THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS WRITINGS - VOLUME 117
The Coptic Patriarchs and the Kebra Nagast
c. AD 60 – 1300

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Texts are public domain except where marked in Sources and Credits.

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INTRODUCTION TO THIS VOLUME
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HOW THIS BOOK IS ARRANGED

This is the hundred and seventeenth volume of a series that gathers the writings of the
early Church. It is an addendum, and it gathers two books of the churches of Egypt and
Ethiopia. The first part is the History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church of
Alexandria, from Saint Mark, in the two parts that tell the lives of the popes of
Alexandria down to the ninth century. The second part is the Kebra Nagast, the Ethiopian
book of the glory of kings, which tells of Solomon, the Queen of Sheba and their son
Menyelek.

The introductions, the descriptions of the parts and the headings were prepared for
SermonIndex with the help of artificial intelligence. The texts themselves are the
translations, and were not rewritten.

TRANSLATIONS AND TEXTS

The English is that of older translators, nearly all of the nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries, and is printed as the website prints it. Most of these texts were read by
machine from scanned books and have not been proofread against the printed pages, so a
misreading may remain. Footnotes, and words in Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic and Latin,
are left out of this book, as are the translators’ long introductions; the reader who
wants them should go to the printed edition.

DATES AND AUTHORSHIP

The History of the Patriarchs is ascribed to Severus of al-Ashmunein, a bishop of the
tenth century, who wrote in Arabic from older Coptic sources and was continued by others.
The Kebra Nagast was put into its present form in Ethiopia in the fourteenth century from
older material. Both are mixed with legend, and the reader should not take either as a
plain record of events.


HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 1
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HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 1 Severus of al-
Ashmunein

10th century

Coptic bishop whose History of the Patriarchs is the main source for the Coptic church.

VOL. 1, PART 1 -- ST. MARK TO THEONAS (300 AD) — INTRODUCTION

PART 1 — FIRST PREFACE

2 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, the One God. This is the
book of the Lives of the Fathers and Patriarchs. May God grant us the blessing of their
prayers! These patriarchs were the successors of the father and missionary, Saint Mark the
evangelist, who preached the holy gospel and the good news of the Lord Christ in the great
city of Alexandria, and in the region of Egypt, and in the regions of Ethiopia and Nubia,
and in Pentapolis in the West, which is also called Africa, and in the neighbouring
territories; for all these countries fell by lot to his preaching, through the inspiration
of the Holy Ghost. And after he had preached and proclaimed the good tidings, and written
the gospel in Greek, and finished his course, he became a martyr in the Caesarium, a
quarter of Alexandria, which is called in the Hebrew language the city of Ammon. His
biography, which records that which was done to him, and how he preached, and what befell
him, is set forth in the first of the histories contained in this book.

3 And after him our orthodox fathers, the patriarchs, were the heirs of his doctrines
which save souls from hell; and they remained true to that which he delivered to them, in
the guardianship of the orthodox faith and in attachment to it, and in patience under
persecution for its sake, at all times, to their last breath, that is to say till death.
They sat upon his episcopal throne, one after another, each of them succeeding his
predecessor; and thus all were his representatives, and the shepherds of his flock, and
his imitators in his faith in Christ. These histories here given were collected from
various places by the care of the celebrated father, Abba Severus, son of Al-Mukaffa,
bishop of the city of Al-Ushmunain, who relates that he gathered them together from the
monastery of Saint Macarius and the monastery of Nahya and other monasteries, and from
scattered fragments which he found in the hands of the Christians. And when these
documents were put together by your

4 poor brother into this single volume, after research and trouble on his part, God gave
him a long life, until a day came when he wrote out this history and set it in order; but
it was not completed till the end of his eightieth year. And now I implore God's help that
we may understand what we read therein, and may obey these holy patriarchs, and carry out
their precepts, and follow in their footsteps, and remain attached to their faith; for he
is the God who hears and answers our prayers. Thanks be to him for ever and ever. Amen.

SECOND PREFACE

5 In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, the One God. Praise be
to God, the origin and source of learning, the maker and creator of all things, who forms
and brings into being all that exists: who guides and elects those whom he pleases, and
raises those whom he desires among his servants to be his chosen ones and his holy people,
whom he picks out and in whom he takes pleasure; who lifts up the poor from the ground,
and the needy from the dunghill, that he may make him ruler over his people, and a prince
to govern his servants and his land; and gives him as his inheritance the throne of power,
that he may rule over the earth with justice, and among men with truth; that he may
deliver the weak from the mighty, and save the oppressed from the oppressor. This is the
judgment and wisdom of God which none of his creatures can comprehend, for his mysteries
are hidden from the wise and learned; and he raises up at all times those who shall gently
guide his people.

6 The merciful, the compassionate one, the Lord Christ, who gave himself by the mystery of
his Incarnation to save his creatures, and vanquished the mighty by humility and weakness;
who speaks through the mouth of his prophets by the Holy Ghost; when it pleased him to
manifest himself on earth and become incarnate, that he might save his creatures whom he
had created after the likeness of the image of his majesty, appeared among them in a human
body, born of the Virgin Mary, most excellent of women in creation. For he had elected her
from among the offspring of Adam, the sinner and rebel against his Lord, who obeyed his
enemy and broke the commandment of his Creator, so that it was necessary that he should
die, as God had said to him when he warned him not to disobey; but Adam would not listen,
desiring to be a god and similar to his Creator, and so was caught in the net of
stumbling. Yet even then God the Word had mercy upon him in pity for him, and became
incarnate, ----He, the uncreated in respect of his Godhead, the Man in respect of his
Humanity, the pure from all sin. And the Virgin Mary bore him in her womb and brought him
forth, by a mystery to which the intelligence of creatures cannot attain, and by which he
exalted her above above all other created beings in heaven or on earth; above the Angels,
the Powers, the Principalities, the Cherubim and the Seraphim, and all whom God has made
in heaven or on earth. For she became the throne of him who is Lord of the first and the
last, without division or change, ---- of him whom no space can enclose, and no time
contain.

7 And when, in his unattainable wisdom, he established his dispensation, and the Union of
his Humanity with his Divinity, the mystery of which is hidden from all in heaven or on
earth, he chose his disciples, the apostles, and gave them the great commission,
authorising them to bind and to loose. And so likewise their successors after them inherit
this gift in all regions of the world, each one following his predecessor. Thus the
inheritance of this power, which Christ gave to the great father and evangelist, Mark, the
apostle, is carried on to his successor, the patriarch who sits upon his episcopal throne
in the great city of Alexandria, in the midst of the regions where he preached. 8 Saint
Mark, then, was the first patriarch who fed the flock of Christ; and in after times he was
followed by the inspired fathers and patriarchs, generation after generation. This see of
his is independent, and separate from all other sees. And no patriarch is promoted to it,
nor does any obtain from God this glorious station and this high and sublime degree, save
one whom he has proved and tried, and who has experienced such trouble and adversity and
resistance of enemies and attacks of heretics that by these things he resembles Christ's
disciples and apostles, who were assisted by his Holy Spirit, ----those pure ones, those
preachers of good tidings, who suffered contempt and blows and scourging and stoning and
crucifixion and shipwreck, and burning by fire, and wounds, and casting down from high
places to the ground, and death by the sword, and all kinds of torment, which if we were
to relate in detail, our narrative would be too long and the description of it would be
too copious, and listeners would tremble at the hearing of it, and books and volumes would
not contain even a small part of the history. Yet they lived in patience, enduring all
these sufferings, and imitating their Lord, their Master and their Christ, who sent them
to baptize all men and all nations, and draw them to faith in him.

9 They taught men that by which they might profit through all ages and generations and
times to the end of the world, namely the means of saving their souls in this world and
the next; and they bequeathed their doctrines to their successors, the fathers and
patriarchs, in every region to which their preaching was extended; for the patriarchs are
indeed their successors and their followers. So they laid down their lives to preserve
their trusted ones among the baptized, the faithful and orthodox. As the great apostle and
excellent teacher Paul, the elect one and lamp of the Church of God, says “Rather we glory
in the tribulation that we suffer; for we know that tribulation perfects patience in us,
and patience trial and probation, and hardships call forth hope, and hope disappoints not,
because it pours into our hearts the love of God by the Holy Ghost”. As he says in another
place “Verily if ye be allowed to wander free, and be left without chastisement, and be
not branded as the elect friends of God were branded before you, then are ye become
strangers to God and are not near to him”. And there are many similar testimonies in the
books of the Church, from Paul and from others of the inspired apostles and fathers and
teachers, since th evenerated prophets.

10 The patriarchs did not cease to repel the doctrines of the heretics, striving to refute
them, resisting them, overthrowing their false tenets, revealing to men their misbelief
and the corruption of their creeds. And they composed a homily on every text, until they
filled the Church of God with their homilies and sermons and spiritual learning. They
never abandoned the study of the scriptures and writings and commandments of God, reading
all the ecclesiastical books and other works which they needed for the composition of
their homilies, and searching out every jewel of the Divine Word and of other literature.
So at last they attained their desire, and obeyed the summons of their Creator who called
them, saying, each one of them, “Here am I with the sons whom thou gavest me, for not one
of them has perished!” Thus they obtained their high degrees, and the mansions, brilliant
with happiness and light, the blessings of which are eternal and imperishable.

11 They did not in the time of their pastorate fear haughty princes. Their hearts and
purposes never faltered in the love of God, nor in teaching men, both secretly and openly,
the means of saving their souls. And while they governed the Church, they were never
careless nor frivolous, nor did they acquire aught belonging to this transitory world; but
they were obedient to their Lord's commands, and applied themselves to their duties of
instruction and imparting discipline, and observed the canons and precepts of God. So in
the eyes of their flock they were great and learned; and when one of their disciples, or
one of those who resisted them and their doctrine, beheld them and their deeds, he
glorified God for their works, because the words of the Gospel which Christ uttered were
now fulfilled: “You are the light of the world. A city, when it is placed upon a hill,
cannot be hidden, and a lamp, when it is lighted, is not set under a bushel, but on a
candlestick, to enlighten all that are in the house. So let your light shine before men,
that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

12 As one of the wise men says: “He who mounts the steps of learning and public affairs
becomes great in the eyes of the multitudes, and he whose nature is noble has his rights
acknowledged; to him who despises money men's hopes are directed; he who is reasonable
ceases to be unjust; the just man's judgments are carried out; the leader is he who
defends his faith with his possessions, and does not defend his possessions by means of
his faith”. But the best is what is said in one of the jewels of literature as follows:
“The good shepherd does good to his flock and with justice rules creation. He who is just
in his government is independent of his assistants. He who excels among men by his rank of
governor and his superiority as ruler is bound to guard his rank by his good
administration, so that his prosperity may continue and that he may be fortunate both in
spiritual and temporal matters. He whom God has put into possession of his land and
territory, and entrusted with his people and servants, and whose place and rank he has
exalted, ought to give thanks to God in faith, and to preserve his religion, and embellish
his life, and purify his thoughts, and make virtue his constant habit, and salvation his
aim and object. But injustice slips on its feet, and draws down vengeance, and destroys
happiness and makes the nations perish. The hasty man fails even when he gains;

13 but the deliberate man succeeds even when he loses. He who relies on his own opinion
falls into the net of his enemies. He who rides on haste comes to a fall. He who does what
he pleases gets what is evil. The fall of dynasties is caused by the employment of the
lowest of the people. He who asks help of the wise gains what he hopes for. He who asks
the advice of the prudent walks in the right path. Good government is the light of
sovereignty, but evil administration is the source of destruction. To favour the fool is
the worst of baseness, but to employ the wise is the best of merits; for the employment of
the wise leads to the establishment of wisdom, but the employment of the fool to the
maintenance of folly. Every man inclines to his like, and every bird roosts with its
fellow. Learn that the cause of the ruin of princes is to be found in the rejection of the
virtuous and the employment of the base, and in making light of the counsellor's advice,
and in the deception that arises from placing trust in the flatterer. But God assists the
right by his bounty and glory and power and majesty. Verily, he can bring to pass all that
he pleases. To him be glory for ever!”

THIRD PREFACE

14 BY SEVERUS, BISHOP OF AL-USHMUNAIN The author of this history, Severus, son of Al-
Mukaffa, the compiler, says thus: 15 When I, ---- the wretched and sinful one, drowning in
the seas of my transgressions, I, the penitent, who waste my days in sin, and grieve over
my negligence and the loss of the months and years of my life in hopes and
procrastinations, ruinous to my faith and my condition, ---- learnt and ascertained the
graces which the Lord Christ, the Saviour, has granted, to whose name worship is due, to
all the baptized whom he bought with his precious blood; 16 and how he gave his authority,
and bestowed the Holy Ghost upon his disciples and followers, the chosen Twelve and
Seventy, and upon those that came after them, such as Paul, the teacher of the Church,
whom God specially called because he knew the strength of his faith and his zeal, and such
as those whom he elected to the episcopal throne of his martyr and disciple and
evangelist, whom he sent as apostle to his people, and as the first of the patriarchs of
Egypt, and of Pentapolis, which is Barca and Fezzan and Al-Kairuwan and Tripoli of the
West and Africa, and of Ethiopia and Nubia, ---- all of which countries fell under his
preaching by the command of the Holy Ghost, ---- whose martyrdom took place in the city of
Alexandria, after he had preached the name of the Lord Christ, according to the evidence
of his biography, of whose doctrines which save souls from hell our fathers, the
patriarchs, became heirs, sitting upon his episcopal throne one after another, each one in
succession to his predecessor, all being the successors of Saint Mark, handing down his
authority one to another, and the shepherds of his flock, and imitators of his faith in
Christ, ---- of Saint Mark, the pure evangelist who saw Christ's face, ---- from whose
successors, the patriarchs who came after him, descends to us the knowledge of their
history and their names and the changing fortunes of each of them in his time and age, and
the troubles and sorrows and struggles which fell to the lot of each of them for the name
of his Lord and his Christ, and the preservation of his flock year after year and age
after age, ----then, since I am one of those who are not fit to write down with their
wretched, perishing hands any of the histories of these patriarchs, I requested the help
of those Christian brethren with whose fitness I was acquainted, and begged them to assist
me in translating the histories that we found written in the Coptic and Greek languages
into the Arabic tongue, current among the people of the present day in the region of
Egypt, most of whom are ignorant of the Coptic and the Greek, so that they might be
satisfied with such translations when they read them.

17 And I implored him who gives speech to the stammerer, and opens the mouths of the dull,
and calls those weighed down by burdens, as I am, in accordance with the words of the
gospel, spoken by his own holy mouth, which say: “Come to me, ye that are weary and carry
burdens, that I may give you rest; and learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart,
that ye may receive rest for your souls; and bear my yoke upon you, for my yoke is light
and my burden is good. ” ---- 1 implored him to pardon my slips, and to forgive the
progress which I make in indulgence towards my blameworthy deeds and faults and frequent
sins. And I copied that which I knew not from the men of old, in agreement with the canons
of the Church, according to that which is now about to be related, besides what tradition
and history teach. And I added to the rest what I knew of the histories of the fathers and
patriarchs whom I had myself beheld. And I asked God ---- whose power is glorious ---- to
pardon me the superfluous eloquence and beautified language that the histories contain,
and all that I can claim as the work of my sinful self in relating the accounts of those
whose meanest disciple I am unworthy to be, and my description of the virtues of holy
monks inspired by the grace of the Holy Ghost, partly from what I have myself beheld and
partly from translations of histories.

18 Now I will make frequent prostrations on behalf of those who shall read what I have
written, that they may pray for pardon for me for that which I have attempted and
undertaken, and may beg for forgiveness and indulgence and absolution for me, through the
intercession of the elect Lady of the first and the last, the Throne of the Lord of the
worlds; and through the intercession of the angels who stand beside him, and of the
spiritual orders, and of the truth-announcing and inspired prophets, and of the pure and
elect apostles, and of the militant martyrs, and of the holy and righteous fathers, and of
the virtuous elders, and of all among the posterity of Adam with whose works God is well
pleased. Amen. O God, I pray thee to open the eyes of my heart and my sight, that I may
understand thy words, and ray hearing, that I may hear and do that which is right. In thy
mercy be not angry with me for that which I have written, but pardon and forgive the
faults therein caused by my negligence. And shew thy favour to him who here speaks,
relying upon God's pardon.

FOURTH PREFACE

19 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, the One God. 20 Great
is the Lord and exceedingly to be praised, and great are his works, and inscrutable are
his mysteries and his wisdom; nor can any man comprehend any of God's dealings, which are
too high for the understanding of those that understand, or of the learned in the law. For
these when they are questioned, humble themselves and say: O God, who hast created us and
favoured us, and given us commands and prohibitions, and by punishments made us fear to do
what thou hast forbidden, and hast guided us towards the salvation of our souls and the
good way; we have slipped in our thoughts, and have rebelled in our free-will. Therefore
we implore thee, O long-suffering and beneficent and mighty and gracious One, who
pardonest all that come to thee with honest purpose, to be gracious to us, and to be our
starting-point and our assistance and our final perfection in the road by which we advance
to thee; and to open the darkened eyes of our hearts and our clouded thoughts, so that we
may observe and do what we read in thy holy books, and in the histories of those whom thou
didst love, and didst choose from among thy followers, and didst elect, namely those
militant ones, who overcame their desires, who abandoned the world on account of their
love for thee, and their obedience to thy commandments and precepts;

21 and to grant us a good end, so that our departure from this world may be the departure
of thy chosen ones, who are saved from sins and iniquities, from which no man is free, and
that we may be delivered from the terrible and dreaded place, if thou wilt have mercy upon
us, and wilt liberate us from the power of the Devil, and from the service of sin; and to
grant to us spiritual wisdom, with which we may trample down worldly desires by striving
to keep thy commandments; and to let us go forth from this perishing world with provisions
for the eternal life; and to give us words of welcome before thy dreaded and terrible
tribunal. And among thy benefits to us, guide the course of our life in this world, that
it may be passed in doing what pleases thee and in obeying thee, and following thy guiding
and life-giving Law; and lead us to thy directing Life, that our minds may be directed to
thy kingdom, and that our actions may be ruled by the doctrines of thy holy gospel. Thou
sayest, O Lord: “Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it
shall be opened to you ”. So I ask of thee, confiding in thy words, without an action that
I have done that can please thee, and having no good deeds which I have offered to thee;

22 but for the sake of thy name by which we are called, as the blessed David says in a
Psalm: “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to thy name give the glory because of thy mercy
and thy truth, that the gentiles may not say: Where is their God? And our God is in heaven
and on earth; all that pleases him he has done”. O God deliver us and save us, and be to
us in this world of ours a Protector and Saviour in all our affairs, whether small or
great, whether glorious or mean. And be merciful, O compassionate one, and vouchsafe, O
merciful one, to lead us to that which pleases thee, and remove us far from what offends
thee. For thou sayest, O Lord: “Return to me, and I will forgive you, even if your sins
are as numerous as the sands of the sea, and the stars of heaven”. Therefore fulfil thy
promise to us sinners, and do not ask of us repentance or works, but by thy mercy and pity
and goodness, grant help to the prayer of thy sinful servant, although he neglects thy
commandments, namely to him who writes these glorious histories, and hereby begins by
saying:

23 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, the One God. Let us
begin, with the help of God and with his blessed assistance, to write the histories of the
holy Church. The author says: That which I, the sinner, have written, I collected from the
monastery of Saint Macarius, and the monasteries of Upper Egypt; and the religious deacon,
Michael, son of Apater, was commissioned to make translations of some of the documents
from the Coptic language into Arabic, as will be mentioned in its place. This was in
addition to that which was found in the great city, and the abridgments of certain
histories which were found, the first of them relating to Christ, my Help and my Hope and
my Defender and my Salvation. For the first of these documents is that which was
translated in the monastery of our Lady at Nahya, concerning the matter of the priesthood
of Christ the Lord, whose name is glorious, and of his entrance into the temple. In the
peace of God. Amen. Amen. Amen.

THE PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST

24 In the time of Julian the unbelieving Prince, there was a man who was a Jew, and a
priest of the Jews, and his name was Theodosius, and he was high in rank. There was also a
Christian, a silversmith who knew him; and there was a strong affection between the two;
and the name of the Christian was Philip. And on a certain day Philip went to one of the
cities of Syria and moored his ship in the harbour, that he might sell certain goods which
he had brought. There Philip met his friend, the Jewish priest Theodosius, and, entering
into affectionate conversation with him, said to him: “O my brother, I would that thou
wouldst become a Christian, so that our friendship might be a genuine one, and that thou
mightest make profit out of this world and the next also”. Then Theodosius answered,
saying to him with great affection: or I have taken care for my salvation; and I have
thought of something that I wish to reveal to thee; for I will not leave thee without the
knowledge of the most high God, who bears witness to that which I tell thee. Therefore do
not doubt it, for I tell it thee because thou hast shown me thy love for me. But I prefer
that thou shouldst keep what I say in thy heart and not repeat it to anyone, and it is
this:

25 That he who was announced by the Holy Ghost and the Prophets is the Messiah whom you
Christians worship, confessing that he indeed has come; and this I believe with an honest
and pure heart, without any doubt at all. For thou art a brother and a friend, and
therefore 1 disclose this secret to thee and certify it in thy presence, because thy love
and desire of happiness and good things for me are so evident to me. Therefore believe me
now, my brother. But my carnal thoughts hinder me from being baptized; for I am not
humble, nor am I fit, for I am weak; and I am a priest to this people, and have acquired
great renown and honour and high rank, and have gained by them treasure and wealth, and if
I left them, I should lose all that. And not only my own people would abandon me, but the
Christians also, according to what I have witnessed with regard to the Jews when they are
baptized, as to the position that they hold; and I have heard also that you say: “When a
Jew is baptized, it is as if one baptized an ass”. So how can I now be baptized? Moreover
I see Christians sinning and angering God and neglecting the law, instead of walking in
the straight path of discipline and in the truth which has come to them.

26 And I have witnessed others who have seen them living thus, and whose hearts and faith
have grown weak, so that they have imitated those careless Christians. When we enquire
into the salvation which came to you from us, we recognise the Messiah indeed; and the
apostles, who became your teachers, are also of our race; but you neglect the good tidings
that they brought to you, and the doctrine that they taught you. And as the other nations
have not been baptized and have not believed to this day, so also I have not been
baptized, because of the glory of the world and the honours which 1 receive from my
people, and because I see you neglecting the commands and admonitions which Christ gave
you, and the exhortations of his disciples to you. Thus I refused to lose my glory and
honour, and to become neglectful like you of that which has been given to you; and this is
what hinders me from baptism. For the greater part of our Jewish community believe in the
truth of the Messiah and in his miracles more firmly than you do; yet are they far from
the salvation which came to you. And now I congratulate thee on the glorious mysteries
which we have possessed from the beginning. And I declare this to thee, that we know and
believe in Christ's miracles and works more firmly than you Christians do, and we know
truly that he is the Messiah who is come.

27 Hear then from me this mystery which took place in ancient times, and while the temple
was still standing at Jerusalem. The Jews had a custom of establishing twenty-two priests
in the temple by an obligatory law; and there was in the temple a book in which was
written the genealogy of every man who became a priest, and the names of his father and
mother, that it might be known that he followed the command of the most high God. And the
Jews retained this custom. 28 Now at that time, when Jesus Christ was in Judaea, this book
having existed before his appearance, one of the twenty-two priests died, and the rest
assembled by themselves to choose whom they should promote instead of him. But their
opinions did not agree as to whom they should appoint, and they persisted in opposing one
another; and as often as a man was named he was rejected. Then they cast lots with a view
of electing him upon whom their lot should fall, and, after electing him, to appoint him
to the office, if there were no fault or infirmity in him, and no defect in his family, or
other cause; for if they found one who had the correct genealogy but was not learned, they
rejected him and would not promote him; and this was a dispensation from the most' high
God, because of their strife, so that none might be promoted except the Lord of the
priesthood, who was worthy of this place, namely, Jesus Christ. And behold, after this,
the Holy Ghost moved in one of the priests, and he became zealous for God and stood up in
the midst of them, and said: “We have to day been assembled for ten days, and yet we
cannot appoint any one. And I know certainly that our discussion is thus prolonged because
of him whom the most high God will appoint, and this is the reason of the disputing among
us and the overthrow of our intentions.

29 And this will be made manifest by the will of the most high God”. Then they said to
him: “If thou knowest anyone, mention him to us openly, and we will acknowledge it as a
great favour on thy part”. So he said to them: “Not till you make an agreement with me
that you will not reject what I say to you, but will accept it from me; and then I will
tell you who is fit for the place; but I know that you cannot reject him”. So when all the
priests heard this, they swore an oath by Truth and Sincerity that, if one who was worthy
was shown to them, they would accept and appoint him. When he was assured of them, he said
to them: “O my brethren, the most high God has put it into my mind that he who is worthy
of this place is Jesus, who is called the son of Joseph; for he is a man perfect in his
pedigree and in his person and in his conduct, and is capable of speaking and acting
before God and men. And know that you will find none like him among this people who has no
deceit nor physical defect”. So when the priests heard his words, and understood his
discourse, they were confounded and perplexed because of the oath; and therefore they said
to him with guile, thinking they could reject his proposal: “He whom thou namest is
worthy, for we are seeking a good man;

30 but he is not of the lineage of the priests, and the people speak calumniously of his
birth, because of the infants whom Herod slew with the sword on his account”. Then he
answered and said to them without anger: “Cleave fast to the truth; for indeed I will
guide you to the right course with regard to him, so that you may not turn away from the
most high God; for then we should go far from the truth, and should believe lies, since I
know that if we enquire into the truth God will reveal it to us”. Then they said: “Satisfy
our minds, as thou knowest how, with regard to his birth and family, and we will consent
to what thou sayest to us”. So he said to them: “Enquire and you will learn that in the
days of Aaron the priest there was an alliance by marriage between Aaron and the tribe of
Juda, to which the prophet David bore witness. Now I have enquired much about Jesus, his
tribe and genealogy, and 1 find that his mother Mary is connected with both tribes. And,
she is also innocent of sin, through another great mystery. For this reason I desire that
you make enquiries, that you may know with certainty that what I say is true, and may
recognize that I speak honestly to you”. But the priests thought that by this notion of
theirs they would bring his counsel to nought.

31 And they began to enquire about the family of Jesus, and found that Mary united the two
tribes, and therefore they could not evade this point on account of the oath. So they
began to dispute about the pedigree of Jesus. For they said: “There is a different opinion
on this point. We wish to know how his birth was not adulterous, since they accused his
mother Mary, when she was given to Joseph”. And they all agreed on this subject. And they
sent for his mother Mary to the Temple, and exhorted her gently to declare to them the
matter of her conception of Jesus, and whence he was. And the Law was in their hands,
bearing witness against them with her, that they should not think evil of her if she spoke
the truth; and they swore to her accordingly. And they said to her: “O woman, behold, thou
seest us all assembled for good, not for evil, but for the business of God most high which
we are settling. For we have come to one conclusion with regard to thy son, whom we find
to be acceptable to God and men. And he is wonderful among men, and they all glorify God
most high on account of him, for he at this time is among them like Solomon son of David,
who was given to him by the wife of Uriah the Hittite; and therefore we have chosen him
and selected him by lot, to establish him as priest on account of his virtues.

32 But with regard to one report we are still in doubt; for we wish to know from thee
whence he is, and by whom thou didst conceive and bring him forth; in order that the truth
may be known from thee, so that no evil word be spoken of thee nor of the priesthood. For
this reason we sent for thee, that we may know the truth, and may not remain in doubt;
then thou wilt put an end to the dispute about the matter before us. And here is the Law
before us, and we declare before God most high, the Invisible One, that no harm nor blame
shall come to thee from us; but we shall thank thee greatly because thou hast not hidden
the truth from us”. But Mary thought that if she revealed to them the hidden mystery of
her miraculous maternity they would not believe it on account of the difficulty which the
matter would present to them; and that their minds would not admit the idea that a virgin
could become a mother, and that there could be a son without a father. So she said to
them: “If I told you what I know, would you accept it? Nay if I revealed to you the
mystery concerning my conception and wonderful maternity, you would not believe my words.
Therefore the best thing for me is to be silent”.

33 But the priests, moved by their evil thoughts, said to her: “O Mary, in truth we desire
to hear from thee whose son Jesus is. For his father Joseph is dead, and our hearts doubt
with regard to him whether he was his father; and therefore we ask of thee the true
account of the matter, for by giving it thou wilt stop the whole dispute about thy
maternity. We beg thee to reveal to us this mystery truthfully and clearly; and do not
fear anyone, for the right course is not concealed from us; but if thou hidest the matter,
the Law decrees against thee a curse for ever”. This they said to her, and the like. So
Mary was troubled, saying: “I am perplexed in every way on account of the incomprehensible
One, whom I bore; and behold the day is come for me to declare him. And I understand now
the secret of my maternity, which you urge me to reveal. But when you hear it, you will
not believe it, and you will not accept what I shall tell you. Even Joseph who, as you
say, is dead, doubted of my conception, as you do, and asked me, saying: “Who has been
with you?” So I swore that no man had ever touched me; yet he did not believe me until the
angel of God appeared to him and satisfied his mind. But he is not living to bear witness
for me before you to the truth of what I say.

34 For the Law accepts the evidence of two witnesses more readily than the evidence of
one. But I affirm before God and this Law that 1 brought forth my son Jesus, although I am
a virgin; and I will relate to you how I conceived him”. Then they said to her: “Verily
the thing is manifest; and we acknowledge before God and his holy Law that thou didst in
truth bring forth this son; and this is a thing not to be concealed, for a woman who
conceives and suffers the pangs of childbirth is she that rejoices more than others when
she brings forth. Now thou hast confessed truthfully that thou didst bring him forth; and
thus we, who for a long time have conversed with no one, are now sitting conversing with a
woman. But we told thee that we would not reprimand thee, if thou wouldst tell us what it
is lawful for us to hear and accept from thee”. Then Mary began to think in perplexity and
fear, bending her face towards the ground and weeping. At last she said: “Now I know that
I brought forth Jesus as you say, and this I confess. But as for your suggestion that a
man ravished me, indeed the seal of my virginity bears witness to me that I tell you the
truth”. When they heard this, they were troubled and said: “This is a statement that we
will not accept, for it is a tale of wonder.

35 How can we write the name of thy son in the genealogy, without the name of his father
and of the tribe to which he belongs, as the current custom is?” When Mary heard the
priests say this, she said to them: “I told you from the beginning that I know nothing of
what you have said; therefore do what you wish, for I will not tell you what has not
happened to me”. So when she said this, not one of them contradicted her; but they were
moved by divine providence, and sent and summoned trustworthy women from among their
midwives, and begged them strenuously and eagerly to clear up the matter with regard to
her, whether she was a virgin, as she said, before God and the Law. So the midwives
examined her, and said to the priests: “She speaks the truth; she is a virgin inviolate,
as she said; and her virginity was not lost when she brought forth Jesus, for as you all
know, he was born of her.” Then they inquired among her neighbours and acquaintances, to
see whether they might find someone to deny the birth. But they found no one, for everyone
confirmed the fact of her bringing forth a son, and the time at which she so wonderfully
became a mother, by a mystery which was understood by none. Thus the priests found nothing
which they could allege against her, or by which they could prove her false, but only the
manifest truth.

36 Then after that they sent for her, moved by necessity, in fear, and said to her: “We
have inquired, and have found nothing contrary to thy words, nor to what thou didst relate
to us. But it is not right that we should write down what thou sayest. Now therefore we
adjure thee by God Almighty to make known to us who is the father of Jesus, by whom thou
didst bring him forth, that we may write his name in the register and in the genealogy”.
And Mary was filled with the Holy Ghost, and said: “I will say nothing with guile or
falsehood, and God, by whose name you have adjured me, is my witness”. And she began to
tell them thus: “The Angel Gabriel came to me, and announced the good tidings to me”. So
she explained to them all that had happened to her. Then they were confounded and
marvelled greatly, and prayed God to forgive them the unjust words which they had used
against her. And one of them said: “Indeed this is the Messiah, of whom the Prophets
prophesied that he would come of the house of David, and from Bethlehem of the tribe of
Juda.” Then they called Jesus, and tendered the oath to him as priest, and wrote his name
in the genealogy, with the day and the month and the year, describing him as “Jesus, the
son of God, and the son of Mary the virgin, whom she bore while still a virgin.

37 He is indeed a priest, and is worthy of the office”. And this was a providential
dispensation, as Luke the Evangelist, who is said to have been a physician, says in a
passage of his Gospel namely, that “When Jesus returned through Galilee in the power of
the Spirit, his fame went forth through all the country, and he used to teach in their
synagogues, and all glorified him; and he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up,
and entered according to his custom into their synagogue on the Sabbath day. And the
attendant gave him the book containing the prophecy of Isaias, in which it is written: The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, and therefore he has anointed me and sent me to preach good
tidings to the poor, and to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the
blind, and to set at liberty those that are bound, and to announce the acceptable year of
the Lord. Then he rolled up the book and gave it to the attendant, and sat down; and the
eyes of those present were fastened upon him. And he began to say to them: To-day has this
prophecy been fulfilled in your ears. And all bare him witness, and wondered at the words
of grace which proceeded out of his mouth”.

38 When Philip the Christian heard these words from Theodosius the Jew, he rejoiced
greatly. Then the latter said to him: “I know these things and have spoken of them only
because I am one of the teachers and readers of the Law; and it is the Law that has
confirmed in my heart the belief that he whom Mary brought forth is the Messiah, and that
in him and no other is fulfilled the prophecy of Jacob to Juda, his son, and that no other
Messiah shall come after him. For it is assured to us that he it is whom the nations were
expecting, and he it is that was to come into the world and to deliver those that believe
in him. And there shall not be after him any chief or leader or priest in Israel,
according to the words of the Prophet David concerning him in the 109th Psalm: “The Lord
sware and repents not, Thou art a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech”.
But who among the posterity of Adam is a priest who shall live for ever? For David also
says in the 88th Psalm: “Who is the man that shall live and shall not see death?”
Therefore it is the Messiah of whom David said that he is the living and eternal priest.”

39 Then Philip answered and said to him: “It is right that thou shouldst know that thy
concealment of this matter makes thee liable to judgment on the Great Day; and I should
prefer to reveal what I have heard from thee to our religious prince, that he may send and
bring to light the genealogy written in the register, and the Jews' want of faith, so that
they may be openly condemned”. But the Jew answered and said to the Christian: “Thou
knowest that thou wilt bring a judgment upon thyself for breaking the promise which stands
between us. Moreover the thing which thou thinkest that thou wilt succeed in doing, thou
wilt not be able to do, but wilt be powerless therein; for when the Jews hear of it, they
will stir up a great war, and events will take place by which many men will lose their
lives. And if they are urged to show the genealogy, and that which is written therein,
they will prefer to burn it in the fire, or all of them will be slain with the sword; but
they will not show it. Then thou wilt be to blame, and the genealogy will be lost after
all. And the Christians do not need it, because it is the register of the Jewish priests;
but you believe in Jesus and know him through the words of the prophets and apostles, and
have already assured yourselves of the facts of your religion.

40 But this register will condemn the Jews for ever, so long as it remains with them. Why
then dost thou desire to take it away from among them? Believe me, my friend, that every
book which I have read of the Law and of the Prophecies of the Prophets with regard to the
Messiah is literally in agreement with the genealogy in my eyes, and by it I confirm my
faith in the Messiah whom you worship; and this is manifest to all the doctors of the Law.
And I know that if thou shouldst mention it, thou wouldst cause its destruction”. 41 Then
I, Philip, in spite of many entreaties, at last yielded to his injunctions not to reveal
this matter to the prince; for he made me afraid, and so I restrained myself. For he
assured me in the name of God, that this evidence proves that Jesus is the Messiah
sufficiently to condemn the Jews, and to confirm us and our faith. I, Philip, wrote this
report, and laid it before the assembly of the church, and before certain holy bishops and
chosen monks. And when they learnt these things they were astonished at them, and were
assured of the truth of the Jew's words and the testimony of his people to the Lord Christ
in the matter of the priesthood, as it was written in the register. Then the bishops and
the monks wrote treatises about the priesthood of Christ; for they found that Eusebius
Pamphili mentions this matter in several passages in the histories of the Church. For
Josephus brings the subject to light in the books of the Captivity. And this Josephus says
that Jesus was seen to enter the temple with the priests at the time of the
sanctification. Then is mentioned also the testimony of Luke the evangelist concerning the
incident that we have already quoted, and concerning the fact that the Lord Christ also
made a scourge of cords, and drove the traffickers out of the temple.

42 This fact and all these testimonies prove that the Jew's words are true, and that on
account of his sincere friendship with Philip he reveal ed this secret matter to him, and
bore witness of it to him. And when the Jew Theodosius had finished this true discourse to
his friend Philip, he was baptized and became a Christian, and was sealed with the seal of
baptism, and received the Holy Mysteries. And everyone was astonished at the soundness of
his faith in the Lord Christ, whose power is glorious. And I, Philip, had great joy with
Theodosius the neophyte. And when many of the Jews saw this, knowing that he was one of
the teachers of the Law among them, and that he was a ruler over them, and had acquired
great honours among them, and had then abandoned all that, and become a Christian, many of
them believed and were baptized. Therefore I, Philip, glorified God most high, because I
had gained the soul of my friend, who was a Jew, but is now a Christian. And glory be to
the Lord Jesus Christ with the Father and the Holy Ghost, now and at all times and for
ever and ever. Amen. Amen. Amen.

PART I — CHAPTER I. ---- SAINT MARK.

43 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, the One God. The first
biography of the history of the holy Church. The history of Saint Mark, the Disciple and
Evangelist, Archbishop of the great city of Alexandria, and first of its Bishops. 44 In
the time of the dispensation of the merciful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, when he
appointed for himself disciples to follow him, there were two brothers living in a city of
Pentapolis in the West, called Cyrene. The name of the elder of them was Aristobulus, and
the name of the other was Barnabas; and they were cultivators of the soil, and sowed and
reaped; for they had great possessions. And they understood the Law of Moses excellently
well, and knew by heart many of the books of the Old Testament. But great troubles came
upon them from the two tribes of the Berbers and Ethiopians, when they were robbed of all
their wealth, in the time of Augustus Caesar, prince of the Romans. So on account of the
loss of their property, and the trials which had befallen them, they fled from that
province, in their anxiety to save their lives, and travelled to the land of the Jews. Now
Aristobulus had a son named John. And after they had taken up their abode in the province
of Palestine, near the city of Jerusalem, the child John grew and increased in stature by
the grace of the Holy Ghost. And these two brothers had a cousin, the wife of Simon Peter,
who became the chief of the disciples of the Lord Christ; and the said John whom they had
surnamed Mark, used to visit Peter, and learn the Christian doctrines from him out of the
holy Scriptures.

45 And on a certain day, Aristobulus took his son Mark to the Jordan, and while they were
walking there a lion and a lioness met them. And when Aristobulus saw them approaching
him, and perceived the violence of their rage, he said to his son Mark: “My son, seest
thou the fury of this lion which is coming to destroy us? Escape now, and save thyself, my
son, and leave them to devour me, according to the will of God Almighty.” But the disciple
of Christ, the holy Mark, answered and said to his father: “Fear not, my father, Christ in
whom I believe will deliver us from all danger”. And when the lions approached them, Mark,
the disciple of the Lord Christ, shouted against them with a loud voice, and said: “The
Lord Jesus Christ, son of the Living God, commands that you be rent asunder, and that your
kind be cut off from these mountains, and that there be no more offspring to you here for
ever”. Then the lion and the lioness burst asunder in the midst at that moment, and
perished straightway; and their young were destroyed. And when Aristobulus, the father of
Mark, saw this great miracle which was manifested by his son, through the power of the
invincible Lord Jesus Christ, he said to his son: “I am thy father who begat thee, Mark,
my son; but to day thou art my father, and my saviour and deliverer.

46 And now, my dear son, I and my brother pray thee to make us servants of the Lord Jesus
Christ whom thou preachest”. Then the father of holy Mark and his uncle began to learn the
doctrines of Christ from that day. And Mary, the mother of Mark, was the sister of
Barnabas, the disciple of the apostles. 47 After this, the following event took place.
There was in those regions, in a town called Azotus, a very large olive-tree, the size of
which was greatly admired. And the people of that city were worshippers of the moon, and
prayed to that olive-tree. So when the holy Mark saw them pray, he said to them: “As for
this olive-tree, which you worship as God, after eating its fruit and burning its branches
for fuel, what can it do? Behold, by the word of God whom I worship, I will command this
tree to fall to the ground, without being touched by any tool”. Then they said to him: “We
know that thou workest the magic of the Galilean thy master, and whatever thou wilt thou
doest. But we will call upon our god the moon, who raised up for us this olive tree that
we might pray to it”. The holy Mark answered and said to them: “I will cast it down to the
ground; and if your god shall raise it up, then I will serve him together with you”. And
they were satisfied with these words. And they removed all men from the tree, saying: “See
that there be no man concealed in it”.

48 Then the holy Mark raised his face to heaven, and turned himself towards the East, and
opened his mouth and prayed, saying: “O my Lord Jesus Christ, son of the Living God, hear
thy servant, and command the moon, which is a second attendant on this world, and gives
light by night, to let its voice be heard by thy decree and by thy authority, before these
men who have no God, and to make known to them who created it, and who created all
creation, and who is God, that they may serve him; although I know, O my Lord and God,
that it has no voice nor power of speech, and that it is not customary for it to speak to
anyone; so that its words may be heard at this hour through thy irresistible power, that
these men who have no God may know that the moon is not a god, but a servant under thy
authority, and that thou art its God. And command this tree, to which they pray, to fall
to the ground, so that all may recognise thy dominion, and that there is no God but thou,
with the good Father and the Holy Ghost, the giver of eternal life. Amen”. And at that
hour, as soon as he had finished his prayer, a great darkness occurred, at midday, and the
moon appeared to them shining in the sky.

49 And they heard a voice from the moon, saying: “O men of little faith, I am not God,
that you should worship me, but I am the servant of God and one of his creatures, and I am
the minister of Christ my Lord, whom this Mark, his disciple, preaches; and it is he alone
that we serve and to whom we minister”. At the same moment the olive-tree fell. And great
fear came upon all who witnessed this miracle. But as for the people who served and
worshipped the tree, they were angry, and rent their garments, and seized the holy Mark
and beat him, and gave him up to the unbelieving Jews, who cast him into prison. That
night the holy Mark saw in his sleep the Lord Christ, saying to Peter: “I will bring forth
all those that are in prison”. So when he awoke from his sleep, he saw the doors of his
prison open; and he and all those with him in the prison went forth; for the gaolers of
the prison were asleep like dead men. But the multitudes who witnessed what took palace
said: “There is no end to our work with these Galileans, for they do these deeds by
Beelzebub, the chief of the devils”.

50 And Mark was one of the Seventy Disciples. And he was among the servants who poured out
the water which our Lord turned into wine, at the marriage of Cana in Galilee. And it was
he who carried the jar of water into the house of Simon the Cyrenian, at the time of the
sacramental Supper. And he also it was who entertained the disciples in his house, at the
time of the Passion of the Lord Christ, and after his Resurrection from the dead, where he
entered to them while the doors were shut. And after his Ascension into heaven, Mark went
with Peter to Jerusalem, and they preached the word of God to the multitudes. And the Holy
Ghost appeared to Peter, and commanded him to go to the cities and villages which were in
that country. So Peter, and Mark with him, went to the district of Bethany, and preached
the word of God; and Peter remained there some days. And he saw in a dream the angel of
God, who said to him: “In two places there is a great dearth”. So Peter said to the angel:
“Which places meanest thou?” He said to him: “The city of Alexandria with the land of
Egypt, and the land of Rome. It is not a dearth of bread and water, but a dearth arising
from ignorance of the word of God, which thou preachest”. So when Peter awoke from his
sleep, he told Mark what he had witnessed in his dream. And after that Peter and Mark went
to the region of Rome, and preached there the word of God.

51 And in the fifteenth year after the Ascension of Christ, the holy Peter sent Saint
Mark, the father and evangelist, to the city of Alexandria to announce the good tidings
there, and to preach the word of God and the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is
due glory and honour and worship, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, the one God for
ever. Amen.

CHAPTER II. ---- SAINT MARK.

52 Martyrdom of the holy Mark, and his preaching in the city of Alexandria. 53 In the time
of the dispensation of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, after his Ascension into heaven,
all the countries were allotted among the apostles, by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost,
that they might preach in them the words of the good tidings of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
after a time it fell to the lot of Mark the evangelist to go to the province of Egypt, and
the great city of Alexandria, by the command of the Holy Ghost, that he might cause the
people to hear the words of the gospel of the Lord Christ, and confirm them therein; for
they were in error, and sunk in the service of idols, and in the worship of the creature
instead of the Creator. And they had many temples to their contemptible gods, whom they
ministered to in every place, and served with every iniquity and magical art, and to whom
they offered sacrifices among themselves. For he was the first who preached in the
province of Egypt, and Africa, and Pentapolis, and all those regions. So when the holy
Mark returned from Rome, he betook himself first to Pentapolis and preached in all its
districts the word of God, and shewed many miracles; for he healed the sick, and cleansed
the lepers, and cast out devils by the grace of God which descended upon him.

54 And many believed in the Lord Christ through him, and broke their Idols which they used
to worship, and all the trees which the devils used to haunt, and from which they
addressed the people. And he baptized them in the name of the Father and the Son and the
Holy Ghost, the One God. And so the Holy Ghost appeared to him, and said to him: “Rise and
go to the city of Alexandria, to sow there the good seed which is the word of God”. So the
disciple of Christ arose and set out, being strengthened by the Holy Ghost, like a
combatant in war; and he saluted the brethren, and took leave of them, and said to them:
“The Lord Jesus Christ will make my road easy, that I may go to Alexandria and preach his
holy gospel there”. Then he prayed and said: “O Lord strengthen the brethren who have
known thy holy name that I may return to them rejoicing in them”. Then the brethren bade
him farewell.

55 So Mark journeyed to the city of Alexandria; and when he entered in at the gate, the
strap of his shoe broke. And when he saw this, he thought: “Now I know that the Lord has
made my way easy”. Then he turned, and saw a cobbler there, and went to him and gave him
the shoe that he might mend it. And when the cobbler received it, and took the awl to work
upon it, the awl pierced his hand. So he said: “Heis ho Theos”; the interpretation of
which is, “God is One”. And. when the holy Mark heard him mention the name of God, he
rejoiced greatly, and turned his face to the East and said: “O my Lord Jesus, it is thou
that makest my road easy in every place”. Then he spat on the ground and took from it
clay, and put it on the place where the awl had pierced the cobbler's hand, saying: “In
the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, the One living and eternal God, may
the hand of this man be healed at this moment, that thy holy name may be glorified”. Then
his hand at once became whole. The holy Mark said to him: “If thou knowest that God is
one, why dost thou serve these many gods?” The cobbler answered him: “We mention God with
our mouths, but that is all; for we know not who he is”.

56 And the cobbler remained astonished at the power of God which descended upon the holy
Mark, and said to him: “I pray thee, O man of God, to come to the dwelling of thy servant,
to rest and eat bread, for I find that to-day thou hast conferred a benefit upon me”. Then
the holy Mark replied with joy: “May the Lord give thee the bread of life in heaven!” And
he went with him to his house. And when he entered his dwelling, he said: “May the
blessing of God be in this house!” and he uttered a prayer. After they had eaten, the
cobbler said to him: “O my father, I beg thee to make known to me who thou art that hast
worked this great miracle”. Then the saint answered him: “I serve Jesus Christ, the Son of
the ever living God”. The cobbler exclaimed: “I would that I could see him”. The holy Mark
said to him: “I will cause thee to behold him”. Then he began to teach him the gospel of
good tidings, and the doctrine of the glory and power and dominion which belong to God
from the beginning, and exhorted him with many exhortations and instructions, of which his
history bears witness, and ended by saying to him: “The Lord Christ in the last times
became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and came into the world, and saved us from our sins”.

57 And he explained to him what the prophets prophesied of him, passage by passage. Then
the cobbler said to him: “I have never heard at all of these books which thou speakest of;
but the books of the Greek philosophers are what men teach their children here, and so do
the Egyptians”. So the holy Mark said to him: “The wisdom of the philosophers of this
world is vanity before God”. Then when the cobbler had heard wisdom and the words of the
Scriptures from the holy Mark, together with the great miracle which he had seen him work
upon his hand, his heart inclined towards him, and he believed in the Lord, and was
baptized, he and all the people of his house, and all his neighbours. And his name was
Annianus. 58 And when those that believed in the Lord were multiplied, and the people of
the city heard that a man who was a Jew and a Galilean had entered the city, wishing to
overthrow the worship of the idols, their gods, and had persuaded many to abstain from
serving them, they sought him everywhere; and they appointed men to watch for him. So when
the holy Mark knew that they were conspiring together, he ordained Annianus bishop of
Alexandria, and also ordained three priests and seven deacons, and appointed these eleven
to serve and to comfort the faithful brethren. But he himself departed from among them,
and went to Pentapolis, and remained there two years, preaching and appointing bishops and
priests and deacons in all their districts. Then he returned to Alexandria, and found that
the brethren had been strengthened in the faith, and had multiplied by the grace of God,
and had found means to build a church in a place called the Cattle-pasture near the sea,
beside a rock from which stone is hewn. So the holy Mark greatly rejoiced at this; and he
fell upon his knees, and blessed God for confirming the servants of the faith, whom he had
himself instructed in the doctrines of the Lord Christ, and because they had turned away
from the service of idols.

59 But when those unbelievers learnt that the holy Mark had returned to Alexandria, they
were filled with fury on account of the works which the believers in Christ wrought, such
as healing the sick, and driving out devils, and loosing the tongues of the dumb, and
opening the ears of the deaf, and cleansing the lepers; and they sought for the holy Mark
with great fury, but found him not; and they gnashed against him with their teeth in their
temples and places of their idols, in wrath, saying: “Do you not see the wickedness of
this sorcerer?” 60 And on the first day of the week, the day of the Easter festival of the
Lord Christ, which fell that year on the 29th of Barmudah, when the festival of the
idolatrous unbelievers also took place, they sought him with zeal, and found him in the
sanctuary. So they rushed forward and seized him, and fastened a rope round his throat,
and dragged him along the ground, saying: “Drag the serpent through the cattle-yard!” But
the saint, while they dragged him, kept praising God and saying: “Thanks be to thee, O
Lord, because thou hast made me worthy to suffer for thy holy name”. And his flesh was
lacerated, and clove to the stones of the streets; and his blood ran over the ground. So
when evening came, they took him to the prison, that they might take counsel how they
should put him to death. And at midnight, the doors of the prison being shut, and the
gaolers asleep at the doors, behold there was a great earthquake and a mighty tumult. And
the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and entered to the saint, and said to him: “O
Mark, servant of God, behold thy name is written in the book of life; and thou art
numbered among the assembly of the saints, and thy soul shall sing praises with the angels
in the heavens; and thy body shall not perish nor cease to exist upon earth”.

61 And when he awoke from his sleep, he raised his eyes to heaven, and said: “I thank
thee, O my Lord Jesus Christ, and pray thee to receive me to thyself, that I may be happy
in thygoodness”. And when he had finished these words, he slept again; and the Lord Christ
appeared to him in the form in which the disciples knew him, and said to him: “Hail Mark,
the evangelist and chosen one!” So the saint said to him: “I thank thee, O my Saviour
Jesus Christ, because thou hast made me worthy to suffer for thy holy name”. And the Lord
and Saviour gave him his salutation, and disappeared from him. 62 And when he awoke, and
morning had come, the multitude assembled, and brought the saint out of the prison, and
put a rope again round his neck, and said: “Drag the serpent through the cattle-shed!” And
they drew the saint along the ground, while he gave thanks to the Lord Christ, and
glorified him, saying: “I render my spirit into thy hands, O my God!” After saying these
words, the saint gave up the ghost. Then the ministers of the unclean idols collected much
wood in a place called Angelion that they might burn the body of the saint there. But by
the command of God there was a thick mist and a strong wind., so that the earth trembled;
and much rain fell, and many of the people died of fear and terror; and they said:
“Verily, Serapis, the idol, has come to seek the man who has been killed this day”.

63 Then the faithful brethren assembled, and took the body of the holy Saint Mark from the
ashes; and nothing in it had been changed. And they carried it to the church in which they
used to celebrate the Liturgy; and they enshrouded it, and prayed over it according to the
established rites. And they dug a place for him, and buried his body there; that they
might preserve his memory at all times with joy and supplication, and benediction, on
account of the grace which the Lord Christ gave them by his means in the city of
Alexandria. And they placed him in the eastern part of the church, on the day on which his
martyrdom was accomplished (he being the first of the Galileans to be martyred for the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ in Alexandria), namely the last day of Barmudah according to
the reckoning of the Egyptians, which is equivalent to the 8th day before the kalends of
May among the months of the Romans, and the 24th of Nisan among the months of the Hebrews.

64 And we also, the sons of the orthodox, offer glory and sanctification and praise to our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to whom is due laud and honour and worship, with the Father
and the Holy Ghost, the Giver of Life and Consubstantial one, now and for ever.

VOL. 1, PART 1 -- ST. MARK TO THEONAS (300 AD) — ANNIANUS, THE SECOND PATRIARCH . A. D. 62-85

When the evangelist Mark, the apostle of the Lord Christ, died, Annianus was enthroned as
patriarch after him. In his time the brethren and believers in Christ increased in
numbers, and he ordained some of them priests and deacons. He continued twenty-two years,
and went to his rest on the 20th. of Hatur, in the second year of the reign of Domitian,
prince of Rome.

VOL. 1, PART 1 -- ST. MARK TO THEONAS (300 AD) — AVILIUS, THE THIRD PATRIARCH . A. D. 85-98

Then the orthodox people assembled and consulted together and took a man named Avilius,
and elected him patriarch on the episcopal throne of Mark the evangelist, in the room of
Annianus. This Avilius was a man of chaste life; and he confirmed the people in the
knowledge of Christ. In his time the orthodox people increased in numbers, in Egypt and
Pentapolis and the province of Africa. He remained twelve years in the see; and the Church
was in peace in his days. He went to his rest on the 1st. of Tut, in the 15th year of the
reign of the above-named prince. When the priests, and the bishops, his suffragans in the
land, heard that the patriarch was dead, they mourned for him. Then they assembled at
Alexandria, and took counsel together with the orthodox laity of that city, and cast lots,
that they might know who was worthy to sit upon the throne of Saint Mark, the evangelist
and disciple of the Lord Christ, in succession to the Father Avilius; and their choice
fell with one consent, by the inspiration of the Lord Christ, our Master, upon an elect
man, who feared God, and whose name was Cerdo.

VOL. 1, PART 1 -- ST. MARK TO THEONAS (300 AD) — CERDO , THE FOURTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 98-109

So they took Cerdo, and appointed him to the see of Alexandria. He was chaste, humble and
innocent throughout his life. He held his office for eleven years, and went to his rest on
the 21st. day of Baunah, in the ninth year of the reign of Trajan the prince.

VOL. 1, PART 1 -- ST. MARK TO THEONAS (300 AD) — PRIMUS , THE FIFTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 109-122

After this there was among the orthodox people of Christ a man named Primus, who was
chaste as the angels, and piously performed many good works. So they took counsel with
regard to this man, and chose him, and appointed him to the evangelical see, as patriarch.
He remained in possession of it twelve years, and there was peace in the Church in his
days. He went to his rest on the 3rd. of Misri, in the fifth year of the reign of Hadrian
the prince.

VOL. 1, PART 1 -- ST. MARK TO THEONAS (300 AD) — JUSTUS , THE SIXTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 122-130

After this the people assembled, and their choice fell upon an excellent and wise man
among them, whose name was Justus, and they appointed him patriarch. He continued for
eleven years, and went to his rest on the 12th. of Baunah, in the sixteenth year of the
reign of Hadrian, and was buried with his fathers.

VOL. 1, PART 1 -- ST. MARK TO THEONAS (300 AD) — EUMENES , THE SEVENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 130-142

And after that they appointed Eumenes patriarch in the see of Alexandria; and he remained
for thirteen years, and was acceptable to God and to the Church. He went to his rest on
the 10th. of Babah, in the sixth year of Antoninus, the prince.

VOL. 1, PART 1 -- ST. MARK TO THEONAS (300 AD) — MARK II, THE EIGHTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 143-154

So when the aforesaid patriarch departed, the people assembled and took a man who loved
God, and whose name was Mark, and appointed him patriarch, and set him upon the throne of
the evangelist Saint Mark. He occupied it for nine years and some months, living an
admirable life, and went to his rest on the 6th of Tubah, in the fifteenth year of
Antoninus, the prince.

VOL. 1, PART 1 -- ST. MARK TO THEONAS (300 AD) — CELADION , THE NINTH PATRIARCH. A.D. 157-167

There was in those days among the people a man who loved God, and whose name was Celadion.
So the orthodox laity assembled, together with the bishops who were at Alexandria in those
days, and took Celadion, and appointed him patriarch, and placed him upon the evangelical
throne. He was beloved by all the people. He remained fourteen years, and died in the
reign of Aurelius and Verus, the two sons of the princes, on the 9th. of Abib. He was
enshrouded, and buried with his fathers, the patriarchs, whose names have been mentioned
above.

VOL. 1, PART 1 -- ST. MARK TO THEONAS (300 AD) — AGRIPP1NUS , THE TENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 167-180

Then the people assembled again with one consent, and laid their hands upon a man of the
congregation who feared God, and whose name was Agrippinus; and they appointed him
patriarch, and set him upon the evangelical throne. He sat for twelve years, and died on
the 5th of Amshir, in the nineteenth year of the reign of the princes already named.

VOL. 1, PART 1 -- ST. MARK TO THEONAS (300 AD) — JULIAN , THE ELEVENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 180-189

There was a man who was a wise priest, and had studied the books of God, and his name was
Julian; and he walked in the path of chastity and religion and tranquillity. So a body of
bishops of the synod assembled, together with the orthodox laity, in the city of
Alexandria, and searched among the whole people, but could find none like this priest. So
they laid their hands upon him, and appointed him patriarch. He composed homilies and
sermons on the saints; and he continued in the see ten years. After this patriarch, the
bishop of Alexandria did not remain always in that city, but issued thence secretly, and
ordained priests in every place, as Saint Mark, the evangelist, had done. Julian went to
his rest on the 8th. of Barmahat, or on the 12th. of Babah, as some say, in the fifth year
of the reign of Severus the prince.


HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 1
============================================================

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 1 continued

VOL. 1, PART 1 -- ST. MARK TO THEONAS (300 AD) — DEMETRIUS , THE TWELFTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 189-231

1 When the patriarch Julian was dying, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream, on the
night before his death, and said to him: “The man who shall visit thee to-morrow with a
bunch of grapes shall be patriarch after thee.” Accordingly, when it was morning, a
peasant came to him, who was married, and could neither read nor write; and his name was
Demetrius. This man had gone out to prune his vineyard, and found there a bunch of grapes,
although it was not the season of grapes; so he brought it to the patriarch. And the
patriarch Julian said to the bystanders: “ This man shall be your patriarch: for so the
angel of the Lord last night declared to me.” So they took him by force, and bound him
with iron fetters. And Julian died on that very day; and Demetrius was consecrated
patriarch.

2 And the grace of God descended upon this man, and he was like Joseph, the son of Jacob;
yea, and more excellent than Joseph, for though Demetrius was married, he knew not his
wife. And if any should say: “How is it lawful that a patriarch should be married?” we
reply that the apostles declare, in their canons, that if a bishop be wedded to one wife,
that shall not be forbidden him; for the believing wife is pure, and her bed undefiled,
and no sin can be laid to his charge on that account. And the patriarch is but bishop of
Alexandria, with a right of primacy over the bishops of the different provinces subject to
that city; for he is the successor of Saint Mark, the apostle and evangelist, who had
jurisdiction over all Egypt and Pentapolis and Ethiopia and Nubia, through his preaching
the gospel in those parts; and therefore the bishop of Alexandria also of necessity has
jurisdiction over those countries. But the people were unjust towards this patriarch,
Demetrius, saying that he was the twelfth of the patriarchs, counting from Mark, the
evangelist, and that all of them were unmarried except Demetrius; and they bewailed his
fall. He had a gift from God, which was that when he had finished the liturgy, before he
communicated any one of the people, he beheld the Lord Christ, giving the Eucharist by his
hand;

3 and when a person came up who was unworthy to receive the Mysteries, the Lord Christ
revealed to him that man's sin, so that he would not communicate him. Then he told that
man the reason, so that he confessed his offence. And Demetrius reproved him, and said:
“Turn away from thy sin which thou dost commit, and then come again to receive the Holy
Mysteries.” When this practice had continued a long time, the faithful of Alexandria left
off sinning for fear of the patriarch, lest he should put them to open shame; and each one
said to his friend or his kinsman: “Beware lest thou sin, lest the patriarch denounce thee
in the presence of the congregation.” But some of the people said: “This is a married man.
How then can he reprove us, seeing that he has dishonoured this see? For none has sat
therein to this day who was not unwedded.” Again others said: “His marriage does not
lessen his merits, for marriage is pure and undefiled before God.” But it was God's will
to make his virtues manifest, that he might be glorified, and might not leave this great
secret unknown. As he said in his holy gospel, by his pure mouth: “A city when it is set
on a hill cannot be hidden,” so God made the merits of this patriarch manifest, that his
people might increase in virtue thereby.

4 Accordingly, on a certain night, an angel of the Lord came to Demetrius, and said to
him: “Demetrius, seek not thine own salvation by neglecting thy neighbour; but remember
what the gospel says, that the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep”. Then
Demetrius said to the angel: “O my Lord, teach me what thou commandest me to do. If thou
wilt send me to martyrdom, I am ready to let my blood be shed for the name of Christ.”
Then the angel said to him: “Listen to me, Demetrius, and I will tell thee. The Lord
Christ was incarnate only to save his people; and it is not right that thou shouldst now
save thine own soul, and allow this people to be filled with scruples on account of thee.”
So Demetrius answered: “What is my sin against the people? Teach me, my Lord, that I may
repent of it.” Then the angel said: “This secret which is between thee and thy wife;
namely, that thou hast never approached her. Now therefore make this known to the people.”
But Demetrius said: “I pray thee that I may die before thee rather than that thou shouldst
reveal this secret to any man!” Then the angel answered: “Know that the scripture says: He
that is disobedient shall perish. Tomorrow, therefore, after the end.

5 of the liturgy, assemble the priests and the people, and make known to them this secret
which is between thee and thy wife.” When the patriarch heard this, he marvelled, and
said: “Blessed is the Lord, who does not abandon those that trust in him.” Then the angel
departed from him. 6 So on the morrow, which was the feast of Pentecost, the patriarch
celebrated the liturgy, and bade the archdeacon give directions to the clergy and the
people that not one of them should leave the church, but that they should gather together
round the patriarchal throne. The archdeacon, therefore, proclaimed to the congregation:
“The patriarch's wish is to speak to you all. Let none of you, therefore, depart without
hearing what he shall say.” When they had sat down, the patriarch bid the brethren collect
much fuel; and they did so, marvelling thereat and saying: “What is this that the
patriarch will do?” Then he said to them: “Rise and let us pray!” So they prayed, and
afterwards sat down. And he said to them: “I beg you out of your love for me, to allow my
wife to be present before you, that she may receive of your blessing.” Then they
marvelled, and thought in their hearts: “What is this that he does?” And they all said:
“Whatever thou biddest us do shall be done.” Then the patriarch commanded one of his
servants, saying: “Call my wife, the handmaid of the saints, that she may receive their
blessing.” So the holy woman entered, and stood in the midst of the congregation.

7 And her husband, the patriarch, arose, where they could all behold him, and stood by the
blazing logs, which had already been lighted, and spread out his cloak, and took burning
embers from the fire with his hand and put them in his cloak; and all the spectators were
astonished at the quantity of burning fuel in his garment, and yet it was not burned. Then
he said to his wife: “Spread out thy woollen pallium which thou hast upon thee.” So she
spread it out; and the patriarch transferred the embers to it while she stood there; and
he put incense on the fire, and commanded her to incense all the congregation; and she did
so, and yet her pallium was not burned. Then the patriarch said again: “Let us pray”;
while the embers were blazing in his wife's pallium, which yet was not burned. 8 You have
now heard, my friends, this great wonder. This man had made himself an eunuch of his own
free will, so that he was more glorious than those that are born eunuchs; and therefore
the fire had no effect upon this saint, nor upon his garments, nor upon those of his wife,
because he had extinguished the flames of lust. But now let us abridge our discourse upon
this subject, and return to the history, glorifying God for ever and ever. So when the
clergy had prayed, they said to the patriarch: “We beg of thy Holiness to explain to us
this wonderful mystery.” And he replied: “Attend, all of you, to what I say. Know that I
have not done this seeking glory from men. My age is now sixty-three years. My wife who
stands before you is my cousin. Her parents died and left her when she was a child. My
father brought her to me, for he had no other child than me, and she was the only child of
my uncle. So I grew up with her in my father's house, and we dwelt together. When she was
fifteen, my parents resolved to many me to her, in order that their possessions might not
pass to a stranger, but that we might inherit them. So the wedding was performed, as men
do such things for their children; and I went in to her.

9 And when they had left us alone, she said to me: “How could they give me to thee, seeing
that I am thy sister?” So I said to her: “Listen to what I say. We must of necessity
remain together in this chamber without being separated all our lives, but there must be
no further connexion between us, until death shall part us; and, if we remain thus in
purity, we shall meet in the heavenly Jerusalem, and enjoy one another's company in
eternal bliss.” And when she heard this, she accepted my proposal; and her body remained
inviolate. But my parents knew nothing of our compact. Then the wedding-guests demanded
the customary proof of the consummation of the marriage, as you know is done by foolish
men; but my mother said to them: “These two are young, and the days before them are many.”
Thus we kept our purity; and when my parents as well as her parents were dead, we remained
orphans together. It is now forty-eight years since I married my wife, and we sleep on one
bed and one mattress and beneath one coverlet; and the Lord, who knows and judges the
living and the dead, and understands the secrets of all hearts, knows that I have never
learnt that she is a woman, nor has she learnt that I am a man; but we see one another's
face and no more. We sleep together, but the embraces of this world are unknown to us.

10 And when we fall asleep, we see a form with eagle's wings, which comes flying and
alights upon our bed between her and me, and stretches its right wing over me, and its
left wing over her, until the morning, when it departs; and we behold it until it goes. Do
not think, my brethren and ye people who love God, that I have disclosed this secret to
you to gain the glory of this world which passes away, nor that I have told you this of my
own will; but it is the command of the Lord, who bade me do it, for he desires the good of
all men, and he is Christ our Saviour.” 11 When Demetrius had finished this discourse, the
people all fell upon their faces on the earth, saying: “Verily, our father, thou art more
excellent than many of the saints; and God has shewn his mercy towards us in making thee
head over us.” And they gave thanks to him, and besought him to forgive their evil
thoughts of him. Then he gave them his blessing, and prayed for them; and they dispersed
to their own homes, praising God. And after this, Demetrius bade his wife depart to her
house.

12 Have you ever heard, you that listen to me, of such wonders? This holy, father dwelt so
long with his lovely and virtuous wife, and yet endured the trial. Where now are the men
who are married, and yet commit adultery also, while professing to be Christians? Let them
come and listen to the Father Demetrius, the patriarch, saying: “I have known the face of
my wife and no more”, that they may be ashamed and confounded! O that valiant saint,
fighting against his bodily desires! O that miracle! How could his heart remain unmoved
when he beheld his wife's beauty, and how could his senses remain unexcited before her
loveliness! How wonderful was thy discourse, O thou saint, in thy bridal chamber! The
archer whose arrows strike all men, namely Satan, was unable to strike thee. Demetrius
said: “I am a man and have a body like all other men, but I will teach you how to answer
the suggestions of the Devil. When my heart was troubled by evil thoughts, I remembered
the compact I had made with Christ; and if I broke it, I feared that he would reject me in
the kingdom of Heaven, before the Father and his holy angels.

13 Moreover, when I saw the beauty and grace of her form, I thought of the corpses lying
in their tombs and the foulness of their odour, so to keep myself from strange words,
through fear of the fire that is not quenched, and the worm that sleepeth not, in the
other world, where none can open his mouth”. O my friends, this Father was chosen by God,
and in his courage and valour was braver than those that slay lions; as one of the doctors
says: “The brave man is not he that kills wild beasts, but he that dies pure from the
embraces and snares of women”. Blessed is this saint, for his degree is exalted! Like
Joseph in the house of the Egyptian woman, when she solicited him on every occasion that
she could, so Demetrius fought against his desires every day and night until his battle
was finished, and preserved his chastity and his right faith throughout his life.

14 Demetrius remained patriarch forty-three years. In his time there was a disturbance at
Alexandria, and the emperor Severus banished him to a place called the quarter of the
Museum; and there he died on the 12th. day of Barmahat, which, I believe, was the day of
the manifestation of his virginity. Now in the reign of the emperor Severus many became
martyrs for the love of God. Among them was the father of a man named Origen who learned
the sciences of the heathen, and abandoned the books of God, and began to speak
blasphemously of them. So when the Father Demetrius heard of this man, and saw that some
of the people had gone astray after his lies, he removed him from the church. In these
days also the martyrs Plutarch and Serenus were burnt alive, and Heraclides and Heron were
beheaded. Likewise another Serenus, and the woman Heraïs, and Basilides; and Potamiaena,
with her mother Marcella, who suffered many torments and severe agonies; also Anatolius,
who was the father of the princes, and Eusebius, and Macarius, uncle of Claudius, and
Justus, and Theodore the Eastern; all these martyrs were kinsmen. There was also another
virgin named Thecla. Now Basilides was a soldier, and he came forward of his own free
will; and when they questioned him, he replied: “I am a Christian because I saw three days
ago in a dream a woman who appeared to me, and placed upon my head a crown from Jesus
Christ”. Thus Basilides obtained the crown of martyrdom; and so likewise a great number
were martyred; for Potamiaena was seen by them in dreams, and encouraged them to have
faith in the Lord Christ, so that they receved the crown of martyrdom.

15 Now there had come to Alexandria, in the room of Pantaenus, a new governor whose name
was Clement; and he remained governor until those days. And this Clement composed out of
his own head books, in which he overthrew the received chronology. Then a Jewish scribe,
named Judas who had read in the book of the Visions of Daniel, in the tenth year of the
reign of Severus, explained the years and dates mystically up to the epoch of Antichrist,
on a system of his own, and declared that the time was at hand, on account of the deeds of
Severus, the hostile prince. 16 And when Origen, whom Demetrius had cut off on account of
his composing unlawful books of magic, and leaving the books of the holy writers, saw
this, he wrote many treatises containing many blasphemies. Among these was his doctrine
that the Father created the Son, and the Son created the Holy Ghost; for he denied that
the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are one God, and that the Persons of the Trinity are
inferior one to another in nothing, but have the same power and the same might. So, on
account of his wicked creed, the Church abandoned him, because he was strange to her, and
was not one of her children, for he taught corrupt doctrines. And when he left the Church
and was deposed from his office, he departed from Alexandria, and travelled to Palestine,
and there intrigued until he obtained priestly rank, and was ordained priest by the bishop
of Caesarea in Palestine. Then Origen returned to Alexandria, believing that he would
there be recognized as a priest, and would do just as he desired; but the holy Father
Demetrius would not receive him, saying to him: “According to the apostolic canon, a
priest must not be removed from the altar to which he has been ordained. Return,
therefore, to the place to which thou hast been ordained priest, and serve there in all
humility according to the canon; for I will not break the canons of the Church to gain the
approval of men”. So Origen remained rejected. This was before the patriarch knew of
Origen's blasphemies and misbelief; and the thing became a scandal to all men, because he
had made himself a teacher, although he was unworthy to be even a disciple.

17 Now Severus, the prince, reigned eighteen years, and then died. And Antoninus, his son,
reigned after him. After this time lived many who were strong by the help of Christ,
through the dispensation of God. One of these was Alexander, the confessor, and bishop of
Jerusalem, who succeeded Narcissus. This Narcissus performed many miracles in his life
time. For, when the church was in need of oil, Narcissus even bade them fill the lamps
with water during the vigil-service of Easter, and prayed; and the water was turned into
oil, and the lamps were kindled. Such wonders he did many times, through his faith in the
oneness of Christ; and all men bore witness to these miracles; and we have learnt his
history from persons worthy of credit. But some men hated him in their, wickedness, and
wished to kill him, and invented lies concerning him, swearing that he did evil. And one
of these wicked men began to kindle a fire, and was burnt thereby; and another's bowels
gushed out, so that he died; and another fell sick, and his body was consumed; and another
became blind; so that men understood that their words against Narcissus were lies, through
the proofs that were given of his holiness. Then Narcissus was made bishop; and no evil
befell him because he was pious and wise, and confessed the Lord Christ.

