Narrative of the Image of Edessa

lacked the strength, had remained at home. He also says in number 27 that the prophecies of the possessed man were fulfilled shortly after the event. These things abundantly show that an inextricable contradiction is found in that narrative, unless we say that there is a mistake in the year. But if we assert that the translation occurred not under Constantine himself administering the empire in person, but under his uncle Alexander—although the author certainly wrote while the Porphyrogenitus was reigning, as is clear from the fact that he asserts in number 27 that many witnesses of the possessed man's words exist, and that they were fulfilled shortly after the event—from this it is also inferred that another person, not the emperor himself, is the author of the narrative: which appears more clearly from the end of the narrative: "Guard him who piously and gently rules over us, and celebrates the memory of your arrival."

OF CONSTANTINE IN CHRIST, KING OF THE ROMANS, THE PORPHYROGENITUS

NARRATIVE collected from various histories concerning the divine image of Christ our God, not made by hands, sent to Abgar; and how it was transferred from Edessa to this most blessed and imperial city, Constantinople.

1. Not only was the Word, God, coeternal with the Father, beyond all comprehension, but also almost all, or indeed all, of his works are covered by the same fog of incomprehensibility. Nor only those which he established in the creation of this universe, but also those which, in the assumption of the performance of the dispensation of the mass of our nature, he performed by that primary and singular power of his deity, while associating with us. Therefore, it is entirely worth the effort, that he who does not ignore himself, and knows that he does not know the things that are above his capacity, should not boast immeasurably, nor walk foolishly through the void, nor contend that he knows all things, or that there are no things which escape the power of his comprehension. Therefore, regarding this imprinted form of the God-Man, which was imprinted without a painter by the beyond-nature will of the one being seen, the cloth of which received it, and was then sent to Abgar for his healing, but now, by the absolute providence of God, has been transferred from Edessa to this reigning city of cities, for its salvation and protection, so that it may not seem to lack any of the good things, in

which it is fitting that it should hold the primacy and dominate all others. I consider it worthwhile that the religious and justice-loving auditor and spectator should diligently learn the history of each individual event, and strive to receive the knowledge of that ancient narrative, pure and devoid of any falsification. But let him leave to the wisdom of God—which no one can sufficiently attain—the reason for how, exactly, out of a moist drop, without pigments or the art of painting, the form of the face was impressed upon the linen cloth, and by what manner a substance so fragile was nonetheless for so long a time insusceptible to any corruption or decay; as well as whatever other matters one who naturally searches into things is accustomed to investigate with diligence. For let him know that if anyone struggles to grasp all things perfectly with the blade of the mind, he will fall into the abyss of complete ignorance and be overwhelmed by the gulf of incomprehension and stupor, losing the principal things so as not to seem to concede anything in those which are lesser. As many of you, therefore, as are more fervent in the right faith and in zeal have gathered here, come, listen, and I shall relate to you those things which, having investigated each point with the necessary examination and having not spent my time idly in the search for truth, I have finally succeeded in obtaining and learning, both from those who have written historical accounts and from those who have come to us from there and the parts of Syria, professing that these secret memories are preserved among them.

^B II. When our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ came to us for the restoration of our race, there was, according to the prophetic voice, an abundance of peace on earth, and the rule of many had been scattered, since the Roman empire bound the whole world like a single girdle, and all was ordered under one ruler. For this reason, there was an unhindered intercourse between all men and towards all others, and it did not appear that men inhabited the earth in a divided manner, but as the possession of one Master, and as though they were cultivating the property and realm of one Lord—all the more so since it had been founded by that One Himself. And by bowing their necks to the first Master, they lived in peace with one another. Therefore, even Augarus, the toparch of Edessa at that time, was a friend and acquaintance of the governor of Egypt; for the ministers of both sides were in the habit of traveling between them. Whence it also happened, at that time when our Lord and God, fulfilling the Father’s will, was setting forth the saving doctrine to men and, through supernatural and miraculous wonders, compelling ^D the hearts of men to faith in Him, that one of Augarus’s servants, named Ananias, while traveling to Egypt through Palestine, encountered Christ and beheld from afar Him who was drawing the crowds away from the words of error and performing wonders that exceeded every belief. When, therefore, he had completed his journey to Egypt and had discussed the matters with which he had been entrusted, he turned back to the Lord. As he was being consumed by a long-standing wasting away of an articular disease.

