The story begins, as it came within several Christian references, by talking about the arrival of Emperor Decius to the city of Ephesus, which was the main habitat for converts to Christianity at that time…, His first decision when he arrived in this city was to build pagan temples in the middle of the city and asked all the city’s residents to appear in his hands and offer sacrifices to his imperial person…, And he issued a special decision to search for all Christians and give them the choice between worshiping statues and idols or being exposed to death. This decision caused panic and terror throughout the city. So that the friend would accuse his friend and report his presence, And the father reports on his son and the son reports on his father!!!.
Among the inhabitants of that city and those who were born in it, as the Christian story says, were seven young men who converted to the Christian religion and were among those who concealed their religion for fear of being killed…, Their names, as mentioned in those references, were as follows:
(Maximian, Malchus, Marcian, Dionysius, John, Serapion, Constantine)
And the story goes on to say that those boys refused to obey the emperor’s decision to offer sacrifices and offerings to the statues, and they stayed in their homes, praying and fasting. Accusations were issued against them of their non-compliance with the Emperor’s decision and their insistence on their Christian faith. They were brought to the emperor’s council, and they confessed before him that they adhere to the Christian faith. The emperor gave them some time to reconsider which side to go with. The boys took advantage of the opportunity to delay their death sentence. To distribute what they own of the property to the poor, and they set off fleeing to Mount “Mount” outside the city of “Ephesus”, where they determined to hide in one of the caves of that mountain, One of them, Malichus, was serving them in buying some food from the city, disguised as a beggar. This situation lasted for a short period during which the Emperor was outside the city of Ephesus. When he returned to the city, he issued orders to search for the seven boys and bring them to his palace to find out their position on his previous decision.
While the fellow of the boys, Malcus, was wandering around the city of Ephesus in his guise as a beggar, he was informed that the terrible Emperor Decius had returned to the city and issued his decision to bring the seven boys. So he bought bread, meat and water and fled in a state of terror to his six companions who were hiding in their cave…, So he informed them of the return of the emperor and his issuance of orders to search for them in preparation for carrying out his threat…, This news was shocking to the seven boys, so they started crying and crying. And suddenly, as their Christian story says, God sent them to sleep…, And when the time of dawn came, he started searching for them, but to no avail…, The Emperor became angry and regretted his failure to reach them…, He summoned their parents and threatened them with death if they did not disclose their hiding place. Their only answer was that their children gave what they owned to the poor and then disappeared from them, not knowing their fate.
When Emperor Decius lost hope of finding the seven Christian boys, it came to his mind that those boys might have hidden in a cave in that mountain, so he ordered the mouth of the cave to be blocked with stones so that they would die of hunger and thirst.
After more than twenty years of rule, which was characterized by the most persecution, killing, and displacement of adherents of the Christian religion, Decius fell ill, and after him the Emperor “Constantine” assumed power. Who renamed one of the cities to be named after him, meaning “the city of Constantinople”, now known as “the city of Istanbul” in Turkey.
After Emperor Constantine assumed power in the Roman Empire and issued his decisions to stop persecuting Christians, the situation of Christians stabilized and their numbers increased. That event is that the Christian priests and two Christian men, “Theadorus” and “Rufinus,” wrote the record of the martyrdom of the seven boys and placed it carefully among the stones that were used to close the mouth of the cave…, and the story of those boys goes on being kept secret for many generations estimated at more than three One hundred years, according to the date of their disappearance in the cave, until the era of Emperor Theodosius came, when a rumor circulated in the thirtieth year of this emperor’s reign denying the resurrection or resurrection of the seven boys from their death, and this rumor began to grow and spread, and these arguments affected a lot on the most sorry Christian emperor For what happened to those young believers in terms of persecution and a painful fate, and he was so sad that he used to isolate himself from all the people every day to express his grief and regret by crying continuously in the hope that those young men would be resurrected from their death.
And in honor of those young men, as stated in his biography at that period, Emperor Theodosius decided to build a stable in that mountain where the cave was located for his shepherds and grooms of his horses… And there, something unexpected happened, as it happened that the builders of that stable opened the mouth of the cave in which he had previously disappeared. The seven boys, who had already been ordered by Emperor Decius to be blocked with stones before he stepped down from power. Only one night…, and they began to relive the terror that afflicted them the day before they went to sleep…, and here one of them intervened, Malchus, who told them before they fell asleep what Decius was preparing for them, reminding them that he said that “Desius” He was determined to track down their traces and force them to offer sacrifices to idols, otherwise death is the penalty… Then Maximian intervened, answering their question, saying that God knows that we will not offer sacrifices to idols or to the emperor, so he reassured the souls of his companions… Then he turned to his companion. Malcus asked him to go to the city, Ephesus, to buy bread, and gave him five dirhams or five shillings, and ordered him to bring them news as he did yesterday, and to inquire and investigate what the emperor intends to do… So Malcus set out from the cave towards the city, and when he saw The builders and the stones thrown at the mouth of the cave were amazed at that scene, which was not present the night before, “as he thought,” but he blessed that scene and proceeded on his way to the city, so he became confused because of what he saw of the changes to the city gates that were giving joy. And the cross hangs on it, and then he becomes amazed at these scenes, which he imagined happened after one night, during which he and his companions believed that they slept… He imagined that he was in a state of a dream from what he saw…, and he went inside the city, and when he reached the market of bread sellers And he heard people talk about God. His astonishment and astonishment increased, so he said while he was in a state of astonishment: What is this… Yesterday, no one dared to mention the name of Christ, and now every man declares his pride and pride that he is a Christian?… I do not believe that this is the city of «Ephesus». »…, it must be another city…, I’m confused and don’t know what’s going on!!!