18 It came to pass that he fled from the church, and retired into the wilderness, because
the people were in disorder, and some of them accused him of intrigue. But the all-seeing
eye would not endure this; for God punished those that held an evil and heretical creed
and a false faith concerning him; and the first of these men died, with all his household,
in a fire from a spark which fell upon them; and another was afflicted with pains from his
head to his feet, with a violent fever; and a third tried to flee because of his evil
conscience, but God overtook him, and he was struck with sudden blindness, and
acknowledged his wicked conduct towards the holy bishop, before all, and was devoured by
remorse, and repented, and wept over the loss of his sight. And as for Narcissus, the
bishop, he lay hid in the desert, and none knew where he was for many days. But, because
the churches over which he was bishop were left without any to govern them, circumstances
made it necessary that they should appoint in his stead a man named Dius who, however,
occupied the see for a short time only, and then died. So they ordained in his place
another, named Germanion. After that, the glorious Father Narcissus was found, like one
risen from the dead; and they begged him to return to his see; and the people were greatly
rejoiced over him.

19 But he had devoted himself to philosophy, and to the cultivation of the graces which
God had granted to him; and therefore he would not return to serve his diocese. Now as for
Alexander, who has been mentioned above, he was in possession of another see; but he saw
in a dream the angel of God, who bade him go to help Narcissus, and serve God for he had
already been consecrated bishop in Cappadocia. So he went to Jerusalem at that time to
pray, and saw the holy churches which he had desired to behold, and visited all the holy
places. Then he was about to return to Cappadocia his native country; but the brethren
prevented him; and he was warned in a dream. For they all heard a voice in the church,
saying: “Go forth to the gate, and the first man whom you shall meet entering through it
make your bishop.” This they did, and there they found Alexander; and they clung to him.
But he refused to be their bishop, saying: “I will not consent.” So they appointed him by
force, in the presence of an assembly of the bishops, in the city of Jerusalem, and by
their command, with one purpose and one consent. And in the letters which Alexander wrote
and sent to Antinoe, he spoke of Narcissus, and said that they had one faith in common,
and were in agreement in all things in the church of Jerusalem.

20 And in all Alexander's letters, he said: “Narcissus, who preceded me in this bishopric,
salutes you. He is now with me and he encourages me, and fortifies me by his prayers, that
I may be strong in this ministry. He has continued to serve God thus for one hundred and
sixteen years. I pray you to be of one heart and mind.” 21 Among the holy men of this time
was Serapion also, who was patriarch of Antioch; and when he died Asclepiades, the
confessor, was appointed, and his degree was exalted. And Alexander wrote to the people of
Antioch with regard to Asclepiades, saying thus: “Alexander, the servant of God, and
believer in Jesus Christ, addresses the holy church in Antioch, in the Lord, with joy, by
the hand of the chaste priest Clement. My brethren, I desire that you promote Asclepiades,
who is worthy of that post.” So he was ordained to the see. Serapion also wrote to the
people of Antioch a letter in which he said that a Jew, named Marcian, had written books,
which he attributed to Peter, the chief of the apostles, and in which the writer spoke
lies, “Beware, therefore,” continued Serapion, “of these writings. We receive Peter and
the rest of the disciples, as we receive the commands of Christ, because they saw him and
heard his words. But these lying books we do not accept, but reject them, because they
contain nothing of the doctrine of our fathers.” Now when the priest arrived at Antioch
with the letters, he said to them: “Be confirmed in the true faith, and do not turn aside
to the spurious writings attributed to Peter, for they are false and delusive, and in them
is the beginning of heresy; and for this reason I am come to you in haste, for we have
learnt that this Marcian, the Jew, has led multitudes astray by his books, so that they
have become heretics.” For this heretic wrote many books, and the history from which we
are quoting contains an account of some of them. But because it would make our narrative
too long, I think it needless to write down their names.

22 Now Demetrius, the holy patriarch of Alexandria, displayed much learning and wisdom,
although he had formerly been ignorant and unable to read or write; and all his spiritual
children were continually admonished by him. But when he found that he was growing old in
his researches into the divine doctrines and scriptures, so that he was carried into the
church in a litter, although he did not cease from giving instruction from morning to
night, while the brethren went and came that they might profit by his teaching, then he
named Heraclas as his deputy and successor. Now Heraclas was an elect man, learned in the
scriptures of God teaching the doctrines of the Church and the science of the word of God;
and he knew the canons of the Church by heart. 23 So when Origen, whom Demetrius had
excommunicated, saw that the Church had rejected him, he went to the Jews, and expounded
for them part of the Hebrew books, in a new fashion; and he concealed the prophecies which
they contain of the Lord Christ, so that when he came to the mention of the thicket in
which the ram of Abraham, the Friend of God, was caught by its horns, which the Fathers
interpret as a type of the wood of the Cross, Origen even concealed and abandoned this
interpretation. He wrote books full of lies and containing no truth. And there was with
Origen another heretic named Symmachus, who was the cause of much dissension. He said that
Christ was born of Mary by Joseph and rejected the miracle of the wondrous birth; denying
also that Christ, who was born without labour (for so he was born of the Virgin), is very
God and Man, and One of Two; thus contradicting the true Gospel according to Matthew, and
what he says concerning the Nativity. But the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.
This heretic pretended that he was a Christian; and in one place he says that he was a
philosopher, and had read the books of the Sabaeans and of the schismatics. Subsequently
he contracted a friendship with Origen, and led astray many simple women. At this time
there was a holy and excellent man, who possessed divine wisdom, named Ammonius;

24 and he refuted them both, and exposed their false and unrighteous explanations of the
Scriptures, and their lies. After this, Origen went to Caesarea in Palestine, where he had
been made priest, and brought books back to Alexandria, in great abundance. But the Father
Demetrius would not receive him, and banished him, because he knew what his conduct was.
So Origen departed and went to a place called Thmuis in Augustamnica, and invented a
plausible story for the bishop, whose name was Ammonius; so he placed Origen in one of the
churches. But when Demetrius heard of this, he went himself straightway to Thmuis, and
banished Origen, and removed the bishop Ammonius who had received him, and in his
indignation appointed another bishop in his stead; for having convinced himself that the
bishop had received that heretic, although he knew his history and his false doctrine, he
appointed in his place a bishop named Phileas, a man who feared God, and was full of
faith. But Phileas said: “I will not sit upon the episcopal throne while Ammonius is
alive.” So when Ammonius died, the aforesaid bishop, Phileas, sat after him; and he was
martyred a long time afterwards and departed to the Lord in peace. And Origen, the
excommunicate, went to Caesarea in Palestine,and began to perform his priestly duties as
if he were bishop there.

25 So the Father Demetrius wrote to Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem, saying: “We have never
heard of a prodigal and heretic teaching in a place in which there were bishops duly
established.” And he proceeds to blame the bishop of Caesarea, whose name was Theoctistus,
and reprehends Origen who was living in his diocese, and condemns his conduct in this
matter, saying: “I never thought that such a thing would be done at Caesarea, with this
bishop.” For we have found this Origen saying in certain books that the Son and the Holy
Ghost are created. So the bishop of Caesarea read the letter of the Father Demetrius in
the church, for the hishop of Jerusalem sent it to him; and also he suspended Origen, and
drove him away from the diocese of Caesarea. Then Origen shamelessly returned to
Alexandria. 26 On account of the many changes among the princes and patriarchs of Rome and
Antioch; we have thought it unnecessary to give an account of them, with a view to brevity
and to the avoidance of prolixity. Philetus became patriarch of Antioch, and in his days a
heretic appeared, who wrote strange books. Then Philetus died, and Zebinus was appointed
patriarch of Antioch instead of him. And Zebinus commanded that neither the works of that
heretic nor those of Origen, who had been banished from Alexandria, should be read; for
the writings of the latter had become celebrated.

27 Now these are the words of Origen: “Let him who wishes to read the Scriptures read the
books named below. The books of the Old Testament are as follows: The five books of the
Law; the book of Josue the son of Nun; the book of the Judges; the book of Ruth the
Moabitess; the books of Kings, the Paralipomena, the book of Esdras, the Psalms of the
prophet David, the Wisdom of Solomon, the book of Isaias, the book of Jeremias, the book
of Ezechiel, the book of Daniel, the book of Job, the book of Esther, the book of Samuel,
the book of Machabees the book of the Twelve Minor Prophets. The books of the New
Testament are these: the Gospel of Matthew, which he wrote in Hebrew on a roll, when he
was at Caesarea, at the house of a man whose descendants preserve it from generation to
generation; and it was translated into Greek, and rendered into all languages by the power
of the Lord Christ. Then the Gospel of Mark, which he wrote in Greek, while Peter, chief
of the apostles, was with him, and which was read in the assembly of the princes. Then the
Gospel of Luke, the disciple of Paul, which he wrote in Greek at Antioch. The Gospel of
John, the son of Zebedee, whom his disciples, after he had grown old, frequently solicited
until he wrote it in Greek at Ephesus. The book of the Acts of the Apostles and Disciples,
called Praxeis.

28 The book of the Epistles of Paul the Elect, which contains fourteen epistles. The book
of the Revelation of John the Evangelist, or the Apocalypse”. There is also the book of
the Didascalia, or Teaching of the Apostles, and Canons of the Church, written by the
apostles before they dispersed to preach the gospel. These are the books delivered to the
Catholic and Apostolic Church. After them come the books of the Fathers and Doctors, which
they composed through the instruction of the Holy Ghost, such as the homilies and other
writings; for they added nothing to the Scriptures, and took nothing from them. But the
books of the heretic Origen are contemned by God, and there is nothing in them written
with the Holy Ghost. As he said by Paul the apostle: or We receive no spirit of this
world, but the spirit that God has given to us.”

29 Now the glorious father, Demetrius, remained patriarch forty-three years, and went to
his rest, as we have related.

VOL. 1, PART 1 -- ST. MARK TO THEONAS (300 AD) — HERACLAS , THE THIRTEENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 231-247

1 This father had been, in the time of the patriarch Demetrius, a teacher in the Church,
and gained distinction in the divine sciences. At this time Firmilian who was bishop of
Caesarea in Cappadocia, discovered that Origen had associated himself with the Jews at
that place, and had lived amongst them for a time. When Alexander had ruled in Rome for
thirteen years, Maximinus Caesar reigned after him. And this prince set up a great
persecution against the rulers of the Church only, because they were the teachers of those
that were baptized; and many died in his days. And when Maximin died, Gordian reigned in
Rome. And the patriarch of that city was Pontianus, who sat for six years; and when he
died, Anteros became patriarch after him, and occupied the see for one month. And they
enquired of him whom they should appoint in his stead. 2 And they found a man in the
fields upon whom a wonder had been manifested; for the Holy Ghost descended upon him in
the form of a dove. So they took him, and made him patriarch of Rome. And Zebinus died at
Antioch, and Babylas was appointed after him.

3 So Heraclas was made patriarch of Alexandria after Demetrius, and was counted worthy to
serve in the sanctuary. And Heraclas gave the direction of the studies at Alexandria to
Dionysius, and entrusted to him all the affairs of the patriarchate. This man was of a
noble family, and was a distinguished teacher; and he grew up in Alexandria. The cause of
his being called, and entering into the orthodox faith was as follows. This Dionysius had
formerly been a worshipper of idols, according to the religion of the Sabaeans, among whom
he was a leader, and a philosopher. While he was sitting one day, behold there passed an
aged widow, holding in her hand a book containing some of the epistles of saint Paul, the
apostle; and she said to him: “Wilt thou buy this from me?” So he took the book, and
studied it; and it filled him with admiration, and pleased him greatly, and took
possession of his heart. And when he understood the book, he marvelled greatly thereat,
and rejoiced over it exceedingly. So he said to the old woman: “What price dost thou ask
for the book?” And she answered: “One carat of gold”. So he gave her three carats, and
said to her: “Go and search the place in which thou didst find this book, and whatever
thou shalt discover bring to me, and I will give thee more than its full price”. Then the
old woman went away, and brought him three books;

4 and he took them from her, and gave her nine carats. But when he had read the books, he
became aware that a part of the contents was still wanting. So he said to the old woman:
“If thou wilt find the rest of this book, I will give thee six denarii”. Then the old
woman, when she saw his faith and courage, and knew that he had received the grace of the
Holy Ghost while he was reading the books, replied: “Trouble not thyself. Go to a church,
and beg for the book in its entirety from the clergy, and they will give it to thee, that
thou mayest read it. I only found these manuscripts among the books of my fathers, who
were readers and singers in the church”. So Dionysius said: “But will the people of the
church entrust this book to me?” And the old woman answered: “Yes. They will hinder no-one
from knowledge, if he asks for it. They will give to all who seek, without demanding
payment”.

5 Then Dionysius went to Augustine, one of the deacons of the Church, who gave him the
complete epistles of Paul. And Dionysius read them, and learnt them by heart through the
power of his lively intelligence. Then he went to Demetrius, of whose death we have spoken
above, and begged of him the second Birth; and Demetrius received Dionysius, and baptized
him, and gave him the grace which he solicited; and Dionysius was attached to the
patriarch's person, and lived in the church. Thus after being a teacher among the
idolatrous Sabaeans, he became a teacher in the Church and many disciples came to him; and
instead of teaching his former errors and receiving a transitory payment, he was
afterwards removed by the Lord into the great see, in reward for his labours; and his
house was made into a church which exists to this day, and is named after him. The names
of his disciples were Theodore and Gregory and Athenodorus. To these he had imparted in
former days his strange philosophy; but, when he was baptized and advanced to the
priesthood, he converted them to the wisdom of the Church, so that they were filled with
the grace of the Holy Ghost. They lived with him for five years, after his ordination; and
they also attained to priestly rank. Dionysius had also another disciple, named Africanus
who wrote five books with much labour; and when he heard of the wisdom of the patriarch
Heraclas, he went to Alexandria to learn of him.

6 And Dionysius used to say to him: “Know that no beast that eats bryony is profited or
stimulated by it; and so every man that does not eat spiritual food is perishing. Formerly
I was occupied with food that passes away and comes to an end, and neglected the bread of
eternal life, until the Lord led me”. And he attracted his disciple by these words to the
heavenly doctrines, until through his talents he learnt the true harmony of the
genealogies in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and found no discrepancies whatever in
them. 7 Now Heraclas occupied the see for thirteen years, and went to his rest on the 8th.
of Rihak, and was gathered to his fathers.

VOL. 1, PART 1 -- ST. MARK TO THEONAS (300 AD) — DIONYSIUS THE WISE, THE FOURTEENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 247-264

1 Of Dionysius, who was appointed patriarch after Heraclas, somewhat has already been
recorded. Churches grew more numerous, and the faithful were multiplied in his days. And
the churches were filled with the divine doctrines; and all was done openly, and in
public. At this time certain men in Arabia taught a heresy, according to which the soul
dies with the body, and shall rise again with it on the Day of Resurrection. But the holy
Church rejected this heresy, after the assembling of a council to examine into it. Another
heresy also arose, which taught corrupt doctrines; but it was extinguished and brought to
nought by God's help in the reign of Philip who ruled the empire during seven years. 2
After Philip reigned Decius; and there had been between Philip and Decius a great enmity;
and therefore the latter inflicted a great persecution upon the Church. The patriarch
Fabian was martyred, and Cornelius became patriarch after him. Likewise Alexander, the
patriarch of Jerusalem, twice confessed Christ, and showed forth his faith before the
misbelievers, and was thrown into prison, and there went to his rest after much suffering.
Alexander was endowed by God with a great gift of holiness, patience and courage; and men
heard him in the dungeon confessing and glorifying God until he died. After him, a
patriarch named Mazabanes sat upon the episcopal throne. The patriarch of Antioch, also,
Babylas, confessed Christ, and was imprisoned, and died in the dungeon; and Fabius sat
after him. As for the patriarch Dionysius he says: “I will record what I endured, and call
God to be my witness. Decius, the prince of Rome, sought diligently for me, but God
concealed me from him, and he could not discover my hiding-place. After four days, God bid
me remove from that place; therefore I fled with my disciples and a band of the brethren,
and we wandered far. After four days, when the light had waned, and we were approaching
Taposiris, the soldiers took us; and this was after four days of concealment. But Timothy,
one of my disciples, escaped from our captors; and he returned to the house where we were,
after meeting a countryman, who enquired of him what news he had to give him; so he told
him what had befallen the patriarch.” And that rustic assembled his companions; and when
they had rescued the patriarch Dionysius from the soldiers, they made him ride upon a
bare-backed ass, as he relates of himself; but his disciples walked on foot.

3 Dionysius also sent a letter to Fabius patriarch of Antioch, and narrated to him the
history of the martyrs, who suffered under Decius at Alexandria. He related that an old
man named Metras was seized; and his captors said to him: “Wilt thou worship the idols?”
But he refused; and so they inflicted upon him a painful beating, and wounded his face
with styli. Then they led him out of the city, and stoned him until he died. Likewise a
certain believing woman was led in to offer worship to the idols; but she refused; and
they beat her, and stripped her, and bound her feet together and dragged her over the
stones so that her flesh was mangled, and her blood ran over the ground in the streets,
while she was scourged all the time, until they had drawn her out of the city; and they
killed her, and threw her body aside there. Then they returned to the houses of the
faithful, and plundered them and wrecked them, and carried off all the gold and silver and
furniture that they found in them. At this time Paul of Alexandria was martyred, and
received his crown with joy. And none could openly profess the knowledge of God. In those
days also a faithful virgin, named Apollonia, received the crown of martyrdom. All her
limbs were broken, and she was burnt in the fire while still alive, outside the city,
because she would not obey them by giving up her faith, and would not deny the Lord
Christ. And she looked at the flame of the fire while they burnt her; and it did not
terrify her, but she endured it patiently, and gave up her spirit.

4 And another man was taken, named Serapion, and was severely tortured, and thrown from
the third story, so that his bones were broken; thus ho suffered martyrdom. And the
faithful had neither a place of refuge nor a place of rest to go to, neither by day nor by
night; and in this condition they remained for a long time; and this was the work of
Decius the prince. And many were martyred whose names were not recorded. And the blessed
Julian also was taken; and he was corpulent and stout in body, and was unable to walk, and
therefore he had two men with him; so they led them all to the palace; and one of the two
men apostatized, but the other confessed the faith together with the aged Julian; so they
dragged those two through the city, and burnt them in the fire. And there were many troops
prepared for the punishment of the Christians; and they seized another man who cried
aloud, saying: “O Lord take me quickly to thyself!” Then his head was cut off, and he was
burnt in the fire. And two others also were martyred with him; besides another man named
Alexander, and a number with him, whom they drove to the prison, and afterwards brought
forth thence; and they were put to death. And there was a woman who left her children, and
was slain. And another believing woman in the greatness of her zeal for the faith, defied
the governor, who therefore put her to death. And a great multitude without number came
forward to suffer martyrdom for the name of the Lord Christ with great joy, as a man
hastens to his wedding; andlikewise many of the inhabitants of the towns and villages.

5 And a great multitude without number wandered among the mountains, having fled from the
unbelievers; and many of them died of hunger and thirst, and from the heat. And an old
man, a bishop from the city called Malîj, of the province of Egypt, fled, in company with
a woman, who followed him; and these two could not be found, nor were any tidings of them
known. And many were captured by the soldiers, who afterwards took a bribe from them, and
released them. But many wandered forth at random, and never returned. “I, Dionysius, the
patriarch, have not said all this to no purpose; but I have made known to thy Paternity,
my brother Fabius, all the trials which have surrounded us, and what we have endured and
encountered. And all those persons that I have mentioned to thee, my brother, merited the
kingdom by their sufferings and combatings for the name of the Lord Christ. And many of
those who apostatized in the persecution have returned to us, and we received them gladly,
because we knew the joy of him who desires the repentance of the sinner, and not his
death, so that he may be converted and live.

6 And because I am assured of thy fellowship with me, dear brother, I have expounded to
thee what befell us; for we are of one spirit and one faith. And to you also, my brethren
and my sons, I wish to relate this, for the sake of" my blessed children and their
patience; that you may know of the struggles of your faithful brethren for the orthodox
faith, and of the happiness to which they have gone, through their endurance for the sake
of him who suffered for us and for them, and redeemed us all by his blood. For they were
patient for his sake, and would not deny him in the assembly of the unbelievers; and, in
their love for him, neither the edge of the sword, nor the plunder of their goods, nor
burning in the fire could terrify them. For God showed forth their virtues in this world;
and in the next they have a great reward, and a glorious return to him.”

7 Now there was a certain priest a native of Rome, who said in his pride: “It is not
lawful that we should receive any one of those who denied Christ in the time of trouble
and persecution, even if he now returns to the Lord; for he fell and did not endure, but
was made one of the misbelievers.” And this priest used to call those that had been
constant, “the Pure ”; and he was the head over their community. So a council assembled at
Rome, consisting of sixty bishops besides priests and deacons, to try the case of this man
and his followers; and they wrote to every place an account of what took place. And there
was a man called Novatus, who assisted this priest, out of hatred for the penitents, and
helped him to repel from the Church all those that wished to return to her. Accordingly he
began to forbid his followers to administer to the people the divine medicine, which
consists in repentance and penitence and fasting and watching and weeping and humbly
imploring God's forgiveness. So the clergy of Rome wrote to the clergy of Antioch an
account of what had passed; and the latter returned an answer to them; and they all agreed
that they should receive those that relumed to the Church, and absolve them, and help them
to repentance, because God himself receives them. Then they excommunicated the proud
priest, who despised those penitent apostates;

8 and they sent for the letters of Novatus concerning the conciliation of such men, and
learnt what he wrote about them. After that, Novatus unworthy as he was, usurped the title
of bishop and remained in that office for three years, ordaining as priests ignorant men
who knew nothing; and he made his followers believe that he was the chief of the bishops,
and they honoured him accordingly; until the report of his deeds reached Rome, and there
was trouble between the two parties in the Church and a great schism. 9 After that, a
synod of bishops assembled, and cancelled all that Novatus had done by his lies, and
proved to all those that had accepted him that they were simple men without knowledge, and
that all his ordinations and other acts were invalid. Then one of those whom Novatus had
ordained came forward and confessed his sin, and wept; and so the bishops received and
pardoned him. And they wrote about Novatus to the various sees, and warned the Christians
not to receive any of his doctrines. And the number of those who published his teaching,
and whom he ordained, was as follows: forty-seven priests, and seven deacons, and seven
subdeacons, and seven readers and doorkeepers. And he had done many things that were
invalid, but which it is unnecessary to relate. Then the patriarch Dionysius wrote letters
to all places, enjoining that those who returned from their apostasy should be received;
and he made this a permanent canon for those who should repent of their error. He also
wrote a separate letter to Conon, bishop of Al-Ushmunain containing similar matter,
besides those sent to the rest of the bishops.

10 And Dionysius warned the people who dwelt with him in Alexandria, telling them of all
that Origen had done in all the churches, and putting them on their guard against him.
Then he wrote canons, which he made perpetual in the Church, and which contained an
exposition of doctrines and rules of legal discipline. Then Dionysius, the great patriarch
of the great city of Alexandria, wrote down what had happened to him, and what had
befallen him during the period of his primacy; and we have learnt these things from his
epistles and his instructions, which we have seen in all the churches, in every place. And
altogether Decius did not reign two years; and on account of his persecution of the
children of the Church, and his putting them to death, he was slain with his sons, and his
princely power was taken away from him. And after him Gallus was enthroned as prince. And
Dionysius wrote a letter to him. Gallus the prince had known all that Decius had done, for
he had left behind him an idol of stone which he used to worship, saying that this idol
had given him the empire; and he slew the priests who used to pray to God for his
salvation and the confirmation of his power.

11 Then Dionysius also wrote a letter to the patriarch of Rome requesting of him the
establishment of correspondence between them both, and the reception of those who had
apostatized during the persecution of Decius, but had returned; informing him also of the
entire cessation of the persecution which had been in his diocese of Alexandria, and of
the coming of peace to the Church; and of the removal of the schism of Novatus, so that
there did not remain an adversary to the Church, for he had only seized the pontificate
for himself, and had never become an unbeliever. For Dionysius had examined the followers
of Novatus on the unity of doctrine. At that time “Demetrianus was bishop in the city of
Antioch, and Theoctistus at Caesarea, and Mazabanes at Jerusalem, that is Aelia, and
Marinus at Tyre. And Alexander had gone to his rest at Laodicea. And all the churches were
in harmony in the orthodox faith and unity of Christ in every place and every region,
rejoicing and magnifying God and at one in the true doctrines; with glory to God, the God
of heaven, and our Lord Jesus Christ the Word, and the Holy Ghost, One God, wherever there
is agreement in one creed, and love of the brethren.” These are the words of Dionysius.

12 Then he wrote also to Stephen concerning the baptism of those who had returned from
their denial of Christ during the persecution, saying that they should settle this matter,
because it was very important; and that the council of bishops who met together had spoken
of this question, as we have heard; and that those who accepted instruction and abandoned
schism and heresy must be washed, that they might become new by immersion, so that they
might be purified from their commingling with the filthy. Dionysius also speaks in his
letter of the schism and heresy of Sabellius, because he was the cause of the mischief
which led to blasphemy against God Almighty. And Dionysius says in his letter: “He sent
word to me of those that desire to rebaptize all the heretics; and they are Helenus and
Firmilian and many with them.” 13 And the Church remained in tranquillity for a short
time, until the prince died, and there reigned after him an unbelieving prince named
Valerian. And by his command his deputies seized Dionysius, and imprisoned him. And they
killed an innumerable number of martyrs; even ripping open the bodies of infants, and
taking their intestines, and twisting them round musical instruments made of reeds which
they sounded in honour of the devils. Then they tortured Dionysius the patriarch, and
demanded that he should worship their idols. So he said to them: “We worship God most
high; but you worship what you love. Our worship is offered to the Lord Christ, Creator of
heaven and earth, whom we love.” Then the governor said to him: “Thou knowest not the
measure of the patience of the princes towards thee. For if thou wilt worship our gods, we
will honour and promote thee. But if thou wilt not do so, and disobeyest the command, and
wilt not worship the gods, then thou shalt see what will happen to thee.” And the governor
took many of the patriarch's companions, and killed them, after exhorting him at length;
and then drove him out, and banished him to a place, called the district of Coluthion, the
interpretation of which is Chamberlain. But the inhabitants of that place treated
Dionysius and all his companions, who would not worship the idols, hospitably. And after
this they brought him back to condemn him to death;

14 and they led him before the governor, who said to him: “We have heard that thou goest
to a place apart, and performest the liturgy with thy companions.” Dionysius answered: “We
never cease to pray, night or day.” So the governor exhorted him at length, and then left
him; and the patriarch returned to his companions and said to them: “Go to every place,
and pray and celebrate the liturgy; and if I am absent from you in the body, yet I am with
you in the spirit.” Then the patriarch was sent back to the place in which he had been in
banishment, and his companions were sad because he was parted from them; but they said:
“We know that the Lord Christ is with him in all his ways.” 15 Then an innumerable
multitude of the brethren were martyred in those days for the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, because they refused to worship the idols. And Valerian, the prince, made martyrs
of many people in every region and every place. Afterwards a multitude of the Barbarians
attacked him, and brought great trouble upon him. But he had a son who was very wise, and
who remained in possession of the government; and he had been brought up in the days of
persecution. And he gave to Dionysius and his companions a letter of release, and
commanded that these words should be written in it: “Publius Caesar, the reigning prince,
who loves God, writes to Dionysius the patriarch, and Demetrius and the rest of the
bishops, and commands that they be kindly treated. Let those that hate them depart from
them, and let their churches be opened to them. Let them take courage from our letter; and
let no chastisement touch them after this day, nor sadness nor sorrow after this time; so
that they may perform their service and their prayers to God; for we have set them free.
And I have appointed Aurelius Cyrenius, and commanded him to guard the bishops safely, and
treat them kindly. And let them say their prayers and celebrate their liturgies.”

16 This letter was written in Greek. And the prince wrote another letter to the bishops,
bidding them resume possession of all their monasteries and dwelling-places. At this time
Xystus was bishop of Rome and Demetrianus bishop of Antioch, and Firmilian bishop of
Caesarea in Cappadocia, and Gregory bishop of Pontus, and his brother Athenodorus bishop
of Caesarea in Palestine; and Hymenaeus was bishop of Jerusalem; and he it is whose head
they took off because he confessed Christ. So when Dionysius advanced in age, his body
grew weak from the great hardships that he had endured; but nevertheless he did not cease
for one night to read the holy scriptures. For since God most high knew his love for the
holy scriptures, he granted him the faculty of sight, so that he could see as well as he
used to in the days of his youth. And since he could not go to the council which assembled
to settle matters concerning Paul of Samosata, he sent his envoys with a letter full of
wisdom and instruction to the bishops assembled on his account; for Paul was like the wolf
that howls at the sheep. So the bishops of the council went in haste to Antioch for the
glory of the Lord Christ. And among those present in the council were Firmilian, bishop of
Caesarea in Cappadocia, and Gregory who has already been named, and his brother
Athenodorus, and Helenus, bishop of Tarsus, and Nicomas, bishop of Iconium, and Hymenaeus,
bishop of Jerusalem, and Maximus, bishop of Bostra; and with them a multitude of bishops
and priests and deacons. Then they sent for Paul, and asked him concerning what he had
said, and admonished him because he had blasphemed the Lord Christ; and when he would not
retract his opinions, they excommunicated him and banished him.

17 At this time Dionysius, patriarch of Alexandria, went to his rest, after remaining in
the see for seventeen years; and he died on the 13th. day of Barmahat. But in a copy in
the Monastery of Father Macarius it is said that he continued upon the episcopal throne
seven years. Said, son of Batrik, however, bears witness in the book of the annals that
the period was seventeen years; and this agrees with the biography from which the present
copy was translated.

VOL. 1, PART 1 -- ST. MARK TO THEONAS (300 AD) — MAXIMUS THE FIFTEENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 264-282

1 After Dionysius, Maximus was placed upon the throne of Saint Mark in the great city of
Alexandria, in the seventeenth year of the reign of Gallienus and Valerian, and he helped
the brethren in the affairs of the Church in every place. And he drove out Paul the
Samosatene from the Church, when he learnt that he was a heretic, because an account of
all that happened in the council of Antioch with regard to Paul was written and sent to
Dionysius, patriarch of Rome, and to Maximus, patriarch of Alexandria, when he took his
seat after Dionysius. For the whole council subscribed with spiritual consent to the
excommunication of Paul, and said that it was not fit that he should be named with the
name of Paul the apostle. And they wrote to Dionysius, patriarch of Rome, and Maximus,
patriarch of Alexandria and to all the bishops of the inhabited world, and to the priests
and deacons and all the baptized, and to the whole orthodox Church under heaven, naming
the bishops, and saying in their letter: “Helenus and Hymenaeus and Theophilus and
Theotecnus and Maximus and Proclus and Nikomas and Aelianus and Paul and Protogenes and
Bolanus and Hierax and Eutychius and Theodore and Malchion and Lucius, and the rest, who
dwell in the cities near to us.

2 We have written to you, our brethren, the holy bishops, and the laity who love the Lord
Christ, the Son of God, calling upon you to pray to the Lord that he may cause to cease
from among you the opinions of Paul the Samosatene, who teaches doctrines which beget
death for him more than any other; that thus you may be of one mind with us, like
Dionysius, patriarch of Alexandria, and Firmilian, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, who
wrote to us at Antioch, so that we overthrew the leader of the error, of whose evil
teachings they knew nothing, because it was we who read in the council his writings,
containing his corrupt faith; and we and those with us bore witness of this. And after
that he promised us to repent; but that was mockery and treachery on his part; for his
heart was hard, and he would not repent, but remained in his error, imagining vain things
about the Lord in his discourses. So he apostatized and denied the Lord in his creed.

3 Now the condition of this Paul was of such a nature that he went over from faith to
misbelief and error and perdition. And he was notoriously poor by birth, because he
inherited nothing from his ancestors, and earned nothing by the work of his hands; but he
became rich by the wealth of the church, and used to rob the sanctuaries by the Law, and
take bribes from the brethren when judging them; and if their adversaries offered him
larger bribes, he turned round and took their side against the others. Thus he gained for
himself vain riches by every kind of injustice. Yet in spite of that, he professed that he
served God. And he used to walk with an escort, and to tyrannize over the poor, and to
make a parade through the chief streets; and he loved to be called bishop, and troubled
men by the multitude of his attendants. And he had letters with him, which he read while
he walked, as if he was collecting taxes; and he made the people feel that he was a ruler;
and he was accompanied by armed men before and behind him. And he hated spiritual
teaching, and loved strange doctrines. And he neglected strangers, when he entered the
church. And he sought glory from the rulers, and made plans for vain pomp of every kind,
so that he even placed for himself a throne with a high platform; pretending to be a
disciple of Christ, while in reality he was a stranger to the Church.

4 And he made the women chant songs on the nights of the festivals and at the Easter
assembly instead of the Psalms and hymns; but the faithful brethren stopped their ears
when they heard them chant. And he would not accept any of the scriptures, nor confess
that Christ was the Son of God, nor that he came down from heaven, and was incarnate of
the Virgin Mary; but he uttered many blasphemies, and declared that Christ was one of us.
In consequence of these things it was necessary that we should assemble in council and cut
him off. And we have appointed instead of him a man who fears God, named Domnus, son of
the blessed Demetrianus, who is now in the Church, and deserves her praise. Thus we have
written these things to you in order that you may write to this new bishop, and may
receive his letters in peace according to the custom of the Church. Paul the Samosatene
then has fallen away from the Faith, and Domnus has received his bishopric in our presence
at Antioch.” And the prince Aurelian began to raise a persecution against the Church but
the help of the Lord was not with him in what he intended to do; and alter six years he
died. And after him was Probus the prince. In his time a wicked man named Manes appeared,
and showed forth evil deeds, and blasphemed the Father Almighty, and the only-begotten
Son, and the Holy Ghost who proceeds from the Father.

5 And he dared to say that he himself was the Paraclete. 6 This man had been slave to a
widow woman, who had much wealth. For there had formerly lived with her a great magician,
a native of Palestine, who fell from the house-top and died. After that, the woman bought
that wicked slave, and had him taught in the writing-school; and when he grew up, she gave
him the books of that magician. And when he had read them, and learnt magic from them, he
went to Persia, and visited the place where the magicians and diviners and astrologers
dwelt. And when he was strong in the doctrines of sin, Satan appeared to him, and
strengthened him, and encouraged in him the hatred of the Church. So he led astray many
people by his magic; and money was brought to him; and he had youths and girls, who
ministered to his evil desires, and whom he enslaved by his magic. And he led astray a
multitude of people, saying to them that he was the Paraclete, whom the Lord Christ
promised to send in the Gospel of John.

7 And there was a rich Christian man, named Marcellus, chief of a city in the province of
Syria, where there was a bishop named Archelaus. And upon this chief was the spirit and
blessing of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and he was a disciple of the church, and constant in
his visits there, morning and evening, like a poor man who possesses nothing. And he used
to listen to the sermons of the bishop, as it was his duty to do, and to perform good
works with his money among the people of this city. And his door was open to everyone who
came to him, whether they were the poor or those oppressed by the taxes, or others; so
that he was like the holy Job. 8 And at that time the Persians took captive the people of
a village near the house of Marcellus, and laid waste the village, and killed many people.
Then the prisoners sent to him, and asked him to perform an act of mercy towards them.
Accordingly he consented to their request in charity, and interceded with the leader of
the Persians, and received from him many of those that had been taken. And Marcellus, when
he came before the Persian chief, offered money to him and to many who were with him,
saying to them: “Take what you please in payment for these captives.” But when the
Persians saw his good deed, they refused to do as he proposed, and said to him: “We will
not do this, but give us what thou wilt as a ransom for the men who are with us.” So the
affair was settled between the parties at three denarii for every person. Thus Marcellus
delivered all that were in the hands of the Persians, and paid them the money, and
presented to them as a gratuity something beyond the price agreed upon; and he received
the captives from them, and remained with them seven days. And he tended the sick among
those prisoners as if they were his own children; and he sent to their town, and buried
those whom the Persians had slain of them. Then he rebuilt the houses of the living whom
he had redeemed; and the hearts of those who remained in the town were set at ease; and he
rebuilt for them all the churches, and made them live in their town. And when the Persians
went away from his country to their own land, they related all that he had done, and the
greatness of his wealth, and the love of the people of his town for him.

9 Now when Manichaeus, the evil one, heard what this man, Marcellus, had done, he thought
over it, and said to himself: “If I could gain this man over, and receive him into my
sect, then the whole of Syria would be under my influence.” So he wrote him a letter, in
which he said: “The Paraclete, Manes, writes thus to Marcellus. Verily I have heard of the
excellence of thy deeds, and therefore I know that thou wilt be a chosen disciple of mine,
that I may make known to thee the straight way, which Christ has sent me to teach to men.
But now your teachers have led you astray, since they say that God, whose Name is
glorious, entered the womb of a woman. And the prophets said untrue words of Christ; for
the God of the Old Testament is evil, and wills not that anything should be obtained from
him. But as for the God of the New Testament, he is good, and when they take aught from
him he does not refuse.” And he said of Christ many words blasphemously, which it is not
lawful to repeat; nor has Satan himself ever said the like!

10 And Manes gave the letter to one like himself, and sent him to Marcellus. But when the
messenger came to Syria, none of the people received him on the way, to entertain him at
his house; and he suffered greatly from hunger, feeding only upon herbs, until he came to
the house of Marcellus. So when Marcellus had received the letter and read it, he sent it
to the bishop Archelaus; and having provided the messenger with a lodging, he waited.
Then, when the bishop had read the letter, he tore the hair of his head, saying: “Would
that I had died before reading this blasphemous letter!” And he sent to Marcellus, who
brought the messenger to him; and the bishop asked him concerning the history of this
Manes, and in what circumstances he was living. So the man informed Archelaus of those
matters. And that messenger desired to remain with these two, when he heard their words,
and saw their virtues and their excellence. Then Marcellus requested him to return to
Manes with an answer to the letter, and gave him three denarii. But he said: “Pardon me,
my lord, but I will not return to him.” Thereupon they rejoiced at the salvation of his
soul from the snares of death. And Marcellus wrote to Manes an answer to his letter, and
sent it to him bv one of his slaves.

11 And the Father Archelaus said to that slave: “Take nothing from him, and neither eat
nor drink with him.” Then he sent him on his journey. And after seven clays, Manes came to
Marcellus, dressed in a habit of fine linen, with a striped tunic of fine material beneath
it; and he was wrapped in a cloak descending over his feet, adorned with figures in front
and behind; and with him were thirty-two youths and girls walking behind him. So when he
entered the house of Marcellus, he went straight to a chair, and sat upon it in the midst
of the house; and he thought that they would request him that they might receive
instruction from him. So Marcellus sent to the bishop Archelaus, and when he saw Manes
sitting on the chair, he was astonished at his want of shame. Then the bishop questioned
him, and said to him: “What is thy name?” Manes replied: a My name is Paraclete.”
Archelaus said to him: “Art thou the Paraclete of whom the Lord Christ said that he Avould
send him to us?” He said: “Yes; I am he.” The bishop asked him: “How many are the years of
thy life?” He answered: “Five and thirty years.” Archelaus, the bishop, said to him: “The
Saviour Christ said to his disciples: “Remain in Jerusalem, and do not depart, nor preach
the gospel, until you are clothed with the power from on high, which is the Paraclete, the
Holy Ghost.

12 And after ten days from his Ascension into Heaven, as he said, the Paraclete descended,
on the day of Pentecost, which was the completion of fifty days after the Pasch. But
according to thy words, the disciples are still awaiting thee at Jerusalem; and yet by
Christ's command it is about three hundred years since they began to preach, and their
voice went forth into all lands, and their words reached the ends of the world. If the
event had been as thou sayest, they would not have preached, but would have remained alive
till now. And where didst thou see the Lord Christ, thine age being thirty-five years? And
he bade thee not to sit in the chief places at assemblies; yet, behold, thou hast taken
the highest seat in the house.” 13 Then Manes enquired: “Does not the gospel say, I will
send you the Paraclete?” Archelaus answered: “If thou believest in the gospel, he said to
our Lady Mary, the Virgin: The Holy Ghost shall descend upon thee, and the power of the
Highest shall overshadow thee; and he whom thou shalt, bring forth is Holy, and shall be
called the Son of God.” Then the bishop brought forth the letter of Manes, which he had
sent to Marcellus, in which he denied the birth of Christ from a woman, and declared his
disbelief in Christ's death and resurrection from the dead. Thereupon Manes began to speak
of his false doctrines, saying that there were two gods, one of them Light, and the other
Darkness, and uttering similar infidelities. So the bishop Archelaus said to him: “If I
refute thee according to thy lies, thou wilt still insist on thy doctrines before me. But
behold, I will send and bring into thy presence people who do not know God, the God of
Heaven, that they may put thee to shame in thy words.” Accordingly he sent and brought
before him two men, one of them a philosopher and physician, and the other a scribe, and
said to them: “Hear what this man says. Are there in your books some words which you
accept, and other words which you reject?” They answered: “No; but we accept everything in
our books, and we reject nothing in them. For if we separated part of our books from the
rest, we should neither know how to read them nor how to accept them.”

14 Then the bishop answered and said to them: “This man preaches and says that he is the
Paraclete whom Christ sent, and yet he neglects the commands of Christ.” Then they said to
him: “We do not accept Christ nor do we touch anything of his.” And when Manes spoke, and
the assembly heard his words full of blasphemy, they rushed upon him to kill him; but the
bishop forbad them to do that, and said to them: “He will be slain by the hand of another
than us.” Then he banished Manes from the city, saying to him: “Take heed that thou be not
found in our province, lest thou die!” When Manes went forth, he betook himself to a
village where there was a hospitable priest, with whom he dwelt. And Manes remained for a
month in the house of this priest, who did not, however, know who he was. At last he spoke
to the priest of his wicked doctrines. So the priest said: “I have never heard of these
words before; but I will send to the bishop Archelaus, that he may come and hear from thee
what thou sayest, and then if it is good, we will accept it.” But when Manes heard the
name of Archelaus, he was troubled thereat, because he knew his valour and the wisdom of
God which was in him. Therefore he returned without delay to the land of the Persians,
where he continued, as his custom was, to utter blasphemy. But the true Paraclete
condemned him in his wisdom; for he delivered him into the power of the king of the
Persians, who flayed off his skin, and cast him to the wild beasts, which devoured him.

15 At that time died Felix patriarch of Rome; and Eutychianus was enthroned after him. And
the length of time that Felix remained in the patriarchate was five years. And Eutychianus
remained ten months, and then went to his rest. And after him sat Marcellinus. And at that
time Timaeus received the patriarchate of Antioch after Domnus. When Auxelian, the prince,
died, Probus received the empire after him, and remained six years and died. Then, after
him, reigned Cams and Carinus and Numerian; and they continued three years and then died.
And after them reigned Diocletian, through whom a great persecution descended upon the
Church, greater than those of his predecessors; for he destroyed the churches, and burnt
the books, and slew the bishops and priests and many of the faithful. 16 And Socrates died
at Laodicea, and Eusebius was appointed bishop of that city instead of him. This man had
come from Alexandria on account of the council which had assembled at Antioch concerning
Paul the Samosatene. His successor was Anatolius, who also had arrived in Syria from
Alexandria, whither he had migrated, and where he had taken up his abode in order that he
might teach the young people there. For he was skilled in learning, so that his fame
reached as far as Rome. And when an army marched from Rome to the city of Alexandria, and
besieged it, Anatolius the teacher did not cease negotiating between the two parties, with
all fairness until he improved the state of affairs, and established peace, and the war
ceased. And the great men of the city were incensed against him, because he urged them to
do what they did not wish. So he said to them: “Let the old men and old women and young
children leave the city, for they are not required here; but do you do what you will with
your city, for so you will retain the provisions which are in your hands, stored up among
you.” Thus their hearts were appeased by this advice; and the next day the soldiers and
the captains of the city assembled, and took counsel about this matter, and decided that
it was right so to act. So they sent out the old men and old women and children; and many
others escaped through the gates by night.

17 After that, the emperor Claudius commanded to slay the troops of the city, because they
had helped the people to depart from it; and the city was laid waste. And Eusebius also
acted between the two parties as a physician or father who heals both sides alike. And
this man was bishop of Laodicea, and he came to his see with the other bishop from
Alexandria in excellent agreement. And after the fighting which took place at Alexandria,
Anatolius wrote many instructions, and the people of the city profited by them. And he
wrote for them a calculation of Easter also. 18 And on the 1st. day of the month after the
council, which took place at Antioch to judge Paul the Samosatene, Theotecnus was
established as bishop on the episcopal throne of Caesarea in Palestine, and the above-
mentioned Eusebius over Laodicea. And Eusebius was a man powerful with the Lord, as also
was Anatolius; for they were both inspired by the Holy Ghost to impart spiritual doctrine.
Then they went to their rest, one after the other; and Stephen became bishop over
Laodicea. He was a man full of wisdom, and everyone was astonished at him; and it was not
merely wisdom of words, but the true orthodox faith; and he rebuilt the churches which had
been destroyed in his city, and renewed them with the help of God given to him. And his
successor, the bishop Theodotus, lived in the time of persecution, and was worthy of the
two names by which he was called; for the interpretation of his own name is Gift of God,
besides the name of bishop. And he was a lover of the people, and their shepherd and
physician, skilful in doing good to their souls, so that it was said that there had been
none equal to him in his charity. And Agapius, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, was like
him also, and had laboured among his people in great charity; for he loved the poor, and
controlled his people like a faithful servant of God; and after this he merited the crown
of martyrdom, with many of the priests of Alexandria.

19 And there were martyred also with them Pierius; and Meletius, who had become bishop of
Pontus, and was called Honey, on account of the sweetness of his tongue, which was full of
the doctrine and grace of God. Meletius loved to give alms to the poor, and grudged
nothing; and all his teaching was from the gospel; and he lived in the time when men were
scattered and persecuted, and yet was constant in doctrine. 20 When Hymenaeus, bishop of
Jerusalem, went to his rest, Zambdas was appointed instead of him; and when Zambdas died,
there came after him Hermon, who suffered hardships in the time of persecution. And
Maximus, patriarch of Alexandria, went to his rest on the 14th. of Barmudah, after he had
remained eighteen years in the see.

VOL. 1, PART 1 -- ST. MARK TO THEONAS (300 AD) — THEONAS THE SIXTEENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 282-300

1 When Maximus went to his rest, Theonas took his seat after him upon the episcopal throne
of Alexandria, after the people had assembled, and had come to an agreement upon his
fitness for the office. So they promoted him in the first year of the reign of Numerian,
Carus and Carinus, the princes. And he built a handsome church in the name of our Lady
Mary, which was called the Church of the Mother of God. For up to this time the people had
celebrated the liturgy in caves and underground places and secret resorts. And from saint
Mark the evangelist to the third year of the patriarchate of Theonas were two hundred and
nineteen years. And he went to his rest on the 2nd. of Tubah, after remaining nineteen
years in the see. There was in the days of this Father, the patriarch Theonas, a holy
priest, who had a pure wife; and these two walked together in the way of the Lord, keeping
his commandments, and acting according to his precepts, cleaving to the canons of their
religion, firm in the faith. But they had no child, and were sad at heart for this reason.
And they multiplied fasts and prayers and alms, that the Lord might be gracious to them
and grant them a child, by the sight of whom their eyes might be refreshed.

2 When the least of the two glorious disciples, Peter and Paul, came round, on the fifth
day of Abib, and all the faithful were present in the church, to keep their least, the
wife of this priest, being present near the place where the picture of those two saints
was, saw the faithful bringing their children forward, and anointing them with the oil of
the lamp which was lighted before the two pictures. So she sighed, with a wounded heart,
and prayed those two saints to intercede with the Lord for her. And she partook of the
Holy Mysteries, and received the peace of God, and departed to her home, thanking the Lord
of glory. And that night she saw in her sleep two persons in the dress of the patriarchs,
who said to her: “Be not sad, for the Lord has heard thy petition, and has given thee a
child with whom he will refresh thine eyes. And he shall be a father to many people; and
his name and his holiness shall appear like those of Samuel the prophet, for he is the son
of a promise. Therefore when the morning comes, go early to the Father Theonas, the
patriarch, and make this known to him, that he may bless thec;

3 for God in his mercy will give thee a child who shall be blessed.” Accordingly, when it
was morning, she told her husband the priest, and he said to her: “Go and make this known
to Theonas the patriarch, as thou wert bidden.” So she went to him, and made the dream
known to him; and he blessed her, and said to her: “The Lord will perform thy request, and
answer thy prayer; for the Lord is true to his word, and his works are wonderful among his
saints.” And she departed to her home. And a short time after that, she conceived; and she
guarded herself in all purity, and in continual fasts and prayers night and day, until the
day of the feast of Peter and Paul, on the fifth of Abib, when she brought forth a son.
And the messenger of good tidings went to Abba Theonas, the patriarch, and informed him
that she had become the mother of a son; and he rejoiced greatly thereat. And her husband,
the archpriest, also rejoiced. And Abba Theonas, the patriarch, said to them: “Name him
Peter.” And it was done so. And the child grew and waxed and increased, like John the
Baptist, until he reached the age of three years. Then his parents carried him to the
patriarch, and said to him: “This is the son of thy prayers.” So Theonas blessed them and
the child, and baptized him.

4 And when the child was five years old, his parents gave him to be instructed. And he
learnt wisdom in a very short time, and came to have a better memory than the rest of his
comrades who were in the Church. And in his seventh year the patriarch made him reader;
and he was filled with spiritual grace. And when he was twelve years old, he made him
fully deacon; and he surpassed the other deacons in knowledge and piety, and in the
spiritual and heavenly grace which God gave him. When he was fully sixteen years old, he
was promoted to be priest, on account of the chastity and modesty and knowledge and piety,
and true faith, and soundness of learning, and assiduous service of the churches, night
and day, which the patriarch saw in him. 5 And in those days there had appeared a
blaspheming man, named Sabellius, who preached a doctrine divergent from the faith; and
this was that he believed that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, the holy Trinity, were one
Person, and not three Persons, but merely three names. Sabellius disbelieved in the
gospel, and would not listen to that which is written therein, that our Lord Jesus Christ,
when he was baptized by John, saw the Holy Ghost descending upon him like a dove, and
heard the voice of the Father from heaven, saying: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased.” So many, who heard the teaching of Sabellius, followed him, and he led them
astray by his impiety. Then he assembled the members of his sect, and came to the church,
when the father and patriarch, Abba Theonas, was present, on the day of a great feast; and
he stood at the door, and sent to the patriarch a messenger, who said to him: “Come out
and discuss matters with me this day; and if thou art in the right I will follow thee, but
if not I will make known to the people that thou art in error.” Then the father and
patriarch said to Peter, the priest: “Go out to this misbeliever, and silence him, that he
trouble us not.” So Peter went out; but when Sabellius saw him he said: “See the
haughtiness and pride of Theonas;

6 he has only sent out to me the least of the youths who attend him.” But Peter said to
him: “Though I be young with thee, with my Father Theonas I am old. And the Lord will show
thy misbelief hereby this day, for he will give me the victory over thee, as he made David
victorious over Goliath the giant. For the Lord will bring his fate upon thee, and will
punish thee, and destroy thee with thy companions, and bring thy doctrine to naught, and
overthrow thy opinion, so that no word or syllable of thine shall remain.” And he had not
finished his words before the face of Sabellius was convulsed, and his neck bent
backwards, and he fell on the ground dead. And his followers fled in haste, and all those
that were with him. So he perished, and his memory was lost, and his teaching was cut off,
and no remembrance of him remained. This is the end of what happened to Sabellius.

7 And the Lord showed forth another sign by the hand of the holy Peter, which was as
follows. There was a great feast in the city of Alexandria, at which the Father Theonas
and all the clergy and people were present, glorifying God and keeping festival. And a man
among them, in whom was a rebellious devil, stood by the door, and began to throw stones
at the faithful, and to foam at the mouth, and growl like a camel. So the people fled from
him into the interior of the church, and made known to the patriarch the state of that
madman. Theonas, therefore, said to the holy Peter: “Go out to him, and drive this devil
out of him.” So Peter took a basin, and poured water into it, and presented it to the
patriarch, begging him to make the sign of the cross over it; and he did so. And Peter
went out, taking the vessel of water, to the place where the madman was. Then he said: “In
the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, who cast out the Legion of devils, and healed men of all
diseases and sicknesses, go forth from him, Satan, by the prayers of my father Theonas,
the patriarch, and return no more to him!” Then immediately the devil went out of him, and
the man was healed, and became whole, and reasonable, and calm.


HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 1
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HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 1 continued

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — PETER I , THE MARTYR, THE SEVENTEENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 300-311

1 When Abba Theonas, the patriarch, went to his rest, the clergy of Alexandria assembled
with the people and laid their hands upon Peter the priest, his son and disciple, and
seated him upon the episcopal throne of Alexandria, as Theonas, the holy father, bade
them; and that was in the sixteenth year of Diocletian the prince. And when Peter saw that
the wicked Arians had filled the whole country with confusion through his unbelief, he cut
him off and banished him from the Church. 2 And in the nineteenth year of the reign of
Diocletian, his letters came to Alexandria and Egypt; and he brought trials upon the
Christians, and destroyed the churches of God, and killed many persons with the sword; and
those that believed in Christ fled into the wilderness, and into dens and caves. Then
Diocletian established guards and watchmen in every place of the province of Egypt and the
Thebaid as far as Antinoe, and commanded them to kill all the Christians that they found.
Afterwards those guards seized the blessed Peter patriarch of Alexandria, and threw him
into prison, and made known to the prince that they had seized him and bound him; and so
the unbelieving prince commanded that they should take off his head. When the letter came
to them with this order, they hastened to perform the prince's bidding. But when they
wished to bring Peter out from the prison that they might take him and kill him, the
people assembled at the door of the prison, and sat by it, to watch over their shepherd,
saying:“When we are all put to death, then his head shall be taken.” So those soldiers
began to consider how they should bring him forth, so that a great multitude might not die
on account of him; for all the people had assembled for his sake, the old and the young,
and the monks and the women and the virgins, and were weeping abundant tears. And the
soldiers agreed together that they should enter and bring him forth, and slay any of the
people who opposed them, as the prince's letter directed.

3 Now the reason of the prince's command to seek and put to death this father and
patriarch was as follows. There was at Antioch a man named Socrates, who was one of the
commanders of the troops which served at the palace, and was a comrade of Apater, who was
martyred with his sister Irene. This Socrates was by birth a Christian, and was baptized;
but he denied his religion, and came to hate the Christians. And he had a wife who was
good and charitable and a Christian, by whom God granted him two children. So when they
grew and were fit for baptism, the wife said to her husband: “I pray thee, my brother, to
travel with me to Alexandria, that we may baptize our children, so that they may not die
without baptism, lest the Lord Christ be angry with us for our neglect of them”. Then the
unbeliever replied: “Be silent; for thou knowest not the troubles which have come upon us
in these days; lest the king should hear and be exceeding wroth with us.” Now his
intention was to frighten her by this; so that she might leave her children without
baptism. But when she perceived that he would not consent, nor travel with her, she took
her two children and two trustworthy menservants whom she had;

4 and she went out to the sea-shore, and prayed, saying: “O Lord Almighty, Father of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, if thou wilt make my journey easy, prepare for me a ship in
which I may depart.” Then while she was praying, she saw a ship about to set sail. So she
called one of the sailors, and said to him: “Whither are you voyaging?” He answered: “To
Alexandria”. She said to him: “Carry me with you, and I will pay you a high fare”. So he
consented to that. And she embarked on that ship, taking her two children, and her two
men-servants. And after two days a high wind rose against them, so that everyone in the
ship was troubled. Then that believing woman thought: “Verily God will not hear a sinner
like me; but that which has come into my mind I will do”. Then she arose and spread out
her hands, and turned her face to the East, and prayed, saying: “O God, who knowest
everything before if takes place, thou knowest what is in my heart, and that I love thee
more than life or wealth, more even than my children and my own soul. Behold, we die in
the midst of the waves for thy holy name's sake.

5 O Saviour, O Lord, O my God and Saviour of my soul and my body, have a care for my
children who are become orphans on account of thy holy name, and let them not die without
baptism.” And when she had finished those words, she took a knife and said: “O Lord
Almighty, thou knowest my heart”. And she cut her right breast with the knife, and took
from it three drops of blood, with which she made the sign of the cross on the foreheads
of her two children, and over their hearts, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Ghost; and she dipped them in the sea, saying: “I baptize you, my children, in the
name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost”. Then she embraced them, saying: “If
death is to come to us, then let me die now, me and my two children.” So when the Lord saw
her faith thus firm, he quelled that tempestuous wind; and there was a great calm. And
they arrived after three days at the city of Alexandria.

6 So when they entered the city by the help of the merciful God, since that day was in the
week of Baptism, which is the sixth week of the Fast, when infants are baptized, that
woman went straightway to one of the deacons, and said to him: “My Father, I wish to have
an interview with the patriarch”. So he said to her: “What is thy business with the
patriarch?” She answered: “My Father, I am a stranger, and I wish to baptize these two
children of mine”. The deacon asked her: “Hast thou no other business than this?” She
replied: “No”. He said to her: “Take thy seat in the church; behold the patriarch will
come and baptize the infants, and will baptize thy children with them”. So she did as he
bade her; and when the time came, and the father and patriarch had finished the liturgy,
they presented to him for baptism the infants who were to be baptized; and so he baptized
them. Then they brought to him the two children of the woman of Antioch; but when the
patriarch took the two infants to baptize them, the water was congealed, and became like
stone. When Peter, the holy patriarch, saw this, he was astonished; and he commanded to
set those two aside; but he told no one of the congealing of the water.

7 Then he bade that the other children should be presented to him, and when the other
infants were brought the water was liquefied, and became as it was at first; and he
baptized those that were presented to him. Then he gave orders that the two children of
the woman should be presented a second time; but when they were brought to him, the water
was congealed again, and became like stone. So he sent them back, and the infants of the
city were offered to him again; and the water was unbound, and he baptized them. After
that, he asked for the two children of the woman a third time; and the water was congealed
again, and became like stone. Thereupon the patriarch bade the archdeacon of the church
fetch their mother; and so he brought her before him; and he said to her: “Make known to
me, woman, thy circumstances, and tell me what thy religion is”. She replied: “I am of
Antioch, and my family are Christians”. The patriarch said to her: “Then what hast thou
done? For behold, the Lord will not accept thy children for baptism”. She replied: “Hear
me, my Lord and Father, and be patient with me. For indeed thy Paternity knows how
Christians are persecuted throughout the world in these days, and the worst of the trouble
is at Antioch.

8 And when these two children of mine grew up, and I found no way of baptizing them there,
I asked their father to journey with me to this city, in order to baptize them here, but
he would not. So I took these two children of mine, and went out with them to the sea-
shore, and there we embarked in a ship; but afterwards when we were in the midst of the
waves, a tempest arose against us, so that the ship was near sinking. Therefore I took a
knife, and wounded my right breast, and took from it three drops of blood, and made the
sign of the cross upon the faces and hearts of my little ones, and dipped them in the sea,
in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, three times. For this reason the
Lord withholds them from baptism. And this, by the truth of thy holy Paternity, is what I
did”. So the patriarch said to her: “Let thy heart be comforted, my daughter; fear not,
for the Lord is with thee. When thou didst wound thy breast, and take from it the blood,
and make the sign of the cross upon the faces of thy two children, in the faith of God the
Incarnate Word, whose side was pierced on the cross with the spear, when the water and the
blood came forth from it, he it was who made the cross over thy two children with his
divine hand”.

9 Then the patriarch blessed those two among the baptized, but did no more to them; for he
could not baptize them a second time, because the Lord had accepted them on the sea. For
the patriarch said: “None can be baptized twice, for there is one baptism only; and these
two have already been baptized once by the intention and faith of their mother, and by
what she did”. 10 Then the patriarch composed on this subject a homily, beginning thus:
“The mercy of God which descends upon men”. And he gave to the two children of the holy
Mysteries. And he took them and their mother into his house until they had kept the Feast
of the Holy Easter. Then they returned to their own city in peace. But when her husband
learnt what she had done, he went to Diocletian, the unbelieving prince, and said to him:
“Know, my lord the prince, that my wife committed adultery in this city; and when I
hindered her, she went away to Alexandria, and committed adultery with the Christians
during many days; and she took my children, and performed upon them a rite called baptism.
And behold, she has returned hither. What thinkest thou that I should do with her?” Then
Diocletian commanded Socrates her husband to bring her and her two children before him;
and he. did so. And when she stood before him, he said to her: “O woman deserving of
death, why didst thou leave thy husband, and go away to Alexandria, and commit adultery
there with the Christians?” Then that holy woman answered him: “The Christians do not
commit adultery nor worship idols; but do whatsoever thou wilt; for thou wilt not hear
another word from me”. The prince said to her: “Make known to me what happened to thee at
Alexandria.” But she would not answer him. Therefore the prince commanded that her hands
should be fastened behind her, and that her two children should be placed on her lap, and
that all three should be burnt in the fire. So the holy woman turned her face to the East,
and her children with her; and thus they gave up their souls, and received the crown of
martyrdom.

11 Then the prince asked her husband Socrates: “Who is it that does these things at
Alexandria?” He replied: “It is Peter, the patriarch of the Christians”. So when he heard
this, he was filled with anger and wrath, because he was full of indignation against the
holy Peter, the patriarch, on account of the writings which he had composed in refutation
of the worship of idols. Accordingly he wrote to his deputies at Alexandria, commanding
that they should take his head. And while the soldiers were zealously obeying the commands
of the prince, and Peter was in prison, as we have said above, Arius, the unbeliever,
learnt that they wished to kill the patriarch. Then Arius feared that Peter would go to
his rest, while he would remain bound by his sentence of excommunication. So he went to
certain priests and deacons and many of the laity, and begged them to visit the prison,
that they might throw themselves at the feet of the patriarch, and pray him to set Arius
loose from his bonds of excommunication. Now they thought that Arius made this request out
of piety, and therefore they consented to his petition. So they entered into the prison,
and cast themselves down before Peter, and prayed: Then they made prostrations to him, and
besought him to loose Arius from his bonds.

12 But the patriarch cried out with a loud voice: “Do you intercede with me for Arius?”
Then he raised his hands and said: “Arius shall be at this time, and in the time to come,
excluded from the glory of the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ”. When he had said this,
a great fear came upon them, and not one of them dared to answer a word. But when he saw
that they were afraid of him, he comforted their souls. Then he rose up from the midst of
them, and took with him the two old men, Achillas and Alexander, his two disciples, and
went apart with them, and said to them: “God, the God of heaven, will help me to
accomplish my martyrdom. Then thou, Achillas, the priest, shalt sit on this throne after
me; and thy brother Alexander after thee. Say not that there is no mercy in me, for I am a
sinful man; but Arius is full of hidden guile; and it is not I that have excommunicated
him, but Christ. I tell you that this night, when I had finished my prayers and fallen
asleep, I saw a youth coming in to me, with his face shining like the light of the sun,
wearing a garment which clothed him down to his feet, but it was torn; and he took up the
part where it was rent in his hands, and covered with it his breast and his nakedness.

13 So when I saw him, I rose hastily, and cried with a loud voice, and said: O my Lord,
who is it that has torn thy garment? He answered: Arius has rent it. Therefore receive him
not, and have no fellowship with him. To-day there will come to thee some who will
intercede with thee for him; but let not thy heart accept him, for I have forbidden thee
to do so. Likewise charge thy disciples, Achillas and Alexander, who will sit after thee
on the episcopal throne, that they receive him not. There my speech with him ended. And
now I shall accomplish my martyrdom, having charged you as he commanded me. You, my
brethren, know how I have been all my time with you, and what trials I have encountered,
and the conspiracies of the unbelievers and idol-worshippers; and how I was continually
fleeing from place to place, from Mesopotamia to Syria, and to Palestine and Ramleh and
the islands. Yet I did not cease to write to you two, secretly and openly, nor to comfort
the people through the power of the Lord Christ, clay and night; and I neglected not the
flock with which I was entrusted. And my heart was greatly grieved; but in spite of all
this I did not neglect the care of Phileas and Hesychius and Pachomius and Theodore, who
were imprisoned for their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and merited grace from God;

14 for I used to write to them, and to speak of them in my epistles from Mesopotamia. And
I suffered great trouble and torment for their sakes, lest anything should happen to them
together with the priests who were in prison; for more than six hundred and sixty souls
became martyrs. Now, as you know, I have the care of you all; therefore, when I heard that
they had been martyred, I worshipped and thanked him who strengthened them, Jesus Christ,
who also counted them among his martyrs. So likewise I pray him to number me among them.
Moreover you two know the evils which have befallen me from Meletius of Asyut, who divided
the Church of God, which the Lord Christ, the Word of God, redeemed with his holy blood,
when he laid down his life for it”. 15 Then the father and patriarch, Abba Peter, began to
teach those two, and charge them to beware of the guile of the aforesaid Meletius, that
they should not associate with him. And he said to them: “Behold, you two see me bound for
the love of God, while I am awaiting his will; for the officers of Diocletian daily
deliberate how to kill some of us, as you know, and they assiduously carry out what they
are commanded to do. But I do not fear for myself, and only desire to finish the course
which God has appointed for me, and my ministry, which I accepted from the Lord Jesus
Christ, my God; and he will help me to complete it; henceforth, therefore, you two will
not see my face in the body after this day. I testify to you that I have declared
everything to you; and I am pure and free from sin. Therefore keep the flock which the
Holy Ghost has entrusted to you, and guard the Church of God which he bought with his
blood; for I know that, after I am separated from you, some of the people will arise and
speak words of blasphemy, with the intention of dividing the Church, as Meletius has done,
whom many of the people have followed; but I beseech you to be vigilant, for you will
encounter trouble.

16 For you know what befell the Father Theonas, who brought me up, and upon whose
episcopal throne I sat after him, and the evil which he suffered from the worshippers of
idols. And I hope that a grace like his will come to me, similar also to the grace given
to the Father Dionysius, who hid himself in various places on account of the heretic
Sabellius. What shall I say also concerning Heraclas and Demetrius, the two blessed ones,
and the disorders that they encountered, and the hostility which they endured from Origen,
the madman, and all that took place through him; and concerning all our fathers, who were
before us, and what they bore for the Church of God? But the grace of God, which was with
them, was that which overshadowed them and protected them. 17 And now I commit you to God
by the word of grace, which has the power to preserve you, and to preserve his flock”. And
when the Father Peter had said this, he fell upon his knees and prayed and worshipped with
those two, and gave thanks, and clasped them to himself, embracing them, and kissed them.
And Achillas and Alexander kissed his hands and bade him farewell weeping, because of his
saying to them that they would not see him after that day in the body. Then he returned to
the assembly near which he was standing, and remained among them and exhorted them, and
comforted them, and prayed for them, and blessed them, and consoled them, and dismissed
them in peace. And when they went away from him, they informed the people of what he had
said, and of what he had done in the prison with regard to Arms. And when the people heard
this, they marvelled, for they knew that God was with him, and had separated Arius from
them. But when Arius learnt this thing, he kept silence and concealed himself and his
opinions and his guile, because his hope in the patriarch Peter was cut off.

18 So when the Father Peter heard of the strife on his account between the troops and the
people of the city, who prevented the soldiers from approaching the prison in which he
was, he feared that some would be slain for his sake, and resolved to preserve his
faithful people, and to redeem them with his own life. Therefore he sent word to the
soldiers secretly, saying to them: “Come this night to the wall of the prison at the place
where I will knock for you from within; and make a hole through it, and do what the prince
has commanded you to do”. And when they heard this, they accepted his words. Accordingly
they went that night secretly to the place of which he told them, which was a cell where
he was separate from the other prisoners, of which none of the people knew; and then he
knocked at the wall from within, and when they heard him, they broke open the place where
he knocked, and made an opening there. So he made the sign of the cross on his face, and
put his head out to them, through the hole which they had opened, saying: “It is better
that I should give up my life than that the people should perish for my sake”. Thereupon
the soldiers cut off his head, and went away. Behold then this most admirable deed!

19 Now there arose at that hour a violent wind, so that none of the people who were
guarding the door of the prison heard the sound of those that pierced the wall; nor did
any of the prisoners hear it. Thus this blessed father accomplished the words of the holy
Gospel, and the words of the Jews which it reports on the day of the blessed crucifixion,
namely, that it is better that one should die for the people than that the whole people
should perish; and he was like his Lord, the Good Shepherd, who gave his life for his
sheep. But the people meanwhile were sitting by the door of the prison, and knew not what
had happened to him. 20 In another copy, however, it is said that he came out through the
hole in the wall, and the soldiers took him and led him away to a place called Boucolia,
the interpretation of which is Cattle-yard; and this is the place where was accomplished
the martyrdom of the glorious father, Saint Mark the evangelist. But when the soldiers saw
the holy Peter thus giving himself up to death, they were filled with awe, and dread fell
upon them. So he asked them, and said to them: “I pray you that I may go and receive a
blessing from the body of the father, Saint Mark the evangelist”. Then they consented to
his request, and said with shame and downcast looks: “Whatever thou desirest, father, do
quickly”. So he went to the place where the body of Saint Mark, the evangelist and bringer
of good tidings, lay; and he prayed and received a blessing from the relics, and knelt by
them, as if he were discoursing with the saint, saying: “O my father, evangelist and
messenger of the Lord Christ, the Only-Begotten Son, who dost bear witness to his passion,
thou art the first martyr and the first patriarch of this see. Thou, O pure and holy one,
art he whom Christ, truly the most holy, elected. Thou didst preach his name in the land
of Egypt, and in this city, and in the provinces which surround it, and didst diligently
exercise the ministry which was thy work; and thou didst receive the crown of martyrdom.

21 For this reason, O father and evangelist, disciple and martyr, thou wast worthy to show
forth thy faith in God, the Word and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thou didst elect the
blessed Annianus because he was worthy; and after him was Avilius, and those who succeeded
those two; then Demetrius and He-raclas and Dionysius and Maximus; and the blessed
Theonas, my father, who brought me up until I came to the ministry of this see after him,
though I am a sinner, unworthy of this honour which I received only by the greatness of
his compassion. Therefore intercede for me, that I may be a martyr in truth, if indeed I
be worthy to imitate Christ's crucifixion and resurrection; and that he may fill me with
the perfume of life-giving faith, so that I may be to him sweet-smelling incense, by the
shedding of my blood for his holy name. For the time is come for my decease; therefore
pray, O my father, for me, that I may not be divided into two hearts or purposes; and that
the Lord may strengthen me, until I depart from this world. And behold, I leave to thee
the flock with which thou didst entrust me, and which thou didst hand over to me, and to
those who were before me also, for thou art our teacher, O our lord; therefore be with us
and with our children, according to the charge which the Lord Christ gave to thee”.

22 Then Peter rose from beside the tomb, and lifted up his hands to heaven, and said: “O
Son of God, Jesus Christ, Word of the Father, I pray and beseech thee to make to cease
from us this persecution which is upon thy people, and to grant that the shedding of the
blood of this thy servant may put an end to the oppression of thy reasonable flock”. Now
there was in the neighbourhood of the tomb a dwelling-place, where lived a young virgin
with her aged father, and she was at that moment standing to pray; and when her prayer was
ended, she heard a voice from heaven saying: “Peter was the first of the apostles; and now
Peter is the last of the martyrs”. So when the holy father had finished his invocation, he
kissed the apostle's tomb, and the tombs of the fathers which were there also. Then he
ascended to the soldiers, who saw his face as it were the face of an angel of God, and so
they were afraid of him, and did not speak to him; for God does not abandon those who
trust in him. Thereupon the saint raised his hands to heaven, and thanked the Lord, and
made the sign of the cross on his face, and said “Amen”. And he took off his pallium, and
bared his neck, which was pure before the Lord, and said to them: “Do as you have been
commanded”. But the soldiers feared that trouble would befall them because of him.

23 So they looked one at another, and not one of them dared to cut off his head, because
of the dread which had fallen upon them. Then they took counsel together and said: “To him
that cuts off his head each one of us will give five denarii”. Now they were six persons;
and one of them had some money; so he took out five and twenty denarii from among the
coins and said: “He that will go up to him, and cut off his head, shall receive this money
from me and from the four others”. So one of the men went forward, and summoned up his
courage, and cut off the head of the holy martyr and patriarch Peter; that day being the
29th of Hatur. Now Peter had sat on the evangelical throne for eleven years. But as for
that soldier who cast in his lot with Judas Iscariot, he took the money and fled, he and
his companions, in fear of the people. And the body of the saint remained lying as it was
far into the day, until the people who were sitting before the prison learnt what had
taken place, and saw the hole in the wall. Then they went in haste to the place where he
was, and found his body covered with his garment, and the old man and the young virgin
sitting there and guarding it. So they joined the head to the body, and spread over it a
linen cloth; and they collected his blood;

24 and they stood there weeping. 25 And the city was in confusion, and was greatly
disturbed, when the people beheld this martyr of the Lord Christ. Then the chief men of
the city came, and wrapped his body in the leathern mat on which he used to sleep; and
they took him to the church, and placed him there on the synthronus, until the celebration
of the liturgy. And, when the liturgy had heen performed, they buried him with the
fathers. May his prayers be with us and all those that are baptized! Amen.

