St Charalambos Greek Orthodox
Church in Luton is a small community, existing since 1980. This community
recently purchased an old Anglican Church and transformed it into an Orthodox
Church building.[1]
‘The holy, glorious Martyr Charalambos lived
at the time of the Emperor Septimus Severus (194-211) in the city of Magnesia
on the River Meander near Ephesus. He was 107 years old and had ministered as
priest to the Christians of the city for many years, devotedly instructing them
in the way of truth and preaching Christ to all, regardless of the threats of
the pagans.
When he was denounced as a
dangerous mischief-maker and brought before the tribunal of the Governor
Lucian, he responded to his threats in these terms, “You little know what is
for my good and well-being. Nothing could be more pleasing to me than to suffer
for Christ. So don’t hesitate to put my old body to the tortures you deem the
worst, and you will learn that the power of my Christ cannot be overcome.” He
was then stripped of his priestly robe by the tormentors, who tore his flesh
with iron claws without being able to elicit a single cry of pain from him. On
the contrary, he said, “Thank you, brothers. In flaying my old body, you are
renewing my soul and preparing it for everlasting blessedness.”
When the Governor saw the
steadfastness of the old man, far from repenting and giving glory to God, he
hurled himself at him in uncontrollable rage, tearing at his skin with his bare
hands. Then, by an act of God, his hands were suddenly severed and remained
claw-like and lifeless on the Martyr’s body. Moved to pity by the tyrant’s
cries and supplications, Saint Charalambos gave himself to prayer and obtained
his healing. This astonishing miracle and demonstration of the love of
Christians for their enemies brought Lucian, as well as the tormentors
Porphyrius and Baptus, to believe in Christ God and to renounce the cult of
idols. Three women onlookers also rushed forward and fearlessly proclaimed their
faith. The grateful Governor was immediately baptized by the Saint and a great
many inhabitants of the province of Asia were won for Christ.
When the Emperor Severus learned
that the inhabitants of Magnesia and the surrounding country were abandoning
idolatry and receiving holy Baptism from the old priest who had been condemned
to death; that the blind were recovering their sight at his prayer and the
crippled were walking, he was very troubled indeed. He immediately sent 300
soldiers to Magnesia with orders to bring the Saint, nailed and chained, to
Antioch in Pisidia where he was residing. The soldiers treated the old man very
badly on the road, until the horse on which they had set him suddenly uttered a
condemnation of the Emperor as an enemy of God, and of his soldiers as slaves
of the Devil—to the great terror of the military, who for the remainder of the
journey did the Saint no harm.
As soon as the venerable old man
was brought before him, the Emperor had him thrown into a blazing furnace with
a long skewer through his chest. However, the fire went out as soon as it
touched the Saint who, to the Emperor’s astonishment, remained insensible to
what he suffered. What was the secret of his invulnerability, the tyrant wanted
to know. “The power of Christ!” replied the Saint. Severus then put this to the
test and presented him with a man possessed by a demon for thirty-five years.
The Saint drove out the unclean spirit with a single word. Severus next
produced the corpse of a young man about to be buried. After addressing a
fervent prayer to God, Saint Charalambos gave the youth his hand and, to the
Emperor’s amazement, raised him from the bier as though from sleep.
Then the Prefect Crispus shouted,
“Your Majesty should put this sorcerer to death straight way!” At this, the
Emperor’s hatred broke out again and he commanded Saint Charalambos to
sacrifice to the idols. On his refusal, he ordered them to break his jaw with
stones and to set his beard on fire. But God acted once again. The flames
turned on the tormentors and the place where they stood was shaken by an
earthquake.
Lifted up off his throne and
suspended in the air, the Emperor was whipped for a good while by unseen
angels. On learning of his predicament, his daughter Galinia confessed Christ
as Almighty and came to implore the holy Martyr to release her father from
chastisement. This he did; but the Emperor’s amazement at the power of God was
short-lived, and he soon returned to his idolatrous madness. Despite the
remonstrances of Galinia, who reminded him of the divine blessings which had
lighted on him, he kept Saint Haralambos in custody and had him tortured anew.
He also turned on Galinia and threatened her with death unless she sacrificed.
She made as if to obey but, on entering the temple, she threw the statues to
the ground and broke them in pieces. Severus sent to the foundry to have new
statues cast, but she shattered these too, so that he became a laughing-stock.
Severus then made a last attempt
to break the instigator of his daughter’s conversion. But Saint Haralambos
withstood every device of his tormentors with adamantine fortitude and all the
onlookers were dazzled by the brilliance of Grace. He welcomed the death
sentence with joy, and, on reaching the place of execution, he raised his hands
and eyes to heaven. He thanked God for having brought him to the issue of his
contest, and he asked Him to grant salvation of soul, health of body and
abundance of good things in the name of His Martyr. A voice from heaven was
then heard. “Come Charalambos, valiant in fight, to share in the joy and splendour
of the Martyrs and holy priests!” His head fell beneath the sword on February
10 and his body was buried by the blessed Galinia.
The skull of Saint Charalambos is
kept at the Monastery of St. Stephen at Meteora. The fragments of his holy
relics, which are to be found in many places in Greece and elsewhere,
accomplish frequent miracles and have made Saint Charalambos, the most aged of
all the holy Martyrs, especially dear to the people of Greece.’[2]
[1]
For more information on this community see: https://stcharalamboschurchluton.wordpress.com/about/
and the Facebook page: St Charalambos Greek Orthodox Church.
[2]
Adapted from The Synaxarion: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church,
Vol. 3, compiled by Hieromonk Makarios of Simonos Petra and translated from the
French by Christopher Hookway (Chalkidike, Greece: Holy Convent of the
Annunciation of Our Lady, 2001) pp. 463-466.
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