ON ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR AND SS. RIPSIME AND GAIANA: BISHOP OF ARMENIA AND CONFESSOR,
IN GREATER ARMENIA
MORE PROBABLY BETWEEN CCCXXV AND CCCXXX.
PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.
Gregory, bishop of Armenia, in Greater Armenia. (S.)
Ripsime, virgin and M., in Greater Armenia. (S.)
Gaiana, virgin and M., in Greater Armenia. (S.)
The companion Martyrs, in Greater Armenia.
BY J. S.
§ I. The commemoration of St. Gregory in the sacred Fasti: likewise of SS. Ripsime, Gaiana and their Companions, whose number is assigned.
The Menæa, Menologies,
Synaxaria and other ritual books
of the Greeks announce today with the greatest
consent St. Gregory, first bishop
of Greater Armenia, who is read
to have converted the whole nation
to the Christian faith. The memory of St. Gregory in the Fasti of the Greeks, the Muscovites, It would be useless to recount here all those documents,
both printed and written by hand.
Let it suffice to have said that not even from the shorter Menologies
or Synaxaria — of which we have several in manuscript,
after the fashion of Latin Kalendars, in which
generally only one Saint is announced on each
day, and many days are found empty — is the memory
of St. Gregory the Armenian wanting. The Muscovites followed the Greeks
after their custom, in whose Menology and
Ephemeris he is similarly commemorated. But these
frequently announce St. Gregory as a Martyr,
and in some he is called Hieromartyr, as is done in
the Basilian Menology, in the printed Menæa, in the Typicon
of Sabas, in the Slavo-Russian Menology, in two
shorter ones, of which the one is at Florence in
the Benedictine library, the other was copied for our
Elders in the library of Lindebroch.
In certain other Fasti of the Greeks, however, he is not called
Martyr and Hieromartyr, but only Bishop of Greater
Armenia, as it is in Sirlet and
in the Synaxarium of Sirmond; or Apostle, as in the Ephemeris
of the Muscovites. I shall say nothing of others, of which
we have only the names extracted, or Supplements
to the printed Menæa, since I can gather nothing certain
from them.
[2] the Copts, the Arabs, and others, and in the more recent Latin ones; The memory of St. Gregory is announced on the same day also
in the Fasti of the Copts of Egypt and of the Ethiopians
of the kingdom of the Abyssinians, in Ludolf, with these words only:
Gregory, bishop of Armenia. The Martyrology of the Copts agrees,
which was rendered into Latin at Rome
for Melchior Inchofer and communicated to our
Elders. In this, at the XXVI
of September, mention is also made of SS. Ripsime, Gaiana,
and their Companions of both sexes, of whom I shall speak below.
Similarly in the Arabic-Egyptian Martyrology,
which Gratia-Simonius, afterwards archbishop of Tripoli,
turned into Latin, the memory of St. Gregory
is found at this day, and indeed as of a Martyr,
in this manner: The contest of Gregory the martyr, bishop
of the Armenians. There is added, in the Italian Life of the Saint,
after the Martyrologies to be mentioned, the Antiochene one with a long elogium,
and another Arabic one. In the ancient Latin Fasti
I do not find the memory of St. Gregory the Armenian. In
some more recent ones, who found him among the Greeks,
he is announced at the XXX of September with the same variety
about his martyrdom. Molanus has it thus: On the thirtieth
day, of the most holy martyr Gregory, in Greater Armenia.
Baronius in the Roman Martyrology: On the same
day, of saint Gregory, bishop of Greater Armenia,
who, having suffered many things under Diocletian, at length rested
in peace.
[3] These words at the same time teach why in some places he is called
Martyr, in some as a Martyr, in others without that title, everywhere on this day. namely because he suffered many things for the faith,
and why in others the title of Martyr is omitted, namely because
he did not die in the torments, but by a natural death.
He was truly a Martyr, if those things are true which are recorded
in the Acts about the torments inflicted upon him,
since he endured many things of which he must have died, had he not
been divinely preserved, as happened to St. John the Apostle
when he was cast into boiling oil and came out
unhurt. Therefore if he was truly subjected even to one
of the many punishments of that kind which are asserted in the Acts,
he is altogether to be called a Martyr. But
if all those things were exaggerated beyond the truth, and
he endured only lighter ones than such as are apt
to bring death, he will at least be a glorious Confessor, yet
not a Martyr strictly so called, because he did not so suffer
unto death. It is more rightly said that he suffered under Tiridates,
king of Armenia, than under Diocletian the emperor,
even though the latter did truly reign at that time.
Castellain, mentioning Gregory in his universal Martyrology,
notes in the margin that Gregory ought to be placed at
the XXIX of September according to the Menology of Basil
Porphyrogenitus; but in that very Menology
he stands at the XXX, so that it must have been a slip of memory.
[4] Before I recount the other days on which the Armenians
announce St. Gregory for various causes, An elogium of the Saint from the Menology, agreeing with the Acts.
I set forth beforehand the elogium which was composed for him from the Acts
in the praised Basilian Menology, and which
agrees with the Acts: Gregory the sacred martyr, illustrious also
by manifold contest, flourished under the emperor Diocletian,
a Parthian by race, a kinsman of the king of Armenia.
But since he was a Christian, being seized
by Tiridates, who was himself also king of Armenia,
he is tormented with many torments: especially when
he had learned that he was the son of the man who had treacherously killed
his own father. Wherefore, binding him hand
and foot, he casts him down into a deep pit full of wild beasts
and serpents, in which he remained fifteen
years, a certain Christian widow secretly
supplying him with food. But it came about by divine
providence that, Tiridates being seized with madness
and eating his own flesh and feeding with swine on
the mountains, his sister was admonished by a vision
that, unless Gregory were let out of the pit,
Tiridates would never be healed. Gregory therefore, being brought up
out of the pit, baptized Tiridates with all those subject
to his dominion; and being made bishop,
and having erected many churches to Christ and to the name of the Saints,
he ended his life. Like things are read in the Menology
of Sirlet and in the Menæa, and yet more in the Synaxarium
of Sirmond, where at the same time the holy
Virgins are commemorated, to be given below, to whom in the Menologies
and Menæa a separate elogium is given.
[5] Now we shall recount the various festivals of St. Gregory
from two Armenian monuments, The chief festival among the Armenians on the XXX day of September. which
the most illustrious Assemani turned into Latin, and published in
the Bibliotheca Orientalis, volume 3, page 645 and following.
The first is an Horologion for the whole year
according to the rite of the Armenians; the other a Diary or
Lectionary, containing the lives of the Saints. In the Horologion,
at the XXX of September, it is thus read: The finding of the relics
of Gregory. That this is Gregory the Armenian
is clear from the Diary, in which at the same day
it is thus had: The finding of the relics of Gregory the Illuminator.
For he is everywhere called the Illuminator on account
of the Armenians brought to the faith. From this passage therefore
it is gathered that on the XXX day of September, on which St. Gregory
is commemorated by common consent among the Latins, Greeks, Muscovites, Egyptians,
Ethiopians, Syrians, Chaldeans and Arabs,
there is celebrated among the Armenians
the finding of his body; and that this is his chief
festival, as is certainly most likely. For,
as will afterwards be said, he is believed to have died in solitude and to have been there
found dead, so that there does not seem to be recorded
any finding of relics made long after his death,
but the very first finding of the dead body,
which was substituted for the day of his death, because that was unknown.
[6] another on the XVIII of November, and others on other days. In the Horologion at the XVIII of November there is:
The History of St. Gregory; in the Diary, The History of St. Gregory
the Illuminator. This seems another festival,
perhaps that on which a compendium of the whole Life comes to be read.
In the Horologion at the XIX of December: The Vision of St. Gregory
the Illuminator. On the same day in the Diary: The Vision
of Gregory the Illuminator at Vagharshapat. Of this
vision there is treatment in the Acts, chapter 10, and it is assuredly worthy
of an annual festival of the Armenians, if it be true. In the Diary
at the 2nd of March it is also read: The taking possession of the see of St.
Gregory. It treats in all likelihood of the Armenian and of his
bishopric. And indeed his Ordination can be celebrated with a feast
by the Armenians: yet of it there is nothing in
the Horologion. Again in the Diary at the IX of September
there is placed, The descent of saint Gregory the Illuminator.
Some festival or commemoration of martyrdom is insinuated:
nor indeed do I doubt that it treats of the descent
into the pit into which he is asserted to have been cast, that he might die,
just as St. John the apostle was plunged into boiling oil,
the celebration of which deed is performed in the Church
on the VI day of May. In the Horologion nothing about it
is found. To the honouring of the deeds of St. Gregory
there belongs also a festival or commemoration which,
the Horologion being silent, is thus recorded in the Diary at the XXV of August:
And the feast of the Mother of God, when Gregory
the Illuminator took away idolatry, and in place of the image
of a certain woman whom they worshipped set up the image
of the blessed Virgin.
[7] [Likewise recorded in the Fasti are the sons and grandsons of Gregory, and king Tiridates.] It will be useful to recount from the same monuments certain
other things also which show how highly the Armenians esteem
St. Gregory, or in some fashion help to elucidate the Acts.
In the Horologion at the 1st of December:
Of the sons and grandsons of St. Gregory the Illuminator.
In the Diary it is thus read: Of the patriarchs, the sons
and grandsons of Gregory the Illuminator. In
the first at the XXIX of November: Of Tiridates, king of Armenia;
in the other: Of king Tiridates. Singular is what
in the Diary alone at the XXV of October is read in this manner:
The lamentation for the kingdom which fell away from the Armenians, and for the priesthood
which failed from the stock of St. Gregory the Illuminator.
That two sons are attributed in the Acts to St. Gregory,
whom he begot when he was joined in marriage as a young man,
and that one of them was a bishop and his successor in the primacy
of all Armenia, can be seen below
in them, chapters 14 and 15. The other, similarly
recorded in the Acts, the Armenians assert to have been the third primate
of Armenia, and they attribute to him sons
who are here called the grandsons of St. Gregory. As to what concerns
king Tiridates, he is so praised in the Acts
after his conversion that it is not to be wondered at that he is honoured
by the Armenians, if those things are true at least in part.
[8] [The memory of SS. Ripsime, Gaiana and their Companions among the Armenians at the V and VI of October,] But nearer to our purpose belong
the holy virgins Ripsime or Ripsimia, who
is also called Ripsimes by the Latins, and Gaiana with
several others, of whom we treat together with St. Gregory,
because they became known only from his Acts. The first
is read at the V of October, the other with the rest at the following
day in both monuments, though with Gaiana's
name dislocated. At the V of October in the Horologion,
Of Ripsime; at the VI, Of the Calamæ, Virgins.
More correctly in the Diary at the V: Of Ripsime and her companion
Virgins; at the VI: Of Caitona and her companion Virgins.
More correctly in this place companions are attributed to each
Virgin, since each is read to have been slain with several others.
But that at the sixth there is recorded that Virgin
who by the Greeks and Latins is called Gaiana, I do not doubt,
even though the names Caitona and Calamæ differ
notably. For St. Gaiana is said in the Acts to have been slain one day after St.
Ripsime, with three Companions.
Therefore it becomes known from the similarity of the name, such as it is,
from the preceding Ripsime, and from the Companions.
Besides, in no other place do I find Gaiana in those Armenian
Monuments, whereas it does not become likely
that the Saint was passed over in them,
or reckoned without name among the Companions.
[9] More corrupted are the names of Ripsime and Gaiana
in the Coptic Fasti. among the Arabs and Copts at the XXX and XXVI of September: Yet from comparison I gather
that in them also their memory is celebrated. In
the Arabic-Egyptian, which Gratia Simonius turned from Arabic into Latin,
at our XXX of September there follows after
St. Gregory thus: The contest of the holy
Rabsimis and Gaëtana, martyrs. Here the names are in some fashion
recognized, especially since they follow after
St. Gregory. But they are more difficultly recognized
in the Fasti of the Copts in Ludolf, where at
the XXIX of the Ethiopic month, or at the XXVI of our September,
they are recorded with these words: Arsima and her mother
Agatha with the Virgins. Nevertheless, as
Castellain in his universal Martyrology already suspected at that day,
those very women are Ripsime
and Gaiana, as I gather from the Coptic Martyrology already
praised, which was turned into Latin for Inchofer,
but in a rough style. For in it at the same day
they are commemorated with an elogium, from which, after the Acts
of St. Gregory diligently read, they become altogether known to me.
The first is there called Arisima, who is Ripsime; the other
Agaieta, who is Gaiana. It is added: And the remaining
Virgins who were with her, and men,
who were all twenty-two. And presently: But Arisima
was tempted in various ways on account of her beauty.
Then the king, who tempted her in vain and
afterwards caused them all to be cruelly slain, is called
Theidad, which agrees well enough with Tiridates; and
their number is seventy-two, of whom
the men are said above to be twenty-two. What is said of the torments
does not much differ from the Acts either,
and at the end is added: But saint Gregory found their bodies
and laid them in a sacred place.
Which burial renders our opinion altogether
certain. That Ripsime is announced on the same day in
a certain codex of Usuard we have already indicated in the Passed Over
at the XXVI of September. I shall give the words below.
[10] The Greeks bring forward St. Ripsime, Gaiana, and the remaining
Virgins An elogium of SS. Ripsime and Gaiana from the Menology, at the XXX of September, sometimes
with a separate elogium, sometimes together with St. Gregory. In
the Basilian Menology they are announced with these words: The contest
of the holy martyrs Ripsimia, Gaiana,
and their Companions. Then this elogium is subjoined: Ripsimia
the martyr and Gaiana were virgins and nuns in the region of Armenia:
and Gaiana indeed was an old woman,
but Ripsimia a young girl, famous for nobility of race
and for exceeding beauty of body.
Wherefore Tiridates, having learned of her beauty,
seized with an uncontrollable love, having seized her
was driving her to an unspeakable embrace. But being made,
by the power of Christ, unable to attain his wish, he lay in grief as though
dead. But the soldiers, overtaking the Saint as she fled,
urge her to abjure Christ. And when
she refused to do this, her garments being torn,
and her hands bound behind her back, they cut off
her tongue, dig out her eyes, and cast her body into the fire.
A little after, being cut down with the sword (in Greek,
cut to pieces with swords), she gave up her soul: and with her seventy
Christian Men and thirty-two women
were slain. But saint Gaiana, the skin being first stripped
from her whole body and her bones bruised with a stone,
is condemned to lose her head. The same things are read in the Menology
of Sirlet and in the printed Menæa about St. Ripsime
and about the number of her Companions, except those things which
I shall presently correct, yet somewhat differently about St. Gaiana.
[11] which in various points dissents notably from the Acts, They seem indeed to have been drawn from the Acts,
as also the elogium which is read in the Synaxarium of Sirmond,
but less accurately, although the Synaxarium comes nearer
to the Acts. Therefore it will be useful to correct the several points here from the Acts,
lest the said elogia should deceive anyone.
First, Ripsime, Gaiana and the remaining Virgins
did indeed live for some time in Greater Armenia.
They did not begin to profess virginity there according
to the Acts; but had fled from the dominion of the Romans
into Armenia. Secondly, agreeable to the Acts
are the things which are said about the vain attempt of king Tiridates
to snatch away the virginity of St. Ripsimia, and
about her flight, in which she was seized. But in
the Acts it is not read — what is asserted in the Basilian Menology
alone — that the Saint was then compelled to
abjure the faith; so that according to the Acts she rather strove
for the guarding of her chastity than for the faith, of
which no mention had yet been made. But Ripsime,
who suffered first, is said to have been slain by these torments.
First her tongue was cut off, then her garments torn,
and the Virgin's sides scorched with lamps: presently
her belly was opened with sharp stones and her bowels poured out: her eyes
also, while she still breathed, were plucked out, and thus either dead
or about to die presently she was left by the soldiers, that they
might proceed to the slaughter of the others. That she was cut down with the sword
is not said in the Acts, nor is there in them any mention of the body
cast into the fire, but only of the scorching of the body
by lamps applied — as the words of the Menæa also ought to be understood,
and they burned her body.
In the Synaxarium somewhat more is said, but we must stand by
the Acts, since all have drawn from them. For even if the Acts
cannot have great authority, as we shall see,
the authority of those must certainly be less
who after some centuries added other things to the first Acts.
[12] as also Metaphrastes in certain points departed from the more ancient Acts. Besides, in the Menæa and Synaxarium the Virgin's body
is said to have been cut to pieces with swords, or divided
into small parts, as also the Greek words of the Basilian Menology have it,
κατὰ
μικρὸν
τοῖς
ξίφεσι
κοπτομένη, cut to pieces
with swords, not cut down with the sword. Nevertheless
that very thing is not read in the first Acts, but only
in Metaphrastes, who to the burning of the Virgin's body
with lamps — which alone the first Acts have — added also
wood; so that it seems clear that it was Metaphrastes who lighted the way
for the collectors of the Menæa and Menologies,
not the more ancient Acts. But what is read in those monuments about the number
of the Martyrs is agreeable neither
to the ancient Acts nor to Metaphrastes. Seventy
Men and thirty-two Women, besides
Ripsime and Gaiana, both Menologies assert,
and the Menæa and the Synaxarium. But the more ancient Acts
have only this, that there were more than seventy
men and women together with the holy Ripsime
and Gaiana, or that they fled with them from the dominion of the Romans
into Armenia; and that of these several came
to the place where St. Ripsime was slain. But they do not
assert that all those were slain who had come into Armenia with Gaiana
and Ripsime.
[13] All the Martyrs according to the Acts thirty-seven, Therefore all the Martyrs according to the Acts,
Metaphrastes also consenting, were thirty-
seven, and met their death in three different places.
The first was Ripsime, whose tongue the fury of the soldiers
is read to have cut off, to have scorched her body with lamps, to have cut open
her belly with a sharp stone and poured out her bowels, and at last
to have dug out the eyes of the dying woman. About the same
place were slain Men and Women, thirty-
two, who had accompanied St. Ripsime in her flight, or
had afterwards followed her. These fell by the swords of the soldiers. Then
one of the Virgins, who was sick, and for that
cause had not been able to follow St. Ripsime and the rest,
was slain on the same day in the place where all the Virgins
had dwelt. On the following day St. Gaiana, taken with two Virgins,
endured by the king's command many
torments, and at last, her head being cut off, ended her life,
as may be read in the Acts in its place. Therefore
thirty-four suffered on the first day, on the following
three others, and thus we have thirty-seven Martyrs.
Those who remained out of all who had set out with Gaiana
and Ripsime into Armenia had been able to escape by flight.
Wherefore the seventy Martyrs who in the Menæa
are separately announced as Companions of St.
Ripsimia are to be reduced to thirty-two, or, if the sick woman
slain apart be added, to thirty-three.
But the two Women who are recorded after them are to be believed
Companions of St. Gaiana. Of the day of the martyrdom nothing
is read in the more ancient Acts. Metaphrastes says
that Ripsime and the rest were crowned on the XXVI of September,
but in all likelihood from some uncertain conjecture.
[14] He who first recorded Ripsime and her Companions
among the Latins, These Saints also recorded among the Latins. and inserted her in the Hagenau
codex of Usuard, followed Metaphrastes, writing
thus in our Sollerius on Usuard at the XXVI
of September: In greater Armenia, of saint Rispina,
queen and virgin. Who, when she had spurned the marriage
of Thiridatius, king of Armenia, for the love
of Christ, was slain with several other Virgins
by unheard-of torments. Even though the name is corrupted,
and she is too liberally called queen, yet there is no
doubt that she is Ripsime herself, whom the author called queen
either because she is said to have been born of royal stock
or because she was sought after by a king. In the same codex
at the XXVII of September these things are read: In Armenia,
of saint Gaiana the widow, and of another Virgin.
But St. Gaiana is asserted in the Acts to be a Virgin, even though
she is sometimes called mother, because as a mother she ruled
the other Virgins: she is also read to have suffered with two, not
with one alone. Galesini recorded both Martyrs with
their Companions at the XXIX of September, and wove for them a long
elogium, in which occur nearly the same errors
which I have already corrected in the Greeks, so that it is not necessary
to recite it or to repeat the same things. As to the day,
Baronius followed Galesini in the Roman Martyrology.
But he more rightly commemorated them briefly with these
words: In Armenia, of the holy Virgins Ripsimis
and her companions, martyrs, under king Tiridates.
§ II. The cult of St. Gregory and of the Virgins: the relics of St. Gregory honoured in several places.
The cult of St. Gregory among the Armenians, Of the notable cult of St. Gregory among the Armenians
a conjecture may be made from the several festivals
which I recounted at num. 5 and following. Clement Galanus
in his Work on the Reconciliation of the Armenian church
with the Roman, part 1, chapter 2, about the Saint's cult in Armenia,
page 39, adds the following: But by the Armenians
his (Gregory's) commemoration is kept three times each year:
first of his martyrdom, and of his being cast
into the pit, where he had lain hidden fourteen years;
secondly of his coming forth from the pit, on occasion of which
they also came forth from the deep darkness of idolatry
and attained to the light of the faith; thirdly, lastly,
of the finding of his body, which they are wont to celebrate more solemnly
and with a five days' fast premised.
Thus he, the days of the festivals being omitted,
which I could wish had been added. The finding of the body, which I called
the chief one at num. 5, is celebrated on the day corresponding
to the XXX day of our September. The festival of the martyrdom
and of the casting into the pit seems to be designated by those words
at num. 6, The descent of St. Gregory, which are placed
at the IX of September. The festival of the coming forth from the pit
may perhaps have been designated by those words given at num. 6:
The History of St. Gregory the Illuminator, which are read
at the XVIII of November. Several festivals are there recounted,
but the three already mentioned will perhaps be those of the whole
nation, the rest either of particular churches only,
or less celebrated.
[16] among the Greeks, from whose ecclesiastical Office The Greeks on the XXX day of September celebrate with a solemn Office
St. Gregory the Armenian, as is clear from
the Menæa and their other ritual books, even the more recent ones.
With many and plainly magnificent elogia in that Office
St. Gregory is celebrated, and together with
him SS. Ripsime and Gaiana. We have also a Latin
translation in the Italian Life by Bonucci, from page
148. The author of the translation was Peter Benedetti,
priest of the Society of Jesus, who also turned many other things
from Greek into Latin. This is the beginning: Wearing the sacred
garment of the martyrs, made purple with blood,
thou hast entered the Holy of Holies with swift step, O
admirable Gregory, where is light ineffable, where is divine
glory, where are voices chanting the festal song:
there, most wise Gregory, thou hast obtained the rewards
of thy labours, and the unfading
crown, and the divine dwelling of paradise. Not
did the cruel tempest of torments shake thy mind,
nor the long imprisonment holding thee in a dark pit,
most glorious Champion: but as a light thou didst shine in the darkness
of vanity full of perils, whom
thou hast made sons of God, most wise Gregory, through
the laver of baptism, and through a better and
saving regeneration, and divine and true
instruction, as a Pontiff breathed upon by God. (For
full of perils read being in peril, that the sense
may be clearer.) Kindled with the love of the immortal Spouse,
the Lord of all, Ripsimia was flayed,
and with the virtue of continence she rent the ignoble sackcloth
of bodily affections: and together with her
the venerable Gaiana also strove, and leading the choir
of Virgins, stood steadfastly in the line of battle, casting down
the supplanter of the old Eve: whom with deserved
honours we follow, and celebrate, O Christ, thy
praises. (For and of bodily read, which formerly
were of the body.) All the rest, in which St.
Gregory is sung in various ways as a most valiant Martyr, as a most excellent
Doctor, as an Overthrower of idols, as the Apostle
of Armenia, I pass over for brevity's
sake.
[17] a few elogia are recited, After another Life which Gravina published
in Italian, there is given another collection of Canticles, versicles,
canons, odes, tones, etc.,
in praise of St. Gregory, bishop of the Armenians,
which from an ancient codex of the monastery of Grottaferrata
were first copied out in Greek, and so translated into the Latin
tongue, as is clear from the testimony added
below. Of these I shall briefly touch a few, since all
are composed from the Acts. First Gregory is praised
as the Hierarch of Christ and prince of the priests,
as the most excellent splendour of the Church,
as one who made those who were in the error of ignorance
sons of light by religious doctrines,
as the intercessor of all who glorify him in the faith.
Then he is celebrated as a Martyr with Gaiana
and Ripsimia. Presently as one who by his preaching led innumerable
multitudes to Christ, and baptized
a million, and stormed the abomination of the idols.
Then the preservation of Gregory
in the pit, and the healing of king Tiridates, are sung.
[18] In another canticle the constancy of St. Gregory in
many and long torments is praised, by which also Ripsime and Gaiana are celebrated. and presently
the virtues and contests of SS. Ripsimia and Gaiana
are touched upon. The same things, always in other and other words,
as is wont to be done in songs, are frequently repeated.
Therefore, passing over the rest, I subjoin only a few things from the seventh Ode:
As another Paul, Gregory,
all Armenia holds and venerates thee;
and through thee it has known the faith in Christ: it has been taught
by thy many sweats, O Martyr: thou hast freed it from the vain
affectation and worship of idols. Then of
the Virgins: Two women (I suspect we should read Deo,
or duæ) bore themselves worthily and manfully, they strengthened
their souls by faith: and despising the flesh for
Christ's sake, they withstood the error of the idols,
and are now adorned with crowns.
Here the Virgins seem to be praised as having suffered for the faith;
but in most places they are more rightly celebrated for their virginity
defended. For although without doubt they were prepared
to suffer for the faith, yet in the Acts they are not read
to have been solicited to deny the faith. I pass over the rest, and
only observe that the festival of St. Gregory is in all likelihood
celebrated throughout the whole church of the Greeks and
Muscovites, and I suspect that the same is done throughout the whole patriarchate
of Alexandria and of Antioch, since
in their Fasti he is commemorated on the same day, as has been said.
Nevertheless, in the Synaxarium of Sirmond, at
the end of a prolix elogium, it is added that the Synaxis or festival
of St. Gregory is performed in the sacred building of saint Theodore
the martyr, which is near the brazen Tetrapylum,
πλησίον
τοῦ
χαλκοῦ
τετραπύλου. In inquiring into the place
where the brazen Tetrapylum was, Du Cange discourses much
in his Constantinopolis Christiana, book 2,
pages 178 and 179. The Saint's festival will have been performed there
with greater solemnity.
[19] St. Gregory the Armenian is honoured also in several
places in the Latin Church, on account of relics translated
thither. The relics of St. Gregory translated, Before I explain this more clearly, it will be useful
to transfer hither what the already praised Galanus hands down
about the relics of St. Gregory, page 37. Having related the Saint's
death in solitude, at first unknown to all,
and the burial of the body by the shepherds who had found it,
he subjoins these things from the Breviary of the Order
of the Armenian Preachers: But in the time of Zeno
the emperor the Saint appeared in a dream to a certain
hermit, and admonished him that, taking his body
away from thence, he should bury it in the neighbouring city of Tuordan;
as indeed he straightway did.
But afterwards, when the emperor of the Greeks had learned of this,
he ordered it to be translated from that place to Constantinople,
a certain part only being left there.
These things being brought forward from the Armenian Breviary, Galanus subjoins
some matters of which I shall treat further at num.
39. Here, however, I shall give his words: But in this part
of the sacred relics left among the Armenians I think that both
arms were included, which now, adorned with gold and precious
gems, are worth more among them
than all the treasures of all riches: and the one
in the city of Vagharshapat in Greater Armenia, in
the patriarchal church, once the see of that same Gregory;
the other at Sis in Cilicia, in the likewise
patriarchal temple of holy Sophia, is honoured with a great
concourse and devotion of the Armenians.
[20] But of the relics first carried to Constantinople,
and thence afterwards into Italy, and of them a part in the cathedral of Nardò, the head at Naples among nuns, the arm,
deposited in the cathedral church of Nardò,
is famous for many miracles, especially in obtaining
rains from the Lord for the citizens, who on that account chose that same
Martyr for their patron. But the most sacred
Head, with the chains and fragments of the rods
with which the Man of God was bound and beaten
for Christ's sake, is most religiously kept at Naples
in a certain illustrious convent of nuns of St. Benedict,
in which there is a temple conspicuous for antiquity,
consecrated to the sacred name of that same most blessed Patriarch,
commonly called Santo Lighuor,
a name corrupted from the Armenian word Crichuor,
which is interpreted Gregory. Hither pilgrims are wont
sometimes to hasten from Greater Armenia itself
to venerate the head of their Patriarch:
whom those magnanimous and most pious nuns never omit
both to receive kindly and fully to satisfy
in their wishes: of whom assuredly, just as their illustrious nobility
of race and of mind is famous enough in that city,
so likewise throughout all Armenia there is most greatly celebrated
their careful diligence in cherishing those precious relics and in honourably
handling them, their piety, their religion;
nay, their kindness also toward the said Armenian
pilgrims.
[21] where several festivals of the Saint are celebrated, Then, after a few words, he says of the cult: On which
day also (the XXX of September) his feast is celebrated
by the aforesaid nuns and by the church
of Nardò, solemnly as a double of the first class with
an octave and a proper Office: but by the clergy of Naples,
on the first day of October, at pleasure, as a lesser
double. To these things the author looks back when below
he thus warns: These last things, he says, I would say especially,
that it may become known to all Armenians that the calumny
of their heretics is altogether false:
who, that they may turn them from obedience to the Apostolic See,
cease not to bruit abroad among the common people that we Latins
do not receive their most sacred patriarch Gregory:
wherefore I have very often had need
to make most of the unwary populace, who complained to me gravely
about this matter, more certain
of the falsehood of the calumny. Thus far the author, who for the same
cause could have added also the other festivals of St. Gregory among the nuns
of Naples and in the church of Nardò,
unless those had afterwards been abrogated —
which I do not think was done. For on the XIII day of June there is celebrated
the Translation of St. Gregory, as was indicated among us at
that day in the Passed Over. Another
festival again is kept on the XIII of October, and this was formerly
called the Solemnity of the Deposition. But the feast
of the XXX of September was called that of the Drawing forth from the pit.
We have the Offices of those three feasts printed at Naples
in the year 1631. In which nearly all things are the same,
the lessons however different. But at that time the Deposition
was celebrated with an Octave on the XIII day of October.
[22] namely on the XXX day of September the chief one with an Octave, But some things about these were afterwards changed, as
I gather from the Office which was printed in the year 1634,
and again from that printed in the year 1636. Of the former, approved,
these things are read at the end: The present Office,
revised and examined by the most eminent and most reverend lord Cardinal
De Torres, the sacred Congregation of Rites has approved,
to be recited for the XXX day of September in the city of Nardò, and
by the nuns of saint Gregory of the city of Naples
under the rite of a double of the first class, and with an Octave,
as in the Roman Octavary; and by the clergy throughout
the city of Naples at pleasure on the first day of October
under the rite of a lesser double without an Octave according
to the rubrics. Given on this XXVI day of September 1634.
It is subscribed: C., Bishop of Porto, Cardinal Pio.
And below: Julius Rospigliosi, secretary. From
this we already have it that the chief festival with an Octave
was then placed on the XXX day of September. After
the Office printed in the year 1636, another decree,
subscribed by the same Cardinal, thus begins:
The sacred Congregation of Rites has forbidden, both in
the city of Nardò and in the city of Naples,
and in any places whatsoever, every other recitation
of a proper Office for the feast day of St. Gregory the Armenian
and its Octave, than that revised and approved
by this same sacred Congregation
on the day XVI of September 1634 — that is, by the decree just
given.
[23] But that the other festivals were not abrogated, but
only the other Offices, others at the XIII of October and the XIII of June without an Octave. The Hymn is gathered from the observation which
is subjoined after this Office in red letters, and which
runs thus: On the days XIII of October and XIII of June,
the aforesaid Office is recited as on the XXX day
of September, without the Octave. It was granted further
to the aforesaid nuns that that Office should be reduced
to the monastic form, and so be printed for them.
In the praised Office, besides the lessons, which are composed from the Acts
written by Metaphrastes in such a way that the deeds more incredible than the rest
are only briefly touched, there are found many things
proper to the Saint, namely all the antiphons, the hymn, the prayer.
But the Hymn at Vespers is this.
O comely light, Gregory,
shine forth upon our minds;
with thee going before, we shall see
the everlasting Sun of grace.
Thou, bright gem among prelates,
art excellent among the martyrs,
through long circuits of the year
having suffered dreadful torments.
Thou, healing bodies with thy word,
and illustrious, enlightening blind minds
with miracles,
didst put demons to flight at a nod.
Far from fleeting goods,
thou didst embrace the things of heaven;
and despiser of the world, thou rejoicest
having gained the rewards of the heavenly ones.
To God the Father be glory,
and to his only Son,
with the Spirit Paraclete,
now and through every age.
[24] The antiphons at Vespers and Lauds are these.
The first: and certain other things from the Office Rejoice, Mother Church; the solemn feasts are here
of Gregory, Pontiff and martyr of Armenia.
2. With a stone tied to his neck, Gregory preached
the Lord Jesus Christ. 3. A solicitous
shepherd of the flock of Christ was Gregory, and a strenuous
vanquisher of demons. 4. He destroyed the temples of the idols
and built noble basilicas for the holy Martyrs.
5. O light of Armenia, who didst worthily deserve to be crowned with martyrdom
and to be numbered among the pontiffs.
At the Magnificat in the first Vespers: O light
of the Church, doctor of truth, pontiff of Armenia,
rule of charity, preacher of grace, pray
for us to the Son of God. Alleluia. In the first Nocturn:
1. He was proved in Christ and found perfect;
therefore eternal glory was given him. 2. Gregory did not obey
the command of the king, who ordered laurel crowns
to be offered to the gods. 3. A herald of salvation, he instructed
the Armenians with Gospel doctrine. In the 2nd Nocturn:
1. Hung upon the rack, Gregory praised the Lord
the Saviour. 2. The Lord glorified him
in the sight of the king, and showed him his
glory. 3. As the sun shining, so did Gregory shine forth
in the temple of God. In the third Nocturn: 1. He was great
in greater Armenia, greatest for the salvation of the elect
of God. 2. He was divinely directed to the repentance
of a nation, and took away the abomination of impiety.
3. Many powers and miracles did the Lord work through blessed
Gregory. Alleluia.
[25] The responsories are with the Psalms from the common
of a Martyr, except the eighth, are recited. which runs thus: Blessed Gregory,
pontiff of Armenia, rejoices in heaven,
crowned with glory and honour, who for the name of Christ
endured various and grievous torments. ℣ The Lord gave
him strength, and his power remained with him even unto
old age, etc. At the Benedictus
this is the antiphon: O excellent Shepherd Gregory, light
of Armenia, who with the host of angels didst see
the King of glory radiant with light, receive the vows of those who pray,
who today sound forth thy praises. At
the Magnificat in the second Vespers: O Gregory, martyr
of Christ, be mindful of us, that helped by thy prayers
we may deserve to attain eternal joys. Alleluia.
Finally this Prayer is read: O God, who through
blessed Gregory, thy pontiff and martyr,
didst grant to the people and to the king of the Armenian nation to receive the light
of the true faith, grant to thy Church to rejoice
in such great triumphs, and to be helped before thee by the merits
and prayers of the same. Through our Lord, etc.
All these things, which are at least probable, and most of them
certain enough, I wished to collect, so that the studious reader,
whom the excessive exaggerations of the Acts will rightly
offend, may have here collected the chief glories of the Saint.
[26] [The Saint patron at Nardò, where his relics are, and honoured also with a monthly Office.] What has hitherto been said of the cult of St. Gregory
in the church of Nardò had its origin from
the Saint's relics carried thither long ago. For, the relics of St. Gregory the Armenian
having been received at Nardò, he was chosen special patron
by that people, as is said in the manuscript documents
of Nardò which were sent hither in the year 1718.
In the same it is asserted that Greek nuns
of the Order of St. Basil, on account of the persecutions raging in the East
and in Armenia against Catholics, fled by
sea toward Italy, and carried with them the body of St.
Gregory the Armenian, and with it put in at Nardò,
and were there most excellently received, and in thanksgiving
gave to the men of Nardò, from the relics they had brought,
the right arm of St. Gregory the Armenian. The time
at which the thing was done is not added. Bonucci in
the Life, page 132, thinks that the matter was done nearly thus
under Constantine Copronymus, in all likelihood from mere
conjecture; and he believes besides, with Galanus,
whose words were given at num. 20, that the body had first been translated
to Constantinople, and that the nuns fled thence;
but he calls the relics of Nardò the wrist.
The praised writer adds, as the said manuscript documents
also have it, that it was at length granted to the men of Nardò by the sacred
Congregation of Rites that, besides
the festivals before mentioned, it should be lawful to perform the Office
of St. Gregory once in each month. This was obtained by
the most illustrious lord Antony Sanfelice, then
bishop of Nardò, in the year 1712 according to our documents,
or 1713 according to Bonucci.
[27] The occasion on which the relics were translated to Naples, less certain. Further, in the praised documents it is asserted besides
that the remaining bones of the Saint, and some instruments
of his martyrdom, were translated by other monks and nuns to Naples.
Baronius in his Annotations on the Martyrology
at the XI day of June, on occasion of the body of St. Gregory Nazianzen
translated to Rome, thus sets forth his opinion about the translation
of St. Gregory the Armenian: But the same occasion requiring it
(namely the flight of nuns taking thought for their chastity),
other nuns fleeing from the East, bringing
also with them the sacred pledges of their church,
venerable relics, and among others the sacred head
of St. Gregory, bishop of the Armenians, when they had put in
at the Campanian shore, were most honourably received
by the Neapolitans; and a temple being erected in
honour of so great a Bishop, and a monastery added,
they there lived holily and piously: and the Neapolitan
virgins succeeding them lived until the present
century under the habit and rules of St. Basil;
although afterwards, when it seemed more fitting that Latin women
should cultivate the monastic life under the rules of Latin
monks, they also subjected themselves
to the rules of Benedict. And these things, when I was at Naples,
I learned from the ancient monuments of that same church.
Thus Baronius, with whom the more recent writers
of the Life of St. Gregory nearly all agree about
the occasion of the Saint's relics being translated to Naples.
These things, however, we cannot hold as certain.
Of the origin and antiquity of the monastery of the nuns of St.
Gregory, Gravina adduced very many things in the Life, part
2, which I pass over, since I cannot from them
attribute to it a certain epoch, or further confirm
the occasion of the translation just related.
[28] Of the number of relics which are kept
at Naples, The head at Naples among the nuns, with others; other relics I do not see that all agree. Baronius in
his Annotations at the XXX of September thus recounts them: His
(Gregory's) venerable head, together with the chains
with which he was bound, and the fragments of the rods
with which he was beaten, translated from the East to Naples,
is most religiously kept in a noble church erected
in his honour among the nuns of the Order of St. Benedict, but formerly
of St. Basil. The same relics only
are enumerated in the Office praised before,
in these words: Christians, fleeing from Armenia
when it was taken by enemies, translated his sacred relics into Italy,
and at Naples laid his sacred head,
with the chains with which he was bound, and the fragments of rods
with which he had been beaten, in
a noble church erected in his honour; but the arm
in the cathedral church of Nardò.
From elsewhere, however, it seems it must be said that several other
relics of St. Gregory are kept at Naples, and that the said
alone are recorded in the Office because they had become better known,
and are kept among those to whom the Office was
granted. Certainly in the manuscript documents of Nardò
it is asserted that the body was translated into Italy, the arm
left at Nardò, and that of those translated to Naples
the head fell to the nuns, and the remainder of the body to the church
of St. Lawrence, which belongs to the Franciscan Conventuals.
[29] With these agrees Joseph Antony de Fabritiis
in the Italian Life of St. Thomas, particles in other churches. But the head was for some time into which he inserted an enumeration
of the relics of the kingdom of Naples. For
at page 130 he writes these things in Italian, which I render into Latin:
In the church of St. Lawrence of the Minor Conventual fathers
is the body of St. Gregory, bishop of Armenia.
That not the whole body is understood, but some bones,
which by a usage common with many are called a body,
is clear from other passages of the same writer. Certainly at page
142 he attributes the head and other relics of St. Gregory of Armenia
to the said church of the nuns, commonly
named S. Liguoro. Besides, at page 112, enumerating
the relics which are preserved in the chapel of the cathedral
church which is called the Treasury, he thus
has it: A part of those relics of St. Gregory, bishop
of Armenia, which are preserved in the Church
called S. Liguoro. Now how many and of what kind
are the bones which are said to be had in the church of St. Lawrence,
I shall not discuss. This, however, I observe, that
the head itself of St. Gregory was also there at the beginning of the seventeenth
century, and remained a notable time in that church,
as Gravina reports in the Italian Life, part
2, chapter 4. He inquires there by conjecture in what
manner this came about, since it is established that the head had before been preserved
in the church of the nuns, as becomes indubitable
even from the testimony of Cardinal Baronius alone:
for Baronius attributes the head to the nuns, and wrote
nearly fifty years before it was afterwards
restored to the nuns.
[30] Therefore the praised Gravina, who wrote a little
after the restitution of the head, [in the church of St. Lawrence, and was brought back to the nuns in the year 1628.] conjectures that the sacred head of Gregory
was committed to the Conventual Religious
by the nuns for safekeeping, but remained so long a time
in their church that they now believed it their own
and refused to restore it. Yet the nuns pressed so hard
with the Superiors of the Conventuals
that the restitution was made, an exchange intervening
with one of the relics of St. Lawrence.
Wherefore, as Gravina testifies at page 185, in the year 1628, on the
VII day of October, the aforesaid head was handed over to the Guardian
of the Conventuals, Paul of Bari, and by him,
on the IX day of the same month, in the presence of several most illustrious
men, carried to the monastery of the nuns,
where it was received with great joy by the abbess
Eleonora Pignatelli. In the following year 1629, on the VI
day of February, a Decree was issued concerning the identity of the head
of St. Gregory, archbishop of Armenia, which
is read printed in Gravina on the IX day of the same
month. By this decree Alexander Lucianus, …
auditor of Cardinal Boncompagni, archbishop of Naples,
and Judge deputed by him in this cause,
a due examination being premised, declared that it lawfully
appeared that the said head, which had been restored,
and another relic, … were the head and relic
of saint Gregory the martyr, bishop of Greater
Armenia. The same he declared of the relic of St. Lawrence
restored by the nuns, and the due veneration of both
is permitted.
[31] Uncertain; whether the body was at Constantinople. Let these things suffice about the Neapolitan relics, of which
some points remain uncertain, namely whether
they were brought thither straight from Armenia, or rather
were first carried to Constantinople, as Galanus believed,
praised at num. 19. This I can scarcely believe,
since I find nothing on that matter among the writers of Constantinopolitan
affairs, nor any mention
of any church of St. Gregory the Armenian, whereas
in all likelihood this would have been built at Constantinople
if the body had been carried thither. Therefore it is uncertain to me
whence the said relics came to Naples.
Equally uncertain does it seem whence the men of Nardò received
theirs, which could easily have been sent thither from Naples.
For we shall presently see that relics of the Saint received at Naples
reached Armenia itself, and thence
Persia. But a few things must first be said of
the Saint's cult propagated at Livorno by the Armenians themselves.
[32] A magnificent church dedicated to St. Gregory at Livorno, Bonucci in the Life of St. Gregory the Armenian, chapter
13, reports that he saw at Livorno a magnificent temple,
dedicated to St. Gregory at the beginning of this century. The foundations
of this sacred building were laid in the year 1701,
as I have it from manuscript notices sent hither long ago from Naples.
The founder was a noble Armenian, whom Bonucci says
to have descended from the stock of Theodatus Oglanchescise,
prince in Albania, and to whom many honours
and various privileges were granted by Pope
Innocent XII: for he was made both a Roman citizen and a Lateran count
and a knight of the golden militia by Innocent,
as the notices transmitted to us also have it,
which likewise have it that the Aga, founder of the church,
was sprung from Theodatus, prince of Albania.
His name was Aga Matthùs Terterenz and
Oglanchescise, and he must have spent an immense sum of money
for the building of the said temple,
since many things in it were built of precious marble,
and others plainly magnificent are enumerated
in the Italian description which I have in the notices sent hither.
This I omit for brevity's sake, especially
since I do not know whether, after the death of the Armenian baron,
who died in the year 1709 and wished to add some further
ornaments, perhaps certain other things were not added.
[33] in which Armenian missionaries perform the divine Offices. In the said church, in the year 1718, in which those notices
were sent to our Janning, the divine
offices were performed by Armenian missionaries from the college
of Propaganda Fide. A double inscription set up in praise
of the founder I transfer hither from the same notices.
The first, above his tomb, runs thus:
To Agà de Matthùs Oglanchescise, an Armenian, baron of Disa
and Cuciabas, knight of the golden militia, count of the Lateran
palace, dear to the highest princes,
and most ample founder of this temple, the Armenian
nation, bound by his greatest merits,
set up this monument of a grateful and mindful mind.
He died on the Ides of September in the year of Salvation MDCCIX,
of his age the LXXIV. The other, placed on the front of the portico,
sounds thus: This temple Agà de Matthùs,
Armenian count and baron, a man of exceeding excellence
and renown, that the worship of God and the Catholic faith
might day by day be more increased by the pious citizens of Livorno,
and above all by the Armenian nation, and that the mind
of all the men of the whole world coming to this city
might more easily seek the heavenly haven,
at vast expense of his own most magnificently erected from the foundations
in the year MDCCI.
Mindful of so great a benefit, the Armenians set up this lasting
monument of a grateful mind. Thus far of
that magnificent temple, which the founder had destined for twelve monks
and an Armenian bishop, but being prevented by death
he could not carry out everything.
§ III. Certain other matters concerning the cult, relics and churches of SS. Gregory, Ripsime and Gaiana among the Armenians in various regions.
At the prayers of a missionary among the Armenians It is now necessary that we go back for a while into
the Eastern regions and add some things
about the cult of our Saints from the letters of the Missionaries.
The praised Bonucci at the end of the Life, page
200, recites a Letter of Father James Villotte, missionary
of the Society of Jesus, given in the year 1712, on the XVII day of November,
to the most illustrious lord Antony
Sanfelice, bishop of Nardò. Since it treats
both of the Saint's relics and of his cult in various
places where the Armenians dwell, I transfer the whole hither:
Most illustrious Lord. Since your most illustrious lordship
has laid this burden upon me, that
concerning the cult wont to be paid by the Armenians to the lord
Gregory, patriarch of the Armenians, and also concerning the relics
of the same Saint, sent about XVIII years ago into Armenia
to the fathers of the Society of Jesus, if
I knew anything, I should declare it to him in a few words,
I willingly obey the so pious commands of your most illustrious lordship.
[35] In the year MDCXCII, when I was residing at Erzerum,
which is the chief city of Greater Armenia under Turkish
dominion, the relics of St. Gregory sent from Naples into Armenia, and saw the singular zeal of the Armenians,
who dwell there in great number, in learning the institutes of the Christian
law, so that
most of them, having abjured the errors of the Monophysites,
gave their name to the holy Roman Church; I,
for the fostering and increasing of their piety, sent letters to Rome
to a father of the Society especially
friendly to me, and earnestly asked that he would obtain some notable relics
of the lord Gregory, first patriarch of the Armenians,
from those which were preserved at Naples,
and transmit them to me at Erzerum.
For thus I thought that it would be the greatest incitement to the Armenians
to embrace the orthodox faith,
if they could venerate in person the relics of their most holy
Patriarch, from whom they glory to have first received
the light of the faith: whence they commonly call him
the Illuminator. While the matter is being handled at Rome,
a whole year slips by; and at last in the year MDCXCIV,
on the VIII day of December, there reached me at Erzerum
the relics so long awaited, with testimonial
letters of the most eminent and most reverend
Lord James, Cardinal priest of the title of SS. Peter and Marcellinus,
Cantelmi, archbishop of Naples,
who had transmitted the aforesaid relics to the Fathers of the Society of Jesus,
missionaries in both Armenias,
at the instance for those same missionaries of
the most illustrious lord Antony Sanfelice, at that
time canon of the metropolitan church of Naples,
but now bishop of Nardò, where
the principal patron is the same lord Gregory, bishop
of the Armenians.
[36] and thence carried to Constantinople, I was then girding myself for a journey
to Constantinople, to settle certain affairs
which pertained to the missions. The sacred
pledge I carried with me to Constantinople,
where, the relics having been duly recognized and approved by the most illustrious and most reverend lord
Gaspar Spiga, bishop of Constantinople
and patriarchal vicar,
the first honour began at length to be paid them
on the XV of August, which is sacred to the most blessed Virgin
Assumed into heaven, of the year MDCXCV, at Galata, which
is a suburb of Constantinople, in the temple of St.
Benedict of the mission of the fathers of the Society of Jesus. The solemn
Mass was performed by an Armenian doctor; the sermon
was preached by another doctor of the same nation. There had flowed together
into our temple an infinite multitude of Armenians;
who, the Mass being ended, not standing
but creeping on their knees, men and women, approached the altar,
and with singular reverence and
piety kissed and venerated the sacred relics of their
Illuminator.
[37] at last they are translated into Persia, and near Ispahan Then, four years having elapsed, when I had returned
from Constantinople to Erzerum, and had thence
set out for Ispahan, which is both the chief
and the royal city of the empire of the Persians; since
I saw that the number of Armenians was very great there,
and that the offices of religion could safely be exercised far more freely
and splendidly than at Erzerum,
I resolved to assign the sacred relics of the divine Gregory to the temple
of St. Joseph of the mission of the Society of Jesus in the most splendid
suburb of Ispahan which is called Julfa,
where all the Armenians dwell. But this
one thing troubled me, that the relics were enclosed
in a small silver case so low that, when placed
upon the altar, it scarcely appeared.
Wherefore I exceedingly desired that it should be transferred into another and higher case,
whence it might more easily lie open to the eyes of the bystanders.
God the best and greatest favoured my wishes. At the end of
the spring of the year MDCXCIX, indeed, there came to Ispahan
the most illustrious and most reverend lord Peter
Paul Palma, archbishop of Ancyra,
taken from the sacred Order of Discalced Carmelites,
who at the court of the king of the Persians discharged the office of legate
both of the supreme Pontiff and of the emperor.
I dealt with him about the translation of the relics,
which he of his own accord most willingly promised
to perform.
[38] [they are laid up in the Armenian colony of Julfa in the church of the Society of Jesus.] Then I took care that a case be made, elegant enough for
those regions: and on the XVIII day
of October of the year MDCXCIX the solemn translation of the relics
was made. Very many Armenians were present:
a public procession was held in our temple,
in which the relics of the divine Gregory were carried under a canopy
by the most illustrious archbishop;
the canopy was upheld at its four corners
by four Armenians chief in nobility, beside whom stood
with torches four others of the leading men:
there followed a most numerous multitude of the people, and that whole
day was full of spiritual joys.
The same sacred relics are honourably preserved in the aforesaid temple
of the Society of Jesus, and are most religiously honoured by
the Armenians. The feast of St. Gregory
is there celebrated on the I of October: the Office under
a double rite with an Octave. There follows the subscription.
A few things now come to be observed. Julfa, elsewhere Sulfa
or Zulfa, here called a suburb of Ispahan,
is by others called a city, and that of considerable size,
distant about half an hour's walk from Ispahan.
It is a colony of Armenians, which the king of the Persians Abbas
brought thither, who in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries long governed Persia, and that colony grew
into no small city. About it may be further consulted
the geographical Dictionaries, and the Monuments
of the Missions of the Society of Jesus in the East, written in French,
volume 3, page 48.
[39] In the praised monuments certain other things bear upon
our purpose. The patriarchal church of Armenia dedicated to St. Gregory, Galanus, praised at num. 19,
says that of the relics of St. Gregory there was left in Armenia,
as he thinks, both the upper arms.
One of these he places in the city of Vagharshapat
of Greater Armenia, in the patriarchal church,
once the see of that same Gregory. He rightly places those relics
in the patriarchal church: but the city
Vagharshapat no one today will find, since the city itself
no longer exists, but in the place where it is believed to have been
there is an ample monastery, in which
dwells the patriarch of Greater Armenia, as Galanus himself
explains in another place. The chief church of this monastery,
and that the patriarchal one, is dedicated to St. Gregory.
Let us therefore hear about that monastery the Missionaries
of Armenia, who diligently investigated everything,
and in the praised Monuments, volume 3, page 42,
Monier gave these things in French: Three French
miles from Erivan toward Erzerum is situated
the celebrated monastery of Ichmiadzin or Echmiadzin,
which is also named the Monastery of the Three
Churches, the place of the ordinary habitation of the patriarch
of Armenia. Erivan, or Erivan, is the metropolis
of the Persian dominion in Armenia, and Erzerum,
commonly Erzerom, in turn of the Turkish dominion;
and the monastery is situated in the Persian dominion.
[40] It consists of four ample buildings, which form a vast
courtyard, [and that ancient: there likewise one church of St. Ripsime, another of St. Gaiana.] longer than it is broad,
in which the patriarchal basilica is built, a structure
ancient and solid, of hewn stone … Echmiadzin
by its etymology signifies the Descent of the Only-begotten
Son, because according to an ancient tradition
Jesus Christ appeared in that place to St. Gregory
the Illuminator, apostle of Armenia, to whom the church
is dedicated. It is also believed for certain in that region
that Tiridates, the first Christian king of Armenia,
had a palace in that place, and that he ceded it
to St. Gregory; and that that palace was in the midst
of a great city, the metropolis of the kingdom, whose name
was Vagharshapat: of which, however, no trace
remains. The church of the monastery is dark, but
rich in sacred vessels and ornaments. Since
it is held in chief veneration by the Armenians, the people,
being inclined to piety, liberally furnish means
for adorning it … Two other churches of this monastery
are outside its circuit. The one is dedicated
to St. Caiena (to us Gaiana), the other to St. Ripsina
(to us Ripsime). Tradition holds that these two
Saints were noble Roman virgins, and that they,
in order to withdraw themselves from the cruelty of Diocletian, fled
into Armenia with twenty-three others, etc. Then
at page 135, concerning Philip, Catholic patriarch of Armenia,
whose beginning is referred to the year 1632, the same
writer reports that by him the church
of SS. Ripsime and Gaiana was restored. Whether in that place he speaks
of another church, dedicated to both together, I do not know.
Perhaps both were repaired together, and the writer by a slip
of memory said church for churches — which
slip could also the more easily creep in upon the editor. Galanus,
chapter 14, says that in his time the temple of St. Ripsime
was still entire, but that of St. Gaiana was
half ruined, so that this one was perhaps restored.
[41] The arm of St. Gregory kept in Armenia: the other is inquired into. These things will meanwhile suffice for me about the place where
Galanus recorded the arm of saint Gregory, and
about the churches of our Saints discovered on that occasion.
Now some things must be said about that sacred
pledge. The praised Missionary, who not only diligently surveyed
those places but examined the histories of the Armenians
with equal diligence, at page 76 agrees with Galanus
about the relics of St. Gregory translated under the emperor Zeno
to the city of Tuordan, which
in French he calls Tuertan, and thence to Constantinople.
But he does not except the two arms, as they are not excepted
in the Breviary praised by Galanus. Of the relics
left in Armenia he says only this:
The right hand of the Saint was asked for the monastery
of Echmiadzin, where even to this day it is preserved
and honoured. Wherefore it is doubtful to me whether
another part of the relics of St. Gregory, which Galanus placed
at Sis in Cilicia, is truly there,
or in the past century, in which he wrote, was there at all.
For since I find that that very hand,
which we have said is in the patriarchal church of Greater Armenia,
was at one time translated to Sis in Cilicia
and remained there a long time, a suspicion
arises in me that an error could have crept in upon Galanus,
so that he thought that the same sacred pledge which had once been at Sis
remained there perpetually. That city,
which in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was the metropolis
of the Armenian kings, was destroyed by the Saracens, and
scarcely has a name at this time.
[42] The patriarchal church is believed to have been built in the seventh century, Therefore, from the historical compendium of the patriarchs
of Armenia which the praised Missionary composed,
we shall examine the vicissitudes of the said hand of St. Gregory,
and at the same time consider the catalogue
of patriarchs of Le Quien. About the relics kept at Naples and
at Nardò he agrees with Galanus and the others already
adduced. Of the relics of St. Gregory he says at page 86 that by
Kiut, thirteenth patriarch of Armenia, the patriarchal see
was placed in the city of Thevin, and that thither
the Saint's relics were translated. Le Quien agrees
in his Oriens Christianus, volume 1, column [ ], where
he calls the patriarch Citus or Kiut, and thinks that the city
Thevin, in Greek Tiven or Tiben, is Erivan.
This must have fallen in the fifth century according to
the order which he follows. But what he has at page
90 belongs to the seventh century: Nerses III built
a patriarchal palace at Echmiadzin. Therefore
then in all likelihood the hand of St. Gregory was carried thither.
About the patriarchal church built by Nerses III
Le Quien agrees, column [ ], bringing forward from
the History of the Armenians, or from Galanus, these words
about Nerses: Wherefore he built that most magnificent
sheepfold of the rational flock in the city of Vagharshapat.
This Le Quien rightly explains of the monastery or patriarchal
palace.
[43] [another church of St. Gregory in the place of his prison: another in all likelihood of SS. Ripsime and Gaiana.] But the Armenian History to our purpose
adds: A church also in the place of the purgation
of the holy Martyr in the city of Ardashat, and another temple
in the city of Thein. After Galanus, about the first place
Le Quien notes this: The purgation is called
the pit in which the holy man (namely Gregory)
is handed down to have been afflicted in various ways for fourteen years by that king
(Tiridates). But Le Quien would have done better to give
Galanus's own words: for thus he would not
have said that Gregory was afflicted in various ways in the pit.
For Tiridates did not afflict Gregory in the pit
in various ways, since he is handed down not even to have known
that he was alive. But now there seems no room for doubt
that that church was dedicated to St. Gregory,
since it was built in the place of his punishment. Of the temple
in the city of Thein I cannot say whether it was similarly sacred
to St. Gregory. But a little before, under Chomitas
or Chomida, a schismatic patriarch, the Armenian History
says in Galanus at page 185:
He built Avan near the church of SS. Ripsimis
and her Companions. The words Le Quien gave thus in Latin:
He built near Avan a church of SS.
Ripsime and her Companions. This seems another church
than those which were built near the patriarchal monastery
and each dedicated to one Saint. Perhaps it will be that
which we said was restored in the seventeenth century at num.
40. It may be briefly observed here also that in Galanus,
page 191, without adequate reason there is attributed to Tiridates
the building of the three churches which are
at Echmiadzin.
[44] In the year 1060, or about that year, as
the Armenian History has it, The patriarchal see translated, and with it the arm of St. Gregory: and as Galanus,
Le Quien and the praised Missionary observe, on account of the devastations
of the Turks, the patriarchal see was translated from Armenia
to Sebaste of Cappadocia; and thence
in the year 1171 to Sis in Cilicia, as the same men again
agree. About the relics of St. Gregory brought at the same time
our Missionary agrees at page 102, and Le Quien
at column [ ]. But the former attributes the translation to the patriarch Gregory,
the latter to Nerses his predecessor. The one also
assigns the city of Sis, or Sisis, to Lesser Armenia,
the other to Cilicia, because it was in the kingdom of Lesser
Armenia, which in the same century had been revived
and had a Catholic prince; and this was doubtless
the reason for transferring the see thither from the dominion
of the Greek emperor, to which it had been translated
when the kingdom of Armenia had been extinguished. But now
it will be useful to observe that it seems altogether the same arm
or hand of St. Gregory which was translated in every direction
with the patriarchal see. Therefore if we find the same
afterwards translated again into Armenia — as we shall indeed find —
no reason will remain
why we should assign another to Sis with Galanus:
for in the earlier centuries there was no connexion between the patriarchal see
and Sis, nor was this
city under the patriarch or king of Armenia.
[45] Toward the end of the thirteenth century, while the patriarch
was Stephen II, [Sis being taken by the Saracens, the arm of St. Gregory was carried off by them, but restored thence:] the city of Sis was taken by the sultan
of Egypt, and the right hand of St. Gregory carried off,
as the authors already often praised agree. In
the Armenian History in Galanus, page 403, the matter is thus
narrated: In the time of that man (the patriarch Stephen)
a great misfortune happened. For the impious and unbelieving
sultan of Egypt overthrew the see of the divine Gregory,
Illuminator of the Armenians, and slaughtered
nearly all the Armenians with a general slaughter,
leading the rest away with him as captives, together with Stephen
their patriarch, who there met his end. Likewise
he carried away thither with him the right hand of our holy Illuminator Gregory,
and the relics of other holy martyrs,
and a part of the most sacred Cross of our Lord.
But when he entered his own kingdom with
these sacred relics, the Lord punished
his people with a pestilence, as
happened to the Philistines through the ark of the Testament, so
that those who died were almost numberless:
nor did the indignation of God ever wholly cease from them,
until, restoring the holy and admirable right hand of the divine Gregory,
they sent it back to our most pious king
Hayton. From this account
it is plain how highly the Armenians esteemed the right hand of St. Gregory.
Yet it is not to be doubted that other relics also
were restored, since not long after peace
was made.
[46] About the time of that deed the writers whom I have before me
do not agree, that deed done about 1292. and this happened because
there were two kings of Lesser Armenia whose name
was Hayton, and in the time of each the Saracens invaded
Armenia. Hence Le Quien, not
having consulted his own chronological order sufficiently, fixed that disaster
in the year 1266, in which Hayton I reigned. But,
by his own admission, the patriarch Stephen II presided only
one year, and in his time that disaster happened:
but Stephen's successor Gregory VIII he says was set
over the church of the Armenians about the year MCCXCIII.
Therefore Stephen his predecessor sat about
1292. More rightly therefore in the Monuments of Armenia,
page 113, the disaster is referred to Hayton II, and in
Galanus to the times of Pope Nicholas IV, some of whose
letters are there alleged. Le Quien therefore confounded two
disasters of the Armenians, and this last is to be fixed
about the year 1292.
[47] The Armenians used the arm of St. Gregory in ordinations, with an error: Further, that the Armenians not only esteemed highly
but even abused the relics of St. Gregory, is clear
from the little book of Pope Benedict XII, in which very many errors
of the Armenians are enumerated, in Odoricus Raynaldus
at the year 1341, where the ninety-eighth error
is impugned in these words: Item, the Catholicos of Lesser
Armenia (to them the patriarch, who resided at Sis,
while there was already another in Greater Armenia)
keeps with him the forearm and the hand, still
entire, of the Blessed Gregory, who was catholicos, and
was ordained bishop after the manner of the Greek Church:
which forearm and hand the said catholicos places upon
the head and hands of those whom he ordains bishops:
and says that, if the said imposition of the hand and
of the arm were not made upon the head and hands of those
who are by him ordained bishops, they would not be
ordained bishops, because the imposition of the said arm
and hand makes the consecrations of bishops:
and on this account he himself receives none as bishops
who have been ordained by other
catholicoi of Greater Armenia, because no other
catholicos but himself has the said arm and hand
of Gregory. A ridiculous error indeed, which
they easily laid aside, I think, after they had been deprived
of that arm. From this observation of the Pontiff, meanwhile,
it is again gathered that there was only one arm of St. Gregory
in the parts of either Armenia.
[48] [it was carried off by stealth from the church of Sis, and brought back to the ancient church of St. Gregory:] The said arm of St. Gregory was indeed carried off from the city
of Sis before the middle of the fifteenth
century, as Le Quien and Monier, Missionary of Armenia,
agree; but the former conjectures it done about the year MCDXLI,
the latter about the year 1445. Le Quien
narrates the matter thus. But, Gregory X (to the other
IX) being dead, a certain monk named Cyriacus,
most tenacious of heresy and schism,
carried the sacred pledge of the arm and hand of St. Gregory,
stolen by stealth from the church of Sis, into Greater
Armenia and to the monastery of Eschmiazin, and by his own
arts brought it about that he himself was declared Catholicos,
and indeed the first of the rest, to whom alone,
as possessor of that most holy case, there should be the faculty
of ordaining bishops throughout the whole diocese of the Armenians. In this manner
those relics of St. Gregory were carried off from the church of Sis,
and laid up for a time in the ancient patriarchal church.
What became of them we shall presently see. But meanwhile
the men of Sis nevertheless did not hesitate to ordain a Catholicos,
who throughout Cilicia and Cappadocia
and the neighbouring regions should administer justice after the former manner:
which continues among them even to our own
age. Therefore they then no longer believed
that the hand of St. Gregory was necessary to them
for ordaining bishops. But in all likelihood they had long before
laid aside that opinion at the instruction of the supreme
Pontiff, since all the later ones are said to have been
Catholic. They are now called patriarchs of Lesser Armenia,
and are said to be the lawful successors of St.
Gregory: but these things do not belong to our purpose.
[49] That Cyriacus who had carried away the relics of St. Gregory
to the monastery of Echmiadzin, thence also translated by stealth, but afterwards brought back. and so had obtained the patriarchate,
is said to have been ejected after two years.
And besides him who resided in Cilicia, three contended
for the patriarchate of Greater Armenia.
Then, says Le Quien, Zacharias (one of
the three), who held a bishopric in the island of Aghtamar near the city
of Erivan, and boasted himself Catholicos,
having stolen the arm and hand of St. Gregory,
carried it off into that island, and, bishops having been ordained with it,
boasted himself the supreme pontiff of his own nation. Of the relics restored
to the monastery Le Quien subjoins: That Zacharias
being dead in the island of Aghtamar, there was substituted
for him John IX, who, the sacred pledge of St. Gregory having been brought back to the monastery
of Eschmiazin, in the year
MCDLXXVI was made possessor of the patriarchal see there,
together with Sergius II. Monier agrees
at page 132 about the relics previously carried off and brought back. Of
the patriarchs, who thereafter were several at once, I do not
treat here.
[50] At the beginning of the seventeenth century Abbas I, king of the Persians,
[Likewise carried into Persia by the king's command, but afterwards restored to its own church.] when two were contending for the patriarchate,
ordered the sacred relics of St. Gregory to be brought to Ispahan or Aspabamum,
as others call it, which is the metropolis
of the Persians, and there kept them many years,
as Le Quien, column [ ], and Monier
in his Monuments, page 133, agree. But the latter adds
that the king of the Persians did this in order thus to draw the Armenians
to his own metropolis, because they are most devoted
to St. Gregory; and this is a most likely reason,
since the city of the Armenians, Julfa, as was said at num.
38, where now other relics of St. Gregory are, was founded
under the same king near Ispahan. Nevertheless,
after about thirty years Philip, a thoroughly Catholic patriarch,
obtained from the king of the Persians
that it should be lawful for him to bring back the relics of St. Gregory to their former
place, as the praised Missionary testifies, and
Le Quien agrees, column [ ]. That they were afterwards removed from the monastery
of Echmiadzin I do not find, so that
in all likelihood they are kept there even now. These things about
the cult of St. Gregory are enough for us to learn that the greatest
veneration of him exists among the Armenians. It may be added,
however, what Monier observes at page 194,
that on each Saturday of Lent a particular feast
is kept, and on the fifth Saturday the feast of St. Gregory.
[51] As to what concerns the bodies of SS. Ripsime and
Gaiana, Relics of St. Ripsime carried to Ispahan, they perhaps long remained in their own churches.
Certainly I have been able to find almost nothing about them. Bonucci,
however, in the Italian Life brings forward something about the relics
of St. Ripsime at page 167, which I render into Latin: Pietro
della Valle in the second part of his Itinerary, Letter 8,
which was given on the IV day of April MDCXX from the metropolis
of the Persians, Ispahan, narrates that the relics of St. Ripsime
were translated into that city by some Armenians
from their own region: of which a part
was granted to the Discalced Carmelite fathers,
missionaries of that city, the king giving them with his own hand,
after he had venerated them by rising,
kissing them, and placing them upon his own head. Now let us proceed
to examining the Lives of St. Gregory.
§ IV. What and of what sort are the Acts of St. Gregory,
both Greek and Latin, in which SS. Ripsime, Gaiana and their Companions
are also treated of: some more recent Lives.
The Greek Life, which lighted the way for Metaphrastes, liable to many faults: The more ancient Greek Acts of St. Gregory, which must first
be examined, have not yet become known
to modern scholars, so far as I have been able to find,
except through certain sayings of our Papebroch, who both
saw them and took care that they be copied out. The praised Papebroch,
volume 1 of May, in the Annotations on the Greco-Muscovite
Ephemerides, page XXXXIII, thus speaks of the Acts
of St. Gregory: His prolix Life, which, copied by Metaphrastes,
is extant in Lipomanus, was abridged
from another far more prolix one, which under the name of Agathangelus,
as a contemporary, we have in Greek. I fear
that it has been amplified with many fabulous additions more prodigiously
than likelihood allows.
At the XVIII of April the same Papebroch in the Annotations
on the Life of St. Eleutherius declares why he took care
that this Life of St. Gregory should be copied out, and thinks it
should be published, as also others like it, even though he holds this one
suspect of much fabulousness — namely,
so that, the fountain itself being exposed to the public, one may not
drink too confidently from the stream which Metaphrastes drew
from it; a man indeed great, but whose
sole aim here was that those things which in certain
Greek churches were read, not without disgust of the prudent,
on account of the rusticity or prolixity of style,
might, being set out more briefly and neatly in his own style,
be less displeasing. Of the same Life Papebroch again
speaks at the 10th of May in the Annotations,
page 506: and there he insinuates his suspicion that this Life
was written in Sicily. But he would have laid aside this suspicion,
I think, if he had compared it with the Armenian
documents: for from many things the author seems to have written
in Armenia itself, or in its neighbourhood, and his
assertions were adopted not by the Greeks only, but even more
liberally by the Armenians themselves. But that
we may declare our judgment about that Life, we must consider
the judgments of writers about the Life written by Metaphrastes.
For all those things in his lucubration which can offend
readers ought no less to offend in the more ancient Life, since it reports
the same facts more prolixly — except the name of Metaphrastes,
which is so hateful to certain more recent critics
that to them it seems even by itself enough to reject
certain Acts; but undeservedly: for Metaphrastes did not
mingle fables with more ancient Lives,
but undertook now and then to set out fabulous ones in his own style,
and in abridging or polishing changed some things now and then,
as is wont to happen. But where he had Lives
faithfully written, he did not embellish them with fables, nor
change many things in them, as both our Elders
long ago learned by experience, and we ourselves daily learn
with the same teacher. This, however, is true,
that the authority of Metaphrastes alone is not of indubitable credit
for the more ancient Saints, since he himself
is not sufficiently ancient for this, and since he did not supply the defect
of his age by critical selection, but adopted
not only the Lives of approved authors,
but also fabulous ones, or at least ones defiled by many fables or
fabulous exaggerations.
[53] Baronius in his Annals at the year 311, where
he had briefly said something about the martyrdom of SS. Ripsime
and Gaiana, Baronius acknowledges some faults in it, and about what St. Gregory suffered
in Armenia under king Tiridates, subjoins these things
about the Acts at num. 22: I would not deny that those Acts
of Gregory have many things which do not
please all men in every respect. For the rest, we know that they
were cited by Euthymius, a most accurate author,
when he says: “Thus saint Gregory also, bishop
of Greater Armenia, before all others commanded that wooden
crosses set up by him in certain places be adored,
and that men should flock to them as to sacred refuges,
and that while he had not yet been declared Pontiff,
etc.” Baronius shows that these things are read in
the Acts given by Metaphrastes; and he adds other things from the very
books of the Armenians also, by which he thinks are designated
the Greek Acts of Metaphrastes. Euthymius could certainly
have praised those: but perhaps he looked to the more ancient ones
to be published below, in which the same things are had;
or to the Offices of the Armenians, in which like things
are read. To whatever Euthymius looked,
who flourished in the twelfth century, he did not believe that all things
are fictitious which are reported of the deeds of St. Gregory; and his
authority avails to let us understand that Gregory
was not unknown to the learned Greeks of the middle age,
and that his deeds were read by them. But they do not much
help to win credit for the Life of St. Gregory.
[54] Tillemont, volume 5 of his Ecclesiastical Monuments,
in the Persecution of Diocletian, article 44, briefly touches
St. Gregory the Armenian, others blame it more. and wholly rejects his Acts
written by Metaphrastes, as also those to be given
below from the sayings of our Papebroch. We have, he says,
a long History of a certain saint
Gregory, bishop of Greater Armenia, who is asserted
to have been the Apostle of that region, and to have converted
Tiridates in the time of Diocletian. It is understood
from several passages of recent writers, such as Euthymius,
St. Nicon, Nicephorus, and Gregory the priest,
who wrote the History of the Nicene council,
that the name and History of that Saint were celebrated
in Armenia: but this does not suffice to attribute authority
to his Acts. Then he says that the Acts are
Metaphrastes's, and reports the opinion of Baronius, and
gives Papebroch's words in summary, and so dismisses the Acts
as unworthy that he should select even the chief
heads from them, referring the reader for further refutation
to the reading of them. Baillet, at the XXX of September
in his critical table, says that the Acts of St. Gregory
are wrapped in such fables that scarcely anything probable
can be found, and that only in two places
by the help of Eusebius and Sozomen. It must indeed be confessed
that all the Acts of St. Gregory which we have labour
under many defects, and are wretchedly corrupted
with fabulous exaggerations. Yet we shall find in them more things
which are either certain or probable than
the praised critics believed.
[55] Let us therefore enumerate all the Acts of St. Gregory
which have become known to us, Whence the Greek Life was received: the author says he was a contemporary: that
we may then examine
what in them seems to be disapproved, what on the contrary
can be admitted either certainly or probably.
The first Life, and that the most prolix, of which I have already
given Papebroch's words above, was received from the Medicean
library of St. Lawrence at Florence, Plut. 7,
Cod. 25, as Papebroch himself noted on our transcript,
who at Florence with Henschen took care that it be copied out;
he did not copy it out with his own hand, nor collate the copy
with the codex: but both were done
by a hand unknown to me, and more hastily than
diligently, unless there are many errors in the codex. For
I found in our transcript not a few faults of writing, and those
clear and manifest, as I shall say in the Annotations.
The writer of that Life is called in the title Agathangelus:
toward the end he treats of his own fidelity in writing,
and says that he has omitted many things and written only the necessary
and useful; nay he even asserts that he was an eye-witness of the deeds
which he writes, and a hearer of the doctrine
delivered by Gregory, of which he has narrated much.
But he cannot understand this of all things,
since he reports many things done before Gregory was born,
and many things done in places in which
neither he himself was present nor Gregory. Hence below
I shall examine whether it can at least be made probable that the author
lived with St. Gregory, and saw some of his later
deeds or heard his doctrine.
[56] The Latin one composed in the middle age, The aforesaid Life a Latin writer at Naples expressed
in a long epitome, perhaps more ancient than Metaphrastes.
The lucubration of this Anonymous writer
our Elders found at Rome in the Barberini library,
and our Papebroch copied it out with his own hand,
having prefixed some annotations about the codex itself,
the beginning of which I subjoin: From a most ancient
membrane codex in the largest folio,
written by hand in large square letters, of the most Eminent Cardinal
Barberini, num. 926: which was given to the Cardinal himself by the abbot Ughelli:
concerning which there is also the following
document on a leaf prefixed to the same codex.
That document concerns the age of Gayta, abbess
of the monastery of St. Gregory at Naples, at whose request the Life
was written, as the author says in his Preface;
and consequently from it is gathered the time of the writing of the Life,
provided the age of Gayta has been rightly assigned. Now
it runs thus: By public documents which are preserved
in the archive of the nuns of the venerable monastery
of St. Gregory, first bishop in the East of Greater Armenia,
built within the city of Naples,
it is clear enough that there has already elapsed a space
of about eight hundred years since Gayta,
named in this present writing, as
abbess of the said monastery, governed the aforesaid place
and church: at whose regard and prayers
there was written by an unknown author of that time
all this Life and passion of this holy bishop
Gregory, and perhaps also of other holy
martyrs and confessors of whom express mention is made
in this volume. Of which Gregory
the whole most holy head is now piously and religiously preserved at Naples
in the church dedicated to his name,
and, as is fitting, is venerated by all.
[57] not from Metaphrastes, but from the more ancient Life, These observations, which were written before the year 1661,
in which Papebroch departed from Rome,
by their about eight hundred years since Gayta
had been abbess, refer us to the ninth century.
But from the Life of St. Gregory which Dominic
Gravina wrote there arises a doubt about the time at which Gayta
was abbess, whom he seems to make far younger.
For in part 2, page 130, he reports the words about Gayta,
inserted in this Life, after other documents of the eleventh century.
In the Preface to the reader, if that be Gravina's and
not the bookseller's, he says that to the Latin codex in which it was written
under the administration of the abbess Gayna (read Gayta)
he assigns five hundred years. Therefore, since that Life
was printed in the year 1630, those five hundred years
lead only to the twelfth century. One may suspect
that the codex was reckoned by him of the twelfth century, but not
likewise the Life. But that he reported the words about Gayta after documents
of the eleventh century indicates his opinion that Gayta
was later than those documents. Therefore I stick in doubt,
nor do I sufficiently see which of the two I ought rather to believe
about the time at which Gayta flourished, and at which this Life
was written. But I see that it matters little whether
the Life was written in the ninth century or in the twelfth, since the Anonymous
author took everything from the more ancient Greek one, or
perhaps from a similar Latin one, if anyone before him had turned the Greek
into Latin, or had written a Latin one from it.
He is more ancient than Metaphrastes if he wrote in the ninth
century, and otherwise younger. Metaphrastes, however,
he did not follow, but the more ancient Greek, as is understood from
comparison. For even though he omitted many things, and those
more improbable than the rest, in what he adopted
he expressed rather the sense of the more ancient than of Metaphrastes.
[58] The author of the third Life is Metaphrastes, and it
was published in Latin in Lipomanus and Surius. [another by Metaphrastes: in what manner he drew from the more ancient one, in what manner the Latin writer.] We
have the Greek also, but shall not reprint it. This Life
was composed by Metaphrastes from the first Greek one,
like the Latin one just mentioned, but not in altogether the same
manner. Metaphrastes especially omitted the prolix
discourses with which the first author extended the Life,
when he brings in St. Gregory disputing with the king,
or him or Ripsime or Gaiana
directing prayers to God, or Gregory disputing about
the faith or Christian doctrine before the people.
There are added other discourses about various matters,
and long lists of proper names in the first
Life. But all these Metaphrastes either wholly omitted
or briefly touched upon some reasonings.
But most of the facts, even if they are either fictitious
or exaggerated beyond the truth, he narrated in nearly the same
manner, only a few being passed over. On the contrary, the Latin
author, who in his Preface complains that the Life
of St. Gregory the Armenian was formerly written in a sufficiently
ill-considered and rustic style, attempted to amend the whole
in his own way. For he not only abridged the more prolix
reasonings, but also partly omitted the improbable
facts, partly so softened them that most
could seem probable, if they had been thus asserted by a contemporary
and accurate author. Nevertheless
he too adopted some things which do not agree with the history
of that time; and since he took the rest from a Life
defiled with fabulous exaggerations and open
fables, neither have these so great probability
as they would have if they had been taken
from monuments not otherwise suspect.
[59] To the three Lives just mentioned there is added an Encomium
of saint Gregory, Illuminator of the Armenians, An Encomium of St. Gregory, rendered into Latin from the Armenian tongue,
by saint John Chrysostom, taken
from the D. Jarrintir or Armenian Homiliary of the royal
library (of Paris), marked with the letter c, translated from the Armenian
tongue into Latin in the year MDCCXXXV,
under which title it was published by Montfaucon in volume 12 of the Works
of St. Chrysostom, page 822 and following. The lord
abbot de Villefroy, who turned this Encomium from
the Armenian tongue into Latin, there gave notice beforehand
that it is read in three Armenian Homiliaries, and that one
of these is a very large volume, which, he says,
seems to be of the tenth or eleventh century.
The other two are of less antiquity. The title
prefixed to the elogium in the more ancient codex the interpreter thus expressed:
A Homily of the blessed John Chrysostom, spoken concerning the Life
and sufferings of the great patriarch and martyr Gregory,
Illuminator of the Armenians, pronounced at Kokisus,
which is a city of Armenia (while he was there in exile),
at the earnest request of a certain doctor and bishop
of the Armenians who was called Dioscorus, and who
was a kinsman of the martyr Gregory; and at the demand
of a great assembly which had gathered at Kokisus
on the feast day of the holy Illuminator of the Eastern parts.
The title of the other manuscript agrees as to sense.
In the third manuscript, from which the Encomium was published, the shorter title
runs thus: A Sermon of saint John Chrysostom,
bishop of Constantinople, concerning the holy
Illuminator, the great Gregory, pontiff of our
God.
[60] This Sermon, if it were truly Chrysostom's,
would much help to win probability
for most of the facts which are asserted in the Life of St. Gregory
about the Saint himself. which the editor did not dare to ascribe to Chrysostom, But Montfaucon in
his preliminary Notice observes that so many and so great things
occur in that Sermon at variance with the manner and style of Chrysostom
that no one would dare to ascribe it to so great a Doctor:
namely a pit and a ditch speaking, serpents
and dragons praying, king Tiridates turned into
a boar, and like portents. Then he says
that those very things are nevertheless read in the Life of St. Gregory; and he adds:
It might perhaps be said that Chrysostom delivered a discourse
in praise of St. Gregory the Illuminator;
but that it was so altered by the Armenians
that now the style of Chrysostom nowhere almost appears in it.
At the XIV of September, in St. John Chrysostom,
§83, I assented to Montfaucon so far
as to think that that Sermon was never
pronounced by Chrysostom. But as to what concerns
the ditch speaking, and the serpents and dragons,
this does not seem to pertain to fables, but
to a figure or prosopopoeia over-bold, by which
the author brings in both the pit and the serpents speaking,
just as he makes men speak in the greater part
of the discourse. But that speech of the pit and of the serpents is not asserted
in the Acts of St. Gregory, nor did the author of the Sermon
wish it so to be understood, I think, as if he had attributed
true speech to the pit and the serpents. Whether the form of a boar, which
is attributed to Tiridates in the Oration as well as in the Life,
is to be held for a fable, I do not yet here examine. If
it were established that the Sermon is Chrysostom's, who began to flourish
at Antioch about half a century after Gregory's death,
I should not straightway hold for fables the facts
asserted in it about St. Gregory.
[61] and rightly so, as is confirmed by various reasons: But that Sermon by no means seems to me
Chrysostom's. For first, that almost perpetual prosopopoeia
which reigns in the Sermon does not agree with the style of Chrysostom,
nor is it consonant with his other Orations about
the Saints. Besides, the whole Sermon is alien from the style
of Chrysostom, since it has almost nothing mingled from the sacred
writings, almost nothing for the instruction of morals —
which elsewhere are frequent in Chrysostom;
and since the whole diction is far removed from the elegance and acuteness
of Chrysostom. Secondly, it is not likely
that Chrysostom preached at Cucusus in Lesser Armenia, where he was
an exile, as I have already proved in Chrysostom.
Yet that Oration is said to have been delivered at Kokisus,
which Montfaucon explains as Cucusus,
before a great assembly of the people, and on the feast day of St. Gregory.
But again it is at least uncertain whether the festival of St.
Gregory was celebrated at that time at Cucusus in Lesser
Armenia: for Lesser Armenia did not have St. Gregory
as pastor or doctor, since it was
a province of the Roman empire, but only Greater Armenia, which
was under its own king. Thirdly, Chrysostom certainly cannot
have delivered the discourse in the tongue of the Armenians, which in all likelihood
was not known to him. But in the Homiliaries, in which [ ]
at whose request the Oration was delivered, there is not even added
in what tongue it was written, and by whom
it was translated into the Armenian tongue — which most of all
ought to have been added. Perhaps the authors of those titles
believed that the Encomium was delivered, as
it stands, in the Armenian tongue.
[62] it is more probable that it is by an Armenian writer. But the Encomium itself abundantly shows
that Chrysostom is not its writer. For besides
those things which will seem fabulous to most, and besides
many things which are very far removed from the style and elegance of Chrysostom,
it contains also not a few things which
that holy doctor would never have said. He would never have called St.
Gregory like to Peter and Paul; nor
would he have so attributed the Eastern parts to St. Gregory as
the Western regions to Peter and Paul, in the manner
in which the author of the Encomium does at page 823. Let that
comparison, if it be taken less strictly, be not altogether
inept. But that it is Chrysostom's I shall not believe, who is the chief
admirer of SS. Peter and Paul. So Chrysostom would not
have brought in an angel speaking in that manner
to a heathen girl, as the author does at page
827, as though she had known the histories of the Old Testament
very well. I pass over many other things which seem alien
from the judgment of Chrysostom: for the whole Encomium
is full of excessive exaggerations. Therefore we do not know
whose lucubration that is, and we rather think
that it is the offspring of some Armenian doctor rather than
of a Greek, and of uncertain time; and therefore great authority
is not to be attributed to it. Among the patriarchs
of Armenia in Galanus, page 75, the fourteenth
was John of Mandakuni, who flourished
in the fifth century and composed Orations. Whether it is perhaps
his, who shall declare?
[63] Besides the Lives and the Encomium just mentioned,
certain other documents rendered into Latin from Armenian books
Other documents, translated from the Armenian tongue into Latin. were also sent hither from Naples,
which I see Bonucci used in the Italian Life, to be mentioned more fully
below. It is therefore necessary to recount them,
and to indicate briefly how much they seem to be worth.
Those monuments at the beginning of the little book in which they are collected
are thus enumerated: First. The History
of St. Gregory, great patriarch and illuminator of the Armenians,
extracted from the Armauurk, that is,
from the Armenian Martyrology. Second. Another History
of St. Gregory our illuminator, concerning his conception,
birth, and the quality of his life and of his relics.
Third. The commemoration of king Theridates.
Fourth. The Martyrology or testification of the holy
Hripsimæ (that is, of Ripsime and her Companions)
Virgins. Fifth. The finding of the relics
of St. Gregory. Sixth. The Martyrology (that is, an elogium
from the Martyrology) of the holy patriarchs,
sons and grandsons of St. Gregory. Seventh. The Feast
of Schiogaghat, that is, of the dripping light, of the descent
of the Only-begotten to the city of Vagharshapat.
Eighth. The Martyrology of the holy Gaianæ:
that is, of St. Gaiana and her Companions. But whence all
those were received is presently indicated in these words:
The above-said monuments were drawn out from Armenian
books which are kept at Venice; and from the Armenian
idiom were translated into the Latin tongue
at Rome by the lord James de Baldassarri, an Armenian
priest, in the year MDCCXVII: and they are now kept
at Rome in the archive of the professed house of the Society
of Jesus, and at Naples in the archive of the monastery of St.
Gregory the Armenian, otherwise S. Ligorio.
[64] All those have some connexion or other with the Acts of St.
Gregory, but all are of the middle or of a later age. and in them are explained piecemeal
the things which are collected in the Life to be published.
If anyone should now ask of what age all these are,
I shall answer that they are either of the middle age or of later
centuries. In the first of them, the History of St. Gregory,
the translation of the body is asserted, and it is attributed to the emperor Zeno,
an arm being left among the Armenians.
But from the vague narrative of that matter it is sufficiently gathered
that that writing was composed long afterward. Of all the rest
it is gathered from the reading itself that they are not
ancient, comparison being made with the age of St. Gregory.
For we do not call ancient those things which were written two or
three centuries ago, or even a thousand years ago,
if the matter treated is far more ancient. Wherefore
all those will serve only for perceiving
what the Armenians in the middle age and in later
centuries thought about St. Gregory and the deeds reported
in his Life.
[65] Besides, we have four Lives of St. Gregory
written in Italy in later centuries. The first
of them came out at Naples, printed in Italian in the year
1576, A Life turned from Latin into the Italian idiom, another written in Italian, as translated from the Latin tongue into Italian
according to an ancient codex written in Lombardic
letters. The author of the translation or
of this Italian Life is Blasius Acciaivolo, Doctor of both Laws,
who dedicated it to Lucretia Caracciolo, then abbess of the monastery
of St. Gregory the Armenian. This Life has
something of likeness to the Greek Life to be published by us,
yet does not seem the same, perhaps because the Latin
writer added some things to the Greek at his own pleasure
and omitted others. These things may be pointed out in the Annotations
where it shall seem worth while. The second was likewise
printed at Naples in the year 1630, and has for its author
Dominic Gravina of the Order of Preachers,
already several times praised. And this, both in the title
and in the Preface, is said to be collected from Metaphrastes,
from a Lombardic codex, to which the editor in the Preface
assigns five hundred years, and from a Relation about
the Christian religion in Armenia, which Gravina himself
composed. That Preface is perhaps by Lazarus Scoriggio
the bookseller, who speaks nearly as though he himself had collected from the said
Monuments the Life which he printed.
But Gravina is asserted to be the author of that Life
by Échard in the Bibliotheca of the Preachers, volume 2,
page 533, and by others everywhere. The Latin Life which
Gravina praises seems the same as that which
we shall publish in the second place; since at page 130 certain words
from the author's Preface are recited about the abbess Gayta.
[66] A third in Italian, and a fourth more prolix than the rest: The third Life was again printed at Naples in the year
1636 in Italian, and is inscribed, A brief relation of
the life, martyrdom and miracles of the most invincible St. Gregory,
martyr, apostle, archbishop and primate
of greater Armenia; patron of the most noble monastery
of sacred virgins, protector of the whole kingdom
and of this most faithful city of Naples. The author
is Angelo Volpe of Montepeloso, of the Order
of Minor Conventuals. In this little Work not all the Saint's deeds
are narrated: but he inquires into the chief
heads of the life, and discourses about them, yet in such
a manner that that writer can scarcely be of use to us. The last
biographer of St. Gregory the Armenian who has
become known to us wrote in Italian more prolixly of the Saint's deeds
than any of the preceding, and to their documents
added certain others recently received,
which for the greater part I have already enumerated. The author of that
Life is Antony Mary Bonucci, priest of the Society
of Jesus, who took care that it be printed at Rome
in the year 1717. This Life I have already several times
praised, and shall still allege, where it shall seem expedient,
as also the others just recounted.
[67] other more recent writers about the deeds of St. Gregory. Many things also about St. Gregory were written by Clement
Galanus, a Clerk regular and formerly a missionary to the Armenians,
in his Work of the Reconciliation of the Armenian Church
with the Roman, in which, in volume 1, from the Armenian
History he produced a catalogue of the patriarchs of Armenia from St.
Gregory down to the fourteenth century, and discoursed much
about St. Gregory, following Metaphrastes everywhere
and the more recent historians. Like things about St.
Gregory and the other patriarchs of the Armenians have been disputed
in the Monuments of the mission of the Society of Jesus in
the East, written in French. The third volume, which
was printed at Paris in the year 1723, treats almost solely of the affairs
of Armenia. But those things which concern St. Gregory
and the other patriarchs and the history of Armenia were collected
by Monier with the other missionaries of our Society in Armenia,
and transmitted into France. Hence I shall praise
them under the name of father Monier. About St. Gregory
some more recent historians also have written something,
and some more ancient ones, whom I shall name where it shall be
necessary; and Baillet gave his Life, but
most briefly, nearly all the chief facts being omitted. If now
the studious reader should ask how much the said writers of the Life
and the others mentioned can avail us for rightly examining
the deeds of St. Gregory, I shall be compelled to answer
that little help is had from them all,
since most have admitted everything as true, and
a few others have without any examination cast away nearly everything.
§ V. There is an inquiry into the chief assertions of the Life of St. Gregory, which are neither all to be admitted with their circumstances, nor all to be rejected.
[Baronius and Papebroch did not believe everything in the Life of St. Gregory fabulous.] Of the Acts of St. Gregory the Armenian I see
that the judgments are exceedingly diverse. The Armenians themselves, the Greeks
also, and many of the Latins of later centuries
hold them for genuine, and seem to admit all that is reported in them
as true without any hesitation —
certainly as they were written by Metaphrastes:
for the Greek ones to be published have scarcely become known to more recent Latins,
and have been seen by very few. But,
as has already been said at num. 54, Baronius acknowledged
that there are many things in the Acts which cannot please
accurate critics; and this our Papebroch indicated
still more of the Greek ones. Yet neither wished
that all should be fabulous, since Baronius alleges Euthymius
for the authority of the Acts, and inserted some things
from them into his Annals: Papebroch
indeed fears that the Life has been amplified with many fabulous additions
more prodigiously than likelihood allows;
and so hints that it is defiled with many fables;
but he did not think that even the chief heads
were to be reckoned among fictions. But the more recent critics
already named preferred to cast nearly everything away rather than
to examine more laboriously what of it all seems true,
what only probable, and what finally exaggerated beyond
the truth and corrupted with fictitious ornaments.
An examination of this kind is agreeable to the opinion
of Baronius and Papebroch; and many centuries ago
the Anonymous author of the Latin Life, to be published in the second
place, already began it, when out of the Life which he called
written in an ill-considered style he composed his own: for
many things which in all likelihood he believed false, or at least
too prolix and exaggerated, he cut away from his own,
others he softened, but the rest he adopted. But not even these
are all probable.
[69] That we may now bring forward some things which in that Life
seem fabulous, [The author of the first Life makes himself suspect of falsehood by saying he was an eye-witness of the deeds;] and then others which urge
that the chief heads are not fictitious, we must inquire
into the age of the writer, who names himself Agathangelus,
and at num. 173 says that he was an eye-witness of the deeds
done, and a hearer of the doctrine delivered by
the Saint. He insinuates besides that he was a minister of the Gospel
precepts — that is, I think, either a bishop
or a priest — and he inscribes his Little Work to king Tiridates,
under whom Gregory held his bishopric and died.
If these things are true, he wrote
not long, or at least not many years, after the death
of St. Gregory. But it was suspect to our Papebroch
that the author said he was an eye-witness and a hearer,
and to me also it does not appear credible,
and neither will it appear likely to all others who weigh the Life
with accurate criticism, if it be extended
to the whole life of St. Gregory and to his deeds even
in youth, nay even in middle age.
[70] And certainly the author could not prudently affirm about all the things
which he narrated, or even craftily feign,
that he was writing things seen and heard; since
he begins from the power of the Parthians, and on that occasion
writes of things past by many centuries, since at least many of them he could not have seen, and presently passes
to the transfer of the empire from the Parthians to the Persians,
and the wars thence arising, which were transacted a whole century
before, even if he be believed to have written not long after
the death of Gregory. So he could not number among things seen or heard
what he narrates about the boyhood of Tiridates and of Gregory,
and what about their deeds before the reign
of Tiridates, since he had not yet been born, or at least
was a boy or a youth when those things must have happened,
unless he wrote in decrepit old age. Again he did not
see nor hear as one present the things which he reports about SS. Ripsime
and Gaiana before their coming into Armenia,
and about the machinations of Diocletian to bind Ripsime
to himself in marriage. Of like sort also are the things
which he inserted into the Life about the deeds of Constantine the Great in the West and his
wars against other emperors.
Those he could not see in the West and at the same time
dwell with St. Gregory in Armenia. All these things the author
did not see, and yet narrated, and many indeed
of them with such circumstances of the matters as though
he had seen the deeds and heard the words as one present. But since
he thus reports these things which he did not see, from his manner of narrating
it cannot be gathered that other things were seen by him.
[71] and most other things in all likelihood he did not witness. Hence it is not likely that the author saw
those horrible punishments which he narrates as inflicted upon Gregory
before he was cast into the pit to die:
for both, according to the chronology to be given from the Life, they must have preceded
Gregory's death by nearly forty years,
and they are exaggerated beyond likelihood.
No more is he to be believed to have seen the contests
of the holy virgins Ripsime and Gaiana
and of their Companions, since these too were long past,
and have been corrupted with ornaments rather poetic than
historical. The same again is to be judged
of Gregory's being cast into the pit, of his being drawn out after
fourteen years, and of the meeting of St. Gregory with Tiridates
when turned into the shape of a boar,
and of all the rest which preceded the bishopric
of St. Gregory: for both many incredible things are inserted into these,
and the author could have seen many other things
and had a suitable age for writing, even if he had been a boy
when those things must have been done. Again I do not think
that the writer was present at the baptism which St. Gregory conferred
upon the king and the Armenians,
since in these too he uses excessive amplification
and writes some things utterly incredible.
[72] The first conjecture about his assertion; What then, someone will say, shall we think
of Agathangelus, the author of this Life, who says that he narrates things seen
and heard, if he must be judged not to have been present at all the things
just enumerated, which make by far the greatest part of the Life?
Various conjectures can here be given, nothing certainly proved. Those who judge
more severely of Agathangelus will judge him an impostor
who lied that he was a contemporary in order to deceive his readers
and win credit for his fictions.
To that conjecture our Papebroch inclined,
and he would have had not a few agreeing with him.
[73] another milder; Yet it can have come about in another way also
that many things are read in the Life of St. Gregory the Armenian which
are utterly unworthy of a contemporary author, and
are either to be held for mere fictions, or so corrupted
with fictitious circumstances that they scarcely differ from fictions:
namely if perhaps some Agathangelus wrote a brief and true
Life of St. Gregory in the Armenian tongue,
and some Greek afterwards undertook to embellish it
and to amplify it with feigned circumstances of the deeds,
such as we now have it, the protestation of the first writer
meanwhile being left standing, that he reports things seen
and heard. This conjecture is milder than
the preceding, and seems to me more probable, because thus
the sum and heads of the matters can be true, as they seem to me
altogether true for reasons to be alleged, and only
corrupted by fabulous amplifications;
as very many Lives of Saints are corrupted, even if they were
accurately written at the beginning, when later writers
strive to increase and amplify the assertions of those who went before.
[74] Nevertheless yet another conjecture occurs,
by which the words of Agathangelus may perhaps have to be expounded. a third, the mildest,
He says that he was present at the deeds done, that he was an eye-witness,
and a hearer of the doctrine delivered. But he does not assert
that he was present at all the things which he narrates. Therefore perhaps
he speaks of the last years of St. Gregory, in which
he could now and then hear him speaking, in which also
he could know both king Tiridates and the sons of St. Gregory
and the bishops whom he narrates to have been ordained
by St. Gregory. If this conjecture is true,
which I would not assert more than the preceding ones,
he could have seen many other things which he narrates as done,
such as the building of churches, the amendment of morals,
the consecration of bishops and priests,
the piety and good works of king Tiridates and others.
Wherefore, if he says only of the last ten
years of Gregory, or even of the last twenty,
that he saw the deeds done and heard the doctrine —
as indeed on a like occasion some would say,
though imprudently — he does not assert a thing utterly
incredible; but it will profit him little toward deserving credit
about all the preceding things also
which he narrates, since by the very narration of improbable things
he takes away credit from himself.
[75] For he may have been of manly age a few years after
the death of Gregory, which nevertheless does not suffice to win credit for the Life in all things. and then have written those things which partly
in youth, partly in boyhood he had seen and
heard. In these indeed he may easily not have wandered far from the truth,
provided he used due diligence in inquiring
and prudence in narrating. But in the earlier things,
which even then perhaps had been much increased by rumour,
he could thus also greatly go astray,
especially if he laboured rather to write great and marvellous things
than to inquire into the truth with accurate zeal:
and that the writer of this Life was such, the very improbability
of certain facts teaches. If we will diligently attend
to those things which both in the last centuries and in our own age
we know to have been done and written — nay, even to those things which we daily
hear written in public pamphlets and sheets — we shall easily
understand that this privilege is not to be granted to all contemporary
writers, that it be not lawful to doubt of their
assertions; but to those only who by love of truth
and by prudence and caution in asserting
or narrating claim this praise for themselves. Wherefore,
since Agathangelus lacked those endowments,
even if he had seen and heard Gregory as a boy or a youth,
not even so would he deserve credit about
all the things which he narrates, and especially about the earlier ones
which preceded the conversion of Armenia.
[76] But now, since it is difficult to establish any of the said
conjectures by arguments so solid [But the things which are said to have been done in Armenia are not easily to be held for certainly false:]
that it may be held for an opinion abundantly proved, I had rather
leave the choice to the prudent reader than
assert one by those reasons with which I cannot myself
be satisfied. The deeds done in Greater Armenia in the third
and fourth centuries were of little concern to the Greek
and Latin writers, who now and then made mention only briefly
of the kings of Armenia, when the Armenians
waged wars with the Romans, first against the Parthians
and then against the Persians, or when they aided these
against the Romans, or received the crown from the emperors.
On such and like occasions the historians made mention
of the Armenians from time to time;
but the domestic deeds of the Armenians they scarcely ever touched,
and that only briefly. Hence it could easily have come about
that in the conversion of the kingdom of Armenia many things
were done, and those both illustrious and marvellous, which
neither the Greeks nor the Latins committed to writing, or even
did not know; and which for this cause will seem to us new,
unheard of, and incredible at first sight,
and which even so can be true. Therefore, even though
many incredible things of this kind are found in the Acts of St. Gregory,
I do not think that all of them are straightway
to be held for certainly false or fictitious; but that those only
are to be rejected as certainly false which by certain reasons
can be shown to be false.
[77] the author does not seem, after some centuries, Meanwhile it seems certain to me that the writer
of this Life did not write some centuries after the death
of St. Gregory, and that what true things he inserted into the Life he did not
draw from Greek and Latin historians, but either from
a report still then current among the Armenians, or from
documents of that same nation. For if any Greek
had wished to compose that Life after some centuries from Greek documents,
and to add at his own pleasure many fabulous things
to what he had found to his purpose in the historians, he would at least
not have changed the proper names in use among the Greeks in his own time.
But the author did the contrary in some, as is sufficiently
Col. 03210E clear from the name of the first king of the Persians, who transferred the empire
from the Parthians to the Persians. For he
in Dion and Herodian, who flourished in his time
and wrote in Greek, is called Artaxerxes;
as also in the Latin Lampridius and in others
more recent. The same king in Agathias, who
flourished in the sixth century and consulted Persian documents also,
is written Artaxares, as also in some others.
The same king of the Persians in the Alexandrian Annals
of Eutychius is called Azdashir, and according to others,
as is said in the version at page 371, Ardshir. In the History
of the dynasties of George Abul-Pharaj, Ardeshir
is read at page 52, and Ardshir at page 80. Thus the name
has been moderately changed even in the versions from the Arabic.
[78] to have composed the Life from Greek documents, But by our Agathangelus that same king of the Persians
is constantly called Artasiras, which differs
from all, and in all likelihood agrees better
with the Armenian pronunciation: for in the Monuments
of Armenia, page 68, the same king is named Artasiras
by our Missionaries, although they were not
ignorant that he is everywhere called Artaxerxes by Europeans.
Thus in Assemani, in the Bibliotheca Orientalis,
volume 1, page 189, repeated mention is made of Artascir,
who was the brother of Sapor II, king of the Persians, and his
successor afterwards, and who is everywhere called Artaxerxes. That those
names are the same the praised Assemani indicates
in volume 3, part 1, where at page 96 he treats of Adeser or
Ardascir, son of Siroes king of the Persians, and again
at page 416 names Ardascir from the Syrian writers,
and on that name notes the following: Ardascirus,
in Persian Ardascir. But since the letter d is often
interchanged with t, and scin with sin, hence by some
he is called Ardasirus or Ardsirus, by others Artasirus:
whence the common name Artaxares, x being substituted for s.
In Theophanes, Adeser has wrongly crept in for Ardeser or
Ardasir. Presently he adds that Artaxerxes is also the same
name, and that the first king of that name after the restored
empire of the Persians is he
who is called by our author Artasiras, and by Dion
Artaxerxes.
[79] but to have written either from the current report or from Armenian documents, Wherefore, since Agathangelus has expressed
the name of that king in a manner which we find neither among the Greek
nor among the Latin historians, and that
approaching more nearly to the Persian tongue, it is necessary
that we say that he drew from Armenian or Persian
sources, especially since all other things also persuade
the same. For he brings forward very many proper names
of men and women, of provinces, of cities,
of rivers and of mountains, which he certainly did not find among Latin
and Greek writers. But if anyone should wish
to contend that all those were feigned by Agathangelus far away,
he will not easily find credit with me.
For all those things about which we find something in writers of good
repute, we find to be true, excepting perhaps some circumstances
or exaggerations. Therefore there is no reason
why we should so easily condemn the more obscure ones: for both
the history and the topography of Armenia have remained exceedingly
obscure among the Latins and Greeks, and that
obscurity is increased by the difference of tongues, because
the Latins and Greeks took somewhat more liberty to themselves
in changing the names of places and of men.
For hence we now understand with difficulty whether the names
which were written in Latin or Greek by the ancients are the same
or different from those which afterwards were translated
from the Armenian tongue into ours.
[80] But now as to what concerns the age of the writer,
even though I should not wish to assert nor does he touch any later facts, that he was truly a contemporary,
or even that he was a young man or a youth
while Gregory was old — which last seems
to me uncertain — I shall nevertheless hardly
believe that he was later by whole centuries. The first
reason has already been given, that he seems to have written from report,
which is wont to mingle false things with true, and to corrupt true facts
with false circumstances; not at least from Greek
histories. The second reason is that he never touches in the least
upon any person or any fact
which is later than Constantine the Great or Tiridates.
But this would have been exceedingly difficult for a man
who had written some centuries after, especially if
he had been little versed in chronology and had wished
to name not a few princes, as this our author did.
But the more imprudent he was in his exaggerations
and in feigning marvels,
the more easily would he have mingled in something about later matters or
persons, just as he mingled in much about earlier ones,
unless he had been either contemporary or nearly so
with Gregory and Tiridates, of whom he chiefly
treats, and whose successors he never touches by any
word, as neither the successors of Constantine the Great
in the empire, nor any successors of St. Gregory in the bishopric
except Aristaces, and Vertanes, whom he calls Urthanes,
as a priest.
[81] There is added a third reason from the silence of our biographer,
nay, even the manner in which the Armenians say the Saint died, who passed over many of those things which afterwards
were asserted by the Armenians and now have a place in their
History. First, Agathangelus is silent
about the place and manner in which St. Gregory died. But of
his death Galanus, from the Breviary of the Armenian Preachers,
has this in chapter 2, page 37: Our blessed
illuminator Gregory, hidden from human eyes,
had already for many years led the harsh life of the hermits
in a recess of a certain mountain of the province of Daranali:
whose passage to Christ could be known by no one; save that some shepherds,
finding his body by chance after some time,
buried him there. In each
History of St. Gregory's life which at num. 64 I said had been turned from Armenian
into Latin, the same is reported; and in
the first the shepherds, when the body was found, are said not to have known
who he might be. But that this was revealed in the time of the emperor Zeno
to a hermit whose name was
Garnicius, both affirm. Monier at page 76
found like things about the death of St. Gregory in the Armenian History,
and says that he died on a mountain named Sepuh.
All these things, which I wished to bring forward in order at the same time to set out
the opinion of the Armenians about the death of St. Gregory,
the biographer passed over; and from this it may be conjectured
that he wrote before the body was found.
Yet I should not wish to assert as certain all those things
which are here said about his death, although that solitary death
becomes likely from the biographer's silence; and still less
to admit as certain what is added in the Armenian Life
just praised, that the body of the dead man was found
standing in the bark of the same tree in which
he had died.
[82] and he omits many other things asserted later. So the biographer passed over many other things which
were afterwards devised by the Armenians for the glory of their church.
Galanus in chapter 2 reports many privileges
which St. Sylvester the Pope is said to have granted to St. Gregory.
But of these our Agathangelus says nothing. He asserts that one
of them was that it should be lawful for St. Gregory to consecrate
a patriarch of Albania, and that there was truly consecrated by St.
Gregory for Albania another Gregory,
his grandson; concerning which our Life again is silent.
I pass over the many things which Monier similarly narrated from the History
of the Armenians, our biographer keeping a deep silence
about them, who in all likelihood wrote
long before those things were invented. Wherefore
I suspect that the writer was ancient enough
to have composed a better Life, but was more
solicitous to write great and marvellous things than
diligently to investigate the truth and follow it alone.
But if he omitted many things on purpose, lest he should betray his own age,
he was far more cautious in concealing his own age
than in keeping his fabulous assertions within
the bounds of probability. Whatever it be, he mingled true things
with false.
§ VI. The conversion of Greater Armenia is to be attributed to St.
Gregory: it is to be fixed at the beginning of the fourth century: certain other heads of the Life
are confirmed.
The faith preached in Armenia by the Apostles: but religion there failed: Although SS. Bartholomew, Thaddæus,
and perhaps others of the Apostles, are read to have preached
the faith in Greater Armenia and among the neighbouring
peoples, and doubtless converted not a few to Christ,
yet those happy beginnings seem quickly
to have vanished, and in the following centuries
before our St. Gregory no traces of the Christian
faith are found in Greater Armenia, as
Monier confesses in the Monuments of the Eastern Missions,
volume 3, page 67, where he says that neither from history nor
from the tradition of the Armenians does anything in the least become known
about the Christian faith preserved among the Armenians
down almost to the times of Constantine the Great. Galanus indeed says,
in chapter 2, that there were innumerable martyrs in Armenia
who preceded the falling asleep of St. Gregory in Armenia,
rightly assigning the death of St. Gregory,
so as to find at least some. But he by no means proves
concerning Greater Armenia, which St. Gregory converted,
that there were in it after the times of the Apostles
any martyrs before St. Gregory: for Ripsime and
Gaiana with their Companions suffered in Gregory's time,
and are said to have come into Armenia from elsewhere.
[84] then in Greater Armenia before Gregory martyrs, The Ten thousand Crucified martyrs, who
are asserted to have fallen on mount Ararat, are of no
more help toward filling Armenia with martyrs.
For their history is either fabulous or corrupted with fables,
as was abundantly proved at the XXII
of June. But if the Acts have anything of truth, those soldiers
were Romans, nor will they have suffered in Greater Armenia,
but on some mountain to which a writer fond of fables
imposed the name Ararat at his own
liberty. Galanus then recounts many martyrs
who suffered in Lesser Armenia, who do not bear upon our
purpose, since Lesser Armenia
was a province of the Roman empire, nor is there any doubt
that the Christian faith was propagated in it
long before the conversion of Greater Armenia by
Gregory.
[85] Tillemont, volume 5 of the Ecclesiastical Monuments, in the Persecution
of Diocletian, article 44, doubtfully brings forward from Eusebius,
book 6, chapter 46, an argument for a more ancient
conversion of the Armenians. or that they were Christians, cannot be proved. Eusebius there recounts
some Letters of St. Dionysius of Alexandria,
and among them one to the Armenians likewise concerning penance,
whose bishop was Meruzanes.
Hence he says of Meruzanes: That barbarous name
affords some reason for believing that he was bishop of Greater
Armenia. Yet he adds that there is no
other reason for that suspicion. And indeed
that suspicion is very slight, since at that time other like names
were not wanting in the Roman empire.
Nevertheless Baillet, at the XXX of September in St. Gregory,
makes Meruzanes a bishop in Greater Armenia,
and consequently asserts without any argument
that there were many Catholics there before St. Gregory.
But the constant tradition of the Armenians attributes St. Gregory
to Greater Armenia as its apostle: nor is that
a merely popular tradition, but it can be confirmed
by testimonies sufficiently ancient for this, and by the silence
of all the Fathers and writers who flourished about that
time and made no mention of Christians in Greater
Armenia. Therefore I judge altogether that Meruzanes
was a bishop in Lesser Armenia, just as all those bishops
to whom St. Dionysius writes there were in the Roman
empire.
[86] Sozomen, book 2, chapter 8, writes these things about the conversion
of the Armenians: The Armenians converted before the Iberians under king Tiridates, For as to what concerns the Armenians,
I have learned that they had received the faith of Christ long before.
These things were given less accurately from the Greek by
Valesius. He had narrated in chapter 7 that the Iberians were converted in the time
of Constantine the Great. Then he says that the neighbouring
nations were converted afterwards, but the Armenians before
the Iberians. The Greek words run thus: Αρμενίους
δὲ
πάλιν
πρότερον
ἐπυθόμην
χριστιανίσαι. But the Armenians
on the contrary I have learned to have been Christians earlier. He asserts
that the Armenians were converted before the Iberians, and he could say this
even if they had been converted when Constantine
had already begun to reign in the West. For
since the Iberians are read to have sent legates to Constantine
to make a treaty with him and to obtain preachers of the Christian
faith, their conversion seems
to be fixed at the time when, after Licinius was conquered in the year 323,
Constantine reigned alone. But if Sozomen meant
that the Christian faith was received by the Armenians even before
Constantine's reign, it is necessary
to look to the third century or to the first years
of the fourth. Let us meanwhile hear how the praised Sozomen
reports their conversion: For they say
that Tiridates, the petty king of that nation (in Greek
ἡγούμενον, leader), on occasion of a certain heavenly
portent which had happened in his own house, both himself
became a Christian, and openly commanded all his subjects
by a herald to cultivate the same
religion. From these some assertions of the Life are confirmed,
namely the conversion of king Tiridates himself with all his people.
The heavenly portent perhaps insinuates
the revelation which in the Life is asserted to have been offered to the king's sister,
and which, if it be true, opened the way to
the conversion of the king and of the whole kingdom.
[87] That Armenia was Christian for not a few years
before the year 313: before Constantine reigned alone,
and before the death of the emperor Maximin, who died in the year 313,
is clear from Eusebius, book 9, chapter 8, where he treats
of the plagues brought upon the Roman empire, and thus speaks
of Maximin: Moreover a war was stirred up by the tyrant
against the Armenians, who from ancient
times had been friends and allies of the Roman people:
who, since they too were Christians and most zealous
for the divine religion, the tyrant hateful to God,
attempting by force to draw them over to the worship of images and demons,
made enemies of friends, and foes of allies. Of the war waged
by Maximin against the Armenians he speaks below most briefly thus:
And he himself indeed in the war against the Armenians
endured with his army various disasters and hardships. Tillemont refers that war
to the year 312; it certainly cannot be fixed later; but it could
have begun some years earlier, since Maximin
governed Syria from the year 305, and so
was a neighbour to the Armenians. Eusebius does not declare how long
the Armenians had by then been Christians. Yet
we may suspect that their conversion was recent,
and that for that cause Maximin was so exasperated
that he presumed to impose laws even in another's kingdom.
But this suspicion will receive greater force from what is to be said.
[88] their conversion, from a certain document, to be fixed in the year 305 or 306, Combefis, in his Auctarium of the Greek fathers,
part 2, from column 271, published a brief Narration about
the affairs of Armenia, whose beginning bears upon our purpose.
It runs thus: Under the most God-loving
emperor Constantine the Great, the holy Nicene
synod was celebrated against Arius, in the thirty-
fourth year of king Tiridates, and the twentieth of the coming forth
of St. Gregory from the pit, holy Rostaces
and his Father holding the bishopric (read bishopric),
who also set out to the synod. If these
notes of time were altogether accurate — which
I do not contend — the beginning of the conversion of the Armenians
would have to be fixed in the year 305 or 306. For it is established
that the Nicene synod was held under Constantine
in the year 325. If therefore this year was the twentieth from the coming forth
of St. Gregory out of the pit, or out of the foul and long
prison, of which I shall treat in the Annotations on the Life,
Gregory was brought out in the year 305 or 306;
and at the same time the conversion of the king of Armenia and of all
the people began. This epoch standing, it is easily understood
that Maximin was exasperated against the Armenians
because they cast down idols and overthrew profane
temples, and that he at last leapt forth to war against them
because they were utterly banishing the worship of the gods, which had long
flourished in Armenia.
[89] from Theophanes under Constantine, under whom Leontius sat at Cæsarea, This epoch is favoured by Theophanes in his Chronography,
page 19, where he says: With like event also in his
(Constantine the Great's) time the Armenians, at the exhortations of Tiridates
their king and of Gregory their bishop,
all received the faith together with salvation. Constantine began to reign
in the year 306. Therefore from Theophanes certainly the conversion
would have to be fixed not earlier, but perhaps
a little later. There is added Leontius,
bishop of Cæsarea in Cappadocia, by whom
St. Gregory is believed to have been consecrated, for confirming in some fashion the epoch
given. For Leontius in the year
325 was present at the Nicene council, and survived after
Nicæa — we know not how long — so that it becomes likely
that he was made bishop in the fourth century itself, or
not long before; but about the very year in which he began to sit
nothing certain can be established. But at least
that he was not a bishop from the middle of the fourth century, nor from the time of St.
Dionysius of Alexandria, who died in the year 264 or 265,
is certain from elsewhere: for when St. Dionysius
of Alexandria died, Firmilian sat in the chair
of Cæsarea, whose death is fixed by Tillemont in the year
269. Wherefore Meruzanes, of whom there was treatment above,
was not bishop of Greater Armenia, since
St. Gregory is held the first after the Apostles. Whether
between Firmilian and Leontius others sat
in between, I have not been able to find. Yet this is most
likely.
[90] If now we join together the testimonies hitherto
recited, and from the comparison of all, at the beginning of the fourth century. and also compare them with the Life to be published,
all will agree well enough for fixing the conversion of Armenia
together with the beginning of Gregory's bishopric
at the beginning of the fourth century. Eusebius is a contemporary witness
of their full conversion before the year
312, after which cannot be fixed the war which
they endured on that account. Hence their conversion at least
cannot be fixed later than about the year 310;
but it can be fixed earlier, if nothing else stands in the way. Sozomen's
words determine the time of the conversion less;
but they at least agree with the epochs given, nor do they allow
us to believe the Armenians converted much later.
Theophanes, who wrote his Chronicle from more ancient
documents in the eighth or ninth century,
assigns for the conversion of the Armenians the reign of Constantine:
which must necessarily be restricted to the earlier years of Constantine's
reign from Eusebius. Therefore
in all likelihood the Narration of Armenian affairs does not wander far from the truth,
which brings back the conversion of the Armenians to the year 305
or 306. This epoch also
coheres rightly with Leontius, who consecrated Gregory,
as I have already said, and with the Life to be published.
Nevertheless I do not think that that epoch is to be asserted
so strictly, since the words of Eusebius and Sozomen
do not require it, and the authority of the others is not so great
that we cannot fear lest perhaps they may have gone astray
by some years. Wherefore I had rather broadly place the conversion of Armenia
at the beginning of the fourth century
than confine it within one year or another
without adequate arguments.
[91] But before we say more about the chronology,
let us confirm some assertions of the Life. Some assertions of the Life Gregory
or George, priest of Cæsarea, in his Oration
about the fathers of the Nicene synod, which Lipomanus published in Latin,
volume 6, from folio 116, toward the end
treats of St. Leontius of Cæsarea, who, he says, laboured much for
the faith before the Nicene synod, and was the teacher of many
martyrs. And among the disciples
of St. Leontius he also numbers our St. Gregory,
of whom he writes these things: For one of these
is also Gregory, great among victorious athletes,
who found the relics of the holy martyrs
Ripsime and Gaiana, and first indeed overthrew
the unchaste Tiridates, and then led him to the faith.
From these words we have, first, that the holy Ripsime
and Gaiana were truly crowned with martyrdom in
Armenia, and that their relics were afterwards found there
by Gregory: both are asserted in the Life.
Secondly, when he calls Tiridates unchaste, he in some fashion
insinuates that the praised Virgins suffered for their own
chastity, because they would not consent to the king's lust,
as again the Life has it.
[92] Thirdly, the conversion of king Tiridates by Gregory,
which is established from several other documents, confirmed from elsewhere,
is most clearly confirmed. Fourthly, those words,
he first indeed overthrew Tiridates, altogether signify
that some grave evil befell Tiridates
before he was converted, so that that gravest one,
by which in the Life the king is said to have been turned into the form of a boar,
perhaps is not wholly without foundation, as I shall say
at greater length in the Annotations. Fifthly and lastly, the words alleged
make Gregory a disciple of St. Leontius; and
the Life likewise asserts that Gregory was instructed in the church
of Cæsarea. He seems, however, to have been imbued
with the precepts of Christian life before the bishopric
of Leontius. But that does not stand in the way of his having been able to learn
many things also from Leontius. Perhaps, however, on account of his consecration and
the instructions then received, he is called a disciple of Leontius only.
[93] and by name his consecration by St. Leontius In the praised Combefis, from column 317, there is published
an Invective against the Armenian heretics by Isaac the Catholicos,
in which frequent mention is made of our St. Gregory.
Of the ordination of St. Gregory by Leontius
the said Isaac writes thus in chapter 13, column 367, in the translation
of Combefis: For saint Gregory,
who was bishop of the Armenians, and Leontius
the most blessed archbishop of Cæsarea in Cappadocia,
who ordained that same Gregory,
entered into a covenant of security between themselves, that whoever
for the time should be set over the Armenians as bishop
should receive ordination from the church and pontiff of Cæsarea
from which Gregory himself had at the beginning received the priesthood:
all which things are more accurately explained in the book about
the Life and martyrdom of St. Gregory.
In the second Invective, column 402, the same writer urges and proves this
against the Armenian heretics in this manner:
For Gregory, bishop of Greater Armenia, received ordination
in the city of Cæsarea. Since therefore
the great pontiff Leontius had the malignant mind of the Armenians
thoroughly perceived, he signified by letters
to king Tiridates in these words: “From me you have received
the priesthood: let therefore the right of ordination in your metropolis
remain unshaken to my see.”
And he received a strong and firm rescript
of this tenor: “Of this matter we exhibit as sureties
the right hand of the Most High, and the precious cross,
etc.” The whole Letter may be read there. Isaac,
the author of those Invectives, Combefis
honoured with the title of Saint, as also Nicon, whose
words I shall presently give; yet I do not know whether the title of Saint
sufficiently certainly befits those writers: this may be examined
concerning St. Nicon at the XXVI of November.
[94] it is established in the church of Cæsarea. In the Lyons Library of the Fathers, volume 25,
page 328, there is extant a fragment of a Little Work about the errors
of the Armenians, which is attributed by some to Nicon —
rightly or otherwise, there is no need to examine here.
Whoever that Nicon was, he strongly asserts the ordination of Gregory
by Leontius, and confirms it again by another
argument, writing thus: Then, when
the great Gregory, who was bishop of greater Armenia,
had provided that the bishop of Armenia should be ordained by no
other than by the archbishop of Cæsarea in Cappadocia of that time,
where he himself
also was ordained; and dreadful execrations
and anathema were pronounced against those who do otherwise;
these things indeed they transgress … But if
they deny that the great Gregory established these things,
let them show us his constitutions to his sons,
and their mouth will be stopped. Finally Gelasius of Cyzicus
in his History of the Nicene council, book 2, chapter 36, recounts
the bishops to whom in the various parts of the world was committed
the care of promulgating the statutes of the council. Among these,
of Leontius of Cæsarea he has this: Leontius of Cæsarea
in Cappadocia, a great ornament of the Church of the Lord,
to the churches in the same Cappadocia, Galatia,
Pontus of Diospontus, Paphlagonia, in Pontus
Polemoniacus, Lesser and Greater Armenia. These again
hint that Greater Armenia was as much subject to the church of Cæsarea
in Cappadocia as the remaining
provinces enumerated. Wherefore I do not see
that there is room to doubt about the consecration asserted in the Life of St. Gregory
in the church of Cæsarea by St. Leontius.
[95] At the Nicene council was Gregory's successor: of five who subscribed there The Life at num. 169 asserts that the Nicene council
was held while St. Gregory was alive, that the Saint however
did not come thither, but sent his son Aristaces,
just as even now the history and tradition
of the Armenians has it. On this matter the Narration about
the affairs of Armenia agrees, whose words I gave at num. 88, in
which he is called Rostaces. In the subscriptions of the Nicene
council in Labbe, volume 2 of the Councils, column 52,
there are read five bishops of the province of Greater Armenia.
But since not a few errors seem to have crept into the subscriptions,
perhaps all those will not be of Greater Armenia: for one of them is called
bishop of Amasia, which city is of Pontus, so that he seems to be added
to the bishops of Pontus who follow there.
But he of them who is believed to have been St. Gregory's
son is there read as Acrites, and is noted in the margin
as Aristarces, and elsewhere as Aristæus. Baronius at
the year 311, num. 27, assigns this man as St. Gregory's successor,
and says that the name in the subscriptions is
corrupted, and that he is called Arostanes, namely by Metaphrastes
in Surius. Binius followed this in
his Annotations on the subscriptions, and Tillemont, volume
6 in the Nicene Council, article 4. But Acrites subscribed
as of Diospontus. And from the words of Gelasius
of Cyzicus just given, Diospontus seems to have been a region
distinct from either Armenia, since there is there mentioned
Pontus of Diospontus.
