About the Bethlehem babies and the heirs of King Herod
Today we remember the murdered Bethlehem babies and hear from the Gospel of Matthew about terrible things: Then Herod, seeing himself ridiculed by the wise men, was very angry, and sent to kill all the babies in Bethlehem and in all its borders, from two years old and under, according to the time that found out from the wise men. Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled, saying: A voice was heard in Rama, weeping and mourning and great crying; Rachel cries for her children and does not want to be consoled, for they are not there (Matthew 3:17-18).
Skeptics may doubt this very fact on the grounds that it is not reported by Josephus, the source of the most detailed information about Herod the Elder. However, why did he even have to talk about it? Against the bloody background of Herod’s reign, especially the end of this reign, the murder of some babies seemed completely unnoticeable to the people of antiquity. Herod destroyed almost the entire house of the Hasmoneans, the descendants of the legitimate rulers of the Jewish people, and did not even stop before killing Mariamne, although she was the most beloved of his ten wives. The end of his reign was marked by unimaginable horrors, which culminated in the murder of his own son Antipater. Herod easily gave orders for the destruction of the elite of Israel - the scribes and Pharisees. On the day of his death, he ordered the execution of 70 of the most noble and respected Pharisees, saying: “They won’t cry for me, let them at least cry for them.” It cost him nothing to sentence noble Jewish youths to be burned simply because they threw a Roman eagle from the Jerusalem temple. Emperor Augustus, Herod's friend and patron, knowing the Jewish custom of not eating pork, gloomily joked: “It is better to be Herod’s pig than his brother.”
On the other hand, who were children for the ancient world? Thanks to centuries of Christian education, children are the center of the universe for us. For antiquity, they were practically nothing and no one. Let us remember the words of St. Apostle Paul: In childhood, an heir is no different from a slave (Gal. 4:1). His life in itself had no value. According to Roman law, a child acquired the right to life, education and inheritance only if the parent recognized him - took him in his arms in front of the hearth. Otherwise, he could easily have been thrown out into the street to be eaten by dogs.
No moral considerations could stop Herod from killing when power was at stake
The next side of the question: we are too accustomed to the mythology of ancient rationalism. It is worth reading at least the classic work of E. Dodds “The Greeks and the Irrational” to be convinced: antiquity was many times more superstitious than the Middle Ages. Many Roman aristocrats, during the time of Tiberius and later, ended their lives in the noose or on the scaffold, accused of asking astrologers about the fate of the emperor. And then three astrologers come from Persia and ask: Where is the born king of the Jews? (Matt. 2:2). If Herod did not execute them immediately, it was only to use them as bait. And, naturally, no moral considerations could keep him from a terrible murder when it came to his power.
Nevertheless, modern Israel forgave Herod everything, and moreover, exalted him because of his organizational and construction successes. In Eilat, for example, the Herod the Great hotel flaunts. Unfortunately, it does not contain the painting “The Massacre of the Innocents”.
Now abortion has ceased to be not only a crime, but also an emergency
Herod had many heirs. And these are not only the Mongols and Turks, who exterminated everyone on their way, even infants. And not only the Nazis, who shot minors along with adults and pumped blood out of children for their wounded soldiers. These are the organizers and performers of abortions. It is worth remembering that abortion was first legally permitted during the French Revolution. In our country, a wave of abortions began thanks to Lenin’s decree of 1920. Stalin introduced strict restrictions on abortion, which, however, were abolished by his pathetic epigone Khrushchev 60 years ago, in 1955. And, unfortunately, now abortion has ceased to be not only a crime, but also an emergency. It has become a bloody routine and a path to the “sweet” life. Here’s an overheard conversation on a train - one woman says to another: “Well, I had an abortion, so what? I need this child! I’d rather go abroad.” Comments are unnecessary... Let us only note that the logic is the same as that of Herod: infanticide as a path to comfort. But you can’t build comfort on blood: an example of this is the fate of the child-killer king, who died in terrible agony.
An unborn baby is a man, whoever kills it kills a man
The heirs of Herod are those who kill babies in the womb and dare to brazenly assert that the unborn baby is not a person. This is an obvious lie, because the Holy Scripture powerfully testifies that a conceived baby has a soul and human status: From my mother’s womb You are my God (Ps. 21:11). This is the story of the leap of John the Baptist in the womb of Elizabeth. This is the testimony of the prophet Jeremiah: Before you were conceived, I knew you (Jer. 1:4-5). The unborn baby is a man; whoever kills it kills a man. At present, Herod's work has been put on stream. According to various estimates, a million unborn babies die from abortion in Russia[1]. There are cases when bodies are commercialized, going either to the cosmetics and perfume industry, or to stem cells[2]. This is a bloody but profitable business. We, Orthodox Christians, must raise our voices against this lawlessness, against Herod’s cynical murder.
