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After They Beheaded Saints, What Then?

'There is no record of retribution'
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Fr. John Parker, an Orthodox priest, messes with my vengeful soul:

The Hieromartyr Cyprian of Carthage, whom we remembered in the Church on August 31 was martyred by the sword as well—he, by pagans.  Among his greatest contributions to the Christian faith was the acceptance of repentance of those who had apostatized, abandoned their one true love, Jesus Christ.  He himself, though defending the true repentance of those who did commit apostasy under threat of death, did not betray Christ.  In his Life, we read,

At the trial, St Cyprian calmly and firmly refused to offer sacrifice to idols and was sentenced to beheading with a sword. Hearing the sentence, St Cyprian said, “Thanks be to God!” All the people cried out with one voice, “Let us also be beheaded with him!”

Coming to the place of execution, the saint again gave his blessing to all and arranged to give twenty-five gold coins to the executioner. He then tied a handkerchief over his eyes, and gave his hands to be bound to the presbyter and archdeacon standing near him and lowered his head. Christians put their cloths and napkins in front of him so as to collect the martyr’s blood. St Cyprian was executed in the year 258. The body of the saint was taken by night and given burial in a private crypt of the procurator Macrobius Candidianus.

There is no record of retribution.

Commemorated on August 16, is St Constantine Brancoveanu, the 18th century ruler of Wallachia—the Romanian lands.  St Constantine was held captive on the feast of the Annunication of the Theotokos, March 25, 1714, by Sultan Ahmet III, in Istanbul.  Having been issued a “convert or die” ultimatum, St Constantine Brancoveanu was forced to watch his sons be decapitated (including the youngest, 11 years old, named Matei), prior to his own decapitation by the sword.   Their heads were paraded on pikes, and the bodies (though later recovered by Christians) were thrown into the Bosphorus.  This took place on August 15, 1714, the Dormition of the Theotokos.  Among the saint’s last words were these:

“Your majesty, you have taken my fortune, but I don’t abandon my Christian law.  I was born and lived in it and I want to die in it (=as Christian). I filled the earth of my country with Christian churches and, now, attaining an old age, should I bow to your Turkish mosques? No, your Highness! I defended my land, I kept my faith I want to close my eyes in my faith and my sons together with me”. After that, he encouraged his sons „My children, have courage! I lost everything I had on this earthly world. We have left only our souls, we shall not lose them too, but we shall get them clean before our Savior Jesus Christ. Let’s wash our sins with our blood!”

The saints prayed for their torturers, and relentlessly clung to Christ.  To my knowledge, there are no recorded acts of violence returned for violence. It is the case, however, that with Ss Adrian and Natalia (August 26), one of their captors converted by their stalwart faith.

Read the whole thing. Man, I hate to hear that. But in my heart, I know that I need to hear that.

UPDATE: As a friend points out, this is not to say that self-defense is unjustified!

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