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As early as the fifth century, we find the legend of the Seven Sleepers. The emperor Decius came to Ephesus around 250 AD. He ordered everyone to sacrifice to the Roman gods or risk torture or death. Somebody tipped Decius off about seven young soldiers who followed Christ. Decius stripped them of their rank, but let them go so they had time to reconsider. Make the sacrifice or else… The seven were sure they would be caught and martyred. Each of them gave away their earthly possessions and hid in a cave to pray, to prepare for what was coming next. When Decius learned that they wouldn’t renounce their faith, he searched the city for them. Learning that they were in a certain cave, he commanded that the entrance be walled off with stones.

            Hundreds of years later, in the fifth century, the ruler of the Roman empire was Theodosius II – a Christian. In those days, by chance, the sleepers’ cave was discovered and the entrance unsealed. One after another, the young men woke up. Their bodies were unchanged. Their clothes were just as sturdy and new as the day they fell asleep. To them, it seemed like they had only slept one night. One of them went down to the city to get food. Moving through the shadows, he was shocked to hear Jesus’s name spoken freely. He tried to buy bread, but the money he gave the merchant had an image of the emperor Decius on it. People couldn’t remember the last time they’d seen money that old! Had this guy found a lost treasure? Had he stolen this fortune? The young man was pursued and the cave was discovered.

            The bishop of Ephesus was convinced that this miracle revealed something deeper about the mystery of God. In those days, people had doubts about the resurrection of the dead. They wondered: “How can their bodies rise? After so much time, there will be nothing left of body and soul – just dust.” Others chimed in: “It’s only the souls that will be restored. It is impossible for the body to be raised.” And yet, there they were – awake and alive!

            The bishop of Ephesus told the people: “Here, we have a miracle that witnesses to the resurrection of the body. The seven slept in peace and woke in awe. They rejoiced and lay back down to sleep in death until the day comes. They came to teach us faith beyond our understanding.”

            When sleepers awake, what do they awake to find? Are they renewed souls that have finally broken free from the confines and suffering of the body? Perhaps not… One of the earliest articles of faith for people who followed Jesus was that it wasn’t just Jesus whose body was resurrected. After death, believers would have a new body, a glorious body like Christ.

Sources:   
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Sleepers
* https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2025/08/04/102195-7-holy-youths-seven-sleepers-of-ephesus
* https://pocketbard.wordpress.com/fun-saint-stories/the-seven-sleepers-are-asleep-in-a-cave-for-372-years-until-they-are-needed/
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Sleepers

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