Feast Day ~ September 15
True persecution is usually preceded by less severe forms of harassment – limits on freedom, paying of “tributes”, relegation to second-class position in society, loss of legal protection – and it usually begins with ridicule. In some places around the world today, Christians are being killed by those who believe they are pleasing their god. But in America, we are still in this preliminary stage and opposition to us is from several directions.
It is practically impossible to watch a film without hearing the precious name of Jesus used as an expletive expressing anger or merely surprise. Christian business owners who hold to traditional religious beliefs and practices are accused of “hate” crimes. Our laws now protect some of the sins most abhorrent to Christians but not those of us who still consider those actions sins. Christians are berated for our traditional words and concepts about man – God’s highest creation – as our language and definitions are being twisted away from what has been revealed by God.
This pattern has happened before. Even though some of the extreme positions which our society at large now takes may be a new thing, the way we arrived at this point has been tried before: factions lobbying for changes, powerful public figures swaying public opinion, the law being used against Christians and, above all, ridicule of those who hold fast to Christian tradition. The devil has been hard at work and we should have been paying closer attention.
Our main recourse now is prayer. There are particular saints of the Church who will intercede for us because they experienced this in their earthly lives; some were even active participants in it. Among those is St. Porphyrius the actor.
The facts we have about St. Porphyrius are few. He was a stage performer during the reign of the Emperor Julian the Apostate, who ruled from 361-3 and who, though he had been raised as a Christian and had been acquainted with saints of the Church, had turned away from the faith in order to “restore” the Roman Empire to its pagan past. Actors like Porphyrius played into this apostasy of their Emperor in some of their public performances. On the occasion of the Emperor’s birthday in the year 361, which he was celebrating in the city of Ephesus, the acting troupe in which Porphyrius was a member was called upon to provide the entertainment.
A comical skit was prepared which would mock the Christian Sacrament of Baptism and Porphyrius was the actor chosen as the one to be “baptized”. Amidst exaggerated movements and gestures and humorous asides which amused the Emperor and his friends, Porphyrius was immersed in “blessed” water three times in the name of the Holy Trinity and he came out of the water declaring himself a Christian. Suddenly, this was no longer an act. Porphyrius knew in his heart that he really was a Christian, a believer in the truth of this faith, and he knew that he wanted to be a follower of Jesus Christ. So, putting aside all pretense and forgetting his acting skills, he assured the audience that he was truly a Christian. Of course, the Emperor was furious and ordered his immediate torture and execution. With his beheading, St. Porphyrius received the baptism of martyrdom.
Perhaps the actor had prepared for his role in this important performance before the Emperor by thoroughly studying the teachings and rituals of Christians. Perhaps he had even heard the story of another actor, Genesius, who had experienced a similar conversion at the beginning of the 4th century before the Emperor Diocletian. Whatever the circumstances which led up to this dramatic conclusion, St. Porphyrius was now ready to declare his beliefs and accept the consequences.
In writing about St. Porphyrius, St. Nikolai of Ochrid declared: “God is not mocked. He either punishes mockers to correct them, or turns them to that which they mocked.” We pray that those in our midst today who would mock us for our beliefs will, like St. Porphyrius, see the truth and turn to Christ themselves. Holy Porphyrius, pray for them and us.