^A and by a black leprosy, he was suffering a double, or rather a manifold, calamity; for he was afflicted by the pains in his joints and distressed by the evils of the leprosy. Furthermore, there was the shame of his deformity, because of which he was almost never seen by anyone. He did not merely spend most of his time bedridden, but he even hid himself from those friends who came to visit him, out of shame. For this reason, on his return journey, he was anxious to gain a more accurate understanding of these same things, so that he might be able to report them with certainty to his master, in the hope that he too might be deemed worthy of healing through Him. And so he found the Lord again doing the same things: raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, ^B showing those who were lame to be sound, and strengthening all who were suffering from any infirmity whatsoever.

III. Having gained certainty, therefore, and having perceived clearly that these were the works of the Lord’s power, when he returned to his home and his country, he reported to Abgar, and set forth in detail everything he had seen and heard. Wherefore, as one who had performed a greater task as an incidental work, and as a harbinger of good news to him, he was deemed worthy of the appropriate reception and was recognized as one of the most benevolent of his servants. And since a person afflicted with illness always seizes upon a promise of relief as a treasure, as his narration and the hope it offered excited the man, he eagerly urged him to set out to hunt down the person mentioned. And Abgar, in addition to sending for him by letter, ^C bestirred himself to set out toward him who was said to be able to heal such things. And immediately he wrote to the Lord the letter that is everywhere circulated, containing these words:

IV. Abgar, the toparch of Edessa, to Jesus, the good Savior who has appeared in the city of Jerusalem, greeting. It has reached my ears concerning you and your healings, how they are performed by you without medicines or herbs. For the report says that you make the blind to see, the lame to walk, that you cleanse lepers, cast out unclean spirits and demons, heal those who are tormented by long-standing diseases, and raise the dead. ^D Having heard all these things about you, I concluded one of two things: either that you are God, having descended from heaven to do these things, or that you are the Son of God performing these things. Therefore, I write to you, requesting that you take the trouble to come to me, and heal the affliction from which I suffer. For I have also heard that the Jews murmur against you and wish to do you harm. My city is very small, but noble, and it shall be sufficient for both of us to live in it in peace.

V. Since, therefore, Ananias had provided clear proofs of his goodwill toward his master, and was experienced in the journey, and possessed the art of painting, [E] through him he sent this letter to Jesus, charging him that if he were unable to persuade Him by the letter to come to him, he should at least...

^A bring to him an accurate likeness of His form depicted on a tablet, so that he might be instructed, if only as by a shadow, not by hearing alone, but also by sight, who He is who is the author of such great and mighty wonders. And when the messenger had arrived in Judea, he found the Lord in the open air, discoursing with the crowd that had flocked together, and performing most extraordinary miracles. And because of the multitude of those who had come for various other needs, ^B Ananias was not able to approach Jesus, so he went up on a rock a little elevated from the ground, not far from the place where the Lord was staying, and sat down. And as the Savior was visible to him, separated from the crowd and standing above the many, he immediately fixed his eyes upon Him, and his hand upon the parchment, and began to draw the likeness of what he saw with his brush.

