Dr. Augustine Sokolovski
On April 26, the Church commemorates Saint Crescens of Myra. The Latin name “Crescens” translates as “growing” or “increasing.” For churches dedicated to Saint Nicholas, in particular, and for Orthodox Christians who venerate this saint in general, it is especially gratifying to realize that the Church’s memory has preserved the remembrance of the saints who shone in the city of Myra, and even more so of those by whose example Saint Nicolas was raised in the faith. Records indicate that in ancient times, there was a basilica in Myra of Lycia dedicated to the local martyrs Crescens and Dioscorides. Unfortunately, the exact date of the martyr’s suffering is unknown.
It is known that Saint Crescens was young, but, by virtue of his noble birth, he held a position of some importance in the city. One day, he witnessed a huge crowd of townspeople heading toward a pagan temple to offer sacrifices. Filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, like the prophets of the Bible, he began to urge the people to stop and worship the One God, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. After being arrested, he was forced to offer a sacrifice to the idols, but he refused to do so.
Taking advantage of his acquaintance with Saint Crescens’ father, the governor advised him to offer a sacrifice as a mere formality, simply to ward off the accusation of disregarding the public values of Roman society—an accusation to which Christians were frequently subjected. “It is impossible for the body not to do as the soul thinks, since the soul governs and moves the body,”—hagiography has preserved this response from the martyr. It represents a genuine confession of faith in the unity of the human soul and body and the unified responsibility of the entire human being before God. In our time, which—contrary to biblical belief—asserts that the human body belongs not to the realm of nature but to the realm of culture and can therefore be subject to unlimited manipulation—this fundamental opposition between “nature and culture”—such a testimony from an ancient martyr is of the utmost importance.