Epiphanius the Monk

^A deflower her. Tell me, therefore, if this is permitted. For deeming this to be an absurdity, your servant has dared to write to you.

Response of Leo Grammaticus, Archbishop of Calabria

Leo, the humble grammarian and archbishop of Calabria, to John, my spiritual brother and priest of the Lord:

He who has taken a virgin girl as his bride, as you have written, holy son, and who, after being ordained, wishes to deflower her, shows himself to be nothing other than a secret fornicator, or reveals his own wife to be suspect, as if she had been previously debauched. And if he himself has promised Christ that he will live in virginity, what need was there for him to join himself to a virgin? For even without a woman, ^B remaining a virgin, he could have been deemed worthy of ordination. But if, on account of the weakness of his nature and the uncontrollable surge of his passions, he joined her to himself, let him first lie with her lawfully, and then be ordained. For once her virginity has been disclosed, as a man of one wife, he shall be promoted to the most formidable rank of the priesthood.

EPIPHANIUS MONACHUS

NOTITIA

To the most illustrious and most reverend prelate Stephen Borgia, Secretary of the Sacred Congregation de Propaganda Fide: Joannes Aloysius Mingarellius, greetings.

You desire, most learned prelate—in accordance with your kindness toward me and your great love for letters—that I provide some ancient work, and a Greek one at that, to be inserted into the third volume of *Anecdota*, which will soon be printed by the Roman presses. I would be ungrateful if I were to refuse to one who desires it something that I am able to provide. I was not yet even known to you by face ^C when you bound me to you with every duty of humanity. I remember well, most humane man, about twelve years ago, when I happened to arrive in Benevento—a city that you were governing at that time with marvelous skill and prudence—how liberally and graciously I was received by you, together with the then-supreme moderator of our order, Joannes Chrysostomus Trombellius, and how pleasantly I spent those few days that I was permitted to remain there, experiencing the sweetness of your company and admiring the learning and erudition of your conversation.

Therefore, there is nothing that I would not willingly do for your sake. Accordingly, I immediately turned my attention to a certain treatise in Greek by Epiphanius the Monk on the Life of the Mother of God, a copy of which has long lain unpublished in my possession, and which perhaps would have remained so forever, had you not provided me this occasion to take it up again into my hands. For I have long doubted whether it were better to suppress it than to send it forth into the hands of all, precisely because it is woven together not only from records that are genuine and undoubted, ^D but even from apocryphal and doubtful ones, as the author himself confesses.

is. Now, however, since it seemed that it might nonetheless be of some use if it were published, I decided to send it to you, so that you yourself—whose judgment I value most—might see what should be done. Let it therefore be at your discretion: as it pleases you, you may either burn it when you have read it, or hand it over to the publisher for printing; for my part, know that this one thing is in my heart: that nothing be published by me whereby, in your judgment, the piety of readers toward our Lady, or the honor owed to her, could be even slightly diminished.

Furthermore, the author of the little book cannot be entirely unknown to you, who are gifted with an incredible memory: for Leo Allatius has more than once brought forth fragments from this very work, and published another writing of the same author in his *Symmicta*, bearing this title on the front: *Epiphanius the monk of Hagiopolis in Syria, and the holy city*; nor do I doubt that one and the same Epiphanius is the author of both works, since I see both written in the same plain style—tenuous, indeed, and to speak more truly, humble and almost abject. Allatius himself also mentions a homily of Epiphanius the monk on the holy apostle Andrew in his *Diatriba de Simeonum scriptis*: but who could safely define whether that is our Epiphanius’, unless he has seen it, since Allatius has brought forward nothing but the title and the beginning? Yet if anything can be judged from such slight evidence, for my part I would be inclined to believe that this homily should also be attributed to the same. As for the parchment copy from which I transcribed the little book, it is not worthwhile to speak of it at present: for it was transcribed sufficiently well in the same letters that I gave to my brother Egidius in Bologna regarding a certain sermon of Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus: for one and the same codex supplied me with both that sermon of Gregory and this of Epiphanius.

It would rather be a thing to be desired that the time when our Epiphanius wrote could be accurately and clearly defined; for Joannes Albertus Fabricius declared him a writer of uncertain age. But if one is not allowed to determine that with precision, and as if to touch it with a needle, I believe the whole space within which he must have written can be defined and enclosed within very narrow limits: so that it should not be said that he lived before the eleventh century of Christ, nor after the thirteenth. Not before the eleventh, to be sure, because he cites Hippolytus the Theban, whom scholars agree flourished in the tenth or, at the latest, the eleventh. But the little work from which Nicephorus Callistus brought forward a fragment, naming Epiphanius himself, as we shall soon see, could not have been written after the thirteenth century; especially since the codex itself, from which I transcribed it, is either of the twelfth century or certainly not much later. From all of which it is finally concluded that it would not be rash to state that our Epiphanius lived about the twelfth century.

If therefore things frequently occur while reading that are not very pleasing to you, you will not have to wonder, most illustrious sir: for, as you know, there is hardly any Greek wine of that age, if I may speak with Cato, that is neither sour nor moldy. You will indeed find not a few moldy things here, many expressed inelegantly, some even barbaric and solecistic; and finally, many things that are uncertain and confirmed by no testimony of a suitable writer who is either currently extant or known. Yet these very things, being in a way new, might perhaps bring some pleasure. Farewell, most learned prelate, and continue to honor me with your friendship.

Given at Rome in the house of Saint Peter ad Vincula, on the first of March, in the year 1774.

CERTAIN SELECTED TESTIMONIES REGARDING EPIPHANIUS THE MONK AND PRESBYTER

Nicephorus Callistus ^A in *Hist. eccl.*, lib. II, cap. 25, cites a certain passage from the little work of Epiphanius, which we now edit, as follows:

The character and the disposition of her form and age ^B were as follows, as Epiphanius says: She was, he says, dignified in all things; speaking few and necessary words; quick to obey and accessible; honoring all and bowing to everyone. She was of middle age; though there are some who say she exceeded the middle point. She had an openness toward every person, was far from laughter, and outside of turmoil, and most especially free from anger. She was wheaten-colored ^C, golden-haired, with bright eyes, and pupils of the eyes that were yellowish and, as it were, olive-colored. She had naturally joined and black eyebrows, with a slight golden hue. She had a nose with a slender bridge, and lips that were blooming, abounding in the sweetness of her words. She held herself with an upright bearing; she was long-handed and long-fingered. She was unaffected and simple ^D, not cherishing any dullness; she possessed an overflowing humility; she wore clothes of the natural color, which she loved, such as her holy veil (maphorion) is shown to be even now. And to say it in summary, in all her ways, she was filled with divine grace.

[alt-version omitted]

Which Joannes Langius interpreted thus:

Moreover, the character (of the most holy Mother of God), and her form, and the measure of her stature, were, as Epiphanius says, of this kind. She was, he says, in all things honest, and grave, speaking very few and only necessary words, easy to listen to, and very affable, showing honors and veneration to all; of middle stature, although there are those who say she exceeded a medium length somewhat.

^A And with regard to all her exterior (speaking of the Blessed Virgin, of course), which is beautiful and advantageous if it were more authentically authorized. For there is a great probability that she has been depicted as people judged she ought to be. As for what he says about her face, he could have drawn it from the portrait that a historian of the sixth century says Saint Luke had made of her, and which was sent from Jerusalem to Pulcheria. Joannes Albertus Fabricius in *Bibliotheca Graeca*, vol. 6, p. 705.

She used a fitting liberty of speech toward all men, without laughter, without perturbation, and without anger. Her color resembled wheat; her hair was blond; her eyes were sharp, having in them pupils the color of wheat, and as it were, the color of an olive. Her eyebrows were arched and becomingly black; her nose was somewhat long, her lips full of floral sweetness; her face was not round and pointed, but somewhat longer; her hands and fingers were longer. Finally, she was devoid of all pride, simple, and not in the least affecting her countenance; she carried no softness with her, but cultivated preeminent humility; she was content with the clothes she wore of their native color: a fact shown even now by the holy veil of her head. And, to say it in a few words, in all her affairs there was much grace present from God.

Leo Allatius, in *Symmixta*, book 1, p. 48, published a short work which is inscribed as follows:

The Account of Epiphanius the Monk of Hagiopolis, our spiritual Father, in the manner of a description of the world, an explanation of Syria, the Holy City, and the holy places therein

Epiphanius the monk and presbyter,

A Sermon on the life and deeds and the end of the holy apostle Andrew

A Sermon on the life of the holy Theotokos and her life and times

Nicephorus draws from an Epiphanius a description of Epiphanius the monk and presbyter of Hagiopolis, or Jerusalem, of uncertain age, on Syria and the Holy City, in Greek from a Vatican codex, in many places interpolated by Allatius with the translation of Federico Morello. The same Allatius, in his *Diatriba de Simeonum scriptis*, p. 106, praises the same writer’s *On the Life of the Mother of God*, and on p. 285 seq., the *Homily on the holy apostle Andrew*, and again on the Simeonites, p. 90.

The codex which I used, and which contains this short work of Epiphanius on page 237, I myself described in a letter to my brother Aegidius, printed at Bologna in the year 1770, when I was bringing to light an unpublished sermon of Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus.

Therefore, while I was unrolling one of these codices (of the Nanian Library), which is now number 22, I came upon that little writing which I was commemorating above. It is parchment, of such a size of parchment that each of the two hundred and ninety-three leaves of which it consists entirely, along with the fourth part of a medium-sized folio, equals one of our papers made of lines and vile refuse. Most of these, indeed almost all, were inscribed about five hundred years ago, but by a scribe so rude that he seems to have understood nothing at all of what he was writing. The whole codex, however, is one of those books which we call ecclesiastical: which Latin priests would call a *Homiliarium*, but the Greeks call a *Panegyrikon*. For nothing else is contained in it except forty-seven Orations, or Homilies, of which some are anonymous, while others are inscribed to Gregory Nazianzen, Epiphanius the monk and presbyter, and Germanus, Bishop of Constantinople.

OF EPIPHANIUS THE MONK AND PRESBYTER, A DISCOURSE ON THE LIFE OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS, AND OF HER TIMES.

Bless, Master. Sermon XLI.

^A Regarding Mary, who is properly and truly called Theotokos and Ever-Virgin, many of the ancient teachers have discoursed. For some, having used various prophetic figures and names, have foretold both the wonders concerning her and, ineffably, of Him who was born of her, Christ our true God. The holy apostles, for their part, concerned themselves diligently with the God-Word who was incarnate from her, and with those things which were done by Him; yet, having spoken but a few things concerning Mary, they immediately passed on to other matters, as the Holy Spirit directed. But all say that she drew her origin from David. There were, indeed, not a few among the holy Fathers who celebrated her with encomia; but none of them wrote rightly and acceptably concerning her life, her years, or her upbringing, or her end. ^B Indeed, those who attempted to do this to some extent strayed from the straight path and stood as accusers of themselves, such as James the Hebrew, and Aphrodisianus the Persian, and some others, who, having spoken only concerning her birth, immediately passed by.

But concerning her ^A Dormition, John the Thessalonian, having composed a much-celebrated discourse, obscured himself; and another John, who adorned himself with the title of Theologian, brought upon himself the accusation of falsehood. Andrew of Jerusalem, bishop of Crete, after saying a few things and rightly dividing the word, shaped his narrative into the form of a panegyric. As for us, having carefully examined many [sources] and gathered what is credible, certain, and true from the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius, called the son of Pamphilus, and from the rest of the writers and teachers, we shall present in plain words those things concerning her for those who desire them. And we have indicated at the head [of each section] the name of the author from whom we received any particular point, so that no one may have the impression that we are slandering our own work by adding or subtracting anything. And if we have taken anything from the apocryphal books or from heretics, let no one blame us; for, as the great Basil says, the testimonies of our enemies are more trustworthy. Furthermore, the admirable Cyril ^B, bishop of Alexandria, did this very thing, tracing from Abraham to David the genealogy of Joseph, the betrothed of the all-immaculate Theotokos Mary. Consequently, he too, since both Joseph and the Theotokos were born of the same siblings, showed how the two evangelists, Matthew following [the line] down, and Luke [following it] up, agree. ^{C D} [index: entries preserved]

^A For the demonstration of the argument is as follows.

II. From the lineage of Nathan, son of David, arises Levi; Levi begat Melchi and Panther. Melchi took a wife and died without children. Panther begat Barpanther; Barpanther begat Joacim, the father of the Theotokos. From the lineage of Solomon, son of David, arises Mathan; he begets Jacob, the father of Joseph, and dies. Then Melchi, the brother of Panther, taking his wife—the mother of Jacob—begat Eli. Thus, Jacob was from the lineage of Solomon, but Eli from the lineage of Nathan. Eli took a wife and died without children, and his uterine brother Jacob took his wife and begat Joseph. ^B Joseph, therefore, was by nature the son of Jacob, but according to the law, the son of Eli. These two brothers took one and the same woman as their wife, because the law commanded * that if anyone should die without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Joacim and Eli, being from the father Panther, were brothers; Eli and Jacob, being from the father Mathan, were brothers. Joacim begat Mary the Theotokos; Eli, however, begat Joseph according to the law; so that Joseph and Mary were children of brothers. Joseph was a carpenter by trade, and he had a brother by Jacob, with the same mother, Cleopas, who is also called Clopas. ^C

III. As for the maternal lineage of the Theotokos, it was as follows. Matham, a priest from Bethlehem, had three daughters: Mary, Sobe, and Anna. Mary bore Salome the midwife; Sobe bore the mother of John the Baptist; ^D and Anna took Joacim, the brother of Joseph’s father. And Anna, as a bride, went down into Galilee to the city of Nazareth, and Anna lived with Joacim for fifty years without bearing a child. Now it came to pass that they went up to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Dedication, and while Joacim was praying in the Temple, it happened that he heard a voice from heaven saying to him: "There shall be offspring for you, and through it you shall be glorified." Therefore his wife, Anna, being now old, conceived and bore a daughter, and she called

her name Mariam ^A, for the sake of her sister. And all her relatives and friends rejoiced with her.

V. When the child Mary was three years old, her parents took her to Jerusalem, and presented her to the Lord with gifts. And the priest Jodae—who is also called Barachias, the father of Zacharias—received her and her gifts. And all the priests were rejoicing, and praying, they blessed Joacim, and Anna, and the child Mary; and they departed to Nazareth. When Mary became seven years old, her parents again took her to Jerusalem, and they gave her to the Lord, to be consecrated to Him for all the days of her life. Having done this, shortly after, her father Joacim died, being, as they say, eighty years old. But Mary did not depart from the temple, neither by night nor by day. And Anna, leaving Nazareth, came to Jerusalem and lived with her daughter Mary; and having survived for two years, she died, having reached seventy-two years of age.

V. ^B But Mary, being orphaned of parents who might care for her, did not go out from the temple of the Lord. And if she lacked anything, she would betake herself only to Elisabeth, for she dwelt nearby. She learned the Hebrew letters while her father Joacim was still alive; and she was apt to learn and eager for knowledge, and although she was alone, she applied her labor and study to the divine Scriptures. And in the working of wool, and flax, and silk, and linen, she was marvelous on account of her knowledge and intelligence, more so than all other maidens of that age; so that her ancestor Solomon said regarding her (for he was truly speaking of her): "A capable wife who shall find?" ^C and all that follows.

VI. Now there was a place set apart in the temple of the Lord near the portico, on the side of the altar. There the virgins used to remain alone; and the other virgins, after the gathering and dismissal, all returned to their own homes; but Mary remained, guarding the sanctuary and the temple, and ministering to the priests. Her character, moreover, was of this kind: she was grave and august in all her actions,

^A talking little, quick to obey, affable and modest with all men, shunning laughter, noise, and anger; freely worshipping, inclined to honor, and honoring and reverencing all men, so that all marveled at her intelligence and her speech. Her stature was mediocre, though some say she was taller than average. She was of a wheaten complexion, with fair hair, light eyes, and black eyebrows; her nose was well-proportioned, her hands and fingers long, her face elongated; she was filled with divine grace and beauty, unpretentious, unaffected, simple, and possessing humility that surpassed all others. For this reason, God looked upon her, as she herself said while magnifying the Lord. She loved and wore garments of natural color, as her holy *maphorion* testifies. She spun wool, that is, the wool for the temple of the Lord; and she was sustained by the temple ^B of the Lord, persisting in prayers, reading, fasting, handiwork, and every virtue, so that, by the variety of her works and by her character, the truly holy Mary became a teacher to many women. When she had attained her twelfth year, it came to pass that one night, while she was praying by the doors of the altar at midnight, a light shone brighter than the sun; and a voice came to her from the propitiatory, saying, "You shall bear my Son." But she remained silent, revealing the mystery to no one until Christ was taken up. ^C

VII. Abia the high priest begot the Jew whom they called Barachias; and he begot Aggaeus and Zacharias, who were themselves priests. And Zacharias took a cousin of Mary, and they dwelt in Bethlehem; and he begot John the Baptist. And Aggaeus, the brother of Zacharias, begot a daughter named Salome; and John ^D took her.