VI. Jesus, therefore, knowing this in His spirit, called Thomas and said, "Go to that place, and bring to me the man sitting on the rock and painting my form, along with the letter which he brought from home, so that I may fulfill the command which he received from the one who sent him." Thomas went, and recognizing Ananias from what he had heard he was doing, he brought him to Jesus. And before he received the letter from him, Christ spoke to him of the reason for his coming to Him, and of the power of the letter. Then, taking it and reading it, He sent back another letter to Abgar reading word for word as follows:

VII. "Blessed are you, Abgar, who have believed in me, though you have not seen me. For it is written concerning me, that those who have seen me will not believe in me, so that those who have not seen me may believe and live. As for what you have written to me, asking me to come to you, it is necessary for me to fulfill all things here for which I have been sent, and after fulfilling them, to be taken up to the Father who sent me. And when I have been taken up, I will send you one of my disciples, who will heal your suffering, and will grant eternal life and peace to you and to those with you, and will make your city sufficient, so that no enemy may prevail against it."

VIII. Christ, therefore, having given such a letter to Ananias, since He knew that he was anxious and concerned about fulfilling the other command ^D of his master—that is, to bring to him the likeness of His form—the Savior washed His face with water, and then, wiping the moisture from it with the towel handed to Him, by a divine plan beyond reason, He caused His own character to be imprinted upon it. Having given this to Ananias, He commanded that it be delivered to Abgar, so that it might be a comfort for his longing and a remedy for his disease. Laden with these, Ananias arrived at the city of Hierapolis, which by the Saracens—

is called Memmich, and in that of the Syrians Mabuc—he broke his journey outside that town, where a pile of recently fired tiles lay, and there Ananias hid that sacred cloth. Around midnight, a great fire appeared, enveloping the place in such a way that those in the city thought everything around was being consumed by flames; and fearing for themselves, they rushed out to investigate the fire, the terrifying sight of which had been set before them. Finding Ananias there, they detained him as the author of this daring act, and interrogated him as to what this was about, who he was, where he was going, and from where he had set out.

^B When Ananias was perplexed by the strangeness of their demand, he finally disclosed where he was from, where he was going, and what he was carrying; and he revealed that he had deposited his burden among the tiles, from which the fire had seemed to ignite. Immediately, those who wished to ascertain the truth of what was said searched the place, and they found not only what had been stored there by Ananias, but also, on a nearby tile, another impression of the divine image, which had miraculously and beyond understanding been transferred onto the shard from the unpainted image on the cloth. Seeing this, they were filled with both awe and amazement; and for this reason, and because no fire was found burning anywhere, but the flame had seemed to be emitted from the radiance of the image, they kept the tile which had taken the divine impression unto itself, as a kind of sacred heirloom and precious treasure, conjecturing the divine power surrounding it from what they had seen. But fearing to detain the original and its messenger, they sent them on to Abgar. ^C And even now, the image on the tile is preserved and honored by the inhabitants of that city—the image of the unpainted image, and the uncreated of the uncreated. Having completed the journey set before him, Ananias explained to his lord the events that had occurred in the interim, and delivered the saving symbols he was carrying.

^D X. This, then, is the account told by the majority concerning that unpainted image of our Savior on the cloth. There is, however, another story told about this, which neither lacks plausibility nor is wanting in reputable witnesses. I shall set this forth, so that no one might suppose that, in being ignorant of it, I am reinforcing the other. And indeed, it is not at all surprising that in such a length of time history should often go astray. On the essence of the matter, all agree alike and confess that the image was miraculously impressed on the cloth from the face of the Lord. But as to the circumstances of the event, or rather the 8 time, they differ.

^A

XI. When Christ was about to go to suffer death voluntarily, showing forth the human nature within Him, accompanied by the anguish of death, and was poured out in prayer—at the time when the Gospel narrative notes that His sweat trickled down like drops of blood—they say that He took a piece of the cloth which we now see, ^B having received it from one of the disciples, and wiped away the drops of sweat upon it. And immediately this divine-seeming impression, which is seen today, was miraculously engraved upon it. Entrusting this to Thomas, He gave orders that after His ascent into heaven, he should send it to Abgar by the hand of Thaddaeus, that the promise made through the letters might be fulfilled. After, therefore, our Lord Jesus Christ was taken up into the heavens, Thomas gave Thaddaeus the non-manufactured image of the Lord’s face and sent him off to Abgar.