[96] Charles de St. Paul in his Sacred Geography
recounts Diospontus as a bishopric of the second Armenia,
alleging Acrites as being of Greater Armenia, one only seems to belong to it.
of whom we treat. But Holsten
in his Annotations, page 248, observes that Diospontus
seems to be a province, not a city, writing thus
on the word Diospontus: A supposititious bishopric
born from the confusion of the common codices. A most ancient
Manuscript so places Diosponti separately,
as the name of a province, to which there is then subjoined
Eutychianus, bishop of Amasia. Whence it is certain
that Diospontus was formerly what afterwards was called Hellenopontus [*].
So also Ortelius observed that Dispontus
was so called by an ancient physician.
Again at page 250, on the word Helenopontus, he says,
Which formerly was Diospontus. These things are altogether confirmed from
the words of Gelasius of Cyzicus already given. Therefore I judge
that there was only one bishop of Greater Armenia at the Nicene
council, as neither the Life of Gregory nor
the Narration about the affairs of Armenia, nor the history or tradition
of the Armenians, makes mention of several. But he
in Labbe, column 52, is read, after the title
of the Province of Greater Armenia, subscribed in the first place thus:
Arsaphius of Sophene, or Arasphius
of Sophonene. His name is not so far corrupted
that he cannot be believed the same as St. Gregory's successor.
For he in our Life is called Arostaces,
in Surius Arostanes, in Combefis Rostaces,
in Galanus chapter 3 and among the Armenians of today
Aristarces. This man alone, I say, I judge to have been
from Greater Armenia at the council, just as only one
from Persia is read to have been present at it. But that
he is called of Sophene shows that he was from Greater
Armenia, whose region Sophene is well known. For this
could either have a city of the same name, or give the name
to the bishop, as having only one. Charles
de St. Paul wrongly assigned Sophene to the second Armenia,
which is part of the Lesser, as Holsten also
observed.
[97] Nicephorus Callistus, book 8, chapter 14, recounts
many bishops of the Nicene council, At that council Gregory was not present: nor yet that he was dead, and of these names not
a few who had suffered various things for the name of Christ.
Among these there is numbered by him Gregory
of Greater Armenia, as though he had been present at the council. But the Life
denies this, and the Armenians themselves never said that Gregory himself,
but that his son and successor, was at the council.
Wherefore Baronius, already praised, rightly noted that slip
of Nicephorus, but he adds
a reason by no means to be approved, writing thus: But
Nicephorus is convicted of a manifest error when he says that this man's predecessor
Gregory was present at the Nicene synod,
whom it is established to have died long before. But against this conjecture of Baronius
both our Life makes Gregory living at the time of the council,
and the Narration about the affairs of Armenia in
Combefis: Galanus also and Monier from the Armenian
Histories write that Gregory survived at the time of the Nicene
council. What then drove Baronius to the contrary
opinion? Doubtless Metaphrastes,
although not even he asserts the death
of Gregory before the Nicene council, but only reports
that the son was consecrated bishop by his Father, and
then subjoins: And when he had consecrated him, and had gone round
with him the whole region round about,
and had further confirmed them with the word of faith, he returns
into that solitude which he had long since travailed for.
Then he begins to speak of the emperor Constantine
and of the Nicene council, to which, he says,
there came also Arostanes, bishop of Armenia;
nor does he insinuate by the least word whether St.
Gregory was then alive or dead; nor
does he report the Saint's death. Therefore the opinion of Metaphrastes
is utterly ambiguous, and Baronius seems to have had nothing
for Gregory's death besides conjectures.
[98] the ancient tradition of the Armenians holds, against which no reason stands. He believed him dead, I think, because his son
set out to the council, and because Metaphrastes records
nothing further about Gregory's life. But
our Life, from which Metaphrastes drew everything,
asserts that Gregory lived after the council, and used the faith
and canons of the council for instructing the people;
and that he was not so fixed in solitude that
he did not bear the supreme care of his church. Wherefore,
if Metaphrastes said the altogether contrary, he would not be
to be heard against the more ancient Life, which after
some centuries he followed, and against all the tradition and history
of the Armenians. The conversion
of Armenia Baronius referred to the year 311, and although
I think it done some years earlier, that epoch certainly
cannot help toward fixing Gregory's death
before the year 325, since the Armenians attribute thirty
years or more to his bishopric. Baillet
in St. Gregory fixes the Saint's death a short time
before Constantine's dominion in the East, that is,
before Licinius was conquered, and so some years before
the Nicene council; but he neither alleges reasons here
nor wrote rightly about the chronology of Gregory's life. I confess
indeed that the Life of St. Gregory is not of such credit
that from it it becomes certain that Gregory survived
after the council; yet, since all the more ancient and
more recent documents of the Armenians assert the same,
this at least seems to me more probable, and altogether to be followed,
since no reason of any weight stands in the way.
He did not himself come to the council: but an Old Man could in all likelihood
be excused by infirmity of body or by
great age. Baillet also says that Tiridates, king of Armenia, died
some years earlier, without any
reason. Let us therefore examine whether Tiridates, in whose
time Armenia was converted, seems to have lived
in the year 325, as is asserted in the Life of St. Gregory.
[99] Tiridates also was living, nor does a faulty Law prove the contrary, Baronius at the year 325, num. 27, recites
in Gothofredus in the Theodosian Code, volume 4,
page 6. In this Law, which is attributed to Constantine
the Great, and which according to the consuls added would have to be fixed
in the year 315, mention is made of Arsaces, king of the Armenians.
But if in the year 315 the king of the Armenians
was Arsaces, Tiridates, under whom Armenia was converted,
did not survive to the year 325. Baronius
says that Arsaces was king of Lesser Armenia.
But this is not probable, because Lesser Armenia
in those times had no king, but had long been reduced
into a province of the Roman empire. Therefore
the opinion of Gothofredus is better, who in his Commentary
observes that not only does Arsaces, king of Armenia,
not agree with the times of Constantine the Great,
but neither does Datianus the patrician, nor Eusebius,
the ex-consul and ex-master of horse and foot,
who are mentioned in the same Law. And hence he suspects
that the consuls and the subscription in the Law are corrupted,
and that it is to be ascribed to the emperor Constantius.
For the three said persons are easily found under Constantius
and are very well known. Errors of this kind
occur not rarely in the Code, and unless
a corruption of the consuls be admitted, another must necessarily
be admitted: for the Law is read as given at Constantinople.
But in the year 315 the name of Constantinople
was not known, and Byzantium, to which that name
was afterwards given, was not yet in Constantine's dominion.
Wherefore, even though Gothofredus dared change nothing,
his opinion about referring the Law to Constantius
seems certain to me; nor can it stand in the way
of Tiridates having lived in the year 325 and later.
[100] Such a chronology of the kings of Armenia as they could
Galanus and Monier wove out of the Histories of the Armenians,
but the chronology of the Armenians, compared with Roman history from which I shall transfer hither some things
for confirmation. After St. Gregory the patriarch of the Armenians
was Aristarces or Arostanes,
his son, as is reported, for seven years; but these for the greater
part seem to be included within Gregory's lifetime. Then
Vertanes is said to have succeeded, another son, as they will have it, of St.
Gregory, for fifteen years. In this patriarch's
time Galanus places the death of king Tiridates,
and of his son and successor Chosroes II, whom
he calls wicked; and he adds: Who, leaving his son Tiran
heir of the kingdom and of his own iniquity, quickly ended
his life. After Vertanes there is placed as patriarch Hesychius
for six years under king Tiran. Then Parniersch
as patriarch for five years, in whose time Arsaces
succeeded to the kingdom: for Tiran is said to have died
not long after the patriarch Hesychius.
Monier agrees about the patriarchs and kings just recounted
and about the time assigned to each; as also
the Narration about the affairs of Armenia in Combefis
agrees about the number of kings and patriarchs,
where the years are passed over. It remains therefore that we inquire
whether Arsaces, who is very well known in Roman
history, is referred to nearly the same times
by the Armenian and the Roman writers.
[101] The patriarchs Vertanes and Hesychius together nearly
filled up the time being compared, altogether insinuates, which flowed between Tiridates
and Arsaces. For Galanus in chapter 5 reports
that Hesychius was slain by king Tiran, and subjoins:
But Tiran himself not long after was smitten with the punishment due
to his impiety: for being made blind,
he impatiently and miserably took his own life. Wherefore, if Vertanes
became patriarch seven years after the Nicene council, that is in the year 332,
the death of Hesychius comes to be fixed about the year 353, and
so according to the Armenians Arsaces will have come to the kingdom
about 354 or 355. If anyone should believe the patriarchate
of Vertanes to be fixed earlier, he will be able to bring Arsaces
to the kingdom earlier also. But it is not likely
that Arsaces was raised to the throne of Armenia earlier.
For Tillemont, volume 4 of the Emperors,
makes mention of Arsaces at various turns, and
in Constantine the Great, article 60, asserts that Arsaces
in the year 360 was joined in marriage with Olympias,
who had before been betrothed to the emperor Constans.
Ammianus in book 20, chapter XI, narrates the matter, and then
first makes mention of Arsaces.
[102] Wherefore from the marriage then entered into it is in some fashion
gathered that Tiridates survived after the year 325. that Arsaces was a young man in the year 360,
and thus the chronology of the Armenians does not seem far
from the truth: for according to it Arsaces in the year
360 had reigned only a few years. Therefore that Armenian
chronology agrees well enough with the Roman,
as is again gathered from Nerses, who was made patriarch
after all those already recounted, and is rightly connected
by the Armenians with the reign of Theodosius the Great,
as anyone will gather from subtracting the years. Therefore
that chronology of the Armenians is not so faulty
that it must be denied that Tiridates and St. Gregory survived
after the Nicene council. For since these two
were the chief persons, the Anonymous author who
in the seventh century composed that chronology could
at least learn that from ancient monuments. But if
now and then he went astray by some years, even so that time
which is placed between Tiridates and Arsaces
will rightly agree with Roman history,
and so it will always be more probable that Tiridates died about the year
330 than before 325.
Annotataelsewhere Helenopontus*
§ VII. A double chronology of the deeds of St. Gregory
and of the others reported in the Life; the first according to the Life, and that not sufficiently
probable: the other comprehending only a few heads.
[According to the Life, of the things reported in it this is nearly the chronology.] Besides the heads of the Life just confirmed, in it
not a few other true things are found, as also
many fabulous ones, or ones corrupted by excessive exaggerations,
as I shall show in the Annotations. But that
the studious reader may be able the more rightly to judge of each,
I shall give a double chronology. The first will cling closely
to the Life: the other will set out in order only the more certain
heads of the Life. Agathangelus, in order to teach of what stock
St. Gregory was born, begins his Life
from the ruin of the empire of the Parthians, which in the third century
was transferred to the Persians. This history is true, and
very well known among the Greek and Latin writers, excepting
perhaps some circumstances which our Agathangelus either found elsewhere
or feigned. The first king of the Persians,
who cast Artabanus, king of the Parthians, from
the throne, is everywhere called by the Latins Artaxerxes,
by our author Artasiras, as has been said. If we begin from this true
history, and admit the rest as true,
the chronology of St. Gregory and of king Tiridates
will have to be fixed in this manner.
[104] From the time of the empire transferred to the Persians The rebellion of Artasiras or Artaxerxes against
Artabanus, king of the Parthians, whom in three battles,
as Xiphilinus has it in his Compendium of Dion, he overcame
and slew, I see fixed by some in the year 225,
by others in 226, and again in 227. Our biographer
in a highly probable manner insinuates that that intestine war
was not ended in one year, but that there was fighting for at least
two years before Artabanus was slain,
and more probably that he was slain only in the third year.
But the death of Artabanus is certainly not to be fixed
after the year 228, since it is reported by Dion, who
did not proceed in his writing beyond that year. Artabanus
being slain, the king of Armenia prepared himself for war,
who in the Life is called Cusaro, and by the Armenians
of today Chosroes, and is asserted to have been the father of Tiridates,
under whom Armenia was converted.
[105] and the war between the Persians and Armenians Wherefore the beginning of the war between Cusaro and
Artasiras will have to be placed in the year 229 or 230. Cusaro routed
in the first year the army of Artasiras; in the second
year he seized much spoil in the enemy's dominion,
and at num. 12 he is asserted to have done thus thereafter for ten years.
These lead down to about the year
240, if the ten years be distinguished from Cusaro's first
expedition, in which he overcame the Persians in battle;
or even a little further, if the biographer meant to distinguish the second year also
from those ten. From Roman history it also becomes certain
that after the death of Artabanus, king of the Parthians, there was a war between
the Persians and the Armenians, and that these at the beginning were victors,
as Dion testified. From the same again it becomes most probable
that that war was long and was continued for easily fifteen years
by the Persians against the Romans and their allies
the Armenians. For certainly it was not begun after the year 229,
nor does it seem to have been ended before the year 244,
in which peace was made between the emperor Philip and Sapor, king of the Persians.
The beginning Xiphilinus narrates thus in the compendium of Dion:
For Artaxerxes the Persian, when he had overcome the Parthians
in three battles and had slain Artabanus their king,
rushed into Armenia. Driven out of it by the inhabitants
and by some Medes and by the sons of Artabanus,
he betook himself to flight, as some think.
For others say that he withdrew in order to gather greater forces.
[106] By reason of this war the emperor Alexander led an army
into the East, long continued, and in the year 233 with three
columns wished to enter the Persian dominions, as Tillemont narrates
more fully in volume 3 of the Emperors, in
Alexander, article 21 and following. Of these columns
one passed through Armenia, and doubtless
had joined to itself the army of the Armenians,
and so invaded Media, a province of the Persians.
But the army being led back, presently in the following year
234 Alexander, when he had understood, as Herodian testifies,
that the Germans had crossed the Rhine and the Danube,
withdrew with nearly all his forces without any peace
made with the Persians. Therefore we sufficiently understand how
the Armenians with the other allies of the Romans and
with the Roman forces left behind could continue the war for many years
against the Persians, whose strength was
worn down. And this may be the reason why the Roman
provinces down to the year 241 are read to have suffered little or
nothing in the East, even though there was a war
with the Persians and the Romans had few soldiers there.
[107] The slaying of Cusaro, king of Armenia, whom the father
of St. Gregory, Anac, is asserted to have treacherously killed in the spring,
about 241 Cusaro, father of Tiridates, was slain, after twelve years of war, when again
he was thinking of breaking into Persia, will thus have to be fixed
in the year 240 or 241. This slaying I do not find in the Roman
histories, and therefore it seems uncertain.
Yet the notable change which in the year 241 was brought about
in the affairs of the Persians and Romans lends some sort of likelihood
to such a deed.
For in the year 241 the Persians made vast progress in Mesopotamia and Syria,
so that they came as far as Antioch
and took it, as Julius Capitolinus declares in clear words
in his Gordian the emperor, page 162. For this cause Gordian in the year 242
set out for the East with a vast army, and
either in the same year or the following overthrew the Persians several times,
and recovered the cities lost in Syria and Mesopotamia.
But now, according to the Life, the king of the Persians,
having learned of the slaying of Cusaro, led his army
into Armenia and occupied it all. Therefore,
if Cusaro was slain in the year 240, the remainder
of that year the king of the Persians could spend in occupying Armenia,
and in the year 241 attack Syria and Mesopotamia.
But if the slaying was done in the year
241, as is more probable, because Gordian did not depart from Rome
before the year 242, the king of the Persians could
occupy Armenia in the same year, and at the same
time with a part of his army, or afterwards with his whole
army, invade the provinces of the Romans, and advance
even in the year 242, until Gordian should arrive with the Roman
army. All these would cohere most rightly, provided
the slaying of Cusaro by Anac and
the occupation of Armenia were as well known in the Roman histories
as they now are in the Armenian. But neither
about the slaying of the king of Armenia, nor about Armenia occupied
at that time by the Persians, could I find a word
among the historians of Roman affairs.
[108] Gregory born about 240, Tiridates about 230: Let us nevertheless proceed with the Life to the chronology
we have set ourselves. Cusaro being slain, Anac himself
is said to have been killed in flight. Of his kinsmen, most of whom
also were slain, two infants were saved,
and of these Gregory is asserted to have been carried by flight into
the dominion of the Romans, and brought up at Cæsarea in Cappadocia.
The other, who is not named, is said to have been carried
into Persia. According to these things, therefore, St. Gregory was born
about the year 240. Then at num. 16 the king
of the Persians is said to have made all the Armenians captives.
But one of the captives who escaped saved one of the sons
of Cusaro, not the youngest boy, so that
Tiridates seems to have been already eight or ten years old
when his father Cusaro was slain. Wherefore
the birth of Tiridates from these things is to be fixed broadly about
230. But this age of Tiridates will have the greatest
difficulties, if with Agathangelus we say that Armenia was converted
under him.
[109] and after what has been reported of both, Meanwhile let us proceed with the same author. St. Gregory
is said to have taken a wife at Cæsarea and to have begotten two
sons. That marriage may broadly be fixed about
270. But Tiridates could have recovered his father's kingdom
in the war which the emperor Carus waged against the Persians
in the year 283, or even some years earlier or
later on an occasion unknown to us. Gregory,
who began to suffer not long after the kingdom was recovered by Tiridates,
could have begun his contests for the faith about
290, and at that time have been cast into the foul prison
or pit, that he might die there. But if he remained there
fourteen years, he will have been brought out about 304,
and about that time the conversion of Armenia was begun.
St. Gregory, being ordained bishop, continued the conversion of the Armenians
which had been begun, and built very many churches
and ordained bishops and other
clergy.
[110] Gregory died about 326, Tiridates about 330. But since Gregory was a lover of the solitary life,
all things being rightly established in Armenia, he is said
to have ordained his son Aristaces bishop, which
was done before the year 325, that is before the Nicene
council, at which Aristaces was present, Gregory being alive
but not coming to the council because of old age or infirmity
of body. Gregory is further said
to have lived some time after the council, and so his death
can be fixed about the year 326, when according to
the chronology given he counted about eighty-
six years. But Tiridates also survived after Gregory
according to the Life, so that his death comes to be fixed
about the year 330, when he must have counted
about a hundred years. So great an age in each
would not indeed be utterly incredible, if it were asserted
by a faithful and accurate writer: but it will here with difficulty find
credit because of Agathangelus's manifest excesses in other matters,
especially the age of Tiridates, since other things also
effectually contradict the chronology of this Life as given.
[111] But this chronology seems contrary to history, For first, Armenia from about the year 240
would have been subject to the Persians, until Tiridates by the help of the Romans
had recovered his father's kingdom. Armenia was indeed
for some time in the third century under the protection
of the Persians. But that seems to have begun later.
For Zonaras in his Annals, book 12, chapter 21, in
the emperor Gallus, writes the following: Under him the movement
of the Persians broke out afresh, who occupied Armenia,
king Tiridates having escaped by flight, whose sons had betaken themselves
to the enemy. These things are to be placed in the year 252
or 253, unless they happened in that very year 251 in which Gallus
obtained the empire. With Zonaras agrees
Zosimus in Gallus so far as he asserts that the Persians rushed plundering
into the dominions of the Romans, writing thus:
But the Persians set foot in Asia (that is, the Lesser),
both giving Mesopotamia over to destruction and
advancing into Syria as far as Antioch itself,
until they took also that metropolis of the whole East …
And it would indeed have been easy for the Persians
to gain possession of all Asia, had they not, on account of the immense mass
of spoils, gladly preferred to keep them and carry them home.
These very words insinuate that Armenia
had first been occupied by the Persians, because they could not
enter Lesser Asia except through Armenia
or Syria. Therefore it is more probable that about
the year 252, not about 240, Armenia was
occupied by the Persians, and that Agathangelus confounded
two kings of Armenia.
[112] For that Tiridates whom Zonaras mentions,
if he already about the year 252 had sons, and that several kings named Tiridates must be admitted, cannot
probably be believed the same as the Tiridates under whom
Armenia was converted. Besides, to that Tiridates neither
can the things agree which are read about our Tiridates in
the Life. For ours is read to have fled as a boy, and
after a long exile to have returned to his kingdom, and thereafter
not to have lost it. But the Tiridates of whom Zonaras treats
lost the kingdom which he had already possessed in manly age,
and was still without it when Valerian
the emperor was taken by the Persians, in the year 259 or
260. For in Trebellius Pollio, page 174,
there is read a Letter of Artabasdes, king of the Armenians, to
Sapor, king of the Persians, to whom he says he had sent auxiliaries.
There was therefore about 260 as king of Armenia Artabasdes,
a friend of the Persians. Wherefore that Tiridates who
is read to have fled about 252 was either still in exile then
or dead.
[113] He can therefore be the father of the Tiridates under
whom Armenia was converted, and that he under whom Armenia was converted must be placed later. or even his grandfather, if he
was an old man when he fled, as becomes likely enough; but
he does not seem to be that Tiridates under whom Armenia was converted.
There were certainly several kings of Armenia whose
name was Tiridates. Tillemont believed he had found three
in the Emperors, but these perhaps can be reduced
to two, and so under the third Armenia will have been converted.
Tiridates I belongs to the 1st century,
and received his crown from Nero. The other Tiridates,
whom Tillemont calls the second, in the year 217 received his crown
from the emperor Macrinus, as he narrates
in volume 3, in Macrinus, article 4. As the third, finally, he places
him whom we saw expelled about 252 by
Sapor, king of the Persians. But this one can easily be the same
as the second, since no one is found in between,
and from the year 217 to 252 only thirty-five
years are counted.
[114] Among the kings of Armenia whom Galanus enumerates
in chapter 1 before the Tiridates [Hence what is said about the father of Tiridates is uncertain, as many other things.] who flourished with St. Gregory,
he places no other of the same name,
whereas we have found at least two and perhaps three, and detect also
other kings of Armenia in the first three centuries of the Christian era
whom Galanus did not recount. We can therefore have nothing about the time
at which Chosroes or Cusaro — if he is to be called the father
of Tiridates at all and reckoned among the kings
of Armenia — obtained the kingdom. He could have been the successor
of Artabasdes, whom about the year 260 we saw
king of Armenia, and so be the father of the Tiridates
about whom we inquire. But so it will be false that Cusaro
was king of Armenia when the kingdom of the Parthians
was transferred to the Persians, and that he waged wars against
Artaxerxes the Persian. On the contrary, if anyone should think that at that time
Cusaro reigned in Armenia
and waged wars against Artaxerxes, he will have to be placed
between the two Tiridateses, and can be the son of the Tiridates
who in the year 217 received the crown from Macrinus,
and the father of the other, who about 253 was compelled
to flee out of Armenia; but he cannot probably be set down
as the father of our Tiridates, under whom Armenia was converted;
but he may be either his grandfather or his great-grandfather.
But all these things are too uncertain for forming a prudent
conjecture, or a sufficiently probable chronology.
For it is uncertain whether the father of our Tiridates
was called Cusaro or Chosroes;
uncertain whether he was slain by an assassin sent by the king
of the Persians; uncertain whether that assassin was
the father of St. Gregory. For these things are read asserted by the biographer
alone, from whom later Armenians could assert the same.
[115] The more certain assertions of the Life reduced to some sort Therefore we shall seem to do more rightly if, abandoning
the chronology which flows from the Life, but in an improbable manner,
we merely reduce the more certain assertions of the Life
to some sort of order. And this may be done
in this manner. The transfer of the empire of the Parthians to
the Persians is true, and happened about the year 226. Thence arose
the war between the Persians and the Armenians, allied with the Romans,
which was ended in the year 244. But
since it is plainly uncertain whether the age of St. Gregory
and of Tiridates, king of Armenia, has any connexion with those
facts, the time of their birth may most broadly
be fixed about the middle of the third century, and especially
Gregory's; for Tiridates perhaps was much
younger. I had rather suspect, however, that both were born after
the middle of the third century than before. Further, if
the Narration about the Affairs of Armenia in Combefis, already praised,
does not wander too far, Tiridates will have obtained the kingdom
of Armenia about the year 291 or
292: for the Nicene council, which was held
in the year 325, is said to have been held in the thirty-fourth year
of king Tiridates. I find nothing in Roman History
which is contrary to this epoch; and certainly,
when Galerius Maximian about the year 297
led an army through Armenia against the Persians and overcame them in battle,
as may be seen in Tillemont, volume 4
of the Emperors, article 15, the Armenians were allies of the Romans,
and at that time their king will have been Tiridates.
By that victory, upon which a long peace with the Persians followed,
the war between the Persians and the Romans was ended, and
Tiridates will have obtained a secure possession of Armenia from the Persians,
if he did not have it before. But the war
between the Persians and the Romans had arisen from the time
of the emperor Probus, that is from the year 282 according
to Tillemont, nor do I find that it was ended earlier
by any pact of peace. Therefore, if it is true that the father of Tiridates
was slain by treachery, this could also have been done in that war,
and Tiridates, being then compelled to flee, after some
years recovered the kingdom by the help of the Romans.
[116] reduced to order: The glorious confession of the faith, for the cause of which St. Gregory
is read to have suffered most grievous things under Tiridates, is to be referred
to the earlier years of Tiridates, and to be fixed
broadly at the end of the third century or the beginning of the fourth. But we lack
a sufficiently solid foundation for assigning the year more
closely. The end of the torments was a long imprisonment,
being freed from which he began to convert the king and the Armenians.
That the prison was foul and long we easily
believe, because in the Narration about the affairs of Armenia
the time of the Nicene council is reckoned from the bringing forth of Gregory,
and that is fixed in the twentieth year of the coming forth
of saint Gregory out of the pit. These things indeed insinuate a famous
and long detention in prison;
but they do not indicate that Gregory was detained in it
for fourteen whole years, as the Life asserts. If
St. Gregory had been in a horrid prison only so many months,
we should hold it for a vast prodigy that he was afterwards
found alive against the expectation of all,
especially if he had been left without food and drink,
that he might die of squalor and hunger. Therefore I should not
dare to hold the fourteen years of prison as ascertained,
and I likewise believe it uncertain whether St. Gregory
suffered for the faith before the end of the third century,
or even before the general persecution of Diocletian,
begun in the year 303. For Tiridates was a friend
of the Roman princes, and so perhaps
by their example or suggestion he wished to root out the Christian
religion. This suggestion, however,
could have been made already before the end of the third century by Galerius,
who long before the general persecution began to stir up a persecution
against his own household and soldiers.
[117] That the conversion of Armenia at least took place at
the beginning of the fourth century, and the beginning of the conversion of Armenia from Eusebius, Sozomen,
Theophanes and other writers compared together, has already
been shown in §6, and I judge that epoch, if it be extended from the year 300
to 310, to be proved with certainty enough.
But if we wish to come closer even to some particular year,
we ought only to investigate what
seems more probable. Therefore it is more probable that about 306
Armenia was converted rather than earlier; and I judge
that the Narration about the affairs of Armenia praised in that place
is not far from the truth, from which the beginning of the conversion
would have to be fixed in the year 305 or 306.
For Theophanes, to whom neither Eusebius is contrary
nor Sozomen, places the conversion under Constantine
the Great. But Constantine did not begin to reign
before the year 306. Therefore Theophanes either erred or
spoke less accurately, if the conversion
began before the year 306. But if it had begun even some
years later, that would be so much the more consonant
with Theophanes. But from Eusebius it becomes certain
that it was accomplished before the year 312, that is, before the war
brought upon the Armenians for that cause by the emperor Maximin.
Therefore, since at least two or three years
were spent from the bringing forth of St. Gregory out of prison to
the complete conversion of nearly the whole nation,
the beginning of this is more probably
to be placed between 306 and 310.
[118] There is added another probable reason from the martyrdom
of SS. Ripsime and Gaiana, more probably fixed about the year 306, if we compare the tradition of the Armenians
about them with Roman history. For
Monier at page 70 writes from the Armenian History
that they fled into Armenia for fear of the persecution of Diocletian,
as I find it also drawn from the same source in others.
And indeed this is a far more probable cause
of their flight into Armenia — especially if they be believed
to have come from Syria or Lesser Asia, not from Rome or
from Italy — than what is asserted in the Life about the marriage
of Ripsime sought by Diocletian. But if they fled
on account of the persecution, that flight in all likelihood happened
in the year 304, when the general persecution raged against all
Christians. For the general persecution
of Diocletian was begun indeed in the year 303, but
the earlier edicts regarded almost only ecclesiastics,
against whom in that year the persecution chiefly raged.
But in the second year of the persecution, that is about the beginning
of the year 304, a command was published, says Eusebius
in the Martyrs of Palestine, chapter 3, that all
everywhere, in all places and nations, should publicly offer sacrifices
and libations to the idols. Therefore then was the time
for fleeing out of the Roman empire to barbarous nations,
as Eusebius testifies that many fled, in the Life
of Constantine, book 2, chapter 53; and therefore it becomes most likely
that in that year the Virgins of whom we speak
fled into Armenia and there fixed their
dwelling. Therefore their martyrdom, with which they were crowned in Armenia
after some sojourn there,
may from a probable conjecture be fixed about 305 or
306. But from this epoch of the martyrdom, which I deliver not
as certain but only as probable, the beginning
of the conversion of Armenia, which seems to have followed not very long
after, will again come to be fixed
between 306 and 310.
[119] so that the greater part of the people was baptized about 310 or 311. Monier agrees well enough with this epoch of the conversion,
when from the Armenian History, page 73, he relates
that in the year 310 easily four millions of men
were baptized. For between the going forth of St. Gregory
from prison and the baptism of that vast multitude
many things intervened. And even the due instruction of the multitude alone
could consume years. Therefore if
it is established that a very great multitude was baptized in the year 310,
it is necessary to fix the beginning of the conversion from about the year
306, since easily four years could elapse
before so great a multitude was sufficiently instructed
to receive baptism. Wherefore the epoch
of the conversion of Armenia seems to be so ordered
that its beginning, through the bringing forth of Gregory out of prison,
be fixed about 306, and the following years down to 310
be assigned to the consecration of St. Gregory, the casting down of idols,
the erecting of churches, the instruction and baptism
of the peoples, the gathering and consecration of some
priests, so that about 310 or 311 the greater part
of Armenia was Christian and baptized. But afterwards
Gregory continued to the end of his life to order,
confirm and perfect all things rightly.
[120] There is extant a Letter, as of our Gregory to St. James of Nisibis: I have already at length proved in §6 that the death of St.
Gregory and of king Tiridates seems to be placed after
the Nicene council, that is after the year 325. Assemani
in volume 1 of the Bibliotheca Orientalis, page 557, in
the addenda and corrigenda, recounts some Little Works
of St. James of Nisibis, as written to St. Gregory
the Illuminator, which are extant in an Armenian codex
kept at Venice. These things are contained in it (the codex),
says the praised Assemani. A Letter of St. Gregory
the Illuminator to St. James, bishop of Nisibis.
The argument of the Letter he thus explains: He asks
that he write out for him a tractate about those things which I shall presently
recount. There follows in the codex: St. James's answer
to St. Gregory. Of this answer Assemani thus speaks:
He transmits to him the following tractate, divided
into XVIII chapters: namely I On Faith, 2
on Charity, 3 on Fasting, 4 on Prayer, 5 on
Spiritual Combat, 6 on Piety, 7 on Penance,
8 on the Resurrection of the dead, 9 on Humility,
10 on the duties of Pastors, 11 on Circumcision
against the Jews, 12 on the Sabbath against
the same, 13 on the Choice of foods, 14 on the Passover,
15 on the election of the Gentiles and the reprobation of the Jews,
16 That Christ is the Son of God, 17
on Virginity and chastity against the Jews, 18
Against the Jews who await a Messiah to
gather their dispersion. Then there is added a Letter
written to others. But of all the Little Works
Assemani declares his judgment in these words: And
that these Works of James are genuine I easily
persuade myself, both because they contain questions
proper to them only, and also because
most of them are indicated by Gennadius — namely
in his Catalogue of writers.
[121] and Little Works of the man of Nisibis to ours: but it seems another Gregory, All those Little Works were printed at Rome in the year 1756,
and illustrated with an accurate Preface and learned
annotations by the most learned lord Nicholas
Antonelli, then canon of the Lateran basilica,
now Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church: and by the most kind gift of that same Most Eminent
Lord they were brought to us about the beginning
of this year 1760. But upon the Letter,
to which at page 1 there is this Latin title: Of St.
Gregory our Illuminator to saint James
bishop of Nisibis, he observes the following:
That the surname of Illuminator was added to the name of Gregory
by the ignorance and boldness of the copyists who transcribed this Letter
and the Sermons of St. James,
I in no way doubt. For it is a most manifest
error, which, unless the Acts of St. Gregory the Illuminator,
such as have been handed down to us by all the ancient
writers, be said to be altogether false and faulty
even as regards the note of time, can in no way
be defended. For Gregory I, bishop of Armenia,
either before or a little after the Nicene
synod ended his life and migrated to the heavenly fatherland,
and was illustrious both for holiness of life and for knowledge
of sacred things. But the Sermons which we
bring to light St. James of Nisibis wrote many years after
the synod held at Nicæa, and
he so speaks in them as is wont to be done
to a man whom one excels in age and in knowledge and in authority,
and whom it is necessary to instruct as being ruder
in matters of faith. Wherefore what St.
James writes back agrees neither with the age, nor with the holiness,
nor with the fame and name of St. Gregory the Illuminator.
[122] But because the name of Gregory the Illuminator
was famous among the Armenians, [to whom the man of Nisibis wrote. Gregory nevertheless more probably lived at the time of the Nicene council,] I think that this was the cause
why the copyists, when in ancient codices they had found
a Letter written under the name of a certain Gregory,
and that Sermons had been sent by St. James
to the same Gregory, in order to win greater
authority and veneration for the Work among their own people,
added the surname of Illuminator. This observation
has been skilfully and accurately drawn from the Works themselves.
Then the Most Eminent editor conjectures
that the Letter is perhaps that of the St. Gregory
whom the Armenians call the Illuminator's grandson and the first bishop
of Albania. To him certainly all things will agree more rightly, but the conjecture
is uncertain, as Antonelli acknowledges. But it matters little whether
that Gregory was the grandson of our Saint or another, since it has been
sufficiently proved that he was not our Gregory surnamed
the Illuminator. Nevertheless it is more probable that Gregory
the Illuminator survived after the Nicene council,
as is the common opinion of the Armenians, and as the biographer
at num. 170 affirms. Yet neither he, nor
the author of the Narration about the affairs of Armenia, nor any
other seen by me indicates how long he survived.
The Life also does not declare how many years he held the bishopric,
just as the often-praised Narration about the affairs of Armenia
is silent about the years of the bishopric,
which nevertheless counts the twentieth year of the bringing forth
out of the pit, so that it at least hints that he was bishop either for nearly
twenty years or longer.
[123] From that silence of the ancients I fear lest the more recent
Armenians have asserted the number of the years of the bishopric at their own pleasure
and after a bishopric of nearly twenty years or more, or from slight conjectures.
The Armenian History in Galanus, chapter 2, has:
Who (Gregory) governed the Armenian church
from the fifteenth year to the forty-sixth
of the reign of Tiridates, when he departed into the region
of the living; and he lived in the patriarchal see
thirty years. From the XV year of Tiridates to
the XLVI, thirty-one years are counted. If
however he had taken up the bishopric toward the end of the fifteenth year
and had died at the beginning of the forty-sixth,
he would have sat only thirty years and
some days or months. Monier at page 75 from the Armenian
History says that Gregory administered the bishopric of Armenia
only thirty-three years,
and then seven other years with his son Aristaces.
But I think that those numbers of years were invented by more recent men,
or at least by men several centuries after Gregory's death,
because they cohere ill with the
praised Narration in Combefis. For if
the Nicene council was held in the XXIV year of Tiridates,
and Gregory died in the XLVI year of the same
Tiridates, he lived until the year 337. Which from other grounds
is not probable; for Aristaces, to whom the Armenians attribute seven
years of the bishopric, was bishop at least for some
time before the Nicene council,
and so will have died either before the year
330, or at least not long after, nay perhaps even in the year
326 or 327. Wherefore about the years of Gregory's
bishopric we can say nothing more probable
than that he was bishop for twenty years, and perhaps
a little more.
[124] he seems to have died between 325 and 330. Bonucci in the Italian Life, Note 10,
attributes to Gregory not more than twenty years of the bishopric,
and must consequently fix his death about the year
330. The reason given is that Gregory is said to have been consecrated
in the year 310 by Leontius, and because he is said to have lived
in solitude for the last six years of his life. But
the author does not assert these things as proved, nor can I prove
that Gregory was consecrated in the year 310,
or that he lived until 330: for Aristaces
could have been consecrated from the year 320, and Gregory in the year
326 or 327 have died in solitude, if indeed he lived six
years after the consecration of Aristaces, or even
seven, as others will have it. But how little
we can trust the years which the Armenians attribute to the bishopric of St.
Gregory is clear also from the years which they
improbably ascribe to king Tiridates. For James
Villotte, formerly a missionary of the Society of Jesus in Armenia,
in Bonucci at page 165 attributes from the Armenian
History fifty-six years to the reign of Tiridates,
which according to the Narration about the affairs
of Armenia would lead down to the year 347. That this
is improbable can easily be shown from the kings
who came between Tiridates and Arsaces.
Therefore, those years being neglected, we more probably fix the death of St. Gregory
between 325 and 330.
THE ACTS
By Agathangelus as author.
From the Medicean library of St. Lawrence at Florence, I. S. being translator.
Gregory, bishop of Armenia, in Greater Armenia. (S.)
Ripsime, virgin and M., in Greater Armenia. (S.)
Gaiana, virgin and M., in Greater Armenia. (S.)
The companion Martyrs, in Greater Armenia.
BY AGATHANGELUS.
PREFACE.
On the power of the kingdom of the Parthians.
Οἱ
τῇ
ἐπιθυμίᾳ
τὰ b ἐν
πελάγεσιν
ὁδοιπορίαις
ἑαυτοὺς
ἐκδιδόντες,
καὶ
πρὸς
τοὺς
κινδύνους
τῶν
κυμάτων
ἐπειγόμενοι,
προθύμως
ναῦς
κατασκευάζουσι,
καὶ
ἐν
θαλάττῃ
τὸν
βίον
ἀσπάζονται,
ἱστὸν
ἱστῶντες
καὶ
τοῖς
πηδαλίοις
ἐκτέμνοντες
τὴν
τῶν
ὑδάτων
βίαν
καὶ
κυβερνοῦντες
τὴν
ναῦν,
ἐνθάπερ
βουληθῶσιν,
χαλιναγωγοῦντες
κατάπερ
πῶλον
τὴν
σκάφην
πρὸς
τὴν
οἰκείαν
ὁρμὴν.
τούτους
οὐ
δειλαίνει
κυμάτων
βία,
οὐ
προσβολὴ
σπιλάδων
καταπτοεῖ·
ἐν
κινδύνοις
γὰρ
διαιτόμενοι,
γείτωνες
θανάτου
εἶναι
ἀσπάζονται,
ὅπως
χωρηγήσωσιν
ἑκάστῳ
τὰ
πρὸς
τὴν
χρείαν.
καὶ
ὁι
μεν
πρὸς
κατατροφὴν
πόλεων
ἐπείγονται,
οἱ
δὲ
πρὸς
καλλοπισμὸν
ἀνδρῶν
τε
καὶ
γυναικῶν
ἐπὶ
τὴν
Ἰνδικὴν
θάλατταν
σπεύδουσι,
τοῖς
ἐν
ἐκείνοις
εὐθυμίας
λίθων
τιμίων
τοῖς
δεομένοις
μετακομίζοντες.
εἰς
τοῦτο
οὖν
κἀγὼ
πέλαγος
πραγμάτων
εἰσελθῶν,
βαδίσω
τῷ
λόγῳ
ἐπὶ
τὰ
τῶν
ἀρμενίων
πράγματα,
συγγραφόμενος
τῶν
περσῶν
τε
καὶ
ἀρμενιῶν,
ὥς
ἐπολέμησαν
πρὸς
ἀλλήλους.
[2] Πάρθων [*] ἐν
εὐτυχίᾳ
μεγίστῃ
ὄντες
καὶ
κρατοῦντες
τῆς
τῶν
περσῶν
βασιλείας
καὶ
ἀρμενίων
καὶ
ἰνδῶν
τῶν
γιτνιαζόντων
τοῖς
ἐώοις
πέρσαις,
ἐτὶ
δὲ
τῶν
σκληροτάτων
μασσαγετῶν,
εἶχον
τὴν
τάξιν
τάυτην·
ὁ
μὲν
γὰρ
πρῶτος
τοῦ
γένους
τῶν
πάρθων,
τῶν
εἰς
ὕστερον
μετονομασθέντων
ἀρσαδίκων [*], καὶ
ἐν
χρόνοις
τὰ
πρέσβεια
ἔχων
καὶ
ἐν
ἀρετῇ
κοσμούμενος,
ἐγίνετο
τῆς
τῶν
πέρσων
βασιλείας
κύριος·
ὁ
δὲ
τὰ
δεύτερα
κληρούμενος
ἐπέβαινεν
τῇ
τῶν
ἀρμενίων
βασιλείᾳ.
ὅ
δε
τὸν
τρίτον
βάθμον
ἔχων
τῇ
τῶν
ἰνδῶν
τῶν
πλησίων
ὄντων
πέρσων
ἐβασίλευσεν.
ὁ
δὲ
τέταρτος
τῆς
τῶν
μασσαγετῶν
βασιλείας
ἐπελαμβάνετο·
αὐτὴ
ἡ
τάξις
ὑπήρχε
ἐν
τῷ
γένει
τῶν
πάρθων,
ἐπὶ
πλεῖστόν
τε
χρόνον
τῆς
τοιαυτῆς
εὐδαιμονίας
ἐντὸς
ἦσθεν.
[The author, being about to write of the war between the Persians and the Armenians,] They who have given themselves up to the desire of making a journey through
the seas, and are urged on toward the perils of the waters,
eagerly build ships, and love to live upon the sea;
they set up a mast, and with the rudders break the onset
of the waves, and steer the ship wherever
they will, curbing that hollow piece of wood, like a colt,
at their own pleasure. These the force of the billows
does not terrify, nor does the meeting of rocks dismay:
for passing their life amid dangers, they desire
to dwell in the neighbourhood of death, that they may bring
to every man what is useful. And these indeed go forth for the sustenance
of cities; but others hasten to the Indian sea
for the adornment of men and women,
carrying over the delights of precious stones to those
who demand them.
Into such a sea of matters I also shall enter with my discourse,
namely into the affairs of the Armenians, writing
the deeds of the Persians and of the Armenians, what
wars they waged against one another.
[2] The Parthians, when they were in the greatest prosperity,
possessed the kingdom of the Persians, he prefaces concerning the power of the Parthians. of the Armenians, and of those Indians
who are neighbours to the Eastern Persians,
nay even of the most hardy Massagetæ,
in this order. The first of the race of the Parthians, who
were afterwards surnamed Arsacidæ, both
preceding the rest in age and adorned with virtue, obtained
the dominion of the kingdom of the Persians. He who had been allotted
the second portion obtained the kingdom
of the Armenians. He who was in the third degree had the dominion
of the Indians who were neighbours to the Persians. But the fourth
took up the kingdom of the Massagetæ. This was the order in
the race of the Parthians, and for a very long time c
they stood in such prosperity.
ANNOTATIONS.
Αγαθαγγέλου
ἐν
οἷς,
καὶ
τὸ
μαρτήριον
ἁγίου
Γρηγορίου. The Prologue of Agathangelus to these things, and the martyrdom of St. Gregory.
is noted in the margin of the transcript. And on this occasion I warn the reader that not
manifest, as where o is written for ω, or
the contrary, and so of the other vowels and diphthongs, whose sound
today is scarcely distinguished by many. Since I think this happened through the excessive
haste of the copyist, and since the Life is not of such authority that
the Annotations should seem to be extended to those minutiæ, I shall correct clear faults of writing
without further notice, but not those which shall seem doubtful.
c. I shall not
examine whether all that the writer relates about the empire of the Parthians is accurate.
It is established that the first founder of that vast empire was Arsaces, and that thence his successors, the kings of the Parthians, were called Arsacidæ. Agathias, book 2, page 60 in the Greek, page 56 of the Latin version, asserts that the kingdom of the Parthians lasted two hundred and seventy years, from Arsaces the first to Artabanus the last king. But he wanders very far astray, unless for two hundred had been written four hundred: for
so it would at least come nearer to the truth. But since writers do not agree about the beginning of the kingdom of the Parthians,
I shall say no more about it. Now the kings of the Parthians had a most ample kingdom, such as the Persian afterwards was, and
they gave kings to Armenia; but not always down to the dominion transferred to the Persians: for the Romans already before that
frequently claimed it for themselves. Whether the Parthians also gave kings to the Indians their neighbours and to the Massagetæ, as this our author asserts, I leave to others to inquire.
* perhaps Πάρτοι
* ἀρσακίδων
CHAPTER I.
The empire of the Parthians destroyed, Artabanus being slain by Artasiras, who seizes the kingdom of the Persians.
Ἄρξομαι
δὲ
έκεῖθεν,
ὅθεν
τῆς
πτώσεως
ὁ
πάρθος
ἀρχὴν
ἐδείξατο.
ἀρταβάνης
ὁ
παῖς
οὐαλάρσου
ἐκ
πάρθων
καταγενόμενος,
τῆς
τῶν
χαλδαίων
παιδείας
ἐν
πείρᾳ
ὑπάρχων,
δρόμοντε
ἀστέρων
καὶ
ῥοπὰς
ἀναμετρεῖν
ἐπιστάμενος,
καὶ
τύχας
εἰδέναι
παιδευθεὶς,
μετὰ
τῆς
οἰκείας
αλόχου
καθεύδων
ἐν
τῇ
σκηνῇ,
ἐσκόπη
ἐπὶ
τὰ
φαινόμενα
ἄστρα,
ἔγνω
δέ
τι,
καὶ
πρὸς
τὴν
βασιλίδα
φησὶν·
δρόμον
ἐθεασάμεν
ἀστέρος,
εἰκάσα
τε
οὕτως
τήμερον,
εἰ
τοῦ
οἰκείου
δεσπότου
βουληθείη
τις
ἀποστῆναι
πολεμόν
τε
πρὸς
αὐτὸν
ποιῆσαι,
ἐν
τῷ
πάροντι
καιρῷ
νικᾷ,
ἡττομένου
τοῦ
δεσπότου·
καὶ
ταῦτα
εἰρηκὼς,
ἐτράπη
εἰς
ὕπνον.
κατὰ
δὲ
συνήθειαν
μία
τῶν
θεραπενίδων
τῆς
βασιλίσσης
ἐν
αὐτῇ
τῇ
σκηνῇ
καθεύδουσα;
ὑπούργει
τῇ
ἐπιταττομένῇ
χρείᾳ
παρ᾽
αὐτῆς.
ἤτις
τῶν
ἐν
πρώτοις
τελούντων
θυγάτηρ
ὑπάρχουσα,
συνήθης
ἦν
τινὶ
τῶν
μεγιστάνων
ἀρτασιρᾷ
πρόσαγορευομένῳ,
ἐκ
τῆς
πατρίας
τῆς
ἀσσυρίας,
πόθῳ
πρὸς
αὐτὸν
βαλλομένη
καὶ
τὼν
ῥημάτων
τοῦ
βασιλέως
ἀκροατὴς
γενομένη,
λαθοῦσά
τε
τὸν
βασιλέα
καὶ
τὴν
βασιλίσσαν,
ἔδραμεν
πρὸς
ἀρτασιρᾶ,
παῖδα
σασάνου,
ὅθεν
καὶ
σασαμίκαι
ἐκλήθησαν
ὁι
ἐξ
αὐτοῦ
καταγενόμενοι
καὶ
βασιλέων
περσῶν.
[4] Εἰσβαλοῦσα
οὖν
ἀυτὴ
εἰς
τὴν
σκήνην,
διακωλύεσθαι
γὰρ
ἀυτὴν
ἐκ
τῶν
ὑπηρετούντων
οὐκ
ἦν,
τὸ
γὰρ
φίλτρον
τῶν
ἀμφοτέρων
οὐκ
ἠγνοῆτο,
ἔλεγεν
οὕτως·
Φίλε
ἀρτασιρᾶ,
ἀπείτω
σου
τῶν
βλεφάρων
ὁ
ὕπνος·
ὅρμα
νῦν
πρὸς
τὴν
βουλὴν,
ἢν
πάλαι
εἶχες·
θάῤῥει,
ἀφορῶν
πρὸς
τὴν
μαντείαν
τοῦ
βασιλέως·
νῦν
καίρος
πανοπλίας,
νῦν
βούλης
χρεία
ἀνδρῶν
σοφωτάτων,
νῦν
ἀθροῖσαι
πλῆθος
πρὸς
παράταξιν
δεῖ.
ὁ
γὰρ
βασιλεὺς,
δρόμον
ἀστέρων
θεασάμενος,
ἔφη·
νῦν
δοῦλος
ἀντιπράττων
δεσπότῃ
νικᾷ
ἐν
τῷ
πάροντι
καιρῷ.
ἀλλὰ
δεύρο,
σὺ
μὲν
χώρει
ἐπι
τὴν
βουλὴν,
ἐμοὶ
δὲ
δεξίαν
ἐπιδοὺς,
ὄρκῳ
βεβαίωσον
τὴν
ἐμὴν
γνώμεν,
ὡς
τῆς
βασιλείας
περσῶν
ἔντος
γινόμενος,
ἐμὲ
τῆς
σῆς
κόιτης
ἔξω
οὐ
καθισᾶς,
κοινωνόν
με
τῆς
ἀυτῆς
δεξιᾶς
ἀποδεικνύων.
τοῦτο
γὰρ
ἀεί
μοι
ἔλεγες
ἐπαγγελλόμενος,
ἥνικα
τῆς
ἀυτῆς
βουλῆς
ἀπήρχου.
ταῦτα
μὲν
ἀρταδούκτα.
ὁ
δὲ
ἀρτασίρας
χάριν
μεγίστην
ὁμολογήσας,
καὶ
ἁψάμενος
τοῦ
γυναίου
τῆς
χειρὸς
μετὰ
οἰκείας
δεξιᾶς
ἀναθείνων
εἰς
οὐρανὸν,
ἔλεγεν·
οὗτως
ὁρᾶτο
θεῖα
δύναμις,
ἥλις
καὶ
πὺρ
ἀήρ
τε
καὶ
γῆ,
ὡς
τήμερον
βουλευόμενος
μετὰ
τῶν
ἀρίστων
περσῶν,
καὶ
ἀφιστάμενος
τοῦ
βασιλέως,
ἀυτίκα
σε
ἐν
τῷ
ἐμῷ
ὄικῳ
δεσπόζειν
πάντων
παρασκευάσω.
[5] Ταῦτα
ἀκούσασα
Ἀρταδούκτα
ἔλεγεν·
Βαδιῶ
λοιπὸν
προς
τὴν
σκηνὴν
τοῦ
βασιλέως·
χρὴ
γὰρ
τὴν
τήμερον
τὴν
τῶν
προλαβουσῶν
ἡμερῶν
διακονίαν
προσάγειν.
εἰ
γὰρ
καὶ
τύχην
ἐλευθέραν
κεκτήμεθα
τεχθέντων
ἐκ
μεγιστάνων·
ἀλλὰ
δουλεύειν
ταῖς
βασιλικαῖς
χρίαις
χρῆ.
ταῦτα
ἐιποῦσα,
ἐπορεύετο
ἐις
τὴν
σκηνὴν
τοῦ
βασιλέως,
καὶ
λάθρα
εἰς
τὴν
ὀικείαν
κοίτην
ὑπεισελθοῦσα
ἀνεκλίνετο.
ὁ
δὲ
ἀρτασιρᾶς
ἀναστὰς,
συνήγαγεν
τοὺς
μεγιστάνους
τῶν
περσῶν
καὶ
ἀσσυρίων,
μεθ᾽
ὧν
καὶ
ἐν
ἀλλαῖς
ἡμέραις
ἐβουλεύετο,
καὶ
στᾶς
ἐν
μέσῳ
λέγει·
ἄνδρες
ἄριστοι
περσῶν
καὶ
ἀσσυρίων,
τὴν
τῶν
πάρθων
ἀλαζωνίαν
ἐκ
πολλῶν
τῶν
χρόνων
ἴσμεν,
ἀλλοτρίων
πόνους
ἁρπάζοντας.
ἐνκαυχῶνται
δὲ
ἀδικοῦντες,
μάτην
φονεύοντες
οὐ
παύονται,
περσῶν
ἄνδρας
καὶ
ἀσσυρίους
βδελύττονται
ὁι
πάρθοι,
ἐκ
βαρβάρων
γῆς
ὑπεισελθόντες
ἐις
ἡμᾶς·
τί
οὖν
ἐρεῖτε;
εἰ
ψευδεῖς
ὁι
ἐμοὶ
λόγοι,
μενέτω
βασιλεύων
καὶ
ἀδικῶν.
εἰ
δὲ
τῆς
ἀληθείᾳς
ἔξω
οὐκ
ἔιρηκα,
ὁρμήσωμεν
πρὸς
παράταξιν·
κρεῖττον
γὰρ
θανεῖν
ἢ
εἶναι
δοῦλοι
δεσπότου
ἀδικοῦντος.
ταῦτα
μὲν
ἀρτασιρᾶς.
[6] Οἱ
δὲ
τῶν
περσῶν
ἄριστοι
ἐδέξαντο
τὰ
εἰρημένα·
ἤυχοντο
γὰρ
ἀπαλλάττεσθαι
μὲν
τῶν
παρθῶν,
ἐκ
δὲ
τῶν
ὀικείου
γένους
εἶναι
βασιλέα
τῶν
περσῶν.
καὶ
πρὸς
ἀρτασιρᾶν
ἐροῦσιν·
σέ
ἀρχηγὸν
καὶ
λόγων
καὶ
πράξεων
ἔχομεν,
πείραν
τῆς
σῆς
ἀγαθῆς
γνώμης
λαβόντες,
ἐναρετόν
τε
πολίτειαν
εἶναι
ἐν
σοι
ἐπιστάμενοι·
ὁ
οὖν
βούλη,
πράττων
ἡγεμόνευε·
ἡμεῖς
δὲ
ἑπόμεθα
τοῖς
σοῖς
λόγοις,
πράξοντες
ὅσα
εἰς
λυσιτέλειαν
ἀμφοτέροις
ἐστὶν.
ἡμέρας
οὖν
γενομένης,
καὶ
πρὸς
πόλεμον
ἀφιδόντες
οἱ
πέρσαι
ἅμα
τῷ
ἀρτασιρᾷ
τῷ
ἀρχηγῷ
ἀυτῶν,
πρέσβεις
πρότερον
ἀπέστελλον
πρὸς
τὸν
βασιλέα
Ἀρταβάνην,
Ζηκᾶν
καὶ
καρινᾶν,
μεγίστους
γενεάρχας
καὶ
στρατηγοὺς,
ὅτινες
ἀπελθόντες
ἔστησαν
ἐναντίον
τοῦ
ἀρχηβασιλέως,
ἀρχὴ
δὲ
τῶν
λόγων
ἀυτῶν
ἦν
ἀυτῆ·
ἡμεῖς
πρέσβεις
περσῶν·
καὶ
ἐι
ἡμεροτάτη
γνώμη
τοὺς
παρὰ
περσῶν
δέξασθαι
λόγους,
λέξωμεν
καὶ
ὂια
πρεσβεῖς
λόγους
ἐπαγγέλλειν
πολλοὺς,
φόβου
καὶ
κινδύνου
ἔξω
ὑπάρχοντες,
τοῦτο
καὶ
τοῦ
νόμου
κελεύοντος,
ὃν
τεθήκασιν
ὁι
πάλαι
ἄριστοι,
ἀπαθεῖς
τοὺς
στελλομένους
πρέσβεις
φυλάξαντες.
ἐι
οὖν
συνχωρῆς,
βασιλεῦ,
ἐροῦμεν.
Ἀρταβάνης
δὲ
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
ἐδίδου
ἀυτοῖς
χώραν
λέγειν,
ὅπερ
βούλονται.
[7] Ὕρχον
τε
δὲ
τοῦ
λόγου
λοιπὸν
οὕτως·
ὦ
βασιλεῦ,
ἔστιν
παρ᾽
ἡμῖν
τοῖς
πέρσαις
μελέτη
τὸ
τοῖς
βασιλεῦσιν
ὑποτάσσεσθαι,
ὂια
τοῦ
βασιλέως
δεσποτοῦ
τυγχάνοντο
πάντων·
ἀυτὸν
δὲ,
τὸν
βασιλέα
εὐνομίᾳ
καὶ
δικαιοσύνῃ
τὰ
πράγματα
κυβερνᾶν,
ἔξω
βαρβαρικῆς
φρονήσεως
πολιτεύεσθαι,
καὶ
ἀντιπάλοις
μὲν
φοβερὸς
φαίνεσθαι,
ὑπηκόοις
δὲ
εὐνοίκος.
πῶς
γὰρ
οἷος
ἔστιν
κωλύειν
ἀδικοῦντας,
ἔιπερ
ἀυτὸς
ἀπάρχεται
ἀδικίας;
πῶς
τιμωρεῖται
τοὺς
δεῖνα
πράττοντας,
ἀυτὸς
πρόχειρος
ἐις
τὰ
πλημμελήματα;
ἡμεῖς
πείραν
τῶν
σῶν
δεινῶν
ἐιληφότες,
τῆς
σῆς
βασιλείας
ἑαυτοὺς
ἐστερήσαμεν,
οὐ
μισοῦντες
ὑποταγῆναι,
ἀλλὰ
παράνομον
βασιλέα
φεύγοντες,
οὐ
τυραννοῦντες,
ἀλλὰ
τυραννικὴν
γνώμην
μὴ
φέροντες.
ταῦτα
τῶν
περσῶν
τὰ
ρήματα.
ὁ
δὲ
βασιλεὺς
ἀρταβάνης
πλείστας
ὥρας
κλίνας
τὴν
κεφαλὴν,
καὶ
θεωρῶν
ἐις
τὸ
ἔδαφος,
προεώρα
τὴν
μέλλουσαν
ἔκπτωσιν
τῆς
ὀικείας
βασιλείας,
καὶ
ἀποβλέψας
πρὸς
τοὺς
σταλέντας
λέγει·
ἐγὼ
τῆς
ὕβρεως
ταύτης
αἴτιος,
τοὺς
μὲν
ἀρχαῖς
καὶ
ἐξουσίαις
τιμήσας,
τοὺς
δὲ
πλουτεῖν
παρεσχηκὼς,
πολλοὺς
δὲ
δωρέαις
βασιλικαῖς
καὶ
ἄγρων
καὶ
κτημάτων
κυρίους
καταστήσας;
ὑμεῖς
δὲ
χωρεῖτε
πρὸς
τὸ
βουλευθὲν
παρ᾽
ὑμῶν·
ὄψεσθαι
δὲ
μὲ
πρὸς
τὰς
ὑμετέρας
γνώμας
μεταρυθμιζόμενον.
διδάξω
ὑμᾶς
μὴ
ἀνθίστασθαι
βασιλεῖ.
ὁι
δὲ
σταλέντες
ὑμεῖς
βαδίσατε,
μηκέτι
τοιούτων
λόγων
ὑπουργοὶ
γινόμενοι,
μήπως
ὑμᾶς
πρώτους
τῆς
ἐμῆς
ὕβρεως
δίκας
ἀπάρξομαι.
[8] Ταῦτα
ἀκούσαντες
Ζηκᾶς
καὶ
Καρινᾶς
ἐπορεύοντο
εἰς
τὸ
συνέδριον
τῶν
περσῶν
καὶ
ἐλθόντες
ἀπήγγειλαν
ἅπαντα
τῷ
τε
ἀρτασιρᾷ
καὶ
τοῖς
λοιποῖς
ἀρίστοις
τῶν
περσῶν,
προστεθεικότες
τοῖς
εἰρημένοις
καὶ
τὴν
μανίαν
τοῦ
βασιλέως,
ὡς
μηκέτι
ἀναμένοντος
ἀυτοῦ
δευτέραν
ἀπαγγελίαν,
ἀλλ᾽
ὁπλιζομένου
κατὰ
τῶν
τῆς
βουλῆς
ἀρχηγῶν·
ὁ
δὲ
ἀρτασίρας
πέμψας
πρὸς
ἀρταδούκταν,
ἤφερεν
καὶ
ὀχυρωτάτῳ
καστέλλῳ
ταυτὴν
καθιστὰ
ἅμα
τοῖς
ὀικείοις
πράγμασιν·
ἀυτὸς
δὲ
ὁπλίζετο
μετὰ
περσῶν
καὶ
ἀσσυρίων
κατὰ
τοῦ
ἀρχηβασιλέως
ἀρταβάνου.
αἰσθόμενος
δὲ
ἀρταβάνης
τῆς
κατ᾽
ἀυτοῦ
παρασκευῆς
ὁπλίζετο
καὶ
ἀυτὸς
μετὰ
πάρθων,
ἔχων
καὶ
οὐκ
ὀλίγους
πέρσας,
μὴ
κοινωνηκότες
τῇ
τῶν
ὁμοφυλῶν
βουλῇ.
πρώτῃ
δὲ
προσβολῇ
πολεμήσαντες
πρὸς
ἀλλήλους
περσαῖς
τε
καὶ
πάρθοις
ἐξ
ἐκατέρου
μέρους
πλεῖστοι
ἔπιπτον.
ἐπικρατέστερος
δὲ
ἐγίνετο
ἀρτασίρας,
πλείστων
καὶ
ἑτέρων
χωρισθέντων
μὲν
ἀρταβάνου,
προστεθέντων
δὲ
ἀρτασιρᾷ.
ἐν
δευτέρα
δὲ
παρατάξει
ὁρμήσαντες
κατ᾽
ἀλλήλων
πλείστους
ἀνήλισκον
ἐκ
τῶν
πάρθων,
εἰς
φευγὴν
δὲ
πρὸς
βραχὺ
ἐτρέπετο
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
ἀρταβάνης,
πάλιν
δὲ
ἐις
πόλεμον
εὔτρεπος
γινόμενος·
δύο
οὖν
καὶ
δέκα
μήνας
παροχησάντων
πρὸς
ἀλλήλους,
πῆ
μὲν
πολεμούντων,
πῆ
δὲ
ἀναπαυομένων,
εἰς
ὕστερον
δὲ
ἆυθις
πρὸς
μάχην
ἰδόντες
ἔφθασαν
εἰς
τὸ
χωρίον
τῆς
παρατάξεως
καὶ
φησι
πρὸς
τὸν
βασιλέα
ἀρταβάνην.
[9] Ὁμολογήσας,
ἅμα
ἀυτῇ
ἐβασίλευσε.
τῶν
τε
περιλειφθέντων
πάρθων
περσῶν
τε
καὶ
ἀσσυρίων,
πάντα
πράττων
ἐπιεικῶς,
εὐνομίᾳ
χαίρων
καὶ
πολιτείᾳ
δικαιοτάτῃ.
ἔσπευδε
γὰρ
ἐπαίνους
κομίζεσθαι,
οἶα
ἐξ
ἀδοκήτου
περσῶν
βασιλείας
ἐπιβὰς.
τὰ
δὲ
συμβάντα
ταῦτα
ἀπηγγέλλετο
χοσ
ἀρσαδίκῃ
βασιλεύοντι
τῆς
μεγάλης
ἀρμενίας,
ὡς
τοῦ
παιδὸς
σασάνου
ἀρτασιρᾶ
κρατισθέντος
τῆς
περσῶν
βασιλείας,
ἀπολέσαντος
δὲ
ἀρταβάνην
τὸν
ἀυτοῦ
ἀδελφὸν,
προσετέθει
δὲ
τοῖς
ἀπαγγελλομένοις,
ὅτι
καὶ
πάρθοι
χάιρουσι
μᾶλλον
τῇ
βασιλείᾳ
ἀρτασιρᾶ,
ἢ
σοῦ
ὀικείου
προσυγγενοῦς,
ἐπείδηπερ
ἐξέλειπον
ἄχρονοι
τῆς
τῶν
πάρθων
βασιλείας,
καὶ
περικράτει
ἡ
τοῦ
ἀρταβάνου
ὑιοὺ
οὐαλερίου
δεσποτεία,
ἀποκτανθέντος
ὑπὸ
ἀρτα.
σίρου
ὑιοὺ
σασάνου,
οὐκέτι
οὐδὲ
ἐπὶ
χρόνον
μακρὸν
σταθῆναι
ἴσχυσεν.
οὗτος
ὁ
ἀρτασίρας
τις
τῶν
σταχριτῶν
πατρίδος
σατράπης
ὑπῆρχεν,
ὃς
παραγενάμενος
συναθροίσας
τε
καὶ
συναρμώσας
τοὺς
τῶν
περσῶν
στρατοπαιδάρχας
ἐποίησεν
ἀθετῆσαι
καὶ
ἀπώσασθαι
τὴν
πάρθων
βασιλείαν,
εὐδοκίσαντας
καὶ
πεισθέντας
μάλλον
ἕλεσθαι
τὴν
ἀυτοῦ
δεσποτείαν.
ἐπειδὴ
οὖν
μετὰ
θάνατον
τοῦ
ἀρταβάνου,
τοῦ
ἀποκτανθέντος
ὑπὸ
τοῦ
ἀρτασιροῦ,
ὑιοὺ
σασάνου,
κατέλαβεν
ἡ
ἀγγελία
ἀυτὴ
πρὸς
τὸν
κουσάρω
βασιλέα
ἀρμενείας,
ἀδελφὸν
δὲ
ἀρταβάνου,
ὁ
ἦν
δεύτερος
τῆς
δεσποτείας
πάρθων,
ὁ
μὲν
τῶν
ἀρμενίων
βασιλεύς
τῆς
τῶν
πάρθων
δεσποτείας
δεύτερος
ὑπῆρχεν.
καίτοιγε
ὅμως
καὶ
ἐν
τάχει
ἀκούσας
τὴν
λυπηρὰν
ἀγγελίαν,
καὶ
στρατοπεδευσάμενος,
οὐκ
ἔφθασεν
ἐις
τὸν
ῥυθμὸν
τῆς
παρατάξεως.
ἅμα
τε
ἔφει
οῦν
μετὰ
πλείστης
λύπης
ἐπὶ
τῇ
γενομένῃ
συμφόρᾳ
καὶ
μάλιστα
διὰ
τὸ
μη
φθάσαι
ἀυτὸν
τὸ
ἔργον
τοῦ
πολέμου
ποιῆσαι.
The occasion is set forth, But I shall begin from that point whence the Parthian showed
the beginning of his fall. Artabanes, son of Valarsus
a, sprung from the Parthians, since he had the science of the Chaldeans
and their inclinations, and had learned to foreknow the outcomes of things,
sleeping with his own wife in his tent,
contemplated the stars that appeared,
and understood something, and said to the queen:
I have seen the course of a star, and I judge it today
to be such that, if anyone should wish to withdraw from his own lord
and to assail him with war, at the present time
he will obtain the victory, his lord being overcome.
And, these things being said, he turned back to sleep.
But according to custom one of the queen's handmaids,
sleeping in the same tent, serves
in the necessary things commanded by her. She was the daughter of one
of the chief ministers, and was familiar with a certain one
of the magnates whose name was Artasiras c, from
the province of Assyria d, with desire of whom she was held.
Therefore, when she had heard the king's words, and this was unknown to the king
and the queen, she ran to Artasiras, son
of Sasanus, whence those were called Sasamicæ e who sprang from him
and from the kings of the Persians.
[4] by which Artasiras, stirred up by his mistress, She therefore, having entered the tent (for
she could not be hindered by the attendants: for the love of the two
was not unknown), spoke thus:
Dear Artasiras, let sleep depart from thy eyelids: seize
now the design which thou hadst long ago: be confident,
looking to the king's divination. Now is the time
for full armour, now is there need of the counsel
of the wisest men, now must a multitude be gathered
for the battle-line. For the king, having considered the course of the stars,
said: Now a servant, resisting his Lord,
conquers at the present time. Come, go thou
indeed to the council: but stretching out to me thy right hand,
confirm my judgment with an oath,
that, when thou hast obtained the kingdom of the Persians,
thou wilt not separate me from thy couch, showing that I
was a sharer of this same right hand:
for this thou hast always said to me, the matter being announced to me,
when thou didst begin to enter upon this same design.
Thus indeed Artaducta. But Artasiras gave
the greatest thanks, and taking the little woman's
hand and stretching it with his own right hand toward heaven, said:
So may the divine power see, the sun and fire, the air
and the earth, that, counsel being taken today with the chief men
of the Persians, and falling away from the king, forthwith
I will make thee mistress in my house.
[5] stirs up the Persians and Assyrians to rebellion These things being heard, Artaducta said: For the rest I shall go
to the king's tent. For I must today
perform the service of the preceding days. For even though
we have the liberty of our dealings by a happy lot from
the chief men, yet it behoves us to serve
the royal needs. These things being said, she went away to the king's
tent, and secretly entering her own bed,
lay down f. But Artasiras, rising, gathered together
the chief men of the Persians and Assyrians, with whom
on other days also he had taken counsel, and standing in the midst
says: Best of men of the Persians and Assyrians,
we have long known the arrogance of the Parthians,
and that the labours of others are snatched by them. They boast
while they inflict injuries; they do not cease to kill without cause;
the Parthians abominate the men of the Persians and Assyrians,
having entered from the land of the Barbarians into ours
g. What then say you? If my words are false,
let the same man remain both reigning and inflicting injury.
But if I have said nothing but the truth, let us run to arms.
For it is better to die than to serve a king who inflicts injuries.
Thus Artasiras.
[6] But the chief men of the Persians received his words with favour:
against the Parthians. Therefore the nobles with Artasiras send legates, for they desired to be freed from the dominion of the Parthians,
and to have a king of the Persians from
their own race. Therefore they say to Artasiras: Thee we have
as leader of words and of deeds, being taught by experience
the prudence of thy counsel, and knowing
that thy governance proceeds by the rule of virtue.
Therefore do what thou wilt, and show thyself our leader: we
follow thy words, about to do what things conduce to the advantage
of both. Wherefore, when day had risen, the Persians
with their leader Artasiras, looking toward war,
first sent legates to king Artabanes,
Zecas and Carinas, chiefs of the foremost families
and leaders of war. These, going away, stood
before the great h king. And the beginning of their
words was this: We are legates of the Persians: if
thy mind is calm for hearing the words of the Persians,
let us speak also, as legates, many words of our legation
without fear and peril, since the law also commands it
which the chief men of old established, who kept legates
immune from all suffering. If
therefore thou permittest, O king, we will speak. But king Artabanes
gave them leave to say what they would.
[7] Then they began their discourse. O king, among
us Persians there is a care and they insinuate to Artabanes their rebellion, who answers with threats. that men be subject to the king, inasmuch as
they are the king's, the lord of all: but that the king himself
should administer affairs with equity and justice,
and govern without a barbarous
mind, so that he may appear terrible to enemies
but benevolent to his subjects. For
by what reasoning will he be able to punish those who inflict injury, if
he himself takes the beginning from injuries? In what way
will he punish those who commit grave things, if he himself is prompt
to offences? We, having experienced thy grave offences,
have withdrawn ourselves from thy royal rule, not
from hatred of subjection, but fleeing a wicked king;
not seizing tyranny, but not bearing a tyrannical
mind i. These were the words of the Persians. But king
Artabanes, his head bowed for many hours k,
looked toward the pavement, foreseeing the coming fall from his
kingdom: then, gazing upon those who had been sent, he said: I
am the author of this outrage, who honoured some with principalities
and powers, increased others with riches,
and by royal gifts made many lords
of fields and possessions. But go you to the counsels
decreed by you. And me you shall see accommodated
to your judgments. I shall teach you not to resist a king.
But you who have been sent, depart, and never more
become ministers of such words, lest I begin
the vengeance for the outrage inflicted on me with you.
[8] Hearing these things, Zecas and Carinas went away to
the council of the Persians, Artasiras, twice engaging with Artabanes, in the third and coming announced
everything to Artasiras and to the other chief men of the Persians:
they added also to what had been said the king's insane wrath,
as one who would never wait for a second legation,
but was arming himself against the leaders of the design. But Artasiras,
sending to Artaducta, carried her off, and shut her up with her goods
in a most strongly fortified castle: but he himself
with the Persians and Assyrians prepared arms against
the great king Artabanes. Artabanes also,
understanding that arms were being prepared against him, likewise prepared himself
with the Parthians, having also not a few Persians who
were not sharers in the conspiracy of their own countrymen.
But at the first onset, of those who assailed one another
in war, both Persians and Parthians, very many
fell on either side. But Artasiras became the more powerful,
because very many others deserted Artabanes
and joined themselves to Artasiras. Then, when
in a second conflict they assailed one another, very many
of the Parthians fell, and king Artabanes was straightway
turned to flight, yet afterwards returned again to
the war. When therefore for twelve months
they were near one another, partly fighting, partly
resting, at last they again set themselves to battle,
and came to the place of conflict, and
he says to king Artabanes l …
[9] [in the battle he slays him and obtains the kingdom, the king of Armenia grieving.] “Having confessed, he reigned together with her m over the remaining
Parthians, and the Persians and Assyrians, doing all things
moderately, rejoicing in equity and in a most just
governance. For he strove to obtain praises, as one
who had unexpectedly attained the kingdom of the Persians.
Now these things which had happened were announced
to Cusaro n the Arsacid, reigning in greater
Armenia: namely that the son of Sasanus, Artasiras,
had prevailed in the kingdom of the Persians, and had destroyed
Artabanes his brother. There had been added
to the tidings that the Parthians also rejoiced more in the reign
of Artasiras than in that of him who with them drew his origin
from the same blood, since
they very quickly deserted the kingdom of the Parthians, and the power
of Artabanes, son of Valerius o, was overcome,
he being slain by Artasiras, son of Sasanus, and it could not stand
for a long time. This Artasiras was one
of the satraps of the province of the Stachritæ [p], who, when
he had come and had gathered into one the prefects of the armies
of the Persians, and had come to an agreement with them, brought it about
that they should abrogate and cast off the rule of the Parthians,
and should acquiesce and consent rather to set up his own
dominion. When therefore,
after the death of Artabanes, slain by Artasiras,
son of Sasanus, this message reached Cusaro,
king of Armenia, and brother of Artabanes [q], and
second in the dominion of the Parthians; the king indeed
of Armenia was second in the dominion of the Parthians,
and, although swiftly, after hearing
the sad tidings, he pitched his camp, he had not come
into the number of the army gathered. Straightway
therefore he spoke with the greatest grief about
the misfortune which had happened, and especially because
he had not arrived” to perform the works of war.
ANNOTATIONS.
b. Elsewhere
it is called judiciary Astrology, which passed from the Chaldeans to other nations also,
but that divination is vain and rash, if it be applied to
investigating those things which depend on the will of men, as is now agreed
among the learned. What is here asserted about the dream of Artabanes is read from other
writers also in Herbelot at the name Ardschir.
as also Agathias, Zonaras and other later writers. But it is established
that Persia, in so far as it is a particular province, is altogether distinct
from the province of Assyria, although both with very many others were formerly under
the empire of the Persians which Cyrus founded and Alexander the Great destroyed.
Hence arises a doubt whether the biographer erred, or rather the others, who perhaps
believed him a Persian because he called his kingdom that of the Persians. Under it
there had also been the Assyrians, the Medes, the Babylonians or Chaldeans, who all before
the Persians had held a very wide dominion in Asia, and the Parthians themselves with very many other
peoples. Yet the kingdom of the Persians, the whole of which Artaxerxes
attempted to claim for himself, had extended further than any of
the preceding, or than the kingdom of the Parthians which he seized, extended.
Of that very wide empire of the Persians the Romans then possessed not a few
provinces, and this could be the reason why Artaxerxes, with the
princes who adhered to him, wished to reign under the name of the Persians rather than of the Assyrians,
if he was by country an Assyrian; and perhaps also that he might
please the Persians and by that title bind them more to himself. Therefore I would not
dare to convict Agathangelus of a certain error, and to grant certain
credit to the more ancient writers, since they in all likelihood did not know Artaxerxes,
whom they say was an obscure man, except through the kingdom of the Persians restored by him.
They could therefore easily err about his native country, or call him a Persian,
because he was of the empire of the Persians, which he partly occupied, partly
was planning to occupy. Dion, book 80, chapter 3, where he had narrated the victory of Artaxerxes over the Parthians
and the war begun by him in Armenia
and Mesopotamia, at num. 4 subjoins: He therefore was formidable to us (the Romans)
while with a vast army he threatened not only Mesopotamia but also Syria;
and threatened that he would recover all things whatsoever the Persians had formerly held as far as the Greek
sea, as belonging to himself by hereditary right. These things sufficiently indicate why he
assumed the title of king of the Persians. But, if the things are true which are reported about his birth in
Agathias, book 2, page 61 in the Greek, 57 in the Latin version, Artaxerxes was born neither in Persia
nor in Assyria, but in the region of the Cadusæi, whom
Cellarius with the ancient geographers places in Media Atropatene near
the Caspian sea. For from report he relates that the mother of Artaxerxes was married
to a certain Pabecus, … a plainly ignoble man, namely a tanner or cobbler,
yet most skilled in the course of the stars, and one who easily foresaw things to come. Perhaps
he was a magus, and not merely a vain astrologer, although not even magi
can know things to come with certainty. Perhaps also — and this seems to me more probable —
it is a mere fiction, to illustrate in some fashion by that fictitious
knowledge of the future the ignoble or spurious birth of Artaxerxes. For he subjoins:
That a certain military man named Sasanus, making a journey by chance through the region of the Cadusæi,
was received in hospitality by Pabecus, and lodged in his
little house. On this occasion therefore Artaxerxes is said to have been born of Sasanus and the wife
of Pabecus, Pabecus consenting on account of the future greatness of the offspring, as they will have it. He would therefore have been born in the region of the Cadusæi of an ignoble
mother and of a father Sasanus, a military man. He adds that he was brought up by Pabecus, and consequently in the same region: but
that a contention … arose between Sasanus and Pabecus, for each
wished the son to be called his own; and that at length they agreed with difficulty
that the son should indeed be called Pabecus's, yet begotten of the seed of Sasanus. For some sort of confirmation of these things Agathias subjoins: The Persians, tracing the descent of Artaxares in this manner, affirm these things to be true, as written in the royal membranes. Herbelot,
however, agrees only in part with the aforesaid, as I shall presently say, and we have not yet
found whether Sasanus, the father of Artaxerxes, was an Assyrian or a Persian.
shepherd, to whom Babecus joined his daughter in marriage. Therefore Babecus
would be the grandfather, Sasanus the father of Artaxerxes; and he repeats the same at the name Sassan, whence, he says, the Sassanian or Sassanid kings of the Persians. He adds in the same place that Sasanus or Sassanus was sprung
from royal stock, but on account of the poverty to which he had been reduced
became the shepherd of Babecus. Which of all these is truer I cannot
declare with certainty. Yet it is more likely that Sasanus was the father of Artasiras,
as our author asserts, since he gave his name to his posterity, and from this
we may also conjecture that he was not ignoble. Artasiras also, whom our author makes one of the magnates, could not have effected what he accomplished unless he had been in some splendid dignity before the rebellion.
f. This
nocturnal going out and returning of the woman is in all likelihood fictitious,
as also what follows about the magnates gathered by Artasiras on the same night.
The author wished to throw the whole conspiracy into one night,
but improbably. Yet that Artasiras was warned of the king's dream,
and that by a woman, the praised Herbelot also has, but he does not say that all things were
done so hurriedly.
i. Let the
studious reader remember that these things are uttered by rebels, who seek a specious
pretext. But the Apostle would not have approved them, nor will sound
Theology approve them.
This our author also insinuates three battles, the first in some fashion doubtful, yet so
that after it the power of Artasiras grew; in the second he makes Artasiras
the victor; in the third he doubtless wrote that Artabanus was slain.
But, as has been noted upon our transcript, some things there have been erased
from the codex. Therefore the outcome of the third battle, and a few things preceding
and following, I transfer hither from Metaphrastes: When at last
the lines of both sides were near, they say that Artasiras said to king Artabanes
that he should not act rashly and destroy the races of the Persians and Parthians:
for that the kingdom would not henceforth remain with Artabanes, but pass to
Artasiras. But thou, he said, if thou wilt hear me, shalt live without any trouble.
For I will give thee a region which will abundantly furnish all things which pertain
to use. But it behoves thee to use no other teacher than thyself of that which
is useful, and to remember the answer which thou once gavest to the queen in
the tent. But thus far indeed Artasiras. But Artabanes, first looking
toward certain of his familiars: How grave a thing, he said, is a woman! The love
of wedlock has harmed rather than helped. When he had said this, he bids one
of his guards pass over and kill the queen. For he thought
that she had betrayed the secret. But turning to Artasiras, he answered that it was
far more desirable for him to die than to yield the kingdom to Artasiras, who was a slave.
And as soon as he had said this, madly and after the manner of one raving he rushed upon
the Persians; and of them he wounds many, but kills more:
and he directs his spear also against Artasiras. But he (for he had
hands skilled in shooting, and which in this matter were always engaged with great praise)
feigns flight. But while Artabanes pursues him,
he sends a dart into the breast, beside the nipple, of his pursuer. And when it
could not be withstood because of the strength of him who had hurled it, it breaks
Artabanes's cuirass; and, the breast being pierced, it came out at the back, and
straightway deals death to Artabanes. But presently the Parthians and
Persians, coming to an agreement among themselves, proclaim Artasiras king, who showed
that he bore great care of them, and that his kindness toward them was not
small. And he indeed, being in this case, takes Artaducta to wife,
whom he had before betrothed to himself by the oath given, and chooses her as queen. These
things had all been erased from the codex. But the things which follow, marked to the end
of this chapter, were so blackened in the codex that they could
with difficulty be read.
m. Namely
with Artaducta, as we have already seen from the words of Metaphrastes just given. The equity
of Artasiras toward his subjects is praised also by Eutychius at page 375 in these words: With as much justice as could be, he dealt among men. But certainly the seizure of the kingdom was not just.
But Cusaro, the brother of Artabanes, who held the kingdom of Greater Armenia, when
he had understood what had happened, and that the empire of the Parthians had been transferred
to the Persians, was affected with great grief. In Metaphrastes his name is written Cusaro, in this Life Cusaron, and sometimes also Cusaro.
p. That
tract or people I do not find: nor is this to be wondered at, both because in
the most ample empire of the Parthians there were very many lesser provinces, and because
the diversity of tongues greatly changes the names of places. Yet I can easily believe
that Artasiras was of the satraps of the kingdom of the Parthians.
q. Either
some things in the transcript are faulty, because they could not be rightly read, or
various things are uselessly repeated. Whether the king of Armenia was truly the brother of Artabanes,
king of the Parthians, as Agathangelus asserts, I cannot find
in Roman history.
CHAPTER II.
The war waged by the king of Armenia against the Persians for the empire: the king of Armenia slain by the treachery of Anac.
Ανάκαμψας
δὲ
ἐπ᾽
ἐρασενεῖς
τὴν
ἰδίαν
πατρίδα,
καὶ
ἐν
τῷ
ἐπίοντι
ἐνιαυτῷ
ἤρξατο
ὁ
ἀυτὸς
κουσάρων
ὁ
τῶν
ἀρμενίων
βασιλεὺς
στρατείαν
συναθροίζειν,
καὶ
συγκαλεῖν
τὴν
τῶν
ἀλβανῶν
καὶ
ἠβηρῶν
στρατοπεδαρχίαν,
ἀνοῖξαι
δὲ
καὶ
τὰς
κλεισούρας
τῶν
ἀλανῶν,
καὶ
τοῦ
λεγομένου
καὶ
ζουάρου
πύργου,
ἐκβαλλεῖ
τε
τὰ
τῶν
οὕννων
στρατεύματα,
ὥστε
ἐπιδραμεῖν
τοῖς
τῆς
περσίδος
μέρεσιν
καταλαβεῖν
τε
καὶ
τὰ
κλίματα
τῆς
ἀσσυρίας,
ἔως
τῶν
κασπίων
λεγομένων
πυλῶν,
πρεδεῦσαί
τε
καὶ
ἀφανισμὸν
μεταθεῖναι
τὰς
ἐν
ἡσυχίᾳ
καὶ
εὐανθίᾳ
πόλεις
τε
καὶ
κομοπόλεις
καθιστάμενος.
ἐσπούδαζεν
γὰρ
ἐνθυμούμενος
καὶ
τὸν
νομὸν
ἐξάραι
τῆς
τῶν
πέρσων
δεσποτείας
ἐις
τέλος,
ἐκδίκησιν
λαβεῖν
ἐπειγόμενος
τῆς
ἐκπτώσεως
τῆς
δεσποτείας
τοῦ
ἀδελφοῦ·
μεγάλην
δὲ
ἔχων
μίνιν,
καὶ
πεπληγὼς
ἀμέτρῳ
ζήλῳ
τὴν
καρδίαν
ὑψηλὰ
ἐφρόνει,
θαῤῥῶν
τῷ
τῆς
στρατείας
πλήθει
καὶ
τῇ
ἀνδρείᾳ
τῶν
συμμάχων.
τότε
οὖν
ἐν
τάχει
ἐις
βοήθειαν
ὁμοῦ
πάντες
ἔφθασαν
μετὰ
ἀπείρου
πλήθους
καὶ
ἀνδριωτάτων
ἱππεῶν
καὶ
ἰσχυρᾶς
ἑτοιμασίας
ἀλβάνοι,
λιφίννιοι,
σιλβάνοι,
κασπίται,
καὶ
ἄλλοι
ἐκ
τῶν
ἀυτῶν
μερῶν,
ὅπως
τὴν
ἄμυναν
τοῦ
ἀρταβάνου
ἅιματος
ἐπιζητήσωσιν.
καὶ
γὰρ
ἐν
μεγίστῃ
λύπῃ
ὑπῆρχεν
διὰ
τὴν
φυσικὴν
ἀδελφότητα
τοῦ
ἀναιρεθέντος,
καὶ
τὴν
ἀυτοῦ
συγγένειαν
τὴν
ὁμοθυμαδὸν
ὑποτάγησαν
τῶν
ἐπαρθέντων
σταχριστῶν;
καὶ
μάλιστα
ὅτι
καὶ
ἀποστείλας
ἦν
ὁ
κουσάρων
πρέσβεις,
ἵνα
ὁι
συγγενεῖς
ἐις
βοήθειαν
παραγενωνται,
ἀντιστάμενοι
τῇ
νεωστὶ
βασιλείᾳ,
καὶ
χεῖρα
ὀρέξωσιν
ἐις
συμμάχειαν·
ὅμως
ὁ
συγγενεῖς,
φύλαρχαι
καὶ
σατράπαι
καὶ
ἔξαρχοι
πάρθων,
οὐκ
ὑπήκουσαν.
πεπεισμένοι
γὰρ
καὶ
εὐδοκήσαντες
καὶ
ὑποταγέντες
ἦσαν
τῇ
τῶν
μονογενῶν
δεσποτείᾳ,
ἢ
ἀδελφότητι.
[11] Πλὴν
ὅμως
λαβὼν
ὁ
κουσάρω
τὸ
πλῆθος
τοῦ
ἰδίου
στρατοπέδου,
καὶ
τοὺς
προσηλύτους
λίαν
ἐμπειροπολέμους,
ἐπέβη
τῇ
περσίδι.
Θεωρήσαντος
δὲ
τοῦ
τῶν
περσῶν
βασιλέως
τὸν
ἀμύθητον
ὄχλον
τοῦ
στρατεύματος,
ὅτι
ἐν
βαρυτάτῃ
δυνάμει
ὁρμησθέντες
ἐπέφθασαν
ἀυτὸν,
ἐξῆλθεν
καὶ
ἀυτὸς
ἐις
ὑπάντησιν
ἀκουσίως
ἐν
ἑτοιμασίᾳ
πολέμου·
καὶ
ἀντίπιπτειν
μὴ
ἰσχύσας,
νῶτα
διδοὺς,
φυγὰς
ἔμπροσθεν
ἀυτῶν
ἐγένετο.
ὁι
δὲ
πολέμιοι
καταδιώξαντες
κατέστρωσαν
τῶν
περσῶν
πᾶσαν
στρατείαν,
κἀν
ταῖς
πεδιάσι
καὶ
ταῖς
ὁδοῖς
περισκόρπησαν
ἀπειρὸν
τῶν
κατακοπέντων
καὶ
τεθνηκότων
πλῆθος.
ὁ
δὲ
βασιλεὺς
τῆς
ἀρμενίας,
ἀναζεύξας
ἐν
μεγίστῃ
νίκῃ
καὶ
πλήθει
χρημάτων
μετὰ
πολλῆς
θυμηδίας
διαβαίνει
ἐις
τὰ
μέρη
τῆς
ἀρμενίας.
παραγενόμενος
δὲ
ἐν
τῇ
πατρίδι
ἀραρὰτ
καὶ
πόλει,
ἥτις
καλεῖται
οὐαλεροκτίστη,
παρακελεύεται
ἀγγέλους
διαποσταλῆναι
διαφόροις
μέρεσι,
καὶ
γράμματα
καταπεμφθῆναι
πρὸς
τὸ
ἀναθήματα
γίνεσθαι,
τοῖς
ἕπτα
ἱεροῖς,
τοῖς
ἐν
τῇ
ἰδίᾳ
ἀυτοῦ
ἐξουσίᾳ
ὑπάρχουσιν,
καὶ
πέμπει
λεύκους
ταύρους
καὶ
λευκοὺς
τράγους
καὶ
ἵππους
λευκοὺς
καὶ
ἡμιόνους
λευκοὺς,
χρύσα
καὶ
ἀργυρὰ
σκεύη,
καὶ
λίθους
τιμίους,
καὶ
πολυτελέστατον
ἰματισμὸν
ἐξ
ὧν
τε
εἶχεν
καὶ
απὸ
τῶν
ἀυτοῦ
συγγενῶν,
ἐις
τιμὴν
καὶ
κόσμον
τῶν
σεβασμίων
ἀυτοῦ
τόπων,
ἀπὸ
πάντων
τῶν
σκηλῶν
τὸ
πέμπτον
ἐις
ἀυτοὺς
ἀφορίσας,
πολλά
τε
δῶρα
τοῖς
ἱερεῦσιν
ἐχαρήσατο,
τοῖς
δὲ
στρατεύμασι
τοῖς
περὶ
ἀυτὸν
παρασχὼν
δωρεὰς,
ἀπέλυσεν.
[12] Παλὶν
δὲ
ἐν
τῷ
ἐπίοντι
ἐνιαυτῷ
στρατείαν
συναθροίσας
κουσαρω,
ὁ
τῶν
ἀρμενίων
βασιλεὺς,
καὶ
τὴν
ἀυτοῦ
συμμαχίαν
ἀνακαλεσάμενος,
ἢ
καὶ
πλείονα
τῆς
πρωτέρας,
ἐπέδραμεν
ἐις
τὰ
μέρη
τῆς
συρίας.
συνεβάλλοντο
δὲ
αὐτῷ
καὶ
αἱ
τῶν
σαρακηνῶν
στρατείαι
πρὸς
συμμάχειαν.
σκευλεύσας
δὲ
καὶ
τὸ
δεύτερον,
ἐν
ἐπαίνῳ
ὑπέστρεψεν
ἐις
τοὺς
ἀυτοῦ
ἰδίους
τόπους·
καὶ
τοῦτον
τὸν
τρόπον
ἔφεξῆς,
ἐπὶ
δέκα
ἔτη
τὴν
ὑποτεταγμένην
τῷ
τῶν
περσῶν
βασιλεῖ
ἐξουσίαν
κατέστρεψεν.
Ταῦτα
οὖν
θεασάμενος
ἅπαντα
τὰ
κακὰ
ὁ
τῶν
περσῶν
βασιλεὺς,
κατειληφότα
άυτὸν,
συνεχύθη
σφοδρὰ
καὶ
διηπορεῖτο
ἐν
ἑαντῷ.
προσκαλεσάμενος
δὲ
πάντας
τοὺς
βασιλεὶς
καὶ
τοπάρχας
καὶ
στρατήγους
τῆς
ἰδίας
δεσποτείας
συμβούλιον
λαμβάνειν,
παρακαλῶν
πάντας
λύσιν
τῶν
κακῶν
εὑρεῖν·
ὑπισχνεῖτο
δὲ
καὶ
μείζονας
δωρεὰς
τῷ
δυναμένῳ
ἐκδίκησιν
εἰσπράξαι,
ἐπαγγελλόμενος
ἐν
τῷ
δευτέρῳ
ἀξιώματι
τῆς
ἠδίας
δεσποτείας
κατατάττειν
ἀυτὸν,
λέγων
ὅτι
ἐι
καὶ
πάνυ
τις
τῶν
ὑποδεεστέρων
τύχοι,
πλῆν
τοῦ
ἐμοῦ
θρόνου
πρώτου
φανέντος,
παρ᾽
ἀυτῶν
τὴν
ἴσην
μετ᾽
ἐμὲ
ἐχέτω
τιμήν.
[13] Τότε
τις
έκ
μέσου
τοῦ
συνεδρίου
ἐπιφανέστατος
ἐθνάρχης
τῆς
τῶν
περσῶν
δεσποτείας,
ᾧ
ὄνομα
ἄνακ,
ἐκ
τῆς
συγγενείας
κουσάρω
τοῦ
βασιλέως,
ἀναστὰς
έις
μέσον
παρείη,
καὶ
ἐκ
τοῦ
ἰδίου
συγγενοῦς,
ὡς
παρὰ
έχθροῦ,
ὑπέσχετο
ἐκδίκησιν
λαβεῖν.
ἀρξάμενος
δὲ
ὁ
τῶν
περσῶν
βασιλεὺς
διαλέγεσθαι,
ἀυτῷ
φησίν·
ἑαν᾽
μοι
ταύτην
τὴν
ἐδίκησιν
ὁλοψύχως
έκζητήσης,
τὴν
ἀπαρχῆς
προγονικὴν
ὑμῶν
ἐξουσίαν
ὑμῖν
ἀναδώσω,
καὶ
σοὶ
περιθεὶς
διάδημα
ὑπερδοξάσω
καὶ
ἔπιφανέστατον
καὶ
ἐνδοξότατον
τῶν
ἐν
τῇ
ἐμῇ
βασιλείᾳ
ποιήσω,
καὶ
δεύτερός
μου
κληθήση.
ἀποκριθεὶς
δὲ
ὁ
πάρθος
ἄνακ,
εἶπεν,
τὸ
κατάλιμμα
τῆς
ἐμῆς
συγγενείας,
εὐποιήσας
τιμήσῃς.
ἐγὼ
γὰρ
καὶ
ὁ
ἐμὸς
γνήσιος
ἀδελφὸς
σήμερόν
σοι
συντασσόμεθα,
εἰ
καὶ
ἀπαλλαττόμεθα.
ἐπ᾽
ἀδήλῳ
γὰρ
πρόκειται,
τὸ
ὑπ᾽
ἀλλήλων
ἔτι
θεαθῆναι.
τότε
οὖν
ἕτοιμος
γενόμενος
ὁ
πάρθος
μετὰ
καὶ
τοῦ
ἰδίου
ἀδελφοῦ
σὺν
γυναιξίν
τε
καὶ
παισὶν
καὶ
τῇ
λοιπῇ
ἀποσκευῇ
ἐξῆλθεν,
ἀντάρτου
σχῆμα
ὑποκρινόμενος,
καὶ
ἤρχετο
εἰς
τὰ
μέρη
τῆς
ἀρμενίας,
ὡς
ἀποστατήσας
τῶν
περσῶν
βασιλέως,
προσκεχωρηκὼς
δὲ
χουσάρω
τῶι
τῆς
ἀρμενίας
βασιλεῖ.
[14] Παρεγένετο
οὖν
ἐν
τῇ
πατρίδι
καὶ
χαλχὰλ
πόλει
λεγομένῃ,
ἐν
παραχειμίοις
τόποις
τῶν
τῆς
ἀρμενίας
βασιλέων.
θεασάμενος
δὲ
ἀυτὸν
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
μετὰ
πλείστης
φιλοτιμίας
ἀπεδέξατο,
μάλιστα
ὅτι
ὑποκρινόμενος
δολερῶς
συνομιλεῖν
ἀυτῷ
ἤρξατο,
καὶ
τῆς
ἰδίας
παρουσίας
τὴν
πίστιν
ἀπεδείκνυτο
λεγων·
διὰ
τοῦτο
πάρειμι,
ἵνα
συμφώνως
ὑπὲρ
ἀμφοτέρων
ἑμῶν
ἐκδίκησιν
εἰσπράξαι
δυνηθῶμεν.
ἐπειδὴ
οὖν
θεώρει
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
τὸν
ἄνδρα
πρὸς
ἀυτὸν
ὁρμήσαντα
σὺν
πᾶσι
τοῖς
ὀικείοις,
ἀδιστάκτως
ἀυτῷ
ἐπίστευσεν·
καὶ
τότε
δίδωσιν
ἀυτῷ
τιμὴν
κατὰ
τὸν
βασιλικὸν
νόμον,
καὶ
ἐπὶ
δεύτερῳ
ἀυτὸν
θρόνῳ
ἀναβιβάσας
ἐκάθησεν.
πάντα
δὲ
τὸν
τοῦ
χειμῶνος
καιρὸν
καὶ
τὰς
τῶν
δεινοτάτων
ἀνέμων
πνοὰς,
ἐν
ἐυφροσύνῃ
ἀναπεπαυμένοι
ἦσαν.
ἐπειδὴ
οὖν
ἤκασιν
ἁι
τοῦ
ἔαρος
ἡμέραι,
πνεόντος
τοῦ
νότου
θερμὸν,
τῆς
θερινῆς
θύρας
ἀνοιγήσης,
ἀπῆρεν
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
ἐξ
ἐκείνων
τῶν
μερῶν,
καὶ
κατέβη
ἐις
τὴν
πατρίδα,
λεγομένην
ἀραρὰτ,
ἐις
πόλιν
οὐαλεροκτίστην,
καὶ
ὅτε
ἐν
ἐυφροσύνῃ
ἀναπεπαυμένοι
ἦσαν
ὅ
τε
βασιλεὺς
καὶ
ὁ
πάρθος,
ἐνεθυμεῖτο
ὁ
βασιλεὺς,
στρατοπεδεῦσαι
πάλιν
ἐις
τὰ
μέρη
τῆς
περσίδος.
ὁ
δὲ
πάρθος
ἀκούσας
ἐμνήσθη
τοῦ
ὂρκου
τοῦ
πρὸς
τὸν
περσῶν
βασιλέα,
καὶ
τὴν
ἰδίαν
πατρίδα
ἰδεῖν
ἐπεπόθη
καὶ
τῶν
ὑποσχέσεων
ἐπιτυχεῖν
ἐπίστευεν,
ὡς
μέλλων
τῆς
τῶν
πάρθων
ἐξουσίας
ἐπικρατεῖν,
καὶ
τὴν
προγονικὴν
τιμὴν
ἀναλαβεῖν.
[15] Βουλὴν
οὖν
πονηρὰν
σκεψάμενος,
λαμβάνει
τὸν
βασιλέα
ἀυτός
τε
καὶ
ὁ
ἴδιος
ἀυτοῦ
ἀδελφός
ἰδιάζοντες,
ὡς
προφασιζόμενοι
σκέψιν
τινὰ
ἀναθέσθαι
ἀυτῷ,
τὰς
δὲ
ῥομφαίας
ἀυτῶν,
ὁλοστόμους
παρελυσθέντας,
ἐκράτουν
κρυφέως.
ἀυτίκα
δὲ
ἀπροσδοκήτως
τὰς
σπαθας
ἀνασπάσαντες,
ἐπάταξαν
τὸν
βασιλέα,
καὶ
ἐις
τὴν
γῆν
κατέῤῥαξαν.
γνοὺς
δέ
τις
ἐυθέως
τὸ
γινομένον
πρᾶγμα,
ἐξέκραγεν
ὁλολύγμῳ
μεγάλῳ,
καὶ
ὡς
ὧδε
καὶ
ὧδε
ἀυτοὶ,
ἐπιβάντες
τοῖς
ἰδίοις
ἵπποις,
φυγάδες
ἐγένοντο,
καὶ
τοῦτο
μαθόντες
ὁι
σατραπαὶ
τῶν
ἀρμενίων,
νουμέναρχοι
διεμερίζοντο
ὁπίσω
ἀυτῶν
καταδιώκοντες,
καὶ
προδραμόντες
τινὲς
προκαταλάβοντο
τὴν
διαβάθραν
ἐπὶ
πύλαις
ἄρταξατ
τῆς
πόλεως.
ὁ
γὰρ
ποταμὸς
ἐρασαχ
πλημμύρων
μεχρὶ
τῆς
κρηπίδος
ἔρεεν
ἐκ
τῆς
λυθήσης
χίονος
σὺν
τῷ
κρυστάλλῳ,
ὀιδαίνων
καὶ
άναβλύζων
ἐν
τᾶις
ἑμέραις
ὢν
τῆς
ἀυτοῦ
ἀναθολώσεως.
ἄλλοι
δὲ
περάσαντες
τὴν
γέφυραν
οὐαλεροκτήστης
τῆς
πόλεως,
καὶ
τὴν
διαβάθραν
τοῦ
λεγομένου
ποτάμου
μάθεος,
συνέδραμον
καταλαβεῖν
τὰς
διαβάσεις
τῆς
προκειμένης
πόλως
ἀρταξάτης,
καί
ἐν
τοῖς
στένοις
περικυκλώσαντες
τούς
φυγάδας
ἐις
μέσω
τῶν
γεφύρων
ἔνθεν
καὶ
ἔνθεν,
ποταμοῦ
βρυχίους
πεποιήκασιν.
ἀυτοὶ
δὲ
ἀναστρέψαντες
ὀλολυγμοῖς
καὶ
κλαυγαῖς
καὶ
ἐλεειναῖς
φωναῖς
σὺν
πάσῃ
τῇ
χώρᾳ
συναχθέντες,
τὸν
βασιλέα
ἐθρήνουν.
ἔτι
δὲ
μικρὰν
ἐκεῖνος
θέρμην
ὕπο
τὰ
στέρνα
ἀναπνέων,
τῆς
τελευταίας
πνοῆς
ἀυτῷ
φθασάσης,
ἐκέλευσεν
τὴν
συγγενείαν
ἀυτῶν
πάσαν
ἐξολοθρεῦσαι,
καὶ
μὴ
δ᾽
ὅλως
καταλοιπεῖν
ἀπὸ
νεανίσκου
καὶ
τοῦ
μὴ
γινώσκοντος
δεξιαν
καὶ
ἀριστερὰν.
άλλὰ
καὶ
τὴν
θηλείαν
γονὴν᾽
ἐξηφάνησαν
ἐν
τοῖς
ξίφεσιν.
πλὴν
δυὸ
μικρότατα
παιδία
ἐκ
τῶν
ὑιῶν
τοῦ
πάρθου
διασώσας
τις
τῶν
ἐγγυτάτων,
ἐποιήσατο
μετὰ
τροφῶν,
καὶ
ἐκφυγεῖν
πεποίηκεν,
ἐνα
μὲν
ἐις
τὰ
μέρη
τῆς
περσίδος,
τὸν
δὲ
ἐτέρον
ἐν
τοῖς
Ρωμαικοῖς,
τόποις
καὶ
εγένετο.
The king of Armenia, having gathered a vast army, But he returned into Erasene a, his own province,
and in the following year the same Cusaro, king of Armenia,
began to gather an army and to call together
the columns of the Albanians and Iberians b: and the Gates
of the Alans being opened, whose name is also the tower of Zuar c,
he sends forth the columns of the Huns d, that they might invade the parts
of Persia and seize the tracts of Assyria
as far as the gates called Caspian e, and plunder
and lay waste the cities and towns flourishing in happy
quiet. For he strove and purposed
to take away for ever the prefecture of the dominion of the Persians,
that he might take vengeance for the fall of his brother's
dominion. But nursing a great wrath, and kindled with immoderate
zeal, he revolved lofty things in his mind,
relying on the multitude of his army and on the valour
of his fellow-soldiers. Then therefore swiftly all
together came to his aid with an innumerable multitude
and with most valiant cavalry and strong equipment —
the Albanians, the Liphinnii, the Silvani, the Caspitæ f, and others
from those parts — that they might seek vengeance for the blood
of Artabanes. For he was in the greatest sadness
because of the natural brotherhood of the slain man, and because
his kinsmen were unanimously subject to the proud
Stachristæ g; and especially because Cusaro had also sent legates
that his kinsmen might come to his help,
resisting the newly born empire, and might stretch out a helping hand
for waging the war together.
Nevertheless the kinsmen, who were chiefs of tribes,
satraps and leaders of the Parthians, did not obey.
For they were rather obedient and acquiescent
and subject to the dominion of men of one stock
than to brotherhood.
[11] invades Persia and obtains a victory over the Persians, Nevertheless Cusaro, having taken with him the multitude
of his army together with strangers exceedingly
practised in the art of war, entered Persia. But when
the king of the Persians saw the innumerable multitude of the army,
since with the greatest forces they had come upon him,
unwilling he too went forth to meet them
with warlike equipment: and when he could not
resist, turning his back, he was put to flight by them.
But the enemy, pursuing, laid low the whole
army of the Persians, and scattered on every side
in the plains and in the roads an innumerable
multitude of the cut down and the dead. Then
the king of Armenia, his camp being moved, having gained the greatest victory
and a vast abundance of money, with great
delight passes over into the parts of Armenia. But when
he had come into the province of Ararat h and
the city which is called Valeroctista i, he bids messengers
be sent into various parts, and letters be written for
preparing offerings to be hung up in the seven
shrines which are in his dominion: and he sends white bulls,
white he-goats, white horses, white asses,
golden and silver vessels, precious stones, and, of
the garments both which he himself had and which he had received from
his kinsmen, the most magnificent, for the honour and adornment
of his venerable places, setting apart for them
a fifth portion from all the spoils. Many gifts also
he bestowed upon the priests: but the columns which he had with him
he dismissed, honoured with gifts.
[12] But again in the following year Cusaron, king of Armenia,
gathered an army, [whom for ten years he presses with war. But induced by the promises of the king of the Persians] and summoned the same
aid of his allies, or even a greater than the former,
and led them to the parts of Syria. And there were joined
to him also the columns of the Saracens k
in aid. And spoils being again seized, he returned
with praise to his own places. And in this manner
thereafter for ten years l he overthrew the power subject
to the king of the Persians. When therefore the king
of the Persians perceived all these evils by which he was afflicted,
he was vehemently confounded and stuck fast in doubt.
But having called together all the kings, the governors of places,
and the leaders of war whom he had
in his dominion, to take counsel, he exhorted
them all to find an issue of the evils. And he promised
greater gifts to him who should be able to take
vengeance, announcing that he would deliver to him the second dignity
in his dominion, saying
that, even if anyone were of exceedingly slender fortune,
my throne alone appearing first, he should obtain from them
an honour equal after me.
[13] Then a certain most illustrious prefect of a nation in the dominion
of the Persians, Anac, kinsman of the king of Armenia, whose name was Anac, kinsman
of king Cusaro, rising from that same assembly,
came forth into the midst, and promised that he would take vengeance
upon his own kinsman, as upon
an enemy. And the king of the Persians, beginning to speak,
says to him: If thou shalt seek out this vengeance for me with thy whole soul,
I will straightway give you back your ancestral power,
and placing a diadem upon thee, I will exalt thee with glory,
and make thee most renowned and most illustrious of all
in my kingdom, and thou shalt be called second after me.
But the Parthian Anac, answering, said: Thou wilt have honoured
by thy benefit those left of my kindred.
For I and my own brother are today subject
to thee; even though we depart. For it remains uncertain
whether we shall yet see one another again.
Therefore then the Parthian, as soon as he was ready,
with his own brother, and with their wives and children
and with the rest of their baggage, went forth, feigning the appearance
of a rebel, and set out for the parts of Armenia,
as though deserting the king of the Persians, and going over
to Cusaro, king of Armenia.
[14] He came therefore into the province and city
called Chalchal m, he sets out to him after the manner of a deserter, and being kindly received, into the winter quarters of the kings of Armenia.
But the king, seeing him, received him with the highest
honour, especially after he began by feigning to converse
with him deceitfully, and to manifest
the good faith of his coming, saying: For this cause I am here,
that by common consent we may be able to take vengeance
for us both. Therefore the king, perceiving that the man
had come to him with all his household, undoubtingly
believed him: and then he granted him royal honour,
and raising him up, made him sit upon the second
throne. And all the winter season, and that
in which the blasts of the winds were most violent,
they passed in gladness and quiet. But when
the time of spring came, the south wind blowing warm, and the door
of summer being opened, the king departed from those parts,
and set out to the province called Ararat,
to the city Valeroctista: and when both the king and the Parthian
had rested cheerfully, the king was thinking
again to move his camp into the tracts of Persia. This being understood,
the Parthian remembered the oath by which he had bound himself
to the king of the Persians, and desired
to see his own country also, and believed that he would obtain
the promises made to him, as one about to attain the dominion
of the Parthians and to hold the honour of his
forefathers.
[15] he slays the king by treachery, and fleeing is drowned in the river. Therefore, a wicked counsel being entered upon, he and his brother
took the king aside without other company,
pretending that they would set before him
a certain consideration; but their swords, wrapped about on every side,
they secretly took with them. But suddenly, drawing their swords
unexpectedly, they struck the king
and cast him to the ground n. But when someone
immediately learned the deed, he cried out with a great
howl; and when they, mounting their horses, fled hither
and thither, and the satraps of the Armenians had learned this,
the prefects of the cohorts divided themselves to pursue
them, and some running ahead seized beforehand
the bridge at the gates of the city of Artaxata
o. For the river Erasach [p], overflowing, flowed
up to the embankment from the snow melted with the ice,
swelling and gushing in the days of its turbidity.
But others, crossing the bridge of the city Valeroctista
and the bridge of the river whose name is Matheus [q],
ran together to seize the crossings of the city
of Artaxata; and surrounding the fugitives in the narrows of the places
in the midst of the bridges on this side and on that, they brought it about
that they were drowned in the river. But they,
returning, with howlings and outcries and pitiable voices,
gathered together with all the province, mourned
the king. But he, still breathing a little warmth
in his breast, when the last breath came upon him,
commanded that all their kindred be exterminated,
and that none at all be left, neither
a young man, nor him who knows neither his right hand
nor his left: nay, they blotted out even the female
kind with the sword. Nevertheless, when one of his nearest
had saved two exceedingly little infants of the Parthian's sons,
he assigned nurses to them, and brought it about that they escaped,
the one indeed into the parts of Persia, the other [r]
into the places subject to the Romans, as indeed came to pass.
ANNOTATIONS.
b. That
Albania and Iberia are contiguous provinces, and both bordering on Armenia,
is well enough known to geographers. The Albanians and Iberians had
their own kings, each of them, and in all likelihood had them then also; but
they could have been allies of the king of Armenia, and by common counsel with him
have planned war against Artaxerxes or Artasiras, whom they feared.
on mount Caucasus, to the north of which the Huns seem then to have dwelt,
and near them the Alans, the Albanians and Iberians living to the south of the same mountain.
Cellarius in his Ancient Geography assigns those Gates truly in the Caucasus,
and calls them, with Pliny, the Caucasian Gates; who, after he had written in book 6 about both Armenias, Albania and Iberia, in chapter XI thus treats of the Caucasian Gates, so that I scarcely doubt that they are here commemorated under another name. From these, he says, are the Caucasian Gates, by a great error called Caspian by many, a vast work of nature where the mountains are suddenly broken off, where the doors are shut Note: al. barred with iron-bound beams, beneath the middle of which a river of foul odour Note: al. the Dyriodorus
flows, and on this side, on a rock, a fort (which is called Cumania) is fortified to keep back the passage of innumerable nations; in which place the circle of the lands is shut off by gates, especially opposite the Iberian town of Harmastis Note: al. Hermastis. The words
I have given from the first edition of Pliny of the year 1469, with the variants from another edition noted in the margin. Procopius, book 4 of the Gothic War, chapter 3,
commemorates the Gates of the Caucasus, writing thus about mount Caucasus to our purpose:
Beyond this region is the Caucasus: which mountain rises to so great
a height that neither rain nor snow ever touches its summits, as being
higher than any clouds.
From the middle downward it
is full of unceasing snow, and its lowest parts raise themselves not less than the highest
crags of other mountains. And these indeed toward the North
and turned toward the setting sun run forward to Illyricum and Thrace: but those
which incline toward the East and the South come out at the Gates which lead the neighbouring Huns
into the borders of the Persians and the Romans; the one is called Tzur, the other
by its old name Caspian. That tract which reaches from mount Caucasus to
the Caspian Gates the Alans hold, subject to the rule of none,
for the most part allies of the Persians, and accustomed to bear arms against the Romans
and their other enemies. Thus far about the Caucasus. There the Huns whom they call Sabirs,
and certain other Hunnic nations, dwell. These things suffice for us to understand that the Caucasian Gates which Pliny describes could rightly be called the barriers of the Alans, since by them the Alans were kept from entering into Iberia and the other provinces toward the South. And that these are the ones which Procopius asserts were in his time called Tzur, Cellarius rightly observes in book 3, chapter 10, page 225. But that name Tzur could easily have arisen from the name of the tower of Zuar, both from the diversity of tongues and from the lapse of time, by which names are corrupted. The Suarni, a people, also dwelt near the Caucasus according to Pliny, book 6, chapter XI, where he treats of the Caucasian Gates; whether the tower of Zuar perhaps had its name from them, I cannot declare with certainty.
e. The Pylæ
or Caspian gates are mentioned by most ancient geographers, but, as
Pliny praised above observed, and again observes in chapter 13, by
some are even confounded with the Caucasian Gates. But Cellarius, book 3, chapter
18, shows by many testimonies of the ancients that the Caspian Gates were set at a long distance of lands
from the Caucasian, and were placed between Media and Parthia, or in the farthest part of Media toward the rising sun. For
this opinion he praises Ptolemy and Strabo. Then for confirmation
he adds the words of him who abridged Strabo, and thus
expresses them in Latin: There are two Caspian nations, the one more westerly, near the Cadusii beside the sea of the same name (the Caspian), the other neighbouring on the Parthians, whose are the Caspian Gates. These things he confirms there at greater length, and rightly places the Caspian Gates on the mountain by which Media is divided from
Parthia. Therefore the Huns could run out through Iberia and Armenia into
Media and Assyria, the most flourishing provinces of the Persian kingdom.
who are here mentioned, are by some attributed to Albania, or at least are neighbours of Albania
at the Caspian sea, as Cellarius has it, book 3, chapter 10, in
Albania. More obscure are the Liphinnii and the Silvani or Silbani, but they are in all likelihood to be sought in Iberia, where in Pliny, book 6, chapter 10, there are mentioned along the whole front of the mountains the wild nations of the Sylvi, and below of the Lubieni. In the first edition which we have, it is read of the Sylvæ and of the Lupeini. These perhaps were those called Silvani and Liphinnii in the Life. Metaphrastes says that the army was composed of Albanians and Iberians, and besides of Huns — namely, besides the Armenians themselves.
But Ararat is a level region in Armenia, through which the Araxes flows,
of incredible fertility, at the roots of mount Taurus, which extends thither. These words
seem to make the region or province of Ararat the same as the Araxene Plain; or at least, if Jerome does not make it the same,
he so joins the region of Ararat with the Araxene Plain that he places the region of Ararat
about the ridges of mount Taurus, where mount Ararat is, not far from
the border of Armenia and Media, and then more toward the Caspian Sea
he could place the Araxene Plain. Yet I rather believe that they are merely different
names of one region. But Jerome's opinion did not please Cellarius, book 3,
chapter XI, page 233; it did not please him, I say, because Jerome places the Araxene Plain near Taurus, from which, he says, it is distant by a great interval. Nevertheless
it is very easy to reconcile Jerome's opinion with the ancient geographers,
and namely with Strabo. For Taurus not only extends very far through
Asia, but in many places also very broadly, and sends out various ridges
here and there, which are portions of Taurus, even though they have other
names, as happens with the Alps. But now the river Araxes rises from mount
Abus, from which on another side the Euphrates likewise draws its origin. For thus Strabo,
book XI, page 527, after Masius and Niphates, mountains of Armenia, speaks of Abus: Then Abus, whence the Euphrates and the Araxes glide forth, the one toward the West, the other (the Araxes) toward the East. Monier,
missionary of Armenia, agrees at page 12, saying that the Euphrates and the Araxes
rise from the same mount Abus in places sufficiently near to one another. He adds that all
those mountains (he had been speaking of Abus and of Niphates, from which the Tigris
rises) are portions of Taurus. Strabo asserts the same at page 531 of Abus and
Imbarus: These are portions of mount Taurus. Wherefore that region through which the Araxes flows is rightly placed by Jerome at the roots of mount Taurus. But from
what Strabo writes at page 527 about the course of the Araxes, it is sufficiently
gathered that the region of Ararat borders upon Media Atropatene. For thus
he has it: The Araxes toward the East as far as Atropatene, then
inclines toward the West and the North: and first it flows past Azara,
then past Artaxata, a city of Armenia: afterwards through the Araxene Plain it pours itself into the Caspian
sea. If anyone from these words should wish to distinguish the region of Ararat from
the Araxene Plain, he will give to the province of Ararat the part nearer to Atropatene as far as the city
Artaxata, and the city itself; and the parts below Artaxata near the Araxes
toward the Caspian Sea will then constitute the Araxene Plain.
Thus at page 529 Artaxata is set at the Araxene Plain, not in the Araxene Plain. I doubt, however, whether that would be rightly said according to Jerome's mind; nor does it matter whether it was one province or two.
if perhaps it had been built by some Valerius, Valarsus or Vologesus, and
was not exceedingly ancient. Certainly I do not find that name among the ancients. Yet this
may also be, that it had an Armenian name far different.
This city will recur frequently.
k. If
the things are true which are narrated about Cusaro's second expedition, he led his army toward
Syria as an ally of the Romans, whose province Syria was, where the Saracens also could join
themselves to him,
that with united forces
they might invade the dominions of the Persians through Mesopotamia. Certainly in
the war which Alexander, emperor of the Romans, waged against Artaxerxes,
especially in the year 233, he had the Armenians as allies. On this may be seen
Tillemont, volume 3 of the Emperors, in Alexander, article 23.
l. The king
of Armenia could easily continue that war against Artaxerxes for ten years,
since in all likelihood he did not make peace with them before the Romans did.
But peace between Philip, emperor of the Romans, and Sapor, king of the Persians,
was made in the year 244. Consult on these things what was said in the preliminary Commentary,
num. 105 and following, where I also observed that, after the expedition of the emperor Alexander,
which he undertook in the year 233 with the Armenians against Artaxerxes,
only moderate Roman forces remained in the East, and that even so the provinces of the Romans there suffered
almost nothing down to about the year 241,
so that the Armenians at that time seem to have sustained nearly the whole weight of the war.
is a province which extends between mount Masius and Antitaurus,
as the praised Strabo says. I shall not assign more closely the site
of Sophene and of Carcathiocerta, since the old geographers speak of them in divers ways. But I judge that it is designated by the name Chalchal by
the biographer, both because it is a royal city, and because it was situated in some
western and southern part of Armenia, so that in all likelihood it enjoyed
n. Already
in the Commentary at num. 107 I showed that this slaying is to be fixed in the year 240 or 241,
if anyone hold all the things reported in these Acts as true, and that truly at that
time the forces of the Persians seem to have grown, since they ran far and wide into the provinces of the Romans.
I added, however, that of that slaying nothing becomes known from the Roman histories,
and that therefore neither the slaying itself seems certain, nor the occupation of Armenia by Artaxerxes, which is immediately subjoined. Then at num. III I proved more fully
that the chronology of this Life does not cohere well with Roman history,
and that Armenia was occupied by the Persians later, so that the slaying of the king of Armenia, if it be true,
seems also to have been perpetrated later.
I shall follow. That the city Valeroctista, which then seems to have been more ordinarily the seat of the kings, was situated on the same river, is gathered from this passage.
But Artaxata was on the right bank of the Araxes, that is toward Media;
Valeroctiste on the left. That Artaxata was on the right bank toward
the borders of Media is understood from the account of Tacitus, book 13, chapter 39; for
he relates that Corbulo, Nero's general, when he was advancing with the Roman army to besiege Artaxata, had to cross the Araxes, and that he did this not
in sight of the city, but far off by fords. Nor yet, he says,
were the legions led by the nearest route, which, if they should cross by a bridge the river Araxes which washes the walls,
would be exposed to missiles: far off and by broader
fords they crossed.
p. Erasach will have been then the Oriental name of the Araxes, as now it is called Aras, and by other neighbouring names. Many have maintained that the Araxes does not endure bridges, on account of that line of Virgil, the Araxes that scorned a bridge. But
both the Romans afterwards built over the Araxes, and Monier in
the Monuments of Armenia, page 38, testifies that there is a fine bridge of three arches
at Erivan over the same river. Yet it is said to swell very quickly, and
to flow very rapidly, so that it is no wonder that it quickly casts down bridges built less carefully or less
solidly.
q. That several
rivers on either side discharge themselves into the Araxes, many writers even
today testify. Of these is the one here named. But now from these things it is clear
that Valeroctiste was on the left bank of the Araxes. For there the slaying is said to have been
done. But the assassins, in all likelihood because they could not or did not
dare there to cross the river by the bridge, seem to have fled toward
Artaxata, placed on the opposite bank, that there they might cross by
the bridge and through the city. But the Armenians forestalled them on every side, lest they should escape into
Media: for some ran ahead to the said bridge, lest they should be able to enter the city.
Others, the river having been crossed, hastened along the other bank of the river
to Artaxata, lest they should be able to go out of the city if they had
entered it. Thus they were compelled to attempt the crossing of the swift and swollen river
by swimming, and so were swallowed by the waters. These things are set forth in a manner
highly probable, and seem to have been written by a man who knew those places
well, so that perhaps the thing was true.
r. This was St. Gregory, if we believe the author: but of him more presently.
CHAPTER III.
The beginnings of St. Gregory and of Tiridates, king of Armenia: the latter, having obtained his father's kingdom,
strives in vain to lead Gregory to idolatry.
Οσ
ἤκουσεν
ταῦτα
πάντα
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
τῶν
περσῶν,
θυμηδίας
ἐπλήσθη,
καὶ
μεγάλην
πανήγυριν
ἐπετέλει
ἐκείνην
τὴν
ἡμέραν,
καὶ
πλεῖστα
χαρίσματα
τοῖς
ἱεροῖς
ἐδωρεῖτο
τῶν
δαιμόνων.
ἐπιστρατοπεδεύσας
καταλαμβάνει
τὴν
τῆς
ἀρμενίας
μεγάλην
χώραν,
καὶ
πάσαν
ἡλικίαν
ὁμοῦ
ἀιχμαλοτίσας
κατακράτος
ἐ͂ιλεν
ἀυτὴν.
διασωθεὶς
δὲ
ἑῖς,
περιεσώσατο
ἐκ
μέσῳ
τῆς
αἰχμαλωσίας
ἕνα
τῶν
ὑιῶν
τοῦ
βασιλέως
ἀρμενίας
κουσάρω,
οὐ
μικρότατον
παιδίον,
ᾧ
ὄνομα
τηρηδάτης,
καὶ
παραδοὺς
παιδαγωγοῖς
ἐφυγάδευσεν
ἐις
τὰ
μέρη
ῥωμανίας
ἐν
τῷ
τοῦ
καίσαρος
παλατίῳ.
τὴν
μὲν
οὖν
ἀρμενίων
χώραν
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
περσίδος
περιελῶν
ἰδιοποίητο,
καὶ
ἐπὶ
τῷ
ἑαυτοῦ
ὀνόματι
τοὺς
τόπους
ἐκάλει.
τοὺς
ἐγκαθέτους
στρατηγοὺς
ἐξεδίωκεν
ἔως
τῶν
ὁριῶν
ῥωμανίας,
καὶ
τάφρους
πεποιηκὼς,
ὁρία
ἔστησεν·
τὸν
δὲ
τόπον
ὠνόμασεν
φοσέων
πύλας,
ἔνθα
πάλαι
ἐκαλεῖτο
τόπος
χάσματος.
παραγενάμενος
οὖν
τηρηδάτης
ἐκάθισεν
παιδευόμενος
παρὰ
τίνι
κώμητι
λυκιανῷ
καλουμένῳ.
