Homilia ii in sanctum Longinum centurionem

Of Hesychius, presbyter of Jerusalem, an encomium on Saint Longinus the centurion. 1 The victors of the contest, the citizens of heaven, the soldiers of Christ, the heirs of the kingdom, the ambassadors of the world to the Lord, the assessors of the cherubim and physicians of the sick, the purifiers of lepers and expellers of demons, the witnesses of faith, the tramplers of idols, those who through the body trod upon the devil and considered tortures as nothing, those who muzzled wild beasts and blunted swords, those sealed by Christ and known by him, the fair flowers of the churches, the powerful ambassadors, the stars of the inhabited world, the holy protomartyrs: John the Baptist, Stephen, Longinus the centurion. For when our master "Jesus Christ and savior was born in Bethlehem of Judea," it was announced to King Herod that a king of Israel had been born. And Herod, receiving the good news, having kept it in store for a short time in the hope of the Magi, but later raging with anger, sent Longinus the centurion, saying: "Go, learn accurately whether a king has been born, so that I too may come and worship him, because I was mocked by those Magi." And Longinus, going to Bethlehem of Judea, saw on the road a great light shining around him, and heard a voice saying to him: "Come, Longinus, my beloved, and I will make you a centurion of holy martyrs." And he fell to the ground, worshipped the one who had given him the voice, and said:

May it be for me according to your word, Lord God,” and he went to Bethlehem of Judea to worship the child, the Lord Jesus Christ. And he said to him, “Hail, King of the world.” 3 And returning to Herod, he said to him, “Truly the one born is the Son of God, King and Redeemer of the whole world.” Enraged, Herod said to him, “Do you bear witness concerning him under oath?” The centurion Longinus said, reaffirming, “Truly he is the Son of God and Redeemer of the world.” Herod said to Longinus, “What power have you seen performed by him that you say these things and consider him to be the Son of God?” The holy man of God Longinus said to Herod, “As I was traveling in Bethlehem of Judea and pondering within myself who the one born might be, behold, on the road suddenly a great light flashed around me, and I became as if in an ecstasy, and I found myself in Bethlehem of Judea, and I beheld the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the infant and reverencing him, and the Holy Spirit descending upon him, and power and glory overshadowing him, and I knew and was convinced and believed that truly he is the Son of God and Redeemer of the world, Christ.

King Herod said to Longinus, “I give you half of my kingdom if you give him into my hands.” The holy Longinus said to Herod, “I have transferred my service to the army of the eternal king and cannot do this; but if you wish, believe also, and you will become an heir of eternal life and kingdom; for this reason I dismissed you, saying, ‘Having gone to him, I will proclaim the good news to him, so that he may become an heir of eternal life and kingdom, and I may be deemed worthy of great honor, because I brought you good news.’” Herod, enraged against him, said to his nobles, “Since I bestowed upon him the greatest honor and made him a centurion, for this reason he thinks he is something, being nothing. Therefore strip him of his cloak, remove the torque from him, and take the sword from his waist, because he has shown himself disloyal, and cast him into the inner prison, placing heavy fetters on his neck and waist, until I devise many tortures for him. And after this I will order his head to be cut off.” And immediately at that hour he issued a decree of this sort, saying to his own soldiers, “Slay the infants in Bethlehem from two years old and younger, down to those of the same day.” And the soldiers went out according to the king’s decree and slew all the infants. And Herod, raging because of the Savior, that he had been mocked by the Magi, summoned the holy Longinus, and having taken his seat on the tribunal, ordered him to be brought.

As he was being led away, the king saw a golden torque around his neck and a royal cloak draped on the saint and a sword at his waist. He gnashed his teeth like a lion and raged like a beast against his nobles, saying, “Did I not tell you, you wretched soldiers, to take from him the torque and the sword and the garment?” And the nobles said to the king, “By your health, O king, we did according to your command, and having stripped him we cast him thus into prison; but whence this robe came to him or who clothed him, we do not know.” And Herod said to the holy Longinus, “Wretch, who has cast yourself down from glory, confess to me before tortures who it is that clothed you in this robe.” And the holy Longinus said, “As I speak truly and do not lie, I received it from no other than from the eternal king Jesus Christ.” And Herod said, “Is this the one who clothed you in this robe?” And the holy Longinus said, “He himself sent his angel and placed this garment on me and sealed me with the seal of the eternal king Jesus Christ.” And Herod said to his nobles, “Since he lies greatly, thinking that these things have been given to him as gifts by his king, therefore lift from him the garment that is on him and burn it with fire.” And the nobles approached to do what was commanded them, and they found nothing to touch or remove from him.

