law of Christ. May heaven and earth and the whole countenance of the holy angels and my Lord Jesus Christ, whom I serve, know that I am innocent of the murder of your brother and did not assist his murderers in any way. I was not with King Constantius at the time when there was a discussion about your brother: all the time until this year I remained in Egypt. And to your proposal that I renounce Christ, my Savior, I will answer you with the words of the three youths who were under Nebuchadnezzar (Dan.3:18): let it be known to you, king, that I do not serve your gods and the golden image I will never bow to you, dear Apollo. You humiliated the blessed Constantine and his family, calling him an enemy of the gods and a foolish man. But he was converted to Christ from your gods, through a special call from above. About this you listen to me, as a witness to this event. When we went to war against the fierce tormentor and bloodthirsty Maxentius 19, around noon a cross appeared in the sky, shining brighter than the sun, and on that cross the Latin words were depicted with stars, promising Constantine victory. We all saw that cross that appeared in heaven and read what was written on it. And now there are still many old warriors in the army who remember well what they clearly saw with their own eyes. Find out if you want, and you'll see that I'm telling the truth. But why am I talking about this? Christ was foretold long before His coming by the prophets, as you yourself well know. There are many testimonies that He really came to earth, and even your very gods often prophesied about the coming of Christ, the Sibylline books and Virgil spoke about the same thing.

And the saint spoke further about how the demons often living in idols, being compelled by the power of God, against their will, confessed Christ as the true God. Julian, unable to bear the truthful speeches of Artemy, ordered to strip the martyr and pierce his sides with red-hot awls, and plunge sharp tridents into his back. Artemy, as before, as if not feeling any pain, did not cry out, and did not let out any groan, being marvelously patient in suffering. After these tortures, Julian again sent him to prison, ordering him to starve and thirst, and he himself went to a place called Daphne to offer sacrifices to his god Apollo and questioned him about the outcome of his war against the Persians. He stayed there for a long time, every day sacrificing a large number of animals to the bad Apollo, but still did not receive the desired answer. For the demon, who was in the idol of Apollo and gave answers to people, fell silent from the time when the relics of St. Babyla (bishop and martyr of Antioch) were transferred to that place along with the remains of three babies who suffered with Babyla 22. So Apollo did not answer Julian. When the king found out, after a long investigation, that Apollo was speechless because the relics of Babyla were laid not far from him, he immediately ordered the Christians to take the relics from there; but as soon as the holy relics were taken from their place, fire from heaven fell on the temple of Apollo and burned it together with the idol that was in it.

Artemy, while in prison, was visited by the Lord Himself and His holy angels. When Artemy was praying, Christ appeared to him and said:

- Courage Artemy! I am with you and will deliver you from all the pain that the tormentors have caused you, and I am already preparing for you a crown of glory. For just as you have confessed me before people on earth, so I will confess you before my Father in heaven. So be of good courage and rejoice: you will be with Me in My Kingdom.

Hearing this from the Lord, the martyr immediately began to glorify Him; not a single wound or sore remained on his holy body, his soul was filled with divine comfort, and he sang and blessed God. And meanwhile, since he was thrown into prison, he ate nothing and drank nothing, and so it continued until his death. Artemy was nourished from above, by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Returning in shame from his sacrifices, Julian laid the blame for the burning of the temple of Apollo on the Christians, saying that it was they who set it on fire at night, and, having taken away the holy churches from the Christians, turned them into idol temples and began to inflict great oppression on the Christians. Ordering then to bring Artemy from the dungeon to him, he said to him:

- You, of course, heard what happened in Daphne - how wicked Christians set fire to the temple of the great god Apollo and destroyed his beautiful image. But let not the wicked rejoice at this, let them not laugh at us, for I will repay seventy times seven times for this, as you say 23.

Saint Artemy answered:

- I heard that, by the permission of an angry God, fire descended from heaven destroyed your god and burned his temple. But if your Apollo was a god, how did he not rid himself of fire?

The king said:

- And you, unhappy, laugh and rejoice at the burning of Apollo?