Some Christians have a question: how did the Bethlehem babies appear as martyrs if they did not confess Christ? The Church's answer is clear, understandable and definite. Since they were killed for Christ, the motive for their murder was the murder of the Savior, then, regardless of their will, they became martyrs for Christ.
At times, the question of confession, unfortunately, takes on an inadequate character. When the Optina martyrs, killed on Easter by a Satanist because they were monks, refuse to canonize, saying that no one asked them about their confession, this opinion, to put it mildly, is strange, because the whole life of Hieromonk Vasily, the monks Trophim and Feraponta was the confession of Christ.
Evidence of the possibility of canonization of martyrs without explicitly and verbally expressed confession is precisely the memory of the Bethlehem infants, which is a clear and distinct precedent for us. The death of infants is a kind of mystery. On the one hand, we see here the arrogant and cynical triumph of evil. On the other hand, we see innocent blood, which cries out to Heaven, which fell on the head of Herod and the executioners. Herod dies a terrible and painful death soon after. We see here the proclamation of the Cross of Christ, His Golgotha, for the innocent blood of babies cries out louder than Abel’s.
At times the question arose, why did Christ not suffer as a baby? Saint John Chrysostom clearly answered this. Who would then proclaim to us the Word of salvation, leave the commandments and show us the way to Heaven? If Christ had died as a baby, then the redemption of the world would also have occurred, but it would have remained unclaimed by us and unknown to us.
By the inscrutable Divine Providence they turned out to be the chosen ones of Israel. What would have happened to the babies of Bethlehem if they had not died? It is very likely that if they had grown up, they would have found themselves in a mad crowd at Pilate's praetorium and shouted: “Crucify Him!” And in their declining years they would have seen the destruction of Judea and Jerusalem.
There is another mysterious moment here, namely those words quoted by the Evangelist Matthew: Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled, who says: a voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and mourning and a great cry; Rachel cries for her children and does not want to be consoled, for they are not there (Matthew 2: 17-18). The point is that Rachel died and was buried on the road to Bethlehem, where Jacob erected a tombstone that exists to this day. During the time of the prophet Jeremiah, this place was a gathering place for captives who were driven to the land of Babylon, where the Israelites groaned and cried because they did not hope to return from captivity. However, let us remember the continuation of this verse from Jeremiah: Thus said the Lord: “Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your labor... the sons will return to their borders” (Jer. 31:15). Indeed, after 50 years, some of the Israelis returned from Babylonian captivity. There is great symbolism here. The Bethlehem babies herald the general return from captivity, since the human race will be redeemed by Christ, and the worthy will be returned from hell, from darkness and eternal captivity to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Pretender to the throne
Herod was overcome with fear and trembling. Anger grew more and more in his heart, and he began to make insidious plans. One day a truly satanic thought struck him. Herod hastily gathered all the high priests and scribes of the people and asked them one single question: “Where should Christ be born?” They answered him: “In Bethlehem of Judea.”
So, Herod recognized the place where the contender for the throne was born. Now he began to be interested in questions about when this happened, that is, how old is He now? There was little point in asking the high priests about this. Then he decided to find the Magi, who said that some kind of guiding star had appeared to them and they were following it to worship the Divine Child.
Interpretation of John Chrysostom
Saint John Chrysostom, speaking about allowing the death of innocent, sinless babies, says that their death was as if they took several copper coins from you and gave you gold coins in return. Such a person would never feel offended, but on the contrary, would consider the one who gave the gold coins to be a benefactor.
By copper coins we mean our earthly life, which always ends in death. And gold is eternal life that the Lord gives us.
In a few moments of martyrdom, the babies received that blissful eternity that the saints achieved through the labors and exploits of their entire lives.
Temple of the Innocents of Bethlehem. Parnassus
A new church was built in the historical district of St. Petersburg, in its northern part. He was named after the Babes of Bethlehem. It took two years to build and was designed for 200 people.
Construction began with a small chapel built in 2012. Then, according to the project of one local resident, they began to build a church here, which was completed in May 2021. That same year, parishioners celebrated Easter there, and the Church of the Innocents of Bethlehem was again closed to complete work on the interior decoration. It was opened in 2017 and Christmas was already celebrated there.
