Today July 27

Today is the feast of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, date unknown. These guys are the original Rip van Winkles. I understand that there were, in fact, more stories like this, even in ancient Greece and China. Still, it's kind of neat. In the reign of Emperor Decius (269-270 AD), there lived seven men: Maximian, Malchus, Marcian, Denis, John, Serapion and Constantine. They all worked together in the palace there in Ephesus and were Christians. At the rise of this persecuting emperor, these Christian men knew their time was up. They divested themselves of all their wealth and took themselves to a cave in the hills on the outskirts of the city. An all-points bulletin was sent out on them and agents of Decius found them and closed up their cave while they were asleep. Two Christian men surreptitiously put two letters in among the stones at the mouth of their cave before their departure.

Well, time went on and Decius and all his ilk died. 208 years later, a landowner and rancher in the outskirts of Ephesus got a work crew together to build a stable in the wall of the mountain. When they opened the cave, the seven awoke and, imagining they had only slept one night, sent Malchus into town to buy bread. He couldn't believe the crosses on the gates of the city. Heck, he couldn't even believe it was the same city! Most marvelous of all, the name of "Jesu Christ" was on everybody's lips, even though "yesterday no man dare name Him." Then it was the townspeople's turn to be shocked. When Malchus tried to buy some bread, the clerks marveled at the antique coins he used! Then they got suspicious. Had he robbed an ancient treasure chest? Anxious to avoid imprisonment, Malchus told them they could keep both the bread and the money if they would only let him go. But they wouldn't. They wisely took him to the bishop, who gently questioned him and even followed him to the cave where the bishop saw not only the other six but the two sealed letters establishing the facts of their (assumed) martyrdom. The bishop was convinced, and sent for the emperor (Theodosius).

Surprisingly enough (or maybe not so, because, after all, this WAS big news), the emperor eventually came -- and marveled. These men prayed to the true God on their knees and their faces were radiant. He saluted and embraced each man in their turn. He wanted to build them huge gold shrines there, but the Seven demurred. They did eventually die and were buried in that cave, which the people adorned with precious stones. It became a popular place, pilgrims going there to worship, despite 16th-century questioning of the truth of the story. The appearance of these men (or their story) helped to renew belief in the resurrection of the dead.