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — ACHILLAS, THE EIGHTEENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 311-312

When the Father Peter went to his rest, and the people of Alexandria were thus deprived of
his presence, they sent and assembled the bishops together. And they made Achillas, the
priest, patriarch instead of Peter, as he had charged them before his death. Then, when
Achillas had taken his seat upon the apostolic and evangelical throne, a body of the
people came to him, and prayed him to receive Arius. Accordingly he admitted their
request, and made Arius deacon. But since Achillas received Arius, and thus disobeyed the
command of his father Peter, he only remained in the see six months. And he went to his
rest on the 19th of Baunah.

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — ALEXANDER I, THE NINETEENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 312-326

When Achillas, the patriarch, went to his rest, the people assembled and laid their hands
upon the Father Alexander, the priest, as the Father Peter, the last of the martyrs, had
charged them; and he sat upon the episcopal throne. And some of the people came to him,
and prayed him to receive Arius. But when Alexander, the excellent, saw Arius, he rejected
him, and would not receive him, and said to those who interceded with him for that man:
“The Father Peter, while he was in prison, said to me and to my brother Achillas: The Lord
Christ has anathematized Arius; therefore receive him not. And when Achillas, my brother,
disobeyed the Father Peter's injunction, he only remained upon the episcopal throne six
months. Therefore I will not receive Arius at all, since he is separated from us”. So
Arius remained in banishment under sentence of excommunication for many years. After that
he went to Constantinople, and laid a complaint before Constantius, son of the blessed
prince Constantine, describing how he had been treated, and declaring that he had repented
and renounced his false doctrine; and he swore to this. And thus he continued to hide his
guile in his heart, until God revealed to him his power over him, and his bowels gushed
forth from his body, and so he perished, as it shall be related hereafter. For it was on
account of Arius that the holy council at Nicaea took place, at which he was
anathematized, and the orthodox faith was established, and the days of the fast and the
day of the feast of Easter were fixed. And our Father, the patriarch Alexander, was
president of that council. And after that, he went to his rest, holding fast to the
orthodox faith. His death took place on the 22nd of Barmudah; and the period of his
occupation of the see was sixteen years.

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — ATHANASIUS I, THE APOSTOLIC, THE TWENTIETH PATRIARCH. A. D. 326-373

1 So when the blessed Father Alexander went to his rest, the Church was widowed for a few
days. Then the people assembled and took counsel, and appointed the Father Athanasius, and
seated him on the evangelical throne. And he wrote excellent treatises and many homilies;
and he was called during his patriarchate the Apostolic, on account of the nobility of his
deeds, which were like those of the Apostles. In his days took place the council of
Galatia at which Basil the Great, author of the Liturgy, was present, and in which they
excommunicated the Arians, in the reign of Julian the misbelieving prince; and Jovian, the
patrician, presided over this council; and Julian, the prince, was slain by the hand of
the glorious martyr Mercurius; and after him Jovian the patrician was enthroned as prince,
and gave rest to the Church during his reign. And Athanasius, the patriarch, endured many
trials, and was sent into exile; for evil snares were laid for him, so that he was forced
to leave his see by the frequent persecutions that he underwent: and he fled to Upper
Egypt, and remained there for many years, and feigned himself a workman, and disguised
himself as a hired labourer, and did not disclose that he was patriarch. And the
misbelieving princes, Valens and Valentinian, reigned eleven years. So when it was the
Lord's will to restore Athanasius to his see again, through this patriarch's holy and
accepted prayers, he destroyed those princes by an evil death, on account of what they had
done against orthodoxy. And the Lord set up a believing prince, named Theodosius; and the
Church rejoiced in his days, and there was tranquillity and security and peace.

2 When Athanasius returned to his see there was joy and gladness in the land of Egypt at
his reappearance, because the Lord had counted the people worthy of the return of their
shepherd to them. And this good spiritual shepherd remained on the throne of Saint Mark
the evangelist forty-seven years, until he went to his rest on the 8th of Bashans,
governing the Church, and subduing those who rebelled against the truth, and resisted the
orthodox religion, and wearing as a garment the honour of the Lord Christ. So the people
mourned for this apostolic shepherd of whom they were deprived. 3 And as for his history,
he quitted his diocese three times, on account of the persecutions which overtook him,
when the heretics took possession of his see; and his absence the third time lasted eleven
years. And he wrote from his exile to certain virgins in the city of Alexandria, saying to
them: “Verily your bridegroom is Christ, the invisible and immortal one, so that, as long
as you remain obedient to his love, you will not be widows. Know that I used to act as
scribe for my father Alexander; and he never read the gospel in his cell or elsewhere
seated, but always standing, with the light in front of him; for God most high had made
him love to read the scriptures. So while he was one night standing and praying and
reading in the gospel, behold, some nuns came, and asked leave to see him. Then they came
up to him, and prostrated themselves before him, and said to him: There are in our convent
certain virgins who fast during six days of the week continuously; but they do no work
with their hands, by which something might be earned to feed the poor. Now we desire of
thee, our father, that thou shouldst bid them work, and direct that their fast be kept in
moderation. So he said to them: Believe me my sisters, I have never fasted for two whole
days together, without breaking my fast during the day;

4 but I only ate in moderation, and neither wearied my soul nor punished my body. For it
is good that fasting should be in moderation, and drinking in moderation, and sleep in
moderation. For if a man eats as he ought, he is strong for prayer; and so likewise if he
sleeps in moderation; but to food there should be a limit, and to drink a limit, and to
sleep a limit. So tell them to break their fast in moderation, and to work, for everything
is good in moderation, that words may not be multiplied, and the beginning of them may not
be forgotten”. 5 This is what Athanasius the Apostolic wrote and reported of his holy
father, Alexander. He declared also that his words were like honey to those that heard
them, for he was full of the grace of the Lord Christ; and that it was reported that Arius
had come to this Father Alexander, and prayed that he might enter to him. But Alexander
said: “Tell him thus: My father charged me that I should not receive thee, and that thou
shouldst not enter to me, and that I should not associate with thee. For my father bore
witness that the Lord Christ showed him in a dream his garment rent by thee, and commanded
him not to receive thee. Or knowest thou not that it is thy tongue that has separated thee
from him by what thou hast said concerning him? Therefore pray to the Lord Christ, the
Saviour, and confess thy sin to him; and if he receive thee, then he will command me to
receive thee, as he commanded Peter, my father, not to receive thee. For Christ has
commanded that we should forbid none of those that believe in him to enter the church. But
if a man has committed an offence, and has sinned, then we forbid him, until he repents
and is converted; and then if Christ receives him we receive him”.

6 So when Arius heard this he was angry, and went away, and collected to himself a great
body of followers, and composed blasphemous treatises, and denied his faith with his
tongue that deserved to be cut out, saying that the Son of God was created. And the
council at Nicaea was held on account of him; and there the heads of the four sees were
assembled to judge him, namely the patriarchs of Rome and Alexandria and Ephesus and
Antioch; and Constantine, the believing prince, sat with them. And they finally settled
the orthodox faith, and the time of the Fast and of Easter. And the prince said to the
bishops in council: “I pray you to make the city of Constantinople a patriarchal see,
because it is the city of the prince, and likewise Jerusalem because it is the city of the
true, heavenly prince.” So when they saw his humility, they did this as he prayed them.
And they cut off Arius the unbeliever; and Constantine, the believing prince, wrote the
excommunication of Arius the unbeliever in his own handwriting, saying therein that he had
caused those to perish whom Christ bought with his holy blood. Then Arius fled to Africa,
and found no rest in the days of Constantine, the prince, and in the days of Alexander the
patriarch.

7 Now Alexander had brought up Athanasius excellently well. For he was the son of a
principal woman, a worshipper of idols, who was very rich; and he was an orphan on the
father's side. So when he grew up she wished to marry him to a wife, but he did not desire
that. Then she intrigued against him, that he might fall with a woman who was a sinner,
that she might involve him in the mire of matrimony; but he would not do it, for the Lord
was keeping him for great things. And she used to take beautiful girls, and adorn them and
perfume them, and make them enter to him into his chamber, and sleep near him and solicit
him; but when he awoke he beat them, and drove them away. For her constant desire was to
marry him and to establish him in his father's possessions and wealth, but he would never
consent. And she sent for a man who was a magician of Alexandria, a wise man among the
Sabaeans, and informed him of her circumstances with regard to her son; so he said to her:
“Let me eat bread with him to-day.” Thereupon she rejoiced, and prepared a great feast.
And the philosopher accompanied her son, and they ate and drank; but when the morning
came, he went to her, and said to her: “Trouble not thyself, for thou canst have no power
over thy son, for he has become a Galilaean according to the doctrines of the Galilaeans;

8 and he will be a great man.” She said: “Who are the Galilaeans?” He answered:. “The
people of the Church, who have ruined the temples and destroyed the images.” Therefore
when she heard this, she said within herself: “If I neglect him, he will go away from me,
and I shall be left alone.” So straightway she arose, and took him with her, and went with
him to Alexander, and related to him the circumstances of Athanasius her son, and all his
history. Then she was baptized, and her son also. 9 And after a time she died, and
Athanasius remained like a son with the Father Alexander, who educated him quietly in
every branch of learning. And Athanasius learnt the gospels by heart, and read the divine
scriptures; and when he was fully grown, Alexander ordained him deacon, and made him his
scribe, and he became as though he were the interpreter of the aforesaid father, and a
minister of the word which, he wished to utter.

10 So when Constantine, the believing prince, died in a good old age, Constantius his son
was enthroned after him, but did not remain firm in the orthodox faith, only fearing and
respecting the people. Then Arms found his opportunity, and aimed at taking hold of the
prince, and drew him to his own mind, and corrupted his heart, and induced him to incline
the empire to his doctrine, and led him astray, till he sent and summoned Alexander from
Alexandria to Constantinople. For the prince did not know the power of Alexander, nor the
cause for which he had anathematized Arius and removed him from the Church. Now Alexander
had grown old and advanced in years, although he was strong in sense and sound in
faculties; and Athanasius was his interpreter and scribe and mouthpiece, through the power
of the Holy Ghost, on account of his knowledge of the orthodox faith. So the Father
Alexander took his seat in the presence of the prince, who then summoned Arius; and Arius
uttered his impure discourse, and multiplied his vile phrases. But Athanasius confuted him
by the arguments which he delivered, and brought his discourse to naught. Thereupon Arius
was troubled, and broke up the assembly, saying: “We will have another sitting.” And since
Arius knew that he had no power against Athanasius, he gave money to the attendants at the
royal doors, and settled with them that they should prevent Athanasius from entering with
the others into the next assembly.

11 So when the morrow came the prince commanded to bring them in; but when Alexander
entered, the doorkeepers prevented Athanasius the Apostolic from entering. When the prince
had taken his seat, the patriarch being present also, Arius spoke and delivered a long
discourse. So the Father Alexander turned to the right and left, but could not see
Athanasius, his scribe; and therefore he was silent. Then the prince said to him: “Why
dost thou not speak?” Alexander replied: “How shall I speak without a tongue?” So the
prince knew that he meant Athanasius, and commanded to bring him in. But when Arius saw
that Athanasius had entered, he went out hastily, and would not remain. Then Alexander
said to the prince: “Know, O prince, that the cutting off of this Arius took place at the
council; and it was not I alone that cut him off, but thy blessed father, the prince, and
all the members of the council cut him off, and the prince wrote his anathema in his own
handwriting. Therefore if thou wilt look at the letter of thy father, thou wilt find that
it is in his handwriting. Shall I then say of him that was excommunicated by the prince
Constantme and the members of the council that I will absolve him? Nay, that would be an
act of heresy on my part.

12 For thy father in truth wrote his anathema and his excommunication in his own
handwriting, at the council which took place at Nicaea.” So when the prince heard this
speech, he was afraid of his brother, that if he should break the command of his father,
his brother would find in that a pretext for plotting against him; and therefore he
dismissed the Father Alexander, and restored him to his see. Thus Arius justly remained
anathematized, and bound by the censures of the Church, for he had supposed that he would
succeed in obtaining his desires by his power over the prince, and by giving money to the
attendants. 13 And the Father Alexander went to his rest with his fathers, after he had
charged the priests and the people, at the time of his death, that they should seat
Athanasius after him upon the throne. So they rejoiced at that, on account of their love
for Athanasius. When he sat upon the apostolic throne, he drove the sect of Arius out of
the Church, and brought forth the letter of excommunication which was in the handwriting
of Constantine, the prince, and the members of the holy council, and read it in the church
before the congregation. But when Arius heard of this, he was exceedingly angry, and his
pride blazed up like fire, and he went to the prince, and said to him: “If Alexander,
patriarch of Constantinople, will receive me by thy command, I shall attain my object.” So
the prince summoned the patriarchy and said to him: “Behold, the patriarch of Alexandria
has refused to receive Arius, and has disobeyed our command. But thou knowest that we have
raised thee, and seated thee as patriarch upon the throne of Constantinople; and therefore
it behoves thee not to resist us, as others do., since thou art good, but to take Arius to
thyself, and receive him.” The patriarch answered: “Nay, the Church will not receive him,
and it is not right that we should receive any except those who agree with her faith.

14 For this man has declared that one of the Trinity is a creature, and has been rightly
removed from the Church.” The prince rejoined: “That he does not do, but on the contrary
he acknowledges the Trinity.” The patriarch said to him: “Then let him write for me a
confession of his faith in his own handwriting, so that I may know what he believes.” So
the prince sent for Arius; for this was a thing from God most high; and he wrote a
confession of the faith in his own hand, concealing his heresy in his own soul. Then the
patriarch asked him to swear that no doubt of the truth remained in his heart; and so he
swore to him. Then the prince said to the patriarch: “What remaining objection hast thou
against Arius after that?” So the Father Alexander, patriarch of Constantinople, said to
the king: “Verily the Father Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria, has read afresh at
Alexandria the anathema pronounced against Arius, written in the handwriting of the prince
Constantine, thy blessed father, and in the handwriting of the fathers of the council of
Nicaea, and has banished his sect from his church. But if no misfortune happen to this
Arius from to-day till Sunday, then I will receive him, and will invite him to association
with the priests. ”

15 Then Arius went away, and waited for Sunday. So when Sunday came he entered the church,
having put on splendid garments, and perfumed and scented himself, and sat by the door of
the sanctuary, among the ranks of the priests. But the patriarch and his friends had
remained all through the week fasting, and standing before the Lord Jesus, and beseeching
him not to reckon to them the sin of Arius; for the prince had sworn to Alexander, saying:
“If thou wilt not receive Arius on Sunday after his oath, I will exact from the church a
large sum of money”. So when the clergy and the people were assembled on that day in the
church, while Arius was present, the father and patriarch performed the liturgy, though he
was sad. But when the reader read, the bowels of Arius were moved; and he went out to a
corner at a distance, that he might relieve himself, and all his bowels gushed out from
his body. And as he remained absent from the congregation, they asked after him, but could
not find him. So they searched for him, and discovered him sitting rigid, empty, and
shrivelled, with all his internal organs lying before him. Then they brought word of this
to the father and patriarch, and he marvelled thereat, and was silent, and thanked the
Lord Jesus Christ, and glorified him who had passed judgment upon Arius, and destroyed him
swiftly, on account of his false oath and his corrupt faith. Then he showed to the prince
and the congregation all the truth of what the Father Peter, the martyr, patriarch of
Alexandria had said.

16 So Alexander, patriarch of Constantinople, finished the liturgy on that day with joy
and glory and praise, and sent to Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria, saying: “We glorify
God and make known to thee, brother, that Arius has died a wonderful death, and his
doctrine has been cut off, and his sect scattered.” But the prince was not satisfied with
that, on account of the friends of Arius, namely Syrianus and George and their followers.
These are they who made the assault upon the church of Alexandria. For the prince gave to
George five hundred horsemen of his army, and sent them with him, that they might make him
patriarch of Alexandria. And he wrote to every city letters, in which he repeated the
doctrine of Arius, that the Son of God was created; but not one in the land of Egypt would
accept it, and the people continued to receive the communion from priests whom Athanasius
had ordained. So this George entered into the church of Alexandria by guile; and many of
the Christian people who followed the doctrine of Athanasius were killed by the soldiers
who came with George, until the blood in the church rose up to their knees; and they
plundered the vessels of the church, and violated the virgins who were in it.

17 Meanwhile Athanasius lay hid; and the people continued for a long time to communicate
in caves and deserts and in the fields in all the provinces of Egypt as far as the
Thebaid; for the Arians, who were friends of the prince, were spread over every place. And
Serapion, bishop of Thmuis, wrote to the patriarch Athanasius and all the people, that
they should keep themselves from the Arians. And after six years Athanasius showed
himself, and went to the prince, thinking that he would kill him, and that he would
receive the crown of martyrdom. So the prince commanded that he should be placed in a
small boat, and that neither bread nor water should be given him, and that there should be
no sailor with him nor anyone to guide the vessel, but that he should embark in it alone,
and be sent out to sea; so this was done to him. And the waves carried him, while God
guarded and guided him, until he arrived at Alexandria unexpectedly on the third day.
Thereupon the priests and people went out to him, and met him with joy and chanting, and
so accompanied him until he entered the church, and expelled from it George, and those who
believed in his corrupt faith. And Athanasius kept on that day a festival to the Lord; and
the people rejoiced in all the provinces of Egypt.

18 And after seven years a man came whose name was Gregory, with whom were two thousand
men who were soldiers; and he pillaged the church, and remained in possession of the see
four years. And Athanasius was arrested; and the prince delivered him to a man named
Philagrius, an unbeliever and idolater, for he wished to kill him, and to kill Liberius,
patriarch of Rome, and Dionysius, patriarch of Antioch, because those three were the
fathers of the orthodox faith; but the Lord rescued them from his hand, and saved them. So
Athanasius went away with Liberius to Rome, and did not cease to remain with him until
Constantius died, and his son Constans reigned after him; and he was orthodox. And as soon
as Gonstans took his seat upon the throne he commanded to restore Athanasius to his see.
At that time Cyril was patriarch of Jerusalem; and a great miracle was manifested by his
hand, for a pillar of light appeared by the tomb of the Lord Christ our Saviour; and a
multitude of the Romans witnessed it, for all those that were in the city and its
neighbourhood came and beheld it. And it remained from the third hour to the ninth; and
the people hastened to see it from every place. And Cyril wrote to Constantius the prince,
and informed him of this wonder. Now Constans the prince loved Athanasius; and when he
returned to his see, he remained twenty-five years in tranquillity and peace, although
before that time he had passed twenty-two years in the see, in exile and conflict and
persecution.

19 And Constans died, and Julian, the misbelieving gentile and idolater, reigned after
him, being the son of the sister of Constantine, the great prince, and began immediately
to open the heathen temples. Julian lived at Antioch, because he was unworthy to dwell in
the residence of the great Constantine; and when he went to the place of the idols, he
took a hawk, which he gave to the priest of the idols, who offered it to Satan, and Julian
took its heart and ate it. And he had a sister's son named also Julian, an unbeliever like
his uncle, who took the faithful priest Theodoret, and killed him, and then came to his
uncle and informed him that he had put him to death. But Julian was angry with him, and
said to him: “I did not desire that thou shouldst kill him; for the Christians take a
pride in being slain, and say that they have become martyrs; but I am determined, if I
return from fighting the Persians, that from everyone of the Christians shall be taken
three ounces as a tax”; meaning thereby that he would oppress the Christians, so that they
might worship his idols, because they would not be able to pay the tax. Now the Church was
in those days rich, and had four pillars to sustain her, namely Athanasius the patriarch,
and Anthony and Pachomius, the two monks, in Egypt, and Basil, the bishop of Caesarea in
Cappadocia; and Liberius was patriarch of Rome.

20 And the aforesaid Basil was a friend of Julian, the prince, and was brought up together
with him in the school; so when he heard his evil doctrine, he took with him two bishops,
and went to visit him. So Julian looked at their garments and their beards, and then said
to them: “What do you seek?” They replied: “We seek a good ruler to rule over us.” Julian
said to Basil: “Where didst thou leave the son of the carpenter when thou earnest hither?”
Basil answered: “I left him making thy coffin to put thee in.” The prince said to him: “If
thou wert not my friend, and if I had not an affection for thee, I would cut off thy head
forthwith.” Basil said to him: “Didst thou not love knowledge, and long after it? How then
hast thou abandoned philosophy?” The prince replied: “I have studied it and learnt it by
heart, and I have found it vile.” Basil said to him: “Thou hast not studied it well, nor
learnt it by heart; for if thou hadst understood it, thou wouldst not have thought it
base.” The prince answered: “I must imprison you until I return from fighting the
Persians, so that you may see what will happen.” Basil rejoined: “If thou go and return,
God has not spoken in me.” Julian, the prince, said: “What have I to do with that lying
Galilaean, who said, I will destroy the temple which the Jews built?

21 For I will rebuild it as kings build; and it shall be evident to all men that his
words, It shall not be built, are false.” Then he cast Basil and the two who were with him
into prison. 22 So Julian marched into the land of the Persians; and when he passed by
Jerusalem, he saw the temple in ruins, without a wall standing, for Vespasian, the prince,
had demolished it when he destroyed the Jews, and took them captive. But Julian commanded
that the ground should be cleared, and the temple constructed anew, and proceeded on his
march after leaving behind him one to superintend the building. Then he who directed the
work of rebuilding the place began by pulling down the remains of the temple, so that
there was not left therein one stone upon another, as the holy Gospel says; and afterwards
he began to reconstruct it as a heathen temple. And the builders used to work during the
whole day until night-fall, and then they departed to their homes; but when they came on
the morrow, they used to find all that they had built destroyed, though not by human
hands; nay, they even found the walls torn up from their foundations, and cast down on the
ground. So they went on for two months, without being able to rebuild anything. Then the
Jews said to them: “Burn down these tombs, in which the Christians lie, and then the
building which you erect will be strong.” This advice they followed, and set fire to the
tombs, beginning with two tombs, in which were the body of Eliseus, the prophet, and the
body of John the Baptist; but the fire had no power over them at all, therefore they
wondered greatly.

23 And although the fire continued to be lighted for many days, yet it would not touch
them. Then some of the faithful went to the governor, and offered him money, if he would
empower them to take away the two bodies which were in the two tombs; and he accepted the
money and gave them permission to do so. Then they carried away the two holy bodies, and
sent them to the Father Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria; and when they were brought to
him, he rejoiced over them, as if he saw them alive before him; and he took them, and
concealed them in a certain place, until he should find means of building a church over
them. 24 And while Athanasius was sitting one day, and many of the faithful were with him
to hear his discourses which gave life to their souls, behold, he raised his eyes and
observed certain mounds opposite to the place in which he was. So he said: “If I find an
opportunity, I shall build upon these mounds a church to John the Baptist and Eliseus the
prophet.” And Theophilus, the scribe of Athanasius, was sitting with him at the table,
with others of the faithful, and heard him say these words, which therefore remained in
his memory.

25 But as for Julian, the unbelieving prince, he marched on into Persia; and God delivered
him into the hand of his enemies, on account of the saints whom he had imprisoned and
threatened before his march. His death was thus. He saw in the night an army which came
down upon him from the air, and one of the soldiers struck him with a lance on the head so
that it pierced him through the body. Then, knowing that it was one of the martyrs, he
filled his hand with his blood, and threw it upwards, saying: “Take that, Jesus, for thou
hast conquered the whole world.” And after blaspheming thus, he fell dead. Thus God
delivered his people; and the Romans returned to their own country. And Basil, the holy
man, three days before the death of Julian, being in prison, had awaked from his sleep,
and said to the two who were with him: “I have seen to-night the martyr, Saint Mercurius,
entering into his church, and taking his lance, saying: In truth, I will not suffer this
unbeliever to blaspheme my God. And when he had said this, he disappeared from me, and I
did not see him again.” Then both his companions said to him: “Verily I also saw the same
thing.” So they said one to another: “We believe this firmly, that it is so.” And they
sent to the church of the martyr, Saint Mercurius, that they might look for his lance
which was kept there, to see whether it was still there or not; and as they could not find
the lance, they were assured of the truth of the dream. And after three days the letters
with the news of Julian's death arrived at Antioch.

26 Then the chiefs of the empire assembled, and seated on the throne of the empire a man
named Jovian, who was a believer and a holy man, fearing God from his youth. Accordingly
at the moment of his election he released the fathers from prison; and thus the saying of
that pillar of the truth, Basil, to Julian, the unbeliever, was fulfilled, when he
foretold that he would not return; as the prophet Michaeas predicted to Achab, the
unbelieving king of the children of Israel; for God, the worker of miracles, was the God
of both those men, namely of that prophet and of this holy father, and he accepted their
words. And Jovian, the prince, brought out the three fathers, and honoured them, and gave
them many gifts, and sent them to their sees. And he used assiduously to attend the
prayers in the churches. And he wrote to Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria, a letter, in
which he said: “O true father and trusty shepherd, Athanasius, martyr of Christ who is
God, my empire hopes much of you; therefore be of good courage, and take the priestly
staff and drive out with it the ravening wolves from among the reasonable flock, namely
those whose mouths are full of cursing and the bitterness of the poison of asps, for they
are the slayers of souls.” This letter was read in the church at Alexandria, and
Athanasius the patriarch sent it to the provinces of Egypt, where it was read in their
churches, to comfort and strengthen the faithful. So the followers of Arius were driven
away because they were hated; and they were filled with sadness; and after this some of
them went to Jovian, the prince, and appealed against the Father Athanasius, but he would
not attend to them because he knew their wickedness.

27 Then Athanasius grew old and advanced in age, after he had written many homilies and
treatises; and he wrote concerning Melchisedech, and concerning the Father Anthony, whose
biography he related; and he wrote forty-seven Festal Epistles. He wrote also concerning
the holy cross, how the Lord Christ was unknown to the devil thereby, so that he believed
that he was a mere man; and when he came to him, the Lord pierced his nostrils with his
finger, which is next to the little finger, and his thumb, putting them behind him: which
means that he rent, shattered, and destroyed Satan's power; showing us that he had
overcome the devil's strength by weakness, for the finger which is next to the little
finger is one that a man never uses, and is the weakest of the fingers; for he did not
kill him speedily, but weakened his power, as the Scripture says, in the 67th Psalm: “Let
God arise, and let his enemies be destroyed.” Athanasius also wrote many works on
doctrine, and things that cannot be numbered. And he used to write to Basil; and Basil
used to answer his letters, and used to address him as My Father. And he wrote also an
epistle to Arsenius, to console him for Theodore his brother, when he went to his rest;
and he said in it: “Would that all of us had obtained the place of Theodore thy brother,
and would that our ship had anchored in his harbour!” And he wrote a treatise in which he
proves that evil comes from the devil, (may God shame him!) and that there is no evil at
all with God.

28 It is said that this Father Athanasius, the patriarch, was borne by an angel of the
Lord on one of his journeys, when he was fleeing from the unbelieving princes, until he
brought him to the place to which he desired to go, as the angel carried Habacuc the
prophet from Jerusalem to Babylon, and as Ezechiel the prophet was carried from Babylon to
Jerusalem; for that is not difficult for God most high to do. And there was in Alexandria
an idol named Serapis; and when Athanasius was consumed by fever, and his death drew near,
he said: “If I find mercy with my Lord Christ, I will prostrate myself before him, and
will not raise my face until the gate of this idol be shut.” Accordingly the priests of
Alexandria bore witness that after seven days from the day of his death, the prince sent
and blocked up the door of the temple in which the idol was.

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — PETER II, THE TWENTY-FIRST PATRIARCH. A. D. 373-380

When the patriarch Athanasius, the Apostolic, went to his rest, the bishops and clergy
with the orthodox people assembled, and laid their hands upon a priest, named Peter, and
appointed him patriarch. And many troubles befell him through a misbelieving man named
Lucius, the deaf-eared liar, who was appointed by the scribe Palladius, without authority
from the prince. But after some time the matter reached the ears of the prince, and he
despatched an officer who seized Lucius the unbeliever and Palladius the scribe, and sent
them both into banishment; and they remained in exile until they died. And the Father
Peter remained patriarch for eight years, and went to his rest on the 20th of Amshir.

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — TIMOTHY I, THE TWENTY-SECOND PATRIARCH. A. D. 380-385

And the people assembled, with the bishops, after the death of the Father Peter, and laid
their hands upon a priest named Timothy, and made him patriarch. In his days took place
the council of Constantinople, at which the number of the bishops who took part in it was
one hundred and fifty; and they excommunicated Macedonius, the misbeliever, patriarch of
Constantinople, where the council was held, and another, Eunomius, because those two had
blasphemed against the Holy Ghost, and said, in their misbelief, that he was created. This
was in the time of Theodosius, the faithful prince. And Timothy remained all his days in
tranquillity and peace. The period of his occupation of the throne of Alexandria was nine
years and a half; and he died on the 7th of Abib, maintaining the orthodox faith.

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — THEOPHILUS, THE TWENTY-THIRD PATRIARCH. A. D. 385-412

1 When the Father Timothy died, the bishops and people assembled, and appointed Theophilus
patriarch. He had been secretary to the patriarch Athanasius, and was righteous in his
conduct before God and men. When he took his seat upon the patriarchal throne, news was
brought to him that the idolaters had gone to Jerusalem, to open the house of their idols.
So he sent some monks thither to drive them away; but the monks were unable to overcome
the idolaters. Then Theophilus sent to the monastery of Pachomius in Upper Egypt, and
fetched the religious thence, and despatched them to Jerusalem. And when they reached that
city, they offered up prayers, and the devils fled from the heathen temple; and that
temple was made a habitation for the monks of Jerusalem. When the monks of Upper Egypt
returned homewards, the patriarch Theophilus forced them to remain and eat with him by
themselves, and entertained them from Sunday to the following Sunday; and he gave them a
garden which had belonged to the patriarch Athanasius.

2 Then the Father Theophilus, the patriarch, remembered the words of Athanasius, which he
uttered when he was eating with Theophilus, while he was his scribe. Athanasius said that
it was his desire to clear away the mounds of rubbish which he saw, and to build on their
site a church to the names of the Baptist and the prophet Eliseus. And at that time, a
woman, who had two sons, cleared away the mounds, as his letter testifies, and a stone
slab was discovered, upon which three thetas were inscribed; and her history is related in
that letter, besides a story of Theophilus and the Angel Raphael, which is not written in
this biography. And when Theophilus removed the slab, he found beneath it the money which
he required; so he built the churches with it. He built in a certain spot beside the
garden a church to which he translated the body of Saint John the Baptist, and the body of
the prophet Eliseus; and many miracles were performed by them both on that day, and a
number of people who had been sick were healed.

3 Theophilus wrote, in the course of his life, many homilies and treatises. Now the
emperor Valentinian had died after reigning twelve years; and Valentinian and Gratian, his
two sons, reigned after him; and they were believers, and loved God, whose name is
glorious. When Theophilus administered the sacrament of baptism, he used to behold a beam
of light in the form of a cross over the font before him. But in a certain year, when he
stood and blessed the font, during the week of baptism, the cross of light did not appear
to him; and he was sad. And it was revealed to him that the reason was that he had not
sent for the deacon Arsenius to pray with him, and that if he did not do so the light
would not appear to him. So Theophilus dismissed the congregation that day, and sent to
seek Arsenius, and found him in the neighbourhood of Ushmûn, and brought him to the church
in haste. And the patriarch rejoiced greatly over the arrival of Arsenius, and was
consoled; and the cross appeared once more over the font. Theophilus, when he saw the
humility of this deacon, and his virtue, desired to ordain him priest; but Arsenius would
not consent, and begged the patriarch to spare him that promotion, and to bless him, and
let him return to his native country. So the patriarch granted the request of Arsenius.

4 Now Theophilus had a nephew, his sister's son, named Cyril, whom he had instructed and
brought up to the best of his power. And after some time the patriarch sent him to the
Mount of Nitria, to the desert of Saint Macarius. And Cyril dwelt there five years in the
monasteries, reading the books of the Old and New Testaments; for Theophilus urged him to
apply himself assiduously to his studies, saying to him: “By these studies thou wilt some
day arrive in Jerusalem on high, which is the dwelling-place of the saints”. For Cyril was
the attendant of Theophilus in the patriarchal cell, and was ordained reader. The
patriarch, when he sent Cyril to the desert, entrusted him to Serapion the Wise, and
charged him to teach Cyril the doctrines of the Church, which are the true doctrines of
God; so Cyril learnt all the Scriptures by heart. He used to stand before his teacher
studying, with a sword of iron in his hand; and if he felt an inclination to sleep, he
pricked him with the sword, and so he woke up again; and during most of his nights he
would read through in a single night the Four Gospels, and the Catholic Epistles, and the
Acts, and the first Epistle of the Blessed Paul, namely, that addressed to the Romans; and
on the morrow after this, Cyril's teacher would know, by looking at his face, that he had
studied all night.

5 And the grace of God was with Cyril, so that when he had read a book once, he knew it by
heart; and in these years in the desert he learnt by heart all the canonical books. After
this, the patriarch Theophilus sent to him and brought him back to Alexandria, and there
Cyril dwelt with the patriarch in his cell, and read aloud in his presence; and the
priests and learned men and philosophers were astonished at him, and rejoiced over him on
account of the beauty of his form, and the sweetness of his voice which never changed, as
it is written: “I opened my mouth and drew in my breath”. And all the people, when they
heard him read, desired that he might never cease reading, because he read so sweetly, and
was so beautiful in countenance. And his uncle Theophilus loved him greatly, and thanked
God that he had granted him a spiritual son who had grown in grace and wisdom. Cyril's
conduct was excellent, and his humility great; and he never ceased to study theology, nor
to meditate upon the words of the doctors of the orthodox Church, Athanasius and Dionysius
and Clement, patriarch of Rome, and Eusebius, and Basil, bishop of Armenia, and Basil,
bishop of Cappadocia. These are the orthodox fathers whose works he studied. And he would
not follow the doctrine of Origen, nor even take his books into his hand for a single day;

6 but when he heard that one of the faithful had read Origen, he condemned and
excommunicated him who had so read. When Cyril read in the Gospel the words: “Ask and ye
shall receive; seek and ye shall find”, he understood these words, and prayed to God for
knowledge, and God gave it him. For he was like the bee, which goes forth to feed upon
every plant and tree, and collects what is profitable for itself, until it has filled its
bag with pure untainted honey. 7 Now the history of the Father Theophilus is very copious;
for it contains the account of his dealings at Alexandria with Theodosius, the great
prince; and the miracles which the Angel Raphael performed for him; and the affair of the
widow and her two sons, whom he made bishops; and the three thetas which were found
written on the slab of stone which concealed the treasures that were discovered at
Alexandria; and the wonders manifested by the Angel Raphael in the church which Theophilus
built upon the island; and then the authority given to him by the prince over the property
of the heathen temples, from Aswan to the confines of Syria, and in the provinces that lie
between them.


HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 1
============================================================

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 1 continued

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — CYRIL I, THE TWENTY-FOURTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 412-444

1 When the patriarch Theophilus died, the Father Cyril took his seat upon the apostolic
throne; and the bishops raised the Four Gospels over his head, and prayed over him,
saying: “O God, strengthen this man whom thou hast chosen for us.” The first thing that
Cyril did was to appoint priests to take charge of the churches throughout his diocese, so
that they might not be drawn away from the spiritual food by which they were able to do
that which pleases God; and he began his patriarchate full of the wisdom which gives life.
And the prince, Theodosius the Younger, who loved God, followed the injunctions of his
fathers, and assembled the monks around him, and performed his devotions in their company;
but he had no son, and his sister administered the empire. Now the patriarch Cyril never
wearied of composing discourses and homilies by the power of the Holy Ghost, who spoke
through him; so that most of the principal inhabitants of Alexandria appointed copyists to
transcribe for them what the father composed. Then certain philosophers said to him:
“Behold, here are discourses written by the prince Julian, in which he casts contempt upon
Moses and all the prophets, and alleges that Christ was a mere man; and we used to read
his books because it was the prince who wrote them. Julian says: The words of the Galilean
will I make lies; for Christ said:

2 There shall not remain one stone upon another in the temple of Jerusalem that shall not
be thrown down. But I will rebuild the temple, and falsify his words. Accordingly Julian
destroyed what remained of the temple, that he might rebuild it; but after all he died
without restoring any part of it. Thus the words of the Saviour were proved to be true,
and we have learnt how great is his power and majesty because none of his words have been
falsified.” Now when Cyril heard these things, he was much troubled, until he had found a
copy of Julian's works, and had read them; and he found them worse even than the works of
Origen and Porphyry. So when Cyril found that he was unable to collect all the copies of
Julian's works which were scattered here and there in the possession of different persons,
he wrote to the prince Theodosius to inform him of this matter, saying: “If it is thy
pleasure that Julian's works be destroyed and his misbelief rooted out, order these books
which he composed, and by means of which he led men astray, to be collected, and cause
them to be burnt.” And the prince approved of Cyril's letter, and glorified God, and acted
in accordance with Cyril's suggestions, and wrote a reply, in which he requested him to
bless his empire.

3 So the Father Cyril rejoiced, and composed homilies and discourses, in which he refuted
the writings of the prince Julian, and condemned his actions, pointing out how the angel
destroyed him in war like Saul; and much besides. 4 After this the news concerning
Nestorius reached the ears of Cyril, and he was informed of the corrupt doctrine of that
heretic. And Cyril was sad when he heard this, and said: “No sooner has the misbelief of
Julian passed away, than the blasphemies of Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople, have
appeared.” So Cyril, when he had ascertained how false the opinions of Nestorius were,
wrote to him as follows: “Cyril, patriarch of Alexandria, addresses Nestorius, patriarch
of Constantinople, with the salutation of the brethren in the true God, who has given us
the grace which is one, setting all the world in agreement and in one belief, by the
shedding of his blood, which grace is the faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ”. The rest
of the epistle is well known, and therefore has not been transcribed in this history. And
Nestorius returned an answer which was full of blasphemies. So Abba Cyril wrote to the
bishops, to inform them of the case of Nestorius; and they met the patriarch in synod, and
said to him: “We have heard the reports concerning Nestorius, and there is a special
difficulty in regard to his circumstances. For Arius and his followers, and Paul and Manes
and the rest of the heretics were not patriarchs, and yet they led a multitude of men
astray. How then can this man remain patriarch of Constantinople?”

5 Then the Father Cyril wrote to Nestorius a second letter in which he said many things,
including the following words: “Verily I do not fully believe what is told me of thee”.
And he added exhortations and warnings, and taught Nestorius what is the right faith, and
begged him to return from his heretical doctrine, and told him that he was not strong
enough to oppose God who mounted the Cross for our sakes. The following is a transcription
of Cyril's letter: 6 “To my brother and fellow-minister. I did not believe at first what
was reported of thee, nor that the contents of the letters, which came to me, and which
were said to be written by thee, in reality proceeded from thee. For the lying doctrines
which they contained were attributed to the saints; for they were letters full of
blasphemy. And now I charge thee to cast away this blasphemy and these disputes; for thou
hast no power to fight against God, who was crucified for us in truth, and died in the
body, although he was living in the power of his Godhead. For it is he that is sitting on
the right hand of the Father, while the angels and principalities and powers worship him;
and he is the eternal King, into whose hands the Father has given all things. And he is
the Creator of all; so that thou hast no power to oppose him. I told thee what befell the
Jews who withstood him, so that thou art not ignorant of it, and what befell the heretics,
Simon Magus and the prince Julian and Arius. Behold what Job the truthful says: Look upon
my wounds, and fear, and glorify God. I tell thee that the Church will not endure that
thou insult her God; and she it is against whom the gates of hell shall not prevail; for
thou knowest what trials she has undergone, and yet that no man has ever had power over
her, because she is as a rock in her faith. Beware therefore what thou doest at this time.
Farewell.”

7 When this second letter reached Nestorius, he wrote another answer like his first, full
of blasphemies, and, when the Father Cyril received it, he again addressed an epistle to
Nestorius, saying: 8 “If thou wert not a bishop, none would know of thee save thy
neighbours and kinsmen; but since thou sittest upon the episcopal throne of the Son of God
all know thee, through the fame of the Church. Thou hast attacked the Lord with words of
blasphemy, which thou canst not confirm or prove. For if thou searchest the Old Testament,
thou canst not find therein that Christ is called a mere man, as thou pretendest; and in
saying thus thou showest only that thou dost resist God thy Creator, who bought thee with
his blood, namely God the Son, Son of God the Father. So he is called both in the Old and
New Testaments. So he is called in the Gospel of John, which speaks of him as the Only-
begotten Son, who is in the bosom of his Father. Matthew the evangelist also says that
Christ is Emmanuel, the interpretation of which is God with us, as Isaias says in his
prophecy. Mark testifies in his Gospel that when the high priest asked of Jesus: Art thou
the Son of God? he answered: Yea, I am he; and hereafter you shall see the Son of God
sitting on the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds to judge the living and the
dead. Is not this testimony that of which Paul says that it was the good confession which
Jesus made before Pontius Pilate?

9 This is the confession in which the Church perseveres, and for it myriads of martyrs
have died, whose numbers cannot be counted. Hast thou not heard Gabriel saying to our Lady
Mary that he whom she should bear was of the Holy Ghost, and should be called the Son of
God, who is over all, and glorified for ever and ever? Who is it that bears the sins of
the world? Is it not Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, whom she bore for us, God the Word
incarnate? If thou believest that he was a prophet like Moses, yet neither Moses nor any
of the prophets was able to bear the sins of the world; but it is the Prince of goodness,
even Christ, who bears the sins of the world by his being raised upon the cross for our
sakes. Hast thou not heard Paul, the apostle, saying: He is not man, but he is God who
became man? Again Paul says that it was no angel or intercessor that saved us, but Jesus
Christ; and God the Father raised him from the dead. Seest thou now how he confesses that
he is God, and how he acknowledges the sufferings that he endured in his holy body?

10 For if he be not God, how could Paul acknowledge that our salvation came not by a man
nor from a man, nor by an angel or intercessor, but by God, even Jesus Christ, whose death
he also acknowledges, when he says that the Father raised him from the dead? Thou seest
now this wisdom, full of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. I have sent thee these letters,
my brother, that thou mayest preserve them in the church. Thou art not without knowledge,
so read the scriptures and learn from them these things and more besides. I have sent the
brethren to thee, and have asked them to remain with thee, that thou mayest enquire
diligently during a month, and search through the scriptures, and write to us of what
befalls thee. Farewell.” 11 When Nestorius had perused this epistle, he would not receive
the brethren who had brought it to him, nor would he accept the advice contained in the
letter or write an answer to it. So the messengers remained a whole month at
Constantinople, as Abba Cyril, the patriarch, commanded them, and paid frequent visits to
Nestorius; but he would not allow them to enter, and hardened his heart, as Pharao did.

12 Now Nestorius had been a friend of the prince Theodosius since the time when they were
together in the school; and the prince used to say to Nestorius: “I have never heard any
of the doctors of the Church teach according to thy doctrine.” But Nestorius would not
listen to him. ---- So the messengers sent to Nestorius by Cyril returned to him, and told
him what had happened. Then Cyril availed himself of the weapons of his fathers, Alexander
and Athanasius, and put on the breastplate of faith which his predecessors had handed down
in the Church of Saint Mark the Evangelist; and he went out to war, as David did, with his
heart strong in Christ who is God. And he wrote to the other bishops, and they sent a
letter to the prince, begging him to allow them to hold a council to enquire into the
teaching of Nestorius, and reminding him that his fathers, who had reigned before him, had
at all times been supporters of the Church. “They constantly assisted the bishops to
confirm the orthodox faith, that they might bless their empire. But now this Nestorius has
divided the Church, and is not far from the error of idolatry, since he blasphemously
teaches that Christ is a mere man, and no more than a prophet. Many prophets have come
into the world, but none of them has ever been worshipped; so that if Nestorius worships a
man, he is become an idolater. When Peter said to our Lord Christ:

13 Master, it is good for us to be here, and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee,
and one for Moses, and one for Elias, he said it because Christ was the Creator of those
two and their God, and had manifested his glory to his disciples by bringing those two,
the one from heaven and the other from the earth. Therefore we beg of thy imperial power
that we may hold a council to enquire into this man's doctrines. And we will pray for thee
and for thy empire that thou mayest obtain salvation, O thou that lovest God!” When the
prince had read this letter, he was moved by the power of the Lord, and, acting together
with the patriarch, he summoned a council of the bishops to meet in the city of Ephesus.
Accordingly, two hundred bishops assembled there from all the cities, each bishop taking
with him two priests and a deacon from his diocese. They sent to Nestorius, demanding his
presence; and they waited for him many days, but he did not appear; so they wrote to the
emperor, informing him that Nestorius had not appeared but that they were waiting for him.
And Nestorius requested the prince to send an official with him to protect him, saying:
“The bishops are many, and I fear that they will kill me.” So the prince sent with
Nestorius a patrician named Candidian, whose opinions agreed with those of Nestorius.

14 When Candidian came to the council, he seized Cyril by night and imprisoned him in a
place in which wheat was kept, together with his friends. And Cyril said to his friends:
“What is this beneath our feet?” They answered: “It is wheat.” “And he said: “Thanks be to
God who has given us the victory; for they have put us into the house of life.” 15 Now
Candidian had done this in order to support Nestorius, and to intimidate Cyril and the
bishops with him, who had come together on account of him, that they might be scattered.
But Candidian's object was not attained, for the bishops had not met together without
having devoted themselves to death, if it should be necessary, for the faith. So when
Candidian was convinced of this, he released Cyril and his friends; and as he was afraid
lest the affair should reach the ears of the prince, who would cause him to be executed on
account of it, he began to guard the roads, and prevented the reporters of news from
writing to the prince any account of what had passed. Then the fathers continued for some
time, in company with the bishop of Ephesus, assembling together and praying, while
Nestorius remained separated from them, and would not join them. So they sent to him three
bishops, requesting him to be present with them for prayer; but the soldiers under the
orders of Candidian. would not allow these bishops to enter the house where Nestorius was.
And as he thus held aloof from them, and the transactions lasted so long that the bishops
were troubled at being so far from their dioceses, they were forced to expel that enemy of
God from God's Church. Accordingly they brought the four gospels, and also brought the
blasphemous writings of Nestorius;

16 and a learned deacon, namely Peter, who was the scribe of Cyril, and knew the
blasphemous passages in the compositions of Nestorius, read them out briefly before the
holy council; and when they heard them, his misbelief was proved to them. So the bishops
anathematized Nestorius and excommunicated him, and subscribed their signatures to the
letter of excommunication, which was sent to him; yet he would not receive it, nor give up
his misbelief. Then the bishops desired to send a copy of their letter to the prince, but
were not able to do so because of those whom Candidian, the patrician, had set to guard
the road. So they consulted together; and at last one of them took the letter, and put it
inside a stout cane, and disguised himself, and started off and travelled to
Constantinople. There he gave the letter to Dalmatius and Eutyches, the two monks. And
they presented it to the prince; and the prince handed it to an eunuch, who received it
from him, and gave it to the scribe that he might read it before the prince. And when he
read it, the contents proved to be as follows:

17 “The Council assembled at Ephesus declares thus. We believe that Emmanuel is God
Incarnate. But it is said that Nestorius does not share with us in this faith. Therefore
he is a stranger to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, and a stranger to the
tradition of the Apostles, and a stranger to the one Holy Church. Everyone who denies that
Jesus is Emmanuel, that is to say, God Incarnate, is anathema. And everyone who denies
that the Virgin Mary is the Mother of God the Word, truly Incarnate, is anathema. Jesus is
the Creator, Jesus is the Conqueror, Jesus is the Saviour of all. To him belongs glory for
ever. Amen.” 18 And when this confession of faith was read to the prince, he and all that
were in his palace cried out, saying: “Jesus is Emmanuel, God Incarnate.” Then Eutyches,
the monk, said to the prince: “Let thy majesty subscribe to his excommunication, and write
to the bishops, commanding them to appear before thee, to salute thee and bless thy
empire.” And the prince did so. Therefore the assembly of bishops journeyed to Alexandria,
and thence to Contantinople. And the prince received them graciously, and sat in a lower
seat than they, and prostrated himself before them, and received their blessing. But he
commanded that Nestorius should be sent into banishment. So Nestorius was exiled in
company with a chamberlain who conducted him to Egypt. And the bishops sent a letter to
him before he started, in which they said: “Confess that the Crucified is God Incarnate,
and we will receive thee again and obtain the repeal of thy sentence of banishment.” But
Nestorius hardened his heart like Pharao, and returned no answer to them. And when he said
to the chamberlain: “Let us rest here, for I am tired,” the chamberlain replied: “Thy Lord
also was weary when he walked until the sixth hour, and he is God. What sayest thou?” And
Nestorius answered: “Two hundred bishops assembled to make me confess that Jesus is God
Incarnate, but I would not do so. Shall I then say to thee that God suffered fatigue?” And
the chamberlain conducted Nestorius on his journey until he brought him to Ikhmîm in Upper
Egypt; and there he remained in banishment, anathematized and excommunicated, until he
died.

19 Now the holy Father Cyril wrote many epistles, among which was an epistle to Abba John,
patriarch of Antioch, beginning thus: “Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth exult.”
Cyril also wrote an epistle to Acacius, bishop of Malatia, beginning: “How sweet is an
assembly of perfect brethren, who remind one another of spiritual doctrines.” And he
addressed a letter to Valerian, bishop of Iconium, beginning: “The beloved brother and
fellow-minister.” And he sent an epistle to the priests and deacons and monks and ascetes
who remained firm in the orthodox faith after the excommunication and banishment of
Nestorius; and an epistle to Eulogius, the Alexandrian priest who dwelt at Constantinople,
beginning: “Men are wroth with us on account of the faith proclaimed by the bishops of the
East.” And he wrote an epistle to Anastasius and Alexander and Martinian and John, and
Paregorius, the priest, and Maximus, the deacon, beginning: “I greatly praise your love
for learning.” And in every epistle Cyril makes mention of the orthodox faith, and exposes
the errors of Nestorius and the corruption of his doctrine, pointing out that it is
opposed to the faith of the holy fathers, and to that which is contained in the divine
scriptures of the Old and New Testaments; and he proves this by genuine testimonies from
the holy writings, in which the Holy Ghost speaks by the tongues of the veracious
prophets, the elect apostles, and the holy fathers and doctors of the Holy Catholic and
Apostolic Church. Cyril also wrote letters to Nestorius, before his banishment, which are
conceived in a spirit of benevolence, and in which Cyril exhorts Nestorius, and aims at
conciliating and guiding him. Yet Nestorius would not listen to Cyril, nor return from his
misbelief and hardness of heart and corrupt creed.

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — DIOSCORUS I, THE TWENTY-FIFTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 444-458

1 After the holy patriarch Cyril had departed to his rest, Dioscorus was made patriarch in
the see of the city of Alexandria. He endured severe persecution for the orthodox faith at
the hands of the prince Marcian and his wife; and they banished him from his see, through
the partial action of the council of Chalcedon, and their subserviency to the will of the
prince and his wife. It is for this reason that the members of that council and all the
followers of their corrupt creed are called Melkites, because they follow the opinion of
the prince and his wife, in proclaiming and renewing the doctrine of Nestorius. 2 It was a
custom of the ancients to write histories of their predecessors in every generation. In
the time of the Israelites, Philo, the Pharian, and Justus and Josephus and Hegesippus
wrote part of the life of Jesus Christ, and an account of the ruin of Jerusalem by
Vespasian and Titus his son, and of what took place after them. And after that, Africanus
and Eusebius wrote, and Mennas wrote of the trials and persecution endured by the pastors
and their flocks in the days of the patriarch Abba Cyril the Wise, and what passed between
him and Nestorius; also of what the Father Dioscorus after him suffered in the council of
Chalcedon. But at that time the creeds were separated, and the sees were torn asunder, so
that none was left to write histories of the patriarchs, and the practice of composing
them was interrupted. But the Lord remains for ever. In this way no biography of the holy
patriarch Dioscorus after his banishment has been found. He preserved the orthodox faith,
which persists in the see of the evangelist Saint Mark to this day and for ever, until he
received the crown of martyrdom in the island of Gangra, by the command of the prince
Marcian; for it was in that island that Dioscorus died.

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — TIMOTHY II, THE TWENTY-SIXTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 458-480

And after the militant Father Dioscorus, the patriarch, went to his rest, the Lord Christ
raised up a patriarch, named Timothy, upon the episcopal throne of the city of Alexandria;
and he suffered from hardships, and from warfare with the dissidents. He and his brother
Anatolius were banished to the island of Gangra, like Dioscorus, for seven full years, but
he returned by the grace of God, at the command of the prince, to Alexandria. His
ordination took place in the days of Leo, the prince. He remained patriarch twenty-two
years, and went to his rest on the seventh day of Misri.

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — PETER III, THE TWENTY-SEVENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 480-488

1 So when Timothy went to the Lord, Peter the priest was ordained by command of God in the
church of Alexandria, and was made patriarch. But the empire of the Romans remained
established upon the ever-renewed memory of the impure council of Chalcedon; for it was
not built upon the foundation of the firm Rock, which belongs to God the Word who is Jesus
Christ. And, after the consecration of Peter, patriarch of Alexandria, Acacius, patriarch
of Constantinople, wrote to him many epistles which he sent to him, and letters to ask him
to receive him to himself; for he rejected the council of Chalcedon, the members of which
he called heretics, and the blasphemous Tome of Leo; and he likewise rejected the doctrine
of Nestorius. Therefore Peter wrote letters to Acacius in order that he might be assured
that his doctrine was sound to the core. And when they came to him he accepted them with
joy and gladness, and showed them to those that wished among the believers in the orthodox
faith; and then he wrote a synodical epistle and sent it to the blessed Peter. But there
were certain bishops who were not present at the time when the letters were written by the
two patriarchs, Peter and Acacius; and Satan (may God confound him! stirred up trouble in
the hearts of those bishops; and James, bishop of Sâ, became their chief, with Mennas,
bishop of Munyat Tâmah.

2 And they went to the city of Alexandria, and said to the patriarch: “How couldst thou
receive Acacius, when he is one of those who were present at the Chalcedonian council?” So
he answered them quietly and calmly: “I received him only because he abandoned that
doctrine.” And he informed them of the epistles of Acacius which had come to him, which
bore witness of his return to the truth, and of his confession of the orthodox faith; and
he reminded them that he had sent the bishops to Acacius, that they might hear his
expressions, according to the canon of the Church. But they would not accept his words
because pride was established in their hearts; and they separated themselves from the
throne of the evangelist, Saint Mark, the apostle, saying in their ignorance, as the
children of Israel said, that they had no portion with David, nor inheritance with the son
of Isai. And since they were divided from the holy patriarch Peter, and would not enter
under his obedience, the orthodox called them Those that had no head. Now the epistles
written between the two patriarchs aforesaid formed fifteen books.

3 This Peter, when he became patriarch over Alexandria, met with trouble from the
heretics. For they banished him, and delivered up his see to a man called Timothy, who is
also named Anthony or Theognostus, and belonged to Canopus. Then followed John the
Tabennisiote, whom they appointed after the death of Anthony. Subsequently, the patriarch
Peter returned to his see with great glory; and the period of time during which he sat
upon the patriarchal throne was eight years; and he died, in peace and great honour, on
the 2nd of Hatûr. All his epistles are preserved in the Monastery of Father Macarius; and
among them is an epistle of Zeno, the blessed prince, with the answer to it, in which are
jewels of language, and words of holiness, and the confession of the orthodox faith.

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — ATHANASIUS II, THE TWENTY-EIGHTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 488-494

When the holy Father Peter went to his rest, Athanasius was appointed. He had been priest
in charge of the church of Alexandria; and now he was made patriarch over it. He was a
good man, full of faith and the Holy Ghost; and he accomplished that with which he was
entrusted; and in his days there was no disorder or persecution in the holy Church. He
remained seven years, and went to his rest on the twentieth of Tût.

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — JOHN I, THE MONK, THE TWENTY-NINTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 494-503

When Athanasius the Younger went to his rest, John the Monk was appointed, and made
patriarch upon the evangelical throne; and he walked according to the lives of the
excellent fathers who preceded him. The Church and the people and the inhabitants of the
country-districts were in his days in security and peace through the grace of the Lord
Christ. And he lived in the time of the holy Zeno, the blessed prince; and on account of
his faith and goodness the prince commanded in his clays that there should be carried to
the monastery of Saint Macarius, in the Wadi Habib, all that the monks needed of wheat and
wine and oil, and whatever they required for the furnishing of their cells. So Abba John,
the patriarch, accomplished his ministry in security and tranquillity in the days of Zeno,
the blessed and faithful prince, and went to his rest on the 4th of Bashans, after
remaining eight years as patriarch, and was gathered to his fathers.

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — JOHN II, FORMERLY THE HERMIT, THE THIRTIETH PATRIARCH. A. D. 503-515

So when Abba John, the patriarch, went to his rest, there was appointed instead of him a
man who was a hermit, called John; and this was by the command of God. This John was a
kinsman of the departed patriarch. And he wrote in his days many books and homilies. And
God shewed forth in his days a wonderful thing, and raised up royalty and priesthood
together for the Church, in the persons of the prince Anastasius, the pious believer, and
the patriarch Severus, the excellent, clothed with light, occupant of the see of Antioch,
who became a horn of salvation to the orthodox Church, and who sat upon the throne of the
great Ignatius. And Severus wrote a synodical letter to the Father John, the patriarch,
concerning the unity of the fnith, wherein he announced the agreement between them in the
one orthodox creed of the holy fathers. So John, the patriarch, and his bishops accepted
this letter, and read it in their churches throughout the land of Egypt; and they offered
prayers and thanked the Lord Christ, who had restored the divided members to their places.
And with great joy and spiritual exultation did John, the holy patriarch, write to the
great Severus an answer to his letter in canonical language, full of the orthodox faith,
which is that of the doctors of the Church, as the blessed Severus had written to him. And
when the envoys of Severus returned to him with this gift, which was a fitting reward for
his friendship, he rejoiced and was glad exceedingly. John remained patriarch eleven
years, and went to his rest on the twenty-seventh of Bashans.

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — DIOSCORUS II, THE THIRTY-FIRST PATRIARCH. A. D. 515-517

And when the Father John, the patriarch, went to his rest, he had a scribe whose name was
Dioscorus, and who was a man perfect in all his relations, humble and good; and there was
none like him in his time. So they ordained him patriarch upon the evangelical throne.
Then he wrote a synodical letter to the Father Severus, in which he informed him of the
death of the blessed Father John, and announced that he had taken his seat after him upon
the apostolic throne. So Severus wrote an answer to him, to console him, and to confirm
him in the orthodox faith, and to charge him to teach the people, and not to cease
teaching, and to encourage him in this work. And Dioscorus remained patriarch three years;
though in another history it is related that he continued one year and a half; and he went
to his rest on the twenty-seventh of Babah, and was gathered to his fathers.

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — TIMOTHY III, THE THIRTY-SECOND PATRIARCH. A. D. 517-535

1 Then Timothy took his seat as patriarch on the throne of Alexandria. And Anastasius the
believing prince died; and they raised up after him an evil man, a heretic, whose name was
Justinian, that he might govern the empire. When Justinian took his seat upon the throne,
he employed all his efforts to make the orthodox believers return to the faith of the
Chalcedonian council; and the first thing that he began with was that he seized the holy
patriarch Severus. And Justinian assembled a council in the city of Constantinople, on his
own initiative, at which were present Vigilius, patriarch of Rome, and Apollinaris, whom
the prince had made patriarch over Alexandria, and Eutychius, patriarch of the city of
Constantinople, and the bishops who were under their jurisdiction. Moreover Justinian sent
to fetch the Father Severus, the patriarch, and the bishops of the East; for he thought
that he could conciliate the mind of the holy Severus, and incline him to his doctrine, so
that all the bishops might obey him, because they firmly believed in Severus and in his
faith, and so they might acknowledge the prince's evil doctrine. But the great Severus
paid no heed to the prince. And Severus, with his bishops, went to Constantinople that he
might confirm the faith; for he thought that that unbelieving prince would be converted
from his corrupt doctrine.

2 So when the Father Severus arrived at Constantinople, then the prince at first honoured
him greatly, and exalted his rank, and spoke good words to him, seeking from him that he
should make concessions to him with regard to the Tome of Leo, by adopting his faith. But
Severus, God's champion, had placed in his heart the words of Peter the Apostle to Simon
the Magician: “Let thy gifts perish with thee, for I see that thou art full of bitterness,
even more than the serpent.” And Justinian the prince was like Nestorius; and one day he
commanded that the bishops, falsely so called, should assemble for that council. But
neither the Father Severus, the valiant one, nor any of his bishops would be present with
them, for he said: “If they will not first anathematize the Tome of Leo and the impure,
contemptible council of Chalcedon, I will not consent with them to the doctrine of
unbelief.” Then things were done by the prince which this book is too small to relate,
lest the narrative should grow too long by recording them. So when the command of the
prince reached Severus, and yet he did not meet the bishops in council nor go to join
them, they brought trials upon him, and persecutions came upon him.

3 But after two years, at the request of the believing princess, Theodora, the prince left
Severus alone, and gave him up to her; and so she sent him back to his see. 4 And in those
days Timothy was at Alexandria. So when Severus, the patriarch, and his bishops, who were
from the East, were driven away from Antioch, and came to Egypt, those bishops came to the
city of Alexandria. And many nuns, who were virgins, were driven out of the monasteries.
And the Father Severus, at the time of this trouble, was fleeing from city to city,
secretly or openly, and from monastery to monastery. And he wrote to the bishops, his
companions, who were at Alexandria, and consoled them, and encouraged them to have
patience, and charged them to endure the persecutions with fortitude. And there was with
them one who was no true bishop, whose name was Julian. This man plainly showed that he
was a partaker in the council of Chalcedon, because he divided the Lord Christ, who is
One, into Two, arid made him into Two Natures after the Ineffable Union. And when he found
an opportunity in the absence of the Father Severus, he wrote a Tomarion, with an evil
purpose, addressed to certain sick and intoxicated people, in which he expresses his
approval of the faith of Eutyches, the unbeliever, and Apollinaris and Manes and Eudoxius,
the unbelievers; and he filled it also with the blasphemous creed of those who believe in
the doctrine of the Phantasiasts, and deny the lifegiving Passion of Christ the Lord. And
he sent this book ahout Egypt, and to the monks of the desert.

5 And they received him, and fell into the snare, except seven persons, whose hearts God
enlightened, and so they would not accept it; for they heard a voice saying: “This is the
impure Tomarion.” Then those who had fallen into the error of Julian rose up against them,
and killed two of them. So the rest were scattered, and began to celebrate the liturgy in
their cells in the Monastery of Saint Macarius and in other monasteries. And this was the
cause of their separation, and of the prevalence of error in the four monasteries and in
the hermitages. Then by the power and grace of the Holy Ghost, assistance came to the five
monks who remained of the seven, and so they prevented the other monks from accepting the
Tomarion. But the source of this error, Julian, did not cease to send his writings into
the country to lead men astray and draw them to himself.

6 So when the Father Severus learnt this, by the power of the Holy Ghost which dwelt in
him, he wrote to every place, in order that a true account of the facts might be
disseminated, and that Julian's true meaning might be made known. For he informed men in
his letters that Julian was an evil serpent, filled with blasphemy. And Severus bestowed
his care on those that were afflicted with this plague, that he might heal them, and
encouraged those that did not follow the Tomarion, from which there arose trouble and
antagonism. And meanwhile the Father Timothy, the blessed patriarch, went to his rest,
being established in the orthodox faith. For he fought on its behalf, like the Father
Severus, and refuted Julian and all his doctrine. The period during which Timothy remained
patriarch on the throne of Alexandria was seventeen years; and he died on the 13th of
Amshir.

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — THEODOSIUS I, THE THIRTY-THIRD PATRIARCH. A. D. 535-567

1 By the command of God, the bishops and orthodox people assembled after the death of
Timothy, and, by the dispensation of the Lord Christ, they ordained the holy Father
Theodosius patriarch. He was a virgin, and a master of the literary style used in
ecclesiastical writings. But, after a short time, the hater of good raised up a trial for
him, and stirred up trouble among evil people of the inhabitants of the city, the masters
of vile arts. For there was a man who was old and advanced in age, and whose name was
Gaianus; and he was archdeacon of the church of Alexandria; and he was standing, at the
time of the ordination of the Father Theodosius as patriarch, among the bishops and
priests and chief men of the city, until they had ordained him, and written his diploma of
consecration, and promoted him to the degree of primate over the apostolic diocese, and
ratified his appointment with the consent of all Christian and God-loving people. But
after that, certain persons led the archdeacon astray, and changed his thoughts, in his
simplicity, and gave him counsel, saying: “This degree and this promotion are thy due, and
it is not lawful for anyone to be promoted before thee.” Thus they insinuated their evil
suggestions into his mind little by little, until he accepted their advice. So they took
him, and went with him to the house of a priest, named Theodore, who was an evil-doer and
had much wealth;

2 and there they ordained Gaianus, the archdeacon, as patriarch. And there was with them,
assisting them, Julian, the corrupt of faith, in agreement with Theodore the priest; for
Theodosius the blessed, when he became patriarch, had anathematized Julian, because he was
the refuge of the heretics. Then Gaianus went to the governor, and to the commander of the
forces, and offered them bribes, and won their hearts by his many gifts, until they were
induced to stir up great trouble against the Father Theodosius, the patriarch, and against
the Church, and drove out the holy Theodosius from the see of Alexandria to
Hierasycaminus, where he remained six months. And the governor hid from the prince what
they had done to the patriarch, and also that they had ordained another in his place, and
all that was done by Julian and Theodore and Gaianus, who joined together against him. But
the wise Severus, the patriarch, used to call Theodosius brother and helper and partner in
the one true evangelical work, and used to console and encourage him in his sufferings for
the orthodox faith, comparing him to the great Paul the Apostle, when he was first chosen
and first believed in Christ, and reminding Theodosius how Paul's family and friends
rejected him, and how the believers let him down from the wall in a basket, so that he
could flee from Damascus. For the Father Theodosius suffered continual trouble and
persecution from the heretics. And this was in the year 242 of Diocletian.

3 Now Severus, the patriarch, was hiding himself from Justinian, the heretical prince, in
a Christ-loving town, called Sakhâ, in Egypt, at the house of a man, named Dorotheus, who
took care of the affairs of the aged monks who had rejected the error of Julian the
unbeliever. And the said man was allowed to visit the governor of Egypt, Aristomachus, and
begged him to take pity on the aged among the monks who were in the desert, by granting
them the favour of authorizing them to build churches and towers, instead of those that
had been taken from them by Julian and his companions, that so he might give rest to the
monks. Accordingly the governor gave orders to Dorotheus to do as he wished; and Dorotheus
returned thanks to God most high. 4 Severus, the patriarch, had composed books in which he
refuted the heresy of those that believe in the Two Natures, and brought to naught most of
those that hold this view, by the glory of God, and through the instructions that he gave
with his tongue, which was a spiritual sword. And he continued to teach concerning the
books of divine wisdom, until he grew old, and the days of his removal from trouble to
rest grew near. For he remained in the midst of struggles, and enduring persecution from
the heretics for thirty years, upon the throne of Antioch, and amid opposition and
distress for six years; and he did not cease from this life of fighting for the orthodox
faith until death. So when he had accomplished his course, still preserving the true
faith, he went to the Lord Christ whom he loved, and received the crown of victory with
the holy fathers in the assembly of the heavenly virgins.

5 And as for the blessed Father Theodosius, he was greatly troubled by the heretic Gaianus
and his followers. But John, the governor of Alexandria, and others were struggling to
save him from them: and so they consulted with the fathers, and took Theodosms secretly,
and put him on board of a boat on the river, and conveyed him to a town called Malij,
within the province of Egypt, and there he remained two years. 6 And the laity of
Alexandria, and the clergy and officials of the city, were troubled because their patriach
was taken away from them, and said to the governor: “Why hast thou removed the good
shepherd Theodosius from us?” Then the governor was afraid of them, and dreaded lest the
affair should be reported to the prince; and so he sent Gaianus, the heretic, out of the
city. After that, one of the officials went to carry out some business which he had with
the prince, and so he made known to the faithful princess Theodora that the blessed
Theodosius had been banished from the city of Alexandria, whence she herself had
originally come. So she went in to the prince calmly and wisely and humbly, and informed
him of all that had happened, without his sanction, to the Father Theodosius, patriarch in
the city of Alexandria. Then, when the prince heard that, he rejoiced in his heart at the
trouble and conflict which the orthodox had endured, because they would not consent to
share the corrupt and impure faith of Chalcedon, which he held. But afterwards, wishing to
please the princess, and to delight her heart, he gave her power to do by his authority in
this matter whatever she desired. So she sent to the city of Alexandria, to enquire into
the matter, and to restore the Father Theodosius, the patriarch, to his see;

7 and she bade the messengers inform her how his appointment as patriarch took place at
his ordination, and whether it was accomplished according to the canon of the Church. So
when her messengers came to the city, according to what she commanded them to do, they
enquired into what she bade them enquire into, and examined the circumstances of his
ordination, and sought to discover whether it was accomplished according to the canon of
the Church; and they also enquired how Gaianus, the archdeacon, had been appointed, and
which of them was the first to be consecrated. Therefore the governor, and the commander
of the forces, in return for the gifts and bribes which they had received, suborned
certain persons who cried aloud saying: “Gaianus was the first to be ordained.” Their
words, however, were not confirmed; for one hundred and twenty men, of the priests and
officials of the city, subscribed their signatures to a statement that it was Theodosius
who was the first to be ordained.

8 Then they assembled together, and the help of the Lord Christ was with them, and the
officers and military chiefs of the prince, who were his envoys and trusted counsellors,
were present, and all the Alexandrians were assembled with them in the holy church. And
they brought the holy gospels and the prince's decree to which his seal and image were
attached, and they introduced the Father Theodosius, the blessed patriarch, and the body
of bishops who had been present at his consecration; and they separated them, and
questioned them one by one, and wrote down what they said. And their confession proved
true, in each case, for they all stated, without hesitation or discrepancy, that it was
Theodosius, the blessed, who was ordained first, with the consent of the bishops and
people, according to the canon of the Church; and that two months after that they heard
that Gaianus had been made patriarch. Then Gaianus came forward before the assembly, and
confessed to them that the statement was true, and asked pardon for what he had done. And
the assembly begged of the blessed Father Theodosius to receive Gaianus, and prayed him to
accept his repentance, on condition that he would write in his own handwriting that he had
done this in contradiction to the ecclesiastical canon, and that he would remain in his
office of deacon, becoming archdeacon again, as he had been before, and would humble
himself and submit to the Father Theodosius, and obey him till the time of his death; and
Gaianus consented to do all this. And they all set their seals to this statement as being
true and veracious; and the whole assembly rejoiced, and glorified God, and thanked him
because their good shepherd Theodosius, the patriarch, had returned to them, and had taken
his seat upon his throne, to rule the Church and the people in peace.

9 And as for Julian and Theodore and Manes and all those that dissented, and their
followers, the name of heretic was established as their due, for they did not repent; but
Gaianus submitted to the obedience of Theodosius, the patriarch. So when the affairs of
the Church and the faithful Christian people were well established, the Father Theodosius
rejoiced, and wrote letters in which he thanked the prince and princess; and these letters
he sent by their messengers, namely Aristaenetus and Nicetas and Philodorus, whom he
thanked for what they had done. And when the envoys arrived, and delivered the letters to
the prince, and made known to him all that had happened, his thoughts were despondent and
troubled. For he thought: “Behold, I have given up the throne of Alexandria to Theodosius;
and yet, even if I bestowed upon him in addition all the provinces of Egypt and Africa and
all other countries, he would never agree with me in the creed which I prefer, so that the
whole Church might be of one faith.”