[17] Ὁ
δὲ
υἱὸς
τοῦ
πάρθου,
ὁ
προσπεφυγὼς
τοῖς
ῥωμαίων
μέρεσιν,
ἀνετρέφετο
καὶ
παιδεύετο
ἐν
πόλει
καισαρίᾳ
τῆς
καππαδοκίας,
καὶ
ἐν
γνώσει
τινὸς
χριστιανοῦ
γενόμενος,
ἐδιδάχθη
τὸν
φόβον
τῆς
τοῦ
χριστοῦ
διδαχῆς,
καὶ
τῆς
θείας
παιδεύσεως
πάνυ
ἔμπειρος
ἐγένετο,
ὀνόματι
λεγόμενος
γρηγόριος.
ὡς
δὲ
ἔμαθεν
περὶ
τῶν
τοῦ
πατρὸς
πράξεων,
τῶν
πάλαι
γενομένων,
ἐξελθὼν
ἐπορεύθη
πρὸς
τηρηδάτην
ἀυτοπροαιρέτως
λειτουργῆσαι
ἀυτῷ,
περικρύπτων
δὲ
ἁυτὸν,
καὶ
μηδὲν
ἐκφήνας,
ἢ
πόθεν,
ἢ
πῶς,
ἢ
ἑνεκέν
τινος
ἐις
δουλείαν
ἑαυτὸν
ὑποκλείνας,
ἐν
πάσῃ
ὑποταγῇ
λειτουργεῖν
ἐνώπιον
ἀυτοῦ.
καὶ
ἐν
τοῖς
καιροῖς
ἐκείνοις
ὁ
τῶν
ἑλλήνων
ἄρχων
τὴν
τοῦ
θεοῦ
ἐκκλησίαν
ἐδίωκε,
καὶ
τότε
μανθάνει
ὁ
τηρηδάτης
περὶ
γρηγορίου
ὅτι
χριστιανὸς
ὑπάρχει.
ἤρξατο
δὲ
τινικαῦτα
ἐπιτιμᾶν
ἀυτῷ,
καὶ
διαφόρως
ἀγανακτήσεως
ἐπιτιθέναι,
πολλάρις
δὲ
ἐν
φυλακαῖς
καὶ
δεσμοῖς
καὶ
βασάνοις
ἔθληβεν
ἀυτὸν,
καὶ
ἀποστῆσαι
ἔσπευδεν
τῆς
τοῦ
χριστοῦ
προσκυνήσεως,
καὶ
ἐις
δουλίαν
ὑπεισαγαγεῖν
τῆς
τῶν
ματαίων
ἐιδώλων
βδελυρᾶς
λατρείας.
[18] Ἐν
δὲ
ταῖς
ἡμέραις
ἐκείναις
στράτευμα
συναθροίζει
ὁ
τῶν
Γότθων
ἄρχων,
καὶ
πολλὴν
βοήθειαν
συγκομήσας,
ἦλθεν
πόλεμον
στῆσαι
μετὰ
τοῦ
τῶν
ἑλλήνων
ἄρχοντος,
καὶ
τὸν
τρόπον
τοῦτον,
φασὶν,
ἀποστέλλει
λέγων
ἀυτῷ·
ἵνα
τί
ὅλως
παράγομεν
τοὺς
συμμίκτους
ἐν
τῷ
πολέμῳ,
καὶ
κατακόπτομεν
τὰ
στρατεύματα,
κίνδυνον
δὲ
ἅμα
καὶ
ἀνάγκην
ταῖς
πόλεσιν
ἐπιφέρομεν;
ἰδοὺ
ἐγὼ
ἀντίπαλος
ἐκ
τοῦ
ἡμετέρου
στρατοῦ
ἐξέρχομαι,
καὶ
σὺ
ἀυτὸς
ἀπὸ
τῶν
ἑλλήνων,
καὶ
μονομαχήσωμεν.
ἐὰν
ἐγὼ
σε
ὑπερνικήσω,
ὁι
ἕλληνες
ἐμὸι
ὑποταγῶσιν
ἐν
δουλείᾳ,
ἐι
δὲ
ἀυτὸς
ἐμὲ
ὑποπιάσῃς,
ὁι
ἡμέτεροί
σοι
ἀποκλίναντες
δουλεύσωσι,
καὶ
χωρὶς
ἁιματεκχυσίας
τοῖς
ἀμφοτέρων
μέρεσι
γένηται
ἐιρήνη,
καὶ
ἀσφάλεια.
ταῦτα
ἀκούσας
ὁ
τῶν
ἑλλήνων
βασιλεὺς,
ἐφοβήθη
λίαν,
ὅτι
ἀνελκέστατος
ὑπῆρχεν
τῇ
τῶν
ὀστῶν
δυνάμει,
καὶ
ἐκκενωθεὶς
τὸ
τῆς
καρδίας
θάρσος,
ἐταράχθη
μὴ
ἑυρίσξων,
πῶς
ἀυτῷ
παράσχοι
ἀπόκρισιν.
τότε
παρακελεύεται
πανταχὴ
γράμματα
καταπεμφθῆναι
πρὸς
τοὺς
στρατηγοὺς
τῆς
ἰδίας
ἐξουσίας,
ὅπως
πάντες
παρ᾽
ἀυτὸν
ἐν
τάχει
παραγένωνται.
τότε
δὴ
ὁι
ἄρχοντες
καὶ
ὁι
στρατηγοὶ
τὰ
πρὸς
ἀυτὸν
ἐν
σπουδῇ
κατελάμβανον.
παραλαβὼν
οὖν
καὶ
λικινιανὸς
τὴν
ὑπὸ
τήν
ἀυτοῦ
χεῖρα
στρατείαν,
ἥκει
μετὰ
πάντων.
[19] Καὶ
ἐγένετο
ἐν
τῷ
πορεύεσθαι
τὰ
συστήματα
τῶν
στρατοπέδων,
ἔφθασαν
ἐν
στενωτάτοις
τόποις
ἀνὰ
μέσον
τῶν
ἀμπελώνων
φραγμῶν
ὃιπρὸς
τὰς
πύλας
τῆς
πόλεως
προσενέτρεχον.
ἁι
δὲ
πύλαι
κεκλεισμέναι
ἦσαν,
μεσονυκτίου
ὄντος,
καὶ
ἐπειδὴ
οὐχ
ἡυρίσκετο
χορτάσματα
τοῖς
ἵπποις,
ἑὼς
ὥρων
πλείστων
ἀναβλέψαντες,
θεωροῦσιν
χόρτον
πολὺν
ἀποτεθειμένον
ἐν
περιβόλῳ,
ἐις
ὃν
οὐδεὶς
ἠδύνατο
ἐκτεῖναι
χεῖρα
διὰ
τὸ
ὕψος
τοῦ
τείχους.
τότε
τηρηδάτης
ἐπιβὰς
κατῆσιν
ἐις
τὸ
χορτοβολίον,
καὶ
ἀναρίπτει
δεσμὰς
μεγάλας
ἐις
μέσον
τῆς
στρατείας
ἐις
χορτασίαν
τῶν
ἵππων·
οὐ
μόνον
δὲ,
ἀλλὰ
καὶ
τοὺς
φυλάσσοντας
κύνας
πολλοὺς
ἐπάνωθεν
τοῦ
τείχους
ὑπερηκόντιζεν·
ἀυτὸς
δ᾽
ἀναπηδήσας
καταβαίνει
διὰ
τοῦ
τείχους.
ταύτην
οὖν
τὴν
ῥοπὴν
ἀυτοῦ
θεασάμενος
ὁ
λικινιανὸς
ὑπερθαύμασεν,
καὶ
τοῦ
ὀρθροῦ
τὴν
ἡμέραν
ἀπογυμνώσαντος,
ἠνοίχθησαν
ἁι
πύλαι
τῆς
πόλεως,
ὁι
δὲ
στρατηγοὶ
ἐισήεισαν
έις
τὴν
πόλιν
ἅμα
τῶν
στρατευμάτων.
ὁ
δὲ
λικινιανὸς
τῷ
βασιλεῖ
παρέστη,
καὶ
πάντες
ὁι
μεγιστάνες
καὶ
στρατοπεδάρχοι
καὶ
νουμενάρχοι.
[20] Ὁ
δὲ
βασιλεὺς
διηγήσατο
πάντα
τοῖς
ἄρχουσι
τὰ
δηλωθέντα
ὑπὸ
τοῦ
τῶν
γόθθων
βασιλέως.
τότε
ἤρξατο
λικινιανὸς
τῷ
βασιλεῖ
λέγειν·
μηδέν,
φησι,
ταραχθήτω
ἡ
καρδία
τοῦ
ἐμοῦ
δεσπότου,
ἔστιν
ἐνθάδε
ἀνὴρ
ἐν
τῷ
ὑμετέρῳ
παλατίῳ,
δι᾽
οὗ
ἀυτὴν
τὴν
ἀπορία
λύσιν
λαμβάνει,
τηρηδάτης
ἐκ
τῆς
συγγενείας
τοῦ
τῆς
ἀρμενίας
βασιλέως.
καὶ
διηγήσατο
ἀυτῷ
πάντα
τὰ
κατὰ
τὴν
ἑσπέραν
ἀυτοῦ
ἀνδραγαθήματα.
τότε
ἐκέλευσεν
προσκαλέσασθαι
τὸν
τηρηδάτην,
καὶ
ἐλθὼν
ἐξεῖπεν
ἀντῷ
πάντα
ἀκολούθως.
παραυτίκα
οὐν
συνετάξαντο,
καὶ
ὥρισαν
ἐν
ἑτοιμασίᾳ
πολέμου
ἐπὶ
τὴν
ἄυριον
ἀλλήλους
θὲάσασθαι
μονομαχοῦντας.
ὄρθρου
δὲ
ἀνατείλαντος,
ἐκέλευσεν
ἁλουργίδα
ἀυτὸν
ἐνδυθῆναι,
καὶ
ἐκαλλοπίσθη
θηρηδάτης
ἐν
σχήματι
κάισαρος.
περιέθηκαν
δὲ
ἀυτῷ
καὶ
βασιλικὸν
διάδημα,
ὥστε
μηδένα
γινώσκειν,
ἐι
μὴ
ἀυτὸς
οὗτος
ἔιῃ
ὁ
καίσαρ.
τὸ
δὲ
πλῆθος
τοῦ
στρατεύματος
ἐκβάλλοντες
ἐν
φωνῇ
σάλπιγγος
ἔμπροσθεν
ἤγαγον
ἐὼς
ἐξ
ἐναντίας
τῶν
ἐχθρῶν.
ἀντιπαρασταθέντες
δὲ
ὁ
καισαροειδὴς
καὶ
ὁ
τῶν
γόθθων
βασιλεὺς
σφοδροτάτῃ
τάσει
φραγγελώσαντες
ἀμφοτεροι
τὰ
τῶν
ἵππων
στερρὰ,
ἀλλήλους
ἐπέφθασαν.
ἐκεῖσε
δὴ
ὑπερνικήσας
ὁ
καισαροείδης
τὸν
γόθθων
βασιλέα,
καὶ
ἀπὸ
χειρὸς
ἀυτὸν
λαβὼν,
παρίστησιν
τῷ
καίσαρι.
[21] Τότε
ἐμεγάλυνεν
σφόδρα
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
τὸν
τηρηδάτην,
μεγίστας
δωρεὰς
δεδοκὼς
ἀυτῷ,
καὶ
ἐπιδήσας
καὶ
διάδημα
ἐπὶ
τὴν
κεφαλὴν,
καὶ
πορφύραν
ἐνδύσας
καὶ
καίσαρος
ἐνδύμασιν
κοσμήσας,
καὶ
στράτευμα
ἐις
βοήθειαν
ἐνχειρίσας,
ἀπέλυσεν
ἐις
τὴν
ἰδίαν
χώραν·
καὶ
μετὰ
τὴν
νίκην
τῆς
μονομαχίας
ἀναζεύγνυται
ἀπὸ
τῆς
ῥωμαίων
χώρας
τηρηδάτης
ὁ
τῆς
μεγάλης
ἀρμενίας
βασιλεὺς,
καὶ
παραγενόμενος
ἑυρίσκει
τοὺς
τῶν
περσῶν
στρατηγοὺς
ὅτι
τὴν
ἅπασαν
χώραν
ἐις
ἑαυτοὺς
ἦσαν
ἀποσπασάμενοι
ἐν
δουλείᾳ·
καὶ
πολλοὺς
μὲν
ἐξ
ἀυτῶν
κατέκοψεν,
πολλοὺς
δὲ
ἐις
τὰ
μέρα
τῆς
περσίδος
φυγάδας
ἐποίησεν,
καὶ
τὴν
πατρώαν
δεσπότειαν
ἀποσπάσας,
κατίσχυσεν
τῶν
τῆς
χώρας
ὁρίων.
ἐν
τῷ
πρώτῳ
ἔτει
τῆς
μεγάλης
ἀρμενίας
τηρηδάτου
βασιλέως
ἐπορεύθησαν
καὶ
ἥκασιν
ὁ
βασιλεύς
τε
καὶ
ὁ
στρατὸς
εἰς
τὴν
ἐκκλησίαν,
τὴν
λεγομένην
πατρίδα,
ἐν
τῇ
κώμῃ
τῃ
καλουμένῃ
ἔρηξ,
ἐ͂νθα
ἦν
τὸ
τῆς
ἀρτέμιδος
ἱερὸν,
ἵνα
ἐκεῖ
ἐπιθύσωσι.
καὶ
τελεύσαντες
τὸ
ἀθέμητον
ἔργον,
κατέβησαν
παρεμβάλλοντες
παρὰ
τὸ
χεῖλος
τοῦ
καλομένου
λύκου
ποταμοῦ.
εἰσελθὼν
δὲ
ἐις
τὴν
σκηνὴν
ὁ
βασιλεὺς,
κατεκλίθη
ἐν
δείπνῳ,
καὶ
πεπωκὼς
ἠγαθύνθη
σφόδρα.
τότε
κελεύει
τὸν
γρηγόριον
στέμματα
καὶ
δασεῖς
κλάδους
τῶν
δένδρων
δῶρα
ἐισφέρειν
ἐν
τῷ
ἱερῷ
τῇ
ἐικόνι
τῆς
ἀρτέμιδος.
ὁ
δὲ
οὐ
προσεδέξατο
τιμὴν
προσενέγκαι
τοῖς
ἐιδώλοις.
[22] Ἥρξατο
οὖν
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
διαλέγεσθαι
πρὸς
γρηγόριον,
καί
φησιν·
ἄνθρωπος
ξένος
καὶ
ἀπερίστατος
ἐλθὼν
προσεγγίσας
ἡμῖν,
καὶ
πῶς
θολμᾶς
σεβεῖν
θεὸν,
τὸν
μὴ
παρ᾽
ἔμοῦ
προσκυνούμενον;
καὶ
ἐν
ἐκείνῃ
τῇ
ἡμέρᾳ
ἐκέλευσεν
ἀυτὸν
ἐν
ἀσφαλείᾳ
γενέσθαι.
τῇ
δὲ
ἐπιούσῃ
προσέταξεν,
καὶ
ἤνεγκαν
τὸν
γρηγόριον
ἐπὶ
τοῦ
βασιλέως.
εἶπεν
δὲ
ἀυτῷ
ὁ
βασιλεὺς·
τοσαῦτα
ἔτη,
ἀφ᾽
οὗ
τεθέαμαί
σε,
καὶ
ἐξ
ὅλης
σου
δυνάμεως
ἐδούλευσάς
μοι
ἐυγνωμόνως,
καὶ
ἠυχαρίστουν
τοῖς
καμάτοις.
διὸ
ἐ͂ιχον
ἐν
τῇ
ψυχῇ
ἀποδοῦναί
σοι
τὴν
χάριν·
ἵνα
τι
οὖν
οὐ
ποίεις
τὸ
ἐμοῦ
θέλημα;
ἀποκριθεὶς
δὲ
γρηγόριος,
ἐ͂ιπεν·
ἐκέλευσεν
ὁ
θεὸς,
ἵνα
ὁι
δοῦλοι
ὑποταγῶσι
τοῖς
σαρκικοῖς
δεσπόταις,
καθὼς
πρέπον
ἐστιν,
ῶς
καὶ
ἀυτὸς
μαρτυρεῖς
μοι,
πῶς
ἐδούλευσά
σοι
ἐξ
ὅλης
μου
τῆς
ἰσχύος.
ὅμως
δὲ
τὴν
τοῦ
θεοῦ
τιμὴν
καὶ
λατρείαν
οὐδὲν
ἔξεστιν
ἀποδοῦναι.
ἀυτὸς
γάρ
ἐστιν
μόνος
ποιητὴς
οὐρανοῦ
καὶ
ἀγγέλων
καὶ
γῆς
καὶ
ἀνθρώπων
καὶ
παντῶν
ὁράτῶν
τε
καὶ
ἀοράτων
κτισμάτων,
τῶν
ὀφειλόντων
προσκυνεῖν
ἀντὸν
καὶ
λατρεύειν.
ὁ
δὲ
βασιλεὺς
ἔφη·
γίνωσκε
ὅτι
ἀπεποιήσω
τὸν
σὸν
κόπον,
ὃν
ἐμοὶ
κεκοπίακας,
ὡς
ἐγὼ
μαρτυρῶ.
νῦν
δὲ
ἀντὶ
τιμῆς
ἐπιτίθημί
σοι
θλίψιν,
καὶ
ἀντὶ
δόξης
ἀτιμίαν
καὶ
ἀντὶ
ἀξιώματος
φιλακὴν
καὶ
δεσμὰ,
καὶ
ἀυτὸν
τὸν
θάνατον
τῶν
ἀποκόπτοντα
πάσας
τὰς
ἐλπίδας
τῶν
ἀνθρώπων,
ἐὰν
μὴ
καταδέξῃ
τοῖς
θεοῖς
λατρείαν
προσφέρειν,
μάλιστα
ταύτῃ
τῇ
μεγάλῃ
ἀρτέμιδι,
τῇ
δεσποίνῃ,
ἥτις
ἐστι
δόξα
τῷ
ἡμετέρῳ
γένει
καὶ
σωοποιὸς·
ἣν
καὶ
βασιλεῖς
πάντες
τιμῶσι,
καὶ
μάλιστα
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
τῶν
ἑλλήνων.
μητὴρ
γάρ
ἐστι
πάσης
σωφροσύνης,
καὶ
φιλάνθρωπος
τῇ
ἀνθρωπίνῃ
φύσει,
καὶ
γέννημα
τοῦ
μεγάλου
καὶ
ἐναρέτου
διὸς.
[23] Εἶπε
δὲ
γρηγόριος·
ἐγὼ
μέν
σοι
ἐν
ἔυνοίᾳ
κεκοπίακα,
καὶ
οὐκ·
ἄν
ποτε
ἐγὼ
ἀυτὸς
τὸν
ἑμαυτὸν
κόπον
ἀποποιήσω,
οὒδε
ἀτεθήσω
κατὰ
τὸ
διαταχθὲν
παρὰ
τοῦ
θεοῦ
δουλεύειν
σαρκικοῖς
δεσπόταις.
ἀλλ᾽
ἔστιν
κύριος,
ὁ
τῶν
ἀγαθῶν
μισθαποδότης.
οὐδὲ
γὰρ
ἐγὼ
παρὰ
σοῦ
ἐδόκουν
ἀπολαβεῖν
τι,
ἀλλ᾽
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
ποιητοῦ,
οὗ
ἐισὶν
ὁρατὰ
καὶ
ἀόρατα
κτίσματα.
περὶ
δὲ
ὧν
λέγεις,
θλίψιν
μοι
ἐπιθῆναι
ἀντὶ
τιμῆς,
προστιθείς
μοι
τὴν
τοῦ
χριστοῦ
ἑτοιμασμένην
ἐυφροσύνην,
οὗ
ἡ
δεσποτεία
ἀιωνία,
καὶ
ἡ
βασιλεία
ἄληκτος,
καὶ
τὰ
ἀγαθὰ
ἀκατάληπτα·
καὶ
ὅτι
ἄντὶ
δόξης
ἔφης
ἀτιμίαν
ἐπαγαγεῖν,
ὄντως
προξενεῖς
μοι
τὴν
τῶν
ἀγγέλων
τιμὴν
ἐν
ἐυφροσύνη
τὴν
ἑαυτῶν
ποιητὴν.
καὶ
ὅτι
λέγεις
ἀντὶ
ἀξιώματος
φυλακὴν
καὶ
δεσμὰ
περιβαλεῖν
μοι,
μακάριός
ἐιμι
δεξάμενος
τὴν
μίμησιν
τῶν
δεσμῶν
τοῦ
ἐμοῦ
δεσπότου,
ἵνα
μετ᾽
ἀυτοῦ
ἐυφρανθῶ
καὶ
ἀγαλλιάσωμαι
ἐν
τῇ
ἀυτοῦ
παρουσίᾳ.
καὶ
ἐπειδὴ
νομίζεις
ἀποστερεῖν
με
τῶν
σῶν
δείπνων,
ἰδοὺ
ἑτοιμάζεις
με
κατακλιθῆναι
μετὰ
τοῦ
πατρὸς
τῆς
πίστεως
ἡμῶν
ἀβραὰμ,
καὶ
πάντων
τῶν
δικαίων,
τῶν
μελλόντων
ἐυφρανθῆναι
ἐν
τῃ
βασιλείᾳ
τοῦ
θεοῦ,
καὶ
ὄτι
ἀπειλεῖς
μοι
θάνατον,
ἰδοὺ
ἀναμιγνύεις
με
ἐις
τὸν
χόρον
τοῦ
θεοῦ,
ἔνθα
πάντες
ἐισὶ
χορεύοντες,
πάτερες
καὶ
δίκαιοι
καὶ
προφῆται
καὶ
ἀπόστολοι
καὶ
μάρτυρες
καὶ
πάντες
ὁι
ἐκλεκτοὶ
τοῦ
θεοῦ.
καθὼς
δὲ
λέγεις
ὅτι
ἐν
τῷ
θανάτῳ
τὴν
ἐλπίδα
τῆς
ζωῆς
σου
ἐκκόπτω,
οὐχ
ἢ
ἐμὴ
ἀλλ᾽
οὐδὲ
ἡ
ἐλπὶς
ἐκκόπτεται
ἀπὸ
πάντων
τῶν
θεοσεβῶν,
ἡ
δὲ
τῶν
θεοφιλῶν
ἐλπὶς
περικρατεῖ,
ἢν
καγὼ
ἀυτὸς
ἔχω·
τῶν
δὲ
καθ᾽
ὑμᾶς
λατρευόντων
ἐιδώλοις
καὶ
χειροποιητοις
ἀνθρώπων,
ἀληθῶς
ἐστὲ
ἀπηλπισμένοι
ἀπὸ
τῆς
θεικῆς
ζωῆς.
[24] Ἥν
δὲ
σὺ
καλεῖς
μεγάλην
δέσποιναν
ἄρτεμιν,
σεαυτὸν
ἀπατῶν.
οὐχ
οὕτως
γὰρ
ἔχει
τὰ
περὶ
τούτων·
ἀλλ᾽
ἄρθρωποι
ἐγένοντο
ἐν
καιρῷ
τινι.
καὶ
ἐπείδηπερ
διὰ
κνήσεις
δαιμόνων
καὶ
γοητείας
ἐξέστησαν
τούς
τε
ἀνθρώπους,
μορφὰς
καὶ
φαντασίας
ἀυτῶν
τῶν
δαιμόνων
δεικνύντων,
ἔπεισαν
βωμοὺς
ὀικοδομεῖν,
καὶ
στήλας
στῆσαι,
καὶ
προσκυνεῖν
τὰ
ἀνωφελῆ,
τὰ
μὲν
δὲ
μηδὲ
κακὸν
μηδὲ
ἀγαθὸν
ποιῆσαι
δυνάμενα.
οὐδὲ
γὰρ
τιμῆσαι
τοὺς
ἰδίους
λατρευτὰς,
οὐδὲ
ἀτιμῆσαι
τοὺς
ὑβρίζοντας
οἶοι
τε
ἐισὶν,
οὕστινας
ὑμεῖς
σκοτισθέντες
λατρεύετε,
καὶ
τὸν
νοῦν
ἐξεστηκότες.
καὶ
αντὶ
τοῦ
θεοῦ,
οὗ
τῶν
ἀγαθῶν
ἀπολάβετε,
τιμᾶτε
τοῦς
λιθίνους,
καὶ
ξυλίνους
καὶ
χρυσοῦς
καὶ
ἀργυροῦς,
ἃ
ὁ
θεὸς
ἔκτησεν
ἐις
ὑπηρεσίαν
καὶ
ἀπόλαυσιν
καὶ
χρείαν
τῶν
ἀνθρώπων.
ἐμοὶ
δὲ
γένοιτο
ἐν
πάσῃ
ὑποταγῇ
καὶ
πάσῃ
ἐυγνωμοσύνῃ
καὶ
φοβῳ
σεβεῖν
τὸν
θεὸν.
ἀυτὸς
γὰρ
ἐκ
τοῦ
μῆ
ὄντος
τὰ
σύμπαντα
παρήγαγεν
σὺν
τῷ
μονογενεῖ
ἀυτοῦ
ὑιῷ
καὶ
τῷ
πνεύματι
τῷ
ἁγίῳ,
καὶ
ἐκόσμησεν
τὰ
σύμπαντα,
καὶ
ἀφανίσαι
δύναται
καὶ
πάλιν
ἀνακαινῖσαι
τῷ
ἰδίῲ
ἐλέει.
οὓτως
οὖν
ἡμετέρα
ζωὴ
οὐκ
ἀποποιῆται
τὴν
ἐλπίδα,
ὅτι
λατρεύομεν
τῷ
ζῶντι
καὶ
ἀληθινῷ
θεῷ,
ὅς
καὶ
ἡμῖν
ζωὴν
δύναται
χαρίσασθαι,
ὅτε
βούλεται,
ἐι
γὰρ
καὶ
ἀποθνήσκωμεν,
ἀλλ᾽
ἀναζῶμεν.
καθάπερ
γὰρ
ὁ
ὑιὸς
τοῦ
θεοῦ
ἀπέθανεν
καὶ
ἀνέστη,
καὶ
ἡμῖν
ἔδειξεν
τύπον
ζωῆς
τῆς
ἀναστάσεως,
καὶ
ὑπὲρ
ἀυτοῦ
ἀποθνήσκοντες
ζωοποιούμεθα,
ὅταν
ἀποκαμφθῆ
ἑ
βασιλεία
ἀυτοῦ,
ὅταν
ἀπαιτήσουσι
δίκας
ὁι
ἀσεβεῖς
ἐπὶ
τῇ
δικαιοκρισίᾳ
τοῦ
ἀδεκάστου
δικαστοῦ.
[25] Πάλιν
οὖν
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
εἶπεν,
ἐπειδὴ
εἶπες,
ὅτι
παρὰ
σοῦ
οὐδὲν
προσεδόκουν,
οὐδὲ
χρήζω,
ὀιδα
τί
ἀυτὸς
ζητεῖς,
τὴν
ἐν
τῷ
τάφῳ
ἀνταπόδωσιν,
ἔνθα
εἰσὶν
οἱ
τεθνηκότες
πρῶτοι.
πέμπω
οὖν
σε
ἔγω,
ὅπου
βούλει
ἀπελθεῖν.
τίς
δέ
ἐστιν
ὁ
χριστὸς,
δείξον
μοι,
ἵνα
γνῷ,
καὶ
τίς
ἀποδώσων
τοὺς
σοὺς
κόπους,
ὅν
ποιητὴν
ἀποκαλεῖς,
μήπως
ἀυτός
ἐστιν
ἄρχων
τῶν
τάφων,
ὧν
σὺ
ἐπιθυμεῖς
ἐπιτυχεῖν;
ἢ
τῆς
φυλακῆς
τῶν
δεσμῶν
ἀυτός
ἐστιν
ἀπολύτης;
καὶ
ποῦ
ἐισὶν
ἁι
ἄπαυστοι
ἐυφροσύναι,
ἃς
λέγεις;
ἢ
ποῖά
ἐστιν
ἡ
παρουσία;
ἢ
τίνες
ὁι
ἄγγελοι,
ἢ
τί
ἑ
ὑμετέρα
ἐλπὶς,
ἡμῶν
δὲ
ἀνελπιστία;
διασάφησόν
μοι
ταῦτα
πάντα
πρὸς
ἡμᾶς.
οὐκ
ἔτι
συγχωρήσω
σοι
τὴν
καταφρόνησιν
τῶν
θεῶν
ὑβρίζοντι
ἀυτοὺς.
ἐ͂ιπες
γὰρ
ὅτι
ἄρθρωποι
ἦσαν,
καὶ
ἐις
θνήτὴν
φύσιν
κατήγαγες
ἀυτοὺς.
καὶ
τῆς
ἀπεράντου
λοιδορίας
ἐπιτέθηκας
τοῖς
θεοῖς,
καὶ
ἡμῖν
ἀυτοῖς
τοῖς
βασιλεῦσιν.
ἔιρηκας
γὰρ,
ὅτι
ἔκφρονοι
ἐστὲ
ὁι
βασιλεῖς
σέβοντες
ἀυτοῦς.
[26] Εἶπεν
δὲ
γρηγόριος·
ἐι
βούλει
ἀκοῦσαι,
ἄκουσον.
χριστός
ἐστιν
ὁ
ὑιὸς
τοῦ
θεοῦ,
δι᾽
οὗ
ἐγένετο
ὁ
κόσμος,
καὶ
κριτής
ἐστιν
ζώντων
καὶ
νεκρῶν,
κύριος
καὶ
μισθαποδότης,
τοῖς
ἀγαθοῖς
τὰ
ἀγαθὰ,
καὶ
τοῖς
φαύλοις
τὰ
κακὰ
νέμων.
ἀυτὸς,
ὅν
ἕιρηκάς
συ,
ἀληθῶς
ἄρχων
καὶ
φύλαξ
ἐστι
τῶν
ταφῶν.
ἀποθανῶν
γὰρ
ἰδίῳ
βουλήματι,
ἐισῆλθεν
ἐις
τὸν
τάφον·
ὅστις
φυλάττει
τὰ
ὀστᾶ
πάντων
τῶν
ἀνθρώπων,
καὶ
τῇ
ἰδίᾳ
ἀναστάσει
ἔδειξεν
καὶ
ἀπεκάλυψεν
τὴν
ἀνάστασιν
τῶν
νεκρῶν.
ἀυτὸς
γὰρ
καὶ
τὰς
ψυχὰς
τῶν
ἀνθρώπων
διαφυλάττει
ζώσας,
ἐπειδὴ
ἀυτός
ἐστιν
ἡ
ζωὴ,
ἵνα
ἀνακαινίση
τὰς
ψυχὰς
τῶν
ἀνθρώπων,
ἐνδεδυμένας
ἐν
τῷ
ἀυτῷ
σώματι
ἀφθαρσίαν·
καὶ
τότε
φανερὰς
ποιήσει
κατὰ
τὸν
ἴδιον
κόπον
ἑκάστῳ
τάς
ἰδίας
ἀμοιβὰς.
καὶ
ἀυτος
ἀπολύσει
τοὺς
δεσμίους
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
ὄικου
τῶν
δεσμῶν,
καὶ
τοὺς
ἐν
ἐιδωλολατρίᾳ
ὑπάρχοντας,
καὶ
κατὰ
σὲ
ἐν
ἁμαρτίαις
δεδεμένους
καὶ
ἀσεβείαις
κολάσεται·
ἐν
τοῖς
τοιούτοις
δεσμοῖς
συνήθως
μέλλει
ἀποδεῖξαι
τὸ
ἑαυτοῦ
ἔλεος
καὶ
τὴν
χὰριν,
καὶ
ἐξελέσθαι
τοὺς
ἐπ᾽
ἀυτοῦ
ἠλπικότας.
καὶ
ἁι
ἀκατάπαυστοι
ἐυφροσύναι
τότε
γίνονται,
ὅταν
τοὺς
ἀγαπητοὺς
ἀυτοῦ
καὶ
τὰς
ἐντολὰς
φυλάξαντας
ἀποθανατήσει
τῇ
ἰδίᾳ
θεότητι
ἐν
τῇ
τῶν
οὐρανῶν
βασιλείᾳ.
τοὺς
δὲ
ἁμαρτολοὺς
καὶ
ἐχθροὺς
ἀυτοῦ
ὁμοίως
ἀθανάτους
ποιήσει
ἐυ
τῇ
αἰωνίᾳ
κολάσει.
καὶ
ἡ
παρουσία
ἀυτή
ἐστιν,
ὅταν
ἔλθῃ
ποιῆσαι
ταῦτα
πάντα.
καὶ
ἄγγελοι
ἐισὶν
ὁι
ὑπηρέται
τῆς
μεγαλειότητος
καὶ
θεότητος
ἀυτοῦ.
ἡ
ἡμετέρα
οὖν
ἐλπὶς
ταῦτα
ἀπεκδέχεται.
[27] Ὀυδὲ
ὑμετέρα
ἀπελπιστία
τούτων
ἐστιν
ἄμοιρος,
ὅτι
οὐ
γινώσκεται
τὸν
ποιητὴν
ὑμῶν,
τὸν
ἀπαιτοῦντα
ὑμᾶς
ταῦτα.
καὶ
ἐπειδὴ
οὐκ
ἐζητήσατε
τὸν
κτίσαντα
ὑμᾶς,
ἀληθῶς
ὡς
ἵπποι
ἐγενήθητε
ἢ
ἡμίονοι,
οἷς
οὒκ
ἐστι
σύνεσις,
καὶ
βοὸς
καὶ
ὄνου
ἀφρονέστεροι
ὑπάρχετε,
μὴ
γινώσκοντες
τὸν
κύριον
ἡμῶν.
ὅστις
ἐν
τῷ
ἰδίῳ
καιρῷ
τὰς
σιαγόνας
ὑμῶν
ἄγξει,
τῶν
μὴ
μεμαθηκότων
προσεγγίσαι
ἀυτῷ.
ἀλλ᾽
ἐπειδήπερ
ἐ͂ιπες,
ὅτι
τοὺς
θεοὺς
ὑβρίζεις.
τί
ἐισὶν
ἁι
ὕβρεις
αὕται
ἀυτοῖς;
οὔποτε
οὕδε
τιμήσαντος
ἀυτοὺς
ἀισθάνονται,
ὅτι
ἐκ
χειρὸς
ἀνθρώπων
ἐισὶ
πλασθέντες,
καὶ
ἀπὸ
παραφρονήσεως
καὶ
φαντασίας
ἐνυπνίων
γενηθέντες
καὶ
κτισθέντες.
ἀνδρίας
γάρ
ἐστιν
ἐικὼν
ἀψυχὸς
τῶν
πρώτων
ἀνθρώπων.
ἀπατηθέντες
ἐργάσεσθαι
τούτων.
ἐν
γὰρ
τούτῳ
ἐπλανήθησθε
τυφλωθέντες
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
φωτὸς
τοῦ
ποιητοῦ.
ὁι
δὲ
οὕτως
δυσσεβοῦντες
δικάιως
λέγονται
ὡς
τὰ
ἄλογα·
στόμα
γὰρ
ἀυτοῖς
ἐστιν,
καὶ
οὐ
λαλήσουσι.
ὀφθαλμοὶ
ἀυτοῖς
ἐισὶν,
καὶ
οὐ
βλέπουσιν.
ὦτᾳ
ἔχουσι,
καὶ
οὐκ
ἀκούουσι.
ῥίνας
ἔχουσι,
καὶ
οὐκ
ὀσφραντήσουσιν·
πόδας
ἔχουσι,
καὶ
οὐ
περιπατήσουσιν.
οὐδὲ
γάρ
ἐστι
πνεῦμα
ἐν
τῷ
στόματι
ἀυτῶν.
ὅμοιοι
ἀυτοῖς
γένοιντο
πάντες
ὁι
πεποιθότες
ἐπ᾽
ἀυτοῖς.
The king of the Persians occupies Armenia, Tiridates being withdrawn by flight: When the king of the Persians understood all these things, he was filled
with delight, and celebrated a very great festival
on that day, and bestowed very many gifts
upon the shrines of the demons. And an army being gathered,
he occupied the great province of Armenia, and consigning every
age alike to captivity, carried it off by
force. But one who had escaped saved, out of the midst
of the captives, one of the sons of Cusaro, king of Armenia,
not the youngest boy, whose name was
Teredates a; and, delivering him to tutors, bade him flee
into the parts of the Romans and to the emperor's
palace. Therefore the king of the Persians claimed for himself the province
of Armenia, taken on every side b, and by his own
name he gave names to the places: he pursued the soldiers who lay in ambush
as far as the borders of the Roman dominion, and, ditches being made,
established boundaries. And the place he named Φοσέων
πύλας c, where before it was called
Τόπος
χάσματος. Teredates therefore, when
he had arrived, remained to be educated with a certain
count named Lucian.
[17] But the Son of the Parthian, who before had fled to the parts
of the Romans, Gregory, imbued with Christian doctrine, serves Tiridates. was brought up and instructed in the city
of Cæsarea in Cappadocia d, and becoming known to a certain
Christian, was taught the fear of Christian doctrine,
and became exceedingly skilled in divine learning,
being called by name Gregory. But when
he learned the deeds of his father which had formerly happened,
he departed and went to Teredates e of his own free will,
that he might serve him, yet hiding himself and
indicating nothing — whence, or how, or for what
cause, bowing himself to servitude, he had come
to minister to him with all subjection. In those same
times the prefect of the Greeks persecuted the church of God;
and then Teredates understood concerning
Gregory that he was a Christian. Therefore he straightway began to rebuke him
and in various ways to show his indignation:
and often he afflicted him with prisons, bonds and torments,
and strove to draw him away from the adoration of Christ
and to bring him back to the abominable worship of vain
idols.
[18] At that time the prince of the Goths f gathers an army,
the prince of the Goths challenging to single combat. and drawing with him the aid of many,
came to stir up war against the prefect of the Greeks;
and in this manner, they say, sending an embassy,
he spoke: Why do we at all bring mixed multitudes
into the conflict, and cut down armies,
and bring at once peril and hardship upon cities?
Behold, I as an adversary in the struggle come forth out of our camp,
and thou thyself out of the Greeks, and let us fight
in single combat. If I shall have overcome thee,
let the Greeks be subjected to me as slaves; but if thou thyself
shalt have conquered me, let ours, bowing themselves to thee, serve thee, and
without shedding of blood let there be peace and security
for the parts of both. Hearing these things, the king of the Greeks g
vehemently feared, because he was most unfit in strength of bone,
and destitute of courage of mind, and was troubled
because he found not in what way he should answer him.
Then he bids letters be sent in every direction
to the leaders of war subject to his dominion,
that all should come swiftly to him.
And the leaders and soldiers diligently set out to him.
Therefore Licinianus also, having taken the column
over which he presided, came with them all.
[19] And it happened, when the military troops
were setting out, Tiridates, whose valour had been proved, that they came into very narrow places
between the hedges of the vineyards which were about
the gates of the city. But the gates were shut, since
it was midnight: and since no fodder was found
for the horses, looking about for many hours,
they perceive much hay laid up in an enclosure,
to which no one could stretch out his hand
because of the height of the wall. Then Teredates,
climbing up, came to the hayloft, and casts great bundles
into the midst of the column for the fodder of the horses:
and not this only, but also he hurled down from the wall many dogs
which were there for guard;
and he himself, leaping, came down from the wall. Seeing
this descent of his, Licinianus vehemently
marvelled: and the twilight of day having risen, the gates
of the city were opened, and the leaders with the columns
entered the city. But Licinianus h
stood beside the king, as also all the chief men and the leaders
of the columns and maniples.
[20] overcomes and takes him: But the king narrated to the leaders all that had been
disclosed by the king of the Goths. Then Licinianus began
to address the king: Let nothing, he said, trouble
the heart of my lord: there is here a man in your palace
through whom this perplexed deliberation will receive
its solution — Teredates, of the kindred of the king of Armenia;
and he narrated to him all the feats performed by him
on the preceding evening. Then he bade Teredates
be called: and coming, he declared to him all things in order.
Wherefore they were straightway gathered, and appointed
to see one another on the morrow in warlike array,
fighting it out in single combat. The twilight having risen,
the king bade him be clothed in purple, and Teredates
was adorned in the habit of the emperor. His head also
they encircled with a royal diadem, so that none could perceive
anything but that this was the emperor himself.
And they made the multitude of the army advance to the sound of the trumpet,
until they stood over against the enemy.
But the counterfeit emperor and the king of the Goths, standing opposite one another,
striking their horses with the most violent onset,
were borne against each other. And here the counterfeit emperor
overcame the king of the Goths, and seizing him by the hand,
dragged him to the emperor.
[21] then by the aid of the Romans he obtains the kingdom. Gregory, to honour an idol Then the emperor exceedingly exalted Teredates,
very great gifts being given him: he placed a diadem
upon him and the purple, and adorned him with imperial
garments i; and an army being given him for aid,
he sent him back into his own province. Therefore, after
the victory won in single combat, Teredates,
king of Greater Armenia, moves his camp from the dominion of the Romans;
and when he had arrived, he found that
the leaders of the Persians had for their own advantage dragged the whole province
into servitude: and many of them indeed he slew,
and many also he compelled to flee into
Persia; and claiming his father's dominion for himself,
he fortified the borders of the province. In the first
year of the reign of Teredates, king of Greater Armenia,
the king and his army set out and came
to the province called Ecclesia k, to
the village which is called Erez, where was the shrine
of Diana, that they might there offer sacrifices. And the wicked work being performed,
they came down to pitch camp
at the bank of the river called Lycus. But the king, having entered
his tent, reclined to sup;
and, drink being taken, he greatly rejoiced. Then
he bids Gregory carry garlands and thick branches of trees
into the temple as gifts to the image of Diana.
But he did not endure l to bring honour to idols.
[22] steadfastly refusing, is urged to the worship of idols, The king therefore began to address Gregory and
says: Thou hast come and approached us a stranger and destitute
man; and how darest thou worship a God
who is not adored by me? On that same day he commanded
that he be kept under safe custody. But on the next day he gave order,
and they brought Gregory to the king. And the king
said to him: So many are the years in which I have seen thee,
and with all thy strength and with good will thou hast served me,
and I have received thy labours with a kindly mind. Wherefore
I had it in my soul to render thee thanks.
Why therefore dost thou not fulfil my will?
But Gregory answering said: God has commanded
that servants be subject to carnal masters,
as is fitting; even as thou thyself bearest me witness
that I have served thee with all my strength. Nevertheless
it is not lawful in any way to betray the honour and worship of God.
For he alone is the creator
of heaven and of the angels, of the earth and of men, and of all
visible and invisible creatures,
which owe him adoration and service. But
the king said: Understand that thou hast made void the labour
by which thou hast served me, as I bear witness. But now
for honour I will bring upon thee anguish, for glory ignominy,
for dignity prison and bonds,
and death itself, by which all the hopes of men
are cut off; unless thou undertake to offer divine worship
to the gods, especially to this great lady Diana,
who is both the glory and the salvation of our race:
whom all kings honour, and most of all
the king of the Greeks m. For she is the mother of all chastity,
and kindly toward human nature, the offspring
of great and valiant Jupiter.
[23] But Gregory said: I indeed have laboured for thee with good
will, but about the reward of the just and I shall never myself refuse my labour,
nor neglect, according to the Lord's precept, to serve carnal
masters. But there exists a Lord who is the rewarder
of good things. For I did not think to receive anything from thee,
but from the Creator, whose are the visible
and invisible creatures. In that thou sayest thou wilt
bring anguish upon me for honour, thou increasest for me the gladness
prepared by Christ, whose dominion
is eternal, whose kingdom perpetual, whose good things
are incomprehensible. In that thou saidst thou wouldst bring ignominy
for glory, thou altogether winnest for me
the honour of the Angels, who with gladness praise their Maker n.
In that thou sayest prison and bonds are prepared for me
instead of dignity, I am blessed
if I may be able to imitate the bonds of my Lord,
that with him I may obtain delight and exult at his
coming. In that thou determinest to deprive me of thy
suppers, thou preparest me to recline with
Abraham the father of our faith, and with all the just
who shall enjoy the highest gladness in the kingdom
of God. In that thou threatenest me with death, behold thou minglest
me with the choir of God, with whom all shall lead the dances —
the Fathers, the Just, the Prophets, the Apostles, the Martyrs,
and all the elect of God. But when thou saidst:
By death I cut off from thee every hope of life — neither my hope
nor that of all the pious is cut off by death;
but the hope of those who worship God prevails, which I also
have. But of those who among you worship idols and
the works of hands, there is truly no hope of divine
life.
[24] But in that thou callest Diana the great lady,
discoursing at length, thou dost this deceiving thyself. Nor is the case of these beings so:
but they were once men.
But since the demons by savours and by illusions
drew men into admiration, in that they represented
shapes and phantasms, they persuaded them
to build altars, to erect columns,
and to adore useless things, which can neither do evil
nor good. For neither can they
honour their own worshippers, nor hold in ignominy those who do them
injury; whom you, blinded with darkness
and moved out of your mind, honour with divine worship.
Instead of God, whose good things you enjoy, you honour
things made of stone, wood, gold and silver, which
God created that they might conduce to the use, to the profit,
to the advantage of men. But may it befall me
that with all subjection and with a mind altogether
grateful and with fear I may serve God. For he, with
his only-begotten Son and the Holy Spirit, brought forth
all things out of nothing, and adorned them: and he can both destroy
them and again renew them by his mercy.
For this reason therefore, together with our life, we do not cast away hope,
because we serve the living and true God, who
can also give us life when he wills. For even though
we die, we also rise again. For just as
the Son of God died and rose again,
and showed us an example of life through the resurrection;
so we who die for him shall be recalled to life,
when his kingdom shall return, when
the impious shall render account in a just judgment before
an incorruptible judge.
[25] to the objections of the king Again therefore the king said: Since
thou hast said: Because I looked for nothing from thee, nor
desire it — I know what thou seekest: a reward
in the sepulchre, where also are the dead of former times. I send
thee therefore whither thou wilt go. But who Christ is,
tell me, that I may know: and who is the rewarder of thy
labours, whom thou callest Maker — lest perchance
he be the prince of the sepulchres which thou desirest to obtain,
or the deliverer from the bonds of the prison.
And where are those unceasing delights which thou speakest of?
Of what sort is that coming? and who are the angels? or
what is your hope, and our despair? Declare to me
all these things, that among us they may be made manifest. I will
no longer allow thee thy contempt of the gods,
whom thou injurest. For thou hast said that they were men,
and hast brought them down to a mortal nature, and hast cast
a monstrous reproach upon the gods and upon us ourselves,
the kings, when thou hast said: You kings are
out of your senses in offering worship to them.
[26] answers But Gregory said: If thou wilt hear, hear.
Christ is the Son of God, through whom the world was made,
and he is judge of the living and of the dead, lord
and rewarder, requiting good things to the good and evil things
to the evil. He whom thou hast named is truly the prince
and guardian of the sepulchres: for dying of his own
will he entered the sepulchre. He guards
the bones of all men, and by his own resurrection
showed and revealed the resurrection of the dead:
for he also keeps the souls of men
alive, since he is life, that he may renew the souls of men,
clothed in those same bodies with incorruption:
and then he will openly render to each his own reward
according to his own labour. He also will lead out
the bound from the house of bonds, and will punish those living in idolatry
and, like thee, bound in sins and impieties.
But as concerns bonds of that kind,
according to his custom he will show in them his mercy
and grace, and will rescue out of them those who hope
in him. But those unceasing delights will then be,
when he shall make his beloved ones, who keep his commandments,
immortal by his divine power in the kingdom
of the heavens. But sinners and his enemies
he will likewise render immortal unto everlasting punishment.
His coming will be when he shall come to do all these things.
The angels are ministers of his majesty and
Godhead. These things therefore our hope awaits.
[27] St. Gregory. But your despair has no part in these things,
because it knows not its Maker, who requires them
of you. And since you have not sought
your Creator, you are truly become as horses or
mules, in which there is no understanding; and you are more senseless than the ox
and the ass, you who do not know your Lord.
He in his own time will constrain
your jaws, you who have not learned to draw near to him.
But since thou hast said: Thou injurest the gods —
what are those injuries to them? By no means
do they perceive one who honours them, since
they were made by the hand of men, and were born and created
through folly out of the phantasm of dreams.
For a statue is the lifeless image of men of former times;
you, deceived, to put them together o. In
this you go astray, blinded, because you lack the light
of the Maker. But those who act so impiously are justly said
to be like the beings that lack reason. For they have a mouth,
and shall not speak: they have eyes, and do not
see: they have ears, and do not hear: they have nostrils,
and shall not smell: they have feet, and shall
not walk: for neither is there breath in their mouth.
Let all become like them who trust in
them.
ANNOTATIONS.
following I showed that this assertion cannot easily be reconciled with Roman
history, so that Cusaro, if he was slain about the year 240, was not the father
of the Tiridates recorded in this Life, but of another; or he flourished later, if
he is the father of our Tiridates. The author in all likelihood found certain things about the kings
of Armenia written long before, and from want of chronological knowledge
referred to one man the deeds of several.
b. Of
Armenia occupied at that time by the Persians we have nothing in Roman history;
but from this it is established that under the emperor Gallus, that is in the year 252 or 253,
Armenia was occupied by the Persians, and that Artavasdes was king there at least
until the year 260. Therefore the author in all likelihood referred to earlier times
things which were done later. Consult the Commentary praised.
c. Since
it is as it were a proper name, I have left it in Greek. It will in all likelihood have been
and called the Gates of the people dwelling there. The former name τόπος
χάσματος may be rendered, the Place of the chasm. Metaphrastes,
who abridged nearly all the preceding matters, omitting the more difficult ones,
nevertheless in this place departed further from the ancient biographer. For of the expedition
of the king of the Persians into Armenia he writes thus in Surius: But the king
of the Armenians having been killed in the manner we have said, the Persian, moved by the happy success of the affair,
moves his army against the troubled Armenians: and great booty being taken
and many captives led away, he returns again gloriously into his own
region. But when he had found among the captives
one of the sons of Cusaro Note: Cursaro wrongly printed, by name Teridates, him indeed he does not kill because of his still tender age: but sends him into exile into the region of the Romans. This is the Teridates who at a later time acquired the kingdom of the Armenians by the help of the Romans, etc.
Instead of Teridates being carried off secretly, he says he was sent by the king of the Persians to the land
of the Romans, which is not likely. But about Armenia claimed by the king
of the Persians he agrees below, and names that king Artasiras.
But our Agathangelus had already before begun to omit the name of the king of the Persians,
perhaps because he had not found those things related of Artasiras or Artaxerxes. And
indeed it was Sapor his son who about the year 252 occupied Armenia
and there set up a king friendly to himself.
the son of Anac the Parthian, who is said to have slain the king of Armenia, nor should I dare
certainly to deny it, since it is the common tradition of the Armenians for many
centuries. But that he was brought up and imbued with Christian doctrine at Cæsarea in
Cappadocia, we have from better documents, as was said in the Commentary,
num. 91 and following.
with Teridates altogether smack of fable. For his father's crime ought rather to have deterred him
from that design, if the Christian religion had not sufficiently deterred him from undertaking servitude
with a heathen prince. That servitude also coheres ill with the marriage which Gregory is said to have entered at Cæsarea, and
with his having begotten two sons there. Perhaps Teridates never dwelt
at Cæsarea, and it is certainly not likely that he remained there constantly.
f. In this
place the writer begins to celebrate the valour and exploits of Teridates.
But most seem fabulous, or at least amplified beyond the truth by fictitious
circumstances. But as regards the Goths, these did indeed in the 3rd century
infest Greece and Lesser Asia at various turns. But that single
combat with the conditions under which it is presently proposed seems a mere
fiction.
one of the Roman princes is altogether designated. That manner of speaking would have been tolerable
after in the year 292 the Roman empire had been divided into four parts by Diocletian.
But to Galerius Maximian, who governed Greece
with the neighbouring provinces, what the author says of his fictitious king
by no means agrees, as neither do all the rest of the things agree with the customs of the
Romans.
be read. For the rest, what is related about the hay procured for the horses is either wholly
fabulous, or, if Teridates ever did anything like it, has been corrupted by an improbable
setting forth. The same must be said of the combat which follows.
For it is not incredible that some Goth was overcome in single combat by
Teridates, since conflicts of that kind between two brave men now and then arose: but
the conditions proposed, and that imperial adornment, and the array of the whole army,
are open fables.
i. Again
the author goes too far, when he says that Teridates was adorned with imperial garments.
Yet it is credible that he was honoured with gifts, brought back into Armenia by the forces of the Romans,
and presented by the emperor with a royal diadem. Metaphrastes
narrated that combat more briefly and with some alteration.
in some like manner, so that the territory of the city Elegia be understood, which
is near the Euphrates, and about which the Euphrates receives the river Lycus: for
from what follows it is clear that the shrine of Diana and the village Erez were near
the river Lycus. The site of the town or city Elegia Pliny assigns,
book 5, chapter 24, where he describes the Euphrates and the navigation by that
river. Between Melitene, which he attributes to Cappadocia, that is to Lesser Armenia, and Elegia of Armenia — the Greater, namely, as being situated on the opposite bank of the river — he places only ten miles. Thence one sails …, he says, to Melitene of Cappadocia. Thence to Elegia of Armenia ten M. paces, the rivers Lycus, Arsania, Arsanus being received. At Elegia Taurus meets it (the Euphrates), etc.
So it is read in the Frankfurt edition of the year 1608. But in the most ancient
Venetian one of the year 1469 the punctuation is placed otherwise, and thus
it stands there, chapter 25: Thence one sails to Sacrona L.
M. P. To Melitene of Cappadocia
XXIIII. P. To Elegia of Armenia X. P., the rivers being received. Lycus, Arsania,
Arsanus at Elegia. Mount Taurus meets it, nor does it resist, etc.
According to this reading, at Elegia the Lycus, Arsania and Arsanus, perhaps
joined before, flow into the Euphrates, and the Euphrates then comes
to Taurus. According to the first given, this happens above Elegia, and at this
city the Euphrates comes to Taurus. In whatever way it be read, Elegia in Armenia is situated on the Euphrates, and at no long distance from Taurus, but either in that very place where the Euphrates meets Taurus, or a little above it.
l. Since
this is unlawful for a Christian man, his religion could in such a way become known
to Teridates. For what was said at num. 17 about the vexations already before inflicted on Gregory
on account of the Christian religion is little likely.
there was then no king of the Greeks, but all Greece had been reduced into several provinces
of the Romans. But there ought to be no doubt that all those
discourses are the biographer's, not of those to whom he attributes them. Metaphrastes
briefly touched the discourses of both. What is subjoined about Diana the daughter of Jupiter
is consonant with the fables of the heathen.
CHAPTER IV.
The punishments by which Teridates strives to break the constancy of Gregory: the Saint's long discourse.
Ὑπολαβὼν
δὲ
ὁ
βασιλεὺς,
εἶπεν
ἀυτῷ·
ποσσάκις
σε
ἐνουτέθησα
καὶ
ἐνετειλάμην,
ἵνα
μὴ
δευτερώσῃς
τὰ
πλάσματα
τῶν
μυθευομένων
σου
ῥημάτῳν,
ἃ
συνράψαι
μεμάθηκας·
οὐδὲ
γὰρ
πρέπει
σε
λαλεῖν
ταῦτα.
κἀγὼ
ἐφεισάμην
σου,
ὡς
κεκμηκότος,
ὅπως
ἔλθῃς
εἰς
ἐυθύτητα
σέβειν
τοὺς
θεοὺς.
σὺ
δὲ
ἐπιβαλὼν
ἀλλῷ
τὴν
τιμὴν
ἀυτῶν,
ὃν,
ἂν
βούλει,
καλεῖς
ποιητὴν,
καὶ
τοὺς
ὄντας
ἀληθῶς
ποιητὰς
ὑβρίζεις,
καὶ
τὴν
μεγάλην
ἄρτεμιν,
ἐν
ᾗ
ζῇ
καὶ
ζωὴν
ἔχει
ἡ
χώρα
τῆς
ἀρμενίας,
σὺν
ταύτῃ
καὶ
τὸν
ἀνδρειότατον
δία,
τὸν
ποιητὴν
οὐρανοῦ
καὶ
γῆς,
μετὰ
δὲ
τοῦτον
καὶ
τοὺς
ἄλλους
θεοὺς,
καλέσας
ἀψύχους
καὶ
ἀλάλους,
καὶ
ἡμῖν
δὲ
ἐξέτεινας
ὕβρεις.
ἐτόλμησας
γὰρ
ἐιπεῖν
ἡμᾶς
ἵππους
καὶ
ἡμιόνους,
καὶ
πάσης
λοιδορίας
προστεθηκὼς,
ἐτάῤῥησάς
τε
ἀλόγους
ἡμᾶς
ἐιπεῖν.
νῦν
περιβαλῶ
σε
ἐν
βασάνοις,
καὶ
κημὸν
ἐμβαλῶ
ἐν
ταῖς
σιαγόσιν
σου,
ἵνα
γνῶς
τὴν
ματαιότητα
τῶν
σῶν
λόγων,
οὒς
προέλαλες
ἐνώπιόν
μου,
ὅτι
διὰ
ταῦτά
σοι
ἐγένετο.
καὶ
τοῦτό,
φησι,
μέγα
σοί
ἐστιν,
ὅτι
ἐλάλησας
ἐνώπιόν
μου,
καὶ
ἐτίμησά
σε,
καὶ
ἔδωκάς
μοι
ἀπόκρισιν,
ὡς
τῷ
σῷ
ἑτέρῳ.
[29] Καὶ
ἐκέλευσεν
ἐξάγγονα
δῆσαι
ἀυτὸν,
καὶ
κημὸν
ἐν
τῷ
στόματι
ἀυτοῦ
δοῦναι,
καὶ
τοῦ
παρ᾽
ἀυτοῖς
λαξευτοῦ
ἅλατος
βώλους
ἐπιθῆναι
κατὰ
τοῦ
νότου
ἀυτοῦ,
καὶ
στραγγαλώσαντες
ἀυτὸν
τῇ
στραγγάλῃ
κατὰ
τοῦ
στήθους
κατασφίγξαι
καὶ
ἀνακρεμασθῆναι
ἐν
ὁψηλοτάτῳ
τόπῳ
τοῦ
δώματος
τοῦ
παλατίου
ἀυτοῦ
διὰ
μηχανικῶν
ὀργάνων.
καὶ
ἔμεινεν
οὕτως
κρεμάμενος
ἕπτα
ἡμέρας,
καὶ
ἐκέλευσεν
καὶ
ἔλυσαν
ἀυτὸν
ἀπὸ
τῶν
πικροτάτων
καὶ
δεινοτάτων
βασάνων
τούτων.
καὶ
ἐνέγκαντες
ἔστησαν
ἀυτὸν
ἐπὶ
τοῦ
βασιλέως.
καὶ
ἠρώτα
ἀυτὸν,
λέγων·
πῶς
ἐκαρτέρησας
ἐὼς
τῇ
σήμερον;
ἔλαβες
ἄρα
πεῖραν,
ὅτι
ἀληθῶς
ὡς
ὄνος
ὄντως
βαστάξας
κατὰ
τοῦ
νότοῦ
γόμον
ἐστήρισας,
καὶ
ἐπὶ
τόπῳ
ἔμεινας
μετὰ
τὸν
γόμον.
ἐπείδη
ἐτόλμησας
ὑβρίσαι
τοὺς
θεοὺς,
λέγων
ἀκινητοὶ
ἐισὶ,
διὰ
τοῦτο
ἀπὲδωκάν
σοι
τὴν
τιμωρίαν
ταύτην.
νῦν
δὲ
ἐὰν
μὴ
καταδέξῃ
σέβειν
ἀυτοὺς,
καὶ
προσθήσεις
τοιαύτας
ὕβρεις,
ἔτι
μειζότερά
σοι
κακὰ
γενήσεται.
ἐ͂ιπεν
δὲ
γρηγόριος
πρὸς
τὸν
βασιλέα·
περὶ
τῶν
δαιμόνων,
οὓς
σὺ
καλεῖς
θεοὺς,
ὄντως
ἐισὶ
θετὰ
καὶ
κτιστὰ.
[30] Τεθειμένα
γὰρ
ἐισὶ
καὶ
κεκτισμένα.
ὑπὸ
τῶν
ἀνθρώπων,
καὶ
ἐξεικονισθέντα
διαχειρὸς
τεχνητῶν.
ὁ
μὲν
ξύλινος,
ὁ
δὲ
λίθινος,
καὶ
χαλκοῦς
καὶ
ἀργυροῦς,
καὶ
χρυσοῦς,
μήτε
λαλήσαντές
ποτε,
μήτε
φρονήσαντες,
οὐδὲ
ἐνθυμηθέντες
ἔνεκεν
ἐμοῦ
καὶ
σοῦ,
ὡς
καὶ
ἀυτὸς
συμμαρτυρεῖς
μοι,
ὅτι
οὐδέποτε
εἶπόν
σοι
ἀυτοὶ
περὶ
τῶν
ἐμῶν
βασάνων,
τῶν
παρά
σου
ἐπενεχθησῶν
μοι.
καὶ
πῶς
ὅλως
ἀισθάνονται
λίθοι
ἄψυχοι
τῶν
πόνων
τῶν
ἀνθρωπίνων;
ὑπὲρ
ὧν
δὲ
ἐκρέμασάς
μοι
βώλους
ἁλὸς,
ἵνα
κακοπαθῶ
ἐν
δεσμοῖς,
ἐλπίζω
ἐις
τῶν
κύριόν
μου
ἰησοῦν
χριστὸν
τὸν
πάντα
δημιουργὸν
ὅτι
ἐξήρτησεν
τὴν
ἐμὴν
ἀνουστίαν
ἐν
ἀληθινῷ
καὶ
ἐιλικρινῷ
καὶ
ἀδιαφθόρῳ
ἅλατι,
καὶ
παρέσχεν
μοι
τὸν
ἡδύτατον
καὶ
ἀλαφρότατον
ζυγὸν
τῆς
ταπεινώσεως,
διὰ
τῆς
ἀυτοῦ
δωρεᾶς
ἐις
τὸν
ἀιῶνα
διαμενούσης,
ὁ
ὑψὼν
τοὺς
ταπεινοὺς
διὰ
τὴν
φιλανθρωπίαν
ἀυτοῦ
ἐις
τὴν
ἀπέρατον
καὶ
ἀτελεύτητον
ἀνταπόδωσιν.
ὅταν
ἁι
ἕπτα
τῶν
ἐνιαυτῶν
ἑβδομάδες
πληρωθῶσιν,
ὅταν
ἀναπαύσῃ
τοὺς
ἑαυτοῦ
τοὺς
κεκμηκότας
τῇ
μεγαλοδώρῳ
ἀυτοῦ
ἀγαθότητι,
ὁι
σέβοντες
τὰ
λίθινα
ἔιδωλα,
κατὰ
τὸ
ῥηθὲν
ὑπὸ
τοῦ
προφήτου,
καταβήσονται,
ὥσει
λίθος
ἐν
ὕδασι
πολλοῖς·
ὁι
δὲ
τὰ
ξύλινα
γλύπτα
σέβοντες
πεσοῦνται
οὕτως,
ὡς
ἐ͂ιπεν
περὶ
ἀυτῶν,
πῦρ
ἐκκέκαυται
ἐπὶ
τὰ
ξύλα
τοῦ
ἄγρου,
καὶ
κατακαύσει
τοὺς
ἁμαρτολοὺς,
καὶ
οὐ
σβεσθήσεται.
πρὸς
δὲ
τοὺς
τὰ
ἀργυρᾶ
καὶ
χρυσᾶ
σέβοντας
οὕτως
ἐ͂ιπεν·
τὸ
ἀργύριον
ἀυτῶν
καὶ
τὸ
χρυσίον
οὐ
δυνήσεται
ἐξελέσθαι
ἀυτοὺς
ἐν
τῇ
ἡμέρᾳ
ὀργῆς
κυρίου,
τοῦ
δυναμένου
κρεμάσαι
φορτία
δυσβάστακτα
πᾶσιν
τοῖς
ἀντισταμένοις
ἁμαρτωλοῖς,
καὶ
τοῖς
κατά
σε
ἀσεβέσι.
[31] Καὶ
θυμωθεὶς
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
ἐκέλευσεν
ἀυτὸν
κατὰ
κεφαλῆς
κρεμασθῆναι
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
ἑνὸς
ποδὸς,
ἵνα
ἔτι
ἀυτοῦ
ἀπὸ
κεφαλῆς
κρεμαμένου
καπνίσωσιν
ὑποκάτω
ἀυτοῦ
δυσώδη
κόπρον,
καὶ
τυφθῇ
σφοδρὰ
βάκλοις
ὑγροῖς·
καὶ
ἔδειραν
ἀυτὸν
δέκα
ἄνθρωποι
κατὰ
τὴν
κέλευσιν
τοῦ
βασιλέως,
καὶ
ἔμεινεν
οὕτως
κρεμάμενος
ἕπτα
ἡμέρας.
ἔτι
δὲ
ἀυτοῦ
κρεμαμένου,
ἤρξατο
ἔυχεσθαι
ἀπὸ
τῆς
κρεμάσεως
οὕτως·
ἐυχαριστῶ
σοι,
δέσποτα,
τῷ
καταξιώσαντι
τὴν
ἐμὴν
ἀναξιότητα
τῆς
σῆς
δωρεᾶς.
ἀπ᾽
ἀρχῆς
γὰρ
ἠγάπησας
τὸ
πλάσμα
τῶν
χειρῶν
σου,
καὶ
δέδωκας
τὴν
ἀκάματον
τρυφὴν
τῆς
ἀναπαύσεως
τοῦ
παραδείσου
ἐις
ἀπέλαυσιν
ἡμῶν,
ἀθανάτους,
ἀπόνους
ποιήσας,
τῶν
κλήρων
τῆς
ζωῆς
ἀξιώσας,
καὶ
ἐυφροσύνης
κληρονόμους
ποιήσας,
ὡς
καὶ
ἡτοίμασας
ἐν
ἀρχῇ,
ἐι
μείναμεν
ἐν
τῇ
σῇ
ἐντολῇ,
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
ξύλου
μὴ
γευσάμενοι.
εἶπες
γὰρ·
μὴ
φάγετε
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
ξύλου
τοῦ
γνωστοῦ
καλοῦ
καὶ
πονηροῦ·
ὀυχ
ὅτι
τὸ
ξύλον
οὕτως
ἦν
ὀνομασμένον
ζωῆς
καὶ
θανάτου.
ἀλλ᾽
οὗτως
σὺ
βουληθεὶς
δεῖξαι
τὸ
σὸν
θέλημα,
καὶ
τοῦ
μονογενοῦς
σοῦ
ὑιοῦ
(ἀυτὸς
γάρ
ἐστιν
ὁ
γόνος
τῆς
σῆς
θεότητος)
καὶ
τὸ
θέλημα
τοῦ
ἁγίου
σοῦ
πνεύματος,
τοῦτο
γὰρ
ἐξ
σοῦ
ἐκπορεύεται,
καὶ
πληροῖ
τὰ
πέρατα
τῆς
γῆς.
ἐι
γὰρ
ἐμείναμεν
ἐν
τῇ
σῇ
ἐντολῇ,
δέσποτα,
καὶ
ἐφυλάξαμεν
ἀυτὴν,
ἡν
ἔθου
διὰ
τὴν
καλλονὴν
τῆς
ἡμετέρας
δοκιμασίας,
ἐχαρίσω
ἂν
ἡμῖν
τὸ
ζῆν
ἄπονον,
ἄκοπον,
καθαρὸν,
καὶ
ἀμέριμνον,
ἄλυπόν
τε
καὶ
ἀκήρατον,
ἀυξηθῆναι
δυναμένους
καὶ
πληθυνθῆναι
καὶ
ζῆν
σωματικῶς
ἀνεὺ
ἀισχύνης,
δόξαν
ἐνδεδυμένους
ἐν
τῷ
σῷ
παραδείσῳ,
ἐν
ᾦ
ἀπέθου
ἡμᾶς·
ἔπειτα
δὲ
ὥσπερ
τὴν
ἁγίαν
τεκνογονίαν
τοῦ
παναγίου
ἐνὼχ,
μεταθεῖναι
ἐν
τῷ
παραδείσῳ·
ἀνέλαβες
γὰρ
ἀυτὸν
ἐις
τὴν
τῆς
ἐυφροσύνης
τάξιν,
καὶ
τὸν
κλῆρον
τῶν
ἀθανάτων
ἀγγέλων.
νῦν
οὖν
ἐι
ἐμείναμεν
ἐν
τῇ
σῇ
ἐντολῇ,
ἔδειξας
ἡμῖν
τύπον
τὸν
ἐνὼχ,
ἵνα
κατὰ
τὴν
ὁμοίωσιν
ἀυτοῦ
μετὰ
τὴν
ἀπόλαυσιν
τοῦ
παραδείσου,
καὶ
τὰς
γηίνας
καταστάσεις
μετήνεγκας
ἐις
τὴν
ἀθανασίαν
καὶ
τὰς
ἀγγελικὰς
τάξεις·
καὶ
ἅμα
ἐπήγαγες
ἂν
ἡμῖν
καὶ
τὴν
σὴν
βασιλείαν,
ἣν
προητοίμασας
ἐις
τὴν
ἡμετέραν
δόξαν
πρὸ
τοῦ
εἶναι
τὸν
κόσμον·
ἣν
ὀφθαλμὸς
οὐκ
εἶδεν,
καὶ
οὖς
οὐκ
ἤκουσεν,
καὶ
ἐπὶ
καρδίαν
ἀνθρώπου
οὐκ
ἀνέβη·
ἣν
καὶ
νῦν
δώσεις,
δεσποτα,
τοῖς
ἠγαπηκόσιν
τὸ
πανάγιόν
σου
ὄνομα,
καὶ
τὴν
παρουσίαν
τοῦ
σοῦ
μονογενοῦς.
[32] Ὅτε
οὖν
ἐθεάσατο
ὁ
μισόκαλλος
τιμηθέντας
ἡμᾶς
ὑπὸ
τοῦ
θελήματος
τῆς
σῆς
φιλανθρωπίας,
ἐφθόνησε
τῇ
τοῦ
στεφάνου
τιμῇ
τῆς
καυχήσεως
ἡμῶν,
τιμῇ
δὲ
τῇ
παρὰ
σοῦ
δεδωμένῃ,
ὅτι
ἐν
ὁμοιώματι
τῆς
σῆς
ἐικόνος
πεποίηκας
τὸν
ἄνθρωπον,
καὶ
ἔστησας
ἀυτὸν
δεσπότην
πάντων·
καὶ
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
διαβολικοῦ
φθόνου
ἁι
ἐυόλισθοι
ἀπάται
καὶ
ὁ
θάνατος
ἐισῆλθεν
ἐις
τὸν
κόσμον,
καὶ
κατέβαλεν
τὸν
ἄρθρωπον,
καὶ
ἐξέῤῥιψεν
ἐκ
τῆς
ζωῆς
καὶ
τῆς
ἀναπαύσεως
τῆς
σῆς
ἀγαθότητος,
τῆς
χαρισθείσης
ἀυτῷ.
ὅτε
οὖν
ὀικτείρησεν
ἡ
σὴ
θεότης
τὴν
ἀσθένειαν
τῆς
ἀνθρωπότητος,
διὰ
τὴν
ἀκατάλυπτόν
σου
ἐλεεμοσύνην
καί
ἀγαθότητα,
καὶ
ἀνοχὴν
τῆς
σῆς
μακροθυμίας,
οὐκ
ἀφῆκας
ἡμᾶς,
ἀλλ᾽
ἐξαπέστειλας
τοὺς
ἁγίους
σου
προφήτας
ἐις
τὸν
κόσμον·
ὁι
καὶ
ἐγένοντο
φωστῆρες
ἐν
τῷ
ἀυχμηρῷ
τόπῳ
ἐν
μέσῳ
τῶν
ἔθνων·
ὅιτινες
ἀπὸ
τῶν
ἀνοήτων
καὶ
ἀνόμων
ἀνθρώπων
μισηθέντες
ἐδιώχθησαν.
ἀυτοὶ
γὰρ
καὶ
ἀπεκάλυψαν
τὰ
μυστήρια
τοῦ
φωτός
σου,
καὶ
ἐκηρύξαντο
τὸ
θέλημά
σου,
καὶ
τὴν
ἔλευσιν
τοῦ
σοῦ
ὑιοῦ,
ἐις
τὸν
κοσμὸν
μέλλοντος
παραγενέσθαι,
καὶ
ἄραι
τὸ
βάρος
τῆς
κατακριθήσης
ἁμαρτίας
τῶν
ἀνθρώπων.
ὀυ
ἕνεκα
τοιαῦτα
κηρύξαιεν
ἐν
τῷ
κόσμῳ,
ἐν
κακουχίαις
ἀπέθανον
καὶ
βασάνοις
καὶ
διαφόροις
πειρασμοῖς,
καὶ
ἐν
ταραχῇ
καὶ
πικρότητι
ἔζησαν
ἐν
τῷ
κόσμῳ
διὰ
τὴν
σὴν
κὴρυξιν
παρὰ
τῶν
θλιβόντων
ἀυτοὺς.
[33] Ὁι
θλίβοντες
ἠσθένησαν
καὶ
ἔπεσον,
διὰ
τοῦτο
καὶ
ἐν
τῷ
ἐπαναστῆναί
μοι
τὸν
πόλεμον
τοῦτον
οὐ
φοβηθήσεται
ἡ
καρδία
μου,
καὶ
ἐν
τῷ
ἐπεγερθῆναί
μοι
παράταξιν
ἐπὶ
σοὶ
ἤλπισα,
τῷ
ἐπ᾽
ἐσχατῷ
καιρῷ
φανερώσαντι
τὰ
μυστήρια
τοῦ
θελήματός
σου,
οὗ
προήγγειλας
ταῖς
πρώταις
γενεαῖς
διὰ
τὸν
ἀγαπητόν
σου
ὑιὸν
ἐν
τοῖς
προφήταις,
ἵνα
ἐλθὼν
γεννηθῇ
ἐκ
τῆς
ἁγίας
παρθένου.
καθάπερ
γὰρ
διὰ
τῆς
παρθένου
ἔυας
ὁ
θάνατος
ἐισῆλθεν
ἐις
τὸν
κόσμον,
οὕτως
καὶ
διὰ
τάυτης
τῆς
ἀχράντου
παρθένου
ζωὴ
ἐισῆλθεν·
καὶ
ὥσπερ
διὰ
τῆς
γεννήσεως
ἔυας
τοῦ
Καῒν
κατάρα
καὶ
ὑδρῶτες
καὶ
κόποι
καὶ
τρόποι
ἐισῆλθον
ἐις
τὸν
κόσμον,
οὕτω
διὰ
τὴν
γέννησιν
τοῦ
σοῦ
ὑιοῦ
ἐκ
τῆς
ἁγίας
παρθένου
ἀνάπαυσις
καὶ
ζωὴ
καὶ
ἐυλογία
ἐισῆλθον
ἐις
τὸν
κόσμον.
ὁ
ἀποστείλας
τὸν
μονογενῆ
σου
ὑιὸν
ἐις
τὸν
κόσμον,
φῶς
ἐκ
φωτὸς,
ζωὴν
ἐκ
ζωῆς,
ἵνα
ἐλθὼν
σαρκωθῇ
καθ᾽
ὁμόιωσιν
τῆς
ἡμετέρας
σαρκὸς
ἐκ
τῆς
ἁγίας
παρθένου,
καὶ
ἡμᾶς
πρὸς
τὴν
ἀυτοῦ
θεότητα
συνάψῃ
διὰ
τῆς
ἰδίας
ὁμοιότητος.
ὁς
καὶ
ἐγένετο
ὡς
ἡμεῖς,
καὶ
ἐτέχθη
ἐκ
τῆς
ἁγίας
παρθένου,
καὶ
ἐνηνθρώπησεν,
καὶ
ἐσαρκώθη
τὴν
ἡμετέραν
σάρκα
λαβὼν.
διαμένει
δὲ
ἐν
τῇ
ἰδίᾳ
δόξᾳ
καὶ
τῇ
φυσικῇ
ἀυτοῦ
θεότητι,
καὶ
ἀλλοίωσιν
οὐκ
ἐδέξατο
ἀπὸ
τῆς
θεότητος
ἀυτοῦ
διὰ
τὴν
σάρκωσιν·
ἀλλ᾽
ἀυτὸς
ὁ
ὢν
καὶ
ἔστι
καὶ
μένει
ἐις
τὸν
ἀιῶνα
μετὰ
τοῦ
πατρὸς
καὶ
τοῦ
ἁγίου
πνεύματος.
ἀλλ᾽
ἐπειδὴ
ἠγάπησε
τοὺς
ἀρθρώπους,
διὰ
τοῦτο
ἐγένετο
ἐυσεβὴς,
ἵνα
ἡμᾶς
ἐνέγκῇ
ἐις
τὴν
περισσίαν
τῆς
χάριτος
τῆς
ἀυτοῦ
θεότητος·
καὶ
τοῦτο
ἦν
τὸ
θέλημα
τοῦ
γεννήσαντος
ἀυτὸν,
καὶ
ἐπλήρωσε
τὴν
βουλήν
σου·
ὡς
καὶ
τοὺς
ἁγίους
ἐν
τῇ
ἰδίᾳ
ὑπομονῇ
δοξάσει
ἐν
τῷ
ὑπενεγκεῖν
τὴν
ἐξουσίαν
συν
τῶν
παθημάτων
διὰ
τοῦ
θανάτου
καὶ
τῆς
ταφῆς.
[34] Καὶ
ἐπειδὴ
ἠγάπησαν
οἱ
ἄνθρωποι
σέβειν
τὰς
ἀνθρωπομόρφους
ἐικόνας,
ξυλογλύπτους
τέχνῃ
τῶν
τεκτόνων,
ἐγένετο
ἀυτὸς
ἀληθίνη
ἔικων
ἀνθρώπου,
ἵνα
τοὺς
ἐικονοκτίστας
καὶ
ἐικονοφίλους
καὶ
ἐικονολάτρας
τῇ
ἰδίᾳ
ἐικόνι
τῆς
θεότητος
ὑποτάξῃ·
καὶ
ἐπειδήπερ
ᾖσαν
συνηθέντες
ἄνθρωποι
προσκυνεῖν
τὰ
ἄψυχα
ἔιδωλα,
τὰ
νεκρὰ,
ἐγένετο
ἀυτὸς
νεκρὰ
ἐικὼν
ἐν
τῷ
σταυρῷ
καὶ
ἀπέθανεν,
καὶ
ἄψυχος
γέγονεν,
ἵνα
διὰ
τοῦ
συνήθους
ἐν
τάχει
ἀυτοὺς
ὑποτάξῃ
τῇ
ἰδίᾳ
ἐικόνι,
τὸν
δὲ
σταυρὸν
ὡς
ἄγκιστρον
κατασκευάσας,
τὸ
σῶμα
ἀυτοῦ
ἐποίει
βρῶμα
τῇ
ὀικουμένῃ,
ὅπως
ἐν
τοῦτῳ
θηρεύσῃ
πάντας
ἐις
τὴν
βασιλικὴν
τράπεζαν
τῆς
θεότητος
ἀυτοῦ,
καὶ
ἄντι
τῶν
γλύπτων
ξύλων
ἔπηξεν
τὸν
σταυρὸν
ἐν
μέσῳ
τῆς
ὀικομένης,
ἵνα
ὁι
ἐθηθέντες
προσκυνεῖν
τὰ
ξύλα
διὰ
τῆς
ἀυτὴς
συνηθίας
πιστεύσωσιν
προσκυνεῖν
τὸν
σταυρὸν
ἀυτοῦ,
καὶ
τὴν
ἐπάνω
ἀνθρωπόμορφον
ἐικόνα.
ἐπὶ
γὰρ
τῷ
σταυρῷ,
ὃν
καὶ
ὁι
προφῆται
προεσήμαναν,
ἔλεγεν
οὕτως·
ἐγενόμην
ὡσεὶ
κωφὸς
οὐκ
ἀκούων
καὶ
ὡσεὶ
ἄλαλος
οὐκ
ἀνοίγων
τὸ
στόμα
ἀυτοῦ.
ὃ
καὶ
ἀυτὸς,
δέσποτα,
ἔλεγες
πρὸς
τὸν
σὸν
προφήτην
πρὸ
τοῦ
φθᾶσαι
τὸν
καιρὸν
τοῦ
τᾶυτα
πάντα
παθεῖν
τὸν
ἀγαπητόν
σου
ὑιὸν
Ἰησοῦν
χριστὸν,
ἐν
τοσαύτη
ὑπομονῇ
ποιήσω
σε
ἄλαλον,
καὶ
δήσω
τὴν
γλῶσσάν
σου
ἐν
τῷ
λαρίγγι
σου,
καὶ
ἔση
ὡς
ἄνθρωπος
μὴ
ἔχων
λόγον
ἐλεγμοῦ
ἐν
τῷ
στόματι
ἀυτοῦ.
ἠγάπησαν
γὰρ
ὁι
ἄνθρωποι
τὰ
ἄλαλα
ἔιδωλα·
διὰ
τοῦτο
καὶ
ὁ
ἀγαπητός
σου
ὑιὸς
ἐγένετο
ἐν
τῷ
σώματι
καὶ
ἐικὼν
ἀνθρώπου,
καὶ
ἀνῆλθεν
ἐις
τὸ
ὕψος
τοῦ
σταυροῦ,
ὥς
ἐπὶ
ὑψηλοτάτην
σκοπίαν,
καὶ
ἔδειξεν
ἑαυτὸν
ἄφθογγον
διὰ
τῆς
νεκρότητος,
τοῖς
ἰδίοις
ποιήμασι
ζωὴ
κατὰ
φύσιν
ὑπάρχων.
[35] Διὸ
ἐ͂ιδεν
ἀυτὸν
ἡ
ὀικουμένη
ἐπὶ
τὸ
ὕψος,
καὶ
ἠγαλλιάζατο
καὶ
προσεκύνησεν,
καὶ
ὑπετάγη.
καὶ
ἐπειδὴ
ἐν
συνηθείᾳ
ἦσαν
οἱ
ἄνθρωποι
ἐυφραίνεσθαι
ἐις
τὰ
ἱερὰ
τῶν
ἐιδώλων
ἐν
κνήσεσιν,
ἃς
τοῖς
ἀψύχοις
προσέφερον·
διὰ
τοῦτο
καὶ
ἀυτὸς
ἐκάλεσας
τὴν
ὀικουμένην
ἐις
τὴν
σφαγὴν
τοῦ
χριστοῦ
σου,
καὶ
εἶπες·
ὁ
μόσχος
μου
ἐσφαγμένος,
καὶ
τὸ
δεῖπνόν
μου
ἑτοιμασμένον,
καὶ
ἐπλήθυνας
τὴν
ἐυφροσύνην
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
σταυροῦ
σου,
καὶ
ἐχόρτασας
πάντα
τὰ
πέρατα
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
ζωοπιοῦ
ἀυτοῦ
σώματος,
ὃ
ἔστιν
βρῶμα
καὶ
ζωὴ
ἱκανοτάτη
πᾶσι
τοῖς
σοῖς
προσκυνηταῖς
ἐις
πᾶσαν
τὴν
ὑπούρανον·
τοὺς
δὲ
μὴ
βουλομένους
παραγενέσθαι
ἐις
τὴν
τῶν
γάμων
κλῆσιν
τῆς
πνευματικῆς
σου
ἀγάπης
ἡτόιμασας
ἐις
τὴν
ἀιώνιον
κόλασιν
καὶ
τὸν
θάνατον
ὀλέθριον
καὶ
ἀτελεύτητον
κρίσιν.
καὶ
ἐπειδὴ
ἔτρωγον
καὶ
ἔπινον
ὁι
ἄνθρωποι
τῶν
ἁιμάτων
θυσιῶν
ἐν
τῷ
λατρεύειν
τοῖς
δάιμοσι·
διὰ
τοῦτο
ἐκένωσεν
τὸ
ἴδιον
ἇιμα
ἐπὶ
τοῦ
σταυροῦ,
ἵνα
τὸ
ξύλον
ἄντι
τοῦ
γλυπτοῦ
ξύλου,
καὶ
ἀυτὴ
ἡ
ἀνθρωπόμορφος
ἐικὼν
ἀντὶ
τῆς
βδελυρᾶς
ἐικόνος,
καὶ
τὸ
ἇιμα
ἀυτοῦ
ἀντὶ
τῶν
ἁιμάτων
τῆς
κνήσης,
ἐν
ᾧ
ἀνακάινωσις
τῶν
σωμάτων
ἐις
τὸ
ἀναθάλειν
τὴν
ἀνθρωπότητα
γέγονεν.
[36] Ἦλθεν
γὰρ
ἐξαγορᾶσαι
ἡμᾶς
ἐν
τῷ
ἰδίῳ
ἅιματι
ἐις
τὴν
καλοδουλείαν
τῆς
θεότητος
ἀυτοῦ,
καὶ
ἐλευθερῶσαι
ἡμᾶς
ἐκ
τῆς
κακοδουλείας
τῶν
ἁμαρτιῶν.
ἐσμὲν
γὰρ
τιμὴ
ἅιματος
τοῦ
ὑιοῦ
σου,
λελυτρωμένοι
καὶ
ἐλευθερωθέντες
τῷ
ἅιματι
καὶ
τῷ
σώματι
ἀυτοῦ,
καὶ
οὐκ
ἔσμεν
κύριοι
ἁυτῶν,
ἵνα
τοῖς
θελήμασιν
ἡμῶν
ἐξακολουθήσωμεν,
ἢ
κατὰ
τὰς
βουλὰς
τῶν
θνητῶν
ἀνθρώπων
πορευθῶμεν.
ἐι
γὰρ
ἐισὶν
ἡμῶν
σαρκικοὶ
δέσποται,
σαρκικῶς
δεῖ
ἀυτοὺς
τιμᾶν,
ὅσον
παρὰ
σοῦ
ἐκελεύσθημεν·
οὐχ
ὅπως
δὲ
τὴν
σὴν
δεσπότειαν
διὰ
τὴν
ἀπειλὴν
τῶν
θνητῶν
ἀνθρώπων
ἀνταλλάξωμεν.
ἀυτοὶ
γὰρ
τὸ
σῶμα
μόνον
δύνανται
βασανίσαι,
ὁ
δὲ
μονογενής
σου
ὑιὸς
ὁ
κύριος
ἡμῶν
Ἰησοῦς
χριστὸς
δύναται
ἐμβαλεῖν
ἐις
τὰς
ἀιωνίους
κολάσεις
ἐν
ψυχῇ
καὶ
σώματι,
ἐν
τῷ
πυρὶ
τῷ
ἀσβέστῳ
καὶ
ἀθανάτῳ
σκώληκι.
ἀλλὰ,
δέσποτα,
δός
μοι
δύναμιν
τῆς
ὑπομονῆς
ἐν
ταῖς
θλίψεσιν
τῶν
πόνων
τοῦ
κινδύνου
τούτου,
καὶ
ἐλέησόν
με
ὡς
τὸν
ληστἡν
τὸν
κοινωνήσαντα
τῷ
πάθει
τοῦ
σταυροῦσου,
καὶ
ποίησον
πρὸς
μὲ
τοὺς
οἰκτιρμοὺς
τῆς
φιλανθρώπου
σου
χάριτος,
ἐν
ᾗ
ἔχει
τὴν
ζωὴν
σύμπασα
ἡ
γῆ,
δίκαιοί
τε
καὶ
ἁμαρτωλοὶ,
ἐν
τῇ
ἀνοχῇ
τῆς
χρηστότητός
σου.
ἀνατέλλεις
γὰρ
τὸν
ἥλιόν
σου
ἐπὶ
πονηροὺς
καὶ
ἀγαθοὺς,
καὶ
βρέχεις
ἐπὶ
δικαίους
καὶ
ἁμαρτολὸυς,
φυλάττων
τὴν
ἀγαθότητά
σου,
καὶ
δεικνύων
τὸ
ἔλεός
σου
πρὸς
πάντας
ἀνθρώπους.
[37] Δός
μοι,
δέσποτα,
τὴν
τῆς
ὑπομονῆς
χάριν
πρὸς
τὰς
πικρὰς
βασάνους
ταύτας,
ἐν
αἷς
κεντοῦσί
με,
ἵνα
κἀγὼ
καταξιωθῶ
φυλάξαι
τὴν
παραθήκην
τοῦ
φωτὸς
τῆς
πίστεώς
σοῦ,
ἣν
δέδωκάς
με
γνῶναι,
καὶ
ποιεῖν
τὸ
θέλημά
σου,
ὅπως
μὴ
κατασχυνθῶσιν
ὁι
πεποιθότες
ἐπὶ
σοὶ,
ὁι
ἐγκαυχώμενοι
ἐν
τῷ
μονογενῆ
ὑιῷ
σου,
κυρίῳ
ἡμῶν
Ἰησοῦ
Χριστῷ,
τῷ
παρὰ
σοῦ
πεμφθήντι,
ὃν
ἀυτὸς
ἀπέστειλας
ἐις
θάνατον
διὰ
τὰς
ἁμαρτίας
ἡμῶν,
ἵνα
ἄρῃ
τὸ
βάρος
ἡμῶν·
καὶ
ὑπὲρ
τῆς
παραβάσεως
ἡμῶν
παραδοθῇ,
καὶ
ἐβάσταξε
ἐις
ἑαυτὸν
τὰς
ἀνομίας
ἡμῶν,
καὶ
σὺν
τούτοις
ἀπενεγκεῖν
τὴν
κατάραν
τῆς
κατακρίσεως
ἡμῶν
διὰ
τῶν
παθημάτων
τοῦ
σταυροῦ
ἀυτοῦ·
καὶ
τελειώσει
καὶ
δώσει
χάριτας
δωρημάτων
τοῖς
ἐις
ἀυτὸν
πιστεύουσιν.
καὶ
νῦν,
δέσποτα
ἀγαθὲ,
ὁ
ἐιρηκὼς·
μεθ᾽
ὑμῶν
ἐιμὶ
ἐὼς
τῆς
συντελείας
τοῦ
ἀιῶνος,
μηδὲ
ἀφήσης
ἡμᾶς
ἔξω
τῆς
χειρός
σου,
ἀλλ᾽
ἐνδυνάμωσον
ἡμᾶς
ἐις
τὸ
σὸν
θέλημα,
ἵνα
ὑπομείνωμεν
τὸν
πόλεμον,
τὸν
ἔνεκεν
τοῦ
μεγάλου
σου
ὀνόματος,
ὅπως
φανερωθῇ
τὸ
καύχημα
ἡμῶν,
τῶν
πιστῶν
δούλων
ἐις
τὴν
δεσπότειαν
τῆς
σῆς
θεότητος,
καὶ
τοῦτο
φανερὸν
γένηται,
ὅτι
οὐδεὶς
δύναται
νικῆσαι
τῶν
ἐχθρῶν
τοὺς
ἐπὶ
σὲ
ἠλπικότας
ὁι
ἀυτοῖς
ἐισὶν
ἐχθροὶ.
[38] Ἀλλὰ,
δέσποτα,
συνάψαι
ἡμᾶς
ἐις
τὸν
ἀριθμὸν
τῶν
δικαίων
σου
ἔνεκεν
τῆς
σῆς
φιλανθρωπίας,
ὁ
μὴ
ἀφήσας
ἡμᾶς
ἐν
ταῖς
ἁμαρτίαις
τῶν
πατρῶν
ἡμῶν,
καὶ
ἐν
ματαίῳ
σεβάσματι
τῶν
ἀρχαίων
ἡμῶν,
καὶ
ἐν
ἀνομίαις
τῶν
πρώτων
ἡμῶν,
ἀλλὰ
δεδωκὼς
ἡμῖν
γνῶναι
τὸν
φύσει
ποιητὴν,
καὶ
τὴν
θεότητά
σου,
ἵνα
μὴ
ἀπολώμεθα
ἡμεῖς
ἐν
μαθαιότητι
τῆς
ἀθεΐας,
ἀλλ᾽
ὀικτείρας
ὡς
σοὺ
ποιήματα,
ὅπως
μὴ
ἐπέλθῃ
ἐφ᾽
ἡμᾶς
ἡ
ὀργή
σου
ἐις
τέλος,
καὶ
μὴ
ἐκτρίψῃ
ἡμᾶς
ὁ
θυμός
σου,
καὶ
μὴ
κινηθῇ
ἡ
ἀπειλή
σου
ἐις
τὴν
κτίσιν
σου.
καὶ
νῦν,
δέσποτα,
δὸς
δύναμιν
πολέμου
ὑπὲρ
τῆς
ἀληθείας
τοῦ
ὀνόματός
σου
ἀποθανεῖν,
καὶ
πάλιν
ἀνακαινισθῆναι
ἅμα
ἐν
δόξῃ,
ὅταν
τὸ
δεύτερον
ἀποστείλῃς
πρὸς
ἡμᾶς
τὸν
παντῶν
μισθαποδότην,
ἐκάστῳ
τὸν
ἴδιον
σταθμίζοντα,
τὸν
κύριον
ἡμῶν
Ἰησοῦν
Χριστὸν,
ἵνα
καὶ
ἡμεῖς
σταθῶμεν
ἰλαρῷ
προσώπῳ
ἐνώπιόν
σου,
δεξάμενοι
τὸν
τῆς
νίκης
στέφανον
σὺν
πᾶσιν
τοῖς
ἀγαπητοῖς
σου.
ἀυτὸς
γὰρ
μόνος
διαμένεις
ἐις
τοὺς
ἀιῶνας,
καὶ
πάντα
τὰ
στοίχεια,
τὰ
γενόμενα
τῷ
λόγῳ
σου,
παλαιωθήσεται,
μόνος
δὲ
ἀυτὸς
ὁ
ἀιώνιος,
καὶ
μονογενής
σου
ὑιὸς,
καὶ
τὸ
πνεῦμά
σου
τὸ
ἅγιον.
ἀυτὸς,
δέσποτα,
συνάγεις
τοὺς
ἀνθρώπους,
ὡς
σίτον
ἐν
τοῖς
ταμείοις,
ἐν
καιρῷ
ἀυτῶν,
καὶ
πάλιν
ἐκ
δευτέρου
ἀνακαινίζεις,
καὶ
ἀναφέρεις
ἐκ
τῆς
γῆς,
πάντα
τῶν
ἀνθρώπων
ὀστᾶ
νεάζων
καὶ
νεοπτερίζων,
ὡς
αετὸς
τοὺς
ἀγαπητούς
σου.
[39] Δέσποτα
ἡμέρας,
καὶ
κτίστα
σκότους,
καὶ
ποιητὰ
φωτὸς,
σή
ἐστιν
ἡ
ἡμέρα,
καὶ
σή
ἐστιν
ἡ
νύξ,
ὁ
τάξας
φωστῆρας
ἐις
χρῆσιν
ὁδηγίας
τῶν
σῶν
κτισμάτων
τοῖς
ἐν
τῇ
γῇ·
ὁ
ποιήσας
δυὸ
φωστῆρας
ἐις
χρήσιν
τροπῶν
ἐνιαυτῶν,
μηνῶν,
καὶ
καιρῶν,
ἐις
τὸ
συνάψαι
τοὺς
χρωμένους
καὶ
μετρῆσαι
τὰς
ἡμέρας
τοῖς
ἐν
τῷ
κόσμῳ,
τὸν
ἕνα
ἐπ᾽
ἐξουσίαν
τῆς
ἡμέρας,
ἔχοντα
τὸν
τύπον
τοῦ
σοῦ
μονογενοὺς,
τοῦ
ἀσβέστου,
καὶ
ἀλήπτου
καὶ
ἀπαύστου
καὶ
ἀνεμποδίστου
φωτὸς,
τοῦ
μέλλοντος
ἀποκαλυφθῆναι
τοῖς
ἰδίοις
δικαίοις
ἐν
τῷ
μέλλοντι
ἀιῶνι,
ὅπου
οὐδὲ
ἡμέραι
οὐδὲ
νύκτες,
οὐ
σάββαθα,
οὐ
μῆνες
οὐκ
ἐνιαυτὸι
καὶ
καιροὶ,
οὐδὲ
ἀλλαγαὶ
ἐνιαυτῶν
καὶ
καιρῶν
τροπαὶ·
μόνος
δὲ
κύριος
ὑπάρχεις,
καὶ
ποιεῖς
τὰς
ἀνταποδώσεις
τῆς
ἐυφροσύνης
τοῖς
σοῖς
προσκυνηταῖς
ἐν
το;ῖς
ἀγαθοῖς,
ὧν
ἀγαθῶν
οὐκ
ἔστιν
ἀλλαγὴ,
οὐδὲ
ἐκβολὴ
τῶν
δεδομένων
δωρεῶν.
[40] Ἡ
δὲ
πορεία
τῆς
ἀρχούσης
τῆς
νυκτὸς
τῷ
θελήματι
τοῦ
σοῦ
μονογενοῦς
τύπον
τῆς
ἀναστάσεως
βαστάξασα
φέρει,
καὶ
δείκυσι
πάσιν
τοῖς
γηγενέσιν
τὸ
θάρσος
τῆς
τῶν
νεκρῶν
ἀναστάσεως.
ἀπὸ
δυσμῶν
γὰρ
ἐις
ἀνατολὴν
πορευομένη
ἐις
νεότητα,
πάλιν
τῷ
σῷ
βουλήματι
ἐις
δυσμὰς
γηράσασα
φθάνει,
κηδεύεται,
θάπτεται,
μηνύτρια
τῶν
τεθαμμένων
νεκρῶν,
τῆς
ἀναστάσεως
γήνεται
παραμυθία,
καὶ
θάρσος
τοῖς
ποιήμασι
προσφέρει,
τὴν
παρουσίαν
τοῦ
σοῦ
ὑιοῦ
σημαίνει
ἐξ
οὐρανοῦ,
καὶ
τὴν
ἀνακαίνησιν
τῆς
ὀικουμένης
ἐπινεύει,
καὶ
τὴν
ἔκλειψιν
καὶ
τῆξιν
τῶν
ἁμαρτολῶν
διδάσκει,
καὶ
τὴν
τῶν
δικαίων
ἔκλαμψιν
ἐν
τῇ
βασιλείᾳ
τῆς
σῆς
παρουσίας,
τὴν
ἀπαίτησιν
τῶν
ἐν
ταῖς
ἁμαρτίαις
παλαιωθέντων
δεικνύει,
καὶ
γὰρ
δὴ
μηνύει
ἡ
ἐκλείπουσά
σε
τὸν
ἀιώνιον,
ἡ
φθάρτη
τὸν
ἀκήρατον,
ἡ
παλαιομένη
τὸν
ἀνακαινιστὴν
ἀυτῆς.
ἥτις
τῷ
σῷ
θελήματι
ἀλλιοῦται
ἐν
σχήμασι,
καθὼς
τὸ
σὸν
θέλημα
ἐκέλευσεν
γένεσθαι,
ἐὼς
οὓ
ἐπαρθῶσι
τὰ
ἀινίγματα,
ἃ
ἔθου,
καὶ
ἡτοίμασας
ἐις
ἡμέραν
τῶν
σῶν
ἐπαγγελιῶν,
ὅτε
ποιεῖς
πάσιν
ἀνταπόδωσιν
διὰ
τοῦ
μονογενοῦς
σου,
καὶ
τοῦ
ἁγίου
σου
πνεύματος,
ὅτι
σή
ἐστιν
καὶ
σοὶ
πρέπει
ἡ
δόξα
ἐις
τοὺς
ἀιῶνας.
ἀμὴν.
[41] Κύριε
παντοκράτορ
ὁ
στέφων
τοὺς
ἐν
σοὶ
ἠλπικότας,
καὶ
ποιῶν
τὸ
θέλημα
τῶν
σὲ
φοβουμένων,
καταξίωσόν
με,
δέσποτα,
φυλάξαι
τὴν
ἐν
σοὶ
ἐλπίδα,
καὶ
τὸν
μέγαν
φόβον,
ὃν
ἐπάξεις
τοῖς
ὑπεναντίοις
καὶ
ἀσεβήσασιν
ἐν
σοὶ·
κᾀμοὶ
δὸς
ὑπομονὴν
τελειῶσαι
τὸν
δρόμον
ἐν
ταύτῃ
τῇ
θλίψει,
ἐν
ᾗ
ἐιμὶ.
ἰατρὲ
τῶν
πόνων
ἡμῶν,
θεραπευτὰ
τῶν
συντετριμμένων,
ἡ
λύσις
τῶν
δεδεμένων,
ἡ
παράκλησις
τῶν
πενθούντων,
ἡ
ἐλπὶς
τῶν
ἀπελπισμένων,
ἡ
ἀνάπαυσις
τῶν
κεκμηκότων,
καὶ
λιμὴν
τῶν
τεταραγμένων,
ὁ
ἐπιβλέπων
ἐν
τῇ
σῇ
ἀγαθότητι
ἐπὶ
τὴν
κτίσιν
σου,
καὶ
τρέφων
τὰ
σύμπαντα
ἐν
τῇ
χρηστότητί
σου,
δός
μοι
λαβεῖν
τὸν
στέφανον
μετὰ
τῶν
καταξιωθέντων
ἀποθανεῖν
ὑπὲρ
τοῦ
ὀνόματός
σου,
ὧν
ἐστιν
ἐυδόκιμος
ὁ
θάνατος
ἐνώπιόν
σου,
ἵνα
κἀγὼ
καταξιωθῶ
ἁρπαγῆναι
ἐις
ἀπάντησιν
τοῦ
ἀγαπητοῦ
ὑιοῦ
σου,
ὅταν
ἁρπάσει
τοὺς
φίλους
ἀυτοῦ
ἐις
τὰς
ἀκτίνας
τοῦ
ἰδίου
φωτὸς
τοῦ
κρίναι
ἐν
ἀληθείᾳ
πάσαν
τὴν
ὀικουμένην
ἐν
ὀργῇ
θυμοῦ
ἀυτοῦ.
νῦν
οὖν
δέσποτα
ἐνδυνάμωσον
τὸν
σὸν
δοῦλον
ἕνεκεν
τοῦ
ὀνόματός
σου,
ἵνα
νικήσω
μὲν
τὰς
δυναστείας
τοῦ
ἐχθροῦ
καὶ
ἔπαρον
καὶ
ἀπόσμηξον
τὴν
ὀμίχλην
τῆς
κακῆς
ἐιδωλολατρείας
καὶ
ἀθεΐας
τῇ
σῇ
ἀγάπῃ
ἀπὸ
τῶν
σῶν
ποιημάτων.
ὁ
θεὶς
τὴν
ψυχήν
σου
ὑπὲρ
τῶν
σῶν
προβάτων,
μὴ
ἀφήσῃς
τὸ
ποίμνιόν
σου,
ἀλλὰ
φέρε
ἐις
ἐυθύτητα·
ὁ
μόνος
δυνάμενος
ἀφιέναι
ἁμαρτίας,
καὶ
συγχωρῆσαι
ἀνομίας
καὶ
ἀδικίας
τῶν
σῶν
κτισμάτων,
ἵνα
σε
μόνον
σέβωνται
καὶ
ποιήσωσι
τὸ
θέλημά
σου,
καὶ
δοξάζωσιν
τὴν
σὴν
θεότητα,
καὶ
λυτρωθῶσιν
ἀπὸ
τῶν
κριμάτων
σου,
καὶ
ἀπολαύσωνται
τῶν
ἀκαληπτῶν
σου
ἀγαθῶν,
ὅπως
πάντες
καταξιωθῶσιν
ἀνεὺ
ἀισχύνης
στῆναι
ἐνώπιον
τῆς
μεγαλειότητός
σου,
καὶ
τὸ
ἔργον
τῆς
ἀυτῆς
ἀγνοίας
ἀναμαρτησίαν
ἀυτοῖς
λόγισαι,
ἐπειδὴ
συνηθές
σοί
ἐστιν
τὰ
μὴ
ὄντα
ἐις
τὸ
εἶναι
παραγαγεῖν,
καὶ
τὰ
ἀνύπαρκτα
ἐις
γένεσιν
κτίσεως.
[42] Ὁ
μὴ
ἀφήσας
τὸ
γένος
τῶν
ἀνθρώπων
ἐν
τοῖς
ἰδίοις
θελήμασιν
πορεύεσθαι,
ἀλλ᾽
ὀικτείρας,
καὶ
ἀπέστειλας
τὸν
μονογενῆ
σου
ὑιὸν
ὃς
ἐλθὼν
ἐπέτρεψε
τὰ
σὰ
ποιήματα
ἐις
τὴν
σὴν
θεότητα.
ὁ
κελεύσας
κηρυχθῆναι
τὰ
ἐυαγγέλια
ἐν
πάσῃ
οἰκουμένῃ,
ἐπειδὴ
σοῦ
μόνου
ἐστὶν
ἡ
δόξα,
καὶ
σοὶ
πρέπει
προσκύνησις
ἀπὸ
πάσης
κτίσεως.
ἀυτὸς
γὰρ
μόνος
εἶ
τιμῆς
καὶ
δόξης
ἄξιος.
ὀικτείρησον
οὖν
ἐν
τῇ
χάριτι
τῆς
σῆς
ἀγαθότητος
καὶ
τὴν
χώραν
τῆς
ἀρμενίας,
ἵνα
καὶ
ἀυτοὶ
γνώσονταί
σε,
καὶ
τὸν
μονογενῆ
σου
ὑιὸν
κύριον
ἡμῶν
Ἰησοῦν
Χριστὸν,
τὸν
πεμφθέντα
παρὰ
σοῦ,
καὶ
ἐνδυσάμενον
τὴν
ἀνθρωπότητα
ἡμῶν,
ἐξεικονίσαντα
καὶ
ἐκτυπώσαντα
ἑαυτὸν
ἐις
τὸ
πλάσμα
τῶν
χειρῶν
ἀυτοῦ,
ἵνα
λάβῃ
τὸ
ἀνθρώπινον
σῶμα,
καὶ
διὰ
τοῦ
συγγενοὺς
προσεγγίσῃ
τοὺς
ἀνθρώπους
πρὸς
αὑτὸν.
οὐ
γὰρ
δύναντο
ὁι
ἄνθρωποι
ἰδεῖν
τὸ
πρόσωπον
ἀυτοῦ
καὶ
ζῆν·
διὰ
τοῦτο
ἐγένετο
ἐν
ὁμοιώματι
ἀνθρώπων,
ἵνα
τοὺς
ἀνθρώπους
ἀξίους
ποιήσῃ
τῆς
θεότητος
ἀυτοῦ,
καὶ
ὅπως
τὸ
συγγενὲς
τοῦ
παρ᾽
ἡμῶν
σώματος
θεασάμενοι,
τὴν
θεότητα
τοῦ
ὑιοῦ
τιμήσωμεν
ἐν
τῇ
ἀγαθότητι
τοῦ
πατρὸς,
καὶ
ἐν
ἀυτῷ
δεξάμεθα
χάριτας
διὰ
τῆς
φιλανθρωπίας
παρὰ
σοῦ.
χορηγηθῶσιν
οὖν
καὶ
ἡμῖν
αἱ
ἐπαγγελίαι
τοῦ
ἐναγγελίου
σου
ἐις
τὸν
κόσμον
τοῦτον,
καὶ
ἁι
ἐυεργεσίαι
τῆς
χάριτος
καὶ
τῆς
ἀγαθότητός
σου,
ἁι
πρὸς
παντας
ὑπάρχουσαι.
[43] Ὁ
ἐπιδαψιλεύων
πᾶσι,
δὸς
ἡμῖν,
ἵνα
γενώμεθα
μάρτυρες
τῆς
θεότητος
παθεῖν
ὑπὲρ
τοῦ
σοῦ
ὀνόματος,
καὶ
ἀποθανεῖν
ὑπὲρ
τῆς
σῆς
ἀληθείας,
καὶ
ἀνακαινισθῆναι
πάλιν
ἐν
παρουσίᾳ
τῆς
θεότητός
σου.
ἦλθες
γὰρ
ἀυτὸς,
καὶ
ἀπέθανες
ὑπὲρ
τοῦ
πλάσματός
σου,
καὶ
συνέμιξας
τὸ
θνητὸν
ἡμῶν
ἐις
τὸ
σὸν
ἀθάνατον.
διὰ
τοῦτο
καὶ
ἡμεῖς
ἐὼς
θανάτου
γινώμεθα
μάρτυρες
τῆς
σῆς
ἀθανασίας,
ἵνα
συνψηφισθῶμεν
ἐις
τὸν
ἀριθμὸν
τῶν
σῶν
μαρτύρων.
τίνας
γὰρ
ἀνταποδόσεις
καὶ
ἀμοιβὰς
δυνηθῶμεν
ποιεῖν
ὑπὲρ
τῶν
σῶν
ἀγαθῶν,
ἐὰν
μὴ
τὰς
ψυχὰς
ἡμῶν
δῶμεν
ὑπὲρ
τῶν
σῶν
ἐντολῶν
ἐις
ἐυδοκίαν
τοῦ
θελήματός
σου,
ἵνα
γενώμεθα
κληρονόμοι
τῆς
βασιλείας
σου
μετὰ
τῶν
ἐυαρεστησάντων
ἐνώπιόν
σου,
ὅπως
προσενέγκωμεν
τὰς
ψυχὰς
ἡμῶν
θυσίαν
τῇ
σῇ
θεότητι,
ἀπολέσωμέν
τε
ἀυτὰς,
ἵνα
πάλιν
ἕυρωμεν
ἐν
τῇ
ἡμέρᾳ
τῆς
ἀναστάσεως,
καὶ
σταθῶμεν
ἐκ
δεκιῶν
σου
τὴν
ἀκακίαν
ἐνδεδυμένοι
μετὰ
τῶν
προβάτων
ἐις
τὸ
μέρος
τῆς
δεξιᾶς,
σὺν
τοῖς
ἐυαρεστήσασιν,
ἐν
ἐυφροσύνῃ
τῶν
ἁγίων,
τῶν
ἠγαπηκότων
τὴν
σὴν
θεότητα;
ἐπειδὴ
ἐγένετο
ὁ
μονογενής
σου
ὑιὸς
ἄμνος
ἀληθινὸς
καὶ
προσήνεγκέ
σοι
θυσίαν
τὴν
ἰδίαν
ψυχὴν
ὑπὲρ
τῶν
ἁμαρτιῶν
τοῦ
σύμπαντος
κόσμου,
ὅπως
γένηται
μεσίτης
καὶ
πρεσβευτὴς
τοῖς
ποιήμασι
πρὸς
τὸν
ποιήσαντα·
τοῖς
δὲ
σπεύσασι
δι᾽
ἀυτῆς
τῆς
ἐυαρεστήσεως
προσπελάσαι
σοι
ἡτοίμασας
ἀυτοῖς
μονὰς
ἐν
τῇ
βασιλείᾳ
τῆς
σῆς
θεότητος,
καὶ
τοῖς
μὴ
βουλομένοις
ἐισελθεῖν
ἐις
ὑποταγὴν
ἐυδοκίας.
τῆς
ἀυτοῦ
παρουσίας
ἀιωνίους
κολάσεις
ἐπηγγείλω.
[44] Νῦν
οὖν,
δέσποτα
ἀγαθοποιὲ,
ὁ
ἐλθὼν
καὶ
ταπεινωθεὶς
καὶ
λαβὼν
τὴν
τῶν
ἀνθρώπων
μορφὴν,
καὶ
δεδωκὼς
τὴν
ψυχήν
σου
πάσῃ
ὑπομονῇ,
καὶ
μὴ
ἀποστρέψας
τὸ
πρόσωπόν
σου
ἀπὸ
τῆς
ἐκουδενώσεως
τῶν
ἐμπτυσμάτων,
καὶ
προσενέγκας
τὴν
σιαγόνα
τῶι
παίοντι,
ὄξος
καὶ
χολὴν
ὑπὲρ
ἡμῶν
πέπωκας,
καταγλύκανον
τὰς
καρδίας
τῶν
ἀνθρώπων
πάντων
ἐις
τὴν
λατρείαν
σου,
ἵνα
ὑποταγῶσιν
ὑπὸ
τὸν
ἡδύτατόν
σου
ζυγὸν,
καὶ
σωθῶσιν
ἀπὸ
τῶν
ἀιωνίων
κολάσεων.
πεπλήρωται
γὰρ
ἡ
γῆ
τῆς
θεογνωσίας
σου,
καὶ
ὁι
ἀπολειφθέντες
μὴ
ἀποτύχωσι
τῆς
ἀληθινῆς
σου
ὁδοῦ.
προωρισθῶσιν
καὶ
ἀυτοὶ
ἐις
τὴν
βασιλικήν
σου
τράπεζαν,
καὶ
τῆς
σῆς
ἀπολαύσωσιν
ὑπομονῆς.
ὁ
ὑπὲρ
πάντων
παραγενόμενος
σφαγῆναι,
ὡς
ἀρνίον,
καὶ
ἐυφράναι
ἐν
τῷ
σώματί
σου,
ὅ
δέδωκας
ἐις
σωτηρίαν
πᾶσιν,
καὶ
τὸν
χίμαῤῥον
τῆς
τρυφῆς
ἐδωρήσω
τὸ
πανάγιον
αἷμα
λύτρωσιν
τοῦ
κόσμου,
ὀικτείρησον,
ἵνα
μνησθῶσιν
καὶ
ἐπιστραφῶσι
καὶ
ἐλθῶσι
πρὸς
σὲ
ἅπαντα
τὰ
πέρατα
τῆς
γῆς,
καὶ
προσκυνήσωσιν
ἐνώπιόν
σου
ὁι
καταβαίνοντες
ἐις
τὴν
γῆν.
ἀυτὸς
γὰρ
δύνασαι
πάλιν
ἀναστῆσαι
καὶ
ζωοποιῆσαι
καὶ
ἀξιῶσαι
τῆς
σῆς
φιλανθρωπίας.
ἐν
τῷ
γὰρ
σῷ
ἅιματι
ἐισὶ
λελυτρωμένοι,
καὶ
ἐλευθερωθέντες
ἀπὸ
τῆς
ἐξουσίας
τοῦ
σκότους.
νῦν
δὲ
γνώσωνταί
σε,
ὑπὲρ
ὧν
ἀπέθανες·
δοῦλοι
γάρ
σου
ὑπάρχοντες,
καὶ
σοῦ
προσκυνηταὶ
γένωνται,
ὅπως
μὴ
ἐπέλθῃ
ὁ
θυμός
σου
ἐπὶ
τοὺς
ἀνθρώπους.
[45] Ποίησον
δὲ
ἡμᾶς
ὑιοὺς
φωτὸς
καὶ
ὑιοὺς
ἡμέρας,
ἵνα
δοξασθῇ
τὸ
πανάγιον
ὄνομά
σου
ἐν
πάσῃ
τῇ
ὀικουμένῃ·
δεδοξασμένος
γὰρ
καὶ
ἀΐδιος
ὑπάρχεις
ἐν
τῇ
σῇ
βασιλείᾳ,
ὁ
ὢν
ἐν
τῇ
ἀἳδιότητι
καὶ
ἀναρχότητι
καὶ
ἀκαταληψίᾳ,
ὁ
διδοὺς
τύπον
τῶν
παθημάτων
τῷ
σῷ
πάθει
διὰ
τῆς
ταπεινώσεώς
σου
τοῖς
σοῖς
ἀγαπητοῖς.
ἔδειξας
γὰρ
διωγμῷ,
καὶ
ἐφανέρωσας
θλίψιν
τοῖς
ἁγίοις
σου
διὰ
τῶν
κολαφισμάτων
ἐν
τῷ
ἐισελθεῖν
σε
ὑπὲρ
ἡμῶν
ἐις
τὰς
κακώσεις.
ἡμεῖς
δὲ
ὁι
γηἳνοὶ
τί
ὅλως
παρεισφέρομεν
τὰς
ἡμετέρας
θλίψεις
τῶν
παθημάτων;
ἀυτὸς
γὰρ,
δέσποτα,
ἐταπεινώθης,
καὶ
ἀνέλαβες
ταῦτα·
καὶ
ἐπῇρας
τὸν
κίνδυνον,
καὶ
τὰ
πάθη
τῆς
ὀικουμένης.
ἐνδυνάμωσον
οὖν
τὴν
ἐμὴν
ἀσθένειαν
ἐν
τῇ
ὑπομονῇ
καὶ
καρτερίᾳ
τῆς
θλίψεως,
ἐν
ᾑ
ἔστηκα,
ἵνα
χρονίσας
διὰ
τῶν
καυχημάτων
ἐν
τοῖς
βασάνοις,
ἀξιωθῶ
κἀγὼ
τοῖς
ἀγαπητοῖς
σου
ἐν
ἡμέρᾳ,
ὅταν
ἀποδώσεις
τὰ
ἀνεκδιήγητα
ἀγαθὰ,
τὰ
τετηρημένα
καὶ
παραμόνιμα
τοῖς
πεποιθόσιν
σοι
ἐις
τὸν
ἀιῶνα.
Καὶ
ἔτι
ἀυτοῦ
κρεμαμένου,
οὕτως
ἐλάλησεν
ταῦτα
πάντα,
καὶ
ἔγραφον
ὁι
ὑπομνηματογράφοι,
διὰ
σημείων,
ὅτι
ἦν
ὡς
οὐδὲν
λογισάμενος
τὴν
τάνησιν [*], οὔτε
τὸν
κίνδυνον
τῆς
συνθριβὴς
τῶν
ἀπὸ
ὑγρῶν
ῥάβδων.
κατεαγμένον
γὰρ
ἦν
λοιπὸν
τὸ
σῶμα
ἀυτοῦ
ἀπὸ
τῆς
στρεβλώσεως,
καὶ
ἔτι
πλείονα
τούτων
ἐλάλησεν,
ὡς
ἐκρεμᾶτο,
καὶ
γράψαντες
προσήνεγκαν
τῶι
βασιλεῖ.
ἕπτα
γὰρ
ἡμέρας
ἔμεινεν,
καὶ
μετὰ
ταῦτα
ἐκέλευσεν
καὶ
κατήνεγκαν
ἀυτὸν.
Teridates, having rebuked Gregory's boldness in speaking, But the king answering said to him: How often
have I admonished thee and commanded thee that thou shouldst not repeat
the figments of fabulous words which thou hast learned
to patch together: for it does not become thee to speak such things.
I have spared thee as a sick man, that thou mightest come to equity
and worship the gods. But thou, transferring their honour
to another whom, as thou wilt, thou callest Maker,
assailest with reproaches those who are truly makers,
and the great Diana, through
whom the province of Armenia lives and has vigour,
and with her the most valiant Jupiter, the artificer of heaven and
earth; and after him thou hast called the other gods also
lifeless and mute, and hast extended thy injuries to us as well.
For thou hast dared to call us horses and
mules, and adding every reproach, hast even dared
to call us destitute of reason. Now
I shall deliver thee to torments, and shall put a muzzle upon thy jaws,
that thou mayest perceive the vanity of thy words
which thou hast spoken before me, since this befalls thee
on their account. And let this, he said, be a great thing
to thee, that thou hast spoken before me and that I have honoured thee.
But thou hast answered me as thy equal.
[29] orders him to be hung up heavily laden. Being taken down and questioned, Then he ordered his hands to be so bound to his sides
that the elbows stood out, and a muzzle to be put into his mouth,
and lumps of the salt quarried among them to be laid upon his back;
and, being bound about with a thong strongly tightened round his breast,
to be hung up in the loftiest place of his palace
by mechanical instruments. And he remained
seven days a thus suspended: then, the king commanding,
they loosed him from those most bitter and most violent
torments; and bearing him they set him before
the king. And the king asked him, saying:
How hast thou endured until this day?
Hast thou now taken proof that truly, like an ass,
thou hast stood bearing a burden on thy back, and by the burden
hast remained in one place? Because thou hast dared to assail the gods
with reproaches, saying: They are immovable — this
punishment they have rendered thee. But now, if thou shalt not consent
to honour them, and shalt add such injuries,
greater evils still shall be brought upon thee. But Gregory
said to the king: As regards the demons
which thou callest gods, they are altogether things set up
and made.
[30] he answers no less freely. For they are set up and made by men,
and brought by the hand of craftsmen into the form of images.
One god is of wood, another of stone, another
of bronze, of silver, of gold; neither ever speaking,
nor understanding, nor thinking about
me and thee, as thou thyself wilt bear me witness that they never
said anything to thee about my torments
which were inflicted on me by thee. And in what manner at last
do lifeless stones feel human pains? As
to the lumps of salt with which thou hast laden me, that I may suffer in
bonds, I hope in my Lord Jesus Christ,
the maker of all things, that he will exalt my simplicity
with true, sincere and incorruptible
salt, and will bestow on me the sweetest and lightest
yoke of humiliation, by his gift abiding for ever:
who by his mercy exalts the humble
to an immense and eternal reward.
When the seven weeks of years shall be fulfilled,
and when he shall make his dead rest by his magnificent
goodness; they who worship stone idols,
according to what the prophet said, shall go down
like a stone in many waters: but they who worship wooden
images shall so fall, as he said of
them: A fire is kindled in the wood of the field, and it shall burn up
the sinners and shall not be quenched. But to those
who honour silver and gold, he thus said:
Their silver and their gold shall not be able
to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath: who knows
how to lay burdens difficult to carry upon all
the sinners who resist him, and upon the impious like thee.
[31] Then the king in anger ordered him to be hung up by one foot
with his head turned downward, Hung up with head downward, with a long prayer so that, while he hung headlong,
they might raise smoke beneath him from
foul-smelling dung, and that he should be strongly beaten with green
rods b. Ten men at the king's command
beat him, and in that manner he hung for seven
he began, hanging, to pray in this manner: Thanks
I give thee, O Lord, who hast deemed my unworthiness worthy of thy
gift. For from the beginning thou didst love the work
of thy hands, and gavest it the delight of a rest
free from labour in thy paradise, that we might enjoy it —
we whom thou madest immortal and without experience of toil,
honouredst with the gift of life, and appointedst heirs
of delight: so from the beginning thou didst dispose, if we had clung
to thy precept, not tasting of the tree.
For thou saidst: Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
eat not: not that the tree was so called
of life and death d: but because thou wouldst thus declare
thy will, and that of thy only-begotten Son (for he
is the Son of thy Deity), and the will of thy Holy
Spirit: for he proceeds from thee and fills
the ends of the earth. For if we had remained in thy precept,
O Lord, and had kept it which thou didst set
for the beauty of our probation, surely
thou wouldst have granted us to live without labour, without
pain, chastely, without care, without sadness and
without corruption; that we might be able to increase and multiply,
and to live in the body without shame, crowned with glory
in thy paradise, in which thou didst place us;
and then, just as thou didst translate into paradise the holy procreation
of children e of the most holy Enoch — for thou didst take him up into
the place of delight and into the lot of the holy angels
f. Wherefore, if we had remained in thy commandment,
thou wouldst have set before us the example of Enoch, and
according to his likeness, after the enjoyment of paradise
and the earthly tranquillities, wouldst have translated us to immortality
and to the angelic orders; and at the same time
wouldst have given us thy kingdom, which thou didst prepare for our
glory before the world existed:
which eye hath not seen and ear hath not heard,
and which hath not ascended into the heart of man: which also
thou wilt now give, O Lord, to those who love thy holy
name and the coming of thy Only-begotten.
[32] When therefore the hater of good things saw us honoured
by the will of thy kindness, many things about the mysteries of the faith he envied us
the honour of the crown of our glorying, the honour
given by thee, when thou madest man to the likeness of thy
image, and didst appoint him lord of all.
From diabolical envy pernicious deceits and death entered
into the world, and overthrew man and cast him out
of life and out of the rest of thy goodness
which had been given him. Therefore,
when thy Deity had pity on the infirmity of human nature,
through thy incomprehensible mercy
and goodness and thy constant and magnanimous
patience, thou didst not forsake us,
but sentest thy holy prophets into the world.
These were made in the midst of the impious like luminaries
in a dark place: who, hated by men mad
and unjust, suffered persecutions.
For they revealed the mysteries of thy light and
preached thy will, and the coming of thy Son,
who was to come into the world and to take away from men
the yoke of condemned sin. Because
they preached these things, they met death in afflictions and torments
and various trials;
and in the disturbance and bitterness brought upon them by those who afflicted
them, they led their life in the world
because of thy preaching.