^A Joseph the carpenter, son of Eli, and kinsman of Mary, begot by her six children: James, Simon, Jude, Josen, Soben, Martha, and Mary. And Salome, his wife, died, and Joseph kept his widowhood and continence; for he was then about seventy years old, poor in means, by trade a humble carpenter, living in the Galilean city of Nazareth. But Mary remained in Jerusalem in the house of the Lord. And when she had reached the age of fourteen, at which time the weakness of the female nature is revealed, the priests, thinking her to be like other women—for the mysteries pertaining to her were still unknown—held a council and stood in prayer concerning her. ^B VIII. Now Zacharias the high priest, the father of John the Baptist, took twelve rods from the priests who were kinsfolk of the Virgin and placed them around the altar, saying, "The Lord will show by a sign to whom the Virgin shall belong." While they were praying, the rod of Joseph the carpenter blossomed, and thus by the judgment of God they betrothed the Virgin Mary to him, not for marriage, but for the guardianship and preservation of her undefiled virginity. And this is evident from the very words of the holy Virgin spoken to the angel Gabriel; for when he had said to her after the salutation, "Behold, you shall conceive a son, and shall call his name Jesus, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David," and so forth, ^C the Virgin answered him: "How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" For if Joseph had betrothed her by the law of union and marriage, she would not have answered thus, but would have said, "I shall surely conceive by the man to whom I am wedded or betrothed." But since she knew that he had received her not for the sake of marriage, but to guard and preserve her, she spoke that word full of all truth: "How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?"—that is, "I have not been given to a man for conjugal union, but that I might be kept perpetually a pure and untouched virgin." Such, therefore, was the cause of the betrothal. IX. Having received his kinswoman Mary from the hand of the Lord and of all the priests as witnesses, Joseph ^D brought her into his house and delivered to her his two daughters, that she might instruct them in wisdom and understanding as if they were her own. And she dwelt in Joseph's house with all humility and gravity. And when she had remained there for six months, and was fasting according to her custom, while she was praying about the ninth hour of the

^A day, the archangel Gabriel was revealed to her, having been sent by God; and he declared to her all the mysteries concerning the only-begotten Son of God, as many as are also recorded in the Gospels. And no one knew what had happened from her house, nor did she announce it to anyone, not even to Joseph himself, until she saw her Son ascending into heaven. Therefore the evangelist Matthew says: And he knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn Son*; that is to say: he did not know the mysteries of God, nor the hidden depth of the things that were being accomplished in her. Now it was the first day of the week, and according to the lunar cycle, it was the first month, namely April (this is the first month in the months of the year); it was its first day, upon which day the primordial darkness was dispelled, and God said: Let there be light, and there was light. It was the sixth month from the time when John the Baptist was conceived; for in the seventh month, at the Feast of Tabernacles, while the Feast of Dedication and the rest of the ark were being celebrated, Zacharias ^B (44) entered into the Holy of Holies alone, to offer incense according to the law, and the angel Gabriel appeared to him. From that time, therefore, the months are counted according to the lunar cycle; later, however, the indictions and the months were devised by the Romans.

X. Concerning the words of the holy Virgin to the archangel.

The saying of the holy Virgin to the archangel, "How shall this be, since I know not a man?" ^C as we have said before, also has another certain meaning, which is not alien to our first and earlier interpretation; that is to say: "I do not desire a man; I do not possess the desire for a man; I do not know the will of the carnal desire of a man." For she did not possess her virginity and continence and struggle as the more modest women do, who are concerned about temperance, but she possessed it by nature, which is exceptional beyond all women and extraordinary to human nature. And this is that which was said by the prophet Ezekiel: "The gate that looks toward the east shall be shut, and no one shall pass through it, unless the Lord God of Israel; He alone shall enter and go out through it, and the gate shall be shut"*. Moreover, all the prophets and the apostles bear witness to the same; nay, even those who are the luminaries, our Fathers and the teachers of the catholic and apostolic ^D Church, agree with this. Wherefore, also, the great Dionysius the Areopagite (45) says of Christ, that "He performed human acts beyond man," and bears witness to the virgin birth and childbearing: "He performed the things of man beyond man"; and he declares the Virgin who brings forth in a way beyond nature. Athanasius (46) of Alexandria […]*

and Leo of Rome, said of her that she was ignorant of the desire of man; and all the holy orthodox synods testify the same. Thus James the Hebrew (48), who was then present and wrote about her, says: "Because the birth was strange and altered in every way, being palpated by the midwife, she was found to be a virgin just as she was before the birth." And Rubim the priest, having brought this about through the midwife, was convinced by the truth of the matter. Others, moreover, said concerning this singular miracle: "Nature found an extraordinary thing." Others said: "It happened beyond the bounds of nature."

XI. The holy Virgin, immediately after the appearance of the angel, went away to Bethlehem to Elizabeth. Now Judea, in which the city of Bethlehem is situated, is a higher region than Galilee, in which Nazareth is. Therefore Luke says: "And Mary ran with haste into the hill country, and entered into the house of Zacharias, and greeted Elizabeth" (Luc. 1, 39). And when she had entered and greeted her, she made known to her the appearance of the angel and his words, and said furthermore to her that the one she had in her womb was male, and that Zacharias had seen an angel in the temple and for that reason had remained silent; for Zacharias had spoken nothing, nor could he. And they held the mystery within themselves, and announced to no one the words spoken to them. And after three months, the holy Mary went down into Galilee to the house of Joseph. Now the holy Virgin was orderly in her speech, and in her behavior, and in her gait. And as time went on, and her womb was swelling, Joseph, seeing the holy one, and being ignorant of the mysteries regarding her, was overwhelmed with shame and wanted to dismiss her secretly from his house. But the angel of God prevented him from doing so, as Matthew the evangelist narrates.

XII. And at that time it came to pass that a registration took place according to the command of Augustus Caesar; and Joseph went up from Galilee into Judea with his whole house, to be registered according to Caesar's command. And he sent on his sons, but he himself, taking his daughters and the holy Virgin Mary, went up with a beast of burden. Not having reached Jerusalem, in the suburb of the city of Bethlehem, which ^A possessed

Salome, a cousin of the holy Mother of God, they were lodged. And that same night the holy Virgin brought forth Emmanuel, with Salome the midwife ministering to all things (50), she who was in Bethlehem, and was herself also a cousin of the holy Mother of God, the Virgin Mary, according to her maternal lineage. There was there a cave and a stable for four-footed animals. When Elizabeth learned of their arrival, she brought them things that were for their need, and some others of their kinsmen did the same. And hearing what had been spoken to the shepherds, they were astonished. And on the second day, from the Persian city of Babylon, the Magi came from the summer sunrise; they had seen the star on the left side of Jerusalem, for such is the position of Persia in relation to Judea. And the star was not one of the other stars, but was low, and had never appeared before, as John Chrysostom says (51). ^B And on the eighth day they circumcised the child, and called his name Jesus, which is Savior. And then they returned to Nazareth. James and his brothers, the sons of Joseph, were enrolled, and they went down to Nazareth. And when the forty days were completed, they brought the child to Jerusalem, and presented him to the Lord with gifts, and gave him to the aged priest Simeon, and he blessed them. And there Joseph was divinely warned to flee into Egypt.

XIII. Now Herod in those days was waging a domestic war with Salome (52), the daughter of the high priest Hyrcanus, who was also his wife, and with the sons of this Salome, Alexander and Aristobulus; and having killed his wife, he went to Rome to Caesar, and having obtained authority, he returned and drowned her sons also in a river, as if he would thenceforth consign to oblivion the things which the Magi had said. But having found an opportune time, and remembering them, he was inflamed with anger (53): and two years after they had been indicated by the Magi, Herod carried out the slaughter of the infants. And the soldiers killed Zacharias while he was engaged in the sacred rites within the sanctuary. But Elizabeth, who was in Bethlehem, took John and went out into the desert, and was hidden for forty days under the cave. And Herod, after the slaughter of the infants, killed himself with a sword, being seventy years of age. But John, having been reared there, remained in the deserts until his manifestation to Israel.

^A XIV. And Joseph remained in Egypt with his sons and daughters, and the Theotokos, and Christ for five years; then by revelation he withdrew, and returning, came to Nazareth of Galilee. And Cleopas, their brother, took the daughter, Mary, as his wife; Cleopas being the brother of Joseph himself, born of the same father, Jacob. And he begat of her Symeon. And this Symeon, after James the brother of the Lord, became bishop in Jerusalem; and under Domitian, the emperor of Rome, after many torments, he was later crucified, being 120 years of age. James, however, the son of Joseph, as some say, had a wife for two years, and she having died, he had no other. But Judas, his brother, begat two sons, Zocer and James, for so were they called. These, standing before Domitian, the emperor of Rome, on account of their virtue and wisdom, brought to an end the persecution brought upon the Christians. And James and Judas, brothers of the Lord, are in the number of the twelve apostles. Joses and Symeon took wives for themselves; and Sobe lived continuously with the Theotokos. But Joses was left by his mother while still an infant at the breast, and Maria, the daughter of Salome, a cousin of the Theotokos, nurtured him. ^B XV. But at the feast of the Passover they went up from Nazareth to Jerusalem, Jesus being ten years of age. And when they had gone up to Jerusalem, he was recognized by many; and his understanding and wisdom were admired, so that he astonished many. He was also exceedingly beautiful in appearance, just as the prophet says: “Fair in form above the sons of men;” in stature he was six feet tall, having light-colored hair, a straight nose, light eyes, looking upon one gently, a light-colored beard, and long hair; never did a razor touch his head, nor the hand of any man, except that of his mother when he was an infant. And when he had become thirty years of age, he was baptized by John in the Jordan river. ^C XVI. But when John was in the desert, being himself thirty-one years of age (beginning the year, that is, from the month of September), the word came to him concerning baptism; and he came into Judea, preaching a baptism of repentance and [for the] remission of sins, and through the baptism also [for] the kingdom of the heavens, yet not also in the Holy Spirit. And when the peoples had seen his terrible and wondrous way of life, many followed him and became his disciples; among whom were Andrew from Bethsaida, a city of Galilee, and John, [son] of Zebedee. But the chief priests of the Jews, having heard what was being proclaimed about John, and concerning his teaching, some indeed said: This is the Christ; ^D but others said: He is not.

^A And since there was much discussion among them concerning this matter, they sent to John and questioned him. And he said to them: I am not the Christ, but one comes after me, and he stands in the midst of you.

It came to pass one day that many people and princes were in the desert at the Jordan, near John, confessing their sins and being baptized by him. And while John was teaching the people in Betharaca, which is a place beyond the Jordan, Jesus came into the desert of the Jordan and spent forty days there, and then returned to John. And when John saw Jesus coming toward him, he said concerning him: "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world; for I saw the Holy Spirit descending from heaven and remaining upon him, and I heard a voice saying to him: This is my beloved Son." And the people heard and were amazed. ^B And on the following day, John again saw Jesus walking, and he says concerning him: "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."

XVII. And upon hearing this, his disciples, Andrew and John, left him and followed Jesus, and they came with him to the lodging, and remained with him that day. Andrew sought his own brother Simon, and having found him, led him to Jesus. And when Jesus heard that John had been delivered up, on the following day he went out into Galilee with three disciples; and having found Philip, he drew him, and he ^C Nathanael; and they came to Cana of Galilee. And on the third day there was a wedding, and they were called, and he made the water into wine; the name of the bridegroom was Simon, who also, after a few days, followed Jesus. And from there he went to Bethsaida, a city of Galilee, and entered into the house of Peter, and finding his mother-in-law ill, Jesus stood over her and healed her.

Having returned to Nazareth, Joseph, the spouse of the Theotokos, died, an old man and full of days, as they say, one hundred and ten years of age. The sons of Joseph, James and Judas, followed Jesus. But they all traveled together, going through cities and regions, preaching the kingdom of God, and healing every disease and every infirmity. And Peter's mother-in-law, having been healed, together with her daughter, the wife of Peter, followed them and lived with the Theotokos. ^D

XVIII. Having departed from there, they came to a village of the city of Bethsaida, in which is the lake called Gennesaret, and [also] Phiala, on account of the uniformity of its circumference; and the water is very clear and pure; and it is seven miles in circumference; and [there is] very marvelous oil...

and autumn fruits around the lake, and sweet-smelling fish. But Jesus, having come to ^A Zebedaim with His mother and the disciples, stayed with Zebedaeus, who had a wife and two sons, James and John; and He received them as disciples. Their mother, thinking that He was promising an earthly kingdom, asked Him that one might sit at His right hand and one at His left in His kingdom. And departing from there, they came to Capernaum; and He healed the paralytic and many others. And wherever they stayed, those who were healed and the leading men of the cities voluntarily offered them a multitude of provisions. The disciples instructed and baptized many, but Jesus did not baptize; He only taught, and healed the infirm wherever they went. But Zebedaeus died; and having heard this, James, approaching the Lord, said: “Permit me to go and bury my father.” But He did not permit him. And after a short time, He sent the two brothers, James and John; and they, having gone, buried ^B their father, but brought their mother to Christ; and she remained with the Theotokos for the rest of her life. And having sold their possessions, which were many, they came to Jerusalem and purchased Zion. But when Jesus had come with His mother and the disciples themselves into Judaea—and they were everywhere preaching the Gospel and baptizing and healing—and they had gone up to Jerusalem, Salome, the wife of Chuezas, the steward of Herod Philip, having seven spirits of wickedness, approached and besought Christ, and was freed from the spirits; and she no longer departed from the Lord, but followed Him.

XIX. How He remained there some days (for it was also the feast of the Scenopegia)

Judas from Jerusalem; Thaddæus from Edessa in Syria; Judas the traitor from the city of Scara; James and John from Zebedee.

XX. ^B John, the son of Zebedee, after the death of his father, sold his possessions which he had in great abundance in Zebeda; and coming to Jerusalem, he bought holy Sion, which is a higher part of Jerusalem. The high priests then were changed every year, and they were not natives, but from various provinces; whence Caiaphas, from Kios of the province of Bithynia, having become high priest that year, dwelt in the place purchased by John the Theologian. For this reason it is said that he was known to the high priest. And they prepared the halfway point of the Passover, that is, the mystical supper for Christ with the disciples and, according to the female disciples, “When he says: Go to such a one, he means John the Theologian.” There they celebrated the mystical supper, and there they remained after the resurrection of the Lord. For John, having received the Mother of Jesus standing by the cross, brought her into his own house, which is holy Sion. There Jesus entered, the doors being shut, and stood in their midst, and said: Peace be with you, and the rest.

XXI. ^C The myrrh-bearing women were seven: Mary Magdalene, and Salome, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee, and Mary the mother of James the Less, the wife of Judas the brother of the Lord, and the mother of Joses who reared the brother of the Lord, and Joanna (this one, as some say, was the wife of Peter, but others say the mother of Clement); and the sister of the Mother of the Lord, Mary of Cleopas, the wife of the brother of Joseph; for Joachim and Anna did not produce another child. These myrrh-bearing women came seven times in the night to the tomb of the Lord, and they did not know at what time He arose. But the Theotokos did not go to the tomb that night, for she lay prostrate ^D because of her grief. But while the angel was speaking with Mary Magdalene, Christ appeared in the house of the Theologian, that is, in holy Sion. There all the apostles remained with her, together with the women and with the brothers of the Lord, in fasts and sleeping on the ground and tears, praying and in ceaseless hymns with great joy. And there Christ appeared to them very often. Being sent to various places and going forth, they gathered again in that place.