“I laugh at your madness,” replied Artemy, “that you serve such a god who could not save himself from the fire.” How can he deliver you from eternal fire? I take comfort in his fall and rejoice in all that miraculously works my Christ. And if you boast of repaying seventy times seven times the innocent and the Christians who did no harm to you, then you will receive for this when you are cast into unquenchable fire and eternal torment, which will soon come to you. For your destruction is already near, and soon your memory will perish with a noise 24 .

The tormentor, angry, ordered the masons to cut one large stone and then push it from above onto Artemy, who was tied up and placed on a stone slab under this stone. When this was done, the whole body of the martyr was covered with a stone that fell on him and crushed him so much that he broke all his bones; His entrails fell out, the body structures broke and the eyeballs came out of their places. And what a great miracle! Being flattened between the stones, the saint remained alive and called on God, his Helper, and spoke in the words of David:

– "He raised me to a rock that is inaccessible to me, for You are my refuge, You are a strong defense against the enemy."(Ps.60:3-4) 25." He set my feet on a rock and established my steps"(Ps.39:3) 26. Now accept, O Only Begotten, my spirit, for You know my plight, and do not leave me in the hands of the enemy.

Thus, being crushed by a stone, the saint spent a whole day. Then Julian ordered the stone to be removed, considering the saint already dead, but the saint, to everyone's surprise, turned out to be alive and, getting up, walked. And everyone was afraid to look at him: in front of them was a naked man, pressed in like a board, with crushed bones, with fallen out entrails; his face was crushed, his eyes popped out of their sockets, but life still lingered in him, his legs could move, and his tongue was still able to speak clearly. The tormentor himself, seeing such a miracle, was horrified and said to his close associates:

Is this a human or a ghost? Hasn't this magician taken our eyes off us? For before us is a spectacle that is terrible and transcends nature. Who expected him to still be alive? And now, when his insides fell out and all his joints were broken and relaxed, he still moves, walks and talks. But, apparently, our gods kept him alive to admonish others, so that those who did not want to recognize their power remained a terrible monster for those who look at him.

And Julian said to the martyr:

“Here you, unfortunate one, have already lost your eyes and all the members of your body are completely spoiled – how can you still have hope in Him, in Whom you have hitherto hoped in vain? But ask for mercy from the merciful gods, so that they have mercy on you and not betray you to hellish torment.

The martyr of Christ, having heard about the torments, grinned and said to the king:

“Will your gods betray me to torment?” They themselves cannot escape the torment prepared for them, and with them you, being thrown into eternal fire, will be tormented forever, for you denied the Son of God and trampled under His feet His holy blood shed for us, and scolded the grace of the Holy Spirit, obeying destructive demons. I, for the slight pain caused to me by you, hope from my Lord, for whom I suffer, to have eternal rest in His heavenly chamber.

Julian, hearing this, pronounced the following sentence on the martyr:

- Artemy, who blasphemed the gods, trampled on Roman and our laws, recognized himself not as a Roman, but as a Christian and called himself, instead of dux and Augustal, a Galilean - we betray to death and command his nasty head to be cut off with a sword.

After such a verdict, the saint was taken to the place of execution and marched there with unspeakable joy, wishing " resolve to be with Christ 27. Arriving at the place where the execution was to be carried out on him, he asked for time for himself to pray and, turning to the east, knelt down three times and prayed for a long time. After this he heard a voice from heaven that said:

“Come in with the saints to accept the reward prepared for you.

And immediately the blessed one bowed his head and was beheaded by a certain soldier, on the twentieth day of the month of October; the day on which he accomplished the feat of martyrdom was Friday. One woman, named Arista, the deaconess of the Antiochian church, begged his honest and holy body from the tormentor and, having anointed it with precious aromas, put it in an ark and sent it to Constantinople, where it was buried with honors. Many wondrous miracles were performed from his relics, and various healings were given to the sick, which St. Artemy still gives to everyone who flows to him with faith.