And when he wanted to ascertain what was going on, he began to ask questions, and the answer always confirmed that this city was the city of Ephesus. convinced that he must be wrong, He thought seriously about returning to his comrades after he went to the bread market. When he presented his silver money to the bread sellers, they marveled at that money and began to fear among themselves, saying that this boy had found an old treasure. And when Malcus saw those sellers who were afraid among themselves, he became suspicious that they would lead him to the emperor, so he became anxious and afraid, so he begged the sellers to let him go and keep the money and bread. But the sellers caught him and said to him: no escape you? And you have to tell us where you found the treasure of ancient emperors…, And you have to show us his whereabouts, and we will be partners with you and promise to keep the secret. Malcus’ fear increased, and he was no longer able to say anything because of the terror and fear that afflicted him. When the sellers saw his commitment to silence and not to disclose the location of the treasure, they tied his neck with a rope and took him through the neighborhoods of the city until they reached the center of the city. find no treasure, He looked around the crowds of people, hoping to identify any of his relatives who might be alive, but he did not find any of them. His concerns and fears increased.
But when both the bishop and governor of St. Martin, who had come to the city a short time ago, heard of that story, they sent for that boy and instructed him to treat the boy kindly, accompanied by the money he had with him… When he brought the boy to the church, he was sure that he must have been taken to the emperor’s council. Decius, who had previously sought refuge in the cave for fear of his punishment… When they saw the bishop and the ruler that money, they expressed their astonishment and amazement at him and asked the boy to tell them about the location of that unknown treasure… The boy answered them that he did not find anything of what they say, but it happened. On them from his family and what he inherited from his family, then they asked him to tell them about the city in which he lived, so he answered them saying that I am sure that I am from the people of this city, if it is the city of «Ephesus», so the judge of the city initiated him, saying, Let your family come here to witness what She says, so the boy gave them their names, but no one had heard of them, so those present said that he was fabricating his statements in order to be able to escape from them, and then the judge initiated him, saying: How can we believe you that this money came to you from your friends when it appears in the Bible that its age is more than Three hundred and seventy-two years since it was minted, forged, and circulated since the early days of the reign of Emperor Decius, and it is not similar to any kind of our money…. How can it come to you from that distant period while you are still young, and you cannot deceive wise men and men The centenarians are of the people of this city, Ephesus…and for this reason I decree that you shall submit to the law until you confess where you have found this money… Then Malchus knelt before them and said: I beg you, gentlemen, to give me security, and I will tell you everything I have him in my heart, the Emperor Decius who was in this city…, where is he now? … The bishop answered him, saying, “There is no one in this world today called Decius, for he was an emperor many, many years ago… Malcus said, “But, sir, here I am before you in a state of great confusion, and there is no one who believes me… Certain that we hid in flight and in fear of Emperor Decius, and I saw him yesterday entering this city, or is this not the city of Ephesus?… Then the bishop began to think between himself and himself, then he said to the judge that this is a vision that the Lord wanted to inspire to this young man. .. Then the boy said, “Please follow me to show you my companions who are staying in Mount Silion, and I hope you will believe me… I know very well that we fled our city for fear of Emperor Decius, and then they went with him, and a large crowd of the people of the city went with them, and when they reached the cave, Malcus entered First, in the cave to meet his companions, then the bishop followed him, and there he found among the stones that were used to block the mouth of the cave, the letters that were sealed with two silver seals. In the boys who were in the cave while they were in a state of reverence praying to God.
And as soon as the bishop and the judge saw that scene, they quickly sent a messenger to Emperor Theodosius, asking him to come immediately to see the divine miracles that were manifested in the story of those young men. And as soon as the emperor received that news, he stopped crying because of his grief over the persecution and torture that befell those boys during the reign of his predecessor, Emperor Decius. Where he was received by the crowds that gathered at the foot of the mountain and they all went up to see the faithful youths in their cave.
And as soon as the boys saw the Emperor coming to them, their secrets were released, so the Emperor cried sobbing at each one of the boys, saying that I see you as if I see Christ regaining his life. God sent us before the Great Day of Resurrection. This is in order for you to believe in the reality of the resurrection and revival of the dead. Thus, as you can see, we have risen from our slumber and returned to life without feeling any harm or injury, just as a fetus lives in its mother’s womb…, We lived and slept here without feeling anything.
After the boys expressed their feelings and opinions, they put their heads on the ground and surrendered their souls to their Creator…, So the emperor threw himself on them weeping and grieving, embracing them and kissing them with all affection and tenderness. Then he issued orders to build their graves in a sacred place, to pave the cemetery with gold and silver, to bury the bodies of the seven youths in that cemetery, and to build a church over their graves. In the context of the story, it came that the Emperor saw the dead boys in his sleep on the night of their burial, and they asked him to bury them under the soil until God, the Creator, wills, resurrect them on the Day of Resurrection. This is what the emperor did in implementation of their wishes and with the same specifications that he decided at the beginning. That is, a church should be built over their cemetery to commemorate their memory…) End quote from the story of the seven sleepers according to the Christian narrative.
This is how the story of the so-called “Seven Sleepers” was mentioned in Christian references. These references indicate that the first historian to record the events of this story was Bishop Jacobus Sarogensis in the fifth or sixth century AD. He is the first to introduce this story to Europe, Then others came after him in the following centuries and from different countries, adding to what was previously published. But the agreement between them was great about the details of the story, even if they differed in the linguistic formulation and in some simple explanations.
From the book Unlocking the Secrets of the Cave and Inscription
For the author Hamdi bin Hamza Al-Suraisri Al-Juhani