XII. Thaddaeus, therefore, arrived at Edessa and first stayed with one of the Jews there, by the name of Tobias. ^C And before he spoke any words, desiring to make himself known to Abgar by his deeds, the disciple of Christ healed those of the city who were ill by the mere invocation of Christ’s name. Wherefore, Christ’s fame having been spread abroad (as is the wont to happen in such cases; for wondrous and unheard-of things have many to report them), the rumor of the arrival of Christ’s apostle even reached Abgar through one of his own nobles, named Amdus. Reasoning, therefore, immediately owing to the hope that lay within him, that this was he whom Jesus had promised in the letter He would send to him, and having learned more perfectly from him concerning Thaddaeus, he gave orders for him to be brought to him. Tobias, therefore, came and made these things known to the Apostle; and he, having said that he had been sent to him in power, arrived the next day before Abgar. ^D As he was about to appear before him in person, having raised the image up upon his own forehead as a sign, in this manner he entered in to Abgar. Seeing him from afar as he approached, Abgar seemed to see a light more excellent than sight flashing forth from his face, which the image placed upon him emitted. Wherefore, struck with awe by the greatness of the flashing radiance, and as if having fallen into forgetfulness of the circumstances surrounding him and of the long-standing weakness of his limbs, he jumped suddenly from his couch and was impelled to run. He suffered the same passion upon meeting him as that which those had suffered in another manner who beheld the flashing form on Mount Tabor.

XIII. Having, therefore, received such an image from the apostle, and having reverently placed it upon his head, and upon his eyes and lips, and indeed leaving no other part of his body deprived of such a contact, he knew immediately the members

^A all miraculously recovering and receiving a change for the better. The leprosy was being cleansed and fleeing, although a small remnant of it still remained upon his forehead. Instructed, therefore, by the Apostle more clearly at that time in the doctrine of the truth, and concerning the strange miracles of Christ, and His divine sufferings, and burial, and resurrection from the dead, and His ascension into the heavens; and having confessed Christ to be the true God, he inquired about the impression of His form upon the linen, since, after he had examined it more accurately, he knew that it did not have its constitution through material pigments, and he was amazed at the power within it, by which he had miraculously leapt up from his bed and was numbered among those in health. To these things Thaddeus explained the time of the agony, and the colorless formation from the sweat, and the story of the Lord's arrival to him, and all other ^B things that the preceding history has declared.

XIV. When, therefore, from these things likewise, and from the laying on of the hands of the Apostle in the name of Jesus Christ, the force and feeling of the pains had fled, and the relaxed members were as if braced, and the deformity of his face was vanishing, and all things were proceeding toward health, Abgarus, being stunned by the admiration of so great a thing from every side, said: "In truth, you are a disciple of Jesus, the Son of God, who healed without medicines and herbs. And I am bound to Him with such affection and faith that, if it were permitted by the eminent power of the Roman empire, by which it is forbidden for subjects to challenge one another to war, to move ^C war, perchance I would have taken up arms against the Jews who placed the cross upon the Lord, and would have subdued them to myself. But now, since I have also been taught that His passion was voluntary, and I am certain that, had He not willed it, the wicked mob would never have subjected Him to themselves, I seek and dispute no further. I only ask to be purified by divine baptism, and to enter, with my whole family, into the rights of Christ’s kin, and to dedicate myself to Him." And so, after many miracles had been performed first by the Apostle of the Lord, and all had been healed of the sicknesses with which they were laboring—among whom was also the one who first brought the report about Him to Abgarus, whom he had liberated from the affliction of gout, and who was the herald of the gift—the Apostle of Christ, when he had taken care of these things, brought Abgarus to the ^D divine font. And having performed the customary rites upon him, he baptized him and his wife and his children, and all who were in his house. And he came forth from this divine water of purification entirely clean and healthy, the small remnant of the leprosy that had remained upon his forehead having been suddenly wiped away.