What?” the nobles said to the king. “Behold, we see the garment draped on him like a shadow, and we are unable to take anything from him.” Herod said, “By the Adrasteia that governs among men, now I know that he is a magician, in that he renders the cloak invisible.” The holy Longinus said, “By the heavenly king who has now come down from the heavens, I do not know what magic is; for I myself hate magicians and poisoners. And how could I, being his servant, possess a heart foul with magic and deceit? But I told you that the power of God has flashed around me, and it protects me.” Then Herod, disturbed by Longinus’s answers, ordered his soldiers to beat him with leaden weights. The holy Longinus said, “Now I am at rest, suffering for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, having become his friend and being loved by him; for I was held in great fear because of your evil machinations.” Then Herod, gnashing his teeth at Longinus, says to his nobles, “Put Longinus, the disloyal soldier, into three holes of the wood, and place heavy irons on him, so that, wasting away and being torn apart, he may grow weak in strength and become unsightly in beauty, so that all the people who formerly knew him may groan when they see him.

And they did as they were commanded. When he had spent thirty days in prison, with the fetters lying lightly upon him, Herod again sent for Saint Longinus, saying to his nobles, “Bring the prisoner Longinus before the tribunal, so that I may see him gloomy and withered and take my rest.” The nobles, going to the prison and seeing his face flashing like lightning, were afraid to bring him before the tribunal; nevertheless, taking him because of what Herod had commanded them, they led the noble athlete of Christ before the tribunal. Herod, seeing his face like the face of an angel, gnashed his teeth at his nobles and tore his garments and said, “Instead of punishments, you have brought me this prisoner.” And Herod, raging against his nobles, banished them, ordered the kapiklaroi to be beheaded, and decimated the soldiers who stood by him; and he gnashed his teeth and raged against his army, thinking that some plot was being contrived against him. To Saint Longinus he said, “Swear to me by the salvation of the gods that you will no longer speak or swear by the one who was born, nor call him king, so that if you do this you may escape the tortures and punishments that await you.” Saint Longinus said to the king, “By the glory of Jesus Christ, who saves those who believe in him, you will never persuade me to deny my God.

For relying on him, I will not fear your tortures.” Then Herod ordered him to be examined with whips. But the saint was praising and saying, “Lord God, the eternal king of kings and lord of lords, who sets kings upon thrones and raises the poor from the ground, the only merciful one, send your angel to strengthen me.” 11 When Herod saw that Saint Longinus did not feel the tortures, he said to his nobles, “Take him away to prison, bind him with chains, and after tormenting him, bring him to me, so that I may honor you greatly.” They took Saint Longinus and led him with great grief to the prison and did to him what had been commanded. When he had spent three days in the prison and there was great perplexity in Herod because of the born king, Saint Longinus prayed in the night, saying, “Lord Jesus Christ, send your angel and deliver your servants who are being punished here.” And as he prayed, a great earthquake occurred, so that the prison was shaken, and a light shone around Saint Longinus, and a voice was heard saying to him, “Rise quickly; for now is not the time for you to complete your martyrdom.

And immediately the bonds of all fell off, and the prison was opened, and about a thousand men came out and fled from the city; and there was a great uproar in the city. And the king heard what had happened in the prison; and coming to the place and not finding Saint Longinus there, he was perplexed as to what had happened. But Saint Longinus was moving about in the city, and no one was able to see him, because their eyes had been darkened. And Herod was seeking him; and there was a great uproar and much noise in the city, and they spoke against the pious. And Herod sent letters to the nations, so that they might bring Saint Longinus in bonds, thinking that he had fled the city, he being the servant of God; for struck with blindness, he lay down, and thus "Herod, becoming worm-eaten, expired." And Archelaus, the son of Herod, who bore the surname of his father, reigned in his place. And Saint Longinus was in the holy city, awaiting salvation from God. And after the death of Archelaus, Herod, the brother of Philip, reigned over Judea and Galilee. And Longinus was received back into his own rank; and he was observing the great deeds of God and the miracles that took place every day by our Lord Jesus Christ, until the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, emperor of the Romans, and when Herod, the brother of Philip, through Herodias, cut off the head of John the Baptist, who also, having given up the spirit in a wretched manner, expired.