[33] from the sacred Scriptures Those who afflicted them were weakened and fell.
Wherefore, when that war rises up against me, my heart
shall not fear; and when a camp is stirred up against me,
in thee have I hoped, who in the last time revealest
the mysteries of thy will, which thou didst before announce through
the prophets to the first generations on account of
thy beloved Son, that coming he might be born
of the holy Virgin. For as through the virgin
Eve sin entered into the world; so
through this undefiled Virgin life entered:
and as through the birth of Cain from Eve the curse,
sweats, labours and turnings entered
into the world; so through the birth of thy Son
from the holy Virgin there entered into the world rest,
life and blessing. Thou who sentest thy only-begotten
Son into the world, light from light, life
from life, that coming he might be incarnate into the likeness
of our flesh from the holy Virgin, and by his own
likeness might join us with his Deity.
Who was also made like unto us, and born of the holy
Virgin, and was made man and was incarnate, taking
our flesh. But he remains in his own
glory and in his natural Deity, and received no
change of his Deity through the incarnation,
but the same he both is and remains for ever
with the Father and the Holy Spirit. But because he loved
men, therefore he was made merciful, that he might lead
us into the abundance of the grace of his Deity. And
this was the will of him who begot him, and he fulfilled
thy will: as also he will exalt the Saints by his own endurance
through his death and burial,
in that he joins power with sufferings.
[34] discoursing; But since men desired to worship images
bearing a human form, carved out of
wood by the art of craftsmen, he himself became the true form
of a man, that he might subject the makers, lovers and
worshippers of images to the image of his own Deity: and since
men were accustomed to worship lifeless and dead idols,
he himself became a dead image upon the cross,
and died and was made lifeless, that through their custom
he might swiftly subject them to his own image: and using the cross
as a hook, he made his own body food for the world,
that by this he might draw all to the royal
table of his Deity: and instead of carved wood he fixed
the cross in the midst of the world, that they who were wont to adore
wood might through this custom consent
to adore his cross, and the image of the human
form upon it. For of the cross,
which the prophets also foreshowed, he thus said:
Made as one dumb that hears not, and as one
dumb that opens not his mouth g. Which thou thyself,
O Lord, saidst to thy prophet, before
the time came in which thy beloved Son Jesus Christ was
to suffer all these things: In so great endurance
I will make thee dumb, and will bind thy tongue in
thy throat, and thou shalt be as a man not having in
his mouth a word of rebuke. For men loved
dumb idols: therefore also thy beloved Son
was made in the body and form of a man; and ascended
to the height of the cross, as to a most lofty
watch-tower, and showed himself dumb through death,
being by nature life to his own creatures.
[35] Wherefore the world saw him on high,
and exulted, it reports various doctrines without order and adored, and subjected itself.
And because men were wont to rejoice in the temples of idols
through the savours which they offered to lifeless things,
therefore thou thyself didst call the world to the sacrifice of thy Christ,
and saidst: My calf is slain and my supper
is ready: and thou didst multiply gladness from thy
cross, and didst feed all the ends of the earth with his life-giving
Body, which is food and life most abundant to all
thy worshippers throughout the whole circle of the lands.
But those who, being called, are unwilling to come to the nuptials
of thy spiritual banquet, thou hast prepared for eternal
punishment, for pernicious death, for a condemnation
never to be ended. And since men ate
and drank of the blood of sacrifices,
while they honoured demons with divine worship,
for that reason he poured out his own blood upon
the cross, that there might be wood instead of carved wood, and that
image bearing a human form instead of the execrable
image, and instead of the gore of its savour there might be
blood in which is the renewal of men, that human
nature might spring up again.
[36] For he came to redeem us by his own blood
into the comely servitude of his Deity, and it reports the doctrines, and to free us
from the base service of sins. For we are
the price of the blood of thy Son, redeemed and freed
by his blood and body; and we are not our own
masters, that we should follow our own desires, or bear ourselves
according to the wills of mortal men.
For if we have carnal masters, we must honour them carnally,
as we have been commanded by thee:
but not so as through the threats of mortal men to exchange thy
dominion. For they can subject only
the body to torments. But thy only-begotten
Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
can cast both soul and body into eternal
punishments, and deliver them to the unquenchable fire and the undying
worm. But, O Lord, give me the strength
of endurance in the afflictions and labours of this
peril; and have mercy on me as thou hadst mercy on the thief
who had the suffering of thy cross in common with thee;
bestow on me the compassions of thy kindly
grace, by which the whole earth has life,
the just and sinners, through the support of thy goodness.
For thou makest thy sun to rise upon the evil and
the good, and rainest upon the just and the unjust, preserving
thy beneficence and showing thy mercy
to all men.
[37] Give me, O Lord, the grace of patience in
these bitter torments and patience with which they afflict me, that
I may be worthy to keep the deposit of the light of thy faith,
which by thy gift I know; and to fulfil thy will,
that they be not confounded who hope in
thee and glory in thy only-begotten Son, our Lord
Jesus Christ, sent by thee, whom thou thyself
didst send to death for our sins, that
he might bear our burden and be delivered up for our
transgressions: and in himself he bore our iniquities,
that with them he might take away the curse
of our condemnation through the sufferings of his cross:
and he will accomplish it and will bestow the graces of gifts
upon those who believe in him. And now, good Lord,
who saidst, I am with you even to the consummation
of the world: dismiss us not from thy hand,
but strengthen us unto thy will, that we may sustain
the war which is undertaken for thy great name,
that our glory may be made manifest, who faithfully
serve the dominion of thy Deity, and that it may manifestly
appear that none of those who are their enemies
can overcome those who hope in thee.
[38] in torments But, O Lord, make us come into
the number of thy just ones for thy clemency's sake,
thou who hast not left us in the sins of our fathers
and in the vain worship of our forefathers
and in the iniquities of those who went before us;
but who hast granted that we should know the Creator
and thy Deity, that we perish not in
the vanity of those who know not God; but who
hast had pity on us as thy creatures, that thy wrath may not
come upon us to the end, and thy fury may not crush us,
and thy threatenings may not draw near to thy creature. And now, O Lord, give
warlike strength for dying for the truth
of thy name, and that we may be renewed again together in
glory, when a second time thou shalt send to us the rewarder
of all, who will weigh out to each his own —
our Lord Jesus Christ — that with a cheerful
countenance we may stand before thee, receiving the crown
of victory with all thy beloved ones. For thou alone
remainest for ever, and all the elements
made by thy word shall grow old. Thou thyself alone art eternal,
and thy only-begotten Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Thou thyself, O Lord, gatherest men as
grain into the storehouses in their season,
and again renewest them, and leadest them forth from the earth,
making all the bones of men youthful and giving them
a new swiftness, as the eagle her young.
[39] often repeated Lord of the day, and author of the darkness and
founder of the light, thine is the day and thine is the night, who
hast ordained the luminaries for those who dwell on earth to guide
thy creatures: who madest two luminaries,
that they might serve for the turnings of years, of months
and of seasons, useful for joining and measuring out
the days for those who live in the world; the one luminary
to preside over the day, which represents the type
of thy Only-begotten, who is a light unquenchable, incomprehensible,
unceasing and never hindered;
who shall be revealed to his just ones in the age to come,
where there are neither days nor nights, no sabbaths, no
months, no years and seasons, nor changes
of years and turnings of times. But thou alone
art Lord there, and to thy worshippers dost afford
rewards full of delight from good things
of which there is no change, and of the gifts once
granted there is never any loss.
[40] he begs with prayers, But the course of her who presides over the night, by the will
of thy Only-begotten, bears the type of the resurrection,
and shows to all earth-born men the confidence
of the resurrection of the dead. For going forth from the West
to the East into youth, again by thy will
growing old she comes to the West, is buried, is entombed,
a herald of the buried dead, becomes the consolation
of the resurrection, and brings confidence to creatures,
signifies the coming of thy Son from heaven, hints
at the renewal of the circle of the lands, teaches the failing
and destruction of sinners and the splendour of the just
in the kingdom of thy coming; and shows that thou dost demand
an account of those who have grown old in sins.
And indeed the failing moon signifies thee the eternal,
she about to perish signifies the immortal, and she growing old
her own Restorer. She by thy will is changed
into various forms, as thou hast willed it to be,
until the riddles be taken away which thou hast set and prepared
against the day of thy promises, when
thou shalt reward all through thy Only-begotten and the Holy
Spirit, since thine is the glory and to thee it is due
for ever. Amen.
[41] Almighty Lord, who crownest those who hope
in thee, for others also and doest the will of them that fear thee, give
me this grace, that I may preserve my confidence in thee
and the great fear which thou wilt cast upon thy adversaries
and upon those who act impiously against thee: and give me endurance
to accomplish my course in this affliction
in which I am. Physician of our pains,
Healer of the bruised, Loosing of the bound, Consolation
of mourners, Hope of the despairing, Rest
of the weary, Haven of the troubled, who in thy goodness
lookest upon thy creature and nourishest all things by thy beneficence,
grant me that I may obtain the crown with
those who have been deemed worthy by thy grace to die for thy
name, whose death was pleasing before thee;
that I too by thy gift may become worthy to be caught up to meet
thy beloved Son, when he shall catch up his beloved ones
into the rays of his own light to judge in truth
the whole world in the wrath of his fury. Now therefore,
O Lord, strengthen thy servant for thy name's sake,
that we may conquer the powers of the enemy; and take away
and cleanse the mist of perverse idolatry and impious
ignorance of God, driven out from thy creatures by thy
love. Thou who didst lay down thy soul for thy sheep,
forsake not thy flock, but lead
it into the right way. Thou who alone canst forgive
sins, and pardon the iniquities and injustices
of thy creatures, that they may worship thee alone, fulfil
thy will, celebrate thy Divinity with great
glory, and be rescued from thy judgments
and enjoy thy incomprehensible good things;
that all may obtain that grace, so as
to stand without shame before thy magnificence:
do not impute to them the work of their ignorance
as a sin, since it is thy wont to make
the things which are not to be, and to bring things non-existent
to the state of creatures.
[42] Thou who didst not leave the race of men to live
according to their own desires, and for Armenia but in pity didst send
thy only-begotten Son, who coming turned thy creatures
to thy Deity. Thou who didst command
thy Gospels to be preached in the whole world,
since the glory is thine alone, and to thee is due
the adoration of every creature: for thou alone art worthy of honour
and of glory. Have mercy therefore, by the charity
of thy goodness, upon the region of Armenia also, that they too
may know thee, and thy only-begotten Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ, sent by
thee, who took upon him our human nature,
rendering himself like in image and figure to the work of his own
hands, that he might take a human body and
through kinship draw men to himself. For
men could not see his countenance and
live. Wherefore he was made like unto men, that
he might render men worthy of his Deity; that we,
beholding a body akin to our own body,
might honour the Deity of the Son in the goodness of the Father. In
him also we receive graces from thee through thy kindness.
Let there be furnished therefore to us also the promises of thy Gospel,
made to this world, and the benefits of thy charity
and goodness, which reach to all.
[43] Thou who bestowest upon all, grant us to become
witnesses of thy Deity by suffering for thy name and
by dying for thy truth, and to be renewed again
at the coming of thy Deity. and for his own martyrdom For thou thyself didst come
and didst die for thy creature, and didst mingle
Wherefore may we also unto death become witnesses
of thy immortality, that we may be reckoned in the number
of thy martyrs. For what retributions
and recompenses can we make for thy good things,
if we give not our souls for thy commandments
according to the good pleasure of thy will, that we may become heirs
of thy kingdom with those who have pleased
before thee; that we may offer our souls as a victim
to thy Divinity, and lose them, that we may find them
again in the day of the resurrection, and be set
at thy right hand clothed with innocence, with the sheep set apart
to the portion of the right hand, with those who have pleased
thee, in the joy of the Saints who loved thy Divinity?
For thy only-begotten Son
was made the true lamb, and offered his own soul
to thee as a victim for the sins of the whole world,
that he might become mediator and ambassador of the creatures with
the Creator: but for those who strive by pleasing conduct
to draw near to thee thou hast prepared mansions in the kingdom of thy Divinity;
while to those unwilling to enter the way of obedience
by which they might please thee, thou hast announced eternal
punishments at his coming.
[44] praying. Now therefore, beneficent Lord, who camest
and wast humbled and didst assume the form of men,
who gavest thy soul with all patience,
who didst not turn away thy face from the utmost
contempt of spittings, who didst offer thy cheeks
to the smiter, who didst drink vinegar and gall for us,
make the hearts of all men grow gentle toward thy worship,
that they may be subjected to thy most sweet yoke
and be freed from eternal punishments. For the earth
has been filled with the knowledge of God: let those also who are left
not be frustrated of thy true way, but let them too be predetermined
to thy royal table, and enjoy the fruits
of thy endurance. Thou who camest to be slain
for all, as a little lamb, and to refresh them
with thy body which thou gavest to all
for salvation, gavest also a torrent of delight,
thy most sacred Blood, poured out for the redemption of the world:
have mercy, that all the ends of the earth may remember and be converted
and come to thee,
and that they also who go down into the earth may adore in thy sight:
for thou thyself canst raise them again
and give them life anew, and deem them worthy of thy clemency:
for by thy blood they have been redeemed and freed
from the power of darkness. But now let them know
thee, for whom thou didst die. For since they are
thy servants, let them become thy worshippers also, that thy fury may not come
upon men.
[45] The author says that the Saint hung for seven days. But make us sons of light and sons of the day, that
thy most sacred name may be praised in the whole circle
of the lands: for thou art glorious and eternal in thy
kingdom, existing everlasting, without beginning, and
incomprehensible. Thou who by thy suffering hast given
to thy beloved ones, through thy humility, an example of suffering.
For thou didst show by persecution, and didst manifest by
buffetings to thy Saints, affliction, when thou didst begin
to suffer for us. But we, earthly men, why do we at all
compare our afflictions with those sufferings?
For thou, O Lord, wast humbled,
and didst accept this, and didst bear the peril and the sufferings
of the world. Strengthen therefore my weakness
with patience and endurance in the affliction in
which I stand, that persevering joyfully in torments
I may be deemed worthy to be numbered [i] with thy beloved ones
in the day when thou shalt render the unspeakable good things which
are kept for those who have hoped in thee, and which abide
for ever. While he still hung, thus
he uttered all these things, and the recorders k wrote them down
by shorthand marks: for he counted as nothing
the stretching, or the peril of being crushed by the green
rods that were to be laid on. For his body was already
broken by the torsion. He spoke many things besides these
while he hung, and the writers brought them
to the king. For he remained seven days, and
afterwards, the king commanding, they let him down.
ANNOTATIONS.
Metaphrastes also has. But since the biographer seems to have exaggerated nearly everything beyond the truth,
I can scarcely doubt that that first punishment of St. Gregory
is likewise exaggerated beyond the truth, especially as to the time. For neither
does he seem to have been able to take food or drink while thus suspended; and therefore the king
would not have left him for seven days in a punishment by which he did not wish
to kill him, but to punish him and render him obedient to himself.
c. That
he was beaten by ten men succeeding one another perhaps does not lack
this biographer's usual exaggeration: but he exceeds it more when he says that that torment was continued for seven days.
d. These things
are obscure, unless the author meant to insinuate that by the precept given to Adam about that
tree life and death were set before him, as he afterwards
explains. For the rest, the biographer composed this prolix discourse rather to teach
the faithful than to explain what the Saint said amid his torments.
e. The author
again becomes obscure. But he means to say, I think, that men, if they had remained in
the state of innocence, would have been translated into paradise, notwithstanding
the begetting of children; just as the begetting of children did not hinder
Enoch from being translated into paradise.
him. Ecclesiasticus 44, ℣ 16: Enoch pleased God, and was translated into paradise, that he may give repentance to the nations. The Apostle, Hebrews XI, ℣ 5, says: By faith Enoch was translated, that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God translated him. Of the place to which Enoch was translated, or in what state he now is, and how far he enjoys the lot of the holy Angels, whom we know to be blessed with the vision of God, I shall not here inquire. I had rather obey Chrysostom, who in Homily 21 on Genesis, num. 4, urges that we should not investigate this too curiously: For indeed, he says, the Scripture said that he (God) translated him,
and that he translated him living, nor did he experience death, but on account of the favour
which he had with God was made superior to the divine sentence pronounced against the human race.
But whither he translated him and
how he now fares, this it did not add.
But I, as a deaf man, heard not: and was as a dumb man not opening
his mouth. And I became as a man that heareth not: and that hath no
reproofs in his mouth. These are everywhere expounded of Christ suffering
and keeping silence under the gravest accusations, and are rightly referred to Christ
hanging on the cross. But I do not see what those words avail for the writer's purpose
about the adoring of the image of Christ crucified. And certainly they do not seem
to be said of Christ dead, as below the author seems to wrest the words alleged
to that sense: And he showed himself dumb through death. But the prudent
reader will find certain other things also in these reasonings which will please him less:
because the author had not so great a faculty of explaining particulars rightly
as the chief Fathers had.
h. There
is not here to be understood any mixture of the nature of Christ out of humanity and
Divinity, such as the Eutychian heretics asserted, who attributed only one
nature to Christ. The author means only that by the Son of God, who by
nature is immortal, a human or mortal nature was also assumed;
and that thus the same Person was immortal by his divine nature, but mortal by his human.
for seven days. Metaphrastes adopted both, but touched the argument of the discourse
in a very brief summary. The Anonymous author of the second Life
does not assert that St. Gregory's discourse was written down; yet he set it out at length, with many changes, according to his own wit. To me it seems incredible that that torment of Gregory lasted so long, and that the Saint prayed exactly in the manner in which our Agathangelus brings him in praying.
* perhaps Τάσιν
CHAPTER V.
Other torments of the Saint: he is at last cast into a deep pit, that he may
die there: the king's wars against the Persians and his edicts against the Christians.
Ἤρξατο
οὖν
λαλεῖν
ἀυτῷ
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
τῆς
ἀρμενίας
τηρηδάτιος,
καὶ
λέγειν·
τί
σοι
ἔδοξεν,
καὶ
πῶς
ὑπέθου
ἐν
τῇ
καρδίᾳ
σου,
γένεσθαι
κοινωνὸς
τῆς
ἐμῆς
ζωῆς,
καθάπερ
ἐκοπίασας
ἐκ
νεότητός
σου
ἐν
πόνοις;
νῦν
δὲ
προέθου
ἀποθανεῖν
ἀργῶς
ἐν
ματαιότητι
τῶν
σῶν
λογισμῶν,
ἐν
οἷς
ἐστάθης.
ἀποκριθεὶς
δὲ
γρηγόριος
ἔφη᾽
σπεύδω
ἐγὼ
ἐκδημῆσαι
ἐκ
τοῦ
σώματος,
καὶ
δέξασθαι
τὴν
ἀιώνιον
ζωὴν.
νῦν
δὲ
κέλευσον
ἔνεκεν
ἐμοῦ,
καθὼς
βούλει,
ὁποῖον
δὴ
θάνατόν
μοι
ἐπενεγκεῖν.
ἀποκριθεὶς
δὲ
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
εἶπεν·
οὐ
δίδωμί
σοι
ταύτην
τὴν
χάριν,
ὥστε
γενέσθαι
σοι
ἀπαλλαγὴν
ἐν
θανάτῳ
διὰ
τάχους,
καὶ
παύσασθαι
τῶν
βασάνων
ἐν
τῇ
παρὰ
σοῦ
καλουμένῃ
ζωῇ
ἀιωνίῳ·
ἀλλὰ
κακῶσαί
σε
ἐις
χρόνον,
ὅπως
μὴ
γένηταί
σοι
ταχέως
ἀποθανεῖν,
ἀλλ᾽
ἐπὶ
πολύ
σε
βασανίσαι
καὶ
ἀπαιτῆσαι
παρὰ
σοῦ
τὴν
καταφρόνησιν
τῶν
θεῶν,
καὶ
τὴν
μονοτονίαν,
μὴ
βουλόμενος
ἀυτοὺς
σέβειν.
[47] Καὶ
ἐκέλευσεν
κορμοὺς
ξύλων
ἐνεχθῆναι
καὶ
γένεσθαι
σανίδας
κατὰ
τῶν
ἀντικνήμων
τῶν
ποδῶν
ἀυτοῦ,
καὶ
μετὰ
στραγγάλης
περισφίγξαι
σπαρτίοις
ἐυτόνως,
ἐὼς
οὗ
κατέῤῥεεν
τὸ
αἷμα
διὰ
τῶν
ἄκρων
τῶν
δακτύλων
τῶν
ποδῶν
ἀυτοῦ,
καὶ
ἰσθάνθη
τῶν
πόνων.
ἀποκριθεὶς
δὲ
γρηγόριος
εἶπεν·
ἐδώθη
μοι
δύναμις,
ὅσον
ἀιτησάμην
τὸν
ποιητὴν
τοῦ
κόσμου
δωθῆναί
μοι.
ἀυτὸς
γὰρ
ὑπάρχει
ἀρχιτέκτων
καὶ
δημιουργὸς
ὁρατῶν
τε
καὶ
ἀοράτων
πάντων.
καὶ
ἔλυσαν
ἀυτὸν
ἀπὸ
τούτων.
καὶ
ἐκέλευσεν
μετὰ
ταῦτα
ἥλους
σιδηροὺς
ἐνεχθῆναι,
καὶ
κατὰ
τὸν
πελμάτων
ἀυτοῦ
ἐμπαγῆναι,
καὶ
λαβόντες
ἀπὸ
χειρὸς
ἔνθεν
καὶ
ἔνθεν
δραμεῖν
ἀυτὸν
ἐποίουν.
ὧδε
κᾀκεῖ
καὶ
τὸ
αἷμα
ἐξεχύετο,
καὶ
ἔῤῥεεν
ἀπὸ
τῶν
ποδῶν
ἀυτοῦ,
καὶ
τὴν
γῆν
σφόδρα
κατέβρεχεν.
πάλιν
οὖν
ἔφη
ἀυτῷ
ὁ
βασιλεὺς·
ἀόρατα
ποιήματα
ταῦτά
σοι
εἰσὶν;
οὐκ
ἐκεῖνα,
ἃ
σὺ
οὐχ
ὁρᾶς;
εἶπεν
δὲ
ἀυτῷ
ὁ
μάρτυς·
καλῶς
εἶπας,
ὅτι
ἅυτη
ἐστὶν
ἡ
ἀόρατος
δημιουργία
τοῦ
ἐμοῦ
θεοῦ,
ἐπειδὴ
σπείρεται
ἐν
ἀσθενείᾳ,
ἐγείρεται
ἐν
δυνάμει·
σπείρεται
ἐν
ἀτιμίᾳ,
ἐγείρεται
ἐν
δόξῃ.
κλαιόντες
γὰρ
κλαίουσι
οἱ
τὰ
σπέρματα
ἀποφέροντες,
τουτ᾽
ἔστιν
κίνδυνοι
καὶ
κακοχίαι
ἐπιφέρονται
ἡμῖν
ἕνεκεν
θεοσεβείας·
ἀλλ᾽
ὅτι
τὸ
δράγμα
ἐν
τῷ
ἀμητῷ
ἐλθὼν
προσενέγκῃ
τοὺς
ἐυόπτους
κάρπους
τοῖς
σπείρασι
σὺν
τούτοις,
καὶ
τὴν
ἐυφροσύνην
καὶ
χαρὰν
καὶ
ἀγαλλίασιν
πᾶσαν
φέρει.
[48] Εἶπεν
δὲ
ὁ
βασιλεὺς·
τύψατε
ἀυτὸν
τῷ
κλαυθμῷ,
σκεύει
τῶν
δακρύων,
ἵνα
ἔλθῃ
ἀυτῷ
ἐυφροσύνη.
καὶ
ἐκολάφησαν
ἀυτὸν
ἐις
τὴν
κεφαλὴν,
παίοντες
δεινῶς.
καὶ
ἤρξατο
ἐρωτᾶν
ἀυτὸν
ὁ
βασιλεὺς,
καὶ
ἔφην·
ἅυτη
ἐστὶν
ἡ
χαρὰ;
καὶ
ἁπεκρίνατο
ὁ
ἅγιος·
ναὶ
ἅυτη
ἐστὶν.
ἐὰν
γὰρ
μὴ
ὁ
ἐργάτης
ὑδρῶτα
ἐν
τῷ
καύσωνι
τοῦ
ἡλίου
βαστάξη
καὶ
ὑπομείνῃ,
οὐ
δράσσεται
τοῦ
τῆς
ἀποπαύσεως
καρποῦ
ἐν
τῆι
χειμερινῇ
ἀναπαύσει.
ἀποκριθεὶς
δὲ
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
εἶπεν·
οὐκοῦν
ἐνταῦθα
κοπίασον
ἐργατικῶς
διὰ
τῶν
βασάνων,
ἐν
αἷς
ἕστηκας.
καὶ
ἐκέλευσεν
ἐνεχθῆναι
ἅλας
καὶ
νίτρον
καὶ
ὄξος
δρυμύτατον,
καὶ
ὕπτιον
ἀυτὸν
ἀπλῶσαι
καὶ
τὴν
κεφαλὴν
ἀσφαλισθῆναι
ἐν
τῷ
κοχλίᾳ
τῶν
τεκτόνων,
καὶ
καλάμον
ἀυλίσκον
πῆξαι
ἐν
τῇ
ῥινῇ
ἀυτοῦ,
κἀκεῖνα
ἀναμιγέντα
διὰ
τοῦ
ἀυλίσκου
καταχέειν
ἐις
τὴν
κεφαλὴν·
καὶ
μετὰ
ταῦτα
ἐκέλευσεν,
καὶ
ἤνεγκαν
θύλακα
δερμάτινον
καὶ
ἐγέμησαν
ἀυτὸν
καμηνιαίας
ἀιθάλης,
καὶ
ἐποίησαν
ἵνα
μὴ
πάνυ
μεμέστωται
ἔνεκεν
τῆς
δοσοληψίας
τῆς
πνοῆς,
ὅπως
ἐισελκύσαντος
τοῦ
ἐγκεφάλου
βασανίσθῃ
πικρῶς·
καὶ
ἔνδύσαντες
ἐις
τὴν
κεφαλὴν
τὸ
στόμα
τοῦ
θύλακος,
περιέδησαν
τῶι
τράχηλῳ
ἀυτοῦ·
καὶ
ἔμεινεν
οὕτως
ἕξ
ἡμέρας.
[49] Καὶ
μετὰ
ταῦτα
ἐκέλευσεν,
καὶ
ἠνέχθη
ἐπὶ
τοῦ
βασιλέως,
καὶ
ἐπῇραν
τὸν
θύλακον
ἀπὸ
τῆς
κεφαλῆς
ἀυτοῦ.
ἔφη
δὲ
ἀυτῷ
ὁ
βασιλεὺς.
πόθεν
ἔρχη,
ἆρα
ἀπὸ
τῆς
βασιλείας
ἀφ᾽
ἧς
παραγέγονας;
ἀποκριθεὶς
δὲ
ὁ
γρηγόριος
εἶπεν·
ναὶ·
ἀπὸ
γὰρ
τῆς
βασιλείας,
ἧς
εἶπον,
ἐκεῖθεν
πάρειμι.
ἐπειδή
με
κατηξίωσεν
ὁ
θεὸς
ταῦτα
πάντα
παθεῖν
διὰ
τὸ
ὄνομα
ἀυτοῦ.
ἀληθῶς
γὰρ
περιμένει
μοι
ἡ
βασιλεία·
ἄντι
γὰρ
τῆς
ἀιθάλης
ἀμαράνθινοι
στέφανοι,
ἄντι
δὲ
ὄξους
ἀπέραντοι
ἐυφροσύναι.
ἐπὶ
πλεῖον
δὲ
ὀργισθεὶς
ὁ
βασιλεὺς,
ἐκέλευσεν
δῆσαι
τοὺς
πόδας
ἀυτοῦ
σπαρτίοις
τῶν
ἀσκῶν,
καὶ
κατὰ
κεφάλην
κρεμᾶσαι,
καὶ
καταχέειν
διὰ
τῆς
ἔδρας
ὕδωρ
ἐις
τὸ
ἐντὸς
ἀυτοῦ.
καὶ
κατενεχθέντα
ἐπηρώτα
ἀυτὸν
λέγων·
πείθῃ
μοι
λοιπὸν,
ἢ
οὐ
σέβῃ
τοὺς
θεοὺς
τοὺς
δόντας
ζωὴν
καὶ
ἀσφάλειαν
πάσῃ
τῇ
γῇ;
ἀποκριθεὶς
δὲ
ὁ
ἅγιος
γρηγόριος
εἶπεν·
ἐγὼ
κύριον
τὸν
θεόν
μου
προσκυνῶ·
ἀυτὸς
γάρ
ἐστιν
ὁ
δημιουργὸς,
καὶ
ζωὴ
καὶ
ἀσφάλεια·
καὶ
τὸν
ὑιὸν
ἀυτοῦ
τὸν
ποιητὴν
ἰσοδύναμον
καὶ
ἰσουργὸν,
καὶ
τὸ
ἀυτοῦ
πνεῦμα,
τὸ
πληροῦν
σοφίας
πᾶσαν
τὴν
ὀικουμένην·
τὰ
δὲ
εἴδωλα
τὰ
γλυπτὰ
καὶ
ἐλατὰ,
ξύστα
τε
καὶ
τορνευτὰ,
οὐδὲ
ἔσχον
ποτὲ
ὡς
θεοὺς,
μὴ
δὲ
μοι
γένοιτο
σχεῖν,
ἐν
ὅσῳ
πνοὴ
ἐν
τῷ
στόματί
μου
ὑπάρχει.
[50] Ἀποκριθεὶς
δὲ
ὁ
βασιλεὺς,
ἔφη·
ἐπειδὴ
ἐτόλμησεν
ἐιπεῖν
ἐλατοὺς
καὶ
ξυστοὺς
θεοὺς,
ἀπαιτηθήσεται
δίκην
ὑπὲρ
τούτων.
καὶ
ἐκέλευσεν
ξῦσαι
τὰς
πλευρὰς
ἀυτοῦ
σιδηροῖς
ὄνυξιν,
ἐὼς
οὗ
κατηρδέυθη
τὸ
ἔδαφος
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
αἵματος
αὐτοῦ·
καὶ
εἶπεν
αὐτῷ·
νῦν
ποιήσεις
τὸ
ἐμὸν
θέλημα,
γρηγόριε,
παραδοθεὶς
τοιαύταις
βασάνοις.
ὁ
δὲ
ἅγιος
εἶπεν·
ἐμοὶ
γένοιτο
τηρῆσαι
τὴν
διαθήκην
τῆς
θεοσεβείας,
ἣν
ἔμαθον
ἐκ
νέας
ἡλικίας
μου.
ὁ
δυνάμενός
με
ῥύσασθαι
ἀπὸ
πάσης
θλίψεως,
καὶ
σὲ
ἐπιβαλεῖν
ἐις
τὰς
ἀτελευτήτους
βασάνους,
ὅτι
σὺ
οὐ
γινώσκεις
ἀυτὸν,
καὶ
τοὺς
ἄλλους
ἐκφοβεῖς,
βουλόμενος
ἀποστῆσαι
ἀπὸ
τῆς
λατρείας
τῆς
ἀυτοῦ
ἀγάπης.
ἀποκριθεὶς
δὲ
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
εἶπεν·
ποῦ
ἐστιν
ὁ
θεὸς
ὁ
ῥυόμενός
σε
ἐκ
τῆς
χειρός
μου,
καὶ
κρίνων
ἐν
τοῖς
ἀυτοῦ
κρίμασιν,
ὡς
σὺ
λέγεις;
καὶ
ἐκέλευσεν
ἐνεγκεῖν
τριβόλους
ἐν
κοφίνοις
καὶ
ἐν
τῇ
γῇ
ῥανθῆναι.
καὶ
γυμνώσαντες
τὸν
γρηγόριον
ἤπλωσαν
ἐπάνω
τῶν
τριβόλων,
καὶ
κατεκεντήθη
ὁμοῦ
ὅλον
τὸ
σῶμα
ἀυτοῦ.
σύροντες
δὲ
ἀυτὸν,
τὸν
ἐκκάλυπτον,
καὶ
περιέστρεφον,
ἐὼς
τοῦ
μὴ
ἀπομεῖναι
τόπον
ὁλόκληρον
ἐν
τῷ
σώματι
ἀυτοῦ.
[51] Καὶ
τῇ
ἐπιούσῃ
ἡμέρᾳ
ἤνεγκαν
ἀυτὸν
ἐπὶ
τοῦ
βασιλέως.
ἠρώτα
δὲ
ἀυτὸν,
καὶ
ἔλεγεν·
θαυμάζω
σφόδρα,
πῶς
ἔμεινας
ζῶν,
καὶ
οὐδὲν
ἐλογίσω
τους
πόνους,
ἀλλὰ
καὶ
λαλεῖς.
ἔδει
γάρ
σε
πάλαι
τεθνάναι
ἀπὸ
τοιούτων
βασάνων.
ἀποκριθεὶς
δὲ
ὁ
ἅγιος
γρηγόριος,
εἶπεν·
οὐκ
ἔστιν
ἐμὸν
τὸ
ὑπομεῖναι
τῇ
ἐμῇ
δυνάμει,
ἀλλὰ
διὰ
τῆς
ἰσχύος
καὶ
τῆς
χάριτος
τοῦ
ἐμοῦ
δεσπότου,
καὶ
τῆς
ἐμῆς
προαιρέσεως
ἀιτούσης
αυτὸν,
ἵνα
καὶ
σὺ
πείραν
λάβῃς
τοῦ
δούλου
τοῦ
θεοῦ,
ὅπως
γνῶς
ὡς
οὐδεὶς
δύναται
ἀποχωρῆσαι
ἀυτοὺς
ἠλπικότας
ἐις
τὴν
ἀγάπην
ἀυτοῦ.
ἀυτὸς
γὰρ
δίδοσι
δύναμιν
καὶ
ὑπομονὴν
βαστάζειν
τὰς
θλίψεις
τῶν
πειρασμῶν,
ἵνα
καταισχυντῶσι
ὁι
ἄνομοι
ἐν
τῇ
ματαιότητι
ἀυτῶν,
καὶ
ἐν
τῇ
ἀσεβείᾳ
καὶ
ἀποστασείᾳ
κατὰ
σὲ
ὑπάρχοντες,
καὶ
σταθῶσι
μετ᾽
αἰσχύνης
ἐν
ἡμέρᾳ
ἐπισκοπῆς
καὶ
ἐλεγμοῦ
ἀυτῶν.
καὶ
ἐκέλευσεν
περικνημίδας
σιδηρᾶς
γενέσθαι
ἐις
τὰ
γόνατα
ἀυτοῦ,
καὶ
πῆξαι
παχεῖς
σφήνας,
καὶ
ἀνακρεμάσαι
ἀυτὸν,
ἐὼς
οὖ
ἀπεσπάσθησαν
τὰ
γόνατα
ἀυτοῦ.
ἔμεινεν
δὲ
τρεῖς
ἡμέρας
κρεμώμενος.
καὶ
τῇ
τρίτῃ
ἡμέρᾳ
κατενέγκαντες
ἔστησαν
ἀυτὸν
ἔμπροσθεν
τοῦ
βασιλέως.
ἀρξάμενος
δὲ
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
λαλεῖν,
ἔφη
ἀυτῷ·
βλέπεις
γρηγόριε
ὅτι
οὐκ
ἐρύσατό
σε
ἡ
ματαία
σου
ἐλπὶς,
ἐις
ἣν
πεποίθεις,
οὐδὲ
ἀπέσπασέν
σε
ἐκ
τῶν
χειρῶν
μου.
[52] Ἀποκριθεὶς
δὲ
ὁ
ἅγιος
εἶπεν
ἀυτῷ·
θέασαι
σὺ,
ὅτι
ματαίαι
ἐισὶν
ἁι
ἐλπίδες
σου,
καὶ
οὐκ
ἠδυνήθησαν
πεῖσαί
με,
οὐδὲ
ἐκφοβῆσάι
με.
ἡ
ἐλπίς
σου
ματαία
ἐστὶν,
καὶ
πάντα
τὰ
ἔργα
τῆς
πλάνης
ἀυτοῦ.
οὐ
θεωρεῖς
ὅτι
οὐδὲ
τὰς
βασάνους
σου
ἐφοβήθην,
ἀλλὰ
τῇ
δυνάμει
τοῦ
ἐμοῦ
δεσπότου
πρὸς
τὸν
ἀντίπαλον
ἐχθρὸν
ἤθλησα,
ὅστις
κρυφέως
διὰ
σοῦ
πολεμεῖ
τὴν
ἀλήθειαν,
καὶ
παρέδωκα
τὸ
σῶμά
μου
ἐις
τλίψιν
βασάνων;
ἐπειδήπερ,
ἔιτε
οὕτως
ἔιτε
ἑτέρως,
ταχὺ
καὶ
ὀψέ
ποτε
καθαίρεται
τὸ
παλαιόμενον
σῶμα
τοῦτο,
ἵνα
έλθὼν
ὁ
ἀριστοτέχνης
καὶ
δημιουργὸς
ἕυρῃ
τοὺς
ὑιοὺς
τῶν
ανθρώπων,
καὶ
πάλιν
τὸ
ἀυτὸ
παλαιούμενον,
ὡς
ἀπ᾽
ἀρχῆς,
ἀνακαινίσῃ
ὧν
γὰρ
ἕυρῃ
τὰς
ψυχὰς
ἐν
σωφροσύνῃ
καὶ
ἀγνότητι
καὶ
καταρότητι,
χρηστάς
τε
καὶ
πραεῖς
ἐν
θεοσεβείᾳ
μεινάσας,
ἀνακαινίζει,
καλλοπίζει,
ζωοποιεῖ
τὰς
ἀυτὰς
ψυχὰς
τῷ
ἀυτῷ
σώματι.
ὧν
δε
ἑυρίσκει
τὰς
ψυχὰς
ἐν
ἀνομίαις
καὶ
ἀσεβείαις
μετὰ
τῆς
ἀθεότητος
ἐν
ἐιδωλολατρείᾳ,
ἀφιεναι
μὲν
ποιεῖ
πρὸς
ὥραν
τὰ
σώματα
αὐτῶν·
ἀλλὰ
τὰ
ἀυτὰ
σώματα
τὰς
ἀυτὰς
ψυχὰς
ἐμβάλλει
ἐις
τὴν
γεένναν,
καὶ
τὸ
ἄσβεστον
πὺρ,
καὶ
τὴν
ἀιώνιον
κόλασιν,
μάλιστα
δὲ
τοὺς
κατὰ
σὲ
ἐιδωλομανοῦντας.
[53] Ταῦτα
ἀκούσας
ὁ
βασιλεὺς,
ἐθυμώθη
σφόδρα,
καὶ
φησὶ·
ἐμοὶ
οὐ
μέλει,
ἵνα
ἀνακαινίσῃ
σε
ὁ
θεός
σου,
ούδὲ
πρόκειταί
μοι
περὶ
τούτου
φροντὶς.
ἀλλ᾽
ἐπειδὴ
εἶπες,
ὅτι
σε
ἀσβέστῳ
πυρὶ
ἐμβάλει,
ἐγώ
σὲ
ἐνταῦθα
τῷ
ἐσβεσμένῳ
πυρὶ
κατακαύσω,
καὶ
ἴδω,
ὁ
θεός
σου
τί
ποιήσει.
καὶ
ἐκέλευσεν
λυθῆναι
μόλυβδον
ἐν
λέβητι
σιδηρῷ,
καὶ
ἔτι
ζέουσαν
καταχέειν
κατὰ
τοῦ
στόματος
κυτὸν
καὶ
καθ᾽
ὅλον
τὸ
σῶμα
ἀυτοῦ,
καὶ
οὐκ
ἀπέθανεν,
ἀλλ᾽
ἔτι
ἔχων
δύναμιν
ἐν
τῷ
ἐπερωτᾶσθαι
ἀπεκρίνατο
ἐν
τάχει.
καὶ
θαυμάσας
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
τὴν
καρτερίαν
καὶ
τὴν
ὑπομονὴν
ἀυτοῦ,
σφόδρα
ἐξιστάμενος
ἔφη·
πῶς
ἀν
ὑπάρχει
ἐν
σοὶ
πνοὴ
ἐκ
τοσούτου
χρόνου
καὶ
τῶν
δεινῶν
βασάνων,
ἐν
αἷς
σε
κατέκοψα;
ἀποκριθεὶς
δὲ
γρηγόριος,
ἔφη·
οὐ
πάλαι
σοι
ἔφηκα,
ἵνα
λάβῃς
πείραν
ὑπομονῆς
τοῦ
δούλου
τοῦ
θεοῦ.
δίδωσιν
ὑπομονὴν
καὶ
δύναμιν,
καὶ
καταισχύνει
τοὺς
ἔξωθεν
ἀυτῷ
πολεμοῦντας
καὶ
ἀνθισταμένους
κατὰ
σὲ.
ἀυτὸς
γὰρ
εἶπεν
οὕτως·
οὐ
μὴ
ἀφήσω
ὑμᾶς,
οὐδὲ
μὴ
ἐγκαταλείψω.
ἅυτη
οὖν
ἐστιν
ἡ
διαθήκη
ἀυτοῦ
πρὸς
τὸ
ἴδιον
πλάσμα,
καὶ
τοὺς
ἀγαπητοὺς
ἐν
τῇ
πίστει
τῇ
πρὸς
ἀυτὸν,
ἔὼς
οὗ
ἀποδώσει
ἀυτοῖς
ἐν
τῇ
παρουσίᾳ
ἀυτοῦ.
[54] Καὶ
ὡς
ἔτι
ἐσκέπτετο
τηρηδάτιος
λαλῆσαι
ἀυτῷ
ἀπαλῶς,
καὶ
δηλῶσαι
καὶ
ἀπαγγείλασθαι
ὑπάρξεις
καὶ
τιμὰς,
ἇις
οὐκ
ἔμελλεν
ὑπακούειν,
λογισάμενος
ὡς,
ἐι
μὴ
ταύταις
πισθείῃ,
προσθῆναι
ἀυτῷ
βασάνους
καὶ
ἐις
χρόνον
κολάσαι·
ἰδοῦ
εἷς
τῶν
σατραπῶν
προσέρχεται
τῷ
βασιλεῖ,
καὶ
ἀρξάμενος
λαλεῖν
ἀυτῷ,
καὶ
διδάξαι
πάσαν
τὴν
ἀκρίβειαν,
τὴν
περὶ
ἀυτὸν,
ἔφη.
οὐκ
ἔξεστιν
ἀυτὸν
ζῆν·
διὰ
τοῦτο
ὀυ
θέλει
τὸ
φῶς
ἰδεῖν,
οὔτε
ἐλεηθῆναι.
τοσοῦτος
γὰρ
χρόνος,
καὶ
οὐκ
ἔγνωμεν
ἀυτὸν.
ἀλλ᾽
οὗτός
ἐστιν
ὑιὸς
ἀνὰκ
τοῦ
καταδίκου,
τοῦ
ἀποκτείναντος
τὸν
σὸν
πατέρα
κουσαρῶ,
καὶ
ποιήσαντος
σκότος
τῇ
τῶν
ἀρμενίων
χώρᾳ,
καὶ
ἐις
ὄλεθρον
παραδόντος
τὴν
γὴν
ταύτην,
καὶ
ἐις
αἰχμαλωσίαν.
νῦν
οὖν
οὐ
χρὴ
ἀυτὸν
ζῆν·
ὑιὸς
γὰρ
ἐκδικήσεως
ὑπάρχει.
καὶ
μετὰ
τοσαύτας
ἐξετάσεις
καὶ
βασάνους
καὶ
πλήγας
καὶ
φυλακὰς,
στρεβλώσεις
καὶ
κρεμάσεις,
ἐν
ἇις
ἐνέπηξαν
ἐν
ἀυτῷ,
ἃς
ἐπήνεγκεν
διὰ
τὸ
ὄνομα
τοῦ
κυρίου
ἡμῶν
Ἰησοῦ
Χριστοῦ,
μαθὼν
περὶ
τούτων
τῶν
πραγμάτων
ὁ
βασιλεὺς,
ὅτι
ἀληθῶς
ὑιός
ἐστιν
τοῦ
πάρθου
ἄνακ,
τοῦ
ἀποκτείναντος
κουσαρῶ
πατέρα
ἀυτοῦ,
ἐκέλευσεν
δεδεμένον
ἀυτὸν
χερσὶ
καὶ
ποσὶ
καὶ
τραχήλῳ
ἀπαγαγεῖν
ἐις
τὴν
ἀραρὰτ
πατρίδα,
καὶ
δοῦναι
ἀυτὸν
ἐν
τῇ
λόφῃ
τοῦ
κάστρου
ἐν
τῇ
ἀρταξὰτ
τῇ
πόλει,
καὶ
καταγαγεῖν
ἐις
τὸ
κατώτατον
χάος,
ὁ
ἦν
βαθύτατον
πάλυ,
ἐὼς
οὗ
ἐκεῖ
ἀποθάνῃ·
καὶ
ῥιφεὶς
ἔμεινεν
ἐν
ἐκείνῳ
τῷ
κρημνῷ
ἔτη
δεκατέσσαρα.
[55] Καὶ
ἀυτὸς
οὖν
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
ἐπορεύθη
παραχειμᾶσαι
ἐν
πατρίδι
ἀραρὰτ,
ἐν
οὐαλαρσαπὰτ
πόλει
τῆς
ἀρμενιῶν
χώρας
κατὰ
ἀνατολὰς.
ὁ
δὲ
βασιλεὺς
τηρηδάτιος
ὅλον
τὸν
χρόνον
τῆς
ἀυτοῦ
βασιλείας
κατέτρεχεν
καὶ
ἐπραίδευεν
τὴν
γῆν
τοῦ
τῶν
περσῶν
βασιλέως,
καὶ
τὴν
ἐπαρχίαν
τῆς
ἀσσυρίας
ἐπάταξε
δεινοτάταις
πλήγαις.
διὰ
τοῦτο
ἐῤῥέθησαν
οὗτοι
ὁι
λόγοι
ἐν
παραβόλαις
λόγων,
ὅτι
ὡς
ὁ
ἀλαζὼν
τηρηδάτιος
ἀλαζονευόμενος
κατέστρεψεν
τὰ
τῶν
ποταμῶν
χείλη,
καὶ
ἐξήρανε
τὰ
ῥεῖθρα
τῶν
θαλασσῶν
ἐν
τῇ
ἀλαζονία
άυτοῦ·
ἐπειδὴ
ἦν
σφόδρα
πρὸς
τὴν
ἀμφίασιν
ἀλαζὼν
καὶ
σεμνὸς,
καὶ
δυνατὸς
καὶ
στερεὸς
ὀστέοις,
καὶ
ἔυσαρκος
σώματι·
ἀνδρειότατος
δὲ
καὶ
πολεμιστὴς,
ἄκρως
ὑψηλὸς
καὶ
πλάτυς
τῇ
ἡλικίᾳ.
ὅστις
πάντα
τὸν
χρόνον
ἀυτοῦ
πολεμῶν,
ἐλάμβανε
τὰ
νικητήρια
ἐν
τοῖς
μονομάχοις.
κτησάμενος
δὲ
καὶ
ὄνομα
καυχήματος,
ἔστησεν
ἀθλήσεως
νίκην
ἐν
ὅλῳ
τῷ
κόσμῳ.
ἐν
τοῖς
ἰδίοις
καιροῖς
ἐπάταξεν
ἐν
πληγαῖς
μεγάλαις
τοὺς
ἐχθροὺς,
καὶ
ἐζήτησεν
ἐκδίκησιν
τῶν
προγόνων
ἀυτοῦ·
ἔλαβεν
σκύλα
πολλὰ
ἀπὸ
τῶν
τῆς
ἀσσυρίας
μέρων,
καὶ
ἀφείλετο
ὑπάρξεις
μεγίστας·
ἐνέβαλεν
ἐις
ῥομφαίαν
τὸ
στράτευμα
τῶν
περσῶν,
καὶ
ἀπέσπασεν
σκύλα
πολλὰ.
ἐγένετο
ὁδηγὸς
στρατοπεδάρχαις
ῥωμαίων,
καὶ
παρέδωκεν
τὰς
παρεμβολὰς
ἀυτῶν.
ἐξέβαλεν
στρατίαν
οὕννων,
καὶ
ἀιχμαλώτησεν
τὰ
μέρη
τῆς
περσίδος.
[56] Ἐν
δὲ
τοῖς
τεσσαρεσκαιδέκα
ἔτεσιν,
ἐν
οἷς
γέγονεν
ὁ
ἅγιος
γρηγόριος
ἐν
τῷ
κάστρῳ
τῆς
φυλακῆς,
ἐν
τῷ
βαθυτάτῳ
χάσματι,
γυνὴ
μία
χήρα,
ὀικοῦσα
ἐν
ἐκείνῳ
τῷ
κάστρῳ,
χρηματισθεῖσα
ἀπὸ
ὁράματος,
κατεκάστην
ἄρτον
ποιοῦσα
ἕτοιμον,
ἔῤῥιπτεν
κάτω
ἐν
τῷ
χάσματι,
καὶ
οὕτως
ἐτρέφετο
ἀπο
τῆς
τοῦ
θεοῦ
κελεύσεως
τὰ
ἔτη
ἐκεῖνα,
ἐν
οἷς
ἔμεινεν
ἀυτόθι.
ἀυτὸς
γὰρ
ἐν
τῷ
κρημνῷ
ἐκείνῳ
ἐφυλάττετο
διὰ
τῆς
χάριτος
τοῦ
ἰδίου
δεσπότου.
ὁι
γὰρ
ἄλλοι
ἀνθρώποι
ῥιφέντες
ἐκεῖ
ἔθνησκον
ἔνεκεν
τῆς
δεινότητος
καὶ
τῆς
πικρίας
καὶ
κακότητος
τοῦ
τόπου,
καὶ
τοῦ
βορβόρου,
καὶ
τῶν
ὄφεων,
τῶν
ἐγκειμένων
καὶ
τῆς
βαθύτητος
ἀυτοῦ.
διὰ
γὰρ
τοὺς
κακουργοὺς
οἰκοδομήθη
ἐκεῖνος
ὁ
τόπος,
καὶ
ἐις
κόλασιν
πάντων
τῶν
καταδίκων
τῆς
ἀρμενίων
χώρας.
[57] Μετὰ
δὲ
ταῦτα
ἐκέλευσεν
ὁ
τηρηδάτιος
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
γράμματα
καταπεμφθῆναι
πανταχῆ
τῆς
ἰδίας
ἐξουσίας
ἐν
τούτῳ
τῷ
τύπῳ.
Τηρηδάτιος
βασιλεὺς
τῆς
μεγάλης
ἀρμενίας
τοῖς
μεγιστάσι
καὶ
ἄρχουσι
καὶ
σατράπαις
καὶ
ἐπεξουσίαις,
καὶ
τοῖς
λοιποῖς
ὑπηκούοις
ὑπὸ
τὴν
ἐμὲν
ἐξουσίαν,
κωμοπόλεσι
καὶ
κωμαῖς
καὶ
χωρίοις,
ἐλευθέροις
τε
ὁμοῦ
καὶ
ἀπελευθέροις
πᾶσιν.
ἐιρήνη.
πρόνοια
γένηται
ἀπὸ
τῆς
τῶν
θεῶν
βοηθείας,
καὶ
πλῆθος
ἑτοιμασίας
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
ἀνδρειοτάτου
διὸς,
φροντὶς
δὲ
ἀπὸ
τῆς
δεσποίνης
ἀρτεμίδος·
καὶ
ἀρετὴ
ὑμῖν
φθάσει
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
ἐναρετοῦ
ἡρακλέως,
πάσῃ
τῇ
χώρᾳ,
καὶ
τὰ
λοιπὰ.
ἐν
ὁλοῖς
δὲ
τοῖς
ἔτεσιν
τῶν
ἀυτοῦ
χρόνων
τηρηδάτιος
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
ἐχθρεύσας
τῆς
τῶν
περσῶν
βασιλείας,
ἐξεζήτησεν
ἐκδίκησιν
διὰ
μάχης
καὶ
πολέμου,
ἐὼς
τοῦ
πληρωθῆναι
τὸν
χρόνον
τῶν
δεκατεσσάρων
ἐτῶν,
τοῦ
τὸν
πανάγιον
γρηγόριον
ἐν
τῇ
φυλακῇ
τοῦ
κάστρου
γένεσθαι.
ἦν
γὰρ
πόλεμος
σκληρότατος
ἀνάμεσον
τηρηδάτου
βασιλέως
καὶ
ἀνάμεσον
τῶν
τῆς
περσίδος
βασιλέων.
πάλιν
δὲ
δευτέραν
διάταξιν
κελεύει
διαχαράξαι
πάσαις
ἐπαρχίαις
τούτῳ
τῷ
τύπῳ.
Τηρηδάτης
ὁ
τῆς
μεγάλης
ἀρμενίας
βασιλεὺς
ταῖς
χώραις
καὶ
ἐπαρχίαις
σατράπαις
τε
καὶ
στρατηγοῖς
καὶ
πολίταις
ἐιρήνη.
ὑγιαίνετε·
καὶ
γὰρ
ἡμεῖς
ἀυτοὶ
ὑγιαίνομεν.
ὑμεῖς
ἐπίστασθε
πῶς
ἄνωθεν
καὶ
ἀπὸ
προγόνων
νίκη
καὶ
ἐιρήνη
πολλὴ
κεχάριστο
ἡμῖν
διὰ
τῆς
τῶν
θεῶν
βοηθείας,
ὅπως
πάντα
τὰ
ἔθνη
συμφώνως
ὑποτάξαντες
ἔσχαμεν.
ὅταν
γὰρ
ἀυτοὺς
θεραπεύειν
ἐν
σεβάσμασιν
οὐκ
ἐσπουδάσαμεν,
καὶ
τὰς
διαταγὰς
ἀυτῶν
ὑπερεφρονήσαμεν,
ἐξέβαλον
καὶ
ἀπώσαντο
ἡμᾶς
τῇ
ὀργῇ
ἀυτῶν
ἀπὸ
τῆς
μεγίστης
ἡμῶν
δεσποτείας.
[58] Νῦν οὖν μάλιστα διὰ τὴν τῶν χριστιανῶν θρησκείαν
παραγγέλλομεν ὑμῖν, πολλάκις γὰρ συμβαίνει ἑυρηθῆναί
τινα, ἀυτοὶ γὰρ πλεῖον γένονται ἐμπόδιον τῇ
τῶν θεῶν λατρείᾳ· ὥστε τοὺς τοιούτους ἑυρόντας ὑμᾶς εἰς
μέσον ἀγαγεῖν· καὶ γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν βασιλέων δῶρα καὶ τιμὴ
κεχάρισται τοῖς φανεροῦσιν· ἐι δὲ μὴ ἀποδέιξουσι
ἀυτοὺς, ἐι καὶ κρύψουσι, καταληφθέντες οὗτοι μετὰ τῶν
καταδίκων λογισθήσονται, καὶ ἐις τὰ βασίλεια ἀχθέντες
ἀποθανέθωσαν, ὁ δὲ οἶκος ἀυτῶν τῷ δημοσίῳ ἀποδωθῇ.
ἐι καὶ τὰ μάλιστα ἐγὼ οὐκ ἐφεισάμεν τοῦ ἐμοῦ
ἀγαπητοῦ
καὶ
ἐυεργέτου
γρηγορίου,
ὅνπερ
ἕνεκεν
τούτου
τοῦ
προστάγματος
πολλαῖς
βασάνοις
καὶ
τιμωρίαις
ὑποβαλὼν,
ὕστερον
ἐκέλευσεν
ἀυτὸν
ἐν
τῷ
βαθυτάτῳ
κρημνῷ
ῥιφῆναι,
κᾳκεῖσε
ἅμα
ὑπό
τῶν
ὄφεων
βρωθῆναι.
οὐδὲ
γὰρ
τὸν
μέγαν
ἀυτοῦ
κόπον
ἐλογησάμεν
τι
πρὸς
τῶν
θεῶν
ἀγάπην
καὶ
τιμὴν,
ἵνα
καὶ
ὑμῖν
ἀπειλὴ
καὶ
φόβος
θανάτου
γένηται,
καὶ
ζήσητε
ὑπὸ
τὴν
ἀυτῶν
πρόνοιαν,
καὶ
παρ᾽
ἡμῶν
συνεργεσίας
ἕυρητε,
συνίετε.
ὑγιαίνετε,
καὶ
ἡμεῖς
ὑγιαίνομεν.
The king, inflamed by Gregory's steadfast answer, Therefore Teredates, king of Armenia, began to address him
and to say: What has seemed good to thee, and
what hast thou purposed in thy heart? To be a partaker of my
life, as from thy youth thou hast passed thy life
in labours? But now without work thou hast purposed
to die in the vanity of thy reasonings
in which thou standest. But Gregory answering
said: I hasten to go forth from the body and to obtain
everlasting life. Now therefore command concerning me
as thou wilt — namely, to inflict upon me whatsoever
death. But the king answering said: I
do not grant thee this favour, that swiftly by death
a change should befall thee, and that thy torments should receive an end
in that which thou callest eternal life: but
I wish to afflict thee long, that death may not befall thee
swiftly, and to torture thee for a long time, and
to exact from thee an account of thy contempt of the gods and
of the obstinacy with which thou refusest to worship them.
[47] subjects him to other torments. Then he ordered trunks of wood to be brought
and boards to be laid upon the front parts of his feet a,
and these to be violently bound with knotted ropes,
until the blood flowed down through the tips
of the toes of his feet b. But Gregory answering
said: As much strength as I have asked the Maker of the world
to be given me, so much has been given me.
For he is the architect and artificer of all things visible and
invisible. Then they loosed him from these.
Next the king ordered iron nails to be brought
and to be driven into the soles of his feet: and taking his hand
on this side and on that, they made him run.
And from this too he poured out blood, which flowed down
from his feet and abundantly watered the earth.
Again therefore the king said to him: Are these thy invisible
works? Are not these the things which thou dost not see?
But the Martyr replied to him: Beautifully hast thou said that this is
the invisible operation of my God: for it is sown
in weakness, it rises in power; it is sown in
ignobility, it rises in glory. For they weep indeed who go weeping
bearing their seed: that is, perils and afflictions
are brought upon us for the sake of the pious worship of God;
but when at the time of harvest the sheaf comes
and has brought forth conspicuous fruits to those who
sowed these things, it brings at once gladness and joy and
all exultation.
[48] and those very grievous, But the king said: Strike him even
to weeping, bringing forth tears, that gladness may arise
for him. And they beat him with blows on the head,
striking vehemently. And the king began
to question him, and said: Is this that
gladness? The Saint replied: Truly this is it.
For unless the labourer bears and endures the sweat in the heat of the sun,
he does not lay hold of the fruit of rest
in the winter's repose. But the king answering said:
Then here labour laboriously through the torments in
which thou standest. And he ordered salt to be brought, and nitre,
and most pungent vinegar, and him to be spread out
on his back, and his head to be safely fixed in a carpenters' screw,
and a little pipe to be driven into his nostril,
and those things mixed together to be poured through the pipe into
his head: then he ordered, and they brought a leathern sack,
which they filled with soot from a furnace, and
they took care that it should not be too full, so as not to hinder
his breathing, in order that, as his brain drew it in, he might be sharply
tortured: and putting the mouth of the little sack over his head,
they bound it about his neck: and so he remained six
days c.
[49] and often changed, After these things, the king commanding, they led him
to the king, and took away the sack from his head.
But the king said to him: Whence comest thou? Art thou here
from that kingdom of which thou didst speak? But Gregory answering said:
Altogether, from the kingdom of which I spoke I am here; since
God has deemed me worthy of this favour, that
for his name I should suffer all these things. Truly a kingdom
has been prepared for me — namely, instead of soot, crowns
that fade not; instead of vinegar, infinite delights.
But the king, growing more heated, ordered his feet
to be bound with the ropes of wineskins, and him to be hung up
headlong, and water to be poured through his fundament
into his inward parts. But when he had been taken down, the king questioned him,
saying: Wilt thou at last obey me, or
wilt thou not worship the gods who give life and security to all
the earth? But saint Gregory answering
said: I adore the Lord my God. For he
is the founder, and life and security: and his Son
the founder, equal in power and in operation;
and his Holy Spirit, who with wisdom
fills the whole world. But idols carved
and cast, scraped and turned, I have never
held for gods, nor indeed may it befall me to hold them so
as long as there is breath in my mouth.
[50] But the king to this said: Since he has dared
to call the gods cast and scraped, which the Saint a penalty shall be exacted
for these things. And he ordered his sides to be scraped with iron
claws, until the pavement was watered with his blood.
He said to him also: Now wilt thou obey my will,
Gregory, being delivered to such torments?
But the Saint said: May it befall me to keep the covenant
of pious religion which I learned from my boyhood.
God can rescue me from every affliction,
and cast thee into torments never to be ended,
because thou knowest him not, and terrifiest others,
wishing to draw them away from his worship and love.
But the king answering said: Where is the God who
may rescue thee from my hand and judge by his own judgments,
as thou sayest? Then he ordered caltrops d to be brought
in baskets and the ground to be strewn with them: and they stretched Gregory
naked upon the caltrops, and his whole
body at once was filled with punctures: and dragging
him, naked as he was, they also rolled him about,
until there remained no whole place
in his body.
[51] On the next day they carried him to the king.
And he questioned him he steadfastly endures, and said: Vehemently
I marvel that thou hast remained alive even now, and hast counted
thy pains as nothing, but even now speakest. For thou oughtest
long ago to have died of such torments.
But saint Gregory answering said:
It is not mine to suffer those things by my own strength, but
by the power and grace of my Lord, and by my own free will
asking him, that thou too mayest take proof
of the servant of God, and mayest know that those who trust in his
love can be torn from it by none.
For he gives strength and patience for
enduring the vexations of trials, that the wicked may be confounded
in their vanity, and all those
who like thee live in impiety and have departed from God,
and may stand with shame in the day of their visitation
and reproof. Then the king ordered
iron greaves to be put upon his knees and thick wedges to be driven in;
and him to be hung up until his knees
were torn apart. And he remained three days suspended:
and on the third day they took him down and set him
before the king. And the king, beginning to speak, said to him:
Thou seest, Gregory, that thy vain hope in which thou didst trust
has not delivered thee, nor snatched
thee out of my hands.
[52] But saint Gregory answering said
to him: answering wisely Do thou perceive that thy hopes are vain,
and that they have been able neither to persuade me of anything
nor to strike fear into me. Thy hope is vain,
and all the works of that same error are vain. Dost thou not
see that I have not feared thy torments, but
by the power of my Lord have fought against the adverse
enemy, who secretly through thee assails the truth,
and that I have given my body to the affliction of torments?
Since, whether thus or
otherwise, soon or late, this body growing old
is at some time taken away, that, when the best architect
and founder shall come, he may find the sons of men,
and may again renew this body grown old. For
those whose souls he shall find to have remained in sobriety, chastity,
purity, and kindly and gentle in the pious worship of God,
he renews and adorns, and restores those same souls alive to those same
bodies. But those whose souls he finds in wickednesses, in impieties,
and with ignorance of God in idolatry, he indeed takes care
to release their bodies for an hour:
but those same bodies and those same souls he casts into
hell, into the unquenchable fire, into everlasting punishment;
and those especially who, like thee,
rage after idols.
[53] to the king's insults: Hearing these things, the king was vehemently angry
and says: It is nothing to me if thy God renews thee,
nor have I any care about this matter. But because
thou hast said, He will cast thee into unquenchable fire, I here
will burn thee with a fire which is quenched: and I shall see
what thy God will do. And he ordered lead to be melted
in an iron cauldron, and while still boiling
to be poured into the breadth of his mouth and over his whole body.
Yet he did not die, but still having strength,
when he was questioned, answered at once.
But the king, marvelling at his endurance and patience,
vehemently astonished said: In what manner
at last is there breath in thee after so long a time and amid such
torments with which I have crushed thee? But Gregory
answering said: Did I not say to thee long ago
that thou mightest have proof of the patience of the servant of God?
He gives patience and strength, and confounds those outside
who fight with him and oppose him, as thou dost.
For he himself said thus: I will not desert you, nor
forsake you. This therefore is his covenant
with his own creature, and with those beloved of him through
faith in him, until he shall reward them at his coming.
[54] being known as the son of Anac, he is delivered to the foulest prison. And while Teredates was still meditating
to address him gently and to set before him and promise
wealth and honours, to which he was not
about to consent, thinking that, if he did not yield to these, he would add
torments and punish him for a long time;
behold, one of the satraps approaches the king,
and beginning to address him and to make known all the diligence
with which he had inquired about him, said: It is not lawful
for him to live. For this cause he does not desire to see the light
nor to obtain mercy. Much time has flowed by
in which we have not known him. But
this is the son of Anac, condemned by judgment, who slew
thy father Cusaro and brought darkness upon
the region of Armenia and led this land to destruction
and to captivity. Now therefore it is not fitting
that he live: for he is a son of vengeance. And
after so many inquisitions, torments, blows, prisons,
tortures and suspensions with which they afflicted him,
and which he suffered for the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the king, understanding about these matters
that he was truly the son of Anac e the Parthian, who
slew his father Cusaro, ordered him, bound hand
and foot and neck, to be led into
the province of Ararat, and to be delivered at the summit of the citadel
in the city Artaxata, and to be let down into the lowest pit,
which was exceedingly deep, until he should die
there. And being cast in, he remained in that
precipice fourteen years f.
[55] Various things about the valour of Teridates, who, The king himself also set out into the province
of Ararat, to the city of Valarsapat g, which is
in the region of Armenia toward the East, that he might winter there.
Now this king Teredates through the whole time
of his reign h routed and plundered the land
of the king of the Persians, and smote the province of Assyria
with the gravest blows. Wherefore these words passed into
a proverb: As the glorious Teredates in his boasting
overthrew the banks of the rivers, and dried up
the streams of the seas in his boastfulness i. For beyond
measure he was glorious and magnificent in his garments,
strong and firm in bone, and of a body full of vigour;
and he was a most valiant warrior, exceedingly tall
and broad in stature. He, warring through his whole
time, carried off the prizes of victory
among the gladiators. And having obtained a glorious name also,
he extended the victory of his wrestling through the whole
world. In his time he brought great disasters upon his enemies
and sought the vengeance of his forefathers:
he obtained many spoils from the parts of Assyria
and carried off very great riches: he smote the army of the Persians
with great slaughter and dragged off many
spoils. To the leaders of the Romans he became a guide
k, and provided them with the ordering of camps. He drove out
an army of the Huns, and led into captivity
the tracts of Persia.
[56] But in those fourteen years in which saint
Gregory remained in the citadel of the prison, while Gregory is kept in prison, in
the deepest pit, a certain widow woman dwelling
in that citadel, divinely admonished through a vision,
daily sent down prepared bread
into the pit; and so he was nourished l by the command
of God in those years in which he remained there. For he
was preserved in that precipice by the love of his Lord.
For other men who had been cast in there
died from the trouble, the bitterness and the wretchedness
of the place, from the mire and the serpents which were
in that deep cavern. For for wicked men
that place had been built, and for the punishment
of all the condemned of the region of Armenia.
[57] After these things king Teredates ordered letters to be sent
everywhere through his dominion he promulgates letters in his kingdom on behalf of idolatry, which were of this
tenor: Teredates, king of greater Armenia,
to the magnates, leaders, satraps, prefects
and the rest subject in my dominion, to the towns, villages
and places, to the free and to those without freedom alike,
peace to all. May there be providence from the help of the gods,
and much alacrity from most valiant Jove, and care from
the lady Diana: may valour from Hercules, adorned with valour,
be present to you and to all the region m, and the rest.
Further, in all the years of his times Teredates
the king, waging enmity with the kingdom of the Persians,
sought vengeance by fight and war, until
the time of the fourteen years was fulfilled
in which the most holy Gregory was in the prison n
of the citadel. For there was a most hard war between Teredates
the king and the kings of Persia. Again he ordered
a second mandate to be drawn up for all the provinces
in this manner: Teredates, king of greater Armenia,
to the places and provinces, to the satraps and leaders of war
and the citizens, peace. Farewell: for we ourselves also fare well.
You know how from antiquity and from the time
of our forefathers victory and much peace
were given us by the help of the gods, so that we held all
nations harmoniously subject. For
when we were not zealous to worship them in their images,
and despised their commands, in their wrath they
cast us out and drove us from our greatest dominion.
[58] Now therefore especially on account of the religion
of the Christians we command you (for it often happens and against the Christian religion.
that one of them is found, and they above all hinder the worship
of the gods), that if you find any such,*
you bring them into the midst o. For to those
who disclose them both gifts and honour shall be given by the kings:
but if they shall not point them out, if they shall even conceal them,
these, being apprehended, shall be held with the condemned,
and being led into the royal prisons let them die;
and their house shall be given to the public treasury. If I above all
spared not my beloved and well-deserving
Gregory, whom on account of this command, after he had first been subjected to many
torments and tortures, I at last ordered to be cast into the deepest precipice,
and there at once to be devoured by serpents — for neither
did I count his great labour to be anything
in comparison with the love and worship of the gods —
that you also may have dread and fear of death,
and may live under their providence, and may obtain benefits from us:
understand. Farewell, and we fare well.
ANNOTATIONS.
When he had gripped the front parts of the shins with boards, and then had bound them
with a rope, he so squeezes them that drops of blood distilled even from the very tips
of the toes. I have observed this because the Latin author
of the Life at num. 18 set forth that punishment in another manner, and enclosed the whole shins
and feet in boards: which is not in this Life.
b. Here
I preferred to omit in the Latin text some Greek words which I believe corrupted, rather than to render them with danger
of error. They are these: καὶ
ισθάνθη
τῶν
πόνων. Metaphrastes gives nothing of these. But the Latin author inserted these words: But while the Martyr was suffering these things, the king says to him: Dost thou feel, Gregory, the torments which are inflicted upon thee, most wretched of all? These agree with the answer that follows; but they are absent from our transcript, perhaps because they dropped out.
understood iron spikes, as indeed the Greek word also signifies, nay
the Latin too. Otherwise there is signified a thorny and sharp herb or plant,
and this the Latin author of the second Life seems to have understood. His
opinion appears to me more probable, because the caltrops are said to have been brought in baskets, and because no mention is made of a flow of blood, which would have been most violent through iron spikes.
e. Even though
the Armenians for some centuries at least everywhere assert the slaying of Cusaro or Chosroes, king of Armenia, by Anac the Parthian, and make Anac the father of St. Gregory, yet many things
about these matters are uncertain, so that either Cusaro is not the father of Tiridates, or
he governed Armenia after the year 260, as I showed in the Commentary at num. III and following.
in Galanus and Monier. For the name agrees well enough, and
the city of each name is placed in the province of Ararat and in the Eastern
part of Armenia, as is here clearly said of Valarsapat, and of Vagharshapat is had by tradition. For Monier, to whom Galanus has like things in various places, asserts at page 41 that the monastery of Echmiadzin, where the patriarchal church is, was built in the middle of the place which the city Vagharshapat occupied, and
that it is distant three leagues from Erivan, metropolis of Persian Armenia, toward
Erzerum, metropolis of the Turks in Armenia. But Erivan is situated on
the Araxes, that is, about the borders of Media and toward the Eastern part
of Armenia. Mount Ararat, as he affirms at page 45, is also distant only ten or
twelve leagues from Erivan. Vagharshapat therefore was in the province of Ararat and toward the Eastern part of Armenia. Besides, the city Valeroctiste, of which frequent mention has been made and will again be made, seems to me the same city.
all those things which the biographer boasts and frequently repeats about the exploits of Tiridates
are at least exaggerated beyond the truth, and most perhaps
fictitious. Certainly what he says below about his single combats,
and about the prizes obtained among gladiators and wrestlers, are not
worthy of a king, and are in all likelihood fictitious — unless perhaps in his youth
Tiridates did something like it, and from one deed or another the biographer
proceeded to amplify.
k. Since
the Romans at various turns broke through Armenia into the dominions of the Persians,
and namely about the year 297 Galerius Maximian in Armenia afflicted the Persians
with a grave disaster, Tiridates could have been present to the Romans with his own men, and
about this there seems no room for doubt. Tiridates could also several times
have plundered in the dominions of the Persians as long as there was war. But after the said
victory of Galerius peace was made between the Persians and the Romans and Armenians.
Therefore afterwards Tiridates does not seem to have waged wars against the Persians.
As to the Huns driven out: if what the author asserted at num. 10 is true,
that passage was given to the Huns by Cusaro that they might lay waste the dominions
of the Persians, those guests greedy for plunder could afterwards have afflicted Armenia itself,
and for that cause have been expelled.
detained in a horrible prison, as I said in the Commentary at num. 116;
yet not all those things are likely which our Agathangelus says in various places about that prison,
and from him Metaphrastes, our Latin author,
and the more recent Armenians; especially since it is clear and manifest
that everything in this Life is clothed with fabulous circumstances and amplified beyond
the truth. Hence it does not seem certain to me that Gregory was left in prison
without any food and drink; nor even likely
that the place was such that food could secretly be supplied to him.
But this above all is incredible, that he remained alive fourteen years in that
prison, and that this was not known to those who had the care of the prison.
For if that prison, as will presently be said, had been built for wicked men … and for the punishment of all the condemned, how is it that for fourteen whole years no one after St. Gregory is said to have been cast into it? Wherefore of all those things nothing seems able to be safely
said, except that the Saint was detained a very long time in a savage prison.
the peace composed between the Persians and the Romans Tillemont may be consulted
in Diocletian, article 16. He binds it to the year 297, to which he also assigns two battles
of Galerius against the Persians. All those things do not seem to me to be bound to the same year;
but that little conduces to our purpose. For whether the peace
was composed in the year 297 or in the following year, in that peace, which lasted nearly
forty years, the Armenians were comprehended; and thus
Tiridates did not always fight against the Persians while Gregory was
in prison. Yet I shall easily believe that there was a grave and long war
between the kings of the Persians and Tiridates from the time when he
attempted with the help of the Romans to recover Armenia, down to the aforesaid peace.
o. It is
not improbable that such an edict against the Christians was promulgated
by Tiridates; nay it is likely that it was done at the instigation
of Galerius, or even of Diocletian, if it was issued after the general persecution of Diocletian
had begun.
CHAPTER VI.
The history of the holy Ripsime, Gaiana and their companion Virgins, who are said to have fled from Rome into Armenia.
Καὶ
ἐγένετο
ἐν
ἐκείνοις
τοῖς
καιροῖς
ἐζήτησεν
ἑαυτῷ
γυναῖκα
διοκλητιανὸς
ὁ
κάισαρ
πρὸς
γάμου
κοινωνίαν·
καὶ
τότε
πανταχὴ
τῆς
ἰδίας
δεσποτείας
ἀποσταλέντες
περιΐεσαν
ζωγράφοι
καὶ
ὁμοιογράφοι,
ἐικονογράφοι,
ακριβογραφεῖς,
καλλωπισταὶ
καὶ
ἡλικομέτραι,
ἵνα
τὴν
ἐυμορφίαν
τῆς
ὄψεως,
καὶ
τὸν
μέλανα
κόσμον
τῶν
ὀφρύων
ἐν
ταῖς
σανίσιν
ὁμοιογραφήσαντες,
διὰ
τοῦ
τῶν
χρωμάτων
καλλωπίσματος
ἀποδείξωσιν
ἐις
τὴν
τοῦ
βασιλέως
ἀρέσκειαν.
τότε
οὖν
παραγενάμενοι
ἑυρίσκουσιν
ἐν
τῇ
πόλει
τῶν
ῥωμαίων
μοναστήριον
ἡσυχαστριῶν,
ἀειπαρθένων,
ἰδιαζουσῶν
ἐν
ἐρημίαις,
ὀσπρέων
μόνον
κεχρημένων,
σεμνῶν,
σωφρόνων,
ἁγίων
γυναικῶν
τῆς
τοῦ
χριστοῦ
πίστεως,
ἃι
νυκτὸς
καὶ
ἡμέρας
καὶ
ἐν
παντὶ
καιρῷ
δοξολογίας
καὶ
ὑμνους
καὶ
τελείας
ἐυχὰς
τῷ
θεῷ
ἐις
τὸν
οὐρανὸν
ἀναπέμπουσαι
οὐκ
ἐπαύοντο.
ὀνόματα
δὲ
ἦν
ἀυταῖς
ταῦτα.
τῆς
μὲν
πρώτης
γαιανὴ,
καὶ
τῆς
ὑπ᾽
ἀυυτῆς
ἀνατραφείσας
ῥιψιμία
ἐκ
τοῦ
βασιλικοῦ
καὶ
θεοσεβοῦς
γένους
οὔσης.
ἦσαν
δὲ
καὶ
ἄλλαι
σὺν
ἀυταῖς
πλεῖσται.
[60] Ὅτε
οὖν
παρεγένοντο
ὁι
πεμφθέντες,
ἐισῆλθον
βιᾷ
ἐις
τὴν
μάνδραν
τῶν
ἁγίων·
καὶ
θεασάμενοι
τὴν
σεμνοτάτην
καὶ
ἁγιωτάτην
ῥιψιμίαν,
ἐξίσταντο
ἐπὶ
τὸ
κάλλος
ἀυτῆς.
ἐυθέως
δὲ
ἐν
ταῖς
σανίσιν
ὁμοιογραφήσαντες,
πρὸς
τὸν
καίσαρα
ἔδραμον.
ὅτε
οὖν
ἐθεάσατο
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
τὸ
λαμπρότατον
κάλλος
ἐν
τῇ
ζωγραφίᾳ
τῆς
ῥιψίμης,
ἐμφανῶς
ἐν
τῇ
ἐπιθυμίᾳ
τοῦ
ἔρωτος
διὰ
τὸ
ἀθέμιτον
ἀυτοῦ
ἦθος
ἐσκοτοῦτο
ἐπειγόμενος·
προθεσμίαν
δὲ
ὁρίσας,
ἔσπευδεν
καὶ
ὀχλεῖτο
τὴν
γυναικὴν
ἐυφροσύνην
ἐπιτελέσαι.
τότε
διὰ
τάχους
ἀγγέλους
ἔπεμπεν
πάσῃ
τῇ
ἰδίᾳ
ἐξουσίᾳ,
ὅπως
πάντες
δωροφόροι
γένωνται
τῷ
μεγάλῳ
γάμῳ,
καὶ
ἐν
πλείστῃ
χαρᾷ
ἐρχομένους
ὁμοῦ
πάντας,
ἐπιτελεῖν
τὴν
τοῦ
βασιλέως
διαταγὴν
κατὰ
τοὺς
νόμους
τῶν
βασιλικῶν
γάμων.
θεασάμεναι
οὖν
ἁι
πανάγιοι
τὰ
κρυφοπομπαῖα
βέλη
τοῦ
ἐχθροῦ,
ἐν
οἷς
πέμπει
τοξεῦσαι
τοὺς
τοῦ
χριστοῦ
ἁγίους,
ἐθλίβοντο.
[61] Σκεῦος
γὰρ
ὀργῆς
ἑυρὼν
τὸν
βασιλέα,
καθάπερ
ἐν
παραδείσῳ
τὸν
ὄφιν,
ὑπηρέτην
ποιησάμενος
τὸν
ἀυτὸν
τρόπον,
καὶ
ἐνθάδε
τὸν
παράνομον
τοῦτον
ὥς
θήρειον
ἔχων,
κατὰ
πρόσωπον
τὰς
τοῦ
θεοῦ
ἐκκλησίας
δι᾽
ἀυτοῦ
ἐπολέμει.
ἀναστήσας
γὰρ
ἀυτὸν
ἐν
ὑπερηφανίᾳ
καὶ
διεστραμμένῃ
καρδίᾳ,
καὶ
παγίδα
στήσας
ὁ
μισόκαλλος
παρώτρυνεν
ἀυτὸν
ἐις
τὸ
ἐξεγεῖραι
διωγμὸν
κατὰ
τῶν
τοῦ
θεοῦ
ἐκκλησιῶν.
διαστραφεὶς
γὰρ
τὸν
νοῦν
καὶ
ἐξεστικὼς,
προσκυνεῖ
τὰς
τῶν
νεκρῶν
στήλας,
καὶ
χρυσᾶ
καὶ
ἀργυρᾶ,
καὶ
ξύλινα,
καὶ
χαλκᾶ
ὀνδάλματα
τῷ
σεβάσματι·
καὶ
ἅμα
ἀλαζονευόμενος,
προσκροῦσαι
τῇ
στερεᾷ
πέτρᾳ
τῆς
τῶν
ἐκκλησιῶν
πίστεως
ἐνεθυμεῖτο·
ὀυ
μόνον
μὴ
ἰσχύσας
τὴν
πέτραν
μαλάξαι,
ἀλλὰ
καὶ
συντριβεὶς
κατεπόθη
ἐχόμενα
πέτρας
ὁ
ἄδικος
κριτὴς.
ὁμοίως
δὲ
τῇ
μανιώδῃ
ἀλαζονίᾳ
ἐπὶ
πλεῖον
επαρθεὶς,
πολλὰ
δεῖνα
ἐπόιησε
τῇ
ἁγίᾳ
τοῦ
θεοῦ
ἐκκλησίᾳ.
[62] Θεασαμένη
οὖν
ἡ
μακαριωτάτη
γαιανὴ
σῦν
τῇ
ἁγίᾳ
ῥιψίμῃ
καὶ
ταῖς
λοιπαῖς
σεμνοτάταις
καὶ
ἁγιοτρόποις
γυναιξὶν,
ἐμνήσθησαν
τῆς
ἁγίας
ἀποταγῆς,
καὶ
τοῦ
σεμνοῦ
βίου,
καὶ
τῆς
ἐπιπόνου
διαγωγῆς
καὶ
τροφῆς,
ἐν
αἷς
ἦσαν
ἔκπαλαι
παιδευθεῖσαι.
τότε
οὖν
ὀλολύζουσαι
ἐν
ἑαυταῖς
διὰ
τὴν
ἀπόδειξιν
τῆς
ἑαυτῶν
διαγνώσεως,
τῆς
ἐπὶ
τοῦ
μιαρωτάτου
καὶ
παρανόμου
βασιλέως
διὰ
τῆς
ἐικόνος
ἀυτῶν
γενομένης,
ἐις
ἐυχὰς
καὶ
ἐπιπονωτέρας
ἀσκήσεις
τραπῆσαι,
παρεκάλουν
τὸν
ἐλεήμονα
θεὸν
βοηθῆσαι
ἀυταῖς,
καὶ
ἐξελέσθαι
ἀυτὰς
τοῦ
πειρασμοῦ.
καὶ
οὕτως
ἐν
τῇ
προσευχῇ
ἔλεγον·
κύριε
τῶν
κυριευόντων,
καὶ
θέε
τῶν
θεῶν,
ὁ
θεὸς
ὁ
ανεκλαλήτου
φωτὸς,
ὁ
στήσας
τὰ
σύμπαντα
τῷ
σῷ
λόγῳ,
ὁ
ποιήσας
τὸν
οὐρανὸν
καὶ
τὴν
γὴν
καὶ
πάντα
τὸν
κόσμον
ἀυτῶν,
ὁ
πλάσας
τὸν
ἄνθρωπον
χοῦν
ἐκ
τῆς
γῆς,
καὶ
σοφίαν
ἐνδύσας,
καὶ
πληθύνας
ἀυτὸν
ἐπὶ
πᾶσαν
τὴν
γῆν,
καὶ
βοηθήσας
ἑκάστῳ
ἐν
τοῖς
ἰδίοις
καιροῖς,
τοῖς
ἐν
σοὶ
πεποιθόσιν,
βοήθησον
καὶ
ἡμᾶς,
δέσποτα,
ἐν
τῷ
θλίβοντι
ἡμᾶς
πολέμῳ,
ἵνα
νικήσωμεν
τὰς
δολίας
καὶ
δεινὰς
τοῦ
ἐχθροῦ
παγίδας,
καὶ
τὸ
ὄνομά
σου,
δέσποτα,
δοξασθῇ,
καὶ
τὸ
κέρας
τῆς
σῆς
ἐκκλησίας
ὑψωθῇ,
καὶ
ἡμεῖς
καταξιωθῶμεν
φθάσαι
ἐις
τὰς
μονὰς
τῆς
βασιλείας
σου.
[63] Καὶ
μὴ
γένοιτο
λεῖψις
τῶν
ἡμετέρων
λαμπάδων,
καὶ
μὴ
σβεσθῶσιν
ὁι
λύχνοι
τῆς
πίστεως,
καὶ
τῆς
ἀγνῆς
ὑποταγῆς
ἡμῶν,
καὶ
μὴ
καταλάβῃ
γνόφερον
σκότος
τὰς
φωτειδεῖς
ἡμῶν
πορείας,
καὶ
μὴ
ὑποσκελισθῶμεν
τοῖς
ποσὶν
ἀπὸ
τῶν
λαμπροτάτων
σου
ἰχνῶν,
καὶ
μὴ
τυφλωθῶσιν
τὰ
βλέφαρα
τῆς
ὁράσεως
ἡμῶν
ἐν
ταῖς
ἱλαρωτάταις
ἀκτίσιν
τῆς
σῆς
ἀληθείας,
καὶ
μὴ
ἁρπάζῃ
τὸ
θανατοφόρον
πετεινὸν
τὰ
σπέρματα
τῆς
ζωῆς,
τὰ
σπαρέντα
ἡμῖν
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
μονογενοῦς
σου
ὑιοῦ,
τοῦ
κυρίου
ἡμῶν
Ιἠσοῦ
Χριστοῦ,
καὶ
μὴ
ἀπενέγκοιτο
τοῦ
ἁγίου
σοῦ
ποιμνίου
τὴν
σεμνότητα
ὁ
ἀποστάτης
θὴρ,
καὶ
μὴ
διασπαράξῃ
τὰ
ἀρνία
τῶν
σῶν
προβάτων
ὁ
λύκος
ὁ
διαφθορεύς,
καὶ
μὴ
διασκορπίζῃ
ὁ
ἔχθρος
τῆς
ζωῆς
ἡμῶν
τὰ
ἀποστολικὰ
πρόβατα
τῆς
σῆς
ἀγέλης.
κύριε
ὁ
θεὸς
ἡμῶν,
ὁ
ἀποστείλας
τὸν
μονογενῆ
σου
ὑιὸν,
ἵνα
ἐλθὼν
ἐμπλήσῃ
πάντα
τὰ
πέρατα
τῆς
πνευματικῆς
γνώσεως,
ὅπως
πάντας
ἐν
τῷ
ὀνόματι
ἰσραὴλ
βλέπειν
τὸν
θεὸν
ποιήσῃ,
καὶ
ἡμεῖς
ἠκούσαμεν
ἐιπόντος·
ἐὰν
διώξουσιν
ὑμᾶς
ἀπὸ
τῆς
πόλεως
ταύτης,
φεύγετε
ἐις
τὴν
ἑτέραν·
ἀμὴν
λέγω
ἡμῖν,
οὐ
μὴ
πληρώσητε
τὰς
πόλεις
τοῦ
ἰσραὴλ
ἐὼς
τῆς
ἐμῆς
παρουσίας.
καὶ
νῦν,
δέσποτα,
φεῖσαι
τῶν
ἐπὶ
τῷ
ὀνόματί
σου
πεποιθυιῶν
ψυχῶν,
ἵνα
μὴ
ἀναμιχθῶμεν
μετὰ
τῆς
ἀτίμου
βδελυρίας
τῶν
ἐθνῶν,
καὶ
μὴ
δὸς
τὴν
τῆς
ἀγνείας
ἡμῶν
σωφροσύνην
πορνικῇ
καὶ
μοιχαλίδι
καὶ
κυνικῇ
ἀναιδείᾳ,
καὶ
μὴ
τὸν
μαργαρίτην
τῆς
παρθενικῆς
ἡμῶν
πίστεως
τοῖς
πορευομένοις
χοίροις
ἐν
βορβόρῳ
τῆς
ἀσεβείας.
[64] Μὴ
ἀποκινήσουσι
πλήθη
χειμάῤῥων
ἀνέμῳ
πλάνων
ἐν
τῇ
σφοδρότητι
τῆς
ἀπάτης
τὰ
θεμέλια
τῆς
ἁγίας
σου
ἐκκλησίας,
ἥτις
ἐν
πολυτίμοις
λίθοις
τῶν
σου
δικαίων
ὀικοδομηθεῖσα
ἐπὶ
τῇ
στερεᾷ
πέτρᾳ,
ἧς
ἐγένετο
ἀκρογονιαῖος
κεφαλὴ
ὁ
κύριος
ἡμῶν
Ἰησοῦς
ὁ
Χριστὸς
διὰ
τῆς
ἀυτοῦ
σαρκώσεως,
καὶ
τοῦ
θανάτου,
καὶ
τῆς
ἀναστάσεως,
καὶ
ἀναλείψεως
ἐις
οὐρανὸν,
καὶ
καθέδρας
ἐν
τῇ
δεξιᾷ
τῆς
σου
θεότητος,
ὅπου
ὑπῆρχε
τὸ
πρότερον.
ἔφιδε
οὗν,
δέσποτα,
ἐκ
τῶν
οὐρανῶν
τῶν
ἁγίων
σου,
ἵνα
μὴ
γενώμεθα
κατὰ
την
ὀικοδομηθέντα
οἶκον
ἐπὶ
την
ἄμμον,
ὃν
ἐσάλευσαν
ταραχαὶ
καὶ
πειρασμοὶ
θλίψεων,
ἀλλα
στερέωσον
ἡμᾶς
ἐν
τῇ
ἀληθείᾳ
τοῦ
εὐανγελίου
τῆς
εἰρήνης,
καὶ
ὁδήγησον
ἡμᾶς
κατὰ
τὸ
σόν
θέλημα,
καὶ
καταξίωσον
ἡμᾶς
τοῦ
τῆς
νυκτὸς
φωτοειδοῦς
γάμου,
ἐν
ᾗ
τὴν
νύκτα
ὡς
ἡμέραν
φωτίζεις
ἐν
τῷ
ἀνατέλλειν
τὰς
ἀκτίνας
τοῦ
προσώπου
τῆς
σῆς
δόξης.
σκέπασον
ἡμᾶς
ὑπὸ
τὰς
πτέρυγάς
σου,
ἵνα
φθάσωμεν
εἰς
τὸν
λιμένα
τοῦ
θελήματός
σου,
καὶ
δὸς
ἡμῖν,
ὅπως
πίωμεν
τὸ
ποτήριον
τῆς
ἀθλήσεως,
καὶ
ληψώμεθα
τὸν
τῆς
ἀντιμισθίας
στέφανον
ἐν
ἡμέρᾳ
τῆς
δικαιοκρισίας
τῆς
δόξης
σου.
[65] Καὶ
μετὰ
ταῦτα
ἡ
ἁγία
γαιανὴ
μετὰ
ῥιψίμης
καὶ
τῆς
λοιπῆς
συνοικίας,
καὶ
τῆς
σεμνοτάτης
συνοδίας,
ἐξελθοῦσαι
ἐπορεύονται
φεύγουσαι,
ἵνα
τὰς
ἑαυτῶν
ψυχὰς
ἐν
ἁγνότητι
τηρήσωσιν
ἐν
τῷ
φιλαμαρτήμονι
τούτῳ
κόσμῳ
ἀπὸ
τῶν
παρανόμων
ἀνθρώπων.
ἠπείγοντο
γὰρ
καταλαβεῖν
τὴν
τῆς
ζωῆς
καὶ
τῆς
ἀναστάσεως
ἐλπίδα
εἰς
τὴν
ἀποστολικὴν
πορείαν,
ἐκφύγειν
τὴν
ἀτελεύτητον
κόλασιν
προθέμεναι,
καὶ
μετὰ
τῶν
ἐκ
δεξιῶν
προβάτων
γενέσθαι,
καὶ
τῶν
μὲν
ἐπηγγελμένων
ἀγαθῶν
ἐπιτυχεῖν,
ἀειθαλέσιν
στέμμασιν
ἐπιθυμοῦσαι
καλλοπισθῆναι,
μετὰ
τῶν
πέντε
παρθένων
ἐν
ἔργοις
ἀγαθοῖς
φωτισθῆναι·
τῆς
λαμπροτάτης
ἀναπαύσεως
τοῦ
παραδείσου,
καὶ
τοῦ
θεἳκοῦ
νυμφίου,
καὶ
συναγωγῆς
δικαίων,
καὶ
ἀνακλήσεως
τοῦ
πατριάρχου
Αβραὰμ,
καὶ
τῆς
ἀδιαλήπτου
εὐφροσύνης
ἔσπευδον
κληρονόμοι
γενέσθαι·
καθὼς
καὶ
ὁ
κύριος
ἐν
τῷ
εὐαγγελίῳ
ἔφη·
ἔι
τις
ἀφήσῃ
πάντα
διὰ
τό
ὄνομά
μου,
ἐν
τῇ
δευτέρᾳ,
παρουσίᾳ
ζωὴν
αἰώνιον
κληρονομήσει.
οὐχ
ὡς
τὸν
πρόσκαιρον
θάνατον
φεύγουσαι,
ἀλλ᾽
ἀπὸ
τῆς
μανίωδους
καὶ
ἀκαθάρτου
ἐπιθυμίας
ἀποσπασθεῖσαι.
οὐδὲ
γὰρ
ἔμελλεν
ἀυτῶν
τὰ
σώματα
παραδοῦναι
βασάνοις,
ἀλλ᾽
ἵνα
τὰς
ψυχὰς
ἀυτῶν
ἐν
ἀγνότητι
φιλάξασαι,
ἀπὸ
ῥύπου
τῆς
ἀκολάστου
ἐπιθυμίας
καὶ
τῆς
βδελυρᾶς
καὶ
ἀθεμίτου
διαγωγῆς
τῶν
ἀνθρώπων
ἀποχωρισθῶσιν.
[66] Ἐπεὶ
πάλαι
ἕτοιμαι
ὑπῆρχον
φυλακαῖς
καὶ
δεσμοῖς
καὶ
διαφόροις
τλίψεσιν,
καὶ
τοῦ
ἀυτοῦ
θανάτου
πεῖραν
λαβεῖν
ἔνεκεν
τοῦ
ὀνόματος
τῶν
πάντων
δεσπότου,
ὅπως
ἀξιωθῶσιν
τοῦ
τῆς
δικαιοσύνης
στεφάνου.
διὰ
τοῦτο
ἀφῆκαν
τὴν
γῆν
τῆς
γεννήσεως
ἀυτῶν,
καὶ
τὰ
χρήματα,
καὶ
τοὺς
συγγενεῖς,
ἵνα
τὴν
θεἳκὴν
παραγγελίαν
πληρώσασαι,
ἰδεῖν
τὸν
θεὸν
δυνηθῶσιν.
τότε
οὖν
ἐλθοῦσαι
φθάνουσιν
τὰ
ὅρια
τῆς
ἀρμενίας,
εἰς
ἀραρὰτ
τὴν
πατρίδα,
καὶ
οὐαλαρσαπὰτ,
τὴν
καλομένην
νέαν
πόλιν,
κεκτισμένην
ἐις
ὀικητήριον
τῆς
τῶν
βασιλέων
ἀρμενίας.
ἐλθοῦσαι
οὖν
ἐισέρχονται
ἐις
τὰς
λήνους
τῶν
ἀμπελώνων,
καὶ
εἰσὶν
ὀικοδομημέναι
ἀπὸ
βοῤῥᾶ
κατὰ
ἀνατολὰς,
καὶ
ἐτρέφοντο
ἐκ
τῶν
ἰδίων
ἀπὸ
τῆς
ἀγορᾶς
τῆς
πόλεως,
μηδὲν
μὲν
ἔχουσαι
μέθ·
ἑαυτῶν,
ἀλλ᾽
ὅτι
μία
ἐξ
ἀυτῶν
εἰδοῦσα
βελουργεῖν [*] τῆς
ἐφημέρης
τροφῆς
ἀυτῶν
ἐχορήγει
τὰς
χρείας.
[67] Τότε
δὴ
οὐ
μικρὰ
ταραχὴ
ἐγένετο
ἐν
τῇ
ῥωμαίων
χώρᾳ,
καὶ
πανταχὴ
πέμπονται
εἰς
ζήτησιν,
εἰ
δυνατὸν,
εὑρεῖν
ἀυτὰς.
φθάνουσιν
οὖν
ἐν
ἐκείνῳ
τῷ
καιρῷ
ἄγγελοι
πρὸς
τηρηδάτην
βασιλέα
ἀρμενίας,
ἐν
ἀυτῇ
τῇ
οὐαλαρσαπὰτ
πόλει·
καὶ
ὡς
προσήνεγκαν
τὴν
ἐπιστολὴν,
ἐδέξατο
μετὰ
χαρᾶς.
ἦν
δὲ
τοῦτον
τὸν
τύπον
ἔχουσα.
ἀυτοκράτωρ
καίσαρ
διοκλητιανὸς
τῷ
ἀγαπητῷ
ἀδέλφῳ
καὶ
συνθρόνῳ
μου
τηρηδάτῃ.
γνωρίζω
τῇ
σῇ
ἀδελφότητι
καὶ
ἐμῷ
συμμάχῳ
τὰς
συμφορὰς,
ἅσπερ
διαπαντὸς
πάσχομεν
ἀπὸ
τῆς
πεπλανημένης
θρησκείας
τῶν
χριστιανῶν.
πάντοτε
γὰρ
ἐξουδενεῖται
ἡ
ἠμετέρα
δεσποτεία
ἀπὸ
τῆς
ἀυτῶν
συναγωγῆς,
καὶ
καταφρονεῖται
ἡ
βασιλεία
ἡμῶν
ὑπ᾽
ἀυτῶν.
ἀυτοὶ
γὰρ
νεκρόν
τινα
καὶ
ἐσταυρωμένον
σέβουσι,
καὶ
ξύλον
προσκυνοῦσι,
καὶ
τὰ
ὀστᾶ
τῶν
τεθνικότων
τιμῶσι,
καὶ
τὸν
ἐξ
ἀυτοις
θάνατον
ὑπὲρ
τοῦ
θεοῦ
δόξαν
καὶ
τιμὴν
ἡγοῦνται.
καὶ
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
ἡμετέρου
νόμου
κατακέκρεινται,
ἐπειδὴ
καὶ
τοὺς
ἡμετέρους
προγόνους,
τοὺς
ἀρχαίους
πατέρας
καὶ
βασιλεῖς
ἐσίαναν,
καὶ
τὰ
ξίφη
ἡμῶν
ἠμβλυναν,
ἀυτοὶ
δὲ
οὐκ
ἀπέκαμον
τοῦ
ἀποθανεῖν·
πεπλάνηνται
οὐν
ἐν
τίνι
ἰουδαίῳ
ἐσταυρωμένῳ,
καὶ
τοὺς
βασιλεῖς
ἀτιμᾶσαι
διδάσκουσι,
καὶ
ἀυτοὺς
τοὺς
θεοὺς
ἐξουθενοῦντες,
ἀλλὰ
καὶ
τὰς
δυνάμεις
τῶν
φωστήρων
ἡλίου
τε
καὶ
σελήνης
ἅμα
τοῖς
λοιποῖς
ἄστροις
ὡς
οὐδὲν
λογίζονται,
ἀλλὰ
ποιήματα
λέγουσι
εἶναι
ἀυτοῦ
τοῦ
ἐσταυρωμένου,
καὶ
τὴν
γῆν
ἅπασαν
μετέστησαν
ἀπὸ
τῆς
τῶν
θεῶν
λατρείας,
ὥστε
καὶ
τὰς
γυναῖκας
ἀπὸ
ἀνδρῶν
καὶ
τοὺς
ἄνδρας
ἀπὸ
γυναικῶν
ἔτι
ζώντων
ἀποχωρίζουσιν.
[68] Ἐι
καὶ
μεγίσταις
ἀπείλαις
καὶ
διαφόροις
βασάνοις
ὑπεβλήθησαν,
περισσωτέρως
ἀνήφθη
καὶ
διέλαβεν
καὶ
διέδωκε
ἡ
θρησκεία
ἀυτῶν,
καὶ
ὅσον
προσεθήκαμεν
τὰς
ἐκφοβήσεις,
ἡ
αἱματοχυσία
ἀυτὼν
ὑπὲρ
τὸ
δέον
ἐπλεόνασεν
τὴν
διδαχὴν.
συνέβει
οὖν
θεωρεῖν
με
ἀπὸ
τῆς
ἀυτῶν
θρησκείας
νεανίδα
μίαν
εὐμορφοτάτην
πάρθενον,
καὶ
βουλομένου
μου
ἀυτὴν
λαβεῖν
εἰς
γυναῖκα,
ἐτόλμησαν
καὶ
τάυτην
δολιεῦσαι
ἀπ᾽
ἐμοῦ·
καὶ
οὐδὲ
ὡς
βασιλέα
ἐπεθύμησαν,
οὐδὲ
τὰς
ἀπειλάς
μου
ἐφοβήθησαν,
μάλλον
δὲ
διὰ
την
θρησκείαν
ἀυτῶν
βδέλυκτον
καὶ
ἀκάθαρτον
καὶ
σιαντὸν
ἐλογίσαντό
με.
διὸ
καὶ
τὴν
τροφὸν
μετὰ
τῆς
νεανίδος
εἰς
τὰ
μέρη
τῆς
ὑμετέρης
δεσποτείας
προπέμψαντες
ἐφυγάδευσαν.
φροντὶς
οὖν
σοι
γένηται,
ἄδελφέ
μου,
ζητῆσαι
ἐν
ἐκείνοις
τοῖς
μέρεσι,
καὶ
εὑρεῖν
τὰ
ἴχνη
ἀυτῶν,
καὶ
τὰς
μετ᾽
ἀυτῆς
ἅμα
τῇ
τροφῷ
θανάτῳ
ἀπαλλάξαι,
καὶ
τὴν
ἀπατηθεῖσαν
θεοειδῆ
εὐμορφοτάτην
ἐμοὶ
ἐνθάδε
ἀποστεῖλαι.
ἐι
δὲ
ἀρέσει
σοι
τὸ
κάλλος
τῆς
ὄψεως
ἀυτῆς,
σεαυτῷ
τηρήσεις.
οὐ
γὰρ
ἀνερευθὴ
ὁμοία
ταύτης
ἐν
τῇ
Ἰωνίων
χώρᾳ.
ὑγιαίναι
ἐν
πάσῃ
τιμῇ
ἀπὸ
τῆς
τῶν
θεῶν
λατρείας.
[69] Καὶ
ἐγένετο,
ὡς
ἂν
ἐγνὠθη
ἡ
διαταγὴ
τῆς
ἐπιστολῆς
ταύτης,
ἐκέλευσεν
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
μετὰ
σπουδῆς
πλείστης
καὶ
παραγγελίας,
ἵνα
πάντας
τοὺς
τόπους
τῆς
ἀυτοῦ
ἐξουσίας
ἐξετάσαντες
ἐν
τάχει,
ἐκζητήσωσιν.
δρομαίους
οὖν
ἔπεμπεν
πανταχῆ,
ἵνα
εὑρόντες
εἰς
μέσον
ἐνέγκωσιν·
τοῖς
δὲ
εὑρίσκουσι
ἀυτὴν
μεγάλας
δωρεὰς
ὑπεισχνεῖτο.
καὶ
ὡς
ἔτι
ἀυτὴ
ἡ
ταραχὴ
ἐν
τοῖς
τῆς
ἀρμενίας
μέρεσιν
ἐκινῆτο,
ἁι
πανάγιαι
μάρτυρες
ἐκεῖναι
ἐκρύπτοντο
ἐν
τῇ
βασιλευούσῃ
πολει
οὐαλαρσαπὰτ·
καὶ
μετ᾽
οὐ
πολὺ
εὑρεθεῖσαι
ἐγνώθησαν.
οὐδὲ
γὰρ
ἔδει
κρυβῆναι
τὴν
τῶν
μαρτύρων
ἀλήθειαν,
οὐδὲ
τὸν
λύχνον
τοῦ
φωτὸς
ἀυτῶν
ὑπὸ
τὸν
μόδιον
σκεπασθῆναι,
ἐπὶ
χρύσαις
δὲ
μᾶλλον
λυχνίαις
ἐπιτεθῆναι
τὸ
μύρον
τῆς
εὐωδίας
τῆς
πίστεως
καὶ
τῆς
δικαιοσύνης
ἀυτῶν,
καὶ
τὸ
φῶς
τῆς
θεογνωσίας
διαδωθῆναι,
ὡς
καὶ
ἀυταὶ
ἐν
τῇ
πρώτῃ
ἀυτῶν
εὐχῇ
ἤυξαντο·
καθάπερ
καὶ
ὁ
κύριος
ἔλεγεν
τοῖς
ἑαυτοῦ
άγαπητοῖς·
ἐίδωσί,
φησιν,
τὰ
καλὰ
ὑμῶν
ἔργα,
καὶ
δοξάσωσι
τὸν
πατέρα
ὑμῶν
τὸν
ἐν
τοῖς
οὐρανοῖς.
διὰ
γὰρ
τὴν
ἀγαθοεργίαν
ἀυτῶν
ὁ
ἀληθινὸς
τοῦ
θεοῦ
ὑιὸς
οὐκ
ἀπαξιοῖ
τὴν
ἰδίαν
κληρονομίαν
τοῖς
ἰδίοις
ἀγαπητοῖς
δοῦναι,
καὶ
ὁ
φύσει
ὑιὸς
ὑπάρχων
ἀόκνως
προσφέροι
τοὺς
φυλάξαντας
τὴν
ἑαυτοῦ
ἐντολὴν
εἰς
τὴν
ἰδίαν
ὑιοθεσίαν.
πλὴν
ἐάν
τις
ἑυρεθείη
γυλάττων
τοὺς
ἀυτοῦ
λόγους,
ὡς
τὸν
μαργαρίτην
ἑυρὼν,
ἐν
χαρᾷ
ἀγοράσει
καὶ
ἀσφαλήσεται,
ἵνα
λαβὼν
τὸν
τίμιον
ἀυτοῦ
στέφανον
τῆς
ἀυτοῦ
βασιλείας.
[70] Ἇυται
οὖν,
ὡς
λαμπρότατον
φῶς,
φανῆσαι
ἐπὶ
τῶν
ἔθνων
τῆς
ἀρμενίων
χώρας
μὴ
βουλόμεναι,
ἐπλήρωσαν
τὴν
γῆν
τῇ
εὐφημίᾳ
τῆς
τοῦ
θεοῦ
δοξολογίας
ἑυρίσκονται
οὖν
εἰς
τὰς
λήνους
ἔξωθεν
τῆς
πόλεως.
ὅτε
οὖν
ἔφθασε
τὸ
γράμμα
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
μεγάλου
τῶν
ῥωμαίων
βασιλέως
πρὸς
τηρηδάτιον
τὸν
τῆς
ἀρμενίας
βασιλέα,
οὐκ
ὀλίγη
ἐγένετο
ταραχὴ
ἐν
ἐκείνῃ
τῇ
χώρᾳ.
ἐτήρησαν
γὰρ
πάσας
τὰς
περιόδους
καὶ
διαβάσεις
ἐν
τοῖς
τῆς
ἑκάστης
πατρίδος
μέρεσιν,
καὶ
θεασάμενός
τις
ἀυτὰς
διηγήσατο
περὶ
ἀυτῶν.
ὡς
δὲ
καταφανεῖς
ἀυτὰς
ἡ
φήμη
ἐποίησεν,
ἐκελεύσθησαν
δυὸ
ἡμέρας
τηρηθῆναι
ἐκεῖσε
διὰ
τῶν
πεζῶν
μετὰ
τῶν
θυρεὼν
ῥοπάλων.
καὶ
μετὰ
τρεῖς
ἡμέρας
ἤχησεν
ἡ
φήμη
τοῦ
κάλλους
τῆς
ῥιψίμης
παρὰ
πᾶσι,
καὶ
πάντες
ἄνθρωποι,
καὶ
σύμμικτοι
καὶ
μεγάλοι
καὶ
σατράπαι,
συνέδραμον
ἐις
τὸ
θεωρῆσαι
τὸ
ἀυτῆς
κάλλος,
καὶ
κατὰ
τὴν
ἄθεον
ἀυτῶν
καὶ
δαιμονιώδη
συνήθειαν,
ἀλλήλοις
ἐπεμβαίνοντες
συνεθλίβοντο.
αἱ
δὲ
ἅγιαι
καὶ
μακαριώταται,
θεασάμεναι
τὴν
τῶν
ἀνθρώπων
ἀναίδεαν,
ὀλολύζουσι
ὑψηλῇ
τῇ
φωνῇ
μετὰ
δακρύων,
καὶ
τὰς
χεῖρας
εἰς
εὐχὰς
ἐπάρασαι,
ἐζήτουν
σωτηρίαν
παρὰ
τοῦ
παντοκράτορος
καὶ
παντοδυνάμου
δεσπότου,
ὁς
καὶ
ἐν
πρώτοις
ἀυτὰς
ἐλυτρώσατο
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
παρανομωτάτου
μιάσματος,
ἵνα
δώσῃ
καὶν
τὴν
τοῦ
παρόντος
πολέμου
νίκην.
τὰς
δὲ
ὄψεις
ἀυτῶν
περιδήσασαι,
ἔῤῥιψαν
ἑαυτὰς
εἰς
τὴν
γῆν
ἀπὸ
ἀιδοῦς
ἐκ
τῶν
θεατῶν,
τῶν
περὶ
ἀυτὰς
συνηγμένων.
When Diocletian In those times the emperor Diocletian sought
a woman to be joined to himself in marriage a: and
then all about, throughout his whole dominion,
painters of various kinds went round, having been sent — namely
such as knew how to exhibit a likeness, such as were skilled
to represent the very image, such as excelled by accurate diligence
in painting, such as knew how to add ornaments,
and such as could measure the stature — so that, representing to the life
on their boards the beauty of the eyes and the black
adornment of the eyebrows,
they might by the elegance of colours exhibit an image pleasing to the king.
When therefore they had arrived, in the city
of the Romans they find a monastery of women living
in quiet and in perpetual virginity, who in solitary
places used only pulse for their food,
and were women honourable, prudent, holy,
Christian in faith, who by night and day and at every time
ceased not to send up to heaven praises and hymns and perfect prayers
to God. But their names
were these. The first was called Gaiana;
the other, who was brought up under her and was of
royal b and Christian race, Ripsimia;
and there were also very many others with them.
[60] After the messengers therefore had arrived, they entered by force into the monastery
the most honourable and most holy Ripsimia, they marvelled
at her beauty. And when they had swiftly
expressed her to the life on painted boards, they set out
to the emperor. But the emperor, beholding in the painting
of Ripsimia her most splendid beauty,
through his nefarious habit, as though
covered with darkness, openly blazed into the concupiscence
of love for her: and appointing a fixed time,
he hastened and was troublesome, that he might perfectly obtain the delights
of a woman d. Then hastily he sent messengers
through his whole dominion,
that all should bring gifts to the great nuptials, and with the greatest
gladness all should run together to fulfil
the imperial command according to the laws
of royal nuptials. The Saints therefore, seeing
the darts of the enemy sent in secret, which he hurls to wound
the Saints of Christ, were afflicted.
[61] For when he had found the emperor a vessel of wrath,
as in paradise the serpent, at the instigation of the devil, and had in the same
manner made him his minister, and here, having that wicked man
as a beast, he openly assailed the churches of Christ through
him. For when he had imbued him
with pride and a perverse heart, that hater of the honourable,
a snare being laid, drove him to stir up a persecution
against the churches of God. For since
he is perverse and stupefied in mind, he adores with religious worship
the statues of the dead, and golden, silver, wooden and brazen
images: and at the same time, growing proud,
he took it into his mind to dash himself against the solid rock
of the true faith of the churches: who not only
could not soften the rock, but the unjust judge, being crushed,
was also swallowed up close by the rock. Nevertheless,
being exceedingly puffed up by his insane boastfulness,
he brought many evils upon the holy Church of God.
[62] the holy Virgins, turning to prayer, When therefore the most blessed Gaiana perceived these things,
with holy Ripsime and the rest of the most chaste
women of holy manners, they called to mind
the holy renunciation and the chaste life and the laborious
dwelling and food in which they had formerly been trained.
Therefore, lamenting among themselves because of their being made known
before the most impure and wicked emperor through the image of them that had been made,
and turning to prayers and more laborious exercises,
they besought the merciful God to bring them help
and to free them from that temptation. And thus
they spoke in prayer: Lord of lords
and God of gods, thou who art the God of ineffable light,
who by thy word didst establish all things, who madest
heaven and earth and all their adornment,
who didst form man of the dust of the earth, and gavest him
wisdom, and didst multiply him over all the earth,
who broughtest help to each in his own time —
namely to those hoping in thee — help us also,
O Lord, in the war that afflicts us, that we may overcome
the crafty and terrible snares of the enemy, and that thy name,
O Lord, may be gloriously celebrated, and the horn
of thy Church be exalted, and that we may be made worthy
to enter into the mansions of thy kingdom.
[63] imploring the divine help Let not our lamps fail; let not
the lanterns of our faith and chaste obedience be quenched;
let not a dark mist overtake our shining
ways; let not our feet be tripped
from thy most splendid footsteps; let not the pupils
of our eyes be blinded in the most joyful rays
of thy truth; let not the death-bearing bird snatch the seeds
of life which thy only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
has sown in us; let not the wild apostate carry away
chastity from thy holy flock;
let not the murderous wolf tear the lambs of thy sheep;
let not the enemy of our life scatter the apostolic
sheep of thy flock. O Lord our God,
who didst send thy only-begotten Son, that coming
he might fill all the ends of the world with spiritual knowledge, that
in the name of Israel he might make all to see God; we also
have heard him saying: When they shall persecute
you in this city, flee into another. Amen I say
to you, you shall not finish the cities of Israel till
my coming. And now, O Lord, spare the souls
that trust in thy name, that we be not
mingled with the base impurity of the nations: give not
the purity of our chastity to harlot, adulterous
and dog-like shamelessness, nor the pearl
of our virginal faith to swine that walk in the mire of impiety.
[64] for the keeping of their virginity, Let not the multitudes of torrents, by the wind
of errors and through the violence of deception, shake
the foundations of thy holy Church, which of the precious
stones of thy just ones is built upon a firm rock,
of which our Lord Jesus Christ is made the chief corner
stone and the head, through his incarnation, through his death, through his
resurrection, through his ascension into heaven and his sitting
at the right hand of thy Divinity, where he was before.
Look therefore from heaven upon thy holy women, O Lord,
that we become not as a house built upon sand,
which the tumults and temptations of afflictions have shaken:
but confirm us by the truth of the Gospel
of peace, and lead us according to thy will,
and deem us worthy of the nuptials of that shining night
which thou dost make bright as day, when the rays
of the countenance of thy glory shall arise: protect us under thy wings,
that we may come to the haven of thy will:
grant us to drink the cup of the contest,
and to obtain the crown of reward in the day
of the just judgment e of thy glory.
[65] After these things holy Gaiana with Ripsime and
the rest who dwelt with her, and they flee from the dominion of the Romans and with their most honourable company,
going forth departed in flight, that in this world
given over to sins they might keep their souls chaste from wicked
men. For they desired by an Apostolic course to lay hold of the hope of life
and of the resurrection; they purposed to flee everlasting
punishment; to stand with the sheep at the right hand,
to obtain the promised good things, desiring to be adorned with crowns
ever green, and with those five virgins
to be enlightened by good works. They strove to obtain by inheritance
that most splendid rest in
paradise, and those divine nuptials; to take part in the assembly
of the just, to recline with the patriarch Abraham,
and to rejoice with incomprehensible delight;
even as the Lord said in the Gospel:
If anyone shall leave all things for my name's sake,
he shall receive eternal life by inheritance at my second coming f.
They did not withdraw as fleeing this temporal
death, but that they might be torn away from the concupiscence
of that insane and unchaste man. For neither
did he think of delivering their bodies to torments
they might be separated from the filth of intemperate concupiscence
and from the execrable and nefarious converse of men.
[66] For long since they had prepared themselves for prisons,
for bonds, into Armenia, where they begin to dwell together. for various vexations, and for undergoing death
itself for the name of the Lord of all,
that they might be held worthy of the crown of justice.
To this end they left their own country, their goods
and their kinsfolk h, that fulfilling the divine
command they might be able to see God. Therefore setting out then,
they came to the borders of Armenia, into
the province of Ararat, and to the place called Valarsapat, the new i
city, which had been founded for the dwelling
of the kings of Armenia. When they had come thither, they entered
into the wine-presses of the vineyards, which are built
on the Northern side toward the East, and were nourished
out of their own means from the market of the city, having indeed
nothing with them, but because one of them knew how
to work k, she supplied them with the things
necessary l for their daily food.
[67] But at that time no small disturbance arose
in the region of the Romans, letters of Diocletian, as the author will have it, and in every direction
men are sent to search out, that they might find them if
they could. There come therefore at that time messengers to
Teredates, king of Armenia, in that very city
of Valarsapat: and the letter which they brought
he received with joy. And it was written in this manner:
The Emperor Cæsar m Diocletian to his beloved brother
and partner of the same throne, Teredates. I make known
to thy fraternity and to my fellow-soldier the calamities
which we always suffer through the erring superstition
of the Christians. For our dominion is utterly despised
by their assembly, and our empire is contemned
by them.
For they worship a certain dead and crucified man,
and adore a piece of wood, and honour the bones of the dead;
and on their account they count death for their God as a glory
and honour to themselves. By our law they are condemned,
since they have held our forefathers,
the ancient fathers and emperors, in contempt,
and have blunted our swords, while they
have not grown weary of dying. And they have been deceived
about a certain crucified Jew,
and they teach men not to hold kings in honour,
counting the gods themselves as nothing. Nay, the powers
of the luminaries, of the sun and moon and of the other stars,
they hold for nothing; but say they are works
of their Crucified One; and they have drawn the whole earth away
from the worship of the gods, so that wives depart from husbands,
and husbands from wives, while they are yet living.
[68] letters to Tiridates about the flight of St. Ripsime. But even though they have been subjected to the gravest threatenings
and to various punishments, yet
their superstition, being the more kindled, has embraced more men
and has spread itself abroad: the more we increased
the terrors, the more the shedding of their blood beyond
measure multiplied their teaching. And it happened
that I saw a certain maiden of their superstition,
a most beautiful virgin, whom,
when I wished to take to wife, they dared to alienate
from me, she being deceived: and neither did they desire me as emperor,
nor did they fear my threats;
but rather through their superstition they held me as
detestable and impure n … Wherefore
sending the nurse with the maiden into your
dominion, they compelled them to flee. Therefore,
my brother, take care to search in those parts and to detect their traces,
and to deliver the Virgin's companions together
with the nurse to death; but the deceived one —
the divine, that is, and most beautiful — send thence to me.
But if the beauty of her face shall please thee,
thou shalt keep her for thyself: for there has not been found
her like in all the province of Ionia o. Farewell with
all honour through the worship of the gods.
[69] The holy women sought in Armenia, After the text of that letter had been read through,
the king commanded with the greatest zeal and injunction
that, searching continually through all the places of his dominion,
they should seek her. In every direction therefore
he sent runners, that when she was found they might bring her into the midst;
and to those who should find her he promised great
rewards. But while this tumult was going on
in the parts of Armenia, those most holy Martyrs
lay hidden and concealed in the royal city of Valarsapat:
and after no long time, being discovered, they became known.
For neither was it fitting that the truth of the Martyrs
should lie hid, or that the lantern of their light should be hidden
under a bushel, but rather that upon golden
candlesticks should be set the ointment, sweetly fragrant,
of their faith and justice, that the light of the knowledge of God
might be poured abroad, as they also had asked in their first
prayer; even as the Lord
said to his beloved ones: Let them see, he says, your good
works, and glorify your Father who is
in heaven. For the true Son of God does not disdain
to bestow his inheritance upon his beloved ones because of their good
works, and he who is Son by nature diligently
adopts as sons those who keep his commandments.
Besides, if anyone shall be found to keep his words,
as one who has found a pearl, with joy
he will buy and preserve him, that he may obtain the precious
crown of his kingdom.
[70] become known. These therefore, like a most bright light, though
they wished not to shine in the region of the nations of Armenia,
filled the land with the good report of the glorifying of God.
But they are found in the wine-presses [p] outside the city.
For when the letter of the great emperor of the Romans
had come to Teredates, king of Armenia,
no small tumults arose in that region;
for they watched all the circuits and passages
in the parts of every province: and when
anyone had seen them, he gave notice of them. But when
report made them manifest, they were ordered to be guarded there
for two days by footmen equipped with wooden shields.
After three days the report of Ripsime's beauty
was spread abroad among all, and all
men, both common and great and the satraps,
ran together to see her beauty,
and after their impious and diabolical manner, pressing upon one another,
they were crushed [q]. But the holy and most blessed women,
perceiving so great a shamelessness of men,
lamented with a loud voice and with tears, and lifting up their hands
to prayer, besought the Lord who contains all things and is almighty
to preserve their safety —
he who had already before rescued them from a most wicked
outrage — that in the present conflict also
he would grant them victory. And binding about their faces,
they cast themselves upon the ground out of the shame
which the onlookers gathered about them
struck into them.
ANNOTATIONS.
a. It cannot
be doubted that whatever is here at length
reported about the marriage sought by Diocletian is fabulous and ridiculously feigned. For Diocletian had
Prisca to wife before he was emperor, and she was never repudiated.
Besides, what is said about the manner of seeking a beautiful woman does not agree
with the gravity of the emperor Diocletian, but is an inept fiction.
signifies a cave, a stable, a fold, afterwards began to be used for a monastery.
But they would have entered neither a cave nor a monastery if they had been seeking a bride
for Diocletian.
in the Gospel, and are apt to make the author suspect of some error of the Armenians
by which the beatitude of the Saints is deferred until the judgment.
See what is to be noted at chapter 9, letter b.
g. Here
again some words had been erased, and these perhaps are wanting. Further, as regards
the reason for their flight, that which is given about the marriage sought by Diocletian is not likely. Hence many things
become doubtful. First, the flight into Armenia itself seems doubtful, since the Virgins could have been Armenian, as
seems to be affirmed in the Basilian Menology, where a deep silence is kept about their flight.
This Bonucci observes in Annotation XI to the Life of St. Gregory, page 185. He adds a reason not to be despised from the name of St. Ripsime, which, he says, has its origin from the Armenian tongue, or rather from the Syriac. Secondly,
it does not even seem probable that the Saints fled from Rome into Armenia, or dwelt in the City,
on account of the immense distance of the places. Yet, since all the more ancient documents
hand down that SS. Gaiana, Ripsime and their companion Virgins came into Armenia from elsewhere —
and since that opinion, which is less honourable to the Armenians than the opposite would be,
does not seem to have been invented by them — it is more probable to me that they fled from the dominion of the Romans into
Armenia; not however from the City or from Italy, but from some province neighbouring on Armenia,
such as are Pontus, Cappadocia, Lesser Armenia, Syria and Mesopotamia, all bordering upon it;
and again not to flee a marriage with Diocletian,
but rather to withdraw themselves from his most savage persecution. This
seems to me the more probable conjecture in an uncertain matter.
some Valarsus or Vologesus, king of Armenia, and that on this account the name of that city
is not found in Strabo, Pliny and Ptolemy. I have already said that it was afterwards called Vagharshapat by more recent writers, and that it seems the same as that which is elsewhere in this Life called Valeroctiste.
express the whole meaning of the Greek word, because its reading is uncertain,
and consequently its meaning uncertain. For in the transcript it is noted that there is read ὑελουργεῖν, which is to work in glass, since ὑελουργὸς is a glassmaker; or βελουργεῖν, which is not a Greek word. But the Latin word velum was carried over to the Greeks, and thence was formed the word βῆλον and βέλον; whether from this the author perhaps said βελουργεῖν, to work at veils, as from ἔριον, wool, is said ἐριουργεῖν, to practise wool-working, let others judge.
l. The work
of one woman could not suffice for the sustenance of many; but they could have brought from
their own goods what might serve, for some time at least, for buying necessaries.
