The Church glorified the Bethlehem babies as the first martyrs for Christ. And now they are in the kingdom of heaven next to those for whom they have suffered innocent suffering. Where there is neither sorrow nor death for them, there is only eternal joy and eternal life. May God grant us such heavenly halls.
Gospel story
Baby Jesus, when he was born, there was no place among people. And he reclined in a manger near livestock. Christ, the long-awaited Mission, did not come to establish an earthly state, but to lead people to the Kingdom of Heaven.
When the Savior was born, the king of Judea was the evil and cruel king Herod. And although he was not a Jew, he illegally managed to take the throne. And then one day the news came to him that in this world a legitimate heir to the Jewish throne had appeared.
Claimant to the throne
Herod seized fear and awe. Anger accumulated in his heart more and more, and he began to build cunning plans. Once he was struck by a truly satanic thought. 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 Judah."
So, Herod recognized the place where the candidate for the throne was born. Now he began to be interested in questions about when this happened, that is, how old is he now? The high priests did not have much to ask about this. Then he decided to look for the Magi, who said that they had some kind of guiding star and they followed her to bow to the Divine baby.
Magi
Herod immediately sent the guard to bring the Magi at all costs. It did not take much time. The Magi, not suspecting anything bad, came and heartily told Herod about when the star appeared in the east.
Herod began to make calculations. The star, according to the Magi, appeared a few months ago. Yes, plus, they could be mistaken and not immediately notice it. And quite possibly, she appeared when the baby was already born and matured. All this arithmetic led him to the conclusion that the Baby can be up to two years old.
Insidious calculations
So, all information is received, what remains? The affair itself is so cruel and bloodthirsty, something like which it had not before in history.
Herod, hiding his true intentions, cunningly told the magi to go and scout carefully about the baby, and when they find it, notify him of it, then he will go and bow to 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.
Herod's Revenge
Herod never knew where the divine child is. He was terribly angry and sent to beat all the babies in Bethlehem and in all its borders from two years and younger.
And a great crime happened - the whole of Bethlehem and its environs were filled with cries and lamentations, for the blood of 14,000 innocent children was shed.
But Herod could not be found Christ. The Holy Family, having received notice from the Angel, fled to Egypt.
The villains of Herod
The wrath of Herod was terrible; he also fell upon the pious righteous Simeon the God-Receiver. In the temple, taking the born baby Christ in his arms, the elder publicly testified about the appearance of the long-awaited Messiah. Soon Simeon went to the Lord. But Herod did not want to be buried with dignity.
Then, at the behest of King Herod, the priest Zacharias, who was stabbed between the altar and the altar, was brutally killed. All this happened due to the fact that he did not point out to the soldiers of the king the location of his son John, the future baptist Jesus Christ.
Soon the wrath of God punished King Herod himself. He suffered a terrible disease - he died from the fact that he was eaten alive by worms.
But before his death, he managed to complete several more atrocities. He killed several high priests and scribes of the Jews, his wife Mariamne and his three sons, his brother, as well as seven dozen ancient husbands, members of the Sanhedrin.
Holy martyrs are the babies of Bethlehem. Meaning of suffering
For the first time, the episode with the beating of infants was described by the apostle Matthew in the gospel. When you first get acquainted with this New Testament story, some fear and horror immediately encompasses. And involuntarily the question arises about the meaning of the suffering and death of Bethlehem babies.
Before God, no suffering remains meaningless. This is also stated in the many testimonies described in scripture. This is evidenced by the lives of people affected in this world for various reasons cited as an example in this book. God's providence for man and the world is not always understood. It is impossible to realize and see at once in an instant that everything is aimed at the benefit of the whole universe.
First martyrs
The suffering of the saints 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" is translated in Greek as "witness." After the Lord's Cross Victim, the witness of faith becomes suffering for Him. Then what about the injured righteous Old Testament who suffered for the True God before His coming, or about Bethlehem babies?
Without a doubt, they are all very important to God and no less than the New Testament. The only difference is that Christ sacrificed Himself on the Cross and thereby freed from sin, curse and death after their life on earth.