And Herod, son of Herod, brother of Archelaus, reigned in place of Herod the brother of Philip, over Galilee; and in the twenty-fifth year of his reign, on the eighth day before the Kalends of April, which is the twenty-fifth of March, in the consulship of Rufus and Rubellio, in the fourth year of the second Olympiad, under the high priests of the Jews, Josippus and Caiaphas, who also handed over our Lord Jesus Christ to Pilate to be crucified. 14 But Pilate, learning that he was a Galilean and under the authority of Herod, sent him to Herod, who was in Jerusalem. And he, "having mocked him" and treated him with contempt, "put a bright garment on him and sent him back to Pilate." And Pilate, "having summoned the high priests and the rulers," argued with them, saying, "You have brought me this man, who is innocent." And all of them handed him over to be crucified, and they crucified "the one who takes away the sin of the world," nailing him to the wood; for Pilate had handed him over to the soldiers, and he set over them the centurion Longinus, who was renamed in the army as Primianus. And the holy Longinus was with the soldiers guarding Christ, who had gone up on the cross. "From the sixth hour until the ninth hour, darkness came over the whole earth." And the centurion, standing guard at the cross around the ninth hour, beheld a great light around it, though darkness was over the whole earth.

He also saw a multitude of angels standing by the cross and the whole earth shaken, and "the veil of the temple was rent," and he saw the face of the Lord like lightning. And before he gave up the ghost, the holy Longinus pondered in his heart, saying, "Truly this is the Son of God and the redeemer of the whole world." And while pondering these things, he fell on his face at the feet of the Lord; and amazement came upon the soldiers, and they were turned to sleep. And the holy Longinus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me; for I have believed that you are the Son of God, the savior of the world." And Jesus said to him, "Man, today you have been born, and your memorial shall be spoken of until the last days." 16 And having heard these things, the holy Longinus said to Jesus, "Lord, I am departing from this city because of the threat of the magnates." And Jesus said to him, "Make the sign of the cross on your forehead, for I will baptize you with your blood, and go." After making the cross, the centurion was guarding the precious cross with the soldiers; and standing "about the ninth hour," when Jesus cried out "with a loud voice: Eloi, Eloi, that is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?", "he gave up the spirit." And behold, a great thunder occurred, and the earth was shaken, and the sun was darkened from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, and the stars of the heaven showed their light, and "the rocks were split and the tombs

were opened," and "the veil of the temple was rent from above down to below into two," and "many bodies of the sleeping saints arose." And the centurion Primianus, who is also Longinus, who stood by the cross, glorified God for all the miracles that had taken place and said: "Truly this is the Son of God and the redeemer of the world." "And all the crowds that came to this spectacle, seeing what had happened, returned, striking their faces." And the centurion Longinus, who was also entrusted with the cross, reported to the governor concerning the miracles that had occurred. And leaving everything there, he came to his own homeland, in Cappadocia Secunda, near Tyana, to a place called Andrales, also called in Hebrew Gabrales, and he changed his garments, and was shepherding sheep. And having read the records, Herod found that the holy Longinus was disturbing the kingdom and rising up against his father and telling everyone to become Christians. And learning from the prefect Lucius the precise details of the centurion's confession and his endurance, he raised a persecution against the Christians; and the holy Longinus was sought after by the idolaters. And when the holy Longinus came to his own country, in those days there was a plundering against all the pious, and the king sent three princes with a great force to search for the holy Longinus.