After the death of Artemy, the prophecy that he expressed directly to Julian regarding his death soon came true: "you will soon die, and not long before the time when the memory of you will perish with noise." For Julian, having killed Saint Artemius, set off with his troops from Antioch and marched on the Persians. When he reached the city of Ctesiphon 28, he met a certain Persian, an old man, respected and very reasonable. He promised Julian to betray the Persian kingdom and volunteered to be a guide to Persia to the lawless king and all his army. But this did not benefit the evil bloodsucker, for that Persian deceived him and, showing the appearance that he was leading him on a straight, real road, led the villain into the Karmanite desert 29, into impassable places, where abysses constantly met, where there was no water at all and no food. so that all the soldiers were weary of hunger and thirst, and the horses and camels all fell. After this, the guide admitted that he deliberately led the Romans into such empty and terrible places in order to weaken their strength. “I did this for this,” he said, “in order not to see my fatherland captured by enemies, and it’s better for me alone here than for my whole fatherland to perish at your hands.” And immediately after this confession, that Persian was cut into pieces by the soldiers. Wandering in the desert, the Greeks and Romans, against their will, encountered the Persian army and, during the battle that took place here, many Julian soldiers fell. Divine retribution befell Julian himself, for he was pierced in the side by an invisible hand from above and by an invisible weapon that passed down his stomach. He groaned heavily and, seizing a handful of blood in his hand, threw it into the air, and exclaimed:

You have won, Christ! fill up, Galilean!

And then he spewed out, dying in agony, his villainous and nasty soul and died with a noise, according to the prophecy of St. Artemy 30 . The Roman army, after the death of Julian, appointed Jovian, who was a Christian, as king, and who, having made peace with the Persians, returned back. So Julian is tormented in hell with Judas 31 , while Artemy is having fun in heaven with the saints 32 standing before the One God in the Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, to Him be glory forever. Amen.

Kontakion, tone 2:

The pious and crowned martyr, who descended worthily on the enemies of victory, with songs we praise Artemy, great in martyrdom, and rich in miracles: he prays to the Lord for all of us.

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1 Constantine was not yet a Christian when he had to go up against his strong rival Maxentius. He did not know whom to pray for help, and so, when the sun sank to the west, Konstantin saw a shining cross in the sky and under it the inscription: "conquer this"; this sign was seen by his troops. In a dream at night, Christ Himself appeared to Constantine and ordered to arrange a banner in the form of a cross and depict a cross on the shields and helmets of his soldiers. Constantine did this - and soon completely defeated the troops of Maxentius. After that, he openly declared his sympathy for Christianity.

2 Reigned from 337 to 361.

3 Province in Greece.

4 Dux is a military leader. Augustalius - a title equal to the modern title: Highness.

5 Julian, the nephew of Constantine the Great, while Constantius was still alive, was co-ruler of this emperor, governing the western provinces of the Roman Empire.

6 A city in the north of Palestine (otherwise - Caesarea Philippi).

7 Job - the Old Testament great righteous man; the custodian of true revelation and reverence for God in the human race, during the intensification of pagan superstition after the dispersion of peoples; known for his piety and purity of life; He was tested by God with all the misfortunes, among which, however, he remained unshakable in faith and virtue. The story of Job is detailed in the book of his name.

8 Gallus, brother of Julian, was made emperor Constantius - who had no children - heir to the throne, but then he aroused the wrath of Constantius against himself by clearly striving to overthrow Constantius from the throne. The latter sent his trusted people to deprive Gallus of power over the eastern provinces, and these sent, out of a desire to please their sovereign, killed Gallus.

9 Daphne is a suburb of Antioch. It was an extremely beautiful area, where many different trees grew, where transparent streams flowed everywhere, and where stood the image of the sun god, Apollo, whom Julian revered above all other gods.

10 The belt is a special distinction of a military leader.

11 The hands and feet of the tortured were tied to four stakes driven into the ground, so that the punished could not interfere with the punishment.

12 This passage refers to the Jews, for whom being in captivity in Babylon was the same as being silver in a fiery furnace or a bird being in a net. Sorrow on the ridge - beatings on the back. Human beings for heads are tormentors who have our life in their power.

13 The prophet actually speaks of the future sufferings of the Savior, but his words can be applied to believers who take upon themselves the yoke of the sufferings of Christ.