XV. From this it came about that the ruler, who existed as a venerator and worshiper of such an image of the Lord’s form in all ways, added this also to his other devotion. For a statue of one of the Greek gods of the ancient citizens and settlers of Edessa had been erected before the public gate of the city, to which it was necessary [to pay] cult.

^A And so, Augarus at that time took it down and delivered it to destruction; and in the place of its station, he affixed to a board this image of our Lord Jesus Christ, not made by hands, and having adorned it with the gold that is now visible, he raised it up, having inscribed upon the gold these words: "Christ God, he who hopes in Thee shall never be disappointed." And he decreed that everyone intending to pass through that gate should, instead of that old, useless, and profitless statue, render the proper reverence and the owed adoration and honor to the much-admired, wonder-working image of Christ, and thus enter into the city of Edessa. And such a precedent and offering of the man's piety was preserved as long as Augarus himself and his son remained alive; for he who was the successor to the kingdom and the piety of his father survived. But their son and grandson, ^B while he became the successor to the governance of his father and grandfather, did not become the heir to their piety; but rather he kicked out, so to speak, at piety and deserted to the demons and the idols. Wherefore, as if to pay back the demons in turn, he desired, since his grandfather had delivered that idolatrous statue to destruction, to visit the same doom upon the image of the Lord. Yet the guileful man did not succeed in his hunt. For the bishop of the place, having foreseen this, took the necessary precautions; and because the place where the image was placed retained the form of a cylindrical hemisphere, having lit a lamp before the image and placed a tile in front, and then having blocked the circumference of the location from the outside with lime and fired bricks, he rendered that part into a flat surface, and the form being snatched away from sight, the impious man desisted from his plan and molestation. And I suspect that the tile was placed by the priest before the image so that, from the mold of the building and the dampness of the lime, no decay might occur in the receptacle of the image, and it might not receive damage through the passage of time. ^{C D} XVI. Much time had meanwhile flowed by in a long series of years, and the memory of men had slipped away, both as to when this sacred image was erected and when it was hidden. When therefore in his own times Chosroes, King of the Persians, while plundering the cities of Asia, arrived also at Edessa, and having pitched a rampart before it, he set every engine in motion, and every tool suitable for the capture of a city he made ready; he fashioned everything for the hurling of missiles, the shaking of walls, and the breaching of gates. The Edessenes, having been brought into such great danger, were thinking seriously about how they might defend themselves and deploy their battle-line, and they sent envoys to the Roman commanders, by whom they were allied

^A with the Roman troops at that time. But Heliodorus, the commander of the Roman troops then present, being himself also hard-pressed by the enemy, was unable to send reinforcements to the citizens of Edessa. Yet by his letters he encouraged them, reminding them of the Lord's epistle and of the unerring promise therein, by which the city is both said—and believed—to remain unsacked. The Persians, meanwhile, alongside their open assault, were also devising secret schemes. Having begun digging from afar, they plotted to penetrate inside the city by means of underground tunnels. And as they were, so to speak, underwater swimmers and divers beneath the wall, they were nonetheless detected by the residents inside the wall for the following reason... there was a coppersmith who had a house within the walls, where the bronze vessels hanging in his home made a sound as the Persians below ground were digging ^B and hauling out the earth. The citizens, therefore, finding themselves in helplessness and utter despair, take refuge in God, and with heartfelt pain and tears sought Him. Then, during the night, a woman of dignified and venerable appearance, more than human in greatness, appears to the bishop (this was Eulalius), suggesting that he take the icon of Christ made without hands, and perform a supplication with it, that the Lord might surely demonstrate His wonders. The bishop said that he was completely ignorant as to whether such an icon existed at all, either among them or elsewhere. Then the figure, appearing in the guise of a woman, says to him that such an icon is hidden ^C in that place above the city gate in such a way.