XXII. The holy Theotokos, seeing the Ascension of her Son into heaven, gave herself over more

^A to asceticism and genuflections; for, as Saint Andrew, Archbishop of Crete, says (68), to this very day the hollows of her knees are shown in the marble of holy Sion, and the place of her reclining on the stone, where she used to take a little natural sleep. All men followed her with honor and fear, and she was glorified not only by the faithful, but also by the Jews; and no ruler of the Jews or of the Greeks dared ever to say anything about her, or to approach the house where she remained. Sion, moreover, and Gethsemani are the same. She healed many infirm people, and delivered those possessed by unclean spirits, and bestowed alms and care upon the poor and the widows. None of the twelve apostles was sent away or departed from her as long as she lived. Indeed, even at the stoning of the protomartyr Stephen, which happened seven years after the Ascension of Christ, all were dispersed except those twelve; and they held James, the brother of the Lord, as their chief (69), and without him they did nothing. Noble women from various provinces were with the Theotokos, some delivered from unclean spirits, others having embraced the faith ^B (70). Among these was also the wife of Paul, as some say.

XXIII. Hippolytus the Theban (71) narrates that she lived 59 years in all, but we find that she lived longer. Thus, the aforementioned Andrew, Bishop of Crete, says according to tradition that she reached a great old age; but fifty-nine years do not make a great old age. However, on account of the disturbances, no one wrote her history, namely because of the destruction of Jerusalem, which happened twenty-eight years after Christ’s Ascension; and the apostles, according to the command of an angel, came to a city by the name of Pella; for so it is called. Dionysius the Areopagite (72) says that he was present at the Dormition of the Theotokos together with Timothy, and Hierotheus, and others. These, however, were disciples of Paul, who was baptized after six and a half years, and after three years began to preach, and after nine years had Dionysius as his disciple. Blessed Paul says ^C that he went up to Jerusalem after twenty years according to a revelation (73); and we find in the scholia (74) that when he was caught up from Ephesus—

^A for the Dormition of the Theotokos. And what he said to the Corinthians: "He was seen by more than five hundred brothers at once," Christ after the resurrection, he says this regarding the Dormition of the holy Theotokos.

XXIV. A certain monk, a presbyter endowed with virtue and pious in word and deed, asserted, saying: "While I was once occupied with these matters, one night someone appeared to me, saying that the Apostle Paul was caught up from Ephesus by a cloud for the Dormition of the Theotokos, and ascended as far as the third zone of the stars, and from there he saw the ends of the Ocean and Paradise." But when he is said to have heard ineffable words, the hymns sung by the angels and apostles are signified, because the twelve apostles had arrived by means of clouds. But ^B he is lying. For those who were present there, James and John and Matthew, how did they come by means of clouds? Perhaps those who were from afar? Dionysius, who was present there at that time, does not say this; nor had any of the twelve died beforehand, except James, the brother of John the Theologian, whom Herod killed—Agrippa, the son of the first Herod by Mariamne, who also became eaten by worms. But the souls of the rest of the saints who had died beforehand were all present.

XXV. The holy Theotokos predicted her departure fifteen days beforehand, and three days beforehand the angel Gabriel came and announced to her her departure and the presence of the Lord. And she sent out and invited all the apostles, and many came ^C to her, so that the assembly became very great and numerous. She disclosed to them also the fearful mysteries which she kept in her heart—both the greeting of the angel and his vision, and the former appearance which she had seen while praying in the temple. And she made a testament, as the holy apostle Bartholomew says. She was weakened by the past hardships of [her] ascetic life. And when her hour came, Christ manifested Himself to all; and because of the splendor of the light, all fell to the ground out of fear and became as if dead. And He said to them: "Peace be with you." And all recovered ^D through joy. And while the angels first sang hymns, the men stood mute; afterwards, the apostles sang hymns. And she, as if sleeping sweetly, having opened her mouth, delivered her spirit to the Son and God, being 72 years old. And again the angels, singing hymns, departed; but the holy apostles, as says Dionysius the Areopagite who was present, sang their own hymn, and not all together. Whence all admired the hymn of Hierotheus. And when the hymns had been sung, after the funeral procession they placed

[...continued from previous page] buried her in the tomb; specifically in Gethsemane. And after a little time, ^B while all those present looked on, the body became invisible to their eyes; and again singing hymns, they departed, each to his own home.

XXVI. Her years are calculated thus: her parents offered her to the Lord in Jerusalem at the age of seven; she remained in the temple for six years and a half; and in the house of Joseph for six months; then the joy of the whole world was announced to her. She gave birth in her fifteenth year. And she was with the Son for thirty-three years. These total forty-eight years. After the Ascension of the Son, she remained in the house of John the Theologian in holy Sion together with him and those who were there, for twenty-four years. The sum is seventy-two years. After the falling asleep of the holy Theotokos, all the apostles were dispersed; and John went to Ephesus. Matthew the evangelist, however, says that "until the conquest of Jerusalem, nobody was sent anywhere in my time." But he wrote the Gospel according to him thirty years later, at the command of James the brother of the Lord, who, as he says, lived twenty-eight years after the Ascension of the Lord. This James partitioned the regions among them; and as he sent them forth, he commanded each one to write to him annually, ^C stating what they were teaching, which they also did, so that their doctrine might be consistent with the preaching of Christ, to whom be glory and power unto the ages. Amen.

OF EPIPHANIUS THE MONK AND PRESBYTER CONCERNING THE LIFE AND ACTS AND END OF THE HOLY AND MOST PRAISEWORTHY FIRST-CALLED AMONG THE APOSTLES, ANDREW.

Since many have written accounts of the lives and deeds of the friends of God, both men and women, for the emulation and imitation of those who desire to walk the heavenly path and have the hope of attaining the kingdom of heaven through many straits and labors—such as the contests and battles of the martyrs against the devil, and their noble virtues and miracles; and not only these, but also the stillness of holy ascetics, their flights from the world, and the ordering of their bodies—yet no one has fitly written the lives of the blessed apostles. Therefore, it seemed good to me also, being desirous and seeking here and there, to investigate and receive from eyewitnesses ^D and holy men the things...

^A regarding these matters, from Clement of Rome, and Evagrius of Sicily, and Epiphanius of Cyprus. For he says in the record of the seventy disciples that, as those before me handed them down to us—it is clear that this refers to unwritten tradition, and from apocryphal historians, and from men who preached panegyrics, but also from other paths of oral transmission.

It came to pass in the days of Hyrcanus, priest and king of the Hebrews, that a certain Jonas from the tribe of Simeon and from the village of Bethsaida (which Philip the tetrarch, the son of Herod Antipas, later built) had two sons, Simon and Andrew. He was very poor and indigent. Having lived for many years, he died, leaving his children in great poverty. They hired themselves out to work. And Simon indeed married the daughter of Aristobulus, the brother of Barnabas the apostle, and, as some say, he had a son ^B and a daughter; but Andrew gave himself over to chastity. Neither of them had learned letters, but they became fishermen by trade. And when John was preaching baptism, Andrew, seeing his angelic manner of life and being an emulator of what is right, became his disciple. But when John pointed out Christ with his finger and said: "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world," Andrew, having heard and seen, left John and followed Jesus. And having brought his own brother, he showed him Christ, who renamed him Peter. But when Jesus had gone out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, Peter and Andrew returned to their own home ^C and practiced their fishing; but when Jesus returned from the wilderness, He called them, and they, leaving everything, followed Him.

And Peter was indeed very fervent in spirit and prone to the care of worldly needs, but Andrew was gentle and sparing in speech. And when Peter’s mother-in-law died, Peter committed his wife to the Theotokos.

But when Christ had suffered, and was resurrected, and taken up into heaven, and Matthias ^D had been numbered in place of Judas with the eleven apostles, after the healing of the man lame from birth, the apostles were scourged and released. According to the commandment of the Master to travel two by two, taking with them Matthias and Gaius and other disciples, they came to Antioch of Syria. And preaching the Word, and performing many miracles, and teaching and making many disciples, they came to Tyana, a city of Cappadocia. And they were received by a Jew named Onesiphorus. Then, having raised a dead man and made many disciples, and passing from there through the cities, they interpreted and unfolded the Scriptures, and performed miracles, and persuaded and baptized many, and delivering the divine mysteries, they came to Sinope, a city of the Pontus among those calle

called Scythians, even as Peter himself says in his Catholic Epistle: Pontus and Galatia. ^A There was a great multitude of Jews in that city, having among themselves many dissensions, men who were barbarian and wild in their manners, who for this reason are called anthropophagi. But the apostles Peter and Andrew, coming, did not enter into the city, but stayed on the promontory of the island. It was a desert place, about six miles from the city. But when we—I, indeed, Epiphanius the monk and presbyter, and Jacob the monk—arrived at the place, we found an oratory of the holy apostle Andrew and two monastic presbyters, Theophanes and Simeon, and an image of the holy Andrew, truly marvelous, carved in marble. And Theophanes was more than seventy years old, who showed us the chairs of the apostles and the stone chambers. And he said that under Cabalinus (Copronymus) ^B some iconoclasts came, wishing to crush the statue, and though they attempted many things, they prevailed nothing, but rather their own hands were broken. By tradition, moreover, we hold that the image was made while the apostle was yet alive, and it performs many healings.

When the apostles Peter and Andrew had come and stayed at the promontory ^C, immediately the demons of that region cried out, saying: "Because the disciples of Jesus have come to cast us out from the men of this place." But from the city, certain people hearing this went out towards them. And the populations, coming together, were bringing those possessed by demons and those suffering from incurable diseases. But the apostles, going out to them, called out, saying: "Men, why do you have many sects, being Hebrews, and do not all walk in the law of Moses, believing those things which he himself wrote and delivered? For we preach those very things. For the prophet whom you say is to come, him we have seen; and he sent us to preach in his name repentance and remission of sins to all the world, abstaining from all wickedness and being baptized in his name." And having confirmed the people with many words and illuminated both Jews and Greeks, and having laid hands upon those who had promised to remain in the faith, and having healed the sick, they dismissed them. ^D And they baptized many of those who had come together in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and made them partakers of the divine mysteries of Christ.

When Matthias had gone down into the city for some necessity, the Jews seized him and cast him into prison for three days, wishing to kill him on the following day. But Andrew, having descended from the mountain during the night, came to the custody; and the gate of the prison opened of its own accord to him. And bringing...

Matthias and the believers who were bound with him, he hid them outside the city for seven days, about a mile away, near the sea. There was a very thick forest there, impassable by reason of the wild beasts and the fruit-trees, and it was the season for figs; there was also a cave. Having instructed them for seven days, he baptized them at night near the seashore, and on the eighth day, having washed them, he let them go. ^A Exhorting them, he charged them, saying: "My children, flee from Scythian dissensions, do not mingle with the Greeks in their idolatrous banquets, and do not pay heed to the Jews. For behold, God, the only holy, good, and loving one, has chosen you and sealed you in the name and baptism of His Son Jesus Christ; for you have been born again through water and the Spirit. Wherefore I baptized you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. ^B There is one God of all, in heaven, on earth, and in all the abysses; worship Him alone and serve Him alone; walk in the law of Moses and keep it, and the God of peace shall be with you." And he let them go. And taking Matthias, he departed for the East.

Since the holy Epiphanius, bishop of Cyprus, says that he holds by tradition that the blessed apostle Andrew taught the Scythians, the Sogdians, and the Gorsinians ^C in the great city of Sebastopolis, where the fort of Apsarus is, and the port of Hyssus, and the river Phasis, where the Iberians, Susi, Phusti, and Alans dwell—we, having these records in our hands and fleeing the communion of the iconoclasts (for the image and the archetype are the same; and just as we worship Christ in the image, so they heap insults upon Him in His image, as the great Basil says: "The honor paid to the image passes to the prototype"), and traversing regions and cities as far as the Bosphorus with great longing, we searched for the local saints, and if there were relics anywhere—and we found many. Where we did not reach, we diligently questioned those we met and learned with joy. And we shall speak later of the things in Nicaea; but having arrived in Nicomedia, we saw the relics of the holy martyr Panteleemon, ^D and we touched all that his book contains with our own hands. Likewise, we also venerated the relics of Anthimus, bishop of those parts, and of the Indians and other martyrs with him; in Daphnusia, those of Zoticus, Anicetus, and Photius; in Heraclea, other marvels; in Amastris, those of Hyacinthus; having seen the relics of the martyr Christina at Dorapen, we venerated them; [and] in Carusia, those of Hypatius. Coming to Sinope, as I have said, and remaining there for a long time, the inhabitants showed us the seat of the blessed apostles Peter and Andrew, and the chairs, and an altogether marvelous image of the apostle which was made while he lived, and the miracles which he performed, and

^A the prison which Andrew opened of his own accord, signing it with the sign of the cross, and leading out Matthias and the prisoners who were to die on the following day; and the fig trees where he hid them; and the shore where he baptized them—there were, they say, seventeen in all—and concerning the seven demoniacs, how they were healed; and concerning the savage character of the men of that time, and indeed even of the men of today. The people of Amisus told us other things. Furthermore, we have discovered how the two brothers divided the whole world between them, and that it fell to Peter to enlighten the regions of the West, and to Andrew the East.

Post ^B After they had parted from one another, Andrew set out from Sinope with the disciples and Matthias and came to Amisus, a maritime city, and stayed with a certain Jew named Domitian. And on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue. The local people were good and virtuous; and the place is truly "Amysus" (not "hateful"), fertile in olives and fruits of every kind. When Andrew, along with his disciples, had entered the synagogue, they asked where they were from and what their teaching was. He said: "We are disciples of Jesus the Galilean: surely you have heard the word that went out from Jerusalem." Herodians were present, and they said: "We have indeed heard of Jesus; but we maintain that Herod is Christ, who, having deposed Hyrcanus, took for himself the priesthood and the diadem, and who also raised up many trophies." Andrew answered: "Herod was a foreigner, ^C the son of Antipater, a slave of a priest from Ascalon; Herod was a murderer, a slayer of children, and obsessed with women. He was not a Jew; the prophets speak of the tribe of Judah." Others answered and said that John was of the tribe of Judah, and the son of the priest Zacharias. And Andrew said: "Brothers, listen to me. I was the first disciple of John; I was taught first by John along with others. And as John was preaching a baptism of repentance, he saw Jesus coming toward him, and pointing with his finger he said of Jesus: 'Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.' And he said to Jesus: 'I have need to be baptized by Thee, and Thou comest to me?' And John bore witness concerning Jesus, saying: 'I have seen the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him; I indeed did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize said to me: "Upon whomsoever you see the Spirit of God descending like a dove and remaining upon Him, ^D He is the Son of the living God."' Hearing these things from John, I, Andrew, left him and followed Jesus for three years. And Jesus performed before us wonders greater than the miracles of Moses. And after all those things which had been written by the prophets concerning Him, the priests, through malice, delivered Him up to Pilate, the governor of Judea, and they crucified Him, Pilate washing his hands as though he were innocent. And after He was laid in a new tomb, on the third day before dawn He arose, and for forty days He was seen by us, and He commanded us that

we should preach repentance and the remission of sins in His name unto all nations, baptizing them in pure water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, that they might be absolved of their offenses and be heirs of the kingdom of heaven. And as we watched, He ascended into heaven and sat at the right hand of God; and He shall come to judge the quick and the dead according to His commandments. ^A

Now when Andrew went out from the synagogue, he saw a great crowd standing about, bringing the infirm and those vexed by unclean spirits, who cried out, "The disciples of Jesus the Galilean have come to persecute us." And they fell before him, crying out, "Servant of God, through you may God have mercy upon us." ^B But Andrew, mounting a certain stone and signaling with his hand, caused them to be silent, and he himself began to speak: "Men, you who have ears to hear, hear the word of life; hear and understand and believe, that you may live an eternal life. Abandon your many various opinions, and believing, draw near to the one living and true God, the God of the Hebrews. For He alone is the true and good artificer of all creation, searching the hearts and reins of every man, knowing all things before their birth, as the creator of all. Looking only to Him in heaven, call upon Him at evening and morning and midday, and to Him alone offer the sacrifice of praise, fleeing those things which you yourselves hate—for example: You do not wish to be wronged, do not wrong another; neither desire that your wife be debauched, nor debauch the wife of another. What you yourselves hate, do not to others; show works of repentance, almsgiving to strangers and to slaves, a sincere love for all, guileless and forgiving, and obedience toward the good. And if you do the things that I have spoken, you shall be freed from diseases and from the vexation of demons, and you shall finish the time of your life in peace. Thus for the future walk, and tomorrow assemble, that you may also obtain healing and your souls may be enlightened." And he dismissed them. ^C

And he, departing with the disciples, stopped and rested. The disciples, as they say, were eight: Thaddaeus and Matthias, Tychicus and Aristarchus, Evodius and Simon, Agapetus and Domitius. And they brought to them much money and provisions. But Andrew distributed everything to the poor; and he built churches and consecrated altars, and appointed priests. They themselves, content with a single tunic and barefoot with sandals, living on bread and water once a day, and sleeping on the ground. ^D

And on the day following, the people having gathered and someone having notified him, Andrew went out and stood upon a pedestal that he might be seen. He was not small in stature, but great,

^A a little stooped, with a prominent nose and large eyebrows. And he said: "Separate those who are vexed by demons into one place." When this was done, the demons were in an uproar; but Andrew turned and said to them: "Be silent!" And immediately they stood still. And he said to the people: "Peace be with you, brothers." They replied: "And with you." And he began to speak gently: "If you withdraw from your idols and your abominable feasts and your lawless deeds, and believe in God who created you, you shall be immune to diseases, and the demons shall flee from you; and if you wash away your old filth in the water of the holy Spirit, you shall become partakers of the heavenly angels." Having said this, Andrew ordered the crowds to be brought to him, and laying his hand upon each one, he healed them all. He cast out the demons merely by glaring at them with a stern eye; and he made the lepers whole by washing them with water, like little children. The lame, the hunchbacked, the paralytics, the weak, and the blind—through the laying on of his hands—he freed them all from their infirmities.

