Saint Ahmed lived in 17th century; he was an Ottoman Turk, a Muslim and a copyist of the Great Archive. He didn’t have a wife, but he had a Russian slave concubine. Out of his goodness, he let his concubine attend services in church. Over time, he noticed that, on the days when the Liturgy was served, she was far more gracious and loving. Not only that, he he could smell indescribable fragrance coming from her. Asking her to tell him what that scent was, and she told him that the scent was coming from the blessed bread that Christians ate after the Liturgy, and from the holy water the other Christian slave was bringing from church.
Intrigued by this, he immediately set out to arrange his presence at the Divine Liturgy. During his attendance, as is done in Liturgies served by bishops, the Ecumenical Patriarch was blessing the people present with trikiri and dikiri, that is to say, his double and triple candlesticks. St. Ahmed could see rays of light erupting from the Patriarch’s fingertips, coming to rest at the heads of the faithful. For three consecutive Liturgies, no beam of light ever fell on Ahmed, and he arranged a secret baptism. For a time, he lived as a secret Christian, because converting from Islam in the Ottoman Empire at that moment was considered so rude that people simply lost their heads about it. Literally.
However, just as you can’t hide a lit candle in a dark room, so Ahmed couldn’t hide his faith. One time, he organized a party for his friends, and the conversation turned to what is the best thing in life. One of his friends said that wisdom is the best thing a man can hope for; another said that woman is the best thing in the world, the third one, the one I like the most, said that pilaf with yoghurt is the best, since it will be the food in righteous in paradise. Saint Ahmed then became a real partybreaker, saying that Christianity is the best thing in life. At first, his friends didn’t take him seriously, but realizing that that Ahmed’s a real killjoy and that the party’s over, they took him to a judge. The judge essentially told him that he has two options: recant Christianity or lose his head.
Well, since he’s a saint in Orthodox Church, his choice is glaringly obvious. Sorry if I spoiled it for anyone.
What I find most interesting in the life of St. Ahmed is his concubine. We don’t consider her a capital S saint - but it is action of this one woman, this woman who was a slave, whose name we do not even know, that woman is the one we should thank that we have St. Ahmed in our calendar. A couple of centuries later, St. Seraphim of Sarov uttered his most famous saying: ‘’Acquire the Spirit of Peace, and thousands around you will be saved.’’ A simple act of taking holy water and blessed bread with piety converted this woman’s slavemaster to Christianity, and, as if that weren’t enough, that act, in the end, made him into a great witness and a great saint of our Church. Our acts of piety, if done with love, are never insignificant. It might be a short prayer, a sign of a cross, some holy water, or a blessing you give or receive - however little, these things can truly be life-changing. Don’t do them carelessly.
Intrigued by this, he immediately set out to arrange his presence at the Divine Liturgy. During his attendance, as is done in Liturgies served by bishops, the Ecumenical Patriarch was blessing the people present with trikiri and dikiri, that is to say, his double and triple candlesticks. St. Ahmed could see rays of light erupting from the Patriarch’s fingertips, coming to rest at the heads of the faithful. For three consecutive Liturgies, no beam of light ever fell on Ahmed, and he arranged a secret baptism. For a time, he lived as a secret Christian, because converting from Islam in the Ottoman Empire at that moment was considered so rude that people simply lost their heads about it. Literally.
However, just as you can’t hide a lit candle in a dark room, so Ahmed couldn’t hide his faith. One time, he organized a party for his friends, and the conversation turned to what is the best thing in life. One of his friends said that wisdom is the best thing a man can hope for; another said that woman is the best thing in the world, the third one, the one I like the most, said that pilaf with yoghurt is the best, since it will be the food in righteous in paradise. Saint Ahmed then became a real partybreaker, saying that Christianity is the best thing in life. At first, his friends didn’t take him seriously, but realizing that that Ahmed’s a real killjoy and that the party’s over, they took him to a judge. The judge essentially told him that he has two options: recant Christianity or lose his head.
Well, since he’s a saint in Orthodox Church, his choice is glaringly obvious. Sorry if I spoiled it for anyone.
What I find most interesting in the life of St. Ahmed is his concubine. We don’t consider her a capital S saint - but it is action of this one woman, this woman who was a slave, whose name we do not even know, that woman is the one we should thank that we have St. Ahmed in our calendar. A couple of centuries later, St. Seraphim of Sarov uttered his most famous saying: ‘’Acquire the Spirit of Peace, and thousands around you will be saved.’’ A simple act of taking holy water and blessed bread with piety converted this woman’s slavemaster to Christianity, and, as if that weren’t enough, that act, in the end, made him into a great witness and a great saint of our Church. Our acts of piety, if done with love, are never insignificant. It might be a short prayer, a sign of a cross, some holy water, or a blessing you give or receive - however little, these things can truly be life-changing. Don’t do them carelessly.
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