XVII. In the morning, therefore, the bishop, trusting in the clarity of the vision, came with a procession to the place, and upon searching, he found this divine icon intact, and the wick that had not been extinguished in so many years. And upon the tile set for protection in front of the lamp, another likeness of the likeness had been imprinted, which ^D remains in Edessa to this day. Having taken into his hands this divine image of Christ the God-man, and becoming bold with hope, he heads to the place where the Persians, digging from the sound of the copper vessels, had been caught. And as the citizens themselves moved against them from the inside and they collided with one another, having dripped oil from that lamp into the fire that had been prepared for the enemy, and having sent it down upon the Persians in the tunnel, they destroyed them all. And being delivered from this treachery, they applied a like attempt to the engines placed outside the walls, and suddenly burned these down as well. And they consumed many of the enemy who were in them. Now having taken heart, they made frequent castings of stones from the walls, by which it came to pass that the commander of the wicked army fell and

^A many others with him. And not only this, but the virtue of the allied divine image kindly assisted those who were being set aflame from without by the Persians against the fire within, which was being fed by an infinite mass of oil and many trees that had fallen; for as Eulalius, unfolding it from above with his own hands from the wall, made the circuit of the city, when he arrived at that place, a violent wind suddenly arose, and turned the flame back against those who were lighting such a conflagration; and it pursued and burned them, just as it had the Chaldeans of old.

XVIII.

XIX.

he turned his mind toward negotiations; and having struck a treaty of peace, he returned to his own lands.

^A XX. But even he was soon to receive a benefit from this sacred image, which was the benefactress of his enemies and the destroyer of his own [soldiers]. For his

promise to give them in exchange for the sacred image—which the Lord had written with His own hand—two hundred Saracens and two myriads of coined silver, was countered by the people of Edessa, who said that it was not profitable for them to exchange the guardian and protector of their own city for silver and mortal men.

^B XXII. The petitions were often repeated and as often repulsed, until at last, in the year 6452 from the creation of the world, the Emir of Edessa sent messengers, demanding that the Emperor guarantee by a written security, confirmed with a golden seal, that the Roman forces would not henceforth invade these four cities—namely Rochan (which is what the barbarian tongue calls Edessa), Charan, Sarate, and Samosata—nor plunder their fields, nor carry off captives from their inhabitants. He also demanded that the two hundred Saracens of the same tribe be released, that the previously promised quantity of silver be paid, and that the Emperor then return the sought-after image and the letter of Christ.

XXIII. The Emperor, in his desire for so great a good, readily agreed to all these proposals, and bestowing munificently what was requested, he sent the most religious Abramius, the bishop of Samosata—who was at that time staying in Byzantium—to receive the divine image and the letter of Christ our God. Both the sender and the one who served in this ministry took care that no fraud might be introduced in the delivering of the sacred pledge, and that instead of the true, unmanufactured image, they might not be given one that had been copied from it at that time on account of the pressing Persian necessity. Therefore, he sought and received both these, as well as a third one which was venerated in the Nestorian church (which itself, as is probable, had been copied from that first exemplar), in order to confirm the truth of the matter; these were afterwards returned, with only the one that was authentic and true being retained.

^C XXIV. But this is later. At that time, a sedition was stirred up by the faithful in Edessa, and a frequent clamor occupied the city, as they could not bear to have the most precious pledges removed—those upon which the salvation and safety of their homeland depended—until the leader of the Saracens, by persuading some, compelling others by force, and frightening others with threats of slaughter, managed to have it delivered to him. ^D When, however, thunders and lightnings with an immense intensity of rain suddenly broke forth by some skill or providence, at the very moment when the sacred image and the letter of Christ were to be taken out of Edessa, those who had previously been resisting rose up again, and claimed that the Divinity was signaling through that portent that it was not by the divine will that these most holy pledges were moving away from there. But the Saracen...

leader, under whose authority everything lay, judged it necessary to abide by the agreements and fulfill the promise. Thus, the most precious likeness and the letter written by Christ’s hand departed the city and were transported to these parts.

