The 14,000 innocently murdered were the price of King Herod’s fear of losing his power.
Not conspirators, not rebels, no. His enemies were the children who were born.
From the Magi who followed the star, Herod, whose name became a household name, learned about the birth of the king.
He asked them to pay him a visit on the way back and tell him exactly where the royal baby was staying. But the angel warned the wise men that they had returned to their homeland in another way.
When Herod realized that he would not get help from this side, he in anger ordered that all the boys who could be found in Bethlehem and its surroundings, under the age of 2, be exterminated. It is believed that there were 14,000. This huge figure is terrifying, but for Herod, all moral barriers were nonexistent. He was willing to do anything to stay on the throne.
Theologians, however, tend to assume that 14,000 is more symbolic than real. However, this does not detract from the crime Herod committed.
But a simple man, even one in authority, cannot interfere with God’s plan.
Forewarned by an angel, Joseph moved his family to Egypt in time. They remained there until the death of Herod.
Christ was saved, but unfortunately suffered Zechariah, the father of John the Forerunner. By order of the king, his soldiers did the unthinkable — they killed the priest right in the temple, at the altar. He refused to specify the location, his wife Elizabeth sheltered his son. Many priests, scribes and ministers also died. Herod even ordered his wife and three children to be killed.
It all started with the beating of babies. The church considers them martyrs and remembers them shortly after Christmas, January 11. Innocent victims are dedicated to the canon, composed by the famous theologian and hymnographer Andrei of Crete. Weeping for the murdered newborns is interspersed in it with joy, because they entered the Kingdom of Heaven “by the power of the born Christ.”
On this day, all those who die early will be remembered. Apologies for the unborn children killed. Prayer children are asked to take care of their babies.
Charity foundHoly Land.
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