Throughout the history of the Church, there are many myths about saints, including one that is believed by both Christians and Muslims, and also has archaeological evidence. That is the myth of the “Seven Saints Sleeping,” who were put to sleep by God for 300 years to avoid persecution of the faith.
This myth dates back to the early Church and was very popular in Europe in the Middle Ages, as recorded in the "Golden Legend." The writer adds a new detail: that their resurrection occurred in 378, during the reign of Theodosius.
The legend of the Seven Sleeping Saints is told as follows ( You can watch the video here ):
In AD 250, seven young Christian men lived in Ephesus under the Roman emperor Decius. At that time all Christians were surrounded and forced to worship the Roman gods.
When the 7 young men heard the emperor's edict, they immediately distributed all their possessions to the poor and left the city and lived in a cave. When the soldiers found out, they immediately pursued them and executed them for disobeying the emperor's orders.
At that time, God immediately put the 7 young people into a deep sleep in the cave and He covered the cave entrance so that no one could find the entrance. It happened that 2 friends of the Christian boys witnessed the scene from afar and recorded information about the boys and placed it in the crack in the entrance.
A year later Decius died. As the years passed, Catholicism from a persecuted religion became the state religion. After more than 250 years, during the reign of Theodosius II (i.e. from 408 to 450), a wealthy landowner named Adolios decided to tear down the wall surrounding the entrance to the cave, as they had a plan Use it as a barn. He was really surprised to see that there were seven men sleeping inside.
They wake up believing they've only slept for one day. When they were plagued by hunger, they sent Dionysius to the city to buy some food. He was very careful not to be caught by the heathens.
When he entered Ephesus, he was amazed to see the churches in the city. When Dionysius tried to pay for bread with coins from the time of Decius, the inhabitants of the city called the local bishop. The bishop then accompanied Dionysius to the cave, and was told their story
Those who slept for almost 300 years began entering the city and were amazed at what they saw. They heard people talking about the Christian faith. They think: "Yesterday before I went to bed, no one dared to say a word about Christ, but today everyone professes Him! I don't know where I am, is it Ephesus, why is everyone strange!"
They had coins in their possession 300 years ago and that was proof that they had just come from another era. The young men were brought to the emperor to present the matter. By then the Roman imperial family had converted to Christianity but the king was feeling doubtful about his Christian faith.
The young men who slept for 300 years confirmed to the emperor that they had been "resurrected" after 300 years, and that was proof that the king's cherished faith was true. They say:
“Believe us, it was for the king's sake that God raised us up before the great resurrection, so that he could believe without hesitation that the dead would indeed rise again.
We have indeed risen and are alive; and like babies in their mother's womb who knew no pain, so we too were there, living, sleeping, and knowing nothing."
Then the seven young men returned to the cave and died there, but their stories spread throughout the land. The faithful quickly honored the seven as saints.
The cave on the slopes of Mount Pion (present-day Panayır) was declared sacred and began to attract pilgrims.
For hundreds of years, the faithful wanted to be buried as close as possible next to holy young men. Over time, countless tombs appeared, and catacombs were built in the vicinity.
Interestingly, this is recorded in the Quran (Koran) of Islam and especially in the same episode as the oral tradition of Christians, called pious people and "people of the cave". ".
Indeed, the period when young men wake up after 300 years of sleeping is also the time when Mohammed founded Islam. Many details in the story are consistent between oral tradition and the Quran (Surah 18, verses 9-26), especially the fact that the other seven young men were Christians.
Many other authors also recorded the event, showing it to be very reliable as a fact. In the Islamic version, however, the men are accompanied by a dog and it stands guard at the door during their sleep.
The names of the seven are said to be: Maximilian, Iamblicus, Martinian, John, Dionysius, Exacustodianus and Antoninus.
Many people began to honor the holy young men. Today, the Orthodox Church still celebrates the memorial of the Seven Sleeping Saints twice a year, on August 4 (the day they fell asleep) and October 22 (the day they died).
The Catholic Church celebrates it unofficially on 7/7. Belief in seven young men who slept for 300 years was not questioned until the sixteenth century, when the Protestant movement revolted and denied it. A cardinal of the Latin Church also considered the story to be a fabrication, from which the Western Church began to forget the story.
A church was once built on the cave where the 7 saints died, but now has collapsed and still has traces. When the catacombs were first excavated in 1927-1928, archaeologists found inscriptions dedicated to the Seven Sleepers on the walls of the church and in the tombs.
And during the Crusades, the victorious army transported the bones taken from the tombs of the Seven Sleeping Saints, back to Marseilles in a large stone coffin.
Many historians who study ancient records have defended the truth of the facts about the seven.
One historian has said: Apart from a Cardinal (sixteenth century), no one doubts this story; The story of 7 people sleeping for centuries has historical evidence: either 7 people actually slept for many years, or 7 people were trying to make people believe so. But the fact that the bishops of that time all acknowledged this and allowed historical records to show that the story was certainly grounded.
Today the Cave of the Seven Sleepers is located near a small village in Kahf al-Raqim, 10 km east of Amman, Jordan. First, you need to get to Selçuk, then head towards the ancient city of Ephesus. There are signs leading to the cave from Ephesus.
The present-day cave is located on the slopes of Mount Panayır, about 1.5 km from Ephesus and 200 meters from the car park.
By: THIRD GOD