10 Then the prince Justinian, after that, took thought, and wrote to the governor and
officials of Alexandria, and to the Father Theodosius, with the view of attracting him by
the hope of reward, praying him to receive the Tome of Leo, and yield to him on that
point, and promising in that case that he should have the two offices, both the civil
patriarchate, and the civil governorship, and that all the bishops of Africa should be
under his obedience, and that he should have the command over all that territory; “but”
added the prince, “if he will not obey nor consent, then let him be driven out of the
Church, and depart whithersoever he will; for he that does not agree with me in my faith
shall have no prelacy either over people or Church”. 11 But when the blessed father and
patriarch Theodosius, the confessor of Christ, heard the letter and proposals of the
prince, he exclaimed in the presence of the assembly, and of the governor and envoys: “The
holy gospel says that the Devil took the Lord and Saviour, and led him to the summit of a
high mountain, and shewed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of it, and said
to him: All this is mine, and if thou wilt worship me I will give it to thee. So likewise
what you promise me will be the destruction of my soul, if I do as you propose, and I
shall become thereby a stranger to Christ, the true king”. And he raised his hands before
the envoy sent by the prince, and before the governor and that great assembly, and said:
“In truth I anathematize the Tome of Leo and the council of Chalcedon; and whoever
acknowledges them is anathema henceforth for ever. Amen.” Then he said to the governor and
to all the prince's troop: “The prince has no power except over my body; but the Lord
Jesus Christ, the true and great prince, has power over my soul and body together. And now
behold the churches are before you with all that they contain, therefore do whatever you
wish with regard to them. But as for me, I follow my fathers who have preceded me, the
doctors of the apostolic Church, Athanasius and Cyril and Dioscorus and Timothy, and those
who were before them, whose deputy I am, although unworthy.” Then Theodosius arose and
went out, saying: “Let those that love God follow me. For I came forth from my mother's
womb naked, and I shall return to it naked. And he that loses his life at this time for
the Faith, shall save it.”

12 So they took him to the palace, where they guarded him for a day and a night; but when
the morrow came, they sent him away, as the prince had commanded in his letter, saying:
“Let him go whithersoever he pleases.” Therefore he went out from the city, and the power
of the Lord Christ guided him; for Aristomachus provided for his needs, and prepared for
him all that he required, and carried him in a boat to Upper Egypt, where he remained
teaching the people and the monks in the monasteries, and confirming them in the orthodox
faith, and encouraging them to, endure the conflict until death. 13 And the prince's envoy
returned to him, and made known to him all that had happened, and how Theodosius, the
patriarch, had gone forth from the city, and would not accept any of the offers made by
the prince. When the prince heard that, he and all his attendants were astonished that the
patriarch had rejected that post of governor, and had disputed the royal command, and
remained firm in the faith. Then Justinian thought within himself and said: “If I leave
him where he is, then all the people will follow his faith, and he will not allow them to
accept the Tome of Leo.” So he wrote a letter full of assurances and promises to the
patriarch Theodosius, declaring that no pain nor damage should come to him from him, but
all good and kindness; and he sent this letter by a scribe, to whom he said: “Treat him
courteously until thou bringest him to me, and say to him: The prince desires to confer
with thee.” So when the blessed patriarch had perused the prince's letter, he prayed for
the help of the power of the Lord Christ, and took with him of the clergy certain wise
men, learned and excellent; and they embarked in a ship, and journeyed until they arrived
at Constantinople. There Theodosius entered to the prince and princess, who, when they saw
his serenity and humility and excellence, received him kindly, and lodged him in chambers
which they had prepared for him and his companions.

14 Afterwards the prince sent for him a second time, and a third time, until the sixth
time, and each time he addressed him courteously, and desired of him that he should yield
to him in confirming the council of Chalcedon, and gave him many marks of honour and
priority and precedence. But Theodosius said: “Neither life nor death nor dearth nor
nakedness nor sword will turn my heart from the faith of my fathers; nor will I abandon a
jot or tittle of what my fathers, the inspired doctors, wrote before me, those shepherds
of the reasonable flock of Christ, from Mark the evangelist to the day on which I was made
a deacon by the Father Timothy, after whom I became patriarch by the dispensation of God.”
15 So when the prince could not draw Theodosius to his doctrine, he left him and sent him
into banishment in disgrace. But he showed favour to the clergy of Alexandria, and caused
Mennas, patriarch of Constantinople, to ordain for them a man, named Paul of Tinnis, that
he might be patriarch on the throne of Alexandria, and sent him, accompanied by a troop of
soldiers, to the city of Alexandria. But when Paul arrived there, not one of the
inhabitants would receive him; for they said: “This is the new Judas!” And he remained a
year, during which none would listen to him, nor would any communicate from his hand,
except the envoy who accompanied him, and the soldiers who arrived with him, and the
governor and his attendants only. And the people of the city used to insult Paul, saying:
“This is Judas the betrayer!” So he wrote to the prince to make known to him what had
happened to him, and how they fled from him as sheep flee from a wolf; and he sent the
letter by a patrician. Then the prince was enraged, and sent a letter by another
patrician, in which he commanded that the doors of the churches in the city of Alexandria
should be shut and sealed with his seal, and guards set before them, so that no one at all
might enter.

16 When that sinful letter arrived in the city, there was great sadness on account of it,
and anguish and unbounded sorrow that cannot be described, upon the orthodox people. And
they remained in this condition for a whole year, without communion, or church to pray in,
or place to be baptized in. But the letters of their blessed Father Theodosius came to
them from his place of exile, reminding them of the faith, and consoling them, and
encouraging them to patience. So when their trouble increased, an assembly of the orthodox
met together, priests and laymen, and took counsel together as to building a church in
which they might take refuge, so that they might not be like the Jews. And they did what
they proposed, and built a church by the power of Christ, in the western part of
Alexandria, in the place called the Pillars, or the Serapeum; and this church is the
Angelion, which they built secretly at the hundred and five steps. And another
congregation of the people also built another church, in the name of Cosmas and Damian, to
the east of the amphitheatre, and a little to the west of the colonnade; and they finished
it in the year 278 of Diocletian. When the prince learnt this, he sent and opened all the
churches, and put them under the authority of the Chalcedonians.

17 So when the blessed Father Theodosius learnt that there remained to him no other than
these two newly-built churches, the church of the Angelion, and the church of Cosmas and
Damian the Martyrs, he sighed and wept, because he knew the people of Alexandria, and that
they loved pomp and honour, and he feared that they would depart from the orthodox Faith,
with a view to gaining honour from the prince. And he used to pray, saying: “O my Lord
Jesus Christ, thou didst buy this people with thy precious blood, and thou providest for
them; therefore remove not thy hand from them; but thy will be done!” And Theodosius
remained twenty-eight years in banishment and otherwise, and in Upper Egypt four years,
preserving the orthodox faith. And he composed of homilies and doctrinal treatises during
his patriarchate, which lasted for thirty-two years, too many to be counted. 18 Theodosius
was removed, in the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ whom he loved, on the 28th day of
Baunah; and he received the crown of victory with the assembly of the saints in the land
of the living for ever. And let us, the believers who remain in the orthodox faith, and
are counted worthy to be called Theodosians after his name, supplicate and implore God the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, that we may have spiritual thoughts, and
encouragement, while we keep the right faith without wearying, as it was kept by this holy
father and prelate, who confessed before heretics, kings and princes and authorities who
lived at that evil time, and that our life before him may be without offence, and that we
may not turn aside from his will, and that we may have a full share together with him in
the kingdom of heaven, by the grace and mercy and compassion of our God, the Lover of
Mankind, Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, to whom is due glory with the Father and the
Holy Ghost, the Giver of Life, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — PETER IV, THE THIRTY-FOURTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 567-569

1 When the patriarch Theodosius was banished by Justinian, the prince, there was set up
instead of him, though he was still alive, Paul of Tinnis, who was appointed at
Constantinople. So this custom began for the patriarchs of the Melkites, that they should
be ordained at Constantinople, and then proceed to Alexandria. And after a short time the
Lord destroyed Paul of Tinnis by an evil death; and they appointed in his stead
Apollinaris, who also took possession of the church, by the prince's authority; and he
ordered that none of the believing bishops should be seen in the city of Alexandria. At
that time there was union between the Church of Antioch and the Church of Alexandria in
the orthodox faith and in Christian love; for Theodosius confessed before the prince, both
he and those who were with him, that he was in union with the Father Severus, patriarch of
Antioch, and said: “I accept all that was said by Saint John the Golden Mouth, and by the
wise Cyril.”

2 And when Theodosius went to his rest, Apollinaris, the hypocrite, rejoiced greatly, and
made a great feast for the clergy and people of the city; for he thought that they would
conform to his creed, because not one of the fathers and bishops was able to show himself,
neither in Alexandria nor in Antioch, on account of what the heretical prince had
commanded. But, by the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, Alexandria was governed by an
excellent and philanthropic man, who had thrown in his lot with the orthodox; and
therefore he commanded that they should ordain a patriarch for themselves secretly, in
succession to the Father Theodosius. And he said to them: “Go out to the Monastery of Az-
Zajaj, as if you wished to pray there, and appoint over yourselves him, whom you shall
elect, as patriarch.” So they thanked God, and glorified the Lord Christ, and sent to the
northern cities of the land of Egypt, and summoned three bishops, and went out with them
to the Monastery of Az-Zajaj, where they ordained a man, who was a priest, named Peter, as
patriarch. And the people received consolation through him, and their faith was
strengthened; but they could not bring him into the city openly, through fear of the
prince, and of Apollinaris, the patriarch of the heretics. So his residence was outside
Alexandria, at a distance of nine miles, at the church dedicated to the name of Joseph;
and they used to carry to him all that he needed; but the prince knew nothing of him.

3 And after this the thing became known, that Peter had become patriarch instead of
Theodosius the deceased; and when Apollinaris learnt this, he was exceedingly angry, and
wrote to the prince to inform him of what had happened. But before his letter reached
Justinian, the prince, at Constantinople, the Angel of the Lord smote him and he died; and
his death was evil like the death of Herod. And as for Peter, he was well formed and of
beautiful countenance, adorned with every noble deed, loving those in whom was the
knowledge of God. For this reason he sought a man excellent and learned in the holy
canons, that he might be his scribe. So they pointed out to him a monk who was a deacon,
and whose name was Damian, in the Monastery of Tôn Paterôn, and this man was a skilful
writer; and the Father Peter, the patriarch, went to the monastery, and talked with
Damian, and asked him to help him and labour with him in the works of the Church. And the
patriarch begged him and persuaded him to remain with him in the monastery as if he were a
bishop, since he could not reveal that he was patriarch, and was not able to enter into
the city of Alexandria openly. And the deacon and monk, Damian, consented to do this, and
obeyed the patriarch in what he bade him accomplish.

4 And there were in that place six hundred flourishing monasteries, like beehives in their
populousness, all inhabited by the orthodox, who were all monks and nuns, besides thirty-
two farms called Sakatinâ, where all the people held the true faith. And the father and
patriarch, Peter, was the administrator of the affairs of all of them. When the orthodox
people of Antioch heard of what the inhabitants of Alexandria had done, they also took a
man whose name was Theophanes, and made him patriarch in succession to the blessed Father
Severus, and seated him on the throne in a monastery called the Monastery of Aphtonius;
because the heretics forbad the orthodox bishops to enter, any one of them, into the city
of Antioch, as was done also at Alexandria. So the two patriarchs were in similar
circumstances, living in two monasteries outside their respective cities. Then Peter,
patriarch of the city of Alexandria, fell sick and went to his rest, after finishing his
course and his ministry which was pleasing to God. The period of time during which he
remained patriarch was two years; and his death took place on the 25th of Baunah. May his
prayers be with us! Amen.

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — DAMIAN, THE THIRTY-FIFTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 569-605

1 When the holy Father Peter went to his rest, they enthroned in his place his scribe
Damian, the deacon and monk, who was strong in deed and word and in the grace of the Lord
which descended upon him. For he had been a monk from his youth in the wilderness of Wadi
Habib, and was brought up by saints in the Monastery of Saint John, where he remained
sixteen years, serving God according to the service of the holy ascetes, before he came to
Pihenaton, to the Monastery of Tôn Paterôn, otherwise called Monastery of the Fathers.
This was at the time of the rebuilding of the four monasteries in Wadi Habib, which were
growing up like the plants of the field in security and guidance from God; and to their
inhabitants was brought all that they needed, and they worked industriously at the
building. 2 But there were among them the Meletians, I mean the followers of Meletius, who
used to receive the Chalice many times in the night, before they came to the church. For
this reason, when the Father Damian, the patriarch, was counted worthy to sit upon the
evangelical throne, he wrote to the holy mountain, and commanded that the Meletians should
be banished from it. And after a short time, a voice came from heaven upon that desert,
saying: “Flee! Flee! ” And when the inhabitants of the four monasteries had left them,
they were laid waste. When news of this reached the patriarch Damian, he was exceedingly
sad. Now this holy father, the patriarch, was living in seclusion, in the Monastery of Tôn
Paterôn, as we said at the beginning, in the condition of a suffragan bishop. And, by the
wisdom of God which was given to him, he wrote the Logos, which is a discourse of wisdom.
And he also wrote the Mystagogiae, besides the Festal Letters and the Catecheses. And the
followers of the impure heresy came to him, and disputed about the Faith; but by the grace
of the Lord which was with him he resolved their arguments, sweeping them away like a
spider 's web; and he spoke courteously to them, and taught them to understand the
mysteries of Christian doctrine, and made them like Achab before our Father Elias, the
prophet.

3 In the eighth year of Damian's patriarchate, a satanic thought fell into the hearts of
the Acephali who were living in the east of Egypt. For there were four priests remaining
over from that impure council, and they said: “What shall we do? We are perishing, and no
bishop is left to us. Come therefore, let us make one of ourselves bishop, lest the
remembrance of us perish from the face of the earth.” Then they chose the oldest among
them, whose name was Barsanuphi, and the three priests took him and made him bishop, and
his heretical doctrine was named after his name. When the people of the west of Egypt
heard of this, they were exceedingly angry because they had done this without consulting
them; so they separated from them, and would not join them. For this reason they had none
to baptize them or give them communion or pray with them. So the others ordained a bishop
for them. Now the prince at that time was Maurice, who loved money exceedingly, and
rejected the orthodox.

4 When the Father Theophanes, the patriarch, went to his rest and departed to the Lord,
the people of Antioch took one of the priests of the church, whose name was Peter, and
made him patriarch. And he was coarse-minded, and sinful in his thoughts, and disturbed in
his intellect, and opposed to the right faith, as that wise man in the Lord, Cyril, the
holy patriarch, said with regard to the followers of Anatolius: “They are dark in their
thoughts”. 5 On account of the union between the two sees, Peter wrote a synodical epistle
to the Father Damian, the patriarch, according to the usual custom. So when the synodical
letter came to Damian, he rejoiced at it, and assembled the bishops. But when he examined
Peter's doctrine declared in it, he found in it an error in the confession of the Holy
Trinity. Therefore he sought in his wisdom and gentleness to draw the said Peter to
himself by kindness, that the Church might not be divided, nor the union between the two
sees be broken. So he wrote to him a homily in which he reminded him of all the heretics,
and of the doctrine laid down by Severus, the patriarch, with the object of making him
understand the faith, in order to guide his intelligence. For Peter said in his strange
philosophy: “There is no necessity to name the Trinity”. Yet all the Doctors of the
Church, and Cyril the Wise, and those that came after him, till the days of Damian, in
their writings confess the holy Trinity, declaring that it is Three Persons and One Nature
and One Godhead, creating and containing nothing created; and that it is divided in
Persons, and truly united in substance and in name. They declare that God is the Creator
of the two great luminaries; for the sun is made to rule the day, and the moon, as the
lesser luminary, to rule the night; and that the act of creation took place before the
name was given;

6 and that God said: “Let the waters be gathered together, and let the dry land appear”;
and God called the place of the gathering of the waters the seas, and called the dry part
land; and that the act preceded the naming. “So likewise must thou understand this”, adds
Damian, “that the nature of the Creator is the one single nature which does all things.
For who knows the thoughts of the Lord, and who can point them out; and who can give to
him that he may seek from him a reward? For all things are from him. And glory be to the
Holy Trinity, the consubstantial, the all-perfect, who accepts no new thing and no new
names at all; but his names are sure, and his deeds together with them”. 7 This discourse
the Father Damian, the patriarch, wrote to Peter, patriarch of Antioch. But Peter,
patriarch of Antioch, was like the deaf asp which stops its ears and will not listen to
the voice of the charmer nor to the medicine which a wise man prepares; nay he remained
obstinate in his erroneous ideas, confessing and saying with his tongue which deserved to
be cut out: “What is the need of naming the Trinity?” Thus he divided the Undivided
Trinity. So there was a conflict between the Egyptians and the Orientals on this account;
and they remained thus for twenty years disputing without coming to an agreement, until
God had mercy on his people of whom he has care at all times, and broke off the life of
the heretic, and removed him from the world. And Damian, the blessed patriarch, remained
all his days composing letters and homilies and treatises, in which he refuted the
heretics. And there were in his days certain bishops whom he admired, marvelling at their
purity and excellence; and among them was John of Burlus, and John his disciple, and
Constantine the bishop, and Cleistus, and many others who tended the vineyard of the Lord
of Sabaoth. And the patriarch Damian did not cease to teach all the davs of his life. And
through the multitude of his fasts and prayers and conflicts, when his course was
finished, he fell ill, and went to his rest in the peace of the Lord, after remaining
patriarch thirty-six years, preserving the true faith in a good old age. And he departed
to the Lord Christ whom he loved on the 28th day of Baunah.

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — ANASTASIUS, THE THIRTY-SIXTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 605-616

1 And the Lord Christ considered his people, for he is the chief and leader of shepherds,
and raised up a wise man adorned with virtues, whose name was Anastasius, an inhabitant of
Alexandria and one of the priests of the, church there, learned in the scriptures and in
the doctrines of the faith. So he was placed by the ineffable decrees of God upon the
apostolic throne, and began to appoint the bishops and the priests according to the canon
of the Church. Anastasius was brave of heart, and went to the city at all times, and
entered therein, and ordained the priests there; for, as we have mentioned above, the
orthodox bishops were forbidden to enter Alexandria; and he drew many of the people to
himself by his wisdom, for he was a learned man, known through his appointment to the
city-council. He had been presiding priest in the two churches that we have mentioned,
namely the Angelion and the church of Cosmas and Damian, and over the convents of virgins,
and most of the monasteries.

2 Then Anastasius began to build church after church. And he took the church which is on a
mound of ruins, and a church named after Michael. He had great trouble from the party of
Tiberius and Belisarius, upon whom the name of Gaianus had come, and from the followers of
the impure Chalcedonian council, and from another man who was called Eulogius. This man
was exceedingly indignant against the Father Anastasius, and desired to bring upon him all
evils and torments; but God did not deliver him into his hands. 3 In those days there
arose a man from the palace, one of the chief officers, whose name was Phocas, and killed
the prince, and sat in his place, and did wicked deeds; and he loved carnal pleasure, and
corrupted all the daughters of the patricians; and he loved discord without fear.
Therefore when Eulogius knew of this, and heard the report of these things, he wrote to
the prince a calumnious letter, concerning the Father Anastasius, full of lies and folly.
For he said that, when Anastasius preached in the church of John the Baptist, he
anathematized him and the victorious princes and the Chalcedonian council, adding: “And I
marvelled that the springs and the waters were not dried up”. This Eulogius wrote to the
prince that he might stir up trials for the orthodox. So when Phocas, who had taken
possession of the empire, heard this, he was troubled, and wrote to the governor in
Alexandria, that he should take from the patriarch Anastasius the church of Cosmas and
Damian and all its dependencies, and all that belonged to it, and give it to Eulogius, the
misguided. Accordingly they seized that church; and the Father Anastasius, the blessed,
was sad, and returned to the monastery with great grief and much sighing. And he desired
that God might reunite the members of the Church which Satan had divided; I refer to the
division of Antioch from Alexandria, the cause of which was Peter, patriarch of Antioch;
and God heard his prayers; for Peter the aforesaid died, and there sat instead of him,
upon the throne of Severus at Antioch, a man who was a monk and priest and scholar, named
Athanasius, exceedingly wise, and pure in heart. And it was he who delivered a homily in
which he spoke of the holy Severus; and everyone that read it knew that the Lord Christ
was with him, and his wisdom was within him.

4 So when the Father Anastasius heard that Athanasius had taken his seat as patriarch upon
the throne of Antioch, he hastened to write to him a synodical letter full of wisdom, in
which he styled him his colleague and one who was brother and friend, and one turning his
attention to the faith, and to the rectification of that which had been corrupted by
Peter, the misguided one who was now dead. “For the whole of the spiritual Israel is one
flock”, wrote Anastasius, “and thou shalt unite it, that thou mayest receive the crown of
testimony and unity”. Now Athanasius was good fruitful ground, and therefore he received
the spiritual seed with joy, and took the synodical letter which had come to him, and
assembled the bishops under his see, and said to them: “Know that the world to-day
rejoices in peace and love, because the Chalcedonian darkness has passed away, and there
has remained this one light-giving and fruit-bearing branch of the true vine, which is the
see of Mark the evangelist, and the province of Egypt. For we have been heretics and
schismatics since the patriarch Severus, who was to us a guide and a way of salvation. And
you know that Peter the apostle and Mark the evangelist had one gospel which they
preached; and so also Severus and Theodo-sius had one faith, and lived in unity, and
endured exile and conflicts to the end”.

5 So, when the fathers and bishops heard his discourse, they rejoiced greatly and agreed
to accept the synodical letter, and declared that the two churches should be one, and that
the two patriarchs should be of one spirit, and a lamp illuminating the orthodox. So the
blessed Athanasius arose, and took with him five bishops, excellent and learned, and
journeyed in a ship to Alexandria. But when they arrived, they were informed that the
Father Anastasius was in the monasteries; and therefore they went out to him. Then, when
he heard that the patriarch of Antioch had come to him, he assembled the bishops and
priests and monks, and arose in great humility, and went out on foot, until he met him,
with chants and hymns and joy and gladness. And they entered together into the monastery
which is on the sea-shore, to the north-east of the monasteries, and there they sat in
peace and joy.

6 And the Father Anastasius sent at once and summoned all the clergy of Alexandria, that
they might be present at the meeting of the fathers, and might celebrate the liturgy with
them, and communicate of the Holy Mysteries. And Athanasius pronounced at that assembly a
wonderful discourse, full of wisdom, so that everyone who was present marvelled; and at
the end he said: “At this hour, O my friends, we must take the harp of David, and sing
with the voice of the psalm saying: Mercy and truth have met together; Athanasius and
Anastasius have kissed one another. The truth has appeared from the land of Egypt, and
righteousness has arisen from the East. Egypt and Syria have become one in doctrine;
Alexandria and Antioch have become one Church, one virgin-bride of one pure and chaste
bridegroom, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten Son, the Word of the Father”.

7 And the Father Athanasius remained with the Father Anastasius for one month, while they
meditated together upon the holy scriptures and profitable doctrines, speaking of these
matters and discussing them. Then Athanasius returned to his province in peace and great
honour; and from that day there has been agreement between the see of Antioch and the see
of Alexandria to this day. And the Father Anastasius provided for the affairs of the
Church with assiduity, and for spiritual learning, for the Lord granted him tranquillity.
And from the first year that he sat upon the throne, he began from the first of the
letters of the alphabet, and made each successive letter the first letter of that which he
wrote every year in a book, whether mystagogia, or synodical epistle, or systatic epistle,
or festal epistle, or homily. And he remained upon the throne, holding the orthodox faith,
for twelve years, during which he wrote twelve books.

8 And during the forty days of the Fast before Christmas, the Lord Christ, who longs for
those that believe in him, and who does wonders among his saints, looked upon him, and was
pleased to translate him to the land of those that live for ever. So he went to his rest
on the 22nd day of Kihak, in the year 330 of Diocletian, the slayer of the Righteous
Martyrs. May their intercessions be with us! Amen!

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — ANDRONICUS, THE THIRTY-SEVENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 616-622

1 When Anastasius went to his rest, they seated upon the throne a learned man, a deacon of
the church of the Angelion, a virgin and a scribe, whose name was Andronicus. He was very
rich, much inclined to almsgiving, a leader of the people, loving mercy, and incessant in
giving; and his family were leading people of the city, inasmuch as his cousin had been
appointed head of the council of Alexandria. Therefore on account of the power of his
authority and his eminence the heretics could not drive him out of Alexandria to the
monasteries, as had been done before him; but he resided in his cell at the church of the
Angelion, all his days. Now there had arisen in Persia a king named Chosroes, who
assembled a great host, and came with mighty power against the army of the Romans, and
destroyed them utterly, and annihilated them. He took possession of the land of the
Romans, and the land of Syria, and took captive the land of Palestine and Idumaea, and the
land of Egypt, and trod them down as the oxen tread the threshing-floor, and collected
their wealth and all that they had into his treasuries. And, on account of his love of
money, he would kill a man for one denarius, or for something worth three denarii; for he
had many subjects, and he knew not God, but worshipped the sun.

2 So when he took Egypt, and gained power, he made it his care to conquer the great city
of Alexandria. And there were at Henaton near that city six hundred flourishing
monasteries, like dovecotes; and the monks were independent, and insolent without fear,
through their great wealth; and they did deeds of mockery. But the army of the Persians
surrounded them on the west of the monasteries, and no place of refuge remained for them;
and so they were all slain with the sword, except a few of them, who hid themselves, and
so were safe. And all that was there of money and furniture was taken as plunder by the
Persians; and they wrecked the monasteries, which have remained in ruins to this day. 3
And when the news arrived at Alexandria, the inhabitants opened the gates of the city. And
the Persian governor, the leader of the war and lieutenant of king Chosroes, saw in his
dream at night a personage who said to him: “I have delivered up to thee this city and its
buildings and all that it contains. Therefore take heed that thou injure not the city, but
let not its inhabitants be left within it; for they are hypocrites in religion”. Now the
Persians call their leader in their own language Salar, which means “commander”; and it
was this Salar who built at Alexandria the palace which is called Tarâwus, the
interpretation of the name being “House of the Ring”, and it is now named Castle of the
Persians. So when he received authority over the people of Alexandria, he did in his
cunning as follows. He commanded all the young men in the city, from the age of eighteen
to fifty, to go out and receive twenty denarii each. So all the young men of the city
assembled, and their names were written down; while they thought that they would receive
the gift which he had promised them. And when he knew that all of them had come out, and
that not one of them was left within the city, he commanded his troops to surround them,
and slay them all with the sword. And the number of those that were thus slaughtered was
eighty thousand men.

4 And when the Salar had done this, he marched away to Upper Egypt. And there were in the
city of Niciu, which is also called Ibshadi, certain persons who gave him information
concerning the monks who lived on the mountains and in the caves, the number of whom was
seven hundred, and told him how they were enclosed within a fortified wall, and that their
deeds were reprehensible, on account of the greatness of their wealth. So when the Salar
heard this report of them, he sent his troops and surrounded them. And when the sun rose,
they entered and slew all of them with the sword, and not one of them remained. And this
Salar was the cause of many troubles, because he knew not God. But the time is too short
to recount his deeds. So when the patriarch Andronicus had accomplished six years in his
patriarchal office, and had suffered from this nation of the Persians, and seen all these
disasters, which he encountered and patiently endured, he went to his rest, and departed
to the Lord in perfect peace, holding fast to the right faith, the faith of his fathers,
on the 8th. of Tubah.


HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 1
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HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 1 continued

VOL. 1, PART 2 -- PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661 AD) — BENJAMIN I, THE THIRTY-EIGHTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 622-661

1 One year before the Father Andronicus died, there was a God-fearing and believing
brother, whose name was Benjamin, in a monastery called the Monastery of Canopus, who came
to it at that time and took refuge there with a holy old man whose name was Theonas. For
the Persians had not destroyed this monastery among the rest that they had wrecked,
because it lay to the north-east of the city, which Saitus was protecting. This brother
Benjamin was a native of the province of Al-Buhairah, and came from a hamlet called
Barshut. And he had longed after the monastic life and the practice of asceticism; and so
he left his parents and all that they had, for they were very rich, and departed to the
monastery, where the holy old man, Theonas, clothed him with the habit of the monastic
life, and brought him up in the fear of God; and he grew day by day until his holiness and
patience and self-restraint made great advances. And he learnt the scriptures by heart,
until what happened to Paul happened likewise to him; for the great one Paul was brought
up at Jerusalem with a man whose name was Gamaliel; and then his own assiduity and the
grace of the Lord Christ raised him, until he became many times more capable and more
excellent than his teacher. So also this Benjamin used to chastise himself by ascetic
practices, and took no sleep during the nights when there was an assembly in the church.
And he read especially in the Gospel of the Blessed John, for he learnt it by heart.

2 And on a certain night he saw in his dream a man in shining raiment standing by him, who
said to him: “Rejoice, O Benjamin, thou humble sheep, who art also the shepherd that shall
feed the reasonable flock of the Lord Christ.” So when he heard these words he was
troubled and vexed; but afterwards he rejoiced over the grace given to him from heaven;
and he rose hastily and told his Father Theonas; and the old man believed his words with
regard to this vision, but said to him: “Err not, my son; for Satan desires by this to
cause thee to perish through pride. Go now therefore, and watch over thyself, and fall not
by vainglory. For behold, I have spent fifty years in this convent without seeing any such
vision, nor has anyone ever told me that he has seen any such thing”. So Benjamin was
silent and accepted his teacher's words; and grace increased in him day by day, sent from
the God of glory; and all his words and actions were assisted by heaven. And the old man
Theonas, and all who knew Benjamin, were astonished at the grace of God which was upon
him, and thought that he was beside himself, until the old man Theonas took him, and went
to the Father Andronicus, the patriarch, and explained his circumstances to him. So he
said: “Bring him to me that I may hear him speak”. When Benjamin entered, he prostrated
himself before the Father Andronicus, the patriarch, who saw the grace of Christ which was
upon him, and asked him quietly to make known to him what he had witnessed; and Benjamin
confessed, and described the event to him; and the patriarch kept them both with him
during that night.

3 And when morning came, Theonas asked Andronicus to allow them to depart to their
monastery in peace. But the patriarch said to him: “As for thee, depart in peace; but the
Brother Benjamin henceforth belongs not to thee, for the Lord has elected him to be a
servant to himself”. And straightway he took Benjamin, and ordained him priest. And
Benjamin began to live with the patriarch, assisting him in ecclesiastical works, and in
his general administration. And Andronicus rejoiced exceedingly over him, and when his
death drew near, charged them that Benjamin should be patriarch after him; and so, when he
went to his rest, they made the aforesaid Benjamin patriarch upon the evangelical throne.
And the Persians remained rulers of Egypt and its provinces for six more years after that.
Then Heraclius, who had been chief of the patricians under Phocas, the misbelieving
emperor, succeeded him on the throne, and devoted himself to the task of fighting the
Persians. For by the grace of Christ, he marched against them, and slew Chosroes, their
misbelieving king, and ruined his city and made it a wilderness, and carried away its
wealth and captives in triumph to Constantinople. And when Heraclius obtained possession
of the land, he appointed governors in every place. And he sent a governor to the land of
Egypt, named Cyrus, to be prefect and patriarch at the same time.

4 So when Cyrus came to Alexandria, the angel of the Lord announced his coming to the
Father Benjamin, and bade him flee. For the angel said to him: “Flee thou and those that
are with thee here, for great troubles will come upon you. But take comfort, for this
conflict will last only ten years. And write to all the bishops who are within thy
diocese, that they may hide themselves until the wrath of the Lord pass”. So the Father
Benjamin, the confessor, the militant by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, settled the
affairs of the Church and put them in order, and gave injunctions to the clergy and laity,
and charged them to cleave to the right faith even unto death. Then he wrote to the rest
of the bishops of the province of Egypt, that they should hide themselves before the
coming temptation. 5 And after that he went forth by the road towards Mareotis, walking on
foot by night, accompanied by two of his disciples, until he came to Al-Munâ. Thence he
went to Wadi Habib. And the monks there were few in number, because it was only a short
time after the ruin which took place in the days of the patriarch Damian; and the Berbers
did not allow them to multiply there. Then Benjamin went forth from the monasteries in
Wadi Habib, and departed to Upper Egypt; and he remained hidden there in a small monastery
in the wilderness until the accomplishment of the ten years, as the angel of the Lord had
told him. These were the years during which Heraclius and the Colchian ruled over the land
of Egypt. And on account of the greatness of the trials and the straits and the affliction
which the Colchian brought down upon the orthodox, in order that they might enter into the
Chalcedonian faith, a countless number of them went astray, some of them through
persecution, and some by bribes and honours, and some by persuasion and deceit. So that
even Cyrus, bishop of Niciu, and Victor, bishop of the Faiyum, and many others denied the
orthodox faith, because they had not obeyed the injunctions of the blessed Father
Benjamin, and had not hidden themselves as the others did; for the Colchian caught them
with the fishing-line of his error, and so they went astray after the impure Chalcedonian
council.

6 And Heraclius seized the blessed Mennas, brother of the Father Benjamin, the patriarch,
and brought great trials upon him, and caused lighted torches to be held to his sides
until the fat of his body oozed forth and flowed upon the ground, and knocked out his
teeth because he confessed the faith; and finally commanded that a sack should be filled
with sand, and the holy Mennas placed within it, and drowned in the sea. For Heraclius the
misbeliever had charged them, saying: “If any one of them says that the council of
Chalcedon is true, let him go; but drown in the sea those that say it is erroneous and
false.” Therefore they did as the prince bade them, and cast Mennas into the sea. For they
took the sack, and conveyed him to a distance of seven bowshots from the land, and said to
him: “Say that the council of Chalcedon is good and not otherwise, and we will release
thee.” But Mennas would not do so. And they did this with him three times; and when he
refused they drowned him. Thus they were unable to vanquish this champion, Mennas, but he
conquered them by his Christian patience.

7 Then Heraclius appointed bishops throughout the land of Egypt, as far as the city of
Antinoe, and tried the inhabitants of Egypt with hard trials, and like a ravening wolf
devoured the reasonable flock, and was not satiated. And this blessed people who were thus
persecuted were the Theodosians. And in those days Heraclius saw a dream in which it was
said to him: “Verily there shall come against thee a circumcised nation, and they shall
vanquish thee and take possession of the land”. So Heraclius thought that they would be
the Jews, and accordingly gave orders that all the Jews and Samaritans should be baptized
in all the provinces which were under his dominion. But after a few days there appeared a
man of the Arabs, from the southern districts, that is to say, from Mecca or its
neighbourhood, whose name was Muhammad; and he brought back the worshippers of idols to
the knowledge of the One God, and bade them declare that Muhammad was his apostle; and his
nation were circumcised in the flesh, not by the law, and prayed towards the South,
turning towards a place which they called the Kaabah. And he took possession of Damascus
and Syria, and crossed the Jordan, and dammed it up. And the Lord abandoned the army of
the Romans before him, as a punishment for their corrupt faith, and because of the
anathemas uttered against them, on account of the council of Chalcedon, by the ancient
fathers.

8 When Heraclius saw this, he assembled all his troops from Egypt as far as the frontiers
of Aswan. And he continued for three years to pay to the Muslims the taxes which he had
demanded for the purpose of applying them to himself and all his troops; and they used to
call the tax the bakt, that is to say that it was a sum levied at so much a head. And this
went on until Heraclius had paid to the Muslims the greater part of his money; and many
people died through the troubles which they had endured. So when ten years were over of
the rule of Heraclius together with the Colchian, who sought for the patriarch Benjamin,
while he was fleeing from him from place to place, hiding himself in the fortified
churches, the prince of the Muslims sent an army to Egypt, under one of his trusty
companions, named Amr son of Al-Asi, in the year 357 of Diocletian, the slayer of the
martyrs. And this army of Islam came down into Egypt in great force, on the twelfth day of
Baunah, which is the sixth of June, according to the months of the Romans.

9 Now the commander Amr had destroyed the fort, and burnt the boats with fire, and
defeated the Romans, and taken possession of part of the country. For he had first arrived
by the desert; and the horsemen took the road through the mountains, until they arrived at
a fortress built of stone, between Upper Egypt and the Delta, called Babylon. So they
pitched their tents there, until they were prepared to fight the Romans, and make war
against them; and afterwards they named that place, I mean the fortress, in their
language, Bâblun Al-Fustât; and that is its name to the present day. After fighting three
battles with the Romans, the Muslims conquered them. So when the chief men of the city saw
these things, they went to Amr, and received a certificate of security for the city, that
it might not be plundered. This kind of treaty which Muhammad, the chief of the Arabs,
taught them, they called the Law; and he says with regard to it: “As for the province of
Egypt and any city that agrees with its inhabitants to pay the land-tax to you, and to
submit to your authority, make a treaty with them, and do them no injury. But plunder and
take as prisoners those that will not consent to this and resist you”. For this reason the
Muslims kept their hands off the province and its inhabitants, but destroyed the nation of
the Romans, and their general who was named Marianus. And those of the Romans who escaped
fled to Alexandria, and shut its gates upon the Arabs, and fortified themselves within the
city.

10 And in the year 360 of Diocletian, in the month of December, three years after Amr had
taken possession of Memphis, the Muslims captured the city of Alexandria, and destroyed
its walls, and burnt many churches with fire. And they burnt the church of Saint Mark,
which was built by the sea, where his body was laid; and this was the place to which the
father and patriarch, Peter the Martyr, went before his martyrdom, and blessed Saint Mark,
and committed to him his reasonable flock, as he had received it. So they burnt this place
and the monasteries around it. And at the burning of the said church a miracle took place
which the Lord performed; and that was that one of the captains of the ships, namely the
captain of the ship of the duke Sanutius, climbed over the wall and descended into the
church, and came to the shrine, where he found that the coverings had been taken, for the
plunderers thought that there was money in the chest. But when they found nothing there,
they took away the covering from the body of the holy Saint Mark, but his bones were left
in their place. So the captain of the ship put his hand into the shrine, and there he
found the head of the holy Mark, which he took. Then he returned to his ship secretly, and
told no one of it, and hid the head in the hold, among his baggage.

11 When Amr took full possession of the city of Alexandria, and settled its affairs, that
infidel, the governor of Alexandria, feared, he being both prefect and patriarch of the
city under the Romans, that Amr would kill him; therefore he sucked a poisoned signet-
ring, and died on the spot. But Sanutius, the believing duke, made known to Amr the
circumstances of that militant father, the patriarch Benjamin, and how he was a fugitive
from the Romans, through fear of them. Then Amr, son of Al-Asi, wrote to the provinces of
Egypt a letter, in which he said: “There is protection and security for the place where
Benjamin, the patriarch of the Coptic Christians is, and peace from God; therefore let him
come forth secure and tranquil, and administer the affairs of his Church, and the
government of his nation”. Therefore when the holy Benjamin heard this, he returned to
Alexandria with great joy, wearing the crown of patience and sore conflict which had
befallen the orthodox people through their persecution by the heretics, after having been
absent during thirteen years, ten of which were years of Heraclius, the misbelieving
Roman, with the three years before the Muslims conquered Alexandria. When Benjamin
appeared, the people and the whole city rejoiced, and made his arrival known to Sanutius,
the duke who believed in Christ, who had settled with the commander Amr that the patriarch
should return, and had received a safe-conduct from Amr for him.

12 Thereupon Sanutius went to the commander and announced that the patriarch had arrived,
and Amr gave orders that Benjamin should be brought before him with honour and veneration
and love. And Amr, when he saw the patriarch, received him with respect, and said to his
companions and private friends: “Verily in all the lands of which we have taken possession
hitherto I have never seen a man of God like this man”. For the Father Benjamin was
beautiful of countenance, excellent in speech, discoursing with calmness and dignity. 13
Then Amr turned to him, and said to him: “Resume the government of all thy churches and of
thy people, and administer their affairs. And if thou wilt pray for me, that I may go to
the West and to Pentapolis, and take possession of them, as I have of Egypt, and return to
thee in safety and speedily, I will do for thee all that thou shalt ask of me.” Then the
holy Benjamin prayed for Amr, and pronounced an eloquent discourse, which made Amr and
those present with him marvel, and which contained words of exhortation and much profit
for those that heard him; and he revealed certain matters to Amr, and departed from his
presence honoured and revered. And all that the blessed father said to the commander Amr,
son of Al-Asi, he found true, and not a letter of it was unfulfilled. Thus when this
spiritual father, Benjamin the patriarch, sat among his people a second time, by the grace
and mercy of Christ, the whole land of Egypt rejoiced over him; and he drew to himself
most of the people whom Heraclius, the heretical prince, had led astray; for he induced
them to return to the right faith by his gentleness, exhorting them with courtesy and
consolation. And many of those that had fled to the West and to Pentapolis, through fear
of Heraclius, the heretical prince, when they heard of the reappearance of their shepherd,
returned to him with joy, and obtained the confessor's crown. So likewise the bishops, who
had denied their faith, he invited to return to the orthodox creed; and some of them
returned with abundant tears; but the others would not return through shame before men,
that it should be known among them that they had denied the faith, and so they remained in
their misbelief until they died.

14 And after that, Amr and his troops marched away from Alexandria, and the Christ-loving
duke Sanutius marched with him. And on that night the father saw in his dream a man in
shining garments, clothed in the raiment of the disciples, who said to him: “O my beloved,
make a place for me with thee, that I may abide therein this day, for I love thy
dwelling.” Now the place, wherein the patriarch dwelt, was a pure habitation without
defilement, in a monastery called the Monastery of Metras, which was the episcopal
residence. For all the churches and monasteries which belonged to the virgins and monks
had been defiled by Heraclius the heretic, when he forced them to accept the faith of
Chalcedon, except this monastery alone; for the inmates of it were exceedingly powerful,
being Egyptians by race and all of them natives, without a stranger among them; and
therefore he could not incline their hearts towards him. For this reason, when the Father
Benjamin returned from Upper Egypt, he took up his residence with them, because they had
kept the orthodox faith, and had never deviated from it.

15 And when the ships, containing the provisions and booty of the troops, and the baggage
of the believing duke Sanutius and his companions, were about to set sail, his own
particular ship remained motionless, and could not be got under weigh. Therefore a great
crowd assembled near that ship, supposing that it had grounded, and fastened towing-ropes
to it, and pulled at it with all their might; and yet it did not move at all. So they went
to the duke, and made this known to him, for he was sailing with the commander. Then the
duke was greatly astonished; and he anchored the ship in which the commander Amr was, and
returned accompanied by many people, and when he arrived at the ship, he saw by it an
innumerable crowd of men who were unable to move it. So he said to them: “Turn the prow of
this ship to the city.” And when they turned it round as if to enter the city, it sped
towards it like an arrow. Then the duke said to them: “Draw it outwards,” So they drew it
until it arrived at its former position, and then it stood still and motionless. Then they
turned the ship inwards again, and it sped; and they drew it outwards again, and it stood
still. This happened three times.

16 Then the duke said to the captain of the ship: “Bring up to me the baggage of the
sailors, that I may search among it, so that I may see what it is, and discover the cause
which has forced this ship to stand still alone of all these ships”. Then the captain who
had taken the head of the holy Mark, the evangelist, was afraid, and threw himself at the
feet of the duke, and confessed to him what he had done, and that the head was hidden
among his baggage. So they brought up his baggage from the hold, and found the head among
it. 17 Then they went in haste and made known to the Father Benjamin exactly what had
taken place. So he mounted his horse at once, and took with him a body of the clergy, and
came to the duke, and related to him the dream which he had seen that night; and thereupon
they all said: “Truly this is the head of the holy Mark the evangelist”. And as soon as
the patriarch Benjamin came to the ship and took the pure head, and so released the ship,
it got under sail at once and departed in a straight course. So he and the duke and all
the people knew the truth of the story, and bore witness to this miracle, and glorified
God. And the duke gave to the patriarch much money, and said to him: “Rebuild the church
of the holy Mark, and pray to him for safety for us”. And the Father Patriarch returned to
the city, carrying the head in his bosom, and the clergy went before him, with chanting
and singing, as befitted the reception of that sacred and glorious head. And he made a
chest of teak wood with a padlock upon it, and placed the head therein; and he waited for
a time in which he might find means to build a church.

18 And his care was bestowed night and clay upon the conversion of those members of the
Church who had been separated from her in the days of Heraclius; and no other business
made him neglect that; for he was filled with faith and the Holy Ghost; and the grace of
the Holy Ghost, which was with Athanasius the Apostolic, was with him in his words and in
his deeds; and, through his agency and through his prayers, the Lord shewed mercy to his
people. By his intercession began the rebuilding of the monasteries of Wadi Habib and of
Al-Munâ; and the good works of the orthodox grew and increased, and the people rejoiced
like young calves, when their halters are unfastened and they are set free to be nourished
by their mothers' milk. When Amr returned to Egypt, he departed thence once more to the
army of the prince of the Muslims; and a man named Abd Allah, son of Sa'd, was sent to
Egypt instead of him. This man arrived, accompanied by many people; and, as he was a lover
of money, he collected wealth for himself in Egypt; and he was the first who built the
Divan at Misr, and commanded that all the taxes of the country should be regulated there.

19 And in the days of Abd Allah, son of Sa'd, a great dearth took place, the like of which
had not been seen from the time of Claudius the unbeliever up to his time. For all the
inhabitants of Upper Egypt came down to the Delta, in search of provisions; and the dead
were cast out into the streets and market-places, like fish which the water throws up on
the land, because they found none to bury them; and some of the people devoured human
flesh. And if the Lord had not been compassionate, through the multitude of his mercies
and the prayers of our Father Benjamin, the holy one, and speedily put an end to that
dearth, all the inhabitants in the land of Egypt would have perished; for every day there
died of the people countless myriads. But the Lord accepted the prayers of the patriarch,
and had mercy on his people, and satisfied them with his good things, and sought out his
heritage in his beneficence, as it is written: “The eyes of all look unto thee, hoping for
thee, that thou mayest give them their meat in its season; and when thou givest it them
they live and are satisfied with good things.”

20 Now the holy Benjamin had with him a man full of grace and wisdom, meek like a dove,
whose name was Agathon; and he was a priest in the church, and was a native of Mareotis.
And he used to disguise himself at Alexandria in the days of Heraclius in the garb of a
layman, and went about at night, comforting the orthodox who were concealing themselves
there, and settling their affairs, and giving them of the Holy Mysteries. And if it was in
the daytime, he carried on his shoulder a basket containing carpenters' tools, and
pretended to be a carpenter, that the heretics might not hinder him, and that so he might
find a means of entering the houses or lodgings of the orthodox, that he might give them
of the Mysteries, and encourage them to patience, and console them. And so he remained ten
years until the time of the appearance of the Muslims. Then, when the blessed Benjamin
returned to his see in peace, he adopted Agathon as his son in the administration of the
holy Church.

21 Then the blessed Father Benjamin was attacked by a disease in his feet, besides the old
age which had come upon him. And he remained thus sick for two years, until the saints
prayed for him that God would release him from the prison of this world, so full of
sadness, and would bring him to them in the place wherein is no sadness nor sorrow, but
which is full of joy, in the land of the living. And God accepted their prayers, and sent
to Benjamin three personages, namely Athanasius the Apostolic, and Severus and Theodosius
the patriarchs, who were present at his death, and went before his holy soul, while the
holy angels bore it on their pure wings, ascending with it to heaven with glory and
honour, with the voices of praise and glorification preceding it, until it reached the
land of the saints, as the bridegroom enters his chamber, or the king his palace. So he
departed to Christ his king, after finishing his conflict, and accomplishing his course,
and keeping his faith, without losing one of his flock, on the 8th of Tubah, when he had
been patriarch thirty-nine years, keeping the faith, wearing the crown of exile, which he
received from the Lord Christ, to whom be glory with the merciful Father and the Holy
Ghost, the Giver of Life. Amen. Abba Agathon says: “Those whose thoughts are in heaven are
enlightened by the glory of God, who is the Father of Light;

22 and the spiritual love of God is in them, as it is written: Taste and see that the Lord
is good. Such was the Father Benjamin, the patriarch, the teacher of the orthodox, who
understood the interpretation of the scriptures, and dwelt in the desert, and grasped many
mysteries; for he despised his body and cut off his desires, for the love of the Lord
Christ our God who is above all. And as for me, the sinner Agathon, I was the son of the
Father Benjamin, and knew much of his virtues through my intimacy with him. 23 And he told
me of the great mystery which he had seen manifestly at the consecration of the holy
sanctuary of the glorious father, Saint Macarius, in Wadi Habib, and of the canons and
rules which he had drawn up. And to that belongs the following account which he related to
me:

24 When I was in my city of Alexandria, having found a time of peace and deliverance from
persecution and from the warfare of the heretics, the festival of the Nativity of the Lord
Christ arrived on the 28th of Kihak, and we assembled in the church of the Pure Lady Mary,
the Mother of the Light, which is called the Porch of the Angels. And we offered many
prayers, in the presence of the clergy, and of the chief men of the city, and of all the
people old and young, to celebrate the praises of the Lady and Virgin, who brought forth
God the Word, the truly Incarnate in this world, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, to
whom is due glory with the Father and the Holy Ghost, the One God; and to observe at the
same time also the festival of the Lord Christ, the Only-begotten Son, who was incarnate
and was made man, and was born of the Pure Virgin at Bethlehem of Juda, one undivided
Christ. Then I saw certain monks of calm and dignified appearance, like angels, who had
entered into the midst of the congregation; and some of them were priests and some of them
were from the desert of the holy Macarius; but they could not reach me, on account of the
multitude of the people. So one of the priests came towards me, and made their entrance
known to me; therefore I said to him: I have seen them;

25 and I bade him go to them, and he invited them to come to me. When they approached me,
I enquired of them the cause of their coming so far. Then they said: We are come to thee
with the object of praying thy Paternity, with a prostration, for God's sake to undertake
the trouble of a journey to the monastery in the Holy Mountain, Wadi Habib, the home of
our father, Macarius the Great, in order to consecrate the new church which has been built
to him at the foot of the rock among the cells; because many of the old and sick inhabit
cells far away, which are near the water, and are wearied if they mount to the top of the
rock. Be gracious then to us, O our father, and endure the fatigue, that the fathers and
monks may receive thy blessing; for they all long to behold thy Holiness.

26 When I heard this, I said to them, in my poverty, with joy: Ah indeed may God make me
worthy of that task! So they waited until we had finished the festivities of that day, and
of its morrow, which is the 29th of Kihak, and of the third day of the feast. Then I said
to thee, O Agathon, and to Cosmas, the scribe, thy companion: Provide for us what we need
for the journey to Wadi Habib, that we may receive a blessing from the Father Macarius,
and from the brethren and monks. So we undertook this task; and we began our journey on
the second day of Tubah. And when we arrived at Tarûjah, the inhabitants thereof met us
with great joy. Then we reached the desert of Al-Munâ, which is that of Abba Isaac, near
the mountain of Barnûj; and the brethren who were there rejoiced greatly over us, and we
remained there two days, after which they took leave of us; but some of them accompanied
us to show us the way leading to the desert and to the mountain; and they were holy and
excellent men. So they brought us to the extremity of the desert of the mountain of
Nitria.

27 Then we turned to the Monastery of Baramus, or Maximus and Domitius, where we alighted
at the Church of the Holy Isidore; and we abode there one day. Then the brethren and monks
who had come to visit us in the city of Alexandria departed, and made our arrival known to
the monks of the Monastery of Saint Macarius, save two of their priests who remained with
us, together with the brethren who had accompanied us from Al-Munâ; and therefore some of
the monks came out to us. And on the 7th day of Tubah we visited the rest of the
monasteries, and received blessings from them. Finally we proceeded to the Monastery of
the holy Macarius. And when we drew near to it, the young monks met us with palm-branches
in their hands; and after them came old men, carrying smoking censers, and a body of the
clergy, chanting like angels, resembling those who came to meet the Lord Christ from
Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

28 And they began to give to my weakness that of which I was not worthy. And there was
with them the great teacher Basil, bishop of Niciu. So I glorified the Lord Christ because
he had counted me worthv once more to see this renowned desert, and these holy fathers and
brothers, and the manifestation of the orthodox faith; and had delivered me from the
persecution of the heretics, and saved my soul from the great dragon, the tyrant who drove
me away on account of the right faith; and had vouchsafed to me that I should behold my
children once more around me. Then all the monks, the priests and the brethren, went
before me until I entered the newly built church of Christ. There I seemed to enter
Paradise, the place of meeting of the angels, and the joy of the saints, and the abode of
rest for the just.

29 When the morrow arrived, the 8th day of Tubah, I said: Bring to me the priest Agathon,
who suffered with me for the faith, in the time of the troubles which came upon me, when
the Colchian, that enemy of the truth, attacked my weakness. So when thou earnest to me, I
said to thee: O my son, bring forth the books which are requisite for the consecration;
and accordingly thou didst bring them forth for me. Then we began the prayers; and with me
were Abba Basil, bishop of Niciu, and all the clergy surrounding me, and all the monks, as
thou sawest. At that time, while I was thus performing the rite of consecration, behold, I
saw an old man, with a great light and radiant brilliancy upon his face; and as I gazed
upon him and considered him, I said within myself: This man is fit to be made a bishop, to
rule over many people; and if the Lord be pleased, as soon as a see is vacant, I will set
him over it; for this person is a holy man, fit for that office. So, while I was thinking
of this, I saw a seraph with six wings, who appeared to me, and stood beside me. And he
said to me: O bishop, why art thou thinking of this old man? This is Saint Miacarius,
father of the patriarchs and bishops and monks who have lived in this desert; and he has
come for the consecration of this church.

30 Thereupon I was confounded before him, and considered him while he was standing among
his sons with great joy; and the voice of that seraph resounded in my ears, and I was
afraid of him. Then he said to me: If his sons walk in the straight way in which he
walked, then they will enter with him into the place of the king, and rejoice with him.
But he that breaks his commandments has no lot with him, but shall be driven out of the
flock and shall have no inheritance with him. 31 Then the holy Macarius said to him: Put
not thy seal, O my Lord, upon my sons with these words; for if a single grape be found in
a bunch, it shall not perish, because the blessing of God is in it; and so I also trust in
Christ, the Lover of my soul, that if he find among my children a single commandment kept,
namely the love of one another, or if they raise their eyes to heaven to the Lord Christ
even once every day, he will not forget them in his mercy, but will deliver them from the
punishment of eternal hell. For the Lord, the Lover of mankind, grants repentance to the
sinner, and desires not his death, in order that he may turn and repent, that so he may
receive him.

32 Thus when I heard the words of Saint Macarius to the seraph, I understood his love for
his children. For the interpretation of the name of the Father Macarius is the Blessed
one, honoured by God and man. He, the Father Macarius, the disciple of God the Lord, is
the net which gathers together of every kind for the kingdom of heaven. Then I said, so
that those that were near me might hear me: Blessed art thou, O Saint Macarius, and
blessed is thy order and blessed are thy children, since they deserve that thou shouldst
be a powerful intercessor for them before the judgment-seat of God our Lifegiver, when our
Ring and our God, Jesus Christ, shall come at his second appearing, to reward everyone
according to his works in truth. Thou, O Saint Macarius, art the great ark which carries
so many souls, and brings them into the harbour of safety and salvation, and thou art the
intercessor for us all. As David says in his psalm: Blessed is the man who hath not walked
in the counsel of hypocrites, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seats of the
scornful! Thou art indeed the champion and the prince! Blessed is the womb that carried
thee and brought thee forth into the world! Remember me, O thou true saint of God!

33 Then thou, O Agathon, didst say to me, and the bishop of Niciu said to me: To whom
speakest thou, O our father? So I said to you both: I am addressing Saint Macarius, the
father of this mountain. For there is a time to speak and a time to be silent. And I went
up to the sanctuary, and said the prayer over the chrism, and took it to anoint the holy
sanctuary. And I heard a voice saying: Observe, O bishop! So when I marked the sanctuary
with the chrism, I saw the hand of the Lord Christ, the Saviour, upon the walls, anointing
the sanctuary. Therefore great fear came upon me and trembling, such as thou sawest in me;
but thou and those present did not know the cause of it, nor what I had seen and heard.
Then I said, with the Father Jacob: Verily this is a dreadful place, and this is the house
of God in truth, and this is the gate of heaven, and the resting-place of the most High.”

34 Agathon the priest says: “At that time we had looked upon him, and he was like fire,
and his face shone with light; and not one of us could speak a word to him, but we were
confounded at him. Then the Father Benjamin said: This is the tabernacle of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And he walked round the sanctuary three times, saying
Alleluia. Then he chanted the eighty-third Psalm, saying: How lovely are thy tabernacles,
O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth and pineth after the dwelling-places of the Lord, thy
altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God. And he finished saying the psalm to the end.
35 Then, when he had completed the consecration of the dome, he went out into the body of
the church, to consecrate its walls and columns; and at the end he returned and sat in the
dome. And he said to us: I have been carried away to-day to the Paradise of the Lord of
Sabaoth, and I have heard voices that cannot be uttered nor conceived in the heart of man,
as the wise apostle Paul says. Believe me, my brethren, I have seen to-day the glory of
Christ filling this dome; and I beheld with my own sinful eyes the holy palm, the sublime
hand of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour, anointing the altar-board of this holy
sanctuary. I have witnessed to-day the seraphim and the angels and the archangels, and all
the holy hosts of the Most High, praising the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost in
this dome. And I saw the father of the patriarchs and bishops and doctors of the orthodox
Church, standing among us here in the midst of the brethren, his sons, with joy, ---- I
mean the Father Macarius the Great. Truly this sanctuary is beneath the throne of the
Almighty. This sanctuary is that which Isaias the prophet describes, when he says: There
shall be an altar to God in the land of Egypt, and a platform, and five towns that speak
the language of Chanaan.

36 Arise now, my children, and let us finish the liturgy, and obtain the blessing of the
fathers, and glorify God most High”. 37 Agathon the priest says: “The patriarch continued
his narrative as follows. When I had finished the divine service and communicated the
clergy, I saw again a great grace which I must not hide from thee. For when the old men
came up for communion, I saw a vapour of incense ascending like perfume from their mouths,
so that I thought that each one of those fathers and monks carried incense when he came up
to communion. Then the roof of the church opened, and that perfume ascended from it. And I
observed their mouths as they prayed when they approached the Host, and I saw the words
and the incense which issued from their mouths ascending to heaven. So I was assured then
that it was their petitions and their prayers, which they uttered when they received the
Holy Mysteries, which are the Body and Blood of the pure Lord Jesus Christ. And I saw the
angels receiving those prayers of theirs, and carrying them up before the throne of the
Lord. And, on account of the power of their prayers and supplications, I thought: Verily
this is the golden candlestick holding the lamp; and this is the precious jewel; and this
is the morning-star which rises and shines upon the whole world. And I sang the hymn of
the three young men, Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, which they recited in the furnace of
burning fire: Blessed art thou O Lord, God of our fathers, and praised and glorified for
ever. And blessed in truth is the Lord, the God of these saints, by whom and by whose like
he directs the world. This is the meeting-place of the angels, and the harbour of all the
souls which flee to God, the Deliverer of all souls. Then I glorified and thanked the Lord
Jesus Christ, who made me worthy to witness what I saw.

38 And when I fell asleep that night, I saw standing before me a shining personage who
said to me: Awake, O bishop, and arise to set in order the canons of this church and this
sanctuary together; so that every one, whether priest or deacon, may guard himself in his
conduct therein in perfect patience and virtuous tranquillity, because Christ our Lord and
all his angels are here; and write these canons as a memorial for this holy church for
ever. For there will come a crooked generation who will love the praise of men more than
the glory of God, and they will trample down this holy place shamelessly and haughtily,
and will barter for gold the grace of the Holy Ghost which he gave to his people, and will
break the apostolic canons. For who can desire to have an inheritance in this holy place
who is without fear of the Lord and whose soul is not tried at the beginning? And the
glory of this holy and renowned and venerated place shall be changed by such, who shall
occupy as it were stalls for cattle at their entrance into it; for those who are of this
kind have hearts like the hearts of cattle, and neither read nor understand. All of them
go out of the way and become abominable; and their care is for their bellies, and their
glory is in shame; and they go upon their bellies like serpents, and swell, and bite men,
and are insolent, haters of their brethren, occupied with eating and drinking, as cattle
which have no understanding or their like; and the Apostolic Church separates them from
herself.

39 CANONS FOR THE MONASTERY OF SAINT MACARIUS. No priest shall ascend to this sanctuary
until he has put on his pallium first, before he carries the incense into the sanctuary.
[II]. No priest or deacon shall communicate therein until he has vested himself in the
epomis or a pallium. [III]. No priest or deacon shall speak in this holy dome any idle
words, nor sit therein to read any book. And he that shall break this canon shall be
anathema. [IV]. If any priest or monk shall enter into this dome, unless he be appointed
for the service of this sanctuary, let him be anathema. [V]. If any of the priests
belonging to this place bring a strange priest from Misr or an official into this dome and
holy tabernacle, for the sake of human glory, let him be anathema. [VI]. If any man shall
persist in entering into this holy dome, the Lord Jesus Christ shall cast him out.

40 [VII]. And if any man transgresses in order that he may have a lot in this holy place
by means of money or bribe, then let him, and everyone who assists him to enter it for the
sake of human glory, be degraded, especially if he be notorious for evil and pride. Know,
my brethren, that not one of these shall receive the lot of Jacob; and the power which
dwells in this place and in this holy sanctuaiy will not consent to any of these things.
But let a monk be humble, pure, peaceable, perfect in all the approved qualities, as the
Teacher Paul testified in what he said about this degree; for he says what is certain in
his glorious epistles. Then this shining personage, by whom I am unworthy to be addressed,
said to me: Thy departure, O Benjamin, from this world, which is the separation of thy
soul from thy body, will correspond to the day of the consecration of this church. And
thou shalt depart to the Lord Christ whom thou lovest, that thou mayest rest in the
heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the predestined, together with all the elect. So I said to
him: O my Lord, I trust that God may make me worthy of what thou sayest, and may receive
me, his sinful servant; and that I may go to him on the said day. And blessed be my Lord
Jesus Christ, the Lover of my soul and spirit, because his mercy is abundant towards me.
Thereupon the seraph disappeared from me.

41 And the patriarch Benjamin said to us: Think not, my brethren, that I have written
these anathemas for this generation. Nay, rather I have written them because there will
come another generation in the last times which will deserve what I have written,
according to that which the seraph announced to me, who talked with me. Therefore it
behoves every believer to beware of following the praise of men; but let him do what is
fitting for the glory of God, and love him with all his heart. And do thou my son Agathon,
the priest, write down for thyself the date of this consecration; and remind me of it
constantly and every day, that I may remember the words of the seraph on this day, that on
the same day will take place my departure from this world, it being the 8th of Tubah, on
which took place the consecration of the holy church in the name of the holy Macarius, our
father.

42 Now we will record another miracle which took place on the same day. There was in the
city of Niciu a great and eminent official, whose custom it was to enter at all times into
the holy monasteries in Wadi Habib; and accordingly he was present on the day of the
consecration of the church of Saint Macarius, accompanied by a son of his who was
afflicted by disease, in whom was manifested another great and conspicuous wonder, worked
by the blessed Father Macarius, who is the father of the holy mountain in Wadi Habib, and
the comforter of all the patriarchs and bishops and monks and teachers in the whole world;
for the odour of the incense of his works, and the beauty of his deeds have filled the
land, and his lamp illumines all that come to him. And it was the custom of this official
to come to the monastery always at the feasts of the Nativity and of the Baptism and of
Easter; and thus he was present on the day of the consecration together with his son, whom
he entrusted to the charge of a holy monk, with whom was a youth who served him. When the
consecration and the liturgy were finished, and the people had communicated, the son of
the official was sleeping in the holy church; and at that moment he cried out in his sleep
so that he frightened the people who were present with his cries. But that monk took
courage, and went up to the lad, and awoke him; and when he awoke, the congregation
observed him, and behold, he was healed, and seemed like a new creature on that day. So
they glorified God for this great miracle which had taken place.

43 The Father Benjamin, the patriarch, said: So when I had finished the communion, I
called the official, the father of the lad, and inquired of him concerning the
circumstances of his son, and he informed me of his sickness and all that had happened to
him. Then I called the lad and said to him: O my son, explain to me what thou sawest in
thy dream, and hide nothing of it from me. So the lad said: While I was sleeping, I saw a
tall old man with a light beard descending over his breast, and he squeezed my body with
his hands, so that I cried out with the pain. Then he grasped with his hand the edge of my
garment and drew it up over my head, and I saw all my disease and sores adhering to my
garment, and they were stripped off with it from my body. And he said to me: Be of good
courage, my son, for behold, thou art cured. So when this father and monk had finished, I
rose up healed. This is what happened to me, O my lord and father.

44 So I, Benjamin, beheld him with my eyes on that day, and he was healed; and I glorified
the Lord Jesus Christ, who showed to me his power and wonders by the hand of the holy
Saint Macarius, who heals souls and bodies by his intercession with God, and who is become
a harbour for the salvation of the world. Blessed therefore is the Mountain of Nitria,
which was worthy to be inhabited by Saint Macarius, the intercessor for us and for all who
visit him. O mountain in which is the mystery of God! O mountain on which are assembled
those elect ones who shine therein more brightly than the light of the sun by day, and
whose prayers ascend like a flaming fire! O mountain in which the spiritual fruit bears
thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold! O mountain which salts souls, and restores
them from sin, and purifies them by repentance, so that they are white like snow! Thou art
the true mountain on which are assembled the kings and the rich men and the poor, to serve
God there. Thou art the mountain of salt in truth, which salts souls that stank with sin
and iniquity. It is thou that hast made robbers into teachers and martyrs and saints.
Therefore may they pray now without weariness before our Lord Jesus Christ, that he may
strengthen us in the orthodox faith, in his illuminating Church, that all of us who are
baptized may exult at all times therein. And we pray him to deliver us from the
persecutions of those who rule over us, and from the wiles of the hunter and enemy of the
truth, Satan, the evil prince.

45 Glory and power and majesty be to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, now and
always and for ever and ever. Amen.” With the help of God is finished the first half of
the first part of the book of the Histories of the Patriarchs in the great city of
Alexandria, successors of Saint Mark the Evangelist. May God grant us the blessing of his
prayers and of their prayers! And their number is thirty-eight patriarchs. [Footnotes
moved to the end and renumbered] 1. 1. Eus., H. E., VII, 32; VIII, 13; IX, 6. ---- The
seven mss. collated for the preceding fasciculus have been consulted also for the present
one, the Paris ms. 4772 being here designated by the letter G. C. like E. contains an
abridged text. 2. 1. See the three versions of the Acts of St. Peter, published by
Baronius and afterwards Mai. Spicil. Rom., III, p. 673. Rome, 1840; Surius (25 Nov.); and
Combefis, Illustrium Christi Martyrum lecti Triumphi, etc. p. 189, Paris, 1660. The last
alone is in the original Greek, the others being Latin translations. Cf. Viteau (Greek
text), Passions des saints Ecaterine, Pierre d'Alex., etc., Paris, 1897; Bedjan (Syriac
version). Acta mart. et sanct., t. V, Paris. 1895, pp. 543-561; Hyvernat, Actes des
Martyrs, tirés des Mss. coptes, etc. Paris, 1886.

VOL. 1, PART 3 -- AGATHON TO MICHAEL I (766 AD) — AGATHON, THE THIRTY-NINTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 661-677

1 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, the one God. The second
division of the histories of the holy Church, consisting of six chapters and the lives of
fourteen patriarchs. Agathon was the son of the patriarch Benjamin in the spirit, not in
the flesh; and he is the thirty-ninth in the series of the patriarchs. When the great
champion and maintainer of the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and teacher of the orthodox
creed, Abba Benjamin, returned from banishment, and resumed his seat upon the evangelical
throne in the Church of God, he restored that which had been overthrown by Heraclius, and
by the impure Chalcedonian Council, in the person of Proterius. For this Father Abba
Benjamin reconstructed all things, and set them in order with the help of the Lord Christ,
the Good Shepherd, who gave his life for his sheep, according to his words in his pure
Gospel: “The Good Shepherd gives his life for his sheep”. So Benjamin walked in the
footsteps of his Lord, and carried his cross and followed him, and endured trials and woes
and great temptations till death for the right faith, but neither retreated nor turned
backwards in his conflict, until he had finished it; so that he received his reward with
the saints, his fathers, who preceded him. As David says in the Psalms: “Precious before
the Lord is the death of his pure ones”.

2 So the Father Benjamin died. And the faitful God-fearing people, by the command of the
Lord, took that God-fearing priest Agathon, and enthroned him as patriarch, according to
the agreement of his name with his actions; for he was good and his conduct was good,
adorned with every noble deed, full of the grace of the Holy Ghost and of the orthodox
faith. Now the Muslims were fighting against the Romans furiously. And the Romans had a
prince whose name was Tiberius, whom they had made their ruler, and who possessed many
islands. So the Muslims took the Romans captive, and carried them away from their own
country to a strange land. Thus with regard to Sicily and all its provinces, they took
possession of that island, and ravaged it, and brought the people captives to Egypt. And
this holy patriarch Agathon was sad at heart when he saw his fellow-Christians in the
hands of the Gentiles; and as the conquerors had offered many souls of them for sale, he
bought them and set them free. But they were followers of the impure and heretical sects,
known as the Gaianites, who do not communicate with the orthodox, and as the
Barsanuphians.

3 And Abba Agathon did not neglect to ordain bishops in every place, that they might bring
back the sheep which Satan had led astray to the Church of the Lord Christ. Therefore
Satan brought down upon him great trouble on account of his purity of heart and excellence
of character. 4 In those days Alexandria was governed by a man whose name was Theodore who
was a chief among a congregation of the Chalcedonians, and was an opponent of the orthodox
Theodosians. This man went to Damascus to the leader of the Muslims, whose name was Yazîd,
son of Mu'âwiyah, and received from him a diploma giving him authority over the people of
Alexandria and Maryût and all the neighbouring districts, and declaring that the governor
of Egypt had no jurisdiction over him; for he had given Yazîd much money. Then Theodore
returned and tyrannised over the father, Abba Agathon, and troubled him; not only
demanding of him the money which he was bound to pay, and taking from him thirty-six
denarii as poll-tax every year, on account of his disciples, but that which he spent upon
the sailors in the fleet he also exacted from him. And whenever he wanted funds he
required the patriarch to supply them. But the community of the Chalcedonians would not
associate with this man. The patriarch needed seven thousand denarii to satisfy the
demands of Theodore the Chalcedonian, besides the taxes upon his property, and was
prevented from leaving his cell by the governor's cruel hostility on account of his
orthodox faith, for he even issued a command, saying: “Whoever shall see the pope of the
Theodosians going out by night or by day, may stone him to death, and I will be
responsible for him”.

5 So the Father Agathon lay hid during the days of that impious official, praying for him
according to the injunction of the Gospel: “Love your enemies, bless those that curse
you”. In the days of Abba Agathon was built the church which was dedicated in the name of
the Father Macarius. And the brethren multiplied so that they built the cells near the
Marsh; and they increased by the grace of the Lord Christ, and the believing brethren
assisted them. In those days there appeared at the monastery a man, pure in body and clean
of heart, learned in the two kinds of wisdom, the ecclesiastical and the secular, whose
name was John, a native of Samannûd. While he was making a pilgrimage to the desert he was
attacked by a sore sickness, and none of the seniors believed that he would be healed.
Then one night he saw a dream as if one in human form giving forth light and in great
glory, sitting on the throne of the Seraphim and surrounded by a multitude, alighted near
the door of his cell. And he beheld a band of seniors, the holy fathers who live in the
desert, going forward to receive the blessing: of him that sat on the throne. And he said
in his own mind: “If I had some one who would take me, I also would go forward to this
great heavenly king, and receive his blessing, and then perchance I should recover from
this sickness and pain”.

6 At that moment there approached him one of those who had been standing around the throne
and him that sat upon it, a man clothed in the raiment of the patriarchs and apostles, and
holding upon his breast a book like the gospel; and he said: “Wilt thou that I bring thee
to our Lord that he may grant thee the grace of healing?” Then John prostrated himself
before that man with tears and prayed him saying: “Have pity on me, O my Lord, and take me
to him, for I am in great trouble”. So that holy one answered and said to him, for he was
a priest: “O John, tell me that, if thou shalt be healed by the Lord, thou wilt be a son
to me, and I will take thee to him”. And he promised him in the vision that he would be a
son to him until the day of his death; and that man took his hand and brought him to the
Saviour of the world. Thereupon John fell prostrate at his feet, and the Saviour said to
him: “O John, why love ye vanity, ye sons of men, and neglect the truth, and seek lies?

