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How many of us ever stand up and tell other people what we believe about Jesus
Christ? How many of us are really convinced that our faith is so completely a
part of who we are, that it is worth proclaiming happily to those who question
us? Being one of Jesus’ disciples cannot be easy, for as Jesus Himself once
said:
Beware of men, for they will deliver you
up to councils... You will be dragged before governors and kings for My sake,
and bear testimony before them and the Gentiles... Do not be anxious how you are
to speak or what you will say... It will be given to you in that hour... You
will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be
saved. (Matthew 10:17-19,22)
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Toward the end of the third century, there lived a Christian man named Marcos.
He was the ruler of the Borolos and Zahfaran districts in Egypt. Marcos had only
one daughter named Demiana. Her beauty and good character were legendary. Her
father, Marcos, loved her dearly, and he did his best to raise her in a true
Christian way. When Demiana was one
year old, her father took her to the church that was in the monastery of El-Maima.
He offered alms and lit candles and oblations so that God might bless her
and keep her in His care.
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Demiana loved to pray and read
holy books in the seclusion of her room. She often cried while praying, as she
felt the love of Christ, her Savior, fill her little heart.
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When Demiana was fifteen years old, her father wanted her to get married to one
of his noble friends, but Demiana refused. Demiana said that she had consecrated
herself to Christ. She intended to
live without marriage all her life, so that she could serve the Lord Jesus
Christ. Demiana also asked her
father to build a house for her on the outskirts of the city, so that she could
live in it and worship God, with her virgin friends, as a nun apart from the
world and its temptations.
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Knowing her deep desire for a righteous life, her father reluctantly granted
Demiana her wish, and built her a large palace. Demiana changed the palace into
a convent, and lived in it with forty of her friends. They were all unmarried
girls, and the Lord's hand was with them, giving them strength and comfort.
They spent their time in the palace reading Scripture and praying
fervently to the Lord.
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At that time, Diocletian the
Emperor began to torture and kill the Christians who refused to worship his
idols, Apollos and Artemis. Diocletian
sent for Marcos, Demiana’s father, to appear before him and worship the idols.
At first Marcos refused to kneel and offer incense before the statues. However,
Diocletian convinced Marcos by promising to give him a higher position in the
Roman Empire.
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When Demiana heard that her father had knelt before the idols, she left the
palace and went immediately to him. She did not greet him, but said, “What is
it that I heard? I would have
preferred to hear about your death rather than to hear that you have renounced
your faith and left the God Who created you, to worship idols made by the hands
of men. Take note that if you do not return to your first faith and renounce the
worship of idols, you are not my father and I am not your daughter.”
She also said to him, “It is better for you, my father, that you die a
martyr and live with Christ in Heaven eternally, than you live a pagan here on
earth and die with the devil in Hades forever.” Marcos was greatly moved by
his daughter’s words and wept bitterly. He
said, “Woe to me! How could I fall in the Devil's trap and worship those idle
statues.”
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Immediately Marcos arose and went to Diocletian. He crossed himself in the name
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in front of everybody, and cried
with a loud voice, “Let every one know that I worship the God of heaven and
earth, my only God and Lord Jesus Christ!”
Diocletian was troubled and tried his best to change Marcos' mind, but
this time the Holy Spirit had filled Marcos’ heart, and he even testified
boldly that he was willing to die rather than to deny his Savior.
Diocletian became infuriated, and ordered the soldiers to behead him.
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When the Emperor Diocletian learned that it was Marcos’ daughter Demiana who
had changed her father’s mind, he ordered one of his commanders to take two
hundred soldiers and attack the palace where she lived with the forty virgins.
“First, try to convince her to worship our idols,” said Diocletian.
“But, if she refuses, threaten her, torture her, and even kill her so that she
will be an example for the other Christians.”
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When Demiana saw the soldiers approaching the palace armed with all instruments
of torture, she prayed to God to strengthen her and the forty virgins’ faith
until death. Then she told her
friends, “If you are willing to die for Jesus' sake you can stay, but if you
cannot stand the torturing of the soldiers, you should better hurry and escape
right now.” The forty virgins
answered that they would not lose eternal life just to enjoy a few moments in
this evil world.
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When the commander arrived at Demiana’s palace, he said to her, “I am a
messenger sent from Emperor Diocletian. I
come to call upon you, according to the Emperor’s orders, to worship his gods,
so that he can grant you all that you want.” Demiana answered him boldly,
“May God denounce the messenger and the one by whom he was sent.
Do you not have any shame at all to call stone and wood gods that are
inhabited by devils? There is no god in heaven or on earth except for one God, the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Eternal Creator, the Everlasting.
He is omnipotent, knows all secrets, and can throw you into hell where
there is everlasting pain. As for me, I am the maidservant of my Master, and my Savior
Jesus Christ, His Good Father and the Holy Spirit.
I confess to Him and I depend on Him.
With His name I die, and by Him I live forever.”
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The commander became extremely angered by what Demiana said to him.
He ordered the soldiers to place Demiana in a human torturing press,
until blood poured out of her body. As Demiana felt terrible pain run through
her body, she lifted her face up toward heaven, and prayed, “My Lord Jesus,
the Son of the Most High, Who was crucified in order to save me, give me the
strength to stand this pain.” The forty virgins stood there watching and
crying, but Demiana told them, “Do not cry, my sisters, our Lord Jesus Christ
was tortured and killed because He loved us, even though He did not commit one
sin. How much more should I welcome death in His name, especially if I am sure
of the heavenly glory awaiting me!”
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After the soldiers got tired of
torturing Demiana, they threw her half-dead body in jail. The Archangel Michael
appeared to Demiana in jail and touched her with his heavenly wings, and healed
her wounds. The next day, the
commander thought that she had died. However,
when Demiana stood in front of him in perfect health, he was very puzzled.
When some people saw what had happened, they cried, “We are Christians!
We believe in the God of Demiana! We have no other God but Jesus Christ!”
The commander was even more troubled, and killed all of them.
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The torturing of Demiana
continued, for many days, becoming more cruel and harsh with each passing day.
The commander used his evil imagination to torture her, once by scratching her
flesh, and another time by putting her in boiling oil.
The Archangel Michael continuously appeared to Demiana and healed her
wounds.
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On the last day before her
martyrdom, our Lord Jesus Himself came to her and told her, “Have courage, My
chosen one. I have prepared for you the crown of your wedding in heaven.
Your name will be remembered forever, as it will be the cause of many
miracles, and in this place a great church will be built to honor your blessed
name.”
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Finally, the commander ordered the soldiers to behead Demiana by the sword,
along with the forty virgins. The total number of people who were martyred with
Demiana that day was about four hundred.
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The faithful came, gathered the bodies of the martyrs and kept them until the
end of the days of persecution, until the reign of King Constantine, the first
Christian king. King Constantine
ordered the idol temples to be destroyed and built many churches after the names
of the martyrs. When King
Constantine knew of all that happened to Demiana, he delegated his mother, Queen
Helena, to take burial clothing, go to Zahfaran, and build a church there in the
name of Demiana and the forty virgins. Helena
came to the valley, went up to the palace and found all the bodies there
unharmed. Helena buried all the bodies that she found in great honor. She put
Demiana's body on a bed made of ivory and decorated it with silk linen.
She laid the forty virgins around Demiana.
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May the prayers and the blessings of this great martyr, Saint Demiana, be with
us all. Amen.