^B Seeing that the apostles were free from pride, living without food, pale, going barefoot with sandals, wearing only a single tunic, pouring forth the divinely inspired word, fulfilling the praises of God at evening, morning, and midday, and granting healing, the people were amazed and did not want to leave them. Day by day, multitudes of men and women added themselves to those believing in the Lord. And Andrew ordered his disciples to instruct them; he himself, with two disciples, went around the surrounding villages for the sake of those who could not come to him. And having instructed them for many days, they baptized many multitudes; but also many of the ruling class believed and were baptized—for the emperors at that time, Tiberius, Caius, and Claudius, did not forbid it—but many even of the noble women and Jews believed. ^C Having baptized them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, he consecrated an altar and a church to the holy Theotokos; and until this day it is manifest to all. He ordained priests and deacons from among them. And there was great joy in that city; for he made them partakers of the divine mysteries of Christ, and he delivered to them the liturgy and the rule of psalmody, that they should gather at evening and morning, kneel towards the east, and thus standing, might pray, chanting the psalter of David and the other prophets, and not pay attention to the myths of the Greeks, ^D but walk according to the law of Moses, and keep the things decreed by the apostles. Thus, acting and teaching, Andrew brought many cities and villages to Christ.

Departing from Amysus, he came to Trapezus, a city of the land of Lazica. But those people were foolish and

^A acted like brute beasts. Departing from there, he turned aside into Iberia, and enlightening many along the way near the sea, he came to Jerusalem for the sake of the Passover. And after Pentecost, Peter and Andrew and John, the son of Zebedee, and Philip, one of the Twelve, and Bartholomew turned aside into Upper Phrygia. And Philip came to Antioch in Syria. And Peter indeed remained, and together with Paul ordained Marcian and Pancratius as bishops of Sicily. The others, however, departing, traveled through the cities situated in the interior. But Philip, one of the Twelve, and Bartholomew remained in Upper Phrygia and Pisidia. Andrew and John, meanwhile, were staying in Ephesus and teaching. And the Lord said to Andrew: "Go into Bithynia, and I am with you wherever you go, for Scythia awaits you." And when Andrew had told John everything, they kissed one another; and taking his own disciples, he went up to Laodicea in Phrygia Pacatiana, and thence into Mysia, to Odyssopolis. And having spent a few days there, and having appointed Apion as bishop for them, he crossed Mount Olympus and came to Nicaea, a village of Bithynia; for it had not yet been walled and beautified at that time, but it was later walled round by Trajan. And the lake was then broad, situated far from the village. Entering it, Andrew preached Christ to them and exhorted them to receive the word of the Lord. But the local people ^B were deceivers, slow-witted, perjurers, proud, and base even to this day, both Jews and Greeks. And among the Jews there was a great synagogue, for it was indeed a large town; but among the Greeks there was an idol of Apollo, which gave forth oracles and visions. And those who were receiving prophecies from it would indeed utter the oracle, but were unable to speak anything else, the demon closing their ears and mouths, and they remained deaf and mute. Moreover, there were many among them who were sick and possessed by demons. And Andrew said to them: "You will not be able to be freed from the demons and the diseases unless you approach the life-giving teaching." And they agreed in words, but lied. There was, however, a very high crag ^C at a distance of about nine miles. In it, as they say, lived a huge dragon, and it was harming many people. But Andrew went to it, taking the iron staff upon which he always leaned, together with two disciples. And as they approached, the dragon came out toward them. And Andrew fixed his iron staff into the eye of the dragon, and it went out through the other, and it immediately expired. This having happened, many believed in the Lord. And Andrew returned to Nicaea and began to teach. And after the dragon was killed in the region of the rock, eight patrons inhabited the place; for it was breezy, and they killed many; two, however, of them were vexed by a demon. And Andrew being called...

^A by the local inhabitants, arrived before them; and the demon-possessed men met him with cries. But Andrew rebuked them, and before he could draw near, the demons departed. And they, having bound their hands, being cleansed from the demons, stood before Andrew in their right minds; the rest, beholding this, were pricked in their hearts, and casting down their weapons, came and threw themselves at the feet of the apostle. He, with a gentle disposition of voice, said: "Why do you act thus, my children? Why do you provide for others the very things you yourselves hate? Do you not know that He is the Creator of both the small and the great, and will render to each according to his works? You do not wish to be beaten, so why do you beat? You do not wish to perish, so why do you steal? God has given you health and strength so that you might work and have something from your own labor and be in need of nothing, but rather even provide for those who do not have. Depart henceforth from these evils which you practice, and go away to your own houses, and God will have mercy upon you, and ^B the rulers will have reason to praise you, and you will be able to obtain help." And he spoke to them the word of God. They, being pricked in their hearts, remained with him for a day, and thus he baptized them. And returning, they found a rock not very high on that same road, having an idol of Artemis; and many spirits dwelt in it, and they produced phantoms and sought sacrifices; from the ninth hour until the third hour again, they would not permit anyone to pass along that road. Andrew, therefore, having come, remained there with his disciples; but the demons fled like ravens, crying out: "What violence from the Galilean Jesus, because his disciples everywhere pursue us!" And Andrew, casting down the idol, erected a cross, and the rock and the region were cleansed of the demons. Now there was a place ^C on the left side of Nicaea. Near it was a wooded place, in which dwelt a dragon and a multitude of demons, and the Greeks sacrificed to them; for there was an image of Aphrodite. Andrew, however, having gone away with his disciples to that place, knelt down and prayed, and rising, stretched forth his hand and signed the place with the cross; and the dragon and the demons fled; and from that time that place is inhabited.

And Andrew taught those who came to him during the day, ^D and healed the infirm; but at night he would go out to the mountain toward the east, and there with his disciples he prayed to God to cooperate with him, because many resisted him. And it came to pass that there was a festival of the Greeks, and they offered sacrifices to their gods; and on the following day the demons entered into the living, and in their madness the whole people began to eat their own flesh; and immediately they went forth to the mountain to Andrew, lamenting, crying and shouting: "Have mercy on us, O apostle of the good God." These things the inhabitants tell according to tradition, and certain other things. But Andrew, descending...

^A from the mountain, went and stood in their midst, and stretching forth his hand, he signed them with the sign of the cross. And they ceased eating their own flesh; and ascending upon a pedestal, he began to say: "How can God have mercy upon you and restrain this wrath from you, when you do not wish to receive Him? Or how will He heed me, when I intercede for you, since you do not agree in faith? And while you choose to depart from your wicked works, I teach you the way of salvation, yet you mock me. I have said many things to you: 'Depart from idols;' and it is not fitting to pray to those whom you worship as gods, but rather as demons. These, inhabiting you as their own servants, have displayed their own wickedness; for they cannot do any good. Be cleansed and approach the living and true God, and be signed with the sign of the cross, and the demons will flee from you; renounce them in your words and your deeds, and your worship, because they are darkness, and take up the armor of light, so that you may live now in peace and firm health, and possess future blessings. Lay these things to heart and ponder them, and worship the God of these things, and give thanks at all times to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and His Holy Spirit; and the demons and every sickness shall flee from you."

Since they agreed and begged ^B him to come to them, he healed them all. And on the next day, all the people gathered, small and great, men and women, Jews and Greeks; for all had assembled. And Andrew, going out to them and standing in the place where he was the day before, said: "Peace to all." But they, strengthened, cried out with one voice: "And with your spirit." And Andrew began to say: "Since the good and only God and Creator of all things honored man with His own image, He planted a paradise in the East, and placed man there, giving him a commandment of immortality. The wicked devil, therefore, burning with envy, caused man, through pride and arrogance, to disobey God who created him. For he said, 'You shall be as gods'; ^C whence he was turned from incorruption into corruption. And he begot a son of disobedience, Cain, who characterized the devil. For Cain became the inventor of all evils. And having murdered his own brother, who was righteous and holy, he received seven punishments, because he had committed seven evils. For when he offered the first-fruits of the crops to God, he himself ate the best ones first, and thus offered the rest to God; behold, this is the first evil. The second was envy; for he envied his brother. The third was deceit, for he deceived both God and his parents. The fourth was hatred; for, hating him, he plotted how he might kill him. The fifth was disobedience toward God and his parents; for they spoke to him many things, not to commit fraud against God. The sixth was hypocrisy; for he deceived his ^D brother, saying, 'Let us go out into the field,'*

' ^A to deceive him, as it were. The seventh was lying; for after the murder, God said to him, 'Where is Abel your brother?'—not in ignorance, but offering him room for repentance. But he not only did not soften, moved by the isolation and separation of his brother, but he even impudently lied, saying, 'I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?' as if mocking God. And the righteous God gave seven punishments for the seven evils. And the first, the alienation from God; for Cain went out from the face of God. The second, inhabiting a cursed earth, as one who had polluted it with brotherly blood. The third, incessant labor; for night and day he had no rest. The fourth, the barrenness of the earth: 'You shall work the ground,' He says, 'and it shall not add to give you its strength.' The fifth, to breathe with groaning and continuous anguish. The sixth, to tremble: 'You shall be groaning and trembling upon the earth.' For trembling, he could neither bring food nor ^B drink to his own mouth, nor anything else to his body. The seventh, the extension of life; for he wanted to be killed and to be released from many evils, for death becomes a gain to those who are tormented, bringing a swift liberation. But God said, 'Not so; everyone who kills Cain will pay sevenfold,' that is, he will release seven vengeances—or rather, he turns back the judgment of the murdered Abel. Seth was born similar to Adam, righteous, wise, innocent, gentle, and knowledgeable; for he brought forth the sciences. He begot Enos, who was similar to him; for because of his virtues, they called him 'god.' His sons, seeing the daughters of Cain, took them for their own wives. ^C For the daughters of that race were beautiful to the sight. And they taught them their paternal vices: to rob, to murder, to quarrel, to set boundaries, to build cities—for Cain was the first to build a city—to wage wars for the sake of one woman, and for women to contend for the sake of one man. And thereafter the giants were born. And the earth could no longer bear it. And God, seeing the evil works of men, brought the flood, and with water washed away the sin and cleansed the earth. But one righteous man, born of a righteous seed, Noah, He saved with his wife and three sons together with their wives, commanding him to make a great ship. And with him He brought in from every animal and from every seed. But the rest of the whole world He destroyed. ^D And when men had multiplied again, the author of evil, the devil, did not cease fighting against the human race; for he taught idolatries, and instead of the good God who created all things, men worship creatures—or rather the demon—the good and wise worship foolish and wicked things. But Abraham alone, fleeing idolatry, worshipped the true God, the creator of heaven and earth and all the stars. For seeing and pondering these things, he recognized their Creator. Whence he was chosen by God, and his seed was blessed.

And from him God raised up God-fearing teachers and prophets, and Joseph, who was prudent. And when a famine occurred, he fed Egypt for seven years. After this, the Egyptians made the righteous seed slaves; wherefore the good God raised up God-fearing teachers and prophets. He also raised up a vindicator of his own nation, Moses, who performed great wonders and signs in Egypt. For by dividing the sea, he provided a crossing on dry land for his own people; and the Egyptians, pursuing them, ^B entered the sea themselves on dry ground. But Moses, turning back, restored the water; and the Egyptians remained in the deep. And the people of Moses, redeemed from servitude, remained in the desert for forty-two years, being fed from heaven, having received the oracles of the living God and the commandments. And Moses, when dying, said to the people: "The Lord God shall raise up for you a prophet from among your brothers, like me; and whoever does not believe in this prophet shall be blotted out from the book of the living." And he gave them as his successor Jesus the son of Nave. And thereafter the judges until Samuel and David the king, to whom also God swore that from the fruit of his loins a kingdom would be given that would have no successor; and after David, all the prophets who prophesied about the advent of Christ; and when the weeks of Daniel were fulfilled, God sent his Son into the world, and he dwelt in an undefiled virgin of the seed of David, who had a guardian. And being born of her and having become man, he chose us as disciples. The Jews therefore raged against him; but he knew all things. And he foretold to us all the things that were to happen to him, and his three-day resurrection, and where we would see him, and again his advent with much glory, ^C in which he is to come to judge the living and the dead and to requite each according to his works. And teaching in the temple, he rebuked the chief priests and their daring crimes and iniquities. But they, not bearing it, seized him at night and handed him over to Pilate, the governor of Judea. He, having examined him and knowing that they had handed him over out of envy, wanted to release him. But the chief priests cried out: "If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar; his blood be upon us and upon our children." And Pilate handed him over to their will, and they crucified him with his consent. And placing him in a new tomb, they sealed it, having set a guard; for he had said that "On the third day I shall be raised." But at night, on the third day dawning, he rose, leaving behind his burial shrouds as witnesses for himself. An angel, moreover, rolling away the stone of the monument, sat upon it, ^D as if striking down the guards with sleep. But the women from among us went to the tomb with spices with great haste. The angel said to them: "The Lord has risen; tell the longing disciples to go into Galilee, and there you will see him as I foretold to you." And we have seen him many times, raised from the dead, and we have eaten and drunk with him for forty days. And he charged us to preach in his name repentance and the remission of sins

to all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. ^A And while we were watching, at the third hour of the day, he was taken up, and he went into heaven, and sat at the right hand of his Father. We, however, await him until the consummation of the age. And now, in his name, we raise the dead, and drive out demons, and cure every disease.”

When Andrew had said these things, the whole people cried out: “The Holy Spirit is in your body; you are truly the apostle of the good and holy God; hasten to save us.” ^B And he, as was his custom, after having prayed and laid his hands upon them, dismissed them. Thus Andrew, working and teaching for two whole years, and establishing laws and healing people, overturned the temples of idols, and made the synagogue into a church, erecting it into an altar (or rather, an altar within it), and giving it the name of the Theotokos; he also baptized a great multitude of people, and ordained presbyters and deacons and Dracontius as bishop. Dracontius, however, later underwent martyrdom, around the twelfth day of the month of May. Whence, the clergy of the Great Church recounted these things to me, and indeed many other signs of Andrew as well.

