MARTYR PAPAS OF LARANDA

On March 16 (29), the Church celebrates the memory of the martyr Papas of Laranda. The saint suffered for Christ during the reign of Emperor Maximian (286–305). Only a few brief details of the saint’s suffering have been preserved in notes to ancient liturgical calendars. The name “Papas” itself means “father,” “bishop,” or “priest.” Most likely, the saint’s real name has not reached us. We know that many ancient martyrs not only did not tell pagans their names but preferred to call themselves simply “Christian.”

Papas of Laranda, that is, literally, “priest from Laranda”. It is possible that the saint was a wandering bishop.

The city of Laranda, whose name in one of the ancient dialects of that area is translated as “sandy”, was founded in ancient times. Nowadays it bears the Turkish name Karaman. The city is located in the central part of southern Anatolia in the ancient historical region of Lycaonia. Christianity came there in apostolic times. The 14th chapter of the Book of Acts (14:6-9) describes the Lycaonian sermon of the Apostles Paul and Barnabas and their healing of a man lame from birth. By the time of the persecutions at the beginning of the 4th century, paganism was still very strong.

The Holy Papas preached Christianity in the outskirts of the city. Arrested by the local governor Magnus, he was tortured. The Saint was forced to walk in boots filled with nails to the court in Seleucia, the capital of the historical region of Isauria, to be sentenced. Like modern politicians who use sacred meanings for manipulation and secularization, educated pagans read the Christian Scriptures and, in anger, despair, or simply depression, tried to parody them. Sometimes they seemed to test their feasibility. Similar to what is said in the Book of Acts about the evil plot of the Jews against the Apostle Paul (Acts 25:3), the governor most likely hoped that the pagan crowd would rescue the Saint on the way and commit reprisal against him. Obviously, he himself did not find any guilt in the Holy Papas. Obviously, the ruler knew that the saint was innocent. Like Pilate about Jesus in the Gospel, he himself found no guilt in the saint (cf. John 19:4), but he handed him over to death.

God did not allow the plans of evil people to come to fulfilment Exhausted from incredible pain, the saint stopped under a dried-up fig tree. Thus, he departed to the Lord. The guards buried him under the tree.

“For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. And not only it, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan within ourselves as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our body,” writes Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans (Rom. 8:22-23). ​​The exodus of the martyr Pope from this world became the prophetic personification of these messianic words about the redemption of all creation. After the death of the martyr, the tree came to life and began to bear fruit again. The life of the holy Papas also reminds us of the biblical, Orthodox understanding of ecology. Because grace is communication. Communion with holiness is beneficial not only for people but it gives life to the whole of God’s world.