Cave
The Bethlehem babies, through their suffering, opened the mysterious door to the Kingdom of Heaven. And then they inherited eternal life in the host of Angels.
In Palestine, in the city of Bethlehem, not far from the Church of the Nativity of Christ, in a cave there are the relics of the Bethlehem babies, those same holy martyrs killed by the soldiers of King Herod. This cave is part of a system of numerous underground burials located in the area of the Church of the Nativity.
At its very bottom there is a small catacomb church of the 4th century. This is one of the oldest thrones preserved in this city.
Anthony of Novgorod explained that half of the relics were taken to Constantinople, and half remained in Bethlehem. Hundreds of believers flock there.
Number of infant martyrs
The legend states that there were 14,000 babies, but this number is not in the Gospel. Does this make any difference? It is clear that in such a small city as Bethlehem and its surroundings there would hardly be such a number of infants aged two years and younger.
From this it becomes clear that the number 14 is symbolic and speaks of the mass scale of the murder committed. In general, the number 14 is very often found in the biblical tradition: Rachel had 14 children, in the genealogy of Jesus Christ there are 14 genera from David before the resettlement to Babylon and 14 after the resettlement from Babylon to Christ and beyond.
Christians began to commemorate the massacre of infants in Bethlehem in the second century. It was then, most likely, that this number was designated. But on the other hand, 14 is twice 7. And this figure expresses the idea of holiness and completeness.
Therefore, we can assume that the number 14,000 is rather rather conditional and metaphorical. It indicates the double exceptionality of the bloodshed that occurred, the indescribable extent of suffering.
On the day of honoring the beaten infants - January 11 - Orthodox Christians pray to prevent abortions. Women who have ever committed this sin bring repentance. On this day, the service takes place under the reading of a prayer service, akathist, canon and prayer to the Bethlehem babies.
The first martyrs
The suffering of the holy infants of Bethlehem, the first martyrs, whose innocent blood was shed for the Savior of the world, also seems inexplicable. But they became martyrs absolutely unconsciously and in this, of course, there is a certain Providence of God.
The word "martyr" in Greek is translated as "witness." After the Lord’s Sacrifice on the Cross, suffering for Him becomes a testimony of faith. Then what can we say about the suffering righteous of the Old Testament, who suffered for the True God before His coming, or about the Bethlehem babies?
Without a doubt, they are all very important to God and no less important than those in the New Testament. The only difference is that Christ sacrificed Himself on the Cross and thereby freed them from sin, curse and death after their life on earth.
There are a lot of examples of martyrdom, and they are conventionally divided into two groups: martyrdom without options (by necessity) and martyrdom of choice.
In the first labor, the martyr is required to renounce Christ in order to continue his life on earth, or to recognize Him as the Messiah and suffer for his faith, giving his life. In the second, the feat of martyrdom includes those cases when a person accepts suffering for political and religious purposes, when it is necessary to remove his opponents.
Magi
Herod immediately sent guards to bring the wise men at all costs. It didn't take much time. The Magi, not suspecting anything bad, came and cordially told Herod about when the star appeared in the east.
Herod began to make calculations. The star, according to the Magi, appeared several months ago. Plus, they could have made a mistake and not noticed it right away. And it is quite possible that she appeared when the baby was already born and strong. All this arithmetic led him to the conclusion that the Child could be up to two years old.
Cunning calculations
So, all the information has been received, what remains? The case itself is so cruel and bloodthirsty, the likes of which have never been seen in history.
Herod, hiding his true intentions, slyly told the wise men to go and carefully scout about the baby, and when they found him, notified him about it, then he too would go and worship Him.
But the Magi, having received a revelation in a dream, did not return to Herod, but worshiped the born Christ and, bypassing Jerusalem, went to their countries in completely different ways.
The sin of abortion
The icon of the Bethlehem Babies is a kind of liturgical symbol and a sign of the movement in defense of unborn children. The Orthodox Church believes that abortion is not just some kind of immoral act. This is a murder that is considered conscious, which means it is a mortal sin that requires long-term repentance, even if it was committed out of ignorance. The human being was killed before his baptism, and one cannot pray for the unbaptized, and therefore unborn babies are deprived of church commemoration and funeral services.
An abortion cannot but affect family well-being, the physical and mental health of spouses, because there is a spiritual law of life for building a family, which cannot be built on the blood of innocently murdered children.
Before the icon of the martyrs of the infants of Bethlehem, they atone for the sins of killing children. Remembrance Day has changed from a minor patronal feast to a day of repentance for mothers who have ever committed a terrible sin against their children. On this day, actions are held to protect unborn children.