XXV. When those bearing these objects had finished their journey and reached the banks of the Euphrates, another disturbance arose, no less than the previous ones; for the people of Edessa cried out that unless some sign were shown from heaven, they would not let go of the keepers of their safety, come what may. And so, a sign was given to them, as they were faithless and testing [the situation]. For the ship in which they were to cross the Euphrates, while it still stood on the shore toward the parts of Syria, as soon as the bishops carrying the divine image and the letter had stepped into it while the storm of sedition still gripped the agitators, it immediately, without a rower, without a helmsman, and without being towed, set off and reached the opposite bank, steered solely by the divine will. This event filled all who were present and saw it with astonishment and wonder, and persuaded them willingly to allow the departure of the sacred pledges.

^B XXVI. From there, those who were the ministers of the holy burden arrived at Samosata. There were the bishop of Samosata and of Edessa, the first of his presbyters, and other pious Christians, and with them also came the emir’s minister, who was called "the Roman." After they had spent a few days there, having performed many miracles at the site of the sacred pledges, they continued their journey. During the course of the journey, again, countless miracles were wrought by the holy image and the letter of Christ: the blind were suddenly gifted with sight, the lame were shown to be sound, those long bedridden leaped up, and those whose hands were withered went forth with vigorous strength. To sum it up, every disease and infirmity was put to flight; and those who were healed glorified God and praised His wonders.

XXVII. Now, having nearly completed the journey, they arrived at the monastery of the Holy Theotokos, which is also called the house of Eusebius, situated in the theme called that of the Optimates. In the temple of this monastery, the chest containing the wonder-working image was piously and religiously deposited. Many who approached with sincere hearts were healed of their diseases. There also came one possessed by a demon, which the wicked spirit used as an instrument, uttering many things in praise of the image and the letter; just as spirits of the same kind once said to the Lord: "We know who you are, the holy one of Israel." Finally, he delivered this prophecy: "Receive, city of Constantine, brightness and joy; and you, Constantine Porphyrogennetos, your empire." ^D When he had said this, the man was healed and immediately released from the vexation of the demon. Many, however, of these words...

For since the emperor had sent the first men of the council of state to honor and meet the object of their desire, and many of the imperial guard had gone out with them, it came to pass that the magistri and patricians, along with those of lower rank, heard these things and were witnesses to them. And since the things that were spoken received their fulfillment so quickly, it is worth asking whence the demon obtained this foreknowledge. For they are not believed to possess this by themselves, having slipped away from the divine glory and become darkness instead of light. Or is it plain that, just as the divine power made use of Balaam as a minister for the prophecy of that time—and often used others on other occasions who were not worthy of the matter—for some wise and ingenious dispensation, so too [now] the power in the divine image made use of the demon? And for this reason it revealed what was to come to pass shortly thereafter. But perhaps it is not untimely to have mentioned this, since it happened in the meanwhile. Let us now move on to the next parts of the narrative. ^B

XXVIII. On the fifteenth day of the month of August, when the emperors were, as usual, celebrating the feast of the Translation of the Ever-Virgin and Mother of God, Mary, in her most venerable temple which is in the Blachernae, the ministers of these holy relics arrived there at high dusk, and they placed the chest containing the image and the letter in the upper oratory of that same holy temple. And the emperors, approaching, reverently venerated it, fixing their gaze upon it from without. Then, with honor and imperial guard and many lamps, they carried it to the imperial trireme, and with it they reached the palace. And in the holy temple that is there, which is called the Pharos (perhaps because it is adorned in an extraordinary way, like a shining garment), they deposited it. ^C