7 Behold, didst thou intend in coming hither to build for thyself a cell of clay which
will quickly disappear, or to lay up for thyself treasures in heaven, and erect for
thyself in the heavenly Jerusalem, the new city, a mansion which will not perish?” So he
fell at his feet and prayed to be forgiven. And the Lord raised him up and said to him:
“Now I grant thee the healing of thy sickness for the sake of Mark the Evangelist;
therefore depart, and do all that he bids thee”. Then the Lord ascended to heaven with
glory and majesty. 8 After that John awoke from his dream, healed of his sickness. And he
meditated, saying: “What is this that has now been done?” Then consolation descended upon
him from that day. And he went to a monastery in the province of the Faiyûm, accompanied
by his two disciples; and he concealed himself there. Subsequently there appeared to Abba
Agathon one who said to him: “Send to John the priest, who is of Samannûd, that he may
help thee and assist thee; for it is he that shall sit after thee upon the throne”.
Accordingly the patriarch despatched some of the clergy to the bishop of the Faiyûm, Abba
Mennas, and wrote bidding him send to him the priest John. Now that bishop loved John, and
profited by his discourse, but he could not contradict the Father Patriarch. So he sent
the messengers to John, and they brought him in a boat, and the bishop despatched him to
Alexandria.

9 When the patriarch saw John he rejoiced over him. because he was very wise; and
therefore he delivered to him his church, and gave him authority over it and over the
city. And some of the people prayed him to ordain John bishop over Upper Egypt, and others
suggested some other see. But God was reserving him for his gentleness like David, that he
might accomplish for him what had been promised in the vision in Wadî Habîb. And that true
father, Agathon, was occupied all his days in providing for the ordination of priests who
were worthy of the laying on of hands and were fall of the fear of God; while men thanked
God for his deeds. In his time lived the blessed bishop Gregory, bishop of Al-Kais, and a
Syrian, whose name was Joseph. In his days also appeared the foul heresy of the Monk.
There was a commander among the Muslims, whose name was Maslamah, and he called together
seven bishops, and sent them to Sakha on business connected with some people there, who
were alleged to have burnt with fire some of the clerks employed there. The bishops were
directed to try the accused; and, when they arrived at Sakha, they acted in concert with a
man who was a magistrate there, named Isaac, and they corrected the state of affairs; and
those men were healed from the burning. And the said Isaac came to an agreement with the
governor of Sakha, and together they prevailed over Theodore the Chalcedonian who was at
Alexandria. For this Isaac had received authority over the whole province on his account,
because of the harm that he had done to the patriarch.

10 Then the patriarch Agathon finished his days in a good old age, and at the end he fell
sick after remaining seventeen years upon his throne, and went to his rest on the 16th of
Babah. And his body was placed, as it is written in the history of Saint Macarius, with
the Father Benjamin. He died keeping the orthodox faith, and is now wearing the crown of
righteousness with all the saints in the land of the living for ever and ever. Amen.

VOL. 1, PART 3 -- AGATHON TO MICHAEL I (766 AD) — JOHN III, OF SAMANNUD, THE FORTIETH PATRIARCH. A. D. 677-686

1 When the holy father, Abba Agathon, went to his rest, Theodore the Chalcedonian laid his
hand on everything, so that they did not find even bread to eat on the day of the
patriarch's death; for he set his seal on all that belonged to Agathon, and on all that
they had. But at last the Lord took vengeance on Theodore by a sore plague in his vitals,
namely the disease of the dropsy; and he began to eat every day twelve pounds of bread and
twenty-four pounds of meat and two baskets of figs, and to drink daily one skin of wine of
Maryût; and yet neither his hunger nor his thirst was satisfied, nor was his belly filled.
Thus he died an evil death. And his son was appointed governor instead of him, and became
like a son to our father Abba John, for he had confidence in him and love for him. Thus
the Father Patriarch led him like a son. At the beginning of his occupation of the see
took place the slaying of Tiberius who was prince of Byzantium; and his son took the
empire, and his name was Augustus. And when this man began to reign, he made war upon the
coasts which the Muslims had taken, and recovered them. And he took many islands of which
the Muslims had gained possession, and so likewise he restored Sicily.

2 At that time there arose one who was no true monk in the city of Constantinople, whose
name was Maximus; and he stirred up disturbance and trouble in his country. For he said:
“If you truly believe in the faith of Chalcedon, then confess the doctrine of two Natures
and two Persons and two Hypostases and two Wills and two Velleities, which the council
taught.” So many people followed him; and there arose a great dispute between the two
parties. And Augustus the prince was angry with them, and sent this man who was no true
monk into exile. And this prince went to Sicily after a time, and was killed there like a
slaughtered victim by one of his two attendants. After him his son Justinian ruled the
empire instead of him, and he was a bold prince; and the fear of him fell upon the hearts
of the Muslims as when a lion leaps out upon a pack of wolves.

3 But in those days, after the death of Yazîd, the son of Mu'âwiyah, there arose from the
land of the Muslims a prince, whose name was Marwân, who rushed forth like a lion when he
comes out of his den hungry, and devours the rest or tramples them under foot. He took
possession of the East and of Fustât Misr. And he made his sons governors over all the
provinces. To the eldest of them, whose name was Abd al-Malik, he gave Damascus; and to
the second, Abd al-Azîz, he gave Egypt. And there was great enmity between Marwân and the
Egyptians, because they had set their hopes on the arrival of another man, whose name was
Ibn az-Zubair. But when he arrived, Marwân defeated him. And there were appointed for Abd
al-Azîz two secretaries, trustworthy and orthodox, whom he set over the whole of the land
of Egypt and Maryût and Marâkiyah and Pentapolis which is Libya. One of them was named
Athanasius, and he had three sons, and was a native of Edessa in the land of Syria; while
the other's name was Isaac, and he and his two sons were natives of Shubrâ Tani, of a good
and orthodox family.

4 And when Abd al-Azîz became governor of Egypt, the Father Patriarch wrote from
Alexandria to Misr to the two scribes who presided over his divan, to make known to them
what had been done concerning the seal, which was set upon all the places, and the trouble
with the misbelieving Chalcedonians from which he was suffering. Thereupon the said
scribes sent messengers to Alexandria with instructions that the seal should be broken in
the places named, and that all the property of the Church should be delivered to the
Father Patriarch. 5 Now this father was a saint, and the grace of God appeared in his face
as in Moses the prophet, so that none could look upon his face, nor discern its features
nor the sockets of his eyes, on account of the great light which was upon it. And the Lord
healed many of the sick through his prayers; and he was a virgin in soul and body; and he
lived in peace with all men. And his deeds and wonders were manifested, so that even the
prince and all in his palace heard of them, and sent gifts to him from Constantinople. And
in the first year that Abd al-Azîz became governor, he went to Alexandria, according to
the custom of those who were appointed governors, to receive its taxes, which were every
day a thousand denarii in cash. Then much money was sent to the prince of the Romans; and
there was a truce for ten years without war. When the governor arrived at the city, since
his entry was not public but private, the patriarch did not go forth to meet him, because
he did not know of his coming. Thereupon he was denounced by many people, misbelievers and
heretics, whose leader was a man named Theophanes, the husband of the sister of Theodore
the Chalcedonian; for they said that he did not go forth nor meet him on account of the
greatness of his pride and haughtiness, and his great wealth.

6 Then Abd al-Azîz sent in anger and summoned the blessed Abba John to the palace, and
made him stand before him, and said to him: “What is the cause of thy stiff-necked pride
and of thy delay in coming forth to meet me outside this city?” The blessed one answered
and said to him: “ God knows that I did not do this on account of stiffness of neck, but
on account of my weakness, and because I cannot always go forth from the city to another
place”. Then the Amir was angry and delivered him to certain officers until he should pay
a hundred thousand denarii; and he was received into custody by the governor of a castle,
who was named Samad, a man without mercy, hard of heart and full of evil. This man
received the patriarch on the first day of the Great Week before Easter; and took him and
brought him to his dwelling, to torment him until he should pay the money. Afterwards he
made him stand before him; and there were with the patriarch two men of good families,
namely Arâs the priest, steward of the property of the Church, a man of peace, adorned
with every excellence, famous for his gentleness among the inhabitants of the whole city,
and the deacon, his secretary, a wise man, loving his fellows, learned in the Scriptures,
and virtuous.

7 So when that evil man made our father, the patriarch, stand before him, he said to him:
“I require of thee one hundred thousand denarii, which the Amir commands thee to pay”. So
he answered and said to him calmly and quietly: “Thou demandest of me one hundred thousand
denarii, and I have not out of that sum one hundred thousand drachmae. But my God has not
put in his law a command that I should save anything for myself, or gain money at all, for
it is the root of all evil. Do therefore whatever it pleases thee to do. My body is in thy
hands, but my soul and body are both in the hands of my Lord Jesus Christ”. When the
misbeliever heard this, he was greatly indignant, and he gnashed with his teeth at the
saint, and commanded that a brazen vessel full of coals of fire should be brought, and his
feet placed in it until he should say that he would pay the money. But God, the ruler of
his servants, sent down that night upon the wife of the Amir Abd al-Azîz a sore sickness,
so that she was troubled and sent her eunuch to Samad, to say to him: “Take heed that thou
do no harm to that man of God, the patriarch, whom they have delivered to thee; for great
trials have befallen me on account of him this night”.

8 So Samad against his will released the patriarch, as well as his two good and excellent
sons, until the morrow, that he might take thought as to what he should do with him. 9
Then at the time of cock-crow Samad went to the Amir and had an interview with him, and
made known to him what had happened, and that he had not put the patriarch to the torture.
So the Amir said to him: “Beware of touching his body, because of what has befallen us
this night on his account. But whatever thou canst obtain from him, take it from him by
gentle means, and if that be impossible, yet do no harm to him, for God has revealed to me
that he is his servant”. 10 So Samad returned to his house. And it was now Tuesday in the
Great Week. So he summoned John, the holy patriarch, before him, and threatened him with
many threats, and brought him the garments of a Jew, and swore that if he would not pay
the sum of money that he had first required of him, he would clothe him with those
garments, and defile his face with ashes, and lead him round the whole city. But John was
not at all afraid, but kept saying to him with a brave heart: “Even if the Lord my God
does not save me from thy hand, yet thou hast no power to do aught to me except by his
command”. Then Samad the misbeliever said to him: “I will yield to thee fifty thousand
denarii; and thou shalt pay fifty thousand denarii; and I will release thee to negotiate
as thou canst, and raise that sum for me”. The saintly patriarch answered and said to him:
“The only things that I can dispose of are my garments which are upon my body”. After that
Samad did not cease to lower his demands until he reached ten thousand denarii. So the
patriarch said to him: “I will not promise what I cannot perform”. Then when the news came
to the secretaries who administered the affairs of Alexandria that the sum demanded had
come down to ten thousand denarii, they sent to Abba John and said to him: “Undertake to
pay the ten thousand denarii, and we will divide the debt among the bishops and the
secretaries and the divans in which we serve, so that nothing may happen to the Church”.

11 Then they went to Abd al-Azîz, and prayed him to summon the patriarch, and hear from
him what he had to say. And that day was the Great Thursday. So when the governor had sent
for him, and raised his eyes to him, he saw him as if he were in the similitude of an
angel of God. Then he commanded at once that an ample cushion should be brought for Abba
John; and when it was laid down, he sat upon it. And Abd al-Azîz said to him: “Knowest
thou not that the governor may not be thwarted?” The saint answered and said to him: “The
governor's command is obeyed in what is right, but his orders are disobeyed when they are
displeasing to God. For our Lord says in the Gospel: Fear not those that kill the body,
and have no power over the soul, but fear him who can destroy the soul and the body
together: that is to say God, who alone can do this” Then the Amir said to him: “Thy God
loves honesty and truth”. The patriarch replied: “My God is all truth, and there is no lie
in him; but he destroys all those that speak lies”. The Amir answered and said to him:
“Thou art honest with me. Therefore whatever the Christians shall give to thee, because I
demanded it of thee, give it to me, and I will require no more of thee”. So the
secretaries said to the patriarch: “Do this”. Accordingly the patriarch accepted that
proposal, and the Amir released him with honour and joy, while gladness and rejoicing were
spread among the orthodox, but sorrow and shame among the enemies of the Church.

12 And the blessed patriarch rode forth from the governor's palace, amid the acclamations
of the people, who walked before him, while he was mounted on his horse, with chanting and
singing, until he entered the church. There he blessed the basin of water, and washed the
feet of the people; and afterwards he celebrated the Liturgy, and carried the Holy
Mysteries, and communicated the people. Then he returned to his Cell, by the mercy and
help of God. Much shame and sorrow came to the heretics from this, and more to those who
had accused him than to any other, and especially to Theophanes the governor of Maryût.
For in those days the Amir arrested him suddenly, and delivered him to the secretary, who
sent him to prison, and afterwards put him to death after severe torments. And he went to
Hell. 13 God, the only worker of miracles, vouchsafed to the Father Patriarch acceptance
and favour with the Amir, who commanded throughout the city that none should address the
patriarch except with good words nor say any evil of him, and that none should hinder him
in what he desired, nor in going out of the city nor coming into it. Then the magistrates
and believing scribes and all the orthodox people found their opportunity, and assisted
Abba John, until he had paid the Amir the sum that he had finally demanded of him. And
after that they assisted him also in the rebuilding of the church of the glorious martyr
and evangelist Saint Mark; and he completed it in three years with every kind of
decoration, and bought for it house-property in Misr and in Maryût and in Alexandria. And
he built a mill to grind wheat into flour for making biscuit, and a press for linseed oil,
and many houses which he settled upon the church of the holy Saint Mark. And the Lord
blessed him in every way in his deeds and words. In his days also the orthodox received
into their community the people of Agharwah and the people of the Xoite nome, who had been
Chalcedonians. Thus the grace of Christ helped and strengthened him.

14 And he prayed the Lord to reveal to him who was fit to sit after him upon the throne.
So when he heard of a brother, named Isaac, learned, excellent, clothed with every virtue,
who was serving God in the monastery of the holy Saint Macarius in Wadî Habîb, and had
been spiritual son to a bishop, named Zacharias, full of the grace of the Holy Ghost in
his venerable character and dignity and humility and good deeds, then the holy patriarch
John wrote and summoned that brother to himself, and guarded him like the pupil of his
eye. And the brother Isaac was engaged in the works of God, and in writing and copying
books; but the patriarch notwithstanding that commanded him to become his partner in
administering the affairs of the Church. Then there came a dearth in the days of the holy
John, the said patriarch, which lasted three years; but God assisted this father in
supporting the poor of the city during three years; for, if he had not done so, they would
have perished in the famine. He gave them their food twice every week, and also gave them
money; and the mill for biscuit did not cease working night or day, but continued to grind
for those that were destitute.

15 And the patriarch's eye was full of affection, and he was great in charity, and used to
give alms as abundant as the sea; and he neglected nothing in his works which could please
God, like John the Evangelist. At last he was attacked by a disease in his feet, arising
from the gout, and he was greatly tormented by it, until the physicians treated him by the
advice of his family and of the brethren who surrounded him. 16 At that time Abd al-Azîz
journeyed to Misr, and Abba John travelled in company with him, until he arrived at the
capital. There the patriarch suffered from a sharp pain in his side; and when the Amir was
informed of it, he was sorry for him, and sent the secretaries to visit him; and they
prepared a boat for him, that he might return down the river to Alexandria. And the writer
of this history was with him, for he was his spiritual son. When he arrived at the city of
Alexandria, the news was brought to the assembly of the bishops that he was prostrate with
fever. So they entered to him. And there were in company with them Gregory, bishop of Al-
Kais, and Abba John, bishop of Niciu, and Abba James, bishop of Arwât, and Abba John,
bishop of Sakhâ, and Abba Theodore, bishop of Metelites, and a body of the laity: and they
were all sad because they saw their shepherd called from earth to heaven. For indeed none
remained in their generation like him in his deeds. And when he came to the church of the
holy Saint Mark the Evangelist, which he had rebuilt by the incomprehensible decrees of
God, they carried him and brought him into the great altar. Thereupon he stood up by the
power of the Spirit, and said the whole of the prayer of thanksgiving; and then he lost
consciousness. After that they carried him and brought him into his chamber; and so he
gave up his spirit into the hand of the Lord Christ in glory and honour.

17 The period during which he remained on the throne was nine years; and he went to his
rest on the first day of Kîhak. And his body was laid in the place which he had built for
himself before his death, in the church of Saint Mark the Apostle, with chanting and
praises ascending to God. To whom belong glory and honour and praise and majesty and power
for ever and ever. Amen.

VOL. 1, PART 3 -- AGATHON TO MICHAEL I (766 AD) — ISAAC, THE FORTY-FIRST PATRIARCH. A. D. 686-689

1 This is the father, Abba Isaac, of whom it was revealed to the father, Abba John, that
he should sit after him, by his prayers and wishes, according to what has been related
before. For the Scripture says that the Lord visits his chosen ones. And it says also:
“None shall take an honour by himself unless it be given him by the Lord from heaven”. And
it says in the Psalm: “Blessed is he whom thou choosest and receivest unto thee”. For when
Abba John departed to the Lord in good remembrance, the bishops assembled together under
the presidency of Gregory, the bishop of Al-Kais; and James, bishop of Arwât, and John,
bishop of Niciu, and a body of bishops and of the Christian laity took counsel with the
clergy of Alexandria, and associated with themselves the secretary who was commissioner
for the city; and they agreed that they should promote the deacon George, who was a native
of Sakhâ, to the dignity of patriarch, without consulting the Amir Abd al-Azîz. For they
said: “If he is angry with us or murmurs, we will tell him that Abba John, the patriarch,
commanded us that this man should sit in his place after his death, and made us promise
and swear to this, and so we could not oppose him”. Then they took the deacon George, and
ordained him priest, and clothed him with the monastic habit;

2 and they proclaimed in the church that on the morrow the patriarch would be consecrated,
forgetting the words of the Scripture: “The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to
nought, and maketh the thoughts of the people to be of no effect, and hindereth the
commands of princes”. And when the morrow came, they clothed the deacon George with the
vestment of the patriarchal office, and prepared what they needed, and brought him forth
in pomp. But while they were intent upon his consecration, they met the archdeacon of the
city, whose name was Mark, and who was a man of understanding, virtuous, and of high
reputation in the city; and he forbad them, saying: “If you will not come to the church on
Sunday, according to the custom prescribed by the canons, when all the people of the city
shall be assembled, I will not assist in the ordination of this man”. Now this was God's
command, that he might promote that man whom he had chosen at first, namely Abba Isaac,
the monk, who was a native of Shubrâ.

3 For when the morrow came, some of the attendants of the Amir arrived and said: “Where is
he whom they have appointed patriarch, and where are the bishops and the priests who
appointed him, that we may take them to Misr under our charge?” So they took them and
departed. Then, when they had enquired into the affair, they found that the documents bore
witness that it was not George of whom Abba John had spoken during his lifetime. So the
Amir Abd al-Azîz was angry, and cancelled George's nomination, and commanded them to
appoint Isaac. And the thing was from God. So the bishops took him, and ordained him, and
he sat upon the patriarchal throne for three years. And the Lord was with Abba Isaac
helping him, so that he repaired the Great Church of the Holy Mark, when its walls were
sloping in, and also renewed the episcopal residence. And by his means the liturgies in
the churches of the orthodox, where they could not be performed before, were restored. And
he built a church at Hulwân, because at that place he used to go to visit the Amir Abd al-
Azîz, who had commanded the magistrates of Upper Egypt and all the provinces to build,
each one of them for himself, a residence at the town of Hulwân.

4 In those days the patriarch addressed letters to the king of the Abyssinians and the
king of the Nubians, bidding them make peace together and praying that there might be no
ill will between them; and he wrote this on account of a dispute which there was between
the two. Thereupon certain intriguers seized the opportunity of slandering Abba Isaac
before Abd al-Azîz, who was greatly incensed, and sent his officers to bring him that he
might put him to death. But the secretaries wrote letters different from the patriarch's
letters, and gave them to the messengers whom he had sent to the Abyssinians, and took
those first letters from them, in fear for the patriarch. This they only did lest evil
should befall the Church. And before the patriarch was brought before the Amir, they
informed him that the messengers were there, and the letters with them. So he sent in
haste to seek them, and took the letters; and when he had perused them, he found nothing
in them of what had been told him. Thus his anger was pacified, and he sent at once, and
bade the patriarch return to Alexandria, and did not cause him again after this to come up
southwards.

5 Then he commanded to destroy all the crosses which were in the land of Egypt, even the
crosses of gold and silver. So the Christians in the land of Egypt were troubled. Moreover
he wrote certain inscriptions, and placed them on the doors of the churches at Misr and in
the Delta, saying in them: “Muhammad is the great Apostle of God, and Jesus also is the
Apostle of God. But verily God is not begotten and does not beget.” 6 Then the blessed one
went to his rest and departed to the Lord in peace, keeping the orthodox faith, and
wearing the crown of righteousness with all the Saints; and after his decease, his body
was put in the place which he had prepared in the church of Saint Mark, with chanting and
hymns. And the people and the priests took care as to whom they should promote after him
upon the throne of the patriarchate. And a dispute took place between the clergy of Saint
Mark the Evangelist and the clergy of the church of the Angelion in the city. For some
said with regard to John, the Hegumen in the Monastery of Az-Zajâj, which is called in
Greek To Enaton, that he was worthy of this office, because he was a learned man and a
writer, and he was also godfather to the government-secretary; but others spoke of a man,
whose name was Victor, Hegumen of the Monastery of Taposiris, who was also an excellent
person. When the people of the church of the Angelion were informed of John, they
rejoiced, and the secretary supported them, because it was the Great Church, and there
were one hundred and forty ecclesiastics attached to it. So Theodore, the magistrate of
the city of Alexandria, wrote for them to the Amir Abd al-Azîz, to inform him of John, the
Hegumen of the Monastery of Az-Zajâj; saying that the choice of the community had fallen
upon him, that he should be patriarch.

7 Now the period, during which our father, the patriarch Abba Isaac, remained on the
apostolic throne, was two years and nine months. And he went to his rest on the second day
of Hatûr, and departed to the Lord Christ, keeping the faith, and ruling his flock.
According to another copy, however, he is said to have remained in the patriarchal office
three years. May the Lord have mercy upon us by his prayers, and the prayers of all whose
works he approves! Amen.


HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 1
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HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 1 continued

VOL. 1, PART 3 -- AGATHON TO MICHAEL I (766 AD) — SIMON I, THE FORTY-SECOND PATRIARCH. A. D. 689-701

1 There was with Abba John in the monastery a holy man fearing God, excellent, learned
more than many in his generation, whose name was Simon, of the people of the East, whose
parents had brought him to Alexandria in his youth, and given him as an offering to the
Church like Samuel, for the sake of the body of the holy Saint Severus; for it lies in a
shrine in that monastery, and the Syrians used to bring to it gifts and votive offerings.
Then the aforesaid Theodore took Simon, who was then a deacon, at the beginning of the
days of Abba Agathon, and brought him to Abba John, that he might teach him the art of
writing, and the sections of the Scriptures. And by the grace of the Lord Christ who was
with him he learnt the Old Testament and much of the New in a short time, for Abba John
was excellent as a teacher. So, when Abba Agathon saw that Simon was good in his conduct,
he ordained him priest, so that he was the second in rank in the monastery, after his
spiritual father John. Then, in consequence of what has been related, the Amir wrote a
letter, and sent to summon John, whose spiritual son Simon travelled with him, besides
some of the clergy of Alexandria, and Theodore the magistrate in their company. When they
arrived, they gave the Amir their letter, containing the name of John: and so the Amir
wished to see him. And when the Amir saw John, his heart inclined towards him, because he
was a handsome person, beautiful in countenance. Then he asked the priests and bishops
concerning him, and they answered: “Yea, he is fit”.

2 But there happened on that day a wonderful thing, like the matter of Phares and Zara, or
like Adonias and Solomon, the sons of David. And this was that, after the appointment of
John had been confirmed, God raised up one of the bishops like Daniel at that time,
without collusion or consultation with anyone, and he said: “This man shall not be our
patriarch”. Thereupon silence and wonder fell upon all the people, so that none answered
him a syllable. So the Amir enquired: “Then who is fit, sayest thou?” Then the bishop said
in the presence of the assembly: “Simon is worthy of this degree”. So the Amir commanded
that Simon should be brought before him. And when he saw him, he asked them and said:
“Whence comes this man?” So it was told him: “He is a Syrian of the people of the East”.
When he learnt this, he said to the bishops: “Then can you not appoint one of your own
country?” And they answered him and said to him: “Verily the man whom we chose we brought
before thee; but the matter belongs to God, and in the second place to thee”. Then he
turned to the blessed Simon, and asked him whether he approved this venerable John as
patriarch.

3 And Simon gave his assent and said to him: “There is not found in the land of Egypt nor
in the East one who is as worthy as this man, and he is my spiritual father, and my master
from my youth; and his life is as the life of the angels”. So when the Amir heard this, he
marvelled greatly. And there was a great multitude assembled; and a shout was raised among
the magistrates and bishops and clergy, who cried: “May God prolong the life of the Amir
for us many years! Deliver the see to Simon, for he is worthy to be patriarch. As was Abba
Benjamin, so is Simon. Verily the Church supports them”. When the Amir looked at them, and
heard their words with regard to a foreigner whom they had not known at all for more than
two days, then he bade them with God's help take him and ordain him patriarch. And he
commanded the greater part of the bishops to travel in his company. Accordingly they
brought him to Alexandria, and enthroned him upon the apostolic throne in the Great
Church, called the Angelion. Thus the orthodox people had great joy and peace and unity in
the Church, and her affairs grew in prosperity day by day.

4 Then Abba Simon set his spiritual father John over the affairs of the Church, while he
devoted himself to the study of the holy Scriptures. And as long as John lived, the Father
Patriarch did not occupy himself with any of the affairs of the Church, but gave all that
up to John his father, in the same way that he used to do with him in the monastery,
obeying him and calling him “My Father”. Then Abba Simon wrote a synodical epistle to
Julian, patriarch of Antioch, at which the latter marvelled; and Simon sent it by certain
bishops, and in it he reminded Julian of unity, and that this one faith and unity were
between the two sees, Alexandria and Antioch. Then, when Julian studied it, he found it
full of the wisdom of God and of the spiritual books, and he rejoiced greatly; and he
preached in his church in the name of the father Abba Simon. He also wrote him an answer
to his synodical letter, and sent back his envoys with rich gifts to Egypt.

5 When Simon had continued three years, his father John went to his rest in peace, and was
counted worthy that the blessed Simon the Patriarch should lay his hand upon his eyes, and
even shroud him with his own hand. Thus he received his father's blessing and carried him
to the monastery, and buried him, and remained beside him forty days, until he had built a
tomb for him. And he laid his body in it, and made it large enough to contain his own
body, when he should die, that he might be buried with him therein. 6 Then there came to
Abba Simon a trial from God, who proves his elect and purifies them like one who purifies
pure silver from dross, so that they become like pure gold; and by the grace of the Lord
Christ he endured until he obtained the crown. For he was a man salted with salt, like the
salt of the Gospel, having no hypocrisy nor greediness of comfort or of meat or drink, but
during his whole life his breakfast was bread and crushed salt with cummin and purslain or
such like herbs, that he might weaken the force of his bodily appetites, and make the
flesh the servant of the spirit. He used not to associate with the bishops or clergy,
because he used to seek solitude so as to observe the times of prayer; and for this reason
he was hated by the people of Alexandria. Therefore some of the clergy went to certain
magicians, and gave them gold so that they made for them by their magic art a deadly
poison, which they put in the vessel in which the Father Simon, the patriarch, used to
drink, and brought it to him that he might take some of it. But he had communicated of the
Holy Mysteries before he drank of it, and therefore, when he swallowed it, it did not
injure him. Then those parricides did the same thing a second time, but it did not hurt
him nor do him injury.

7 So when the magicians saw this, they were amazed at what had happened to this saint.
Then indeed they took fair figs out of season, and put deadly poison in them, and charged
the priests, and said to them: “Give him these to eat, while he is fasting without food,
and has not made his communion, and then he will burst asunder in the midst”. So they
brought him the fruit with cunning and hypocrisy, and begged him and entreated him to eat
of them; and there were some who pointed them out to him, and induced him to swallow of
the poisoned figs. Accordingly his bowels were moved that night, and he remained forty
days in great anguish, so that every one thought his death inevitable. But the Lord who
gives life raised him up, and showed forth a miracle in him. And there appeared to him in
a vision one who said to him: “For what cause dost thou endure these trials?”

8 So when the Amir came to the city, he looked upon Abba Simon, and his appearance was
changed through that which had happened to him; and when the Amir asked the reason of this
change, he was told by the scribes that four of the priests had given the patriarch poison
to drink. Thereupon the Amir commanded that they should be burnt alive, and the magician
with them, outside the city, on the north side of it, in a place called Pharos. But when
they were about to burn them, the patriarch fell upon his face with many tears before the
Amir, and interceded with him for them, saying to him: “If anything happens to them on my
account, I must be suspended from my office, for it is not right that I should be
patriarch after that”. Then the Amir marvelled at the goodness of his acts, and commanded
that the ecclesiastics should be released, but that the magicians should be burnt alive on
account of their former deeds. So they were burnt in the fire.

9 After this, Abba Simon committed to Abba John, bishop of Niciu, the management of the
affairs of the monasteries, because he was conversant with the life of the monks, and knew
their rules; and he gave him authority over them. At this time the monks were
industriously rebuilding the cells, while the officials took charge of their maintenance.
Then, however, some of those who were given up to their appetites took a virgin out of her
monastery, and conveyed her to Wadî Habîb and committed sin with her secretly. When this
was made known among the monks, there was great distress among them, the like of which had
not been heard of in that place. So the bishop took the monk who had committed the sin,
and inflicted a painful beating upon him; and ten days after his punishment that monk
died. Then when the affair became known, all the bishops in the land of Egypt assembled in
secret and enquired of the bishop what had happened to the monk, so he informed them
concerning the event, and confessed that it was he who had beaten him; and therefore they
condemned him to be deposed, because he had transgressed the limit of what humanity
required in him. So they deposed him, and he was silent while they did so; and they had
said to him: “It is unlawful for thee henceforth to approach any of the vessels of the
sanctuary, but thou shalt receive the Mysteries like a mere monk”.

10 Then he cried and said to the people: “Since you have deposed me unjustly, the Lord,
the God whose name I know, shall make you all, O ye bishops, strangers to your sees until
the end of the time during which you have condemned me”. Then they appointed another man,
named Mennas, of the monastery of Saint Macarius, to be bishop in his stead; yet he was a
man held in honour, powerful in words, loving the brethren. 11 But after a few days the
saying of this holy bishop was fulfilled upon the bishops who assisted to depose him, and
upon all the bishops; for a calamity came upon them. There were at that time men who were
like the Gentiles, and abstained from their lawful wives, and took unlawful mistresses,
showing their subjection to their passions; and yet they said that they were Christians.
But the bishops rejected them, and repulsed them from the Holy Mysteries. So some of them
went to the Amir and said to him: “We are forbidden to marry, and they have cast us out so
that we are forced to commit fornication”. Then he was angry, and assembled the bishops
from their sees to Alexandria. Accordingly sixty-four bishops were gathered together, but
they knew not why they had come nor the cause of their meeting; and they used to pay their
respects to the Amir every week. And the heretics, who were no true bishops, also met
there, namely, Theophylact, a bishop of the Chalcedonians, and Theodore, who was one of
the Gaianite adherents of Eutyches; and of the followers of Barsanuphi there was George,
besides a number of others who were called bishops, and who had also been called together.

12 Then when it was Sunday, news came to the Amir that the army of the Romans had risen
against the prince Justinian, and deposed him, and had appointed Leontius instead of him.
So the governor at once commanded that the magistrates of every province should be
gathered together, and the people of Alexandria and the bishops and the Muslims, that he
might make known to them the disaster of the Romans. So a great multitude was then
gathered together, and they said: “It has always been the custom of. the Romans that one
prince is deposed and another takes his seat”. Then the Amir commanded on that day that
the Liturgies of the Christians should be forbidden. For the Muslims said that the
Christians were in error, giving God a wife and a son, and uttering many falsehoods in
their religion; and the Amir rebuked their want of agreement in the doctrines of religion.

13 Then he turned to Theodore the bishop, chief of the Gaianites, and said to him: “Of
these three bishops, which is nearest to thee, and whom does thy soul receive?” He
answered: “Abba Simon”. Then the Amir turned to Theophylact, the bishop, leader of the
Melkites, and said to him: “Which is nearest to thee, and whose religion preferrest thou?”
So he said: “I prefer the religion of Abba Simon.” Then Abd al-Azîz said to George, the
Barsanuphian: “Which is the nearest to thee of these bishops, and whom does thy soul
receive?” He replied: “My religion and the religion of Abba Simon are one, and it is he
whom my soul loves”. Then he turned lastly to the father, Abba Simon, the preacher of the
truth, and said: “Which of these is the nearest to thee, and the one whom thy soul loves?”
So he answered and proclaimed in the assembly in a loud voice, saying: “Not one of these
is near to me, nor do I love one of them, but I excommunicate by writing and by word of
mouth them and their vile doctrine and their fellowship; and those who favour them and
those who communicate with them I contemn as Jews”. Then the people cried with a great
voice, saying: “Abba Simon confesses the truth without error”. Thereupon those men were
overwhelmed with shame.

14 After this there came a priest from the people of the Indians to Abba Simon, to ask of
him that he would ordain for him a bishop for the Indians. Now the people of the Indians
were not subjects of the Muslims. So the patriarch said to the Indian priest: “I cannot
ordain a bishop for you without the command of the Amir, who is governor of the land of
Egypt. Go to him, and make thy need known to him. Then, if he bids me, I will do for thee
what thou requirest, and thou shalt return in peace to thy country with companions”. So
the priest went from the patriarch's house to go to the Amir. Then some of the Gaianites
met him. and took him to Theodore, the chief of the Phantasiasts. and told Theodore the
cause which had brought the priest from his country. Therefore Theodore said to him: “I
will do what thou needest for thee”. Then Theodore took a man of Maryût, and ordained him
bishop for him, and ordained two priests for him, and sent them away secretly to India.
But after they had travelled twenty days, the guardians of the roads, who were employed by
the Muslims, seized them, and sent them to the caliph, whose name was Abd al-Malik. The
Indian priest, however, escaped, and returned to Egypt; but they brought the three others
bound to Abd al-Malik.

15 And when the caliph knew that they were of the land of Egypt, and from Maryût, and were
travelling to a foreign country, he cut off their hands and feet, which he sent to Egypt,
to Abd al-Azîz, to whom he wrote, reproaching him with incapacity, and saying: “It seems
that thou knowest not what takes place in thine own country, namely that the patriarch of
the Christians, who lives at Alexandria, has sent information of the affairs of Egypt to
India. Now, when thou readest this letter, thou must inflict upon him two hundred stripes,
and take from him one hundred thousand dinars, and send the money to us forthwith by the
envoys who come to thee, without delay”. 16 Now the patriarch, Abba Simon, was at that
time at Hulwân, accompanied by a bishop. When the letters came to the Amir from his
brother at the second hour of the night, he sent some Slavonians and summoned the holy
Abba Simon, and his two spiritual sons, that is to say, his scribes. And the Amir said to
him: “Fear God, and take heed of thyself, and let no lie come forth from thy mouth with
regard to that on which I shall question thee”. So the patriarch answered: “I fear my God,
and govern my soul in my conduct so that it may be saved by doing good at all times; and
as for lies, not only to-day, but during my whole life I have despised them, for they come
from Satan, the enemy of mankind. Thus I am ready either for death or life. With regard to
the truth as far as I know it, I will tell it before God and thy authority”. Then the
governor's anger blazed less furiously, and he said to him: “Didst thou indeed appoint a
man to the bishopric of the Indians?” So he answered and said to him: “There came to me a
priest from, their country, and requested this thing of me, but I sent him away, telling
him that, unless he would bring me an order from the Amir, I could not do this thing. Then
I wrote for him to the secretaries, that they might inform thee of his business;

17 and he left my house, when I was at Alexandria, and has not returned up to now”. When
the Amir heard these words, he imagined that the blessed one was afraid of death, and for
that reason concealed the truth; so he said to him: “Woe to thee! Behold the hands and
feet of thy friends, which the caliph has sent to me. And he commands also that I take
from thee one hundred thousand dinars, after inflicting upon thee five hundred stripes.
Thou hast concealed the truth, therefore I will destroy thee, and kill the bishops with
the sword, and pull down all the churches. Yet now this is my sure promise to thee. If
thou wilt tell me the truth, I will pay the money instead of thee from my own treasury,
and no harm shall befall thee from me. Now be honest with me”. 18 Now this was at night.
Then the holy man answered without fear and said to him: “It is the glory of the prince
that he love justice, and the lips that are moved in hatred shall be despised. And now, as
I think, if a voice came from heaven, bidding me deviate from the truth, I would say no
otherwise. But thou wilt not believe me because of what is between us with regard to the
coming of the letters to thee, concerning the people whose limbs were cut off, and the men
by whom they were cut. Yet now they and the letters will bear witness to me and show the
truth. So if I find grace before thee, write that the men may be sent to thee, that the
truth of the matter may be known from them and from the letters which were found intheir
hands, and that they may tell you who sent them. Then if anything appears which
contradicts my words, do what thou wilt”. But the Amir answered and said to him; “How
shall they bring hither men whose hands and feet are cut off? thou think that there is any
other patriarch of the Christians in the city of Alexandria besides thee? Why dost thou
dispute with me?” Then the holy man Simon answered and said to him: “I am pressed on every
side. Thou dost not accept the truth from me, but thou desirest to force me to accuse
myself of that which I have not done.

19 Yet by the love of God in thy heart grant me a delay of seven days, and thou shalt know
all that took place according to the truth”. So he said to him: “Perchance thou desirest
to flee or to kill thyself. But this monk, what is he in relation to thee?” The patriarch
replied: “He is my son”. The Amir enquired: “Hast thou confidence in him?” He answered:
“Yea he is as my own life”. So the Amir said to him: “As my brother did to the men who
were taken while they were travelling to India, so I will do to thee if thou dost not tell
me the truth”. The holy man answered and said: “Behold, we are before thee with God,
therefore do whatever thou wilt. For I have told thee already what took place with me”.
Then the Amir was silent for a time, and at length said: “I will grant thee a delay of
three days. Therefore depart, and beware what thou doest, and perchance God will let know
me the truth”.

20 So he went out from his presence and prayed to God humbly with tears, and begged him to
show the Amir his innocence of the charge which he laid against him in this matter. And at
sunset on the second day his spiritual son, the monk, looked towards the river bank, and
saw walking there that black Indian priest and monk, who had come to Abba Simon and asked
him to ordain a bishop for him, and who did not know anything of what had happened since
then, because he had been a fugitive. So he went to that Indian, and grasped him and
brought him to the holy patriarch, and said to him: “O my father, God has accepted thy
prayer, and exposed the unjust treatment that we suffered”. And he made known to the
patriarch that he had taken the Indian priest, and he brought him in. And the Indian told
Abba Simon what had taken place, and how Theodore the Gaianite had ordained for him a
bishop and priests. So when the morning of the third day came, he took him to the Amir,
guarding him and taking thought how to save him, and to save Theodore also from death.
When the Amir saw him, he said to him: “Perchance thou wilt now tell the truth without
lies”.

21 So the holy Simon answered him, after adoring God upon his face, and said: “The
authority of men comes from the authority of God, and he who exercises authority in this
world must be long-suffering, and willing like God most high to grant respites with
generosity. Now I desire that thou give the promise of God to me and to those present with
me in regard to this occurrence, that them wilt do them no harm, but wilt pardon them for
God's sake; and then the truth shall be made known to thy lordship”. So he gave him his
hand that he would do him no evil. Accordingly he brought before Abd al-Azîz the Indian
priest, who made known to him all that had happened, and that Simon was innocent of this
occurrence. When the Amir learnt this, he sent the Indian to prison, and commanded that
Theodore should be taken and crucified. And he thanked the holy man, Simon the patriarch,
and rejoiced over him, and acknowledged his honesty. He wrote also to Abd al-Malik, his
brother, to inform him of what had happened and that the patriarch of the Christians in
the city of Alexandria had nothing to do with this matter, but was innocent of it; and he
praised him to the caliph, and recounted his goodness and uprightness and chastity. And
Abd al-Azîz performed for Abba Simon what he had promised, by sparing for his sake
Theodore and the Indian priest; for he had learnt that there was no deceit in him.

22 And after three years Abd al-Azîz dismissed the bishops to their sees, and commanded
them to build two churches at Hulwân. And the bishops spent of their own means upon the
building of them; and the governor deputed Gregory, bishop of Al-Kais, to superintend the
building of them. Now the Amir loved building, and therefore he built Hulwân, and
constructed reservoirs there; likewise at Misr he built houses and market-places and
baths; and so he did in every town on the river from Misr to Alexandria. He commanded also
to dig the canal of Alexandria on the north of the city near the pool of Nicetas; and he
ordered that milestones should be set up along it as far as Alexandria. So also he did in
the city itself, for he restored her streets after they were ruined. For he made use of
men as Pharao did in his time; and there are many things which he did, but which this
biography has no room to relate, for fear of making it too long. Meanwhile this holy man
Simon was striving all his life to prevent difficulties between the Christians and the
Muslims, so that none might suffer loss through him. And through him the Lord used to show
his wonders. He had an oeconomus whom he entrusted with the care of the diaconicon, and
who was a priest, and in his charge was all that belonged to the church.

23 And the patriarch used to exhort him at all times and say to him: “O priest Mennas, see
that thou be not careless with regard to the church, in leaving in thy house a book or
anything that belongs to it, for otherwise trouble will come upon thee”. But Mennas was
not pleased with these warnings. And the Lord gave this priest no child, as he smote the
firstborn of Egypt in ancient times; yet though he thought of repentance he was not
converted. Then God sent down upon him suddenly a disease through which his tongue clove
to his palate, and his reason left him, and he used to bite his tongue while he was
sleeping upon his bed. And three men took him on account of what he did to himself, and
carried him to his house. And the Father Simon, the patriarch, was troubled about him and
about the property of the church, because it was in his charge, and no one besides him
knew the amount of it. So he remained awake, and prayed the Lord Jesus Christ to raise
Mennas up from this sickness for the sake of the church. Then when midnight came, news was
brought to the Father Patriarch that the priest Mennas was near death. So he sent his son
to him, and bade him ask his wife if he had said anything to her about the property of the
church;

24 but before the patriarch's messenger arrived at the house, there was heard the voice of
one crying that the priest was dead. And when he expired, they dressed him in the priestly
garments, and laid him on his bed, according to the custom of the Alexandrians, vested in
his liturgical vestments. Therefore when the patriarch's son came to the house in which
Mennas was laid out, with a great number of the clergy around him, because of his priestly
office and his rank, the brother bent over him to kiss him. And the priest sat up and
clasped his hands round his neck, and said: “God is the One, the God of the blessed Abba
Simon”. So when all those who were around him saw him, they fled in fear from that brother
whom he had embraced. Thereupon he said to him: “Be confident and of good courage, and be
patient, O priest Mennas”. Then he answered and said to him: “Through the prayers of my
Lord, the Father Patriarch Abba Simon, God has given me life a second time”. Then the
brother called the clergy and the rest of those who were in the town, and made known to
them that the priest Mennas had spoken; and the priest Mennas said to them as they stood
astonished and amazed: “Verily I died like all men who die, and two shining men led me
before the throne of Christ, the great and mighty King;

25 and I saw the fathers and patriarchs in their ranks, beginning with the Father Isaac
back to the Evangelist Saint Mark. And they reproved me saying: Why didst thou hide the
property of the church and all that belongs to it from our successor Abba Simon? Then I
was placed before Christ the King, and he said: Take him into outer darkness. And while
they were dragging me away, the holy patriarchs prostrated themselves before the Lord
Christ, saying with supplications: Have pity on our son, this servant, and release him
this time, because he has not given an account of the property of the Church, and this our
brother Simon is praying for him. Therefore Christ commanded that I should be brought back
a second time, and he said to me: Thus thou diest and art worthy of death, but for the
sake of our chosen one and vicar, Simon, I release thee this time. Yet if thou repentest
not and takest not heed to thyself, thou shalt return hither, and I will accept no prayers
on thy behalf”. Then Mennas arose and stood upright, and he had recovered from his
sickness. Afterwards he brought forth all the property of the church, and delivered it to
the holy Father Abba Simon; and the Father Patriarch delivered it to his spiritual son.
And Mennas remained with him to the time of his death in the fear of God.

26 And all the people glorified God, the doer of wonders among his saints, on account of
this great miracle. 27 Then the Father Patriarch, Abba Simon, chose spiritual men,
brilliant in their deeds, deeply learned in the scriptures and in wisdom and sciences, and
ordained them bishops over every place. And the first of these sons of his was the Father
Abba Zacharias, bishop of the city of Sakhâ; and he made Abba Ptolemy, the spiritual
brother who was his brother in the monastic life, bishop over the see of Upper Manûf. And
there are many others whose names are forgotten. These he ordained and distributed the
dioceses among them that they might feed the reasonable sheep. And he remained patriarch
nine years and a half. Then he fell ill on the day of Pentecost, and recognised that it
was a mortal sickness. So he said to his son: “Let us travel to the holy valley, Wadî
Habîb, that I may receive the blessing of the holy fathers and the monks; for I shall not
see them again after this time in the body”. So he went down from Hulwân, for he had gone
thither from Alexandria for the sake of the bishops, until he had dismissed them to their
dioceses. And he went down to Wadî Habîb, and received the blessing of the holy fathers,
the monks; and then he went on to Alexandria.

28 And he was removed by the incomprehensible decrees of God to the land of the living on
the 24th of Abîb, which corresponds to the 18th of July according to the Roman months, in
the year 416 of Diocletian, the unbelieving prince, the slayer of the Martyrs. And he bad
his sons lay his body in the Monastery of Az-Zajâj, in the place where the body of his
father John was laid. Accordingly the monks of the monasteries assembled together at
Henaton, until they had finished the prayers over him. And his body was lowered into his
tomb with hymns of worship and praise to the Lord Christ, to whom glory and honour are
due, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, the Giver of life, for ever and ever. Amen. 29
Here ends the sixteenth chapter wherein the History of the Fathers is completed, as far as
the life of Abba Simon, the forty-second patriarch. May God grant us the blessing of their
prayers! Hereafter will follow that which we have translated from the documents in the
Monastery of Saint Macarius, namely the history of ten patriarchs, from Michael the Last
to Sinuthius the First. We also translated in this monastery the lives of nine other
patriarchs, in the year 796 of the Martyrs. This is written by Apacyrus, the deacon, and
Michael, son of Apater, of Damanhur. Through the grace of God, which enabled us to find
the histories in the Monastery of Saint Macarius, with the help of the brother Theodore,
the steward, son of Paul, on Sunday the 6th of Ba'ûnah, in the year 797 of the Righteous
Martyrs. We have compared the manuscripts with one another, and found them corresponding
to what we copied; and so we assured ourselves of their authenticity.

VOL. 1, PART 3 -- AGATHON TO MICHAEL I (766 AD) — ALEXANDER II, THE FORTY-THIRD PATRIARCH. A. D. 705-730

1 We must now record the events which took place after the death of the glorious,
venerable, and blessed father, the good shepherd Abba Simon, who heard from the Lord Jesus
Christ the words: “ O thou faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over little, I will
set thee over much. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord”. When his death was made known to
the Amir Abd al-Azîz and to the scribes at Misr, these latter were afflicted with grief
and sadness because all the Christians had lost their shepherd, at a time of difficulty
and trials, caused by the civil governors. But the Lord Christ did not cease to govern the
Church. And Athanasius, the believer, was president of the Divân; and he protected the
interests of the churches. On this occasion he and the scribes went to the Amir with one
consent, and said to him: “The property of the Church at Alexandria obliges her to pay a
heavy tax. Therefore we pray thee to despatch the bishop Gregory to Alexandria, to watch
over the possessions of the Church and everything connected with it. So may God lengthen
thy life, O Amir!” Then Abd al-Azîz consented to what Athanasius asked for, and despatched
Gregory, bishop of Al-Kais, to Alexandria, and gave him authority over the property of the
churches and the establishment of the patriarch, with free power of administration; and
accordingly he wrote a decree for him to that effect. So Gregory took the decree and
departed.

2 And they began to take thought as to whom they should promote to be patriarch, in
accordance with their desire for a man known for wisdom and learning. So they waited three
years in this state, until it was the Lord's will; and at length the heart of the civil
governors was well disposed in this matter, after much supplication. Then by the will of
God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who knows whom he will choose from among the pure and chaste
and clean of heart, they brought forward the priest Alexander from the Monastery of Az-
Zajâj. He was a monk, a virgin, humble, without defect, learned in the Scriptures from ins
youth. And they brought Alexander to the Amir, who saw the grace in his face, and so
allowed them by the will of God to promote him to the patriarchal office. 3 So the
orthodox laity agreed together, in the presence of an assemblage of bishops and priests
and the secretaries of the divan. Then the Father Alexander was consecrated patriarch on
the festival of the holy Saint Mark, namely the last day of Barmudah, in the year 420 of
Diocletian. And the land of Egypt rejoiced greatly, and especially the orthodox, because
the Church had been left in solitude three years, and they were therein like orphans. And
the Lord was with the Father Alexander, making all his affairs easy, on account of his
humility and chastity and trust in the Lord alone as his ruler. Then when a short time had
passed, during which he remained in peace, Satan stirred up strife against the bishops, as
we will relate.

4 Abd al-Azîz, the governor of Egypt, had a son, the eldest of his sons, called Al-Asbagh,
and he thought that he would sit in the seat of government in his father's room when he
died. So he made him ruler over the whole country as wâli and receiver of the revenue, and
all ranks obeyed him with fear, because he was the Amir's son, and because of the
authority which he had given him. Now Al-Asbagh was a hater of the Christians, a shedder
of blood, a wicked man, like a fierce lion. At that time a deacon, named Benjamin, became
attached to him and grew intimate with him; and Al-Asbagh loved him more than all his
companions. And he treacherously revealed to Al-Asbagh the secrets of the Christians, and
even expounded the Gospel to him in Arabic as well as the books of alchemy. For Al-Asbagh
sought out books that they might be read to him, and so for instance he read the Festal
Epistles, in order that he might see whether the Muslims were insulted therein or not. And
he did not shrink from any cruelly that he could inflict upon the Christians. For as the
damned heretics were in the habit of calumniating the Christian monks and saving that they
did nothing but eat and drink, he sent one of his trusted friends, named Yezîd,
accompanied by another, and mutilated all the monks in all the provinces and in Wadî Habîb
and on Mount Jarâd and in other places. And he laid a poll-tax upon them of one dinar from
each individual, and commanded that they should make no more monks after those whom he
mutilated. Now this tax of the infidel Al-Asbagh was the first poll-tax paid by the monks.

5 After this, Al-Asbagh compelled the bishops of the provinces to furnish a sum of two
thousand dinars besides the taxes on their lands, and this sum they paid every year. And
he acted proudly, and compelled the people to pray as he bade them. And Benjamin, the monk
and deacon, was a worse enemy to the Christians than any other, and excited his friend to
every kind of persecution. So he forced many persons to become Muslims, among them being
Peter, governor of Upper Egypt, and his brother Theodore, and the son of Theophanes,
governor of Maryût, and a body of priests and laymen not to be numbered on account of
their multitude. But the Lord Jesus Christ did not long respite Al-Asbagh, and in a short
time hurried him out of the world, because he hated the Christian people. This took place
as follows. On the Saturday of Light he entered into the Monastery of Hulwân, and looked
at the pictures being carried in procession according to the rule. And there was a picture
of our Pure Lady Mary and of the Lord Christ in her lap; so when he looked at it and
considered it, he said to the bishops and to several people who were with him: “Who is
represented in this picture?” They answered: “This is Mary, the mother of Christ”.

6 Then he was moved with hatred against her, and filled his mouth with saliva, and spat in
her face, saying: “If I find an opportunity, I will root out the Christians from this
land. Who is Christ that you worship him as a God?” And that night God sent down vengeance
upon him. For in the morning he came to his father, and found him sitting, surrounded by a
body of Muslims and Christians. And the day was Easter Sunday. So Al-Asbagh sat down and
said to his father; “O my Lord, the devils have chastised me this night”. His father said
to him: “How, my son?” He replied: “I looked, and there was One sitting on a great throne,
exceedingly awful and terrible; and his face shone with light brighter than the rays of
the sun; and round him were thousands and tens of thousands bearing weapons, and their
garments were white as snow; and I and thou stood behind him, bound with iron chains. And
I asked one in a low voice: Who is this who has taken the government of the land of Egypt
from my father? He said to me: Hast thou not known him till now? So I asked him in the
dream: And who is he? Then he answered and said: This is Jesus Christ, the King of the
Christians, who is more glorious and higher than all the kings of the earth.

7 This is he whom thou didst mock, and in whose face thou didst spit. He shows thee thy
weakness in this dream, thou wretched one, together with thy father; and he shows thee his
glory and majesty”. And while he was saying this to me, behold, one of those bearing
weapons came to me, I being naked, and he struck me with a spear in my side, and did not
take it out again until I had given up my spirit to them; and they were the devils who
mocked me”. When his father heard this tale he was very sad. And the young man was
immediately seized with a violent fever, and was carried away forthwith; and they laid him
upon his bed, and he did not open his mouth after that, nor did he eat or drink. So at the
second hour of the night he died. And he was buried; and none could comfort his father
because of him. And after forty days his father also died, according to the dream which
his unbelieving son had seen.

8 When these things had happened, Athanasius, the believer and lover of Christ, went with
his sons to the sovereign prince Abd al-Malik at Damascus. But Abd al-Malik arrested
Athanasius there, and called him to account, and took from him all the gains that he had
acquired in Egypt since the collection of the taxes had been left to him. Then the prince
sent one of his sons, named Abd Allah, to govern the land of Egypt; and when he came to
Egypt, he also did evil deeds; and all the officials feared him on account of the deeds to
which Satan tempted him. For he made instruments with which to torture the people, and was
like a fierce wild beast; so that often when he sat at table men were put to death in his
presence, and perchance their blood spurted out into the dish from which he was eating,
and he took pleasure in that. In those days the blessed Alexander went forth, and
travelled to Misr to salute Abd Allah, according to the custom among patriarchs and
governors. But when Abd Allah saw him, he said: “What is this man?” They replied: “This is
the father and patriarch of all the Christians”. So he took him, and gave him over to one
of his chamberlains, to whom he said: “Humiliate him in whatever way thou wilt, until he
shall pay three thousand dinars”. So he took him, and he remained with him three days.

9 And the Christians continued to petition the governor that he would remit part of what
he had said, but he would not. And all the people in the country were in great distress on
this account; and great fear fell upon the bishops and monks on account of the money which
he tried to extort from the patriarch. So when George the deacon, a native of Dimru, saw
this, that Abd Allah would not set the patriarch free until he had received the money, he
went to him and said to him: “O our Lord, dost thou desire the life of the patriarch or
money?” He answered: “I wish for the money”. So the deacon George said to him: “Trust me
with him for the space of two months, that I may go down with him to the North, to beg for
him from the officials and Christians, and I will pay thee for him three thousand dinars”.
So the governor gave the patriarch up to him, and he went round the cities and villages
with him, and visited those who believed in Christ, until he had collected the money and
brought it to Misr. And he used to assemble to himself the bishops and principal men and
monks, and then mock them, and speak proudly with hard words, saying to them: “You are to
me like the Romans, and if a man slays one of you, God will pardon him, because you are
the enemies of God”.

10 And when he received from the people the taxes which they were accustomed to pay, he
demanded the double amount from them, requiring a dinar and two thirds from those who were
bound to pay one dinar, so that many churches were ruined for that cause; for he loved
money greatly. 11 Then Abd Allah commanded that of the youths of his country all those
should be gathered together that were twenty years old or under. So they went and
assembled together; and the leaders whom he appointed were two men, friends of his, named
Asim and Yazîd, and with them a body of officials; and they brought down great trials upon
the people, and many were killed on this account. And they branded the strangers whom they
found, on their hands and foreheads, and sent them to places which they did not know. Thus
there was trouble and confusion in the land. The governor also gave orders that no dead
man should be buried until they had paid the poll-tax for him; and he appointed a man
named Muhammad over this business, so that even the indigent, who could not buy bread,
were not buried when they died, except by his command. How great then were the sadness and
misery and sighing in the provinces of Lower and Upper Egypt on account of the deeds of
these men, until the Lord took vengeance suddenly on Abd Allah, after he had continued for
two years to do such deeds! For the Lord took away the life of his father, Abd al-Malik,
whose eldest son, named Al-Walîd, became ruler in his stead. When Al-Walîd took his seat
on the throne of the empire, he began to remove the provincial governors, and to nominate
others from among his friends. So he appointed as governor of Egypt one named Kurrah. But
that infidel Abd Allah did not know of this change; and while he was sitting in his
official residence, the governor appointed to replace him arrived unexpectedly, and took
his seat in his place. Thus great ignominy and shame came to him on this account.

12 And Kurrah brought down great trials upon the friends of Abd Allah, both Christians and
Muslims, and cast them into prisons where they remained for a year. And there was in his
days a man of the orthodox faith, named John, a native of Damirah, who had authority to
command or forbid. But Kurrah caused trials among the churches and the monks, as shall be
described. Meanwhile the Roman monarchy was like a game for children. For when the Romans
had deposed Justinian the prince, they made Leo their ruler in his place. But Leo was put
to death before he had completed the third year of his reign; and after him reigned
Apsimarus, who put many patricians to death at Constantinople; and he also killed the
patriarch. When Apsimarus came to the throne, he released many captives from his country,
and they returned to their own homes; and he provided each one with three dinars for the
expenses of the journey. After him reigned Philippicus. Then after two years Anastasius
was made prince of the Romans, and is still reigning. (N. B. By saying “still” the writer
means at the time of composing the history.)

13 Now the president of the divan of Alexandria in those days was Theodore; and there was
great hostility between him and the Father Patriarch, Alexander. For when Kurrah came to
Misr, the Father Patriarch went according to the custom to congratulate him on becoming
governor, and to salute him. But Kurrah arrested him on his arrival, and said to him:
“Thou must pay me a sum equal to that which Abd Allah, son of Abd al-Malik, took from
thee”. The Father Patriarch said to him: “Our Law bids us not to lay up treasure and not
to multiply gold or silver, but that we spend something day by day on account of what we
need for daily use and for the poor and the needy. Abd Allah acted as he did towards me
only through the calumnies of evil men, because of which he treated me unjustly and
exacted three thousand dinars from me. But he found none of that money in my possession,
so that he sent me out into the country like a beggar asking alms, until God gave me what
I needed; and even now I owe five hundred dinars. So whence shall I get anything?” Then
the Amir said to him: “Wilt thou swear to me then that thou hast no gold?” The patriarch
answered: “God has commanded us not to swear at all. Believe me therefore now that the
taxes on my property which must be paid are beyond my means, and God knows that I have no
gold”.

14 Then the Amir said: “These words will not avail. If thou must sell thine own flesh,
thou must pay me three thousand dinars, and if not, thou shalt not escape from my hand”.
So when he saw that he could not escape from him, he begged him to let him travel to Upper
Egypt, and whatever God allowed him to collect by the alms of the people he would send it
to him. Then Kurrah released him, and he went up to Upper Egypt, and went round the cities
and villages, and begged. And the Lord Jesus Christ healed many sick persons by his
prayers, and every one rejoiced in him, saying: “Since the time of the Father Benjamin we
have not seen a patriarch in Upper Egypt until this father”. But he suffered fatigue and
trouble and the miseries of travel, and at last Satan, who hates the good, did this thing
of which an account follows. There was a hermit, named Petubastes, who dwelt on a rock
with two monks, his sons. One day their father, the hermit, bade them clean out for him a
place away from the rock; and while they were clearing it and digging, they found five
brazen pots full of money in Roman coin. So they hid one of the pots, and showed the other
four to the hermit. So the old man said to them in his simplicity: “Is this all that you
found?” And when they said that it was all, he was glad at that.

15 Then he said to them: “The Lord has disposed this money for the Father Patriarch,
because he is required to pay what he does not possess”. Afterwards he sent to the
patriarch's steward, whose name was George the monk, and to his scribe, and summoned them
both, and delivered to them the four pots, and said to them; “Take these and give them to
the governor for the father Alexander, the patriarch ”. So they took the pots and went
away and buried them dishonestly. And the Father Patriarch was absent collecting money in
Upper Egypt. So the monks, the sons of the hermit, took the pot of money, and divided it
between themselves, and began to act impiously; for they abandoned the monastic life, and
bought fine raiment and maidservants. So the governor of the town and the clerk seized one
of them and said to him: “Whence hast thou this money?” And when he was chastised, and the
stripes caused him anguish, he said to them: “Promise me that you will do me no hurt, and
I will make everything known to you”. So they promised him, and he informed them of the
affair of the five pots, and that he and his comrade had taken one of them, and that the
other four pots were in the possession of the patriarch's steward and scribe.

16 Then they at once informed Kurrah of this, and he commanded that the patriarchal
residence should be shut, and all the vessels and gold and silver and books and cattle in
it seized. And he brought down great trials upon the friends of the patriarch, and took
the four pots of money, besides the vessels of the church and the goods found in the
patriarchal residence, and he sent to Upper Egypt, and summoned the patriarch, and was
minded to slay him because he had sworn that there was no gold in his possession. And when
he took from them the four pots, all the friends of the patriarch fled like the apostles
at that time. Then when they brought the patriarch before Kurrah. he gnashed his teeth
upon him and wished to slay him, but the Lord restrained him; so he loaded him with iron
fetters, and cast him into prison, where he remained seven days. Then after that he
compelled him to pay the three thousand dinars, and great trouble and distress came upon
him, until one thousand dinars were paid to him after two years; and many trials came to
the holy father, but he endured them patiently. Afterwards wicked people went and accused
him falsely of having men in his house, who coined dinars, and alleged that he possessed a
die for stamping coin.

17 And while he was sitting at the ninth hour of the day, on a certain day, breaking his
fast, and ignorant of what was to happen, before he knew anything, they had surrounded the
patriarchal residence, and the people of the city of Alexandria with the town-clerk, by
command of Kurrah, had seized the patriarch and his companions; and they threw him to the
ground, and beat his companions, who were tortured till their blood flowed on the ground,
and they almost died by the torture; and after all they found what they had accused him of
to be false. And they did not cease from these persecutions till the second day of Amshir,
in the year 430 of Diocletian. 18 Then after these persecutions which the father suffered,
the people and clergy of Alexandria rose against him, and demanded that he should pay them
some of the dues and church-rates on the third day of the Feast of Easter, but he had
nothing to give them. And he said to them: “O brethren, you have seen how we have been
robbed of all the property of the church, even of the cups in which the Pure Blood is
offered; so that we have been forced to make chalices of glass and patens of wood instead
of the gold and silver vessels, because Kurrah has robbed us of them”. But they reviled
him with many hard words, while he patiently endured their abuse, and prayed to the Lord
Christ, the chief shepherd, that he would receive his people from him and grant them
salvation.

19 And the Lord Jesus Christ did in his days wonderful things, because he cares for the
salvation of each one among men. For there was a man named John, an official, to whom God
gave favour with the governors. So he went to Kurrah and said to him: “It is right that
thou shouldst know that the taxes weigh heavily upon the monks and bishops in every place.
Here then is an easy matter, for some of them are rich; while others have not the means of
nourishment; and we know the state of all the Christians; if therefore thou thinkest fit
to set me over their affairs, I will collect the taxes”. So he set him over the bishops
and monks. And when Kurrah gave him authority, he said to him: “There are among them some
who do not believe in the faith of the Coptic Christians, and yet will not pray with the
Muslims. What then thinkest thou that I should do to them?” The governor answered: “Do to
them according to the law of the Christians, and take a double poll-tax from them”.
Accordingly John went out from before him, by the dispensation of God, and went first to
the diocese of Sa, which was his own diocese, where there were certain heretics, Gaianites
and Schematics, living without the blessing of God. He therefore put a stop to their foul
heresy, and baptized them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost,
enlightening them with the illumination of baptism;

20 and their souls were filled with joy. Then John went to Al-Munâ, where the bishop of
the diocese was Abba Hor, and baptized the monks there, after they had abjured their
heresy; and thus the Gaianites and the Barsanuphians, who were there, were led by him into
communion with the orthodox. When he left that place, he journeyed to Wadî Habîb, where
also the heresy of the Gaianites had existed during a hundred and seventy years, from the
time of the schism caused by Julian; and he brought them also back to the orthodox faith.
Thus he united all the churches in one body by the grace of the Lord Christ who helped
him; not only these, but those in every place in which he found roots of bitterness, that
is to say, foul heresies among the monks or others. For in the city of Banâ and Busir and
Samannûd and the neighbourhood, and at Rosetta and Damietta, the Lord rooted out their
false principles and cast them away; and he united the whole land of Egypt in one faith
with true agreement, and brought all the foul heresies to nought.

21 And the Amir Kurrah was a great lover of money; and whenever an official died, he
seized all his goods. Thus on the death of the chief of the Divân of Alexandria, and of
Apacyrus of Tinnis, who was a clerk, and of an innumerable multitude of officials at Misr,
he confiscated their property; and he even took away the endowments of the bishops. By
these means he added a hundred thousand dinars to the established revenue of the country.
And men began to flee from place to place with their wives and children, but no place
would harbour them because of the troubles and the exaction of taxes; and his tyranny was
greater than that of any of his predecessors. Then Kurrah appointed a man, named Abd al-
Azîz, of the city of Sakhâ, who collected the fugitives from every place, and brought them
back and bound them and punished them, and sent everyone to his own place; and the people
endured heavy trials. After this, God sent a great plague upon Egypt, and the number of
those who died daily was not known; but the majority of those who died were Muslims. At
last the plague entered the house of Kurrah, and his wives and his pages died; and he fled
from place to place in fear of death, until he finished the term allotted to him, and then
died suddenly a painful death.

22 Now Julian had been patriarch of Antioch, and had charge of the church from the days of
John, patriarch of Alexandria, to the days of the Father Alexander; but he had gone to his
rest, and departed to eternal happiness. So the bishops of the East assembled in order to
appoint his successor; but their prince, whose name was Al-Walîd, would not allow them to
do this. For he said: “I will not permit a patriarch to be appointed in my days”. And the
bishops were sad because of this; and therefore they took a God-fearing bishop, filled
with the grace of the Holy Ghost, named Elias, and seated him upon the throne in the
church of Antioch. And he wrote a synodical letter according to the law of the ancient
canons, and despatched it by a bishop, named Stephen, to the Father Patriarch Alexander,
because of the agreement between the two prelates. But the holy Alexander was visiting
various places, so the bishop found him in Wadî Habîb, and delivered to him the synodical
letter from the bishop Abba Elias, whom they had seated on the throne of Antioch. And
Alexander found the letter in accordance with the orthodox faith, and.

23 therefore he accepted it with joy, and summoned the chief men of the provinces, and
made known to them what had happened in the East, and how the prince had forbidden the
faithful to appoint a patriarch, but that the bishops had given the late patriarch a
successor, so that he might consecrate the bishops until the season of wrath should cease.
And a similar occurrence had happened in the time of Gregory Theologus and our Father
Theophilus with the Arians and Acacians, and the distress lasted until they called the
aforesaid Gregory to Constantinople, and the church was delivered to him. Therefore the
bishops of Egypt and the patriarch were consoled, and he wrote an answer to the synodical
letter, and gave it to Stephen and his companions; and Stephen departed in peace to his
own country. And when Theodore undertook the government of Alexandria in the reign of Al-
Walîd and in the days of the Father Alexander, there was there a physician, a native of
the city, named Onopes, which means Ass's face. When this man gained influence, he begged
the Amir to command Theodore to appoint him patriarch of Alexandria; and he was a Roman,
and a blasphemous Chalcedonian. The Amir accepted his petition; and a certain clerk named
Anastasius, a native of Alexandria, gave to the Amir a thousand dinars, and so induced him
to establish this false Chalcedonian patriarch in the city of Alexandria. And he opposed
the right faith and derided Abba Alexander, especially when he was enduring trials at that
time.

24 After that the people wished to depose the Chalcedonian, and rose against him; so he
fled, and went to the Father Alexander, and prayed him humbly, and begged to be excused
for what he had endured through him, and requested him to receive him into the orthodox
faith. Therefore Alexander received him with Christian charity, and obeyed the
commandments of God, who says: “If thou seest the ass of thine enemy lying under his
burden, turn not from him until thou hast raised him up”. And he did not cease to hold the
orthodox faith. 25 Then there arose trials in the Church, and a wicked edict was issued
that the coloured pillars and the marble which were in the churches should be taken away,
and they were all carried off. And the Father Patriarch was sad for the sake of his
church, because it became a ruin through that which was done with him. But in spite of
this he gave thanks to God, and was bravely patient. At that time two serious disasters
happened, in the year 431 of Diocletian, in the 13th year of the Indiction, on account of
our sins and our evil deeds. For after the death of Kurrah, Al-Walîd sent to Egypt as his
successor a governor named Usâmah. This man, when he arrived at Al-Fustât, demanded a
description of the boundaries of all the provinces, and wrote it down in Arabic; and he
was a man of great intelligence. Then, when he had begun this, there came a great dearth,
the like of which had not been heard of since the earliest ages; and more died in that
dearth than had died in the plague, for all the rich and the poor were threatened with
death. Afterwards a great abundance came, till wheat sank to twenty-five ardebbs for one
dinar. But after a short time the plague returned, and destroyed the people; and if the
Lord had not taken pity on those that remained of them on the earth, not one would have
survived.

26 And the Amir continued to do evil, while all the Muslims and Christians feared him. For
he commanded that no one should lodge a stranger in the churches or at inns or on the
wharfs, and the people were afraid of him and drove out the strangers that were in their
houses. And he commanded the monks not to make monks of those who came to them. Then he
mutilated the monks, and branded each one of them on his left hand, with a branding iron
in the form of a ring, that he might be known; adding the name of his church and his
monastery, without a cross, and with the date according to the era of Islam. Thus there
was, in the year 96 of the Hegira, trouble among the monks, and oppression of the
faithful. If they discovered a fugitive or one that had not been marked, they brought him
to the Amir, who ordered that one of his limbs should be cut off, so that he was lame for
life; and the number could not be counted of those whom he maimed for this cause. And he
shaved off the beards of many, and slew a great multitude, and put out the eyes of many
without mercy, and killed many under punishment with scourges. And out of love for money
he commanded the governors to put the people to death, and bring him their money;

27 and he wrote to them, saying: “I have delivered up to you the lives of the people,
therefore collect all the wealth that you can, from bishops or monks or churches or any of
the people, and bring stuffs and money and cattle and all that you find belonging to them,
and respect no one. And whatever place you visit, pillage it”. Accordingly the officials
laid the country waste, and carried off the columns and the woodwork, and sold what was
worth ten dinars for one dinar, until silver sank to thirty-five dirhems for a dinar, and
wheat to forty ardebbs for a dinar, and wine to forty wineskins for a dinar, and oil to a
hundred kists for a dinar. And everyone who possessed anything was afraid to show it, lest
he should be put to the torture; and through anguish and distress men were minded to sell
their own children. Yet when the Amir was informed of these things, his heart was not
softened, and he had no mercy, but increased in his wickedness. For he wrote and said:
“Wherever a man is found walking, or passing from one place to another, or disembarking
from a boat, or embarking, without a passport, he shall be arrested, and the contents of
the boat confiscated, and the boat burnt”. And if any Romans were found on the river, they
were brought to him; and some of them he slew, and others he impaled, and the hands and
feet of some he cut off.

28 At last the roads were made impassable, and no man could travel or sell or buy. The
fruits of the vineyards were wasted, and there was no one to buy them for a single dirhem,
because their owners remained within their houses for two months, awaiting the passport to
release them thence. If a mouse ate a man's passport, or if it were injured by water or
fire or any accident, whether part or the whole of it remained to his possession, if its
lettering were damaged, it could not be changed for a new one until he paid five dinars as
a fee for it, and then it could be changed for him. 29 Now there was a poor widow who
received a passport for her son, who was her only one and fatherless, and to whose labour
she trusted for her sustenance. So she departed from Alexandria to go to Aghrawah. But
when the young man went out to the river to drink water, a crocodile devoured him with the
passport which was fastened to him. And his mother wept and mourned for him, and then
returned to Alexandria, where she informed the unbelieving Amir of what had happened to
her; but he had no pity on her, and kept her prisoner until she paid ten dinars for the
passport, because she had entered the city without a passport. And she sold her garments
and all that she had, and went about begging, until she had paid the ten dinars. And
Satan, whom the Amir resembled in heart, suggested evil to him all day long. After this he
sent his officers to inquire into the state of the monasteries, and found there many monks
who had no mark of a ring on their hands; so some of them were beheaded, and some died
under the lash.

