I never tire of
drawing yearly attention to Ss. Cyprian and Justina during October. I
believe they are truly Saints for our current age, Saints for this time of the
year, and Saints for this day, of course!
This year as I
read their account I was struck with the thought that there is no “neo
paganism.” The account of these Saints is nearly 1800 years old! There is
nothing new under the sun. We read of the same old demonic tricks that
are repackaged and recycled through the generations. Let’s learn from
Cyprian’s experience and what parallels can be made with what we see in
contemporary society.
Anyone
who has dabbled in dark arts or read books that describe the kind of “talents”
that Cyprian was given by the prince of darkness before his conversion to
Orthodoxy will recognize that there is genuine power available to practicers of
sorcery in all its forms. That power is sourced from the demonic
realm. However, demonic power is impotent power when confronted
with the power of Christ.
Learn about Cyprian, an authentic individual from the third
century, who abandoned all the dark arts and became a Saint of God. Let
us call upon him and St. Justina in faith and appreciate what this account
reveals to us. Presbytera Candace
October
2--Demonic arts abandoned
Here below is a short life of Saints Cyprian and Justina
celebrated on October 2 each year. Cyprian was once a sorcerer and
converted to Orthodox Christianity in the third century.
By reading the lives of the Saints below, parents and young people can reckon
that the phenomenon of sorcerers is not something that is pure fantasy found in
fiction books only. It is real power energized by demonic forces, but not power
that is greater than that offered by God Himself, to Whom the demons are
subject and tremble. Note the power of the making of the sign of the Cross in
this account...
Lives of
Saints for Young People
Saints Cyprian and Justina
In the reign of the pagan emperor Decius (249-251), there lived
in the city of Antioch in Asia Minor a famous philosopher and magician whose
name was Cyprian. His parents were pagan and when he was still a child, they
sent him to study sorcery and demonic wisdom. Cyprian learned all sorts of evil
tricks which he was able to perform with the help of demons. He could send
diseases upon people, produce thunder, cause damage to crops, and finally he
even learned how to call forth the dead from the graves and force them to speak
by means of various magic spells. He became a great sorcerer, magician and
destroyer of souls. God had given him a good mind, but Cyprian used all his
knowledge to serve evil. He became the faithful slave of the prince of
darkness.
Returning to Antioch, it was not long before Cyprian was teaching others how to
perform evil tricks: some he taught to fly in the air, others to sail in boats
on the clouds, still others to walk on water. By the pagans he was greatly
honored as a chief priest and most wise servant of their horrid gods. The
prince of darkness himself, as Cyprian later related, spoke with him
face-to-face and praised him for his obedience, promising to help him in
everything during his earthly life. Cyprian described how he saw the prince of
darkness sitting on a throne and surrounded by a countless number of evil
spirits.
Through his wicked way of life, Cyprian had already placed himself in the jaws
of the devil. But the Lord Who, in His great love for mankind, desires that all
men be saved, wished also to save Cyprian. And He did this in the following
way...
There lived in Antioch at that time a certain maiden named Justina who had
chosen Christ as her bridegroom. She served Him with her whole heart, with
fervent prayer and a pure life. Seeing her virtuous life, the devil, the hater
of mankind, became angry and began to do her harm.
In the same city there lived a young man named Aglaias who was very rich and
led a very worldly life of pleasure. Once it happened that he saw Justina as
she was going to church and he was struck by her beauty.
By evil trickery, the evil one planted in his heart shameful feelings towards
the maiden. Aglaias, burning with passion, tried by every means to win the love
of Justina, and thereby deceive her into falling into sin with him. But Justina
firmly resisted for she had already chosen Christ as her bridegroom. Finally,
unable to deceive her himself, Aglaias asked Cyprian to help him, promising him
much gold and silver if he should succeed.
Cyprian called on one of the evil spirits who proudly said that he should have
no trouble implanting the same impure thoughts into the heart of Justina. The
next night, when Justina was praying, she noticed that some wicked thoughts had
entered her head and she felt as though her body were possessed by a sinful
attraction for Aglaias. Recognizing that this was caused by the evil schemes of
the devil, she only increased her prayers. This put the demon to shame and he
was forced to flee. The inward battle stopped and Justina glorified God and
sang a song of victory.
Then Cyprian sent a more powerful demon. But, he, too, was unable to overcome
the maiden. Finally the prince of darkness himself, disguised as a woman, came
to Justina and tried to deceive her using words of Scripture. But Justina saw
that this, too, was the work of the devil. She protected herself with the sign
of the Cross and the wicked one immediately vanished in great shame.
Seeing how powerless even the prince of darkness was against Justina, Cyprian
became angry and demanded to know what weapon the maiden used against them. The
devil admitted: "We cannot behold the sign of the Cross, but flee from it
because it scorches us like fire and banishes us far away."
Having become convinced that nothing could conquer the power of the sign of the
cross and the name of Christ, Cyprian came to his senses and said to the devil,
"O destroyer and deceiver of all. Now I have discovered your true
weakness; woe is me. For, I, too, have been deceived. Get away from me, you
wretched one." Angered by these words, the devil threw himself at Cyprian
in order to kill him. But Cyprian protected himself with the sign of the Cross
and the devil immediately leaped away from him like an arrow shot from a bow.
Fully realizing his sins, Cyprian went to the Christian bishop and begged him
to give him holy baptism. He then gave him all his books of magic to be burned.
Seeing his genuine repentance, the bishop baptized him and burned his books in
front of all the believing people. Cyprian completely changed his life and
began to work not only for his own salvation, but also to help others. Soon he
was made a bishop and Justina became the abbess of a convent. The devil was
angry at this betrayal of one of his former servants. He inspired the pagan
rulers with the idea that Cyprian and Justina were their enemies because they
were leading people away from the pagan gods to the worship of Christ. Many
deceived pagans went to the governor and demanded that Cyprian and Justina be
put to death. After they had bravely withstood many tortures, these two
servants of the true God were beheaded with a sword. The devil had thought to
destroy Cyprian and Justina, but instead, they had gained crowns of martyrdom
and eternal life with Christ our God, to Whom be glory and honor forever. Amen.
(The above was adapted from the Life of Saints Cyprian and
Justina, The Orthodox Word, Vol.XII, 5)
One
can always invoke the prayers of Saints Cyprian and Justina against the
darkness of this contemporary age. Two sources for icons of these Saints are www.orthodoxmonasteryicons.com and www.skete.com.
If you would like the Akathist prayers to St. Cyprian, please write to me and I
will send you a copy for personal use (not to be copied or sold). Pres.
C.