14 Oasim is one of the oases in Arabia. Oases in the Arabian Desert are places supplied with vegetation and water.

16 How important was the position of the high priest - can be seen from the fact that the title "high priest" was one of the titles of the Roman emperor. This priest had the right to doom disobedient lower priests to death. He lived in the ancient royal palace of Numa.

17 Emperor of the Western Empire Maximian Hercules reigned from 284 to 305 AD. - Constantius, nicknamed Chlorus, his successor, was first married to Helen (St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Helena), then, at the request of Emperor Diocletian, he divorced her and married Theodora, daughter of Maximian Hercules. Constantine the Great, nevertheless, as his eldest son, was made heir to the throne.

18 Constantine the Great had three sons: Constantine, Constantius and Constans. The elder took for himself upper Gaul, Britain, Germany and Spain, the younger took lower Gaul, Italy, Illyria and Africa, and the middle one took the countries of the east and Egypt. Soon Constantine was killed in the war, and Constans was killed by his close associate Magnentius while hunting.

19 This military campaign against the Roman emperor Maxentius was undertaken by Constantine in 312.

20 Soothsayers were called by the Romans in ancient times. Their predictions were combined into three books, which were kept in the temple of Capitoline Jupiter, and then in the temple of Apollo on the Palatine Hill. Christian writers also paid attention to their predictions, finding in them some hints of the coming of the Kingdom of Christ. - Virgil Maron - the famous Roman poet (born in 70 BC). - Artemy means here, obviously, his poems - "Bucolics".

21 The pagans thought that the gods, in their concern for people, wished to reveal their will to them. Therefore, they believed in dreams that the gods supposedly sent them. In addition, the pagans had special oracles - places and temples where priests or persons capable of coming into a special state of frenzy and then uttering different words spoke on behalf of the gods, from which the priests made more or less coherent sayings. The god Apollo was preeminently regarded as the leader of these oracles.

23 Julian distorts the meaning of the text from Matthew 18:22. Here we are not talking about retribution or punishment, but about the forgiveness of a sinning brother up to seventy times seven.

24 i.e. your death will be extraordinary and will produce great rumors among people.

25 i.e. "You, Lord, have placed me on a rock as a safe place; You have become for me a strong pillar or tower where I could find salvation.

26 Correct feet - put on a real, straight road.

27 Phil. 1:23. Resolve - to depart from earthly life.

28 Persian city on the left bank of the river. Tiger; during the time of Roman domination, it was a strong fortress, which, however, fell several times into the power of the Romans.

29 Carmania is the current Persian region of Kerman. Its northern part (the steppe Carmania) was almost all barren desert, and the southern part was very sandy, although several rivers flowed in the latter.

30 Julian died in 363 AD.

In the Orthodox tradition, the name day is called the day of remembrance of the saint, whose name was given to the baptized during the holy sacrament of entry into the Church. At the same time, the name day (otherwise the name day) is chosen as the first date of the celebration of the saint, starting from the moment of baptism (or birth if the date of baptism is unknown for some reason).

The Orthodox calendar lists four saints with the name Artemy. Therefore, the name day of all Artems falls on the following dates: November 2, July 6, April 6 and June 20.

On November 2, the Church honors the memory of the great common Christian saint - the Great Martyr Artemy, who was a military commander in Antioch. The saint lived during the reign of several emperors: under Constantine, Constantius and Julian. The last of the rulers, despite the establishment of Christianity as the dominant religion in the Roman Empire, rejected Christ and began persecuting Christians.

Despite the service exploits that Artemy distinguished during various military operations, Julian accused the commander of improper worship of the gods, forced him to renounce Christ. For the refusal, Saint Artemius endured various torments and eventually died from the truncation of his head in 363. Commemoration of the Holy Great Martyr Artemy on November 2.

