Addenda

with the exception of a few, almost all who dwelt thereabouts, as well those who lived in seclusion as those who lived in community, and whosoever were of the sacred order, and indeed even those who were citizens dwelling in the town, did she give a generally useful admonition ^A, especially to her cousin, who was greatly troubled on account of her departure, and then to all who were affected with grief, uttering this final voice: "As it has pleased the Lord, so it has come to pass." She gave up that holy and sacred soul, on the last day of the month of December, it being the Lord’s day. And that the body might be disposed suitably, as is the custom, there was no need at all for the hands of others; but her own hands were automatically placed upon her breast in the proper posture, and her feet were stretched out most reverently, and her eyelids were closed gracefully and very philosophically, as if she were yet alive. When, therefore, they had spent the whole night singing over her according to custom, about the dawn they committed to the earth her who was truly worthy of the heavens, and who dwells in the mansions there and continually enjoys that light, to the glory of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

ADDENDA. MONTH OF JANUARY. MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY AND GLORIOUS MARTYR SEBASTIAN. AND OF HIS COMPANIONS, ZOE, TRANQUILLINUS, NICOSTRATUS, CLAUDIUS, CASTORIUS, TIBURTIUS, CASTULUS, MARCELLINUS, AND MARCUS.

(Latin from Surius on the 20th of January. Greek from Paris codex 1195.)

I. Since many at different times have raged against Christ and against His followers ^B, Diocletian and Maximian, that pair distinguished in evil—

^A they extended the persecution against us to such a degree that they left no room for those who came after them to surpass them in fury. For when the tyrants had received the imperial power—which favored their madness—and dared everything with impunity, they strove in every way to draw the subjects of the true God away and to manifest the reign of impiety. Thus, everywhere throughout their dominion, they arrested all who championed the Christian religion, casting them into custody and prisons so that, tortured by degrees, they might have a greater sense of their suffering: [intending that] those who denied their piety might behold this light, while a sentence of death would be brought against those who did not obey.

II. ^B While these things were taking place, a certain Sebastian, a man both noble by birth and illustrious in glory, originating from Milan, was held in such high regard by the tyrants—as he appeared to be a man well-regarded and upright in all things—that he was numbered among their most faithful friends and held the chief rank in the military register. Having learned the true rationale of the faith, and desiring to bring not only himself but others also to Christ through martyrdom, he endeavored at first to remain hidden and to conceal himself—not because he feared torments, but so that, being believed to be impious by his dissimulation, he might be a teacher of the truth to the Christians and from there lead many toward piety. For, having escaped into the open in time, he underwent the final battle of martyrdom and achieved a most beautiful victory, which secured for him heavenly goods. But these [are matters] for later.

III. ^C At that time, then, when, as has been said, he was trying to hide and feigning that he honored those things which the emperors [honored], he would approach the prisons in which any who had been seized as Christians were kept, and with pious words he exhorted them to undertake the contests of martyrdom. He compared this present life with the future one, persuading them to scorn this [present life] as fragile and liable to sickness and death, but to fix their gaze on that [future] one alone, and to do everything so that they might not fall short of those immortal goods. By these words he led many others to endure the terrible [sufferings] even unto death and not to lose their piety. Those, however, who were most famous of all for their lineage and wealth were Marcellinus and Marcus, whose father was Tranquillinus and whose mother was Marcia; they were no less brothers in their resolution than they were in their bodies. To them—after they had been long enclosed in prison and had endured many types of torments, and were already about to receive the final blow of the sword—Chromatius, the prefect of the city, having granted them a respite of thirty days, ordered all who were related to them by lineage to arrive and see them, ^D so that by time and the lamentations of their kin they might be softened and yield to impiety.

IV. When therefore these things came to pass and all had arrived, the father, in the sight of his sons, lamented his childlessness, saying: "Who, O children, will become the staff of my old age? Who will prepare my body when I have died? Who will entrust this wretched and abject body to burial? Who will inherit your portion? Pity me, O sons; spare your youth and your prime. Do not disregard me

bereft ^A of children, nor see this house pass to strangers—and perhaps to those we hate—as if it had no heirs of its own." Thus did the father complete his lamentation. On the other side, the mother, tearing her hair with her nails and offering her breasts from her bosom, reminded them of the pangs of labor, the milk, and the other toils she had endured in rearing them. After the parents, there flocked around them their wives and a chorus of underage children—the former recounting the horrors of widowhood, the latter, unable as yet to speak, staring with intent eyes at their fathers and bringing to mind their orphanhood and all the other things that naturally befall those who are not at that age cared for and defended by their parents. To these was added a multitude of peers and friends, who said, "Remember the beautiful and pleasant life we were leading together. Let the sweet light come to your minds, which, for those who have experienced it, is quite painful to lose."

As these things were said, the whole house was filled with lamentations, to such a degree that the aforementioned athletes began to shed fountains of tears, and their inward parts were torn with compassion. When the blessed Sebastian noticed this, and feared that, softened by such pity, they might betray their piety, he stood in their midst and, having become manifest to all that he was a Christian—for he did not think it right to hide himself—he used words of this sort ^B towards those who were standing by:

V. "If this present life were stable, O people, and firm, and extended to every age, you might perhaps seem to do what is reasonable in trying to avert the athletes from suffering such things. But since present things flow and pass away, and another life succeeds us that is endless and unceasing, for what reason do you attempt to persuade the noble contenders to prefer things that fall away to those that remain? Or do you not know that to suffer for Christ brings about the kingdom of heaven, while to deny Him gives to those who deny Him the loss of it? 'For whoever,' He says, 'denies me before men, I also will deny him before my Father who is in heaven.' But do you fear that they will no longer exist once they have left this life? I am the guarantor of this: that after our departure from here, we go into another life, where each shall receive the reward of his works, and where they too, dwelling and rejoicing with Christ, will remember both parents and children and wives, asking for good things for them and, by their supplications to God, providing them with an easier life. Cease, therefore, weeping, and do not, by your eagerness, make them softer. For they will be your saviors and guardians, visiting you invisibly, and after the end of life, receiving you into the everlasting tabernacles, they will share their joy with you." And these were the things he said to those who had come. ^C