30 Then he nailed up the door of their church with iron nails, and demanded of them a
thousand dinars, and assembled the superiors of the monks, and tortured them, and required
a dinar from each one of them, And he said: “If you do not pay this, I will destroy the
churches, and turn them into ruins, and make you serve on board the ships of the fleet”.
So the seniors of the monks were troubled; and they longed for death, and knew not what to
do, and could only assemble in the churches, and pray, and humbly entreat the Lord Christ
in grief and sadness that he would have pity on them. At last the gracious and merciful
God heard their supplication, and delivered them suddenly; for Sulaiman, son of Abd al-
Malik, who was at that time the sovereign prince, died and was succeeded by Omar, son of
Abd al-Azîz who had been governor of Egypt. And by the will of the merciful God, Omar at
once sent a governor to Egypt, who fastened a mass of iron to the feet of Usâmah, the evil
one, and a block of wood to his hands, and put him in prison; and he was kept in darkness
until he should make up his mind concerning him. Then he took him, and brought him out
from Alexandria to Misr. But God took away his life on the way in a grievous and painful
manner, as he deserved.

31 Yet this Omar, son of Abd al-Azîz, though he did much good before men, acted ill before
God. He commanded that there should be no taxes upon the property of the church and the
bishops, and began to set the churches and bishops free from the impost on land; and he
abolished the new taxes, and rebuilt the ruined cities; and the Christians were in
security and prosperity, and so were the churches. But after that be began to do evil; for
he wrote a letter charged with sadness to Egypt, in which were written the following
words: “Omar commands saying, Those who wish to remain as they are, and in their own
country, must follow the religion of Muhammad as I do; but let those who do not wish to do
so, go forth from my dominions”. Then the Christians gave him all the money that they
could, and trusted in God, and rendered service to the Muslims, and became an example to
many. For the Christians were oppressed by the governors and the local authorities and the
Muslims in every place, the old and the young, the rich and the poor among them; and Omar
commanded that the poll-tax should be taken from all men who would not become Muslims,
even in cases where it was not customary to take it. But God did not long respite him, but
destroyed him swiftly, and granted him the government no longer, because he was like
Antichrist.

32 Then Yezîd reigned after him; but we have no wish to relate nor describe what happened
in his days, on account of the miseries and trials; for he walked in the path of Satan,
and deviated from the paths of God. As soon as he undertook the government, he restored
the taxes of which Omar had relieved the churches and bishops for one year; and he
required great sums of money from the people, so that everyone was distressed in his
dominions. And he was not satisfied with this only, but he even issued orders that the
crosses should be broken in every place, and that the pictures which were in the churches
should he removed. For he commanded this, but the Lord Christ destroyed him for this
reason, and took his soul, after he had endured before his death many sufferings. And the
time during which he reigned was two years and four months.

33 And after him reigned Hishâm his brother, who was a God-fearing man according to the
method of Islam, and loved all men; and he became the deliverer of the orthodox. For when
he learnt that we Christians had had no patriarch in the East since Julian, the late
patriarch of Antioch, in whose stead the bishop Elias had taken his seat, and that Elias
also had died, he took a man named Athanasius, full of every spiritual grace, who also was
a bishop, and gave him the patriarchate of Antioch. So the bishops laid their hands upon
him in turn, and made him patriarch. This Athanasius wrote a synodical letter with
learning and great humility to the blessed Father Patriarch Alexander, saying: “Verily I
am unworthy of this degree on account of my sins; yet I have not been promoted by my own
will, but by that of the prince”. For he had known him before this time. So Alexander
received the letter with joy, and then wrote an answer to it, asserting the unity of the
faith, and containing good wishes and salutations. At the end he wrote thus: “We bless the
prince Hishâm, and pray that he may enjoy a reign of many years, and overcome his enemies,
so that he may do that which is right before the Lord”. And he dismissed the envoys in
peace.

34 After this, Hishâm wrote to Egypt, commanding that a receipt in his name should be
given to everyone who paid the taxes, so that none might be unfairly treated, and that
there might be no injustice in his dominions. So God gave him a prosperous reign, and he
continued to rule for twenty-two years; and no war continued against him, but everyone
that rose up against him was delivered by God into his hands, through the prayers of the
two glorious patriarchs, Alexander at Alexandria and Athanasius at Antioch. Now the
orthodox church at Damascus was adjoining the palace in which Hishâm resided. Then he
commanded that the patriarch should build his house next to the prince's reception-hall,
because of his great love for him, so that he might hear him pray and read. For he often
used to say to him: “When thou beginnest to pray at night I receive great comfort, and I
cease to trouble about the affairs of the empire, and then sleep comes to me restfully”.
And Hishâm loved Athanasius greatly for that reason; and he gave great gifts to the
churches and the Christians. And there was at his court a Muslim who greatly loved the
orthodox churches, and he was named Ubaid Allah. And when the prince Hishâm saw him act
so, he rejoiced greatly, and made him governor of Egypt, and commanded him to act with
kindness towards all baptised Christians.

35 When Ubaid Allah came to Egypt, he commanded that the people and the cattle should be
numbered, and the lands and vineyards measured with measuring lines, and accordingly this
was done; also that a leaden badge should be placed on the neck of every man, from the
youth of twenty to those who were a hundred years old; and he had them numbered, and wrote
down the names of all of them, and the number of their beasts, young and old, and an
account of the bad lands, difficult of cultivation, which produce coarse grass and thorns.
And he set up milestones in the midst of the enclosed lands, at the boundaries and on the
roads, throughout the land of Egypt; and he doubled the taxes. 36 So after Ubaid Allah had
accomplished all that we have related, and had committed much injustice which we have not
related, when he came to Al-Fustât, he went to the city of Memphis and remained there four
months. And he commanded that the chief men of the towns should assemble at Memphis. And
he had the mark of a lion put on the hands of the Christians, according to the words of
the Book, which John the Son of Thunder uttered, saying: “None shall sell or buy except
those upon whose hand is the mark of the lion”. Then, when he had accomplished this, he
wrote to the provinces of Egypt, saying thus: “If anyone is found in any place without the
mark on his hand, his hand shall be cut off, and he shall be heavily fined, because he has
disobeyed the commands of the prince and acted rebelliously towards him”. Now he had two
sons, one of whom he despatched to the South, and the other to the North, and there was
great distress and perturbation in all the land of Egypt. Then Ubaid Allah arrived at Al-
Gizah, and built a large house for himself there; and he wrote to the provinces of Egypt,
commanding that a body of men should be collected for him, that he might set them to work
as long as he wished. And he built at Al-Fustât, until the men perished through fatigue
from the great labours which he imposed upon then.

37 In consequence of these things, when the forced labours and the payment of the taxes
which he had doubled became grievous, war broke out between the Christians and Muslims, so
that much blood was shed in the land of Egypt between the two factions, first of all in
the city of Banâ and the city of Sa and the city of Samannûd and their neighbourhood, and
in many places in Lower Egypt; and there was likewise fighting on the roads and mountains
and by the canals; but if we were to relate the history of it the account would be too
long. When the governor of Alexandria entered that city to mark the people, he seized the
patriarch in order to brand him, but he refused to be so treated. Yet the governor would
not release him, and, though the patriarch requested to be allowed to go to the prince,
would not consent to that. Then after a time he sent the patriarch to Misr, with a troop
of soldiers who were to bring him to Ubaid Allah; and accordingly, when he appeared before
him, he made known to him the cause of his arrival. But Ubaid Allah would not let him go
without branding him. Therefore when the Father Patriarch Alexander saw that he could not
escape, he said to Ubaid Allah, the Amir: “I pray thee to grant me a delay of three days”.
So he consented to this, and granted him the respite.

38 Then the patriarch entered his private chamber, and prayed the Lord not to suffer him
to be branded, but to remove him from this world speedily; and when God saw the thoughts
of his servant that they were good, he visited him; and accordingly he fell sick on the
third day, and the sickness increased each day upon him. When he knew that the Lord Christ
had heard him and received his prayer, he sent trustworthy persons and certain chiefs of
the orthodox, his children, to Ubaid Allah, to beg him to release him, that he might
depart to his see before his death. But he would not allow him, suspecting that this was a
ruse, and that he was not sick. So when four days had passed, the father said to the
brethren: “Prepare the boat at sunset that we may depart, for to-morrow the Lord Jesus
Christ will visit me”. Accordingly they departed; but not one of the bishops was with him,
except Abba Shamul, bishop of Wasîm. Then when they had descended the river in their
flight, they reached Tarnût by the morning; and at that hour the blessed Alexander went to
his rest at that place. When Ubaid Allah learnt that the patriarch had escaped without
leave, he despatched an officer to bring him back with his companions; but when he came up
with them and took them into custody to bring them back in wrath, he found that the Father
had gone to his rest.

39 So he left him alone, but seized Abba Shamul, and conducted him to Ubaid Allah, who
said: “The truth is that thou didst induce him to flee, therefore thou must pay a thousand
dinars to the government treasury”. But Abba Shamul was poor, in want of sustenance from
day to day, and went thinly clad; and he was sweet of countenance and virtuous in conduct;
and he used to exhort sinners, and they listened to him; and likewise he confirmed those
who were weak in the orthodox faith. So he swore to the Amir that he could not pay a
single dinar, and did not possess one; but he would not accept this excuse, and gave him
up to two officers of police. Then when those two Muslims, whose names we will not record,
had taken him, they gave him up to some Berbers, like lions in their actions, who hauled
and dragged him away through the midst of Misr, until they brought him to the door of the
church of Saint George, trailing him along. And there was there a great crowd assembled of
sellers and buyers; and many began to run after him through Misr. And they demanded a
thousand dinars of him in spite of the exiguity of his possessions;

40 and they began to torture him that day without mercy, and stripped him of his garment,
and clothed him in a hair-cloth, and hung him up by his arms, thinly clad as he was, while
all the people looked on, and scourged him with whips of cowhide until his blood ran on
the ground. And the multitude beheld him and what befell him at the hands of the police;
but they continued for a week to torture him in this way until the people collected for
him three hundred dinars. But when there came down some of the friends of Ubaid Allah to
interview him, while the chiefs of the Christians said to them: “He is near death, and he
is guiltless of any fault in this matter according to what we know”, then upon that they
released him after severe torments, for he was near death. 41 Thus when the Father
Alexander, a saint indeed, went to his rest in a good old age, great sadness fell upon the
Christians because of his death. For he had remained for twenty-four years and a half upon
the throne. And there were during the days of his life certain very holy men in the land
of Egypt, in the deserts and monasteries, who wearied themselves in the service of God,
and by whom wonders and signs were manifested. For there was a man, who was a priest and
at the same time a fisherman, in the province of Isnâ, who laboured with the nets, while
he followed the rule of the monastic life. And after a long time he departed and built a
monastery on the mountain, and many became monks with him there; and they lived in virtue
and poverty. And the fame of that old man went forth through the outer country; and his
name was Matthew, and he was a native of Asfant. So God manifested by his means many
wonders among the sick and the lepers; and he healed those in whom were unclean spirits,
and raised the dead in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And after some days a great
miracle took place in his presence. There was a Copt at Asfant, who had two sons and one
daughter, all of whom he kept in his house; and they were pure virgins, serving God.

42 But Satan led the three astray by a vile deed, namely that he entered into the elder of
the sons, and said to him: “Since thy father will not give thee a wife, go in to thy
sister, and sleep with her, for she will be sufficient for thee for a time”. And he made
this deed seem pleasant to him, so he committed it. Likewise he tempted the other younger
brother to sin with her also. Thus the two brothers did with their sister that foul deed;
but the one did not know of the other; and that perverse girl kept this secret, until she
speedily became pregnant. And her parents kept her on account of the shame, and they did
not know what had been done; so she remained many months without bearing a child. Then
they set her upon a beast, and took her to the holy Matthew; and when they drew near to
the mountain, the old man came forth, fleeing and tearing the hair of his beard, until he
met them at the foot of the mountain. Thereupon the parents made known to him what had
happened to her, and wished to give him gifts, that he might pray over her, that she might
bring forth; so he bade them take her gently down from the back of the beast; and she
alighted, being in great agony.

43 Then he said to her: “Make known to me what thou hast done, thou vile woman!” So she
made known to him what we have recorded, and more also. Thereupon he raised his hands to
heaven, and prayed; and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed her up. And many were
present, and witnessed this; and one who was present bore witness to us, being a truthful
and trustworthy man, of the children of the Church, that that spot became like a dark
well, descending into the depths of the earth, and remained so six months, while fire
ascended from it into the air, and an evil smell came up from it, so that none could
approach it. The place was at some little distance from the monastery, about twenty-five
bowshots. 44 Likewise in the monastery of the holy Abba Sinuthius on the Mount of Adriba,
you know that many of the saints were confirmed there, and especially the blessed
Archimandrite Abba Seth. For he was a man who walked in a good path during his life; and
after his departure to the Lord, we beheld with our own eyes his tomb, which was built
over him in gratitude for the many miracles and the healing and the cures, which take
place through his holy body to this hour, and are innumerable from their multitude; for
wonders are worked by it every day.

45 In the desert of Wadî Habîb also there were holy men who saw visions and revelations,
to whom God disclosed that which took place in the world, so that they beheld it as if
they were present everywhere. For to some of them the Lord Christ and the holy Apostles
appeared, and raised them up in their poverty and devotion; and to some of them the angels
appeared. And there was among them an old man in the monastery of Saint Macarius, named
John, a native of Shubrâ Maisinâ, which is also called Arwât. Him the Berbers seized three
times, and took, prisoner; and they made him a slave, and ill-treated him and caused him
to suffer. But the Lord looked upon his patience continually, and restored him to his holy
monastery. After this he became hegumen, for he was a priest; and this was a rule in the
desert of Wadî Habîb, that every monk who attained the rank of priest was appointed
hegumen. And he never communicated of the Holy Mysteries without seeing the Lord and
Saviour in his vision, with our Lady the Virgin; and great secrets were made manifest to
him. And there were holy men with him of this desert, whose history we need not relate.
And he had a disciple, named Epimachus of Arwât, who was counted worthy of the office of
hegumen after him, and was like him in his heart in all his actions; and upon him was much
grace, like Moses the prophet in his time; for he healed the sick, and cured every
disease, and lived for more than a hundred years.

46 And the grace of the Holy Ghost descended upon him, and he learnt glorious matters, so
that he even knew what he had neither seen nor heard before anyone questioned him upon it.
He had two spiritual brothers, one of them being Abba George and the other Abba Abraham,
and they were holy and famous for virtuous living and great deeds; and trustworthy men
bore witness of them, that they walked in the way of the great Anthony, and brought it to
perfection. Now the lay monks at that time worshipped God zealously; and these two holy
men beheld the baptized people in the church like white sheep, both old and young. But lo,
one of the community became slothful, and went back from the good service of God; and so
these two old men beheld him with his colour changed to black in the midst of the
brethren. And when the priests had dimissed the brethren, those two went to the cell of
that brother, and said to him: “Turn from thy sloth”. And they exhorted him and comforted
him. So on the morrow, when he came to the church, those two looked upon him, and he had
become whiter than all the brethren; and therefore they praised God for his mercy to the
race of men, In this way, if thou wilt that I record the deeds of the saints, they would
be too many for the time, and too numerous for the pens, and too many for the sheets of
paper. Glory be to God for ever and ever!

VOL. 1, PART 3 -- AGATHON TO MICHAEL I (766 AD) — COSMAS I, THE FORTY-FOURTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 730-731

1 When the Father Alexander went to his rest, they appointed instead of him a man named
Cosmas, who was a holy monk of the desert of Saint Macarius, and a native of Banâ. So they
seated him on the throne against his will; but he did not cease to pray night and day to
the Lord Christ that he would receive him to himself. And at the end of fifteen months he
went to his rest with glory and honour, on the last day of Ba'unah. 2 Now there was
outside Maryût a monastery called Tamnûrah, in which there was an old monk, holy and
spiritual, and also a young monk; and they used to chastise their bodies with iron and
with chains. For the superior, whose name was John, was endowed with grace and the power
of prophecy, and saw wonders many times, and he had a disciple who served him and was
named Theodore; and this man envied his deeds, and imitated his life and all his works
with spiritual love, and surpassed all in the monastery in his conduct, in the diaconicon
and at the table of the brethren and in all the affairs of the monastery and its service,
seeking abasement at all times. For Theodore used to follow the words of Christ to his
disciples: “He among you who desires to be great, let him be to you a servant”. And he
acted in this manner until he grew old, as he said to us with his own holy mouth when he
was counted worthy of the patriarchal dignity; for he taught us and incited us to humility
at all times. And in the lifetime of Alexander, his spiritual father said to him
prophetically: “O my son Theodore, believe that I do not lie”. He answered: “Yea O my
father, I have never heard the name of a lie from thy mouth”. The father said to him
(another copy reads, The old man said to him): “O believer in God, verily in the year in
which Alexander dies, I in my meanness shall die with him, and thou shalt sit upon the
throne of the glorious Father Saint Mark, not after the Father Alexander, but after him
who shall follow him”. And the words of that orthodox old man, the Archimandrite, were
fulfilled.

3 For the people of Alexandria, the priests and officials, were taking thought as to whom
they should appoint in the room of Abba Cosmas, until the Lord recalled to their minds the
memory of the holy father and monk Theodore. Therefore they journeyed to the monastery,
and took him and brought him to Alexandria.


HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 1
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HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 1 continued

VOL. 1, PART 3 -- AGATHON TO MICHAEL I (766 AD) — THEODORE, THE FORTY-FIFTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 731-743

1 And an assembly of the holy bishops met together and consecrated the holy Father
Theodore patriarch by the command of the Lord Christ. And the affairs of the patriarchate
and of the orthodox church grew and prospered during all his days, until they returned to
their former state, and became still more flourishing, so that it seemed as if the church
had never been plundered. And Theodore was a good man, tranquil, full of charity towards
all men, beautiful in countenance like an angel of God; and in his days nothing evil was
done. 2 But Ubaid Allah, the ruler in Egypt, brought punishments and trials and losses
upon the people of Egypt, and added an eighth of a dinar to every dinar of the taxes; and
through his oppression of the people the dinar grew rare and rose in value. Yet when he
continued long in this course, God would not suffer him, but raised up against him some of
the chief among the Muslims, who went to Hishâm the prince, and made known to him the evil
which he did, and the troubles that he had caused in Egypt. Therefore Hishâm was filled
with wrath against Ubaid Allah, and wrote at once to remove him, and despatched an officer
with many attendants to Egypt in great anger. And he commanded that he should be banished
with his younger son, Isma'îl, to the land of the Berbers in the province of Africa, and
that Isma'îl should be exiled thence to the land of the Setting Sun, and punished because
he did not do what was commanded him. So this was speedily done to him. Hishâm made Ubaid
Allah's elder son, Al-Kasim, governor in Egypt, and set him over her affairs instead of
his father, who was banished to the Berbers. When he had remained there a short time he
ruled over the Berbers in Africa, where his son Isma'îl was, until he was banished whither
the prince commanded.

3 For Ubaid Allah wrote to Hishâm, seeking to conciliate him, and expressing repentance of
what he had done, and begging him to make him governor of that country; and so he was made
governor over the Berbers in Africa. Yet his deeds were again evil, for he seized the
daughters of rich men and the daughters of the chiefs and officers, and sent them to
Hishâm the prince as maidservants, writing to him that they were slave-girls whom he had
bought for him as maidservants. Likewise the sheep, when they- were near parturition, he
ripped them open, and took out the lambs just covered with wool, and took their skins and
made pelisses of them, and sent them to Hishâm, saying that he had bought them for him; so
that he destroyed large numbers of sheep from that country. Therefore the Berbers
conspired against him, forming a plot to kill his son Isma'îl and the people of his house;
and they seized Isma'îl and his wives and concubines and all that belonged to him, and
killed them all in his presence, while he looked on. And they ripped the women open, and
took the infants from them, and threw them down before him.

4 Then they brought Isma'îl to Africa, taking him bound to his father, and killed him in
his presence while he looked on, after ripping him open and striking his father on the
head and face with his dead body; and afterwards they drove his father away from their
country, following and insulting him, while he was sad and weeping. And our father
Theodore lived to see all these things. Then the Lord visited him, and he departed to him
in a good old age and in the grace of the Lord Christ. And the Church was growing, without
adversaries or internal divisions, all his days. He remained upon the apostolic throne
eleven years and a half, and went to his rest on the seventh day of Amshir.


HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 2
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HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 2 Severus of al-
Ashmunein

10th century

Coptic bishop whose History of the Patriarchs is the main source for the Coptic church.

VOL. 1, PART 3 -- AGATHON TO MICHAEL I (766 AD) — MICHAEL I, THE FORTY-SIXTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 744-768

1 As the Scripture says in the 77th Psalm: “What we have heard we have seen, and our
fathers have told us”; and as Moses the Prophet wrote history, for he described what had
happened on the earth from Adam the first man to his own time; and after him were the
prophets who prophesied what should take place; and after them the holy apostles preached
what they themselves had witnessed: so those who followed them did likewise. Then there
were the teachings of the inspired fathers of the Church, and the words which confirmed
the faith and the baptized brethren who put on the garment of light; and the divinely
assisted fathers who gave strength to the firm foundation and to the immovable pillar. And
we have the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour, who delivered us and saved us from our sins by
his Incarnation of the pure Virgin, and graciously granted to us the opening of our hearts
and understandings by the hearing of his holy Scriptures. Philo and Justus and Josephus,
the Jews, were the first who related the destruction of Jerusalem.

2 Those who composed for us the history of the holy Church were Africanus and Eusebius and
Sozomenus, who showed us the good and the evil, and the trials which befell the saints and
shepherds of the flock of the Lord Christ, and the troubles which they underwent for the
sake of the Church and the orthodox people at the hands of the secular governors at all
times, not only in Egypt, but also at Antioch and Rome and Ephesus. There appeared the
heresy of Nestorius, whose tongue deserved to be cut out at the root, and the false
teaching of the other heretics at that time; but God dispersed them all, like the dust
before the wind, that is to say, by means of the young lion, Cyril, who excommunicated
Nestorius with the rest of the heretics, and whose writings were placed in all the
orthodox churches of the world. This is shown to us by that book which begins with the
names of the patriarchs as far as the true confessor and champion, Dioscorus, who
anathematized Leo, the soul-devouring lion, as his name implies, and excommunicated the
six hundred and thirty, assembled at Chalcedon, and Marcian the prince and the vile
princess Pulcheria, and all the followers of Leo, and was deposed by command of the
princes, and sent into exile, where he finished his fight. Dioscorus brought back many
souls to the Lord Christ by his action.

3 And all that happened was written down for us to that point in the twelfth part of the
histories of the Church. And for the first history of events subsequent to that, from the
time of the Father Cyril when he was in the monastery of Ablah, down to the days of the
father and confessor Alexander, we may consult the teacher and scribe in his time, who was
the archdeacon and companion and secretary of the Father Patriarch Abba Simon, patriarch
of Alexandria, namely the monk, Abba George. For he wrote that history on the mountain of
the holy Macarius in the Wadî Habîb, and informed us of what happened in the time of
Marcian, the unbelieving prince, and the trouble that overtook our fathers and those that
came after them, down to the time of Sulaiman, son of Abd al-Melik, prince of the Muslims,
after whom reigned Omar, son of Abd al-Azîz, who drove away Usâmah, the unbelieving
governor, who had been before his reign in Egypt.

4 Therefore I, the vile sinner, beg you to pray the Lord Christ for me, that through your
prayers he may loose the bond of my feeble tongue, and open my darkened heart, and give me
knowledge of words, so that perchance I may be able to show to you, my brethren and my
father, what you ask of me, although it exceed my power, not as a teacher and guide
greater than you, but as a scholar, since I saw that of which I have written with my own
eyes, and its importance imposes a debt upon me, and my hand touched it, besides what I
heard from friends older than myself, such as I could trust and believe. God forbid that I
should act according to the words of the true gospel concerning the servant who buried his
Lord's silver in the ground. I declare to your Holiness, vile sinner among men as I am,
that I follow the words of David, when he praises the Creator in the 112th Psalm: “Who
raises the poor from the earth and the needy from the dunghill, and sets him with the rich
of the people ”. He it is who has seated me among the holy fathers, so that I witnessed
what befell them in my heart, that I might write it down, although unworthy; for they
became shepherds upon the earth, and in many cases gave up their lives for the name of
Christ.

5 Let me then record a few of their deeds, for the rest of them the Lord Christ alone
knows, with all that took place in former times. But indeed the Lord Christ knows that we
have added nothing to the facts, having related what took place down to the death of the
blessed Father Theodore, patriarch of Alexandria, and the affairs of state in his days, to
the end of the seventeenth chapter of the History, completed above. Now, by the will of
God and your holy prayers, we will write the eighteenth chapter of the History of the
Church. 6 When Ubaid Allah left Egypt, Al-Kasim, his son, became governor after him, and
was much more wicked than his father, according to the words of the holy gospel; “Every
evil tree brings forth evil fruit ”. This man did evil before God and men in his time of
government, and walked in the bad path, as I will relate further on. Solomon, the wise son
of David, says: “Woe to the people of a kingdom which is ruled by a child!” Now this Al-
Kasim was a child in age and conduct; and when an ignorant prince rules, all his
companions will be like him. The first beginning of his acting thus was that he loved evil
and loved women, like horses which neigh one after another. He obtained for himself female
slaves of every race without number, and his heart was exceedingly pleased with them, as
we witnessed with our own eyes many times. For he used to send for the blessed patriarch
Theodore, acting like a wolf in sheep's clothing; and the Father Patriarch was accompanied
by my spiritual father, the bishop Abba Moses, who went to bear him company; and the
governor loved my father more than all the bishops. Then the governor brought his young
female slaves to the patriarch that he might bless them; and I myself saw them; and he
said to the Father Patriarch: “These are thy children; lay thy hand upon them and bless
them, and give them a benediction, for I bought them recently”.

7 This he did on several occasions with the Father Patriarch. Once when we visited him
according to custom, the bishop Abba Abraham, bishop of the Faiyûm or Arsinoites, was
there on account of important business. And when we also appeared, Al-Kasim called one of
his female slaves, who was a native of the West, and said to our father Abraham: “This is
thy daughter”. And he placed the bishop's hand upon her hand, for his heart was as the
heart of babes. And he said to the bishop: “Thou knowest that I have loved thee greatly
since my father's time, and all that thou didst ask of my father, I will do for thee”.
Then the holy Abraham said to him: “It is good”. So Al-Kasim continued: “I desire of thee
three hundred dinars”. Thereupon the father gave directions to the archdeacon Simeon, who
was his steward and had come with him, and who was counted worthy of the bishopric in
succession to Abba Abraham. And the bishop said to the archdeacon: “Bring the three
hundred dinars”. And he forthwith brought the money, and the bishop handed it over to Al-
Kasim. For he had much property belonging to the churches, since he possessed in his
diocese thirty-five monasteries in the Faiyûm, of which he was the administrator; and he
was bound to pay a tax of five hundred dinars, which were due to the Public Treasury upon
this property.

8 He had authority over all these monasteries, and the merchants of Egypt sold to him and
bought of him. Then after the bishop had paid the three hundred dinars, Al-Kasim said to
him: “I do thee this great honour that I have even made my wife a daughter to thee, and
yet thou wilt not give her anything to honour her therewith”. Accordingly the bishop gave
her a hundred dinars into her hand, and Al-Kasim reckoned them as part of the taxes due
from him. 9 And Al-Kasim walked in the path of ignorance continually, and the oppression
of the people was doubled in his days. He appointed subordinate governors throughout Egypt
worse than himself, men who amassed money from strangers from Aswan to Alexandria; and he
caused great trouble to the people throughout the land and in all the provinces, both
great and small. The great man devoured the small man, and the strong devoured the weak,
like the fishes of the sea; and those who collected the strangers' money devoured the poor
and seized their property, until everyone was in distress. After that, Al-Kasim made boats
like the castles of kings, and when he had furnished them, he embarked in them his wives
and his slaves, and sailed through the land of Egypt, and took them with him to Alexandria
and Tinnis and Damietta, in order to take the money of the merchants and of the people and
of the officials in those places. And he went up the river to Upper Egypt as far as Aswan,
doing the same thing. And a body of troops and armed men travelled in his company; and
they entered the theatre at Ansina.

10 And on a certain day Al-Kasim arrived at the Monastery of Saint Sinuthius, and went up
with great pomp, taking with him one female slave whom he loved more than all the rest,
besides his mamelukes; and he made her ride a mare, while he rode another mare at her
side. He was accompanied also by an old man, who was a chief among the Muslims, named
Rayân, son of Abd al-Azîz, the former governor of Egypt. So, when they reached the door,
the aged superior of the monastery came out to meet them with all his sons, that they
might do honour to the governor on account of his office. After Al-Kasim had passed
through the second door, which is in the fortified wall which surrounds the church, while
he remained on horseback, then he came to the door of the church, and began to prepare to
enter it, still mounted. But the aged superior of the monastery cried aloud and said:
“Dismount, O governor! Enter not into the house of God in such pride, and above all in the
company of this woman who is with thee; for no woman has ever entered this church, and
come out of it alive. Nay she will die on the spot”. Yet Al-Kasim gave no heed to his
words, but entered, accompanied by his soldiers. Now the church was very large, and
capacious enough to contain thousands of people.

11 So when he reached the middle of the church, still riding, the mare on which the female
slave was mounted plunged, and fell to the ground by the power of God; and the female
slave died on the spot, both she and the horse that was under her. And as for Al-Kasim,
there came upon him an unclean Satanic spirit which threw him down and choked him and
buffeted him, so that he foamed at the mouth and gnashed with his teeth like a wild boar.
But when he recovered a little, he saw that the old man, the superior of the monastery,
was grieved for him; and he gave to the church four hundred dinars as a votive offering,
as well as the horse which he was riding. And there was in the monastery a chest of teak-
wood, inlaid with ivory, fitted with shelves, above which was the body of Saint Sinuthius.
This chest had been made for the sake of the votive offerings, for the convenience of
those who should put their votive offerings in it; and the books also were placed therein;
and it was of handsome workmanship, admirable and beautiful. So Rayân, who was travelling
together with Al-Kasim, admired it, and wished to take it away with him. Now Saint
Sinuthius had spent much money on it.

12 So they said to that man: “Thou canst not take it, for he who placed it here forbad its
removal.” But he answered: “I must take it, either for a price or as a gift.” Then he bade
ten men lift it up, but they could not. Then he called thirty men, but they could not move
it. So when he saw the miracle, he gave the monks three hundred dinars. Then they all went
away in fear and trembling and wonder. And the unclean spirit did not depart from Al-Kasim
until the day of his death, but continued to torment him. 13 Then God sent down a great
dearth upon the land of Egypt, on account of the sins of Al-Kasim. In the first year the
land was blasted by the scirocco, and so provisions were scarce, and there was no wheat to
be found; and many men and cattle died. Afterwards, in the second year, there came a
pestilence upon Egypt, such as had not been before. But in spite of all this the
wickedness of Al-Kasim did not diminish but increased, and he doubled the taxes laid upon
the people. And when a person went to sleep at night he dreaded the light of morning, and
yet he could not wish for night that he might rest from his many troubles. After the
second year of famine came the third year, in which there was a scirocco, and the Nile did
not rise at all; and the people saw no prosperity in the days of that governor, but the
years passed in turn in this manner by God's command, a year of plague followed by a year
of scirocco, until the end of the year in which the government was taken from him, namely
the seventh year. And the plague lasted from the beginning of Hatûr each year until the
twenty-second of Baunah, and raged chiefly at Misr on account of the multitude of sins
committed there. And from the eighth of Bashans to the first of Baunah the mortality among
the people was so great that not even a part of those who died could be counted;

14 for on one day two thousand perished, and another day twelve hundred, and another day
two thousand four hundred at Misr and Al-Gizah, among the people who inhabited those
places and traders sojourning there; so that the burial of the dead was interrupted, and
there were no tombs to hold them. And no male might be buried until the authorities knew
of his death; and then his name was written down, and the name of his father, even in the
case of young infants. Then our holy fathers prayed to the Lord, and the rich and the poor
did likewise, and they besought him with fasting and prayer and weeping and supplication,
until the Lord had pity on them, and took away the plague. 15 After this the merchants
sold wheat to the people, and there was an abundant supply of it. So some of the corn-
merchants went to a deacon, who practised magic, and lived at Memphis, which is the
ancient Misr; and they gave him much money, and begged him to enable them by his magic
arts to sell their wheat at a high price. So he began to exercise his art in such a manner
that God was angered, and to practise his vile sorcery. For there was with him an orphan
boy, the son of a widow who had no other children. And he said to the widow: “Thou hast
nothing to eat or to feed thy son withal. Give him to me that I may make him my son, and
teach him my art”. So she delivered her son to the magician with joy. Now that unbeliever
had visited many magicians in divers places, until they taught him to practise profound
witchcraft; and thus he was able to do that by which the wheat became dear. Then indeed
that miscreant took the widow's son, and led him into a chamber, and shut the door upon
him, and hung him up by his hands and feet above the ground, and did to him what made God
angry; for he did not cease gradually to flay the skin of the youth from his face to the
back of his head daily, until he came to his shoulders.

16 Then wheat became rare and scarce, and whereas it had been sold at the rate of fourteen
ardebbs for a dinar, and then at two mudds for a dinar, at last it was not to be procured
at all. At that time the monitor of the boys in the school went to the widow woman, and
said to her: “Thy son has not attended our school for many days. Where then is he?” So she
went to that miscreant and enquired after her son, but could not find him. For he said to
her: “I have not seen him for many days. He left my house, and returned to thine, and I
know nothing about him”. Therefore when she heard this from him, she departed in great
grief. But the boy was not dead even then, but was still fastened up and partly flayed.
And the young monitor saw the magician, his master, entering hour after hour into the
closet in which the boy was fastened. So he said in his heart: “What does my master do in
these days, entering this closet and coming out?” And he was a sagacious youth. So when
the master entered, he followed him secretly. Then he heard that boy, the widow's son,
weeping and sighing and imploring his master; but he took no pity on him.

17 And he uttered words in the sadness of his heart such as these: “Alas for thee, my
mother, widowed and mourning as thou art, for thou knowest not what has become of me! Alas
for thy womb which bore me, and thy breasts which gave me suck! Where dost thou behold the
torments of thy orphan son? Would that I had died when thou didst bear me in thy womb, and
would that thou hadst never brought me forth upon earth, so that I should fall into this
grievous torment! Where are thine eyes beholding me, longing to see me and gaze upon me,
who am in this torment?” And the boy said many things like these, in the hearing of the
young monitor. So the monitor went away quickly in great terror, stumbling and raising
himself again in the extremity of his fear, until he reached the house of the widowed
mother of the bov. So he said to her: “I have found thy son.” Then she came speedily,
after he had repeated to her what he had heard from her son's mouth, and went to the
governor, and repeated to him what had happened and what she had heard. So the governor
despatched with her some trustworthy Muslims, and some officials with them, to the house
of that miscreant, and they found him within the closet, in which the boy still was,
fastened up and flayed from his neck to his shoulders.

18 So they carried the lad away, and led the magician bound before the governor. For at
once they fastened his hands and feet, and his ears were cut off in the presence of the
governor, and then he confessed all that had been done by him. And they brought in the
boy, and beheld him in that state. And they wrote at once to Al-Kasim governor of Egypt;
and when he had read the letter, he gave orders that the magician should be stoned and
burnt in the fire. 19 But, in spite of all these things, Al-Kasim did not desist from his
evil ways and his love for the amassing of gold. And he used constantly to change the
subordinate governors, who acted as his deputies. Now there was a tribe in the mountains
in the eastern part of Egypt, from Bilbais to Al-Kulzum and the sea, consisting of Muslims
who were called Arabs. And there were among them more than thirty thousand horsemen,
roving through those deserts and districts, and they had chiefs in command over them.

20 Al-Kasim, therefore, appointed as their governor a steward of the palace, named Abu
Jarah; and his tents were near a monastery named after Our Lady Mary, near Tinnis. In this
monastery there were many monks and priests, adorned with good works, and a holy hegumen
named Epimachus, who had come from Wadî Habîb, from the Monastery of Saint Macarius, and
who was afterwards counted worthy to be made a bishop. And there were with him, among the
monks in this monastery, Abba Mennas, who became bishop of the city of Memphis, and Abba
James the priest, and many others. And the steward of the palace had two brothers, whom he
took up to the monastery; and he entered the church with them, and drove out the monks;
and they plundered the church, and seized everything in the monastery, whether stuffs or
provisions or furniture. And the steward's younger brother was worse than he. For there
was in the cell of the hegumen a cross erected at the east end, with which he drove away
the devils who frequently appeared to him. So that youth entered the cell and said to the
hegumen: “What is the purpose of this cross?” Whereupon he answered: “It is the cross of
Christ, my God.” He said to him: “Dost thou adore him?” The monk answered: “Yea”. So the
young man spat upon the cross, and treated it insultingly, and reviled the aged hegumen.

21 And the old man went forth from the monastery in great sorrow, saying: “If God do not
requite this youth for his deed, I will never return to this church all the days of my
life.” Then he departed to another place, and remained there; and he said within himself:
“I will wait ten days, and see what will take place; and if nothing occur, I will depart.”
So, on the eighth day, that young man went and sat in the privy place, and his bowels
gushed out, as it had happened to Arius the unbeliever. Therefore when his brother, the
steward of the palace, beheld that punishment, he was afraid, and departed from the
monastery; and fear came to all who heard or saw. 22 Afterwards the steward went round
through that district until he found the holy Epimachus, whom he brought back to the
church, after entreating him with respect and honour; and he restored to him all that had
been taken away. And great fear fell upon the Muslims and long remained among them. During
all this time, the church of Alexandria remained widowed, without a patriarch. Therefore
the orthodox Theodosians assembled, and called the bishops together. And a number of the
heretical Chalcedonians met together; and they formed a council at Misr. And three men
were brought forward, that one of them might be chosen, and enthroned as patriarch. But it
did not please the Lord that one of them should receive that degree, but he kept it for
him whom he had selected and marked out from the womb, as shall appear further on in our
discourse.

23 And God took away the government from Al-Kasim; for the caliph sent to him one who
arrested him and carried him away to his master under guard and restraint. And when he
reached Bilbais, together with those in charge of him, who were conducting him to the
caliph, the bishops and a body of Christians came to him at Bilbais, and begged him to
allow them to appoint a patriarch. Then he demanded of them that they should give him
money; but they would not give it, and so he refused permission, and would not allow them
to appoint a patriarch. Then Abba Theodore, bishop of Misr, who was the chief of the
bishops at that time, and was the first of three bishops named Theodore who successively
occupied the see of Misr, said to my spiritual father, Abba Moses, bishop of Wasîm:
“Behold, Father, the conduct of this Al-Kasim, and the evil that he has done among men,
such as thou hast never seen before this day, but which I have beheld during the greater
part of my time!” The bishop Abba Moses replied: “Pardon me, my Lord and Father. If this
man return to Egypt, then God has not spoken by me the sinner. But thou shalt hear what
God will do to this wicked wretch”.

24 After this the commissioners conducted Al-Kasim on his journey. And he never returned
to Egypt, but all his goods were seized, while he was tortured and imprisoned. And the
caliph sent to Egypt, and seized his male and female slaves, who were carried away to the
caliph. Then the bishops returned with their attendants to Misr, where they found that the
Chalcedonians had anticipated then, having chosen a follower of their sect, a man who made
needles in the market-place, named Cosmas. For they had collected among themselves gold
and silver and plate, and had given them to that perverse governor, Al-Kasim, before he
departed; and he had given orders that they should appoint him patriarch. So the
Chalcedonians took that man Cosmas, and ordained him patriarch for themselves, and
triumphed over the orthodox, because they had elected a patriarch, whereas the latter had
not nominated one for themselves. 25 The governor of Egypt who succeeded Al-Kasim was a
man named Hafs, son of Al-Walîd, a native of Hadramaut, of high rank in the army of the
Muslims in Egypt, and a Sunnite according to their religion. In those days a council of
bishops assembled at Misr, in the year 459 of Diocletian, on the 28th day of Misri. And
there were with them the clergy of Alexandria and the chief laymen, who brought men with
them, so that the election might fall upon some one. And one of the bishops mentioned a
certain name secretly; but God, who knows all, had reserved this degree for him who was
worthy of it.

26 These are the names of the bishops assembled to appoint the patriarch: Abraham, bishop
of the Faiyûm; Moses, bishop of Wasîm; Mennas, bishop of Tmai; James, bishop of Busîr;
Theodore, metropolitan bishop, bishop of Misr; Victor, bishop of Malîj; James, bishop of
Sahrajt; Isaac, bishop of Samannûd; Abraham, bishop of Bilbais; Peter, bishop of Tarnût;
Michael, bishop of Atrib; besides the clergy of Alexandria. Then they went to the
governor, Hafs, and prayed him to allow them to appoint a patriarch. And he said to them:
“When your choice is fixed upon some one, keep him until I have seen him.” So they went
out from before him, and proceeded to the church of Saint Sinuthius at Misr, and prayed,
and took their seats according to their rank in agreement with the canon of the church,
each one sitting with his father and bishop, while the clergy of Alexandria sat in front
of the bishops. And all were tranquil and dignified, and none spoke a word unless the
bishops commanded; and the faces of all were bent upon the ground, both small and great.
And when the sixth hour had passed, the aged bishop, Abba Mennas, bishop of Tmai, lifted
up his face, and said in a low voice to Abba Abraham, bishop of the Faiyûm: “O my Father,
pardon me.

27 What thinkest thou that we are about, and for what reason are we assembled?” He
answered: “My Father, the Lord Christ will settle all matters, and so will Saint Mark, and
all of us also, for the chief Shepherd of our souls and bodies is with us.” Then all the
people and. the assembly cried with a loud voice together saying: “The Lord Christ will
accomplish this matter according to his will.” Thereupon they stood up and prayed; and
when they had finished the prayers, they agreed to meet on the morrow; and each one of
them departed to his own place. Now some of the bishops, from the North, had mentioned the
name of one whom they had selected; and Abba Abraham, bishop of the Faiyûm, heard of it.
So Abba Peter, bishop of Tarnût, who had lived all his days in the desert of Father
Macarius, and was beautiful in his conduct and excellent in his actions, said to them: “I
warn thee not to lay thy hand on him whom they shall bring forward to thee, until the
opinion of the assembly shall be unanimous concerning him; for he is not fit for this
degree.” Now Abba Peter had grown weak through his great age, and was kept apart from the
rest.

28 And on the second day they assembled and prayed and took their seats. The clergy of
Alexandria being present, the archpriest exclaimed: “Bring this matter to a settlement, my
Lords and Fathers.” So Theodore said to them: “Who is it that you have chosen, that we
also may know him?” Thereupon the archpriest said: “Such and such an one, and here is his
name written down.” Then Theodore said to them: “If the assembly approve of him, he is
fit.” The archpriest replied: “This affair regards us, not the bishops, who have nothing
to do except to lay their hands upon him, and no more; for it is we who elect the
patriarch.” Then Abba Abraham, bishop of the Faiyûm, said to them: “Your bishops also may
propose to you him whom they choose. Yet if you have proposed one who is worthy, we will
ordain him; but if he is not worthy, we shall reject him.” Thus a discussion took place
between the two parties on the second day; and after prayer they dispersed. And they
continued to act in this way till ten days were over. During this time there was peace
between them, and there were many discussions by day and by night;

29 yet they would not give up their views, nor would the bishops of Upper Egypt adopt
their opinion in this matter, but remained separated from them, saving: “If this man were
the only man possible, we would not appoint him.” But some of the bishops of the northern
dioceses were in agreement with the clergy of the Alexandrians with regard to his
appointment. Then on the 4th day of the new month, namely Tût, Satan began to sow
dissension among them, so that sadness and weeping came to them on account of it. For the
bishops who were in agreement with the Alexandrians cried and said: “If we do not elect
this man whose name we have written, we will not elect anyone.” But the Lord Christ, who
cared for all these matters, was displeased at their words; while the man whom he approved
for this ministry was kept in reserve. Thus there was a quarrel between them that day, as
there had been over the matter of the Barsanuphians. And while they were in this plight,
God put it into their hearts at that hour to send for the two bishops, Abba Moses of Wasîm
and Peter of Tarnût;

30 for they said: “If you do not bring the two aforesaid, there will never be peace
between us.” Now Abba Moses was very weak, because he had been confined by sickness for
six months in the Monastery of Nahyâ, and Abba Peter likewise at the church of Our Lady on
the Holy Mountain of Wasîm, in the Monastery of Nahyâ, which stands on the bank of Al-
Gizah to the west of Misr. So the bishop of Misr and the bishop of the Faiyûm went to
those two, and informed them of what had occurred. But Abba Moses could not mount a beast
or sit upon it on account of the great pain which he was suffering; so the fathers
contrived a plan, and had him carried on the bier on which the dead were borne, for they
found nothing else there. And some of the faithful bore him on their shoulders, till they
brought him to Al-Fustât. But they made Abba Peter ride on a horse; and there was a great
company with hiM. When they arrived, the assembly met together on the 8th day, and the
clergy of Misr and the officials with them, that they might settle this business by the
will and help of God. And there were with them the archdeacon of the church of Saint
Sergius, and the aged officials Mennas and Paul, and many of the Christians of Misr. So
they prayed and took their seats, and began to attack one another with words, as at the
beginning.

31 As the strife increased, the bishops of the North said: “Wilt thou not appoint this man
whose name is written down?” But Abba Abraham, bishop of the Faiyûm, said: “We have no
part or lot with him.” Then Abba Abraham said: “If you would listen to me, we would all of
us beseech God, as the canons command, and pray him to raise up for us whom he will, that
so the Church may not be divided into two parties”. Then some of the Northern bishops
signified their approval of this proposal, and took their seats with the bishops of Upper
Egypt. Now the blessed Abba Moses, bishop of Wasîm, was lying in the midst of the
assembly, on account of the severity of the pain which he suffered, and when he heard them
speak of schism, he rose up by the power of the Holy Ghost which was with him, and
beckoned with his hand to the clergy of Alexandria, so that they drew near to him. Then he
said to them: “What are you saying?” They answered: “What Abba Mennas, bishop of Tmai,
says, that is our opinion; for it is we that appoint the patriarch, and you have nothing
to do with this matter.” Now there was by his side a staff for him to lean upon on account
of his infirmity, so he called to mind what the Lord did in the Temple, when he drove out
the money-changers therein with the scourge of cords;

32 and he rose up and drove out the clergy of Alexandria, and pursued them, striking them
with the staff, till he had forced them out through the door, saying to them: “Depart from
the midst of us! Ruin not the church of God through the desires of your hearts!” Then he
turned to the bishop Abba Mennas, and the bishops with him, and said: “What have I to do
with this man who is not chosen by the Lord Christ, but whom thou desirest and delightest
in? If thou knowest any of his virtues, recount them in the midst of the assembly. Then,
if they approve of him, it is a thing from God, and he may be appointed.” When Abba Mennas
heard this, he said to Abba Moses: “The books forbid this, therefore leave him; but if you
know the virtues of any man, then appoint him.” Then he made a prostration, and departed,
saying: “Let there be unity and concord among you; I am innocent of this mischief.” Then
they separated on that day, after the prayer of the Sixth Hour, in sorrow and great grief,
because they had not found anyone to appoint. For the names of many were mentioned, but
they would not agree to any one of them.

33 But at midnight a deacon in the company of Abba Moses awoke and said to him: “Pardon
me, my Father, I know one worthy of this office.” He said to him: “Who is he my son?” The
deacon answered: “He is the holy and precious one, the priest Michael at the church of
Saint Macarius, a pure virgin, brought up in the desert”. Then the bishop Abba Peter cried
and said: “He who speaks by this deacon is Christ. O my son, verily this priest Michael is
worthy of this rank”. So on the morrow they assembled, and there was a discussion among
them, according to their custom; and then they mentioned the priest Michael, the
aforesaid. So all the people cried out, old and young with one voice, saying: “In truth
that man is worthy”. And before this he had seen a holy man, who received revelations from
the Lord, for he bore witness to him of that and said: “I heard a voice from heaven, while
I was in the church of the holy Saint Macarius, saying: The priest Michael is worthy to be
patriarch”.

34 Then they all rose up and proceeded to the palace, and made known to Hafs what had
taken place, and what they had agreed upon, and prayed him to write a letter to the
seniors and priests of Wadî Habîb, that they might give up the said Abba Michael to the
bishops and clergy. So the governor wrote letters for them, and they took them and went
out of his presence. Now the Lord Jesus Christ had already moved the superiors of Wadî
Habîb for a certain cause; and they had come forth from the desert with the aforesaid
priest Michael in their company; and the reason was that they had met together and taken
counsel, saying: “Al-Kasim, the tyrant, increased our land-tax and poll-tax beyond our
power to pay. Now a new governor is come, therefore let us go and visit him and pray for
him, and congratulate him on his appointment; and let us have confidence in God, and beg
the governor to remove these unjust exactions from us”. So they arrived at the Island on
the 13th of Tût. And on that day the messengers of the council had started with the
letters on their way to the desert; and when they had crossed the river, they met the
superiors of the monks, and with them Abba Michael, on whose account they had undertaken
their journey. Therefore, when they saw him, they were greatly astonished, and wondered
and rejoiced exceedingly; and each one of them marvelled at what the Lord Christ had done.

35 So they took him, and conducted him to the governor's palace, with all the clergy of
Misr acclaiming him and chanting before him, till they reached the palace. And they said:
“The Lord has sent us the trusted shepherd, the new Mark”. Then when they informed Hafs of
what had happened, he marvelled greatly; and he clapped his hands together and said: “Let
us bless the God of the Christians, who has done deeds at which we wonder”. And he said to
them: “This man is he whom God has chosen for you, to be a father for you. Take him, and
depart with him in peace”. And Abba Theodore, the bishop of the diocese, went forward and
approached the governor and prayed for him, and then departed with the patriarch. And the
people cut off pieces of Michael's garments for the sake of a blessing. 36 And on the
morrow, which was the 14th of Tût, the bishops embarked in the boats, and went down the
river to Alexandria, which they reached on the night of the 16th of Tût; and many people
came forth to meet the patriarch. But as they entered the streets of the city, carrying
candles and crosses and books of the gospels before him, rain began to descend upon them;
and it lasted three days and three nights, pouring in torrents. And all the tribes in
Alexandria said: “This man is from God. Two years have passed without a fall of rain in
this city. Blessed is the entrance of this man into our city!” And they consecrated him on
the 17th day of Tût. Now we would fain relate a few of his deeds in the monastic life, and
his miracles before he became patriarch; but we fear to be tedious, for everything has a
measure, as the Scriptures say. Moreover I have related these matters in the book of his
biography, apart from this history.

37 At that time the blessed Athanasius at Antioch departed to the Lord. And Hishâm, the
prince, appointed after, him a trustworthy man, named John. Then Hishâm died, and the
government of the empire was undertaken by a man named Al-Walîd, son of Yazîd, son of Abd
al-Malik. Since, however, his people hated him, he began to build a city named after
himself in the desert, for he gave his name to it; but the water was fifteen miles distant
from it. He collected workmen from all quarters, and built that city by means of forced
labour; and on account of the multitude many died every day from the scarcity of water;
for though the water was carried thither by twelve hundred camels daily, yet this was not
enough for them; the camels being divided into two bands, six hundred carrying water one
day, and six hundred the next. Then Al-Walîd was attacked by a man named Ibrahim, who
killed him, and seized the government instead of him. Ibrahim released the enslaved
workmen, who departed each one to his own place; and he appointed a new governor in Egypt,
named Hassân, son of Atâhiya; and this Ibrahim was a cousin of his. (But according to
another copy the governor's name was Isa, son of Abu Atâ. The new governor had been
secretary to Usâmah, and he was acquainted with all that Usâmah had done. Now Egypt,
before Hassân was governor, abounded in gold; and a dinar was as common as a dirhem among
the people at that time.

38 But when he arrived, a great pestilence broke out in the land, until a young calf was
sold for twenty dinars. When Hassan's commissioners and friends informed him of this, he
observed: “I know what the people of Egypt do. If I live, I will make them buy a bull for
two dinars”. And at this time the Egyptians suffered great losses, and trials and troubles
were brought upon them, so that the people offered their cattle and their children for
sale. 39 And there was at Misr a young man, a Muslim, named Rajâ, who assembled a body of
followers, and seized the government, with the assistance of Hafs the former governor. And
they went to Hassân, and wished to kill him; but he fled from them to Damascus. And Hafs
commanded that everyone in the provinces of Egypt should pray according to the laws of the
Sunnite ritual, and proclaimed that all those, who would give up their own religion and
become Muslims, should be exempted from the poll-tax; for that was an impost due from all
of them. By means of this procedure Satan did much harm to many people who gave up their
religion; and some of them enrolled themselves among the soldiery. And the patriarch, Abba
Michael, saw these things with sadness and tears, because he beheld men denying the Lord
Christ. And for these causes the bishops left their sees, and departed into the desert,
and entered the monasteries, where they humbled themselves before the Lord in prayer.

40 At that time the Father Moses, bishop of Wasîm, was detained by his spiritual children
in his see, and they would not let him depart from it to any other place; but. he prayed
for his flock that the wolf might not carry them away from his Church. And he remained at
Al-Gizah and in the neighbourhood of Misr, constantly superintending the affairs of his
children. And behold, some of the orthodox officials of Misr came to his house in sadness,
and said to him: “Father, pray for us earnestly. For we have counted those who have
seceded to the religion of Islam from among our brethren, the baptized Christians, in Misr
and its neighbourhood, through the persuasions of this governor, and they amount to
twenty-four thousand persons”. So the father said to them: “My children, be assured that
this month you will see with your own eves this unbelieving governor Hafs burnt with fire
in the midst of Fustât Misr; and Rajâ will be slain with the sword”. And the father's
prophecy was speedily fulfilled. Morever this holy man used to heal the sick in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and gave to men the gift of repentance.

41 Then the prince sent a general to Egypt, accompanied by five thousand fighting men,
that they might make war upon Hafs. The name of this general was Hautharah; and he gained
possession of Egypt, and caused Hafs to be burnt in the fire, and killed Rajâ with the
sword, and seized all their goods, as the blessed one had prophesied. So the prince took
away the government from those two, because they had driven Hassân away from the country,
and had taken the power into their own hands without his orders. And Hautharah sent their
property to the prince. And the government was restored to Hassân for these reasons; and
he was a wise judge like Solomon, and loved the churches and the bishops and monks; and he
loved the patriarch Abba Michael, and used to admit him, and converse with him often, when
he visited him, from the first days of his patriarchate. And as for Hautharah, after what
had happened, he remained in Egypt with his troops. And he loved the orthodox; and, as he
resided at Wasîm with all his army for three years, he used to consult the Father Abba
Moses about the salvation of his soul. But there was much disturbance in the outer
provinces, and fighting among the Muslims, and they killed one man after another, so that
even their governors did not remain in office for a whole year but were slain before it
was over. At last there arose a man named Marwân, prince of those Turks;

42 and he brought his army, and seized the empire by force, and ruled it with a strong arm
like Pharao; and none could withstand him, but he destroyed them with the sword; and every
year he shed much blood of those who fought against him. And there was in Marwân's house a
Chalcedonian deacon, named Theophylact, who was a goldsmith and wrought in gold for the
prince's household; and he prayed them to gain promotion for him from the prince, by
making him patriarch over his fellow-countrymen, the Greeks; for they had no patriarch at
that time. So this was done for him speedily; and they appointed him patriarch over the
Chalcedonians. 43 Now peace and prosperity continued in Egypt for five years. Then the
governor was removed from Egypt, and a man named Abd al-Malik was appointed. He was a son
of Musa, son of Nasir, of the family of Hassân the Jew, who had overrun part of the West.
And this governor hated the Christians greatly, and was exceedingly proud, and caused much
trouble to the people of Egypt, and gave rise to much disturbance in the country, seizing
for the benefit of Marwân the gold and silver and copper and iron, and everything that he
could find. This he did by the advice of an evil man, who had learnt these deeds from
Satan, and was director of all the arsenals of Egypt, and of the affairs of the
government, and was named Abd ar-Rahîm. His labours at last produced results unheard of
before, namely that he took linen rags and smeared the ships of the fleet with decoctions
of herbs which he mixed up together; so that, when the fire was thrown by the Romans upon
the ships, they did not burn. And this I saw with my own eyes; for the ships caught lire,
but yet did not burn; and the fire was at once extinguished.

44 And merchants came from the country, bringing their wares, and collected money among
themselves, and gave it to Marwân, and prayed him to allow them to rebuild the churches of
Misr; and so he consented to their request. But the friends of Theophylact the
Chalcedonian, who was also called Cosmas, said to him: “Verily there are many churches of
ours in Egypt, of which the Theodosians, that is to say the Copts, took possession, when
the government of the Romans was overthrown; and now we have no church there. We beg the
prince to write for us to Egypt, and send by us letters commanding that the church of
Saint Mennas at Maryût be handed over to us, so that we may communicate there. ” For that
church was famous for many miracles, and had been endowed with property in many places. So
Theophylact took to Abd al-Malik, son of Musa, son of Nasir, letters which directed him to
settle the dispute between the Jacobites and the Chalcedonians, and ordered that the truth
concerning the founders of that church should be ascertained, and that it should be handed
over to them. And when Abd al-Malik had read the letters from Marwân, he despatched an
officer to Alexandria, and commanded that the two patriarchs, the Jacobite and the
Chalcedonian, should be brought before him. Now the fast was at hand, so he commanded that
they should be summoned.

45 And when Abba Michael reached Wasîm, the bishop, Abba Moses, went out to meet him, and
travelled with him until they came to Abd al-Malik. And there was with us the bishop Abba
Theodore, bishop of Misr, who, before he became bishop, had been archdeacon of the church
of Saint Macarius in Wadî Habîb. And we attended at the palace together with the
Chalcedonians every day, and this we continued to do during the forty days of the fast,
from early morning to the end of the day. And the bishop of the Romans, and their
patriarch Cosmas went with us. Now the said bishop hated the people of his religion; for
he said: “I have not gone so far as to add a fourth Person to the Trinity.” His name was
Constantine, and with him was a deacon, named Anastasius, of the church of the Melkites at
Alexandria. And Abd al-Malik assembled the Melkites, and read the decree to them, and
enquired into the truth of the allegations. And the dispute carried on before him had
great results; for the orthodox with their arguments from the Holy Scriptures prevailed
over the Chalcedonians, so that Abd al-Malik marvelled. Then he summoned the chief of his
Divân, who was a Muslim with two Divâns under his authority, and another man called Isa,
son of Amir, and handed them over to him, that he might thoroughly investigate the matter,
and make it known; and he ordered that each party should expound its claims in a letter.

46 But the Chalcedonians went secretly to the house of Isa, and offered him bribes, that
he might favour them in their claims. And the patriarch, Abba Michael, assembled his
bishops, and wrote a letter full of all wisdom and of the grace of God, and of the words
of the holy Scriptures of God, giving an account of the foundation of the church of the
martyr, Saint Mennas, and of the troubles and banishments endured by our fathers, the
patriarchs, at the hands of the Chalcedonians, and of the taking of the churches from them
by the hands of the princes of the Romans; and that report was written down in Coptic and
in Arabic. Afterwards they assembled together, and gave that report to the aforesaid Isa,
who read it and marvelled at the patriarch's eloquence. Then the Chalcedonians sent him a
letter a span long, with two words in it; and, when he had read it, he laughed and shook
his head; and the two letters were read in public, and all present heard their contents.
Then our father the patriarch, Abba Michael, said to Isa: “My Lord Secretary, it is not
right that we should allow our enemies, who have no God, to hear our words, so that they
may take them as a proof hereafter.” Isa replied: “I will read the letter.” But he only
did this in guile, and in his care for the interests of the Chalcedonians, because of the
bribe which he had received from them.

47 Now behold, we will cite a part of the contents of the letter written by the blessed
Father Patriarch: “Michael, by the grace of God bishop of the city of Alexandria and of
the Theodosian people, to the governors, with regard to the church of the glorious Saint
Mennas at Maryût. At that time reigned the faithful and pious princes, Arcadius and
Honorius, in the days of the holy father, the patriarch Theophilus. He began to build the
church of John the Baptist, and when he had finished it, he built the church of Saint
Mennas at Maryût, and another church named after Theodosius, son of Arcadius the prince,
who helped him to build the churches. When Theophilus was dead, all his successors added
to that church, little by little, until the days of the patriarch Timothy; so that it was
he who completed it. After that time there came a diabolical prince, named Marcian; for it
was he who divided the church through his corrupt creed, and banished the glorious father,
the patriarch Dioscorus, who fought for the right faith of his fathers. And Marcian
invented a vile new creed, being assisted therein by Leo, patriarch of Rome, who was
anathematised by the patriarch Dioscorus together with his impure writings, which were
full of heresy. And the aforesaid prince did wicked deeds against the children of the
orthodox church, and was exceedingly tyrannical; for he slew some, and drove others away
into exile; and they suffered severely at his hands. Nor did they cease to be oppressed in
like manner, until the government was transferred to our lords the Muslims. And to this
day we continue to dispute with the followers of that new creed.”

48 This is a little out of much contained in the letter of the glorious father, Abba
Michael the patriarch. But as for the Chalcedonians, they wrote and said: “In the
beginning the power was in our hands, and the churches with all their property were ours.
But the Muslims, after their conquest of Egypt, handed them over to the Copts”. Isa
however, for the sake of the bribe which he had received from the Chalcedonians, was
desirous of proving them in the right, and of convicting the Copts of falsehood. So he
said: “Neither you nor they have brought any proof of your words. Go therefore and write
two other letters besides these two, and bring them to us.” So we did as he said. Then he
said again; “These are no arguments. Go therefore and write something besides these two
letters.” And he did not cease to put us off for a whole month. Then one of those present
said to Abba Moses, bishop of Wasîm: “My advice is that our father, the patriarch, should
give something to this man, that he may deliver us from these adversaries who oppose and
resist us.” But Abba Moses answered: “My son, it is not right that patriarchs and bishops
should offer bribes to anyone, nor is it right that they should take bribes from anyone.
And we have not had to endure persecution for a year or two years or thirty years, like
our fathers; but we are now living in our own homes, and our churches are in our own
possession, and God does not forsake us nor cease to help us.”

49 And during that week God requited those heretics through the prayers of our father. For
the governor deprived Isa of his office of secretary and his Divân; and there came another
in his place, a man of the sons of the judges of the Muslims, named Abu 'l-Husain, who was
an old man, tranquil, not given to showing favour to anyone, nor to taking bribes; and he
was wise in his discourse, and just in his judgments. So they delivered us to him, that he
might judge between us. And at the beginning of his judgment he said: “Which among you is
the father of the Jacobites?” So those present pointed to Abba Michael, and said: “Behold
him here!” Then he said: “The father of the Melkites?” And they showed him the other.
Thereupon he said to Abba Michael: “Thou holdest the faith of James, bishop of Jerusalem,
one of the disciples of the Lord Christ.” He said: “Yea, that is my belief.” Then he
turned to the other and said: “Make known to me, Sir, who is thy father, and what is thy
creed.” The patriarch of the Melkites said to him: “I hold the faith of Marcian the
prince”.

50 Upon that the judge rejoined: “Thou believest in the prince, and not in God?” And he
continued: “Tell me who is the father of thy sect, and whence he came, that I may know and
judge between you.” The Melkite answered: “My father, who first laid the foundation, was
Nestorius. A council was assembled at Ephesus, at which the leader was Cyril, the
spiritual father of this man. They had with them a monk from the Mount of Adriba, in the
province of Ikhmîm, and they drove Nestorius out of the Church; for they were assisted by
the princess at that time. But after that, God speedily raised up Marcian and the
patriarch Leo, who agreed with Nestorius and his followers, and everywhere took possession
of the churches, over which bishops have ruled up to this day. But our bishop at
Alexandria, Proterius, was slain by the Alexandrians; and therefore the prince commanded
that an army should be collected, and sent it to Alexandria, and bade the soldiers slay
with the sword; and so they killed thirty thousand in one hour.”

51 When the judge heard that, he clapped his hands together, and said to those around him:
“How cruel and tyrannical was that deed!” Then our spiritual father answered and said to
the judge: “Behold, we have been occupied with this matter for two months. The governor
delivered us over to Isa, son of Amir, as thou knowest, O judge, whom God loves on account
of thy just judgments; and we wrote reports and gave them to Isa, but he would not settle
our case, but asked of us more than we know”. So the judge commanded to bring forth the
reports of the Jacobites and Melkites; and he read them and understood their contents, and
was filled with astonishment at the difference between them; and he took the documents,
and carried them to the governor, who read them, and was also astonished, and commanded
him to pronounce his sentence, and dismissed him. Accordingly the judge came forth, and
said to Cosmas: “Thou art a man without religion or God. For behold, the reports bear
witness against thee that the church belongs to Abba Michael. We understand all that you
have written; therefore go and write other reports besides these, and bring them to me”.

52 So we went out from his presence. But the Chalcedonians recognised that they were
vanquished, and therefore they invented among themselves words of guile, and sent them to
us. And Constantine, bishop of Misr, was with the messengers; and so he said to Abba
Michael: “Thy Paternity knows what has happened to us at Alexandria for the sake of the
faith; and to this day the dispute about our creed continues Therefore we desire that
there be an agreement between thee and us concerning the church, and we wish to make a
compact with thee, and to become one flock together. Send a message therefore to the
father concerning this matter”. Then the blessed Abba Michael said to the bishops: “What
do you say on this question? Shall we send a messenger to him, to hear his proposals?” But
they said: “He is acting thus with guile deceitfully”. And Abba Moses said to them: “O my
fathers, in their hearts are seven thoughts, as it is written. They think of things that
they cannot bring to pass. But let us try them”. Then Abba Michael ordered a priest who
was his scribe, and me the sinner, the writer of this history, and sent us to the
Chalcedonian patriarch to hear his words. So when we arrived, they came out to meet us
with joy;

53 and when we had taken our seats, and the priest Mennas had addressed Cosmas with words
of Scripture, for he was learned, then Cosmas heard from him the words of the patriarch.
For Mennas began with the creed of our fathers, the Three Hundred and Eighteen, and
Athanasius and Cyril, and confirmed the matter with a great and terrible oath, before the
Melkite patriarch and Constantine, the Melkite bishop of Misr; and they made their
confession. And Constantino the Melkite bishop of Misr said: “This was my faith before to-
day, and I will hold it to my last breath; one Union, one God, one Lord, one Nature,
namely the Lord Jesus Christ. He who does not believe thus is a Jew; and he who says that
there are Two Natures in the One Christ, after the Union, is a stranger to the Father and
the Son and the Holy Ghost, and his lot will be with Judas the Traitor. This then is my
creed”. But when Anastasius heard that, he was angry and could not speak, and he waited
for what was to happen after this. Then we departed to the fathers, and told them all that
had taken place, and so they sent us back to them, saying: “This that you have said you
shall write down in a letter in your own hand”. So when we returned to them, Cosmas their
patriarch said: “I have another word which I desire to speak to you”.

54 The priest answered: “Hide none of thy thoughts from us, for God looks at the heart,
not at the face”. So he continued: “If unity be established, what will you do with me?”
The priest Mennas replied: “Make known to us what thou desirest”. Cosmas answered: “I
desire, if unity be established, that my church and your church should be one at
Alexandria. And when your father, the patriarch, is present on the days of liturgies, I
should be with him; and when he had finished the prayers, each of us should go forth to
his own place; and none should hinder me from visiting any of the churches; and so
likewise with regard to him”. Then the priest said to him: “These are words containing
deceit”. Cosmas answered: “"What thinkest thou?” So he said: “I will depart to my father,
and bring the answer back to thee”. Then when the bishops heard this, Abba Moses cried
aloud and said: “Our Lord Christ charges us not to call any father upon earth. But now if
you approve what they say, then I will speak”. The patriarch said to him: “Speak now”. So
he said: “If he consent to be made by us bishop over the whole of Egypt, and to become our
brother, not our father, since Christ will keep thy Paternity that thou mayest guard his
holy Church, then we will do it”. Then they went to Cosmas and informed him of this their
decision;

55 and he rejoiced, and his soul was satisfied. And Anastasius said: “You will surely make
me also bishop of some see”. But the priest Mennas answered: “Knowest thou not that no man
who seeks another degree for himself is fit to be a bishop? But the people of Misr will
assist thee in this matter”. So Anastasius said to him: “If you do not consent, then be
not troubled nor speak at all of this matter”. Then we went out from their presence. 56
After this we all visited Abd al-Malik, who had written a letter at that time to all the
provinces of Egypt, commanding that the scribes and officials from every town should
assemble before him; and when he admitted them, the palace was crowded with people in such
numbers that none could hear anything through the multitude of voices. So we too entered,
surrounded by many people. Then, when we had taken our seats, the bishop Constantine
separated himself from the Melkites and sat with our bishops, begging them to receive him
as one of themselves, and give him a see; and the assembled multitude and the people of
the country around us were observing us, wishing to know what would be settled, and
looking at the bishops, both orthodox and Chalcedonian. But after a while some of the
people from Upper Egypt rushed upon Constantine, when they learnt that he was a
Chalcedonian, that they might drive him away, until the orthodox bishops cast some of
their garments over him, and surrounded him among themselves; for otherwise the people of
Upper Egypt might have killed him. Then the latter cried and said: “Remove the wolves from
the midst of the sheep! Flee from the ravenous lions that devour souls! Drive away the
foxes that destroy the vineyard of the Lord of Sabaoth! Remove Judas from among the
disciples of Christ! Let not your garments touch these unclean ones, O servants of
Christ!”

57 Meanwhile Cosmas hid himself until their anger had abated; and then, after much
questioning of our fathers, the people began to be a little pacified. Moreover when our
bishops made it known to the people that Constantine had prayed them to receive him among
the Theodosians, they rejoiced and cried in the midst of the palace: “Constantine has
confessed the right faith, the faith of our orthodox fathers”. Then suddenly Ibrahim al-
Mâhiki, the official who was governor of Alexandria, appeared, for he had been sitting in
an apartment of the palace, and with him a band of heretics, including the deacon Sergius,
the patriarch's son, and two of the teachers of the heretics. So the people ran back and
wished to flee. But there was a man of Damietta who had been exceedingly wicked, and for
that reason I, the sinner, admonished him with a word that I had heard; and he leapt into
the midst of the assembly, and stood and reviled me, and blasphemed the Holy Trinity. Then
I and all those present saw his garment rent from the top to the bottom in three pieces,
and everyone in the palace cried, both Muslims and Christians: “There is no faith except
the faith of the father, Abba Michael”. And there was a great shouting in the palace, and
men rushed to see what had taken place, so that some of the people and the soldiers were
injured or killed through the great press. Then Abd al-Malik commanded that all should be
sent out of the palace.

58 And on the morrow he commanded the judge to decide the matter in question, saying:
“Settle their affair, and let them depart.” Accordingly the judge sat down with the
members of the Divâns, namely the scribes and the chief personages of the government. When
they had taken their seats, they said to the patriarch, Abba Michael: “Wilt thou swear
that this church rightfully belongs to thee and thy fathers?” The patriarch answered: “Our
Law commands me not to swear, whether truly or falsely; but I will write a report, and
declare the truth to thee therein”. Then the judge said to the heretic Cosmas: “Wilt thou
swear that this church is thine, that I may give it over to thee?” So he replied: “Yea, I
will swear”. Then the judge shook his head, as if mocking him, and said to him: “Where
hast thou a witness to this statement that it belongs to thee, even if thou shalt swear to
it?” Then he said to our father, Abba Michael: “Hast thou anyone to offer testimony that
this church belonged to thy fathers?” He replied: “Yea, I have one who will be my witness
to that fact, from the day that it was built until now”. The judge asked: “How many days
is it since it was built?” Abba Michael answered: “Three hundred and fifty years” So the
judge said to him: “And do the witnesses live to this day from that time? Thou speakest to
me in parables.

59 Make the truth known to me”. Then the patriarch answered and said: “Verily my father
Theophilus and his successor Timothy were the builders of this church, and it is they also
who testify to me that Theophilus founded it and set up its rows of pillars, for there is
his name written upon them; and, when he died, Timothy erected the remainder, since there
is his name inscribed. These are my witnesses who testify to this day”. Thereupon the
judge sent his confidential friends, accompanied by the secretaries and the interpreters,
and they ascertained what was written upon the pillars, and found that it was as Abba
Michael had declared. And the judge enquired carefully into the truth of the matter, and
reiterated his questions concerning it, and discovered that the patriarch's account was
correct. So, when he had tested the truth of his words and proved it, he delivered the
church to us, and dismissed us with congratulations and honour. Thus we recovered our
church once more.