On the same day, the memory of the holy righteous Artemy Verkolsky is celebrated. This great saint of the Lord also has one more day of celebration - July 6th. Artemy was born in 1532 in the village of Verkol (Dvina province). From an early age, pious parents accustomed the child to a holy, pious life. As a baby, Artemy loved to pray and fasted. However, the days of life on the land of the righteous were short-lived. At the age of 13, the youth died on the field during a thunderstorm from exhaustion. The people saw this as a sign of God's punishment of the boy. Therefore, the body of the saint was not even buried, leaving it in the forest. After 28 years, the body of the righteous man was found incorruptible, and the relics of the ascetic were miraculous. Now the holy relics of the righteous Artemy are in the Verkolsky monastery, founded on the place where the body of the youth was found.

Among the saints Artemiev was also a saint. April 6 is the day of memory of St. Artemy of Thessalonica, also called Artemon. This saint lived in apostolic times. It is known from his life that the apostle Paul himself, during one of his travels, having seen the virtuous life of this Christian, decided to ordain Artemy as a bishop of the city of Thessalonica. For many years the bishop taught and instructed the flock in Christian piety. The saint died at a ripe old age.

There is another saint named Artemy, whose memory is celebrated on June 20 (on the general feast of the Saints of Vladimir). This is the holy righteous Artemy Shuisky of Vladimir, who became famous for his pious life in the 17th century.

The ancient male name arose from the word “healthy”, “intact”, they used to call boys so that they would never get sick. It came to Russia from Europe in the 18th century and became very popular. History knows many prominent Russian personalities with this name.

The form of the origin of the name in different countries of the world: England - Artemas, Spain - Artemio, Portugal - Artemiu, Italy - Artema, Oksitana - Artemun, Moldova - Artemie, Greece - Artemios, Ukraine - Belarus - Artsyom.

A diminutive and affectionate form of the name: Tyusha, Artemchik, Tyukha, Artemka, Temochka, Temka, Artie, Artyusha, Toma.

Artem celebrates his name day 7 times a year:

• January 17.
• February 26th.
• 12 May.
• July 6th
• November 2, 12, 13.

Saint patrons of Artyom

The church form of Artyom - or Artyom. Famous Saints:

• Holy Apostle Artem of Listria. Honored on January 17 and November 12. He was a disciple of the Apostle Paul, is one of the 70 holy apostles.
• Artem Kizichesky. Honored May 12th. He adopted Christianity from the Apostle Paul, along with nine other Christians, he spread his faith among the people, for which he was killed. Later, his body was removed and found that the sick, touching him, were healed. Part of his relics is in a monastery near Kazan.
• Artemy Verkolsky. Honored on July 6 and November 2. Born into a peasant family, at the age of 13 he was struck by lightning when he was in the field. The villagers took this as a bad sign and left his body where it had lain for more than 27 years, until it was accidentally found and discovered that it had not decayed. His body was brought to the church, where they left it, covered with a board. Later they discovered that touching his body heals a person. Before the revolution, the monks hid the body of Artemy. Where, no one knows yet.

Character

The nature of Artem depends on the time of the year of birth:

Winter - Hardworking, calm, prudent.

Spring - Independent, narcissistic, selfish.

Summer - Friendly, responsive, responsible.

Autumn - Dreamy, persistent, reasonable.

Fate

Since childhood, Artem has been growing up as an independent and independent child. Even before kindergarten, she knows how to tie shoelaces and fasten buttons. He has a very calm and balanced character, easily converges with the guys, tries not to quarrel with them, does not get into fights. Unlike other boys, he does not have broken knees and torn clothes after walking. He does not like being talked to like a child, he prefers to be friends with older guys. It can show strong stubbornness, if it doesn’t want to, it won’t do it.

He studies well at school, thanks to his quick wit and strong memory, but does not like being told what to do. In this case, it basically does not perform the task. Adults and teachers need to take this into account and change the tactics of communication with little Artem. In adolescence, Artem has a strong desire to express himself, to show himself, to stand out, to become the best. In a team game, Artem always pulls the blanket over himself, which causes conflicts with the guys. He is more suitable for single competitions in studies and in sports.

Adult Artem turns into an attractive and purposeful man. Always surrounded by true friends. Artem does not refuse to help them, even at night he can go to the rescue of a friend. His friends appreciate him not only for this, but also for the ability to keep secrets. Artyom should not be offended, in a convenient case, he will definitely return the evil to the offender, even if several years pass from that insult. He tries to go out of town at an opportunity, likes to travel to different countries. He has a reverent relationship with his parents, he will do everything for them, he tries to regularly call them.