^A VI. Turning his speech again to the brave and noble athletes, he said: "Do you see, O soldiers of Christ, the crafty inventions of the wicked one by which he seeks to alienate you from your salvation? For what he could not achieve through torments, he attempts to accomplish through your own kin. But do not be ignorant of his designs, knowing that he plots against us in every way; for now, also, seeing that you have come to the end of your struggles, and unable to bear the shame of defeat after bringing many evils upon you, he hastens, after your victory, to deprive you of the rewards, so that beyond the fact that you will have gained nothing from the wounds you have received, you might furthermore lose Christ. For this is his work: both to inflict heavy sufferings and to cut off the advantage that is gained from them by those who labor. But since you know this, resist the stratagems of the adversary with fortitude, and do not spare your flesh, which is to perish a little later; nor, out of fear of the final blow—for that alone is within the power of the enemy—forsake the kingdom of heaven and the glory everlasting, which it is a great thing to secure and the highest of goods, while to miss it is the most miserable thing of all." As blessed Sebastian said these things, and was confirming the ready and eager zeal of the athletes of Christ, it is said that a light shone around him and a youth was seen standing near him, refulgent with the great brilliance of his garments, so that all who saw him were struck with amazement and confessed that this was a work of heavenly grace, bearing witness that he had spoken the truth. Something else also followed, which especially persuaded those who were present to attend only to the true God.

^B VII. For a certain woman named Zoe, the wife of Nicostratus, who held the rank of primicerius (and this is one of the dignities under the prefecture), had fallen into a severe illness, so that she was unable to speak or to express the movements of her heart, yet she could understand and hear what was being said without any impediment. Pondering in her mind the words of the blessed Sebastian (for the saints were being kept in her house), since she could not ^C exclaim with her tongue that what was said was right, she would nod to everyone with her eyes, wave her hand, and, touching the feet of the saint, she became a herald of the truth even while silent. When that divine man understood that the woman’s movement was from heaven, and desiring to bring many to the acknowledgment of the faith through the miracle, he ordered her to stand in their midst, and, calling upon the name of Christ, he immediately granted her the power to speak. When Nicostratus saw this, he indeed released the saints from their bonds and, having asked pardon for where he had previously offended against them, he begged them to depart far from the city. But when they would not accept his entreaties, but said that they would not betray their own nobility, nor yield the crowns of martyrdom to others, "I would indeed be happy," said Nicostratus, "if for the sake of your salvation I had shed my blood, so as to wash away the filth which the service of demons has brought upon me." "But," they say, "if you wish to achieve this, it is necessary first to gather here those who are kept in different prisons ^D and offer them as a gift to God, and then also to come to the desired end."

^A VIII. When Nicostratus heard these words, he did not hesitate to do what was commanded. Leading all those who were in chains into his own house, he mingled them with the Christians who were already there. Those who had been taught the word of truth by the blessed Sebastian were themselves, through fasting and prayer, being purified in preparation for receiving baptism. When Chromatius, the prefect of the city, learned of these things, he was filled with anger and ordered Claudius, the *commentariensis*, to bring Nicostratus to him quickly. When he was brought, he said to him, "Why, you impious head, have you gathered all those who were in the prisons into your house?" Wishing to deceive him for the time being, he wisely answered thus: "I did not come to this, O judge, by despising your authority—for who would have such audacity?—but by increasing the fear of the Christians, so that by seeing in others the tortures that hang over them, they might be persuaded to obey the decrees of the emperors." The prefect, wondering at his cleverness—for he did not yet perceive the deception—ordered him to return home. ^B He, returning home with Claudius the *commentariensis*, described to him the piety of the blessed Sebastian, and how, though he was held in the highest regard by the emperors and enjoyed their greatest trust, he had nevertheless despised glory, wealth, and power, and now associated with the Christians, instructing them in piety and confirming the word of truth with marvelous signs.

^C IX. When Claudius heard these things and was pierced with the desire for Christ, he came home running. Taking his two sons—one of whom was struggling with the severe illness of dropsy, while the other was entirely covered with sores and leprosy—he went to Nicostratus, where the saints were. Falling to the ground, he worshipped them, confessing the faith and begging that his sons might be healed. When the whole house was full of men and women who had received the word of faith, a certain Polycarpus, a pious man who had attained the dignity of the priesthood, dressed in priestly robes and having completed the customary prayers, perfected all of them with divine baptism. After those who were suffering from sickness had recovered their health, and were exhorting one another to endure the struggles bravely, ^D because the time allowed for the postponement had expired, the prefect called for Tranquillinus, the father of Marcellinus and Marcus—for he did not yet know that he too was a Christian—and said to him, "Do your sons still refuse to sacrifice to the gods, in contempt of the emperors' commands?" He answered him, saying, "Blessed are they in holding such a conviction, because they have been freed from error and have come to know the truth, and they have at last led me to it." The prefect said, "Have you truly also strayed in your mind, changed by deceitful words to this miserable religion?" And Tranquillinus said, "I also once had that opinion, O judge, and I thought the Christians were being deceived; but when I met the noble Sebastian, a man distinguished and beloved by the rulers, from him I [learned the truths of...]

how honest and venerable the faith is, and not like our own superstition, which is sordid and hateful. I learned by experience whom one ought to worship as God. Those who are ignorant of Him, if it be permissible to say so, are miserable on account of their error, and all the more so because they seem to themselves to be sane, while they are not sane in their senses. ^B The city prefect said: Tell me, by what words or deeds have you been so changed that you hold him as God who was led to the cross and suffered other things full of shame and disgrace? Tranquillinus said: If you hear me without anger, but patiently and calmly, O judge, I will show you that this crucified one is the true God, and God of the whole of nature, both that which is visible and that which does not fall under the aspect of sight. The prefect said: Speak to us freely and withholding nothing, so that, if the things of your God are good, we may also become participants in your religion.

X. Tranquillinus said: Since the opportunity for speaking has been granted me by your clemency, hear in brief the mystery of the counsel and the economy of the flesh that was assumed; and you shall know entirely, unless you wish willingly to be blind to the truth, that no other religion is free from error except that of the Christians alone. This ^C Christ whom you harass with curses, being God from the beginning, in whom no destruction finds place, who cannot be changed or altered, and who is always with the Father and the Spirit, He Himself produced all things. First, indeed, the angelic and heavenly powers; then this visible world, and last of all He brought in man; whom He fashioned with His own hands, established as king of those things which are on earth, and having placed him in paradise for habitation, He gave him a commandment that he should indeed enjoy all the trees that are therein, but from one alone should abstain, instructing him in obedience and providing greater things through such observation. But one to whom authority over the angelic orders had fallen—impelled to vice and deprived of divine glory on account of pride, together with that order over which he commanded—did not ^D endure to see man united to God and being raised to heaven whence he himself had fallen. Whence also, with an envious eye cast upon him, by a fallacious hope and in the way in which he himself had fallen, he stripped him of divine glory and made him an alien to the place which had been given to him for habitation and to immortality. Nor did he indeed cease from then on to cast the nature of man into evils successively befalling one another, so that, being stripped of supernal aid, he led man away from the God who had created and formed him; indeed, he deduced him to idols and the figments of human hands, and caused created things to rise up against the Creator. Hence the law was given for correction, and the prophets brought aid to the figment of God. But since matters were extending to things worse, the only-begotten Son of the Father Himself was seen on earth, and in all things was made like to us without sin, and when, with the body, He had conquered him who had fallen and those who obey his authority—those whom you think to be gods—He led us back to our ancient nobility, and ascended again to the Father with that which He had assumed, with which He will also come again, and will gather together every figment, that it may give an account of those things which it did well or ill. XI. These are, O judge, the arcana of the economy. Therefore there is also the cross, and death, and burial, which you cast as an objection against Christ, not noting that you...

show forth his venerableness. For if he suffered as a man, yet he has risen as God; and if you, abandoning the things that show him to be God, dwell upon the things of his humanity, reckoning his economy and weakness, and if not even the things that were miraculously done then and now in his name have persuaded you at length to recognize the One who formed you, do you not see what I myself have become, through the confession of him and through baptism—I who was before paralyzed and could scarcely walk ^B XII. When the prefect heard this, and was clearly instructed in the truth of the faith, he sent away those who were standing by and called Tranquillinus, and said to him, "I see, brother, that this is none other than the only God, He who is worshiped by you. If you wish me also to approach him and be a participant in your religion, go now to your house, keeping this counsel secret. But on the morrow, take the saints who you say are at the head of the assembled Christians, and bring them to me, being diligent that no one sees them. For I too intend, through them, to be brought to Christ." After this, Tranquillinus went to his own house and made known to the saints what had occurred with the prefect, filling them with joy when they learned that the former persecutor was about to become, in such measure, a fervent champion of the faith. Wherefore they spent the whole night in psalms and hymns, and at daybreak Tranquillinus took the saints Sebastian and Polycarp and went to the prefect. Seeing them, he arose, and having grasped their feet, he besought them that he might be delivered from the disease that possessed him. For his body was swollen and hardened into lumps throughout, such that from this his movement had become slow and sluggish. ^C But when they promised him healing if he would believe in God with his whole heart, he confessed this with a loud voice. And not only that, but having also smashed the idols in his house at the bidding of the saints, and ground them to dust, he demonstrated his faith by his work. XIII. At this time there also occurred something worthy to be told and committed to memory. For Tiburtius, the son of Chromatius, was still doubtful regarding the faith. Since the other idols of his father had been smashed, but one piece of work remained, an admirable one in which was all astrology and the movement of the heavenly bodies, he was vexed at the others being destroyed, and was clinging to this one, and did not permit it to be shattered before he had received proof of the saints through it and had been confirmed in piety by the result. And so, having brought ovens and placed fire beneath so that it might be heated through, he said to the saints, "Know clearly that, once this fair piece of work is shattered, if my father finds health, as you have promised, I also shall be a true disciple of Christ; but if even after its destruction the

disease continues, ^A I shall subject you to this apparent punishment as deceivers." With these words spoken, although the father tried to prevent him from making such a trial, the saints, trusting in God, gladly accepted the terms, for they could not disbelieve the divine power, and they urged the youth to complete the work. When this had been done, a light immediately shone round about ^B Chromatius, and a youth, fair in appearance, appeared to him and said: "Blessed are you, because you have believed in Christ, who has now sent me to you to give you release from the disease by which you are held." And at that very word, the paralysis of his limbs was undone, and there was one who could see him who before had barely been able to walk, then leaping like a deer. Struck with amazement at this, Tiburtius fell at the feet of the saints, confessing Christ to be the true God, and begging that he might obtain baptism from them. The saints, therefore, with joy gave to him and to his father a set time so that they might wash away the defilement contracted from their former life, and they deemed them worthy of the divine bath. And after these things, Chromatius, under the pretext of sickness, stripped himself of the prefecture of the city (for he did not yet wish his conversion to be made known), and having scattered all his property among those in need, and having provided freedom for his slaves, he thereafter spent his time with the saints, learning the reason of the faith, and he was confirmed still more in piety.

XIV. But matters continued in this way as long as Carinus administered ^C the Gauls, who caused a milder persecution for the Christians, sparing the friends who were among them. But after he had ended his life, and the pious had no one to defend them, a more severe persecution erupted against them, and columns were erected everywhere throughout the city of Rome, in the marketplaces, at the fountains, and in the forums, where they allowed those who sacrificed to the gods to take both water and other goods for sale, but those who did not obey, besides other evils, they sent away empty-handed. Then, therefore, Chromatius, taking the advice of him who guided the Roman church—Gaius was his name—first brought all the Christians into his house, receiving them and sharing all his goods with them; nor did he allow them to go out from the house, but wished them to stay within, for he knew this to be safer on account of the weaker ones. But since it could not be that they should remain hidden for long, for the sharp persecution detected everything, he decided to set out for a certain mountain, where he had a small farm ^D suitable both for hiding and for gathering produce, together with the weaker Christians, and there to escape the danger. And after this had been decided, and the people of Christ had been divided into two parts, namely, that which remained and that which wished to depart, there arose a laudable controversy between the blessed Sebastian and Polycarp, which had such a beginning and was stirred up from this. For with the people divided, it was necessary that they too, as those who were the sole leaders of the others, should be separated from one another, and that one should follow the part that was departing from the city, and the other

^A should remain with her who stayed. But since both were eager to undergo martyrdom and each wished to remain, and each thought that to avoid the contest was ^B a danger, Gaius, stepping into their midst, resolved this good strife, using words of this sort:

XV. If there were but one way, O blessed ones, that led to salvation, and he who wandered from it could not obtain what he desired, it would be right for you to hold so tightly to the contest, so that you might not fall away from your salvation. But since the way of confession also grants this, and I know it to be safer and without danger, why do you not, leaving aside the contention, yield to one another in this commendable division? For it is not holy to leave those whom you have joined to Christ without a shepherd and without your care. It seems to me rather that Polycarp should go with those who are departing, as he is distinguished by his priesthood and is fit to lead them and instruct them in piety. When the blessed Gaius had said these things, and all had assented to what was being said, Tiburtius, the son of Chromatius, insisted that he not depart with his father, but remain in the city and await the crown of martyrdom. And when Gaius had consented due to the great tenacity of the youth, he ^C henceforth remained with the saints and prepared himself for the contest, while the blessed Gaius, after having strengthened those who had been left behind with long discourses for the challenges set before them, and having enrolled Marcellus and Marcus in the order of deacons, and their father in that of the presbyters, and having constituted the renowned Sebastian as the defender of the Church, passed his days with them, occupied in fasts and prayers, begging God that they might conduct themselves bravely in the challenges and torments, and be adorned with the crown of martyrdom. And they, indeed, were in these things. Moreover, some who were struggling with various diseases, coming to them secretly, departed whole; and wonderful miracles were performed by them, of which I shall pass over the others, avoiding the tediousness of the account, but I shall mention only one.

XVI. Descending one day from the house where the saints were, ^D Tiburtius encountered somewhere in the marketplace a man who had fallen from a height and was in such a wretched state that those close to him had despaired of his salvation and cared only for his grave and the rites due to him. Having approached the man who lay there and having offered his customary prayer over him, he restored the man whole to those who belonged to him. And he said to them: "If you also wish to perform wondrous works, believe in Christ, from whom the power of miracles has also come to me." And when he saw they were persuaded by him, he led them to Gaius, saying, "Receive these, venerable father, whom today through me Christ has gained." And he, having catechized them and perfected them with divine baptism, numbered them with the remaining saints. But now it is time for me to say how the end of the contest arrived, which I shall do, setting aside other things.

XVII. The most blessed Zoe, once praying at the tomb of

^A of the apostle Peter, was seized by the wicked and brought before the magistrate of the district. When he commanded her to sacrifice to the statue of Mars that stood there, she replied modestly, saying that Venus would more likely take pleasure in this than she; for the rest, she remained silent, fixing her eyes upon the ground. Stung by this remark, he ordered her to be kept in the most secure prison and to see neither light nor partake of food. When she had passed six days in this affliction, on the seventh she was sent to the prefect Flavian. Upon seeing that she would not be persuaded, he ordered her to be suspended by her hair from a high tree and, with much smoke wafting from below, thus to end her life. When this happened, the bloodthirsty men tied a stone to her body and cast it into the river Tiber, doing the greatest damage to the Christians.

XVIII. When ^B, therefore, the martyrdom of the blessed Zoe became known to the saints, it so incited everyone to a similar zeal that Tranquillinus said to the blessed Sebastian: "Do you see, my lord, how women, strengthening the weakness of their sex with prompt and eager spirit, snatch up their crowns?" And having said this, he went out from the house, and, coming to the tomb of the blessed apostle Paul for the sake of prayer, he was immediately seized and, after being stoned, was cast into the aforementioned river. His body, sought by Nicostratus and Claudius together with Castorius at the banks of the river so that they might give it burial, fell into the hands of those who were lying in wait, and they were led to the prefect. Since they were seen to be unturnable by any entreaties, threats, or abuse, after the prefect had marveled and indicated these things to the emperors, he received from them a sentence regarding them which ^C read as follows: "Those who do not obey the edict of our divinity, and are unwilling to sacrifice to the gods, we command that, when they have been examined three times by torture, they be finally handed over to the sea waves, unless, having been chastised, they should as suppliants yield to the power of our empire." Having thus received this sentence, the prefect, after he saw that they would not yield or swerve despite many lashes being inflicted upon them, serving the decrees of the emperors that had been issued by them, pronounced the sentence against the holy men. And they, having been thus consummated, were cast into the sea.

XIX. Curtuatus, however, was a man in reality impious, though in appearance pious, and while simulating himself a Christian, he had enrolled himself among the number of the saints, but by his very deeds he provided them with suspicion. For both the arrangement of his hair, which was more elaborate than was fit and too ^D meticulously groomed, and his way of life, too soft and delicate, and other acts of conduct that were not at all honorable, led those who saw him to think him, as he was, a fraudulent man and a deceiver. No long time passed, and when he had seen the blessed Tiburtius praying in a certain sacred edifice and had informed the impious against him, he himself was also seized together with Tiburtius. For he wished it to be so, that he might not appear to the Christians to be a betrayer, and so that, having sufficiently played the game, he might thus be revealed. When, therefore, Flavian had caused both to be brought to his tribunal, he said to Curtuatus: "Do you also profess God in the crucified one?" And when he had said with a smile that he considered him to be God whom this blessed man — pointing with his finger to Tiburtius — preaches, the wonderful youth, vexed at such hypocrisy, said to him: "Do not deceive yourself, O Curtuatus, know

that no one who eats with harlots and rejoices in drunkenness, and does other shameless things whose very memory I abhor, can be a disciple of Christ and glory in His sufferings for us. Do you think we do not know what kind of man you are, and how you have devised for me a most pleasant death, which will quickly deliver me from this humble body and unite me to the Christ whom I desire? For the tortures and manifold torments which are expected are held by me in contempt and mockery. Nor do I fear exile; I have willingly abandoned my home to those who desire it; I do not fear fire, nor scourges, nor anything else of the harsh and terrible things with which I am threatened. For all these things are rendered weak and feeble by divine aid."

XX. Flavianus said: "Dismiss these trifles, O Tiburtius; obey me, spare your nobility and your youth, and do not embrace this disgraceful death." ^B But he, answering, said: "It is not a disgrace, O judge, to serve the one living God, but [it is to serve] demons and mortal men honored for their vices; those who worship them are miserable and worthy of lamentation, just as they who are honored in the things they worship are affected with ignominy, and receive from this the reward of their own error. For the honor of those who are worshiped is the insult of those who worship; and to sin among them is called worship." Then the prefect, burning with anger, ordered coals to be brought, and said to him: "Choose for yourself one of the two: either sacrifice to the gods, or walk on the coals with bare feet." ^C The blessed Tiburtius, having marked the sign of the cross, stood upon them, and said to the prefect: "Learn now through me that this alone is the true God whom I worship, and become at last a Christian, leaving behind the darkness of impiety." But he, fearing that by these miracles he might lead many to piety, commanded that he be led far from the city and be beheaded by the sword. And he indeed found this end of life.

XXI. After him, Castulus the chamberlain, having been seized and [having undergone] many tortures, was cast into a pit, where he finished his life and was offered as a witness to the Lord. Furthermore, Marcellinus and Marcus, the noble athletes of piety, were arrested, and their feet having been pierced with nails, they were commanded by the judge to stand until they should sacrifice to the gods. But they, in this most painful torture, reciting: "Behold, how good or how pleasant [it is...]," and the following [verses], and being finally pierced in the sides with spears like Christ, for whom they were suffering these things, yielded up their spirit. ^D And they all, indeed, were offered to the Lord without blemish and without reproach.

XXII. Sebastian, the most noble, having been summoned to the Emperor Diocletian, when he stood before the tribunal, the tyrant said to him: "Did I not, O Sebastian, hold you in the greatest honor, and entrust you with authority more than others? And now, what has possessed you to have drifted into such madness, that you act petulantly and insolently both against your own life and against my power?" Sebastian said: "Formerly indeed, O Emperor, not knowing the existing God, I submitted to your senseless commands; but now, having acknowledged Him, I despised...

both wealth and glory and all things upon earth, desiring the blessings that endure forever, which are prepared for those who love Christ. For it is of the utmost madness to consider as gods the works of human hands, deaf and altogether senseless. Provoked to anger by these words, the tyrant ordered him to be set up in the middle of the plain as a target and shot at with many arrows; and this having been done, the attendants, thinking the saint to be dead, left him and departed. ^B XXIII. When night had supervened, the wife of the master of the house went out to the plain to consign his body to burial, and finding him still alive, she brought him home, and in a short time restored him to health. Some of the Christians, having learned of this, besought him to depart from the city, lest, if he were discovered again, he should be delivered to more numerous torments. He, however, not only did not hide himself, but, standing in a certain high house, made himself visible to the emperors passing by. Seeing him, Diocletian had him summoned and said to him: "Are you not Sebastian, whom we previously ordered to be killed by arrows?" "I am," said he, "O Emperor; and my Lord raised me from the dead so that you might know that He is the God of all and no longer heed impure demons, whose memory shall perish with a roar." Then he ordered the saint’s entire body to be cudgelled with clubs and thus violently depart from life. ^C XXIV. When, therefore, this blessed man had departed to the Lord, the attendants, at the command of the tyrant, took up his body by night and threw it into a certain sewer, so that he might not work miracles and, even after his departure, turn many away from idols. But this blessed one appeared in a nightly vision to a certain distinguished and pious woman (Lucina by name) and said to her: "Go to this place, and having taken my body, bury it in that which is called the Crypt, at the feet of the apostles." She, having arisen and come to the sewer, took the body of the martyr from there, and having buried him diligently and decorously in the place which the martyr had declared, she remained at the tomb for thirty days. And when at one time peace was granted to the churches, she made her own house a sacred monastery, and as long as she lived she provided for the needy with an open hand. But when she departed from life, she donated all her property in her will to the Christians, glorifying the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the one divinity and power, to whom is due glory, majesty, and honor, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

MONTH OF FEBRUARY

THE CONTEST OF THE HOLY AND GLORIOUS HIEROMARTYR BLASIUS, BISHOP OF SEBASTEA

^A I. At the time when the cult of idols prevailed and many men worshipped created images and things, then also the faith of all the saints flourished, along with which flourished the faith of the holy and glorious hieromartyr Blasius. For this holy and venerable man, Blasius, having lived his whole life in a mild manner of conduct—as it is written in Job—was innocent, blameless, truthful, pious, and religious, abstaining from every evil deed. Wherefore, because of his pure and irreproachable life, the faithful who were in the city of Sebastea in Cappadocia chose him as bishop. But Saint Blasius, fearing the impiety and lawlessness of those who then held power, departed to the mountain called Argeus and dwelt in a cave. And the wild beasts would gather to him and be blessed by him; and if it chanced that one of them fell into his meditation, they would wait at the cave as if endowed with reason, and they would not depart from the saint unless he laid his hand upon them, blessing them. ^B II. In those days, the governor Agricolaus ordered all kinds of animals to be hunted down for the wild-beast combat and destruction of the holy martyrs who were then suffering, and the hunters, having gone out into the mountains, came even to this mountain called

Argaeus, where the holy and venerable man and bishop, Blasius, was hiding. And when the hunters approached the cave and saw at its entrance a multitude of wild animals standing by and leaping about, they said to one another, "What could this mean?" And having come closer, they found inside the cave the holy Blasius sitting as if in a bridal chamber, distributing what was needed to each one through blessings and healings, and offering his prayers to God. And immediately, having turned back, they reported to the governor Agricolaus what they had seen. The governor ordered more soldiers to accompany them, so that as many Christians as they might find hiding there, they should bring to him. And the sent soldiers, having gone into the mountain and entered inside the cave, found only the holy Blasius praying and glorifying the Lord, and they said to him, "Come out quickly; the governor calls you." ^B Seeing them, the holy Blasius rejoiced greatly and said, "Come, children, let us go together; for the Lord has remembered me today. For in this night He appeared to me a third time, saying: 'Arise, offer me sacrifices according to the custom of your priesthood.' Now therefore, my children, you have come well; may my Lord Jesus Christ be with you."

III.

not only in Sebastea, but also in Nicopolis; for the martyr was also learned in the science of medicine. ^B

IV. As the holy man was traveling along the road, it happened that a pig belonging to a certain poor woman, who possessed nothing else, was snatched away by a wolf. The woman, being a believer, approached the holy martyr against the beast. The holy priest and martyr of Christ, Blasius, smiling, said to her, “Do not be sad, woman, nor weep; for your pig shall be restored to you alive and unharmed.” And the holy man continued on his journey; and while he was hastening on his way, the wolf, having kept the pig unharmed, returned it to the widowed woman. When the holy Blasius had entered the metropolis of Sebastea, the governor Agricolaus ordered him to be cast into prison. And on the following day, the magistrate, sitting upon the tribunal, ordered the holy Blasius to be brought forward. ^C When he stood before him, the governor, seeing him, began first to use blandishments toward him, and greeted him first, saying, “Hail, most beloved Blasius, friend of the gods and ours.” But holy Blasius said to him, “Hail to you also, excellent governor; but do not call them gods, but rather unclean and wicked demons, which shall be delivered to eternal and unending fire along with those who worship them.” The governor, enraged at these words, ordered him to be beaten with rough cudgels. Being beaten for many hours, the martyr of Christ, Blasius, said to the governor, “O man devoid of sense and deceiver of souls, do you think to draw me away from the confession of my God by your tortures? But you cannot. For I have Jesus Christ, who strengthens me. Do what you will for the rest.”

V. But when the most impious governor could not move him from the faith in Christ, he ordered him to be led back into prison. ^D When that pious old woman and widow learned of the endurance and patience of the holy hieromartyr Blasius and his constancy of faith, she slaughtered the pig she had received back from the beast by the command of the holy martyr; and she cooked its head and feet, and put them in a basket with seeds of the earth and some other things from her poverty along with fruits. Having also lit wax candles, she brought them to the holy martyr in prison, and fell at his feet, begging and entreating him to partake of them. The holy hieromartyr of Christ, Blasius, having given thanks and partaken of them, blessed the woman and then instructed her, saying, “Woman, in this manner perform my memory, and every good thing from my God shall not depart from your house; furthermore, if anyone, imitating you, performs my memory in this way, he shall have the gift and blessing of my God unceasingly all the days of his life.” And that honorable and blessed old woman, having received the command from the holy martyr Blasius, praising God, went away joyfully to her house; and in this blessed widow was fulfilled the Scripture which says, “It shall be said everywhere, she did it, for his memory” (Matt. xxvi, 13).

THE CONTEST OF ST. BLASIUS AND HIS COMPANIONS

^A VI. The tyrant, having sat down a second time in the tribunal, ordered the martyr of God to be brought forward. When he was brought, the governor said to him, "Blasius, do you sacrifice to the gods, or do you wish to perish miserably?" Saint Blasius said, "Let the gods who did not make the heaven and the earth perish. The death which you threaten me with, O tyrant, will be to me the procurer of eternal life." The governor, seeing the immutability of his faith, ordered him to be hung upon a stake and lacerated severely. While the martyr of God, Blasius, was being lacerated for a long time, he said to the governor, "O most impious and lawless man, do you think to frighten me with blows? I have Jesus Christ who strengthens me, and I do not fear your visible torments, looking instead toward the expected goods which are promised to those who seek Him." Then the governor ordered him to be taken down from the stake. When he had been taken down, he ordered him to be cast into prison again. While the holy martyr Blasius was being led away to prison, behold, seven women, pious and fearing God, followed him, receiving the blood that was dripping from him and anointing themselves. The jailers, having seen these women, seized and led them to the governor, saying to him that "These also are Christians." ^B Having seen them, the governor himself said to them, "Be persuaded and sacrifice to the gods, that you may be judged worthy of both glory and great honors from me; otherwise, you are about to die bitterly." Those venerable and holy women, answering, said to him, "If you wish, O governor, that we should sacrifice to your gods, let us go together to the edge of the lake, and do you put your gods into a sack and seal them with lead, while we, having washed our faces in the lake, will approach and sacrifice to them." Having heard this, the governor, becoming overjoyed, brought his gods to them. But they, having received them, cast them in and sank them into the depths of the lake. ^C VII. Having seen these things, the governor changed his expression, and becoming enraged, he roared like a lion, and clapping his hands, he was very angry at the soldiers and said, "O most wicked and terrible servants, why did you not hold the gods so they would not be thrown into the depths of the lake?" The soldiers, answering, said to the governor, "O most powerful governor, these women spoke a lie to you and sank your gods. We, not knowing this, did not hold them." But those venerable and holy women said, "The true God does not suffer a lie, but deaf wood and stones and gold and silver do, and all who trust in them." Then the governor, becoming enraged, ordered a very intense furnace to be ignited, and lead to be melted, and iron combs to be brought, and seven bronze combs to be heated, and a bright linen shroud to be spread in another place; and he said to the holy women, "Choose one of the two: either to worship and sacrifice to the gods, and save your souls, walking on the linen, or, if you do not wish, to experience the torments which are prepared for you." One of the ^D

them, having two children, snatched up the linen, cast it into the furnace, and burned it. The children said to their mother, "O our venerable mother, do not let us perish on this earth; but as you have filled us with the beautiful, pure, and most sweet milk of your breast, so fill us also with the kingdom of heaven."

^A VIII. The governor ordered them to be suspended and their flesh to be torn with iron combs. The soldiers observed that instead of blood, milk flowed from their flesh. Moreover, their flesh appeared bright as snow, because the angels of the Lord, having descended and healed them, said to them, "Do not fear. For the good laborer, having begun in summer and finished, and being blessed by the master of the work, and having received his reward, goes joyfully to his house. So you too, strive, that you may receive from our Savior Jesus Christ life eternal and never-ending." Then the governor ordered them to be taken down and cast into the furnace. And as they were cast in, the fire was immediately extinguished, and the holy women were cast out of the furnace, preserved unhurt by the grace of the Lord. The governor then said to them, "Cast away your sorceries, and come and sacrifice to my gods." But the seven holy women said to him with one voice, "May this not happen to you, O blood-drinking dog, that we should abandon our Lord Jesus Christ and worship stones and wood, which like you are deaf and without perception. Therefore, do to us whatever you wish; for we have been called into the kingdom of heaven." Then the governor, full of wrath, gave the sentence against them, and the executioners took them and led them away to the place appointed for them.

^B IX. The seven holy women, having come to the place where they were to be perfected, besought the executioners, saying, "Allow us to pray for a little while." And having bent their knees upon the ground, they said thus: "Glory to You, our great and glorified God; glory to You, Jesus Christ, who reigns unto the ages; glory to You, who called us in the way of Your goodness. For what god is great as You, our God, who led us away from darkness and called us to the true and most sweet light? Wherefore we beseech You, O Lord, count us also in the number with Your holy first-martyr Thecla, accepting the intercession of our most holy father and shepherd Blasius, who led us to this contest and to the enjoyment of Your eternal life." Having prayed these things, then, the holy women arose from the ground, stretched out their hands, and lifted their eyes to heaven, and with a pure heart and one soul they said to God, "Glory to You, O Lord our God, who deemed us worthy to stand at this altar of Yours as spotless and rational lambs. Receive, therefore, O Master, and our souls into Your ^C heavenly altar as good and lover of mankind." And the children, approaching their mother, said to her, "Mother, the crowns for us are

^A ready beside the heavenly God. Entrust us therefore to the most holy and noble athlete of Christ, to our bishop and good shepherd, the renowned Blasius." Then the executioner cut off the heads of the seven holy women, and they were perfected in the Lord in the month of February.

X. After this, the governor ordered Saint Blasius to be brought from prison. When he was brought, he said to him, "Do you even now sacrifice to the gods or not?" Saint Blasius said to him, "Wretch, being blind, you do not see the true light of God. For what man, having once known the living God, sacrifices to or worships dead idols? You, therefore, darkened and lawless one, know that you have abandoned the living God and worship senseless stones. But I will not fear your threats. As you wish, therefore, so torture me. I surrender my flesh to you; but God has authority over my soul." The governor says to the saint, "If I cast you into the lake, what will the One you call Christ, whom you also worship, profit you on the water?" Saint Blasius said, "Blind and senseless one, you worship counterfeit, soulless things, and think you will be saved; but I, serving the living God, shall I not show you the powers of my God ^B in the water?" Then the governor ordered him to be cast into the lake. But the saint, having gone before, marked the water with the sign of the cross; and this having happened, it stood as if it were a bridge, and the blessed Blasius, sitting in the midst of the lake, said to the executioners, "If you have gods, show their powers and come yourselves here to me." And immediately, sixty-eight men entering were drowned in the depth of the water. Then an angel of the Lord, descending to the saint, said to him, "Full of grace and bright soul, priest of God, come out of the water and receive the eternal crown prepared for you by God."

XI. Saint Blasius, having risen from the water, walking as if upon land, came out unharmed, and his face shone like light, so that all who saw him wondered. The governor then said to him, "Have you so decided, wretch, to not sacrifice to the gods?" Saint Blasius said, "Know, tyrant and blood-drinker, that I am a servant of Christ and never sacrifice to demons." Then the governor, angered, gave sentence against him, ^C saying, "Blasius, who has disobeyed me and scorned the sovereign king and most dishonored the gods and destroyed sixty-eight men in the depth of the lake, let him be beheaded by the sword together with the two children." Receiving the sentence, the blessed one came to the place, and standing there, the saint prayed to the Lord, saying, "O Lord God of hosts, who delivered me from idols, who made darkness into light and error into truth, who sits above the cherubim, and opens the cataracts of the heavens, who has stretched out your bow in your hand, who has humbled the devil and shackled the dragon, be a listener to me, your servant; and whoever shall approach your altar, to him, ^D and any thorn or bone

or may fall into various diseases, or be in tribulation, or in the necessity of persecution, fulfill the heart's petition of each, O Master, as good and man-loving; and to those who year by year perform my memorial in psalms and hymns, and who remember your poor, grant a heavenly reward and eternal life; for you are to be glorified always, now and unto the ages of ages. Amen. ^A And when he had prayed these things, Christ descended from heaven like a cloud and overshadowed him, and the Savior says to him: "My beloved athlete, Blaise, I will fulfill all their petitions for your sake; and not only these, but I shall do even as you requested for the widow, and I will bless every house that performs your memorial, and I will fill their storehouses with every good thing because of your beautiful confession and the faith which you have in me; and having forgiven their sins, I will grant them eternal life." When the Lord had spoken these things to the holy hieromartyr Blaise, the executioner brought him out with the two infants from the praetorium, and beheaded them in the city of Sebastia, inside the wall upon a rock, on the eleventh of the month of February. But faithful and pious men laid him to rest, burying him in that same place with great care; where even until now many powers and healings are performed to the glory of God. ^B

XII.

MONTH OF APRIL. THE CONTEST OF THE HOLY MARTYRS OF CHRIST ACEPSIMAS, JOSEPH, AND AITHALAS.

^A 1. Sapor, the king of the Persians, raged against the Christians, and authorized the Magi, who were a part of the Persian people, to carry out the persecution against them. They, being more impetuous as zealots for their ancestral customs, set upon those being persecuted and forced them to render worship to fire and the sun. On this account, the blessed Acepsimas was also apprehended by them; he had originated from the country of Naesson, which happens to be situated within the borders of Persia, and he had been honored with the episcopal dignity. He was a man advanced in age, being around eighty years old, old in prudence, mild, free from anger, living in continence, distributing his own possessions to the needy, attentive to prayers, elegant in appearance, and yet more elegant in soul; by his outward manner he signaled his inward state to those who saw him, and by word and deed he proclaimed piety, becoming a teacher to the Christians in both life and doctrine. From this it came about that he aroused the whole battle-line of his adversaries against himself, as if against a most strong antagonist; regarding whom, even before he was captured, such a thing happened prophetically.

^B 2. A certain boy was rubbing his head, removing the lice ^C that were causing him annoyance. He therefore embraced him and said, "Blessed is this bald head, for it shall surely be martyred for Christ." And he was gladdened by the word, and immediately embracing the child in return, he said, "May it be for me, child, according to thy

word. And when a certain acquaintance and friend of Acepsimas was present while these things were being said (for he was also a bishop of a neighboring city), he asked the child, smiling, "Tell me, child, tell me if you know anything about us as well." The child, inspired by God, said, "To you, too, as you return to your city, it will not be permitted to see it, but you shall end your life in the village called Athradaran." And this, indeed, befell both of them according to the child's prediction. Yet these things happened before the martyr was arrested. ^A

III. And when he was taken, and was being led through his own house, one of his acquaintances approached and said to him in his ear, "Arrange something concerning your house." But pointing with his hand, he said, "This house is not my house; for I am already on the point of moving to my home on high." And when he had arrived in the city of Arbel and stood before the chief of the Magi (for his name was Adrachus), he was asked if he were a Christian. And when he confessed this with a loud voice, "Are then," he said, "those things true which are rumored about you, that you despise royal commands, and that you preach one God, contrary to the royal decree?" But that blessed old man, fearing nothing, said, "All such things as you have heard about me are indeed true. For I preach one God according to our holy Scriptures, and to those who come to me, I instruct them to be ambassadors of this doctrine." And the Magus said, "We have heard that you excel many in wisdom, which is proven better by long time and experience; but now, it is not as we have heard, as we are permitted to see. For you are no better affected than an unwise child. For what person of wisdom or sane mind would despise royal decrees and not be willing to worship the sun and the fire, which the King himself even worships?" ^B The high priest of Christ replied, "The authority of the Persians seems to me to be greatly senseless, because, having abandoned the Creator, it has known to worship created things. For who, being of a sound mind, would endure to give the worship of God to those things which have been made by God, as you do, doing impious things, and this very King of yours himself?" And he said, "Do you dare to say that we do impious things, who worship so great an element and worship the life-giving sun, you impious man, in truth, you trifler, and guardian of a vain religion? But if you will not yield to the command of the King, and worship those whom he himself also worships, neither will your old age save you from suffering most grievous things, nor the crucified God whom you worship." ^C

IV. Then the divine elder said, "May your wicked mouth be stopped, O cursed one, if you think you can persuade me with your threats to depart from the ancestral doctrine, which I have learned from childhood and have preserved unto this snowy age. And if, as you say, neither old age nor the God whom I worship will deliver me from your hands, I shall not for that reason trade the better for the worse. For what does it matter to me, even for the few days of life? Since, after a little while, this common debt of nature ^D