There are a lot of examples of martyrdom, and they are conditionally divided into two groups: martyrdom without options (if necessary) and martyrdom of choice.
In the first feat, 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 faith, giving his life. In the second, the feat of martyrdom includes those cases when a person accepts suffering because of political and religious goals, when it is necessary to remove his opponents.
Innocent victim
So it happened with King Herod. When he found out about the newborn King of Judea, he became afraid that he would soon lose his throne. Therefore, he sent soldiers to beat infants from two years old and below in Bethlehem and its district, which turned out to be about 14,000.
Herod did not know exactly where Jesus was at that time, but he wanted to see the newborn Christ in this, among the innocent sufferers.
These babies had no choice: they had not yet realized life, therefore they were not asked whether they choose the path of martyrdom or not. But that’s how their path to the kingdom of heaven turned out to be.
For his great atrocities, the king of Judah suffered the punishment of God: rotting wounds appeared on his body, and there was not a single person sympathizing with his grief. But even being already terminally ill, he sowed evil and ordered the killing of relatives and his family, seeing them as rivals to the throne.
Interpretation of John Chrysostom
Saint John Chrysostom, on the assumption of the death of innocent, sinless babies, says that their death was as if they had taken a few copper coins from you and gave them gold ones in return. Such a person would never have felt offended, but on the contrary, would have considered the benefactor of the one who gave the gold coins.
Copper coins mean our earthly life, which always ends in death. And gold is the 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.
Cave
The Bethlehem babies with their sufferings opened the mysterious door to the kingdom of heaven. And after they inherited eternal life in the host of Angels.
In Palestine, in the city of Bethlehem, near the Church of the Nativity of Christ, in the cave are the relics of the Bethlehem babies, the very 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 Nativity Temple.
At its very bottom is a small catacomb church of the 4th century. This is one of the oldest thrones preserved in this city.
Anthony Novgorodets explained that half of the relics were taken to Constantinople, and half remained in Bethlehem. Hundreds of believers flock there.
Temple of the Bethlehem Babies. Parnassus
In the historical district of St. Petersburg, in its northern part, a new temple was built. He was named after the Bethlehem babies. It was built for two years and is 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 2016. In the same year, parishioners celebrated Easter in it, and the Temple of Bethlehem’s Infants was again closed to complete interior decoration. In 2017, it was opened and already the Christmas holiday was celebrated in it.
Number of Infant Martyrs
The legend says 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 district, there would hardly have been so many babies from two years old and younger.
From this it becomes clear that the number 14 is symbolic and speaks of the massiveness of the murder committed. In general, the number 14 is very common in the biblical tradition: Rachel had 14 children, in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, there are 14 genera from David before moving to Babylon and 14 after moving from Babylon to Christ and beyond.
Christians began to remember the massacre of infants in Bethlehem in the second century. Then, most likely, this number was indicated. But on the other hand, 14 is twice in 7. And this figure expresses the idea of holiness and completeness.
Therefore, we can assume that the number 14,000 is rather rather arbitrary, metaphorical. It indicates the double exclusivity of the bloodshed that has occurred, the indescribable dimensions of suffering.
On the day of veneration of beaten babies - January 11 - Orthodox pray for the prevention of abortion. The women who have ever committed this sin repent. On this day, the service takes place under the reading of a prayer service, akathist, canon and prayer to Bethlehem babies.
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, and therefore a deadly sin, requiring prolonged repentance, even if it is committed out of ignorance. A human being was killed before his baptism, but it is forbidden to pray for unbaptized people, and therefore unborn babies are deprived of church commemoration and burial.
An abortion cannot but affect family well-being, the physical and mental health of spouses, because there is a spiritual law of the life of building a family, which cannot be built on the blood of innocently killed babies.
In front of the icon of the martyrs of the infants of Bethlehem, the sins of killing children are littered. Memorial Day from a small feast day was the day of repentance of mothers who had committed an ever terrible sin against their children. On this day, actions are held in defense of the unborn children.