Health

Little Artemchik often suffers from colds: he goes to kindergarten for two weeks, stays at home for two weeks. If his parents give him to the pool, this will help strengthen his health and reduce the percentage of morbidity. If Artem can improve his health, then he will not get sick with anything until old age.

Career

Almost always, Artem becomes a successful worker in adulthood, thanks to his dedication and organizational talent. If Artem decides to open his own business, then he will become successful in a short time and will bring good profits. Artem, choosing a profession, takes into account not only the amount of salary, but also the possibility of realizing his ambitions. Artem treats his colleagues with respect, but it is difficult for him to work in a team, so it is better for him to choose a profession where he can achieve solo success and where there is no boss that puts pressure on him. The boss from Artem will turn out to be strict, demanding, domineering, principled, his subordinates will be afraid and respect him.

Love

Artem enjoys great success with women, he starts his sexual life early. Usually, he accumulates many love affairs throughout his life, but with each woman he seeks to establish a special spiritual connection. He does not like short-term novels when there is no time to get to know a woman. In sex, Artem is sensual, passionate, knows how to bring a woman to the highest point of bliss. He loves sexual games, it will be difficult for him with a woman clamped in sex. When choosing a girl, first of all, she looks at her appearance, she must have a good figure, a beautiful face.

Family

Artem puts his family first. She is for him a bulwark of reliability, tranquility and comfort. He will choose a beautiful, economic, economical and sexy woman as his wife. She must be the best for his friends to envy. Having married, Artem turns into an exemplary family man, demanding from his wife delicious food, comfort in the house, clean and ironed clothes. He does not like to do housework, believing that this is a woman's duty. Father Artem will be very strict, but caring.

ARTEMA. (ARTEMY), ARTEM. Dedicated to Artemis, gr. goddess of fertility and childbearing.
January 17 (January 4)- the apostle of Artem.
February 26 (February 13)- Righteous Artem of Palestine.
April 6 (March 24)- Saint Artem, Bishop of Thessalonica.
May 12 (April 29)- Martyr Artem of Kizichesky.
July 6 (June 23)- the righteous youth Artemy Verkolsky (Rus.).
November 2 (October 20)- the great martyr Artemy and the righteous youth Artemy of Verkolsky (Rus.).
November 12 (October 30)- the apostle of Artem.
November 13 (October 31)- Righteous Artem.

The Holy Great Martyr Artemy was one of the outstanding military leaders during the reign of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Tsar Constantine the Great (306-337, Comm. 21 May), and then his son and successor, Constantius (337-361). Emperor Constantius was replaced on the throne by Julian (361 - 363). The apostate emperor, wishing to return paganism, waged an uncompromising struggle against Christianity, sending hundreds of Christians to their deaths. In Antioch, he ordered the torture of two bishops who did not want to renounce the Christian faith. At this time, Saint Artemy came to the city and publicly denounced Julian of wickedness. The enraged Apostate subjected the saint to cruel tortures. After this, the great martyr was thrown into prison.

The next day, Julian demanded that the Great Martyr Artemy recognize the pagan gods. Faced with a decisive refusal, the emperor resorted to torture. The ascetic endured everything without a single groan. The saint foretold Julian that he would soon receive a just retribution for the evil he had done to Christians. The apostate became furious and resorted to even more cruel tortures, but they did not break the will of the great martyr, and then Saint Artemy was beheaded (+ 362).

Holiness and piety do not depend on the age of the believer. Through prayer at the icon of the holy youth Artemy Verkolsky, many people received healing from serious illnesses.

Story

The unusual story of the life and posthumous miracles of the youth Artemy made him one of the most revered Orthodox saints.

earth path

In 1532, in the northern village of Verkoly, located on the banks of the Pinega River, a boy was born into a simple peasant family, who was named Artemy. Being sincere believers, the parents raised their son in an atmosphere of respect for traditional Christian values ​​and love for the Lord. From the age of five, he preferred the humble reading of prayers and all possible assistance in the parental household to carefree children's games.

