Iconography
The most famous image of the saint was created under Ivan the Terrible by icon painters of the Moscow church. The icon gives a clear idea of how the Bishop of Pergamon lived and experienced. It is recommended to keep it on the home iconostasis for a person seeking to be healed spiritually or physically, or to strengthen faith.
The icon depicts a gray-haired old man with a long beard and a wise, soulful gaze. The face expresses humility, submission to the prepared fate, but at the same time, it looks serious, firm and confident, expressing readiness to fight demonic forces for the salvation of human souls. The holy martyr wears a bishop's omophorion with images of crosses and a chasuble. The predominant colors in the vestments are green and red. With one hand the bishop makes a blessing gesture, with the other he holds the Gospel.
Today there are several options for writing the holy face, but Antipas is always depicted as meek and humble, as he was during his life.
Looking at the icon, you understand how much torment the saint had to endure for his faith. But even painful dying on a red-hot altar did not turn the Bishop of Pergamon away from faith in Christ.
Reverence
The memory of the Bishop of Pergamon is April 24 according to the new calendar.
Antipas of Pergamon is one of the most revered martyrs, awarded the construction of temples. There are several known places of veneration of the saint:
- Lugansk spring dedicated to Saint Antipas (18 km from Antratsit towards Lugansk);
- Vologda Church of the Holy Martyr Antipas;
- Moscow Church of Antipas of Pergamon on Kolymazhny Lane.
The last place is the most popular among pilgrims. The Moscow church looks modest, has an ancient history, largely tragic and mysterious. It is not known exactly when and by whom the temple was built, and why it was named in honor of the holy Bishop of Pergamon. Presumably the church was built in the 1530s. According to documentary evidence, the territory on which the church is located was owned by the Skuratov family of boyars. Therefore, it is generally accepted that it was this family that financed the construction.
The history of the Luhansk spring is interesting. Once, pilgrims from the Voronezh province, returning from Jerusalem, stopped for the night in the Lugansk region near a spring. In the old days, many people had problems with their teeth. After drinking spring water, the pilgrims went to bed. In the morning everyone woke up with healthy teeth, and saw the reflection of Saint Antipas in the spring water.
From the history of that time
Only by immersing yourself in the history of the beginning of a new era in human history can you truly appreciate the exploits of the first Christians. After the reign of Nero, on whose orders Rome was burned and thousands of innocent Christians were executed, half a century later the cruel Emperor Domitian came to power, ruling from 81 to 96.
John the Theologian wrote the book of Revelation on the island of Patmos
This was a period of persecution of Christians, and the time of the Apostle John's stay on Patmos, a barren island of the Aegean Sea, where the saint wrote the Gospel and the last book of the Bible, Revelation. On the territory of Great Mysia there was a kingdom with its capital in the city of Pergamum.
Wealth, luxury, extensive libraries, which appeared thanks to the unique discovery of parchment, were the hallmark of the capital, whose population worshiped Artemis. Personifying the night luminary - the moon, Artemis or Diana, as she was also called, was known as a goddess who demanded splendor and brilliance in worship.
Christianity rapidly spread throughout the country, threatening the existence of paganism. The princes and rulers of the cities received orders to unquestioningly carry out the orders of the emperor regarding the acceptance of the pagan faith by every resident, confirmation of which was to be the worship of altars and pagan gods.
Opponents of paganism faced painful death. The end of the first century saw the appearance of many saints who laid down their lives on the altar of love for Jesus Christ, among them Antipas, Bishop of Pergamum, occupies a special place.