^C Setting out from Nicaea, he went to Nicomedia, and the brethren came out to meet him. After having strengthened them for a few days, traversing the seas, he went to Chalcedon. And when a certain Callistus had been struck down by a demon and had died, Andrew raised him through his prayers, and put the arts of the prince of demons to shame. While staying in that same city of Bithynia, he appointed Tychicus as bishop. And setting out again, traversing the Pontic sea by ship, he came to Heraclea. And after teaching some people there, he went to Cromna, now called Amastris. And entering the city, he found a few disciples; and he remained with them. ^D Now the city was full of Jews only. Hearing that Andrew had arrived—he who opens prisons and leads out the captives—they gathered together, and standing there, were on the point of setting the house on fire. Taking hold of Andrew, they struck him with stones, dragging him, and biting his flesh like dogs. And one of them bit and severed the finger of his right hand. And to this day, because of this, they are called anthropophagi [man-eaters]. Dragging him through the whole city, striking, stoning, and biting him, they threw him outside the city, left for dead. And immediately the Lord appeared to him, saying, “Arise, my disciple, and…”

enter unto them, and do not fear them; for I am with you.” And He restored his finger [to him]. ^A Rising, therefore, Andrew entered into the city. And seeing his patience and his meekness, and how hearkened to them, they were pricked in their hearts and began to hear him. And hearing the teaching, they were amazed. For he interpreted the Scriptures, and they received the word of Christ, gathering together from early morning, bringing the sick, whom Andrew healed by the invocation of Christ. And a man having been found murdered in the middle of the city, and the murderer being sought, with his wife lamenting and the people crowding around, Andrew was summoned and arrived, and having prayed, by the invocation of Christ he raised the dead man, and many believed in the Lord. Thus the word of the Lord increased and spread. He ordained from among them presbyters and deacons, and thus he went out to Zalichos. And the Amisenes, hearing [of this], went out to meet him rejoicing, and praising him, brought him to lodging. ^B

From Amisus, being sent on his way, he departed to Trapezus. The men there were foolish; nevertheless, some received the word. And he came to Neocaesarea. And when he preached the word to them, a few received it. Thence he went up to Amusatus, a great city on the seashore. There being in it many Hellenes and philosophers, they contradicted Andrew. But he said to them, “Consider for yourselves the instability of your gods, for they fight among themselves. Now whatever fights with itself is decay; but the one God, being good, brings forth good things. Consider who created and united the elements and from them established the earthly creation. Consider the course of the luminaries and the stars, and who ordained for them the unceasing and equal course, for they are inanimate and do not move of their own accord, and because they are governed by many, they do not cohere with one another. Lay hold of the good path by the law of Moses, for it provides peace to him who walks in it; believe the prophets, for they teach truth, and life, and eternal peace. Observe that in the name of Christ the dead are raised, and demons and diseases are put to flight.” ^C Having stayed among them for many days and having made many disciples, he left them and went up to Jerusalem.

And after Pentecost, Andrew and Simon the Cananaean and Matthias and Thaddaeus remained there with Augarus; the others, traversing the cities, teaching and working miracles, came down into Iberia and to the Phasis, and after some days into Susania. Now the men of that nation were held under by their women. The feminine nature is easily persuaded, and they quickly obeyed. ^D Matthias remained with his disciples in those regions, teaching and doing many signs.

Simon and Andreas departed for Salania and the city of Phusta. And having performed many wonders and having made many disciples, they went off to Abasgia. Upon entering the great city of Sebastopolis, they taught the word of God. ^B Andreas, however, leaving Simon there, went forth himself with his disciples into Zecchia. The Zecchi are rough men and barbarians, and even until now they are half-unbelievers. They were on the point of killing Andreas, had they not seen his poverty and meekness and zeal. But leaving them, he came down to the upper Sagdaeans. These men were teachable and gentle, and with joy they received the word. And he came to Bosporus, a city beyond the sea, at which we ourselves also arrived. And they, having seen the wonders he performed and the divinely inspired word, quickly gave heed, even as they related to us themselves. They showed us an ark having the inscription of Simon the Apostle, buried at the foundations of the church of the Holy Apostles, a very large one, containing relics; and they gave us some of them. There is also another tomb in Nicopsis of Zecchia, having the inscription of Simon the Canaanite, which also contains relics. Andreas, from Bosporus, came down to the city of Theudesia, a populous and philosophic place, having a king named Sarmates. Few, however, among them believed, and leaving them, he went off to Cherson, even as they themselves related to us. But Theudesia today does not have in it even a trace of a man. The nation, the Chersaces, is easily circumvented and until this day remains strong against the faith, deceitful, and carried about by every wind. ^C Andreas, having stayed among them for many days, returned to Bosporus, and having found a Chersaean ship, he crossed over to Sinope. And having stayed a few days and strengthened them, he appointed for them as bishop Philologus. And thus, strengthening the churches, he came down to Byzantium; at that time Argyropolis was flourishing. He appointed Stachys as bishop for them, and on the acropolis of Byzantium, he dedicated an oratory of the holy Theotokos, which exists even until this day. Leaving thence, he came down to Heraclea of Thrace. And having stayed for some days, he departed. And traversing the cities of Macedonia, teaching, exhorting, and healing, and building churches and dedicating altars and anointing priests, he came down as far as the Peloponnese in Patras, under Aegeates, the proconsul of Patras. Andreas entered with his disciples, and a man named Sosius received them, whom Andreas healed from a deadly infirmity. ^D Traversing the city, he saw a man lying on a dunghill, a paralytic; and Andreas, going up to him and giving him his hand, raised him up by the invocation of Christ. And this having been noised abroad, Maximilla, the wife of the proconsul, sent her faithful servant Ephidamia,

^A a person sufficient to see, speak with, and hear Andrew. Upon going there, Ephidamia met Sosius, the disciple of Andrew, with whom he was staying. He instructed her in the word of God and in her own healing, and brought her to Andrew. And falling at his feet, she heard his words, and reported them to her mistress. Some days later, Maximilla, the wife of the proconsul, fell ill. And as the physicians declined to treat her, she, having despaired of herself, sent Ephidamia and called for Andrew. He came to her with his disciples. And entering the house, he found the proconsul holding a sword and awaiting the death of his own wife, intending to kill himself so as to die with her. But Andrew said to him ^B with a gentle voice: "Put back the sword, my son, into its place, and call upon the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, believing in Him." And he rebuked the fever, saying: "Depart from her, O fever." And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she broke into a sweat; and after a short time she asked for food, and at once arose. Seeing this, many believed. Aegeates approached Andrew as if he were a physician; for he was a Greek, and did not wish to hear the word of God. He offered him about a thousand gold pieces, saying: "Take your reward." But he would not accept it, saying: "We received freely, we give freely. Offer yourself instead, if you are able, to God." Then they went forth from that place, and they were supporting Andrew, for he was an old man. And he saw someone lying in the portico and begging, who had been paralyzed for many years. And Andrew said to him: "Jesus Christ heals you." And he gave him his hand; and immediately the man became whole, and ran through the midst of the city, showing himself and glorifying God. And proceeding from there, he saw a man with ^C a woman and a child who were blind. And he touched their eyes, and immediately they saw, and they followed him, glorifying and thanking God. The crowds seeing this were struck with amazement, and many believed. And they besought him to go to the harbor, because one of the ancient nobles had become leprous; and being unable to endure his stench, they had placed him upon a dunghill; and no one was able to approach him, but whenever they brought him food, they would hold their noses and quickly withdraw. Hearing these things, Andrew was moved with compassion and went to him; and many others from the people went along with him. And Andrew drawing near to him said: "Jesus Christ heals you. Arise." And immediately he arose whole. And he took hold of him and washed him in the sea, and his flesh became as the flesh of a little child, and he was cleansed. And Andrew said to him: "Put on your garment and wash away your sins, having believed in Christ." And being baptized, he followed him, giving thanks. ^D

^A When these miracles had become noised abroad, and those who had been healed were crying out in the whole city of Patras of Achaea and in all that region, they brought the demon-possessed and the sick to him. He, witnessing to them the word of grace and instructing them, healed everyone through the invocation of Christ. They were overturning the temples of the idols, and breaking in pieces the golden and silver images, and burning their books. And they brought much wealth to Andrew; he, through the disciples, distributed it to the poor and to the widows, and for the building of churches; and they did not use any of it for themselves, except for what was necessary. He delivered to them the Old Testament and the Gospel; and after he had ordained priests and deacons for them, he ordered that a great church be built, commanding that the Old and New Testaments be written on the walls, as the local people testify, holding that tradition even to this day.

The proconsul Aegeates, after his wife had been healed, went away to Rome to Caesar Nero. He had a brother named Stratocles, who was staying in Athens for the sake of his education. While the proconsul was residing in Rome, Stratocles returned from Athens to Patras; he had a very dear servant named Alcamanas. Alcamanas, being struck by a demon, wallowed and foamed at the mouth; seeing this, Stratocles was grieved ^B to death, and was at a loss as to what he should do. Maximilla, his sister-in-law, reported to him the things concerning Andrew, and how she had been healed of a deadly fever. Hearing this, he summoned Andrew. He, having arrived, rebuked the unclean spirit, saying: "In the name of Jesus Christ, come out of this man and do not enter into him again." And immediately the spirit departed, and he was healed from that very hour. Then Stratocles believed with his whole household, and he himself was baptized, and Maximilla, his sister-in-law, and Ephidamia and many multitudes, and they were at all times with Andrew and the brethren, rejoicing.

And Andrew by night and day would exhort and admonish all to remain in the faith and to keep the Law and the Gospel, and to take care of the soul, but to despise the body, to be pure, to be temperate, to be chaste, to be wise, to suffer injustice but not to commit it, not to gossip, nor to tell lies, but to pray unceasingly. ^C And Maximilla was not separated from them.

In the midst of these things, Aegeates returns from Caesar, and immediately he approached his wife Maximilla; but she, holding to the way of Christ, did not receive him, but feigned to be ill. Days having passed, and she not wishing to sleep with Aegeates, he was in a state of distress. And one of the household slaves told him the things concerning Andrew, that your brother, and your wife, and your whole house have adhered to God’s Andrew, and keep

^A And those of Andrew’s house approached and confessed that they would observe continence. Then the proconsul said to Maximilla his wife: "Obey me, sleep with me, otherwise I shall hand over your deceiver to the cross." But when she would not endure him, he seized Andrew and put him in prison. Maximilla, however, went to him and was taught by him to endure tribulations, for in these the proof of firm faith is shown. When the proconsul realized that the brethren were also coming to him, he was troubled and said to Maximilla: "If that old man will persuade you to sleep with me, I will release him; but if not, I shall quickly destroy you both." ^B Maximilla went to the prison and reported all the words of her husband to Andrew. But Andrew fortified her rather in the fear of God, and that she should not make provision for the flesh in desire, saying to her: "Endure for a little while, that you may rejoice eternally. And for me, it is a joy to bear the death of the Lord and to be with Him." And she departed and reported to her husband that "I would rather desire death than betray my purity." When the proconsul heard these words, anger inflamed him, and going to the prison he secured it, placing bolts and bars and sealing it with his own ring, and having also stationed guards. ^C And the brethren, together with Stratocles and Maximilla, came to him in the deep of the night. And as they knocked from the outside, Andrew, knowing it, made the sign of the cross from within, and immediately all the doors were opened, and the guards were struck with fear. But Andrew said: "For the proconsul shall not know." The brethren gathered and lit lamps. And having spoken much with them, he imparted to them the sacrosanct mysteries, and he ordained Stratocles as bishop, and handed over to him the rule for the chanting of the morning and evening services, and of the holy baptisms, and every rite, and having kissed everyone, he dismissed them. And again, having made the same sign of the cross, the doors were closed with the seals.

The proconsul spared his wife on account of her relatives, because he feared them, but he handed Andrew over to be crucified. He commanded, however, that he should not be fastened with nails, but bound with ropes and stretched out for greater torment, so that, broken in strength, ^D he might be turned to cause Maximilla to sleep with him.

Such fame was therefore diffused, spread throughout the whole city of Patras, that the just man and servant of Christ, whom Aegeates was holding prisoner, was going to be punished. All ran together unanimously to witness it, indignant at the proconsul for the injustice of the sentence. And as the executioners were leading him to the place of consummation to fulfill what was commanded, at that moment Stratocles, hearing what had occurred, arrived in haste, and saw the blessed one dragged by the executioners,

^A like a wicked man to judgment. Fiercely then beating them and rending the tunics of those who were doing these things, Stratocles snatched him away, saying to them: "Forgive me, and show kindness in this to the apostle, for he has instructed me by his words to bear things without anger, and for this reason has calmed my great fury; for otherwise I would have shown you what the servant of God, Stratocles, can do, and what the foul Aegeates is." And holding the hand of the apostle, he went away with him to the place by the sea where they had also prepared to put him to death. The soldiers who had taken hold of him from the proconsul, leaving the apostle with Stratocles, turned back and reported to Aegeates, saying, "As we were going with Andrew, Stratocles arrived beforehand, tore our tunics, snatched him away from us, and took him with him; and behold, we are standing before you as you see." The proconsul answered them: "Take other garments, go, and fulfill what was ordered to you by me against the condemned Andrew; but as for Stratocles, do not be seen by him as much as it depends on you, and do not refuse anything if he asks you for something at all. For I know his noble spirit, what it is like, so that he would not even obey me if he were provoked." And they did what was commanded immediately. Stratocles, however, going with the apostle to the appointed place, was angry, speaking ill of Aegeates; and the apostle said to him: "By no means, my son; I do not wish you to be like that at all, but moderate, gentle, humble, not returning evil, mindful of the Lord’s word which says: 'If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other; and to him who wishes to take your tunic, give him your cloak as well' (Matt. v, 39, 40). And we, brothers, following for the sake of the Lord those who pull us, shall cast off the outer man and let it go to those who want it, and let us strive to renew the inner man, and to cause this one to fly up towards God, in whom our whole desire resides." ^C These things and many others he said then to Stratocles and those who were with him along the way, until they reached the place where he was to be brought to his end. And seeing the cross raised near the sand of the sea, leaving everyone, he went to the cross and said to it as if it were a living soul, with a loud voice: "Hail, O cross; for you have provided joy to the entire human race through the Son of God, who was corporally suspended upon you; hail, O life-giving cross, thrice-blessed and victorious armor of Him who was willingly stretched out upon you and saved me, a man; hail, O cross, which sweetened the bitter taste of the wood through Christ who was suspended in you, and recalled the first parents who had been deceived by ^D the eating of it, and led them back to their original life; hail, O cross, and may you truly rejoice; well do I know what it is to rest

^A from my long labors, and now I have you, whom I have known. Having said these things, blessed Andrew, while he still stood upon the ground and looked intently at the cross, ascended it, having exhorted the brothers who were standing by to call the executioners to carry out what had been commanded to them; for they were standing at a distance. They came and merely bound his feet, not even cutting the tendons, because this was how they had been instructed by the proconsul. For from this, the wretch surmised that the punishment for the righteous man would be greater, as if, when night fell, his body, still alive, might be devoured by dogs. And leaving him hanging, they departed from him. But the crowds who were standing around, having been taught by him, seeing that they had done nothing to him of the customary things for those crucified, hoped to hear something more from him. And Stratocles inquired of him, saying: "Why is it that you smile, servant of God, first-called, or why do you afflict us with grief because of your coming departure?" And the apostle said: "Shall I not smile, Stratocles, considering the hidden ^B and wily snares of Aegeates? For because I was not crucified according to the regulation, he thinks that we are being punished more severely, not knowing that we remain unpunished through our love for Christ." And he began to speak to the people, saying: "Men who are present here, women and children, old and young, slaves and free, listen to me, and do not cling to the vain deception of the present life, but rather pay attention to us hanging here for the Lord, and already on the point of departing from this body. Bid farewell to all worldly desires, and despise the detestable worship of idols, and run to the true worship of our truthful God, so that He Himself, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, may come and make His abode with you. Shake off the sloth and the darkness from your hearts, and recall your eager courage and illumination within your souls. Awaken and stand with your loins girded in gladness, and with the spiritual breastplate ^C shield your chests, and having drawn the sword of the word, cut away fleshly desires from your hearts, and become pure and perfect, blameless and irreproachable before our pure God. Cleanse yourselves, and do not let our teaching escape you. For through these things you shall become heirs of the good things of our God, which neither eye has seen, nor ear has heard, nor heart has conceived, which are prepared forever for those who love Him." While the apostle was setting these things forth, hanging for a day and a night, and while the people were listening to him gladly and had come to compunction and confusion of heart, seeing his noble courage and his unbending ^D steadfastness, the uprising of the crowd ceased.