Nor does the author deserve credit when he says the contrary.
many other things, since there can be no doubt to learned men that this Letter is supposititious,
just as the whole of what the author wrote about the marriage desired by Diocletian is fictitious.
o. Ionia is
city. But Agathangelus uses the word Ionia in such a way that by it he seems to understand nearly the whole of Lesser Asia.
p. The wine-presses
in which the Saints are said at num. 66 to have fixed their dwelling, and in which
they are now said to have been found, are buildings in which grapes are pressed.
But since this is not always done, but at a fixed
time of the year, they could dwell there for some months, until they had found a fitter place for their habitation.
q. Just as
the biographer is wont to amplify everything beyond the truth, so doubtless
that concourse of the people is excessively exaggerated, if it be not altogether
fictitious; as also are the things which follow about the Saints.
* or ύελουργεῖν
CHAPTER VII.
The contests of the holy Ripsime, Gaiana and their Companions with Teridates for chastity, and their martyrdom.
Καὶ
ὁι
πλεῖστοι
ἀυτῶν,
καὶ
μάλιστα
πιστικοὶ
τοῦ
βασιλέως,
πορευθέντες
διηγοῦνται
ἀυτῷ
περὶ
τοῦ
ἀυτῆς
κάλλους.
τῇ
δὲ
ἐπιούσῃ
ἑμέρᾳ
ὄρθρου
ταχέως
ἐκέλευσεν
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
τὴν
μακαριωτάτην
ῥιψιμίαν
ἐν
τοῖς
βασιλείοις
ἀνενεχθῆναι·
τὴν
δὲ
ἁγίαν
γαιανὴν
ἅμα
ταῖς
λοιπαῖς
ἀυτόθι
τηρηθῆναι.
εὐθέως
οὖν
ἀπὸ
τῶν
βασιλικῶν
χρυσεμπαστοφορεῖα
μετὰ
πλήθους
δορυφόρων
ἐν
ταῖς
ληνοῖς
ἔφθασαν,
ὅπου
ἦσαν
παραμένουσαι
ἔξωθεν
τῆς
πόλεως,
καὶ
πολυτελέστατος
ἱματισμὸς
καὶ
ἅπαλος·
καὶ
κόσμια
λαμπρὰ
προσενέγκαντες;
ἔδὼκαν
ἀυτῇ,
ἵνα
μετὰ
τιμῆς
καὶ
δόξας
ἐισελθοῦσα
ἐις
τὴν
πόλιν
θεάσηται
τὸν
βασιλέα.
πρὸ
τοῦ
γὰρ
ἐιδεῖν
ἀυτὴν,
ἐβουλήθη
λαβεῖν
ἀυτὴν
ἐις
γυναῖκα
διὰ
τοὺς
διηγησαμένους
περὶ
τῆς
εὐμορφίας
ἀυτοῦ.
ὅτε
οὖν
ταῦτα
πάντα
ἐθεάσατο
ἡ
παναγία
γαιανὴ,
ἤρξατο
λαλεῖν
πρὸς
τὴν
ἀνατρεφεῖσαν
παρ᾽
ἀυτῇ,
καί
φησι.
μνήσθητι,
τέκνον,
ἐμὸν,
ὅτι
καταλέλοιπας
τὴν
μεγάλην
τιμὴν
καὶ
χρυσέμπαστον
βασιλικὸν
θρόνον
τῶν
σῶν
γονέων,
καὶ
τὴν
βασιλικὴν
ἁλουργίδα,
καὶ
ἐπεθύμησας
τὸ
ἀκατάληπτον
φῶς
τῆς
τοῦ
χριστοῦ
βασιλείας,
ὅς
ἐστι
δεμιουργὸς
καὶ
σωόποιος
καὶ
ἀνακαινιστὴς
τῶν
ἁπάντων,
ὁ
ἐπαγγειλάμενος
φυλάττειν
τὰ
ἀνεκδιήγητα
ἀγαθὰ
τοῖς
ἐπ᾽
ἀυτὸν
πεποιθῶσι.
καὶ
σὺ,
τέκνον
ἐμὸν,
ἐξουδένωσας
τὴν
πρόσκαιρον
τῶν
σῶν
προγόνων
πόρφυραν,
νῦν
οὖν
μὴ
δώσεις
τὴν
ἁγίαν
σου
σωφροσύνην
βρῶμα
κυσὶν
ἐν
τῇ
χώρᾳ
ταύτῃ
τῶν
βαρβάρων.
μὴ
γένοιτο,
θύγατερ
ἐμὴ,
ταῦτα
οὕτως
εἶναι·
ἀλλ᾽
ἵνα
δέξηται
ἡμᾶς
μετὰ
σοὺ
ὁ
ὁδηγήσας
ἡμᾶς
ἐκ
νέας
ἡληκίας
ἐὼς
τῆς
ἡμέρας
ταύτης,
καὶ
ἐν
τῇ
ὤρᾳ,
ἐν
ᾗ
ἐστήκαμεν.
[72] Ὅτε
οὖν
ἐθεάσατο
ἡ
ἁγία
ῥιψίμη
τὸν
θόρυβον
ἐλθόντα
πρὸς
ἀυτὴν,
καὶ
ἃ
ἤκουσεν
ἀπὸ
τῆς
ἰδίας
τροφοῦ,
ἐνεδύσατο
ὡς
ὅπλον
τὴν
τοῦ
πνεύματος
δύναμιν,
καὶ
ἔχουσα
τὴν
πίστιν
τοῦ
ἰδίου
δεσπότου
ἐκ
νέας
ἡληκίας
ὡς
θώρακα,
ἐξέκραξε
μεγάλῃ
τῇ
φωνῇ,
καὶ
ἤπλωσε
τὰς
χεῖρας
ἀυτῆς
τύπον
τοῦ
σταύρου,
καὶ
ἤρξατο
ἐκ
φωνῆς
λέγειν
οὕτως·
κύριε
ὁ
θεὸς
ὁ
παντοκράτωρ,
ὁ
ποιήσας
τὰ
σύμπαντα
διὰ
τοῦ
ἀγαπητοῦ
ὑιοῦ
σου,
καὶ
περικοσμήσας
διὰ
τοῦ
ἁγίου
σου
πνεύματος
ὁρατά
τε
καὶ
ἀόρατα
κτίσματα,
ἀυτὸς
εἶ
ὁ
ἐκ
τοῦ
μὴ
ὄντος
ἐις
τὸ
εἶναι
τὰ
πάντα
παραγαγὼν,
τῶι
γὰρ
σῷ
λόγῳ
διηκεῖται
τὰ
ἐν
οὐρανῷ
καὶ
ἐπὶ
γῆς,
τὰ
ἐν
θαλάσσῃ
καὶ
ἐν
ξηρᾷ·
ἀυτὸς,
δέσποτα,
δέδωκας
ἐις
κατακλυσμὸν
τοὺς
παρανόμους
καὶ
μιαροὺς
ἀνθρώπους
τῆς
ὀγδοῆς
γεννεᾶς,
καὶ
ἐῤῥύσω
τὸν
ἀγαπητόν
σου
Νωὲ,
τὸν
φυλάξαντα
τὸν
τῆς
διαγωγῆς
σου
λόγον·
περιεποιήσω
δὲ
ἐν
τῶι
σταυροειδεῖ
ξύλῳ
ἀπὸ
τῶν
ὑδάτων
τοῦ
κατακλυσμοῦ.
ὁ
τότε
τῷ
τύπῳ
τοῦ
σταύρου
σωτηρίαν
ποιήσας,
καὶ
νῦν
ποίησον
τῷ
ἀληθινῷ
σῷ
σταυρῷ,
ἐν
ᾧ
ἀνελθὼν
ἐξέχεας
τὸ
αἷμά
σου
ἐις
ἴασιν
τῶν
ἡμετέρων
τραυμάτων.
ὁ
φυλάξας
τὸν
ἀβραὰμ
ἐν
μέσῳ
τῶν
ἀσεβῶν
χαναναίων,
καὶ
περισώσας
ἀπὸ
τῆς
ἀτίμου
καὶ
βδεληρᾶς
ἀισχύνης
τὴν
δούλην
σοῦ
σάῤῥαν,
ὁ
ὀικτήρας
τὸν
δοῦλόν
σου
Ἰσαὰκ,
καὶ
περιποιησάμενος
ῥεβέκκαν
τὴν
σὴν
δούλην
ἀπὸ
τῶν
παρανόμων
φιλιστιαίων,
μὴ
ἀφήσῃς
ἡμᾶς
διὰ
τὸ
πανάγιόν
σου
ὄνομα.
[73] Ὁ
διδάξας
καὶ
παιδεύσας,
καὶ
δοὺς
τοὺς
λόγους
σου
ἐν
τῷ
στόματι
ἡμῶν,
ἵνα
ἐν
τούτοις
δυνηθῶμεν
σωθῆναι
ἀπὸ
τῆς
παγίδος
τοῦ
ἐχθροῦ,
καὶ
ἐιπὼν,
ὅτι
τὸ
ὄνομά
μου
ἐπικέκληται
ἐφ᾽
ὑμαᾶς,
καὶ
ὑμεῖς
ἐστε
ναὸς
τῆς
θεότητός
μου·
καὶ
πάλαι,
ὅτι
τὸ
ὄνομά
μου
ἁγιάσεται
ἐν
ταῖς
καρδίαις
ὑμῶν,
καὶ
ἔδωκας
λόγον
ἐν
τῷ
στόματι
ἡμῶν
ἀιτήσασθαι
καὶ
λέγειν,
ἁγιασθήτω
τὸ
ὄνομά
σου·
νῦν
τοῦτο
ἀιτούμεθα
παρὰ
σοῦ·
ἰδοῦ
συνήχθη
πλῆθος
κακῶν
μιάναι
τὸ
πανάγιον
ὄνομά
σου
ἐφ᾽
ἡμᾶς,
καὶ
τὸν
ναὸν
τοῦ
ὀνόματός
σου.
ἐι
γὰρ
καὶ
ἡμεῖς
ἀσθενεῖς
καὶ
ταπειναὶ
ὑπάρχομεν,
πλὴν
ἀυτὸς
φύλαξον
τὰς
ψυχας
ἡμῶν
ἀπὸ
τῆς
ἀκαθάρτου
ἀτιμίας
φιλάνθρωπε
σῶτερ.
ὁ
ἐάσας
ἐπελθεῖν
ἡμῖν
τὸν
πειρασμὸν
τοῦτον,
δὸς
ἡμῖν
νίκην
τῇ
σῇ
δυνάμει.
σὴ
γάρ
ἐστιν
ἡ
νίκη,
καὶ
νικήσει
τὸ
σὸν
ὄνομα.
φύλαξον
ἡμᾶς
τῇ
ἐλπίδι
τῆς
σωφροσύνης,
ἵνα
μετ᾽
ἀυτῆς
ἐισέλθωμεν
ἐις
τὸν
ἀριθμὸν
τοῦ
κλήρου
τῶν
σῶν
δικαίων,
καὶ
λάβωμεν
τοὺς
μισθοὺς
ὑπὲρ
τῶν
κόπων,
οὕς
δώσεις
ἑκάστῳ
τοῖς
ἐμμείνασιν
ἐν
τῇ
διαθήκῃ
σου,
καὶ
φυλάξασιν
τὰ
προστάγματά
σου.
ὅσως
τὸν
Νωὲ
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
κατακλυσμοῦ
τῶν
ὑδάτων,
φύλαξον
ἡμᾶς
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
παρανόμοου
κατακλυσμοῦ
τούτου
τοῦ
περικυκλώσαντος
ἡμᾶς.
ἐι
γὰρ
τὰ
θηρία
καὶ
τὰ
κτήνη
ἔσωσας
ἐν
τῆ
κιβωτῷ,
πόσῳ
μᾶλλον
οὐκ
ἀφείσῃ
τῆς
σῆς
εἰκόνος,
δοξολογούσης
σε
τὸν
μόνον
ἔνδοξον.
[74] Τούτων
οὖν
παρ᾽
ἀυτῆς
οὕτως
ῥηθέντων,
τὸ
πλῆθος
συνέῤῥεεν
τῶν
ἀνθρώπων.
ἦσαν
γὰρ
ἄπειροι,
ὁι
τοῦ
βασιλέως
ὑπηρέται,
ὁι
ἐλθόντες
λαβεῖν
ἀυτὴν
ἐις
τὰ
βασίλεια,
σατράπαι
καὶ
μεγιστάνες
καὶ
ἄρχοντες
τιμῆσαι
ἀυτὴν,
καὶ
ἀπελθεῖν
μετ᾽
ἀυτῆς,
ἵνα
ἀπενέγκωσιν
ἀυτὴν
ἐις
γυναῖκα
τοῦ
βασιλέως
καὶ
βασιλίδα
τῆς
ἀρμενίας.
ὁμοῦ
δὲ
πᾶσαι
ὀλολύζουσαι,
καὶ
τὰς
χεῖρας
ἀπάρασαι
ἐις
τὸν
οὐρανὸν,
ἤτουν
παρὰ
τοῦ
ἀγαθοῦ
δεσπότου
λυτρώσασθαι
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
παρανομωτάτου
καὶ
ἀθεμήτου
γάμου,
καὶ
ἐπάρασαι
φώνην
μεγάλην
μετὰ
κλαυθμοῦ
ἔκραζον
λέγουσαι·
μὴ
γένοιτο,
ἵνα
ἀπατήσῃ
ἡμᾶς
πλοῦτος,
ἤμαλάξῃ
ἡμᾶς
τρυφὴ,
ἤ
διατρέψῃ
ἡμᾶς
βασιλεία,
ἤ
θλίψη
ἡμᾶς
διωγμὸς,
ἤ
ὀλιγορήσωμεν
ταῖς
βασάνοις.
οὐ
μὴ
φοβηθῶμεν
τὸν
δεινότατον
θάνατον,
τὸν
ὑφ᾽
ὑμῶν
ἐπιφερόμενον
ἡμῖν.
μὴ
γένοιτο
ἡμᾶς
ἀνταλλάξαι
τὰ
ἀιώνια
ὑπὲρ
τῶν
προσκαίρων,
καὶ
τὴν
ἀθάνατον
ζωὴν,
ἧς
ἡ
δεσπότεια
οὐ
παρέρχεται,
καὶ
τὰ
ἀγαθὰ
ἀκατάπαυστα.
ἀλλ᾽
οὐδὲ
βάθος
οὔδὲ
ὕψος,
οὐ
κίνδυνος,
οὐ
μάχαιρα,
οὐ
κακοχίαι,
οὐ
δέσμα,
οὐ
βάσανοι,
οὐ
πῦρ,
οὐχ
ὕδωρ,
οὐ
μετεωρισμοὶ,
καὶ
ἀπάται,
οὐ
μεγαλοσύνη,
οὐ
πτωχεία
οὐκ
ἐνεστῶτα,
οὐ
μέλλοντα,
οὐ
ζωὴ,
οὐ
θάνατος
δύναται
ἀποχωρῆσαι
ἡμᾶς
ἀπὸ
τῆς
ἀγάπης
τοῦ
χριστοῦ.
ἀυτῷ
γὰρ
ἐπηγγειλάμεθα
τὴν
παρθενίαν
ἡμῶν,
ἀυτῷ
ἀναθέμεθα
τὴν
ἁγιστείαν
ἡμῶν,
ἀυτὸν
δεχόμεθα
καὶ
τὴν
ἀγάπην
ἀυτοῦ
ἐπιποθοῦμεν,
ἐὼς
οὗ
παρασταθῶμεν
ἐνώπιον
τῆς
ἀυτοῦ
δόξης,
καὶ
τοῦ
ἐπαίνου
ἀνεὺ
ἀισχύνης
καὶ
ἐντροπῆς.
[75] Καὶ
ἐγένετο
σφοδρωτάτη
βροντὴ,
ὥστε
ἐκφοβεῖσθαι
τὸν
ὄχλον,
καὶ
ἤκουσαν
φωνῆς
λεγούσης
πρὸς
ἀυτὰς·
ἀνδρίζεσθε,
καὶ
θαρσεῖτε·
μεθ᾽
ὑμῶν
γὰρ
εἶμι,
καὶ
ἐφύλαξα
ὑμᾶς
ἐν
πάσαις
ταῖς
ὁδοῖς
ὑμῶν,
καὶ
ἤνεγκα
ὑμᾶς
τοῦ
τόπου
τούτου
φιλάξας
ἀσπίλους,
ἴνα
καὶ
ἐνθάδε
δοξάσθῃ
τὸ
ὄνομά
μου
ἐν
τοῖς
βορινοῖς
μέρεσιν
τῶν
ἐθνῶν.
ἐι
δὲ
μάλιστα,
ῥιψίμη,
κατὰ
τὸ
ὄνομά
σου
ἀληθῶς
ἐξεῤῥίφθης
σὺν
τεͅ
γαιανῇ
καὶ
ταῖς
λοιπαῖς
ἐκ
τοῦ
θανάτου
ἐις
τὴν
ζωὴν.
μὴ
φοβηθῆτε
οὖν,
ἄλλα
δεῦτε
ἐις
τὸν
τόπον,
ἐν
ᾧ
ἡτοιμάσθη
ὑμῖν,
καὶ
τοῖς
ὑμῖν
ὁμοίοις
ἡ
ἀνεκλάλητος
εύφροσύνη.
καὶ
οὕτως
ἐπὶ
ἀρᾷ
τῆς
βροντῆς
κρατούσης,
ἐσκοτώθησαν
ὁι
ἄνθρωποι
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
φόβου,
καὶ
πολλῶν
ἵπποι
ἀφηνιάσαντες
ἔῤῥιψαν
τοὺς
ἐπιβάτας,
πολλοὺς
δὲ
καὶ
κατεπάτησαν
καὶ
ἀπέκτειναν,
κραυγῇ
τε
καὶ
ταραχῇ
πάντες
ἐθορύβησαν,
καὶ
ὑπ᾽
ἀλλήλων
συνεπατήθησαν.
τὸ
γὰρ
φόβητρον
πάντας
ἐξέστησεν,
καὶ
πολλῶν
αἱμάτων
ἐκχυθέντων
τὴν
γῆν
ἐμόλύναν.
γενμένου
οὖν
τούτου
τοῦ
θορύβου
τοῖς
συναχθεῖσίν,
τινες
τῶν
ὑπηρέτων
ἐκ
μέσης
τῆς
ταραχῆς
δραμόντες,
ἀπήγγειλαν
πάντας
τοὺς
λόγους
ἀυτῶν
καὶ
τὰ
λεγόμενα
τῷ
βασιλεῖ.
καὶ
εἶπεν
ὁ
βαλιλεὺς·
ἀνθ᾽
ὧν
οὐκ
ἐβουλήθη
ἐλθεῖν
ἐν
τιμῇ
καὶ
ἐιρήνῃ,
βίᾳ
ἐνεχθῇ
ἐν
τῷ
παλατίῳ,
καὶ
ἐισαχθῇ
ἐις
τὸν
τοῦ
βασιλέως
κοιτῶνα.
[76] Λαβόντες
ἂν
τὴν
ἁγίαν
ῥιψημίαν
ὁι
δορυφόροι,
ποτὲ
μὲν
σύροντες,
ποτὲ
δὲ
ἀναβαστάζοντες
ἦγον.
ἡ
δὲ
κράζουσα
ἔλεγενͅ·
κύριε
Ἰησοῦ
Χριστὲ,
βοήθει
μοι.
καὶ
ὅλος
ὁ
ὄχλος
ἠκολούθει
ποταμῃδὸν,
καὶ
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
πλήθους
ἡ
γῆ
ἐζείετο.
ἤνεγκαν
οὖν
ἀυτὴν
ἐν
τῷ
παλατίῳ
ἐις
τὸν
βασιλικὸν
κοιτῶνα·
καὶ
ὡς
ἐνέκλεισαν
ἀυτὴν,
ἠρξατο
ζητῆσαι
παρὰ
κύριον,
καὶ
λέγειν·
κύριε
τῶν
δυνάμεων,
σὺ
εἶ
θεὸς
ἀληθινὸς·
ἀυτὸς
εἶ
σχίσας
τὴν
ἐρυθρὰν
θάλασσαν,
καὶ
διαγαγὼν
τὸν
λαόν
σου·
ἀυτὸς
καὶ
τὴν
στερεὰν
πέτραν
ἔστρεψας
ἐις
πηγὴν
ὑδάτων,
καὶ
ἐπότισας
τὸν
δίψοντα
λαὸν·
ἀυτὸς
εἶ
ὁ
κατενέγκας
τὸν
δοῦλόν
σου
Ἰωνὰν
ἐν
τῷ
βυθῷ
τῆς
θαλάσσης,
καὶ
δοὺς
πείραν
λαβεῖν
τῆς
σῆς
δυνάμεως,
ἐξέσωσάς
τε
ἀυτὸν
πόῤῥω
τῆς
ἀνθρωπίνης
φύσεως,
καὶ
πάλιν
τὸ
δεύτερον
ἔκτος
φθορᾶς
ἀνήνεγκας
ἀυτὸν,
ὁλόκληρον
ἔστησας
μετὰ
τῶν
σόντων,
μηδὲ
τριχὸς
κινηθήσης
τῶν
ἀυτοῦ
βοστρύκων.
ἀυτὸς
καὶ
τὸν
δανιὴλ,
βληθέντα
βρῶμα
θηρίοις,
περιέσωσας
ἐκ
τῶν
φοβερῶν
ἀυτῶν
μυελῶν,
ἵνα
ὁ
ἀπαγορευθεὶς
ἐπὶ
τῶν
θλιβόντων
δοξασθῇ
ἀυτὸς
καὶ
τοὺς
τρεῖς
παῖδας
σώους
καὶ
ἀσπίλους
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
πυρὸς
ἐφύλαξας,
καὶ
ἐδόξασάν
σε
θεωρήσαντες
τὰ
θάυματά
σου.
ἄυτὸς
παρέσχες
χόρτον
ἐσθίειν
τὸν
σκληρότατον
καὶ
παρανομώτατον
βασιλέα
τῶν
βαβυλόνων,
ὅτι
οὐκ
ἔγνω
δοξάζειν
σε
ἐπὶ
τῶν
σῶν
θαυμάτων,
ὧν
ἔδειξας
ἀυτῷ,
ἀλλάξας
ἀυτὸν
ἐπὶ
τῇ
τῶν
κτηνῶν
μορφῇ,
καὶ
θεὶς
τὴν
κατοίκησιν
ἀυτοῦ
μετὰ
τῶν
θηρίων
τοῦ
ἄγρου,
καὶ
τὴν
νομὴν
ἀυτοῦ
μετὰ
τῶν
ὀνάγρων.
ἀυτὸς
καὶ
τὴν
δούλην
σου
σουσάνναν
δεύτερον
ἐκ
τοῦ
πικροῦ
θανάτου
ἔσωσας,
καὶ
κατῄσχυνας
τοὺς
παρανόμους
ἐχθροὺς
καὶ
ἐξωλόθρευσας,
καὶ
στέφανον
καυχήσεως
τοῖς
ἐν
σοι
πεποιθομένοις
χαρισάμενος
ἀνέστησας.
σὺ
ὁ
ἀυτὸς
ἐ͂ι,
καὶ
τὰ
ἔτη
σου
οὐκ
ἐκλείψουσιν.
ἀυτὸς,
δέσποτα,
τὴν
δόξαν
σου
ἑτέρῳ
οὐ
δώσεις·
δεδοξασμένος
γὰρ
ὑπάρχεις
ὑπὲρ
τὰ
πέρατα
τῆς
γῆς.
μὴ
βδελύγξωσι
τὰ
ἔθνη
τὸ
πανάγιον
ὄνομά
σου.
δύνασαι
κᾀμὲ
ῥύσασθαι
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
μιάσματος
τούτου,
ὅπως
τελευθήσῳ
ἐν
ἀγνότητι,
ἀποθανοῦσα
ὑπὲρ
τοῦ
ἁγίου
σοῦ
ὀνόματος.
[77] Καὶ
ὡς
ἔτι
ἡ
ἁγία
ῥιψήμη
ταύτας
τὰς
εὐχὰς
τῷ
θεῷ
προσέφερεν,
παραγενόμενος
ἐισῆλθεν
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
τηρηδάτιος
ἐις
τὸν
κοιτῶνα,
ἔνθα
ἐνεκέκλειστο
ἡ
παναγία.
ἐισελθόντος
δὲ
ἀυτοῦ,
ὁμοῦ
πάντες,
ὁι
μὲν
ἔξωθεν
τοῦ
παλατίου,
ὁι
δὲ
ἐν
ταῖς
πλατείαις,
ἄλλοι
δὲ
ἐσώτεροι,
ἄδοντες
ἐκραύγαζον
κρωτοῖς
πηδοῦντες.
καὶ
ὁι
μὲν
ᾄδοντες,
καὶ
τινὲς
μὲν
ἐν
τῷ
κάστρῳ,
ὁι
δὲ
τὸ
μέσον
τῆς
πόλεως
ἐπλήρωσαν
καὶ
παίζοντες,
λογιζόμενοι
τοῖς
γάμοις
ᾄδειν
καὶ
χορεύειν.
ὁ
δὲ
κύριος
ὁ
θεὸς,
προσεσχηκὼς
τῇ
ἀγάπῃ
τῆς
ἀυτοῦ
ῥιψημῆς,
ὥστε
περισῶσαι
ἀυτὴν,
ἵνα
μὴ
ἀπολεῖται
ἡ
παραθήκη,
ἥν
ἐφύλαξεν
καὶ
ἠσφαλίσατο
ἐὼς
τότε,
ἐνίσχυσεν
ἀυτὴν,
ὡς
τὴν
ῥαχὴλ
καὶ
δεβορὰν
καὶ
δέδωκεν
ἀυτῇ
δύναμιν,
ἵνα
ῥυσθῇ
ἀπὸ
τῆς
παρανομωτάτης
ἐκείνης
βίας.
ἐισελθὼν
οὖν
ὁ
βασιλεὺς,
ἐπέλαβεν
ἀυτῆς,
ὥστε
πληρῶσαι
τὸ
ἀθέμιτον
ἔργον.
ἀυτὴ
οὖν
ἐνδυναμωθεῖσα
ὑπὸ
τοῦ
ἁγίου
πνεύματος,
ἀνδρέιως
ἀντέστη,
ἀπωθοῦσα
ἀυτὸν·
καὶ
ἀπὸ
τρίτης
ὥρας
μαχησάμενος
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
ἐὼς
δεκάτης,
ἐκλυθεὶς
ἔπεσεν,
οὓτως
δυνατώτατος
ὢν,
ὁς
καὶ
ἐν
τῇ
Ἰωνίων
χώρᾳ
ἔτι
ὑπάρχων,
πολλὰς
δυναστείας
ἀπέδειξεν
διὰ
τὸ
τῶν
ὀστέων
στερεὸν,
ὅτε
καὶ
ἐξέστησεν
πάντας.
οὐ
μόνον,
ἀλλὰ
καὶ
ἐν
τῇ
βασιλείᾳ
ἀυτοῦ,
ἀφ᾽
οὗ
τὴν
προγονικὴν
πατρίδα
παρέλαβεν,
πολλὰ
ἔργα
τῆς
ἀυτοῦ
ἀνδρειότητος
ἀπέδειξεν,
καὶ
παυταχοῦ
ἔυφημος
γενάμενος
ἦν.
οὗτος
οὖν
ἀπὸ
μίας
κόρης
ἡττηθεὶς
τῷ
θελήματι
καὶ
τῇ
δυνάμει
τοῦ
χριστοῦ,
καὶ
ἀποκαμῶν
ἐξῆλθεν
ἔξω.
[78] Καὶ
ἐκέλευσεν
ἐνεγκεῖν
τὴν
μακαριωτάτην
γαιανὴν,
καὶ
ξύλον
κατὰ
τοῦ
τραχήλου
ἀυτῆς
κρεμασθῆναι,
καὶ
ἐπὶ
ταῖς
τοῦ
κοιτῶνος
θύραις
στῆσαι
ἀυτὴν.
ἀυτὸς
δὲ
ἐισίη
πάλιν
πρὸς
ἀυτὴν,
παραγγείλας
τοῖς
ὑπηρέταις
ἀπατῆσαι
τὴν
γαιανὴν,
ἐιπεῖν
πρὸς
τὴν
ἁγίαν
ῥιψημίαν
ἀπὸ
τῆς
θύρας,
ποιῆσαι
τὸ
θέλημα
ἀυτοῦ,
ὅπως
σὺ
καὶ
ἡμεῖς
ζήσωμέν,
φησιν.
καταδεξαμένη
οὖν
λαλῆσαι
ἀυτῇ,
προσῆλθεν
τῇ
τοῦ
κοιτῶνος
θύρᾳ,
καί
φησιν·
τέκνον
φυλάξῃ
σε
ὁ
χριστὸς
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
μιάσματος
τούτου,
καὶ
γένηταί
σοι
δύναμις.
τέκνον
ἐμὸν,
μηδαμὼς
γένηταί
σε
ἐξελθεῖν
ἀπὸ
τῆς
κληρονομίας,
καὶ
τὰ
πρόσκαιρα
ἐπιθυμῆσαι,
τὰ
μηδὲν
ὄντα
σήμερον,
καὶ
ἄυριον
ἀπολλύμενα.
ὅτε
οὖν
ἐποίησε
τὴν
προσενεχθεῖσαν
ἀυτῇ
νουθεσίαν,
λίθοίς
τὸ
στόμα
ἀυτῆς
ῥύψαντες,
τοὺς
ὄδοντας
κατέκλασαν,
καὶ
ἠνάγκαζον
ἀυτὴν
ἐιπεῖν
τὸ
θέλημα
τοῦ
βασιλέως.
ἡ
δὲ
πλέον
διισχυριζομένη
ἔλεγεν·
ἀνδρίζου
καὶ,
θεωρεῖς
τὸν
χριστὸν,
ᾧ
πεποίθεις.
μνήσθητι,
τέκνον
μου,
τῆς
πνευματικῆς
ἀνατροφῆς,
ἐν
ᾗ
σε
ἀνέτρεψα·
μνήσθητι
τῆς
θεἳκῆς
νουθεσίας,
ἐν
ᾗ
σε
ἀνήγαγον·
μνήσθητι
τῶν
ἀμφοτέρων
ἡμῶν
διωγμῶν·
μνήσθητι
τοῦ
ἀθανάτου
ποτηρίου,
ὃ
ἄμφω
πιεῖν
ἔχομεν·
μνήσθητι
τοῦ
ἐλεγχθέντος
πλουσίου
ἐν
τῷ
ᾄδῃ.
μνήσθητι
τῆς
ὀικουμενικῆς
ἀναστάσεως·
μνήσθητι
τῆς
γεέννης
τῆς
φλογιζούσης,
καὶ
τῆς
ἀιωνίου
κολάσεως·
μνήσθητι
τῶν
ἀδιαφθόρων
ἀγαθῶν,
τῶν
καὶ
ἡμῖν
ἡτοιμασμένων,
ἂν
ὑπομείνωμεν.
[79] Μνήσθητι
τῆς
θεἳκῆς
προσφωνήσεως,
ἧς
ἤκουσας
σήμερον
τοῖς
ὠσὶν,
ἐνισχυούσης
καὶ
ἐνδυναμούσης
πάσας
ἡμᾶς
μετὰ
σοῦ·
ἀυτῆ
ἀξίαν
σε
ποιήσει
τοῦ
στεφάνου,
καὶ
τῆς
ἀναπαύσεως,
ἧς
ἐπηγγείλατο·
κρατερώσει
οὖν
σε
σὺν
ἡμῖν,
ἵνα
γενώμεθα
ναοὶ
θεἳκοῦ
φωτὸς
ἐις
τὰς
ἀιωνίους
σχηνὰς.
ὁ
δὲ
κύριος
ἡμῶν
καὶ
βασιλεὺς
καὶ
θεὸς,
ὁ
δι᾽
ἡμᾶς
ἐν
ευτελείαν
ταπεινώσας
ἑαυτὸν,
μὴ
ἀφήσῃ
ἡμᾶς
τὰς
εὐτελεῖς,
ὅτι
ἀντὸν
ποθοῦμεν.
ὁ
σωτὴρ
τοῦ
κόσμου
βοηθήσει
ἡμῖν,
ὃς
οὐκ
ἔιασεν
ἡμᾶς
ἐὼς
ἄρτι
τὰς
ἐπ᾽
ἀυτὸν
πεποιθυίας,
καὶ
ἠξίωσεν
ἡμᾶς
ἐνδυναμωθῆναι
διὰ
τῶν
ἰδίων
λόγων.
τῶν
γὰρ
ταπεινῶν
ἐστιν
ὁ
δεσπότης
ἀυτὸς,
καὶ
φυλάξει
ἡμᾶς
τὰς
δούλας
ἀυτοῦ
ἀπὸ
πάσης
ἁμαρτίας,
κάθως
σήμερον
ἠκούσαμεν.
διεφύλαξεν
γὰρ
ἡμᾶς
ὁ
παντοδύναμος
δεξιᾷ,
καὶ
σκεπάσει
ἐις
τέλος,
μόνον
μὴ
ἀπόστωμεν
τῆς
ἀυτοῦ
ἀγάπης,
ἀλλ᾽
ἐξεγείρει
τὰς
δυναστείας
ἀυτοῦ,
καὶ
ἤλθει
ἐις
τὸ
σῶσαι
ἡμᾶς·
καὶ
ἡμεῖς
τὸ
ὄνομα
κυρίου
ἐπικαλεσόμεθα,
ἐπιφᾶναι
τὸ
πρόσωπον
ἀυτοῦ
ἐφ᾽
ἡμᾶς,
καὶ
σωθησόμεθα.
ἀυτὸς
γάρ
ἐστιν
ὁ
θεὸς
ὁ
κύριος
ἡμῶν
ἔνεκεν
ἀυτοῦ
θανάτου.
μεθ᾽
ὅλην
τὴν
ἡμέραν
μνήσθητι
τοῦ
δεσπότου,
ὅτι
διὰ
τὸ
ἡμᾶς
ὑψῶσαι
ἐταπεινώθη,
καὶ
τὸ
αἷμα
ἀυτοῦ
ἐξεκένωσεν
ὑπὲρ
τῆς
ζωῆς
ἡμῶν,
καὶ
διὰ
τὴν
σωτηρίαν
ἡμῶν
ἐις
θάνατον
παρεδώθη.
θὲς
ἀυτὸν
ἐν
τῇ
ψυχῇ
σου,
καὶ
ἐπικαλοῦ
ἀυτὸν
ἐν
τῇ
καρδίᾳ
σου.
ἰδοὺ
ἔφθασεν
ἐις
βοήθειαν,
καὶ
ἐνισχύσει
τοὺς
βραχιόνας
σου,
ὡς
τοῦ
παιδὸς
δαβὶδ
ἐπὶ
τοὺς
ἄρκτους
καὶ
τοὺς
λέοντας,
οὓς
ἐρίφων
δίκην
σχήσας
ἔκλασεν.
ἀυτὸς
συνέτριψεν
διά
χειρὸς
δαβὶδ
τοῦ
δούλου
ἀυτοῦ,
συντρίψει
οὖν
καὶ
τὴν
τῆς
ἀνομίας
τούτου
κακίαν
ἐνώπιόν
σου,
θυγάτηρ
τῆς
πίστεως
δαβὶδ,
ἡ
ἀνατραφεῖσα
ἐπὶ
τοὺς
βραχίονάς
μου
ἐν
δικαιοσύνῃ,
καὶ
ἐνώπιον
τού
δεδοξασμένου
θυσιαστηρίου
τοῦ
θεοῦ.
ὅστις
καὶ
σήμερον
ἀπεκαλύφθη
ἡμῖν
διὰ
τῆς
φιλανθρωπίας
ἀυτοῦ,
καὶ
τῶν
ἰδίων
ἐικτιρμῶν,
ἀυτὸς
δώσει
σοι
σὺν
ἐμοὶ
ἄνευ
ἀισχύτης
ἰδεῖν
τὸ
πρόσωπον
ἀυτοῦ.
[80] Ταῦτα
οὖν
πάντα
ἐλάλει
ἡ
ἁγία
γαιανὴ
ἐν
τῇ
ῥωμαικῇ
διαλέκτῳ
ἀπὸ
τῆς
θύρας
τοῦ
κοιτῶνος,
ἔτι
τοῦ
βασιλέως
μαχομένου
μετὰ
τῆς
ἁγίας
ῥιψήμης.
ἦσαν
δέ
τινες
τῶν
ὑπηρέτων
τοῦ
βασιλέως
ἀκούοντες
τὴν
τῶν
ῥωμαίων
ὁμιλίαν·
καὶ
ὡς
ἤκουσαν
ταῦτα
πάντα,
ἃ
ἐλάλησεν
γαιανὴ
μετὰ
τῆς
παιδὸς,
ἐπῆἳραν
ἀυτὴν
ἀπὸ
τῆς
θύρας.
ἐι
γὰρ
καὶ
πολλάκις
ἔτυψαν
ἀυτῆς
τὸ
πρόσωπον
λίθοις,
καὶ
τὸ
στόμα
σὺν
τοῖς
ὀδοῦσιν,
καὶ
ταῖς
οὐλαῖς
συνέτριψαν·
ἀλλ᾽
ὅμως
ἀυτὴ
οὐκ
ἤλλαξεν
τοὺς
λόγους,
τοῦ
λαλῆσαι
ἄλλως
πρὸς
τὴν
παρθένον,
ἀλλὰ
καθὼς
ἤρξατο
τοῖς
ἀυτοῖς
προσέθηκεν.
ἐμαχήσατο
οὖν
ἔτι
μετ᾽
ἀυτῆς
ἀπὸ
τῆς
δεκάτης
ὥρας
ἐὼς
μίας
φυλακῆς
τῆς
νυκτὸς.
καὶ
ἐνδυναμωθεῖσα
ἡ
νεάνις
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
ἁγίου
πνεύματος
ἔῤῥιψεν
τὸν
βασιλέα,
ὀλιγωρήσαντα
καὶ
ἐκλυθέντα,
γυμνὸν
καὶ
ἐκδεδυμένον
ἀπὸ
τῶν
ἱματίων
καὶ
τῆς
στολῆς
ἀυτοῦ·
ἐσκόρπησεν
δὲ
καὶ
τὰ
κόσμια
τοῦ
διαδήματος,
καὶ
ἐν
ἀισχύνῃ
κατέλιπεν
ἀυτὸν.
ἐξῆλθεν
δὲ
τὰ
ἰδία
ἐνδύματα
κατεσχισμένα
φοροῦσα,
πλὴν
ὅμως
ἀσπίλως
φυλαχθεῖσα
ἔμεινεν
ἐν
ἀγνότητι,
καὶ
ἀνοίξασα
τὴν
θύραν,
βίᾳ
ἐξῆλθεν,
καὶ
σχίσασα
τὸν
ὄχλον
παρῆλθεν
διὰ
μέσης
τῆς
πόλεως,
μηδενὸς
ἰσχύσαντος
κρατῆσαι
ἀυτὴν.
διαπερῶσα
οὖν
ἐξείη
κατὰ
ἀνατολὰς
τὴν
πύλην,
καὶ
ἐλθοῦσα
ἐις
τὴν
ληνὸν,
ὅπου
τὸ
πρότερον
ἦν
ἡ
καταμονὴ
ἀυτῶν,
εὐηγγελίζετο
ταῖς
λοιπαῖς
παρθένοις.
[81] Μείνασαι
δὲ
μικρὸν
ἀπὸ
τῆς
πόλεως
ἐις
τὰ
μέρη
τὰ
βόρεια
κατὰ
ἀνατολὰς
ἐν
λόφῳ
τινὶ
ἀμμώδει,
ἐχόμενα
τῆς
βασιλικῆς
ὁδοῦ,
τῆς
ἀποφερούσης
ἐις
τὴν
ἀρταξὰτ
πόλιν,
γονυκλίνασαι
ἤυχοντο,
λέγουσαι·
κύριε
παντοκράτορ,
τίς
δυνηθῆ
ἀνταποδοῦναί
σοι
ἀντὶ
τῶν
ἀγαθῶν,
τῶν
παρὰ
σοῦ
ἡμῖν
χαρισθέντων,
ὅτι
ἐφύλαξας
τήν
ἐλπίδα
ἡμῶν,
καὶ
ἔσωσας
ἡμᾶς
ἀπὸ
τῶν
μιαρῶν
ὀδόντων
τοῦ
θηρὸς,
βουλομένου
διαφθεῖραι
ἡμᾶς.
τίς
οὖν
ἔστιν
ἐν
ἡμῖν
δύναμις
ἀνταποδοῦναί
σοι;
ἀλλ᾽
ἁι
ψυκαὶ
ἡμῶν
ἔστωσαν
ἀντὶ
τῆς
σωτηριώδους
ἀγάπης
σου.
ἀυτὸς
γὰρ
κατηξίωσας
ἡμᾶς
τῆς
σῆς
ὑπηρεσίας
βαστάζειν
τὸ
ὄνομά
σου,
ἐν
ᾧ
ἔσωσας
ἡμᾶς.
πλὴν
γάρ
σοι,
δέσποτα,
ἄλλον
οὐκ
ὄιδαμεν,
καὶ
τὸ
ὄνομά
σου
ὀνομάζομεν
ὅλην
τὴν
ἡμέραν.
ἡμῖν
δὲ
ἀγαθόν
ἐστιν
ἀποθανεῖν
ἐν
τῇ
ἁγιότητι
ἡμῶν,
ἢ
ἵνα
ἐκτείνομεν
τὰς
χεῖρας
ἡμῶν
πρὸς
θεὸν
ἀλλότριον.
οὐδὲν
γὰρ
ἐισὶ
τὰ
σεβάσματα
τῶν
ἐθνῶν.
ἀυτὸς
ἐ͂ι
δημιουργὸς
μετὰ
τοῦ
μονογενοῦς
σου
ὑιοῦ,
οὗ
χωρὶς
ἐγένετο
οὐδὲν,
καὶ
τὸ
ἀγαθόν
σου
πνεῦμα,
τὸ
ὁδηγοῦν
ἡμᾷς
ἐν
γῇ
εὐθείᾳ
καὶ
ἀποφέρον
ἡμὰς
ἐις
τὰ
ἀιώνια
καὶ
ἐπουράνια
ἀγαθὰ,
ἵνα
ἄνευ
ἀισχύνης
παρασταθῶμεν
τῷ
μονογενεῖ
σου
μετὰ
τῶν
ἐκ
δεξιῶν,
ὅταν
ἀποστείλῃς
ἀυτὸν
ἐξ
ἑτοίμου
κατοικητηρίου
ἀυτοῦ
ἐπισκέψασθαι
παντας
τοὺς
κατοικοῦντας
τὴν
γῆν.
[82] Ὁ
πλάσας
καταμόνας
τὸν
ἄνθρωπον,
ὁ
συνεὶς
ἐις
πάντα
τὰ
ἔργα
ἀυτῶν,
ἡμεῖς
γὰρ
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
λαοῦ
σου
ὑπάρχομεν
καὶ
τῶν
προβάτων
τῆς
νομῆς
σου·
ἐισέλθωμεν
οὖν
ἐις
τὰς
σκηνὰς,
ἃς
ἡτοίμασας
τοῖς
ἀγαπητοῖς
σου.
σπεύδομεν,
δέσποτα,
ἐξελθεῖν
ἐκ
τοῦ
σώματος
τούτου,
ἵνα
συναφθῶμεν
ἐις
τὸν
χορὸν
τοῦ
ἀγαπητοῦ
μονογενοῦς
σου
μετὰ
τοῦ
ἀριθμοῦ
τῶν
ἠγαπηκότων
τὴν
ἡμέραν
τῆς
ἐπιφανείας
τοῦ
κυρίου
ἡμῶν
Ἰησοῦ
Χριστοῦ.
μόνον
ἀπὸ
τῆς
ἀκαθαρσίας
ῥύσαι
ἡμᾶς.
ἐλθέτωσαν
δὲ
ἐφ᾽
ἡμᾶς
βάσανοι
ἔνεκεν
τοῦ
ὀνόματός
σου.
ἕτοιμαι
γὰρ
ἔσμεν,
καὶ
ἐπιστάμεθα,
ὅτι
οὐ
μὴ
παρίδῃς
ἡμᾶς.
ἀυτὸς
γὰρ,
δέσποτα,
μαρτυρεῖς
τῇ
ἐμῇ
ταπεινώσει,
ὅτι
γηινὴν
ζωὴν
ἐπεθύμησα
ἐκ
νέας
μου
ἡληκίας.
ἐπειδὴ
ἀνεβλέψας,
ἐπιστευσα
τῷ
ἐιρημένῳ
σου
λόγῳ·
οὐαὶ
ὑμῖν
ὅταν
καλοὺς
ἡμᾶς
ἔιπωσιν
ὁι
ἄνθρωποι·
μακάριοι
δέ
ἐστε,
ὅταν
διώξωσιν
ὑμᾶς,
καὶ
ὀνειδίσωσιν,
καὶ
ἔιπωσι
παμπονηρὸν
ῥῆμα
καθ᾽
ὑμᾶς
ψευδόμενοι,
ἔνεκεν
ἐμοῦ·
χάιρετε
καὶ
ἀγαλλιᾶσθε.
ἀληθῶς,
δέσποτα,
ἐχάρημεν
ἐπὶ
τῷ
ἐπελθόντι
ἡμῖν
τοῦτῳ
πολέμῳ,
ὥστε
ἀθλῆσαι
ἡμᾶς
ἐν
τῇ
σῇ
ἀγάπῃ.
ἐνίκησεν
γὰρ
ἡ
σὴ
δύναμις,
καὶ
δέδωκεν
ἡμῖν
τὴν
νίκην.
εὐφράνθημεν
ἀνθ᾽
ὧν
ἡμέρων
ἐταπείνωσας
ἡμᾶς,
ἔτων,
ὧν
ἔιδομεν
κακὰ.
καὶ
ἴδε
ἐπὶ
τὰς
δούλας
σου
καὶ
τὰ
ἔργα
σου,
καὶ
ὁδήγησον
ἡμᾶς
ἐν
τῇ
ἄνω
Ἰερουσαλὴμ
καὶ
οὐρανίῳ,
ὅπου
συνάγεις
τοὺς
σοὺς
ἁγίους,
καὶ
ἔστω
ἡ
λαμπρότης
κυρίου
τοῦ
θεοῦ
ἡμῶν
ἐφ᾽
ἡμᾶς.
[93] Ἔτι
δὲ
λαλούσης
ταῦτα
πάντα
τῆς
ἁγίας
ῥιψήμης,
ἐν
ἀυτῇ
τῇ
νυκτὶ
ἐπέστησαν
ἐις
τὸν
τόπον
ὁι
ἄρχοντες
τοῦ
βασιλέως,
καὶ
ὁ
ἀρχιμάγηρος
μετὰ
τῶν
στρατιωτῶν,
λαμπάδας
βαστάζοντες,
καὶ
προσελθόντες
ἔδησαν
ἐξάγκονα
τὴν
ἁγίαν
ῥιψήμην,
καὶ
ἐξήτουν
γλωττοτομῆσαι.
ἡ
δὲ
ἑκουσίως
προέφερεν
ἐκβάλλουσα
τὴν
γλώτταν,
καὶ
ἀυτίκα
τὰ
περὶ
ἀυτὴν
ἱμάτια
περισχίσαντες
χερσὶ
καὶ
ποσὶ,
καὶ
τανύσαντες
τὰς
λαμπάδας
τῷ
σώματι
προσέφερον,
καὶ
οὕτως
τῷ
πυρὶ
τῶν
λαμπάδων
τὸ
σῶμα
καύσαντες,
καὶ
λίθους
ὄξεις
ἐν
τοῖς
κόλποις
ἀυτῆς
πήξαντες,
ἐσκόρπησαν
τὰ
σπλάχνα
ἀυτῆς,
καὶ
ἔτι
ἐχούσης
πνοὴν
τοὺς
ὀφθαλμοὺς
ἐξόρυξαν.
μετὰ
ταῦτα
δὲ
καταμελήσαντες
ἀυτὴν,
ἔλεγον·
πάντες
ὁι
τοῖς
βασιλικοῖς
προστάγμασιν
ἀνθιστάμενοι
τούτῳ
τῷ
τρόπῳ
ἀπολέσθωσαν.
ἦσαν
δὲ
καὶ
ἄλλοι
ἅγιοι
ἄνδρες
τε
καὶ
γυναῖκες,
πλείους
ἑβδομήκοντα
ὀνομάτων,
ὁι
σὺν
ἀυταῖς
ἐλθόντες
ἔξω,
τινὲς
τὸν
τόπον
φθάσαντες
ἐζήτουν
τὰ
λείψανα
ἀυτῶν
συστεῖλαι
καὶ
θάψαι.
τούτοις
οὖν
ξίφη
ἐπιθέντες
ἀνεῖλαν
ὀνόματα
τριάκοντα
δύο,
καὶ
ἀυτὸι
δὲ
ἔλεγον
οὕτως·
ἠγαπήσαμεν,
κύριε,
ἵνα
ἐισακούσῃς
τῆς
φωνῆς
τῆς
δεήσεως
ἡμῶν·
ἔκλινας
τὸ
οὖς
σου,
ἀγαθὲ,
καὶ
ἡμεῖς
ἐπικαλεσάμεθά
σε.
δόξα
σοι,
τῷ
μὴ
ὑστερήσαντι
τὴν
ἡμῶν
ἀναξιότητα
τῶν
σῶν
ἀγαθῶν,
φιλάνθρωπε.
ἐφύλαξας
ἡμᾶς
ὡς
κόρην
ὀφθαλμοῦ,
καὶ
ἐν
σκέπῃ
τῶν
πτερύγων
σου
ἐσκέπασας
ἀπὸ
τῶν
ἀνόμων
πλήθους.
πρόβατα
γὰρ
ἐσμὲν
τοῦ
ἐνδόξου
σοῦ
ὀνόματος.
ταῦτα
δὲ
ἐπὶ
τὸ
ἀυτὸ
ἐιπόντες
ἐτελειώθησαν.
[84] Μίαν
ἐξ
ἀυτῶν,
ἀσθενοῦσαν
ἐν
τῇ
καταμονῇ
ἀυτῶν
τῇ
ληνῷ,
ἀπέκτειναν,
καὶ
ἀυτὴν
ἐιρηκυῖαν
οὕτως
ἐν
ὥρᾳ
τῆς
τελευτῆς
ἀυτῆς·
εὐχαριστῶ
σοι,
δέσποτα
φιλάνθρωπε,
τῷ
κᾀμὲ
μὴ
ὑστερήσαντι.
ἀσθενὴς
γὰρ
ὑπάρχουσα,
οὐκ
ἠδυνήθην
δραμεῖν
ὀπίσω
τῶν
ἐμῶν
ἐταίρων·
ὁμῶς
δὲ,
ἀγαθὲ
καὶ
ἐλεήμων
δέξαι
καὶ
συνάψον
τὸ
ἐμὸν
πνεῦμα
ἐις
τὸν
χόρον
τῶν
σου
μαρτύρων,
ἐμῶν
δὲ
ἀδελφῶν,
μετὰ
τῆς
μητρὸς
ἡμῶν
γαιανῆς,
καὶ
ἀδελφῆς
καὶ
τέκνου
ἡμῶν
ῥιψήμης.
καὶ
ἀυτὴ
οὖν
οὗτως
λαλήσασα
ἐκοιμήθη.
σύραντες
δὲ
τὰ
σώματα
ἔξω
ἔῤῤιψαν
βρῶμα
γένεσθαι
κυσὶν
τῆς
πόλεως,
καὶ
πετεινοῖς
καὶ
θηρίοις.
[85] Ὁ
δὲ
βασιλεὺς
μεγάλως
ἐνετράπη,
ὁ
οὕτως
ὀνομαστὸς
πανταχοῦ
γενάμενος
ἐν
πολέμῳ,
καὶ
μάλιστα
ἐν
τοῖς
ὀλυμπιακοῖς
ἀγῶσι
τῆς
Ἰωνίας
γῆς
γιγανταῖος
φανεὶς,
καὶ
πολέμους
ἐπέκεινα
τοῦ
εὐφράτου
ποταμοῦ
κατορθώσας
ἐις
τὰ
μέρη
τῶν
σαρακηνῶν,
ὅπου
ποτὲ
τρωθεὶς
ἐξίει
μετὰ
τοῦ
ἵππου
τὸν
πόλεμον
φεύγων,
καὶ
ὥστε
μὴ
καταλυφθῆναι
τόν
τε
ἵππον
σύρων
καὶ
τὰ
ὀικεῖα
ὅπλα
καὶ
τὸ
τοῦ
ἵππου
ἐνδυμα
τοῖς
μεταφρένοις
ἐπιθεὶς,
διενήξατο
τὸν
εὐφράτην·
καὶ
οὗτος
πανταχοῦ
στερεώτατος
τοῖς
ὀστέοις
ἀπὸ
μιὰς
νεανίδος
ἡττηθεὶς
κατισχύνθη
θελήματι
τοῦ
θεοῦ.
ὅμως
δὲ
παριδὼν
τὴν
ἑαυτοῦ
ἀισχύνην,
ἐις
δὲ
τὴν
ὅρασιν
τῆς
ὄψεως
τῆς
κόρης,
καὶ
τῆς
ἀυτῆς
φιλίας
θερμανθεὶς,
ἐν
μεγίστῃ
λυπῂ
καὶ
πένθει
ἑκάθητο,
τὸν
θάνατον
τῆς
κόρης
ὀδυρόμενος,
βλέπετε,
λέγων,
τὸ
γοητικὸν
γένος
τῆς
τῶν
χριστιανῶν
θρησκείας
πῶς
ἀπόλλυσι
τὰς
ψυχὰς
τῶν
ἀνθρώπων,
διαστρέφοντες
ἀπὸ
τῆς
θεῶν
προσκυνήσεως,
καὶ
τῆς
μὲν
παρούσης
ζωῆς
καὶ
ἀπολαύσεως
καταφρονοῦσι,
τὸν
θάνατον
οὐ
φοβοῦνται.
ἐννόω
δὲ
μάλιστα
τὴν
θαυμασιωτάτην
ῥιψήμεν,
ἧς
οὐκ
ἐξισούτο
τις
ἐν
συγκρίσει
τῶν
γηγενῶν
γυναικῶν.
ὀπίσω
γὰρ
ἀυτὴς
ἡ
καρδία
μου
ἀπομένει,
καὶ
οὐκ
ἐπιλανθάνομαι
ἀυτῆς
ἐὼς
ἂν
ἐιμὶ
ἐν
τῇ
ζωῇ
τηρηδάτιος
ὁ
βασιλεὺς.
τὴν
γὰρ
Ἰωνίαν
καὶ
ῥωμαίαν
χώραν
ἐπίσταμαι,
καὶ
τὰ
μέρη
τῶν
πάρθων,
ἀσσυρίαν
τε
καὶ
περσικὴν,
καὶ
ἵνα
μὴ
ἐφεξῆς
ὀνομάσω,
πολλοὺς
γὰρ
τόπους,
καὶ
χώρας
ἐν
πολέμῳ
κατέλαβον,
πλείστους
τε
καὶ
μετ᾽
ἐιρήνης,
καὶ
τοῦ
κάλλους
ταύτης
ὅμοιον
οὐκ
ἐθεώρησα
πόποτε,
ἣν
διαστρέψαντες
ἦσαν
ὁι
γοηταὶ,
οὕτως
ὑπερβαλλόντως
φαρμακεύσαντες,
ὡς
κἀμὲ
νικῆσαι.
Τῇ
δὲ
ἐπιούσῃ
προσελθὼν
ό
ἀρχιμάγηρος,
διάταγμα
ἤτει
λαβεῖν
περὶ
τῆς
ἁγίας
γαιανῆς,
ποίῳ
θατάτῳ
ἀυτὴν
ἀποκτεῖνῃ.
ἀυτός
οὖν
ἀκούσας,
ὡς
ἐξεστηκὼς
ἀπὸ
τῆς
φιλίας
καὶ
μωρανθεὶς
καὶ
ἐκλυθεὶς
καὶ
ἔξω
ἑαυτῷ·
γενάμενος,
ἐνόμησεν
ζῆν
τὴν
ἁγίαν
ῥιψήμην,
καί
φησιν·
ἐπὶ
μεγάλῳ
ἀξιώματι
καὶ
τιμῇ
καὶ
δώροις
ἵστημι
τὸν
δυνάμενον
πεῖσαι
τὴν
κόρην
ἐλθεῖν
πρὸς
μὲ.
ὁ
δὲ
ἀρχιμάγηρος
ἔφη
οὕτως·
ἀπολοῦνται
πάντες
ὁι
τοῦ
βασιλέως
ἐχθροὶ,
καὶ
ὁι
τῶν
θεῶν
καταφρονοῦντες,
καὶ
τῶν
βασιλικῶν
προσταγμάτων,
ὡς
ἐκείνη.
ἡ
δὲ
διαστρέψασα
ἀυτὴν
γοήτρια
μετὰ
δυαῖν
ἑταίρων
ἀυτῆς
ζῆ.
καὶ
ὡς
ἤκουσεν
τὸν
τῆς
ἁγίας
ῥιψήμης
θάνατον
ὁ
βασιλεὺς,
πάλιν
ἐν
λύπῃ
κατεπόθη
καὶ
καταβὰς
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
θρόνου,
ἐπὶ
τὴν
γῆν
ἐκάθησεν
καὶ
ἐθρήνει
καὶ
ἔκλαιεν.
πάλιν
οὖν
κελεύει
τὴν
ἁγίαν
γαιανὴν,
ὥστε
τὴν
ἀυτῆς
γλώσσαν
διὰ
τοῦ
τένοντος
ὄπισθεν
πρῶτον
ἐκβαλεῖν,
καὶ
οὕτως
άποκτανθῆναι
ἀυτὴν,
ἐπειδὴ
ἐτόλμησέν,
φησιν,
ἐν
διαστρόφῳ
νουθεσίᾳ
ἀπολέσαι
τοιαύτην
κόρην,
ἔχουσαν
τὴν
τῶν
θεῶν
εὐμορφίαν
ἐν
μέσῳ
τῶν
ἀνθρώπων.
διὰ
τοῦτο
πρῶτον
καταπήξαντες,
οὗτως
ἀυτὴν
ἀποκτείνατε.
δεξάμενος
οὖν
τὴν
παραγγελίαν,
ὁ
ἀρχιμάγηρος
ἐκέλευσεν
ἔχουσας
τὰς
ἀλύσεις
ἐκβαλεῖν
άυτὰς
διὰ
τῆς
ἡλιακῆς
πύλης
τῆς
πόλεως
ἐις
τὰ
μέρη
τῆς
βασιλικῆς
ὁδοῦ,
τῆς
ἀποφερούσης
ἐις
τὴν
γέφυραν
τοῦ
βαθυτάτου
καλουμένου
ποταμοῦ,
ἐις
τὸν
τόπον,
ὅπου
πάντας
τοὺς
καταδίκους
ἐφονευον
ἐν
τῇ
πεδιάδι
παρὰ
τὸ
φοσσάτον,
τὸ
τὴν
πόλιν
κυκλοῦν.
[87] Καὶ
πησσόντων
ἀυτῶν
πάλους
τέσσαρας
μιᾷ
ἑκαστῆ
ἀυτῶν,
καὶ
ἑτοιμαζόντων·
ἠρξατο
ἡ
ἁγία
γαιανὴ
σὺν
ταῖς
ἄλλαις
λαλεῖν
οὕτως·
εὐχαριστοῦμέν
σοι,
δέσποτα,
τῶι
καταξιώσαντι
τὴν
ἡμῶν
ἀναξιότητα
ἀποθανεῖν
ὑπὲρ
τοῦ
μεγάλου
σου
ὀνόματος,
καὶ
ετίμησας
τὴν
γηινὴν
ἡμῶν
φύσιν
ἀξιωθῆναι
τῆς
θεότητος,
καὶ
συγκοινωνοὺς
ἡμᾶς
πεποίηκας
ταῖς
μάρτυσι
ῥιψήμῃ
καὶ
ταῖς
λοιπαῖς.
νῦν
δὲ
σπεύδουσαι
ἐπιποθοῦμεν
καταλαβεῖν
ὀπίσω
τῆς
ἡμῶν
θυγατρὸς
ῥιψήμης
καὶ
τῶν
ἀδελφῶν.
μνήσθητι
οὖν
ἡμῶν,
δέσποτα,
ὅτι
ἔνεκά
σου
θανατούμεθα
ὅλην
τὴν
ἡμέραν,
ἐλογίσθημεν
γὰρ
ὡς
πρόβατα
σφαγῆς.
ἀνάστα
καὶ
μὴ
ἀπώσῃ
ἡμᾶς
ἔνεκεν
τοῦ
ὀνόματός
σου,
καὶ
δὸς
ἡμῖν
τὴν
νίκην
σου.
ὁ
δὲ
πονηρὸς
ἅμα
τῷ
συνέργῳ
ἀυτοῦ,
ὡς
πάντοτε,
καὶ
νῦν
ἐντραπήσεται.
[88] Μετὰ
ταῦτα
οὖν
προσελθόντες
περιέσχισαν
τὰ
ἱμάτια
ἀπο
τῶν
μελῶν
ἀυτῶν,
καὶ
ἐτανύσαν
μίαν
ἑκάστην
τέσσαρσι
πάλοις,
τοὺς
δὲ
ἀστραγάλους
τρυπήσαντες
καὶ
ἀυλίσκῳ
φυσοῦντες,
ὡς
ἀσκοὺς,
ἐξέδηραν
τὰ
τῶν
ἁγίων
δέρματα
κάτωθεν
ἀπὸ
τῶν
ποδῶν
ἐὼς
τῶν
μασθῶν
ἀυτῶν
ἐπὶ
τὸ
ἀυτὸ
ἅμα
τῶν
τριχῶν.
τὰς
δὲ
γλώσσας
διὰ
τὸν
ἀυχένων
τρυπήσαντες
ἐξέβαλον,
καὶ
λίθους
ὄξεις
ἐν
τοῖς
κόλποις
ἀυτῶν
πήξαντες
διεσκόρπησαν
τὰ
σπλάχνα
ἀυτῶν,
καὶ
ἔτι
σῶσαι
τὰς
κεφαλὰς
ἀπετμήθησαν
ξίφεσιν.
ὁι
δὲ
ἅμα
ἀυταῖς
παραγενάμενοι
ἀπὸ
τῆς
ῥωμαίων
χώρας,
πλείους
ὑπῆρχον
ἑβδομήκοντα.
ὁι
δὲ
σφαγέντες
μετὰ
τῶν
ἁγίων
γαιανῆς
καὶ
ῥιψήμης,
ἃμα
ταῖς
λοιπαῖς
τριάκοντα
ἕπτα
ἦσαν
τὸν
ἀριθμὸν.
τοσοῦτος
ἦν
ὁ
χορὸς
τῶν
μαρτύρων.
τῇ
ἐικάδῃ
οὐν
καὶ
ἑκτῃ
τοῦ
μηνὸς
σεπτεμβρίου
ἐτελειώθη
ἡ
ἁγία
ῥιψήμη
ἅμα
τοῖς
σὺν
ἀυτῇ
ἀθληταῖς,
ἐικάδῃ
δὲ
καὶ
ἑβδόμῃ
τοῦ
ἀυτοῦ
μηνὸς
ἡ
γαιανὴ
σὺν
ταῖς
δυσὶν
ἔλαβεν
τὸν
στέφανον
τῆς
νίκης.
When St. Ripsime was sought by Teridates, Gaiana exhorting her, But very many of them, and especially those who were faithful
to the king, coming to him, narrated
concerning Ripsime's beauty. But on the next day, in the
morning twilight, the king straightway ordered the most blessed
Ripsimia to be brought to the palace, and holy
Gaiana together with the rest to be kept in that place. Therefore
swiftly from the royal palace litters variegated with gold a
with a multitude of guards came to the wine-presses
where the Saints were staying outside the city,
and with them a most precious and soft raiment: and bringing
splendid ornaments, they gave them to her,
that entering the city with honour and glory she might see
the king. For before the king had seen her, he wished
to take her to wife, because he had heard those who told
of her excellent beauty. When therefore the most holy Gaiana
beheld all these things, she began to address
her who had been brought up with her, and says: Be mindful,
my daughter, that thou hast left the magnificent honour and
the royal throne sprinkled with gold, of thy parents,
and the royal purple b, and hast desired
the incomprehensible light of the kingdom of Christ, who is
the founder, preserver and renewer of all things; who
promised that he would keep unspeakable good things for those who hope
in him. Thou, my daughter, hast counted as nothing
the temporal purple of thy forefathers:
now therefore in this region of barbarians thou shalt not give
thy holy chastity as food to dogs. Far be it,
my daughter, that these things should so come to pass: but may he receive us
with thee, who has led us from our childhood even
to this day, and to the hour in which
we are.
[72] she by prayers When therefore holy Ripsime saw the crowd
drawing near to her, and heard these things from her nurse,
for armour she put on the strength of the spirit, and having
from her youth the faith of her Lord for a
breastplate, she cried out with a lifted voice, and joined her hands
in the form of a cross, and began with a loud voice
to speak thus: Lord God almighty, who hast made
all things through thy beloved Son, and hast adorned all things through
thy Holy Spirit, both visible
and invisible; thou art he who out of things that were not
didst bring all things into being: for by thy word
were they established, both what is in heaven and what is
upon the earth, both what is in the sea and what
is on the dry land: thou, Lord, didst bring the flood upon
the wicked and accursed men of the eighth generation,
and didst rescue thy beloved Noah, who
observed the words of thy ordinance; and him thou didst preserve from the waters
of the flood in a wooden ark, which bore the figure of the cross.
Thou who then by the figure of the cross didst give salvation,
now also grant salvation through thy true
cross, upon which mounting thou didst pour out thy blood
for the healing of our wounds. Thou who didst keep
Abraham in the midst of the impious Chananeans,
and didst defend thy handmaid Sara from foul and
accursed infamy, who hadst mercy on thy servant Isaac,
and didst preserve thy handmaid Rebecca from the wicked
Philistines; forsake us not for thy most holy
name's sake.
[73] Thou who teachest and instructest us, and puttest thy words
in our mouth, that by these we may be delivered from the snare
of the enemy, and hast said: Because my name is called
upon you. And: she implores God's help, You are the temple of my
Godhead. And of old: Because my name shall be sanctified
in your hearts; and thou hast given words in
our mouth, that we may ask and say: Hallowed be
thy name. Now this we ask of thee: Behold,
a multitude of the wicked is gathered together, that in us
they may defile thy holy name, and the temple
of thy name. Even though we be weak and
lowly, yet do thou, gracious Saviour, keep
our souls from impure foulness. Thou who hast permitted
this temptation to rush upon us, give us victory by thy
power: for thine is the victory, and thy name
shall conquer. Preserve us in the hope of chastity,
that with it we may enter into the set-apart number
of thine elect, and obtain the reward
of our labours, which thou wilt give to each one who shall have remained
in thy covenant and kept thy precepts.
Even as Noah from the flood of waters,
so deliver us from the wicked flood which
surrounds us. For if thou didst preserve both wild beasts and cattle
in the ark, how much more wilt thou not forsake thine own
image, which gives glory to thee, who alone art glorious?
[74] When these things had been thus spoken by her, a multitude of men
flowed together. and all the Virgins together refuse the king's nuptials. For they were numberless: the king's ministers,
who had come to conduct her to the palace, satraps,
nobles and prefects, who were present to do her
honour and to go away with her, that they might lead her away
as the king's wife and queen of Armenia.
But all the Virgins together, wailing, and lifting their hands
to heaven, besought the gracious Lord
that they might be freed from those most wicked and nefarious nuptials,
and with lifted voice, with great weeping, they cried out, saying:
Far be it that riches should deceive us, that pleasure should
soften us, that royal dignity should overturn us, or persecution
crush us, or that we should fail under torments. By no means
do we fear the most savage death which you will
inflict upon us. Far be it that we should exchange for temporal things
eternal things, immortal life, whose dominion does not
pass away, and unceasing good things. Nay, neither depth,
nor height, nor peril, nor sword, nor
afflictions, nor bonds, nor torments, nor fire,
nor water, nor exaltations, nor deceptions, nor
majesty, nor beggary, nor things present, nor
things to come, nor life, nor death can separate us
from the charity of Christ. To him we have promised our virginity,
to him we offer our purity: him we receive,
and his love we desire, until
we stand before his glory and praise without shame and
confusion.
[75] And there came a most violent thunder,
so that the crowd was terrified: When St. Ripsime was unwilling to come to the king, at his command, but they heard a voice
saying to them: Be of manly courage, and be confident:
for I am with you, and have kept you in all
your ways, and out of this place I will take you, preserved without
stain, that here also my name may be glorified in
the Northern parts of the nations c. And most of all,
Ripsime, according to thy name thou art cast forth d, with
Gaiana and the rest, out of death into life. Therefore fear not,
but come into the place where there is prepared for you,
and for those who are like you, unspeakable
delight. And so, as the thunder prevailed, men
were blinded with fear; the horses of many, champing
the bit, shook off their riders, and trampled
and killed many: and with shouting and
tumult all were thrown into a ferment, and some were trampled
by others in turn. For terror had made all
astonished, and with much blood shed e they defiled the ground.
When therefore this tumult had arisen among those gathered together,
certain of the ministers, running off out of the midst of the crowds,
reported to the king all their
words, and all that has now been related. But the king said that,
since she had been unwilling to come with honour and peace, she should be brought by force
to the palace, and led into the royal
chamber.
[76] she is borne by force to the king's chamber, imploring God's help, Therefore the guards seized holy Ripsimia,
and now dragging, now carrying her,
brought her along. But she, crying out, said: Lord
Jesus Christ, help me. And all the crowd
followed after the manner of a river, and the earth was moved
by the multitude. They led her therefore to the palace
into the royal chamber. But when they had shut her in,
she began to pray to the Lord, and to say:
Lord of hosts, thou art the true God: thou art he
who didst divide the Red Sea, and lead across thy
people: thou didst turn the hard rock into a fountain of waters,
and gavest drink to the thirsting people. Thou thyself art he
who didst make thy servant Jonas go down into the deep
of the sea, and, that he might take proof
of thy power, didst preserve him in a manner far
alien from human nature, and a second time again
didst bring him forth without corruption, and didst set him unharmed
among the living, not even a hair of his head
being taken away. Thou also didst rescue Daniel, cast to the beasts
for food, from their dreadful claws,
that he who had been denied might obtain glory
before those who afflicted him. Thou didst keep the three children also
safe and unhurt from the fire, and they gave glory to thee
seeing thy wonders. Thou didst give to the most hard and most wicked
king of the Babylonians grass to eat,
because he knew not how to ascribe glory to thee
for the miracles which thou hadst shown him; and thou didst change
him into the form of beasts, and gavest him a dwelling
with the beasts of the field, and fodder
with the wild asses. Thou also didst again rescue thy handmaid Susanna
from a bitter death, and didst confound and destroy
her wicked enemies; and by a free gift thou didst appoint a crown of glorying
for those who trust in thee.
Thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
Thou, Lord, wilt not give thy glory to another:
for thou art glorified beyond the ends of the earth. Let not
the nations execrate thy most holy name. Thou art able
to deliver me also from this defilement, that I may die
in chastity, falling for thy holy name.
[77] but repels the king: While holy Ripsimia was still offering these prayers
to God, king Teredates entered the chamber
in which the Saint was shut up. And when he had entered,
all together, some outside the palace, some in the streets,
some within, cried out singing, and danced
with clapping. And those singing (of whom
some were in the castle, others had filled the middle part of the city)
and sporting believed that they were singing for a wedding's
sake. But the Lord God, since he
had regard to the charity of his Ripsimia, that he might preserve
her, lest the deposit should perish which until then
she had kept and rendered secure, strengthened her,
even as he did Rachel f and Debbora,
and gave her strength, that she might be freed from that
most wicked violence. The king therefore, entering, laid hold of
her, that he might accomplish the nefarious deed. But she,
her strength quickened by the Holy Spirit, bravely
resisted, repelling him. But when the king had fought from the third
hour until the tenth, failing
in strength he fell, though otherwise he was most robust,
as one who, while he still dwelt in Ionia g, gave many proofs
of fortitude by the solidity of his
bones, when he struck astonishment into all. Nor
then only: but in his own kingdom also, after
he had obtained the country of his forefathers,
he displayed many evidences of his valour, and had become
famous everywhere. He therefore, overcome by a single Maiden
according to the will of God and by the power of Christ,
and wearied out, went out of the chamber.
[78] But he ordered that the most blessed Gaiana be brought, and
that a block of wood be hung from her neck, and St. Gaiana, brought to the place, is forced and that she be set
at the doors of the chamber. And he himself went in again
to the Saint, having given his ministers the charge of deceiving
Gaiana, that from the door she might say to holy Ripsimia
that she should comply with the king's will, so that
both thou and we may be able to live, said he. And so, when
she had undertaken to address her, she drew near to the door
of the chamber, and says: Daughter, may Christ keep thee
from this defilement, and may strength be given thee. My
daughter, let it by no means befall that thou fall away from
thine inheritance, and desire temporal things, which are nothing
today, and tomorrow perish. When therefore she was uttering
the admonition thus made to her, by bruising
her mouth with stones they broke her teeth, and kept compelling
her to speak according to the king's will.
But she, confirming her the more, said: Act manfully.
And: Thou seest Christ, in whom thou hast trusted. Remember,
my daughter, the spiritual upbringing wherewith
I nourished thee: remember the divine instruction wherewith
I brought thee up: remember the persecutions with which we both
have been assailed: remember the immortal cup
which we both must drink: remember
the rich man reproved in hell: remember the universal
resurrection: remember the burning gehenna,
and everlasting punishment: remember the incorruptible
good things which are prepared for us also, if
we suffer.
[79] Remember the divine address which thou hast drunk in
with thine ears today, and exhorts her to constancy: strengthening and animating
us all with thee. This shall make thee worthy of the crown
and of the rest which he promised. It will therefore strengthen thee with us,
that we may become temples of the divine light in eternal
tabernacles. Our Lord and king and God,
who for our sake humbled himself to a lowly
condition, will not forsake us who are lowly, because we desire
him. The Saviour of the world will afford us help,
who thus far has not abandoned us who trusted in him,
and has deigned to animate us with his words.
For he is the Lord of the lowly, and will keep
us his handmaids from all sin, even as
we have heard today. For the Almighty has preserved
us with his right hand, and will protect us even
to the end, provided only that we depart not from his love.
He stirs up his power, and comes, that
he may make us safe. But we will call upon the name of the Lord,
that he may make his countenance to shine upon us,
and we shall be saved. For he is the Lord our God
through his death. All the day long remember
the Lord, because he was humbled that he might exalt us;
he poured out his blood that we might live;
he was delivered up to death that we might obtain salvation.
Set him in thy soul, and call upon him
in thy heart. Behold, he comes to thy help, and
will strengthen thine arms, as he did David's against
the bears and lions which he held and tore in pieces for the kids' sake.
He it is who by the hand of David his servant
crushed them: he will therefore crush also the malice of this
iniquity before thee, who art a daughter of the faith of David,
who wast brought up in mine arms in justice,
and before the glorious altar of God. And he who today has been revealed
to us through his mercy and compassions,
he himself will grant thee that with me, without shame,
thou mayest behold his countenance.
[80] All these things holy Gaiana said from the door
of the chamber in the Roman tongue h, the king being at last cast down, she goes out of the palace and the city, while the king was still fighting
with holy Ripsime. But among the king's ministers
there were some who understood the speech
of the Romans: and when they had heard all these things which holy
Gaiana was saying to the Maiden, they
removed her from the gate. For although they frequently struck her face
with stones, and had shattered her mouth together with
her teeth and her hair, yet she
did not change her words, so as to speak otherwise
with the Virgin: but as she had begun, so she went on.
The king therefore was still fighting with the Saint
from the tenth hour until the first watch of the night
i: and the Maiden, strengthened by the Holy Spirit,
cast down the king, slack and failing, naked
and stripped of his cloak and of his long robe: she scattered
also the ornaments of his diadem, and left him
overwhelmed with shame. And she went out, wearing torn
garments: yet she remained preserved without stain in
chastity; and the door being opened, by force
she went out: and cleaving the crowd, she passed through the midst
of the city, no one being able to lay hold of her.
And so, passing through toward the East, she went out
by the gate, and coming to the wine-press, where
before their dwelling had been, she brought the rest of the Virgins
good news.
[81] [and returning to her Companions, gives thanks to God for her virginity preserved,] And when they had stayed some time not
far from the city in the Northern parts toward the East
on a certain sandy mound near the royal
road which leads to the city of Artaxata, with bended knees
they prayed, saying: Lord almighty,
who can repay thee for the good things which thou hast
graciously bestowed upon us? For thou hast guarded our hope,
and hast rescued us from the polluted teeth of the wild
beast that wished to corrupt us. What power therefore
is there in us to repay thee? But let our souls
be k in return for thy saving charity. For thou hast
deemed us worthy of thy ministry, that we should bear thy name,
in which thou hast saved us. For besides thee, Lord,
we know no other, and we name thy name
all the day. But it is better for us to die
in our holiness than to stretch out our hands to
a strange God. For the things which the nations worship are
nothing. For thou art the Founder together with thine only-begotten
Son, without whom nothing was made, and thy good
Spirit, who leads us by the straight way, and lifts
us up to eternal and heavenly good things, that without shame
we may be set before thine Only-begotten with those
who stand at the right hand, when thou shalt send him from
his prepared habitation, to visit all who dwell
upon the earth.
[82] and offers herself to martyrdom. Thou who alone hast made men, who understandest
all their works; we are of thy people
and of the sheep of thy pasture: let us enter therefore into
the tabernacles which thou hast prepared for thy beloved ones. We hasten,
O Lord, to go forth out of this body, that
we may be joined to the choir of thy beloved Only-begotten with the number
of those who have loved the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Only deliver us from uncleanness.
But let torments come upon us for thy name's
sake: for we are ready, and we know that thou wilt not
despise us. For thou thyself, Lord, bearest witness
to my lowliness, that from my childhood I have desired l
an earthly life. Since thou hast looked upon me,
I believed the word spoken by thee: Woe to you, if men shall bless
you: but blessed are you, when
they shall persecute and calumniate you, when they shall speak
all that is evil against you, untruly, for
my sake: rejoice and exult. Truly, Lord, we have rejoiced
over this war which has been stirred up against us,
that we might struggle in thy love. For thy power
has conquered, and has granted us the victory. We have rejoiced
for the days wherein thou hast humbled us,
the years wherein we have seen evils. And, Look upon thy handmaids,
and upon thy works, and direct us into the supernal
and heavenly Jerusalem, where thou gatherest
thy Saints, and let the splendour of the Lord our God
be upon us.
[83] While holy Ripsime was still speaking all these things,
that same night there came into that place
the prefects of the king and the master of the cooks with soldiers,
furnished with torches, The slaying of St. Ripsime, and soon of 32 others: and coming up, they bound
St. Ripsime's hands to her sides, and wished
to cut out her tongue. But she willingly put forth
her tongue stretched out. And straightway they tore the garments
with which she was clothed from her hands and feet,
and applied the outstretched torches to her body,
and thus, burning her body with the flame of the torches,
and driving sharp stones into her bosom,
they scattered her entrails: and they plucked out her eyes
while she still breathed m. But after these things, leaving her,
they said: In this manner let all perish who
resist the royal commands. Now there were also other Saints,
men and women, more than seventy,
who had gone out with them, and some had come to
the place, because they desired to compose and bury their
relics. Drawing their swords therefore upon these,
they slew thirty-two n. And these
spoke thus: We have loved, O Lord, that thou shouldst hear
the voice of our supplication: thou hast inclined thine ear,
O Good One, and we will call upon thee. Glory
to thee, who hast not delayed to deem our unworthiness
worthy of thy good things, O merciful one: thou hast kept us as
the apple of the eye, and under the covering of thy wings
hast protected us against the multitude of the wicked:
for we are the sheep of thy glorious name. Saying these things
together, they met their death.
[84] One of them, sick in their dwelling
in the wine-press, they slew, another, sick, slain in the common dwelling. who at the hour of her death
spoke thus: I give thee thanks, merciful Lord,
who hast not forsaken me either. For since I was weak,
I could not follow my Companions by running.
Nevertheless, O gracious and merciful one, receive
my spirit and join it with the choir
of thy Martyrs, who are my Sisters, together
with our mother Gaiana, and our sister and daughter
Ripsime. And so, having spoken thus, she fell asleep
o. But dragging the bodies outside, they cast them forth,
that they might become food for the dogs of the city, and for the birds and wild beasts.
[85] But the king blushed exceedingly — he, forsooth,
who everywhere had become so famous in war, Teridates, as though out of love and who
especially in the Olympic contests of Ionia had appeared
like a giant [p]; who had also waged wars bravely
beyond the river Euphrates in the parts of the Saracens,
where once, being wounded, he went out of the battle
fleeing with his horse, and, lest he should be taken,
dragging the horse, and laying his own arms and the horse's
trapping upon his back, swam across the Euphrates:
and he, everywhere renowned for the strength of his bones,
being overcome by a single Maiden, was confounded
by the will of God. Nevertheless, disregarding his own
shame, and inflamed toward the vision of the Maiden's face
and toward the love of her, he sat in the greatest sadness
and mourning, lamenting the Maiden's death. See,
he kept saying, the magical kind of those who
are of the sect of the Christians; by what means they destroy
the souls of men, while they turn them away from the adoration
of the gods: they despise the present life and the enjoyment of it:
they fear not death. But
most of all I think upon the utterly admirable Ripsimia,
to whom no earthly woman is equal
in comparison. For my heart pants
after her, and I shall not forget her while I am
alive, I, king Teredates. I have known the region of Ionia
and the Roman, and the dominions of the Parthians, and Assyria
and Persia, and, that I may not name more, I have come to many
places and provinces in war, and very many in
peace, and beauty equal to hers I have never
seen. Her those magicians perverted, who instructed her
so beyond measure with their tricks, that she even
overcame me.
[86] On the next day the master of the cooks, coming up,
asked for a command concerning holy Gaiana, going mad for St. Ripsime, orders St. Gaiana by what death
he should destroy her. The king therefore, hearing, as though astonished
with love and stupefied and unstrung and made
out of his mind, thought that holy Ripsime was alive,
and says: If anyone can persuade the Maiden
to come to me, I offer him great dignity, honour
and gifts. But the master of the cooks
spoke thus: Let all the king's enemies perish, and the despisers
of the gods and of the royal commands,
as she did. But the Sorceress who perverted her
is still alive with her two Companions.
But when the king heard of holy Ripsime's death,
again he was swallowed up with sadness, and coming down from his throne,
he sat upon the ground, mourned, wept. Wherefore
again he gave order concerning holy Gaiana, that they should first
tear out her tongue backward from the root, and so
kill her, Because she dared, said he, by a perverse
admonition to destroy such a Maiden, who in
the midst of men had the beauty of the gods.
For this cause, first fixing her fast, kill her thus.
Having received the command, the master of the cooks ordered them, bound
with chains, to be cast out through the sun-gate of the city
into the parts of the royal road which leads to the bridge of the river
called the Deepest, to the place where they used to slay
all the condemned in the plain near
the ditch which encircles the city.
[87] to be slain by a most cruel death, But while they were fixing four stakes
for each one, and preparing all things, holy Gaiana
began with the rest to speak thus: We give thee thanks, Lord,
who hast deemed our unworthiness worthy of this
grace, that we should die for thy great name,
and thou hast so honoured our earthly nature that
it shall enjoy thy Divinity, and hast made us partners
of the martyrs Ripsime and the rest. Now therefore, hastening,
we desire to follow our daughter Ripsime
and our Sisters. Remember us therefore, O Lord,
because for thy sake we are delivered to death all the day long,
for we are reckoned as sheep for the slaughter. Arise,
and repel us not, for thy name's sake,
and give us thy victory. But the Evil One with
his helper, as always, so now also shall be confounded.
[88] how she was slain with two others. After these things therefore, coming up, they tore
the garments from their limbs, and stretched out each one
with four stakes: and piercing their ankles,
and blowing them up with a pipe, like wine-skins, they drew off the skin from the Saints
from below, that is, from the feet even
to the breasts, in the same manner, together with the hair. And they drew out their tongues
by piercing them through the necks; and driving sharp stones
into their bosoms, they scattered
their entrails: and while they were yet living their heads were cut off
with the sword [q]. Those who had come with them
from the region of the Romans were more than
seventy. But those who were slaughtered with the holy Gaiana and Ripsime,
together with the rest, were in number
thirty-seven. So great was the choir of Martyrs.
And so on the twenty-sixth of the month of September
holy Ripsime died with the Champions
joined to her: on the twenty-seventh of the same
month Gaiana with two others obtained the crown of victory.
ANNOTATIONS.
p. Again the author slips away into poetical fables. For the things which Agathangelus has patched together, both about the fortitude of Teridates, and about his insane love for Ripsime, and about that same man's error, by which he is below feigned to have believed her alive, are more worthy of a poet than of a historian.
q. Metaphrastes observes that more torments were inflicted upon these Saints than the king had ordered: and he agrees about the skin drawn off, about the tongues cut out through the neck, about the bellies cut open with sharp stones, and finally about the heads cut off.
CHAPTER VIII.
Punishment divinely inflicted upon king Teredates: St. Gregory, brought out of the prison or pit, begins to teach the king and the Armenians.
Ἐπεὶ
οὖν
ἒξ
ἡμέρας
διέμεινεν
βαθυτάτῃ
λύπῃ
κατασχεθεὶς
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
ἀπὸ
τῆς
ἐπιθυμίας
τοῦ
κάλλους
τῆς
ῥιψήμης·
καὶ
μετὰ
ταῦτα
ἠβουλήθη
ἐις
θήραν
ἐξελθεῖν
ἅμα
τῶι
στρατεύματι,
καὶ
ἑτοιμαζόντων
τῶν
πεσῶν
τὰ
λινὰ,
καὶ
μελλόντων
ἀπελθεῖν
ἐις
τὴν
θήραν
ἐν
τῇ
πεδιάδι,
καλουμένῃ
φαρακάνης
ἐμάκων,
ἀνῆλθεν
ἐν
τῷ
ἅρματι
ὁ
βασιλεὺς,
καὶ
καθίσας
ἐξίει
τὴν
πόλιν,
καὶ
εὐθέως
τιμωρία
παρὰ
τοῦ
θεοῦ
φθάσασα
παίει
τὸν
βασιλέα
ἐπὶ
τῷ
ἅρματι,
πνεῦμα
ἀκάθαρτον,
καὶ
ἐις
γῆν
καταβάλλει·
καὶ
ἤρξατο
μαίνασθαι,
καὶ
τὰς
ἰδίας
σάρκας
κατεσθίειν.
ἀλλὰ
καὶ
κατὰ
τὴν
ὁμοίωσιν
ναβουχωδονοσὸρ
τοῦ
βασιλέως
βαβυλῶνος,
ἀπὸ
φύσεως
ἀνθρωπίνης
γενόμενος
ἐν
μορφῇ
συάγρων,
μετ᾽
ἀυτῶν
ᾦκει
ἐις
τοὺς
καλαμῶνας,
καὶ
γυμνοθεὶς
παντελῶς
τὴν
πεδιάδα
περιῄει.
οὐδὲ
γὰρ
ὁι
ἐν
τῇ
πόλει
βουλόμενοι
κρατῆσαι
ἀυτὸν
ἴσχυον
διὰ
τὴν
φυσικὴν
ἀυτῷ
δύναμιν
προσοῦσαν,
καὶ
τὴν
τῶν
δαιμόνων
μανίαν
τῶν
ἐν
ἀυτῷ
ὀικισθέντων.
ἀλλὰ
καὶ
πλεῖστοι
τῶν
ἐν
τῇ
πόλει
ἀνθρώπων
τὸν
ἀυτὸν
τρόπον
δαιμονισθέντες
ἑμαίνοντο,
καὶ
φοβέρα
καταστροφὴ
πάσῃ
τῇ
χώρα
ἐπέφθασεν.
ὁι
δὲ
τοῦ
βασιλέως
ὀικεῖοι,
δοῦλοί
τε
καὶ
ὑπηρέται,
ὡσαύτω
πάντες
ὁμοῦ
τιμωρίαις
πολλαῖς
ἐκολάζοντο.
[90] Ἐν
ἐκείνῳ
οὖν
τῶι
καιρῷ
ὀπτασία
ἐπεφάνη
τῇ
τοῦ
βασιλέως
ἀδελφῇ,
τῇ
καλουμένῃ
κουσαρωδούκτα.
ἐλθοῦσα
οὖν
διηγεῖτο
τοῖς
ἀνθρώποις,
καὶ
ἔλεγεν·
ὅραμα
ἐθεασάμην
ταύτῃ
τῇ
νυκτὶ·
ἄνθρωπος
εἶς
φωτοειδέστατος,
παραστὰς
ἔφη
πρὸς
μὲ,
ὅτι
οὐδεμία
ἴασις
τῆς
πλήγης
τῶν
βασάνων
ἡμῶν
γενήσεται,
ἐὰν
μὴ
πέμψαντες
ἐν
τῇ
ἀρταξὰτ
πόλει,
ἐκεῖθεν
ἐνέγκητε
τὸν
δέσμιον
γρηγόριον,
ἵνα
ἀυτὸς
ἐλθὼν
διδάξῃ
ἡμᾶς
φάρμακον
ἴασεως.
ἀκούσαντες
δὲ
ὁι
ἄνθρωποι
κατεγέλων
τῶν
ἀυτῆς
ῥημάτων,
λέγοντες·
τάχα
καὶ
ἀυτὴ
συμμάινῃ,
ἀπὸ
δαίμονος
ἐλαυνομένη.
πῶς
γὰρ
οὖ;
ἰδοὺ
δεκαπέντε
ἔτη
πληροῦνται,
ἀφ᾽
οὗ
ἀυτὸν
ἔῤῥιψαν
ἐν
τῶι
κρημνῷ,
καὶ
λέγεις
ἀυτὸν
ζῆν;
ποῦ
γὰρ
κἂν
τὰ
ὀστᾶ
ἑυρίσκεται;
ἐν
ἀυτῇ
γὰρ
τῇ
ὥρᾳ,
ἐν
ᾗ
ἐκεῖ
ἐχαλάσθη,
ἀπὸ
τῆς
θέας
τῶν
ἡμῶν
ὀφθαλμῶν
ἀνηλώθη.
δεύτερον
οὖν
καὶ
τρίτον
ὁ
φανεὶς
ἀυτῇ
μετὰ
μείζονος
ἀπειλῆς
ἔλεγεν·
ἐὰν
μὴ
συχνῶς
διηγήσει,
μεγάλας
τιμωρίας
καὶ
ἀυτὴ
δέξεͅ.
ἁι
δὲ
βάσανοι
τῶν
ἀνθρώπων
καὶ
τοῦ
βασιλέως
ἐπλεόναζον,
καὶ
ὁ
θάνατος
ἐν
ὄχλῳ.
εἰσελθοῦσα
οὖν
πάλιν
ἐν
μεγάλῃ
σπουδῇ
κουσαρωδούκτα
διηγήσατο
τοὺς
λόγους.
[91] Ἐυθέως
οὖν
ἀποστέλλουσι
τιμιώτατόν
τινα
σατράπην,
ἀυταυίαν
ὀνόματι,
ἀπελθεῖν
ἐν
τῇ
ἀρταξὰτ
πόλει.
ὁι
δὲ
πολίται,
ὡς
ἐθεάσαντο
ἀυτὸν
ἐρχόμεννον,
ἐξιόντες
ἐις
ὑπάντησιν
ἀυτοῦ
μετὰ
χαρος,
ἐπυνθάνοντο
τὴν
ἀυτοῦ
παρουσίαν.
καὶ
εἶπεν
ἀυτοῖς·
διὰ
τὸν
δέσμιον
γρηγόριον
πάρειμι,
ἐκβαλεῖν
ἀυτὸν
ἀπὸ
τῆς
φυλακῆς.
τῶν
δὲ
θαυμαζόντων
καὶ
λεγόντων·
ἄρα
σὺ;
πολλὰ
γὰρ
ἔτη
ἐστὶν,
ἀφ᾽
οὗ
ἐῤῥίφθη
ἐκεῖ.
εἶτα
ἀυτὸς
διηγήσατο
τὸ
ὄραμα,
καὶ
τὰ
λεγόμενα
ἔργα.
ἐνέγκαντες
οὖν
σχοινία
μακρὰ
καὶ
στιβαρὰ,
προσδήσαντες
σχοίνους
μακροὺς
ἐχάλασαν
κάτω.
ἀνεβώησεν
οὖν
ἀυταυΐας
ὁ
σατράπης
μεγάλῃ
τῇ
φωνῇ
καὶ
εἶπεν,
γρηγόριε,
ἐι
ἔτι
ἐν
τοῖς
ζῶσιν
ὑπάρχοις,
δεῦρο
ἔξω
ὁ
γὰρ
κύριος
ὁ
θεός
σου,
ᾧ
ἀυτὸς
λειτουργεῖς,
ἐκέλευσέν
σε
ἀνελθεῖν.
καὶ
εὐθέως
ἀναστὰς,
καὶ
δραξάμενος
τῶν
σχοινίων,
ἐκίνει
ἀυτὰ.
ἀισθόμενοι
οὖν
καὶ
ἀνελκύσαντες
ἀυτὸν
ἀναφέρουσιν,
καὶ
ἐθεάσατο
ὅτι
τὸ
σῶμα
ἀυτοῦ
μεμελῶτο,
ὡς
δαλὸς.
καὶ
προσενέγκαντες
ἱμάτια
ἐνέδυσαν
ἀυτὸν,
καὶ
μετὰ
χαρᾶς
πλείστης
λαβόντες
ἀυτὸν,
ἀπὸ
τῆς
ἀρταξὰτ
τῆς
πόλεως
ἔρχονται
ἐις
οὐαλεροκτίστην
πόλιν.
[92] Τότε
οὖν
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
διὰ
τὴν
τοῦ
δαίμονος
μαστίγα
ἀγόμενος
βίᾳ
ἐις
ὑπάντησιν
ἔρχεται
τοῦ
ἁγίου,
γυμνὸς
καὶ
ἐπονείδιστος.
ὁι
δὲ
σατράπαι
ἔξω
τῆς
πόλεως
παραμένοντες
προσεδέχοντο
ἀυτοὺς,
θεασάμενοι
οὖν
ἐρχόμενον
τὸν
ἅγιον
γρηγόριον,
ἅμα
ἀυταίᾳ
τῷ
σατράπῃ,
πολλῶν
ἐπακολουθούντων
ἀυτοῖς
ὄχλων
ἀπὸ
ἀρταξὰτ
τῆς
πόλεως,
προσεχώρουν
ἐις
συνάντησιν
ἀυτοῦ
δαιμονιαζόμενοι,
καὶ
τὰς
ἰδίας
σάρκας
ἐσθίοντες,
καὶ
ἀφρίζοντες
ἔπιπτον
ἔμπροσθεν
ἀυτοῦ.
ὁ
δὲ
ἅγιος
εὐθὺς
γόνυ
κλίνας,
ἤυξατο
ἐκτενῶς
περὶ
ἀυτῶν·
ὡς
δὲ
ἀνένηψαν,
ἐκέλευσεν
ἀυτοὺς
περιβαλέσθαι
ἱμάτια,
καὶ
σκεπᾶσαι
ἀυτῶν
τὰ
ἀσχήμονα.
προσελθῶν
οὖν
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
μετὰ
τῶν
σατραπῶν
ἐπελάβοντο
τῶν
ποδῶν
τοῦ
παναγίου
γρηγορίου,
καὶ
ῥίψαντες
ἀυτοὺς
ἐις
τὴν
γῆν,
ἀνεβόων
λέγοντες·
ἀιθούμεθα
παρὰ
σοῦ
μὴ
μνησθῇ
τῶν
κακῶν
ἡμῶν,
ἐν
οἷς
σε
ἐθλίψαμεν.
ἀυτὸς
δὲ
ἐξεγείρας
ἀυτοὺς,
ἔλεγεν
πρὸς
ἀυτοὺς·
κἀγὼ
καθ᾽
ὑμᾶς
ἄνθρωπος
ὑπάρχω,
σῶμα
ἔχων
ὁμοιοπαθὲς
ὑμῖν.
ὑμεῖς
δὲ
γνῶτε
τὸν
ποιήσαντα
τὸν
οὐρανὸν
καὶ
τὴν
γῆν,
ἥλιόν
τε
καὶ
σελήνην
σὺν
τοῖς
ἄστροις,
τὴν
θάλασσάν
τε
καὶ
τὴν
ξυρὰν,
τὸν
καὶ
ὑμᾶς
δυνάμενον
ἰάσασθαι.
[93] Καὶ
εὐθέως
ἤρξατο
ὁ
ἅγιος
γρηγόριος
πυνθάνεσθαι,
ποῦ,
φησιν,
ἐισὶν
κείμενα
τὰ
σώματα
τῶν
τοῦ
θεοῦ
μαρτύρων;
ἔφησαν
ἐκεῖνοι·
ποίων
μαρτύρων
λέγεις;
εἶπεν
ἀυτοῖς·
τῶν
διὰ
χριστὸν
ἀποθανόντων
ὑφ᾽
ὑμῶν.
καὶ
εἶπον
πρὸς
ἀυτὸν·
δεῦρο
καὶ
ἴδε
τὸν
τόπον.
δραμῶν
οὖν
ὁ
ἅγιος
συνέστειλεν
τὰ
ἀυτῶν
λείψανα.
ἔκειντο
γὰρ
ἐν
τῷ
τοῦ
θανάτου
ἀυτῶν
τόπῳ
ἐῤῥιμένα,
φυλαχθέντα
δὲ
διὰ
τῆς
τοῦ
θεοῦ
δυνάμεως·
ἐννέα
ἡμέρας
καὶ
τὰς
ἴσας
νύκτας
ἐσκορπισμένα
ἔξω
τὰ
σώματα
μήτε
θηρίου
ἁψαμένου
μήτε
κυνὸς
(ἐγγὺς
γὰρ
περὶ
τὴν
πόλιν
ἦσαν)
ἀλλ᾽
οὐδὲ
πετεινον
ἐφιζάνειν
ἠδυνήθη
οὐδὲ
μὴ
ὤζεσαν
τὰ
σώματα
ἀυτῶν.
προσήνεγκαν
οὖν
πολυτελέστατον
ἱματισμὸν
τῆς
κηδεύσεως
χάριν
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
καὶ
πάντες.
ὁ
δὲ
ἅγιος
γρηγόριος
οὐκ
ἄξια
ἀυτῶν
ἔκρινε
ταῦτα,
ἀλλ᾽
ἐν
τοῖς
ἰδίοις
ἱματίοις
σκεπάσας
ἀυτὰ,
εἴπεν
πρὸς
πάντας·
οὕτως
ἐχέτωσαν
ἐώς
οὗ
γένησθε
ὑμεῖς
ἄξιοι
τοῦ
τιμῆσαι
τὰ
σώματα
ἀυτῶν,
καὶ
συνάψας
τὰ
λείψανα
ἀνεχώρησεν
ἐις
τὴν
ληνὸν,
ὅπου
τὸ
πρότερον
ἡ
καταμονὴ
ἀυτῶν
ὑπῆρχεν,
κακεῖσε
ἔμεινεν.
καὶ
δι᾽
ὅλης
τῆς
νυκτὸς
ὁ
πανάγιος
γρηγόριος
τῷ
θεῷ
εὐξάμενος
περὶ
τῆς
σωτηρίας
ἀυτῶν,
ἐζήτει
πως
ἳνα
μετανοήσαντες
σωθῶσιν.
τῇ
δὲ
ἐπιούσεͅ
ὁ
βασιλεὺς
μετὰ
τῶν
σατραπῶν
καὶ
μεγιστάνων
καὶ
συμμίκτων
ὁμοῦ
καὶ
παντὸς
τοῦ
ὄχλου
γονυπετοῦντες
ἔμπροσθεν
τοῦ
ἁγίου
γρηγορίου,
καὶ
τῶν
ἁγίων
μαρτύρων,
κλαίοντες
ἐλεγον·
συγχώρησον
ἡμῖν
τὰ
κακὰ
ἡμῶν,
τὰ
παρ᾽
ὑμῶν
σοι
γενόμενα,
καὶ
ἄιτησαι
παρὰ
τοῦ
θεοῦ
σου,
ἵνα
μὴ
ἀπολώμεθα.
[94] Ὁ
δὲ
ἅγιος
γρηγόριος
ἔφη
πρὸς
ἀυτοὺς·
ὃν
λέγετε
θεόν
σου,
θεός
ἐστιν
ἀληνθινὸς,
καὶ
ποιητής
παντοδύναμος,
ἀυτοθέλητος,
ἀγαθουργὸς,
ἂχρονος,
ἄϋλος,
ἄποσος,
άυτοτελὴς.
ἔνυλα
δὲ
ποιήματα
διὰ
τῆς
ἀἳδίου
ἀυτοῦ
γνώσεως
συστησάμενος
ἐκ
τῆς
ἀνυπαρξίας
τὸν
κόσμον
πήξας
ἡτόιμασεν,
ἐκ
τοῦ
μὴ
ὄντος
ἐις
τὸ
εἶναι
προσελθεῖν
τὰ
σύμπαντα
ἐποίησεν
ὁ
θεὸς.
παντοκράτορα
οὖν
κύριον
ἀυτὸν
γνῶτε,
ὅπως
ἰαθῇτε
ἀπὸ
τῆς
ἐπιτιμίας,
τῆς
παρ᾽
ἀυτοῦ
ἐπελθούσης
ὑμῖν,
ὅστις
ἔνεκεν
τῆς
ἰδίας
φιλανθρωπίας
καὶ
τοῦ
ἐλέους
επαίδευσεν
ὑμᾶς
κατὰ
τῆς
θείας
γραφῆς
σοφῶς
ἐιπούσης·
ὃν
γὰρ
ἀγαπᾷ
κύριος
παιδεύει·
μαστιγοῖ
δὲ
πάντα
ὑιὸν,
ὃν
καταδέχεται.
ἀυτὸς
οὖν
διὰ
τῆς
ἰδίας
φιλανθρωπίας
προσκάλει
ὑμᾶς
ἐις
ὑιοθεσίαν,
καὶ
ἀληθινὸς
ὦν
ὑιὸς
τοῦ
θεοῦ,
οὐκ
ἐπαισχύνεται
ἀδελφοὺς
ὀνμάσαι
τοὺς
ἐπιστρέφοντας
ἐις
τὴν
ἀυτοῦ
προσκύνησιν·
καὶ
τό
πνεῦμα
τὸ
ἅγιον
χαρίζεται
ἀῤῥαβῶνα
τῆς
ἀγάπης
ἀυτοῦ,
καὶ
ἱλαροῖ
τας
καρδίας
ὑμῶν
ἐις
τὴν
παραμόνιμον
εὐφροσύνην,
μόνον
ἵνα
ἐπιστρέψαντες
κατὰ
τὸ
θέλημα
ἀυτοῦ
πορεύεσθε,
ἵνα
παράσχῃ
ἡμῖν
καὶ
τὴν
ἀθανασίαν.
[95] Πλὴν
ὅτι
θεόν
μου
καλεῖτε,
καλῶς
ποιεῖτε.
τῶν
γὰρ
ἐπιγνώντων
ἐστὶ
θεὸς.
ὁι
δὲ
μὴ
ἐπιγνῶντες,
κἂν
ποιήματα
ἀυτοῦ
ὑπάρχουσιν,
ἀλλότριοί
ἐισιν
τῆς
κηδεμονίας
ἀυτοῦ
καὶ
τῆς
φιλανθρώπου
ἀγάπης.
ὁι
δὲ
φοβούμενοι
ἀυτὸν
ἐγγύσουσι
ἀυτῷ,
καὶ
ἡ
ἐπισκοπὴ
ἀυτοῦ
περικυκλοῦσα
φιλάττει
ἀυτούς.
ἐὰν
δὲ
ἔιπητε,
ποῦ
ἐστιν
ὅτι
σκεπάζει
τοὺς
φοβουμένους
ἀυτὸν;
ὁι
γὰρ
ἐν
ταῖς
χερσὶν
ἡμῶν
ἐμπέσαντες
ἐν
βασάνοις
ἀπέθανον,
καὶ
καθὼς
ἠβουλήθημεν,
πεποιήκαμεν
ἀυτοῖς·
γνῶτε
ὅτι
θέλει
κύριος
τὴν
ἀνάπαυσιν
τοῦ
θανάτου
τῶν
ἀνθρώπων,
καὶ
ἐν
τῇ
δευτέρᾳ
παρουσίᾳ
τῆς
ἀυτοῦ
δόξης
ἀποκαλύπτεται
τὰ
ἀγαθὰ,
ὥστε
δοῦναι
ἀυτὰ
τοῖς
ἀυτοῦ
ἀγαπητοῖς,
καὶ
τοῖς
γινώσκουσι
καὶ
ποιοῦσι
τὸ
θέλημα
ἀυτοῦ.
βλέπετε
γὰρ,
πῶς
τῇ
ἰδίᾳ
δυνάμει
ὁ
θεὸς
ἐφύλαξε
βεβαίας
τὰς
ἁγίας
ἀυτοῦ
μάρτυρας,
καὶ
οὐδέ
ἁι
πολλαὶ
θλίψεις
ἀποχωρῖσαι
ἀυτοῦ
μίαν
ἐξ
ἀυτῶν
ἠδυνήθησαν.
περιεσώσατο
δὲ
καὶ
τὴν
ἁγίαν
ἀυτοῦ
ῥιψίμην
μετὰ
τῶν
συνουσῶν
ἀυτῇ
ἀπὸ
τοῦ
ὑμετέρου
μιάσματος
καὶ
τῆς
ἀνομίας.
ἡ
δὲ
ἀπάτη
τῆς
παγίδος
τοῦ
ἐχθροῦ
ἀπ᾽
ἀρχῆο
ἀπατήσασα
τὸν
ἄνθρωπον,
ὁδοιπόρον
ἀυτὸν
τῆς
ἀπολλυμένης
ὁδοῦ
κατέστησεν.
τὴν
δὲ
ἐμὴν
ἀναξιότητα
ὁ
θεὸς,
ὡς
ἠθέλησεν,
κατηξίωσε
διὰ
τῆς
ἰδίας
φιλανθρωπίας
παθεῖν
ὑπὲρ
τοῦ
μεγάλου
ὀνόματος
ἀυτοῦ·
καὶ
δέδωκέν
μοι
ὑπομονὴν,
ἵνα
καταλάβω
τοὺς
ἰδίους
κλήρους,
καθὼς
εἶπεν
ὁ
μέγας
ἀπόστολος
παῦλος,
ὅν
γένοιτο
καὶ
ὑμᾶς
γνῶναι
καὶ
τῶν
λόγων
ἀυτοῦ
ἀπολαύειν
ἐν
τῇ
φιλανθρωπίᾳ
τοῦ
χριστοῦ·
εὐλογητὸς
ὁ
θεὸς
ὁ
καταξιώσας
ἡμᾶς
ἐις
τὴν
μερίδα
τοῦ
κλήρου
τῶν
ἁγίων
ἐν
τῷ
φωτί.
ἀληθῶς
γὰρ
κατελάβομεν
κοινωνοὶ
γενέσθαι
τῶν
καυχημάτων,
ἵνα
κοινωνήσαντες
τοῖς
παθήμασι
τοῦ
χριστοῦ
ἀπολαύσωμεν
καὶ
τῆς
ἀυτοῦ
ἀθανάτου
δόξης.
[96] Ἀυτὸν
γνῶτε,
τὸν
καλέσαντα
ὑμᾶς
ἐις
τὸ
θαυμαστὸν
ἀυτοῦ
φῶς
τῆς
θεότητος,
ἵνα
προσελθόντες
τῷ
θρόνῳ
τῆς
χάριτος
ἀυτοῦ,
ἔυρητε
ἔλεος
παρ᾽
ἀυτοῦ,
καὶ
ἀποτινάξαντες
πάντα
ῥύπον
τῆς
κακίας
καὶ
ἀνομίας,
ἀπολούσησθε
τὰς
ψυχὰς
ὑμῶν
ὕδατι
ζῶντι,
καὶ
τὴν
τοῦ
φωτὸς
καὶ
τῆς
δόξης
στολὴν
ἐνδύσασθαι
καταξιωθῆτε
τὰς
ψυχὰς
ὑμῶν.
περὶ
δὲ
τῆς
ἁγίας
ῥιψίμης
ὑμεῖς
ὄιδατε,
πῶς
ἐφύλαξεν
ἀυτὴν
ὁ
κύριος,
καὶ
περιεποιήσατο
ἀπὸ
τῶν
ἀνόμων
καὶ
ἀκαθάρτων
ὑμῶν
χειρῶν.
καὶ
ἀυτὸς
σὺ,
βασιλεὺ,
ἐπίστασαι
τὴν
σὴν
ἀνδρείαν
καὶ
ἀρετὴν,
πῶς
ἐγένου
ἀσθενὴς
ἐνώπιον
μίας
κόρης·
ἐφύλαξεν
γὰρ
ἀυτὴν
ἡ
δύναμις
τοῦ
δεσπότου
ἀυτῆς
χριστοῦ.
περὶ
δὲ
ἐμοῦ
οὐκ
ἀγνωεῖς,
ὅτι
ἤδη
δεκαπέντε
ἔτη
πληρώσαντός
μου,
καὶ
κειμένου
ἐν
τῷ
σκοτεινῷ
καὶ
βαθυτάτῳ
κρημνῷ
ἐν
μέσῳ
ὄφεων
καὶ
σκορπίων
κατοικοῦντος,
διὰ
τὸν
τοῦ
κυρίου
φόβον
οὐκ
ἐβλάβην,
οὐδὲ
ἐφοβήθη
οὐδὲ
ἐξέστη
ἡ
καρδία
μου.
πεποιθὼς
γὰρ
ἤμην
κυρίῳ
τῷ
θεῶι,
τῷ
ποιητῇ
τῶν
ἁπάντων.
περὶ
δὲ
τούτων
ἐπιστάμεθα
ὅτι
ἐν
ἀγνοίᾳ
πεποιήκατε.
νῦν
δὲ
ἐπιστρέψατε,
καὶ
γνῶτε
τὸν
κύριον,
ἵνα
ἐλεήσας
σώσῃ
ὑμᾶς·
καὶ
τοὺς
τεθνηκότας
μὲν
ὑμῖν,
ζῶντας
δὲ
τῷ
θεῷ,
ἐις
πρέσβειαν
ἐπικαλέσασθε.
ζῶσιν
γὰρ
καὶ
οὐκ
ἀπέθανον.
καὶ
γνῶτε
τὸν
θεὸν·
ἀυτὸς
γάρ
ἐστι
δεσπότης
τῶν
ἁπάντων.
[97] Ἀπόστητε
τῶν
βδελυρῶν
σεβασμάτων,
λιθίνων
καὶ
ξυλίνων,
ἀργυρέων
καὶ
χρυσέων
καὶ
χαλκῶν
ἰνδαλμάτων·
ψευδὴ
γάρ
ἐισι
καὶ
μάταια.
προέλεγον
γὰρ
ἡμῖν
περὶ
ταύτης
τῆς
πλάνης
ὑμῶν,
ὅτι
ὁμίχλη
ζοφερὰ
καὶ
σκότος
παχύτατον
ἐπικάθηται
τοὶς
ὀφθαλμοῖς
τῆς
καρδίας
ὑμῶν,
καὶ
οὐκ
ἡδυνήθητε
ἀναβλέψαι
καὶ
νοῆσαι,
ὅπως
τὸν
ποιητὴν
γνῶτε.
ἐι
δὲ
ἐν
τῇ
παρούσῃ
εὐθύτητα
θεάσομαι
παρ᾽
ὑμῶν,
ἐις
τὴν
τῆς
θεότητος
ἀυτοῦ
λατρείαν
σπευδόντων
προσπελάσαι,
μὴ
γένοιτό
μοι
παύσασθαι
νύκτος
καὶ
ἡμέρας
ὑπὲρ
ὑμῶν
δεηθῆναι,
ἵνα
μὴ
ἀπόλεσθε.
ἄφατος
γάρ
ἐστιν
ἡ
φιλανθρωπία
τοῦ
ποιητοῦ,
καὶ
ἀνεξερεύνητος
καὶ
ἀνεκδιήγητος
πρὸς
τὰ
ἀυτοῦ
ποιήματα,
ἐπὶ
διὰ
τῆς
μακροθυμίας
ἀνέχεται·
συγχώρει,
ἐκδέχεται,
φείδεται
διὰ
πολλοὺς
ὀικτηρμοὺς.
ὃς
καὶ
ἀπὸ
τῶν
ἀρχαίων
ἡμερῶν
ἔασεν
πορεύεσθαι
τοὺς
ἀνθρώπους
κατὰ
τὸ
θέλημα
ἀυτῶν,
καθὼς
γέγραπται.
ἐξαπέστειλα
ἀυτοὸς
κατὰ
τὰ
ἐπιτηδεύματα
τῶν
καρδιῶν
ἀντῶν,
πορεύεσθαι
τοῖς
ἐπιτηδεύμασιν
ἀυτῶν.
νῦν
δὲ
προσκάλει
ὑμᾶς
κληρονόμους
τῆς
ἀφθάρτου
ζωῆς,
ἔι
τις
οὐ
παρέρχεται.
διὰ
τοῦτο
καὶ
τοὺς
ἀγαπητοὺς
ἀυτοῦ
μάρτυρας
ἐξαπέστειλε
πρὸς
ὑμαᾶς,
ὁι
ἐν
τῷ
μαρτυρίῳ
ὁμολόγησαν
τῆς
ὁμοουσίου
τριάδος
τὴν
δεσποτείαν
τῷ
ἐπὶ
πάντων
θεῷ,
τῷ
ἀπ᾽
ἀιῶνος
καὶ
ἐις
τοὺς
ἀιῶνας,
οὗ
ἡ
βασιλεία
βασιλεία
ἀιώνιος
καὶ
τῆς
δεσποτείας
ἀυτοῦ
οὐκ
ἔστι
τέλος.
ἔθεντο
οὖν
τὸν
θάνατον
ἀυτῶν
σφραγίδα
πιστικωτάτην
τῆς
ἀληθοῦς
ἀυτῶν
καὶ
βεβαίας
πίστεως.
[98] Ὃι
ζῶσι
τῷ
θεῷ,
καὶ
πρεσβεύουσιν
πρὸς
τὸν
θεὸν
τοῖς
δυναμένοις
κτήσασθαι
ἀυτοὺς.
ἐπειδὴ
γὰρ
διὰ
τὸν
θεὸν
ἀπέθανον,
δύνανται
τὴν
πολλῶν
νεκρότητα
ζωοποιῆσαι.
διὰ
τούτους
οὖν
διαλέγητε
τῷ
θεῷ
ἐν
τῷ
θανάτῳ
τοῦ
ὑιοῦ
ἀυτοῦ.
ὁ
γὰρ
ὑιὸς
τοῦ
θεοῦ
ἀπέθανεν,
ἵνα
τὴν
τῆς
κτήσεως
νέκρωσιν
ζωοποιήσῃ.
οὗτοι
δὲ
ἀπέθανον,
ἵνα
μάρτυρες
γένωνται
τῆς
θεότητος
ἀυτοῦ.
ἔπαθεν
γὰρ
οὐχ
ὅτι
χωρὶς
τοῦ
ἰδίου
θανάτου
ζωὴν
ἡμῖν
οὐκ
ἡδύνατο
χαρίσασθαι,
ἀλλ᾽
ἵνα
μεγαλύνῃ
τὸ
πλάσμα
ἀυτοῦ
διὰ
τῆς
ἰδίας
ἐξουδενώσεως,
καὶ
τοὺς
εὐτελεῖς
ὑψώσῃ
καθ᾽
ἡμὰς
γενόμενος.
παλὶς
δὲ
ἀπέθανεν
οὗτος,
οὐχ
ὅτι
οὐκ
ἔκτος
τῆς
τούτων
μαρτυρίας
οὐκ
ἐγίνετο
πιστὸς,
ἀλλ᾽
ἵνα
μεγαλυνθῶσιν
οὗτοι,
ὁι
ἠγαπηκότες
ἀυτὸν.
ἀλλὰ
καὶ
τὴν
ἐμὴν
πνοὴν
ἐφύλαξεν
ἐν
τῷ
σώματί
μου,
ἐικαὶ
ἐπέφθασάν
με
θλίψεις
καὶ
ἀνάγκαι
βαρύταται
πόνων,
περισσοτέρως
θλιβέντος
μου
τῶν
λοιπῶν
ἀνθρώπων.
πῶς
γὰρ
ἦν
δύνατον
μίαν
ἡμέραν
ἀπενεγκεῖν
ἀνθρωπίνῃ
φύσει
τὸ
βάρος
τῶν
βασάνων,
ἢ
πῶς
ἡδύνατο
ἄνθρωπος
βαστάξαι
μίαν
ὧραν
ἐν
τῷ
φοβορωτάτῳ
ἐκείνῳ
βύθῳ,
ἐν
ᾥ
τεθαμμένος
ἐκείμην
ἐν
μέσῳ
ὄφεων,
ὁι
καὶ
κυκλοῦντες
ἀνέβραζον
περὶ
τὸ
ἐμὸν
σῶμα
καὶ
περιειλούμενοι
ἐσκάριζον
ἐπάνω
τῶν
ἐμῶν
μελῶν;
ὅμως
δὲ
πολυθάυμαστον
ἔλεος
τοῦ
κυρίου
ἐφύλαξέν
με
ζῶντα,
καὶ
ὧν
οὔκ
ἐιμι
ἄξιος
λόγων
ἐργάτην
με
πεποίηκεν,
πρὸς
ἴασιν
ψυχῶν
ὑμῶν
ἐργάζεσθαι
καὶ
τὴν
ὑμῶν
ὠφέλειαν
παρὰ
τῆς
τοῦ
θεοῦ
φιλανθρωπίας
προσφέρειν
ὑμῖν.
[99] Καὶ
ἤδη
ἠρξάμην
ὑμῖν
θέσθαι
τὰ
ὑπερουράνια
λόγια
ψωμίζειν
ὑμᾶς,
ἐὰν
ἐισακούσητε
τοὺς
λόγους
τοῦ
νόμου
τῆς
κηρύξεως
τῶν
πάντων
δημιουργοῦ,
καὶ
λυτρωθῆτε
ἁγιασθέντες
ἀπὸ
τῆς
πικρᾶς
ταύτης
ἐπιφθασάασης
ὑμῖν
ἐπιτυμίας,
καὶ
τῆς
ἀιὼνίας
ζωῆς
ἀπολαύσητε,
καὶ
ἀκούσαντες
δέξησθε
τὰ
ἀγαθὰ
τῆς
ὑπερουρανίου
βασιλείας
ἐις
τὰς
ψυχὰς
ὑμῶν.
νῦν
οὖν
ἐὰν
σπεύσητε
καθαρισθῆναι
ἀπὸ
τῶν
τῆς
ἀγνοίας
ἁμαρτιῶν,
τῶν
λιθίνων
καὶ
ξυλίνων
σεβασμάτων,
καὶ
τὰ
ἀνεκλάλητα
ἀγαθὰ
τοῦ
θεοῦ
ἐις
τὰς
ψυχὰς
ὑμῶν
δέξασθαι
ἰσχύσετε.
τότε
καὶ
ὁι
ἅγιοι
μάρτυρες
τοῦ
θεοῦ,
ὁι
παρ᾽
ὑμῶν
παθόντες,
ὑπὲρ
ὑμῶν
πρεσβεύσουσι,
καὶ
ὁι
λόγοι
ἡμῶν
πόνοι
τε
καὶ
κόποι
ἐις
ὠφέλειαν
ὑμῶν
σπαρήσονται·
ἄγαμεροί
τε
πολυχρόνιοί
τε
ταύτης
τῆς
ζωῆς
ἀπολαύσαντες,
κληρόνομοι
γενήσεσθε
τῶν
μελλόντων
ἀγαθῶν,
καὶ
ἐπουρανίων
ἀπολαύσεων.
ἐι
δὲ
μὴ
βουλήθητε
ὑπακούειν
τοῦ
λόγου
τοῦ
κηρύγματος
τῆς
ζωῆς,
ἐνταῦθα
ἤδη
πατάξει
ὑμᾶς
ἐν
κακώσει
καὶ
βασάνοις,
καὶ
ἐξεολοθρεύσας
χερσὶν
ἀλλοτρίαις
ἐχθρῶν
ὑμῶν
παραδώσει
ὑμᾶς,
καὶ
μνησικακήσας
θανάτῳ
ἀπαλλάξει
ὑμᾶς.
When Teridates had been punished from heaven with madness, But the king, after he had remained six days held fast
in the deepest sadness out of longing
for Ripsime's beauty, then wished to go out to
the hunt with his troop: and when the footmen
were making ready the nets, and they were about to depart to the hunt
into the plain called Φαρακάνης
ἐμάκων, the king mounted his
chariot, and sitting in it went out of the city. Forthwith
a chastisement, sent in by God, strikes the king
in the chariot — an unclean spirit — and
casts him down to the earth. Moreover he began to rave, and to eat
his own flesh: nay more, like Nabuchodonosor
king of Babylon, he was cast down from human nature
into the form of boars a, and with
them he dwelt in the reed-beds, and utterly naked
he went about the plain. For neither could those who wished it
from the city lay hold of him,
because of the natural strength in which he excelled, and because of
the fury of the demons which dwelt in him.
But very many men also of those who dwelt
in the city, seized in the same manner by demons,
raved, and a dreadful overthrow befell the whole
region. And the king's household, his servants and
ministers, all in like manner b together were chastised with many
punishments.
[60] At that time a vision came to the king's sister, whose
name was Cusaroducta c. This vision therefore she, coming to
the people, related, and said: I have seen a vision
this night. his sister is taught in a vision that he is to be healed by St. Gregory. A man most splendid with light, standing by me,
said that there would be no healing of the stroke of our
torments, unless you send to the city
of Artaxata, and thence bring away Gregory in his chains,
that he, coming, may teach us the medicine by which
healing may be obtained. But the people, hearing this, derided
her words, saying: Perhaps thou too art mad,
goaded by a demon. Is it not so? Behold,
fifteen years are completed from the time when
they cast him into the pit, and thou sayest that he is alive?
For where will even his bones be found? For in the very
hour in which he was let down thither, he was taken away from the sight
of our eyes. A second time therefore and a third,
appearing to her, he said with heavier threats: Unless
thou tell it constantly, thou also shalt suffer great
punishments. But the torments of the people and of the king increased,
and death among the multitude. Again therefore
approaching Cusaroducta, she related with great earnestness the words she had heard.
[91] Hence the Saint is brought up out of the prison, Immediately therefore they send a certain most honorable satrap, by name Autauias d, to betake himself to the city of Artaxata. But the citizens, when they saw him coming, going out to meet him with joy, asked about the reason of his arrival. And he said: I am here on account of Gregory the prisoner, that I may bring him up out of the pit. And when they marveled and said: Do you really say so? For many are the years since he was cast down there: he then related to them the vision, and the things that had happened. Wherefore, long and thick ropes having been brought, they bound the lengthened cords together and let them down below. Then Autauias the satrap cried out with a lifted voice and said: Gregory, if you are even yet among the living, come forth. For the Lord your God, whom you serve, has commanded that you come up. And at once rising, and grasping the ropes with his fist, he shook them. Perceiving this, therefore, and drawing him up, they brought him aloft: and his body, when it was seen, had been made black like a firebrand. And garments having been brought, they clothed him, and having received him with the greatest gladness, they set out from the city of Artaxata for the city of Valeroctisten e.
[92] he has the king and others as suppliants: Then therefore the king, driven by force through the scourge of the demon, goes forth to meet the Saint, naked and disgraced. But the satraps, who were staying outside the city, were awaiting them. And when they saw holy Gregory coming with Autaias the satrap, with many following them from the city of Artaxata, they betook themselves to meet him, vexed by the demons and devouring their own flesh, and sending forth foam they fell down before him f. But the Saint, swiftly bending the knee, prayed for them with fervor. When they had returned to soberness of mind, he ordered them to be wrapped about with garments, and their shameful parts to be covered. Approaching therefore, the king and the satraps laid hold of the feet of holy Gregory, and casting themselves upon the ground, they cried out to him, saying: We beseech you, remember not the evils with which we afflicted you. But he, causing them to rise, said to them: I too am a man among you, having a body like your own. But do you acknowledge him who made heaven and earth, the sun and the moon with the stars, and the sea and the dry land, who is able also to heal you.