Herod summoned the three princes and the soldiers and gave them orders, saying thus: "If you do not bring me the head of Longinus the centurion, your own heads will be cut off with swords." Having received these orders, they set out in search, grieving greatly; for having gone around from Antioch as far as Rome and Illyricum, they did not find him. Lamenting and turning back, they traveled through Cappadocia, and coming near Tyana, they sought the holy Longinus. Arriving at the village of Andralesoi, they inquired of those there, and no one gave an answer about him, for they loved him greatly. And receiving no answer, the soldiers left the village in great sorrow. Now the holy Longinus was very near the road, pasturing sheep along the way by which those sent were traveling, and the holy Longinus was sitting by the road. Seeing them coming from afar, he recognized them and stood up. When they came to him, he said to them: "Welcome, brothers." Not recognizing who it was speaking to them, Longinus said to them: "Why, brothers, are you gloomy and weary as from a long journey?" They said: "Listen, brother, to our bitterness: a decree has gone out against Longinus the centurion from King Herod, containing this: if you do not bring his head, your heads will be given to the sword. We, man, have been searching for him for nine months and have not found him. Behold, you have heard the evils that have befallen us.

If, then, you know anyone called Longinus the centurion, report him to us.” The holy Longinus said, “I do not know the man. But enter my house and stay, and tomorrow you will go on your way.” And they entered his house to remain with him. When morning came, the holy Longinus said to them, “What is the cause concerning Longinus, that you seek him with such urgency?” The men said to him that he is sought by the king because he is unsettling his kingdom, persuading people to worship the crucified Christ, the king of the ages. And they were grieved and deliberated with one another, saying, “What shall we do?” The holy Longinus said to them, “Do not be troubled, brothers, nor be disheartened; for I am the one you seek, the servant of God and of Jesus Christ, Longinus, to whom you were sent.” The men, hearing this, were troubled and became speechless, unable to speak. And the holy Longinus said to them, “Do not be disheartened, brothers, but let us eat and drink and go to the one who sent you. For I have sold my body to Christ, in order to purchase my soul from him.” Hearing this, they said to him with tears, “No, but we will go and make a defense for you to the one who sent us; for if you truly are Longinus, we die along with you. And we do not do this to you to lead you away to the one who sent us.

Seeing that they were stricken in conscience by the Spirit of God, he said to them, “If you would show mercy to me, do this: take my head and bring it to the emperor, and you will be free from care for all the days of your life.” But they were afraid and were unwilling to consent. He adjured them twice, entreating them to do this. After they had been greatly entreated to do this, they said to him, “Then intercede for us in your army, that this not be counted as sin against us.” When he had promised them he would do this, they cut off his head. Having beheaded the holy Longinus, they brought the head to the emperor, and the uproar of the lawless ceased. The head of the holy Longinus was kept by the prefect Lucius. The men of the village where the holy man of God was took the body and placed it in that village. A certain widow named Chreste was troubled by a wild spirit, violently cutting herself, being of noble birth. She intended to go to the East on the next day, but having heard about those healed by Jesus, she wished to go that very night. The holy Longinus appeared to her without his head. And when she said, “Who comes here?” the holy Longinus said to her, “Do you wish to be healed?” She said, “Yes, lord, that is my prayer.” The holy one said to her, “Go to Jerusalem, and find the house of Lucius the prefect, and seek the head of Longinus the centurion, and bring it to my body, and you will be saved.

For I am Longinus, the one who tends the sheep by the road, and I have not rested in the tomb in which I was buried until now. But do this, and you will be healed in the name of Jesus Christ. Not only will you be healed, but I will also enroll your son in the army, for it is I, without my head, who am speaking to you. When the woman heard these things, she arose, took leave of the friends she had, and went to the road. Coming to the tomb, she cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Lord, you who are in this place, as you said to me in the vision, I am going; help me.” And immediately the place was shaken, and a voice came to her saying, “Go; it is Christ who is helping you.” Having heard this voice, she traveled her whole road in joy. Coming to Jerusalem, she learned from the city’s inhabitants the house of the prefect, in order to seek out the head of Saint Longinus. And the prefect gave it to her for a price of silver in the amount of two hundred denarii. Taking it, the woman was praying and glorifying God for having been fully deemed worthy of the grace of God. Taking the head of the venerable Longinus together with her son Chrestion, she prepared to depart in the evening. And behold, three angels appeared to her, whose glory she could not bear to look upon, and in their hands were white candles, and proceeding before her they hymned God throughout the whole night. When dawn was rising, they rested in the place they had reached to partake of food. And after three days she brought the head of the venerable Longinus to his village, having journeyed