^A And, being moved with indignation, they all hastened unanimously to the tribunal, accusing Aegeates and saying: "O proconsul, you have rendered a wicked judgment; you have judged evilly, you have judged unrighteously; your decrees are contrary to the law; you rule the whole of Achaea unjustly; you have pronounced an unworthy sentence against a righteous man. For what harm has he done? Or what has he achieved? What crime has he committed? You are offending us all; the entire city is stirred up, the whole populace is in a tumult. Do not slay the righteous man; grant us this holy man, and do not kill a man who is religious, who has been hanging for almost two days and is yet breathing. He, having taken no food, has nourished us with his words. And behold, we believe in the God preached by him. Take down the righteous man, and we shall all devote ourselves to upright living; set free this prudent man, and all of Patras shall be at peace; release the first-called, and all Achaea ^B will be delivered through you." But as soon as Aegeates heard this, he did not promise the crowd he would release the righteous man, but rather beckoned with his hand for them to withdraw from the tribunal; for he was struck with such astonishment at this, seeing the multitude coming upon him, that he remained speechless. Those who were driven by fury dared to attempt something against him, numbering, as they were, about a thousand. The proconsul, therefore, becoming beside himself and fearing lest he should suffer some seditious act, rose from the tribunal and went with them, promising that he would release the righteous man. They therefore kept outstripping one another, announcing to the Apostle and the rest of the crowd that was present with him, and making known ^C the reason why the proconsul was coming. And when he had arrived, the entire crowd of the disciples rejoiced, along with Maximilla, Ephidamea, and Stratocles. The blessed Andrew, however, hearing this, began to say: "O the great sluggishness and unbelief and simplicity of those who have been taught by me! How many things have I said until now, and I have not persuaded my friends to flee from the affection of earthly things! But they are still bound by them, and abide in them, and do not wish to be separated from them. What is this such great friendship and love and carnal affection? How long will you cling to worldly and temporal things? When at last will you understand the things that are above you, and hasten to lay hold of the things that are there? ^D Suffer me at last to be taken away in the state in which you see me, and let no one in any way release me from these bonds; for thus it has been allotted to me, to depart from this body and to be with the Lord, to whom I have been crucified, which indeed shall come to pass." And facing Aegeates, he said: "O proconsul, why have you come to us again? What are you seeking that you have descended even unto us? For what reason have you come, being a stranger and our enemy? Or what are you thinking to do? What are you wishing to attempt? To release us from these bonds? But you will not release us, Aegeates, nor will you bring us back; not even if all your good things should—

^A be promised, do we trust you. For these things, being temporary, will quickly vanish. Nor again will I be terrified of your threats; for my Lord Jesus Christ Himself revealed this to me, saying: "Study the character of Aegeates, and do not fear him, even though he is terrible and is a destroyer, a deceitful enemy, a mad debaucher, a busybody, a murderer, a flatterer, wrathful, uncompassionate, and the venom of asps is under his lips, and his clothing is like the skin of a wolf, and he is fierce as wild beasts, and a manslayer—just as his father, Satan, has been from the beginning." Therefore, having known this through the true God who has recalled me, I shall depart from you to the just Judge. I know well that you will be broken, and tormented, and will lose heart when you see yourself cast into the fire of Gehenna, which is prepared for you and those with you who serve your father, the devil. ^B The proconsul stood speechless, hearing these things, as if beside himself. Since the whole city was in an uproar, intending to release Andrew, he said this: "Whoever dares, let him approach the wood to release him." The Apostle, having stared with a loud voice into heaven, said: "Do not allow, Master, me who have been hung upon the wood to be released again; do not permit the one who has been hung for Your mystery according to Your likeness to be cast down; do not allow those to be cast down, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who have known Your greatness, and who have longed for You, and who have loved ^C You, and who have believed in You through this preaching. Keep them safe and confirm them in the faith, and grant them boldness before You, so that they may glorify You, the true God, whom I have seen, whom I have, whom I love, in whom I am and shall be. Receive me in peace into the eternal tabernacles." Having said these things, and having further glorified the Lord, he gave up his spirit, while those who were present were weeping and grieving at his departure. After the exit of his blessed spirit, Maximilla, caring not at all for those standing by, approaching by herself, released the remains of the blessed and first-called ^D Apostle Andrew, and having performed the customary care, she buried him near the seashore. There she remained enclosed, and stayed there separated from Aegeates because of his bestial disposition and lawless way of life. Although he implored her much and promised that she would again rule and be mistress over all his possessions, he could in no way move her; but having chosen a holy and solitary life, through love for Christ, with Ephidamia remaining with Maximilla, she passed her days serving the Apostle and ministering to the brothers, until she gave up her final breath. But when Aegeates could not make her subject to him, he rose up mad in the night, with deep silence reigning, and deceiving everyone, he cast himself headlong from the high rooftop of his praetorium. And thus he expired, according to the prediction. [alt-version omitted]

and empty of the love of Christ, remaining with Maximilla and Ephidamia, lived on, serving the apostle and being ministered to by the brothers until her last breath. But when he was unable to move her to be obedient to him ^A, in a rage he arose at night, in the deep silence, and slipping past everyone, threw himself down from the great height of his own praetorium. And thus he breathed his last according to the prediction and prophecy of the blessed apostle. Stratocles, his brother, would not touch the property left behind by him (for the wretch died childless), saying: "Let your things, Aegeas, go with you; for we have no need of these, as they are abominations. But may Christ the Savior be my friend, and I his servant; and I entrust all my things to him. In whom I have believed and pray, yielding to his blessed teachings, that having become a partaker with him, I may be received into his incorruptible and never-ending kingdom." ^B And thus the tumult of the crowd ceased, with everyone rejoicing at the unseemly, untimely, and sudden fall of the impious and most lawless Aegeas. The holy and first-called apostle Andrew finished his course on the thirtieth day of November, while our Lord Jesus Christ reigned over us, to whom be glory and power now and always and unto the endless ages of ages. Amen.

Variæ lectiones.

OF EPIPHANIUS THE MONK, THE HAGIOPOLITE, OUR SPIRITUAL FATHER: A NARRATIVE IN THE MANNER OF A GUIDE, CONCERNING SYRIA, THE HOLY CITY, AND THE HOLY PLACES THEREIN.

^C First, when you have crossed to Cyprus, inquire for Tyre. From Tyre you take a journey of eight days to the South, and here is the holy City. In the middle of the holy city is the holy tomb of the Lord; and near the tomb is the place of Calvary, where Christ was affixed to the cross: whose height is thirty-six steps. Below the place of the crucifixion of the cross is the church of Adam, and the tomb of Adam. And in the space between these

^A is the garden of Joseph; and to the north side of that garden is the prison where Christ was enclosed, as well as Barabbas. And in the middle of the prison and the crucifixion is the gate of Saint Constantine, in which the three crosses were found. And above the gate is the shrine ^B where is placed the cup from which Christ drank the vinegar and the gall; and it is like a green vessel of Venetian glass, encased in silver. In the same place is stored the basin in which Christ washed the feet of his disciples: and it is of marble. There lies the lance, and the sponge, and the reed, and the crown of thorns, and the shroud, pure like the shroud which the Apostle Peter saw in heaven, representing every animal; on one side were those which are consumed, and on the other those which are not consumed, and all that is common or unclean, which they say ^C was shown by the archangel Gabriel. Near this is the patriarchate; below the patriarchate is a church without a throne, which is soon to be enthroned by a council on account of the persecution of the Saracens. And on the left side of Saint Constantine is the image of the most holy Theotokos, which forbade the blessed Mary from entering the temple on the holy day of the Exaltation of the Cross; where she also gave the surety. And on the left side is the house of Joseph; and below the house is a four-columned structure ^D where Saint Helena met the funeral of the maiden, and having placed the three crosses, the maiden spoke on the Lord’s cross. And to the east of them is the Sheep Pool, having five steps, which are called porticoes. And near it is the Holy of Holies, where the blood of Zacharias is congealed, and the hanging stone, and the temple of Solomon, enclosed by a wall. And at the western gate of the holy city is the Tower of David, where he sat upon ashes and wrote the Psalter. On the right of the tower is the Lithostrotos, a small church where Judas betrayed the Lord. To the right of the Lithostrotos is Holy Sion, the house of God. And at the great gate, on the left, is the place where the holy Apostles washed the most holy Theotokos after her passing. And on the right side of the same gate is the vent of the fire of Gehenna. And near it stands the stone at which they scourged Christ our God. And in the holy small doors of the sanctuary are the footprints of Christ, where he stood being judged by Pilate. On the right side of the sanctuary is the upper room where Christ dined with his disciples. And in the same place is depicted the Pharisee boasting, and the Publican humbling himself. And in the apse of Holy Sion, that is, of the Praetorium, is a small four-columned structure. Where there is a hearth, in which place holy Peter was questioned by the maidservant, and denied Christ for the third time, and immediately the cock crowed. And in the same place is the house of Pilate, and of Annas, and of Caiaphas, and of Caesar.

^A Outside the city to the right, near the wall, is the church where Peter went out and wept bitterly; and to the right of the church, about three bowshots away, is the pool of Siloam, where the blind man washed and received his sight. To the right of that is the Field of the Potter, in which were given the pieces of silver, the price of Christ, and where the dead are buried even to this day. Further, to the right are the trees upon which Judas hanged himself.

In the southern part of the holy city, about two miles off the road, is the tomb of Rachel. And again, at a distance of about six miles, is situated the holy Bethlehem, in which town Christ was born. There is a very large church there of the most blessed Theotokos. Below the holy table is a double cave; and in the eastern part Christ was born, while in the western part is the holy manger—the two caves are together. They are gilded and decorated with icons just as they were in reality. Towards the northern side of the cave is the well which has no bottom, and in the water of the well is the star which accompanied the journey of the Magi. On the left side of the same church are the paternal possessions of David. To the east of Bethlehem is the monastery called the "Fold," where the angel appeared to the shepherds and said to them: "Cease keeping watch over the flocks; cry out, praising." To the south of Bethlehem are the two monasteries of St. Sabas and St. Chariton. Further to the south of these monasteries, about two miles away, live two other Fathers, Dionysius and Theodosius. ^{B C}

To the west of the holy city, nearby, are two caves containing the relics of the holy Innocents who were slain by Herod. It is about six miles to the west of them. There is Mount Carmel, the paternal property of the Forerunner; and to the west of Mount Carmel, about eighteen miles away, is Emmaus. There Cleopas walked with Christ, but he did not know that He was Christ. Again, about eight miles from that same place is Ramble, and near Ramble is the town of Diapolis. There is Saint George, where the relics of the holy great martyr George are entombed, a very large church. Upon the holy table lies the Wheel. On the right side of the temple stands a column to which the Wheel was bound, and in memory of the saint, blood flows for three hours. In the same column there is a perforated marble which produces signs: if you have confessed your sins, you can pass through without hindrance; but if you have not made confession, you cannot pass through. To the west of Saint George, about four miles away, is the Water of Testing and the stones of barrenness, which stand in reproach, of which the prophets say: "When we are silent, these stones shall cry out." ^D To their west, at a distance of one day's journey, is the castle of Ascalon, where are buried the holy

^A Anargyroi, Cosmas and Damian. There is also a place where Joseph met his father, and worshiped upon the top of his staff, and performed his greeting and embrace. In this same place, the most blessed Theotokos took food with Joseph and the Son at the castle called Pharma; and this is the beginning of Egypt.

And toward the west, at a distance of nearly two days' journey, is Tamiathin, the exile of Christ, a great castle. And toward its western part, at an interval of about four days' journey, is the city of Alexandria, where lie ^B Saint Mark the Apostle and Evangelist, and Athanasius the Great, and the venerable Troilus, and also Saint John the Almsgiver, and Saint Peter, the end of the martyrs, and Apollinarius the orthodox, and the confessor Vitalius, and the five virgins who made themselves in the likeness of the five wise virgins. And at the harbor of Alexandria stands the tower called Pharas, the first among wonders. It is constructed of glass and lead, to the height of three hundred and six cubits. And toward the west of Alexandria, at about nine miles distance, lies Saint Menas. And after another nine miles lies Saint Theodora, who had her name changed to Theodore, and was accused. And toward the south of Alexandria, at a distance of six days' journey, lies Saint Macarius the Great, who drew near to paradise. His monastery contains a thousand abbots and a thousand cells. It is, moreover, a castle in itself. And from Saint Macarius, at about four days' journey, are the thirty-six storehouses of Joseph; and from there you pass the river Phison on a bridge supported ^C by eighty boats.

And thence you enter great Babylon, to the kingdom of Pharaoh. And toward the east of Babylon, at about six miles distance, lies the holy and great Arsenius; and at a distance of four days' journey further to the east of him lies Saint Anthony. And from Saint Anthony, at a journey of about two days, is the Red Sea, and the stone where Moses stood, and as he signed the sea, it was cleft into twelve parts according to the tribes, and he passed over with his people. And the crossing was eighteen miles. Near the same stone where Moses stood, petroleum flows. And having departed from there, they arrived at Raithu, where the seven hundred Fathers were killed by the Barbarians. In that same place there also stands the steep rock which Moses struck, and waters flowed forth. And from this same place, at about five days' journey, is Mount Sinai, where God spoke to Moses, and he saw His back. And near it is the monastery, Saint Bati, and the stone where Moses stood, beholding the bush burning ^D and not being consumed. And near the monastery is the furnace, where they melted the gold and the silver and brought forth the calf's head, in which they believed as a god. And in the same place are the tombs of the Hebrews, those six hundred and eighty thousand. And near the monastery is viewed the ladder of Mount Sinai, which has seven steps. And there is visited the cave in which he fasted.

^A And there stands the cave in which the prophet Elias fasted for forty days, for he fled from the face of Jezebel. And in the same monastery lies our holy Father and doctor, the Climax. And near the monastery is the miracle which occurred by the command of God in that very place. Further past another altar, at a distance of two miles from Mount Sinai, Moses and Aaron covered the ark with a veil while the people of the Hebrews were being led by Moses. Departing from the hill of Sinai, you journey for eight days and enter the Thebaid, where Abbot Pastor lies, and his brother, and many others of the blessed and holy Fathers; and from the Thebaid you travel for sixteen days, retracing your steps, to return to the holy City.

And to the east of the holy city, outside the gate, stands a four-column structure, in which Jephonias, having grasped the bier of the most holy Theotokos and having disbelieved that she is the Mother of the Lord, had his hands cut off; and upon his believing, his hands were restored to him. And near it toward the east is the holy Gethsemani, the tomb of the most holy Theotokos. There is a very beautiful church there. And near it is the holy cave, where Christ withdrew with his disciples. ^B And in the cave is the throne of the Son of God and of his twelve apostles, where He is to sit to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. And at the head of the Lord’s throne is a small opening, unfathomable in its depth, and a loud sound issues from it, or rather a great roaring. And they are accustomed to say that these are the souls. And in the same place there are one hundred recluses, as in the case of the Myrrh-bearers, and another Stylite directs them through a window. And near them to the right is the stone of the Manganum, where the holy James, the brother of God, was struck down. All these things are in the Valley of Weeping. In the same place is also the torrent of Kedron, and the valley of Josaphat, and the garden where Christ was betrayed. ^C There is also the Mount of Olives, where He was taken up. Columns stand in a circle, and in the middle is a table; but outside the columns there is not much distance to an impluvium, paved with marbles. Toward the eastern part of the columns, at a short interval, is a niche, and the table stands there, where the Patriarch celebrates the liturgy on the day of the feast of the Ascension. From there, then, at a distance of about a mile, is the place where Christ sat upon the foal. In the same place is an olive tree from which they cut off one branch each year, giving a price for it, and with a procession they enter the city of Jerusalem on the holy day of Palms. ^D From that olive tree, traveling for a mile down the slope, you find Bethany, the tomb of Lazarus. From the descent of the holy City to the river Jordan, in which our Lord was baptized, it is twenty-four miles; the whole way is a descent, and in it is the spring of Mera. Beyond the Jordan, at a space of about three miles, is found the cave in which the Forerunner lived. And there was his sleeping place, in which he rested, a small seat fashioned by nature from the same rock or cave, and a small chamber. There is also a Lad-

- y spring of water inside the cave. And within the chamber is a font, in which the holy John the Forerunner baptized. Thence one proceeds to the village of Capernaum, where Christ our God dwelt. There is the house of the Theologian, where also the miracle of the centurion took place, and where they let down the paralytic with his bed from the roof. And again, at a distance of about one mile, stands a rock ^A bearing the sign of the cross. Where He healed the woman with the issue of blood. And again, at a distance of about a mile, you find a small fort, in which there is a great church, called Heptapegon, where He performed the miracle of the five loaves and two fish. And again, at a distance of about two miles, there is a church, where is the house of the Magdalene in the place called Magdala, where the Lord healed her. Departing from those places, you enter the city of Tiberias; you pass through the middle of the fort, and walk sixteen miles, and find a spring of water, where the nine disciples were left. There is also the place where Melchizedek blessed Abraham. And you go up two miles, and you find Nazareth. And like a bowshot away is the fig tree which Christ cursed, where Nathanael exclaimed to Philip: "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" ^B To the east of them is a staircase of two thousand three hundred and forty [steps]. You ascend also to the school where Christ taught the apostles, saying: "I go away to be taken up; go you also, and teach what I have taught you." Near the school to the north is a church. In the middle of the church stands a stone on which Christ stood, and was taken up. And it is called the holy stone. At the summit of the Mount of Olives to the north, at a distance of sixteen miles, lies the holy Samuel the Great; and to the east of the mountain, at a distance of about a mile, is Bethany, where Christ raised Lazarus. More to the east of Bethany lies the holy Euthymius the Great, and to the east, at a distance of about twelve miles, is a church in the place where Adam sat and wept opposite paradise. Near this same church is the house of Joachim, a monastery. To the east ^C of the monastery, at about four miles, is Jericho; and to the north of Jericho, at about six miles, is Edessa, where Cyrus and John are laid. To the east of Jericho, at about three miles, lies the holy Gerasimus in a small fort. And two miles away is the monastery of the venerable Zosimus the Great, where he lies, and near him the holy Anthimus. And to the east of Jericho, at about eight miles, is the Jordan. There is a small fort there, having a great church, the Holy Trinity. And on the bank of the river is the church of the Forerunner. And in the apse of the church is a solid stone, on which the Forerunner stood when he baptized Christ. And across the Jordan, about a thousand paces away, is the cave of the same

Forerunner. And to the south of the cave, about two miles away, stands the wife of Lot, a pillar of salt, looking backward. And to the east of the vent there is a voice, saying: Woe to Sodom. And it is reported that the cavern emits smoke, and a voice issues from the opening, saying that it is the breath of Hades, where those are bound.