60 Now our father John, patriarch of Antioch, who had been a bishop, had a dispute during
many days with his bishops, and could not make peace with them; therefore he wrote letters
to the prince. And he had written a synodical epistle, but had not been able to find means
of sending it to Egypt till this time. So when the messengers arrived, and the Father Abba
Michael had received the synodical and other letters from them, he read them, and was
greatly distressed by the disagreement between the patriarch and his bishops. For they
said that he was a mere bishop and no patriarch, and that they had not been able to give
him the title of patriarch in the days of Hishâm. Then Abba Michael summoned all the
seniors among his bishops in the land of Egypt, and the letters were read to them.
Thereupon they said: “We will not write a letter nor despatch it thither, for this is a
difficult matter. If they desire to expel their patriarch, the prince will say to them:
Nay, for he is a bishop. But if we write and advise them not to depose him, the bishops
will be divided, as they have said in their letters. Rather leave the matter, Father,
remaining as it was”. And accordingly he did so.

61 Now I desire to record a little out of much that the Lord did by the hand of the bishop
Abba Moses, and concerning the gift of prophecy and of the healing of diseases which he
received from the Lord. Therefore believe my words with a pure heart! We were travelling
to Alexandria in order that the Father Abba Michael might take possession of the
evangelical throne of Mark, and the holy synod disembarked on the way. When we walked
through the Christ-loving city of Wasîm, there was in the church a youth, who had been
paralysed in his hands and feet from birth. He was now fifteen years old, and the martyr
Saint George had appeared to him, and said: “Thou shalt not be healed except by the hand
of the bishop, Abba Moses”. So this youth came, and would have touched my father's
garment; but the multitude around him prevented him. Therefore he cried, saying: “Make the
sign of the cross, my Father, over my paralysed limbs”. Then the bishop made the sign of
the cross over his hands and feet, and we went on our way. But when we returned according
to the will of God, that youth came out to meet us, walking and leaping with the people of
the city, and recounting what had happened to him, and glorifying God, and thanking his
good servant, the bishop. And this bishop also cleansed the lepers, and cast out devils,
and did mighty works, like the Disciples.

62 Now there was in those days great trouble in the East on account of the bishops.
Moreover at that time great hosts came against Marwân, and they met in battle; and much
blood was shed among them. Then Abd al-Malik assembled the officers of his army at Misr,
and imprisoned them for seven days, and also confined the secretaries of state, and the
chiefs of the towns and superintendents of inherited property, and required them to send
in their accounts, and to pay what they owed. Then he summoned the Father, Abba Michael,
to Misr, in order that he might pay the taxes on his churches. But when we came before Abd
al-Malik, he demanded of us what we could not pay, and therefore he commanded that we
should be put in prison, and that a great block of wood should be fastened to the
patriarch's foot, and a heavy iron collar to his neck. And there was nobody with him
except Abba Moses, bishop of Wasîm, and Abba Theodore, bishop of Misr, and Abba Elias
Paul, son of Abba Moses in the Spirit. Then they put us into a dark chamber, where we
could not see the sun, and which had no window, for it was hewn in the rock. And our
father, the patriarch, was greatly tormented through being thus loaded with iron, from the
11th of Tût to the 12th of Babah, seeing no sunlight all that time. While he was in the
prison, there were besides him three hundred men;

63 and there were women also imprisoned, in greater straits than the men; and there was
sadness and weeping, and much distress at the end of the day, when the governor of the
prison shut the door upon us, and went away; and he did not return till the seventh hour
of the day. The sick used to come to the patriarch in prison, that he might bless them,
and then they rejoiced; and Christians and Muslims, and even Berbers, came to him, and
confessed their sins which they had committed; and so did the prisoners, some of whom said
that they had been in prison three years, and others four. And he consoled them and
exhorted them to patience, saying to them: “If you vow to God that you will not return to
your former deeds, God will receive your repentance and save you before the end of this
year”. Then they swore to him that they would not return to their sins. And they were all
accordingly rescued from prison before the end of the year by his prayers.

64 As for our fathers, the bishops, they could not change their garments nor their caps
for the space of seventeen days, while they remained close by the father patriarch; for
they were chained to him by their souls though not by iron. And the superintendent of the
governor's table was a believer and a good man, who provided for the patriarch; and he
used to visit us, and brought for us into the prison what we needed; while I, the sinner,
was engaged in ministering to those three bloodless martyrs night and day. 65 And that
year there had been a great pestilence among young infants at Misr, so that they all died.
And while I was lying at the feet of the patriarch one night, and he was teaching me from
the Scriptures, and answering all my questions about them, I asked him concerning the
death of the infants. And I said to him: “Thinkest thou, Father, that God takes them on
account of the sins of their parents or for some other cause?” Then he answered: “Do not
suppose, my son, that this is the cause. But God beholds the human race, and sees that
most of them do the will of Satan by their vain devices, and that Hell is full and
Paradise empty; and so he takes the infants who are without sin to Paradise, the place of
mercy.” Then I asked him: “Why did God expel Satan from Heaven before he created the world
or men?” He answered me: “O my son, who am I, the vile sinner, to deal with this problem,
that thou shouldst question me about it?” But as I persisted all the more in questioning
him on this subject, he said to me: “The holy Gregory Theologus says that Satan was, from
the time when he was first created, in the habit of slandering his companions the angels
before God; but God granted him a term of trial and was patient with him.

66 Then when God created a new heaven and a new earth, and formed man in his own image and
likeness since it lay in God's foreknowledge that Satan loved pride, he bade him behold
Adam and the beauty of his countenance. So Satan took with him the host over which God had
made him leader, and went to the place where Adam was; and, when he saw it he was filled
with admiration of it. And he said to his lollowers: I desire to set up for myself a
throne upon the clouds, and the high mountains shall be beneath me, and I will be like the
Most High; and the whole world shall be under my power, and I will rule over it. Then when
he ascended again to heaven, God said to him: Admirest thou what thou hast seen, and art
thou pleased with the world that has been created? For he knew his secret thoughts. Then
God said to Satan: I have made thee lord over the world. And God said this to Satan in
order that he might not fall from the glory in which he was. But Satan kept evil in his
heart, and in his thoughts there was wickedness; and after that he considered and said: I
desire to know the nature of the Godhead, so that when I go down to the world I may act
accordingly, and may no longer have need of God. For this was the design that Satan had
conceived.

67 And, wishing to behold the Godhead, he entered into the midst of the Angels suddenly;
but God commanded ten thousand of the heavenly angelic Powers to cast him down to the
lowest Hell in outer darkness, him and all his companions. This is what God revealed to
Gregory Theologus, who wrote it down for us. Glory be to God for ever and ever. Amen”. 68
Then I questioned the patriarch again, saying: “Will God have patience with these
unbelieving rulers who commit these crimes against us at all times, and will not release
us from these bonds?” He answered: “Be patient, my son, and be of good cheer. When we go
forth from this place, we shall fall into worse misfortunes than this. Therefore be
patient now, for none shall receive his reward without suffering; but he who endures to
the end shall be saved. And thou wilt see what shall take place hereafter, for in these
two rulers there is no good”.

69 Then when seventeen days of the before mentioned month were over, while we were still
in this distress, the governor commanded that he should be brought before him. So we came
into his presence, and he demanded the money of the patriarch, saying to him: “ None of
thy churches pays taxes, and I require of thee that which is rightfully due from them.”
And he pressed him sorely. Then the patriarch answered: “If it he so, permit me to depart
to Upper Egypt; and whatever the Christians may give me and supply me with I will bring to
thee.” Then the governor released him, and we quitted his presence, and journeyed to Upper
Egypt. At that time we suffered greatly from the cold; for there was hoar-frost at night,
and heat in the day-time from the sun. And the people of Egypt had perished through
oppression and poverty and taxation. And the father, Abba Michael, was fatigued during our
journey, and suffered much. While we travelled, he healed many that were sick, merely by
making the sign of the Gross; and he cast out unclean spirits from among the people,and
converted many who had gone astray from the orthodox faith, for God helped him. Then we
returned to Misr on the night of the 21st of Tubah, the night on which our Lady, the
Virgin Mary, went to her rest.

70 And that night there came great wrath from God, for there was a great earthquake in the
land, and many houses were ruined in all the cities; and none was saved from them, not a
single soul; and likewise on the sea many ships were sunk on that night. This happened all
over the East, from the city of Gaza to the furthest extremity of Persia. And they counted
the cities that were wrecked that night, and they were six hundred cities and villages,
with a vast destruction of men and beasts. But the land of Egypt was uninjured, except
only Damietta. And at Misr there was only great fear, without any death or ruin of houses;
for though the beams in the doorways and walls were moved out of their places, they went
back again to their places after two hours. We were assured by one whose word we trust
that none of the churches of the orthodox nor of their dwellings was destroyed throughout
the East. But the father, Abba Michael, bade all the inhabitants of Misr and the
neighbourhood prolong their fasting and prayers. So when the misbeliever, Abd al-Malik,
saw what had taken place through the wrath of God, he accepted the alms given by the
Christians to the patriarch, and released him.

71 Now I have omitted much without writing it down, that the history might not become too
long and weary the reader, but I am constrained to record briefly a matter which must not
be passed over. That is that there was at Dongola, a city of the Nubians, a king named
Mercurius, who was called the New Constantine, for he became by his beautiful conduct like
one of the Disciples; and the Lord gave him a son whom he named Zacharias. When king
Mercurius died, Zacharias did not choose to become king, but occupied himself with the
word of God and the salvation of his soul, and gave up his rank as king, and appointed to
the kingly office a kinsman of his named Simon, who was orthodox, and walked in the
excellent path of Mercurius. When Simon died, Zacharias adopted a valiant youth attached
to the palace, named Abraham, and made him king; but he was proud and wicked. And the
bishop of the capital city used to warn him and instruct him, but he paid no heed to him,
and therefore a dispute took place between the king and the bishop. So the king wrote a
letter to the father patriarch, Abba Michael, in which he said with an oath: “If thou do
not excommunicate Cyriacus, I will make all my country worship idols”. For he had written
concerning that bishop absurd calumnies and false testimonies. But when the patriarch had
read this letter, he wrote letters of peace to the king.

72 Yet the king was not satisfied, but wrote other letters worse than the first, full of
false testimonies, and despatched them to Alexandria by Cyriacus, the holy bishop. So the
father assembled the bishops, and formed a synod in the city of Alexandria. And when they
had met together, he produced the letters, which were read aloud; but the bishops
recognised that their allegations were absurd. Then indeed they spoke a word concerning
the king of that country, fearing lest Satan should bring corruption upon it: and
therefore they prayed the bishop Cyriacus to reside in one of the monasteries of
Alexandria, until the wrath of the king should subside; but he refused to do that. So,
when they saw that he would not listen to them, they said: “Depart whithersoever thou
wilt, in order to abide there.” But they would not allow him to celebrate the Liturgy in
the churches of Egypt. And they ordained him whom the king had sent to them, a man named
John, saying to Cyriacus: “If this matter is not from God, thou wilt see what will happen,
and wilt return to thy see once more. For we have not removed thee from thy see by
excommunication, but on account of the wickedness of the king, and his evil intentions”.

73 But when they rose up to depart, each to his own place, there appeared a great wonder.
For there was a great board over the throne of the patriarch, Abba Michael, on which was a
painting of John Chrysostom; and, after the bishop had been removed from his see, the
cords of the picture broke, and it fell into the midst of the bishops, and continued to
move and leap until it had passed beyond them. Therefore they went and took it up, and
restored it to its former place. Then it did the same thing a second and a third time; for
as often as they hung it up it fell again, until it reached a certain place in the church
and remained there. Now that bishop resembled the picture of John Chrysostom, for his
cheeks were almost free from hair, so that he seemed to have no beard, and this was one of
the characteristics of John Chrysostom's face. And the bishop Cyriacus was an old man,
eighty years of age on that day; and his appearance was like that of an angel of God. Then
the bishops dispersed to their own districts; and Cyriacus departed to one of the
monasteries of Nubia, while John, the new bishop, went to the capital city. Now
trustworthy persons have testified to me that no rain fell upon that city during the
remainder of the life of Cyriacus, the bishop, and that every year the people were visited
by a pestilence, and that those who bore false witness against him were suddenly struck
blind. And he lived to be one hundred and four years old. Then he prayed God to remove him
from the body; and, when he was dead, the people of his country visited his tomb, and
prayed him with many tears to beseech God to send down rain upon them; and this took place
so that their country was fertilized, and the pestilence ceased from them.

74 So when king Zacharias saw these things, he banished king Abraham to an island in the
midst of the river, and appointed a king named Mark instead of him; for Zacharias had been
father of the kings up to this time. Then the friends of Mark went secretly with guile, to
slay Abraham in his place of exile. But, when the partisans of king Abraham learnt this,
they conspired against king Mark; and, while he was praying in the church before the
sanctuary, they slew him, in the sixth month of his reign. Then they set up a king named
Cyriacus, an honest and virtuous man, who has remained king to the day on which I write
this history. 75 Now letters had been sent to this king from Egypt, and had reached him
while the father, Abba Michael, was in prison with us. And Abd al-Malik heard of these
communications, and therefore he seized the patriarch, and kept him in custody. Then king
Cyriacus marched forth from the land of the Nubians towards Egypt with a great army,
including a hundred thousand horsemen, with a hundred thousand horses and a hundred
thousand camels. And we were informed by one who had witnessed it with his own eyes that
the horses which the Nubians rode used to fight with their forefeet and hindfeet in battle
as their riders fought upon their backs, and that they were small horses, no higher than
asses. And when they approached Misr that they might capture the city, and had encamped at
the Pool known to this day as the Pool of the Ethiopians, they plundered and slew and made
prisoners of the Muslims. And they had already treated the Muslims of Upper Egypt in like
manner. And the king before he reached Misr had sent an envoy, called the Eparch, one of
the great men of the kingdom, to Abd al-Malik, bidding him release the patriarch; but Abd
al-Malik seized that envoy and imprisoned him with the patriarch. But when the governor
heard of the arrival of the king before Misr, not having any means of resisting him, and
being, greatly afraid of him, he released his envoy, the Eparch, from prison.

76 So the latter went forth to meet the king, having, previously made an engagement with
Abd al-Malik, and sworn to induce the king to return with his army to his own country, and
not to let him approach his fortresses nor besiege him. Now the Muslims were in the habit
of kidnapping the Nubians, and selling them as slaves in Egypt. So the king, after
carrying off much plunder from the Muslims, led back his army, because the Eparch informed
him that the patriarch had been released, and had been kindly treated by Abd al-Malik, and
himself bade the Nubians return homewards with his blessing. 77 Now many of the tribe of
Al-Kais worshipped an idol named Salkit, and therefore the king of the Nubians conquered
them and plundered them, and his army carried off the booty which they had taken from
them. Then Abd al-Malik sent to the patriarch, bidding him write to the king of the
Nubians. So Abba Michael wrote letters of peace to Cyriacus, in which he prayed for him,
and blessed him and his followers; and the king returned without fighting a battle. Now
these events took place in the hundred and thirtieth year after the foundation of the
empire of the Muslims. And there were under the supremacy of Cyriacus, king of the
Nubians, thirteen kings, ruling the kingdom and the country. He was the orthodox Ethiopian
king of Al-Mukurrah; and he was entitled the Great King, upon whom the crown descended
from Heaven; and he governed as far as the southern extremities of the earth, for he is
the Greek king, fourth of the kings of the earth; and none of the other kingdoms stands up
against him, but their kings attend him when he passes through their territory. And he is
under the jurisdiction of Mark the Evangelist, for the patriarch of the Jacobites in Egypt
exercises authority over him, and over all the kings of the Abyssinians and the Nubians;
and he has in his country an orthodox bishop whom the patriarch ordains as metropolitan,
and who ordains for the king the bishops and the priests in that land. And when the
metropolitan dies, the patriarch of Alexandria appoints another for him, whom he chooses,
and ordains him for that people.

78 Now when we came out of prison, many people came together to us, and prayed the father
patriarch to celebrate the Liturgy for them, and to give them with his holy hand the
communion of the Body and the Precious Blood. So they conducted him to the church of the
two Martyrs, Sergius and Bacchus; and he celebrated the Liturgy for them that day, and
communicated to them the Holy Mysteries, and gave them an exhortation and instruction And
there came a man seeking to communicate, as soon as the brethren began to make their
communion; but the patriarch refused him, and, though he returned, would not give him the
oblation. And when. Abba Michael had dismissed the congregation, and sent the people away
in peace, that man appeared before the father, weeping, and said: “I desire thee, Father,
to tell me for what cause thou didst refuse me communion”. The spiritual father answered
and said to him: “My son, I also am a sinner. None but the Lord Christ refused thee
communion. He it was who forbad thee to receive it. Therefore declare now what thou hast
done in the midst of this assembly of thy brethren, lest any of them do like thee”. Then
that man cried aloud, saying: “I pray thee, my Lord and Father, if it was a sin which I
committed, forgive it me, for I will not be guilty of it again”. The father said to him:
“Thou must confess it”.

79 So he said to him: “I have been accustomed to break my fast in my own house, and to
come after my breakfast to the church to communicate. Thus I did to-day. And afterwards
when I heard that thou wouldst give communion to thy people, I said in my heart: I will go
and receive the communion from his holy hand. And I did so out of love for thee in my
humility. Now I have declared this to thee who didst refuse me. But in Upper Egypt there
are many who do this without knowing that it is a sin”. When the Father heard that, he
commanded that letters should be written to every place, ordering that none of the
faithful should communicate unless fasting, and that none should make his communion twice
in one day ”. Then he gave his blessing to that man, who departed glorifying God, who does
wonders by his saints.

80 But Egypt found no tranquillity nor rest during the government of Abd al-Malik, for not
one of the family of the princes of the Ishmaelites who ruled over them was like him. And
he did to the monasteries what was not lawful, because he hated the Christians; for as he
pleased to do, so he did. Yet the Lord Christ, in whose hand are the hearts of princes,
turned his heart to love Abba Michael the patriarch; therefore he invited him to his
palace, and we accompanied him; and he begged the patriarch to pray for him. And the
governor's daughter, who was four years old, was possessed by an unclean spirit, and so
her father requested the patriarch to pray over her. Then Abba Michael took oil, and
blessed it, and anointed her with it; and the devil went out of her immediately. Thus the
governor began to love the Christians, because he loved the father patriarch; and he also
loved the bishops, and showed them honour.

81 Now our father, Abba Michael, was sweet in speech, beautiful in countenance, perfect in
stature, decent in his attire, well-formed and dignified; and his words were like a sword
against the rebellious, and his teaching was like salt to people of virtue and modesty.
And the hand of God was with him in those hardships which he endured through Abd al-Malik.
And the church at Alexandria had suffered greatly in the time of the late patriarch
Alexander, when its marble and glorious woodwork, which were priceless, were taken away
from it. So the Father Michael provided money for it, and restored it, and improved it.
And he built other churches to the east and west of the town, and his buildings were
completed in his lifetime. 82 And on a certain day the governor of Alexandria desired to
launch the ships of the fleet on the sea. And there was a congregation of the orthodox in
the Church of our Lady Mary, of about ten thousand persons. And a young man of the Muslims
saw, painted on the wall, a picture of the Lord Christ upon the Cross, while the soldier
with the spear was piercing his side. So he said to the Christians, tempting them: “What
is this man upon the Cross?” They answered: “This is the sign of our God Christ, who died
upon the Cross for the salvation of the world.” Thereupon that young man took a rod, and
mounted to the upper gallery, and pierced the picture in the other side, namely the left,
mocking and blaspheming at the Christian's words. And immediately the form of the young
man became stretched, as if he were himself crucified, after the likeness of the picture
which he had pierced, and a great pain seized him, as if he had been pierced in the side
in like manner, and his hand clove to the rod with which he had pierced it, and no man
could take it out of his hand; and he remained fixed in the midst of the congregation,
between heaven and earth.

83 So he continued all day, crying aloud: “O ye people, I am pierced in the side.” Then
the Muslims cried to the Christians with a loud voice, glorifying God, the doer of
wonders, and begged them to pray to God for the man's release. So the Christians prayed,
saying Kyrie eleison many times. But that young man could not descend from the place where
he was, until one of the Muslims said to him: “Verily unless thou shalt confess the faith
of the Christians, and say that this picture is the likeness of Christ, the Son of God,
and profess their creed, and believe like them, he will never let thee come down.” Then he
accepted the words of that Muslim, and confessed that it was the picture of Christ, and
said: “I am a Christian, and will die in the religion of Christ.” After that confession he
descended into the midst of the assembly, and departed to the monasteries, and was
baptized there.

84 Now the prince at that time was Marwân, who ruled from Persia to Spain. His hand was
very heavy upon his soldiers, and for a time the Muslims fought one against the other, and
shed one another's blood, so that on one day twenty thousand or thirty thousand or even
seventy thousand were slain. And they did not cease from war during the seven years of
Marwân's reign, because he had usurped the government over them. And in the seventh year a
young man named Abd Allah had a dream, in which the voice of a certain one said to him
three times: “Fight against Marwân, fight. By God thou wilt overcome him.” This young man,
Abd Allah, was a Bedouin, and lived in tents in the desert; and his father was an old man,
named Abu Muslim, to whom the same vision came in a dream as to the young man, Abd Allah;
and the old man wrote an account of the dream, and fastened it on the door of his tent.
Therefore, when the Muslims saw it, they came together to him in order to know what had
happened; and, when he told them, they said: “We will help thee; and, if God shall give
thee the victory, we will make thee prince over us.” Accordingly, many of the tribes
assembled to him, when they heard of this; and twenty thousand horsemen gathered together
with him.

85 But they had no weapons, and so they cut branches from the palm-trees, and fastened
spear-heads to them, and went forth to fight, the power of God being with them. Thereupon
Marwân came out against them, accompanied by a hundred thousand fighting men, well
equipped, and provided with weapons and coats of mail and helmets; and the two armies met.
Then Abd Allah divided his army into two parts; and when Manvan saw them, he said, as
Goliath the giant said to David: “Hast thou come out to meet me like a dog?” Then Marwân
sent out against Abd Allah forty thousand horsemen in many-coloured garments, wearing
cuirasses and iron armour, whereas most of Abd Allah's soldiers were footmen. Yet Abd
Allah's men slew Marwân's men with God's help, so that not one of them was saved; for God
gave to the former the victory over the latter, as the prophet Moses says: “One man, if
God helps him, shall put to flight a thousand, and two shall terrify a host.”

86 And Abu Muslim saw the angel of the Lord, with a golden rod in his hand, on the top of
which was a Cross, putting his enemies to flight; for, wherever the Cross approached, he
saw them fall dead before it. So the followers of Abd Allah and Abu Muslim took the horses
and weapons of the enemy. Then Marwân again sent another forty thousand horsemen against
them, at the fourth hour of the day, from behind rocks; but God delivered them into their
hands, and they captured their horses and weapons. So, when Marwân saw that, he fled. And
he executed the following stratagem. He brought out what he possessed of money and vessels
and furniture, and put the gold in bags, and scattered it along the road, while he was
fleeing, accompanied by twenty thousand horsemen, who remained with him. But Abd Allah and
Abu Muslim did not understand his deceit, and so, as they pursued him, they busied
themselves with seizing the money and the weapons for seven days, so that Marwân escaped
and crossed the Euphrates. But many of his followers were drowned, and he set fire to the
boats, and none reached the shore but he and eight thousand men with him.

87 So the old man Abu Muslim bade his soldiers make crosses of every kind, and place them
on their breasts, saying to them: “By means of this sign God has given us the victory, and
it has conquered the empire for us.” And his followers multiplied, for men came to them
from every place at which they arrived: from Khorassan and Sidon and the Euphrates and the
land of the Romans; and all that heard of them in distant lands. And at every city which
they captured, their followers established a camp. But as for Marwân, he set fire to every
place that he reached in his flight, When Abu Muslim and Abd Allah came to the Euphrates,
and saw the burnt boats, they put on black garments, and left their heads unshaven, and
neglected their wives, and continued to fast and pray for six months, until God gave their
enemy into their hands. Then they took the boats that they could get, and crossed the
Euphrates, and pursued Marwân. And when they reached a place where there were Christians,
they marked it out by the sign of the Cross, which they also had marked on their tents and
garments. And the Muslims among them wore black garments. And him who was without these
two signs they put to death, because the followers of Marwân were Persians, and therefore
did not approve of these things. And so, when they found them, they killed them, and
ripped them open. And they used to rip open their pregnant wives, and kill the babes,
saying: “We will leave them no offspring on earth to go about the world as beggars.”

88 Then Marwân went into the public treasury at Damascus, for that was the capital of the
Omeyyads, and brought forth much money and jewels and treasures, and burnt the rest with
fire. And he went on doing thus, till he had laid waste seven provinces with fire. When
Abd al-Malik, the governor of Egypt, heard the news, he feared that Marwân would summon
him to fight, and therefore he wrote to him a letter with guile, inviting him to Egypt,
and saying: “Thy enemies cannot enter this country.” 89 Accordingly, Marwân marched
thither, slaying the chiefs of the towns and provinces through which he passed, and
seizing their money. So also he did in the monasteries of the monks, which he wrecked and
robbed of their money. And there was in Palestine a clean and decent monastery, which
entertained thousands of travellers, and contained a thousand monks; and it was called
Dair Mût, and in Coptic, the Monastery of Abba Harmanus. Maximus and his brother Domitius
were first received here; and it was Abba Harmanus who took the Tome of Leo, and went to
the tombs of his fathers, accompanied by the soldiers of the prince, and cried over their
tombs with a loud voice, saying: “Think not that you are asleep, and that this does not
concern you! As the Lord lives, if you answer me not, I will take out your bones and burn
them with fire. Tell me what you think. Shall I receive the Tome of Leo, or the Faith of
Nicaea? Tell me plainly and speedily.” Then they all answered with one voice, crying and
saying: “Cursed be Leo, the misbeliever, the soul-devouring lion, and his foul Tome! And
cursed be Marcian, the misbeliever, and the vile Pulcheria! And cursed be the Council of
Chalcedon, the six hundred and thirty heretical bishops; and cursed be all that receive
them. And cursed be those that make Christ the Son of God into Two Natures after the
Union.” So, when the blessed Abba Harmanus heard this, he fell upon the ground.

90 And when the noble who brought the Tome saw him, and heard their words addressed to
him, he shaved his head, and became a monk with many others. Afterwards this saint was
counted worthy of martyrdom; for when Marcian, the prince, was informed of what he had
done, he sent and put him to death. And since that time there has been a body of the
orthodox remaining in that glorious monastery. So when Marwân arrived at the aforesaid
monastery, he demanded of them a sum of money amounting to three weights; and he severely
chastised the superior of the monastery and his assistant, for he killed those two; and he
plundered the monastery, and continued his march, accompanied by his army. Then, when they
were at a short distance from the monastery, there was a hermit upon a pillar, a very old
man, who had been there many years, an orthodox Theodosian. So one of Marwân's friends
said: “Verily all that this old monk says comes to pass, for he speaks the truth.” And he
came up to that hermit, and asked him what would be his fate. So the old man said in a low
voice, like the voice of Jeremias the prophet: “If I tell thee the truth, thou wilt slay
me; yet will I declare what God has revealed to me. That which God has told me of thee is
this. With the measure with which thou hast measured it shall be measured to thee.

91 As thou hast made mothers childless, so shall thy mother be childless. And thy path
shall be very terrible to all that behold thee; for thy children and thy wives and all
that are thine shall be taken captive; and he who is now pursuing thee shall take thy
empire, and none of thy family shall reign after thee for ever. And thine enemies shall
put thee to flight, until thou comest to Arsinoites, to Cleopatra. All this shall befall
thee this year in the month of Misri.” When Marwân heard this, he commanded that the
pillar should be overthrown; and he brought down the old man, and burnt him alive in the
fire. 92 Then Marwân arrived in Egypt on the twentieth day of the month of Baunah, in the
year 467 of the Martyrs. And before these things happened, some of the Bashmurites had
rebelled against Abd al-Malik, under their leader Mennas, son of Apacyrus, besides other
insurgents, inhabitants of Shubrâ near Sanbat. And they seized that province, and refused
to pay taxes to Abd al-Malik or to the chief of the Divân of Misr; and at last the Lord
visited them, and gave them the victory. For Abd al-Malik brought out an army against
them, but they put him to flight by the power of God, and slew his soldiers with the edge
of the sword. And he despatched another army, and a fleet of ships on the river, and by
the power of God they put all his men to flight or slew them. And when Marwân reached
Egypt, all this was made known to him. So he wrote letters and a decree of pardon for
those rebels; but as they would not accept him, he despatched against them a great army of
Egyptian Muslims, and of those who came in his company from Syria. But this army could not
reach them at all, because they fortified themselves in marshy places, which could only he
approached by men marching in single file; and if a man's foot slipped from the path, he
would sink into the mud and perish. And as the troops watched the Bashmurites from a
distance, the latter marched out against them at night by ways which they knew, and took
the soldiers by surprise, and killed those whom they could, and carried off their goods
and their horses; and as the troops grew tired of these attacks, they marched away and
left them.

93 Then Abd Allah, the prince, arrived with a great army in the province of Damascus, and
divided his troops between two brave commanders, one of whom was named Sâlih, son of Ali,
and the other Abu Aun, his friend, saying to them: “If you shall find Marwân and capture
him, I will promote you two to be princes; and to Abu Aun I will give Egypt.” Then he sent
with Sâlih sixty thousand horsemen and sixty captains; and he gave to Abu Aun forty
thousand horsemen and four hundred officers. So the two arrived at Damascus, the governor
of which was Marwân's son-in-law, having married his eldest daughter; but, as he submitted
to them, they retained him in office. Then they marched on to Egypt. When they arrived at
Gaza, the inhabitants told them: “The people of Damascus have not put on the black, nor
remained obedient to you.” So they returned in wrath, and slew a great number of the
chiefs of the people of Damascus, and killed the governor, Marwân's son-in-law, and took
the daughter of Marwân prisoner. And when the news reached Marwân, he reviewed his troops,
and found that those who had come with him were eight thousand in number. Then he gave
orders to his subjects, the natives of the land, saying: “If any of the people of Egypt
refuse to enter into my religion, and to pray as I do, and to adopt my creed, I will slay
him and impale his body.

94 But whoever shall enter with me into my religion I will clothe with a robe of honour,
and I will mount him upon a horse, and will place his name in my Divân, and make him
rich.” In consequence of these words he was soon followed by a thousand persons, who
recited his prayer; and accordingly he gave to each one ten dinars. Then two thousand
Muslims of Egypt joined him, besides those whom he had released from prison, and those who
served him of the troops of the army of the empire. And he sent his sister's son to
Alexandria, accompanied by one of the chiefs of his army, and commanded him to enlist the
Ishmaelites, on condition that they recited his prayer. For there was at Alexandria a
chief man and leader of the Muslims, named Al-Aswâd, to whom many men had gathered while
the Muslims were fighting the Romans; and Marwân had commanded those whom he sent thither
to kill him and ten of his officers, because he had not come to him at Misr; but Al-Aswâd
had a friend at Misr in attendance on Marwân and an associate of his, who heard of this
and wrote to Al-Aswâd to make known to him what had been done, before those men arrived at
Alexandria. When the Alexandrians learnt what Marwân intended, they swore fidelity to Al-
Aswâd; and he and they became of one heart, and so when Marwân's envoy and his companions
arrived, the Alexandrians arrested them, and cast them into prison.

95 Al-Aswâd gathered a large body, from Alexandria and Maryût and Al-Buhairah, of Muslims
who lived in those districts, and placed them outside the wall of Alexandria to keep the
roads. Therefore when Marwân was informed, he sent a great army under an Amir and chief,
named Kauzârâ, who was like a wild beast in form and character, and of great courage, and
with him were five hundred fighting men; and Marwân commanded them to lay Alexandria
waste. So they encamped at a place named Bakûm at a distance from Alexandria. When Al-
Aswâd heard this, he sent against them his brother and five hundred men with him, to
reconnoitre; and when Marwân's followers saw them, they thought that they were an army
from the town, and that there was none left therein who would fight them except these. So
they rose up against them, and killed most of them, and the remainder fled and returned to
the city, while the enemy pursued them. When they reached Al-Aswâd and his companions,
they cried saving: “Our city is taken.” So they all fled, their number being thirty
thousand, and Al-Aswâd escaped and hid himself. And Marwân's army entered the city with
Kauzârâ, and took possession of it, and killed many of the inhabitants, and plundered its
officials, and their children and wives were taken prisoners, and their goods were seized.
And the Father Abba Michael was captured; and Kauzârâ said to him: “How couldst thou
permit thy children, the Christians, to fight against us?” By this he meant the
Bashmurites.

96 And he reproved the patriarch with many words, and demanded money of him. But, as Abba
Michael had nothing, he put him in prison, and fastened a mass of iron to his feet. And.
the patriarch's disciples and some of his priests had fled on account of what had happened
at Alexandria, and none remained save Abba Mennas, the priest, who was the oeconomus of
the church of Saint Mark the Evangelist and Disciple, and Valentinus, the deacon and
secretary of the Cell, and Bartholomew, the monk of Samannûd; for they were bound together
with Abba Michael. Then Kauzârâ also seized Cosmas, patriarch of the Melkites, and put his
feet in the stocks, together with the feet of our father and patriarch. But after five
days, Cosmas raised from his congregation and his church the sum of a thousand dinars, and
paid them to Kauzârâ, who thereupon released him. And Kauzârâ sent to our father, and said
to him: “Do likewise, and I will release thee.” But he answered: “There is nothing in my
church; therefore I give myself instead of the money, and thou must do with me what thou
wilt.” Then he pressed him sore, till the end of nine days. After that he sent for him,
and laid his hand upon him, and dragged him on his face, and threw him on his knees. And
there was a rod in his hand, so he struck him with it two hundred times on his head with
all his might and main.

97 But the Lord Christ was Abba Michael's helper and protected him, so that he suffered no
hurt. Then Kauzârâ commanded that the patriarch's head should be cut off; and they dragged
him along like a dumb sheep. And when they had gone a short distance from that
misbeliever, Abba Michael drew down his cap over his face, so that his head might be taken
off, and then he readily with joy stretched out his neck. 98 And the swordsman put forth
his hand, and drew his sword, and cried, saying: “Shall I take off his head?” For it was
according to custom that he should ask permission three times. And, when he asked
permission for the second time, the Amir gave it to him. Then God put a thought into
Kauzârâ's heart, and he said: “How does it profit us to kill this old man? For he forbad
the Bashmurites to fight with us, and wrote to them, but they would not listen to him.
Rather let us carry him with us to Rosetta, and make him write to them again, and tell
them that all that which has happened to him is on their account.” So Kauzârâ commanded
that the patriarch should be released.

99 When the Bashmurites heard of these events, they attacked those who were besieging
them, and slew them or routed them, they being at a distance of a two days journey. And
those who escaped death went to Marwân, and made known to him what had happened to them.
And when Marwân learnt that his enemies were coming after him, and had killed his son-in-
law, his daughter's husband, the governor of Damascus, he sent a letter by those who had
fled to him in order to escape from the Bashmurites, saying to his followers: “Come to me
speedily, for I have need of you. And pillage every town that you reach, and slay the
inhabitants”. Therefore those miscreants marched into Upper Egypt, and killed many of the
officials, and carried off their goods, and took captive their wives and servants and
children. And they burnt the monasteries of the monks, and carried off the nuns, until
they came to the Eastern district. And there was in those parts a convent of nuns, virgins
who lived there as the brides of Christ, thirty in number. So Marwân's troops took them
prisoners. And there was among them a young maiden, who had entered the convent when she
was three years old;

100 and when they saw her they marvelled at her beauty, saying: “We have never beheld
among human beings a form like hers.” So they took her, and removed her from the midst of
her sisters, and consulted together as to what they should do with regard to her, some
saying: “Let us cast lots for her,” and others: “Let us take her to the prince.” And,
while they were saying these things, the maiden asked of them: “Where is your leader, that
I may let him know of something that is worth money, so that you may let me go? For I am a
servant of God, and it is not lawful for you to profane my service. But, if I make known
to you that thing by which you shall gain money, you will send me back to my convent.” So
their commander answered her, saying: “I am he.” She said to him: “My fathers were
fighting men, brave and strong, and gave me a medicament, with which they used to anoint
themselves when they went out to fight, so that iron did them no hurt, but swords and
spears became like wax candles before them. If then thou wilt let me go free, I will give
this drug to thee. And if thou dost not believe my words, I will anoint my neck in thy
presence;

101 then bring the best sword that thy men have, and let the strongest among them strike
me, and I shall not be cut at all, so that thou mayest know the truth of my words. ” But
she only said this because she desired to die by the sword, that she might not be
contaminated by the defilements of those miscreants, nor her pure body be: polluted by
them. Then she entered her chamber, and brought out a phial containing oil, which the holy
men had blessed, and which was preserved in her possession; and she anointed her neck and
face and all her body with it, and prayed kneeling upon her knees, and stretched out her
neck. So those ignorant men thought that the thing was true, and knew not what was in her
heart. Then she said to them: “Let him that is strong among you, and has a sharp sword,
display his strength upon me; for you will see the glory of God in this medicament.”
Thereupon a young man sprang forward with a sword of which he was proud. And she covered
her face with her pallium, and laid down her head, saying: “Strike with all thy. might,
and spare not.” So he struck at the holy martyr, and her head fell. Then they recognised
what her aim had been, and that she had eluded them; and so they repented and were
exceedingly sad, and great fear overwhelmed them.

102 And after her they touched no more of the nuns and virgins, but left them in peace and
departed glorifying God. 103 Then Marwân wrote to Kauzârâ, whom he had despatched to
Alexandria, bidding him hasten to him without delay; but, when he reached Rosetta, he was
informed that the Bashmurites had slain the Muslims in the town and laid it waste, and
burnt it with fire, and also that the enemy was at hand. So he delivered the father
patriarch to one of the officers, that he might conduct him to Marwân. Then I journeyed
and informed my father, Abba Moses, of what had taken place, on account of the power of
prophecy which God had given him, and the miracles which he worked. Therefore ye must
believe truly in that which I am about to say, for I saw it with my own eyes. That is that
before Marwân came to Egypt, and before there was any fighting there, Abba Moses had made
known, by revelation from God, what would become of the princes, and what would happen to
the churches and faithful people of Christ. For it was said to him in vision: “Prepare,
for thou wilt be with the fathers in the battle.” And that year he multiplied his prayers
and devotions and sleepings upon the ground day and night, and his continuance in prayer
and sadness and weeping and copious tears. So when I, the sinner, saw him, I begged and
implored him to tell me the cause of his doing thus with himself. Now that holy father
hated vain glory, and he said to me: “O my son, my sins are many;

104 and, when I remember them, I weep and repent, and offer prayers to God, praying to him
for pardon.” But since I, the sinner, enjoyed some freedom with Abba Moses, because I
attended him night and day, I grasped his feet and kissed them, and my tears ran over
them, and I said: “I will not rise nor lift my face until thou shalt make known to me the
truth of this matter.” So he answered: “If thou must know, thou also wilt share my lot
with me; ---- for none will be safe in the days of this government; ---- above all in the
harm that the people will do to the Church. But I know that the Lord Christ will not
abandon her finally, but that she will be delivered from her trouble. For this government
will perish with all its armies, and there will be a new government after it.” Thus I
heard much from him of these and other matters. And I know that every word he said was
true and is fulfilled in its season; and I continued to meditate on this and what would
come after it. And after that day, Marwân and his government were driven out, and he came
to Egypt, as has been related. For I was pondering and wondering what would happen to the
Church of God in the time of peace and prosperity, and other things;

105 and while he was conversing with me, behold, the father patriarch arrived, escorted by
the soldiers, at the door of the holy church in the city of Wasîm, on the morning of
Sunday, the 10th of Abîb. When my holy father Moses saw them, he said to me: “My son, this
day which I was expecting, and of which I spoke to thee, has arrived, and seeing is better
than hearing. Now therefore let him who is willing to give up his life follow me. I
rejoice to day, because I have long desired this, although I confess that I am not worthy
to shed my impure blood in return for the pure blood shed for us. But great is the sadness
in my heart, because the generation of the saints is scattered, and we are become
exceedingly poor, since we cannot find a man to share with us in this ministry, as I bore
witness at the time of the synod.” And my father Moses, in spite of his fasting and prayer
and virtue, said: “Woe to me, the sinner! I believe that Christ will not forsake me, but
will help me.” After this the soldiers began to molest us. Then we received the holy
communion from the hand of the glorious father, Abba Michael, the holy patriarch and
chosen martyr. Meanwhile we saw flames ascending from Al-Fustât; and we were informed that
Marwân had set fire to the storehouses ot provisions and cotton and straw and to the
supplies of barley.

106 So, when the soldiers learnt this, they troubled us much, and cried out upon us with
great indignation. And my father Moses laid his arm on mine, and put on an outer garment,
and I supported him, and he left all that was in his church, and went out. And there was
not one of the bishops or ecclesiastics with the patriarch save me alone and one reader of
the church of Saint Macarius, named James, a native of Bilbais. 107 Now Marwân had
commanded that the trumpet should be sounded at Misr, and a proclamation made during three
days, saying: “If after three days I find man or beast remaining in Misr, I will put that
man or that beast to death, for I will set fire to the whole city of Al-Fustât.” So all
the people passed over to Al-Gizah and the Island and other parts, escaping in the boats;
even the carefully guarded girls, who had never been out of doors, went away with their
families; and the people left all their goods behind. And the caliph caused Misr to be set
on fire from the south to the north, until it reached the Great Mosque of the Muslims. And
a countless number of men and beasts were drowned in the river, because they could find
none to carry them across, when they fled from the fire. For brother fled from brother,
and friend from friend; and the blind found none to lead him; and the cripple and the
paralytic and the sick and the old man about to die and the aged woman unable to move,
---- all these were burnt in the fire. And people were lying in the streets and lanes and
gardens in the district of Al-Gizah like corpses, in consequence of all that they had
suffered in their great misery and hunger and thirst. And they found no food on account of
the multitude of people; for Marwân had burnt the supplies of provisions in Misr.

108 So the soldiers went to Kauzârâ, whose name in another copy is Hautharah, and reported
our arrival to him; and he commanded a man named Azrak to take charge of us, until he
should settle what was to be done. At that time Marwân was informed that his enemies, the
Khorassanians, had arrived at Al-Faramâ. So he sent troops in boats to the north to every
district, that they might burn all the boats that they found on the river; and this
purpose they carried out. And he despatched other troops by land, with orders to burn the
cities and villages and vineyards and water-wheels and every thing that they could find.
So they marched on till they reached Atrib, which they were minded to burn. And there were
there five streams of water running westwards, besides canals flowing from the river
called Gehon which is the River Nile. And Marwân thought that he could remain on the
western side of the Nile, while the Khorassanians were on the eastern bank, and that, when
they found the country laid waste, they would retire, because it was empty of men and
beasts and provisions and stores, and that they would not find in the land anything to
repay their trouble, nor boats by which they might cross over to him, and so that they
would not remain there, but would turn upon their heels. But afterwards he learnt that his
enemies were approaching near, and that there were fords in the river by which they might
reach him.

109 And when this was made known to him, he sent a messenger to bring back those whom he
had despatched to Atrib; and therefore they did not burn that town, because they returned
speedily to him. And on the 18th of Abîb, in the year 470 of the Martyrs, Marwân burnt a
fort at Misr on that night. For he crossed in the boats, he and all his army, and encamped
on the bank of the river until he had burnt the fort. But he did not burn the boats which
were with him on the western bank. And when the soldiers came to him every day, he said to
them: “Take care of the boats.” And wherever he marched he took us about with him, we
being in great distress through the multitude of people and beasts, and the crowd and
throng. 110 And at sunset, on the 18th of Abîb, the Khorassanians reached Misr, and he
beheld them from the western bank; and he commanded his followers to assemble that night.
The Khorassanians marched into Misr next day, heaping foul insults upon Marwân and his
sons. These strangers formed a vast host, and they pitched their tents to the north of Al-
Fustât, at a place called the Stable; and their camp extended from that spot to the
mountains. Thus their vanguard were on the bank of the Nile, while their rearguard reached
from Al-Faramâ to Gaza; for these who had arrived at Misr were their scouts.

111 When Marwân encamped for a time during the night of the 20th of Abîb, being then on
the march, he ordered that we should be brought before him; for he was filled with anger
and wrath against us on account of what Hautharah had told him of us. How great were the
grief and the anxiety which settled upon us at that hour! When I think upon what took
place, I fear and tremble for those who would not weep if they beheld what happened to us,
nor grieve for what we underwent. For the words of David the Prophet, in the 37th Psalm,
were fulfilled upon us, where he says: “My acquaintances stood far from me.” All the
disciples that had been around us fled with the others, and none remained with us save the
priest Mennas, archpriest of the church of Saint Sergius, and the hegumen Theodore, who
was afterwards counted worthy to be made a bishop, and the deacon who was the patriarch's
secretary, because he had been at Misr. These had left their wives and children and goods,
and followed us, saying: “We will die with you.” So, when the Father Michael saw the
goodness of their thoughts, he blessed them, and bade them return and not follow us, but
this they would not do; and they continued to march with us. And I was wearing the habit
of the monks, although unworthy. And my Father Moses, the bishop, took the father's left
arm, and I took his right arm.

112 And when we arrived at Marwân's tent, the swordsman came out to us, and he was very
terrible; and he conducted us within by order of the prince. So when Marwân beheld us, he
said: “Which of you is the patriarch?” When he was told which was he, he commanded that
they should bring the patriarch forward before him; and they delivered my father to
soldiers who were devourers of men's flesh; but they set us apart on one side. Then the
father, Abba Moses, was thrown upon his knees, and they lifted up his feet, and beat him
with brazen clubs upon his sides and neck, saying to him: “Give us money, and we will
release thee.” But he answered not a word, for he knew not what they said to him, except
what I understood of their words, and repeated to him word by word. And he was prostrate
on the ground, thanking God and praying him to make him worthy to suffer for the Church of
God. And the officer did not address a single syllable to me, for they considered my dress
disgraceful. Now the holy father, Abba Michael, the patriarch, was standing with his face
towards Marwân, whose eyes were turned towards Misr, where he saw his enemies; while the
Khorassanians were looking in his direction, and all the people of Misr on the bank of the
Nile were insulting Marwân, as we said before.

113 And behold, one of the Khorassanians shot an arrow towards the western bank, while we
were looking at him. And those that were left of the Christians at Misr said to the
Khorassanians: “There is our father, the patriarch, standing before Marwân, the
misbeliever; and we know not what he will do with him.” The Bashmurites also had met the
Khorassanians at Al-Faramâ and said to them: “Marwân has seized our patriarch, with intent
to kill him, because we fought against the prince, and slew his soldiers before you came.”
Meanwhile Hautharah, the misbeliever, was with Marwân, and was saying to him: “This
patriarch said: Be of good courage, for God will take away the government from Marwân, and
deliver it to his enemies.” And many words like this were uttered by him. So when Marwân
heard these accusations, his interpreter said to the father patriarch: “Art thou the
patriarch of Alexandria?” For that was Marwân's question. Abba Michael answered: “Yea, I
am thy servant.” And I heard him say this, because I was near him. So Marwân said to him:
“Tell me, art thou the chief of the enemies of our religion?” Then the holy patriarch
answered and said: “I am not the chief of wicked men, but of good men; and my people do
not work evil, but they have been ruined by troubles, so that they have even been forced
to offer their children for sale.” After that, I did not hear another word from his mouth.

114 Then Marwân commanded the officials who were holding him to stretch forth their hands
to him forthwith, and pull out the hair of his beard from his cheeks; and they cast his
hair into the river, and I saw it with my own eyes floating on the water. Now his beard
had been full and handsome, flowing over his breast like the beard of Jacob Israel. And
the Khorassanians on the eastern bank were observing what Marwân did to the patriarch; and
if they had found means of crossing over to Marwân, they would have killed him because of
the tyranny and hardness of heart which they saw in him; but they could not find any boats
at all in which to cross. The river, however, did not rise at all before the 1st of Misri;
and the western branch had sunk so low as to be without water; and in the other branch,
namely the eastern, there were a few places that could be forded, but the Khorassanians
did not know them; and Marwân guarded them because he knew of them; and no boat from the
western bank approached Misr.

115 The sixth hour passed that day while the father patriarch was standing before Marwân
beardless with bare cheeks. And while my father Moses was all the time undergoing the
torments which we have mentioned before, the Lord opened the eyes of his heart, and he
beheld the two martyrs, Sergius and Bacchus, with the grace of God surrounding them, in
the likeness of two horsemen of the army of the prince; and they crossed the river, riding
their horses, while no man saw them but he alone, until they stood opposite to Marwân, and
said to him: “Why dost thou sit here paralysed, when thine enemies have crossed over to
the west?” But no man beheld those two, except my father, the bishop Abba Moses, and
Marwân, and no other. For the father patriarch was still in the hands of the officials,
and they were tormenting him. Then the two holy martyrs disappeared.

116 And Marwân forthwith broke up his camp, and commanded the troops to follow him,
ordering that we should be kept till the morrow. Thus we remained the rest of that day on
the bank of the river, exposed to the sun, in consequence of the command which the caliph
had given to the soldiers, until I thought that my father would not live till sunset,
after the severe torment which they had inflicted upon him. Then, on the morrow early, we
were visited by bishops, and monks from Wadî Habîb, who had come to see what had been done
to us; and subsequently they remained with us. Then Marwân appeared, for he was riding;
and he took his seat, and commanded that we should be brought before him early in the
morning. So when the sun rose he summoned a swordsman, and sent for our father, Abba
Michael, alone, that the officer might bring him into his presence. Accordingly the
swordsman took his hand and led him in, saying to us: “Stand here till he calls you”. But
my father, Abba Moses, cried out, saymg: “As the Lord lives, I will never be separated
from my father, but will follow him whithersoever they take him!” Then I also hastened
with them, in order to find out what would become of them.

117 But, when the swordsman saw me, he said: “The prince ordered that the patriarch alone
should enter.” The bishop said to him: “I have told thee that I cannot be separated at all
from my father, for I only came here for his sake; therefore do whatever thou desirest,
but I will never be parted from him.” Then the swordsman was angry and said to him in
fury: “It is not lawful to disobey the prince; yet thou wilt not hearken”. Now he had in
his hand a brazen club, which weighed twenty pounds, and he raised it to strike my father
upon the head; and he offered his head to him. But when he was about to strike him, a body
of his companions, who were in attendance, cried out upon him, and would not let him
strike. And all the soldiers said in their language and speech: “Verily what an excellent
servant this bishop is to his master!” Then there came a messenger saying: “Bring them all
in, for the prince summons them.” So we all entered; and found Marwân sitting on the bank
of the river. Then first the blessed father went forward alone, as Marwân ordered; and the
prince made him stand before him all that day for about ten hours, confronting him; but
the patriarch's heart was with Christ, while his hands were stretched out, and his very
limbs seemed to pray;

118 and he made the sign of the cross over his face, without fear of the prince who hated
the sign of the cross. And the caliph did not address a single word to him; and there were
around him many drawn swords and weapons of war. 119 As for us, Marwân commanded his men
to set us on his left hand in a place apart; and again he ordered that we should be
brought forward and delivered to certain soldiers, other than those who had conducted us
from Alexandria; so they handed us over to men who were like wild beasts. And he bade one
of his companions take charge of us, namely Yazîd, a leader of certain men with him, who
was braver than any other of his followers. Our number on that day was ten, besides the
father patriarch, Abba Michael; and Yazîd put with each one of us three soldiers, who
oppressed us sorely. Then, when the sun was burning, that officer prepared for us various
instruments of torture; for they had not agreed as to what kind of death they should make
us suffer; upon which I and my father Moses begged the father patriarch to say over us the
Prayer of Absolution, according to the canon of the church; and so he did. Afterwards we
prayed one for another, and the younger of us said to the elder: “If thou shalt find mercy
with Christ, remember me.” And we turned our faces to the East and prayed, while the
people were looking at us from the eastern bank, and also on the western side, and many of
the Muslims wept for us; and Marwân's eldest son, named Abd Allah, was weeping for us
also, together with the people.

120 Then Marwân lifted up his eyes towards the eastern bank, and saw the Khorassanians in
great numbers; and he was dismayed for this and said: “How shall I fight them?” For he
knew not what to do. Now Abd ar-Rahîm, the misbeliever whom we mentioned before, had
discovered a mixture with which he smeared the boats, so that fire could not injure them.
Therefore Marwân caused the boats to be thus anointed, and embarked on each boat eighty
men, and bade them fight the people; so they threw fire over them, and burnt all the boats
that they found. But a boat which was approaching the eastern bank, where stood Sâlih and
Abu Aun and their companions, was upset with its occupants, and all were drowned except
one man; and the people of Misr picked up the corpses, and took what was on them and the
ammunition and money that they had. And the living, who were not drowned, they took as
prisoners, and bound them together two and two, with iron chains round their necks, and
dragged them to land and delivered them to the Khorassanians. Now the Khorassanians had
brought many boats with them to Misr.

121 And when the tenth hour of that day had passed, Marwân ordered Yazîd, in whose charge
we were, to take us to the north of the Island of An-Nuzahât. So we prayed upon the edge
of the river, in the enclosure Then, when they took us away, they hurried us along in
great wrath. But the Lord beheld our secret thoughts and our faith, and he put into the
heart of Abd Allah, the elder son of Marwân, the wish to intercede with his father,
Marwân, weeping with copious tears; for he begged his father to let us go, saying:
“Behold, thou seest our enemies surrounding us; while we are preparing, if things go hard
with us, to escape to the land of the Blacks, who are, as we have been told, the spiritual
children of this old man; so that, if thou slayest him, they will not welcome us, but they
also will rise up against us and slay us.” When Marwân had heard these words of his son,
we were taken back to prison. Now there were in that place four prisons. So, when they
brought us into the prison, they made us fast with wood and iron, and we were in great
distress. And the first to be fettered with iron was the holy father and patriarch; and
after him the bishop, Abba Moses, and I, his son John, the poor sinner and deacon, upon
whom he had laid his holy hand without any merit of mine.

122 Then followed the bishop of Tunbuda, Abba Mennas, the patriarch's secretary, and Abba
Zacharias, bishop of Atrib, and his spiritual son, the bishop of Busîr, whose name was
Peter, and who had recently taken possession of his see, and the deacon George, the son of
the spiritual father who received the see of Al-Basrât, and Athanasius, archpriest of the
church of Saint Macarius, and Abba James, who was also counted worthy of the bishopric of
Sanjâr, and his spiritual brother, the son of the Father Peter of Samannûd. And they
fastened to the feet of each one of us eleven a mass of iron, exceedingly heavy, weighing
half a Khunjûr; and they put us behind three wooden doors without light or air or means of
rest, one looking to the east and another to the west; and the narrow space in which we
were oppressed us more than the iron, so that we almost died from crowding, and the
gaolers were pitiless; for that misbelieving prince, Marwân, had given orders that we
should be closely confined. And our father's sadness on our account was greater than his
care for himself; but he encouraged us with the word of God and the holy canons of our
ancient fathers. So not one of us hid anything from the others, but we were all one soul,
as Paul says awaiting the end; and we prayed God to send it quickly, that we might lay
down our lives for the people, rather than that one of them should perish.

123 When the father discoursed to us, he spoke a spiritual language like the music of a
harp, while the breath of life came forth from his mouth with spiritual praises; and he
persevered in fasting and in prayer day and night. 124 As for my father Moses, in the
first hour after they brought us into the prison and put us in fetters he prophesied to
us, saying: “They will not slay us this time; yet we shall not be released from the prison
as long as Marwân is alive.” And it was as he said. And when we wished to break our fast,
a man named Ibn Kustus sent to us provisions for breakfast; but we had no room to eat, and
could not turn to the right or left on account of the narrow space. And there was a great
dearth in the district of Al-Gizah through the multitude of people; for wheat was not to
be found at all, nor barley, after a waibah had been sold at a high price; but in spite of
the distress salt was sold at the usual rate. Then Marwân, after these troubles which he
had brought upon every place, ordered his followers to slay and take prisoners and
pillage; and they obeyed him. And he sent to Upper Egypt, and slew all the Christians
there; the leader of that business being a man named Marwân, son of Abd al-Azîz the
founder of Hulwân. And they laid waste the country from Memphis to the city of Theodosia.

125 But when the Lord desired to take vengeance upon them, he endured them no longer,
after the crimes which they had committed in corrupting and violating women, and polluting
many of the virgins. Accordingly there came some men who knew the fords of the river, and
made them known to the Khorassanians, whom they guided thither, thus conducting them
across to the western bank. And the Khorassanians divided their army into four parts: one
part with a man named Sâlih, told off to guard Misr; and one with a man named Abu
'l-Hakam, who was in high favour with the prince; and one in the lower parts of Shatnûf
and its neighbourhood, to prevent anyone from crossing the river; and one with Abu Aun,
who encamped beside a ford, where the water was low. Then Marwân despatched Hautharah and
his men to take up their position opposite to the Khoras-sanians, intending to prevent
their crossing. But Marwân's boats were seized by the Khorassanians of the black-robed
party, who had destroyed the church of the Martyr Apater. Meanwhile we, in spite of all
these events, remained in the prison at Al-Gizah, in bonds and in distress with our
companions; and all men were hindered from enquiring after us by fear lest we should be
put to torture; but, whenever a man desired to come to us to receive the blessing of the
fathers, he bribed our gaoler heavily.

126 After that they oppressed us even more cruelly, as they did to Ignatius, the saint and
martyr, when they delivered him to the ten lions. So they acted even when our brethren did
good to them, for they tormented us yet more. At that time then we remained with the
patriarch ten days and ten nights in this fashion; but when the deacon and reader of
Bilbais saw our distress he hastened away to the Monastery of Saint Macarius, in Wadî
Habîb, and assembled all the holy fathers and monks; and they began to fast and pray in
the church night and day, crying to the Lord Christ to look upon us, and to take away our
misery and all that men were suffering by captivity and slaughter and pillage, and 1o put
a stop to the lamentations of young and old. So the gracious God heard them, and raised up
the Khorassanians to help them: for Abu Aun crossed the river with his army to the western
bank; and when Hautharah and his troops, Marwân's followers, saw him, they took to flight.
And the Khorassanians pursued and fought them, and did not cease slaughtering them until
they reached Wadî Habîb, in answer to the prayers of the saints; for the army of the
Khorassanians crossed over the river on the day on which the monks assembled in the
church, which was Saturday, the last day of Abîb.

127 And they slew so many of Marwân's army, that of eight thousand men whom he led out of
Misr only four hundred survived and no more. 128 When Marwân learnt that his enemy's
troops had been divided into four parts, he fled two days before they crossed the river,
carrying his wives and his goods with him; and thus he escaped secretly. And of the
followers of Yazîd three hundred were slain, for he fled from Shatnûf in the direction of
Mount Wasîm; and then his own men killed him, and killed his horse that he rode, and went
over to the other party, and swore allegiance to them. 129 But the two sons of Marwân were
at Al-Gizah when their father fled, and they knew not whither he had gone. For he had sent
his younger son to the north of the Island of An-Nuzahât; and he was very wicked like his
father. But as for the elder, Abd Allah, our fathers had prayed for him that he might not
meet with trials nor troubles because of what he had done for them; and so it was. Now the
younger son was fifteen years old; and he fled to An-Nuzahât, accompanied by four hundred
horsemen; and he found there a certain oil, called dogs' oil, in marble jars, and he upset
it into the river; and after setting fire to An-Nuzahât, he joined his father Marwân. And
although he released those that were in the prisons at that place, we were not released,
but he wished to burn us in the fire. Then he went into the midst of the boats of the
fleet to burn them; and a voice was heard, crying mightily: “Behold, thy enemies are
come!” So he and his companions fled quickly., And those who remained at An-Nuzahât of its
inhabitants extinguished the fire, and set us free at sunset from the prison, and released
us from the irons on our feet. God be witness that some of the Muslims who were on
horseback dismounted, and took off the iron from us; and men took women's dresses and put
them on, and hid themselves in the storehouses and cellars, through fear of that terrible
voice which they had heard. And they took us and led us away to Saint Peter's church at
Al-Gizah, while some of the faithful walked with us, it being the night of the first
Sunday in Misri.

130 Now there was no water at all in the canal of Al-Gizah, for it was dried up by God's
command; nor did the water rise or stir at all until the day when we crossed over it on
our feet. And when the Khorassanians learnt that their enemy had fled, they embarked in
the boats that night and crossed to Al-Gizah, taking their horses also on board. So they
pursued Marwân. And every man that they met, who was not wearing the black garments, they
put to death. And that night the van of the army, which had crossed with Abu Aun from
Shatnûf, came southwards with their drawn swords in their hands, and all wearing iron
cuirasses, purposing to fight Marwân and to capture him. And as for us, we felt no
inclination to sleep that night. For the Khorassanians stayed three days and three nights,
joining their forces at the beginning of Misri, and marching onwards; while we beheld them
as one host from the mountains to the river. Then Hautharah begged for a safe-conduct; but
they would not accept him, saying: “If thou wilt not deliver to us the enemy of God,
Marwân, thou shalt have no safe-conduct from us.” So he departed and took Marwân, and
acted deceitfully with him, saying: “Behold, our enemies have drawn near to us. Arise, let
us take our women and children and goods, and let us embark secretly in the boats, and
descend the river, and escape to the Romans;

131 for, if we fall into this man's hand, he will destroy us.” Marwân answered: “Ah
Hautharah, thou art acting treacherously with thy master!” And thereupon Marwân took his
sword, and cut off Hautharah's head and killed him. And none opposed the Khorassanians nor
stood before them, after Hautharah was slain. Then they called upon every man who was a
Christian to fasten a cross of gold or silver or copper upon his forehead, or upon his
garment, and upon the door of his house, and whoever did not do so was slain; but this was
no fault of ours. And the Khorassanians also had crosses of gold and silver on their
horse's necks. Then the army of which Sâlih was leader overtook Marwân and his son, after
pursuing him for a whole day, and, when they met, the fighting did not cease between them
from evening till morning, so that many were slain. And they followed him as far as Mount
Abbah to the west of Cleopatra, the city founded by Alexander the Macedonian, the place
concerning which the prophecy was uttered by the holy old hermit, whom Marwân burnt alive
in the fire, and who told him, before he burnt him, that he would be killed at that place.
And with Marwân was killed also Rayân, son of Abd al-Azîz; but the two sons of Marwân
escaped. And the Khorassanians took possession of Hulwân and all that was therein, and
slew the women, and seized all the money of Egypt that was at Hulwân.

132 And the Persians, Marwân's followers, were slain with the sword; and the enemy seized
all that belonged to them, and carried it away in the prince's boats. 133 And now the Nile
began to rise, although it had been sinking till the Khorassanians had crossed over to the
bank of Al-Gizah, and had destroyed Marwân, After that it increased again, from the first
day of Misri, and rose every day about a cubit, till finally it reached eighteen cubits
that year, for which reason men said that the hand of God was with the Khorassanians.
Whenever the latter found men bearing the sign of the cross, they lightened their taxes,
and behaved kindly to them, and did good to them, in whatever part of the country they
might be. 134 But they impaled Marwân head downwards, after they had killed him. For they
took him prisoner at a place called Dâwatun, and we were witnesses of this event; and they
cut off the head of his vizier. And when those princes, the leaders of the Khorassanians,
inquired after us, we went to them; and they set the holy father and martyr, Abba Michael,
free, and honoured him greatly. And his beard had grown again and was more comely than
before, by the power of the Lord Christ; and we and all who had witnessed these
occurrences glorified God. And the father, Abba Michael said: “Verily I saw a personage
while I was in prison, who touched my face with his hand, and my beard grew again
handsomer than it had been before.” When the father, Abba Michael, requested of the
governor to protect the property of the churches in all the provinces, he complied with
his request. And as for the Bashmurites, he made them free of taxation, and gave them
other revenues as a gift. Now Marwân had burnt all the books and accounts of the Divâns,
so that they did not know the amount of the revenues, whether paid in cash or in kind. In
those days great events took place in Egypt; but Sâlih departed with his army to
Palestine.

135 When we were set free, each one of us departed to his own place. And Abu Aun was made
governor of Egypt. And a short time afterwards there came to Egypt two men, officials of
the divans, sent by the prince. They were Muslims, and one of them was named Atâ, son of
Shurahbil, and the other Safi; and they were far from the knowledge of God. And Abu Aun
laid before them all the accounts of Egypt, and brought the country back into the state in
which it had been under Marwân. Although they were driven away from the palace, the prince
sent them back; and they imposed two fresh duties upon Lower Egypt, and one upon Upper
Egypt. This was in the second year of security and prosperous government. And they
instructed the governor, and taught him how to cause great trouble, through their hatred
of us, the Christians, and their love of money; for authority was given to them to do what
they would. Now of the revenue of Egypt, after deducting the soldiers' pay, and the
expenses of the government offices, and what was needed to carry on the administration,
what remained over and was carried to the Public Treasury altogether every year amounted
to two hundred thousand dinars apart from the necessary outlay and expenses and what we
have already mentioned. And in the third year of the rule of the Khorassanians they
doubled the taxes, and exacted them from the Christians, and would not fulfil their
promises to them.

136 For the two secretaries aforesaid find the Khorassanians forgot that it was God who
had given them the government, and neglected the holy Cross which had gained them the
victory. And Abd Allah, the prince, sent letters over the whole of his empire, declaring
that every one who would adopt his religion, and pray according to his prayer, should be
exempted from the poll-tax. So in consequence of the cruel extortions and burdens imposed
upon them, many of the rich and poor denied the faith of Christ, and followed Abd Allah.
Then the father patriarch, Abba Michael, went to Abu Aun, the governor, and addressed him
with reference to the troubles which had been caused in Egypt, instead of the good
administration which he had purposed; and he answered: “The prince gave those orders
because wicked men bore witness to him, saying: If the people of Egypt find rest for one
year, they will conspire against thee, and make war upon thee, as the Bashmurites made war
upon Marwân.” Then Abba Michael prayed the governor to relieve the churches of Alexandria
by lightening the taxes on the land which is cultivated for them only; so Abu Aun gave
orders to those two secretaries, telling them to do what the patriarch desired; yet they
would not obey him, but began to incline his heart to evil. So the father patriarch, and
my father, Abba Moses, with him, and I, the mean one, remained for more than a month
attending at the palace and interviewing those miscreants.

137 And there was there an old Ishmaelite, who beheld us daily at this business; and he
feared God. And he related a story to our father, Abba Michael, saying: “As we, the
Muslims who serve God, have grown poor, so I know that you also will be like us.” The
father said to him: “Thou speakest truly; but I desire a fuller explanation of the meaning
of thy speech.” So the old man replied: 138 “In my youth, my parents entrusted me to two
friends, Ishmaelite merchants, that I might carry goods with them to Africa, to sell them
there. When we had journeyed as far as the Five Cities, with our camels laden with the
rarities of Egypt and the East, we halted by a lake that was very deep. And each one of us
had tied to his belt a purse, containing four hundred dinars. And in consequence of the
fatigue of the journey and the heat, one of us stripped off his clothes, that he might go
down into the water and bathe. So he threw his belt to his comrade, that he might keep it
until he came up from the water; but it slipped from his friend's hand into the water
unnoticed by anyone else. The man who had dropped it stripped himself, and went down to
seek it, but could not find it. So when he came up again, he gave his comrade his own
girdle, instead of that which was lost, without telling him that it was lost. And we
journeyed onward into Africa, where we sold our merchandise, and bought other wares
suitable for Egypt. Then the elder of my companions said to the younger: Give me the four
hundred dinars which thou hast, that I may buy merchandise with them. But he answered:
What we have bought is enough for us this time. And though the other insisted, he did not
tell him what had happened.

139 So the other bought certain goods with the four hundred dinars which he had. When we
returned to the lake, the same thing happened as before; for the elder, to whom the lost
money belonged, stripped himself and went down to bathe. And he found his belt, which had
been lost; and when he looked at it, he recognised it as his own. So he said to his
friend: Tell me what thou hast done. Then his friend made known to him what had happened,
and how he had dropped the girdle. But the other did not tell him that he had found it,
until they arrived at Misr, and sold their wares. Then the elder gave to the younger the
interest of the four hundred dinars as well as the principal, saying to him: God gives
thee this money of thine, and thou must also have the interest of it. When he had done
this, his comrade discussed with him what had taken place between them; and the thing
became known to the governor, and all men marvelled thereat. And both of them took some of
their money, and gave it as alms to the poor; and after that they devoted themselves
entirely to religion, and I imitated them; and not one of us either sells or buys any
more. But at the present day, O holy man, behold, thou seest how all men love injustice,
and have set evil as a crown upon their heads;

140 and thou art a witness to this, and knowest that it is true.” 141 When he had related
this tale to us, we departed to our own places. And God did not endure the Khorassanians,
but raised up wars against them from every side. First there was Abd ar-Rahman, son of
Habîb, brother of Al-Aswâd before mentioned, who seized Africa. For Abd Allah, the prince,
sent troops to Africa in order to take it, in the fourth year of his reign; and in the
year 470 of the Martyrs he marched from Egypt at the beginning of the month of Abîb. Yet
his army did not dare to enter Africa, but remained in the desert, where most of them
perished with thirst. And in that year God destroyed Abd Allah, and his son sat upon the
throne instead of him. And great fighting took place in Egypt between Sâlih and his
brother, who now began to govern. Then the prince sent Sâlih into Egypt to seek his
troops, and rescue them from the hand of his brother. Then he brought back the army which
he had sent into Africa, and entered Misr on the 19th of Babah. And he marched to
Palestine, that they might fight Sâlih's brother. And Abu Aun was there also; and many of
his soldiers were killed. And the war continued between them without interruption, for God
requited them for the evil which they had done in the land Egypt;

142 and they destroyed one another without the interference of a stranger, and did not
cease fighting until Sâlih went away to the sovereign prince in Al-Irak, and Abu Aun
returned to Egypt, and Sâlih's brother fled, and did not appear again, after they had
destroyed the troops between them. At that time Abba John, patriarch of Antioch, went to
his rest, after he had continued in reconciliation with the bishops for three years. And
God hindered the water from rising while Abu Aun was in Egypt; for its highest level was
below fourteen cubits, where it stopped, whereas the height required by the government for
its revenue was sixteen cubits. But God only held back the water on account of those two
secretaries, who were like Antichrist in their deeds. And this check to the water took
place by God's will, that he might show his wonders which he manifests at all times, and
prove the truth of the Christian religion. The bishops had come from their sees to the
patriarch, that they might meet together in his presence at the Feast of the Cross,
according to their custom of assembling before him and forming a synod twice in the year.
So the bishop of Misr and the others went to him. Now God had revealed this matter to my
father the bishop, Abba Moses. And orders were given that none should go that year to
Alexandria for the synod according to custom. So the bishops assembled at Misr before the
patriarch.

143 And on the 17th of Tût, the day of the Feast of the glorious Cross, the clergy of Al-
Gizah and An-Nuzahât assembled with most of the people of Al-Fustât, and the old and the
young of the laity: and they bore the gospels, and censers with incense. And we entered
into the great church, the Catholicon, named after Saint Peter, the foundations of which
were laid in the river. But the church could not contain the people through their
multitude, so that they stood in the fields and places around. And the patriarch lifted up
the cross; while beside him stood Abba Mennas, bishop of Memphis, bearing the holy gospel.
And he led us all forth, carrying crosses and books of the gospels; and we stopped upon
the bank of the river, it being before sunrise. And the father patriarch prayed, and Abba
Mennas, the bishop, prayed; and the people did not cease to cry Kyrie eleison until the
third hour of the day, so that multitudes of the Jews and Muslims and others marvelled at
our cries to God, the Glorious and Exalted. And he heard us, praised is his glorious name!
For the river rose and increased by one cubit; and all glorified and gave thanks to God.
And when the news reached Abu Aun, he marvelled and feared, he and all his troops. And by
God's inspiration he said to his soldiers and to the people of Misr: “We desire to know
which of the religions is the true one”.

144 So he gave orders that the Muslims dwelling at Misr should assemble, and go forth to
the mountain to the east of Misr. Therefore they gathered together, small and great, old
and young, slaves and freemen; and not one of the people of his faith and religion was
left; and the multitude were assembling from midnight till the. fourth hour of the day.
And they prayed and offered supplications to God, saying thus: “O God, the Only One, who
hast no fellow, O Creator of heaven and earth, thou knowest that we associate no other
with thee, and worship none besides thee, and that we say not, as the Christians do, that
thou hast a Son, or that thou wast born, but we confess thee to be One, and worship thee
in Unity. We desire this day to see thy wonders, which thou dost work, that we may know
and prove that there is no religion like ours, which we inherit from our fathers; and we
pray thee to work a miracle for us, as thou didst yesterday for the Christians, who are
our enemies and the enemies of our creed, for they set beside thee another God, begotten
by thee from the beginning, whom they call Christ born of Mary, saying that he is thy Son,
with the Holy Ghost, and that thou art the Third of them, with many such doctrines.