[93] he straightway takes care for the bodies of the Martyrs: and the king Then at once holy Gregory began to inquire. Where, said he, do the bodies of the Martyrs of God lie? They said: Of what Martyrs do you speak? He said to them: Of those who were slain by you for Christ. They answered him: Come and see the place. And so the Saint, running, gathered their bodies together. For they lay cast out in the place of their death, yet preserved by the power of God: for nine days and as many nights the bodies, scattered out of doors, neither wild beast touched nor dog (for they were near the city;) nor could bird settle upon them; nor indeed did their bodies give off any odor. Wherefore both the king and all brought most precious garments for their burial. But holy Gregory judged these not worthy of them: rather, covering them with his own garments, he said to all: Let them remain thus, until you become worthy to honor their bodies: and having gathered the bodies together, he went away into the wine-press, where formerly their dwelling had been, and there he remained. Moreover, through the whole night holy Gregory, praying to God for their salvation, sought that they might repent and obtain salvation. But on the following day the king, the satraps and the nobles, with the common people and the whole multitude, fell upon their knees before holy Gregory and the holy Martyrs, and weeping they said: Forgive us the evils which we brought upon you, and pray to your God that we perish not.
[94] But holy Gregory said to them: He whom you call your God g, and the nobles and the people he himself is the true God and almighty founder, acting by his own will, beneficent, without time, matter, or quantity, perfect. And composing material works by his eternal knowledge, he fixed the world made ready out of no substance, and God caused all things to come forth from the non-existent into existence. Acknowledge him therefore as the almighty Lord, that you may be healed of the punishment sent upon you by him, who in his clemency and mercy has chastised you, according to the divine Scripture wisely saying: For whom God loves, he chastises, and scourges every son whom he receives. He therefore through his clemency calls you to the adoption of sons: and since he is the true Son of God, he is not ashamed to call those brethren who turn back to his adoration: and he gives the Holy Spirit, the pledge of his charity, and gladdens your hearts unto abiding joy, if only, returning, you walk according to his will, that he may give you immortality.
[95] Moreover, in that you call him my God, he begins to teach, you do rightly. For he is the God of those who know him. But those who have not known him, though they be his creatures, are strangers to his care and to his kindly charity. But they who fear him draw near to him, and his visitation keeps them by encompassing them. But if you should say: Where is he, that he may protect those who fear him? for those who fell into our hands ended their life in torments, and we dealt with them as we wished; understand that the Lord wills the rest of the death of men, and that in the second coming of his glory the good things shall be revealed, that he may bestow them on his beloved, and on those who have known him and have fulfilled his will. For consider how God by his power preserved his holy women Martyrs steadfast, so that many vexations could not avail to separate one of them from him. And his holy Ripsime, with her Companions, he kept untouched by your defilement and iniquity. Yet the deceit of the enemy's snare, by which man was deceived from the beginning, brought it about that he should walk by the way which leads to destruction. But my unworthiness God has deemed worthy of that grace, as he willed, through his clemency, that I should suffer for his great name; and he gave me patience, that I might obtain my own portion, even as the great apostle Paul said (whom would that you also might know, and enjoy his words through the mercy of Christ!) Blessed be God, who has made us worthy to share in the lot of the Saints in light. For truly we have obtained to be made sharers of these boastings, so that, being made Companions of the sufferings of Christ, we may enjoy also his immortal glory.
[96] many Acknowledge him who called you into the wonderful light of his Divinity, that approaching to the throne of his grace you may find mercy; and shaking off all uncleanness of malice and injustice, you may be washed as to your souls with living water, and be held worthy to have your souls clothed with the garment of light and glory. And concerning holy Ripsime you know how the Lord preserved her, and snatched her from your iniquitous and unclean hands. You yourself, O king, know your strength and might, and how feeble you were made before a single Maiden. For the power of her Lord Christ preserved her. And concerning me you are not ignorant that, when for fifteen years h now running to their close I lay in a dark and most deep pit, dwelling in the midst of serpents and scorpions, I suffered no harm because of the fear of God, nor did my heart fear or grow numb: for I was confident in the Lord God, the founder of all things. But of these matters we know that you did them in ignorance. Now then turn back, and acknowledge the Lord, that having pity he may make you safe: invoke also those women who are dead to you but live to God, to be your patrons. For truly they live, and are by no means dead. Acknowledge God, for he is the Lord of all.
[97] the chief points of Christian doctrine Depart from abominable images, from statues of stone and wood, of silver, gold, and bronze. For these are lies and empty things. I foretold you concerning this error of yours, that a murky cloud and most dense darkness cover the eyes of your heart; and you could not consider and understand, so as to acknowledge the Creator. But if today I shall see uprightness in you, as you hasten to draw near to the worship of the Divinity, far be it from me to cease praying for you day and night, that you perish not. For ineffable is the mercy of the Creator, and incomprehensible and unutterable toward his creatures; seeing that he bears with them in equanimity: he forgives, receives, spares, through the multitude of his compassions. He it is who also from ancient times permitted men to walk according to their own will, as it is written: I let them go according to the desires of their heart, they shall walk in their own devices: but now he calls you, that you may become heirs of incorruptible life, if any man draw not back. For this cause he also sent his beloved Martyrs to you, who in their martyrdom confessed the dominion of the consubstantial Trinity to God, who is over all things, who is from age to age, whose kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and of whose dominion there is no end. Wherefore by their death, as by a most faithful seal, they set their seal upon the truth and the steadfastness of their faith.
[98] which he sets forth. These live to God, and discharge an embassy before God on behalf of those who were able to possess them. For since they met death for God, they are able to call back to life the dead condition of many. Through these therefore speak with God in the death of his Son, for the Son of God died, that he might lead back the dead state of the creature to life. But these died, that they might become witnesses of his Divinity. For he suffered, not because he could not without his own death freely give us life, but that he might magnify his creature by his own abasement, and exalt the lowly, having been made like to us. But these again died, not because without martyrdom no one is faithful, but that those might be made great who loved him. But my life also he preserved in my body, even though vexations and the most grievous straits of pains assailed me, and I was afflicted more violently than other men. For in what way could it be that human nature should bear even for one day the violence of those torments, or how could a man endure even one hour in that most horrible pit, in which I lay stretched out in the midst of serpents, which round about stirred up a burning about my body, and, coiling over my limbs, leaped upon them? Yet nevertheless the Lord with most wonderful mercy preserved me alive, and made me the author of words of which I am not worthy, that I might labor for the healing of your souls, and bring you profit from the clemency of God.
[99] And even now I have begun to set forth to you the divine oracles for the feeding of your souls, that you may hear the words of the law which the Founder of all things proclaimed, and being purified may be freed from this bitter punishment which has come upon you, and may enjoy eternal life; and hearing, may receive into your souls the good things of the heavenly kingdom. Now therefore, if you strive to be cleansed from the sins of ignorance, from images of stone and wood, the unutterable good things of God also to your souls
you will be able to receive. Then also the holy Martyrs of God, who suffered at your hands, will intercede for you: and our words, and our labors and pains, will be sown to your profit: and you, when you have enjoyed this admirable and long life, will be able to become heirs of the good things to come and of the heavenly delights. But if you are unwilling to obey the word of the preaching of life, in this life God will strike you with evil and with torments, and destroying you will deliver you into the alien hands of your enemies, and mindful of your evils will cause you to pass away by death.
ANNOTATIONS.
CHAPTER IX.
St. Gregory goes on to instruct the king and the Armenians.
Καὶ ὡς ἐλάλησε ταῦτα πάντα ὁ ἅγιος γρηγόριος, πάντες ὁμοῦ περιέσχισαν τὰς στολάς ἀυτῶν ὁ βασιλεύς τε καὶ ὁι μεγιστάνες ἀυτοῦ, καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν πλῆθος τῶν ἀνθρώπων, πάσσοντές τε κονιορτὸν, ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἐκάθηντο, καὶ ἔλεγον ὁμοθυμαδὸν ὡς ἐξ ἑνὸς στόματος, ἆρα ἐστὶν ὑμῖν ἐλπὶς συγχωρήσεως παρὰ θεῷ; ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἀπολλύμενοι ἐγενήθημεν ἐν τῇ ἀγνοίᾳ ἡμῶν, καὶ τοῖς σκοτινοτάταις ὁδοῖς. νῦν δὲ πῶς ἀφεθήσονται ἁι πολλαὶ ἆυται ἁμαρτίαι ἡμῶν; ὁ δὲ ἅγιος γρηγόριος ἔφη πρὸς ἀυτοὺς· φιλάνθρωπός ἐστιν ὁ κύριος καὶ μακρόθυμος, καὶ πολυέλεος, καὶ οἰκτιρμὸς· πρὸς πάντας τοὺς ἐπικαλουμένους ἀυτὸν, καὶ τοὺς ἐκζητοῦντας ἀυτὸν, μισθαποδότης γίνεται. ὁι δὲ ἔλεγον πρὸς ἀυτὸν· γνώρισον ἡμῖν, καὶ βεβαίωσον τὰς καρδίας ἡμῶν πατὴρ ἡμῶν, ὃπως δυνηθῶμεν παρακαλέσαι τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ κτίσαντος ἡμᾶς. ἐι ἄρα ἐπιστραφεὶς πάλιν δέξηται ἡμᾶς ἐις μετάνοιαν, καὶ ἐι ἔτι ἐστι τόπος τῆς ἐπιστροφῆς ἡμῶν, καὶ οὔπερ κέκοπταο ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν παρ᾽ ἀυτοῦ· καὶ ἀυτὸς οὐ μνησικακήσῃς ἡμῖν περὶ πάντων τῶν παρ᾽ ἡμῶν σοι γεναμένων, καὶ παράξῃς ἡμῖν τὴν εὐθυτάτην διδασκαλίαν, καὶ μὴ μισήσας παρατρέψῃς ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τῆς δικαίας καὶ εὐθείας ὁδοῦ. παντες οὕτως ἅμα τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐκραύγαζον ὀλολύζοντες κλαυθμῷ, γῆν πασσόμενοι ἐνώπιον ἀυτοῦ, μὴ δυνάμενοι δὲ μίαν ὥραν χωρισθῆναι ἀυτοῦ διὰ τὴν φοβερὰν τῶν δαιμόνων μανίαν. ἐι γὰρ πρὸς ῥοπὴν ἀφίσταντο, εὐθέως τῶν δαιμόνων ἐπιπεσόντων τοῖς ἀνθρώποις μαίνεσθαι συνέβαινεν, καὶ κατεσθίειν τὰς ἰδίας σάρκας.
[101] Ὅτε οὖν ἤκουσεν ὁ πανάγιος γρηγόριος τούς λόγους ἀυτῶν, οὓς ἐλάλησαν ἐνώπιον ἀυτοῦ, δακρύσας ἐπὶ πολὺ εἶπεν πρὸς ἀυτοὺς· ὑμεῖς ὄιδατε, πόσα μοι κακὰ ἐνεδείξασθε· ἐι δύνατόν ἐστιν ἄνθρωπον τοσαῦτα παθεῖν καὶ βαστάζειν, ἐι καὶ χωρητὸν ἄνθρωπον δεκαπέντε ἔτη ποιήσαντα ἐν μέσῳ ὄφεων ζῆζ, καὶ μηδὲν παθεῖν παρὰ ἀυτῶν κακὸν; πρῶτον ἐν τούτοις γνῶτε τὴν τοῦ κτίσαντος δύναμιν, ὅτι ὁ πάντων δημιουργὸς, ὡς θέλει, καὶ ὅτε βούλεται, ἀλλάσσει ἑκάστου τὸ ἦθος, ὡς καὶ τὸν πικρότατον καὶ ἐπιβλαβῆ ἀυτῶν ἰὸν τῷ φοβερωτάτῳ ἐκείνῳ βάθει μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ τοῦ ἀναξίου ἀυτοῦ δούλου καταγλυκάνας ἡμέρωσεν. ἐι γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀνάξιοι ὑπάρχομεν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν ὑμετέραν ὠφέλειαν φυλάξας ἡμᾶς, ἀπέδειξεν τῶν θαυμάτων ἀυτοῦ δύναμιν, καὶ παρέστησεν ἡμᾶς ἐις τὴν ὣραν ταύτην πρὸς τὴν ὑμῶν γεωργίαν, καὶ ὠφέλειαν τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίας, ἥτις δι᾽ ἡμῶν προσφέρεται ὑμῖν. πάλιν ἐνδέχεται, μίας κόρης ἀντίστασιν πρὸς ἄνθρωπον γίγαντα γενέσθαι, ὡς ἐθεάσασθε τοῖς ὑμετέροις ὀφθαλμοῖς; καὶ πῶς τοῦτο ἐγένετο, ἐι μὴ παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ἦν δεδομένη δύναμις τῆς νίκης, ὥστε φυλάξαι τὴν ἀυτοῦ μάρτυρα ἄσπιλον ἀπὸ τῆς παρανόμου ὑμῶν παραβάσεως.
[102] Περὶ δὲ τοῦ θανάτου τῶν ἀυτῶν μακαριωτάτων μαρτύρων, ὧν τὸ αἷμα ἐξεχύθη ἐν τῇ ὑμετέρᾳ χώρᾳ, τῶν καὶ καταξιωθέντων τῆς θεἳκῆς χάριτος, καὶ προσενεχθέντων θυσία τῷ θεῷ, τί δεῖ καὶ λέγειν; δι᾽ οὓς καὶ ὑμῖν ἐπισκοπὴ παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ζητήσεως γέγονε, τοῖς τὴν ἀρμενίων χώραν ὀικοῦσι, καὶ ἔνεκεν τοῦ δικαιοτάτου ἀυτῶν ἅιματος, τοῦ ἐκχυθέντος, ἰδοὺ ἄφεσις ὑμῖν χαρίζεται διὰ της ὑμῶν μετανοίας παρὰ τοῦ παντοδωροδώτου θεοῦ. περὶ δὲ ἐμαυτοῦ, λέγω, ὅτι, ἐικαὶ μὴ διὰ τῆς διαταγῆς τοῦ θεοῦ γενάμενος ἤμην κήρυξ, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἐξ ἰδίου θελήματος, οὐκ ἂν ἠδυνήθην τολμῆσαι κἂν μέχρι μιᾶς κεραίας κρύψαι ἀφ᾽ ὑμῶν· πόσῳ μάλιστα νῦν, λαβὼν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τὸ πρόσταγμα; καθ᾽ ἑκάστην γὰρ θεωροῦμεν τῷ βαθυτάτῳ κρημνῷ ἠνεαγμένοις ὀφθαλμοῖς θεοῦ ἄγγελον, διαπαντὸς παραθαῤῥύνοντά με, καὶ λέγοντα, καθάπερ καὶ νῦν
τὴν ἀυτὴν θέαν θεωρῶ· κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἐφύλαξέ σε καὶ ἄξιον ἔκρινεν τῆς ἀυτοῦ ὑπηρεσίας, καὶ δέδωκέ σοι ἔργον γεωργικὸν, ἵνα καὶ σὺ μετὰ τῶν λοιπῶν ἐργατῶν ἐισελθῶν κομήσῃ τοὺς μισθοὺς. ὑμῶν δὲ ἐμβαλόντων με ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ βάθει καὶ τῷ θανατοποιῷ βορβόρῳ, ἐξῆλθον βουλήματι τοῦ θεοῦ ὁλόκληρος. οὐχ ὅτι ταῦτα πολλάκις λέγων καύχημα ἐμαυτῷ περιτίθημι, ἀλλὰ τῷ μὴ δύνασθαί με κρύπτειν θαυμάσια τοῦ θεοῦ. ἀμήχανον γάρ με ἐπελαθέσθαι, μᾶλλον δὲ μὴ ἐξαγγεῖλαι, ἐπειδὴ περιεσώσατό με ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου τοῖς ὑμετεροῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς λελογισμένον νεκρὸν, καθὼς καὶ ὑμεῖς μαρτυρεῖτέ μοι. ἐγὼ γὰρ τεθνηκὼς ἤμην ἀφ᾽ ὑμῶν καὶ ὑμεῖς δὲ τοῖς παραπτώμασι νεκρωθέντες. ἀλλ᾽ ἰδοὺ διὰ τοῦ τεθνηκότος ὑμεῖς ὁι νεκρὸι ἃμα ζωοποιεῖσθαι.
[103] Ἐδώθη γὰρ διηγήσασθαι ὑμῖν τὰ προστάγματα τοῦ θεοῦ, ὥστε ἀποστρέψαι ὑμᾶς ἐις τὴν καλλίστην καὶ ἀληθινὴν ὁδὸν, καὶ ἀποστήσαι ὑμᾶς ἀπὸ τῶν ματαίων ὕμῶν σεβασμάτων, λιθίνων τε καὶ ξυλίνων, ἀργυρέων καὶ χρυσέων καὶ χαλκῶν ἰνδαλμάτων, μηδὲν ὄντων, καὶ μηδέποτε χρησιμευόντων τινὶ, καὶ ἐπιστρέψαι ὑμὰς πρὸς τὸν θεὸν τὸν ζῶντα, τὸν ποιήσαντα τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν ἀυτοῖς, καὶ τὸν λόγον ἀυτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ ὑιὸν, καὶ τὸ ἀίδιον ἀυτοῦ πνεῦμα τὸ ζωόποιόν τε καὶ ἁγιαστικὸν καὶ καθάρσιον τοῖς ἀυτὸν δοξολογοῦσι καὶ προσκυνοῦσι. νῦν οὖν, ἐὰν ὑμᾶς ἴδω προθύμως καὶ ἀυτοπροαιρέτως ἐπιστρέψαντας πρὸς τὴν ἀυτοῦ θεότητα, μετὰ χαρᾶς καὶ ἡδύτητος ἀρξάμενοι διηγησόμεθα ὑμῖν περὶ τῶν δημιουργηθέντων παρ᾽ ἀυτοῦ πῶς ὁ καλὸς κόσμος ἐκτίσθη παρὰ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ πῶς ἡ διαγωγὴ τοῦ κόσμου ἐπρυτανεύθη, καὶ πῶς ὁι μὲν τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὰ εύάρεστα ἀυτῷ ποιήσαντες, ἐξ ἰδίων προαιρέσεων, ἐτελειώθησαν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν, ὁι δὲ τὰ κακὰ πράξαντες, ἐξετασθέντες ἤδη ἐν τῇ ζωῇ ταύτῃ δικὰς δεδώκασι, καὶ πῶς ὁ ὑιὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν τῷ σώματι παρεγένετο ἐν ἀτιμίᾳ, καὶ πῶς δεύτερον ἐπιτέλει ἔρχεσθαι ἐν τῷ ἀυτῷ σώματι διὰ τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς δόξης, καὶ περὶ τῶν γενησομένων ἀγαθῶν, καὶ τῆς μελλούσης κρίσεως, καὶ πῶς ἐν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ διάγειν ἡμᾶς δεῖ ἐν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς κατὰ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ, πῶς τὴν μετάνοιαν εὑρεῖν, καὶ δι᾽ ἀυτῆς τὴν ἄφεσιν, πῶς ἐξιλεώσασθαι τὰ ἡμαρτημένα, καὶ κατὰ τὸ τοῦ θεοῦ βούλημα φεύγειν τὰ κακὰ ποιεῖν τε τὰ ἀγαθὰ, καὶ τῶν ἐπηγγελμένων ἀγαθῶν ἐπιτυχεῖν, καὶ πῶς δεῖ πορεύεσθαι ἐν ταῖς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁδοῖς.
[104] Ταῦτα διηγήσομαι κατὰ τάξιν ἀκόπῳ τῇ γλώσσῃ καὶ ἀπαύστῳ τῷ στόματι, ἵνα καὶ ὁ κύριος κατὰ τὴν ἀυτοῦ φιλανθρωπίαν δεξάμενος τὴν ὑμῶν μετάνοιαν καταξιώσῃ ὑμᾶς ἐισελθεῖν ἐις τὴν τῆς φιλανθρωπίας ἀυτοῦ χάριν ἐν χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν. ὅμως δὲ ἡμεῖς ἀρξάμενοι ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς ἀποδείξωμεν τὴν ἀγαθὴν τοῦ κόσμου δημιουργίαν, τὴν παρὰ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, ἐὰν ὑμεῖς βούλησθε ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας ἀκοῦσαι καὶ πιστεῦσαι. ἀρχὴν δὲ ποιησώμεθα ἐξηγήσεως πρὸ πάντων περὶ τοῦ μεγάλου καὶ μόνου ἀγαθοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ λοιπὸν περὶ τῶν γενομένων πάντων παρ᾽ ἀυτοῦ. ταύτην δὲ ἐις τὴν ὑμετέραν διδασκαλίαν καὶ ὠφέλειαν σπεύδομεν ἐντελέστερον ἐξηγήσασθαι κατὰ τὴν τῆς θεότητος ἀυτοῦ διαταγὴν. ἀναγκαῖον γὰρ ἡγησάμεθα καὶ περὶ ἀυτοῦ συμμέτρους ἐπιτηδίους τε καὶ εὐαρμώστους λόγους ἐκθέσθαι· περὶ γὰρ θεολογίας τὰ ῥήματα γίνονται. ὄιδαμεν γὰρ ὅτι ἀυτός ἐστιν ὁ ἀληθινὸς θεὸς, οὐ περὶ τῆς ἀκαταλήπτου φύσεως δυνατὸν τι ἐιπεῖν· ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἔστιν ἐνδεχόμενον διηγήσασθαι. ἀκατάγηπτος γὰρ καὶ ἀνήκαστος καὶ ἀμέτρητος, ἀπερίληπτος, ἀπεριόριστος καὶ ἀνεξέταςος, ἀπροσπέλαστος, ἀπερινόητός ἐστιν ἀπὸ πάσης κτίσεως. ἀόρατος μέν ἐστι τῇ θέᾳ καὶ πᾶσιν ἐγγύτατος, καὶ τῇ τῶν ὀικτιρμῶν προνοία καὶ ἐπισκοπῇ καὶ φιλανθρωποτάτῃ χάριτι πάντων προνοεῖ, ουδέποτε θεαθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν θνητῶν καὶ σαρκοφόρων, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ ἐκ τῶν πυρίνων λειτουργῶν ἀγγέλων τε καὶ δυνάμεων, μόνον δεδοξασμένος ἐστὶν παρὰ πάσης κτήσεως.
[105] Καὶ πάντα μὲν παρ᾽ ἀυτοῦ γέγονεν· ἀυτὸς δὲ μόνος ἐστὶν ὁ ὢν. ἄνδρες δίκαιοι κατηξιώθησαν γνῶναι τὴν ἀυτοῦ δημιουργίαν, καὶ προσκυνῆσαι ἀυτῷ, ὑποταγέντες τῷ θελήματι ἀυτοῦ, ἐκλάμψαντες θεοπρεπῶς ἐν τῷ εὐπρεπεστάτῳ βίῳ. προφῆται δὲ ὀνομάσθησαν ἐν ταῖς ἀρχέαις γενεαῖς ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοδιδάκτου γένους τῶν ἑβραίων, καὶ τοῦ σπέρματος ἀβραὰμ, ὅντινα διὰ τὴν ἄγαν θεοσέβειαν ἐκλεξάμενος ὁ θεὸς, πατέρα πολλῶν ἐθνῶν ὀνόμασεν, ἵνα ὡς πρωτόπιστος ἐις τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς πίστεως καὶ τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἀνακαθήσας καυχήσεται, κληθεὶς δικαιότατος πατὴρ, οὗ καὶ τὸ σπέρμα, λαὸς περιούσιος καὶ πρωτοτόκος καὶ γνήσιος ὠνόμασται. ἐν μέσῳ δὲ τοὺτων ὁι προφῆται ἐκ τοῦ ἀυτοῦ γένους ἐξέλαμψαν διὰ τῶν θεοπρέπων λόγων, ὁι καταξιωθέντες τῆς τοῦ πνεύματος χάριτος πρὸς τοῦ διδάξαι πάντας τὸν τῆς θεότητος νόμον. προέθεντο δὲ πᾶσι τὸ θέλημα καὶ τὰς διαταγὰς ἀυτοῦ τὰς εὐθείας, καθάπερ ἁι ἀυτῶν βίβλοι τῆς προφητείας ἀκριβῶς δηλοῦσιν, ἁι καὶ ἐις τὴν πάντων ὠφέλειαν πανταχοῦ διεδώθησαν καὶ διέδραμον, καὶ ἔτι δραμοῦνται ἐις τέλος. πεπληρώκασι γὰρ τὰ πέρατα εὐνομωτάτοις ῥήμασι, καὶ ὡς ἐνώπιον ἑκάστου ἀποδεικνύουσιν ἀναγινώσκοντι τὸ εὔτεχνον τῆς θεἳκῆς προφητείας ἀυτῶν λόγων, ὥστε δοκεῖν θεωρεῖσθαι τοὺς μακαρίους ἐκείνους κατὰ πρόσωπον. ἐν μέσῳ οὖν τούτων τῶν ἁγίων καὶ θεοσεβῶν χορῶν τῶν προφητῶν ἀναστὰς μέγας προφήτης, ᾧ ὄνομα μωσῆς, ὡς καὶ καταξιωθεὶς τῆς θεἳκῆς χάριτος, ἤρξατο διδάσκειν πάντας. δεξάμενος γὰρ ὁ μέγας ἐκείνων τῶν προφητῶν παρὰ θεοῦ τὴν ἀληθινὴν γνῶσιν, ἐξηγήσατο τὴν κοσμοποιΐαν.
[106] Ἐντεῦθεν οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀρξώμεθα διὰ τῆς χάριτος τοῦ παντοδιδάκτου πνεύματος τοὺς λόγους ποιεῖσθαι, ἐκτιθέμενοι ὑμῖν περὶ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν κόσμων, τῶν παρὰ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ θεοῦ κτισθέντων, ἔνεκεν τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ τοῦ τέλους τοῦ προσκαίρου τούτου, καὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος καὶ ἀιωνίου καὶ παραμονήμου. γένοιντο οὖν ἡμῖν λόγοι ἐν τῷ στόματι ἐις τὸ δεῖξαι ὑμῖν τὴν ὠφέλειαν, ὑμᾶς τε ἀκούσαντες δέξασθαι καὶ πιστεῦσαι, καὶ ἀποχωρισθῆναι τῆς σατανικῆς καὶ πονηρᾶς πράξεως, καὶ τῆς θεἳκῆς γυμνασίας κληρονόμους γενέσθαι. ἀρξόμεθα οὖν διὰ τῆς τοῦ χριστοῦ χάριτος διηγήσασθαι ἐφεξῆς ἐν λεπτομέρεσι σημειώσεσι, καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐνωτιζόμενοι ὁλοθύμως ἀκούσατε. δεῦτε οὖν ἀδελφοὶ, τῆς ὠφελείας γενώμεθα, τὴν κοινὴν σωτηρίαν ἐν σπουδῇ ἐις ἑαυτοὺς ἐφελκόσαντες, ἵνα ἀφ᾽ ὑμῶν ἁι τιμωρίαι ἐπαρθῶσι, καὶ γένηται ἀπὸ τῆς ἐπελθούσης ταραχῆς ἐν τάχει ἐιρήνη· καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἀιχμαλωσίας καὶ πλάνης ἐπιστροφὴ σωτηρίας. ἐγὼ δὲ πάντα τὰ προστάγματα τοῦ θεοῦ ἀκολουθὼς προέθηκα, ὁμοῦ ἐις τὰς ἀκοὰς ὑμῶν ὠφέλειαν, ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς ἄχρι τέλους ἐξηγησάμενος πάντα. δεῦτε οῦν, πρῶτον συστείλωμεν τὸν θεἳκὸν θησαυρὸν, ἵνα διὰ τοῦτο χαρισθῇ ὑμῖν πάσιν ἴασις· προσενέγκωμεν δὲ ἀυτοὺς ἐις ἀνάπαυσιν, ὀικοδομήσαντες ἀυτοῖς μαρτύριον ναὸν, καὶ εὐκτήριον κοινῆς προσευχῆς, διαπαντὸς ἀιτούμενοι παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ, πρῶτον μὲν τὴν διαλλαγὴν καὶ εἰρήνην, καὶ τὸ ἔλεος ἐν πίστει καὶ ἀγάπῃ, σὺν τούτοις δὲ ζωὴν καὶ τὴν θεοῦ βασίλειαν, ἵνα καὶ ὑμεις ἐλευθερωθέντες ἀπὸ τῆς ἀυτοπροαιρέτου δουλείας τῶν σκοτεινῶν ἔργων, τὴν δόξαν τοῦ θεἳκοῦ φωτὸς εὑρεῖν δυνηθῆτε, εὐχαῖς καὶ πρεσβείαις ἀυτῶν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν, καὶ οὗτοι ἀναπαύσωσιν τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν ἀπὸ τῶν βασάνων καὶ τῆς ἐπελθούσης ὑμῖν μοχθηρίας, ὅταν βεβαιωθῆτε πρὸς τὸν θεὸν περὶ τοῦτων.
[107] Τότε καὶ ἡ κατοικοῦσα ἀυτοῖς θεότης ὀικτειρήσει ὑμᾶς ἐν τῇ μετανοίᾳ ὑμῶν, καὶ τῇ ἐξομολογήσει καὶ ἐν τῇ ταπεινώσει καὶ ὑποταγῇ τῆς πίστεως. δεῖ οὖν τὴν τῶν νηστειῶν ἔχειν ὑμᾶς κακοπάθειαν, φυτεῦσαί τε ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν, καὶ ἐις τὸν νοῦν παραδείξασθαι τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ φόβον, καὶ ἀποτινάξασθαι τὰ ἐνθυμήματα. τοῦ θελήματος ὑμῶν, ὅπως καταξιωθῆτε τοῦ λούτρου τοῦ ἁγίου βαπτίσματος, συμμερισταὶ γενόμενοι τοῦ κλήρου τοῦ φωτός τῶν ἁγίων τούτων, καὶ τοῦ καυχήματος τοῦ σταυροῦ, ὅστις τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις μωρία ἐστὶν, τοῖς δὲ εὑρεθεῖσιν ὑμῖν σοφία σωτηρίας, καὶ δύναμις θεοῦ ἐστιν· ὁς καὶ ἐις ὑιοθεσίαν καταξιώσει ὑμᾶς τῆς θεότητος, ἐξαλείφων τὰς ἁμαρτίας ὑμῶν, ἐις τὸ δέξασθαι τὴν μερίδα τοῦ στεφάνου τῶν ἁγίων τούτων, τῶν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐλθόντων, ὥστε καὶ ὑμᾶς γενέσθαι προσκυνητὰς τῆς θεότητος ἀυτοῦ μετὰ τοῦ θείου χοροῦ τῶν δοξολογούντων ἀυτὸν, συμμετόχους γενομένους τῆς εὐλογίας τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος. ὑποδεξάμενοι δὲ τὰ θεἳκὰ μυστήρια, καταρισθῆναι ἀπὸ τοῦ σατανικοῦ ῥόπου, καταπατηθέντος τοῦ πονηροῦ τοῖς ποσὶν τῆς ὑμῶν θεογνωσίας, ὑμεῖς εἰσελθόντες ἀπολαύσετε τοῦ θεἳκοῦ γάμου τῆς εὐφροσύνης, εἰς τὸ ἐσθίειν τὸ σῶμα τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ ἀμνοῦ, τοῦ ὑιοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ τῆς δόξης συμμέτοχοι ἔσεσθε, καὶ γενήσεσθε εἰς ἒν πνεῦμα συνδεδεμένοι ἐν τῷ σώματι καὶ τῷ ἁίματι ἀυτοῦ. ὁι δὲ μάρτυρες οὗτοι ἔσονται περὶ ὑμᾶς τῷ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐλέει τεῖχος ἰσχυρώτατον, καὶ πύργος ἀκαταμάχητος, καὶ ἐπιστάται καὶ πρεσβευταὶ· ὁι καὶ ἀνδρείως τὸ αἷμα ἀυτῶν ἐξεκένωσαν ἐν τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀγῶσιν, ἵνα νῦν ὑμᾶς λαβόντες τῷ θεῷ προσενέγκωσιν. ἐκέρδησαν γὰρ ὑμᾶς τὰ ἴδια παλαίσματα ἀποδείξαντες, καὶ τὰ νικητήρια, τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ δυνάμει ἀπενεγκάμενοι.
[108] Νῦν οὖν πρὸς ἕσπεράν ἐστιν, ἀπάγετε εἰς ἀνάπαυσιν. ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς ἄυριον σπουδὴ γένηται ὀικοδομῆσαι τὰς σκηνὰς τῆς τούτων καταπαύσεως, ἵνα καὶ ἀυτοὶ ἀντὶ τῆς γηινῆς σκηνῆς, ἣν ὑμεῖς ἀυτοις ὀικοδομεῖτε ἐνθάδε, ἑτοιμάσωσιν ὑμῖν φωτινὰς σκήνας ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἧς προσδοκοῦμεν ἐπιτυχεῖν ταῖς τούτων πρεσβείαις, ἐπὶ τὸ ἀυτὸ συναγώμενοι ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ χριστοῦ· ἀυτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ ἐις τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· ἀμὴν. καὶ τοῦτο εἰπὼν, ἀπέλυσε τὸν ὄχλον. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς καὶ ὁι μεγιστάνες ἀυτοῦ οὐδέποτε ἠδύναντο χωρησθῆναι ἀυτοῖς, πεπληγμένοι γὰρ ἦσαν καὶ φοβερισμένοι. νυκτὸς οὖν καὶ ἡμέρας ἡ κατομονὴ ἀυτῶν ἦν ἐν τῷ ἀμπελῶνι πρὸς τῇ θύρᾳ τῆς λήνου. ἦσαν ἐνδεδυμένοι σάκκους, καὶ σποδοῦ καθήμενοι. νηστεύοντες δὲ ἐπὶ ἡμέρας ἑξήκοντα πέντε, λαλῶν καὶ παιδεύων καὶ διδάσκων ἀυτοὺς καὶ διαβεβαίων, ὡς σοφὸς ἰατρὸς, σπουδάζων ἑυρεῖν τὸ τῆς σωτηρίας ἀυτῶν φάρμακον, ὅπως ἀυτοὶ πρῶτοι προσενέγκωσιν ἀυτῷ τὰς ψυχὰς ἀυτῶν, ὡς ὁι ἀσθενοῦντες, καὶ ἀυτὸς ὡς ἔυσπλαχνος ἰατρὸς ἰάσηται ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ χριστοῦ. συνεβίβαζεν δὲ ἀυτοὺς, ὥστε πάντα ἀκριβῶς ἐγνωκέναι, οὐκ ἀκροτηριάζων, οὐδὲ ἀεροβατῶν ἐν τοῖς λόγοις, ἀλλ᾽ ἄνωθεν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς τῆς κοσμοποιΐας μεχρὶ τῶν θεοφόρων ἁγίων καὶ θεολόγων διηγησάμενος, καὶ τὰς πράξεις ἑκάστου τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐκτιθέμενος, τῶν πνευματικῶν ἐκφωνήσεων γνωστικοὺς ἀυτοὺς κατέστησεν, καὶ τοὺς θεοφιλεῖς ἄνδρας μετὰ τῆς ἀληθινῆς παραδώσεως τοῦ χριστοῦ, καὶ τοὺς πνευματικοὺς πόνους ἑνὸς ἑκάστου μετὰ ἀποδείξεων ὀνομαστὶ ἐγνώρισεν
ἀυτοῖς, τὰ ῥήματα ἀυτῶν, τὰ παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ῥηθέντα διὰ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος, παρέθηκεν, καὶ τὴν ἑρμηνείαν συνέθηκεν ἐν δυνάμει τῶν λόγων ἀυτῶν.
[109] Ἀυτοὶ δὲ συναγόμενοι καὶ συναθροιζόμενοι ἐν ἀποίρῳ πλήθει ἀνθρώπων ἀλλήλους προσελάμβανον, ἐις τὴν ἀκρόασιν τῆς διδασκαλίας τὰς ἀκοὰς προσφέροντες. ὄχλοι δὲ ἀναρίθμητοι ἐις τὴν φήμην ἤρχοντο θεωρῆσαι ἅμα καὶ ἀκοῦσαι τὰ ἀνεκδιήγητα θαύματα τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ λαοὶ πολλοὶ ἀνδρῶν τε καὶ γυναικῶν σὺν τοῖς παιδίοις ἀπὸ διαφόρων πατρίδων ὡρμούμενοι. ἔπεσε γὰρ καὶ ὁ φόβος τοῦ πάντων δημιουργοῦ ἐπι πάντας, καὶ ὑπετάγησαν καὶ ἐδείξαντο τὴν πίστιν μετὰ πολλῆς σπουδῆς. ἐθεωροῦν γὰρ τὰ θαυμάσια, καὶ γνησίως ἐπίθοντο τῇ ψυχοφελεῖ νουθεσίᾳ, καὶ φωτοφόρῳ κηρύγματι, καὶ ζωοποιῷ καὶ ζωηφόρῳ ἐπαγγελίᾳ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, παντα καταδεξάμενοι. ὁ βασιλεὺς δὲ σὺν τοῖς ἄρχουσιν ἐν σπουδῇ ποιεῖν τὰ παρ᾽ ἀυτοῦ προστεταγμένα ἠπείγετο· πληρωθέντων τῶν ἑξήκοντα ἡμερῶν, ὄρθρου ταχέως προσελθόντες ὁι μεγιστάνες καὶ ἄρχοντες σὺν τῷ βασιλεῖ, καὶ τῷ λοιπῷ ὄχλῳ, μετὰ γυναικῶν καὶ παιδίων θηλαζόντων, φατρίαι διάφοροι, προσπέσοντες τῷ ἁγίῳ γρηγορίῳ, ἐζήτουν ἴασιν εὑρεῖν τῶν βασάνων. πληγέντες γὰρ ἦσαν τῇ τῆς ὀργῆς ῥάβδῳ τοῦ δικαιοτάτου κριτοῦ, μάλιστα δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς, ἀλλαγεὶς ἐν μορφῇ κοπρορύκτων χοίρων, δεδασυμένου ὅλου τοῦ σώματος ἀυτοῦ, καὶ ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ἀυτοῦ ἀναφυεισῶν τριχῶν, ὡς καὶ τῶν μεγάλων συάγρων, τῶν ἐν τοῖς καλαμῶσιν βοσκομένων, καὶ ὁι ὄνυχες δὲ τῶν χειρῶν καὶ τῶν ποδῶν ἦσαν, ὡς τῶν γεορύκτων χοίρων, καὶ τὸ στόμα, ἡ ὀψὶς ἀλλοιωθεῖσα ἐν σχήματι χοίρου.
[110] Δικαίαν γὰρ ἐπιτιμίαν παρὰ τοῦ δικαίου κριτοῦ θεοῦ δεξάμενος διὰ τὸ ἄγριον ἀυτοῦ καὶ ἀνήμερον ἦτος, ἐκπεσὼν τῆς βασιλείας μετὰ τῶν θηρίων ἐν τῷ ἄγρῳ ἐβόσκετο. παρασυνεβλήθη γὰρ τοῖς κτίνεσιν τοῖς ἀνοήτοις, καὶ ὁμοιώθη ἀυτοῖς, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, κεχωρισμένος ἐκ μέσου τῶν ἀνθρώπων. ὅτε οὖν ἐξῆλθεν ὁ ὁμολογητὴς ἐκ τῆς φυλακῆς καὶ μάρτυς τοῦ χριστοῦ γρηγόριος, ἔφθασαν εἰς τὸν τόπον τῶν μαρτυρισάντων ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ ὀικονομίας, καὶ συνήχθησαν πάντες εἰς ἁπαντὴν ἐρχόμενοι δαιμονιῶντες, καὶ ὁ βασιλευς σὺν ἀυτοῖς, καὶ ὡς σύαγρος μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ ἔκραξεν, βρίζων καὶ ἄφρου πληρῶν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ὄψιν, ἐν ὁμοιώματι τετραπόδων τρέχων ἀπὸ τῶν καλάμων, καὶ ἔφθασεν εἰς τὸν τόπον ἐκεῖνον. ὁ δὲ ἅγιος γρηγόριος εὐξάμενος ἐζήτει παρὰ τοῦ παντοδωροδότου θεοῦ, ἵνα πρὸς ὥραν οὐ τὴν ὑγείαν τῆς ὄφεως ἀπολάβοι, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα τὴν ἀκρόασιν καὶ τὴν ἔννοιαν, ὡς τὴν διδασκαλίαν νηφαλίως ἔχειν, ὥστε νοῆσαι τὰ λεγόμενα τῶν λεγομένων λογίων τοῦ θεοῦ, τοσοῦτον μόνον τὴν ἴασιν γενέσθαι ἀυτῷ, ὥστε ἀκούειν καὶ λαλεῖν καὶ νοεῖν ἀνεμποδίστως. τετυχηκὼς δὲ ταύτης ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς ἰάσεως, τὰς ἑξήκοντα ἑξ ἡμέρας τῆς διδασκαλίας ἀυτοῦ ἔμεινεν ἐν τῇ ἀυτῇ μορφῇ, περιδεδεμένος καὶ περικεκλωμένος ἐν μέσῳ τῶν συνηγμένων ἀνθρώπων.
[111] Πάντες δὲ κυλιόμενοι καὶ κλαίοντες ἐξήτουν ἴασιν ἐαυτοῖς τε καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ. εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς ἀυτοὺς μετὰ τὴν παράκλησιν ὁ ἅγιος· κἀγὼ μεθ᾽ ὑμῶν ὡς εἷς ἐξ ὑμῶν ζητήσω τὴν ὠφέλειαν, καὶ ὑμεῖς συνθύμως ζηθήσατε τὴν ὑμετέραν ἴασιν, καὶ ὁ φιλάνθρωπος θεὸς ἐλεήσει ὑμᾶς. σπεύσατε οὖν ὀικοδομῆσαι τὰ μαρτύρια καὶ ἀναπαῦσαι τοὺς τοῦ χριστοῦ μάρτυρας, καὶ ἀυτοὶ ἀναπαύσωσιν ὑμᾶς ἀπὸ τῶν βασάνων, καὶ τῆς ἐπελθούσης τιμωρίας, σωθῆτε καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν φοβερῶν καὶ πικρῶν καὶ ἑτοιμασμένων κολάσεων καὶ τῶν μελλουσῶν καὶ ἐπηγγελμένων χρίσεων καὶ καταξιωθῆτε τῆς τοῦ χριστοῦ βασιλείας. τῶν δὲ ἐν σπουδῇ ζητούντων, καθὼς βούλεται, προρέταξεν ἀυτοῖς ποιεῖν. καὶ ἀυτός τι ὅραμα διηγόμενος ἀυτοῖς, ἔλεγεν. δεῦτέ, φησιν, ἀδελφοὶ, διηγήσομαι ὑμῖν τὴν κηδεμονίαν τῆς τοῦ δημιουργοῦ ἀγάπης, τὴν πρὸς ὑμᾶς οὖσαν. ἥτις ἀπεκαλύφθη μοι φοβερὰ καὶ θεἳκὴ θεωρία, δηλοῦσα τὴν ἀυτοῦ συγκατάβασιν, τὴν πρὸς τοὺς ἁγίους ἀυτοῦ μάρτυρας, καὶ τὴν ἀσύγκριτον τούτων τιμὴν τὴν ἐις τὸ ἄμετρον ὕψος ἀρθεῖσαν ἐν τῇ τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείᾳ, καὶ τὴν ὑμῖν μέλλουσαν χαρισθῆναι ζωοφόρον ἐπίσκεψιν.
When all were asking for further instruction; When holy Gregory had spoken all these things, all rent their garments, both the king and the nobles and the remaining crowd of men, and scattering dust they sat upon the ground, and said with one accord as though with one mouth: Is there any hope of pardon for us with God? For we are undone through our ignorance, and by most darksome ways. But now how shall those many sins of ours be forgiven? But holy Gregory said to them: The Lord is kind and even-minded, and of much mercy and compassion: of all who call upon his name and seek him out, he becomes a rewarder. But they said to him: Instruct us, and confirm our hearts as our father, that we may be able to call upon him who created us. If therefore, turning, he receive us again unto repentance, and if even now there be place for our conversion, and the hope of our life be not yet cut off from him; be not yourself mindful of all the evils which were brought upon you by us, and set before us the most upright teaching, nor, stirred by hatred, lead us away from the just and right way. Thus all together with the king cried out with weeping and wailing, strewn upon the ground before him, yet unable to be parted from him even for an hour, because of the horrible madness of the demons. For if they withdrew for a moment, the demons at once leaping upon the men, they raged and devoured their own flesh.
[101] When therefore most holy Gregory heard the words which they spoke before him, weeping much, he said to them: You know how many evils you brought upon me: The Saint, from the things which had befallen himself and the holy can it be that a man should suffer and bear so much? that one who spent fifteen years in the midst of serpents should live and suffer no evil from them? From these things first learn the power of the Creator: for the Founder of all things, as he desires and whenever he wills, changes the disposition of each thing, so that he rendered even their most bitter and most hurtful venom sweet and mild for me, his unworthy servant, in that most dreadful deep. For even though we are unworthy, yet for your profit, by preserving us, he displayed the power of his miracles, and at this time brought us to the cultivating of you, that from the mercy of God you might receive the fruit which is brought to you through us. Can it happen again that a single Maiden should withstand a man of giant strength, as you saw with your own eyes? And how would this have come to pass, unless the power of victory had been given by God, that he might keep his Martyr unstained from your iniquitous transgression?
[102] But concerning the death of those most blessed Martyrs, Martyrs, proclaims the power of God, whose blood was shed in your region, who were both deemed worthy of divine grace and offered as a sacrifice to God, what need is there to speak? On account of these also the visitation of inquiry was made by God upon you who dwell in the region of Armenia, and by the grace of their most righteous blood which was shed, behold, remission of sins is offered to you through your repentance by God, who freely bestows all gifts. But as concerns myself, I affirm that, even if I had not been appointed a preacher to you by the command of God, but as it were by my own will, I could not presume to hide from you even so much as a single jot: how much less now, when I receive the command from God. For on each day in the deepest abyss with open eyes we saw the angel of God, giving me courage and saying, as even now I see the same vision: The Lord God has kept you, and has judged you worthy of his ministry, and has committed to you the office of cultivating the field, that entering in with the rest of the workmen you may receive your wage. But although you cast me into that deep pit, and into that deadly mire, I came forth unharmed by the will of God. These things I say often, not that I claim glory for myself, but because I cannot hide the wonders of God. For it cannot be that I should forget, or rather not announce, that he snatched me from death, who was believed to be dead before your eyes, as you yourselves bear witness. For I was slain by you, and you were dead in your offenses: but behold, through the slain one you who are dead are together called back to life.
[103] For it has been given me to set forth to you the commandments of God, and touching on many things to be expounded, that you may return to the most right and true way, and withdraw from your vain images, and from statues of stone and wood, of silver and gold and bronze, which are nothing and are never of use to anyone, and that you may go back to the living God, who made heaven and earth and all things that are in them, and to the Word, his only-begotten Son, and to his eternal Spirit, who renders living, holy and clean all who praise and adore him. Now therefore, if I see you returning eagerly and by free will to his Divinity, having begun with joy and sweetness, we shall relate to you concerning the things created by him; how this beautiful world was founded by the good God, how the order of the world has been administered, how of men some, who did the things pleasing to God by their free wills, came forth perfect before God; but others, who wrought evils, being examined even in this life, paid the penalty: how the Son of God came in the body in lowliness, and how he is again to come perfectly in the same body through the glory of the Father; and concerning the good things to come, and concerning the judgment to come: how in the present life we ought to cleave to the commandments according to the will of God, how to find repentance, and through its help remission, how to expiate sins, and according to the will of God to flee evils and to do good, and to obtain the promised good things, and how one ought to walk in the ways of God.
[104] he discourses concerning God, These things I shall relate in order with untiring tongue and unceasing mouth, that the Lord, accepting your repentance according to his mercy, may make you worthy to enter into the grace of his clemency through Jesus Christ our Lord. Nevertheless, having begun from the beginning, let us set forth the right creation of the world by the good God, if you are willing to hear and to believe with your whole heart. But before all things let us draw the beginning of our narration from the great and only good God, and thereafter from all the things made by him. And this we strive to render more complete unto your instruction and profit according to the command of his Divinity. For we have deemed it necessary to bring forth concerning him words that are fitting, apt and well-ordered: for the discourse is of theology. For we know that he is the true God; concerning his incomprehensible nature nothing can
be affirmed, but it may be discussed so far as it can be grasped. For he can neither be apprehended, nor approached, nor measured, nor enclosed, nor circumscribed, nor explored, nor touched by nearness of place, nor comprehended by the mind of any creature. He is indeed invisible to the eyes, yet nearest to all, and by the care of his compassions, by his visitation and most kindly charity, he provides for all, never seen by mortals and by those clothed in flesh, nor even by his fiery ministers a, the Angels and the Virtues; he alone is celebrated with magnificent praise by every creature.
[105] concerning the prophets and Moses, and concerning the world's And all things indeed were made by him: but he alone is HE WHO IS. Righteous men he deemed worthy of such favor that they knew his workmanship in the founding of the world, and adored him, being subject to his will, shining in a divine manner by a most honorable life. And these were named prophets in the ancient generations, sprung from the race of the Hebrews, taught of God, and from the seed of Abraham, whom God chose for his exceptional piety, and named the father of many nations, that, as the first believer, raised to the headship of faith and righteousness, he might glory, being called the Most Righteous Father, whose seed also was called the Peculiar people, and firstborn and genuine. And among these, from the same race, there shone forth prophets with words bearing majesty, deemed worthy of the grace of the Spirit for the teaching of the law of God to all. And they set before all his will and his upright commandments, as the books of their prophecy accurately show, which also for the profit of all were scattered in every direction, and ran abroad, and even now will run to the end. For they have filled the ends of the earth with most righteous words, and as it were before the eyes of all they display to the reader the oracles of their prophecy beautifully woven, so that those blessed men seem to be beheld face to face. When therefore in these holy and religious choirs of the prophets a great prophet had arisen, whose name was Moses, and to whom God gave divine grace, he began to teach all. For having received the true knowledge from God, that great one among the prophets set forth the creation of the world.
[106] Hence therefore let us also begin to speak by the grace of the Spirit that teaches all things, creation. And having exhorted them to bury the Martyrs worthily, setting forth to you concerning both worlds founded by the good God, on account of the beginning and the end of this temporal one, and on account of the world to come, eternal b and abiding. Would that words be given in my mouth, that I may both bring you profit, and that you may receive what you hear and believe, and withdraw from diabolical and evil working, and become partakers of the divine exercise. We shall begin therefore by the grace of Christ to relate thereafter in minute notes, and do you, drinking these in with your ears, hear with your whole heart. Come then, brethren, that we may make progress; draw upon yourselves with earnestness the common salvation, that the penalties may be taken from you, and that rest may straightway arise out of the disturbance which has laid hold of you; and out of captivity and error a turning unto salvation. I have set forth all the commandments of God in order, and at the same time have made progress in your hearing, relating all things c from the beginning to the end. Come therefore, let us first lay out for burial the divine treasure d, that by this grace healing may be given to you all. And let us carry them to the place of rest, building for them a martyrs' shrine, and an oratory for the use of common prayer, always asking of God, first indeed a change and peace, and mercy with faith and charity, and with these life, and the kingdom of God, that you, being freed from the voluntary servitude of dark works, may be able to find the glory of the divine light by the prayers and intercessions of those Martyrs before God, and that they may make your souls rest from the torments and the hardship inflicted upon you, when you have been confirmed in these things before God.
[107] Then God also, who dwells in them, will have mercy upon you through your repentance and confession, he adds other admonitions. and through your humbling and the submission of faith. It behooves you therefore to persist in fastings, to impress upon your hearts the endurance of labors, and openly to set forth the fear of God in your mind, and to shake off the desires of your own will, that you may be held worthy of the laver of holy baptism, and become partakers of the lot of the light of these Saints, and of the glorying of the cross, which to them that perish is folly, but to you who have found it is the wisdom of salvation and the power of God. He also will deign to take you up into the adoption of the sons of God, blotting out your sins, that you may receive a share in the crown of these Saints who came to you, that you also may become adorers of God together with the divine choir of those who celebrate the glory of God, and may share in the blessing of the Holy Spirit. And when you have received the divine mysteries, so as to be cleansed of the diabolical stain, that evil one being trampled under the feet of the knowledge of God, you shall enter in and enjoy the divine nuptials of gladness, eating the body of the true Lamb, the Son of God, and shall be partakers of glory, and shall grow together into one spirit, joined through his Body and Blood. And these Martyrs shall be for you, through the mercy of God, a most strong wall and an unconquerable tower, and advocates and patrons: these in their contests manfully poured out their blood, that they might now lead you to God. For they have gained you, displaying their combats and their victories, which they won by the power of God.
[108] Now, since evening is at hand, go away to your rest. But from tomorrow let care be taken for the building of tabernacles for their rest, that they too, in return for the earthly dwelling The Saint continues for sixty-five days which you build for them here, may prepare for you splendid tabernacles in the kingdom of heaven, which we hope to obtain by their intercessions, when we shall have been gathered together in the kingdom of Christ, to whom be glory and power now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen. And when he had said these things, he dismissed the multitude. But the king and his magnates were never able to depart from the Saint: for they were stunned and terrified. Wherefore by night and by day they remained in the vineyard at the door of the wine-press. They were clothed in sackcloth, and sat sprinkled with dust e. And when they fasted for sixty-five f days, the Saint, speaking and instructing and teaching and confirming them, like a wise physician, strove to find the medicine of their salvation, that they first might offer to him their souls, as sick men, and that he, as a merciful physician, might heal them through the Gospel of Christ. And he gathered them together, so that all things might be accurately understood, not skimming the surface traces of things, nor beating the air with his discourses, but beginning from the beginning of the creation of the world and carrying his teaching down to the divine men and theologians, and setting forth the works of the virtue of each one, he imbued them with the knowledge of spiritual sayings, and taught them by name of the men beloved of God together with the true tradition concerning Christ, and of their life, and of the spiritual labors of each with the proofs thereof: he brought forth their words, spoken concerning God through the Holy Spirit, and by the power of his own words he composed the interpretation.
[109] to teach a countless people, And being gathered together, and heaped up into a countless multitude of men, they took one another along, straining their ears to hear the teaching. Innumerable throngs also ran together because of the report, to see and to hear the unutterable miracles of God, and many peoples, both men and women with their little ones, having set out from various provinces. For the fear of the Founder of all laid hold upon all, and they obeyed and gave their faith with much earnestness. For they saw the wonders, and with ingenuous simplicity believed the admonitions profitable to the soul, the enlightening preaching, the promises of the Gospel bringing salvation and life, receiving all things. But the king and the princes diligently strove to accomplish what had been commanded by the Saint. When those sixty g days were completed, straightway in the morning the magnates and princes came near with the king, and with the rest of the multitude, with their wives and their sucking children, various companies, and falling at the feet of holy Gregory they begged for the healing of their pains. For they had been struck by the rod of the wrath of the most just Judge, and above all the king, changed into the figure of swine that wallow in dung, his whole body made shaggy, and hairs growing out over his limbs such as are those of great boars which feed in the reed-beds: indeed the nails of his hands and feet were like those of swine that dig the earth, and so was his mouth: his countenance was made strange with a swinish form h.
[110] the king not yet being healed, For when he had received a just punishment from God the just judge on account of his wild and untamed manners, being deprived of his kingdom he fed with the beasts in the fields. For he was compared to the senseless beasts of burden, and was made like unto them, according to what is written, being separated from men. When therefore Gregory, the confessor and martyr of Christ, came out of the prison, by the providence of God they came to the place where the Martyrs had suffered, and all who were vexed by the demons were gathered that they might go out to meet them, and the king with them; and like a boar he cried out with a great voice, drowsy i and filling his face with foam, running after the manner of four-footed beasts out of the reeds, and he reached that place. But holy Gregory, having prayed, asked God the giver of all gifts that for a time he might obtain not soundness of form, but that he might receive hearing and mind, so as to take in the teaching prudently, and to weigh the things set forth from the oracles of God's sayings, and that only so much healing should be granted him as would let him hear and speak and think without hindrance. This healing therefore having been obtained, the king remained in the same figure for those sixty-six days of his instruction, bound on every side and shut in among those who had come together.
[111] And all, prostrate and weeping, begged healing for themselves and for the king. But the Saint, after his consolation, said to them: I too with you, for whom the people make petition. as one of you, will ask for the things that are profitable; and do you with one mind ask for your own healing; and the kind God will have mercy upon you. Hasten therefore to build shrines sacred to the Martyrs, and to bring the bodies of Christ's Martyrs to their rest, that they may obtain for you rest from your torments, and from the punishment which has come upon you: that you may be rescued also from the dreadful, bitter and prepared penalties and from the judgments to come and foretold, and may be deemed worthy of the kingdom of Christ. And as they earnestly besought him, he bade them do as he wished. He also, relating to them a certain vision, said: Come, he says, brethren, I will tell you of the providence of the Founder's love toward you. This awful and divine vision was shown to me, making manifest how graciously he condescends unto the favor of the holy Martyrs, and their incomparable glory, raised to an immeasurable height in the kingdom of heaven, and the visitation which brings life, to be kindly bestowed upon you.
ANNOTATIONS.
the vision of God, in which he certainly erred, since the Angels enjoy the vision of God, just as blessed men do. Now that error, that no creature can have a clear vision of God, is attributed to the Armenians in the tract of Pope Benedict XII, published in Odoricus Raynaldus at the year 1341 num. 48 and following. For in §8 of that tract the clear vision of God is denied to all the Blessed, both Angels and men, and again in §105. Wherefore it is likely that the writer of this Life was in that error of the Armenians.
CHAPTER X.
Gregory relates his vision together with the explanation he received.
Ἐφάνη οὖν μοι λίαν θαυμαστὸν καὶ θεἳκὸν καὶ ἀνεκδιήγητον ὅραμα, οὗ ἐκ μέρους ἔλαβον τὴν κατανόησιν. ἐν τῷ μεσονυκτίῳ οὖν τουτῷ, ὧς ὑμεῖς κεκμηκότες ἀναπαύεσθαι ἀπὸ τοῦ βάρους τῆς ἀγρυπνίας, ἐγὼ ἐγρηγόρουν ἔτι ἐνθυμούμενος καθ᾽ ἑαυτὸν ἔνεκεν τῶν ἐξαίφνης θαυμασίων καὶ ἐπισκέψεων καὶ ἐλέους τοῦ θεοῦ πρὸς ὑμᾶς, διὰ τὸ ἐμβαλεῖν ἀυτὸν ὑμᾶς ἐν τῷ χωνευτηρίῳ τῆς θεἳκῆς γνώσεως τῆς διδασκαλικῆς παιδεύσεως. ἐλογιζόμεν δὲ καὶ τὴν τῶν μαρτύρων ἀγάπην, τὴν πρὸς τὸν ἀυτῶν ποιητὴν, καὶ τὰς ἑτοιμασθείσας ἀυτοῖς ἀμοιβὰς, ἄρα ὁποῖαι νῦν ὑπάρχουσι. ὡς δὲ ἐν τούτοις ἠμὲν, ἄφνω ἐγένετο φωνὴ σφοδρωτάτης βροντῆς, καὶ φοβερὸς κτύπος, ὥς φωνὴ θαλάσσης βραζούσης, τῶν κυμάτων ὁιδαινόντων καὶ τεταραγμένων, καὶ διηνήχθη τὸ σκηνοειδὲς στερέωμα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ καθελθὼν ἄνθρωπος εἶς ἐν σχήματι φωτὸς ἐκάλεσε τὸ ὄνομά μου, καὶ εἶπεν γρηγόριε. ἐγὼ δὲ ἀτενίσας, ἴδον τὴν μορφὴν ἀυτοῦ. ἔμφοβος δὲ γενόμενος, καὶ τρομάσας ἐις τὴν γῆν ἔπεσον. καὶ εἶπέν μοι· πρόσεχε ἄνω, καὶ ἴδε τὰ θαυμάσια, ἃ ἐγὼ σοι δείξω. καὶ ἀναβλέψας ἐθεασάμεν τὸ στερέωμα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ τὰ ὕδατα τὰ ὑπεράνω τοῦ στερεώματος διασχισθέντα καθ᾽ ὁμοίωσιν τῶν φαράγγων, ὡς τοὺς λόφους τὸν ὀρέων, ᾧ δὲ καὶ ᾧ διαμερισμένα, ἑστηκότα καὶ συντεθειμένα, ἀνήκαστα καὶ ἀκατάληπτα τῆς τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν θεωρίας. καὶ τὸ φῶς εἶδον ῥέον ἄνωθεν, καὶ μέχρι τῆς γῆς κατιὸν, καὶ μετὰ τοῦ φωτὸς στρατιαὶ ἄμετροι, φωτοἳδεῖς, δίπτεροι ἐν ὁράσει ἀνθρώπων. ἦσαν δὲ ἁι πτέρυγες ἀυτῶν πῦρ. κατίεσαν δὲ καθ᾽ ὁμοίωσιν λεπτοτάτου κονιορτοῦ, κινουμένου ἀπὸ τῆς θερμωτάτης ἀκτίνος τοῦ ἡλίου, ὅταν διὰ θυρίδων καὶ φωτοφόρων στρογγυλῶν εἰσβάλλει. οὕτως αἱ στρατιαὶ μετὰ τοῦ φωτὸς ἐπλήρωσαν τὰ κάτω μέρη, καὶ προέτρεχε τὸ φῶς σῦν τῇ στρατιᾷ, καὶ εἷς φοβερὸς ἐν ὁράσει ἀνθρώπου, ὑψηλὸς καὶ ἔνδοξος, ἐκράτη τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ τὸ τέλος τῆς στρατιᾶς, καὶ προῆγεν ἕως κάτω, καὶ τὰς ἄμφω ἀρχὰς ἐφύλαττεν, καὶ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ ἀυτοῦ σφύρα μεγάλῃ χρυσῆ καὶ πάντες ἠκολούθουν ἀυτῶν. ἀυτὁς δὲ πετόμενος ὀξέως, κατὰ τὴν ὀξύτητα τοῦ ἀετοῦ, κατελθὼν ἔφθασε τὸ ἔδαφος τῆς γῆς εἰς τὸ μέσον τῆς πόλεως, καὶ ἐπάταξε τὸ πάχος τοῦ πλάτους τῆς γῆς. μέγας δὲ καὶ ἄμετρος κτύπος ἤυχησεν ἐν τοῖς καταχθονίοις τῶν ἀβύσσων, καὶ πᾶσα ἡ γῆ ἐν βλέμματι ὀφθαλμῶν ἱκανῶς ὁμαλισθεῖσα ἐξισώθη, καὶ πεδίον γέγονε.
[114] Καὶ θεωρῶ ἐν μέσῳ τῆς πόλεως ἐγγὺς τοῦ παλατίου τοῦ βασιλέως τετορνευμένην βάσιν χρυσῆν, τῷ μεγέθει ὡς βουνὸν μέγαν, καὶ ἐπάνω ἀυτῆς στύλον πυρὸς ὑψηλὸν σφόδρα, καὶ ἐπάνου ἀυτοῦ κεφαλίδα ἐκ νέφους καὶ σταυρὸν φωτὸς· ἔτι δὲ θεωρῶ ἄλλας τρεῖς βάσεις, μίαν ἐν τῷ τοπῷ, ᾧ ἐμαρτύρησαν ἡ ἁγία γαιανὴ μετὰ τῶν δυὸ * ἐταιρῶν ἀυτῆς, καὶ μίαν ἐν τῷ τόπῳ, ῷ ἐμαρτύρησεν ἡ ἁγία ῥιψίμη μετὰ τῶν τριάκοντα τριῶν, καὶ μίαν ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τῆς λήνου. αἱ δὲ βάσεις ἐκεῖναι ἧσαν πυροειδεῖς καὶ στύλοι ἐπέκειντο ἐκ νεφελῆς, καὶ αἱ κεφαλίδες ἐκ πυρὸς, καὶ ἐπάνω τῶν τριῶν στύλων σταυροὶ τρεῖς φωτοειδέστατοι, καθ᾽ ὁμοίωσιν τοῦ δεσποτικοῦ σταυροῦ, καὶ τῶν στύλων τούτων ὁι σταυροὶ ἴσοι ἦσαν, τῆς δὲ φωτοείδους κεφαλίδος ὁ στύλος ὑψηλότερος ὑπῆρχεν. καὶ τοῖς τέσσαρσι στύλοις ἐπάνω τῶν σταυρῶν καμάραι θαυμαστοειδεῖς, ἴσαι ἀλλήλαις, συνεπάγησαν. τούτων δὲ ἐπάνωθεν κυκλοφορὲς ἡμίσφαιρον σκήνωμα, ὡς σεληνὴν, ἐθεώρουν, νεφοφανῆ καὶ θεοκτίστην ὀικοδομὴν ἔχουσαν· ὑποκάτω δὲ τῆς σκηνῆς ἐπάνω τῶν καμάρων τοὺς τριάκοντα ἁγίους μάρτυρας τοῦ χριστοῦ, ὡς ἐν σχήματι λευκοτάτου φωτὸς μετὰ τῶν ἐνδυμάτων, περὶ ὧν οὐ δύναμαι διηγήσασθαι. ἐπάνω δὲ τοῦ ἄκρου τῆς ὀικοδομῆς ἐθεώρουν θρόνον θαυμαστὸν, θεόπλαστον, φοβερὸν, πυρινὸν, καὶ τὸ δεσποτικὸν σταυρὸν ἐπάνω ἀυτοῦ, φῶς δὲ τούτῳ περιερχόμενον, συμμιγὲν εἰς τὰς ἀκτίνας τοῦ σταυροῦ, καὶ συμπεπηγὸς ἐπὶ τὸ ἀυτὸ, καὶ στύλον φωτὸς ἐργασάμενον ἔλαμψεν μέχρις ἄνω.
[115] Ἐκ μέσῳ δὲ τῶν βάσεων τῶν κατοτέρων στύλων ἐξέρευσε πήγη σφοδρωτάτου ὕδατος, καὶ ἐκχυθεῖσα ἠπλώθη ἐν πάσαις ταῖς πεδίασι, καὶ ἐπλήρωσε τὰ σύμπαντα ἄχρι τῆς τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν καταλήψεως, καὶ ἐγένετο θάλασσα μεγάλη. οὐρανωειδῆ δὲ καὶ χλωρίζοντα ἐφάνη ὅμου πάντα τὰ πεδία. καὶ ἴδον πλῆθος πυρινῶν θυσιαστηρίων ἄμετρον, καὶ σταυρὸν ἕνα ἐπάνω ἑνὸς ἑκάστου θυσιαστηρίου· ἔλαμπον δὲ ὡς τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἄστρων. καὶ ἴδον ἀγέλην ἀναρίθμητον ἀιγῶν ἐν χρώματι μελανῷ, ἥτις περάσασα τὰ ὕδατα, πρόβατα ἐγένετο, ὡς καὶ τὴν χρόαν στραφῆναι ἀυτῶν εἰς λευκότητα. χρυσόμαλλα δὲ φωτοειδέστατα ἐφ᾽ ἅπαξ ἐγένοντο, ὥς τε καὶ ἀκτίνας ἐκπέμπειν. ἀυτὰ ἔτι δὲ προέχοντος ἐμοῦ, ἐξαίφνης γέννησις τῶν ποιμνίων ἐγένετο, καὶ ἐπληθήνθησαν, καὶ τὰ γεννήματα ἀυτὼν ἐπλήρωσε τὰ σύμπαντα καὶ τὰ γεννηθέντα ἀρνία πάντα φωτόμαλλα ὑπῆρχον. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἄλλα γεννήματα προετέθησαν, καὶ ἐξ ἀυτῶν τινα, εἰσελθόντα εἰς τὰ ὕδατα, ἐπέρασαν, καὶ τὰ ἀρνία λύκοι ἐγένοντο μελανοὶ, καὶ ὁρμήσαντες ἐν μέσον τῶν ποιμνίων, ἤρξαντο σφάζειν, καὶ πλῆθος αἵματος ἐξεχύθη. καὶ ὡς ἔτι ἐθεώρουν, ἀνεφύησαν πτέρυγες τοῖς ποιμνίοις, καὶ ἐγένοντο πτερατὰ καὶ πετασθέντα ἀνελήφθησαν εἰς τὰς στρατιάς τοῦ φωτὸς, καὶ ἀνίστη κατακλυσμὸς πυρὸς, καὶ σύρας ἀπώλεσε τοὺς λύκους. ἐγὼ δὲ ἀτενίζων ἐθαύμασα.
[116] Ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος, ὁ ἐν πρώτοις καλέσας με, καὶ δείξας μοι, εἶπέν μοι· ἄνθρωπε, τί ἐστήκας ἐκπληττόμενος, καὶ οὐ κατανοεῖς τὰ μεγαλεῖα τοῦ θεοῦ; καὶ εἶπον· πῶς δέσποτα; λέγει ἀυτὸς· τοῦτο τὸ ὅραμα ὤφθη σοι, ἵνα συνήσῃς. ἤνοικται γὰρ ὁ οὐρανὸς· γνῶθι, ὅτι ἠνοίγησαν αἱ θύραι τῆς φιλανθεωπίας τοῦ χριστοῦ πρὸς τὰ ἀυτοῦ πλάσματα, καὶ τῇ φωνῇ τοῦ φθόγγου τῆς βροντῆς μάθε τὴν ἔλευσιν τῆς βροχῆς τοῦ ἐλέους καὶ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ θεοῦ· ἠνοίχθησαν αἱ θύραι τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τὰ ὕδατα ὑπεράνω ἀυτῶν διεμερίσθη, ἵνα μηκέτι γένηται ἐμπόδιον ἀναβῆναι ἄνω ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τῆς χώρας ταύτῆς. ὁι γὰρ ἅγιοι μάρτυρες οὗτοι, ὃι ἐνθαῦτα μαρτυρήσαντες, ἠργάσαντο ὁδὸν καὶ τοῖς βορινοῖς μέρεσιν· ἄυτοι γὰρ ἀνῆλθον, καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις πορείαν ἐποίησαν. ἰδοὺ δὴ καὶ τὸ φως, τὸ πληρῶσαν τὰ σύμπαντα, τὸ κήρυγμα τοῦ εὐαγγελίου ἐστὶν, ὃ καὶ τὰ μέρη τοῦ βορρᾷ πληροῖ. καὶ αἱ στρατιαὶ τοῦ φωτὸς ἐπεπόθησαν καθελθεῖν ἐις ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας τοῦ ἀνθοειδοῦς καὶ ῥοδοχρώτου αἵματος τῶν μαρτύρων. ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν οὖν συμμιγήσεται εἰς κατόικησιν μετὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἀγγέλων. ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος ὁ φοβερὸς καὶ ἔνδοξος, ὁ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἔχων τοῦ φωτὸς, καὶ σφύραν χρυσῆν ἐν τῇ χειρὶ ἀυτοῦ, ὁ πατάξας τὸ πάχος τῆς γῆς, τὸ δὲ ἦχος ὑποταγὴ τῆς δουλείας τῆς γῆς ἀντιβοώσης.
[117] Ὁ δὲ στύλος τοῦ πυρὸς, καὶ ἡ βάσις ἡ χρυσῆ, καὶ ἡ κεφαλὶς ἡ ἐκ νέφους, καὶ ὁ σταυρὸς ὁ τοῦ φωτὸς, ὁ ἐπάνω ἀυτῆς· ἡ βάσις ἡ χρυσῆ πέτρα στερεώσεως καὶ ἀκινησίας ἐστὶν.
ὁ δὲ στύλος τοῦ πυρὸς ἡ καθολικὴ ἐκκλησία, συνάγουσα πάντας τοὺς λαοὺς εἰς ἑνότητα τῆς πίστεως ὑποκάτω τῶν πτερύγων ἀοτῆς. καὶ ἡ κεφαλὴ ἡ ἐκ νέφους ὑποδοχὴ τῶν δικαίων, ὅταν πετασθῶσιν ἐν τῇ τοῦ κυρίου παρουσίᾳ εἰς τὴν ἁπαντὴν ἀναληφθέντες. ὁ δὲ σταυρὸς τοῦ φωτὸς, ὁ ἑπάνω ἀυτῆς, ἱερωσύνη ἐστὶν ἐν μέσῳ τῶν λαῶν, τύπον ἔχουσα τῆς τοῦ χριστοῦ εἰκόνος σεσαρκωμένου ἀρχιερέως καὶ τῆς θεότητος ἀυτοῦ ὁμοίωμα. ἀυτὸς γὰρ καὶ τύπος γένεταί τοῦ ναοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ὀικος προσευχῆς καὶ δεήσεως πάντων τῶν πιστῶν, καὶ θρόνος ἱεροσύνης. καὶ αἱ βάσεις αἱ πυριναὶ ὑπάρχουσαι ἕνεκε τῶν παθημάτων καὶ τῶν ἐπενεχθησῶν θλίψεως καὶ τοῦ θανάτου τῆς ὑπομονῆς. τὸν θάνατον γὰρ ἀυτοῦ ἐποίησας βάσεις ἀληθινῆς καὶ βεβαίας πίστεως ἐν τῷ ἅιματι ἀυτοῦ. καὶ ὁι ἐκ τῆς νεφέλης στύλοι, ἐπειδὴ ἡ νεφέλη ἔχει τὴν κουφότητα καὶ τὴν ὀξύτητα, τύπον ἔχει τῆς ἀναστάσεως καὶ τῆς ἀναλήψεως εἰς οὐρανὸν. ἡ κεφαλὴ δὲ ἡ πυρινὴ, ὅτι ἡ κατοίκησις ἀυτῶν γίνεται ἐν τῷ πυρὶ τῆς θεότητος καὶ τῷ φωτὶ. καὶ ὁι στύλοι ἔχουσιν τὸν τύπον τῶν παθημάτων τῶν μαρτύρων, ἀφομοιωθέντων τοῖς τοῦ κυρίου παθήμασιν, καὶ ἀποθανόντων ὑπὲρ ἀυτοῦ. ἐν τῷ θεῷ γὰρ ζῶσι, καὶ σὺν χριστῷ ἐσταυρώθησαν. ζῆ οὖν χριστὸς ἐν τοῖς ὀστέοις ἀυτῶν, καὶ δείκνυσι πᾶσι τὴν ζωὴν ἀυτῶν, ἐπειδήπερ οὕτοι ἐφανέρωσαν τὴν ὀσμὴν τῆς εὐωδίας ἀυτοῦ καὶ τῆς γνώσεως ἐν ἑαυτοῖς. ἀυτὸς δὲ διαφημήσει τὴν ἀυτῶν εἰς τὰ πέρατα.
[118] Ἀπέκτειναν γὰρ τῇ ὑπομονῇ τὰ ὑπόγεια σώματα, καὶ ἐκρέμασαν ἐπὶ σταυροῦ, συμπαθήσαντες τῷ πάθει τοῦ ἀυτῶν δεσπότου, ἵνα καὶ τῆς δόξης καὶ τῆς δυνάμεως γένωνται κοινωνοὶ. ὁ πρῶτος σταυρὸς ἔχει τὸν τύπον τοῦ καυχήματος καὶ τῆς ἱερατικῆς τιμῆς τῶν πεποιθότων ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ χριστοῦ· ὁι δὲ τρεῖς τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων ἀνάπαυσιν, ὅτι ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τοῦ στεφάνου ἀυτῶν καὶ τῆς ἐκχύσεως τοῦ ἅιματος ὀικοδομηθήσονται τὰ μαρτύρια τῶν λειψάνων ἀυτῶν. ὁ δὲ ὑψηλότατός ἐστιν ὁ στύλος ὁ πρῶτος, ὅτι μεγάλη καὶ ὑψηλή ἐστιν ἡ καθολικὴ ἐκκλησία ὑπερ πὰν τὸ ὕψος τῶν ἁγίων. αἱ δὲ καμάραι αἱ ἐν ἀλλήλαις συναφθῆσαι, ἀυτή ἐστιν ἡ κοινωνία τῆς ἑνώσεως τῆς καθολικῆς ἐκκλησίας. ἡ δὲ σκηνὴ ἡ ἐπάνω ἔχει τὸν τύπον τῆς ἄνω πόλεως, καὶ τῆς ὁμονοούσης συναγωγῆς τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείας. ὅτι δὲ θεωρεῖς τοῦς μάρτυρας οὕτως, γνῶθι ὅτι τὸν μὲν θάνατον πρόσκαιρον ἐδέξαντο, τὴν δὲ ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἔχουσιν ἐν τῇ δόξῃ τοῦ ὑιοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ δεδοξασμένοι, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸν τύπον τοῦ σταυροῦ τετύπωνται ἐν ἑαυτοῖς. ἐπάνω δὲ τοῦ ἄκρου τῆς ὀικοδομῆς θεωρεῖς, οὗτος ὁ θρόνος τῆς παντοδυνάμου φύσεως τῆς θεότητος, καὶ τοῦ ἀυτοῦ τέλους ὕψος. ἀυτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλὴ τῆς ἐκκλησίας καὶ τελείωσις πάσης ἀγαθοσύνης, καὶ ἐν ἀυτῷ πᾶσα ὀικοδομὴ συναρμολογῆται, καὶ ἀυξεῖται εἰς ἄυξησιν τοῦ θεοῦ, ἐν ᾧ πὰν τὸ σῶμα σὺν τοῖς ἄρθροις καὶ μέλεσι καὶ ἁρμονίαις ἐν βεβαιότητι κοσμεῖται. φῶς δὲ περιέχει τὸν σταυρὸν, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς θεότητος, ὃ τὸν υἱὸν δοξάσει, καὶ συνεμίγη ταῖς ἀκτίσιν ἀυτοῦ, ἐπειδὴ παρὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ δοξάμενον, διηγῆται τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀγαπητοῖς, καὶ ἡνώθη ἐπὶ τὸ αυτὸ, ὅτι μία ἐστὶν ἡ φύσις τῆς θεότητος.
[119] Καὶ ὅτι ἐξέλαμψεν ἐν μέσῳ τῶν τεσσάρων στύλων καὶ ἐξέρευσεν σφοδρωτάτη πηγὴ, ὅτι τῆς καθολικῆς ἐκκλησίας ἡ χάρις τοῦ πνεύματος ἐν μέσῳ τῶν μαρτυρησάντων καὶ τῆς ἱεροσύνης ἐξερεύξεται πηγὴ βαπτίσματος ἀπολούσασθαι τὸν ῥύπον τῆς ψυχῆς μετὰ τοῦ σώματος· καὶ ὅτι σφόδρως ἀναβλύσασα ἐπλήρωσε τὰ σύμπαντα, διὰ τὸ γενέσθαι σωτηρίαν διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος πολλῶν λαῶν· ἐπειδὴ καὶ οὐρανόμορφος ἐφάνη πᾶσα ἡ πεδία, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν ὅτι ἡ γῆ ὡς οὐρανὸς γένεται, συναπτομένων ἀγγέλων καὶ ἀνθρώπων· καὶ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν πυρινῶν, ὅτι ἀληθῶς γίνονται θυσιαστήρια θεοῦ, τὸν ἐξιλασμὸν πᾶσι διαμερίζοντα, καὶ πυρινὰ διὰ τοῦτο ἐφάνησαν, ἵνα ἡ λατρεία τοῦ πνεύματος γένηται ἐν δόξῃ· καὶ στύλοι καθ᾽ ἕκαστον θυσιαστήριον ἡ λειτουργία τῶν εὐχῶν τῆς ἱεροσύνης, καὶ σταυροὶ ἐπάνω ἀυτῶν, ἵνα τὸ πανάγιον ὄνομα τοῦ χριστοῦ δοξασθῆ ἐις τὰ πέρατα τῆς γῆς· καὶ ὅτι κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἀστρῶν ἦσαν ὅτι ἡ προσκύνησις τῆς ἁγίας τριάδος, ὡς ἀστέρες, πληθυνθήσεται. καὶ τὰ πλήθη τῆς ἀγέλης τῶν μελανῶν αἰγῶν, τῶν κατελθόντων ἐις τὸ ὕδωρ, μεταβληθέντων ἐις τὴν λευκότητα τῶν προβάτων, ἰδοὺ ἡ δεξιὰ τῆς θεἳκῆς χάριτος διὰ τῆς ἱεροσύνης φθάνει, δι᾽ ἧς ἐξερεύξηται τῆς πηγῆς τοῦ βαπτίσματος ἄφεσιν καὶ ἐξιλασμὸν φέρουσα τοῖς ἁμαρτωλοῖς· καὶ τὰ χρυσόμαλλα ὡς φῶς ἐξέλαμψαν, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, ὁι βαπτιζόμενοι φῶς ἐνδύσονται, καὶ τῆς ἐπηγγελμένης βασιλείας γένονται ἄξιοι· καὶ τὰ γεννηθέντα ποίμνια καὶ πληρώσαντα τὰ σύμπαντα, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, χρόνον πολὺν ἀυξηθήσεται τὸ κήρυγμα καὶ γεννήσει νέον γέννημα ἐις ἀναγέννησιν, καὶ πληθυνεῖ ἀυτοὺς τὸ βάπτισμα.
[120] Καὶ ὅτι μέρος τῶν ποιμνίων, εἰσελθὸν εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ ἐπέρασεν, ἐκεῖθεν παρῆλθεν, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, ἐν ἐσχάτοις καιροῖς ἀναστήσονταί τινες ἐκπέσοντες τῆς ἀληθείας· ἀποῤῥίψουσιν γὰρ τὴν σφραγίδα τῆς διαθήκης καὶ τῆς θεἳκῆς ἁγιστείας, καὶ ἐάσουσιν τὰ ἅγια προστάγματα, καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἀρνίων γίνονται λύκοι· καὶ κατακόψουσι τὰ ἅγια ἀρνία, τουτ᾽ ἔστιν, ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ ἐμμείναντες, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἱερατικῆς τάξεως γίνονται λύκοι, καὶ ἐκχύσεις αἱμάτων ποιήσουσι τοῖς ἀρνίοις, τῶν ἀρνίων τῆς ἱερατικῆς διαθήκης, καὶ τοῖς λαοῖς ταραχὴν. ὁι δὲ ἀπομείναντες ἀδιστάκτως ἐκ τῶν ἀρνίων, καὶ τῶν λαῶν καὶ ἱερέων, πτέρυγας λαβόντες εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ χριστοῦ πετασθήσονται. ὁι δὲ τὴν γνώμην τῶν λύκων καὶ τὴν πράξιν τῆς ἁρπαγῆς ἀυτῶν ἔχοντες, τῷ ἀσβέστῳ πυρὶ παραδωθήσονται. καὶ σύ, φησιν, θάρσον καὶ κραταιοῦ καὶ ἀσφάλισαι, ὅτι ἔφθασεν ἔργον εἰς τὰς χεῖράς σου· ἑτοίμασταί σοι γὰρ τὰ ἀγαθὰ, ὅπως εἰσελθὼν μετὰ τῶν ἀληθινῶν ἐργατῶν κομίση τοὺς μίσθους, τὰ ἄφθαρτα δωρήματα τοῦ χριστοῦ. νῦν οὖν ἀσφάλισαι τὴν πιστευθεῖσάν σοι παραθήκην παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. ὀικοδομήσεις δὲ ναὸν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ θεοῦ, εἰς τὸν τόπον τὸν δειχθέντα σοι, ὅπου ὁ στύλος ὁ πυρινὸς, ὁ ἔχων χρυσῆν βάσιν, καὶ τὰ μαρτύρια τῶν ἁγίων ἐν τοῖς τόποις τῆς σφαγῆς ἀυτῶν, ὅπου ἐγένοντο θυσία ζῶσα ὑπὲρ τῆς τοῦ χριστοῦ ἐλπίδος, ἵνα καὶ ὁι πεπληγότες ἰαθῶσιν, καὶ ἡ κατευόδωσις τοῦ κηρύγματος προκόψῃ διαπαντὸς, ἡμέραν ἐξ ἡμέρας πάντας φθάσαι εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον, εἰς μέτρον ἡληκίας τῆς πίστεως τοῦ χριστοῦ. ταῦτα δὲ ἀυτοῦ εἰπόντος, περὶ τὸν ὄρθρον σεισμὸς ἐγένετο, καὶ παρῆλθεν τὸ ὅραμα.
A wondrous And so there appeared to me an exceedingly wonderful, divine and unutterable spectacle, the understanding of which I have in part attained. In the middle of this night, when you were sleeping and resting from the labor of your vigils, I was awake, still pondering within myself upon the sudden wonders and visitations, and upon the mercy of God toward you, because he has cast you into the smelting-furnace of the knowledge of God and of learned instruction. And I was considering also the charity of the Martyrs, wherewith they are borne toward their Creator, and the rewards prepared for them, such as they now assuredly enjoy. While I was dwelling on these things, suddenly there came the voice of a most violent thunder, and a terrible noise, such as is the sound of a boiling sea, with its waves swelling and troubled: and the firmament of heaven, bearing the form of a tent, was opened: and a certain man a came down in the habit of a man, and called my name, and said, Gregory. But I, fixing my eyes, saw his form: and being made fearful and trembling, I fell to the ground. And he said to me: Look upward, and see the wonders which I shall show you. And looking upward, I saw the firmament of heaven, and the waters which are above the firmament, cleft apart after the manner of chasms, like the peaks of mountains, divided on this side and on that, standing firm and composed together, invisible and incomprehensible to the sight of men. I saw also a light flowing down from above, and descending even to the earth: and with the light there were immeasurable hosts, and these of shining, two-winged beings in the appearance of men: but their wings were as fire. And they came down after the likeness of the finest dust which is stirred by the most burning ray of the sun, when it enters through windows and round light-openings. In this way the hosts with the light filled the lower parts: and the light ran forward with the host, and one of awful human aspect, lofty and glorious, ruled the beginning and the end of the host, and led it down to the lowest: and he guarded both ends of the host, and had in his hand a great golden hammer, and all followed him. But he, flying swiftly like a swift eagle, coming down reached the soil of the earth in the middle of the city, and struck the thickness of the breadth of the earth: and a huge and immeasurable noise resounded in the infernal places of the abysses; and the whole earth, so far as the eye could see, was abundantly leveled and brought to an evenness, and became a plain.
[114] St. Gregory's And in the middle of the city near the palace of the king I see a turned base of gold of the size of a huge hill, and upon it a column of fire exceedingly lofty, and above it a capital of cloud and a shining cross: moreover I see three other bases, one in the place where holy Gaiana was crowned with martyrdom together with two of her Companions; and one in the place where holy Ripsime suffered with the thirty-three, and one in the place of the wine-press. And these bases were of fiery aspect, and columns of cloud rested upon them, and their capitals were of fire: and above the three columns were three most shining crosses after the likeness of the Lord's cross, and the crosses of the three columns were alike: but the column of the shining capital was loftier. And the four columns had drawn over them, above the crosses, vaults of wonderful aspect, like to one another. Above these I saw a round tabernacle of a half-circle, like the moon, whose structure appeared to be of cloud and divinely made: but beneath the tabernacle, above the vaults, I saw the thirty holy Martyrs of Christ, as it were in the form of a most brilliant light, with garments concerning which I can relate nothing. Above the summit of the building I beheld a throne, wonderful, of divine workmanship, awful, fiery, and above it the Lord's cross, and the light poured around the throne was mingled with the rays of the cross, and being compacted together with them made a column of light, and shone even to the highest part.
[115] From the midst of the bases of the lower columns there gushed a spring of most violent water, vision, and being poured forth it spread through all the level places, and filled all things that lay open to the sight of the eyes, and became a great sea. And heavenly
and of a green color all the plains appeared together. And I saw a vast multitude of fiery altars, and a cross above each single altar: and they shone like the multitude of the stars. And I saw an innumerable flock of goats of black color, which entering into the waters became sheep, so that their skin too was changed into whiteness: and all at once they became of golden color and most resplendent, so that they even sent forth rays. While I was still gazing, straightway a bringing forth of the flocks took place, and they were multiplied, and their young filled all things: and the lambs born were all of shining fleece. But after these other young also were brought forth, and of them some, who had entered into the waters, passed through and became black lambs, and rushing into the midst of the flocks they began to slaughter, and much blood was shed. And while I was still contemplating this, wings grew upon the flocks, and they were made winged, and flying they were taken up to the hosts of light: and a flood of fire arose, and sweeping them along destroyed the wolves. But I, looking on, marveled.
[116] But the man who had first called me and shown me these things, which to him said to me: Man, why do you stand astonished, and do not consider the mighty works of God? And I said: How, Lord? He says: You have seen this vision that you may understand. For heaven has been opened: know that the doors of Christ's mercy have been opened upon his creatures: and from the voice of the noise of the thunder understand the coming of the dew of the kindness and knowledge of God. The gates of heaven have been opened, and the waters which are above the heavens were divided, that hereafter there may be no hindrance to the men of this region from ascending on high. For those holy Martyrs who suffered here opened a way even for the Northern parts: for they went up, and made a way for others. And behold, the light also which filled all things is the preaching of the Gospel, which fills the Northern tracts as well: and the hosts of light desired to come down to the most sweet odor of the blood of the Martyrs, which imitates flowers in fragrance and roses in color. From this time therefore a mingled multitude of angels will dwell together with men. And the awful and glorious man who holds the headship of the light, and the golden hammer in his hand, he it is who struck the thickness of the earth; and the noise is the subjection of the servitude of the earth answering with a cry.
[117] is explained The column is of fire, the base of gold, the capital of cloud, and above this is a cross of light. The golden base is the rock of solidity and of unmoved firmness. The fiery column is the universal Church, gathering all peoples into the unity of faith under her wings. The capital of cloud is the taking up of the just, when at the coming of the Lord they shall be caught up and fly to meet him. But the luminous cross which is above is the priesthood in the midst of the peoples, bearing the type of the image of Christ, who being incarnate is the supreme priest, and the likeness of his Divinity. For it is both the type of the temple of God, and the house of prayer and supplication of all believers, and the throne of the priesthood. The bases are fiery because of the sufferings and the afflictions inflicted and the endurance of death. For you have made his death the bases of true and constant faith through his blood. As concerns the columns of cloud, since a cloud has lightness and swiftness, it bears the type of the resurrection and of the assumption into heaven. But the capital is fiery, because they dwell in the fire and light of the Divinity. The columns also exhibit the figure of the sufferings of the Martyrs, because they bear a likeness to the sufferings of the Lord, and because they died for him. For they live in God, and are crucified with Christ. Christ therefore lives in their bones, and manifests their life to all, since in themselves they made manifest the odor of his sweetness and of his knowledge. And he will spread abroad their fame b to the ends of the world.
[118] concerning the conversion For by their endurance they slew their earthly bodies, and hung them upon the cross, being made partakers of the sufferings of their Lord, that they might become partakers also of his glory and power. The first cross exhibits the figure of the glorying and of the priestly honor of those who put their trust in the cross of Christ: the three others, the rest of the holy Martyrs, because in the places of their crowning and of the shedding of their blood sacred shrines will be built for the laying up of their bodies. The first column is the loftiest of all, because great and lofty is the Catholic Church above all the excellence of the Saints. The vaults joined to one another designate the communion of the unity of the Catholic Church. The tabernacle which is above represents the figure of the city on high, and of the unanimous fellowship of the kingdom of heaven. And in that you see the Martyrs thus, understand that they received a temporal death, but possess everlasting life, having obtained glory through the glory of the Son of God, and therefore they also represent in themselves the figure of the cross. What you behold above the summit of the building is the throne of the almighty nature of the Divinity, and the sublimity of his perfection. For he is the head of the Church, and the perfection of all goodness, and in him every building is fitted together and grows unto the increase of God, in whom the whole body with its joints, members and bonds is adorned in solidity. And the light surrounds the cross, that is, the Spirit of God, who shall glorify the Son, and is mingled with his rays, since, being glorified by the Son, he announces this to his beloved; and it is compacted together with them, because the nature of the Divinity is one.
[119] of the Armenians, In the midst of the four columns a most violent spring shines forth and flows out, because in the midst of those crowned with martyrdom and of the priesthood there shall burst forth the grace of the Spirit of the Catholic Church, the font of baptism, to wash away, together with the body, the stains of the soul: and by gushing forth violently it filled all things, because through baptism salvation has arisen for many peoples. The whole plain was seen of a heavenly color, because the earth shall become as heaven, angels and men being joined in one: a multitude of fiery altars appeared, because in truth there shall be altars of God, bestowing expiation upon all, and they were seen to be fiery, that the divine worship may be performed with glory: the columns upon each altar signify the ministry of the priestly prayers: and the crosses are above them, that the most holy name of Christ may be celebrated to the ends of the earth: they were according to the multitude of the stars, because the adoration of the holy Trinity shall be multiplied like the stars: as concerns the troops of the flock of black goats, which went down into the water and were changed into the whiteness of sheep; behold, the right hand of divine grace draws near through the priesthood, by which it shall cause to burst forth from the font of baptism the remission and expiation which it brings to sinners: the sheep of golden color shone like light, that is, the baptized shall be clothed with light, and shall be made worthy of the promised kingdom: the flocks born and filling all things indicate that the preaching is to be increased for a long time, and is to beget new offspring unto regeneration, and that baptism is to multiply them.
[120] That a part of the flocks which had entered into the water passed through and went away from it, this means that in the last times there shall arise certain men who will fall away from the truth: for they will cast off the seal of the covenant and this is committed to him, as also the building of churches. and of divine worship, and will forsake the holy precepts, and of lambs will become wolves: and they will cut down the holy lambs, that is, those remaining in the truth: from the priestly order also wolves will arise, and they will shed the blood of the lambs, namely of those lambs which are of the priestly order, and will create disturbance for the peoples. But those of the lambs who shall have remained without wavering, whether they be of the people or of the priests, having received wings, shall fly into the kingdom of Christ. But those who shall have followed the mind of the wolves and the deeds of their rapine, shall be delivered to inextinguishable fire. And do you, he says, be confident, be strengthened, and make yourself secure, because the work has come into your hands. For good things have been prepared for you, that walking with the true workmen you may obtain as your wage the incorruptible gifts of Christ. Now therefore establish in security the deposit committed to you by the Lord Jesus Christ. And you shall build a temple to the name of God in the place shown to you, where the fiery column is which has the golden base; and shrines sacred to the Martyrs in the places of their slaying, where they were made a living victim for the hope of Christ, that both those who have been stricken may be healed, and the happy progress of the preaching may go forward always, and that all from day to day may advance unto the perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the fullness of the faith of Christ. When he had said these things, about dawn there was an earthquake, and the vision passed away.
ANNOTATIONS.
* δυαἳν aut δυῶν
CHAPTER XI.
Temples built: the king healed together with the people: idols broken in many provinces and the nations instructed.
Νῦν οὖν ὁ πάντων ποιητὴς, πάντων πλάστης, ὁ πάντων κτίστης, ὁ πάνσοφος, ὁ πάντων κύριος, ὁ παντοκράτωρ, ὁ πάντων γνώστης, ὁ πάντων ἰατρὸς, ἐπαίδευσεν ὑμᾶς, ἵνα τῆς θεότητος ἀυτοῦ ὀικείους ὑμᾶς ποιήσῃ, ὁ δείξας ὑμῖν δι᾽ ἡμῶν τὴν τῆς ζωῆς ὁδὸν καὶ ἐπιτήδευσιν σωτηρίας, δι᾽ ἧς τὴν συγχώρησιν ἐπιφέρει ὑμῖν ἐφ᾽ ἅπαξ. διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὴν τῶν μελλόντων ὅρασιν ἔδειξέν μοι διηγήσασθαι ὑμῖν, ὥστε τὸ θέλημα ἀυτοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν νῦν ἀποτελεσθῆναι. ὑμεῖς δὲ σπεύσατε πρὸς τὴν διαταγὴν τὴν παρ᾽ ἀυτοῦ ῥηθεῖσαν. δεῦτε μετενέγκωμεν τοὺς μάρτυρας εἰς ἀνάπαυσιν, ὅπως καὶ ἀυτοὶ ὑμᾶς μετενέγκωσιν εἰς ἀνακαίνωσιν. τοῦτο δὲ εἰπὼν, ἐκέλευσε τὰ πρὸς τὴν ὀικοδομὴν ἐν τοῖς προτεταγμένοις τόποις. κομίζοντες ὁι μὲν λίθον, ὁι δὲ πλῆνθον, ὁι δὲ κέδρινα ξύλα ἐν ἀγαθότητι καρδίας καὶ σπουδῇ καὶ φοβῷ. ἀυτὸς δὲ ὁ ἅγιος γρηγόριος, ἀναλαβὼν τὸ τῶν ὀικοδόμων σπαρτίον, τὰ τεμέλια τῶν ναῶν ἐχάραξε, καὶ ἕκαστος ἐκ τοῦ πλήθους φροντίδα ἀναδεξάμενος, καλλίστῳ χαράγματι εὐαρμόστως τοὺς θεμελίους κατέθεντο εἰς ἐκδομάτωσιν τῆς ὀικοδομῆς, πάντων χεῖρα ὀρεξάντων εἰς τὸ ἔργον ἐν πίστει καὶ φόβῳ μεγάλῳ, δεδειὼς ἕκαστος μήπως ὕστερον τῆς σωτηριώδους χάριτος ἐκπέσῃ τῆς ἰάσεως. ἐξεδωμάτωσαν δὲ ναοὺς τρεῖς, ἕνα ἐν τοῖς βορινοῖς μέρεσι κατὰ ἀνατολὰς τῆς πόλεως, ἔνθα ἐμαρτύρησαν ὁι περὶ τὴν ἁγίαν ῥιψίμην τριάκοντα τρεῖς, τὸν δὲ ἕτερον ἐν τοῖς μέρεσι τοῦ νότου, ἔνθα ἐμαρτύρησεν ἡ τῆς ἁγίας τροφὸς γαιανὴ μετὰ τῶν τριῶν ἀυτῆς ἑταίρων, τὸν δὲ τρίτον
παρὰ τὴν λήνον ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος, ὅπου τό πρότερον ὑπῆρχεν ἀυτῶν ἡ καταμονὴ.
[122] Ὀικοδομήσαντες δὲ τοὺς τόπους ἐκόσμησαν χρυσοῖς καὶ ἀργυροῖς, φανοῖς καὶ λαμπάσιν ἀσβέστοις, καὶ λυχνίαις καιομέναις διαπαντὸς. προσέταξε δὲ ἀυτοῖς ποιῆσαι καὶ λάρνακας ἑκάστῳ ἀπὸ σανίδων κεδρίνων ἐν στερεοῖς ἥλοις συγκλειθείσας· καὶ πάντα κατὰ τὸ προστεταγμένον παραυτίκα ἀπηρτίθη. ἐνεχθησῶν δὲ τῶν λαρνάκων πρὸς τὴν θύραν τῆς λήνου ἐνώπιον τοῦ ἁγίου γρηγορίου, ἀυτὸς καταμόνας εἰσῆλθεν, μὴ συγχωρήσας ἀλλῷ τινι συνεισελθεῖν ἀυτῷ. οὐ γὰρ δεῖ, φησιν, ὑμᾶς πλησιάσαντας προσπελάσαι ἀυτοῖς, μήπω ἰαθέντας, μηδὲ καθαρισθέντας διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος. ἀυτὸς δὲ λαβὼν τὰς λάρνακας ἔσω, ἕκαστον τῶν ἁγίων ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ λάρνακι κατέθετο, σὺν τοῖς ἀυτῶν ἐσχισμένοις ἱματίοις περισφίγξας, ἐσφράγισε τῇ τοῦ χριστοῦ σφραγίδι. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς, καὶ ὁι μεγιστάνες, καὶ ὁ στρατὸς, ἕκαστος προσέφερεν μύρα εὐωδέστατα, καὶ ἀρώματα καὶ ἐνδύματα διάφορα, ἀπὸ μεταξίων ὑφασμένα, καὶ χρυσέμπαστα, ὁλοσήρικα. καὶ ἡ γυνὴ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ νεανίδες τοῦ ἀυτοῦ γένους, καὶ αἱ τῶν μεγάλων γυναῖκες καὶ θυγατέρες τὰ πορφυρᾶ, καὶ διαχρυσᾶ, καὶ βύσσινα, καὶ οὐρανόχρωτα, καὶ χιονοφανῆ, εἰς τὰ ἐνδύματα τῶν ἁγίων προσέφερον, ὡσάυτως χρυσὸν καὶ ἄργυρον καὶ λινὸν ἐκόμησαν ἐν σπουδῇ πρὸς τὴν θύραν τῆς λήνου.
[123] Ἐξελθὼν δὲ ὁ ἅγιος γρηγόριος, ἐθεάσατο πάντα βεβουνισμένα ἐπὶ τῇ θύρᾳ, καὶ μὴ καταδεξάμενος λαβεῖν τι ἐξ ἀυτῶν, ἔφη πρὸς ἀυτοὺς· τοῦτο ὑμῖν πάλαι εἴρηκα, ὅτι οὐ δέον ἐστὶν τῶν ὑμετέρων τι ἀυτοῖς προσεγγίσαι, μήπω καθαρισθέντων τῷ λουτρῷ τοῦ ἁγίου βαπτίσματος. ἡ δὲ προθυμία ὑμῶν δεκτή ἐστιν περὶ τῆς σωτηρίας τῆς ὑμετέρας. ταῦτα δὲ πάντα ἐν τοῖς ὑλικοῖς ταμείοις τηρηθείη μέχρις ὑμῖν ποιμὴν καὶ διδάσκαλος ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ φιλανθρώπου δωρεᾶς παρασχεθείη, καὶ γένωνται ἱερεῖς καὶ ἐπίσκοποι, καὶ πᾶσα ἐκκλησιαστικὴ ἀκολουθία. φωτισθέντες οὖν ἐν τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ ἀγάπῃ τότε, καὶ ταῦτα πάντα εἰς ὑπηρεσίαν τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ θυσιαστηρίων ἕξετε διὰ τοῦ καθισταμένου ὑμῖν ἀρχιερέως. νῦν δὲ προσελθόντες χεῖρα ὀρέξατε, ἵνα ἕκαστον ἀυτῶν ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ καταθέσει καταπαύσωμεν. ὁ οὖν βασιλεὺς τηρηδάτιος ἔτι ὑπῆρχεν ἐν τῇ τοῦ χοίρου μορφῇ, καὶ τοῖς ὄνυξι τῶν χειρῶν καὶ ποδῶν, καὶ τῷ ὁμοιώματι τῆς ὄψεως, πλὴν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ὁμιλίας. ἦσαν δὲ ὁι ὀδόντες μεγάλοι ὡς συάγρων, καὶ τῶν βοστρύχων ἡ δασύτης περὶ ὅλον τὸ σῶμα, περιδεδεμένος ἐν σάκκῳ ὡς φοβερὸν θέαμα ἐν μέσῳ τῶν λαῶν.
[124] Προσελθὼν οὖν παρεκάλει τὸν ἅγιον γρηγόριον, ὅπως τῶν χειρῶν καὶ τῶν ποδῶν τῆς ἰάσεως ἐπιτύχῃ, καὶ τοῦ ἔργου τῶν ἁγίων μὴ ἄμοιρος παντελῶς γένηται. ὁ δὲ ἅγιος γρηγόριος ἐισελθὼν, καὶ γονυκλίνας τῷ πάντων δεσπότῃ καὶ φιλανθρώπῳ θεῷ, περιλαβών τε καὶ τὰς λάρνακας τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων καὶ μακαρίων σωμάτων τῶν τοῦ χριστοῦ ἀθλητῶν, προσέφερεν ἐκτενεῖς δεήσεις, ἐπάρας τὰς ἁγίας καὶ διαπαντὸς ἡπλωμένας χεῖρας ἐις τὸν οὐρανὸν, ἐπιζητῶν τῷ βασιλεῖ τοῖς συναχθεῖσιν ἰασιν. ἡ δὲ κραυγὴ πάντων καὶ ὀλολυγμὸς καὶ ὁ κλαυθμὸς τὸν ἀέρα ἐπλήρου. στραφεὶς οὖν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα, διὰ τῆς τοῦ χριστοῦ χάριτος τὰς χεῖρας ἀυτοῦ καὶ τοὺς πόδας ἰάσατο· ἐξέπεσαν γὰρ αἱ ὅπλαι ἀυτοῦ, ἵνα κοινωνὸς γένηται τοῦ ἔργου τῶν ἁγίων, ταῖς ἰδίαις χερσὶν καταξιούμενος κοπιᾷν. ἰαθεὶς οὖν ἠρώτα τὸν ἅγιον γρηγόριον, τί ἀυτῷ προστάττει ποιεῖν. ὁ δὲ τὸ μέτρον δέδωκεν ἀυτῷ τῶν ἁγίων λαρνάκων, ὥστε σκάπτειν τοὺς τόπους ἑκάστῃ λάρνακι ἐν ταῖς στοαῖς τῶν μαρτύρων ἐν τόποις ἀφορισμένοις παρὰ κυρίου. παρεκάλεσε δὲ τὸν ἅγιον γρηγόριον, κελεῦσαι τὴν βασιλίσσαν ἀσιχήνην ἀυτοῦ γυναῖκα, καὶ τὴν ἀδελφὴν, τὴν καλουμένην κουσαρωδούκτα, συνεργοὺς ἀυτῷ γενέσθαι, ὅπως καταξιωθῶσι καὶ ἀυταὶ κοινωνῆσαι τῷ ἔργῳ. κελεύσαντος δὲ ἀυτοῦ, ἐπορεύθησαν σκάπτειν κατὰ τὸ διάμετρον τῶν λαρνάκων ἔσω ἐν τῷ ναῷ ἐν τοῖς τόποις τῆς ἀυτῶν καταπαύσεως.
[125] Λαβὼν οὖν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀξινόρυγα λαξευτήριον καὶ ἅμμην, ἔσκαπτε τοὺς τῶν ἁγίων τόπους κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τῶν λαρνάκων. ἡ δὲ βασιλίσσα ἀσιχήνη, καὶ ἡ τοῦ βασιλέως ἀδελφὴ κουσαρωδούκτα, δεξάμεναι τὸν χοῦν ἐις τοὺς κόλπους ἀυτῶν ἔξω ἐκόμιζον, καὶ ἀκολούθως ἡτοίμασαν πρῶτον τὴν τῆς ἁγίας ῥιψίμης κατάθεσιν, ἔπειτα τῶν τριάκοντα τριῶν ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τῆς ἀυτῶν μαρτυρίας, ὅπου ἐκενώθη τὸ αἷμα ἀυτῶν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος τοῦ χριστοῦ. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐν τῷ μαρτυρίῳ, τῷ κατὰ νότον τῆς πόλεως, ἡτοίμασαν τῆς ἁγίας γαιανῆς καὶ τῶν ἅμα ἀυτῇ τριῶν ἀυτὸς ὁ βασιλεὺς σὺν τῇ ἰδίᾳ ἀδελφῇ καὶ τῇ δεσποίνῃ ἀσιχήνη τὰς θήκας χέρσιν ἰδίαις περικοσμήσασαι τοὺς ἑκάστους τόπους. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα προσελθὼν ὁ βασιλεὺς συνετάξατο τῷ ἁγίῳ γρηγορίῳ ἐις ὑψηλότατον καὶ μέγα ὄρος, μασῆς λεγόμενον, ἀπελθεῖν, ἕπτα ἡμερῶν ὁδὸν ἔχον, ὥστε ἀπὸ τῆς κορυφῆς λαβεῖν λίθους ἀκροτόμους, στιβαροὺς, πλάτεις τε καὶ μήκει παμμεγεθεῖ, ὡς μὴ ῥαδίως κινεῖσθαι ὑπὸ πλήθους ἀνθρώπων. ἀναβαστάξας οὖν τῷ νώτῳ γιγαντιαίως καὶ κομίσας ὄκτω στήλας ἐις τὰς θύρας τῶν ναῶν, ἔστησεν παραστάδας καὶ ὑπέρθυρα, ἀντὶ τῆς πρωτέρας καὶ ἀνοητοῦ μάχης, ἣν μετὰ τῆς ἁγίας ῥιψίμης ἐπύκτευσεν ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ κοιτῶνι, ἀντεισφέρων τῶν πόνων.
[126] Ὀικοδομήσας δὲ καὶ καλλοπίσας τρεῖς ναοὺς τῶν μαρτύρων, μετὰ πάσης ἑτοιμασίας καὶ παντὸς κόσμου ἕκαστον τῶν ἁγίων ἐν τοῖς ἰδίοις τόποις ἀπεκατέστησεν· καὶ τὴν μὲν ἁγίαν γαιανὴν προς τοῖς νοτιαίοις μέρεσιν μετὰ τῶν τριάκοντα τριῶν ἐν τοῖς βορίνοις μέρεσιν κατὰ ἀνατολὰς τῆς πόλεως ἐν τῷ ναῷ παραδέδωκαν· καὶ τὴν σφαγεῖσαν ἀσθενῆ ἐν τῇ ληνῷ ἀπέθεντο, ἔνθα καὶ γεγονε ναὸς κατὰ βοῤῥᾶ τῆς πόλεως. πάντας οὖν τοὺς μαρτύρας παθόντας ὑπὲρ τοῦ χριστοῦ μετήνεγκαν ἐις τὸν ἑκάστου τόπον τῆς ἀυτῶν καταθέσεως, κατὰ τὴν προφαγεῖσαν ὅρασιν τῷ ἁγίῳ γρηγορίῳ οὕτως τελειώσαντες. ἔσω δὲ τῶν τριῶν ναῶν ἐπάνω τῶν κοιμητηρίων καὶ ζωοφόρων τάφων, ἐν τοῖς τόποις τῶν θυσιαστηρίων, ἔστησεν ἑκάστῳ τὸ δεσποτικὸν σημεῖον τοῦ σταυροῦ, ἵνα, φησὶν, ἐνώπιον τοῦ ζωοδότου ζημείου τούτου προσκυνήσητε κύριον τὸν θεὸν, ποιήσαντα ὑμᾶς· καί φησιν· ἰδοὺ στύλοι στερεοὶ ἀνέστησαν * τῇ ὑμῶν κατεστρεμμένῃ ὀικοδομῇ. ὂυτοι ὁι στύλοι ἀναβαστάξουσιν τὸ βάρος τῆς ὀικοδομῆς ὑμῶν ἐις σωτηρίαν. ἰδοὺ τρεῖς στύλοι· ὁ δὲ τεταρτος στύλος τῆς ζωῆς πρὸς θεὸν ὑμᾶς ἀναφέρει. δεῦτε, τὸν διαταχθέντα τόπον τοῦ δεσποτικοῦ ὄικου περιτείχωμεν περιβόλῳ. καὶ ἅμα τῷ βασιλεῖ σὺν τοῖς ὄχλοις τὸν τόπον, ἔνθα ἐθεάσατο τὸν στύλον πυρινὸν ἐπὶ τῇ χρυσῇ βάσει, περιετείχησεν ὑψηλοτάτῳ τείχει ἐις τιμὴν τοῦ τόπου, θυρεῷ δὲ καὶ κλείθροις ἀσφαλησάμενος, καὶ στήσας ἐκεῖ τὸ σωτήριον σημεῖον τοῦ σταυροῦ, ἐκέλευσεν, ἵνα ἐν τῷ τόπῳ ἐκείνῳ πάντες φθάνοντες καὶ γονυπετοῦντες προσκυνήσωσι τὸν παντοκράτορα θεὸν.
[127] Ὅυτως οὖν φωτίσας τὰς ψυχὰς, ἐν τῷ θεἳκῷ ἅλατι ἀρτύσας διὰ τοῦ εὐαγγελικοῦ κηρύγματος, ἀπέστησε τῶν ματαίων σεβασμάτων καὶ χειροποιήτων ἐιδώλων, καὶ ἐισήγαγεν ἀυτοὺς ἐις λατρείαν τοῦ φιλανθρώπου θεοῦ. ἀπὸ τότε οὖν ἰδίᾳ γνώμῃ καὶ προθυμίᾳ ἐσπούδαζον ἐις εὐχὰς καὶ νηστείας, ἐις φόβον καὶ ἀγάπην, καὶ ἀκρόασιν τῆς θεἳκῆς διδασκαλίας. συναχθέντων δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ ἀυτὸ ὄχλων πολλῶν καὶ λαῶν, ἐν τῷ τῆς προσκυνήσεως τόπῳ προσεφώνησεν ὁ ἅγιος γρηγόριος, καί φησιν· κλίνατε γόνυ πάντες, ὅπως ποιήσῃ κύριος ἴασιν τοῖς τιμωρουμένοις. πάντων δὲ καμψάντων γόνυ τῷ θεῷ, ἐκτενῶς ὁ ἅγιος γρηγόριος ἤυχετο, δεόμενος μετὰ πόνου καὶ πολλῶν δακρύων, ἴασιν ἐπιζητῶν. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἑστηκὼς ἐν μέσῳ τῶν λαῶν ἐν τῇ προῤῥηθείσῃ μορφῇ, ἐξαίφνης ἤρξατο τρέμειν καὶ τὴν λεπίδα τοῦ χοίρου ἐκ τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος ἀποῤῥίπτειν μετὰ τῆς κακοειδοῦς ὄψεως, καὶ τῶν ὀδόντων, καὶ τῆς δασύτητος τῶν τριχῶν. ἐκδυσάμενος δὲ τὸ παχύτατον δέσμα, ἐις τὴν ἰδίαν μορφὴν ἐστράφη τοῦ προσώπου ἀυτοῦ, καὶ τὸ σῶμα γέγονεν ἀπαλὸν, ὡς παιδίου προσφάτως γεγεννημένου καὶ ὁλοκλήρως τοῖς μέλεσι πᾶσιν ἰάθη. ὡς ἀυτὸς δὲ καὶ ὁι λοιποὶ ἄνθρωποι ἐνοχληθέντες πολλοὶ ἐκ τῶν διαφόρων νοσημάτων ἰάθησαν, λεπροὶ, ξῆροι, παραλυτικοὶ, ὑδροπικοὶ, δαιμονιῶντες, λελωβημένοι καὶ ποδαλγοὶ· καὶ οὕτως ἀνοιχθείσης τῆς τοῦ φιλανθρώπου χρίστου χάριτος, ἐις πάντας ἦλθεν ἴασις διὰ τοῦ δούλου ἀυτοῦ γρηγορίου, καὶ καθῆρεν ἀυτοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν νοσημάτων.
[128] Καὶ ἡ πηγὴ τῆς τοῦ χριστοῦ γνώσεος τὰς ἀκοὰς πάντων ἐπλήρωσε τῇ ἀλιθινῇ διδασκαλίᾳ τοῦ χριστοῦ, ἐθεωροῦντό τε καρδίαι πλήρεις εὐφροσύνης καὶ θυμηδίας. ἡ γὰρ χώρα ἐκείνη, ἥτις καὶ τῆς φήμης τῶν θαυμασίων τούτων ἄμοιρος ἦν, καὶ τὰ τῆς ἀπιστείας μέρη, ἐν οἷς τὰ θαυμάσια τοῦ θεοῦ ἐτελέσθη, εὐθέως τῶν οὕτως γενομένων πραγμάτων ἐν πείρᾳ γέγονεν, οὐ μόνον διὰ τὴν θείαν διδασκαλίαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν προορισθεῖσαν αἰώνων ἐπαγγελίαν, ὅπως τοῖς ἐνεστῶσι καὶ τοῖς ἐπερχομένοις καὶ ἐπέκεινα τὰ θεοδώρητα χαρίσματα παραδοθῇ. γυμνασθέντες οὖν κατ᾽ ὀλίγον τοῖς πράγμασι μετὰ παῤῥησίας καὶ προσθήκης τὴν μάθησιν τῆς καινῆς διδασκαλίας συνήγοντο διαδαχθῆναι. ὀξυνθέντες οὖν καὶ ἑτοιμασθέντες ἐις τὸ κήρυγμα, ὁι ἐν ἀγνόιᾳ πρότερον ὄντες, ἄνθρωποι προσέτρεχον, ἀπὸ διαφόρων μερῶν καὶ πατρίδων τῆς ἀρμενίων χώρας ὁρμώμενοι, καὶ ἐν σπουδῇ κατελάμβανον τὴν ἀνοιχθεῖσαν πηγὴν τῆς τοῦ χριστοῦ χάριτος καὶ τῆς γνώσεως ἐις ἀραρὰτ τὴν πατρίδα, καὶ βασιλικὴν χώραν ἐκ τοῦ ὄικου θοργὼμ, ἐν ᾗ ἐξέῤῥευσεν ἡ χάρις τοῦ κηρύγματος τοῦ ἐυαγγελίου τοῦ θεοῦ.
[129] Τότε οὖν συμβούλιον ποιήσαντες ὁμοθυμαδὸν μετὰ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ τῶν μεγιστάνων ἔνεκεν τῆς κοίνης εἰρήνης, ὥστε καθελεῖν καὶ κατασκάψαι τὰ σκάνδαλα, καὶ ἐκ μέσου ἐπάραι, ἵνα μηδενὶ γένηται σκώλοψ καὶ πρόσκομμα, ὥστε ἐμποδίζειν πρὸς τὴν ἀνωτάτην ἐλευθερίαν, ὅπως θαῤῥοῦντες φθάσωσιν ἐις τὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν τελείωσιν κατὰ τὸ σημειωθὲν ῥητὸν τοῦ ἁγίου παύλου, ὥστε πάντας φθάσαι εἰς μέτρον τῆς τοῦ χριστοῦ ἡληκίας, ὧν ἡ ἐλευθερία ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, ὅθεν καὶ ἀπεκδεχόμεθά, φησιν, χριστὸν, καὶ τὸ καύχημα ἔχομεν ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ καὶ τὸν ἔπαινον εἰς δόξαν θεοῦ. ἐν τάχει οὖν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐξουσιαστικῶς ἐκέλευσεν, συμπειθομένων καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν, ἐν τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ τοῦ ἁγίου γρηγορίου εἶναι τὴν καταστροφὴν τῶν πατρώων νομιζομένων ἀυτοῖς θεῶν, καὶ τῶν βουνῶν ἀυτῶν, ὅπως ἐξάρῃ ἐκ μέσου τά μνημόσυνα ἀυτῶν. ἀυτὸς οὖν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπορεύθη μετὰ τοῦ στρατεύματος ἀπὸ οὐαλεροκτίστης τῆς πόλεως εἰς τὴν ἀρταξερξοκτίστην, ὥστε καταστρέψαι τὸν ἐκεῖ σεβασμὸν τῆς ἀρτέμιδος ἐν τοῖς λεγομένοις τόποις ὀνειρομούσοις. ἀπιοῦσι δὲ ἀυτοῖς ὑπήντησε τόπος, προσαγορευόμενος ὀνειροπόλων, ὀνειροδείκτων, σέβασμα δαίμονος γραμματέος, καὶ γνώσεις ἱερέων. τρίδις ἐκέκλητό βωμὸς ἀπόλλωνος, χαρτυλαρίων διὸς, διδαχῆς εὐμαθήτης * ἱερέων.
[130] Πρῶτον οὖν τοῦτον χειροσάμενοι καθεῖλαν, καὶ ἔκλασαν, καὶ ἐκ θεμελίων κατέστρεψαν· ἐν ᾧ φανέντων τῶν δαιμόνων, ὡς πλῆθος στρατοπέδων καὶ νουμέρων ἡτοιμασμένων, ὡς εἰς παράταξιν, λόγχας βασταζόντων ἐν σχήματι ἀνθρώπων προστρεχόντων μετὰ δοράτων καὶ θυρεῶν, καὶ μεγάλως βοώντων, τροπὴ γέγονεν ἀυτῶν, καὶ εἰς τὸ τῆς ἀρτέμιδος ἱερὸν ἔφυγον, ὅθεν καὶ τοῖς καταλαβοῦσιν ἀνθρώποις ἀνθιστάμενοι ἐμάχοντο, βέλη ἀδύνατα καὶ λίθους ὡς λαίλαπας ἄνωθεν ἐκ τῆς ὀικοδομῆς κατὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀκοντίζοντες, οὓς πρὸς ὀλίγον ἐτάραξαν νεοπίστους ὑπάρχοντας. ὡς δὲ γρηγόριος ταῦτα ἐθεάσατο, τὸ δεσποτικὸν σημεῖον τοῦ σταυροῦ ποιήσας, εἰς τὴν θύραν τοῦ ἱεροῦ ἔφθασεν, καὶ ἐνθὺς ἡ ὀικοδομη σεισθεῖσα ἐκ θεμελίων κατέπεσεν. ἡ δὲ τῶν ξύλων κατασκευὴ ἀναφθεῖσα κατεκάη ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ σημείου δυναμέως. ὁ δὲ κάπνος τὸν ἀέρα ἐκάλυψεν, καὶ πάντες ὁι δαίμονες, φυγάδες γενόμενοι, ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀνθρώπων φαντασίας ἐποίουν περιεσχισμένοι καὶ κοπτόμενοι ἐν κραυγῇ μεγάλῃ καὶ κλαυθμῷ λέγοντες. οὐαὶ ἡμῖν, οὐαὶ ἡμῖν, ὅτι ἀπὸ πάσης τῆς γῆς ἐφυγάδευσεν ἡμᾶς Ἰησοῦς, ὁ ὑιὸς μαρίας, καὶ ἐντεῦθεν διὰ τοῦ δεσμίου καὶ τεθνηκότος γρηγορίου γέγονεν ἡμῖν δίωξις. ποῦ οὖν φύγωμεν; ἡ γὰρ δόξα ἀυτοῦ ἐπλήρωσεν τὴν ὑπ᾽ οὐρανῶν. νῦν οὖν ἐκχωρήσαντες ἀπέλθωμεν εἰς κατοίκησιν ἐν ὄρει καυκασίῳ ἐν τοῖς μέρεσι βορρᾶ, ὅπως ἐκεῖσε διασωθέντες ἡσυχάσωμεν. ἀπαύστως γὰρ κατὰ τὸν ἀέρα πλανομένους ποιήσας, διεχώρησεν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐπιμιξίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὥστε μὴ συντελέσαι δι᾽ ἀυτῶν τὰς ἐπιθυμίας ἡμῶν, ταῦτα δὲ ἔλεγον ἐκεῖνοι, ἀκουόντων πάντων.
[131] Ὁι δὲ ἄνθρωποι περισσοτέρως ἐν τῇ πίστει ἐδραῖοι ἐγίνοντο. μελανοφανεῖς δὲ ὁι δαίμονες ὀφθέντες, ὡς κάπνος, ἀπὸ τοῦ τοποῦ ἐκείνου ἐξέλειπον. πάντων δὲ καθελόντων τὸ ἱερὸν ἐκ θεμελίων, ἁρπαγὴ τῶν ἐκεῖσε θησαυρῶν γέγονε τοῖς δεομένοις καὶ πτωχοῖς, ὀρφάνοις τε καὶ χήραις καὶ ἀπεριστάτοις διανεμηθέντων. τὴν δὲ περιοχὴν τοῦ ἱεροῦ μετὰ τῶν ὑπηρετῶν ἀυτοῦ καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν, καὶ ἀρούρας καὶ ὁρίων εἰς δουλείαν τῆς ἐκκλησιαστικῆς ὑπηρεσίας ἀφόρησαν. οὕτως δη πᾶσιν ὁ ἅγιος γρηγόριος σπείρας τὸν λόγον τῆς θεογνωσίας, καὶ πάντας στήσας ἐν τῇ τοῦ χριστοῦ ὁδῷ, ἐδίδαξεν τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ κτίσαντος ἀυτοὺς θεοῦ, καὶ ἐν πάσαις ταῖς πόλεσι τῆς ἀρμενίας, καὶ ταῖς κώμαις καὶ χωρίοις, καὶ κωμοπόλεσιν, ἀφόρισε τοὺς τόπους τοῦ ὄικου τοῦ θεοῦ, μὴ καταβαλὼν θεμέλιον ἐκκλησίας, μηδὲ στήσας θυσιαστήριον, διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν ἀυτὸν τὴν τῆς ἱερωσύνης τιμὴν. μόνον δὲ περιετείχισεν τοὺς τόπους περιβόλῳ, καὶ τὸ δεσποτικὸν σημεῖον τοῦ σταυροῦ ἐπίγνυεν, ὡσαύτως ἐν εἰσόδοις καὶ ἐξόδοις, καὶ παρ᾽ οἷς πανταχοῦ ἐδίδασκεν τοῦτο τὸ σημεῖον πάντας ἔχειν καταφυγὴν πρὸς τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν δαιμόνων ἐπέλευσιν, ἵνα καὶ ἀδιστάκτως ἐνώπιον ἀυτοῦ προσκυνήσωσιν.