After the baptism of Christ, at a distance of four days’ journey, one comes to the city of Tiberias, to the shore of the lake from which the Jordan flows out, where also the apostles fished. From Tiberias ^B to Mount Tabor, the interval is one day’s journey: and there are four thousand three hundred and forty steps to the ascent of the mountain: and there is a monastery there, and twelve abbots. And from Tabor it is one day’s journey to the great village which is in Cana of Galilee, in which also the wedding took place, where Christ turned water into wine. There is also a monastery in the place where the miracle took place.

Then to the west of Galilee, until the sixth hour, you come to the meadow where the people reclined, and Christ distributed the five loaves. And the meadow is situated in the middle of the lake of Gennesaret and the Sea of Tiberias. And to the west of that same meadow is a monastery, in the place where Christ spoke to the Samaritan woman; and by the same sea, near the shore, is a church where Christ stands; where also there is a fireplace and a small fish. And in the same place ^C Peter walked upon the sea and came to Christ.

And to the west, about one day’s journey, is Nazareth. From Cana of Galilee you proceed to the holy city of Alexandria, and boarding a ship, by the grace of God you go to Romania with great faith and readiness. As for yourselves, into whose hands this writing of the least of monks, Epiphanius, shall come, pray for me in the Lord; for I have written according to the truth of the matter, as I traveled through the places and saw them with my own eyes. But he who narrates otherwise deceives himself, not perceiving the truth. I give thanks to the Lord God, who has strengthened his servants to undertake such a journey and to see these sights: for to Him, our Lord, is due glory with the Father, who is without beginning, and the life-giving Holy Spirit, honor and adoration now and always, and unto the ages. ^D Amen.

A TREATISE ON THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

The Christian religion is true, holy, and pure; and as to the doctrine, we have many proofs that if we are willing to consider it rightly and piously, we realize that all other religions are surely false, fictitious, vain, and superstitious, while this one alone is the seeker and discoverer of truth; that the others promise their followers things that are earthly, temporal, and fragile, whereas this one adorns its worshippers most beautifully with celestial, eternal, and immutable goods, and finally with perpetual happiness. But for those who desire to reach the truth of this religion of ours, it is strictly necessary to strip the soul of vices, to clothe it in virtues, and to lead a life that is holy, just, and innocent. For just as a tongue impeded by the heat of a fever cannot taste the sweetness of wine; or an eye occupied by certain evil humors cannot behold the clarity of light; so the mind, obscured by the darkness of sins and oppressed by the weight of vices, cannot in any way reach the point of contemplating divine mysteries. Therefore, the lips of the prophet Isaiah are cleansed with a coal taken from the altar, and thus he is rendered fit for preaching. From this we think it has come about that the traditions of our religion seem to many to be ravings, who, since they have opened the way to vices and closed it to virtues, think that the doctrine is foolish which wards off pleasures, restrains enticements, condemns incontinence, prohibits luxury, and testifies that our senses are to be governed by reason, virtue, and holiness. For when truth is made known to men by a divine gift, and all truth is from the Holy Spirit; and since the wicked and those addicted to vices cannot possess the grace of the Holy Spirit, the Lord saying: *Upon whom shall my Spirit rest, except upon the humble and the quiet and him who trembles at my words?* What wonder then, if the sinner is unworthy to have the sublimity of the Christian religion revealed to him? For he who has wallowed and plunged himself entirely into the mire of worldly pleasures, like a pig in the mud, how can he gaze upon such profound truth and such lofty and secret mysteries? If men, for the most part, understand less of these things than they would wish, it is to be ascribed to our infirmity ^A, which, since it proceeds primarily from sins, truly renders us inferior for considering this sublime truth. Whoever, therefore, wishes to understand the dignity and excellence of the Christian religion primarily, and to behold its hidden treasures, let him first strive to cleanse his own conscience; and searching diligently the lurking places of his soul, if he finds anything which can justly offend God, let him cast it far away, and prepare himself as a clean and pure receptacle for God. And though we, as men, are subject to sins (for no one, as the Scripture says [*], can boast that he has a pure heart), we nevertheless take the utmost care and expend all effort ^B toward the goal that, walking in the path of divine commandments, we may at least offer a devout and humble will to the Lord. And therefore, trusting in His goodness and mercy, who hears the prayers of those hoping in Him and does not despise those trying to do well according to their powers, we have presumed to write something about the excellence of our faith, by which unbelievers may be instructed if it is possible, and instructed believers may be made stronger and more robust.

One may behold the dignity of the Christian religion first from its Institutor and Author itself, and since it was instituted by a divine mouth, and has God alone as its author: what wonder if it far precedes all other doctrines, disciplines, and religions? For what is instituted by a more worthy, wiser, and more excellent ^C source ought by right to be preferred to those things which are established by lower ones. Thus the decrees of kings are preferred to the sanctions of leaders and counts; and those things which are commanded by greater and more excellent magistrates are to be followed with greater observance as being more worthy. What, however, is more worthy? What is greater? What more excellent, than to have that supreme and wisest Creator of all things, God, as the author of one's own profession? Greater dignity is added to this matter; because God did not deign to hand it down to us through angels, not through men, not through legates or messengers, but through His own Son, co-eternal and consubstantial with Himself, whom He sent from His bosom into the womb of the Virgin, so that

^A He might make man, born of the Holy Spirit and conversing among men, worthy of Himself, while the human race was surrounded by the shadows of the greatest and most numerous errors. He wonderfully brought help through this most salutary law of truth. For what can be more illustrious? What more excellent? If any of the kings and princes were to send some great and useful gift to a city or a people subject to him, and were to do so without anyone asking, but out of the generosity of his own spirit, it would certainly be judged excellent on account of the greatness of the sender. But if so much splendor and ornament were added to that gift, such that he who bore it was the prince’s son, and indeed his firstborn, what could be called more worthy of such a gift? What greater? What more precious? Therefore, this religion of ours is far more excellent than that old law which was given to the people of the Hebrews. For even though both that one and this, our own, had God as their author, it was not transmitted to men through the only-begotten Son of God, but first through Moses, and then through other messengers and prophets chosen by the Lord Himself; who, since they were mere men and subject to the law of common human infirmity, could not bring any splendor to the doctrine they were preaching. And furthermore, that old law was given to one people only, to one nation: but this one embraces all men thoroughly, provides for all, shows the straight path of truth to all, excludes no one, and makes no difference of age or condition, but kindly and mercifully invites all to eternal blessedness through the path of virtues. For since all, as the Apostle says*, had turned away from the truth and wandered from the worship and knowledge of the true God, and this disease held everyone subject to it, a salutary medicine was necessary for all. For when men had departed far from the contemplation of God through sin, and our mind could not rest in idleness, it turned itself to the consideration of earthly and corporeal things: and so, little by little, being bound by corporeal enticements by a forgetting of divine things, and observing only the present and corporeal, it began to think that there was nothing more than what it saw; nay, it even began to think that these human and corporeal things were the only goods; and, having completely forgotten that it was constituted in the image of the true God, it no longer turned itself to behold or contemplate God Himself, by whom it had been created. Enclosed, therefore, only by sensible things, and enticed by the vain allurements of the age, it imposed the name of God upon corporeal sensations, upon worldly and corporeal things, and began to worship only those things in which, seduced by error, it thought true felicity consisted. Hence, it called the ether and the air, and what is in them, as well as the elements and the qualities of corporeal things—namely, heat and cold, moisture and dryness—gods; and thus, little by little, finding error upon error, it assigned divine honors to images of men, partly to the living, and partly to those already dead. ^B Hence, vain and most foolish cults of idols and images were invented by the errors of men; for since they loved this or that man more than God, they worshipped, honored, and venerated him, both living and dead, and in token of special affection exhibited divine sacrifices to him, adored his erected image as if it were God, dedicated houses, built temples, and offered vows as to God. But as the enticements grew from day to day, and men were submerged more and more in the mire of pleasures, what had to happen? But after they alienated themselves from the knowledge of the true God, this impiety was increased as much as possible, as Scripture says: *When the impious man comes into the depth of evils, he becomes contemptuous*. So great, therefore, did human folly become, that it did not fear to call not only men, but stones, and woods, and reptiles, both aquatic and terrestrial, and even most savage beasts, and even most terrible and filthy monsters, by that most holy and glorious name of God. But the audacity of fools did not rest even here. For others consecrated pleasure and lust—most shameful vices: just as the poets handed down to us that among the Libyans, Cupid, and in Paphos, Venus, that most shameless woman, were venerated. Hence the rites of nefarious sacrifice, hence obscene cults, and most shameful games, by which human folly constituted by decree that its gods were to be appeased, whose stench and filth ^C and obscenity anyone who reads must certainly worship and venerate the truth, from which men falling away came to such madness, that one who seemed unworthy of honor to good men, him they exhibited as if for religion to their own gods as a greater sacrifice. It would indeed be too long, and quite alien to our purpose, to recount all those errors into which men fell who turned themselves away from the knowledge and love of the true God. For since God Himself, as Scripture testifies, is the way, the truth, and the life*, what is the wonder if those who strayed from the straight way fell into various windings and errors? For the straight path is one, from which if anyone turns aside, it is necessary for him—even unwillingly—to be tired out by great labors, and to wander and err in many ways through pathless places.

To these so many and so great shadows of errors and sins, by which the whole human race was held fast, at last the compassionate and merciful Lord, at the time which His own inscrutable wisdom disposed, deigned at last to succor and help us. And so that the mode of help might be more worthy and excellent, in that it might be done through a more worthy Mediator, He sent to us—not an angel, not a man, as we have said, so that He might free us from these errors—but His own only-begotten Son, whom He sent so that ^D He might be with us, that He might live with us, that He might speak to us, and might pass on this most holy law and doctrine of truth...

and confirm it by word and example. For the sake of our fragility and the corruption of human nature, He put on human flesh in a virginal womb, so that ^A thus new, and miraculously born beyond the order of nature, not merely man, nor merely God, but God and man, He might preach this new, wondrous, and as it were supernatural law to all men, and might illuminate the minds of mortals, and teach them that, having abandoned the darkness of errors and the enticements of sins and false flatteries, they should embrace virtues, and be led also to the knowledge of the true God, by whom and for whose sake they were created; whom, once known, they should love with their whole heart and whole mind, and honor with a holy and devout sacrifice; serving Him at length continuously, walking also in the paths of His commandments, they might most worthily be called to that eternal blessedness, to the company of the celestial spirits also: where, according to the Apostle, not through a glass in a dark manner, as in this age, but with face revealed, we shall contemplate that divine majesty; in which the highest happiness and immense pleasure of man exists, as no one unless entirely demented will deny. This is the sum of this our evangelical tradition; in this alone its strength hangs; to this its precepts as well as its counsels are instituted: this is the end of our most pious and most merciful legislator; this is His intention; this is what He Himself by His Only-begotten, whom He sent to bring this law, instantly urges, exhorts, demands, and requires; so that He who by creating all things from nothing showed His supreme omnipotence, and by ruling and governing ^B created things in such great order, might at length demonstrate His infinite clemency and mercy by rescuing us in this wondrous way from sins and errors.

Nothing, therefore, can be found more worthy, nothing more excellent, nothing more fruitful than this our Christian profession; whether we may wish to consider diligently the dignity of the legislator, or the institution, or the holiness of the traditions themselves, or the glory of eternal happiness to which we are called. But so that the most wise legislator might not omit anything which could pertain to our salvation, He instituted certain most sacred sacraments, as most wholesome remedies for our fragility, by which, as if by certain medicines, He might be able to relieve our infirmities. For just as it does not suffice for a physician, once the adverse state of health has been driven away, to induce good health, unless he also applies those remedies by which good health is preserved and, if ever a disease occurs, defense is provided against it by due medicines: so that supreme and omnipotent God deemed it not to have been sufficiently satisfied for His infinite wisdom, nor for our salvation, if He had only called us by His grace from vices to virtue, and from errors to the path of truth, unless He had also found remedies, by which, as if by certain aids, we might preserve this His grace in us: and as if, when we might lose ^C it through our fragility, it might be in our power to recover it through these salutary aids. And these are the following: baptism, penance, confirmation, eucharist, matrimony, order, and extreme unction. Such is the force of these, such is their power, that if they are administered rightly and lawfully, they are able to cure us from every wound, however lethal, and from pestilential disease, and to restore us to most beautiful health.

To me, considering all these things, and very often piously and religiously revolving them in my mind, nothing seems greater, nothing more wondrous, than the sacrament of the body and blood of the Lord, which we call the eucharist: upon the contemplation of which, as often as I intend, I am struck with wonder in a wondrous way, and I know that because of the sweetness of so great a thing, my mind is carried out of itself: which I do not doubt can happen to anyone considering it attentively. For who will not marvel in the highest degree, when he hears that the corruptible substance of bread and wine is transmuted by the ministry of the priest into the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ? When that evangelical reading rings in his ears: *Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.* And elsewhere: *My flesh,* He says, *is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed; he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him.* Truly the human mind is stunned, and ^D at such words it trembles entirely, and in the admiration of so great a thing it is for the most part carried out of itself. And when, with the knowledge of so wondrous a sacrament, the intellect eagerly desires to search the depth of those mysteries which lie hidden within it, overwhelmed by the magnitude of such great secrets, yielding in the effort itself, what it understands less perfectly, it admires all the more, saying with the Prophet: *He hath made a remembrance of his wonderful works, being a merciful and gracious Lord: he hath given food to them that fear him.* And truly it exceeds all admiration, it surpasses all wonders, because under the species of modest bread and wine, the true body and blood of Christ are taken by the faithful through communion. Whence when I consider the magnitude of divine works, I judge this to be supremely admirable, venerable, and to be handled with great trembling. For it was indeed an admirable and excellent thing to create this machine of the world, adorned with the variety of so many heavens and elements, and their spheres, and of so many diverse things; to set the sun over the day, the moon and stars over the night; to distinguish the seasons; to dispose the courses and motions of the heavens and stars; then to produce into this world the innumerable genera of birds, of fishes, of terrestrial animals, of trees also and fruits, and of other things for the use of men; and finally to distinguish man himself from other living creatures by the dignity of reason and speech. But when I turn myself to this sacrament of the body and blood, nothing seems to me more wondrous,