On the following day, which was the sixteenth of the month, having again performed their greeting and veneration with awe and piety, the priests and the younger emperors (for the elder, because his strength was failing, had been left at home) took it from there. With psalms and hymns, and a profusion of light, they made their way down to the sea, and, having again placed it on the imperial trireme, they navigated along the very edge of the city, so that by this sea journey it might in some way protect the city. They anchored outside the city wall that lies to the west, where, having disembarked from the ship, the emperors themselves, all the senate, and the chief of the sacred rites, together with the whole assembly of the Church, proceeded on foot. With the appropriate imperial escort, they conveyed that vessel containing the most holy and venerable relics, as if it were another ark—or rather, something even greater than an ark. Having traveled outside the walls as far as the Golden Gate, and then entering into the city from there, with the loud sound of psalms and canticles and spiritual songs, and with dancing, and the infinite light of lamps, ^D and the gathering of the whole populace, [they performed] the procession.

They pursued their journey through the middle of the city, believing that for this reason the city would partake of sanctification and superior strength, and would be kept unharmed and impregnable for ever. ^A As the idle crowd hurried to the sight, and the people, like long waves, surged and streamed from every side, a certain man, long since paralyzed and infirm, leaning on his own servants, stood up to see the divine image passing by. And upon seeing it, he was miraculously healed, and recognizing that the joints of his feet had been strengthened, he ran up walking on his own feet, and kissed the chest of the image, and glorified God, relating the miracle that had happened to him. All who were present, having seen and heard his words, sent up glory to the God who is above all, who always does marvelous and extraordinary things.

XXIX. Moreover, such a shedding of tears for joy, such prayers and entreaties to God and acts of thanksgiving took place from the whole city as the divine image and the venerable letter passed through the middle of the city, that it cannot be expressed in words, for hearing is far inferior to sight itself. For it is better to see excellent things than to hear of them, since speech is usually less than the dignity of the events. When, therefore, those who were the leaders of this procession had reached the forum which is before the Augusteum, and had turned a little to the left from the straight path, they came to the most celebrated sacred temple of the Wisdom of God, ^B and placed the venerable image and the letter within the adyta of the propitiatory.

XXX. Here, when the whole assembly of the church had worshipped and paid the honor and reverence that was fitting, those who were carrying the sacred burden went out from there again and, having arrived at the royal palace, they placed the divine image for a time in the golden triclinium, as they call it, upon the royal throne where they are accustomed to deliberate on the most important matters. They did this believing, not without reason, that the imperial throne itself must be entirely imbued with that holiness, and that it would thus provide abundantly both justice and gentleness to those sitting upon it. ^D When an intense and long prayer had been offered according to custom, and it was completed, the divine image was then again taken up and was dedicated and deposited in the aforementioned temple of the Pharos, on the right side facing the east, for the glory of the faithful, for the protection of the emperors, and for the security and safety of the whole city and the estate of the Christians.

XXXI. But, O divine likeness of the unchangeable likeness of the Father! O figure of Him who is the figure of the Paternal substance! O venerable and entirely honorable seal of the archetype of the beauty of Christ our God! (for as with a living being I faithfully converse with you), save

and guard ever the one who rules us piously and gently, and who celebrates the memory of your arrival brilliantly; whom by your presence you have elevated to his ancestral and paternal throne. Preserve his offspring unharmed for the succession of his lineage, and for the perpetuity of his scepter. Grant to the state a peaceful condition. Keep this queen of cities unconquered. And grant that we, being pleasing to your archetype, Christ our God, may be received into his heavenly kingdom, singing glory to him and praising him, for to him is due glory and adoration unto the ages of ages. Amen.

OF LEO AND CONSTANTINE, EMPERORS OF THE ROMANS, COMPENDIOUS SELECTION OF LAWS.

EDITOR'S NOTE.

SELECTION OF LAWS IN COMPENDIUM

PREFACE.