#MastersofSocialIsolation #8 While awaiting an end to this time of isolation we might envy the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus. Per ancient legend these 7 young Christian men, escaping persecution under the emperor Decius (251), hid in a cavern, where they fell into a miraculous sleep.

The emperor ordered them sealed in the cave. There they remained 200 yrs until the cave was unsealed, at which point they awoke, thinking they had only slept a day. When they sent one of their number into town to buy food, he was astonished to discover signs that Christianity—

...only yesterday a persecuted sect—was now the state religion. They repeated their tale for the bishop, who rejoiced in this miraculous sign. At this point, the 7 martyrs gave up their spirits. Their bodies were placed in golden caskets, and their cave became their grave.