[132] Ἀπὸ τότε οὖν ἀρξάμενος, ἐκέλευσεν τὸ τῶν σαρακηνῶν γένος κατὰ σχολὴν πρὸς τὴν θείαν διδασκαλίαν γυμνάζεσθαι· ἐν ᾧ πρῶτος ἦν τηρηδάτιος ὁ βασιλεὺς μετὰ παντὸς τοῦ ὄικου ἀυτοῦ, καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ τοῦ ἀυτοῦ γένους. σπουδὴν γὰρ ἐποιεῖτο οὕτως πᾶσαν ψυχὴν εἰς εὐθύτητα καὶ γνῶσιν ἀληθείας ἐνέγκαι, καὶ ἐμπλῆσαι πάντων τὰς ἀκουὰς τῶν λογίων τοῦ ἁγίου εὐαγγελίου, ἀσφαλῶς τὴν τῆς ζωῆς ὁδὸν παραδοῦναι, ὥστε πάντοτε ἀυτοὺς ἔχειν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ κύριον τὸν θεὸν ἀυτόν τε προσκυνεῖν καὶ ἀυτῷ μόνῳ λατρεύειν. παραθέμενος δὲ ἀυτοὺς τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ χάριτι, ἀυτὸς ἀναλαβὼν τὸν βασιλέα, ἐπορεύθη, ὅπως καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις μέρεσι τῶν ὁρίων τῆς ἀρμενίων χώρας σπείρῃ τὸν λόγον τῆς ζωῆς. παραγενόμενος δὲ ἔφθασε τὴν τῶν δαραλιστῶν πατρίδα, ἵνα κἀκεῖ τῶν ψευδονόμων θεῶν τὰ ἱερὰ καταστρεψωσιν. ἐλθόντες οὖν ἐν τῇ καλουμένῃ κώμῃ θορδὰν, ἐν ᾗ ὑπῆρχεν ἱερὸν λεγόμενον, λευκοδόξων δαιμόνων, βωμὸς βασαμήνης, πρῶτον τοῦτον καταστρέψαντες τὴν εἰκόνα ἀυτῆς συνέτριψαν καὶ πάντας τοὺς θησαυροὺς τοῦ χρυσοῦ· καὶ ἀργύρου συλλέξαντες, διεμέρισαν τοῖς πτωχοῖς, τὴν δὲ κώμην πᾶσαν συὺ ταῖς ἀρούραις καὶ ὁρίοις ἀυτῆς εἰς ὄνομα ἐκκλησίας ἀφόρισαν, καὶ τὸ ζωοφόρον ἐκεῖ σημεῖον ἔστησαν. ὁ δὲ μακάριος εὐθέως τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν διδασκαλίαν ἀναλαβὼν, ἤρξατο τὴν πατρίδα, συνευδοκοῦντος θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ βασιλέως, ἀφιστᾶν ἀπὸ τῶν πατρικῶν παραδόσεων, καὶ τὰς σατανικὰς καὶ δαιμονιώδεις συνηθείας τῇ ὑποταγῇ καὶ δουλείᾳ τοῦ χριστοῦ προσφέρειν. καὶ ὅτι ἔσπειρεν καὶ τούτοις τὸν λόγον τῆς ζωῆς, πάντας εἰς θεοσέβειαν ἄγων, μεγάλα παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πατρίδη σημεῖα γέγονεν. ὁι γὰρ δαίμονες ὀφθαλμοφανῶς ἐν διαφόροις σχήμασι φυγάδες γενόμενοι, εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὰ μέρη τῶν χαλτῶν.
[133] Στηρίξας δὲ τοὺς πιστοὺς, ἐξελθὼν ἐπορεύθη εἰς ὀχυρώτατον τόπον, καλούμενον ἰανὶ, βασιλικὸν ὀικον ἐν τοῖς κοιμητηρίοις τῶν τῆς ἀρμενίας βασιλέων, κἀκεῖ κατέστρεψαν τὸν βωμὸν τοῦ κρόνου, τοῦ πατρὸς διὸς παντοδαίμονος, καὶ τὸ δεσποτικὸν σημεῖον ἔστησαν· τὴν δὲ κωμόπολιν σὺν τῷ ὀχυρώματι εἰς δουλείαν ἐκκλησίας ἀφόρισαν. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα εἰς τὸν ὅμορον πατρίδα, ἐκκλησιανὴν λεγομένην, ἀνῆλθον, κἀκεῖσε ἐφάνησαν δαίμονες ἐν τοῖς μεγάλοις ἱεροῖς τῆς ἀρμενίας, ἐν τοῖς τόποις τῶν σεβασμάτων, ὅπου ἦν ὁ βωμὸς τῆς ἀρτέμιδος ἐν κωμοπόλει ἔρηζ· ὡς γὰρ στρατιώται μετὰ θυρεῶν συναχθέντες ἐμάχοντο, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς κραυγῆς ἀυτῶν τὰ ὄρη ἠχήσαντα ἐδόκει σείεσθαι. ἐκκεχωρηκότων δὲ τούτων τοῦ ἱεροῦ, καὶ ἐκπεφευγότων, καταπεσὸν τὸ ἱερὸν μετὰ τοῦ ὑψηλοτάτου τείχους, ἐν τάχει ἠδαφίσθη. ὁ δὲ στρατὸς ἅμα γρηγορίῳ καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ τὴν χρυσὴν εἰκόνα τῆς ἀρτέμιδος συνέτριψαν, καὶ τὸν τόπον παντελῶς κατελόντες, ἔλαβον τὸ χρύσιον καὶ τὸ ἀργύριον· κἀκεῖθεν περάσαντες τὸν λύκον ποταμὸν κατέβαλον τὸν τῆς ἀθηνᾶς βωμὸν, θυγατρὸς διὸς, ἐν τῇ κωμοπόλει θεσδίας, τοῦς δε θεσαυροὺς ἀμφοτέρων τῶν ἱερῶν συνάξαντες, ἠφόρισαν εἰς ὑπηρεσίαν στικῶν * κοιμηλίων μετὰ τῶν τόπων ἀυτῶν. καὶ οὕτως ἀπὸ πολλῶν πατρίδων ἐξῇραν τὰ σκάνδαλα, κωφά τε καὶ χωνευτὰ καὶ γλυπτὰ ἐίδωλα, βλαβερά τε καὶ ἀχρεῖα, πεποιημένα ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνοήτων καὶ ἐξεστηκότων ἀνθρώπων.
[134] Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς βεβαιωθεὶς ἐν τῇ πίστει, μετὰ μείζονος ἀπειλῆς καὶ ἐξουσίας ἐκέλευσεν ἀπὸ τῆς σατανικῆς καὶ μανιώδους τῆς τῶν δαιμόνων προσκυνήσεως ἀποστῆναι τοῖς μέρεσιν ἐκείνοις, καὶ ὑποταγῆναι τῷ γλυκυτάτῳ καὶ χρηστοτάτῳ ζυγῷ τοῦ χριστοῦ. ταῦτα δὲ καὶ ἐνθάδε πεποιήκεισαν, καὶ τὴν τοῦ κηρύγματος χρείαν πληρώσαντες μετὰ πλείστων σημείων. οὐ τοσοῦτον δὲ ἡ ἀπειλὴ καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία τοῦ βασιλέως ἴσχυεν πρὸς τὸ πάντας πείθειν ἐν λόγοις, ὅσον τὰ θαύματα τῶν διαφόρων ἰάσεων ἐδόξασεν τὸ πανάγιον ὄνομα τοῦ χριστοῦ. ταῦτα δὲ πάντα πέπρακται θελήματι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τοῦ ἁγίου γρηγορίου. ὁ οὖν βασιλεὺς ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς τόποις παραγενόμενος τὰς ἰδίας ἀσεβείας καὶ τὰ παρὰ θεοῦ γεγενομένα θαύματα πρὸς ἀυτὸν, καὶ τὸ ἔλεος καὶ τὴν ἴασιν μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ ἀνεπαισχύντως διηγούμενος ἐπὶ πάντων. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἔσπευδεν ὁ ἅγιος γρηγόριος καταλαβεῖν καὶ τὴν τῶν ζερανιτῶν πατρίδα, καὶ τὸ ἀποστολικὸν κήρυγμα κἀκεῖσε σπείρας, ἀποστῆσαι τῆς βδελυρᾶς τῶν δαιμόνων προσκυνήσεως καὶ τῆς ἐφιαλτικῆς ἐνεργείας τὰ βαρβαρικὰ μέρη, καὶ εἰς τὰ μαθήματα τῆς θεἳκῆς σοφίας μεταλαβεῖν τὸ τραχύτατον ἔθνος καὶ περιφερόμενον ἐθνικαῖς ἀγωγαῖς, ὥστε πεπαιδευμένους καὶ γεγυμνασμένους ἐν τοῖς εὐαγγελικοῖς παραγγέλμασι, καὶ οὐκ ὅιους καταστῆσαι. ἔφθασεν οὖν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ ἡφόιστου, λεγομένου ὑιοῦ τοῦ διὸς, ἐν κώμῃ λεγομένῃ βαραάριζ κατὰ τὴν τῶν πάρθων γλῶσσαν, καὶ τοῦτο ἀπὸ θεμελίων κατέσκαψεν, τοὺς δὲ ἀποκειμένους θησαυροὺς συλλέξαντες, τοῖς πτωχοῖς διένειμον· καὶ τὸν τόπον τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ ἠφόρισαν, καὶ ἐστήριξαν ἐν τῇ γνώσει τῆς ἀληθείας. καὶ ἀπὸ τότε ἔσπευδεν τοὺς ὀικειοτάτους, καὶ τοὺς μεγάλους τοῦ παλατίου, καὶ ἐλευθέρους ἐν γένει ἐν τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ σοφίᾳ παιδεῦσαι.
[At the Saint's exhortation and direction, three shrines are founded for the Martyrs,] Now therefore he who is the Founder of all, the Maker of all, the Creator of all, heaped with all wisdom, the Lord of all, containing all things, the knower of all, the Physician of all, has taught you, that he might make you sharers of his Divinity, the way of life having been made manifest to you through us, and a fitting remedy for obtaining salvation, through which at one stroke he brings you remission. For this cause he also showed me the vision of things to come, that I might relate it to you, so that his will may now be accomplished in you. And do you hasten to fulfill the command declared to you by him. Come, let us translate the Martyrs to their rest, that they too may bring you to renewal. When he had said this, he ordered the things necessary for the building in the appointed places. Some brought stones, others bricks, others beams of cedar, with goodness of heart, diligence, and fear. And holy Gregory himself, taking up the builders' line, marked out the foundations of the temples, and each one of the multitude, showing his care, laid the foundation stones in the most beautiful order and fitly, for the structure of the building, all putting their hand to the work with faith and great fear, since each one was afraid lest afterward he should fall away from the saving grace of healing. And they built three temples, one in the Northern parts to the East of the city, where thirty-three were crowned with martyrdom together with holy Ripsime; another in the Southern parts, where the Saint's nurse Gaiana suffered with three a of her Companions; and the third at the wine-press in the middle of the vineyard, where formerly their abode had been.
[122] [the coffers being made, he himself lays the bodies in them: the many gifts offered for the Saints] And the places which they had built they adorned with gold and silver, with lanterns and unextinguished lamps, and with candlesticks ever burning. He also commanded them to make for each a coffer of cedar boards, closed with solid nails: and all that he had commanded was swiftly completed. And when the coffers had been brought to the door of the wine-press before holy Gregory, he alone entered, not allowing any other to enter with him. For it is not fitting, he said, that you should come near to them, since you are not yet healed, nor cleansed by baptism. But he, when the coffers had been carried within, laid each of the Saints in a coffer of their own, binding them with their own torn garments, and sealed them with the seal of Christ. And the king, and the magnates, and the army, each one brought forth ointments of the best odor, and spices, and various garments woven by workers in silk, and shot with golden threads, and of pure silk. The king's wife also, and the maidens of his family, and the wives and daughters of the magnates, offered for the coverings of the Saints things purple and gilded and of fine linen and dyed with a heavenly color and gleaming with snowy whiteness; and in like manner they earnestly brought gold, silver and linen to the door of the wine-press.
[123] Gregory does not yet accept, but orders them to be kept for the Saints. But holy Gregory, coming out, saw everything heaped up in a pile at the door, and not enduring to accept anything of it, said to them:
I have already indicated before that it is by no means fitting that anything of your goods b should come near to the Saints, since you have not yet been cleansed by the laver of holy baptism. But your eagerness has been accepted unto your salvation. Let all these things be kept in earthly storerooms, until a pastor and teacher shall come to you by the gift of the kindly Lord, and until there shall be priests and bishops, and the whole ecclesiastical order. Then therefore, enlightened by the love of God, you shall have all these things also, through the high priest appointed for you, for the ministry of the altars of God. But now come forward and lend your hand, that we may lay each one of them in his own place. But King Tiridates even then had the figure of a swine, with the claws of hands and feet and the likeness of the face, save only for human speech. And his teeth were great, like those of boars; the shagginess of hair was over his whole body: he was wrapped in sackcloth, a dreadful spectacle in the midst of the peoples.
[124] And so, coming near, he asks holy Gregory that he may obtain the healing of his hands and feet, The king, his hands and feet healed, for the building and not remain wholly without part in the work for the Saints. But holy Gregory, entering the shrine, bent his knees before the Lord of all and merciful God: and embracing the coffers of the holy Martyrs and of the blessed bodies of the Athletes of Christ, he offered fervent supplications, his holy hands stretched out and ever spread toward heaven, entreating healing for the king in respect of the members mentioned. And the cry and wailing and weeping of all filled the air. Then the Saint, turning to the king, healed his hands and feet c by the grace of Christ: for his hooves fell away, that he might become a sharer in the labor for the Saints, the grace of working with his own hands having been obtained. Being healed therefore, he asked holy Gregory what he should commit to him to do. And he gave him the measure of the coffers, that he might dig out places for each of the coffers in the cells of the Martyrs, in the places set apart by the Lord. And he asked holy Gregory to bid Queen Ashkhen his wife, and his sister, by name Cusaroducta, work along with him, that these too might deserve to become partakers of the work. And at his bidding they went inside the church to dig according to the breadth of the coffers in the places of the Martyrs' rest.
[125] And so the king, taking a mattock and a hoe, dug out the places for the Saints according to the measure of the coffers: of the sacred shrines himself labors. and Queen Ashkhen and the king's sister Cusaroducta carried out the dust received in their laps; and consequently they prepared first the place for the laying of holy Ripsime, then that of the other thirty-three d in the place of their martyrdom, where their blood was shed for the name of Christ. In like manner in the shrine of the Martyrs which is to the South of the city, the king himself with his sister and the lady Ashkhen prepared the caskets for holy Gaiana and the three with her e, adorning each of the places round about with their own hands. After this the king, coming with holy Gregory, resolved to go to a very high and broad mountain named Mases f, distant a journey of seven days, that from its summit he might take stones hard, heavy, broad and of vast size, so that they could not easily be moved by many men. And so, lifting them onto his shoulder after the manner of a giant, he carried eight columns g for the gates of the temples, and set up porticoes and the lintels of the doorways, rendering these labors in requital for that earlier and inconsiderate struggle in which he wrestled with holy Ripsime in his own chamber.
[126] When he had built and adorned the three shrines of the Martyrs, The bodies of the Martyrs laid away: crosses erected: the Saint with all furnishing and every ornament laid each of the Saints in his own place: and holy Gaiana indeed in the Southern parts h they laid with two, and holy Ripsime with the thirty-three they delivered to burial in the North toward the East of the city in the temple; and the Sick Woman who had been slain they laid in the wine-press, where also a temple was built to the North of the city. And so they translated all the Martyrs who had suffered for Christ, each to the place of his laying, accomplishing all things according to the vision formerly shown to holy Gregory. And within, in the three temples, above the cemeteries and the life-bringing sepulchers, in the places of the altars i, the Saint set up in each the Lord's sign of the cross. That, he said, before this sign, through which life was given, you may adore the Lord God who made you. And he said: Behold, solid columns have been raised up against your overthrown building k. These columns shall bear the weight of your building unto salvation. Behold three columns, but the fourth column of life shall lift you up to God. Come: let us wall about with a rampart the appointed place of the Lord's shrine. Then together with the king and with the crowds he walled about with a very high wall, for the honor of the place, the spot where he had seen the fiery column upon the golden base, and fortified it with stone at the doorway and with bars, and raised there the saving sign of the cross, commanding that all who came to that place should bend their knees and adore almighty God.
[127] health restored to the king and to the rest of the sick. After he had thus enlightened their souls, and seasoned them with the divine salt through the Gospel preaching, he tore them away from vain images and from idols made by hand, and led them to the worship of the merciful God. From that time therefore of their own will and eagerness they came diligently to prayers and fastings, to fear and love, to the hearing of the divine teaching. And when crowds and many peoples had been brought to the same zeal, holy Gregory addressed them in the place of prayer, and said: Bend your knees, all of you, that the Lord may heal those who have been chastised. And when all had bent their knees to God, holy Gregory prayed fervently, entreating with grief and many tears that he might obtain the healing. But the king, standing in the midst of the peoples in the form aforesaid, suddenly began to tremble, and to cast from his body the filth of the swine, and together with it the foulness of face and teeth, and the shagginess of hair. Being stripped also of the very thick hide, he returned to the proper form of his person, and his body was made soft like that of a newborn child, and he obtained entire soundness of all his members l. As he was, so also many other men ill-affected with various diseases were healed: lepers, the withered, paralytics, dropsical, those possessed by demons, the maimed and those suffering in their feet. In this way, by the grace of the merciful Christ being brought to them, healing came to all through his servant Gregory, who freed them from their diseases.
[128] The Saint instructs the people who come to him, The fountain also of the knowledge of Christ filled the ears of all with the true Christian doctrine: and it was a thing to see hearts full of joy and delight. For that region, which lacked even the report of these wonders, and those unbelieving tracts in which the wonders of God had been wrought, swiftly had proof of the things so done, not only because of the divine teaching, but also because of the promise of the ages appointed beforehand, by which the gifts given by God are granted both to those present and to those who follow and to those to come. And so in a short time, being exercised by the things themselves, they were gathered with freedom and increase, that they might be taught by the understanding of the new doctrine. Therefore men who before were in ignorance, being animated and prepared, ran to the preaching, setting out from various places and provinces of the region of Armenia, and came diligently to the opened fountain of the grace and knowledge of Christ into the province of Ararat, and to the royal place from the house of Thorgom m, from which flowed out the grace of the preaching of the Gospel of God.
[129] Then therefore with one mind, together with the king and the magnates, they took counsel for the common peace, and he overthrows the temples of the idols that they might destroy and overturn the stumbling-blocks and take them out of the midst, lest they should become to anyone a snare of offense and scandal by which he might be hindered from the highest liberty, so that they might come with confidence to the perfection of good things, according to the written word of holy Paul n, that all might attain to the measure of the age of Christ, whose liberty is in heaven, whence also, he says, we look for Christ: and we have our glorying in the cross, and praise unto the glory of God. Straightway therefore the king, the rest consenting, commanded by his authority that it should be in the power of holy Gregory to overturn those whom they themselves reckoned to be their ancestral gods, and their hills, so that the monuments of them might be taken out of the midst. The king himself also set out with his army from the city of Valeroctisten to the city of Artaxerxoctisten o, that he might destroy the worship of Diana flourishing there in the places called ὀνειρομούσοις [p]. And as they went, there met them a place surnamed Of Those Who Divine by Dreams [q], Of Those Who Show Forth Dreams, the Godhead of the Demon Scribe, and The Knowledge of the Priests. Tridis [r] was the name given to the altar of Apollo…
[130] This therefore they first laid hands upon and took away, broke, overturns, and overthrew from the foundations. And when there appeared there demons, like a troop of soldiers and cohorts made ready as for war, bearing lances, and running forward in human form with spears and shields and with a great shout, they were put to flight, and withdrew to the temple of Diana: whence also, resisting the men who came upon them, they fought, hurling powerless darts and stones like storm-clouds from the topmost part of the building upon the men [s], whom, as being neophytes, they troubled for a little while. But when Gregory saw these things, having made the Lord's sign of the cross he came to the door of the temple, and immediately the building, shaken from its foundations, fell down: and the timber-work was kindled and burned up by the power of the sign. And the smoke darkened the air, and all the demons, being put to flight, made apparitions before the men, and dissolved and lamenting with a great cry and weeping they said: Woe to us: woe to us! for from every land Jesus, the son of Mary, has driven us out, and here through Gregory, the prisoner and the dead man, persecution has been stirred up against us. Whither then shall we flee? For his glory has filled the earth. Now therefore let us give way and depart to dwell on Mount Caucasus in the Northern parts, that being preserved there we may live in quiet. For he has made us wander unceasingly through the air and has separated us from the society of men, so that our desires may not be accomplished by them. These things they said, while all were listening.
[131] And the men were the more abundantly strengthened in the faith. But after the demons had been seen in black form, he raises crosses in many places: they vanished from that place like smoke. And when all were pulling down the temple from its foundations, the treasures kept there were despoiled, and were divided among the needy and the poor, and among orphans and widows and forsaken men. The precinct of the temple, with its ministers and its sacred things [t], and its fields and boundaries, they set apart for the service of the ecclesiastical ministry. In this way holy Gregory sowed among all the words of the knowledge of God, and established all in the way of Christ, and thereafter taught them the precepts of God who had created them: in all the cities of Armenia also, in the villages, the places, and the towns, he set apart places for the house of God, yet without laying the foundation of a church, nor raising an altar, because he did not have the honor of the priesthood. He only walled the places about, and fixed the Lord's sign of the cross, both at the entrances and at the exits, and among these people everywhere he taught that all should have this sign as a refuge
against the assaults of the demons, and should adore without wavering before it.
[132] traversing several provinces, Beginning therefore from that time, he ordered that the race of the Saracens [u] should be instructed at leisure in the divine doctrine. In this matter King Tiridates was first, with all his house, and with the rest of his kindred. For in this way he strove to bring every soul to the right way and to the knowledge of the truth, to fill the hearing of all with the sayings of the Gospel, and to deliver to them securely the way of life, that they might always have the Lord God in their heart, and adore him, and serve him alone. But he, when by the grace of God he had brought them to this, taking the king with him, set out to sow the word of life in the other parts of the dominion of the kingdom of Armenia as well. And he came to the province of the Daralistæ [x], that there too they might destroy the temples of the gods falsely so named. And when they had come to the village called Thordan, in which there was a temple called that of the λευκοδόξων demons, the altar of Basamina; destroying this first, they broke in pieces its image, and gathering all the treasures of gold and silver, they distributed them to the poor, but the whole village with its fields and boundaries they set apart in the name of the church, and there they placed the saving sign. Moreover the Blessed one, straightway taking up the Gospel teaching, began, with God's approval and the king's consent, to tear the province away from its ancestral traditions, and to bring its satanic and diabolical customs under the subjection and service of Christ: and since he sowed among them the word of life, urging all to the worship of God, great signs were shown by God to this province also. For the demons, fleeing in various forms which were visible to the eyes, entered into the parts of the Chalti.
[133] other shrines also And when the faithful had been confirmed, he went out and came to a very well-fortified place, named Jaui, a royal house among the burial-places of the kings of Armenia, and there they overturned the altar of Saturn, the father of Jove, prince of the gods [y], and raised the Lord's sign: and the town with its stronghold they set apart for the service of the Church. After this they set out to the neighboring province called Ecclesiana [z], and there demons appeared in the great temples of Armenia, in the places of the sacred rites, where there was the altar of Diana in the town of Erex. For like soldiers gathered together they fought with shields, and at their shout the mountains resounded and seemed to be moved. But when they were compelled to withdraw from the temple and fled away, the temple fell together with its very high wall and was straightway leveled with the ground. And the army with Gregory and the king broke in pieces the golden image of Diana, and utterly overturning the place, carried off the gold and silver. Thence crossing the river Lycus, they cast down the altar of Minerva, the daughter of Jove, in the town of Thesdias: and the treasures of both temples they gathered and set apart for the use of ecclesiastical ornaments, together with the places themselves. In this manner they took away from many provinces the stumbling-blocks, and the deaf and molten and graven idols, harmful and useless, fashioned by mad and stupid men.
[134] But the king, being confirmed in the faith, with heavier threatening and authority commanded that in those parts they should abstain from the satanic and insane adoration of demons, he destroys in many places. and should subject themselves to the most sweet and most kindly yoke of Christ. And these things they accomplished there, fulfilling the ministry of preaching with many signs also. Nor could the king's threatening and punishment avail so much to bring all to belief as the miracles of divers healings availed to celebrate gloriously the most holy name of Christ. And all these things holy Gregory wrought by the will and mercy of God. The king therefore with a loud voice in all the places to which he came related through all without shame both his own impieties and the wonders wrought upon him by God, and his mercy and his own healing. Then afterward holy Gregory hastened to set out for the province of the Zeranitæ, and, by promulgating the Apostolic preaching there also, to draw away the barbarian parts from the abominable adoration of demons and from the Ephialtic working, and to bring over to the discipline of the divine wisdom a most hardened people, and one carried about by gentile institutions, so that they might be taught and exercised in the Gospel admonitions, and might not stand alone in resistance. He came therefore to the temple of Vulcan, who is called the son of Jove, in the village named Baraariz according to the language of the Parthians, and this they overthrew from the foundations: but the treasures lying there they gathered and divided among the poor: the place they set apart for a church, and confirmed the people in the knowledge of the truth. From that time he hastened to instruct in the knowledge of God his closest associates, and the nobles of the palace, and those free by birth.
ANNOTATIONS.
p. The Greek word has its origin from ὄνειρος, sleep or a dream, and μοῦσα, muse or song. Perhaps in those places they sought through dreams the knowledge of things from the Muses.
q. The author heaps up various names of the sacrilegious place. These I have rendered into Latin, even though some are ambiguous. The first, which I set forth as Of Those Who Divine by Dreams, may also be set forth as Of Those Who Interpret Dreams, and the second name signifies the same.
r. This word seems corrupt, perhaps to be read τρίπους, tripod, such as was in the shrine of Apollo. In what follows also, which I have not even rendered into Latin, there is something of corruption, at least in the word εὐμαθήτης, and nothing of use.
s. Although it would not be incredible that the demons resisted the overthrow of the temples by means of some apparitions, if it were asserted by a faithful writer zealous for the truth; yet this author of ours has so wrought by his other fictions that in these things too, which of themselves seem fabulous, he does not win our belief. And so all those things which he here affirms concerning the demons, and the words which he attributes to them below, seem to be held for his fictions; and from this it becomes further most suspect, what he says, that the temple fell of its own accord, and that the timber was burned by the sign of the Cross alone.
t. It is ambiguous what is here signified by the word ἱερῶν, sacred things; and I have doubted whether perhaps it was not written ἱερέων, priests, concerning whom nothing is said, unless they are comprehended under the general name of ministers. But by sacred things, if the word was rightly written, will be understood the vessels and other things used for the sacrifices.
u. It is obscure of what Saracens the biographer here speaks: for the Saracens who dwelt in Arabia were not instructed by Gregory. There were indeed some Arab Scenitæ or Saracens in Mesopotamia, and these consequently less remote from Armenia: but I should not believe that Gregory went out of Armenia even to these. Wherefore, if the author says what is true concerning the Saracens, I should suspect that some band of Saracens served as soldiers among the Armenians, and that Gregory was concerned for their conversion as much as Tiridates was. If the word has been slightly corrupted, there may also be understood the inhabitants of the region of Sacassene, which is in Armenia near Albania, as Strabo has it.
x. What that region or city is, is again obscure, just as most of the towns of Armenia are little known. Dastira in Acilisene, a province of Greater Armenia, is mentioned by Strabo book 12 p. 555. In the same tract, as it seems, there occurs in Ptolemy book 5 p. 134 the town of Daranissa. Whether the same place is commemorated by both, and whether our author meant to speak of that very place, I cannot say with certainty. This at least I perceive, that the places mentioned in Ptolemy are no less unknown than are some in this Life, such as is also the village of Thordan which presently follows, as likewise the λευκόδοξοι demons, and the goddess Basamina. Let the same be said of the remaining places, which I shall pass over.
y. The word παντοδαίμων I have nowhere found. I have given the Latin signification by conjecture. That Jove was held to be the prince among the fictitious gods, and was the son of Saturn, is everywhere known.
z. This seems to be the same place as that of which I treated at num. 21. For there too are the town or village of Erex, and the famous temple of Diana in it, and the neighboring river Lycus. But the province is there written ἐκκλησία, here ἐκκλησιανὴ, perhaps in neither place without a fault. See therefore the Annotations to chapter 3, letter k.
* forte ἀνθέστησαν
* forte εὐμαθεστήτης
* ἐκκλησιαστικῶν, opinor
CHAPTER XII.
The Saint, sent by the king to Cæsarea with a distinguished retinue and with letters, and there ordained archbishop, returns into Armenia with letters of the Cæsareans.
Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τηρηδάτιος σὺν τῇ βασιλίσσῃ ἀσιχήνῃ, καὶ τῇ ἀδελφῃ ἀυτοῦ κουσαρωδούκτᾳ, ἐκέλευσεν συναχθῆναι ὁμοθυμαδὸν τά στρατεύματα. ὁι δὲ διὰ τάχους ἐις τὴν ὁρισμένην ἡμέραν παρεγένοντο εἰς ἀραρὰτ τὴν πατρίδα, καὶ οὐαλεροκτίστην τὴν πόλιν, ἔνθα καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπορεύετο. καὶ συνήχθησαν μεγιστάνες, καὶ φύλαρχοι, καὶ τοπάρχαι, καὶ ὁι ἐν ἀξιώματι ἔντιμοι, στροτοπεδάρχαι, καὶ ὁι ἐπ᾽ ἐξουσιῶν ἄρχοντες, σατράπαι τε καὶ ἐλεύθεροι, καὶ παρίστανται ἐνώπιον τοῦ βασιλέως. συμβούλιον δὲ ἔλαβεν μετὰ πάντων ὁ βασιλεὺς, σπεύδων ἀυτοὺς ἀγαθῶν ἔργων κληρονόμους γένεσθαι, καὶ φησιν· δεῦτε τοῦτον ἐν τάχει, τὸν δοθέντα παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν ὁδηγὸν, ποιμένα καταστήσωμεν τὸν γρηγόριον, ὅπως φοτίσῃ ἡμᾶς διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος, καὶ ἀνακαινίσῃ διὰ τῶν ζωοφόρων μυστηρίων τοῦ δημιουργοῦ ἡμῶν θεοῦ. ὁ δὲ γρηγόριος οὐκ ἐβούλετο καταδέξασθαι τὴν τῆς ἀρχιεροσύνης τιμὴν. οὔκ εἰμη ἱκανὸς, λέγων, διὰ τὸ ἄπειρον ὕψος τῆς θεότητος ταύτην βαστάξαι· ἀνεκδιήγητα γὰρ δωρήματα ὑπάρχουσιν ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ χριστοῦ δόξης τῳ ἡγουμένῳ καὶ μεσίτῃ γονομένῳ θεοῦ καὶ ανθρώπων. ἀλλὰ ζητήσατε τὸν ἄξιον εἰς τοῦτο προχειρισθῆναι.
[136] Τότε θεορεῖ ὁ βασιλεὺς ὅραμα φοβερὸν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ἀποδειχθὲν ἀυτῷ. ἴδεν γὰρ θεοῦ ἄγγελον λέγοντα ἀυτῷ· δεῖ ὑμᾶς, φησι, τὸν γρηγόριον κληρῶσαι ἀνυπερθέτως ἐν τῇ τῆς ἱεροσύνης τιμῇ, ὅπως φοτίσῃ ὑμᾶς· ὡσαυτῶς ἐφάνη καὶ γρηγορίῳ ἀυτὸς ὁ ἄγγελος, λέγων· μὴ τολμήσῃς ἀντιστῆναι, παρὰ τοῦ χριστοῦ γὰρ ταῦτά σοι προστέτακται. καὶ εὐθεὼς καταδεξάμενος, ἔφη· τὸ θέλημα τοῦ κυρίου γενέσθω. τότε ὁ βασιλεὺς μετὰ πολλῆς χαρᾶς καὶ σπουδῆς καὶ φόβου μεγάλου ἐφρόντιζεν. κελεύει οὖν τοὺς ἀρχηγοὺς τῶν σατραπῶν συγκαλέσασθαι, καὶ τοπάρχας. καὶ πρῶτος ἄρχων ἀγγελιτῶν ὄικου, ὁ δεύτερος ἄρχων ἀλσενῶν, ὁ τῆς κομητατησίας, ὃ τρίτος ἄρχων ἐπὶ τῆς ἐξουσίας πατρίκιος λεγόμενος, ὁ τέταρτος ἄρχων ὁ τὸ διάδημα ἐξουσίαν ἔχων ἐπιδῆσαι τῷ βασιλεῖ, ὁ λεγόμενος ἀσπέτων, ὁ πέμπτος ἄρχων στρατοπεδάρχης στρατιλατικῆς ἐξουσίας τῆς ἀρμενίων χώρας, ὁ ἕκτος ἄρχων ὁ τῆς κορδοβίτων χώρας, ὁ ἕβδομος ἄρχων ὁ ἕτερος κομητατήσιος· ὁ ὀγδοὸς ἄρχων τῆς ῥουστινῶν χώρας, ὁ ἔννατος ἄρχων τῆς κωμητῶν χώρας· ὁ δέκατος ἄρχων, τῆς συνιστῶν χώρας, ὁ δωδέκατος ἄρχων ὁ σουδέων χώρας, καὶ ὁ τρισκαιδέκατος ἄρχων ὁ τῆς σουτιῶν χώρας. ὁ τεσσαρεσκαιδέκατος, ὁ ἐθναρχης ζαρουανδῶν καὶ χεκρᾶς τῆς πατρίδος· ὁ πέμπτος καὶ δέκατος ἄρχων, ὁ τοῦ μαλχασιῶν ὄικου. ὁ ἑξκαιδέκατος ἄρχων, ὁ ἀσουρουνῶν. οὗτοι ὁι ἄρχοντες ὁι ἐκλεκτοὶ, τοποκράτορες, πατριαρχικὸι, χιλίαρχοι καὶ μυρίαρχοι ἐν μέσῳ τῆς ἀρμενίων χώρας ὄικου θοργὼμ, οὑς συναθροίσας ὁ βασιλεὺς, ἀπέστειλεν εἰς τὰ μέρη καππαδοκίας εἰς πόλιν καισαράιων, κατὰ τὴν ἀρμενίων διάλεκτον μασὰχ λεγομένην, ὅπως ἀπελθόντες τὸν γρηγόριον ἀρχιερέα καταστήσωσι πάσῃ τῇ χώρᾳ.
[137] Ἑτοιμάσαντες δὲ τὰ πρὸς τὴν ὁδὸν, καὶ γράμματα χαράξαντες τοῦτον τὸν τύπον, ἀπέστειλαν. εἰκὼν τῆς ἐπιστολης. πάλαι ἀπολλύμενοι ἐν τῇ ἀγνοίᾳ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν, ἐσκοτώθημεν ἐν πλάνῃ καὶ ἐν τῇ ὁμίχλῃ τῆς ἀθεότητος συνκλεισθέντες, οὐκ ἠδυνήθημεν ἀναβλέψαι, καὶ τὸν τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἥλιον κατανοῆσαι· διὰ τοῦτο ἐν τῷ σκότει βορβορωθέντες, ἐμείναμεν τυφλοὶ τὴν ψυχὴν. ὅτε δὲ ἡ χρηστότης τοῦ ποιητοῦ χριστοῦ ἐπεφάνη παιδεῦσαι καὶ φωτίσαι ἡμᾶς τὰ ἴδια ποιήματα, ἐξέλαμψεν τὰς ἀκτίνας τοῦ ζωοφόρου φωτὸς εἰς τὰς καρδίας ἡμῶν, καὶ ἐζωοποίησεν τὴν νεκρότητα ἡμῶν, πέμψας τοὺς ἀγαπητοὺς ἀυτοῦ μάρτυρας ἀυτόθεν ἐν τούτοις τοῖς μέρεσιν᾽ ὁι ἐλθόντες διὰ τῆς ἡμῶν ἀσυνεσίας τῆς ἀυτῶν ἀνδρειότητος καὶ ἀρετῆς, τὰ ἐμφημότατα παλαίσματα εἰς τὴν τοῦ χρίστοῦ ἀγάπην ἐπεδείξαντο. ὁ μὲν γὰρ δεσπότης ἀυτῶν, καὶ πρὸ τῆς πάλης, τὴν ἀυτῶν ἄθλησιν ἐπίστατο, ὁποῖοι ὑπάρχουσιν· ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα καὶ ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀνοήτους τὴν σοφίαν διδάξη. ὅσον γὰρ οὗτοι τὸν δεσπότην ἀυτῶν ἠγάπησαν, ὑπερβαλλόντως ἔνεκεν τῆς ἐναρέτου ἀυτῶν ἀθλήσεως κύριος ὁ θεὸς τὰ ἄμετρα θαύματα εἰργάσατο εἰς ἀυτοὺς, καὶ ἡμῖν μὲν μεγίστας τιμωρίας ἐπέθηκεν, τῷ βασιλεῖ ἡμῶν ἀλλάγην ἔθετο ἐν μορφῇ χοίρου, καὶ μετὰ τῶν ἀγρίων ζώων νέμεσθαι ἐποίησεν. ἐλεήσας δὲ ἡμᾶς ταῖς τῶν μαρτύρων ἀυτοῦ πρεσβείαις, διὰ τοῦ ἀυτόθι παραγενομένου, καὶ μαρτυρίσαντος γρηγορίου, πάντας ἰάσατο. ἀυτὸς γὰρ, περισσοτέρως μάρτυς εὑρεθεὶς, ἡμῖν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ὀδυγὸς δέδοται, καὶ δι᾽ ἀυτοῦ τὰ ἀρχαῖα ἠθῆ, καὶ τὴν τῶν ματαίων σεβασμάτων εἰδωλομανίαν τὴν πατρικὴν ὁ θεὸς ἐξορίσας, καὶ ἐκ μέσου ἐπάρας καθεῖλεν, καὶ ἐδίδαξεν ἡμᾶς τὰ μαρτύρια ἀυτοῦ, καὶ τοῖς προστάγμασι ἀυτοῦ πορεύεσθαι, ὥστε καὶ φανερῶς τὸν θεὸν κελεῦειν ἡμᾶς τὸν ἀυτὸν γρηγόριον ποιμένα καὶ ἐπίσκοπον τῆς ἀληθείας λαβεῖν, ἔχοντα τοὺς ὄιακας τῆς ἡμετέρας χώρας.
[138] Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς τεθαῤῥηκότες τῃ συμπνοίᾳ καὶ ἀντιλήψει τῶν ὑμετέρων εὐχῶν πεπόμφαμεν λεοντίῳ τῷ ἀρχιεπισκόπῳ καισαρείας, καὶ πάσῃ τῇ ἱερατικῇ τάξει τῆς ἀυτῆς ἁγίας ἐκκλησίας, ἐλέει χριστοῦ καὶ εὐχαῖς ὑμετέραις, τὸν ἀσπασμὸν γεγραφηκότες. τηρηδάτιος ὁ βασιλεὺς· σὺν τῷ στρατεύματι τῆς ἀρμενίων χώρας, καὶ ἀσιχήνη βασιλίσσα, καὶ ἡ νεὰνις μεγάλη κουσαρωδούκτα. διὰ τοῦτο ἀπεστειλαμεν πρὸς ὑμᾶς τοὺς μεγάλους καὶ ἐντίμους ἄρχοντὰς τῆς ἡμετέρας μεγάλης χώρας, ἵνα διηγήσωνται ὑμῖν τὰ θαυμάσια ἀυτοῦ θεοῦ, ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ ταύτῃ πεπραγμένα ἡμῖν. ἐπέμψαμεν δὲ ἅμα ἀυτοῖς καὶ τὸν ἁγιώτατον, καὶ μέγαν ὁμολογητὴν, καὶ ζῶντα μάρτυρα τοῦ χριστοῦ γρηγόριον. καὶ ταύτην τὴν προσηγορίαν γεγράφαμεν, ὅπως διὰ τῆς πνευματικῆς ἐπισκέψεως καὶ θεοδωρήτου χάριτος τοῦ χριστοῦ, ἡμῖν τὸν ἀυτὸν γρηγόριον ποιμένα καὶ ἐπίσκοπον καὶ διδάσκαλον καὶ ὁδηγὸν τῆς θεἳκῆς πορείας καὶ πνευματικὸν ἰατρὸν καταστήσητε, καθὼς καὶ ἡμῖν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ προστέτακται, προσευχόμενόν τε καὶ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, ὅπως ἀξίους ἡμᾶς ποιήσῃ ὁ θεὸς τοῦ ἀυτοῦ ἐλέους, ἀσφαλῶς ἀπὸ τοῦ νὺν πορεύεσθαι ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς ἀυτοῦ, καὶ ἡ ὑμετέρα ἀγάπη καὶ ὁ ἀσπασμὸς ἐπικαταλάβοι ἡμᾶς.
[139] Τὸ δὲ ἀντίγραφον τῆς ἐπιστολῆς τούτῳ τῷ τύπῳ ἐγράφῃ, καὶ ἑτοιμασθέντες ἔλαβον, καὶ δῶρα ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν ἀντῶν, χρυσόν τε καὶ ἄργυρον, ἵππους τε καὶ ἡμιόνους, καὶ πολυτελέστατον ἱματισμὸν, κόσμια εἰς τὴν τιμὴν τῶν ἁγιωτάτων ναῶν τοῦ θεοῦ, ἔνθα ἐπορεύοντο. καὶ διαπερόντες πανταχῆ τιμῆς μεγάλης ἠξίουν τὰς ἁγίας τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκκλησίας. ἀνεβίβασαν δὲ τὸν ἅγιον γρηγόριον ἐν τῷ χρυσεμπάστῳ ἅρματι, ἑλκομένῳ λευκαῖς ἡμιόνοις, καὶ πάντες ὁι ἄρχοντες μετ᾽ ἀυτοῦ μετὰ τῶν ἁρμάτων καὶ ἵππων, ἕκαστος σῦν τῷ ἰδίῳ στρατεύματι, ἐξελθόντες ἀπὸ ἀραρὰτ τῆς πατρίδος καὶ οὐαλεροκτίστης πόλεως, ἔφθασαν ἐν τοῖς ὁρίοις Ἰωνίας, πολλὴν τιμὴν εὑράμενοι πανταχοῦ ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι, μετὰ πλείστης χαρᾶς καὶ εὐφροσύνης προπεμπόμενοι, ἐπειδὴ ἀκούοντες ἦσαν ἅπαντες τὰ θαυμάσια τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ τὴν γινομένην σωτηρίαν, καὶ τὰς ἐπ᾽ ὠφελείᾳ πορείας ἀυτῶν. οὕτως πανταχοῦ ὁδηγηθέντες, ἔφθασαν εἰς τὴν καισαραίων πόλιν, καὶ ἐθεάσαντο ἐκεῖ τὸν ἁγιώτατον καὶ καθολικὸν λεόντιον, καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἐκκλησιαστικοὺς χοροὺς τῶν ἁγίων κληρικῶν, καὶ τὰς ἀγγελικὰς καταστάσεις ἐν τῇ ἀσκήσει καὶ λειτουργίᾳ. καὶ ἀσπασάμενοι ἀυτοὺς, διηγήσαντο τὰ γενόμενα παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ· προσήνεγκαν δὲ καὶ τὴν ἐπιστολὴν τοῦ βασιλέως τῷ ἁγιωτάτῳ ἐπισκόπῳ· ὅστις μετὰ πλείστης χαρᾶς δεξάμενος, σὺν πάσῃ τῇ πόλει ἠυφραίνετο, καὶ πάντες ἐπὶ τὸ ἀυτὸ ἑόρταζον πανηγυρικὴν ἑορτὴν. τὸν δὲ ἅγιον γρηγόριον ἀξίως ἐτίμησαν, κατὰ τὴν ἐνάρετον ἀυτοῦ ἄθλησιν, καὶ τὸ μαρτυρικὸν στάδιον ψαλμοῖς καὶ πνευματικοῖς ἄσμασιν δοξολογοῦντες. καὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων δὲ τῆς πόλεως φιλοτίμως δεξαμένων ἀυτοὺς μετὰ σπουδαιοτάτης φροντίδος κατὰ τὸ χριστιανικὸν σπούδασμα. οὕτως παρὰ πάντων δεόντως ἐτιμήθησαν, καὶ μάλιστα διὰ τὸ ἀξίωμα τοῦ μαρτυρικοῦ ὀνόματος.
[140] Μετὰ ταῦτα οὖν γίνεται σύνοδος ἐπισκόπων ἐν τῇ καισαραίων πόλει, ἵνα τὸν ἅγιον χειροτονήσωσιν, ὥστε ἐγχειρισθῆναι ἀυτῷ τὴν τιμὴν τῆς ταπεινώσεως καὶ ἀρχιερωσύνης τοῦ χριστοῦ, καὶ τὸ ὕψωμα τῆς ἀρχιερατικῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ. τὸ δὲ ἅγιον εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἀυτοῦ κουφίσαντες, ἐπέθηκαν τὰς χεῖρας ὁι ἐν τῇ ἁγίᾳ συνόδῳ ἐπίσκοποι, ὧν πρῶτος, λεόντιος. λαβὼν οὖν τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς δῆσαι καὶ ῥύσαι, κατὰ τὸ ῥητὸν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου. καὶ τὰς κλεῖς τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ, προπέμπεται ὑπὸ τοῦ πλήθους ἐπισκόπων ὁ ἁγιώτατος γρηγόριος μετὰ πολλῆς τιμῆς καὶ γραμμάτων. ἐξελθόντες δὲ ἐκεῖθεν ἐν τῇ χάριτι τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἔφθασαν τὴν σεβαστινῶν πόλιν, κἀκεῖσε καταμείναντες ἡμέρας οὐκ ὀλίγας, ἔπεισαν πλείονας τῶν εὐλαβεστάτων ἀδελφῶν συνεξελθεῖν ἀυτοῖς, ἵνα ὁ ἁγιώτατος ἀρχιεπίσκοπος κληρώση ἀυτοὺς ἱερατικῷ κλήρῳ ἐν τῇ
ἰδίᾳ χώρᾳ, καὶ πολλοὺς χοροὺς συμπαραλαβόντες ἐπορεύοντο. φιλοτίμως δὲ παρὰ πάσης χώρας τῶν ἐπισκόπων καὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων καὶ λαῶν ὑπεδέχοντο. ἐπὶ δὲ τῇ ἀυτῶν πορείᾳ συνήγετο ὄχλος πολὺς τῶν λαῶν, ὥστε ἰδεῖν τὸν ἅγιον ἀρχιεπίσκοπον γρηγόριον, ἵνα εὐλογηθῶσι παρ᾽ ἀυτοῦ, καὶ ἔλεγον πρὸς ἀλλήλους· δεῦτε ἴδωμεν τὸν ἅγιον γρηγόριον. οὗτος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὃς ὑπὲρ τοῦ παναγίου ὀνόματος τοῦ χριστοῦ πολλὰς βασάνους ὑπομείνας, ὁμολογητοῦ καὶ μάρτυρος κεκληρονόμηκεν ὄνομα. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα παραλαβὼν τὸ πλῆθος τῶν πειθομένων ἀυτῷ ἀκολουθεῖν, ἅμα τοῖς σατράπαις συνταξάμενος, καὶ παραδοθεὶς τῇ τοῦ χριστοῦ χάριτι, διήνυσε τὸ μῆκος τῆς ὁδοῦ μετὰ πολλῆς εὐοδώσεως καὶ πνευματικῆς χαρᾶς μεχρὶ τῆς ἰδίας χώρας.
[141] Καὶ ὅτε ἔφθασαν ἐν τὰ ὄρη τῆς ἀρμενίων χώρας, ἤκουσεν ὁ ἅγιος γρηγόριος, ὅτι ὁ βαβήιος βωμὸς κατελείφθη ἐν χώρᾳ ταραυνῶν, βωμὸς πλουσιώτατος, μεστὸς ἀργυρίου καὶ χρυσίου. ἦν γὰρ ἐκεῖ πολλὰ ἀναθήματα μεγάλων βασιλέων ἀποκείμενα. προσηγορεύετο δὲ ὁ βωμὸς ὀγδόου, σεβάσματος τοῦ ἐμφημοτάτου δρακοντοπνίκτου ἡρακλέους, τόπος θυσιῶν βασιλέων ἀρμενίας μεγάλης ἐν τοῖς χαρχαρεῶν ὄρεσι. ἦν δὲ ἐπάνω τοῦ ποταμοῦ εὐφράτου, κατενάντι τοῦ μεγάλου ὄρους ταύρου ὁ εἰρήμενος τόπος, διὰ τὰς πολλὰς θυσίας πολύθυτος. τοῦτο τὸ ἱερὸν ἔτι περιέστηκεν τρεῖς βωμοὺς ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἔχων· ὁ πρῶτος ἐλέγετο ὁ βαβήιος, ὁ δεύτερος χρυσῆς, μητρὸς χρυσογεννήτων θεῶν, χρυσόκοκκος χρυσῆς μητρὸς τῶν δαιμόνων. καὶ ὁ τρίτος βωμὸς, ἀστέρος θεῶν καὶ τῶν ἡρακλέους ἐλέγετο κληθεὶς, καθὰ δὲ τοὺς ἑλλήνας ἀφροδίτης. ὥρμησεν οὖν ὁ ἅγιος γρηγόριος, ἵνα καὶ τοῦτον καθελῇ. ἔτι γὰρ ἀγνοοῦντες ὁι ἄνθρωποι ἐθυσίαζον ἐν τοῖς καταληφθεῖσιν βωμοῖς τούτοις.
[142] Ἀναστρέφων δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν Ἰωνίας μέρων ἔλαβεν ἐκ τῶν λειψάνων τοῦ μεγάλου προφήτου καὶ βαπτιστοῦ Ἰωάννου καὶ ἀθηνογένους τοῦ μάρτυρος, καὶ φθάσας κατέναντι τῶν βωμῶν παρὰ τὸν εὐφράτην ποταμὸν, ἐβούλετο ὁ ἅγιος γρηγόριος ἀνελθεῖν, ἔνθα ὁι βωμοὶ, ἵνα καθελὼν ἀυτοὺς μαρτύρων τοῖς λειψάνοις ἀναστήσῃ. ὡς δὲ προσεπέλασαν τῷ εὐφράτῃ ποταμῷ ἀπὸ τριῶν σταδίων, καὶ φάραγγα μικρὰν ἔμελλον περᾶσαι, ὕδωρ ὀλίγον ἔχουσαν, ἀπεστάθησαν αἱ ἐν τῷ ἅρματι λευκαὶ ἡμίονοι, καὶ τὸν θεἳκὸν θησαυρὸν τῶν ἁγίων λειψάνων βαστάζουσαι, καὶ οὐκ ἠδύναντο παρελθεῖν τὴν φάραγγα. ἀποκαλυφθεὶς δὲ ὁ ἄγγελος κυρίου πρὸς γρηγόριον εἶπεν· εὐδόκησεν κύριος τὴν κατοίκησιν τῶν ἁγίων ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τούτῳ. τοῦ δὲ πλήθους εὐθέως χεῖρα ὀρέξαντος, κατὰ πρόθεσιν γρηγορίου, ᾠκοδόμησαν μαρτύριον, καὶ τοὺς ἁγίους κατέθεντο. ἔτι δὲ μελλούσης τελειωθῆναι τῆς ὀικοδομῆς, προσέταξεν γρηγόριος τῷ στρατεύματι, καὶ τοῖς ἄρχουσι τοῖς σὺν ἀυτῷ, ἵνα ἀνελθόντες μετὰ λαξευτηρίων καταβάλωσι τοὺς βομοὺς. πολλὰ δὲ κοπιάσαντες, οὐκ ἴσχυσαν ἐξευρεῖν τὰς θύρας τοῦ ἱεροῦ, ὥστε ἔνδον εἰσελθεῖν. ὁι γὰρ ἔνδον φαντασίας ποιήσαντες ἐκάλυψαν ταύτας. ἀλλὰ μὴν οὔδε ἔξωθεν ὁ σίδηρος ἤψατο τῆς ὀικοδομῆς. σπεύσαντες δὲ ὁι ἄρχοντες κατέβησαν διηγήσασθαι τῷ πατριαρχῆ.
[143] Ἐξελθὼν οὖν ὁ ἅγιος, καὶ κατέναντι τοῦ λόφου σταθεὶς, ἔνθα ὁι βωμὸι ἦσαν, καὶ ποιήσας τὸ δεσποτικὸν σημεῖον, εἶπεν· ὁ ἄγγελός σου, κύριε ὁ θεὸς, ἀποσοβήσει ἀυτοὺς. ταῦτα δὲ ἀυτοῦ εἰπόντος, σφοδώτατος ἄνεμος ἀπὸ τοῦ δεσποτικοῦ σημείου, οὗ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ ἐβάσταζε, πνεύσας, καὶ τὴν ὀικοδομὴν τῶν βωμῶν τύψας; ἐκ θεμελίων κατέβαλεν, τῆς φάραγγος πλήρης, ἐνπνεύσας, καὶ παντελῶς ἐδαφήσας τὸν τόπον, ὥστε μήδε τὰ ἴχνια ἀυτῶν ἀπὸ τότε φανῆναι, καὶ τοὺς λίθους δὲ μήκοθεν ἀκοντίσας. ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ ὁ χρυσὸς καὶ ὁ ἄργυρος, ὁ πολὺς ἀποκείμενος ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ, εὑρέθη, καὶ πλῆθος δὲ ἀνθρώπων ἐκ τῶν ἱερέων καὶ τῶν δεισιδαιμόνων ἐν τῷ τόπῳ ἐκείνῳ ἀπέθανον, μηδὲ τῶν ὀστῶν ἀυτῶν εὑρεθέντων. ὁι δὲ ὄχλοι θεασάμενοι ἐπίστευσαν, καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς ἀυτοὺς ὁ ἅγιος γρηγόριος· θεωρεῖτε πῶς ἐξέπεσον τὰ σκάνδαλα ὑμῶν· οὐδὲν γάρ εἰσι τὰ σεβάσματα τῶν ἐθνῶν· νῦν δὲ δουλεύσατε τῷ κυρίῳ θεῷ ὑμῶν, τῷ ποιήσαντι τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἀνελθὼν εἰς τὸν τόπον ἱεροῦ, καὶ συνάξας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, ἐδίδασκεν τὴν θεογνωσίαν, καὶ κατέθεντο τὰ τεμέλια τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐν ἀυτοῖς τοῖς τόποις, καὶ ἔστησεν θυσιαστήριον ἐν ὀνοματι τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ, ἐκεῖσε ἐν πρώτοις ἀρξάμενος ἐκκλησιῶν ὀικοδομῆς καὶ καταστάσεως θυσιαστηρίων εἰς ὄνομα τοῦ χριστοῦ· καὶ ἑτοιμάσας λουτῆρας βαττίσματος, πρῶτον μὲν τοὺς μετ᾽ ἀυτοῦ συνοδεύσαντας μεγάλους σατράπας ἐπελθόντας, ἡμέρας δὲ ἐίκοσι ἐν τῇ ἀυτῇ πατρίδι παραμείνας, ἐβάπτισε πλείους ἔννέα καὶ δέκα μυρίαδας ἀνθρώπων· καὶ στήσας θυσιαστήρια ἐν τοῖς μαρτυρίοις τῶν ἁγίων, τοῖς ὑπ᾽ ἀυτοῦ ὀικοδομηθεῖσιν, προσήνεγκεν προσφορὰς σωτηριῶν, καὶ τὸ ζωόποιον σῶμα καὶ αἷμα τοῦ χριστοῦ μετέδωκε πᾶσι· καὶ προσέταξεν ἐπιτελέσαι κατ᾽ ἔτος ἐν τῷ τοπῷ ἐκείνῳ τὴν τῶν μαρτύρων μνήμην ἑβδόμῃ τοῦ μηνὸς σαομὴ κατὰ χώραν λεγομένου, κατὰ δὲ ῥωμαιους ὀκτωβρίῳ, ὅπως μετὰ πλείστης χαρᾶς συναχθέντες τὴν πανήγυριν ἐκείνης τῆς ἡμέρας ἑορτάσωσιν, ἐπειδὴ ἐνταῦθεν ἐκκλησίαν ἐν ἀρχῇ ᾠκοδόμησεν καὶ θυσιαστήρια ἔστησεν καὶ ἱερέας ἐκλήρωσε τοῖς τόποις ἐκείνοις, καὶ βαπτίσματα ἐποίησεν.
[144] Ἔπειτα δὲ τὴν περίχωρον ἐπλήρωσεν ἐκκλησιῶν καὶ ἱερέων, ἀυτὸς δὲ ἀπάρας, ἐπορεύθη ἐκεῖθεν μετὰ τοῦ καυχήματος τοῦ σταυροῦ, καὶ δυνάμεως τοῦ χριστοῦ, βαστάξας μέρος τῶν ἁγίων λειψάνων, ὥστε καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις τόποις ὀικοδομῆσαι μαρτύρια. ἐν πολλαῖς δὲ ἐπαρχείαις, καὶ κωμοπόλεσιν, καὶ χωρίοις ᾠκοδόμησεν ἐκκλησίας καὶ βαπτίσματα καὶ ἱερέας ἔστησεν. ἀκούσας δὲ ταῦτα ὁ μέγας βασιλεὺς τηρηδάτιος, ὅτι κατέλαβε τὴν τῆς ἀρμενίας χώραν ὁ ἅγιος γρηγόριος, ἀναλαβὼν τὰ περὶ ἀυτὸν στρατεύματα, καὶ τὴν βασίλισσαν ἀσιχήνην καὶ τὴν ἀδελφὴν κουσαρωδούκταν, ἐξῆλθεν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀραρὰτ πατρίδος καὶ οὐαλεροκτίστης τῆς πόλεως, εἰς ἀνάντησιν τοῦ ἁγίου ἀρχιεπισκόπου, καὶ παρεγένετο ἐν πόλει βαγαβὰν ἥτις καλεῖται διὰ τῆς τῶν πάρθων γλώσσης, κωμόπολις βωμῶν· καὶ ἐν ἀυτῇ παρέμεινεν μῆνος ἡμέρας καραδοκῶν ἀυτὸν· ὁ δὲ ἃγιος γρηγόριος περιεῖ εἰς διάφορα μέρη, πληρῶν ἐκκλησιῶν καὶ ἱερέων, καὶ βαπτισμάτων φωτίζων πάντας, διὰ πασῶν τῶν ἐκκλησιαστικῶν καταστάσεων. ἐλθὣν οὖν ἔφθασεν τὴν πόλιν, λεγομένην βαγαβὰν, μετὰ τῶν μεγιστάνων καὶ τοῦ ὄχλου ἀκολουθοῦντος ἀυτῷ ἀπὸ διαφόρων τόπων, ὃι καὶ ἰάσεως παρ᾽ ἀυτοῦ ἀπὸ νοσημάτων ἐτύγχανον. ἀυτὸς δὲ ἐν τῇ δαψιλοτάτῃ διδασκαλίᾳ πᾶσι περιέσπειρε τὸν λόγον ζωῆς σὺν τοῖς οὖσιν ἀυτῷ ἐργάταις τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τοῦ χριστοῦ, οὓς κατ᾽ ὄνομα εἰπεῖν δυσθεώρητον. μετὰ τούτων οὖν ἐρχόμενος ὁ ἅγιος ἀρχιεπίσκοπος, πληρης τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ χάριτος, ἐπέρασεν παρὰ τὸ ὄρος, τὸ λεγόμενον ναπάτ.
[145] Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς προκατελάβετο ἀυτὸν σὺν τῷ στρατεύματι ἐπὶ τοῦ χείλους τοῦ ποταμοῦ εὐφράτου· ἐν δὲ τῇ συναντήσει πάντας ἐπλήρωσε θεἳκῆς χάριτος, καὶ εὐαγγελικῶν ἀσπασμῶν παρὰ πλησίων τῶν τοῦ χριστοῦ μαθημάτων. μετὰ πολλῆς οὖν εὐφροσύνης καὶ χαρᾶς εἰς τὴν κωμόπολιν ὑποστρέψαντες, ἐκεῖσε προσκομίζουσι τὰ εἰρηνοφόρα γράμματα. τούτῳ δὲ τῷ τύπῳ ἐγέγραπτο. μαστιγωθέντες καὶ παιδευθέντες, τιμωρηθέντες καὶ ἰαθέντες, βασανισθέντες καὶ γυμνασθέντες, ἀπολλύμενοι καὶ εὑρεθέντες, πλανηθέντες καὶ ἐπιστραφέντες, προσεδέχθητε καὶ ἠγαπήθητε ὑπὸ τοῦ χριστοῦ, σὺ τηρηδάτιος ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς μεγάλης ἀρμενίας, καὶ ἀσιχήνη βασίλισσα, καὶ ἡ νεανὶς μεγάλη κουσαρωδούκτα, καὶ πᾶν τὸ περὶ ὑμᾶς σύστημα. ὁι ἐκ τῆς ταύτης μεγάλης χώρας, λεόντιος ἀρχιεπίσκοπος μητροπόλεως τῆς μεγάλης καισαραίων, καὶ πᾶν τὸ ἱερατεῖον τῆς ἀυτῆς ἁγίας ἐκκλησίας, καὶ τὰ συστήματα τῶν ἐπισκόπων καὶ πρεσβυτέρων καὶ διακόνων καὶ λαῶν, ἐν κυρίῳ χαίρειν ἕνεκεν τῆς δοθεῖσης ὑμῖν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ σωτηρίας, καθὼς ἡμῖν ἐμηνύθη. ἀμέτρῳ εὐφροσύνῃ ἐχαρισθήσαμεν ὑπὲρ τῶν χαρισμάτων τοῦ χριστοῦ, καὶ μάλιστα ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁγίων τοῦ θεοῦ μαρτύρων, τῶν πρὸς ἡμῶν πεμφθέντων, καὶ ἐν μέσῳ τῆς ὑμετέρας χώρας δοξασθέντεων, ὧν ἀναθεωροῦντες τὴν ἔκβασιν, τὴν πίστιν ἀυτῶν μιμήσασθε, ἵνα δοξασθῆτε τῷ ἀυτῷ στεφάνῳ στεφανούμενοι. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὁ τοῦ παντὸς δημιουργὸς πάντα ἐπραγματεύσατο, ὅπως τὴν ὑιοθεσίαν κληρονομήσητε, ἰδίῳ θελήματι πάντας ἐπαίδευσεν, ἵνα καὶ παρακαλέσῃ τοὺς κεκμηκότας ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ βασιλείᾳ, καὶ ἀναπαύσῃ τοὺς πεφορτισμένους. ὁ γὰρ ζυγός μου χρηστὸς καὶ τὸ φορτίον ἀυτοῦ εὐβάστακτον … πρὸς ἑαυτὸν συνάγων καὶ διδάσκων, ἵνα τῆς ἰδίας ἀναπαύσεως πάντας ἀξίους ποιήσῃ.
[146] Ἐπειδη γὰρ μὴ προφθάσαντες ὑμεῖς ἔγνωτε τὸ δέον, διὰ τοῦτο ἐπηνεγκεν ὑμῖν τὴν τῆς μάστιγος ῥάβδον, δι᾽ ἣς ἔξυπνοι γενόμενοι εἴδετε τὴν σωφρονίζουσαν ὑμᾶς ἐπίσκεψιν, καὶ ὅτι τὰ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀνθρώπων μὴ ἀνθρωπινῶς ἐπέγνωτε, ἐνουθέτησεν ὑμᾶς ἀπανθρώπως. νῦν οὖν ὂν ἐν ἀγνοίᾳ παρωργήσατε, ἐβεβαίωσεν ὑμᾶς ἐν τῇ ἀσείστῳ γνώσει. ὁ γὰρ λίθος, ὁ ὑφ᾽ ὑμῶν τῶν ὀικοδόμων ἀποδοκιμασθεὶς, οὗτος ἐγένετο ὑμῖν εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας. ὁ δὲ παροξυνθεὶς παρ᾽ ὑμῶν, ἐν δάκρυσιν διαλλαγήτω. ὃν γὰρ καμμόσαντες τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐλογίσασθε εἰς τὸ σκότος, οὗτος ἀνοίξας τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς καρδίας ὑμῶν ἐφώτισεν ὑμᾶς, ἀπεκδυσάμενος ἀφ᾽ ὑμῶν τὸ ἔνδυμα τῆς ἀθεότητος, καὶ τὴν φωτοφόρον στόλην ἐνδυσάμενος. ὃν γὰρ καυχώμενοι ἐν τῇ ἀγνωσίᾳ ἠβούλεσθε ἀνελεῖν· οὗτος ὑμῖν σοφία καὶ γραμματεὺς τῆς ζωῆς ἐχαρίσθη. ταῦτα ἡμεῖς ἐγνωκότες, κατεπόθημεν ἐν τῷ βυθῷ τῆς κυμαινούσης τοῦ χριστοῦ ἀγάπης, καὶ ὑπερθαυμάσαμεν τὰ ἀκατάληπτα ἀυτοῦ χαρίσματα, καὶ άκαταπαύστοις στόμασι καὶ ἀσιγήτοις γλώσσαις τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν χριστὸν, τὸν ἀγαθὸν καὶ θαυματόποιον καὶ δωροδότην ἐδοξάσαμεν, καὶ τῷ θεῷ τῷ παντοκράτορι εὐχαριστηρίους φωνὰς ἀνεπέμψαμεν. Ἐχαρισάμεθα δὲ καὶ τῷ ἀυτῷ γρηγορίῳ διὰ τῆς ἐπιφοιτήσεως τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος τὰ ἄφθαρτα χαρίσματα, ἐν ᾧ καὶ ὑμεῖς καταξιωθῆτε δέξασθαι τὴν εἰρήνην τῆς τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείας· ἡμῶν σώματι μὲν κεχωρισμένων, πνεύματι δὲ ἐγγιζόντων, μνημονεύσατε ἐν ταῖς νεοφοιτήτοις ὑμῶν προσευχαῖς, καὶ τῆς ἐπελθούσης σωτηρίας, μάλιστα ὅταν τῶν ἁγίων μνήμην ἄγετε μετὰ τῆς ὑμετέρας εὐφροσύνης. ἡ δὲ διαθήκη τῆς μαρτυρίας ἀνάμεσον τῶν ἀμφοτέρων μερῶν εἰς τέλος διατηρηθείη, ὅτι ἁυτὴ δι᾽ ἀυτῆς ἡ δωρεὰ εἰς ἀνακαίνωσιν τῆς ἱεροσύνης τῆς ὑμετέρας χώρας διαμείνῃ ἀκίνητος· ἐν τῇ τῶν καισαραίων ἐκκλησίᾳ, ἐξ ἧς καὶ ἡτοιμάσθη ὑμῖν ἡ δωρεὰ τῆς χειροτονίας, δι᾽ ἧς καὶ ὑμῖν τὰ ἀθάνατα βρώματα δωρεῖται τῆς παλιγγενεσίας ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ δεσπότου, καὶ ἐν τῷ σώματι καὶ τῷ ἁίματι τοῦ ἐξιλασμοῦ τοῦ χριστοῦ, καὶ ἡ μακαριότης ἡ θεἳκὴ, πληθυνθέντων τῶν ἱερέων·, ἵνα ἀνενέγκῃ ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν συνάφειαν τῆς πνευματικῆς ὠδῆς, καὶ τὸν χορὸν τὸν ἐπουράνιον τῆς τοῦ χριστοῦ στρατείας. ὑγιαίνοντες ἐν χριστῷ πάντοτε ἀπολαύσετε τῆς του κυρίου σωτηρίας.
The king, that St. Gregory may be consecrated bishop, Moreover King Tiridates, with Queen Ashkhen and his sister Cusaroducta, ordered the armies to be gathered with one accord. And they swiftly, on the day
appointed beforehand, came into the province of Ararat, and into the city of Valeroctisten, whither the king also had set out. And there were gathered the magnates, the princes of the tribes, the princes of the districts, and those honored with dignities, the leaders of the troops, the chiefs of the magistracies, and the free men, and they stood before the king. And the king took counsel with them all, striving to make them possessors of good works, and said: Come, let us as soon as may be appoint as our pastor this Gregory, who has been given to us by God as the leader of our life, that he may enlighten us by baptism, and renew us by the life-bringing mysteries of our Creator God. But Gregory was unwilling to accept the honor of the high priesthood. I am not fit, he said, because of the immense sublimity of the Divinity, to possess this honor. For he who becomes the leader of men and their intercessor before God has unutterable gifts from the glory of Christ. But seek one worthy, who may be promoted to this.
[136] Then an awful vision is presented to the king, shown to him by God. then with a chosen retinue For he saw an angel of God saying to him: You must, he says, without delay allot to Gregory the honor of the priesthood, that he may enlighten you. In like manner the same angel appeared to Gregory, saying: Do not presume to resist: for these things are commanded you by Christ a. He, at once assenting, said: The will of God be done. Then the king with great joy and zeal and great fear took up the care of the matter. He commanded therefore that the leaders of the satraps and the princes of the districts be called together. The first prince of the house of the Angelitæ b: the second the prince of the Alseni, who is of the retinue c: the third prince, who from his dignity is called Patrician d: the fourth prince, who has the authority of binding the king with the diadem, called Aspeton e: the fifth prince, the prefect of the camps of the soldiery of the region of Armenia: the sixth prince, prefect of the region of the Cordobitæ f: the seventh prince, another of the retinue: the eighth prince, prefect of the region of the Rustinæ: the ninth prince, prefect of the region of the Comitæ: the tenth prince, of the region of the Synistæ g: the twelfth prince, of the region of the Sudei: the thirteenth prince, of the region of the Sutiæ: the fourteenth, prefect of the people of the Saruandæ and of the province of Checras: the fifteenth prince of the house of the Malchasiæ: the sixteenth prince of the Asurunæ. These are the chosen princes, the prefects of districts, the heads of families, the leaders of a thousand and of ten thousand in the region of Armenia, of the family of Thorgom h, whom the king gathered and sent into Cappadocia to the city of Cæsarea, called in the idiom of the Armenians Masach i, that going thither they might appoint Gregory high priest of the whole region.
[137] When therefore they had prepared what was necessary for the journey, and had written letters of the following tenor, and with letters they sent them away. Copy of the letter. Long ago, lost through the ignorance of our sins, we were darkened by error, and shut in by the cloud of impiety, we could not look upward and behold the Sun of justice: whence, covered with the mire of darkness, we remained blind as to the soul. But when the kindness of our Founder Christ appeared to instruct and enlighten us, his creatures, he caused the rays of the life-bringing light to shine into our hearts, and called back our dead condition to life, sending straightway his beloved Martyrs into our parts. These, when they had come, because we were ignorant of their fortitude and virtue, displayed the most renowned struggles for their love toward God. Their Lord indeed, even before the struggle, knew their contest, and what manner of persons they were: but it was that he might also teach us who were mad the wisdom. For as much as they loved their Lord, so much beyond measure, on account of their brave contests, did the Lord God work immeasurable miracles in them: and upon us indeed he inflicted most grievous punishments, but our king he changed into the figure of a swine k, and made him feed with the wild beasts. But having pity on us through the intercessions of his Martyrs, he healed us all through him who came hither and suffered martyrdom l, Gregory. For he, who was found the more abundantly a martyr, has been given to us by God as the leader of our life, and through him God has banished the ancient rites and the mad worship of vain images and of ancestral idols, and taking it out of the midst has destroyed it: and he has taught us his testimonies, and to cleave to his precepts, so that God even openly commanded us to receive this same Gregory as our pastor and bishop of the truth, that he may hold the helm of our region.
[138] here given For this cause we also, trusting in your consent and in the help of your prayers, have sent to Leontius archbishop of Cæsarea, and to the whole priestly order of that same holy church, a salutation written through the mercy of Christ and your prayers. Tiridates the king with the army of the kingdom of Armenia, and Ashkhen the queen, and the great maiden Cusaroducta m. For this cause we have sent to you the distinguished and honored princes of our great kingdom, that they may relate to you the wonders of God wrought for us in this region. And we have sent with them the most holy and great confessor and living martyr of Christ, Gregory; and we have written this address, that through the spiritual visitation and the grace of Christ given by God you may appoint this same Gregory for us as pastor and bishop, and teacher and leader of the divine way, and spiritual physician, even as it has been commanded us by God; and as an intercessor for us, that by his mercy God may make us worthy from this time to proceed safely by his ways, and that your charity and salutation may reach us.
[139] he sends him to Cæsarea, where by St. Leontius The copy of the letter was written in this tenor, and being made ready they received it, and gifts in their hands, both gold and silver, horses and mules, and most magnificent garments for ornaments unto the honor of the most holy churches of God, to which they were journeying. And making their way they everywhere paid great honor to the churches of God n. And they made holy Gregory mount into a chariot inlaid with gold, drawn by white mules: and all the princes with him, with chariots and horses, each with his own company, having set out from the province of Ararat and the city of Valeroctiste, came to the borders of Ionia o, receiving much honor everywhere in the cities, and being escorted with great joy and delight, since all were hearing of the wonders of God, and of the salvation wrought, and of their fruitful journeyings. Thus escorted everywhere they came to the city of Cæsarea, and there they saw the most holy and Catholic Leontius, and all the ecclesiastical choirs of the holy clergy, and the angelic assemblies in their exercise and liturgy. When they had saluted them, they related the things done by God: and they brought the king's letter to the most holy bishop, who, having received it with the greatest joy, exulted together with the whole city, and all together celebrated a magnificent festival. Holy Gregory also they worthily honored on account of his brave contests, gloriously celebrating also the whole course of his martyrdom with psalms and spiritual songs. Moreover the princes of the city [p] received them honorably with the most diligent care according to the zeal of Christians. Thus they were fittingly honored by all, and most of all on account of the dignity of the name of Martyr.
[140] After these things therefore a council of bishops was held in the city of Cæsarea, he is consecrated. Returning into Armenia, he leads thither certain Christians, that they might ordain the Saint by the laying on of hands, and that he might receive the honor of humiliation and of the high priesthood of Christ, and the excellence of the pontifical honor of God. And when they raised the holy Gospel over his head, the bishops present in the holy council laid on their hands, of whom the first was Leontius [q]. Having received therefore the power of binding and loosing in heaven and on earth, according to the words of the Gospel, and the keys of the kingdom of heaven, the most holy Gregory is dismissed by the multitude of bishops with great honor and with letters. Departing thence with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, they came to the city of Sebaste [r], and having stayed there not a few days, they persuaded several of the most pious brethren to set out with them, so that the most holy Archbishop might in his own province enroll them by sacred ordination in the priestly clergy, and leading many choirs with them they departed thence. And they were honorably received by the bishops, prefects and peoples of all places. On their journey also a great crowd of peoples came together, to see the holy archbishop Gregory, and to obtain a blessing from him: and they said to one another: Come, let us see St. Gregory: for this is the man who, having suffered many torments for the most holy name of Christ, has obtained the name of Confessor and Martyr. After this, taking with him the multitude of those whom he had induced to follow, being made ready for the journey together with the satraps, and committed to the grace of God, he completed the long road with much prosperity of travel, and with spiritual gladness came to his own region.
[141] And when they had come into the mountains of the region of Armenia, and understanding that a shrine of the idols yet remained, holy Gregory understood that the altar of Babeius [s] had been left in the province of the Tarauni, a most wealthy altar, full of silver and gold. For there had been laid up there many offerings of great kings. And it was named the Altar of the eighth image of Hercules, the most famous strangler of dragons, the place of sacrifices of the kings of Greater Armenia in the mountains of the Charchareæ. The said place was situated above the river Euphrates over against the great mountain Taurus, breathing out frequent fumes because of the multitude of the sacrifices. This shrine still stood, having in it three altars [t]… Holy Gregory therefore set out that he might take away this shrine also. For men in their ignorance were even then sacrificing at those altars that had been left.
[142] And returning from the parts of Ionia he received some of the relics of the great prophet John the Baptist [u] and of Athenogenes the martyr [x], [as he journeys thither, he is admonished to build a sacred shrine, and in it, when built, he places the relics,] and coming from the region of the altars near the river Euphrates, holy Gregory wished to proceed to the place where the altars were, that he might take them away, and lay the relics of the martyrs there. But when they drew near to the Euphrates, and were three stadia distant from it, and were about to cross a small valley in which there was a little water, the white mules which drew the chariot failed, bearing also the divine treasure of the holy relics, and could not cross the valley. And an angel of the Lord appearing said to Gregory: It has pleased the Lord that the dwelling of the Saints be in this place. Straightway, according to Gregory's proposal, the multitude lending a hand, they built a shrine sacred to the martyrs, and laid the Saints there. While the building was still to be finished, Gregory bade the army and the princes who were with him go with stone-cutters' tools and cast down the altars. But they, laboring much, could not find the doors of the temple so as to enter it: for those who were within hid them by casting up apparitions. Nor did the iron touch the building even from without. And so the princes went in haste to report these things to the Patriarch.
[143] he destroys the shrine, baptizes many, raises altars, The Saint therefore, going out and standing over against the hill on which the altars were, having made the Lord's sign, said: Your angel, O Lord God, shall drive them away. When he had said this, a most violent wind, blowing from the Lord's sign which he carried in his hand, and striking the building of the altars, cast it down from its foundations, blowing full out of the valley, and leveling the place utterly with the ground, so that not even
traces of the altars were seen from that time, but indeed the very stones were flung a great way off. Nor was the gold and silver found, of which a great quantity lay in the temple, and a multitude of men from among the priests and the superstitious died in that place, not even their bones being found [y]. And the crowds, when they had seen these things, believed: and holy Gregory said to them: You see how your stumbling-blocks have fallen: for the deities of the nations are nothing. Now therefore serve the Lord your God, who made heaven and earth. After this, going on to the place of the temple, and gathering the people, he taught the knowledge of God: and the foundations of a church were laid in those same places, and he raised an altar to the glory of God, there first beginning to build churches and to raise altars in the name of Christ: and having prepared lavers for baptizing, he first baptized the great satraps who had been the companions of his journey, as they came forward, and then, remaining twenty days in that same province, more than nineteen [z] myriads of men. Having raised altars also in the sacred shrines of the holy martyrs which he himself had built, he offered the saving sacrifices, and distributed to all the saving Body and Blood of Christ: moreover he commanded that every year in that place the memory of the martyrs should be celebrated on the seventh day of the month called in that place Saome [aa], according to the Romans in the month of October, so that gathering with the greatest joy they might celebrate the festival of that day, since he there in the beginning built a church, raised altars, ordained priests for those places, and conferred baptism.
[144] he builds churches in various places, and appoints priests in them: Then he filled the surrounding places with churches and priests, and departing he set out thence with the glory of the cross and the power of Christ, carrying with him a part of the holy relics, that in other places also he might build shrines sacred to the martyrs. And indeed in many provinces, towns and places he built churches and lavers of baptism, and appointed priests. But when the great King Tiridates had heard that holy Gregory had come into the region of Armenia, taking with him the armies which he had with him, and Queen Ashkhen and his sister Cusaroducta, he went out from the province of Ararat and from the city of Valeroctiste to meet the holy Archbishop, and came to the city of Bagaban, which in the language of the Parthians is called the Town of the Altars; and he remained there for the space of a month, awaiting him. But holy Gregory went about to various parts, filling all with churches and priests, and enlightening all by baptism, according to all the ecclesiastical statutes. Going on therefore he came to the city named Bagaban, with the magnates, and with the crowd of those following him from various places, who also obtained from him healing from their diseases. And he with most abundant teaching scattered the word of life to all round about, together with the workmen of the Gospel of Christ whom he had, but whose names it is difficult to tell. After this therefore the holy Archbishop, coming full of the grace of God, arrived at the mountain called Napat.
[145] And the king came with his army to meet him at the bank of the river Euphrates: letters to the king, who comes to meet him as far as the Euphrates and at the meeting the Saint filled all with divine grace, and with Gospel greetings out of the teachings of Christ known to him. With great delight therefore and joy returning into the town, they there brought forth the letters of peace. And they were written in this manner. Chastised [bb] and instructed, punished and healed, tormented and exercised, lost and found, led away by error and returned, you have been received and beloved by Christ, you, Tiridates king of Greater Armenia, and Ashkhen the queen, and the great maiden Cusaroducta, and all who are appointed among you. Those who are of this great province, Leontius archbishop of the metropolis of great Cæsarea, and the whole priestly order of that same holy church, bishops, priests, deacons, and peoples, wish you to rejoice in the Lord for the salvation given you by God, as it has been recounted to us. We have been filled with immoderate gladness at the free gifts of Christ, and most of all at the holy Martyrs of Christ who were sent by us, and who obtained glory in the midst of your region, whose departure you behold; imitate their faith, that you may be crowned with the same crown of glory. For since the Founder of all has wrought all things that you may receive by inheritance the adoption of sons, by his own will he has instructed all, that in his kingdom he may console the weary and refresh the burdened. (For my yoke is sweet, and his burden light [cc]) gathering them to himself and teaching them, that he may make all worthy of his rest.
[146] For since you did not formerly know what you ought to have known, of St. Leontius of Cæsarea therefore he brought upon you a scourging rod, by which, being roused from sleep, you have known the visitation that makes you sober: and since you did not acknowledge in a human way those things which pertain to men, he admonished you in a manner not human. And so now he whom in your ignorance you stirred to wrath has established you in an unmoved knowledge. For the stone which was rejected by you the builders, this has been made for you the head of the corner. And let him who was provoked by you be reconciled by tears. For him whom, closing your eyes, you accounted as darkness; he himself, the eyes of your heart being opened, has enlightened you, taking from you the garment of impious ignorance of God, and clothing you with a raiment that brings light. For he whom, glorying in your ignorance, you wished to kill; he has been given to you as wisdom and a teacher of life. When we understood these things, we were plunged in the abyss of the overflowing charity of Christ, and beyond measure we marveled at his incomprehensible gifts, and with mouths that did not rest and tongues that knew not how to be silent we gloriously celebrated our Lord Jesus Christ, the good one, the worker of wonders, and the giver of gifts, and we sent up voices of thanksgiving to almighty God.
[147] We have also conferred upon this Gregory, through the visitation of the Holy Spirit, the incorruptible charisms, that you too may become worthy to receive the peace of the kingdom of heaven. Be mindful of us, Gregory delivers letters concerning his own consecration. who are indeed absent in body but present in spirit, in your prayers, you who are neophytes, as also of the salvation conferred upon you, especially when you keep the memory of the Saints with your rejoicing. And let the tablets of testimony be preserved perpetually between both parties, that through them this grace may remain unmoved for the renewal of the priesthood of your province in the church of Cæsarea [dd], from which also the grace of the laying on of hands has been prepared for you: through which also there are given to you the immortal foods of regeneration in the cross of the Lord and in the Body and Blood of the reconciliation of Christ, and the divine beatitude, the priests being multiplied, that it may lead you to a share in the spiritual song, and to the heavenly choir of the host of Christ. Being strong in Christ, may you always enjoy the salvation of the Lord.
ANNOTATIONS.
o. By Ionia understand
the Roman dominion, or Asia Minor. For from Greater Armenia they either entered Cappadocia at once, or came into Cappadocia through Lesser Armenia.
p. Since it is not credible that the princes of the city of Cæsarea were then Christians, it again becomes manifest that the writer embellished all those things according to his own invention, and considered rather what ought to have been done under Christian princes than what was done in the time of persecution.
q. That St. Gregory was in fact consecrated by St. Leontius of Cæsarea I have proved by various documents in the Commentary num. 91 and following.
r. The city of Sebaste or Sebastia is placed by the profane geographers generally in Pontic Cappadocia or in Pontus; by the ecclesiastical writers in Lesser Armenia, and it was in fact the metropolis of Armenia Prima, whose prelates Lequien enumerates in the Oriens Christianus vol. 1 col. 419. With these Cellarius agrees in his ancient Geography book 3 chap. 8 p. 200: but presently at p. 201 he finds another Sebaste in Lesser Armenia, which was formerly called Cabeira, then Diopolis, and at last Sebaste, as Strabo has it book 12 p. 557, saying that it was so called from Queen Pythodoris. But the translator turned the Greek word into Latin, and said Augusta. I judge that it is the same city as Sebastia, which Ptolemy and Pliny designated only by the new name, while Strabo brought forward both names, because in his time the change had been made. This city moreover St. Gregory could easily have passed through, and found there some evangelical workmen, as also at Cæsarea and elsewhere, whom he might lead with him.
s. Whether this is the name of the place or of the idol I cannot say with certainty. The region of the Tarauni will perhaps be Taurantium, which is a region of Armenia mentioned by Tacitus book 14 chap. 14.
t. The names of the three altars may be seen in Greek, if anyone desires them. But I think that they are not free from faults; and since they seem to have something discordant in them, I have omitted a Latin translation, and it will be enough for me to have given notice that the shrine is said by Metaphrastes to be sacred to Hercules.
u. What is here asserted concerning the relics of St. John the Baptist does not seem probable, if it is to be understood of his sacred bones. For his body seems to have remained in its sepulcher until the time of Julian the Apostate, who wished to burn it, about fifty years after the time of the conversion of Armenia; his head likewise was hidden at that time. Both may be seen in St. John the Baptist at 24 June. Perhaps some relics were translated into Armenia after the times of Julian, as it is certain that they were in fact translated to other places; and the author attributed to St. Gregory what was done much later.
x. Relics of St. Athenogenes the martyr, who is read to have suffered in that very city of Sebaste where St. Gregory is said to have been, he could have received there on the very journey. Baronius set down two Martyrs of this name, one in Pontus, the other at Sebaste in Armenia. But Sollerius among us at 16 July believed them one and the same.
y. A destruction of a shrine of this kind will be suspect to prudent men, because our Agathangelus seems everywhere to have invented prodigies.
z. The sense here is doubtful: for the author perhaps meant to say nineteen, perhaps nine or even ten. But whatever he meant, I do not doubt that he used the exaggeration customary with him beyond the truth. For the due instruction of so many men had to come first. And the twenty days during which the Saint is said to have remained there were not sufficient for instructing so many men, even if they had already been in some fashion instructed before, for baptizing them, and for raising sacred shrines and altars, and for accomplishing the rest which follows.
aa. The Armenian month Saome, in the chronological tables of M. Lenglet Dufresnoy Sahomi, is the third, and begins on the XI day of our October. Metaphrastes has it that the festival was celebrated on the 7 day of October, which does not agree with the month Sahomi.
bb. These letters Metaphrastes and the Latin author omitted altogether. And in fact it is not likely that such were written by St. Leontius; although otherwise it is not to be doubted that he wrote to the king.
cc. Here the words of the Gospel, Matth. XI v. 30, are not only somewhat altered, but the word πάντας, all, also seems to be wanting. For I think it is to be read, drawing all to himself, etc.
dd. Although we do not believe these to be genuine letters of St. Leontius, yet concerning his precaution that the archbishops of Armenia should thereafter be consecrated by the bishop of Cæsarea, the things given in the Commentary num. 92 and 93 may be seen.
CHAPTER XIII.
Baptism conferred on the king, the queen, and a countless multitude of Armenians: churches built throughout the whole kingdom, and priests set over them: schools instituted, etc.
Ἐυφράνθησαν ἐν τῇ παρακλήσει τῆς ἐπιστολῆς, καὶ μάλιστα ὅτι ἥκασι ὁι ὁδοίποροι πεφωτισμένοι τοῖς τοῦ θεοῦ κεχαρισμένοις ἀγαθοῖς. πληρώσαντες δὲ τὸν πνευματικὸν πόθον πρὸς ἀλλήλους, καὶ περισσοτέρως ἐν τῇ πίστει στηριχθέντες, μετὰ μείζονος προθυμίας προέκοπτον. ὁ οὖν ἅγιος γρηγόριος κατὰ τὸ σύνηθες ἀυτοῦ σπουδαῖον εἰς ἔργον ἐνέβαλεν τὴν ἄπαυστον ἀυτοῦ διδασκαλίαν, συνευδοκοῦντός τε μάλιστα τοῦ εὐσεβεστάτου βασιλέως τηρηδατίου, τὴν τε ἰδίαν τέχνην προθέμενος, ἐπαίδευεν καὶ ἐνουθέτει. ᾧ ἐπὶ πλεῖον ὁ βασιλεύς τε καὶ ὁ στρατὸς ὑπετάσσοντο, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ διαταγὴν, σὺν τῷ πλήθει πάσης τῆς χώρας. πάντων δὲ καταδεχομένων παντὰ τὰ παρ᾽ ἀυτῶν προστεταγμένα, τὸ προσταττόμενον ἐνεργικῶς ἐπλήρουν. τότε παρακελεύεται τὸν βασιλικὸν ὀικον ἅμα τῶι στρατεύματι τριάκοντα ἡμέρας νηστείαις καὶ προσευχαῖς σχολάζειν, καὶ ἀυτὸς συνήθως μετὰ τῶν ἰδίων, τῶν συνελθόντων ἀυτῷ ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ, τὰς ἀσκήσεις καὶ εὐχὰς καὶ ἀγρυπνίας καὶ δεήσεις μετὰ δακρύων ποιούμενος, καὶ μετὰ σκληροτάτης διαγωγῆς τὴν καθολικὴν φροντίδα καὶ στεναγμοὺς ἀδιαλείπτως εἶχεν, ὑπομνημίσκων πάντας τὸ ῥητὸν τοῦ πνευματοφόρου προφήτου, ὅταν ἀποστραφεὶς στενάξῃς τότε σωθήσῃ, φησὶν. οὕτως φιλοπόνως ὑπέμεινεν ὑπὲρ τῆς κοινῆς ὠφελείας, ὅπως πᾶσι σωτηρίας ὁδηγὸς γένηται. διὸ καὶ ἐχαρίσθη ἀυτῷ παρὰ τοῦ παντοκτίστου θεοῦ τὸ πατρικὸν μετρὸν ἀναγεννῆσαι νέα γεννήματα καὶ θαυμαστὰ διὰ τῆς δωρεᾶς τῆς τοῦ χριστοῦ δεξιᾶς, πάντας ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος, ὡς ἀπὸ γαστρὸς, διὰ τῆς παλιγγενεσίας ἄνωθεν ἀναγεννήσας καὶ τελειώσας καὶ καθαρίσας καὶ σφραγισάμενος εἰς λαὸν κυρίου κατέστησεν.
[149] Καταβεβληκὼς δὲ κἀκεῖσε θεμέλια, ῴκοδόμησεν ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ τὰ καταλειφθέντα τῶν ἁγίων λείψανα ἐν τῷ τοῦ κυρίου ὀίκῳ ἐναπέθετο, καὶ οὕτως ἐν πάσῃ περιχώρῳ ἐθεμελίωσεν ἐκκλησίας, καὶ θυσιαστήρια ἀνωρθώσατο, καὶ ἱερέας προεχείρησε, πάντων ἐπιστραφέντων ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας ἀυτῶν προαιρέτως, καὶ προκοπτόντων ἐν νηστείαις καὶ εὐχαῖς καὶ φόβῳ θεοῦ. πλειρωθείσης δὲ τῆς νηστείας καὶ τῆς ὁρισμένης ἡμέρας, λαβὼν ὁ μακαριώτατος τὸ στράτευμα, καὶ ἀυτὸν τὸν βασιλέα, καὶ ἀσιχήνην τὴν βασίλισσαν, καὶ τὴν μεγάλην νεάνιν κουσαρωδούκταν, μετὰ τῶν λοιπῶν μεγάλων, ἀνιόντος ἡλίου, κάτεισι παρὰ τὸ χεῖλος τοῦ εὐφράτου ποταμοῦ, καὶ έβάπτισε πάντας ὁμοῦ ἐν ὀνόματι πατρὸς καὶ ὑιοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος. καταβάντων δὲ τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ τοῦ βασιλέως ἐν τοῖς ὕδασι τοῦ εὐφράτου ποταμοῦ, φοβερὸν καὶ παράδοξον ἐπεφάνη σημεῖον παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ· τὰ γὰρ ὕδατα ἐπὶ τόπῳ σταθέντα ἀνεκρούσθησαν, καὶ φῶς σφοδρώτατον φανὲν, καθ᾽ ὁμοίωμα στύλου φωτοειδοῦς, ἔστη ἐπὶ τῶν ὑδάτων τοῦ ποταμοῦ, ἔνθα ἐβαπτίζοντο, καὶ τὸ δεσποτικὸν σημεῖον ἐπάνω τοῦ στύλου. ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον δὲ ὑπερέλαμψεν, ὥστε καὶ τὰς ἀκτίνας τοῦ ἡλίου κατακαλύπτειν καὶ μειῶσαι. καὶ τὸ καταβληθὲν κατηχούμενον ἔλαιον ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου γρηγορίου ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ περιτρέχειν πανταχοῦ εἰς τοὺς βαπτιζομένους. πάντες δὲ θαυμάζοντες ὕψωσαν ὕμνους εἰς δόξαν θεοῦ, καὶ περὶ τὴν ἑσπέραν τὸ σημεῖον ἄφανες ἐγένετο. ἀυτοὶ δὲ ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς τὴν κωμόπολιν.
[150] Ὁι δὲ βαπτισθέντες ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ πλείους πεντεκαιδέκα μυριάδες ἀνθρώπων μετα τοῦ βασιλικοῦ στρατεύματος ὑπῆρχον. ἐξελθόντες οὖν μετὰ ἀγαλλιάσεως, καὶ λευκῶν ἐνδυμάτων, καὶ ψαλμῶν καὶ ᾠδῶν πνευματικῶν, καὶ κηρίων καὶ λαμπάδων, μετὰ πολλῆς ἱλαρότητος, καὶ φωτισθέντες καὶ ἰσάγγελοι γενόμενοι, καὶ τῆς ὑιοθεσίας τοῦ ἐυαγγελίου ἐπιτυχόντες, καὶ ὀσμὴν ἐυωδίας τοῦ χριστοῦ ἀναπνέοντες, ἀνῆλθον εἰς τὸν δεσποτικὸν ὀικον. τότε ὁ ἀρχιεπίσκοπος, ἐπιτελέσας τὴν λογικὴν λατρείαν, μεταδίδωσιν ἀυτοῖς τὰ τῆς ἐυχαριστίας μυστήρια, διαμερίζων πᾶσι τὸ πανάγιον σῶμα, καὶ τὸ τιμιότατον καὶ ζωοφόρον καὶ ζωόποιον καὶ ζωηφόρον αἷμα τοῦ πάντων σωτῆρος χριστοῦ. δωρησάμενος δὲ τὰ θεόπνευστα χαρίσματα, ἡσύχασεν ἐκεῖ ἡμέρας ἕπτα διὰ τὴν πνευματικὴν παράκλησιν. ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἕπτα ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ἐβαπτίσθησαν ἀπὸ τῆς βασιλικῆς παρεμβολῆς, ἀνδρές τε καὶ γυναῖκες σὺν τοῖς παιδίοις, πλείους τετρακόσιαι μυριάδες. καὶ τὰ μνημόσυνα τῶν ἐνεχθέντων ἕταξεν εἰς τὴν μεγάλην πανήγυριν, τῆς λεγομένης διαπομπῆς, τῆς ματαίως εἰς τιμὴν τῶν παλαιῶν σεβασμάτων γενομένης ἀπὸ τῶν καιρῶν τῶν νέων εἰς τὰς ἀπαρχὰς τῶν καρπῶν, ξενοδέκτων θεῶν λεγομένης τῆς πανηγύρεως, ἧν ἐπιτελοῦσι ἐν τῷ τόπῳ ἐκείνῳ εὐφραντικῶς ἀπὸ τῶν ἀρχαίων καιρῶν ἐν ἡμέρα τῆς πληρώσεως τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ. ἁυτὴν οὖν τὴν ἡμέραν ὁρίσατο ὁ ἅγιος, συναχθέντας ὁμοῦ ἑορτάζειν τὴν τῶν μαρτύρων ἡμέραν, Ἰωάννου τοῦ βαπτίστου καὶ ἀθηνογένους τοῦ μάρτυρος ἐν τάυτῃ τῇ πολει βαγαβὰν, ἐν ᾑ καὶ ὁ μακαριώτατος τὴν διδασκαλίαν εἰς ἔργον ἐμβαλὼν, ἐπλήρωσεν πνευματικῆς νουθεσίας τοὺς συνελθόντας, καὶ πλατυτέρως ἐξηγησάμενος, πάντας έχαροποίησεν.
[151] Μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ ἐξελθὼν εἰς πάντα τὰ ὁρία ἀρμενίων τῆς μεγάλης χώρας, ᾠκοδόμησεν ἐκκλησίας ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἐπαρχίαις, καὶ πατράσι, καὶ μέρεσιν, ἐν ταῖς πόλεσίν τε καὶ κωμοπόλεσιν, κώμαις τε καὶ χωρίοις, καὶ ἐποικίοις. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐν πασῃ τῇ ἀυτοῦ ἐξουσίᾳ ἔταξεν τέσσαρας ἀρούρας ἐν τοῖς χωρίοις, ἐν δὲ ταῖς κωμοπόλεσιν ἕπτα ἀρούρας, εἰς ὑπηρεσίαν τοῦ ἱερέως, ὥστε προσενέγκαι τὰς ἀπαρχὰς τῷ κυρίῳ· καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς τόποις στήσαντες ἱερέας. ἐκέλευσεν κύριον τὸν θεὸν μόνον σέβειν, τὸν ποιήσαντα τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν· καὶ τοὺς μὲν ὑπηρέτας καὶ λειτουργοὺς τῶν τοῦ κυρίου θυσιαστηρίων ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις. ἐκλήρου δὲ τούτους εἰς ἀνακεφαλαίωσιν τῶν λαῶν κυρίου ὁ ἀρχιεπίσκοπος, παραγγέλλων ἀυτοῖς διαπιστικῶς τὰ τῆς ὁδηγίας κυβερνᾶν, καὶ φωτίζειν τὸ τοῦ κυρίου ποίμνιον. ἔπειτα δὲ ἔπεισεν τὸν βασιλέα, ἵνα ἑκάστῃ πατρίδι, καὶ τόπῳ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς μέρεσι συναγαγῄ παῖδας πρὸς διδασκαλίαν, τὸ ἄγριον καὶ ἀνήμερον καὶ ἐφιαλτικὸν ἦθος ἐξημερῶν. ὅπερ καὶ πεποίηκεν, ἐμβαλὼν ἀυτοὺς ἐν τῷ χωνευτηρίῳ της πνευματικῆς παιδεύσεως καὶ ἀγάπης, τὸν ἰὸν καὶ ῥύπον καὶ δυσωδίαν τῶν δαιμόνων ἐκκαθαίρειν καὶ ἀποξῦσαι θέλων· καὶ οὕτω διεχώρησε τὰς ψυχὰς ἀυτῶν ἀπὸ τῶν ματαίων καὶ πατρικῶν σεβασμάτων, ὥστε εἰπεῖν ἀυτοὺς· ἐπελαθόμην τοῦ λαοῦ μου καὶ τοῦ ὄικου τοῦ
πατρός μου.
[152] Παρακελεύεται οὖν ὁ βασιλεὺς τηρηδάτιος κατὰ τόπους τῶν ὁρίων τῆς ἀρμενίας ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ ἀπὸ χωρῶν καὶ πατρίδων πλῆθος νεολαίας παίδων εἰσφέρειν, ἐπὶ τοῦ γυμνάσαι ἀυτοὺς, πιστικοὺς διδασκάλους ἐπιστήσας. ἐπαίδευσε δὲ μάλιστα τὸ γένος τῶν δεισιδαιμόνων ἱερέων, καὶ τούτους ἐν τοῖς ἐπιτηδείοις τόποις συνάξας, τὰ πρὸς τὴν ἀναγωγὴν ἐκέλευσεν χορηγεῖσθαι, διαμερίσας ἐν δύσι χωρίοις τοὺς παιδευομένους, τοὺς μὲν ἐν τῇ σύρᾳ διαλέκτῳ, τοὺς δε ἐν τῃ ἑλληνικῇ παιδευθῆναι. διὸ παραυτίκα ὁι ἀγριογνώμονες καὶ ἀμεριμνόβιοι καὶ κτηνόφρονες ἄνθρωποι, προφητικόγνωστοι, καὶ ἀποστολικομαθεῖς, καὶ εὐαγγελικῶν ῥημάτων κληρονόμοι ἐγίνοντο. οὕτως γὰρ ἰχνηλατήσας πᾶσαν τὴν θεἳκὴν παράδοσιν, ἐν οὐδενὶ ἀμοίρους ἀυτοὺς ἀπέδειξεν. ἔφθασεν καὶ ἐν τοῖς πρώτοις μέρεσιν ὁ ἀρχιεπίσκοπος ἐν τῇ ἀραρὰτ πατρίδι καὶ οὐαλεροκτίστῃ τῇ πόλει, ἔνθα ἡ θεἳκὴ ἀπείλη ἤρξατο, ὁποῦ καὶ ἀυτὸς τὸ δεσποτικὸν σημεῖον ἔστησε, καὶ ὁι μάρτυρες τοῦ θεοῦ τελειωθέντες κατετέθησαν. ἀνωρθώσατο οὖν ἐκεῖ θυσιαστήριον τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν τοῖς κοιμητηρίοις, καὶ τὸν περιτειχισθέντα τόπον τοῦ ὄικου τοῦ θεοῦ ἐξῳδωμάτωσεν, τὸν πρὸ πάντων ἀποδειχθέντα ἀυτῷ διὰ τῆς θείας ὁράσεως.
[153] Ὅυτω καὶ ἐν τοῖς τόποις τῶν ἱερῷν, ἐν ἀρχῇ καθαιρεθέντων, ἐν ἀρταξὰτ τῇ πόλει, καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς τόποις, καὶ χώραις, καὶ πατράσιν, ἐπλήθυνεν ἐκκλησίας, καὶ ἱερέας κατέστησεν· καὶ σημειοχρίστους πάντας πεποιηκὼς, καὶ πνευματοφόρους προσήνεγκε τῷ θεῷ, καὶ ἐν πάσῃ τῇ χώρᾳ τῆς ἀρμενίας ἀπ᾽ ἄκρου ἐὼς ἄκρων διέτεινεν τὴν ἐργασίαν τοῦ εὐαγγελικοῦ κηρύγματος ἀπὸ σαταλῶν τῆς πόλεως μέχρι τῆς χώρας χαλτῶν καὶ καλαρσῶν, ἑὼς ὁρίων μασαχοῦ τῶν οὕννων, καὶ πύλων κασπίων, καὶ μέρων ἀλανῶν καὶ φατακαρανῆς πόλεως ἀρμενίας βασιλέων, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν ἀμηδηνῶν πόλεως μέχρι νισιβέως παρὰ τὰ ὁρία τῆς συρίας ἐὼς νοσικάρων γῆς, καὶ κορδοβιτῶν, καὶ τῆς ὀχυρωτάτης χώρας τῶν μήδων, καὶ τοῦ ὀίκου μαχουρτῶν τοῦ ἄρχοντος καὶ μέχρι ἀτραπατακὰν, ἥτις καλεῖται προχωρία κατὰ τὴν περσικὴν γλῶτταν, ἐξέτεινε τὸ εὐαγγελικὸν κήρυγμα, θέρους καὶ χειμῶνος, ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς, ὁ ἄοκνος ἐν τῇ ἀποστολικῇ ἀυτοῦ πορείᾳ καὶ εἰρηνοφόρῳ βαδίσματι, ἐπὶ βασιλέων καὶ ἀρχόντων, καὶ ἔθνῶν ἀφόβως τὸ πανσωτήριον ὄνομα τοῦ κυρίου ἐπὶ στόματος φέρων, πᾶσαν ψυχὴν χριστοφόρον εἰργάσατο.
[154] Καὶ πολλῶν δεσμίων καὶ πεφυλακισμένων ἀπὸ τυράννων σωτηρίας πρόξενος γέγονεν, ἐκσπάσας ἀπὸ τῶν χειρῶν ἀυτῶν τῇ δυνάμει τῆς τοῦ χριστοῦ δόξης, τῆς ἐν ἀυτῷ ἐνοικούσης. πολλῶν δὲ καὶ τὰ ἄδικα γραμμάτια περισχίσας, ἐγένετο παράκλησις τοῖς πενθοῦσι ὀλιγοψύχοις· καὶ διὰ τῆς θεἳκῆς διδασκαλίας τὴν προσδοκωμένην ἐλπίδα τῆς ἐπιφανείας τοῦ μεγάλου θεοῦ, καὶ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ ἑκάστου ψυχῇ ἐναπέθετο. πάντας οὖν οὕτως μετὰ προθυμίας εἰς τὴν θεογνωσίαν μετήνεγκεν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχαίας ἀυτῶν παραδόσεως. πολλοὺς δὲ ἀναριθμήτους χοροὺς τῶν μοναστῶν ἐν ἀοικήτοις τόποις, καὶ χωρίοις, καὶ κωμοπόλεσι, τὴν ὀρείνην τε καὶ πεδιάδα ὀικοῦντας, στηλίτας καὶ ἀποκλείστους κατέστησεν. τινὰς δὲ καὶ δεισιδαιμόνων ἱερέων παῖδας δεξάμενος ἐνώπιον ἀυτοῦ, ἐνάγειν ἐποίει σπουδὴν πνευματικοῦ μαθήματος ἐπιτιθέμενος, παραγγείλας μετὰ φόβου διάγειν ἀυτοὺς· ἐξ ὦν καὶ εἰς τὴν ἐπισκοπηκὴν τιμὴν τινες ἀξιωθέντες παρ᾽ ἀυτοῦ χειροτονοῦνται. ὁ πρῶτος ἀλβῆνος καλούμενος, ὅστις τοῖς μέρεσιν εὐφράτου τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἐπέστη διδάσκαλος. ὁ δὲ δεύτερος εὐθάλιος, τοῖς μέρεσι βασηνῶν κατασταθεὶς ποιμὴν. ὁ τρίτος βάσσος, ὁ τέταρτος μουσὴς, ὁ πέμπτος εὐσέβιος, ὁ ἕκτος Ἰωάννης, ὁ ἕβδομος ἀγάπιος, ὁ ὄγδοος ἄρτιος, ὁ ἔννατος ἀρσύκης, ὁ δέκατος ἀντίοχος. ἀυτοὶ ἐκ τῶν ἱερέων ὑιῶν ἐξελέχθησαν γένεσθαι ἐπίσκοποι ἐν διαφόροις μέρεσιν, ὥστε εἰς ἄυξησιν φέρειν τὸ κύρηγμα. τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν τὰ ὀνόματα τὰ δυσθεώρητα εἰ καὶ βουλὴθείη τις ἐξειπεῖν.
The Saint, having proclaimed a fast, instructs the people, They rejoiced at the consolation of the Letter, and most of all because the travelers had come, enlightened by the good things given by God. And fulfilling toward one another their spiritual longing, and being the more confirmed in faith, they advanced with greater eagerness. And so holy Gregory, according to his zealous custom, committed to work his unceasing instruction, the most pious King Tiridates especially consenting, and using his own art, he taught and exhorted. They obeyed him very greatly, according to the Lord's precept, the king and the army with the multitude of the whole region. And when all received everything commanded by them b, they effectually fulfilled what was commanded. Then he exhorted the royal house with the army to give themselves for thirty days to fastings and prayers, and he himself after his custom, with his own people who lived in concord with him, performing exercises, prayers, vigils and supplications with tears, with a most austere manner of life had unceasingly a universal care and groanings, recalling to all the saying of the prophet, impelled by the Holy Spirit: When being turned away you shall groan, you shall be saved, he says. Thus he endured zealously for the common profit, that he might become to all the leader of salvation. Wherefore there was given him by God the measure of the fathers, that he might regenerate a new and wonderful offspring by the gift of the right hand of Christ, since out of water and the Spirit, as out of a womb, by the heavenly regeneration he begot, perfected, cleansed and sealed them all, and so constituted them the people of God.
[149] and baptizes the king, the queen, and an immense people, And having laid foundations, he there also built a church, and laid the relics of the Saints which remained in the house of the Lord: and in all the surrounding places he founded churches c, raised altars, and promoted priests, all being converted with their whole heart by free will, and advancing in fastings and prayers and the fear of God. Then, the fast being completed and the appointed day come, the most blessed Man, taking with him the army, and the king himself, and Ashkhen the queen, and the great maiden Cusaroducta, with the remaining magnates, at the rising of the sun went down to the bank of the river Euphrates, and baptized them all together d in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And as the people and the king went down into the waters of the river Euphrates, an awful and wonderful sign was manifested by God. For the waters, standing in their place, were held back, and a most brilliant light appearing, in the figure of a shining column, stood above the waters of the river where they were being baptized, and above the column the Lord's sign. And it shone forth so greatly that it darkened and diminished even the rays of the sun. And the oil of the Catechumens, which had been poured in by holy Gregory, was seen to run about in the river in every direction e upon those who were being baptized. And all, marveling, lifted up their voice in hymns to the praise of God: and about evening the sign ceased to be seen: and they returned into the town.
[150] to whom he also imparts holy communion: he establishes a new feast. Those who were baptized on that day were more than fifteen myriads of men f together with the royal army. Going out therefore with exultation, clothed in white garments, and with psalms and spiritual songs, with tapers and lamps and much gladness, and enlightened and made like unto angels, and having obtained the adoption of the sons of the Gospel, and breathing the odor of the sweetness of Jesus Christ, they went up to the house of the Lord. Then the Archbishop, the reasonable worship being completed, gave them the mysteries of the sacred Eucharist, distributing to all the most holy Body, and the most precious and salvation-bringing Blood of Christ the Savior of all. When he had bestowed on them the charisms breathed from God, he remained there seven days for their spiritual consolation. And in those seven days there were baptized from the royal camp, both men and women with their children, more than four hundred g myriads. The memory of the Saints who had been brought thither he established on the great festival which is called διαπομπὴ (the sending away), and which was vainly performed in honor of the ancient images, from the time of the new crops, for the first-fruits of the harvest. It was called the festival of the Hospitable h gods, which they celebrate merrily in that place from ancient times on the day on which the year is completed i. This day therefore he appointed, that being gathered together they might celebrate the day of the festival of the martyrs John the Baptist and Athenogenes in that city of Bagaban: in which the most blessed Man, carrying his instruction into effect, filled those gathered with spiritual exhortation, and discoursing more at large, gratified all.
[151] After this, going out into all the borders of the great region of the Armenians, The Christian religion advanced throughout all Armenia: boys he built churches in all the prefectures, provinces and tracts, in cities, in towns, in villages, in hamlets and in farmsteads. In like manner the king also in all his dominion ordained in the villages four fields, and in the towns seven fields, for the service of the priest, that they might offer the first-fruits to the Lord. And when they had appointed priests in all places, the king commanded that God alone, who made heaven and earth, should be worshiped; and his servants and the ministers of the Lord's altars in all the churches. And these the Archbishop allotted to the peoples of the Lord for their general oversight, that they might faithfully administer the things that pertain to guidance, and enlighten the flock of the Lord. Then he persuaded the king to gather in every province and place in all parts boys to be taught, that what is wild, harsh and unruly in their manners might be brought back to gentleness: which also he did, casting them into the smelting-furnace of spiritual instruction and charity, that he might wipe away and scrape off the rust, the filth, and the stench of the demons: and so far did he tear their souls away from the vain and ancestral rites, that they themselves said: I have forgotten my people, and my father's house.
[152] King Tiridates therefore ordered throughout the places of the borders of Armenia rightly instructed: a church built in the city of Valeroctiste; that a multitude of an assembly of boys should be brought from the tracts and provinces into a private place, setting faithful masters over them to instruct them. And most of all he instructed the race of the superstitious priests, and when these had been gathered in suitable places he ordered that what was necessary for their instruction be supplied; dividing those to be instructed into two classes, so that some should be taught in the Syriac tongue, others in the Greek. Hence straightway men who were of a wild disposition, who were of a more careless life, who were of a brutish mind, became versed in the prophetic doctrine, disciples of the Apostolic writings, and partakers of the Gospel words. For thus, having searched out every divine tradition, he showed them to be without share of it in no respect. The Archbishop came also into the first tract, namely into the province of Ararat and into the city of Valeroctisten, where the divine threatening had its beginning, where he himself had raised the Lord's sign k, and where the Martyrs of God had been laid after their death. He raised therefore there an altar to God in the place of the burial of the Martyrs, and built up the place formerly surrounded with a rampart for the house of God, that very place which before all had been shown him in the divine vision.
[153] So also in the places of the temples of the gentiles which had been overthrown in the beginning, the faith preached round about: in the city of Artaxata l, and in the remaining places, tracts and provinces, he multiplied churches and appointed priests: and all these, gleaming with the sign of Christ, and these, breathed upon by the Holy Spirit, he offered to God. In every tract of Armenia also, from one end to the farthest ends, he spread wide the working of the Gospel preaching,
from the city of the Satali m as far as the regions of the Chaltæ and the Calarsæ, as far as the borders of the Masachus of the Huns, and as far as the Caspian Gates and the parts of the Alani, and to the city of Phatacarane, which belongs to the kings of Armenia: and from the city of the Amedeni n as far as Nisibis near the borders of Syria, and as far as the land of the Nosicari and of the Cordobitæ, and the most fortified tract of the Medes, and the house of the prince of the Machurtæ, and as far as Atrapatacan, which is called προχωρία in the Persian speech, he extended the Gospel preaching, in the season of summer and of winter, by day and by night, watchful in his Apostolic way, and in his journey that brought peace; and bearing without fear in his mouth the saving name of the Lord before kings, princes and nations, he brought it about that every soul should bear Christ.
[154] the pious works of the Saint: bishops consecrated. To many also who were bound and held in custody by tyrants he procured deliverance, tearing them from their hands by the glorious power of Christ which dwelt in him. Moreover, when the unjust documents of many had been torn up, he became the consolation of those who mourned and of those who were of little courage. And by the divine teaching he instilled into the soul of each the awaited hope of the revelation of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. In this way therefore he brought all over eagerly from their ancient tradition to the knowledge of God. And he established choirs of monks innumerable in their multitude [o] in inhabited places, in villages, in towns, dwelling both in the mountains and in the plains, stylites [p] and recluses. He also took to himself some of the sons of the superstitious priests, whom he bade apply themselves zealously to the spiritual doctrine, exhorting them to live in fear: and some of these, being deemed worthy of the episcopal honor, he himself ordained by the laying on of hands. The first [q] was named Albenus, who presides as master over the parts of the river Euphrates. The second, Euthalius, appointed pastor to the tract of the Baseni. The third Bassus, the fourth Moses, the fifth Eusebius, the sixth John, the seventh Agapius, the eighth Artius, the ninth Arcyces, the tenth Antiochus. These were chosen from the sons of the priests to undertake the episcopate in various parts, that the preaching might take increase. But the names of the others [r] are difficult to make out, even if one should wish to declare them.
ANNOTATIONS.
p. When Agathangelus reckons Stylites among the various orders of monks, he openly destroys his own credit. For it is established by the consent of all that the first of the monks who were called Stylites, because they passed their life on a column, was St. Symeon Stylites, whose Life was given at 5 January, to be given more accurately in Greek in the Supplement. It is established moreover that St. Symeon did not begin that kind of life before the fifth century, when St. Gregory had been dead almost a whole century. How then does our author invent Stylites in the time of St. Gregory, unless because he wrote much later, and by ignorance of chronology fell into so open an error? Wherefore either the author of the Life himself wrote long after St. Gregory, or a most audacious and most inept interpolator did, if these and other fictions were added to the Life as first written.
q. That the ten bishops who are here enumerated were ordained by Gregory is by no means incredible or improbable, and indeed that there were more whom he consecrated, as the author adds below, the breadth of the kingdom of Armenia will easily persuade the prudent reader. But we shall not so easily believe what the aforesaid Monierus writes from the Armenian History p. 75, that four hundred and thirty bishops were consecrated by Gregory; although our author too below at num. 58 assigns nearly the same number. For nowhere could I find that there was a great number of bishops in Greater Armenia. Concerning the first ten Metaphrastes agrees, but he names the first Alcinus, and says the second was set over the region of the Masemori, not of the Baseni, as here, and he enumerates the names of only three.
r. I shall not readily believe that the others were passed over because of the difficulty of their names. Perhaps the author found ten enumerated, and no others. Perhaps also only ten were consecrated by Gregory at the beginning.
CHAPTER XIV.
Gregory, having left the king's court, dwells in solitude in such a way that he frequently visits the churches: his two sons are brought into Armenia by the king's command, and of these one, Arostaces, is consecrated bishop: the wonderful piety of the king.
Τὸν δὲ ἀλβῆνον ἄνδρα ἀληθινὸν καὶ θεοφιλέστατον ἐν τῶι παλατίῳ τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπιστάτην ἔταξεν· καὶ ἀυτὸς κατὰ καιροὺς ἐν τοῖς ἀβάτοις ὄρεσιν ἦγεν σχολὴν, τύπος ἐν παντὶ καὶ πᾶσι γενόμενος, παραλαμβάνων γάρ τινας ἐκ τῶν μαθητευτέντων τῶν μοναστηρίων, ἀνείη εἰς τὰ ὄρη ἰδιαζόντως, ἐν σχίσμασι πετρῶν καὶ σπηλαίοις, τὴν ἡμερούσιον τροφὴν ἀπὸ τῶν βοτανῶν ἐπιτηδεύων· καὶ οὕτως φιλοπόνως τῇ καταπονήσει τοῦ σώματος ἑαυτοὺς ἐκδεδωκότες, προσεῖχον τῇ παρακλήσει τοῦ ἀποστολικοῦ ῥητοῦ, ὅταν ἀσθενῶ διὰ χριστὸν, τότε δύνατὸς εἰμι. καὶ πάλιν λέγων τινὶ ῥητῷ· εἰ δεῖ με καυχᾶσθαι, ἐν τῇ ἀσθενείᾳ μου καυχήσομαι, ἵνα ὀικήσῃ ἐν ἐμοὶ ἡ δύναμις τοῦ χριστοῦ. τότε οὖν προέκειτο ἀυτοῖς οὐ μεθύσκεσθαι ὄινῳ, ἀλλὰ πληροῦσθαι ἁγίῳ πνεύματι, καὶ τὰς καρδίας ἑτοιμάσαι εἰς ὠδὰς καὶ ὕμνους πνευματικοὺς εἰς δόξαν καὶ ἔπαινον τοῦ θεοῦ. ἐκείνη ἤν γυμνασία τῆς γλυκυτάτης διδαχῆς τῶν θείων καὶ πνευματικῶν ἀναγνωσμάτων, ἐκείνη θάρσος καὶ προτροπὴ τῆς φωτοφόρου διδασκαλίας εἰς τὸ.
ἔμπροσθεν ἐπεκτείνεσθαι ἐν τῷ τοῦ χριστοῦ σταδίῳ, ἐκεῖ ζέειν τῷ πνεύματι ἐκ τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ δουλείᾳ, ἐκεῖ εὐχαὶ ἄπαυσται καὶ δεήσεις ἀπαράληπτοι, καὶ δάκρυα εἰρήνην φέροντα ἀπὸ τῆς φιλανθρωπίας τοῦ θεοῦ, ὑπὲρ τῆς κοινῆσ ζωῆς γινόμενα, ὥστε διαλλαγῆναι τῶν πάντων ποιητὴν. ἐν ταύταις διαγωγαῖς διανύων ἡμέρας πολλὰς ἐν ἀβάτοις τόποις, ἐν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς τοῦ εὐφράτου· ποταμοῦ, ἐν σπηλαίοις καὶ σχίσμασιν ὀρέων καὶ ἀκρωρίαις ὀικῶν, καὶ τὸν τύπον ἀναδεξάμενος τοῦ μεγάλου προφήτου ἡλίου καὶ τοῦ παναγίου Ἰωάννου τοῦ Βαπτιστοῦ, καλῶν ἔργων χαρακτὴρ ἐγένετο.
[156] Τούτων ἑαυτῷ ἐπιτεθηκὼς, καὶ τῇ θεἳκῇ ἐμπορείᾳ πλουτίζων, ποτὲ δὲ καὶ κατέβαινεν περιελθεῖν, καὶ ἐνισχύσαι τοῦς μαθητευομένους ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, διαφορών· καὶ ψυχωφελῶν πραγμάτων. πάσαις ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις ἀντιλήψεις δωρούμενος διὰ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ χάριτος ἀνυπερθέτως. διαπαντὸς δὲ παριστάμενος τοῖς τόποις διὰ τῆς θεἳκῆς κυβερνήσεως πάντας προθυμοτέρους καὶ ἀυτοπροαιρέτους ἐποίει, ἐν ἀπαύστῳ στόματι τὴν ἀένναον διδασκαλίαν εἰς τὰς καρδίας πάντων σπείρων, λίπαρὰν γῆν καὶ γόνιμον ἀπεδείκνυεν τὰς ψυχὰς ἀυτῶν. ταῦτα ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς καιροῖς ἔπραττεν ἕνεκεν τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῆς καὶ πάσης τῆς χώρας. σύνήθως γὰρ ὁι ἀληθινοὶ διδάσκαλοι τὰς ἀρετὰς ἀυτῶν κανόνα τοῖς μαθητευομένοις ἐκτίθενται, δηλαδἠ ὑπομνήσκοντες τὸ δεσποτικὸν ῥητὸν, ὁ περὶ τοῦ μόνου καὶ ὄντως σοφοῦ Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ λέγει· ἤρξατὸ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ποιεῖν τε καὶ διδάσκειν. ἀυτὸς γὰρ πολλάκις κατ᾽ ἰδίαν τοὺς μαθητὰς λαβὼν, ἀδιαλείπτως τύπος ἀυτοῖς ἐγένετο, ὅτε καὶ τὸν μακαρισμὸν τῆς δωρεᾶς παρεῖχεν ἐν τῷ ὄρει, καὶ πάλιν ἐν ἀυτῶι τῶι ὄρεὶ τὴν κανονικὴν εὐχὴν παρεδίδου, καὶ πάλιν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῶν ἀζύμων ἐν τῇ νομίμῳ πανηγύρει τὰς νυκτερινὰς εὐχὰς. τρίτον ἐν τῶι ὄρει τῶν ἐλαιῶν κατ᾽ ἰδίαν προσέφερεν. ὅθεν; δηλαδὴ οὐχ ἑαυτοῦ ἔνεκεν ὁ πάντων δεσπότης, ἀλλὰ πρὸς καθολικὴν διδαχὴν τοῦτο ἔπραττεν, καὶ ἐγίνετο τύπος πᾶσι τοῖς ὑποτεταγμένοις. διὸ φάσκων ἔλεγεν· γρηγορεῖτε καὶ προσεύχεσθε, ἵνα μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς πειρασμόν.