^A nothing more holy, and nothing to be handled with greater devotion, in which the Creator is joined to the creature, corruptible substance is transformed into incorruptible, and under the small appearance of bread and wine, the Creator of all things is placed through the miraculous utterance of words. For, in this sacrament, the force and power of nature are overcome, the common law is conquered, the divine power is shown most greatly, and we perceive one thing with our senses, while we are compelled to believe another by faith. For what, I ask, is as contrary to nature as that accidents should exist by themselves without a subject to sustain them? Since it is the nature of accidents that they belong to another, and cannot by any reason subsist by themselves, who will not marvel at this principal and singular miracle, where after the priest's consecration, there is quantity without extending anything, roundness without making anything circular, whiteness without whitening anything at all? For the substance of bread and wine is transubstantiated through the ministry of the priest into the body and blood of Christ, as the true and undefiled faith of our religion declares and affirms; what remains, which might have the power to receive and sustain within itself the quantity or quality which we perceive with our senses? But even under any particle of so great a sacrament, Christ is whole and entire: He, I say, and no other, who was born of a virginal womb, who was seen and conversed among men, who hung on the cross, who finally ascended gloriously to the heavens; He, I say, not leaving the right hand of the Father at the voice of the priest, is nevertheless contained under the appearance of bread and wine. These mysteries, so lofty and so divine, which exceed all the force of nature and surpass all the power of human intellect—since only a pious and religious mind, purged of earthly affections, can comprehend them—the benign and merciful Lord has deigned, in every place and at every time, assisting our infirmity, to show the dignity of such a sacrament by certain visible miracles; and to reveal that which is perceived by intellect and faith alone through external and sensible objects, and through these things which we know by sense, as if by a certain staff showing the way, we are more easily led to the knowledge of invisible things. But among the many miracles ^D which the Lord has worked everywhere in relation to this sacrament, I have decided to bring forward one alone, which I have known to be true by the faithful account of holy men. There is a place near Jerusalem, which the faithful visit with great devotion and frequency, where the evangelical history hands down to us that the true body of our Redeemer, assumed from the Virgin, after very many injuries, bitter insults, and cruel wounds, was fixed to the gibbet of the cross for our redemption, and being dead, was buried by the hands of Joseph. In this place a church has been built according to the Christian custom, in which divine offices are celebrated by the professors of our religion, who, visiting the tomb of the Lord, are refreshed with heavenly food and return more faithful and more devout. ^A Certain persecutors of Christians used to approach this church, mocking our sacrifices, or disturbing the Christians intent upon prayer therein, whom they would drag away and sometimes persecute with great injuries. It happened, however, among others, that a certain chieftain and prince of the infidels, a most bitter opponent of the Christian name, turned aside to this place, in order to examine all the sacrifices and ceremonies of our law; which, as he did often, so especially on that day which the Church celebrates and venerates on account of the most sacred supper of our Savior with His disciples, in memory of which we receive His true body and blood, taught by Him who, when He was at supper, and had communed all His disciples in the sharing of His body and blood, straightway added, saying: *Do this in my commemoration* 10. A priest stood before the altar, admonishing each one that they should do penance for their sins, and redeem them with tears, sorrow, and groaning, and that they should prepare themselves most devoutly for the reception of such a great sacrament, and be mindful of the words of the Apostle, who, writing to the Corinthians, wishing to excite the hearts of men so that they might receive so admirable a sacrament worthily, said: *But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice; for he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord* 11. Meanwhile, the innumerable voices of those praying could be heard, the beating of breasts, the wailing and weeping and most loud groaning, which seemed to show no moderate grief for sins and true contrition of heart. For he who is repentant of sin declares, in truth, that he would have preferred not to sin, rather than to repent. When that infidel observed this attentively and considered it diligently, he fell into a great admiration of such lamentations and such devout actions, and turning all things over within himself, he began to judge that the institution of these things had proceeded not so much from men, as from God Himself, who rejoices most when men exhibit a devout service to Him with a pure heart and a clean mind. But after the priest had admonished those standing around to compunction of heart, grief, and penance for sins, as we said, he turned to the altar and performed the rest in the prescribed manner, and under the appearance of bread and wine, consecrated the sacred body and blood of Christ by the ministry of the words. Which having been done, trembling and groaning, he began to distribute the same to the faithful who had gathered there for that purpose, as devoutly as possible. But when the sacrament itself was handled by the priest's hands, and that infidel was observing all things accurately, just as it pleased the Creator of all, it seemed to him that he saw a certain little lamb, whiter than snow, existing on the altar. Which thing, when it turned him into astonishment beyond what could be told or conceived: from which

^A he began to expect the end of so admirable a thing with much greater avidity. But when, according to custom, all stood with bended knees before the altar, and the priest had begun to distribute this sacrament to each one: behold, to the former miracle another no less great is added. For to the unbeliever observing what was being done by the priest, it seemed that some of those who had gathered to receive this sacrament, because they had not approached truly purged nor perfectly cleansed, were not receiving it under the appearance of bread and wine, but under the various and horrible appearances of other things. One, therefore, was seen by him to be taking up bark, because he perhaps, as far as we can interpret by human wit, had clung not so much to the marrow and sense as to the bark and the words of the divine Scriptures, and had taken care not so much to be, as to appear and be judged good. Another was seen to be grinding hair and locks of hair with his teeth, because he had approached the communion of so divine a thing unworthy, detained by the allurements and pleasures of this age and by superfluous greed. For just as nature produces hair and bristles from the superfluous humors of the human body: so our mind slips into diverse filth of vices and the greatest transgressions of divine commandments from an excessive appetite for worldly things and pleasures, the Lord Himself saying: *You cannot serve God and mammon*. ^B Furthermore, a third seemed to be taking black coals, as if he had not taken care to make his soul, blackened by the darkness of sins, white and clean through the true and saving remedy of penance. For just as the holy and just are said to walk in the light, so the sinful and impious are said to walk in darkness. For it is the property of virtue and truth to show light to those who follow it: on the contrary, however, it is the property of vices and errors to surround men with darkness; since the Lord says: *I am the light of the world; he that followeth me walketh not in darkness*. Another was taking fire from these in his mouth, as if it were immediately seen to be diffused through his whole body. He, perhaps, had dishonored not only his soul but also his body with the softer and most shameful vice of luxury, on account of which most atrocious crime there came, as the Apostle says: *The wrath of God upon the children of disbelief*; and as the history of sacred reading warns us, those seven cities perished from an execrable fire sent from heaven. Among these there stood one who seemed to have ashes in his mouth: this man, occupied with bodily sloth and the sluggishness of his mind, we can interpret as having not at all busied himself with good and virtuous works. We have heard that a sixth had swallowed flesh and that unclean, inasmuch as, drowned in the illicit pleasures of women, he had never sought for himself through abstinence and continence and healthy penance for things committed: and thus, with an unclean mind and polluted mouth, he had presumed to approach the participation of so most pure a sacrament. After these there was also another, who seemed to be tasting from his mouth ^C gold of the most impure ^D greed, and so bound by an immoderate love of money, that he thirsted for and desired nothing except gold, which kind of vice we can not undeservedly call idolatry, confirmed by the testimony of the Apostle, who calls avarice *the service of idols*. But the last one was he who, receiving the sacred eucharist from the priest, seemed to be illuminated over his whole body with a great splendor of light: from which we can understand that he had rendered himself worthy, with the recesses of his soul purged and his conscience cleansed, to receive the true body and blood of Christ; but that the others had involved themselves in the reception of so most excellent a sacrament to the judgment and condemnation of their own souls. O thing most worthy of stupor and admiration! I myself tremble not a little when I observe the divine power, which exceeds all the force and power of nature in these marvelous things, surpasses the senses, and changes the likenesses of sensible things. How often do those who follow the philosophy of the gentiles, and prefer it alone to all disciplines, hear this and similar things, and mock, condemn, and pursue us with curses and insults, and scorn our discourses as if they were certain ravings and empty trifles, and count them of little value; since, considering nothing higher, nothing greater, or more excellent than natural power, they do not at all observe the immense power of God, who created nature itself and all natural things out of nothing. But we who follow the doctrine of Christ, who live by faith and embrace evangelical traditions with our whole heart, judge nothing impossible to God: nay, rather, we confess and believe even greater things than these, with pious faith and pure affection of heart. For as often as we raise the gaze of our mind to the abyss of that divine power, so often do we assert that all things, whatsoever have pleased Him, can be done. Let the faithful, therefore, learn, warned by this so famous miracle, not to approach the communion of so most pure a sacrament rashly nor inconsiderately, but let each one first judge himself, and diligently examine the secrets of his own heart: which when he has cleansed with the saving remedy of penance, let him receive the Lord with great humility and reverence, fearing and trembling in the guesthouse of his inner heart; trusting in His grace and goodness, who alone makes saints and just men from sinners, and has comforted sinners through the prophet, saying: *In whatsoever hour the sinner turns and groans, I will not remember all his iniquities*. With the highest purity of mind and body, therefore, must this sacrament be taken, when we receive Him, the same Lord, who for our salvation was born of the Virgin, walked among men, who gave sight to the blind, gait to the lame, hearing to the deaf, speech to the mute, strength to the feeble, health to the infirm, and to the dead [life].

^A restored vitality and spirit; who purged our sins on the gibbet of the cross, who brought forth the souls of the ancient fathers from the lower world, who rose from the dead on the third day, that by his death he might manifest himself as true man, and by his resurrection as true God; who opened to us by his precious blood the gate of the heavenly kingdom, who then ascended to the heavens, and who finally, after the resurrection of all flesh, will come to judge the evil and the good with a countenance at once severe and benign.

Who, I ask, does not fear? Who does not tremble? Who does not shudder when he considers with himself that he receives, under the appearance of bread and wine, the true Creator of all things, the King of heaven and earth, the Maker of so many wonders, and finally the Judge of the living and the dead? Who is so impious, so sacrilegious, and so unmindful of his own salvation, that he would not prepare himself, would not dispose himself, would not cast off his filth, would not lay aside his stains, and would not finally cleanse himself entirely from every defilement, so as to worthily receive such and so great a guest into his own dwelling? If anyone knew that his prince or some other superior was about to come into his house, would he not adorn it, clean it, and see most carefully that nothing in it be ugly, filthy, dishonest, or sordid, which might in any way offend the eyes or the mind of the visiting guest? If man uses such diligence to receive a terrestrial and mortal man, what purity, what cleanliness, what brightness and adornment ought the human mind to possess, when it is about to worthily receive the supreme and omnipotent God, who is the knower of all secrets, into the inner ^C mysteries of its own breast!

But let us now return to the order of the history from which we digressed a little. The divine service being finished, and all those holy things being duly performed, when all who were present had departed from the Church, that infidel, overcome by admiration of such great things, approached the priest, and addressed him in a friendly and reverent manner, recounting in order everything that had appeared to him at the time of the sacrifice; for he was eager, as one entirely ignorant of divine power, to understand thoroughly what the appearances of so many distinct things in the same sacrament signified, and what meanings they bore. Then the priest, recognizing that the divine hand had been present in this matter, and seeing that the mind of this infidel was struck at once by fear and admiration, began to show him from the holy Scriptures the divine power above all, and then, running through the particulars as much as the shortness of time allowed, he evangelized Christ to him. When he had heard these things attentively and devoutly, and the grace of the Lord was present—who, as Scripture says, ^D alone can make a heart of stone into a heart of flesh, and raise up from stones children of Abraham—he immediately believed in the Christian doctrine and wished to be baptized, and leaving behind idols and errors, asked to be enrolled among the faithful soldiers of Christ. Therefore, after holy baptism, when a dove whiter than snow had settled above his head, the name of Paul was imposed upon him by the priest himself. And this was most fitting. For just as the apostle Paul, after countless persecutions of the Christian law and of all those believing in Christ, was flooded with divine grace, and became from Saul Paul, from enemy friend, from oppressor defender, from persecutor preacher; and became the resounding trumpet of our religion, the chosen vessel, and the apostle of Christ, and finally, preaching our religion most constantly and defending it everywhere intrepidly, departed to the Lord by the martyrdom of his head: so this second Paul, after countless blasphemies of the divine name and persecutions of Christians, as well as robberies, injuries, and murders, was converted to the faith by a divine gift and was then much more ardent in propagating and defending it than he had been in attacking it.

He led his life with the greatest integrity, continence, and severity; chastising his body with fasts, vigils, and scourges, he soon taught it to obey the spirit. He despised all the pleasures and allurements of the flesh: he was always intent upon prayer and the reading of the holy Scriptures. He shunned sleep and bodily rest—unless it were for the preservation of nature and strength—as a plague, knowing these to be the snares of the devil by which he is accustomed to ensnare and capture souls. He maintained the greatest gravity and restraint in all things. He distributed to the poor all the riches he had gathered, so that, naked and unencumbered, he might more easily follow the naked and poor Christ, so that the prophetic saying might not irrationally be applied to him: "He dispersed, he gave to the poor, and his justice remaineth for ever and ever." He trampled underfoot and subdued the cupidities of money and other worldly things. In short, he perfected the parts of his whole life with a certain wonderful goodness and holiness. There was nothing reprehensible in him, neither in speech, nor in gait, nor in appearance; nothing which could offend the eyes of anyone directed toward him. The evangelical doctrine, however, which he formerly mocked, condemned, and harassed, he preached to the peoples most ardently, and for the sake of defending its truth, he very often offered himself for martyrdom.

When, however, he had now spent many years in this most holy conduct, and was a subject of stupor and admiration to all, and especially to those who had known his life before his conversion, it pleased the omnipotent God to call His soldier to Himself, so that he who had struggled strenuously and manfully might receive the due rewards of his merits. Therefore, by an angelic voice, by which he was often wont to be consoled, the end of his life was made known to him; at which news, trusting in the goodness and mercy of the Lord, who never abandons those hoping in Him, he began to feel an incredible joy in his soul, very often repeating that saying of the Apostle: "I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ." Knowing, however, that no sacrifice is offered more pleasing and acceptable,

with a contrite and humbled heart, having made confession of his sins and completed his penance, he humbled himself before God, and most devoutly partook of that admirable and saving sacrament of the body and blood of the Lord, which had been the cause of his conversion. ^A Then, having given himself to prayer, with his body bowed to the earth, his soul flew with miraculous speed to the glorious fatherland of the blessed, accompanied by angels. Many holy men were present who report that a great brilliance illumined that precious body for the space of nearly one hour, and that all who were in the room sensed a sweet odor more fragrant than all aromatics. Those who had the care of burying him concurred that, upon uncovering his body, there was seen in the center of his chest an image of a cross made of his own pure blood, which these letters encompassed in the manner of a crown or circle: "Paul the second, servant of Jesus Christ." Since this matter seemed worthy to come to the notice of many for the honor and excellence of our religion, it was arranged that that glorious body should lie unburied for several days. A great multitude of men came to see it, who, beholding so stupendous a thing, praised the supreme and omnipotent God with many proclamations: "Who alone does great wonders." [Ps. LXXI, 18] But after the fame of so great a miracle was spread far and wide, they committed that precious body to ecclesiastical burial in the Christian manner. The place of the sepulcher is said to be known to few, and that was done for this reason: lest, by the fury and assault of the infidels, the Church should lose so holy, so illustrious, and so distinguished a jewel. It would be too long to recount the benefits which the kind Lord bestows in His goodness upon those visiting that sacred house; for ^B the blind see, the deaf hear, the mute speak, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and all kinds of diseases are said to be cured by the merits and intercession of this holy man.

With how much honor, therefore, and with what praises should we elevate, and with what proclamations should we exalt, this our Christian doctrine! Who will doubt its truth, dignity, and excellence, which, having the supreme God as its author and His only-begotten Son as its mediator, is filled with holy and just teachings, and draws mortals from errors to the truth, and finally makes them partners and participants in the heavenly kingdom? Who would not embrace it, and not join it to himself as a bride adorned with an indissoluble bond? And who would not admire and venerate that saving sacrament of the body and blood of the Lord itself, which surpasses all natural power, and not judge that it must be received with the greatest purity of heart? The holy Church teaches that the divine power is accomplished through the ministry of the priest, in which the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, offers Himself to us to be eaten in the same way ^C that we confess and believe He was born of the Virgin; and whoever receives Him worthily shall be numbered in the society of the blessed, but he who receives Him unworthily shall be consigned to eternal punishment. Therefore, I believe that the pious and merciful God must be entreated and appeased with holy works, that He may illuminate our hearts with the splendor of His grace, and so direct and dispose our actions in the path of His commandments that, when we must depart from this fragile life, we may receive this admirable sacrament worthily, so that we may merit to be aggregated to that most holy assembly of blessed spirits, He Himself inviting us to such sweet banquets.

YEAR OF OUR LORD 1042. SYNODAL CONSTITUTIONS OF ALEXIUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE.

See volume CXIX of this Patrologia Graeca, in the collection of the synodal sentences of the patriarchs of Constantinople, col. 743 and 1009.