On the 29th of this month (September), we commemorate the Holy and Glorious New Venerable Martyr Malachias of Lindos, who had a martyric end in Jerusalem.
Verses
In Zion he was made worthy of the divine passion,
Communing glorious one as the friend of God.
On the twenty-ninth Malachias was lifted on the bitter scaffold.
He was from Lindos, a city of the island of Rhodes, the son of pious parents whose names were George the Priest and Christina. He was raised in the education and admonition of the Lord, in accordance with the apostolic word, and when he was of a mature age he was dressed in the holy schema of a monk, with the blessed one giving his whole soul and mind to the accomplishment of evangelical conduct.
Driven by divine longing, he left his homeland and arrived at Collosae, where he stayed for a short time, and then went to Lampsakos. He then departed and traveled around the Peloponnese, many islands of the Archipelago, Phoenicia, Egypt, Libya, then he went to Mount Sinai where he stayed for a short time at the Monastery of Saint Katherine. Withdrawing from there he went to Palestine and venerated the places there where the Lord's feet stood. He remained in Jerusalem, serving in the All-Holy Temple of the Resurrection of Christ.
Living the monastic life in Jerusalem, one day he had need to go to the marketplace, and on the way he was struck by an Ottoman, being accused of blaspheming the head of the Hagarite impiety [Muhammad], then he was brought before the governor of the city. Having been arrested, he boldly denied the accusations put forth against him, and confessing the Orthodox faith he vehemently rebuked the governor and those with him for their wicked faith and impiety. For this he was mercilessly whipped by the soldiers and enclosed in a prison cell, where he remained without food for many days, unceasingly sending up hymns and prayers to the Lord and thanking Him for his sufferings, which astonished and amazed those who were there.
Standing once more before the governor, he confessed the good faith, then was tortured in various ways. Being pierced through his ankles, he was tied to a wild horse and dragged through the Holy City, while the Hagarenes insulted him and threw stones at him and stabbed his flesh with sharp objects. When the governor saw that his mind would not change, it was decided that he would die by the stake.
The soldiers of the governor took the blessed one and led him to the place of his execution, while he carried the stake on his shoulders, and they did as they were ordered to do [by impaling him on the stake]. The Christians of the Holy City gave silver to the tyrants to take his body and bury it with honors in the Potter's Field where they buried strangers, led by Patriarch Germanos of Jerusalem. He then ordered that his memory be annually celebrated in the Temple of the Holy Apostle James the Brother of God, next to the All-Holy Temple of the Resurrection of Christ, on the 29th of September, the day of his martyric end [in the mid-16th century].
Apolytikion in the First Tone
Offspring of Lindos, and boast of Rhodes, God-crowned Malachias, let us piously praise; venerably he lived in asceticism on earth, showing himself to be an imitator of the Martyrs, with whom he always intercedes on our behalf, we the faithful who cry out: Glory to Christ Who glorified you, glory to Him Who made you wondrous, glory to Him Who grants to us through you, all strength.
Kontakion in the Third Tone
Having shone forth in Lindos, as a mystical morning star, and shined brightly, in the Church of Christ, you lived the life of a trained monastic, and contested, on behalf of the faith with a steadfast soul, wherefore Malachias, we honor you as a Venerable Martyr.
Oikos
From your youth, you were inspired to love Christ, turning away from the pleasures of the earth, and you carried the Cross on your shoulders, through ascetic battles, and in your clean heart you accepted, the grace of the Paraclete blessed one, and you succeeded against the offspring of Hagar, confessing your Christian calling; hence, as if belonging to another body, you endured grievous tortures, and walking the path of martyrdom, you held the wood of your condemnation, just as the Savior did the Cross. Having been tried in all things, you were crowned in immortal glory, and you stand before the Triune God, as a fervent intercessor, for the pious faithful who hymn to you, wherefore Malachias, we honor you as a Venerable Martyr.
Megalynarion
Rejoice the zealot of the Venerables, and the unconquered imitator, of the Champions; rejoice you who shamed, the madness of the tyrants, divinely-minded Malachias, boast of Lindos.
