OUR VENERABLE FATHER EUSTRATIUS THE FASTER AND MARTYR

(28 MARCH /10 APRIL)

A good soldier of Christ, Eustratius, as his name suggests, proved to be a warrior indeed. He imitated the image of his chosen Commander, Christ the Saviour. This courageous warrior willingly endured the very same sufferings as He had suffered, and thus he could truly say of himself, I bear the wounds of the Lord on my body (Gal. 6, 17).

St Eustratius was a native of Kiev. He felt a strong desire to array himself in the armaments of God, that is, to receive a monastic image. He understood that no one could be a Christ-pleasing warrior until he casts aside his ties of worldly matters. Therefore, he gave away all his possessions to the poor. Having become poor himself, he received tonsure at the Cave Monastery. Here, in this holy place, he began to struggle in the image of Christ, Who had become poor for our sakes. Following Him and using a spiritual sword — a prayer and severe restraints — Eustratius conquered both his own body and the bodiless enemies. Eustratius humiliated and conquered them by his own humility and obedience remembering that the Great Struggler, Jesus Christ, prayed diligently, fasted for forty days, and humbled Himself in obedience. St Eustratius always bore in mind that our first ancestors were defeated and fell because of their lack of restraint. So, he himself struggled diligently in fasting and abstinence.

When, by God’s allowance, the Polovtsian tribes, led by khan Bonyak, overran the lands of Rus’, the blessed Eustratius and several other monks were captured and later sold as slaves to a Jewish man in Korsun. All in all fifty persons were sold: thirty from the monastery and twenty citizens of Kiev. The slave owner tried to force the prisoners to renounce Christ. At length, he threatened to starve them in chains if they refused. The courageous monk Eustratius taught and supported the sufferers,

‘Brethren! We have been made worthy of receiving baptism and believing in Christ, let us not be apostates from Him or Violators of the promise we had given at Baptism. Christ regenerated us by water and the Spirit; Christ redeemed us by His blood and made us inheritors of His kingdom. If we live, we live to the Lord or if we die, we die to the Lord (Rom. 14, 8), and by temporary death we obtain eternal life. Let us imitate Him Who said, ‘For me to live is Christ and to die is gain’ (Phil. 1, 21).

Supported by such edifying words from the blessed man, the captives resolved to sacrifice temporary food and drink, to suffer for Christ in order to gain True Bread and Source of eternal life. Thus, they all died one by one in ten days having suffered much from hunger and thirst. Only Eustratius remained alive after 14 days. The saint had become accustomed to fasting and from his early years, and he was not harmed much by ‘fast’.

The hateful tormentor judging that Eustratius was the cause of his losing the gold he had paid for the slaves, decided to get revenge on the saint for his loss. As Easter was coming, the Jewish master resolved to condemn Eustratius to the same torments as Christ had suffered. The Jew and his friends made a cross and nailed the saint to it. However, the saint, thanking God for the trial, remained alive on the fifteenth day. The tormentor and his friends mocked at the crucified Eustratius, ‘Here, you, insane man, eat today of the lawful Passover, and you will live and avoid the curse for Moses, who brought the law from God and gave it to us, said in his books, accursed is anyone that is hanging on the tree (Deut. 21, 23).

The saint replied, ‘Lord, by a great gift of grace, made me worthy and deigned to allow me to suffer for His holy name on a cross, in the same manner as He suffered Himself. I believe that He will also say to me as He once said to the thief, Today, you will be in Paradise with me (Lk. 23, 43). I do not need your Passover, and I do not fear the curse, for our Passover — Christ — has been partaken of for us. He destroyed the mortal curse of the law which is of the tree and introduced the blessing of life by the tree of the Cross which He was hanged on. He is the life of all. Concerning the feast David said, this is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it (Ps. 104, 24). However, you who have crucified me will be weeping soon and on that day you will lament, for the blood of myself and other Christians will be brought down on you. The Lord hates your Sabbath and will turn your feasting into lamentation, for slaying of the chief of your lawlessness is already at hand.’

When the Jew heard these words, he became inflamed with anger, seized a spear and thrust it into the suffering man. Thus, did the good soldier of Christ, Eustratius, receive his blessed repose as a warrior. As the radiant soul of the trophy-bearer ascended heavenward, a voice was heard from the sky saying in Greek, ‘Here is a worthy citizen of the heavenly city.’

The murderers removed the holy body from the cross and mat  into the sea. The relics were washed ashore, into a cave, and a stream of great miracles began to pour forth through them. Because of these great wonders, many of the Jews were converted.

The prophecy which St Eustratius had made was fulfilled in the following manner:

A certain famous and wealthy Jewish man accepted baptism. After that, the king appointed him eparch (governor) of a distant province. As soon as he received this rank, he secretly apostatized from Christ and His faith, and permitted the Jews of the region to enslave Christians. This impious eparch was then detected in his evil doing and the king ordered his execution and commanded that all the slaveholders be driven from the region. At that time, the Jew who had slain Saint Eustratius, was hung on a tree like Judas who had hanged himself on a tree.

Yet, many turned to Christ and were saved, witnessing the miracles and sufferings of St Eustratius; they followed the victorious warrior into the heavenly kingdom, giving praise and thanksgiving to Christ, with His Unoriginate Father and Life-Giving Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen!