further need of anyone to lead them by the hand, but had their own eyes as guides. The lame, who had scarcely been brought by others, now used their own feet, nimble for running and fit for leaping. A The house beheld the lepers who had come to the temple made clean; and as for those who were possessed by evil spirits, one could see them delivered from those who harassed them, their frantic and mad words turned into thanksgiving, and the martyrs of Christ being glorified by all in common. B When the great Theodosius happened upon these—for he was residing in Milan at that time, struggling against the tyrant Maximus, I mean—having received portions of these holy relics, he brought them to the imperial city in place of any spoil or booty, or rather, in place of any weapon or fortification, being confirmed by the miracles he himself saw, and having obtained the martyrs as invincible allies against the Scythians.
XI. Moreover, he erected a beautiful and very fair temple for them before that great city, and therein he deposited the holy relics of the martyrs as a treasure C beyond, as the divine David would say, thousands of gold and silver. [Psal. CXVIII, 72.] Furthermore, they send forth abundant fountains of myrrh, which are salutary not only to the body, but also purify the souls of those who draw them, so that the martyrs might not only possess for themselves what they have received, but also be sharers of their goods with others. Thus does Christ glorify even here those who have loved Him; for such contests He gives such rewards, which are truly certain preludes of the heavenly beatitude. Of whose portion may it be granted to us all to be made partakers, by the grace of the all-holy and life-giving Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
LIFE AND CONDUCT OF SAINT PELAGIA OF ANTIOCH
(Surius ad Octobr., cod. Reg. n. 1512.)
I. It is useful and beneficial for all to recount feminine virtue that is in no way inferior to the fortitude of men, and therefore, D
A all the more so, because a corresponding vice had been introduced beforehand. For in this way, the masculine race would be ambitious not to have its nature surpassed by that of the female; and women, for their part, would strive not to be left behind by the virtue of their kin. Thus, the habit of the evil one—which, for the most part, is hard to wash away—would be removed from both. Knowing this better than others in the case of this blessed Pelagia, who revealed to us the sea of God’s philanthropy, I shall tell her story from the beginning.
B II. She had for her homeland and city Antioch. Being illustrious in wealth and distinguished in beauty, she did not use her wealth for good, nor did she so possess the beauty of her body that the beauty of her soul was not harmed. For while the former flourished in her naturally—and she used much artifice upon it—the beauty of her soul was withering and fading. She had much gold that adorned her person, much that served her needs, and a multitude of attendants, some going before and others following after. By these things she especially kindled the fire of the passions, leading on and inflaming her lovers; she lived, alas! among harlots, and was known as the first of the Maenads in the city. But the Lord did not suffer such a noble soul and nature to be oppressed by the tyranny of the evil one; seeing the future as if it were already present, foreknowing what sort she would become, and wishing to give to those who worship Him an example that, for one to become good, the mere will is sufficient.
C III. Once, when the one then administering the priestly throne at Antioch had gathered the bishops under him for some need—among whom were many who excelled the crowd, and indeed Nonnus, a man admirable in other respects and angelic in his manner—they were gathered and were sitting before the gates of a certain church in the city. This was the church of the martyr Julian, and they were philosophizing on matters that are pious and lead upward. While the holy Nonnus was pursuing some soul-beneficial teaching before them, D Pelagia passed by, using her customary appearance and dress, sitting in a carriage, and escorted by many, staining and perfuming the nearby air with the scent of perfumes and the splendor of her gems. When the choir of pastors saw her moving along so shamelessly and brazenly, the others—for they were unable to see anything beyond what was visible—condemned her meretricious appearance and could not even bear to look at her at all, but blushed and turned away. But Nonnus, who knew how to gather the contrary from the contraries, and by which another might perhaps have received a goad of pleasure into his soul, this man had
A a spark for virtue, for which cause he did not turn his eyes away from the harlot; but even when she was present he would look at her intently, and when she departed, he still continued to hold her in his view.
IV. Then, having sighed deeply and being filled with tears, the blessed man wept for himself and called the adornment of that woman his own condemnation; for if she, loving indeed bodies that are subject to corruption—and that too to the destruction of herself—and having a certain genuine beauty blooming in her members, nevertheless does not hesitate to build upon and add artifice to this natural beauty, and to make it more splendid with certain contrivances and painting, so as to steal for herself a bitter pleasure; we, however, to whom the one who is loved is immortal—let me add also that the Lover and the bridal chamber are immortal, and the grace to those who are truly adorned never grows old—are so far from adorning the soul that we are not even ashamed to insult its natural beauty with disgrace. But we inflict injury upon ourselves and miserably exclude ourselves from that ineffable and admirable pleasure, and this even when we are not ignorant of the punishment that hangs over us and the torments that are there. B Thus he, not only looking, as I believe, at what was present, but already foreseeing the future with his mind, and knowing that not long after they would be surpassed even by the beauty of her soul, and that she would be seen to yield the harlot to spiritual struggles. This was indeed what this divine and admirable vision from God signified to him.
V. It seemed that while the divine liturgy was being performed, Nonnus himself was standing at the left horn of the altar, and a certain mud-stained dove was flying around him, and would not easily depart, but would fly nearby and trouble him and cause the greatest distress with its foul odor, and this until the catechumens were called by the priest. C But what followed after this? It did, indeed, become invisible as long as the time of the mysteries and the whole ministry lasted. But when it was already finished, as he was going out of the church and had reached the threshold, the same dove appeared again, being and doing just as before, until, having stretched out his right hand and taken hold of it, he lowered it into a basin full of water. And that creature, having then cast off the filth from its wings, stood in the air and was borne to such a height that not even he could reach it with his eyes. D This portrayed beforehand what was about to happen, and what was done in the night was a prefiguration of what was to happen in the day.
VI. When he had risen in the morning and had shared the vision with some, he arrived at the church together with the other pastors; and when he had taken the New Testament into his hands—the divine Gospel, that is—at the command of the chief pastor, because of the grace of the Spirit that was in him, he spoke to the people. And so there happened what had not happened before, and a matter of things not expected nor
A customary: Pelagia, listener to the sacred words, heard of things present and things to come; she heard what the soul is, what its bond is, and how it is separated from the body, and how it rises again and is judged, and at what things it is ashamed. O the wonder! She recognizes her own state, and condemns all her previous ways, and having turned in upon herself, she becomes wholly given over to the good and to repentance, shedding tears that were a match for her former laughter; then, she puts to the use of salvation those things which she had previously used for destruction. She instructs some of her own people, who had come out of the church with the holy Nonnus and followed him, to observe where he dwells, to report it to her as quickly as possible, and not to delay in this commission.
VII. When this had been done, and those who had been sent out had returned and reported what was commanded, she forms a noble and manly resolution, and speaks freely to the holy Nonnus; and having taken paper, she wrote as follows: "I have heard of you, follower of the Christians, a disciple of Christ, as your Master says somewhere in His own words: 'I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance' (Matt. IX, 13); and how He reclined at table with tax collectors, and associated with harlots, B and spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well (Joan. IV, 1 sq.), and participated in words and also gave them—He whom the Cherubim fear, and whom the Seraphim do not even sustain their gaze upon. But if you are a servant of such a Master, and a disciple of such a Teacher, show it by your deeds, and do not abhor a harlot of the same race and fellow servant, but deign to grant your sacred sight to one who is asking for it, and receive one who confesses, and save one who is perishing, who clings to you alone and places her hopes in you."
VIII. The holy man, having received this, was struck with awe, and writes back to her that she should not approach him in private, but rather that when the rest of the bishops were present together, she should present herself and say what she wished, and reveal her own affairs. She, having obtained this, seizes the opportunity C and follows him who gives salvation. And having reached the church, there she was, another harlot, cast upon the ground, bending the knee and soul, and watering the feet—if not the Lord's, yet certainly the priestly and beautiful ones, and those who truly evangelize the peace of the soul—and she said that there was no way at all that she would let go before she received the regeneration through water and Spirit. And there was a struggle for both: for him, to persuade her to leave the feet and stand up; for her, to cling to them all the more. And before the bath, there was another purification and a bath of tears, more laborious than the more spiritual one, that is to say. These things D called forth tears even from those who were watching, and there was among them a certain grief, tempered with astonishment and pleasure, those who were weeping with her and suffering along with her and standing amazed at her faith, rejoicing and finding delight in her salvation.
IX. Then, with her having been persuaded with difficulty and having stood up, and with the
A sacred Nonnus seeking a guarantee and delaying the expiation, she again fell at his feet and uttered the same words. "You will render an account for those things I have done," she said, "O high priest of God, and the multitude of my iniquities will be ascribed to you if you delay the illumination and postpone the baptism, and do not hasten and exert yourself for my salvation, and spiritually labor and regenerate me, and present me today as a pure bride to the pure Bridegroom, and set me beside Christ." In the end she persuades him, and having arisen, she confesses and invokes the divine philanthropy. And what was her name from youth? Being asked by the bishop, she said that it was Pelagia from the beginning for all to call and name her. But the Antiochenes, having marveled at the multitude and beauty of the gems and pearls upon her, called her Margarita, devising the appellation from the name of the things with which she was adorned. Here she takes up her former name, and she is called Pelagia, and she receives the bath and is purified, and is anointed with myrrh, and becomes a partaker of the immaculate and unbloody sacrifice. And there was then a public and common joy among the Antiochenes, both because a common enemy had now fallen and been defeated, and because the believers were rejoicing, with each one saying and thinking her salvation to be his own.
X. But the evil one, for he is accustomed in some way to become more shameless when defeated, B could not endure such great disgrace for himself, nor such great spiritual pleasure for the believers. Therefore, the enemy of mankind was transformed into a human being, and appearing in the midst of everyone, tearing out his hair and striking and lacerating himself before the eyes of all, he first began to cry out against the holy Nonnus, maintaining that he had been greatly injured by him and deprived of the powers that were in him. Then, also approaching Pelagia shamelessly, he called her a traitor and an unbeliever, and said, "Why did you deny your own and assent to a stranger?" But she extends her hand and strikes the evil one with the cross, and the enemy immediately vanished. And even so he does not cease from his shamelessness and the undertaking, but attempts and tries again; and coming to her about midnight as she was sleeping, he stands there and wakes her, and says the same things, but is again struck by the cross and immediately vanishes. Having arisen, she informs the one who had received her from the holy baptism—whose name was Romana— C of the struggle with the adversary, but she is encouraged by her words, and she stands in opposition for the battle and strikes the evil one with this second and timely blow. For having called the most well-disposed and obedient of her own servants, she orders all the property that was in her house to be inventoried, how much there was and what kind, in gold, in silver, in stones, in pearls, in vessels, in garments, and that nothing at all should be left out that was not inventoried, and that the inventory be brought to her as quickly as possible. This was done according to her intent. And having called for the holy Non D
Anus, she yielded all her property to him, saying that the wealth she possessed from virtue and from her Bridegroom and Lord Christ was sufficient for her; and she released her own servants from the yoke of slavery. But so that they might feel her care for them even when she was not present, and that their means of livelihood might not be straitened, the benevolent woman also gave them money.
XI. On the blessed Pelagia (or Pelagius)
Then, when everything had proceeded according to her intention, upon the Lord’s day she took off her bright garment, and putting on a haircloth and tattered tunic, she hastened to Jerusalem, and reached the Mount of Olives, which was also the mount of virtues, having shared her purpose with no one, nor disclosing the mystery. And her affairs were thus hidden, known only to Him who sees the things that are secret. Now when the bishops who had been gathered at Antioch, among whom was Nonnus, had returned to their own churches, and she had remained unknown in the holy places—and since three years had passed for her there—a divine longing came upon one of those deacons who had been with Nonnus (this was Jacobus), and he was enamored of the holy places, wishing to be both a spectator and a worshiper of them. And having approached the high priest, he requests this journey to Jerusalem, and asks him to grant this to him. And he (for the man was prophetic and full of the Spirit, and able to see things far off and future), "You shall go," he said; "but if you seek, you will find a certain eunuch, the monk Pelagius," calling the blessed Pelagia by this name; "approach him, and converse with him, and you will truly partake, brother, of much spiritual benefit." B Jacobus, then, as he was ready, hastened to the holy places, and having become a worshiper of those things, he set out on the search for Pelagius. And having arrived at Pelagia's cell, he knocked and called. And when she came out, he sees Pelagius, not knowing who it was, nor, even if someone had told him beforehand, being able from the things that were seen to understand or guess this. For her color was changed, and her eyes were sunken, and everything, through her abstinence, was altered and transformed. C But neither did any of the others who were in Jerusalem, looking at her, think they were looking at a woman.
XII. On the same.
He, then, as having received a blessing from a man, stood astonished and, as it were, beside himself at the sight of her abstinence. But she, having known whence and who he was who stood there, asked if he was of the high priest Nonnus, asking willingly that which was known to her even before the question. And when he affirmed this, "The man," she said, "is an apostle; may he pray for my iniquities." And having extended her discourse thus far, she closes the door again, and began to sing her accustomed songs. D Jacobus, however, having gained much profit in a short time, and having been taught the measure of speech that is sufficient and becoming for monks, departed and proceeded to the next holy places and thinking