with her son Chrestion, and she went to the place where he lay, it being the sixth hour of the night. So they arrived at the house which the lovers of Christ had built worthy of the martyr, and immediately the door opened of its own accord to them, and they saw the tomb open, and light shone all around in the chamber. The young man entered the tomb with myrrh and spices, placed the head on the body, and it became joined together as it was before the beheading. When he came out of the tomb, the place was immediately sealed of its own accord. They returned to the house, rejoicing and glorifying God. On the second night, Saint Longinus appeared to Chreste, saying: “I am now at rest, because you have provided me with my head, and you will be healed from this day. But I ask this: shall I enlist your son in the heavenly army or in the earthly one?” She answered with fear and said: “I beg you, enlist him in the heavenly army.” Having heard this, he departed from her. On the following day, the young man went to the vineyard to tend the vine. While he was working until the fifth hour, Saint Longinus appeared to him and said: “Young man Chrestion, do you wish to enlist according to your name in Christ?” He looked up and saw him like lightning and said to him: “Who are you, lord, who wishes to enlist me?” He said: “I am Longinus, who through your mother was given the head, but just as she brought me my head, so I wish to bring you to God.” And Chrestion said to him:

If this is so, may it be according to your word.” And immediately the young man gave up his spirit. His mother, taking the meal at the accustomed hour as on the previous days, went to her son in the vineyard; and upon arriving, she found him dead. Seeing this, she fell on her face to the ground; and losing heart and tearing her tunic, she lay as if dead. And the angel came and strengthened her; he said to her, “Why do you weep?” She said, “My son is lost, my only son, the fruit of my womb has been gathered unripe.” The angel said to her, “Do not be deceived, woman, nor weep over this; for he has not been gathered, nor is he lost, but he is in the bosom of Jesus Christ. Go then to the village, and call reverent men, and let them come and take up the body of your son; and let them bury him in the tomb where the most faithful Longinus lies, and after three days you will see your son in the heavenly host.

Having said this, the angel became invisible. She arose and went to the village, and immediately the angel came comforting her. And they learned what had happened. She reported everything to them, and having heard, they went to the bishop of Tyana and reported the events to him. Immediately Bishop Paphnutius, taking pious men with him, came to the place where the young man had died, and ordered his mother to be summoned. When she came, the bishop said to her: "Do not weep over this; for he, having obtained the heavenly kingdom, intercedes greatly for us. Let us therefore rejoice rather than be sorrowful." Having said this, he ordered the body of the young man to be taken up and placed with Saint Longinus, and they offered an acceptable sacrifice to the heavenly God. The pious woman became a deaconess and minister of the glorious faith. Having offered and exhorted much, the bishop departed to the city. When evening came and night fell, at the fourth hour of the night, Saint Longinus appeared to her, saying: "Why do you blaspheme me?" She, becoming frightened and trembling, said: "Who are you, lord?" He said: "I am

Longinus who enlisted your son.” And Chreste, recalling her son, cried out, saying, “Lord, if you enlisted him, you would not have killed him.” The most faithful Longinus said to her, “See, even now you speak blasphemies. But arise and go out of your house, and you will see your son, that he has been enlisted.” And taking her by the hand, he cast her out, and she beholds the heaven opened and a great light in the night; and looking up, she saw as if in ecstasy the heavenly king and her son going before him. And the holy Longinus said to her, “Even now that you have seen your son, that he has been enlisted, have you now believed?” And she said, “Yes, lord, enough of what I have spoken against you, master.” And immediately he became invisible. 30 And she was spending night and day in the holy house, continuing in prayers and hymns and almsgivings, and likewise also performing healings through invocation of Christ and the holy martyr, glorifying God in her days for all the good things that had befallen her. And she died in the days of Paphnutius the bishop; and they laid her near the holy Longinus in the same house, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, to whom is the glory and the power unto the ages of ages. Amen.