[157] Ἀλλὰ νῦν οὔποτε τῶν κουφοτέρων τεχνῶν τῆς γνώσεως ἐπιτύχοιεν, ὥστε μετὰ τῶν θεολόγων συνταχθῆναι, περὶ ἧς ὁ παῦλός φησιν· ὅτι τὸ πνεῦμα ἐν τῇ κατὰ τὴν διάνοιαν θεωρίᾳ στεναγμοῖς ἀλαλήτοις ὑπερτυγχάνει ὕπερ ἡμῶν, ἐπιστάμενος τὰς τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ζωοποιοῦ ἐνεργείας, πρὸς τὸ ἔργον καὶ τὴν γνῶσιν εὐθύνοντος ἡμᾶς, κατὰ τὸν τύπον τοῦ κυρίου ποιοῦντος καὶ διδάξαντος, καὶ τοιούτους ἡμᾶς εἶναι, ὥστε εἰδέναι τὴν πρεσβείαν τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος, εἰς τὸ ὑπὲρ ἀλλήλων ἡμᾶς ἐντυγχάνειν τῶι θεῷ. τὸ δὲ ὕψος τῆς πρεσβείας τοῦ μονογενοῦς, καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος παρὰ πᾶσιν ἠγνόηται. μία γάρ ἐστιν ἡ τιμὴ τῆς θεότητος, καὶ οὐ διάφορος. δεξάμενοι οὖν τὴν ἀληθινὴν διαδσκαλίαν, πρῶτον ἑαυτοῖς τὴν ὠφέλειαν, ἔπειτα καὶ τοῖς μαθητευομένοις βαστάζοντες ἔφερόν, ποτε μὲν ἰδιαζόντως, ποτὲ δὲ καὶ μετὰ τῶν συναχθέντων, τὴν τοῦ χριστοῦ δόξαν ὑψώσαντες· ὠφελιμώτατον γὰρ ὑπάρχει ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν κοσμικῶν περισπασμῶν ἡσυχίαν ἄγειν, καὶ ἰδιάζειν. τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ὁι προφῆται πρότεροι ἠργάσαντο, ὁι έν τοὶς ὄρεσι καὶ ἐρήμοις καὶ σπηλαίοις καὶ ταῖς ὀπαῖς τῶν πετρῶν, τῆς θεἳκῆς διαγωγῆς τὴν δουλείαν πληροῦντες κατὰ τὸ ἀποστολικὸν ῥητὸν. ὡσάυτως δὲ καὶ πάντες ὁι πατέρες, ὁι διαδεξάμενοι ἀπὸ τῶν ἀποστολικῶν κανόνων, τοῖς μετέπειτα τύποι ἐγένοντο. ὅθεν καὶ ὁ μακάριος οὗτος ἔφερεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὰς παραδώσεις, καὶ ὁμοίως πᾶσι παρεδίδω, τὴν ἐντολὴν παραγγέλλων, λιπαροὺς καὶ εὐπρεπεῖς ἐν τοῖς θεἳκοῖς θησαυροῖς πάντας ἐργαζόμενος.
[158] Κατὰ καιροὺς δὲ ἐφιστάμενός τισι τόποις, εἰς τὴν ἀυτὴν σπουδὴν προέτρεπεν ακοιμήτῳ τῷ ὄμματι. τότε οὖν ποθεινοτάτη καὶ εὐπρεπεστάτη καὶ ὑπερκαλλίστη ἐγεγόνει ἡ χώρα τῆς ἀρμενίας. ὡς γὰρ ὁ μωυσῆς νομοθέτης εὑρεθεὶς ταὶς ἑβραἳκαῖς παρεμβολαῖς μετὰ τοῦ προφητικοῦ χόρου, καὶ ὁ παρρησιαστικώτατος παῦλος μετὰ τοῦ ἀποστολικοῦ συστήματος, καθ᾽ ὡμοίωσιν ἀυτῶν εἰς μέσον παρελθὼν, καὶ τὸ ζωοποιὸν κήρυγμα τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τοῦ χριστοῦ ἐπειράσθη τῇ τῶν ἀρμενίων γλώττῃ *, τὴν θεοσέβειαν πάντες ἐδίδαξεν, καὶ ἐν πάσαις χώραις πορευόμενος ἐπελέξατο ἑαυτῷ εἰς κατοίκησιν ἐρήμους τόπους, κἀκεῖσε ᾤκει, ἀπὸ τῶν ἐρημίων πάντας εἶναι ἐπισκόπους πάσαις ταῖς πατράσιν τῆς ἀρμενίων χώρας. ὁι δὲ ἐπ᾽ ἀυτοῦ χειροτονηθέντες καὶ κατασταθέντες, πλείους ἤ τετρακόσιοι ἐπίσκοποι ἦσαν, ὁι καὶ διαφόροις τόποις ἐπισκόπησαν᾽ τό δὲ πλῆθος τῶν πρεσβυτέρων καὶ διακόνων καὶ ἀναγνωστῶν, καὶ ἀλλων τῶν ἐν τῇ λειτουργίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ κατασταθέντων, τὸν ἀριθμὸν ὑπερβαίνει. τηρηδάτιος δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς τὴν εὔνοίαν τῶν ὑπηκόων ἀπαιτῶν, τὴν πίστιν τῆς πρὸς ἀυτὸν εὐνοίας ἀπὸ τῆς ὑποταγῆς πρὸς τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν λαὸν ἐπιδείκνυσθαι ἔφασκεν, καὶ ἐν τῇ πίστει τῇ πρὸς τὸν ἁπάντων δημουργὸν καὶ θεὸν· καὶ πάντων μετὰ προθυμίας πιστευόντων ἐν σπουδῇ ἐπληροῦντο τὰ προστεταγμένα. πολλάκις δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς προσπίπτων ἠντιβόλει τὸν ἀρχιεπίσκοπον ἀυτῷ παραμεῖναι διαπαντὸς, καὶ περινοστεῖν τὰς χώρας. ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἐπένευσεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ταῖς ἐρήμοις κατοικῶν, ἐν νηστείαις κατέτρυχεν ἑαυτὸν, ἳνα μὴ ἀπὸ τῆς ὑπερηφανίας ἐπαρθεὶς καταπατηθῇ, ἀλλ᾽ ὄρισεν ἑαυτῶι ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἡμέραις τῆς ζωῆς ἀυτοῦ διὰ τεσσαράκοντα ἡμερῶν τὴν νηστείαν ἄγειν μέχρι τῆς τοῦ χριστοῦ κλήσεως καὶ ἀναπαύσεως τῆς ἰδίας τελευτῆς.
[159] Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς σὺν πάσῃ τῇ χώρᾳ ὀδυρόμενος τὸν χωρισμὸν ἀυτοῦ, έν πολλῇ ἀδημονίᾳ διῆγεν. τότε ἀκούσας ὁ βασιλεὺς παρά τινων, ἐπισταμένων περὶ τοῦ ἁγίου γρηγορίου, ὅτι νεώτερος ἔτι ὑπάρχων καὶ βιώσας δυὸ ἔσχεν ὑιοὺς, ὧν ὁ μὲν πρωτότοκος ἐγνωρίζετο οὐρθάνης τοὔνομα, ὅστις καὶ ἀυτὸς ἐν τῷ βίῳ διαπρέπων εἰς βαθμὸν λειτουργίας πρεσβυτέρου προσῆλθεν. ὁ δὲ δεύτερος ἀροστάκης, ὅστις ἐκ νέας ἡληκίας ἐν τῶι θεἳκῷ ἔργῳ τε καὶ δουλείᾳ ἀνετράφη, ἀναχωρητής τε καὶ ἀσκήτης ὢν, καὶ τὰ ὄρη ὄικων, καὶ πόλλαις κακοπαθείαις ὑποπιεσθεὶς κατα τὸ εὐαγγέλιον πάσῃ τῇ γυμνασίᾳ, τοῖς πνευματικοῖς μαθήμασιν ἐξέδωκεν ἑαυτὸν, ὅτι τε μονοχείτων ἦ καὶ μόνος, καὶ πεινῶν καὶ διψῶν, καὶ λαχάνοις χρώμενος, ἀπεκέκλειστο ἐν ἐνδύμασι ταπεινοῖς καὶ χαμοκοιτίαις. πολλάκις τὰς νυκτερινὰς ἀγρυπνίας ἐν ἀκοιμήτῳ ὄμματι ἐκποδὸς ἀποπληρῶν, καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐπ᾽ ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ πλείστῳ ὀικούμενος. εὑρηκὼς δέ τινας, προσπελάσαι ἑαυτῶι πεποίηκεν καὶ κατηχήσας ἀυτοὺς, ἐδίδαξεν τὴν ἐυαγγελικὴν λετουργίαν, καὶ τοὺς ἐπερχομένους πειρασμοὺς ἀνδρείως φέρειν. οὕτος δὲ φωστὴρ γενόμενος καὶ ὑπερεκλάμψας, ἐγνώσθη θεῶι καὶ ἀνθρώποις. περὶ τούτων ἀκριβέστερον μαθὼν τηρηδάτιος ὁ βασιλεὺς, ἐν τάκει καὶ ἀνυπερθέτως ἀπέστειλε τρεῖς τῶν ἐνδοτάτων ἀρχόντων μετὰ θείων γραμμάτων, ἵνα τοὺς δυὸ ὑιους γρηγορίου κομίσωσιν ἀυτῷ.
[160] Τῶν δὲ πεμφθέντων παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως ὁ πρῶτος, στρατοπεδάρχης πάσης τῆς μεγάλης ἀρμενίας, ὁ δεύτερος, τασάτης ἀσουκώων πατρίδος ἄρχων, ὁ τρίτος δατὰς, ὁ προμηνυτὴς τοῦ βασιλέως. παραγενόμενοι οὖν οὗτοι ἐν τῇ καππαδοκῶν χώρᾳ, εὑρὸν τὸν οὐρθάνην ἐν τῇ καισαραίων πόλει. ὁ δὲ ἅγιος ἀρωστάκης ὤκει ἐν ταῖς ἐρήμοις ἀναχωρητὴς, ὅστις οὐκ ἐπείθετο χωρισθῆναι τῆς ἡσυχίας, καὶ συνελθεῖν ἀυτοῖς, εἰμὴ ἐγεγόνει συνέλευσις πλήθους χριστιανῶν· ὁι καὶ πάντα ποιήσαντες, ἐποίησαν ἅμα ἀυτοῖς συνελθεῖν ἀυτὸν, φάσκοντες· βέλτιόν σοι ὑπάρχει ὁ κόπος τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐργασίας, ἢ περιμονία τῆς ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ κατοικίας. προπέμπουσιν οὖν ἀυτὸν σὺν τῷ ἰδίῳ ἀδελφῷ. ὁι δὲ ἀπεσταλμένοι, παραγενάμενοι ἐν τῇ ἀρμενίων χώρᾳ, τοὺς δυὸ ὑιοὺς γρηγορίου παρέστησαν τῷ βασιλεῖ· οὓς δεξάμενος ὁ βασιλεὺς, σὺν ἀυτοῖς εἰς ἐκζήτησιν τοῦ ἁγίου γρηγορίου ἐξῆλθεν, ὅπου δὴ ἕυροι· καὶ ἐλθὼν εὑρίσκει ἀυτὸν ἐν τῇ δαραναλητῶν πατρίδι, ἐν τοͅ ὄρει τῷ καλουμένῳ μαναάρχ, ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ. παρεκάλεσεν οὖν ὁ βασιλεὺς τηρηδάτιος τὸν ἅγιον γρηγόριον, ἀνθ᾽ ὧν, φησιν, οὐκ ἠβουλήθης παραμεῖναι ἡμῖν, ἀγαπήσας τὴν ἐρημίαν καὶ τὸν μοναστικὸν βίον, χειριτόνησον ἡμῖν ἐπίσκοπον τὸν ἅγιον ὑιὸν ἀρωστάκην ἀντὶ σοῦ. ὁ δὴ καὶ πεποίηκεν ἀυτὸς, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον· ἀντὶ τῶν πατρῶν σου ἐγενήθησαν ὁι ὑιοί σου. καταστήσεις ἀυτοὺς ἄρχοντας ἐπὶ πάσην τὴν γῆν.
[161] Ὁ͂υτος ὁ ἀρωστάκης, ὑπερβαλλόντως κάλλιστος εὑρεθεὶς, ἐπλεόνασε τὴν διδασκαλίαν ὑπὲρ τὸν πατέρα, καὶ μετ᾽ ἀυτὸν κρατήσας τοῦ πατρικοῦ τόπου, παρέλαβε τοὺς ὄιακας τοῦ καθολικοῦ θρόνου τῆς μεγάλης ἀρμενίας. τότε καὶ ἀυτὸς ὁ ἅγιος γρηγόριος ἐκπορεύεται περιελθεῖς τοὺς τόπους, καὶ τὰς διαταγὰς τῶν μαθητευομένων περιεργάσασθαι, ὅπως παραμυθήσηται ἀυτοὺς, καὶ χαροποιήσῃ, καὶ πλεῖον στηριξῃ. τηρηδάτιος δὲ, ὁ εὐσεβέστατος βασιλεὺς, ὑπηρέτει ἀυτῷ κατὰ τοὺς μαθητὰς τῆς πίστεως τοῦ χριστοῦ. ἀμέτρως γὰρ εὐλαβέστατος εὑρεθεὶς, καὶ τὴν θεογνωσίαν παρ᾽ ἀυτοῦ ἀναδεξάμενος, μετὰ πάσης γυμνασίας ἐν τῇ θεἳκῇ διαταγῇ προσέκοπτεν, καὶ ποθεινότατος πᾶσιν ἐγένετο ἐν τῇ τηρήσει τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ θεοῦ, τύπος λοιπὸν τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἔργων πάσῃ τῇ χώρᾳ γενόμενος, προσέχων μετὰ πάσης σπουδῆς τῇ ἀναγνώσει τῆς θεοπνευστοῦ γραφῆς, ὅτι μάλιστα τῆς ἑλλινικῆς παιδεύσεως ἄκρως ἦν μετεσχηκὼς, ἐν τῇ φιλοσοφίᾳ καὶ κοσμικῇ γυμνασίᾳ· μεμαθηκὼς γὰρ ταύτην ὑπῆρχεν. δεξάμενος δὲ καὶ τὴν οὐράνιον χάριν τῆς τοῦ χριστοῦ δωρεᾶς παραυτίκα φωτισθεὶς, καὶ ἰχνηλατήσας τὰς διαταγὰς τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ προσταγμάτων, ἑτοίμως τὴν ψυχὴν ἀυτοῦ τῷ θεῷ προσανέθηκεν, καὶ κατὰ τὸ ἐυαγγελικὸν μέτρον ὁλοθύμως εἰς δουλείαν τοῦ φιλανθρώπου θεοῦ ἐκδοὺς ἑαυτὸν, ἀπεγυμνώθη παντελῶς τῶν ἐθνηκῶν ἐπιθημιῶν, φέρων ἐπὶ τῷ στόματι διαπαντὸς τὸ καύχημα τοῦ δεσποτικοῦ σημείου, καὶ ἀκολούθως λατρεύων τῷ ἐσταυρομένῳ, τῷ πάντων ζωοποιῷ.
[162] Ἐυδοκήσας δὲ μάλιστα συνεῖναι τῷ χορῷ τῶν τοῦ χριστοῦ μαθητῶν, καὶ τοῖς τὸν ἀυτοῦ σταυρὸν βαστάζουσιν ἁγίοις, ὅρον ἑαυτοῦͅ ἐξέθετο ἐν νηστείαις καὶ ἀγρυπνίαις καὶ ἀπαύστοις εὐχαῖς καὶ στεναγμοῖς ἀλαλήτοις, ὅλον τὸν χρόνον ἐκτελήσαι, καὶ πηγὰς δακρύων ἐκφέρειν, δεόμενος τὸν θεὸν διαπαντὸς ὑπὲρ ἑαυτοῦ τε καὶ τῆς ἰδίας χώρας, τὴν συγχώρησιν ἐκζητῶν, ἵνα μὴ τὰ πρότερα τὰ ἐν ἀγνοίᾳ ἡμαρτημένα ἀυτῷ ἀναμνησθῶσιν. πολλῇ δὲ σπουδῇ ἐν πᾶσι τῇ δυνάμει ὑπακούων τῇ εὐαγγελικῇ διδασκαλίᾳ ὑπετάσσετο, εἰς τὸ δουλεύειν τῷ θεῷ εὐπρεπῶς καὶ δεόντως. οὕτως οὖν παιδευθεὶς προέκοπτεν διὰ πάσης εὐθύτητος ἐν ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς, ὥστε καὶ ἀυτὸν ἤδη ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ τῆς θεἳκῆς διδασκαλίας ἔξαρχον καὶ προστάτην γενέσθαι. γρηγόριος δὲ ὁ ἅγιος ἀρχιεπίσκοπος μετὰ τοῦ ἁγίου ὑιοῦ ἀυτοῦ ἀρωστάκου καὶ συναντιλαμβανομένων ἀυτῷ συνεργῶν περινοστήσας τοὺς μαθητευθέντας ἐστήριξεν, ἐμμεῖναι ἐν τῇ ἀληθινῇ διδασκαλία.
The care of the palace being left to Albinus, in the desert But Albinus, a man tenacious of the truth and most loving of God, he appointed a as master in the royal palace: and he himself for a time gave himself to retirement in inaccessible mountains, having been made an example to all in all things. For taking with him certain men trained in the monasteries, he went apart into the mountains,
dwelling in the clefts of the rocks and in caves, and preparing his daily food for himself from herbs. And when they had thus vigorously given themselves over to the afflicting of the body, they attended to the consolation of the Apostolic saying: When I am weak for Christ's sake, then am I strong. And again in a certain word he says: If I must glory, I will glory in my infirmity, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Then therefore it was their purpose not to be made drunk with wine, but to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and to prepare their hearts for spiritual songs and hymns unto the glory and praise of God. That was the exercise of the most sweet doctrine of the divine and spiritual readings; that was the confidence and exhortation of the enlightening learning, whereby one stretches forward to the things beyond in the stadium of Christ: there was fervor of spirit in the service of God; there assiduous prayers, abundant supplications, tears bringing peace from the mercy of God, poured out for the common life, that the Founder of all might be reconciled. In this manner of life, passing many days in inaccessible places, about the source of the river Euphrates, dwelling in caves and in the clefts and crags of the mountains, and following the example of the great prophet Elias and of most holy John the Baptist, he was made a pattern of good works.
[156] the Saint exercises himself, whereby both for himself When he had heaped up these things, and had been made rich by divine trafficking, he sometimes also came down to go about and confirm his disciples in the truth, imparting without delay to all the churches, through the grace of God, the supports of various things profitable to souls. And ever attending upon the places, by his divine governance he made all more eager and more willing, sowing in the hearts of all with unceasing mouth the doctrine that ever flowed forth, and he showed that their souls were a rich and fruitful soil. These things he did at all times, both for his own soul's sake and for that of the whole region. For true teachers are wont to set forth their virtues to their disciples as a law, remembering of course the Lord's saying, which speaks of the only and truly wise Jesus Christ: Jesus began to do and to teach. For he himself, frequently instructing his disciples in a private place, was perpetually to them a form of living. Whence he delivered the preaching of the beatitudes on a mountain, and again on the same mountain delivered the canonical prayer: again in the days of unleavened bread, at the legal festival, the nightly prayers. Thirdly, on the mount of olives he addressed them privately. Why? Not, of course, for his own sake, who was the Lord of all; but he did this in order to give a general instruction, and he was made a pattern to all his subjects. For this cause he said: Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation.
[157] and for others he may acquire wisdom, yet his own people Now indeed they will not find other easier arts of obtaining that knowledge by which men are numbered among the theologians b. Of which Paul says: That in the contemplation of the mind the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with unutterable groanings. So he, knowing the workings of the Spirit that gives life and directs us to work and to knowledge, by the example of the Lord who did and taught, that we too may be such as to know the intercession of the Holy Spirit, and that we also may intercede one for another before God. But the excellence of the intercession c of the Only-begotten and of the Holy Spirit is unknown to all. For the honor of the Divinity is one, and not diverse. When therefore they had obtained the true doctrine, they first brought profit to themselves from it, then also to their disciples, sometimes privately, sometimes to all gathered together, extolling the glory of Christ. It is most useful also to have leisure from all worldly occupations, and to live in solitude. For this the earlier prophets also did, who in the mountains, in the deserts, in caves, in the hollows of the rocks, fulfilled the service of the divine institute according to the Apostolic saying. In like manner also all the fathers who succeeded to the ways of the Apostles were made patterns to those who came after them. Whence this Blessed one also represented the traditions in himself, and likewise handed them down to all, announcing the commandment, and making all rich and adorned from the divine treasures.
[158] And from time to time, coming to certain places, with a watchful eye he exhorted them to the same zeal. [sometimes visiting and teaching. Since the Saint was unwilling to be always with the king.] Then therefore the region of Armenia had been made most desirable, most honorable, and beautiful beyond measure. For just as Moses was found a lawgiver to the Hebrew camps with the prophetic choir, and the most free Paul with the Apostolic company, in like manner, going forth into their midst and undertaking the life-giving preaching of the Gospel of Christ in the speech of the Armenians, he taught piety to all; and entering all the tracts, in all of them he chose for himself deserted places for his dwelling, and there he dwelt: and hence it came about, d that from the hermitages come all the bishops for all the provinces of the kingdom of Armenia. And those who had been ordained and appointed by him were more than four hundred e bishops, who also administered the episcopate in various places. But the multitude of priests, deacons, readers, and others who are appointed in the ministry of God exceeds number. And King Tiridates, requiring the good will of his subjects, said that the fidelity of their good will toward himself was shown by the people through their submission, whereby he observed the precepts of God; and through faith in the Founder of all things and God. And as all believed with eagerness, the commandments were zealously fulfilled. Moreover the king, frequently falling down, asked the Archbishop always to remain with him, and that they should go about the provinces together. But he did not consent, but dwelling in deserted places he afflicted himself with fastings, lest, lifted up into pride, he should be trodden down. And for all the days of his life he prescribed to himself to fast for forty days, until the calling of Christ and his rest through death.
[159] But the king with the whole kingdom, grieving at his withdrawal, the king summons his two sons from Cappadocia lived in much sadness. Then the king learned through certain men who knew Gregory's affairs that, when he was younger and joined in marriage, he had begotten two sons, of whom the firstborn was known, by name Urthanes f, who also, adorned with an honorable life, had been ordained a priest in the clerical ministry: and the second Arostaces g, who from boyhood had been brought up in the work and service of God, and since he was an anchorite and an ascetic, and dwelt in the mountains, and had endured many labors according to the Gospel in every exercise, had given himself to spiritual disciplines: for he was clothed with a single garment and alone, hungering and thirsting, feeding on herbs, he lived as a recluse with lowly raiment and lying upon the ground. The nightly h vigils he frequently performed readily with a watchful eye: and in this manner he had dwelt not for a short but for a very long time. And when he had found certain men, he bade them come to him, and instructing them he taught the Gospel ministry, and to bear bravely the temptations that assailed them. This man therefore, being made a light, and shining beyond measure, was known to God and to men. And when King Tiridates had been more accurately informed of these things, straightway without delay he sent three of his most intimate princes with divine letters, that they might bring Gregory's two sons to him.
[160] The first of those sent by the king was the prefect of the camps of all Greater Armenia: into Armenia. Of these Arostaces is ordained bishop: the second Tasates, prince of the province of the Asucoi: the third Datas, the king's herald i. When therefore these had come into the province of the Cappadocians, they found Urtanes in the city of Cæsarea. But holy Arostaces was dwelling as an anchorite in deserted places; nor did he consent to depart from his solitude and to set out with them, save when an assembly of many Christians had been held. These, contriving everything, brought it about that he departed together with them, saying: Labor in the work of God is more profitable to you than a persevering dwelling in the desert. And so they let him go with his brother. And those who had been sent, after they had come into Armenia, presented Gregory's two sons to the king. Having received them, the king set out with them to seek holy Gregory, wherever he might be able to find him: and coming he found him in the province of the Daranaletæ, on a mountain whose name is Manaarch, in a solitary place. Wherefore King Tiridates exhorted holy Gregory, saying: Since you were unwilling to remain with us, because you love solitude and the monastic life, appoint for us in your place, by the laying on of hands, your holy son Arostaces as bishop. And this indeed he did, according to what is written: Instead of your fathers sons are born to you k: you shall appoint them princes over all the earth.
[161] Gregory visits his disciples, with the help of the king, whose piety This Arostaces, being found most excellent, multiplied the preaching beyond his Father l, and after him, being raised to his father's place, undertook the administration of the Catholic throne of Greater Armenia. Then holy Gregory himself also went out to go about the tracts, to accomplish carefully the dispositions of his disciples, that he might console them, gratify them, and confirm them the more. And Tiridates, the most pious king, ministered to him after the manner of the disciples of the faith of Christ. For he was found most religious beyond measure, and having obtained through him the knowledge of God, he advanced with all earnestness in the divine commandments, and became most desirable to all in the observance of the commandments of God, being made at length a pattern of good works to the whole kingdom. With all zeal he applied his mind to the reading of the divinely inspired Scripture, because he was very greatly a partaker of Greek learning, in philosophy and in worldly training: for this he had learned. But having received the heavenly grace of the gifts of Christ, straightway enlightened, and having searched out the decrees of God's commandments, with ready zeal he offered his soul to God, and according to the Gospel measure giving himself with his whole mind into the service of the mercy of God, he utterly renounced gentile desires, perpetually bearing in his mouth the glorying of the Lord's sign, and consequently serving the Crucified, who bestows life upon all.
[162] and virtue are largely praised, and with Arostaces the bishop. And since he most greatly desired to be present in the choir of Christ's disciples, and of his Saints who bear the cross, he prescribed for himself a measure in fastings, in vigils, in assiduous prayers, in unutterable groanings, which he might fulfill at all times, and at the same time pour forth fountains of tears, praying God perpetually for himself and for his kingdom, and entreating pardon, that the former sins which he had committed through ignorance might not be recalled to remembrance against him. And with much diligence and with all his strength he subjected himself to the Gospel teaching, to serve God fittingly and honorably. So then, being thus instructed, he advanced through all justice in good works, so that he himself now became beyond all measure abundantly a leader and president of the divine teaching m. But the holy archbishop Gregory, with his holy son Arostaces the bishop, and with the rest of the helpers whom he had taken with him, visited his disciples round about, and confirmed them to persist in the true doctrine.
ANNOTATIONS.
most useful for obtaining the knowledge of divine things; and that therefore it is not to be disapproved if those also who have the care of the salvation of souls from time to time withdraw themselves for a while from the society of men, that they may the more easily acquire or perfect a knowledge that will profit both themselves and others.
* Forte addendum καὶ
CHAPTER XV.
Praise of the emperor Constantine, whom Tiridates visits along with Gregory: the council of Nicæa, at which Gregory's son is present: the Saint's perseverance in good unto death: the credit of the writer.
Τούτων δὲ οὕτως ἐχόντων, ἐν τοῖς καιροῖς ἐκείνοις ἐβασίλευσεν κωνσταντίνος, ὑιὸς κωνσταντίου βασιλέως, ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ τῶν σπανίων καὶ γαλλίων, καὶ ἐπίστευσεν εἰς θεὸν, τὸν ποιητὴν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς, καὶ εἰς τὸν ἀυτοῦ ὑιὸν, τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ, τὸν μονογενῆ, καὶ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα τῆς θεότητος ἀυτοῦ. οὗτος συναθροίσας ἄπειρον πλῆθος ἐπὶ τὴν μεγάλην θάλασσαν, τὴν ἐν τῷ ὠκεανῷ, τοῦτον τὸν περὶ τῆς πίστεως πᾶσι διέθετο, ἵνα ὁμοθυμαδὸν πάντεσ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ πάντες πιστεύσωσιν, ἐν ἑνί θεολόγῳ φθόγγῳ ἐπὶ τὸ ἀυτὸ τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπιτελοῦντες, ὥστε ἑνὸς θεοῦ προσκυνητὰς γενέσθαι· καὶ θαρρήσας τῷ θεῷ τὰ τῶν ἑλλήνων βασιλέων ὄρμησεν, καὶ εὐθέως ἐξολοθρεύσας ἀπώλεσεν πάντας διὰ τῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ δεσποτικοῦ σημείου, τοὺς ἀκαθάρτους καὶ παρανόμους βασιλεῖς, τὸν διωκλητιανὸν καὶ μαρκιανὸν καὶ μαξιμιανὸν καὶ λικινιανὸν καὶ μαξέντιον, καὶ πᾶν ἀκάθαρτον γένος τῶν ἐθνηκῶν βασιλέων ἐξῇρεν ἐκ μέσου, καὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν ἔκκλησίας, καὶ τὰ κατεστρημμένα θυσιαστήρια ἔστησεν ἐν τοῖς οἴοις τοῦ θεοῦ. ἐξεδωμάτωσεν δὲ καὶ μαρτύρια, καὶ ἐπλήθυνε τοὺς λειτουργοὺς ἀυτῶν, προσέθηκέν τε τιμὴν καὶ τοῖς ἱερεῦσι τοῦ θεοῦ. καὶ ἐποίησεν ἐιρήνην τοῖς ἐπιγείοις, καὶ ἐξῇρεν ἐκ μέσου τὰ σκάνδαλα, ἵνα μηδεὶς ἐν μηδενὶ προσκόψῃ εἰς τὴν θεἳκὴν πορείαν. κατέστρεψεν δὲ καὶ τὰ βδέλυκτα ἱερὰ τῶν δαιμόνων, καὶ τοὺς ὑπηρέτας ἀυτῶν φυγάδας ποιήσας ἐξήλειψεν. δῶρα δὲ καὶ τιμὴν ἐχαρίσατο τοῖς ἐν τῇ ἀληθινῇ θεοσεβείᾳ ἐμμείνασιν, καὶ μὴ ἀφισταμένοις τῆς εὐθύτητος.
[164] Τούτου οὖν ἕνεκεν ἐχαρίσθη ἀυτῷ νίκῃ πρὸς πάντας, ἀνεδέξατο γὰρ εἰς ἀυτὸν καὶ τὸ σημεῖον, τὸ τοῦ ἀεὶ νικῶντος σταυροῦ, καὶ τὰ προστάγματα τῆς ἀληθινῆς ἐντολῆς, καὶ ἐμμένειν ἐν τῇ ἑδραίᾳ πίστει τοῦ κυρίου ἐπηγγείλατο, καὶ ταύτην διὰ γραμμάτων εἰς τὴν ὀικουμένην ἤπλωσεν. ἐξέπληξεν δὲ πάντας τῇ ἀνικήτῳ δυνάμει διὰ τῆς φωτοφόρου πίστεως, καὶ εὐσεβῶς τῷ δεσπότῃ ἀυτοῦ προκείμενος διετέλεσεν. οὕτως ὑπερισχύσας ἐφυγάδευσε τὴν στρατιὰν τοῦ σκότους, καὶ ἀνώτερος πάντων ἐγένετο. τοὺς δὲ ὑποταγέντας τῇ προκυνήσει τῆς ἀληθείας, ὡς φίλους, μετὰ πλείστης τιμῆς ὀικείους ἑαυτῷ ἐποίει, καὶ τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ πάντων τῶν ἀνθρώπων δυνατώτερος εὑρεθεὶς, τὴν ἰδίαν βασιλείαν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ δεδομένην ὄντως βασιλείαν ἡγεῖτο. ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον δὲ προέκοψεν ἐν τῇ εὐαρεστήσει τοῦ θεοῦ, ὥστε πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς ἀυτοῦ ὑπὲρ ἀγγέλων ὑπηρετεῖσθαι, καὶ τὸ σημειόχριστον διάδημα ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς κατὰ πρωῒ· ἐπιτιθέναι οὕτως θεωρῶν οὐράνιον ἄγγελον τῇ ἰδίᾳ ὑπηρεσίᾳ ὁ μακαρίτης, ποθεινότατος πᾶσιν ἐγένετο ὁ εὐσεβέστατος βασιλεὺς κωνσταντίνος· ὃς καὶ τὴν ἰδίαν ἁλουργίδα τῷ χριστῷ προσανέθηκε. διὰ γὰρ τῆς ἐνούσης ἀυτῷ θεοσεβείας πάντας ὑπερνικήσας, ἔστησε τὴν βασιλείαν ἀυτοῦ ἐν πίστει, καὶ ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις ἐβεβαίωσε τὴν ἀληθινὴν πίστιν.
[165] Τούτων δὲ ἀκουστῶν γενομένων ἐν τῇ ἀρμενίων χώρᾳ, καὶ ἐν τῷ παλατίῳ τῆς ἀρσακιτῶν πρὸς τηρηδάτιον βασιλέα τῆς μεγάλης ἀρμενίας, πολλὴν εὐχαριστίαν προσενέγκας τῷ θεῷ, μετὰ πλείστης χαρᾶς καὶ εὐφροσύνης εὐλόγησεν τὸν κύριον, ὅτι ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ δοξάζηται τὸ πανάγιον ἀυτοῦ ὄνομα. ὅτε οὖν ἤκουσε τοιαῦτα ὁ βασιλεὺς, ἐβουλεύσατο μετὰ σπουδῆς πορευθῆναι πρὸς ἀυτὸν, καὶ ἕτοιμος γενόμενος παραλαμβάνει τὸν μέγαν ἀρχιεπίσκοπον γρηγόριον, καὶ τὸν ὑιὸν ἀυτοῦ ἀρωστάκην ἐπίσκοπον, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν περὶ ἀυτῶν ἐνδόξων τούς τέσσαρας τιμιωτάτους τοῦ ἰδίου παλατίου, τὸν πρῶτον τοποκράτορα ἀπὸ νορσιρέων μερῶν, τὸν δεύτερον τοποκράτορα ἀπὸ τῶν τῆς ἀσσυρίας μερῶν, τὸν δὲ τρίτον ἀπὸ τῶν ἀρουαστῶν μερῶν, τὸν δὲ τέταρτον ἀπὸ τῶν μασαχοῦ τῶν οὕννων μερῶν, καὶ τὸν μέγιστον ἄρχοντα τοῦ ὄικου τῶν λεγομένων ἀγγελιτῶν, καὶ τὸν στέφοντα τὸν βασιλέα ἄρχοντα, ἄσπετ λεγόμενον, καὶ τὸν στρατοπεδάρχην τὸν μέγαν, καὶ τὸν ἄρχοντα μακιτῶν, καὶ τὸν ἄρχοντα συνιστῶν, καὶ τὸν ἄρχοντα ῥεστουνιτῶν, καὶ ἀπογράφοντα ἄρχοντα, καὶ τὸν ἐθνάρχην σαπιανῶν, καὶ τὸν ἄρχοντα πασκαπετέων, καὶ πλείστους τῶν ἀλλων μεγάλων, καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα χιλιάδας ἐκλεκτῶν στρατοπέδων.
[166] Ἐξελθων οὖν ἀραρὰτ τῆς πατρίδος, καὶ οὐαλαρσαπάτ τῆς πόλεως, ἐπέρασεν εἰς τὰ μέρη τῆς Ἰωνίας. πολλὰς δὲ ἡμέρας διανύσας, ἐν πλείστῃ εὐφροσύνῃ καὶ τιμῇ καὶ ἑτοιμασίᾳ κατὰ τὰς πόλεις ὑπὸ πάντων τῶν ἀρχόντων μετὰ μείζονος ὑποδοχῆς, διὰ γῆς τε καὶ θαλάσσης ἐπειγόμενος, ἔφθασεν ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ τῶν ἰταλῶν, εἰς τὴν βασιλεύουσαν πόλιν τῶν ῥωμαίων· καὶ περὶ τοῦτο παραυτίκα ἐμηνύθη ἐν τῷ βασιλικῷ παλατίῳ. ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ θεοσεβέστατος βασιλεὺς καὶ τιμιώτατος τῶν βασιλέων κωνσταντίνος, καὶ ὁ ἀρχιεπίσκοπος, εἰσπορευόμενος ἐν τῷ ἀυτοῦ παλατίῳ πάντοτε, ὁ καλούμενος εὐσέβειος, μετὰ μεγίστης τιμῆς καὶ ἀγάπης ἐξῆλθον εἰς ἀπάντησιν ἀυτῶν, καὶ ἑτοίμασαν ξενία ἐν τῇ ἀυτῇ ὀικουμένῃ πόλει, ὅπως ἀναπαύσηται ἀπὸ τοῦ μήκους τῆς ὁδοιπορείας. θαυμάσας οὖν ὁ θεοφιλέστατος καίσαρ κωνσταντίνος, ἐπηρώτα τὸν βασιλέα τηρηδάτιον, λέγων· πῶς πρὸς σὲ τὰ θαυμάσια τοῦ θεοῦ γέγονεν, ἀδελφὲ; ὁ δὲ διηγήσατο πάντα ἀκριβῶς ἐπὶ τοῦ καίσαρος, τὴν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγενημένην φιλανθρωπίαν, καὶ τὴν τημωρίαν τοῦ γενέσθαι ἐν μορφῇ κτηνῶν, ἀνεπαισχύντως ἐξαγγείλας, καὶ τὴν ὑπομονὴν τῶν ἀθλοφόρων μαρτύρων, καὶ πάντα τὰ πεπραγμένα λεπτομερῶς ἐξειπὼν· καὶ τὸν παρεστῶτα μέγαν γρηγόριον ἐπὶ τοῦ καίσαρος ἀποδεικνύων, οὗτός ἐστιν, ἔφη, ὁ ἀνὴρ, δι᾽ οὗ ἡμεῖς ἔγνωμεν τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ περὶ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καρτερίας καὶ ὑπομονῆς, καὶ τῶν σημείων καὶ θαυμάτων δι᾽ ἀυτοῦ γενομένων.
[167] Διὸ ὑπερθαυμάσας ὁ θειότατος καίσαρ κωνσταντίνος, καὶ ταπεινώσας ἑαυτὸν, ἔπεσεν εἰς τοὺς πόδας τοῦ ἁγίου γρηγορίου, ἵνα εὐλωγηθῇ παρ᾽ ἀυτοῦ· πρεπόντως δὲ ἀυτὸν τιμήσας, ὡς τοῦ χριστοῦ ὁμολογήτην. ἀξίως καὶ τὸν βασιλέα τηρηδάτιον ἀδελφικῷ φιλήματι προσεδέξατο, καὶ ἠγάπησεν ἀυτὸν, ὡς γνησιώτατον ἀδελφὸν, καὶ ὁμόψυχον, μάλιστα θεωρῶν ἀυτὸν φιλόχριστον· καὶ διαθήκην πρὸς ἀυτὸν διέθετο, μεσίτην ποιησάμενος ἀυτῶν τὴν εἰς τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἱησοῦν Χριστὸν πίστιν, ὅπως ἀπαραλείπτως ἡ φιλία μεταξὺ τῆς βασιλείας ἀυτῶν εἰς τέλος διατηρηθείῃ· καὶ περισσῶς ἐβεβαίωσε τὸν βασιλέα τῆς ἀρμενίας ἐν τῇ ὁμολογίᾳ τῆς ἁγίας τριάδος. περὶ δὲ τῶν παναγίων τοῦ θεοῦ μαρτύρων κωνσταντίνος ὁ μέγας καίσαρ διηγήσατο, πῶς ἐν ῥωμίᾳ οὖσαι ἐβίωσαν, καθὼς πάλαι περὶ ἀυτῶν ἐπίστατο τὴν εὐάρεστον ἀυτῶν τῷ θεῷ πολιτείαν, καὶ πῶς συγγενίδες ἀυτοῦ ὑπάρχουσαι, πάντων ὁμοῦ διὰ τὸν χριστὸν κατεφρόνησαν. ἐξεῖπεν δὲ ἀυτῷ καὶ τὴν νίκην τῆν δωθεῖσαν ἀυτῷ παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ πρὸς πάντας τοὺς ἔχθρους τῆς ἀληθείας, πῶς πάντων περιεγένετο, καὶ φησιν πρὸς αὐτὸν. γίνωσκε, ἀδελφὲ, ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ ἀποδείκνυσι τὸ ἔλεος τῆς δεσποτείας ἀυτοῦ, ὅπως πάντα τὰ ποιήματα ἀυτοῦ γνώσωνται ἀυτὸν καὶ γένωνται προσκυνηταὶ τῆς ἀληθείας· τοὺς γὰρ τοιούτους προσκυνητὰς βούλεται.
[168] Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τιμηθέντες πρεπόντως ἀπὸ τῶν βασιλικῶν, καὶ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν, καὶ τιμιωτάτων ἀρχόντων τῆς πόλεως ἐν δώροις μείζουσι, μετὰ
πολλῆς εὐνόιας συνετάξατο τῷ θείῳ ἀυγούστῳ. δεξάμενος δὲ ἀσπασμὸν καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀρχιεπισκόπου τῆς ἐκκλησίας, καὶ τῶν ἐνδοξοτάτων ἀρχόντων, ἐξῆλθεν μετὰ πάσης τιμῆς. ἀναβιβάσαντες δὲ ἀυτούς ἐν χρυσεμπάστοις ἅρμασιν, κελεύσαντος τοῦ καίσαρος οὕτως, προεπέμποντο εὐπρέπως ἐπὶ τὴν βασιλικὴν ὁδὸν. λαμπρότατοι δὲ φανέντες πάσαις ταῖς πόλεσι, καὶ κατὰ τὸ βασιλικὸν ἀξίωμα κατὰ πάντων τιμηθέντες, ἔφθασαν εἰς τὴν τῶν ἀρμενίων χώραν, ἐν πατρίδι ἀραρὰτ, ἐν πόλει οὐαλαρσαπὰτ, ἔνθα τὰ κοιμητήρια ἦν τῶν μαρτύρων, φέροντες καὶ τὰ παρασχεθέντα δῶρα, χρυσὸν καὶ ἄργυρον καὶ τιμιώτατα σκεύη, ἐπὶ τῷ ἀναθήσθαι τῇ ὑπηρεσίᾳ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκκλησίας, καὶ τοῖς εὐκτηρίοις τῶν μαρτύρων. ἔδωκεν δὲ καὶ ὁ μέγας καίσαρ εἰς τιμὴν τῶν μαρτύρων χρυσᾶ κειμήλια, ὁι δὲ καὶ προσανέθηκαν, καὶ πλέον τῆς ἰδίας ἐκκλησίας ἐκόσμησαν. ὁ δε μέγας γρηγόριος ἤρξατο περινοστεῖν τοὺς μαθητευομένους, καὶ ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἀυτούς στηρίζειν τῷ ἀληθινῷ κηρύγματι.
[169] Τούτων δὲ οὕτως ἐχόντων, μετὰ ταῦτα ἐκέλευσεν ὁ μέγας καίσαρ ἀυγοῦστος κωνσταντίνος σύνοδον πάντων τῶν ἐπισκόπων γενέσθαι ἐν τῇ νικααίων πόλει. τότε ὁ μέγας βασιλεὺς τηρηδάτιος καὶ ὁ ἅγιος καὶ καθολικὸς γρηγόριος παρασκευάσαντες ἀπέστειλαν τὸν ἀρωστάκην ἔπίσκοπον, ὑιὸν δὲ τοῦ ἁγίου γρηγορίου παραγενέσθαι ἐν τῇ νικαίων πόλει μετὰ πάντων τῶν ἐπισκόπων, ἔνθα πάσῃ ὀικουμένῃ ἐξεδώθη ἡ ἀληθινὴ παράδωσις τῆς πίστεως, καὶ διατάξεις τῶν φωτοφόρων κανόνων, δεδομέναι εἰς εὐαρέστησιν τοῦ θεοῦ ὑψίστου. ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ συνόδῳ εἰσελθὼν ὁ μεγὰς καίσαρ κωνσταντίνος, ὡμολόγησε τὴν ὀρθὴν πίστιν, καὶ παρὰ πάσης τῆς συνόδου εύλογηθεὶς καὶ στεφθεὶς, τὸ ἐπαίνετον ὄνομα ἐν τῇ γῇ κατέλειπεν, καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ προέπεμψεν. ὁ δὲ μακαριώτατος ἀρωστάκης ἤρχετο ἐλλαμφθεὶς ἀπὸ τῆς πίστεως τῆς ἁγίας καὶ τεοπρεπεστάτης συνόδου σὺν τοῖς κανόσι τῶν νικααίων. ἔφθασε δὲ ἐν τῇ τῆς ἀρμενίας χώρᾳ, καὶ προσήνεγκε τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ τῷ ἁγίῳ ἀρχιεπισκόπῳ τὴν ἐνεχθεῖσαν παράδωσιν. ἐν ταύτῃ οὖν τῇ πίστει ὁ ἅγιος γρηγόριος καὶ τοῖς κανόσι φωτίσας τὴν κληρωθεῖσαν ἀυτῷ χώραν τῆς ἀρμενίας, συμπράττοντος δὲ καὶ τοῦ βασιλέως τηρηδάτου, πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς ἀυτοῦ ἐφωταγώγησε πάντας.
[170] Ἔπειτα δὲ ὑψηλοτέρως κατηχήσαντος τοῦ μακαρίου γρηγορίου ἐν πλείστοις λόγοις δυσερμηνεύτοις καὶ παραβολαῖς βαθείαις, καὶ εὐακούστως διὰ τοῦ πολυνοήμονος χαρίσματος, ἀπὸ τῆς δυνάμεως τῶν προφητικῶν πλήσης πάντος γεύματος θεἳκοῦ, ῥυθμίσας, κατὰ τὴν ἀληθινὴν καὶ εὐαγγελικὴν πίστιν ἐξέθετο. πολλὰ δὲ αἰνιγματωδῶς ἀπὸ τοῦ φθαρτοῦ κόσμου λαβὼν, ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἀπέδειξε τὴν ἐλπίδα τῆς ἀναστάσεως, πρὸς τὰ μέλλοντα εὐτρεπίζων πάντας, καὶ πείσας εὐχερῶς δέξασθαι τοῖς τῇ ἀγνοίᾳ καὶ σαρκικοῖς φρονήμασι κατεχομένους, ὅπως νήψωσι καὶ ἐνδυναμωθῶσιν διὰ τῆς περισσοτέρας προθυμίας, καὶ εὑραῖοι γένωνται ἐπὶ τὸ βεβαιῶσαι τῆς εὐαγγελικῶν ἀγαθῶν τοὺς δρόμους. τὴν δὲ ἐπιστασίαν τῆς ἁγίων ἐκκλησιῶν χάριτι χριστοῦ ἐλλείπων ἔφερεν, καὶ πλέον ἐσπούδαζεν πάντας προτρέπων εἰς ἀγαθοεργίαν, νυκτός τε καὶ μεθ᾽ ἡμέραν ἐν νηστείαις καὶ εὐχαῖς καὶ ἀπάυστοις δεήσεσιν, μετὰ μεγάλης τῆς φωνῆς τὰ θεἳκὰ προστάγματα ὑπομημνίσκων, καὶ πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἀσφαλιζόμενος· καὶ οὐκ ἔδωκεν ὕπνον ὀφθαλμοῖς, οὐδὲ νυσταγμὸν τοῖς βλεφάροις, οὐδὲ ἀνάπαυσιν τοῖς κροτάφοις, μέχρις ἔφθασεν τὴν τοῦ κυρίου κλῆσιν.
[171] Ὅυτως μετὰ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ πάντων τῶν μαθητῶν τὸν πάντα ἀυτῶν χρόνον τοῖς ἀναγνώσμασι σχολάσαντες τῆς θείας γραφῆς, νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας ἐν ἀυτοῖς ἤνθουν, καὶ κερδήσαντες πάντα, τύπον ἀγαθὸν τοῖς φιλομαθέσι κατέλειπον, ἔχοντες θεἳκὰς παραγγελίας εἰς ἀσφάλειαν ἡμῶν· ὧν ἡ μὲν πρώτη διατάττει, ἐν τῷ νόμῳ κυρίου μελετᾷν νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας. ἡ δὲ δεύτερα ὁμοίως παρακελεύεται, προσέχειν τῇ ἀναγνώσει καὶ τῇ παρακλήσει καὶ τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ· μὴ ἀθέτει, φησὶ, τὴν ἔν σοι χάριν. ἐν ταύτῃ ἴσθη καὶ μελέτα, ἵνα σου ἡ προκοπὴ πᾶσι φανερὰ γενηται. πρόσεχε σεαυτῷ καὶ τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ, καὶ ἐν ἀυτῇ χρονήσεις. τοῦτο γὰρ ποιῶν σεαυτὸν σώσεις, καὶ τοὺς ὑπακούοντάς σου. τούτῳ οὖν τῷ τρόπῳ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς ἀυτοῦ ἀποστολικῶς διάγων, ἠκολούθη τοῖς παραγγέλμασι τῶν παραδεδωκότων. τοῦτο ποιήσας μετὰ τῆς τελευτὴς ἀυτοῦ ἐν πάσῃ ψυχῇ ἐγκατέθετο τὴν τοῦ χριστοῦ φωταγογοῦσαν ἀγάπην.
[172] Ὑμεῖς δὲ, καθὼς ἐδεξάμεθα τὴν διάταξιν τοῦ σου κράτους, ἄριστε βασιλέων τηρηδάτιε, συγγράφειν τὰ ὑπομνήματα, ὡς χρήστους χρονογραφέας τόμους, διελύψαμεν, καὶ κατὰ τὸν τύπον τῆς ἑλληνικῆς παιδεύσεως ἀκολούθως τὰ πάντα συνεγραψάμεθα. προσεσχηκότες δὲ καὶ, ὡς ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ, τῇ θεἳκῇ παραδώσει καὶ τῇ δεδομένῃ ἐντολῇ τῷ μεγάλῳ μωυσεῖ, ὅστις παραγενόμενος περὶ πάντων τῶν γενομένων πραγμάτων, τὰ θεἳκὰ προστάγματα παρέδωκεν διὰ τῆς συγγραφῆς εἰς τήρησιν τῶν ἐν τοῖς μετέπειτα αἰῶσιν ἐρχομένων· ἀκολούθως δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις προφήταις, ὂις ὁ θεὸς ἐτάξατο· λάβε σεαυτῷ λέγων τόμον νέον μέγαν, καὶ γράψεις ἐν ἀυτῷ γραφίδει γραμματέως, καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ γράψον τὴν ὅρασιν ταύτην ἐν πλάξιν καὶ ἐν βιβλίῳ, ἵνα ὁι ἀναγινώσκοντες παρρησίᾳ ἀναγνώσωνται· ὁ δὲ ἅγιος δαβὶδ ῥητῶς περὶ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν τὸν κλῆρον τῶν θείων προσταγμάτων σημαίνει. φάσκων· γραφείτω ἅυτη εἰς γενεὰν ἑτέραν, καὶ ξύριος διηγήσεται ἐν γράφῃ λαῶν ὅπερ ἐλθὼν ἐπλήρωσεν χριστὸς ὁ σωτὴρ ἡμῶν διὰ τῆς θεἳκῆς χάριτος· ἐξέλθετε λέγων εἰς πάντα ἔθνη, καὶ κηρύξατε τὸ ἐυαγγέλιον τοῦτο ὑποκάτω τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. ὅθεν καὶ ὁ μακαριώτατος τῇ ἐλπίδι τοῦ θεοῦ ἐμπλησθεὶς ἐν σπουδῇ ἐφανέρωσε κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τὴν ἀυτοῦ ἐργασίαν.
[173] Νῦν δὲ κατὰ τὸν τύπον τὸν γεγραμμένον ἐπὶ τέλει καταπαύσωμεν, οὐκ ἐκ παλαιὰς φήμης ἐγνωκότες, ἃ συνεγραψάμεθα ἀκολούθως, ἀλλ᾽ ὂις ἡμεῖς παρεστάμενοι, θεαταὶ ἐγενόμεθα τῶν πεπραγμένων ἔργων, καὶ ἀκροαταὶ τῆς κεχαριτομένης διδασκαλίας. καὶ ὑπηρέται τῶν ἐυαγγελικῶν προσταγμάτων, οὐ ψευδολογήσαντες μυθωδῶς ἐκ τῶν ἡμετέρων λόγων, πλεῖστα δὲ καταλείποντες τῇ συντομίᾳ, τοῖς ἐπισημοτέροις ἐχρησάμεθα, συλλέξαντες τῶν χρυσιμωτέρων τὴν σύνθεσιν· ὅπερ οὐχ ἡμῖν μόνοις, ὦ βασιλεὺ, ἀλλ᾽ ὅταν καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ σου κράτους ὁ τόμος ἀναγνωσθῇ, πάντη ἔκδηλον γενήσεται. οὐδἐ γὰρ ἱκανοὶ ὑπήρχομεν πάντα τὰ πεπραγμένα παρὰ τῶν ἁγίων καθ᾽ ἓν ἐπισημάνεσθαι, ἀλλ᾽ εἰς τὸ εὐχερέστερον καὶ ἀναγκαῖον καὶ ἡδύτατον, ἀποστολικῶς τὴν προαίρεσιν ἐξεδώκαμεν, ὡς καὶ ὁ ἅγιος λουκᾶς τὰ πλεῖστα τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων ἔργα παρεῖς λεπτομερῶς ἐκθέσθαι, τὰ ἀναγκαῖα καὶ ὀφελιμώτατα ἐξηγήσατο. ὅθεν καὶ ἡμεῖς καθ᾽ ὁμοιότροπον ἐξεθέμεθα οὐκ εἰς τιμὴν τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν τοῦ χριστοῦ, ὃι διὰ πάντων τῶν καυχημάτων τοῦ ζωοποιοῦ σταυροῦ γνωρισθέντες ἐτιμήθησαν, ἀλλ᾽ εἰς τύπον θάρσους τῶν πνευματικῶν γεννημάτων, τῶν μελλόντων μαθητευθῆναι ἐν διαφόροις γενεαῖς κατὰ τὸν πνευματικὸν ψαλμωδὸν, τὸν λέγοντα· καθὼς ἐνετείλατο τοῖς πατρᾶσιν ἡμῶν τοῦ γνωρίσαι ἀυτὰ τοῖς ὑιοῖς ἀυτῶν, ὅπως γνῷ γενεὰ ἑτέρα, ὑιοὶ τεχθησόμενοι καὶ ἀναστήσονται, καὶ ἀναγγελοῦσιν ἀυτὰ τοῖς ὑιοῖς ἀυτῶν, ἵνα θῶνται ἐπὶ τὸν θεὸν τὴν ἐλπίδα ἀυτῶν, καὶ μὴ ἐπιλάθωνται τῶν ἔργων τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς ἀυτοῦ ἐκζητήσωσι, ἵνα μὴ γένωνται, ὡς ὁι πατέρες ἀυτῶν, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα ἀυτὸι πρὸς τὸν δημιουργὸν οὕτως φθεγγόμενοι ἔιπωσι· κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν σὺ εἶ, καὶ ἀυτός εἴπῃ· λαός μου ὑμεῖς ἐστε· ἀυτῷ ἡ δόξα ἐις τοὺς ἀιῶνας. ἀμὴν.
Constantine the Great, whose excellent works When these things were so, in those times Constantine, son of the emperor Constantius, held rule in the region of the Spains and the Gauls a: and he believed in God the maker of heaven and earth, and in his Only-begotten Son, the Word of God, and in the holy Spirit of his Divinity. He, having gathered an immense multitude at the great sea which is the Ocean, treated before them all of the account of the faith, that all might be of one mind, that all might believe the truth, that with one consenting speech concerning God all together might fulfill the precepts of God, and that all might become adorers of the one God. Moreover, trusting in God, he invaded the dominion of the gentile emperors b: and in a short time by the power of the Lord's sign he utterly destroyed the unclean and unjust emperors, Diocletian c, and Marcian d, and Maximian e, and Licinian f, and Maxentius, and took away from the midst every unclean race of gentile emperors g: and he built churches, and raised again in the houses of God the altars that had been overthrown. In like manner he built shrines sacred to the Martyrs, and multiplied their ministers; and increased the honor of the priests of God. He gave peace to the earth, and took stumbling-blocks out of the midst, that no one might fall in any matter against the divine institute. He overthrew also the abominable rites h of the demons, and blotted out their ministers, putting them to flight. And he imparted gifts and honor to those who had remained in the true worship of God, and had not turned aside from the right way.
[164] and piety are praised, he obtains the Roman empire, For these reasons therefore victory over all was given him. For he had received the sign of the ever-conquering cross, and the precepts of the true law; and he promised that he would remain in the firm faith of the Lord, and he declared this by letters i throughout the world. And he made all astonished by the unconquerable power of the light-bearing faith, and piously subject to his Lord he passed his life. Thus, being strengthened beyond measure, he put to flight the host of darkness, and became greater than all. But those who had subjected themselves to the worship of the truth he made his familiars, as friends, with the greatest honor, and in this way, being made more powerful than all men, he accounted the empire given him by God to be truly an empire. And he advanced so greatly in the grace of God that all the days of his life he had angels k ministering to him, and placing upon his head in the morning hour the diadem marked with the sign of Christ. And when the most religious emperor Constantine perceived a heavenly angel thus ready to minister to him, that blessed man was made most desirable to all: who also offered his purple to Christ. For since by the piety implanted in him he surpassed all, he established his empire through faith, and confirmed the true faith in all the churches.
[165] and this becomes known to Tiridates, who resolves to visit him: When these things had become known in the region of the Armenians, and in the palace of the kingdom of the Arsacids, to Tiridates king of Greater Armenia, having given many thanks to God, with the greatest gladness and exultation he blessed the Lord, because in all the earth his most holy name was glorified. When therefore the king heard such things, he took counsel to visit him earnestly: and being made ready for the journey [l] he took as companions the great Archbishop Gregory m and his son Arostaces the bishop, and of the men honored in his court four of the most honored of his palace: the first the prefect of the tract of the Norsirei, the second the prefect of the parts of Assyria, the third of the tract of the Aruastæ, the fourth of the parts of the Masachus of the Huns; and the first prince of the house of those who are named Angelitæ; and the prince who places the diadem upon the king, called Aspet; and the great prefect of the camps; and the leader of the Macitæ,
and the leader of the Synistæ, and the leader of the Restunitæ, and the chief scribe, and the prefect of the people of the Sapianæ, and the prefect of the Pascapetei; and very many of the other magnates, and seventy n thousand chosen soldiers.
[166] and having set out for Rome, Going out therefore from the province of Ararat and the city of Valarsapat, he passed over into the province of Ionia. And passing many days, with great delight, honor and display shown by all the prefects in the cities together with a still greater reception, hastening by land and sea, he came into the Italian province, and into the ruling city of Rome: and word of this was carried as soon as might be to the imperial palace [o]. When the most religious emperor and most honored of all kings, Constantine, had learned of it, and the Archbishop who was always present in his palace, named Eusebius [p], they went out with the greatest honor and love to meet them, and in that city that is like a world they prepared lodgings, that he might rest after the very long journey. And when the emperor Constantine, most loving of God, marveled, he asked King Tiridates, saying: In what manner were the wonders of God wrought upon you, brother? And he related everything accurately before the emperor, namely the mercy shown by God, and the punishment inflicted, by which they had put on the form of beasts, recounting it without shame, and the endurance of the Martyrs who were crowned, and setting forth all that had been done in detail: and pointing out to the emperor the great Gregory who stood by, This, he said, is that Man through whom we came to know the mercy of God; and he related the Man's fortitude and patience, and the signs and miracles wrought through him.
[167] Wherefore, marveling beyond measure, and humbling himself, the most divine emperor he treats with Constantine, fell down at the feet of holy Gregory, that he might pray a blessing upon him, honoring him fittingly as a Confessor of Christ. King Tiridates also he worthily received with a brotherly kiss, and loved him as a most genuine and like-minded brother, most of all because he saw him a lover of Christ. He also entered into a covenant [q] with him, pledging his faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, that friendship might be preserved unceasingly between their kingdoms unto the end. He also more abundantly confirmed the king of Armenia in the confession of the most holy Trinity. And concerning the most holy Martyrs of God the great emperor Constantine related how they had lived when they were in the Roman dominion, in what way he had formerly come to know their manner of life pleasing to God; and that, since they were his kinswomen [r], they had left all things together for Christ. He related the victory given him by God over all the enemies of the truth, and in what manner he had overcome them all; and he said to him: Know, brother, that God shows in all the earth the mercy of his lordship, that all his creatures may acknowledge him, and become worshipers of the truth: for such adorers does he desire.
[168] After this, being honored fittingly with greater gifts, both from the emperor's own goods and he receives gifts for the holy Martyrs, and carries them into Armenia. and from the churches, and from the chief princes of the City, with the greatest good will he bade farewell to the divine Augustus. Having received also a kindly greeting from the Archbishop of the Church [s], and from the most honored princes, he departed with all honor. And when they had raised them into chariots inlaid with gold, the emperor so commanding, they escorted them honorably [t] onto the royal road. And when they had appeared most magnificent in all the cities, and had been honored by all according to royal dignity, they came into the region of Armenia, into the province of Ararat, into the city of Valarsapat, where were the sepulchers of the Martyrs. And they brought the gifts obtained, gold and silver, and most precious vessels, that these might be offered for the ministry of the Church of God and of the oratories of the Martyrs. And the great emperor gave also golden ornaments in honor of the Martyrs; and these they offered, and adorned those oratories more than their own church. But the great Gregory began to visit his disciples, and to confirm them the more by true preaching.
[169] These things being so, afterward the great Cæsar Augustus Constantine ordered a council of all the bishops to be gathered in the city of Nicæa. Then the great King Tiridates and the holy and Catholic Gregory, Arostaces, Gregory's son, is present at the council of Nicæa: having made preparation, sent Arostaces [u] the bishop, the son of holy Gregory, that he might be present with all the bishops in the city of Nicæa, where the true tradition of the faith was set forth for the whole world, and the ordering of the light-bearing canons was established, both to the pleasing of God most high. The great emperor Constantine, entering this council, confessed the right faith, and being honored and crowned by the whole council with auspicious prayers, he left a praiseworthy name on earth, and sent justice before him into heaven. But the most blessed Arostaces, enlightened by the faith of the holy and divine council, came with the canons of the Nicene Fathers: and he came into Armenia, and brought to the king and to the holy Archbishop the established tradition. By this faith therefore and by these canons holy Gregory enlightened the region of Armenia committed to him, King Tiridates bringing help, and thus all the days of his life he brought light to all.
[170] But the Saint goes on diligently to instruct his people, But afterward, when blessed Gregory had begun to instruct them more loftily, and to employ many things difficult of interpretation and obscure parables, through the grace of a mind that understands much, because he was full of every divine taste by the power of prophetic things, he searched these out in words easy to grasp, and expounded them according to the true and Gospel faith. And since he took many things by way of riddle from the corruptible world, he demonstrated the hope of the resurrection to many, rightly turning all toward the things to come, and skillfully leading those who were held by ignorance and carnal desires to receive the doctrine, that they might be watchful and be confirmed with greater eagerness, and become steadfast for the establishing of the courses of Gospel goods. And the chief care of the churches he bore, falling short of the grace of Christ [x], and more diligently exhorted all to the exercise of good works, and this by night and by day, in fastings and prayers and assiduous supplications, with a loud voice recalling divine things, and fortifying every man. And he gave no sleep to his eyes, nor slumber to his eyelids, nor rest to his temples, until he came to the calling of the Lord.
[171] and to exercise the works of piety even unto death. Thus with the king [y] and with all his disciples at all times, giving themselves to the readings of the divine Scripture, they flourished in them night and day, and taking gain from all things, they left a good pattern to those who desire to learn, having the divine precepts for our security. The first of these commands that we meditate in the law of the Lord night and day. The second likewise commands us to attend to reading, to exhortation and to doctrine. 1 Tim. 4. 13 Neglect not, he says, the grace that is in you. Be in this and meditate upon it, that your progress may be manifest to all. Take heed to yourself and to doctrine, be instant in them. For doing this you will both save yourself and those who hear you. In this manner therefore, passing all the days of his life after the Apostolic fashion, he followed the precepts of those who had handed them down. And when he had done these things, after his death [z] with his whole soul he obtained the enlightening love of Christ.
[172] The author's conclusion, And we, according as we received the command of your power, best of kings, Tiridates, to write commentaries, have arranged them as useful volumes of a description of the times, and after the likeness of Greek learning have written all things in order. Yet we have also attended, gazing as into a mirror, to the divine tradition, and to the command given to the great Moses, who, having been present at all the deeds done, delivered in writing the divine precepts, that they might be observed by those who were to come in ages to come: and in order also to the other prophets, to whom God commanded: Take to yourself a great new book, and you shall write in it with the pen of a scribe. And elsewhere: Write this vision on tablets and in a book, that they who read may read with freedom Jsa. 81, Habac. 22. But holy David in express words, speaking of all the nations, shows the inheritance of the divine precepts, saying: Let these things be written unto another generation, and the Lord shall declare it in the writing of the peoples. Which Christ our Savior, when he had come, fulfilled by divine grace; Go out, he said, to all nations, and preach this Gospel in the whole world. Whence the Most Blessed one also, filled with confidence in God, zealously showed his working to be conformed to the Gospel.
[173] commending his own good faith in writing. And now, the exemplar having been written, let us at last make an end, we who know what we have written in order not from ancient report, but who, since we ourselves were present, became spectators [aa] of the deeds done and hearers of the doctrine delivered. And since we are ministers of the Gospel precepts, we do not in our own discourse invent falsehoods [bb] after the manner of fables; but passing over very many things for the sake of brevity, we have used the more notable, with a composition gathered from the more useful. And this will be manifest everywhere, not only to us, O king, but when the volume shall have been read before your power. For we were not fit to set forth one by one all the things that were accomplished by the Saints: but to that which is easier, necessary, and most pleasant, we have turned our purpose after the Apostolic manner, just as holy Luke also, passing over the setting forth in detail of very many works of the holy Apostles, related the necessary and most useful. Whence we also in like manner have set them forth, not unto the honor of the Elect of Christ, who became known and were honored by the gloryings of the life-giving cross, but as a pattern of fortitude for the spiritual sons who shall be instructed in various generations, according to the spiritual Psalmist, who says: As it was commanded to our fathers to make these things known to their sons, that another generation might know them: the sons who shall be born and shall rise up, and shall tell them to their sons, that they may put their hope in God, and may not forget the works of God, and may seek out his commandments, lest they become as their fathers: but that they themselves, speaking to the Founder, may say: You are the Lord our God: and that he may say: You are my people. To him be glory for ever. Amen.
ANNOTATIONS.
e. If
Maximian Galerius is here indicated; he perished by a most wretched disease, nor was he attacked in war by Constantine, who only guarded himself against his plots by fleeing to his father Constantius: but if Maximinus Daia is meant, he waged war against Licinius, who was allied with Constantine, and being conquered and fleeing, having taken poison, he suffered horrible torments and left this life by a terrible death.
p. St. Eusebius was Roman Pontiff in the time of Tiridates, of whom we treated at 26 September. But St. Eusebius died under Maxentius, when Constantine was not ruling at Rome. And so this is a manifest error, and in fact in Galanus St. Sylvester is substituted, into whose pontificate the arrival of Tiridates certainly falls, if it is true.
q. That there was a covenant between Constantine and Tiridates I shall readily believe. But this could also have been done through envoys: yet we shall not believe that such a covenant was entered into as Galanus presents in a lengthy instrument from p. 31. For that this is plainly fictitious and unskillfully pieced together by some Armenian impostor any learned man will easily see who is even moderately versed in the critical art. The privileges which the Roman Pontiff is there said to have granted to St. Gregory do not have even the appearance of probability.
r. Again a ridiculous fiction of the biographer, of which sort he has many. Constantine was not born at Rome, nor were his father Constantius or his grandfather Eutropius Romans: but they were from Dardania, where today Bulgaria extends more widely. How then is he feigned to be a kinsman of the Virgins whom the author said dwelt at Rome?
s. Since in this Life nothing is read about privileges received from the Roman Pontiff for the Armenian church, those fictions which are read in Galanus from the Armenian History must be said to be of later date.
t. It is established that the council of Nicæa, of which we shall presently treat, was held in the year 325. And so the journey of Tiridates with St. Gregory ought to have fallen in the year 324, or in the time when Licinius was ruling in Asia Minor and the East: for the last war between Licinius and Constantine was waged in the year 323, and toward the end of this year, Licinius being conquered, Asia Minor with the remaining provinces of Licinius passed to Constantine. But that Tiridates came to Constantine by passing through the provinces of Licinius, which he could not avoid, is by no means probable. But it is probable enough and likely that Tiridates in the year 324 made a journey to Constantine, lord of the whole empire, to establish peace and friendship with him. And if he in fact did this, it is far more probable that the said princes conversed either at Cæsarea or at Nicomedia, or in some other city of Asia Minor, than at Rome.
u. That Arostaces was in fact at the council of Nicæa I have proved at some length in the Commentary num. 94, and there at num. 95 I showed under what name that Armenian bishop is now known in the subscriptions.
x. Here I think not is to be added in both texts, because it seems necessary to complete the expression. Moreover, the things here asserted about the Saint's learning and his care to instruct his own people suggest the suspicion that some things could have been handed down by him in writing. This is indeed asserted in the Homily concerning St. Gregory mentioned before, in Montfaucon vol. 12 of the Works of Chrysostom p. 823, in these words: He with burning zeal taught the books of the divinely inspired Scriptures; he wrote Homilies full of wisdom, and instructed very many peoples. To this the editor annotated the following. He composed twenty-three Homilies, which we have in codex O of the royal library. He adds to the word instructed this observation: He hints at the instruction in the faith which holy Gregory wrote for the benefit of the king and kingdom of Armenia. This exposition of the faith is also contained in the aforesaid codex, which was written in the year 704 of the Armenian era, and 1255 of Christ. Other writings of the Saint also may be preserved in other places: but whether those already mentioned are certainly his, I leave to others to examine.
y. These things do not rightly cohere with what was asserted in chap. 14, that from love of solitude he was unwilling to remain always with the king; unless his withdrawal to the desert be explained of short intervals of time in which he could withdraw to sharpen the fervor of his spirit.
z. It is strange that nothing is read in the Life about the Saint's death, as neither in Metaphrastes. Wherefore I transfer here what Galanus writes about the Saint's death in chap. 2 p. 37. That he might, he says, more fittingly refresh his spirit in solitude with silence and the sweetness of heavenly contemplation, he withdrew into the more secret mountains of Armenia, where, by the institute of a stricter life, worn out with assiduous fasting and old age, he fell asleep in the Lord upon Mount Siepuh. Then from the Breviary of the Armenians of the Order of Preachers he recites this about the Saint's death: Our blessed illuminator Gregory, hidden from human eyes, had now for many years led the harsh life of hermits in a recess of a certain mountain of the province of Daghania; whose passage to Christ could be known by no one, save that some shepherds after some time, finding his body by chance, buried it there. It is added in what manner the body was translated from the place of burial: but these things have been given in the Commentary num. 19. This is the tradition of the Armenians concerning the death of St. Gregory, in which Monierus agrees at p. 76. But how little that tradition is
certain, the studious reader will easily see, since the body long remained hidden, and after the body was found by revelation, that opinion seems to have been born of conjectures.
aa. That the author could by no reason have said this of all the events, I observed in the Commentary num. 55, and I showed the same thing more fully at num. 69 and following.
bb. Whatever he may have said, he becomes suspect of imposture, when he says that he saw everything, and meanwhile relates very many things that are openly fabulous. For either he falsely calls himself a contemporary, and so lies: or he really was a contemporary, and so betrays himself as a lover of fables; unless someone afterward interpolated the Acts and left those words. See concerning him the threefold conjecture in the Commentary num. 72.
A SECOND LIFE
By an anonymous author
From a manuscript codex of the Barberini library
Gregory, bishop of Armenia, in Greater Armenia. (S.)
Ripsime, virgin, M., in Greater Armenia. (S.)
Gaiana, virgin, M., in Greater Armenia. (S.)
Companions, Martyrs, in Greater Armenia.
BHL Number: 3664
BY AN ANONYMOUS AUTHOR.
PROLOGUE.
Since it is useful to write the Lives of the Saints, The renowned philosophers of Christ and the purple-clad senators of the heavenly court we ought to extol with the more worthy praises, the more we have learned that they endured graver torments for the faith of their King: for they are the most unconquered soldiers, who, choosing rather to die than to be conquered, made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb no less happily than wonderfully; they are the triumphant ones and the friends of God, who obtained the heavenly kingdoms through a momentary death for the constancy of their faith. Fortified by their intervention, the Church trusts in the Almighty; instructed by their example, she daily fights with the invisible enemy; clothed with their splendor, rising as the dawn, she goes forth white and ruddy. For the Martyrs, with whose brightness the Church is clothed as with her own garment, are both white from the innocence of their life, and ruddy from the redness of their martyrdom. These are the flowers of the roses and the first-fruits of the combatants, in whom the Son of God wisely triumphed over the adversary of the human race: for since he had with wicked desire presumed to invade the kingdom of God with three troops, the first of unbelievers, the second of heretics, the third of sinners; by a wonderful ordering our King went out to meet him with a threefold soldiery, namely of martyrs, of doctors and of confessors: so that he might both overcome the impiety of unbelievers by the constancy of the martyrs, and set against the blasphemies of the heretics the words of the doctors as fiery darts, and both overthrow sinners in evil and confirm them in good by the shining examples of the confessors; and the more blessed Bridegroom first sprinkled a his blessed bride with the flowers of the roses, secondly fortified her with burning arrows, thirdly adorned her with the lilies of the valleys.
[2] He sprinkled her with flowers, that she might not be afflicted by the intolerable odor of vices, the author undertakes to set forth the Life of St. Gregory in a better style. he fortified her with arrows, lest through too great simplicity she should fail in the faith; he adorned her with lilies, lest from the manifold blackness with which she had been covered she should become vile. The Bridegroom conferred outward b gifts upon his bride for beauty: the middle ones he deigned to bestow for protection: the first he showed alike for comeliness and for strength. Although in comeliness she might seem fairer than the moon, and in strength terrible, and might appear as an army of camps set in array. He therefore is convicted of being guilty before the divine Majesty who does not set forth with the eloquence that is fitting the victories and contests of the martyrs, which are the constancy and the ornament of the Church. Considering this with myself, and fearing much concerning the talents entrusted to me to be doubled, I undertake to adorn with more ornate words [e] the passion of St. Gregory the Armenian, which formerly had been written in a style sufficiently inconsiderate c and rustic, both at the Saint's own bidding and at the prayers and suggestion of the Lady Gayta d, the venerable abbess who religiously and most wisely governs, within the city of Naples, the monastery of the maidens of God dedicated to his name; that I may both seem to satisfy her pious request, and may deserve to find a place with the Lord through the Martyr's intervention.
ANNOTATIONS.
CHAPTER I.
The kingdom of the Parthians being overthrown, Artasiras obtained the kingdom of the Persians, and being attacked in war by Cusaro king of Armenia, killed him by assassins, and occupies Armenia: Tiridates, son of Cusaro, recovers the kingdom of Armenia, and attempts to draw St. Gregory away from the Christian faith.
Artabanus being slain, Artasiras king of the Persians When Artabanus, sprung from the race of the Parthians, had subjugated to himself the kingdom of the Persians and Assyrians by his own valor and wisdom a, the Persians b and Assyrians were tormented with great envy at his dominion, because he had been of the Armenians c: for to be subject to the rule of a foreigner seemed to them a shame and a weariness, and therefore they sought by every means that someone of their own race should rule over them. As this envy therefore grew daily, it happened that a certain Assyrian soldier by name Artasyra d conspired against that same Artabanus with many Persians and Assyrians, so that they might both deliver him to death and rescue themselves from the yoke of his dominion. Artasyra therefore, having gathered a great army from the Assyrians and Persians, fought a pitched battle with Artabanus, and not only slew him in that battle, but also all his soldiers, and subjugated his whole kingdom to his own dominion. And when his brother, by name Chusaron [e], who ruled the Armenians, had heard this, being grievously distressed and grieving, he wept most bitterly for his brother's death. But after the days of mourning and lamentation, considering how he might be able to avenge his brother's slaying, taking with him almost all the soldiers of his kingdom, with a strong hand he invades the borders of the Persians to fight with King Artasyra.
[4] is conquered by Cusaro king of Armenia and much afflicted. And the king, seeing the immeasurable multitude of the combatants, was unnerved in heart and trembled, and set between fear of battle and shame of flight, he knew not what he ought to do. At length, being encouraged by the urging of his soldiers, though unwilling, he goes out into the field, and joins battle with the army and king of the Armenians; but not being able to sustain the strength of his adversaries, turning his back with his soldiery, he took to flight. King Chusaron therefore, having obtained the victory as his enemy fled, and making no small slaughter of his adversaries, and laying waste very many places of the kingdom of the Persians, at last returned into the parts of Armenia with great booty and immense gladness. In the following year also, gathering no small soldiery, he set out to go into the kingdom of the Persians and to lay it waste more than he had done the first time: which also he did in like manner every year up to ten years. While the king of the Persians was suffering these adversities year by year, and could now by no means stand before the face of King Chusaron, calling together the princes and magnates of his whole kingdom, he took counsel with them for a long time how he might be freed from these attacks: in that very council he promised very many dignities and immense gifts, if any of his own men could avenge him, so often overcome by King Chusaron, for the injury inflicted.
[5] Then a certain one of the bystanders, by name Anac, a Parthian by race, But Anac the Parthian, induced by the promises of Artasiras, sprung from the stock of that same Chusaron, promised that he would give his effort according to his strength, so that the aforesaid Armenian king, joined to him by ties of blood, should be slain. And when the king had heard this with rejoicing, he began to urge him to bring it into effect as soon as possible, promising him as the reward of this deed not only the inheritance f taken from him by King Chusaron, but also, as is wont to be done in such cases, mountains and seas, heaven and earth. But Anac the Parthian answering said: Only deign with fatherly clemency to succor my family, because for the vengeance g both of your kingdom and of your person I will deliver myself with my brother to death and danger: and saying this, he took his way with his own brother into the parts of Armenia. Coming therefore into a certain city of the Armenians where the king was, and presenting himself to the royal sight, he was received by King Chusaron with all honor and office of kindness; and when the king inquired the cause of his coming, he answered that he was a rebel against the rule of Artasyra, and that he had fled from his face, asserting that he preferred to embrace poverty with a king near to him and of his own blood than to abound in honors and riches with a stranger. Then the king, exceedingly gladdened, granting him great [*] honor, made him sit beside him raised upon a second throne, and commanded that he should daily cleave to his side as a constant familiar. But beforehand h the Parthian, thinking far otherwise than the king hoped, sought from day to day an opportunity for the deed, that he might at some time bring forth in act the iniquity which he had conceived in his heart concerning his slaying.
[6] At a certain time therefore, when the king had gathered a great army, deceived by wiles, he kills Cusaro, and is himself afterward killed and was staying as it were alone in a secret place with his counselors, among whom Anac the Parthian was present with his brother, he began to lay a plan how he ought to set out to lay waste the kingdom of the Persians, as he had done yearly for ten years. Then that man, not forgetful of the promise which he had made to the king of the Persians, with his brother calls King Chusaron aside into a solitary place, as if about to speak with him of his own advantage; and drawing the swords which they had long concealed, they cruelly struck the aforesaid king: and this done, mounting swiftly on their horses, they took to flight. And one of the king's household, beholding this crime i, began to cry out with great weeping: Come hither, hasten hither, and let the death of an innocent king be avenged no less unjustly [k] than vigorously. When this was heard, the soldiers of Chusaron pursued the murderers with most swift course, and taking them [l] at the river Erasach, killed them in that river, rendering them fitting punishments.
[7] This done, with wailing and great weeping
the soldiers return to the king, together with his family, two little ones excepted. who was already drawing his last breath, and they receive commands from him that they should without delay put to the sword almost all m whom they could find in his empire of the kindred of Anach the Parthian; which according to the king's command was swiftly carried into effect: for straightway, from man even to woman, from the aged even to the infant, those of the kindred of Anach the Parthian were slain by the edge of the sword, save only two little sons of that same Anach, of whom one was carried off in flight into the region of Serdos [n], the other into the parts of Armenia. And the king of the Persians, when he had heard of the slaying of King Cusaro, being filled with great joy, came with his army into the parts of Armenia, and invading his whole kingdom, entitled it to his own name and rule.
[8] St. Gregory, taught the Christian faith, serves Tiridates: Then the son of Chusaron, a boy in age, by name Tiridates, was delivered by the zeal of a certain soldier of his, and was brought into the parts of Romania: staying there with a certain Armenian count [o], he was being educated. Meanwhile Gregory, the son of Anach the Parthian, who had been brought into the parts of Armenia [p] when his kinsmen were being delivered to death, was living at Cæsarea of Cappadocia, and there was imbued with all the knowledge of Christians by a certain Catholic man to whom he had attached himself. When he had learned of the ancient crime of his father, which he had committed against Chusaron, going to Tiridates, he offered him voluntary service, that he might expiate as it were by his own servitude the unheard-of crime of his father. But he concealed himself, showing to no one whence he had sprung, or why he had of his own accord subjected himself to the service of Tiridates.
[9] but he, excelling in fortitude, At the same time the king of the Goths, being about to make war with the king of the Greeks, gathered a strong band of soldiers, and because he trusted in the strength of his body, he sent words to the king of the Greeks in this manner concerning a single combat to be fought: Why do we weary our armies and soldiers to the peril and ruin of our kingdoms, when a duel [] might be fought by us without any slaughter of soldiers? Let us both therefore contend in single combat, and if I subject you to myself by means of the fight, yours also shall be subjected to me; but if you overcome me, mine too shall bend the knee to you for ever and shall serve you: and thus on both sides there will be tranquillity through the shedding of blood []. And when the king of the Greeks had heard these words, he was greatly saddened, because he could neither reject the offer of fighting a single combat, for shame, nor accept it, for lack of the strength which he knew was not in him. And calling to himself by majestic letters the counts and magnates of his whole kingdom, he began to require counsel of them how he might answer the king of the Goths without injury to his own person.
[10] is said to have overcome the Goth in single combat, Then Count Licinianus [q], who had come to the king with Tiridates, said among the other counts and magnates: Let not the heart of my Lord be troubled for this cause, nor let him fear; nay, let all sorrow depart, and let anguish be taken from the royal mind; for there is here with me a certain young man, by name Tiridates, once the son of Chusaron king of Armenia, who is both tall of stature and endowed with great bodily strength. He therefore, if it please your majesty, will be able both to be clothed in the purple and to be marked with the royal diadem, so that in the likeness and figure of your person he may attack the king of the Goths in single combat and overcome him. The speech pleased the king, and calling Tiridates to himself, he commanded that on the following day he should be clothed in royal garments, so that he might undergo the single combat that had been sought. On the day that followed therefore Tiridates clothed himself in the royal garments, and representing the likeness of him with whose ornaments he had been marked, he attacked the king of the Goths in single combat and conquered him: a figurative Cæsar, so to speak, gloriously overcame a true Cæsar [r] in royal habit, and seizing him with his hands when overcome, he led him all the way to the king of the Greeks. Then the king, magnifying Tiridates and giving him great gifts, placed a diadem upon his head, and clothing him in purple adorned him with royal ornaments: he also gave him a great soldiery, that he might be able by the help of soldiers to recover his father's lost kingdom.
[11] Tiridates therefore, having received from the king leave to depart, and having recovered his father's kingdom, he attempts by many arguments sets out with the soldiers whom he had given him for his help into the parts of Armenia, and there, slaying many of the princes of the Persians and pursuing more, he not only recovered his father's kingdom, which was his by right, but also established it in perpetual peace [s]. Exceedingly gladdened and rejoicing at this, he commanded all the soldiers to enter with him the cave of Artemis and to offer incense and sacrifices both for the kingdom regained and for the victory which he had obtained. He also gave commands especially to St. Gregory to adorn the image of Artemis [t] with garlands and boughs of trees. And when the Saint refused to do this, and answered that he had worshiped Jesus Christ from his boyhood, King Tiridates, being angry, said to him: How have you dared to believe in a God who is neither worshiped nor adored by me? And saying this, he ordered him to be put into custody.
[12] But on the next day the king ordered St. Gregory to be brought forward, to draw St. Gregory from the Christian faith, and when he had been presented to his sight, he assails him with words of this kind: Since for so many years you have rendered me pleasing and acceptable service, I cannot sufficiently marvel why in a single moment, by despising my rule, you willingly deprive yourself of the reward due to you. To this the Saint: According to the command of the Apostle, who bids servants be subject to their masters, I have been ready at all times to serve you at the pleasure of your will; and unless it rest with you, I shall always render my accustomed service: but if you wish that I should render to you that service which is due to God alone, by worshiping at your command dumb and deaf idols, this I shall by no means do: for the Christian faith knows that there is a difference between service and service. For there is a certain service proper to God alone, of which he himself says: My honor I will not give to another. And there is another common to many, of which the Apostle writes: To whom honor, honor; to whom custom, custom; to whom tribute, tribute. According therefore to this latter acceptation of service, though not to idols, since they lack spirit and sense, yet to you I shall render service, not for the sake of your reward, since I have expected nothing from you, but because of the Apostolic command.
[13] And the king: Know, Gregory, that it will be ascribed not to my severity but in vain. but to your own folly, if you yourself wish to harm yourself by spirited obstinacy: for in this hour you have lost all the merit of the whole service rendered to me. Now therefore in place of honor I will repay [u] you with tribulations and straits, in return for the recompense of glory with insults, instead of dignity with prison and chains, and at last, by means of many torments, I will cause you to be destroyed by death also, which is terrible to all, unless you adore the great goddess Artemis, the mother of all sobriety and the daughter of highest Jove. And the Saint: Would that I might be found worthy to be delivered to death and torment for the name of my Lord Jesus Christ! For this is what I have always desired and desire. Do therefore what you will: for I can in no way adore dumb and deaf gods: for of them our Psalmist says: The images of the nations are silver and gold, the works of the hands of men: they have a mouth, and shall not speak; they have eyes, and shall not see; they have ears, and shall not hear; they have nostrils, and shall not smell; they have hands, and shall not handle; they have feet, and shall not walk: they shall not cry out in their throat: for there is no breath in their mouth. Let those who make them become like unto them, and all who trust in them.
ANNOTATIONS.
p. Nay, he had been brought from the parts of Armenia to Cæsarea. For what follows, the Annotations to the Greek Life may be seen, from which these things were taken.
q. Here
the fable which is related by the Greek at num. 19 has been rightly omitted, but more rightly still would that whole combat of Tiridates have been omitted, being equally fabulous.
r. The title of Cæsar does not suit the king of the Goths.
s. That perpetual peace is neither asserted in the Greek Life, nor could it truly be asserted, for in the time of Tiridates the Armenians waged wars against the Persians together with the Romans, and against the Romans themselves about the year 312 Tiridates defended his kingdom and the Catholic religion, as was said in the Commentary num. 87.
t. Artemis in Greek is called Diana in Latin. See the Greek Life num. 21, and there in order the Annotations for what follows as well. I shall only give notice where the Latin author has departed from the Greek.
u. Perhaps tribuam or retribuam was written. But now, if anyone should compare these reasonings with the discourses of the Greek Life, he will easily perceive that the Latin author adopted some things from the Greek, omitted others, and substituted his own for them, and attributed words to those who discourse according to his own invention in each case.
* id est, ei
* i. e. duellum
* forte sine sanguinis effusione
CHAPTER II.
Very many torments, and those most grievous, inflicted upon St. Gregory for the faith: at last he is cast into a most foul prison, that he may so die.
The Saint, tormented by long hanging, At this the king, moved with excessive anger, commanded that the Saint's hands be bound behind his back, that a muzzle be put on his mouth, that stones from the salt-works a be applied to his back, and that both his back and his breast be bound with ropes and strongly constricted: after this he had him hung in a high place of the roof of his palace by artificial contrivances, that he might not be able to die quickly. And when this had been swiftly carried into execution according to the king's command, for the space of seven days the Saint hung in this most bitter torment. But after seven days the most impious king ordered him to be loosed and brought to him: and when he saw him, he addressed him in this manner: It has gone well with you, wretch, who neither venerate the gods, nor feared with spirited obstinacy to make little of my rule. At least now go and sacrifice to the gods, and honor those to whom worship and due reverence is shown by the inhabitants of my whole kingdom: otherwise more bitter torments will be inflicted upon you, so that you may experience torments like, nay equal, to your own hardness. And the Saint: Your gods are carved by the hand of a craftsman; by the same reason by which they were made and composed, they can be destroyed and dissolved: for everything that is composed can be dissolved, and what has been made can be destroyed: for the things which came from not-being into being would, unless the power of the Creator preserved them, inasmuch as they received their beginning from him, daily return little by little from being into not-being. Your gods therefore not only in their matter lie subject to creation and corruption, but also lack spirit and sense: how you bid me adore them, I do not perceive, unless perchance you suppose me to be like those who fear the most foolish works of their own fingers; as if anything greater and more excellent than its craftsman could be found. Why should I adore gods who have spoken to you neither of my torments nor of the injury done to themselves, inasmuch as, being like the dead, they can in no way speak or breathe? I shall therefore adore the living God, who both animated me to the endurance of suffering, and did not forsake me in that endurance.
[15] When the king had heard this, being filled with incredible fury, hung again with his head downward, praying he commanded him to be hung on the rack by one foot only with his head turned down: after this he ordered smoke to be made beneath his head from dung and stubble: lastly he commanded ten attendants to beat him grievously with green cudgels. And thus he remained hanging for seven continuous days. And while blessed Gregory was hanging thus, he poured out a prayer to the Lord of this kind: I give you thanks, Lord, who have deemed me worthy to be animated in these torments and to become a partaker of your beatitude. From the beginning you loved men, who are the works of your hands, in their very creation bestowing on them not only the delights and rest of paradise, but also granting them immortality by which they might not die, so that in this state, rendering you due obedience, they might at some time by their own merit and your grace come to that state in which they could not lie subject to death and corruption: but because through the envy of the enemy death entered into the world, man, making little of your rule, fell both in his soul into the depth of hell and in his body into temporal miseries in such a way that he could never rise again. But you, who have often been wont to come to the aid of your creature in dangers and necessities, grieving over the misery and fall of men, sent your Only-begotten into this world from the seat of your majesty to redeem it, who at your bidding, of his own accord and by the good pleasure of the Holy Spirit, coming into the world, willed truly to unite our flesh to his Deity, so that, possessing our substance in him, we might through his mediation ascend not only to the immortality which we had, but also to that which we were to have; who not only took on mortal flesh for us, but also underwent an ignominious death, and poured out his precious Blood from his side: he took on flesh that he might restore the loss which man had brought upon it; he underwent death that he might make satisfaction to you for man's contempt; he poured out his blood that he might redeem the world from sin. In the assuming of flesh he set before us a form of humility, in the undergoing of death he expressed the measure of charity, in the pouring out of his blood he showed the sacrament of redemption.
[16] he reasons, Finally he gave us that same Blood to drink, so that he who had once been our price on the cross might daily be our cup on the altar. But now, who would not marvel at that very order of our redemption, and in marveling commend it? For because men knew how to think of nothing but flesh, your Son offered flesh to the wise, so that those who could not know the invisible God might at least through flesh and in flesh know and love him visible: in which flesh he willed, not without the cause of a great mystery, to show himself both living and dead: for because the human race first out of excessive love devised the making of images, namely that it might keep the memory of living friends who had been separated by absence; and then, as the error grew, determined that these should be set up so that through them it might render the worship due to God to men long since dead; most justly your Son was made, first a living image b, so to speak, by taking on animated flesh, and afterward a dead image by voluntarily laying down his soul; so that both in the living image he might represent himself to us as a friend, and in the dead image might convert us from the error of idols to his own worship; so that, since it had delighted us fools to worship dead men, we might now adore not those dead who cannot profit, but him in whose death the redemption of the world is placed; and thus by representing himself living he satisfied the longings of friends, and by showing himself dead he called back those who erred from the worship and service of idols: and since foolish men used to come together in the temples of idols, that there they might eat of the sacrifice c of dead animals, he distributed in his own Church, to be eaten, that flesh which he had offered to you as a sacrifice of sweetness; so that those who were accustomed to be refreshed with bodily food might eat his precious flesh unto the memory of their redemption; his flesh, which for our salvation he had exposed on the cross to all torments and punishments, he appointed to be the food of the world against sins; so that he who had invited us to the table of his Divinity might by the refreshment of this daily food lead us to the festal dish, which is the sight of him.
[17] You therefore, almighty God, who through your Son have bestowed so many benefits upon men, and implores the divine help. have mercy on me, as you had mercy on the thief on the cross, who, sharing in the passion of your Only-begotten, in one moment was made his member, whose confessor he had been as it were by a single word. Give me, Lord, strength and endurance in these sufferings, that I may be able to complete the course of my martyrdom with unfaltering step: for gladly do I take the chalice of salvation, since I am not ignorant that your Son laid down his soul for me: gladly do I lose my soul here, because I believe I shall find it in the land of the living: gladly do I expose my body to all torments, because I do not doubt that on the day of resurrection it will be clothed with glorious immortality. Almighty Ruler, rest of the troubled, consoler of mourners, support of the oppressed, who do the will of those who hope in you, direct my steps in your good pleasure, that both here I may deserve to be conformed to your Son through suffering, and in the time to come may always see him abiding with you in eternal glory. Amen.
[18] But after seven days King Tiridates orders the Martyr to be taken down from the rack, Taken down, and questioned again, and answering steadfastly, and to be presented to his sight: and when this had been done, the king, long gazing at the Martyr and marveling how after so many torments he had not failed, at last addressed him thus: What madness has so invaded your mind that in the vanity of your sense you should desire to die basely rather than to live gloriously; nor are you now willing to cleave to me in joy for the recompense of justice, as from your youth you cleaved to me for a reward in the rendering of service? To this the Martyr: Since I long to appear before the face of the living God, therefore I desire to depart from the body, because in this matter I can in no way satisfy my desire except through death. Whatever therefore has settled in your mind concerning my body, do it; for I receive and embrace death with thanks. And the King: By no means shall this be granted you, Gregory, that you should be freed the sooner from the present tribulation by a momentary death; but through long periods of time I shall cause your body to be torn with exquisite torments, so that the contempt of the gods may be sufficiently avenged, as is fitting.
[19] And saying this, he ordered hollow boards to be made of wood after the measure of his shins and feet, he is tormented with various torments, so that in them both the shins and the feet might be enclosed d, and after their enclosing be violently constricted with ropes; and when this had been done, blood began to flow from the tips of the toes because of the excessive constriction of the ropes. And while the Martyr was suffering these things, the king says to him: Do you feel, Gregory, the torments which are inflicted upon you, most wretched of all? And the Martyr: Strength has been given me by my God, that I may overcome and despise your torments. Then at the king's command the attendants, loosing the Martyr from that constriction of shins and feet, cruelly fixed iron nails into his soles: and two men, holding him by the hands, made him run this way and that, so that torments might be added to torments. In that very running, from the fixing in of the nails, from the Martyr's feet abundantly
blood was poured out upon the ground. Then the king says to him in mockery: Now you contemplate invisible things, and therefore you make little of these visible torments. And the Saint: You have said well, that I now contemplate invisible things, since I see now how those who in the body sow their seed with mourning gather in eternity with joy and gladness the sheaves of their fruits. The impious king says to his attendants who stood by: Beat this obstinate man, and furnish him with mourning, that gladness may afterward come to him. In that very hour the ministers of crime, obeying the royal command, grievously struck him with blows, and while this was being done the king reproached him, saying: This, senseless man, is the joy which you await. And the Martyr: So it is: for unless the laborer first endure the heat of the sun, he cannot afterward lay hold of the fruit and the fullness from the labor of his hands.
[20] which he bravely And the king: Then you labor, while torments are inflicted upon you. And after this he commands salt, vinegar and niter to be mixed together, and the Martyr to be stretched out upon his back, and his head being shut in a shell of camperatrum [e], that he might not be able to move himself, he orders the aforesaid liquid to be cast through his nostrils into the inner parts of his brain by means of a reed pipe. After this he orders a leather bellows to be brought and to be filled with filth and soot, yet not to the top, that he might be able to send forth and to draw in breath; and this being bound upon the Martyr's neck, for six days he was mocked with this torment by the fellow-soldiers of the devil. But after the space of six days the king ordered the leather bellows to be taken from the Martyr's neck, and him to be set before his tribunal, and he said to him: Perhaps you are coming from that kingdom of which you have so often spoken to us. To whom the Martyr: What you say is true, for I come from the kingdom of my God; for unless I had been in his kingdom in mind and contemplation, I should by no means have borne so many torments for the desire of that kingdom. The king, hearing this and blazing up still more in anger, ordered the Martyr's feet to be bound with ropes, and him to be hung on the rack with his head turned down, and water to be poured into his inner parts through his fundament. After this, when at his command he had been taken down, he admonished him, saying: Yield now, Gregory, to my counsels, and love the gods, by whose providence the whole kingdom is defended and upheld. And the Saint to this: So long as there is breath in my body, I shall not be able to be separated from the charity of my God.
[21] and steadfastly When he heard this, the king, overcome by excessive anger, commanded his ribs to be torn with iron claws so far that the place in which the Martyr stood should be filled with his blood: and when this was done, he addressed him thus in a self-congratulating manner: Now it is necessary, man of stone, that you satisfy my desire, since you are set among such torments that you must either choose a wretched death or obey my command. To this the Saint: Never will that be which you counsel; never shall I forsake the worship of my God, in which I have been brought up from boyhood; never shall I deny my God, who can both free me from the present distress and send your soul into the hell of fire. And the king: Where is your God who may snatch you from my hands and send me into the hell of fire, as you assert? And saying this, he commands caltrops to be brought and strewn on the ground, and the Martyr's body being stripped, he orders him to be stretched upon those caltrops and rolled over many times, so that, the Martyr being pierced on every side, no place in his body should be free from injury: which according to the impious command the ministers of crime cruelly carried into effect on that day. But on the next day, when he had been brought to the king, the king says to him: I greatly marvel how you still live, and have accounted as nothing so many torments inflicted upon you: but show now how this comes about, for it is necessary that you now experience unheard-of torments. To this the Saint: It is not mine to endure, nor to last by my own strength: but the grace of Jesus Christ bestows endurance and fortitude on his Soldier in the contest; that you may be the more put to shame, and that his power may be revealed more and more in the constancy of his Martyr. If I presumed upon my own strength, not being able to endure the torments I should sink down and deny; but because I have placed my foundation only upon the firm rock, what wonder is it if, making little of torments, I seem to have grown hard after the manner of a rock?
[22] Hearing this, the king, inflamed with excessive fury, orders iron plates to be made after the measure of his knees, he endures: and to be fixed with most sharp nails into his knees on both sides. After this he had him hung up, so that they might tear out his knees: and for three days he hung thus. But on the third day the attendants, taking the Martyr down, presented him to the royal sight, and the king said to him: You see, Gregory, that the vanity of your hope, in which you trust, has by no means snatched you from my hands. And the Martyr: Your hope rather and your working is proved to be vain. Do you not see that with a cheerful countenance I have passed through every kind of punishment, by the application of which you believed I should quickly fail either in body or in the constancy of my faith; and I indeed, whose body has lain subject to all distresses and pressures, on the day of judgment shall be renewed by my God in joy and glory: but you, if you persevere in this unbelief, shall be tormented in body and soul together with inextinguishable fire. And the king: I have no care for the renewal which you promise is to be granted by your God, nor is there with me any such reckoning: but because you have said that in that life I shall be tormented with inextinguishable fire, I shall order you to be burned for a time with extinguishable fire: and we shall see what your God, in whom you presume, will do. And saying this, he commanded lead to be melted in a cauldron and to be poured over the Saint's body. And when this had been done, the Martyr stood strong and steadfast, as though he had not been injured in anything. But the king, terrified and marveling at his endurance, said: How is there breath in you, and you have not failed through so many torments which have been inflicted for so long a time by my command? And the Martyr: I have already said that it is not of my own strength, but of God, to endure torments of this kind: for this is his covenant which he made with his elect, that here he should keep them in their own faith, and in the time to come render a worthy reward for their labor: for he chose them in charity unfeigned, and gave them everlasting glory. The charity would be feigned [f] if he did not save those whom he chose: but it is proved to be true charity, because those whom he once freely chose he preserves to reign with him for ever.
[23] The king, seeing that the Martyr could not be bent by torments, at last he is cast into a most foul prison, that he may die. thought to promise him honors and riches, that he might by soothing admonition call back from the purpose of his mind the man whom he had not been able to move by torments. And when he had now begun to do this, one of his magnates came to him, saying: My lord king, it is not expedient that this criminal should obtain the pardon of your mercy: for he is the son of Anach the Parthian, who cruelly slew your father of happy memory together with this man's uncle: in whose death almost the whole of Armenia was destroyed. And when the king had heard this, and had learned in truth that he was the son of Anach the Parthian, being filled with excessive indignation, he had the Saint bound by hands, feet and neck, and thus bound led away into a certain city named Artaxata. And when he had been brought thither, he was by royal command let down into a certain death-dealing place g, so that the son's affliction might pay the penalty due for the father. For that place had been built for the most wicked men and for the punishment of all evildoers, and all who were sent into it utterly failed, because the place both abounded in cold and was horrid with darkness, and abominable with rottenness, and, what is worse, was full of serpents: in which nevertheless the Martyr of God lived for fourteen years, during which he stayed there, by the mercy of God: for a certain woman living in the aforesaid city was admonished by a revelation in her sleep to sustain with daily food the Martyr placed in that most evil pit: which, according to the vision she had seen, she diligently did day by day: for every day she threw one loaf into the pit, with which the Martyr of the Lord was refreshed. And thus for fourteen years the Saint was sustained in that pestilent pit, as has been said, by a woman's service, until by God's will he was drawn out of that same pit.
ANNOTATIONS.
* forte inferentur
* i. e. capio
* afflictorum
* ceciderunt
* i. e. anum
* subsistit
* i. e. suades
* forte evellerentur
CHAPTER III.
The martyrdom of SS. Ripsime and Gaiana: the madness of Tiridates: St. Gregory freed from prison: the instruction and healing of the king and of the Armenians: the idols destroyed.
The martyrdom of St. Ripsime and St. Gaiana: the punishment of Tiridates, Meanwhile King Tiridates desired to join to himself by means of marriage Ripsimia, an illustrious Roman citizen and a most consecrated virgin, who, fleeing the wedlock of the emperor Diocletian, had come into the parts of Armenia with holy Gaiana her nurse. And when she refused to do this, and said,
that she could by no means forsake Jesus Christ her spouse, both blessed Ripsimia and her nurse were wasted with torments for the faith of chastity until they breathed out their last breath a. Whence it came about that the king, both for the torments which he had inflicted upon blessed Gregory and for the martyrdom of the holy Women, endured the due penalties by the divine judgment: for on a certain day, when he was going hunting with his household, suddenly a malignant spirit, invading him and casting him down from the chariot in which he sat, made him so mad that, being made outside of human nature, he devoured his own flesh out of excessive rage, and, made like a brute beast, went round about the fields in incredible madness [b]. Many also of his soldiers at the same time began to be vexed by the demon in this manner: for it had been just that those who had despised the precepts of their Creator should be delivered to the devil for torment, and that they should show that he had found a dwelling in their bodies who long since had established a home in their souls. There was therefore no small tribulation and distress in the region of Armenia, because men were both saddened at the torments of their neighbors, and grieved that they were without royal protection.
[25] At the same time the king's sister, by name Chusaroducta, and his sister hears in a vision that he must be healed by Gregory. saw in her sleep a certain most bright man commanding her: Tell the nobles of Armenia to hasten to draw Gregory the servant of God out of the pit, because through him the way of salvation and of knowledge shall be shown to all Armenia. And when she had awakened from sleep, and, struck with fear, was recounting the vision which she had seen, her hearers began to mock her, saying: Perhaps you too are seized by a demon, that you utter words of this kind? How could that unfortunate man still be alive, when fourteen years have passed since he was cast down into that death-dealing place? For scarcely would his bones be found there, much less could we draw a living man out from thence. And it came to pass that this same Chusaroducta was admonished in her sleep a second and a third time to tell all her brother's nobles that Gregory should be drawn out of the pit more quickly for their salvation, otherwise she would suffer many torments for her negligence. And she, going with the greatest haste to the nobles, set forth in order the vision which in terror she had seen.
[26] Counsel therefore being taken, the nobles send to the city of Artaxata, where the pit had been built, a certain prince by name Abdias c, commanding him to inquire diligently about Gregory; and, The Saint brought out of the prison, if he should find him alive, to hasten to bring him with him to them with the greatest honor. Abdias therefore, coming into the aforesaid city, was received by its citizens with great honor and joy. And when they carefully inquired the cause of his coming, he answered that he had come to draw the bound Gregory out of the pit. And when they marveled and said that from the length of time and the penal nature of the place the man had already gone to his fate, Abdias recited the vision of the king's sister, which she had seen twice and thrice upon this matter. Straightway therefore, bringing long and strong ropes, they let them down into that death-dealing pit, while Prince Abdias cried out and said: Gregory, if you are still among the living, come forth; for your God, whom you serve, has commanded you to come up. And when St. Gregory had come up, the men, seeing his whole body most black, were astounded: and clothing him with immense joy and honor, they brought him into the city of Valerotista, where King Tiridates was staying.
[27] has the king and others as suppliants: he gathers the relics of the Martyrs: Then the king, with all those who were vexed by the wicked spirit, met St. Gregory, and prostrate on the ground they began to take hold of the Saint's feet and to kiss them many times, asking pardon with their whole heart, and beseeching him both to deliver to oblivion the sufferings which they had inflicted upon him, and to deign to bestow upon them the health they longed for. To whom blessed Gregory, bidding them rise up from the ground, said: Do not seek from me, who am like you, the health of body or of soul, but acknowledge your Maker, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them; and he will be able of his own goodness to heal you. In that very hour St. Gregory asked the bystanders, saying: Where are the bodies of the holy Martyrs? And they said: What bodies of Martyrs do you seek? And the Saint: Those which were slain by you for the love of Christ and the confession of the faith. They said to him: Come and see. And so the Saint, going to the place where the holy Women had fallen for the constancy of the faith, and gathering with pious devotion their relics which had been scattered, took care to bring them together into one place, so that he might be able to bury them together with due honor and reverence. Then the king and all the magnates brought precious garments for the honor and glory of the burial, so that the holy Women might be clothed in splendid garments in that burial. But the Saint, judging them unworthy of the service of the Martyrs, because they had not yet obtained the grace of baptism, took care to cover their relics with his own garments, so that they might carry back all that they had brought for the honor of the burial. And he himself, carrying the relics of the Martyrs, hastened to the place outside the city where their dwelling had been, and remaining there through the whole night he entreated the almighty Lord that the penitents who desired to be saved might find with him a place of mercy for their sins.
[28] then the king and the people But on the next day Tiridates with the princes and magnates of almost all his kingdom [d] and with all the people of the city of Valerotista go with bended knee before St. Gregory, weeping and saying: Forgive us the evils which we did to you, and ask of your God, the Creator of all, that we may not perish. To whom St. Gregory said: In that you say that the Creator of all is my God, you do well, because God is God to those who know him: for those who do not acknowledge him as is fitting, although they are truly his by creation, are yet strangers to him by iniquity: for iniquity alone makes a divorce between us and God, iniquity alone sets a wall of enmity between the Creator and the creature. Evil men therefore are from God, but not with him; they live by God, but not for him; they are wise through God, but not with respect to him: in the first they are marked as estranged, in the second as ungrateful, in the third as senseless. Acknowledge therefore that my God is almighty, and has made all things that are in the world, that you may both be snatched in body from the present scourge and obtain in soul perpetual salvation. For he is the Creator of all things, incomprehensible, immense, inestimable, without end, without time, without body, without matter, perfect of himself, subsisting in himself, creating all things through himself, who is both near to all created things by the infinity of his essence, and invisible to them by the excellence of his majesty.
[29] He therefore who is above every beginning, most free from every passion, he exhorts to repentance. a stranger to every mutability, for our salvation put on flesh and underwent death; not because he was unable to save us without the garment of flesh and the undergoing of death; but that he might kindle us so much the more to love of him, as he had descended to lowlier things for charity's sake toward us. The Divinity had no need of the taking on of humanity, but humanity needed the suffering of the Divinity [e], so that by his loving descent to earthly things it might itself be gloriously raised to heavenly things: for God's descent to the lowest is our promotion to the highest: do not therefore despair of your crimes, but give thanks to the Creator, because by his justice he has chastised you in order to heal you, by his long-suffering he has waited for you in order to spare you; by his mercy he has borne with you in order to forgive you. Do penance for your guilt and your ignorances, that God, whom until now you have made angry with you by the worship of demons and the martyrdom of the Women, you may hereafter render appeased toward you by prayers and amendment of life. For then the holy Women who suffered at your hands will intercede with God for your salvation, if they shall know that there is sufficient grief in your mind for the crimes committed.
[30] When the Saint had spoken these words, both the king and his nobles He puts hope into the fearful, and from the miracles and the rest of the common people together rent their garments, and scattering ashes upon their heads, and prostrate on the ground, they cried out with one accord as with one mouth: How can there be for us any hope and confidence of remission, since we are lost in our ignorances and darksome ways? But holy Gregory said to them: Do not despair too much through fear; for our God is long-suffering, gentle and loving, and his patience is greater than is the greatness of your sickness. But they said: Deign, most holy Father, to strengthen our hearts, and entreat the Creator of heaven and earth for our guilt, that he may not disdain to receive us as penitents. And saying this, because of the incredible madness of the demons they were unwilling to depart even for a moment from the Saint's sight: for straightway, if they tried to be separated from him, they were vexed by the demons without rest. When therefore the Saint saw this, having compassion on their affliction, he uttered such a discourse to them. It is known to all that for the faith of my God you have inflicted incredible evils upon me; for your cruelty so blazed against me that I suffered from your iniquity that which it is impossible for human nature to endure: that therefore which was and is impossible to human nature, that you see made possible by divine power. For who of you would have believed that a man could live among serpents by day and by night, and remain unharmed in torments so harsh, unless you were my witnesses in this matter, who both know the horrible place and yourselves inflicted the torments? You see therefore that my God himself is the maker of nature, who is the changer of it: you see that he himself is the lord of nature, who turns it to his own command according to his will: a distinction therefore must be made between the power of nature and the power of the Creator: since nature can in no way exceed its own bounds and limits, because it must keep the course granted it by God.
[31] wrought in his own preservation But the Creator can, when he wills, bring into effect by his endless might and infinite power even those things which are impossible to nature. No insult is done to nature when something is seen to be done against it by the Creator, because the Creator has by no means bound his own power within the limits of natural power, nay rather, whatever that same natural power has, it received from him. For there are three courses of things: the miraculous, the voluntary, the natural: and the miraculous indeed is not subject to the others or to their law, but freely holds dominion in all, nor does it, as has been said, do injury to them,
when it seems to run counter to them, because neither do they have anything save what they received from him, nor did he give them anything save under himself. Although therefore according to nature it was impossible that I should endure so many torments inflicted upon me, yet almighty God, whom I serve, made that which was and is impossible to nature possible by his own power; and therefore my torments are not to be wondered at, since this, as I said, came to pass not by the power of nature, but by the power of God, which is distinguished from nature, as has been said. Know therefore that he who preserved me unharmed amid torments has himself turned your hearts from evil to good, and filled them with his love. For I say concerning myself that, unless God had preserved my littleness to show you the way of knowledge, I should neither presume to preach the word of salvation, nor could I have lived amid so many bitter torments. For daily in that horrid and deep pit I beheld an angel of the Lord comforting me and saying: Do not fear, Gregory, for the Lord keeps you, that you may be his minister in preaching, that you may be the cultivator of his beloved vineyard, so that with the other workmen, when the labor is finished, you may receive the wage due to you.
[32] he confirms it: he exhorts them to build a church. Hear me therefore, most beloved, and do not reject God's messenger, who brings you the admonitions and precepts of life: follow the counsel which I suggest, so that on the day of judgment you may be able to appear secure before the face of the living God without the blush of your guilt: drive vain thoughts from your minds, and take up in them the fear of God, that afterward you may be able to plant in them by fasting, obedience and humility the faith which is the beginning of human salvation and the foundation of all virtues. And if this be established in being, you will both be made worthy of the laver of baptism, and will crush under your feet the adversary of the human race; and take care also to build an oratory for the holy Women whom you delivered to death for the constancy of the faith, so that by their intercession you may both escape the wrath of the Judge and be able to obtain everlasting life. All of you therefore do this with spiritual joy and fruitful devotion, so that you who here build houses for the holy Martyrs may by their prayers be able to receive most glorious mansions in heaven. The Saint goes on teaching: then a sacred shrine for the Martyrs,
[33] When blessed Gregory had said these things, he gave leave both to the king and to his magnates and to the whole people to return to their own places. But the king and his magnates were unwilling to be separated from him, because, when they attempted to do this, as has been said before, they were vexed by the demons without rest. Their dwelling therefore was by day and by night in the vineyards beside the door of the Saint's tent, and clothed in sackcloth, with ashes scattered upon their heads, they remained there in fasting and mourning for sixty days [f]: and blessed Gregory by day and by night did not cease to instruct and confirm their minds by the divine law. And at the report of him and his preaching there hastened persons of both sexes and of every age to hear and to see the wonders of God: for the fear of God had so filled the hearts of all that they went vying with one another in the greatest haste to the Saint, ready both to receive the faith of Christ and to obey the Martyr's command in all things. And so, when the sixty days were completed, both the king with his princes and magnates and the whole people fell at St. Gregory's feet, asking that they might find health for their condition: for all had been struck by the just Judge with the rod of his fury. While therefore all lay prostrate, blessed Gregory said to them: Rise, and let us first remove the Martyrs to their rest, that they afterward by their prayers may remove you to the renewal of body and soul: and when he had said this, he ordered all things to be prepared that seemed necessary for building an oratory.
[34] Hearing this, all with exceeding speed and wonderful devotion brought everything and he has coffers made, and himself places their bodies in them. that was fitting for the building: for some carried stones, others beams of cedar, others precious marbles: for all ran to accomplish this work, not only men and women, but also the aged and little children g, with great fear and due reverence, each one fearing lest, if he were found an exile from this building, he should be made a stranger to the saving grace. But holy Gregory, taking the workmen's plumb-line h, marked out with exceeding diligence the foundations of the oratory, so that after the marking out they might be able both to set the foundations immovable and to raise the surface of the whole fabric: and thus in a few days with most beautiful and elegant work they built a wonderful temple [i] for the Saints of God. After this blessed Gregory ordered little coffers of cedar boards to be made, in which the relics might be laid. And when this had been done, he himself, taking the coffers, alone placed in them the relics of the holy Women, laying apart the body of each in its own coffer, and saying to those who had brought him the coffers: It is by no means lawful for you to draw near to the obsequies [*] of the Martyrs, since you have not yet obtained the grace of baptism.
[35] But the king and his wife, and his princes and magnates, brought a great quantity of gold and silver, He orders the gifts offered for the Martyrs to be kept meanwhile, very much balsam, linens of fine flax, cloths of hyacinth and purple garments adorned with Phrygian gold, placing them beside the door of the temple. And when St. Gregory came out, and saw all ornaments of this kind heaped before the door of the temple, he said to those who had placed them there: It is not fitting that anything of your goods should draw near to the relics of the holy Women, unless you be purified by the holy laver. Let all these things therefore be kept in the imperial chambers [k], until a master and pastor be granted you by God, the father of all mercy, so that there may be pontiffs and priests, and the ecclesiastical order may begin to be among you; and when you shall have been cleansed from your sins by the water of baptism, you shall have all these things for the service of the altar and the ornament of the church through the pontiff granted you by God.
[36] After this all entreated blessed Gregory to deign to bestow health upon them. To whom blessed Gregory said: he heals the king, destroys the temples of the idols. Behold, I am with you as one of you: I seek your health from God, and do you seek it, and he who is always kind and loving will have mercy on you. Bend therefore your knees to God, that he may deign to grant you soundness. And when all had done this, he himself, bending his knees before the coffers of the Martyrs, and most devoutly embracing them, poured out a lengthy prayer to God for the health of the king and of all the rest. And when he had completed his prayer, taking the king's hand and making the sign of the cross, he freed him from the demon: all also who labored with a like sickness, and moreover many others, paralytics, lepers, the withered, the dropsical, and those worn out with divers infirmities, he restored by the grace of the Savior to their former health [l]. Then blessed Gregory obtained from the king leave to go throughout his whole kingdom and to overthrow the temples of the idols; and when the king granted him this with a kindly mind, wherever blessed Gregory had learned that there were temples of demons, he hastened straightway to destroy them, and to divide among the needy the silver and gold which he could find in them. And when the temples were being overthrown from their foundations, there were heard in the air the voices of demons lamenting and saying: Woe, woe to us [m]! for from every place Jesus the son of Mary drives us out, and in his power Gregory, once wasted with all torments and left for dead, pursues us.
ANNOTATIONS.
* i. e. exsequiis
CHAPTER IV.
St. Gregory is consecrated at Cæsarea by Leontius as archbishop of Armenia: returning thither, he baptizes the king and a great people, and converts all Armenia: the Saint's virtues and death.
That St. Gregory may be made bishop of Armenia, But after blessed Gregory had cleansed almost all Armenia from the worship and filth of idols, he returned to King Tiridates with all joy and gladness. Then the king took counsel with all his princes that blessed Gregory should be made archbishop for the enlightenment of all Armenia. But when the Athlete of Christ perceived this, he began to resist them with all his might, saying that he was unworthy of so great an honor, and counseling them to find someone who
could bear that burden without the loss of his own soul. And when for very many days a contention of this kind arose among them, on one and the same night an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep both to the king, commanding him to have the Man of God chosen without delay as high priest, and showed himself to blessed Gregory, admonishing him to receive the most sacred honor and to yield to the king's petition, asserting that the will of the king and people was from God, and that therefore it was by no means lawful for him to go against the judgment of God's disposing. On the day that followed therefore, when each disclosed to the other by mutual revelation one and the same vision, blessed Gregory, not daring to resist any longer the royal will, nay rather the disposition of God, said: The will of God be done: I am ready to fulfill in all things whatever the heavenly condescension shall have disposed to do concerning my littleness.
[38] Then the king, filled with immense joy and exultation, sent St. Gregory with all glory and honor to Leontius, the venerable prelate of Cæsarea, he is sent to Cæsarea, where he is consecrated by St. Leontius. entreating him by royal letters to consecrate him as archbishop of all Armenia. And he gave blessed Gregory, both for his honor and for the company of the journey, sixteen of the more honored princes of his whole kingdom, commanding them to place the Lord's Confessor in a golden chariot drawn by white horses, and to cleave to him inseparably at his side with all submission as he journeyed in this manner as far as Cæsarea. Taking with him therefore the sixteen princes given him by the king, blessed Gregory, mounting the golden chariot a, came in a few days to Cæsarea, God prospering his journey. And when he had come thither, he was received both by Leontius the venerable archbishop and by all the men of that city with immense honor and office of kindness. And when the princes who had come with blessed Gregory disclosed the pious petition of the king to the bishop of Cæsarea, and brought forward his letters of entreaty concerning this matter; the bishop, rejoicing together at the king's conversion, first mercifully admitted his prayers, and afterward committed them to diligent execution: for he had heard how blessed Gregory had endured horrid torments for the confession of the Christian faith, and how afterward the king, being stricken by God who visited him, had returned to him with a contrite and humbled heart. Sending therefore legates throughout his whole diocese, the archbishop ordered all the bishops subject to his jurisdiction to be gathered at Cæsarea; so that, a synod of bishops being assembled, the pontificate of all Armenia might be delivered to blessed Gregory. And when they had been gathered into one and had placed their hand upon his head, blessed Gregory, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, received the power of binding and loosing together with the honor of the pontificate.
[39] Returning into Armenia, he baptizes the king This being done, having humbly asked leave and a blessing, he took his way to return to the king. And on that very return, wherever he heard that temples [b] of the demons still remained, he turned aside thither, and hastened to destroy them utterly. In many places also, building churches to the honor of God, he consecrated priests and baptisteries there. And so King Tiridates, hearing that blessed Gregory, having received the honor of the pontificate, was returning, resolved with his wife Queen Ashkhen and his own sister Chusaroducta and a great soldiery to go to meet him, so that the bearer of their salvation might be received with immense honor and joy. And coming as far as the river Euphrates, and hearing that he had turned aside to overthrow certain temples which remained, he waited for him in that same place for the space of one month. And so, all the temples of Armenia which remained being overthrown in that same space, after thirty days the Saint returned to King Tiridates: and when he had found him beside the river Euphrates with all his soldiery, being exceedingly gladdened, he ordered his people to remain beside the aforesaid river for the space of another thirty days and to persist in fasting, mourning and prayer, so that the grace of the Holy Spirit might find them worthy of the laver of regeneration. And when they had done this, after thirty days he baptized them in that same river Euphrates in the name of the Trinity, and after baptism he disclosed to them the heavenly sacraments and the mystery of redemption.
[40] and an immense multitude of men: And while they were being baptized, a certain light was seen in the manner of a column in that same river, on whose summit the awful sign of the Lord's Cross appeared; for because those who once were darkness were being made sons of light by the bestowing of the divine mercy, it was just that, to show this forth, a column of unutterable brightness should appear among them. And after all had come up from the holy laver, clothed in white garments, carrying tapers in their hands, they proceeded to the Lord's temple which blessed Gregory had built in the city of Bacaubam adjoining the river in which they had been baptized: and when blessed Gregory celebrated the solemnities of Mass in it, he distributed to all the most holy Body and Blood of the spotless Lamb. And those who were baptized on that day were more than fifteen myriads, that is, one hundred and fifty thousand men. And blessed Gregory remained there seven days, so that those who had not been able to come on the first day might during those remaining days put on the new man and be conformed to Christ: on which days an innumerable multitude obtained the mystery of baptism through the priest of the Lord.
[41] After this Gregory, encompassing the whole region of Armenia with his preaching, he converts all Armenia, and, loving solitude, promoted with provident discretion ten religious men, whose names are Albinus, Euthalius, Bassus, Moses, Eusebius, John, Agapius c, Arsocius, Antiochus, to be bishops: and ordaining innumerable priests, he assigned to each of them a church. He also established many monasteries in desert places, in which men most worthy of God by day and by night rendered to their Creator a diligent and acceptable sacrifice: for there was there spiritual fervor, frequent reading, assiduous and unwearied prayer, a rule concerning abstinence of the body, discourse on the sweetness of tears, and the other pursuits of holy discipline were practiced there. But after blessed Gregory had called back all Armenia to the way of salvation and knowledge, loving the rest of contemplation more than the labors of the active life, he went out into the desert to the mountain places, that there he might be able the more freely, as the more secretly, to serve his Creator with the greater solicitude.
[42] But King Tiridates, coming to him very often, yet from time to time visits his people. The piety of King Tiridates, falling at his feet, asked him to come down with him to the cities and confirm in faith by his preaching the souls of those converted to God; asserting that it was far better for him to render and to gain the souls of many for the Creator than to provide for himself alone in the rest of contemplation. Blessed Gregory, having compassion on his prayers and overcome by them, frequently leaving the places of solitude, came down into the cities of Armenia, and remaining with King Tiridates, ministered to him pious consolations concerning his daily groaning and assiduous affliction. For King Tiridates, both for the hardness of his heart and for the torments which he had ordered to be inflicted on blessed Gregory, sending forth frequent sighs and countless sobs, poured out bitter tears unceasingly after the manner of a running river. For through the whole time of his life, persevering in vigils, prayer, mourning and fasting, he entreated the Creator of all that he would not impute his offenses to him unto punishment, but would deign to blot them out by his free gift and unutterable goodness unto the glory of his name.
[43] Gregory's Sermons written, and his death. But after blessed Gregory had converted the whole land of Armenia by his preaching, betaking himself to the contemplative life, according to the wisdom given him by God he composed many sermons and words of edification, and set them down by the office of the pen for the knowledge and profit of those who should come after, so that not only his contemporaries and those near at hand, but also those who came after and were far off, might find in his bountiful teaching the counsel of salvation. In good works also he showed himself so watchful and zealous that both his action suited his name and his name accorded with his action. For by no means after the manner of those who sound the trumpet reversed did he destroy his discourses by his works, or assail his works by his discourses. When therefore, after the good fight which he had fought, he had completed the course of his ministry, being about to receive the robe of immortality as the recompense of justice, old and full of days he passed to the Lord in peace. Whose feast is celebrated on the fourth of the Nones of December, to the praise and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns God through all ages of ages. Amen.
ANNOTATIONS.
* Deest ut