Holy Righteous Artemy Verkolsky

One day, a twelve-year-old boy was working in the field with his father. Suddenly the sky darkened and a violent thunderstorm began. Artemy began to pray fervently, and at that moment lightning struck him. The villagers decided that this was the punishment of God for any sins, and refused to bury the boy on consecrated ground.

His body was left in the forest, covered with branches and birch bark. Thus ended the earthly path of Artemy Verkolsky.

Finding relics

32 years after the death of the youth, the clergyman of the local church saw a glow in the place where the restless body lay. Coming closer, the priest saw that it was not touched by decay. The relics of the lad Artemy were transferred to the church, placed in a coffin covered with birch bark boards, which was placed in the outer vestibule. In 1610, the remains of the righteous youth were transferred to the main building of the temple and placed in a special shrine.

Artemy Verkolsky was canonized as a saint in 1619 with the blessing of Metropolitan Macarius of Novgorod. 30 years after the beginning of official veneration, a monastery was built in Verkol dedicated to the holy righteous youth, in which his relics were kept until 1918.

Interesting: the inhabitants of the monastery hid the relics of Artemy from the Bolsheviks before the closing of the monastery. After its revival in the 90s. for some time the search for the shrine was conducted, but they ended to no avail.

Today, the icon of St. Artemy with a particle of his relics is kept in the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Miracles and Healings

After the miraculous acquisition of the relics, many miracles and healings began to occur from them.

1. A few years after the setting up of the relics in St. Nicholas Church, a fever epidemic broke out in the area. Through prayer at the remains of the righteous, many of the sick were healed, and the epidemic soon ended.
2. The intervention of the righteous Artemy helped restore sight to the Kholmogory peasant Hilarion. The holy youth appeared to him and, having overshadowed him with the sign of the cross, commanded the Verkol church to go to bow to his incorruptible relics. The healed man fulfilled the order and told the Verkoltsy about the miraculous phenomenon.
3. Voivode Afanasy Pashkov stopped at Verkol on the way to his destination, but left the village without bowing to the holy relics. Soon his son Jeremiah was overcome by a fatal illness. Then the governor vowed to go to the relics of Artemy Verkolsky on a pilgrimage. At the same time, the boy Jeremiah got up and asked his father when they would start on the road. Athanasius served dinner and even erected a small chapel in honor of the Holy Martyr Artemius of Antioch at the place where the holy relics were found.
4. By prayer to the Lord and the righteous Artemy of Verkolsky, sailors were saved from death on their way to Arkhangelsk, who got into a strong storm on the high seas.

Iconography

The first icons of Artemy Verkolsky were painted on birch bark boards that covered the coffin with the found relics.

Icon of Artemy Verkolsky

In Orthodox iconography, there are three main versions:

1. A half-length image of a young man is placed on an individual icon. He is dressed in a white casual shirt. In his left hand he holds an unfolded sheet with the words of an akathist. In the right palm he compresses the main symbol of Christianity - the cross. Sometimes, along with the cross, the youth holds an olive branch - a symbol of eternal peace.
2. The individual icons depicting the righteous youth are interesting for their varied backgrounds. Some of them contain an image of a temple, symbolizing the monastery. Others depict scenes from the earthly life of the holy youth.
3. A special place in the iconography of St. Artemy is occupied by hagiographic icons, the hallmarks of which are dedicated to miraculous phenomena that occurred after the acquisition of his honest relics.

What to pray to the holy righteous Artemy Verkolsky

Numerous testimonies confirm the great power that prayer has before the icon of the holy child Artemy. It helps in the following cases:

• the presence of a severe physical illness;
• partial or complete loss of vision;
• life-threatening situation associated with natural phenomena;
• making an important decision.

Important! The icon depicting the young holy righteous Artemy is of great importance for Orthodox people. One should remember about spiritual development and strive for unity with the Lord from a very early age. Only sincere Faith and a humble righteous life in accordance with Christian commandments bring a person closer to the Kingdom of God.

Righteous Artemy Verkolsky