145 We pray thee to give us a sign and miracle in this water.” And while they were thus
employed, behold, one of the men who measure the water ran up and said to them: “The water
has sunk just as much as it rose yesterday.” Then great sadness came upon them, and the
governor knew not what to say; and the people went away to their own places in great
grief. Then Abu Aun ordered that the people of Misr should be tried, and bad the crier
proclaim that the Muslims were to go out to the mountain to pray. And on the morrow they
all issued forth. And the Jews and the Samaritans went out the second day; but the water
neither rose nor sank, but remained as it was. So Abu Aun, the governor, remained in
sadness and without faith. But he said: “So that I may see the end of the matter”; and he
remained in perplexity, saying: “By the prayers of the Christians the water rose, and at
our prayers it sank.” Then he ordered on the third day that no one at all should go out,
and that none should ascend to the mountain nor pray. And the water did not rise during
the three days at all. After that he gave orders to bring the Christians who were at Al-
Fustât, and certain tribes whose names we do not remember; and he commanded Abba Moses to
pray, him and his people.

146 So they recited the prayers, and gave thanks to God till the sixth hour of the day,
and went down and walked round Misr, and came to the bank of the river, and prayed for the
rest of the day. And that night the river rose three cubits, so that altogether it
completed seventeen cubits. Then all the people rejoiced greatly, and thanked God and
glorified his name. 147 And as for Abu Aun, for this reason he increased his benefits
towards the Christians and their churches, and lightened their taxes. And from that day
the Father Patriarch and the bishops, with those who were baptized and the whole Church,
lived in security and peace, in great joy and gladness, in the land of Egypt and the Five
Cities and all the places under the see of the evangelist, Saint Mark, because of the
miracles of the Church which the governor beheld, and her mighty works. And the governor
said that the Christians were of one heart, living in agreement together. For the conduct
of the fathers in that generation resembled the works of the spiritual angels; for one
cured diseases, and another showed forth wonders, and another expounded the scriptures and
taught and exhorted, and another exercised his body in works and labours; and all the
laity were filled with admiration of them, and sought their blessing. And the father, Abba
Michael, for this cause was happy in his bishops and all his flock, and used to go round
among them, and enquire into all their circumstances with care, and exhort them with his
life-giving words, like the apostles and fathers at the beginning, and like the dwellers
in the deserts and caves, encouraging them and teaching them how to fight the Satanic
spirits. And to the monks of the monasteries he taught humility and mutual love; and the
faithful laity he led to that which God approves, and to those of little faith he taught
the doctrines of the gospel, and those who were engaged in disputes he conciliated
together, and calmed their malice, and appeased their enmity by his instructions in the
Holy Scriptures.

148 But if we did not aim at abridgment, books would be insufficient to contain the deeds
of this holy father, Abba Michael. Now there were two parties of heretics, the followers
of Meletius, who lived in ancient times, and of Julian. So the father sent messengers to
them, and wrote to them; but they would not answer him. Then he went himself to visit
them, but could not bring them back to a right heart. For they denied that they were
heretics, and they remained dissidents, some of them in the monasteries and some in the
deserts. So he raised his hands to heaven, and said: “If these are they who have denied
thee and done evil deeds, show forth a sign speedily without delay, so that all may see
them, and glorify thy name.” Accordingly, after a short time, the Lord destroyed them, and
caused them to disappear, as he destroyed Sodom. And at the monastery wherein there were
three thousand persons, there no longer remained any save ten souls, who were believers
and did not walk in their path. And 1, the mean one, addressed them, and visited them,
when the wild beasts had dwelt in their habitations through the prayers of the holy
father, Abba Michael, during the governorship of Abd Allah. And if anyone, ignorant of the
history, asks: “What was the sin of those men, for which they perished?” I will answer you
with God's help.

149 In the days when Dionysius the Wise was patriarch of Alexandria, there appeared the
misbeliever, Paul of Samosata, who was patriarch of Antioch, and who angered God by his
foul deeds. So, when Dionysius heard of him, he wrote to the pious and faithful princes,
to inform them of the news that had reached him concerning Paul the heretic. Therefore
they drove him away, and none knew how he escaped. And anyone who desires to know of his
foul deeds will find an account of them in the epistle of Athanasius the Apostolic, which
he wrote concerning them, and then he will understand and know that matter. And when Abba
Moses was first ordained there were many monasteries in his diocese of Wasîm, belonging to
those followers of Meletius, in which they dwelt. So he banished them all. But some of
them had received the habit from his hand, when they put it on, and became united to us;
and for this reason there was friendship between me and them, during the time when I was a
layman. So when they stripped off them the spiritual habit, received from my father's
hand, there was no longer any affection between me and any of them. And I questioned him
about their former deeds, when he was calling them sorcerers and the children of Satan;

150 and he answered me: “I will tell thee of another thing done by those men, who were not
worthy to enter among the people of God nor into his kingdom, namely, that they bewitched
children, and led them out into the desert, and bound them where none could see them, and
sat down near them to guard them; and if they complained of thirst, they gave them nothing
to drink; and when their thirst became severe, they poured water over their heads and
bodies; and when one of them was near death, and his eyes started out of his head, and his
tongue clove to the roof of his mouth, they cut off his head with a knife before he died,
so that Satan might speak through those heads without falsehood, and they might lead men
astray with their devilish and shameful deeds”. Now there was a holy priest in our
company, living in the Cell at Wasîm; and on Friday, during the Fast, while I was with him
in the Cell, but Abba Moses was seeing no man, since he was employing himself in prayer
and self-discipline, except on Saturdays and Sundays, then that priest saw a great dragon
in his cell. Therefore he made a cross of silver, and placed it on the spot where he had
seen it; and on the morrow he found the dragon dead beneath the cross.

151 Is there then any power greater than the power of those who worship God with a pure
and honest intention and a firm faith? And there was in those days a great dearth, and so
a man came to An-Nuzahât to ask alms, and stole something thence. And another man saw mm,
who was a believer; and he wished to reprimand him, so that he might repent of the theft,
but was prevented from doing so by his kindness and charitable thoughts. Afterwards that
man went again, and stole some corn from his neighbours, and buried it, that he might take
and eat it. Then the owner of the corn visited my father Moses, who read to him from the
Scriptures, and charged him not to reward evil with evil, but to recompense evil with
good. Accordingly he did so, and followed his advice, and therefore God increased his
wealth until all who knew him marvelled at him.

152 I have mentioned to you, my brethren, the fate of the accursed people of Palestine,
that you might hold yourselves aloof from them. Now I desire to relate another miracle,
shown forth by the Father Epimachus, the bishop. One day he was teaching his people in the
city of Al-Faramâ, and exhorting them to avoid heretics, and never to associate with them
in anything. And behold, a priest of the Chalcedonians appeared before him to tempt him
with guile; and the bishop delivered a long discourse, at the end of which the priest said
to him: “I believe in thy creed and confess it.” But the bishop Epimachus took holy oil
from the body of the holy Severus, the patriarch, and anointed the face of the heretical
priest, saying to him: “If thou mockest the Lord, let his power appear in thee!” And
immediately a spirit of an unclean devil leapt upon him, and threw him down, and choked
and tormented him, so that he foamed at the mouth; and it did not cease to possess and
torment him till the day of his death.

153 Then the bishop gave orders that his flock should never have a stranger as sponsor,
but only members of their own family or their parents. And there were there some heretics,
who would not obey him; but God requited them speedily, so that every one marvelled at the
doctrines of the Lord. And there was a wealthy woman, who took a man who had committed sin
with her, and made him godfather to her child. When they returned to their town, while
they were on the way, they came to a desert place, and sinful desires were stirred in them
according to their custom; so they laid down the child with the garments of baptism upon
him, and entered an inn by the way side, and committed their sin; and so the house fell
down upon them, and they were killed. And the bishop testified to us that he had beheld
those two still together, when the stones were removed from them, and their heads were as
they had been, the face of the man and the face of the woman. And many people saw them,
and feared. And the news was spread abroad among all men, and the people published it. So
the bishop's theology was confirmed among our fathers, and from that day they forbad all
men to take a stranger as sponsor, but only their own kinsfolk. And none alter that took a
stranger as sponsor. But I in my youth saw many commit sin with their sponsors, during my
own lifetime, in consequence of which their lives were cut off and their habitations laid
waste.

154 Now the bishop, Abba John, bishop of Sarsana, used to cast out unclean spirits through
the grace given to him for his virginity and asceticism. For he remained monk and bishop
all his life, and died in a good old age. So also Abba Cyrus, bishop of Tânah, to whom
during his monastic life a wonder was manifested, namely that a heretic deceived him on
account of the faith, and took his hand to lead him into the furnace at the baths, but
could not induce him, and he escaped from his hand. Then the bishop took his mantle, he
being a monk, and threw it into the fire, and it was not burnt. 155 Now I know that I have
made my discourse long, but my only object has been to teach you what took place, that you
may understand it. And as for what is said about the deeds of Abba Zacharias, bishop of
Atrib, he dwelt from his youth up in the desert, continuing in prayer; and his tears
flowed like streams of water, and weeping was sweet to him; and he was assiduons in alms-
giving to the anchorites, and everyone loved him; and his spiritual sons walked in his
path. So likewise the blessed Stephen, bishop of Shutb, and his fathers who were before
him over that see, who were excellent in their lives above the rest of the bishops of
Egypt, among whom was the bishop Abba Hesychius, the great Theomantis and confessor, who
spoke of divine matters. And to Stephen, who walked in his path, God granted the gift of
healing the sick, and knowing what was to happen before it took place; and he showed forth
many wonders. Now there was in his diocese a priest, whose wife was pregnant when he died;
and she was a pure woman. Yet after his death, her elder sons cast her out, saying that
she had conceived by another.

156 But the bishop said to them: “Leave her alone until she brings forth.” So when she was
delivered, he took the babe and baptized it, and carried it on his shoulder in the
presence of all the people of his diocese, and bade the babe speak before the people, and
say who was its father. And immediately it spoke with its tongue, as if it were a lion's
cub, saying: “I am the son of such an one, the priest, by whom my mother conceived me nine
days before his death, although none knew of that but God who created me. And my brothers
wished to cast my mother out wrongfully.” Then the bishop made the sign of the cross over
its lips, and bade it speak no more, until the proper age of speech. And so it was. Like
these was the aged Abba Paul, bishop of Akhmim, who had been the second superior of the
Monastery of Sinuthius, the saint, the star of the desert. There was a magician, who took
a maiden, and turned her into an ass by his wicked arts, in the presence of all who saw
her. And she remained with him three years, as she related. And when he took her out into
the desert, he made her a woman, that she might serve him, and he might commit sin with
her. But when he entered the city, he rode upon her, as if she were an ass.

157 Then on the 7th of Abîb, the feast of the holy Sinuthius, the excellent prophet, the
aged Abba Paul met that man, when she was with him, and took her from him, though none
knew of her except the accursed misbelieving magician. And Abba Paul took the magician,
and gave him up to the governor, who caused him to be burnt in the fire, after he had been
put to death. Then the bishop loosed the woman from the bonds of Satan, and delivered her
to the superior of the convent of nuns. For there were among them many women of the laity,
living with them. 158 These then are the fathers whom we saw, and whose words we listened
to, and whose glorious deeds cannot be counted. And one of them, Abba Cyrus, who was of
Jaujar which is the chief of four sees, had been married in his youth, and lived long with
his wife in great devotion and reached the age of a hundred and five years. And those two
were two pure virgins, sleeping on one bed for a long time; and their food was barley
bread and salt; and all that they had or found they gave in alms to the poor. Then, when
they advanced in years, Abba Cyrus gave up his pure wife to the convent of nuns. Another
of them was the Father Abba Isaac, bishop over the see of Samannûd, and we know what he
endured of torments and fighting with the Barsanuphians, until he brought them back to the
faith in the see of Saint Mark the Evangelist.

159 Now the church of Antioch was widowed and without a patriarch. And a man named Abd
Allah Abu Ja'far, who belonged to the family of the first princes, was now reigning, and
Abu Muslim was called his uncle. And Abu Aun was in Egypt, and Sâlih with Abd Allah. And
the Church was prosperous and at peace in the days of the holy patriarch, Abba Michael, in
consequence of the troubles and struggles which he had endured, and some of which we have
related, until his ministry was ended and he went to his rest, and departed in peace to
the merciful Lord Christ, as we have described at the end of this history. And the church
of Antioch remained without a patriarch after the decease of Abba John, on account of the
wars and the armies, until the Khorassanians took possession of the land. At the beginning
of their rule, Isaac, bishop of Harran, went to Abd Allah, and petitioned him concerning
the patriarchate of Antioch; for Abba John had died, as his two sons informed us, when
they came to visit us. They said that Abd Allah was a native of Harran, and bis wife was
barren; and she saw in a dream one who prophesied to her: “Seek Isaac, the bishop, that he
may pray for thee, and the Lord will give thee a son.” And this woman served and feared
God;

160 and when Abd Allah solicited her to marry him, she made a condition with him that he
should marry no other wife besides her, and should take no concubine. For she said to him:
“We know that God created us in the beginning male and female, and, if thou wilt not make
this compact with me, I will not marry thee.” So he made the agreement with her, and kept
it till the day of her death. Therefore they summoned the bishop Abba Isaac to her, on the
morning of the next day, and she made known to him what she had seen in her dream. So he
appointed a week between her and him, and prayed God to fulfil her request. Then he
departed to the monastery in which he had been a monk, and informed the brethren of the
matter; so they assembled in the church before the body of the founder of the monastery,
and prayed him to intercede with God on her account. And three days afterwards, while they
were fasting, the woman saw two men standing near her bed, who resembled Abba Isaac the
bishop and the Father of the monastery, saying to her: “Verily God has heard the prayers,
and this night thou shalt conceive a male child.” Then they disappeared. So she told this
dream to her husband, and they were exceedingly glad. Then she conceived and brought forth
a son.

161 And for this reason they loved the bishop Abba Isaac, until God gave the government of
the empire to Abd Allah, and then the prince gave Isaac authority to be patriarch of
Antioch and the East, and commanded that whoever should oppose him should be slain with
the sword. Afterwards indeed the prince slew two great metropolitans of this country,
because they said to Abba Isaac: “Thou art bishop of Harran. How canst thou break the
canons, and accept the support of the government, in taking the patriarchal throne by
violence. Thou forcest us to excommunicate thee, for the canons decree that all who take
advantage of the government shall be excommunicated.” Abba Isaac therefore laid a
complaint before the prince, who gave orders that those two metropolitans should be slain;
and there was great trouble in that country. Then Abba Isaac received a decree from the
prince for Abu Aun, governor of Egypt, in which he said; “Obey all that the patriarch,
Abba Isaac, writes to thee, and do it for him”. Isaac also wrote a synodical letter in his
own name to the blessed Abba Michael, patriarch of the city of Alexandria, and sent it,
accompanied by gifts, by two sons of his, a priest and a deacon, who were his scribes, and
two of the chiefs of the metropolitans, one of them being metropolitan of Damascus, and
the other metropolitan of Emesa, that they might receive an answer for him.

162 Therein he wrote salutations to the patriarch of Egypt and his bishops, requesting him
to exalt his name among them according to custom and for the sake of unity. He also wrote
a letter from himself to Abu Aun, the governor, asking that, if the patriarch refused to
comply, he might be sent to Abd Allah, the prince. When the letters reached Abu Aun, he
sent to Alexandria and summoned Abba Michael, the patriarch, to Misr by himself; and when
the letters and the decree were read to him, he answered, saying: “Do not force me to
this, until I have assembled the bishops, and they have taken counsel upon this matter,
according to our canons and laws”. Then the governor conceded this to him, and allowed him
a delay; and the patriarch took up his residence at Misr, and wrote to the bishops of the
north and south and of the farther and nearer parts of Upper Egypt, bidding them all
assemble to him, and look into this affair, and write him an answer, When they arrived,
they answered, saying to the patriarch: “He is thy equal, Father, and thy partner in the
ministry; therefore do what seems good to thee with him; for, as for us, we have nothing
to do with this matter.” And there was great trouble among them. And there was with him
Abba Theodore, the second bishop of Misr of that name, who had been hegumen of Al-Fustât,
and priest of the church of Saint Sergius:

163 he and my father Abba Moses, bishop of Wasîm, alone. So they sent to me, the sinner,
because they knew that I was one of their members, as it is written not by my knowledge,
but by spiritual love. So I went to them as a son, after a month, while they were holding
converse with the envoys, in order to seek for answers, and for the sake of the decree of
confirmation, that is say, the systatic letter. Now these envoys from the east were men in
whom were found religion and charity. So when they saw me, I was wearing the habit of
monks, though my conduct was far from that which a monk's ought to be, and they pointed to
my fathers, saying: “Art thou here present alone with us, because thou art acting as
deputy for thy brethren?” Then when they beheld me sitting with the bishops, and arguing
with them in the discussion, they marvelled and said: “We never saw a monk argue with the
patriarch, like this man”. And the metropolitans said: “His tongue is like a sword, and
cannot be opposed.” Then my fathers said to them: “He is in the position of a bishop.” So
they marvelled.

164 Then one of the metropolitans said to me: “How many children hast thou in thy diocese
and province?” I answered: “I have ten villages in each of which are ten adults, so that
they produce every year about fifty human beings.” Then they said: “In truth we see thee
worn and weak in body.” And one of them said: “I have under my see nine hundred hamlets,
besides cities and villages and small dioceses; and our provinces are few.” And much
discourse passed between us; for they were men imbued with religion and charity. 165 And
in the second month they assembled in the church of our Lady, and the affair was settled
with the patriarch, Abba Michael, who said: “Sword or fire or casting to lions or exile or
captivity, ---- these are things that trouble me not; but I will not enter into what is
not lawful, nor incur my own excommunication, which I subscribed with my own hand and
initiated, to the effect that no bishop shall become patriarch. For the excellent fathers
excommunicated him who shall take a degree in the hierarchy by the help or lavour of the
government, and the bishops wrote to me from Antioch, in the time of Abba John, the
patriarch, that any bishop who should be established on the throne after him should be
excommunicated, and I subscribed my name to that declaration in my own handwriting. How
then is it lawful for me to excommunicate myself, and to declare lawful to day what I
anathematized yesterday, and to approve to-day what I condemned yesterday, and the holy
fathers condemned before me?” Then he broke off the discussion. So they proceeded to Abu
Aun, the governor, and said to him: “Wilt thou send the patriarch with us to our own
country, as the prince commanded?” But Abu Aun did not wish to send the father, because he
loved him and the Christians; and he had found favour before God through them, and through
God's acceptance of their prayers for him. So he said to the patriarch: “Thou art advanced
in years, and the way is very long. Therefore depart and take counsel with thyself for a
few days; and if the matter appears easier to thee, well and good; but if not, thou mayest
go or not as thou wilt.”

166 So we went out from his presence. Then the metropolitans and envoys troubled us, and
discoursed with the patriarch concerning the accomplishment of the command to journey with
them, and would not leave us. So the father patriarch took thought for the journey, being
sad at heart, and saying to my father Moses: “Wilt thou accompany me on this difficult
road?” So my father Moses prepared to travel with him, besides Abba Theodore, bishop of
Misr; and so also did I, John, the sinner. But when we were ready to start, the news that
night arrived at Misr that Isaac, the bishop, who had usurped the throne of Antioch by the
help of the government, had died at Antioch, and the see had been occupied by a man named
Athanasius, who took his seat that very day before sunset, but died himself also the third
day, and both were buried. When the metropolitans and their clerical companions heard this
news, they fled, and we knew not how they departed, only that we never beheld them again
after that day.

167 Now I will tell you what was told us concerning this Athanasius. He was one of the
chief bishops and a metropolitan, and exercised jurisdiction from the boundary of Harran
inwards; and his province was very extensive, so that he used to travel over mountains and
rocks and sharp stones on foot, wearing iron sandals, that he might go round every
district. And they told us that he was very strong, tall in stature, stout in body; and
the privilege had been granted him in synod to ordain the bishops, on account of the
distance of the province from Antioch. But as soon as he usurped the patriarchal throne,
he died. And there came to us a Chalcedonian, named George, who was a good man; and he
entered with us into the orthodox faith. So the choice of the synod fell upon him, and
they made him patriarch of Antioch. But, a little time after he had established himself
there, he was attacked by a bishop, named Abba David, whose mother had been nurse to Abu
Ja'far al-Mansur, prince of the Muslims. This bishop accused him of that which may not be
mentioned in the history of the Church; for our misdeeds and sins require no addition to
them. After this the prince arrested this George, and fettered him with iron and wood, and
put him in prison in the eighth year of his reign. And from that time to now no synodical
letter has reached us, and no such letter has gone from us.

168 Now I will tell you the strange story of the patriarch of Constantinople, and the
prince, and a Chalcedonian, in the year 480 of the Martyrs. There was a man of high rank
at Constantinople, named Philip, whom the patriarch persuaded to attack the prince,
saying: “If thou fightest against him, thou wilt conquer him, and take possession of the
government.” But when the news reached the prince, he banished that patriarch to a distant
town, where he was cast into a narrow dungeon; and another was made patriarch. Now this
prince committed deeds not fit to be named, and removed the pictures from the churches.
And I have related this to you, only that you may know that these things were general, and
did not take place at Antioch alone, but throughout the empire. Thus the two patriarchs of
Constantinople and Antioch were imprisoned at the same time. 169 Now we have related a
little of the good fight fought by the Father Patriarch, Abba Michael. And there was none
who remained with him in. his distress and weakness to assist him, except the father and
bishop, Abba Theodore, bishop of Misr, and Abba Moses, bishop of Wasîm. And when he was
advanced in age, he prayed God mercifully to remove him from this world, that he might
rest with the saints; and God answered his prayer, and he gave up his soul after all his
struggles and the good works that he had done, on the 16th of Barmahât. And he remained
upon the evangelical throne, according to the statement which we found in the library in
the Monastery of Saint Macarius, twenty-three years and a half; and his holy body was
deposited with the bodies of our holy fathers, in glory and honour. May their prayers be
with us! Amen.

172 34. 1. The copyists have added another word, making it 200,000,000. 35. 1. Rom., xii,
5; Ephes., iv, 25.


HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 2
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HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 2 continued

VOL. 1, PART 4 -- MENNAS I TO JOSEPH (849 AD) — MENNAS I, THE FORTY-SEVENTH PATRIARCH. A.D. 767-774

1 It is our duty to make enquiries and researches into the whole history of the Church, as
our forefathers used to do. For Philo and Justus and Josephus, the Jews, narrated the
events that took place at Jerusalem on account of Christ. And those who wrote the history
of the orthodox Church were Africanus and Eusebius and Sozomenus; and after them again
Mennas the scribe. These men related that which happened to the Church until the time of
Dioscorus, the great father, who confessed Christ, and declared the truth, which saved us
from the second deluge, and from drowning in the bottomless abyss, and from the six
hundred and thirty assembled at Chalcedon, and the miscreant Leo, lord of Rome. An account
of such matters has been written for us, in the twelfth part of the History of the Church,
by those whose names we have mentioned because they concerned themselves with these
things. And so in every generation God has not left us without a record. Thus there was
the archdeacon, the spiritual parent of our father, the holy father Abba Cosmas, patriarch
of Alexandria, who was his kinsman. And Abba Macarius also, and Macarius the monk. And
after them John, the spiritual son of Abba Moses, bishop of Wasîm.

2 And I, poor sinner, was ordered by my father the monk through a dream which he saw, for
he was a holy old man; and he bade me and commanded me to write the history of my blessed
fathers, both what I had witnessed and what was reported to me by trustworthy persons. For
I was ministering to my father Abba Joseph, and slept at his feet; and he was my spiritual
father and was advanced in age. And likewise the father patriarch, Abba Sinuthius, bade me
write. So I prayed to the gracious God, and said like David: “O Lord open thou my lips,
that I may relate that which happened to the blessed fathers with profit to those that
shall read it, and with benefit to those that shall hear it. ” 3 When our blessed father,
Abba Michael, fell sick through old age, and went to his rest in glory and honour, his
body was carried up to be with the bodies of his fathers at Alexandria, in the church of
Saint Mark the Evangelist, amid proofs of respect and veneration, while all the people
wept for him. And they prayed and besought God to raise up, as successor to Abba Michael,
a patriarch who should rule as he did. So the assembly met together, with the bishops, to
appoint him whom God, who knows the secrets of all hearts and gives grace to those that
are worthy of it, should choose. Then mention was made of the priest Mennas, the monk, of
the church of Saint Macarius. Mennas was a man who excited general admiration by his sense
and conduct. He had been a monk from his youth, and was the spiritual son of the father
Abba Michael, and superintendent of his habitation in the monastery of Saint Macarius. So
he was promoted to the patriarchal dignity by God's dispensation, amid the joy of all. And
God vouchsafed to his Church this faithful shepherd, who had lived with Abba Michael,
witnessing his works, because he was with him from his youth.

4 When Abba Mennas had taken his seat upon the apostolic throne, he imparted the spiritual
doctrine, so that everyone marvelled at the mighty grace which was descending upon him,
and at his admirable teaching. And the Lord, who had selected him, gave to the Church
increase and protection in all her provinces, until men forgot all that had happened to
them in the days of Abba Michael, now at rest; and peace continued in the Church. 5 But
after a time Satan, the hater of good, raised up a trial for the blessed father. For he
spoke by the tongue of a deacon and monk named Peter, in whom he took up his abode, that
he might suggest to him great crimes of which Abba Mennas and the bishops under his see
might be accused. This deacon and monk was a native of a village called Dasimah, and had
been spiritual son to Abba Michael, now at rest, and was brought up in his cell, And the
hater of good put into his heart the thought of soliciting a bishopric, though he was not
worthy of it, from our father, Abba Mennas. But the father answered him as Peter the
Apostle replied to Simon the magician, saying: “He has no lot nor share with us.” Then the
deacon would not endure this treatment, but embarked in a ship, and departed to Syria. And
when he arrived there, he composed letters, falsely purporting to be addressed by Abba
Mennas to the patriarch of the Syrians, Abba George, patriarch of Antioch, and to his
bishops and metropolitans, saying in those letters that great trouble and persecution and
distress had been caused to the Church in Egypt by the governors. For Peter was skilled in
the art of writing letters to patriarchs and metropolitans and bishops. So when the
patriarch of Antioch had read the letters, he received Peter with great joy, because he
said that he was the envoy of the patriarch's brother, the patriarch of Alexandria.

6 And the patriarch collected money for Peter, and gave him letters addressed to all the
metropolitans and bishops subject to Antioch, bidding them also make collections for him
and honour him with much attention; for the patriarch was infatuated with him. As soon as
a sufficient sum had been raised to give him the assistance that he needed for his evil
deed, and the means of reaching the princes, the hater of good still walked with him. And
after some days Peter arrived at the capital city, and began with his heart full of wrath
and cunning to write letters, containing false reports of the patriarch Abba Mennas. For
Peter said in his report that the prince's treasury was empty of money, in spite of all
that he needed for the expenses of the army and the administration of the government;
while in Egypt there was a person, a great patriarch among the Christians, who knew how to
practise alchemy for the permutation of substances into gold; and that by such means he
had filled his churches with vessels of gold and silver, in which the holy offerings were
presented. “But thou, my prince and my lord”, he added, “hast the right to possess in thy
storehouse these splendid golden vessels, which are in the churches of Egypt, and with
which things displeasing to God are done”. When this foul sinner had written this report,
he waited for a day on which he might find means of laying it before the prince;

7 and he gave bribes to all the attendants of the prince, in order that they might
introduce him. And Satan worked a great wonder for him, as he does for his favourites and
followers, like the conjuring of the witch when she raised up the prophet Samuel from the
tomb for Saul. Far be Samuel from this imagined likeness! We are only pointing out to you
how Satan causes semblances and illusions in all ages. 8 These events were in the reign of
Abû Ja'far Abd Allah, nephew of Abû Muslim, whom we have already mentioned in the
eighteenth chapter of the History of the Church. He was the first who took possession of
Khorassan. He had married a chaste wife while he was at Harran before he began to reign;
and afterwards, when he became caliph, he lived at Damascus. This woman feared God; and
she was of high rank in her tribe and nation; and she had made her husband swear, when she
was married to him, that he would marry no other wife while she lived, so that she might
keep the Law of God. But when he married her, God gave him no child for many years.
Afterwards, however, she saw in a dream one who said to her: “Send for Isaac, bishop of
Harran, that he may pray for thee; for God will accept his prayers on thy account and give
thee a son.” Therefore she obeyed the vision with faith, and caused Abd Allah, her
husband, to send and fetch the bishop. And before he arrived, she saw in a second dream a
personage, who announced to her that God had heard her petition and would fulfil her
desire through the prayers of the bishop Isaac. Then, when he came, he prayed over her,
and blessed her. So she conceived and bore two children. And for this cause the bishop
stood high in favour with Abd Allah and his wife.

9 So when Abd Allah began to reign, the father and bishop Isaac begged of him authority
over the patriarchate of Antioch and the East; and the prince granted his request. And
this was the cause of Isaac's fall, because he broke the canons. But since God would not
endure to leave him upon the throne, as the holy gospel says: “Behold the axe is laid at
the roots of the trees, therefore every tree that bears not good fruit shall be cut down
and cast into the fire”, thus it happened with this Isaac; when he acted foolishly and
broke the law of God, and took his seat as patriarch by the power of the government, and
transgressed the injunctions of his fathers, God cut off his life from the earth, and he
died suddenly before the end of the year. And another man, named Athanasius, sat upon the
throne by force on the day of Isaac's death; but he also died that very night, as it has
been related in the eighteenth chapter of the History.

10 When the two sons of Abd Allah and of his chaste virtuous wife, before mentioned, had
grown up, one of them died. And the prince was exceedingly sad for him, and his mother
mourned with all the household; for they were greatly grieved on his account. And the
courtiers knew how much his mother loved her son, so that she never ceased to weep for him
one single hour by night or by day, while the prince was very sorrowful. Now the death of
this young son of the prince had taken place before the arrival of the deacon Peter,
unworthy of that name. And the prince went out of the palace one day with his guards, and
rode round the city, seeking distraction from his grief for his son according to the
custom of men and princes. And he chanced to look aside and see that unworthy Peter, whom
Satan transformed in the prince's eyes into the likeness of his son who was dead, so that
he seemed to be the very same, in no wise differing from the young man's appearance even
in the hair of his head. Therefore the prince, as soon as he perceived Peter, with joy
caused him to be summoned, and embraced him, and kissed his mouth and eyes as if he were
his son indeed.

11 And in the excess of his gladness he returned to the palace, and with haste went in to
his wife and said to her: “If thou couldst see the living image of thy son, wouldst thou
cease from this weeping and sadness?” She answered: “Whence can he come to me?” Then the
prince commanded that the deacon in whom Satan dwelt should be brought in to her; and
Satan made him in her eyes like the form of her son. So when she saw him, she rose up
quickly and went to meet him rejoicing, imagining that he was her son; and more wonderful
than this is the fact that Satan removed from her heart the grief that she had felt for
her son. Therefore Peter remained with the prince and his wife in the palace some months,
while they looked upon his face and were consoled by his presence. And God granted him
favour with them, so that the prince said: “If thou hast any need, make it known to me,
that I may satisfy it for thee”. Then Peter told him what we related above, and after a
stay of three months in the palace prayed the prince to send him to Egypt, and to write a
decree for him appointing him patriarch over Egypt, and to give him authority over the
patriarch Abba Mennas and his bishops, that he might do with them what was wanted.

12 In compliance with this request, the prince drew up for Peter a document, addressed to
the governor of Egypt at that time, whose name was Ibn Abd ar-Rahmân, directing him to do
for Peter whatever he might bid him do. Then Peter gave orders that a cap should be made
for him of splendid and priceless material; and his name was written upon it in Arabic
letters thus: “Peter, patriarch of Egypt”. And besides his own name the name of the prince
also was written upon it; for Peter added in his folly, after putting his own name first:
“And servant of the prince”. 13 As soon as Peter arrived at Misr, he gave the document to
the governor, who, after he had read it, sent and summoned the holy patriarch Abba Mennas
and his synod. When the governor's messengers arrived at the frontier-city of Alexandria
and informed the patriarch of what had happened, he was sad and cried to the Lord from the
depths of his heart, saying: “O Lord, save me from this snare which is secretly laid for
me, for thou art my God; and give me not up to those that oppress me, for false witnesses
have risen up against me. And behold, thine eyes, O Lord, are upon those that fear thee
and trust in thy mercy, that thou mayest deliver their souls from death”. And he did not
cease to pray and weep the whole night long until the morning. Then the messengers
appeared before him, and urged him to start upon his journey. Therefore he arose, and said
with cheerfulness: “O Lord, make me worthy to suffer for thy name's sake; for thou alone
art my hope, O Lord my God, and therefore I fear not what man can do to me”. And he
continued to repeat these words during his journey from Alexandria, until he arrived at
Fustât Misr.

14 Then the governor was informed of the patriarch's arrival, and gave orders that he
should be brought before him, and rejoiced when he saw him. For the governor loved the
Christians, and had been friendly with the holy father, Abba Michael the patriarch, now at
rest. So he said to the father, Abba Mennas: “Thou shalt receive all fair treatment from
me, according to that which I used to do for the deceased patriarch who was thy
predecessor. But the prince's mandate has arrived, bidding thee obey the bearer of it, who
is a follower of thy faith and creed, and forbidding thee to dispute with him concerning
that which he shall command thee to do.” Thereupon the valiant one, who had no fear of the
awfulness of earthly princes, the truth-speaking Abba Mennas, looked up into the face of
the new Judas, I mean Peter the deacon, who relied upon worldly power, and believed
himself to be invested with the authority of the patriarchate, and said to him: “Good is
that which the true gospel says concerning thee: None shall receive honour from himself
unless it be given him from heaven by God. But hear what God says concerning thee and
those that act like thee, declaring what thou deservest, where our Lord Christ says with
his pure mouth: Every tree which my heavenly Father plants not shall be cut down and
rooted up. So this name shall be taken away from thee, and thou shalt die in poverty an
evil death”.

15 Then that fool answered him, and said to the holy father: “Do now what I command thee,
that thou mayest escape the punishment, which I shall otherwise inflict upon thee, until I
learn that thou dost resist the prince's mandate”. And the vile wretch turned and said to
the governor: “Instead of answering that as he hears so he will obey the prince's command,
behold, he utters words which mean that he prays God to strip me of the authority which
the prince has conferred upon me.” Then the governor answered and said to the patriarch:
“Do not oppose the command of the prince, but perform what he ordains.” Mennas replied: “I
will do so with joy, that I may carry out the Law which bids me obey the king as I would
obey God; for it says: He who resists and disputes authority, resists God, his Lord.” When
the governor heard these words, he was pleased with the patriarch's answer, and said to
the wretch: “Bid him do whatever thou desirest.” So he said: “Let him send and summon all
the bishops under his jurisdiction, that I may give them in his presence the orders that
are necessary.” Then the father begged of the governor that he might be allowed a delay of
some days, till he could assemble the bishops.

16 But that heretic said: “Let us send him away to prison, so that I may enter the
churches in Misr and go up to their altars, as the patriarchs do. ” 17 So the patriarch
was imprisoned with Theodore, bishop of Misr, and ordered the secretaries to write letters
to all the bishops, that they might come to him. For that heretic Peter believed that they
would obey him and do for him what he had planned, though it was contrary to the canons of
the Church. The letter which the father patriarch wrote was full of sadness and grief, but
he did not explain any matter to the bishops lest he should discourage them, so that they
would shrink from the struggle. The contents of the letter were as follows: “Satan does
not at any time leave the Bride of Christ, the Universal Church, without opposition, but
raises up persecution and disorder with the object of vanquishing her in the war that he
wages against her. But her Bridegroom, Christ the Truth, crushes Satan's power by the
words which he said to Peter, chief of the apostles that the gates of Hell shall not
prevail against her. You know now that it is the Lord Christ who is the conqueror.
Therefore advance to the combat and dispute not, but trust in the Lord; for he will abase
our adversary and bring his counsels to nought, and glorify his Church which is his Bride.
Let us also rejoice because we have armed ourselves like warriors for battle in this
campaign, that we may obtain the heavenly crown, according to the summons which he gives
us at all times, as Paul, the sweet-tongued, says: A man will not obtain the crown unless
he fight. Hasten therefore now, that you may gain that reward, O my friends whom I love in
the Lord.”

18 When the bishops had read the patriarch's letter, so full of consolation for them, they
journeyed with all speed, and assembled at Fustât Misr. As soon as that erring son of
Satan learnt that they were gathered together in the church on Sunday, he arose in his
obstinacy, escorted by a troop of soldiers from the governor's palace, and proceeded
without fear, and ascended into the sanctuary, intending to say the prayer of thanksgiving
and the prayer of peace like the patriarch, wearing on his head the cap on which the name
of the prince was written. But when the fathers and bishops saw him do this, they joined
together in the Holy Ghost; and Abba Mennas, bishop of Sanabû, rushed upon him, with Abba
Moses, bishop of Wasîm; and they seized the cap and threw it down, and cast him out of the
sanctuary, crying: “Ah thou second Julian, the churches of Egypt do not deserve to be
defiled by thy presence!” At first that foul wretch was filled with confusion, but
afterwards gave way to anger and commanded his escort to lead all the bishops away to
prison, and to put irons upon their necks and feet. And when the holy father patriarch
beheld them, he welcomed them and comforted them, saying: “O my friends, he who fights for
us is greater than he who fights against us; and the Lord will rescue us from our enemies,
and save us from those that rise up against us, and deliver us from the workers of
iniquity.” The bishops, hearing these words, exclaimed: “Our father, we are ready to die
with thee, and we believe and trust that we shall obtain salvation by thy prayers!”

19 Thus the bishops passed a few days in prison while that foul wretch was considering
what evil he should do to them and to the patriarch; and then he ordered the governor to
bring them out of confinement and make them stand before him; and the governor did so.
Thereupon that miscreant said to the father patriarch: “I will do nothing with thee that
thou fearest, such as others in my place have done to others in thy place before thee,
from the time of the patriarch Abba Agathon; for he was compelled to build ships for the
fleet. So Theodore the Chalcedonian, the governor of Alexandria, treated Agathon in the
reign of the caliph Yezîd, son of Mu'âwiyah. Come, bring forth from the church the vessels
of gold and silver, that they may be carried to the prince's treasury. For this is the
purpose for which I am come”. On hearing this the patriarch said within himself: “The
pains of death have surrounded me, and the terrors of Hell have fallen upon me”. This he
said because he knew that there was nothing in the churches such as Peter demanded of him.
For notorious misfortunes had happened to the fathers before Abba Mennas, and none of the
vessels of the churches had been left among their possessions; for the Copts had been
robbed of every thing time after time by the adversaries who hated them.

20 And when this glorious father was consecrated and enthroned, nothing had been restored,
so that in the city of Alexandria no vessel was found, from which the people could receive
the Communion, except a chalice of glass and another of wood. Therefore the holy father
answered that miscreant, saying: “Thou knowest not the condition of the church from that
time till now”. But the wretched infidel replied: “Lo, I know that thou hast a book by
means of which thou canst speedily become rich; for it teaches the art of making gold”.
The spiritual father said in answer to him: “I know nothing of that of which thou
speakest. But I will do whatever thou mayest choose to command, and my trust is in God;
for I know that there is nothing in the church such as that which thou namest. And thou
hast told lies to the prince”. Then Peter said to the patriarch: “I will act generously
towards thee, nor will I compel thee to spend any sum of money upon the fleet. But, by the
prince's truth, none shall work at the task of pitching the ships but thou and thy
bishops, with your own hands”. Abba Mennas replied: “I will do that gladly, for so I shall
act according to the words of Paul the Apostle, who says: I work with my own hands. Paul
says also: They revile us and we bless them; they drive us away and we bear it patiently;

21 they defame us and we entreat them”. 22 So the father Abba Mennas and the bishops who
were with him went out to perform the task allotted to them every day in the arsenal at
Misr, working with their own hands at all that was needed for the ships for a whole year,
while their faces were exposed to the sun all day during the summer. Thus the patriarch
and bishops were labouring among the workmen and the ash-heaps in Fustât Misr, with tears
and sighs. At the end of the day the father and all the bishops were taken back to the
prison. And all the time Peter continued to demand of them the vessels of the churches,
saying to them: “I came hither from the prince's court for this purpose only”. But when
some days had passed, while they were still in prison, and he repeated his claims, at last
the Lord looked upon the sighs of his pure ones, and worked a miracle; and he who has the
power to repay took vengeance. We have already remarked that the governor favoured the
Christians. Yet although he saw that contemptible person persecuting the patriarch and
bishops, he could not hinder him, because he feared the prince, but could only urge upon
him that it was not lawful for him to act so with the chief of the Christians. At last
Peter answered: “Dost thou also call that man the head of the Christian community, and
ignore the prince's decree?

23 Then I will go to the prince, and let him know that thou hast deprived me of the
dignity which he conferred upon me”. Then, when Peter said this, the words of Solomon the
Wise were fulfilled in him: “A fool's tongue is a snare to him”. For the governor
exclaimed: “Thou desirest to depart to the prince, in order to tell lies to him against
me, and present a calumnious report against me in accordance with what thou hast said and
done with regard to this old man who fears God. Now after this day I will no longer suffer
thee to behold the light of the sun, but all men shall know that God has exacted justice
from thee for this old man”. Accordingly the governor gave orders that very hour that
Peter should be taken away to prison, and thrown into the dungeon, and that his hands and
feet should be fettered with iron, and he be kept there in a narrow place. So Peter
remained in this condition three years. At the same time the governor gave orders to
release the militant patriarch and bishops from punishment. And they began to praise God
and to say: “As the prophet Isaias says: God destroys the counsel of the adversaries and
hypocrites; and the Lord will not forsake those that trust in him, those who fear God. Now
is fulfilled the word of the prophet Malachias in us: Ye who fear my name, upon you the
Sun of Righteousness shall shine.

24 Go forth, rejoicing like calves released to their mothers. And ye shall tread down the
hypocrites”. 25 Then the father departed to Alexandria; and there he entered the church
with joy. And the Alexandrians glorified God with public thanksgivings. And Abba Mennas
occupied himself with the care of Christ's flock and the administration of the Evangelical
See, through the grace which was with him. Yet in spite of all this he was sad on account
of that poor miserable sinner, who had given up his soul to death by sin. And Abba Mennas
prayed to God, saying: “Thou art the merciful God who saidst: I desire not the death of a
sinner, so much as that he should return and be converted. Therefore thou, O Lord, wilt
save the soul of this other man, that he may not die in sin. Rather save him, that he may
repent and weep for his error, so that his soul may live. For Satan at all times drags
down to Hell those who obey him”.

26 Now Satan, the hater of good, filled him who was in prison with evil designs and bad
notions, and suggested foul thoughts in his heart concerning the patriarch and concerning
the bishops and the Church for his sake. And at the end of three years, while Peter was
still in prison, Ibn Abd ar-Rahmân, the governor, was removed from Egypt, and another was
sent thither. When the new governor arrived at Al-Fustât, he examined the prisons that he
might learn what was the offence of every prisoner; and so, as soon as the case of Peter
was reported to him, he commanded that Peter should be brought before him. And the
governor recognised Peter on seeing him, and said to him: “Art thou not he whom the prince
despatched to Egypt at such a time?” He replied: “Yes, I am he”. Then the governor asked
him: “What befell thee, and cut off the memory of thee from before the prince, so that
thou becamest as one dead?” Thereupon Peter answered by accusing the patriarch and Ibn Abd
ar-Rahmân, the governor lately dismissed, of committing great crimes, and added: “For he
left the prince's edict without effect, and kept me in prison three years”. And Peter
brought many charges against the Christians and the Church. The governor said to him:
“Thou shalt depart to the prince's court. I will send thee to him”. Peter replied: “That
is well; for such is my desire, in order to accomplish that which is in my heart”.

27 So the governor despatched him in haste, bidding him take with him a letter, in which
an explanation of what had happened to him was given. Thus Satan, the hater of good, drove
Peter back to his former circumstances, and raised in the prince's heart a greater love
for him than before. This was especially because Peter said to him: “I wish to enter into
thy religion, and to return to Egypt and claim my rights from my enemies”. At this the
prince rejoiced. Then the foul wretch denied the name of Christ the Saviour, and confessed
the religion of Islam; and for that the prince gave him many gifts on that day, garments
and money and horses and female slaves, and named him Abu'l-Khair. 28 But the Lord, whose
name is blessed, purposed to give rest to the holy father Abba Mennas, that he might not
undergo any punishment from this renegade. For God showed forth a miracle, when he looked
upon him who was called Abu'l-Khair, but was in reality father of all mischief and guile.
The prince gave him the letters to the governor that he asked for, and he journeyed to
Egypt, believing that he was about to do all the harm to the patriarch that lay in his
power. Before he arrived in Egypt, however, Abd Allah, the prince, died. So when the
wretch learnt that his hopes were thus frustrated, the words of the prophet were fulfilled
in him: “Contemptible is the man who trusts in a man.” For in shame he departed to his
native town; but as soon as his family and kinsmen and acquaintances saw him, he was hated
and detested among them like the Jews who slew their Lord. And they began to reproach him,
saying: “Ah thou that art become a son of Satan, and hast strayed from the way of life,
where hast thou left the fear of God and of Hell, and the voice of our Creator pronouncing
the terrible sentence: Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I deny before the
Father who is in Heaven? Thou hast rejected this true voice, and therefore thou shalt hear
instead of it:

29 Take him away to the fire which is not quenched and the worm which sleeps not. This
shall be the reward of thy apostasy. To thee will be spoken also his words addressed to
those like thee: Depart from me, ye cursed, into the fire kindled and prepared for the
Devil and his hosts. Then it will be said to thee that, instead of the bishopric which
thou didst demand, there is the gain of rebellion, and instead of the Spiritual Paradise
thou hast earned the foulness of apostasy.” And Peter had to listen to many such
reproaches every day, filled with sorrow and shame. At last he went away to the bishops of
Egypt, whom he had afflicted with such torments; and he begged them to pray to God for him
that he might save him from this error, professing that his heart was right. Then he heard
from the mouth of the bishops, as the Lord said to his disciples at that time concerning
Judas Iscariot, that none should perish except the son of perdition.

30 After these events it was God's will to give rest to the father Abba Mennas, and
translate him to Jerusalem on high from this world full of misery and trouble. So he went
to his rest, after occupying the see seven years, on the last day of Tubah, and brought
his teaching to a close, preserving the faith of his lathers; and he departed in peace to
the Lord Christ, whom he loved, and received the crown of victory together with the
assembly of his militant brethren, and entered into joy with them in the land of the
living. And after his decease, that rebel returned to the town where he was born, and died
there a bitter death in sin and poverty, as our father Abba Mennas had prophesied
concerning him. Thus all who witnessed his fate marvelled and glorified God, saying: “That
which the father Abba Mennas foretold by the Holy Ghost against this man has come to
pass.” And they said, as David, the servant of the Lord, says in the Psalm that he humbles
the proud as one that is wounded. David says also in the 118th. Psalm: “Cursed are all
those that swerve from thy commandments.”

31 So the Church remained a widow without a pastor. But the Lord visited his sheep, whom
he had bought with his blood; and the bishops assembled in the city of Alexandria, and
consulted together, and prayed the Lord to shew them a faithful shepherd. Many names were
mentioned, and they continued to discuss this matter during several days, while the Lord
was reserving his chosen one, whom he was about to elect and anoint with the oil of his
mercy, that he might be called to the patriarchal office, because it belonged to him. Now
our fathers, when they met together in order to come to an agreement upon the appointment
of a patriarch, were accustomed to write many names on small sheets which, they laid in
the sanctuary. Then the bishops and priests and orthodox laity used to pray to the Lord
with a sincere intention, and cry Kyrie eleison. Afterwards they brought a young child,
ignorant of sin, which put forth its hand and took one sheet from among the number. And
him whose name was drawn they promoted to the patriarchal dignity.

32 Now they had begun to carry out this procedure. And there was in charge of the church
of Saint Mennas a priest named John, the son of the father Abba Michael; and his
birthplace was at Bana Busir, and he had become a monk in Wadî Habîb, and had then been,
entrusted with the office of oeconomus under the father Abba Mennas, lately gone to his
rest. This man was named by an aged deacon of pious character, one of the clergy of
Alexandria, who said to the assembly: “Have you remembered the priest John, in charge of
the church of Saint Mennas, so as to write his name down?” Now they had not remembered
him, but the Lord recalled him to memory by the mouth of the old ecclesiastic. So they
wrote down his name, and prayed, and did three times what we have described above. And the
name of John was drawn each of these three times. Then all those that were present
marvelled; and they cried aloud saying: “Truly he is worthy!” So they appointed John, and
he sat upon the throne.

VOL. 1, PART 4 -- MENNAS I TO JOSEPH (849 AD) — JOHN IV, THE FORTY-EIGHTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 775-799

1 After the father Abba John had been enthroned, he wrote a synodical letter full of
wisdom to the blessed father, George, patriarch of Antioch, to make known to him his unity
with him in the faith and the circumstances of his taking his seat upon the throne. Now a
report had been presented to the prince, against this George of whom we speak, by one of
his bishops; and in consequence of this report the prince arrested George, and put him in
fetters and imprisoned him. And the bishop who accused him sat upon the throne, but had
written no epistle nor announced a decree of appointment to the patriarch of Alexandria.
Then that bishop died, and George returned, having been released from prison, and sat upon
the throne of Antioch with glory and honour, after an absence of ten years. George,
therefore, having read the letters of the blessed patriarch, Abba John, upon the arrival
of his envoys at Antioch, welcomed those envoys and rejoiced over them; and so likewise
the synod of metropolitans and bishops, assembled with their chief, glorified the Lord
Christ, with great joy and spiritual gladness, on account of the agreement of the doctrine
of the two patriarchs concerning the orthodox Faith, and their common accord after the
days that had passed. And George with his metropolitans and bishops composed an epistle in
answer to the synodical, and sent it to the father, Abba John, according to the
ecclesiastical canons, which are exempt from error.

2 Now Abba John was beautiful in form, perfect in stature, inspired by God in all his
affairs. And everyone desired to behold his welcome form; and it was granted to him to be
acceptable to all princes and governors, like Joseph the Truthful, with whom God's hand
was, and whom God saved from all his sorrows, and to whom he gave grace and wisdom before
Pharao. And the father John was assiduous in doing good, and provided means for the
building of a church and a patriarchal residence, which he adorned with all beautiful
ornaments. He also embellished the churches at Alexandria with all decoration and
adornment. The times were propitious towards him, and the authorities respected him, and
enabled him to carry out his desires, and accepted his opinion, and did not hinder him
from anything that he wished; and the orthodox people obeyed him, and the Church enjoyed
tranquillity and peace in his days. He did not cease from doing good, and his chief care
was for the building of the churches of Alexandria, so that he raised a great monument to
himself in this city. His conduct was admirable, so that the heretics at Alexandria were
jealous of him, according to the custom of those accursed ones in dealing with the
orthodox, even in matters relating to the Faith, especially in the days of this holy John,
because they beheld his good works in the Church and in all the churches at Alexandria
with glory and honour.

3 The liar, who was at that time the father of the heretics, was a person named Politian.
He was a skilful physician, and the prince's of Islam used to treat him with favour on
account of his art. And he did not cease to speak of our father John with words of
jealousy. But God, who knows that which is secret, was raising up this man day after day,
and the sweet odour of his teaching reached all the people. Therefore those who loved God
took thought and said: “We will hand over to him our money, that he may build with it the
churches of Alexandria, as a memorial for us and for those that shall come after us”.
Accordingly they used to bring to him, that saint adorned with virtues, large sums of
money and gifts, and to pray him to provide for the building of the churches, until that
which is saidof the prophet David was fulfilled in Abba John: “The zeal of thine house has
eaten me up.” And he accepted those gifts from the people, because he knew how great were
their charity and their sacrifice of their wealth and their goodness and right faith in
God.

4 And there was with Abba John a deacon, who loved God, and was very vigilant and full of
faith and spiritual wisdom. This deacon was named Mark, and was an Alexandrian; and he had
grasped with zeal the helm of the Ark, which is the Church, the Ark of salvation from the
deluge of the devils. Our father Abba John had known him from his youth. Mark was in
charge of the church of Saint Mennas, and the patriarch, because of his acquaintance with
him and his family, made him deacon; and wherever the patriarch celebrated the Liturgy or
was present, Mark used to chant the gospel, with a voice of tenderness and moving tones,
so that the hearts of listeners were touched by their music. For this reason the people
used to come early to the church in order to hear his chanting and his beautiful voice,
and because he understood the art of chanting, and for the sake of his beautiful
countenance; and when he chanted he put every word in its right place. He was also learned
in the Scriptures and in the study of all the Mystagogia. So men used to say: “Blessed is
the Lord God, who has given a wise son to David as it is said.” The faithful laity used to
say, glorifying God: “Blessed is God, who has raised up for us this deacon Mark who loves
God.

5 Blessed is the Lord who has made this branch to flourish for us from this blessed tree,
---- our holy father John and his son Mark. Happy is our city which has merited this
grace!” And when our father the patriarch beheld this deacon and his actions, he rejoiced
over him and thanked God, who had given him this gift for the Church, and had left Mark to
him as an adviser in all his circumstances. And Mark, in each step to which the patriarch
promoted him, grew more and more humble towards all, both small and great; and more
excellent than this was his obedience to the father in all that he commanded him. to do.
Then Mark, when he was filled with grace, begged our father to hold him worthy of the
Angelic Habit, that is the monastic estate. So Abba John, when he saw Mark's desire, took
him with him, on the 27th. of Barmahât, which is the day when Saint Macarius went to his
rest, to the monastery of the illuminating father, Saint Macarius, the meeting-place of
monks, and the home of high wisdom and of prayer, continuing night and day with
glorification of the Holy Trinity.

6 And when Mark had put on the habit, an aged monk, enlightened by the Holy Ghost, looked
at him and said: “This deacon, whose name is Mark, is worthy to sit upon the throne of his
father, Mark the evangelist.” And Mark began to increase in humility and purity and
holiness, till there was accomplished in him that which God says: “To whom shall I look,
except to the humble of heart who fears me?” 7 Now when you hear these words from me,
brethren, be not angry with me because I have left the discourse of the blessed fathers,
and the building of the church in the city of Alexandria, and the narration of their
history in spite of its importance to us; for likewise is it incumbent upon us to mention
the humble sons, who were saved by their works, and pleased the fathers by their conduct,
in order that future generations and peoples may hear of them, and that they too may grow
in the grace of the Holy Ghost, according to that which Paul the sweet-tongued wrote where
he says in the Spirit: “I am jealous”; and therefore I do not leave this unsaid. The
interpretation of the words: “I am jealous”, is that they mean jealous in spiritual works.

8 Hear how our father, the patriarch Abba John, began to take thought for the building of
the church, in accordance with the request of those two blessed ones who loved God, Cyrus
and Barnabas, when they saw that Christ's people desired this. And the churches possessed
endowments. So Abba John called the deacon Mark, and said to him: “My son, it shall be to
thee a reward from God that thou shalt superintend the building of the churches; for thou
art acquainted with the city and the workmen and their trades. And I know that God is with
thee, and I believe and trust that the good care which thou shalt bestow upon this matter
in thy faith will be returned to thee in perfection”. Mark replied: “Thy Holiness knows
that the accursed heretics have many arguments with which they will oppose us. But it
would be a sin upon my conscience if I resisted the Holy Ghost who dwells in thee; and
now, my father, thou desirest to do a good deed”. Then he made a prostration before the
patriarch, and said to him: “Pray for me, my father!” And the patriarch answered: “The
Lord bless thee and be with thee, until thou shalt complete the building of his holy
house, so that thou mayest rejoice in it after we are gone”. Thereupon Mark said to the
patriarch: “Thy Paternity commands me to lay the foundation as God shall give me light”.

9 Therefore the patriarch supplied all that was needed for the fabric, and assembled the
workmen and overseers. And he said prayers, and laid the foundations of the church and of
the surrounding habitations. And he delivered all that church needed into the hand of the
pious deacon Mark, that he might provide for the construction. Thus Mark was entrusted
with the building of the holy church; and God was helping him with grace, and the building
grew and advanced daily. Then Satan whispered to the [heart of the lying heretic, the
chief of the believers in the Two Natures, that he should accuse the father, Abba John,
before the governor of occupying buildings belonging to the government and turning them
into churches. This charge was brought by that heretic in envy, that he might stop the
building, like the Chaldeans who desired to put an end to the building of the holy house
of God. But the father, Abba John, endured patiently and suffered greatly through that
which was done to him by that liar, and was forced on account of it to pay a heavy fine to
the government. And the wretch rejoiced thereat, and accused Abba John of all sorts of
evil deeds and of lies. And as often as his enemies beheld him growing and increasing day
by day, while his people were orthodox, and his teaching was uninterrupted, and his
churches were flourishing, and he also continued to build and restore in the churches,
then they grew yet more wrathful.

10 But they could not resist the power of God, and were as the Chaldeans with regard to
the temple of Jerusalem, when God brought their efforts to nought; for so he did likewise
in this case, scattering the counsel of the heretics, those new Jews. For by the mercy of
the Lord Christ, he put it into the heart of the governor to command the father, Abba
John, to finish the church and furnish it as he desired. So he completed the church in the
space of five years, and consecrated it in the name of the Archangel Michael. This church
is called at the present day, in the city of Alexandria, the church of Repentance. And
there was with our father the patriarch a scribe and deacon, named John, who was counted
worthy of the bishopric of the see of Sakhâ after the decease of the father, Abba John.

11 After the completion of the church of the Angel Michael, by the Lord's inscrutable
decrees a great dearth came upon the city of Alexandria and Upper Egypt, so that the price
of wheat rose to a dinar for three waibahs, and many persons perished. And our father was
sad on account of the dead and the mortality that he saw, and prayed with tears, saying,
like the prophet Isaias: “Thou hast turned away thy face from us, and given us up because
of our sins. And now, O Lord, thou art yet our Father, and we are all dust and the work of
thy hands. Deal not with us according to our sins, and be not angry with us for ever; and
remember not our offences, but turn to as, O Lord, for we are thy people”. And he
continued in prayer night and day, saying: “O Lord, have mercy on thy creatures and the
work of thy hands; deal not with us after our sins. We deserve indeed all chastisement,
for we have not walked in the way of thy commandments. But now, O Lord, chastise us not
with the rod of thy wrath, and remember not our transgressions before thee”.

12 And the patriarch beheld the distress of the people from the severity of the dearth,
and his pity excited him to pray. Then Abba John called his son and partner in his works,
the deacon Mark, and gave him authority to distribute alms among all the inhabitants of
the city; and the storehouses and the accounts of the church were under his
superintendence, for the father, Abba John, had entrusted him with the charge of them,
making trial of his conduct. So Mark began to assist all those that were starving, giving
them their food morning and evening every day. And he used to see at the patriarch's door
many people of every race, whom he would supply with provisions out of the stores of the
church; for she had at that time an abundance of good things. Thus the sweet perfume of
his good deeds spread, and filled all places. Basil and Eusebius, the two bishops, were
those who made almsgiving their uninterrupted occupation, making more of it than of the
fulfilment of any other commandment. In the same way this holy man acted as they did,
emulating their excellence until he resembled them in that point; but though he did thus,
yet he did not neglect any of the precepts of religion: And he visited the officials and
the rich men, and said to them: “Be merciful to the needy”. And he urged them to alms-
giving with arguments from the holy scriptures, saying to them: “Profit by this time and
this grace which is glorious before God”.

13 And he began to exhort them in the words of the prophet David to his son: “Turn not thy
face from the poor, and then the Lord will not turn his face from thee”. He quoted also
the saying of another prophet:“Alms saves from death, and raises from Hell, and does not
suffer a man to enter into darkness”. He reminded them also of that which Paul wrote to
Timothy his son, saying to him: “Charge the rich in this world that they be not proud, but
that they place their trust in God, who gives riches to each one, that they may have
enough of all things, and may lay for themselves a foundation, in order that they may take
hold of the true life”. And he admonished them with these and other words, until the rich
men and the officials emulated his works, and began to do as he advised them with their
money; and none of them was backward in giving alms, nor in visiting the widows and
orphans and prisons and taking to them food and clothing; and so also they did for the
clergy and the poor. And many of the officials had fallen into poverty at this time, and
they also were assisted. And Mark used to entertain strangers. But at last the Lord took
pity on his people and relieved them of the dearth, through the prayers of the holy
father, Abba John.

14 At that time the patriarch of Antioch, Abba George, went to his rest. And a holy man,
named Cyriacus, was appointed in his place by a dispensation from God, and through the
united votes of the metropolitans and bishops and of all the laity of Syria and the East.
He was full of the Holy Ghost, and when he heard of the works of the holy father, Abba
John, he summoned his metropolitans and bishops, and said to them: “We must not delay
writing to the father, Abba John, who occupies the evangelical throne in the great city of
Alexandria, which is an inheritance of ours from our fathers, since the time of the father
Severus and of Theodosius, who both fought for the orthodox faith.” Now I have already
mentioned the deceased father, Abba George, and observed that in the past years, during
which he was in prison, no synodical letter came from him to Egypt to the father Mennas,
on account of Abba George's troubles and confinement, and because Abba Mennas also did not
write, being otherwise occupied through the persecution which he suffered at the hands of
the excommunicated deacon Peter, the apostate unworthy of his name; until the patriarch
and bishops escaped from durance, and then the correspondence took place as we have
related above. Therefore the father Cyriacus said: “If we should not write, we should be
guilty of an offence and a sin, on account of the agreement and unity which exist between
us.

15 In the time of our forefathers, they agreed with us in the true faith and in charity;
and they commemorate our fathers' names in all the sanctuaries of Egypt. For this reason
let us not interrupt the Christian charity and spiritual concord which we share with them.
” Accordingly, our father, Abba Cyriacus, patriarch of Antioch, addressed to Abba John,
patriarch of Alexandria, a synodical letter, full of the grace of the Holy Ghost, and
despatched it by the hand of Anastasius, metropolitan of Damascus, who was accompanied by
two bishops of his province. In this epistle Cyriacus spoke of the orthodox union existing
between the two sees of Antioch and Alexandria, and announced how he had taken his seat
upon the throne of Ignatius, the Wearer of Divinity. And when the letter reached Abba
John, and he had read it, he rejoiced greatly, and glorified the Lord Jesus Christ, who
always cares for his Church and for his people, whom he bought with his precious Blood.

16 Afterwards our father, Abba John, commanded that the letter should be read before the
people, who marvelled when they heard its eloquence, and because it was a long time since
a synodical had arrived; and they gave thanks to God for it. And when the envoys,
Anastasius and the two bishops, visited the church at Alexandria, they were filled with
admiration of its paintings and decoration, and the marshalling of the patriarch and
bishops and clergy, and the seven ecclesiastical orders, and the dignity of all of them
and their serenity and piety. And the Syrians wondered and glorified God for the magnitude
of the grace which rested upon the clergy of Alexandria, through the holy favour of Saint
Mark the evangelist. Therefore, beholding these things, they said what David says in the
psalm: “As we have heard, so have we seen.” And they rejoiced with a great spiritual joy,
according to that which is written in the Acts: “A report came to the ears of the Church
in Jerusalem concerning them, so they sent Barnabas to Antioch, and when he arrived and
saw the grace of God, he rejoiced.”

17 The envoys remained with the holy father John a few days, and then he bade them
farewell with respect and honour, after he had written for them an answer to their letter.
So they departed to their own country glorifying God for what they had witnessed. 18 I
desire, my holy fathers, to bring to an end my discourse concerning the deeds of our
blessed father Abba John. This I do, not because my faltering tongue could not relate a
few more of his actions; but, while I record the names of the holy men who lived in his
time, I must describe for your Paternities their good works and their prophecies, that
your hearts may be gladdened, as it is written: “When the righteous are commemorated, the
people rejoice.” There was in those days at Al-Burlus a holy old man, named George, who
was beautiful in his conduct. And through the Holy Ghost, he used to see that which was
about to happen far away by a great mystery, before the event took place so that he might
know it, on account of his excellent virtues. Now Abba George, bishop of Misr had gone to
his rest at that time; and he was a holy man, merciful and generous in alms-giving; and he
had lived long among the people of Misr, ruling them in purity and justice. Therefore the
faithful people mourned for him, and met together and took counsel, and wrote to the
father, Abba John, praying him to appoint his son Mark, the deacon, bishop over them at
Misr, in the place of George now at rest. When the patriarch read the letter, he was
willing that they should obtain their desire because of his pastoral care for their souls;

19 and he commanded that Mark, the deacon, should be promoted to their see. Mark, however,
refused the dignity which was offered to him. Thereupon the patriarch caused iron fetters
to be placed upon Mark's feet, and ordained him priest, intending to complete his
consecration as bishop. But this proceeding was against Mark's will, and he was weeping
and sad, saying: “O Lord, thou knowest that I am not fit for this post; therefore I pray
thee, O my Lord, to save me from this burden which I cannot bear.” And the Lord, who loves
mankind, and chooses those whom he elects for his grace before they are born, heard him;
for he said to that faithful one: “Rise, leave this place in which thou art.” So he arose
at that moment; and the irons fell from his feet, and the door opened for him, and he
escaped; and none of those who were guarding him awoke as he went out. When morning came,
the patriarch sent for Mark, but found that he was gone. And Abba John, though he gave
orders to enquire after the fugitive, could not discover him, and therefore was indignant.
Then the patriarch appointed a son of his, named Cosmas, and ordained him for the people
of Misr; but after a short time he died. And there was a person called Michael, of
virtuous life; therefore Abba John consecrated him bishop for them.

20 And the patriarch was angry with Mark the deacon, because he had escaped and disobeyed
his father's command. So he wrote a letter to the holy father George at Al-Burlus, whom we
mentioned at the beginning of this narrative. The letter was written in order to let him
know that the patriarch was displeased with his son Mark, on account of his disobedience
to his father, and flight from him, and because Mark had lowered the patriarchal dignity
in the eyes of the people of Misr. To this the holy George, the prophet, answered, saying:
“Let not thy Paternity be angry with thy son because he resisted thee. For thou didst
desire to oppose God's decree, since that which thou didst purpose for Mark was not from
God. But God has reserved him, that he may receive thy see and thy primacy after thee.”
When the father patriarch heard this prophecy, he marvelled; for he believed all that the
holy old hermit said to him. And when Mark learnt this, he returned to the patriarch, and
prostrated himself before him and asked his pardon. And he was no longer displeased with
Mark, who from that day enjoyed high estimation with the patriarch, and was never
separated from him again, but accompanied him wherever he went.

21 Then the patriarch betook himself to Fustât Misr, on account of the taxes which were
imposed upon the Church property; and this was the last time that he went thither. And
Satan, the hater of good, contrived that certain persons should attack Abba John. For
Satan said: “This old man resists me, and builds churches and memorials; I also will cause
his remuneration to be scanty.” There was at that time a governor who hated Christ; and
Satan suggested to him that he should demolish some of the churches of Misr. But the Lord
who loves mankind speedily took vengeance on that man, and he suddenly died an evil death.
And after him there was appointed in his room a person who favoured the Christians. So he
directed them to clean out the churches, which his predecessor had begun to pull down; but
he did not bid them rebuild. Now the patriarch was at Misr, where he had accomplished all
his duties, and was intending to return to Alexandria. But it was the feast of the Lord,
the 28th. day of Kîhâk. So the bishops and laity begged him to celebrate the Liturgy for
them, and to communicate them, before he separated from them. And this prophecy was
current among them, that they should receive the Holy Mysteries from his hand before his
departure from this world.

22 And when he entered the church, he saw that it had no roof. Therefore he sighed,
saying: “O my Lord and God, Jesus Christ, thou saidst to Peter, the chief of the
disciples: I will build my church upon the rock, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail
against her. And though some of the hypocritical princes have oppressed her somewhat, yet
according to thy word she shall never be destroyed. Proud princes like Diocletian and
Julian and such as resembled them have been repulsed, but the Church is exalted in every
age, and faith is perfected. O Lord, I pray and implore that thou wilt renew the Church by
grace, and overthrow all the hypocritical princes that oppose her, and show them their
weakness speedily, and bring their counsels to nought. And grant me a governor, seeking
the truth, who will command that the churches be rebuilt, and restored to their former
condition of decency and beauty, by making thy light to rise among them.”

23 And while he was praying with these and similar words, he heard, like the blessed
David, a voice saying: “As for thee, I will take thee to myself, and give thee rest from
the troubles of this world. But he who shall come after thee is he that shall build and
restore the churches.” When the patriarch heard these words, he began the liturgy; and as
soon as he had finished the service, he communicated the laity of the Holy Mysteries, and
gave them the salutation of peace. Afterwards the bishops returned to their dioceses. At
that time our father, Abba John, was attacked by fever, and he began to suffer from pains
in his head. Now the fathers and bishops hoped that he might attain his desires, and that
his heart might be satisfied; and they said to him: “Our father, let not thy heart be
troubled because the church is wrecked! The Lord will raise up for it one who will rebuild
it, so that it shall be better than it was before, in return for thy prayers and thy holy
life.” But the patriarch did not heed their words, for his heart was occupied with the
voice that he had heard, telling him that he was about to depart from this world. So he
prayed the bishops, saying to them: “Take me to my city, the place which the Lord chose
for me, that I may worship the Lord upon the throne of my father, Mark the evangelist,
before my soul leaves my body.”

24 And they obeyed him, and carried him to a boat. And there were with him of the bishops
Michael, bishop of Misr, and George, bishop of Memphis. And on the day of their departure
from Misr, a new governor, named El-Laith, son of El-Fadl, was appointed over Egypt; and
he was a good man and favoured the Christians. And while we went down the river, the
patriarch began to address us, as he sat in the boat, saying: “A thought has come into my
mind, which I will tell you for the sake of your holy lives; and I will reveal to you what
lies hid from you. You know what trouble I have encountered, and how I have endured even
to the shedding of blood. But now I am about to be removed to the place where my fathers
dwell. For I prayed God not to take me away suddenly without fruit, but to leave me for
one year, and to grant to me that I might turn to him with my whole heart, and repent and
weep over my sins. And I prayed him to let me see a just governor in the land of Egypt,
who would favour the Christians. And God did not refuse me this request, but granted me
life for one year, the end of which will be in these few days. And the tidings has reached
me that a governor has been appointed, and that he does all that is good to the churches
and the brethren. But I am about to depart to God, and you will see me no more in the
body; for my time, of which I have been warned by God, is at hand. Therefore listen now.
When I am dead, hasten and place him whom God shall choose upon the throne.”

25 The fathers and bishops, on hearing these words, were assured of the patriarch's
approaching death. Therefore they gave vent to sighs, and could not endure their grief
through the abundance of their tears, on account of his saying: “You will see me no more
in the body.” And they said to him: “Our father, when God revealed thy departure from this
world, of whom did he make known to thee that he would sit upon the throne after thee?”
Abba John replied: “It is he whom God has preserved till now, and whom he has chosen to
rule his people. I indeed desired to make him a bishop; but it was God's dispensation to
keep him for this ministry. It is, namely, my son, the priest Mark.” This the patriarch
said, while they were descending the river on the boat. And when he arrived at the city of
Alexandria, his sickness and fever grew heavy upon him. And here is another wonder which
God manifested to our holy father, Abba John, and which must not be left unnoticed. For on
the 16th. day of the month of Tubah, the feast of the holy martyr Philotheus, which was
the birthday of this father, as it is generally related, and also the day on which he was
ordained patriarch, ---- on that very day he gave up his soul to the Lord.

26 Abba John remained upon the throne twenty-four years, and his death took place in the
year 515 of the Martyrs. So the grief of the orthodox laity was great that day on his
account. And when the prayers and the liturgy had been said for him, his holy body was
laid with his holy fathers, the Theodosian patriarchs. And the Lord received his pure
soul; and he was numbered with the saints in the land of the living. Glory is due to the
Lord Jesus Christ and to his merciful Father and to the Holy Ghost, the Giver of life, now
and at all times and for ever and ever! Amen.


HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 2
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HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 2 continued

VOL. 1, PART 4 -- MENNAS I TO JOSEPH (849 AD) — MARK III, THE FORTY-NINTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 799-819

1 Then the two bishops returned in haste to Misr, namely Abba Michael, the bishop of that
city, and George, bishop of Memphis, that they might forward the appointment of a
successor to Abba John. So when the bishops and orthodox laity assembled at Alexandria,
and took counsel together as to whom they should nominate, the bishops said: “We have
heard that our father, Abba John, mentioned the name of the priest Mark, and said that it
was he that should sit after him.” Then all the clergy cried with one voice: “He is worthy
indeed of this rank. He is the saint who has been approved by the Holy Ghost, and was
approved by our blessed father John all the days that he remained with him.” Then all the
bishops and clergy wrote a letter, addressed to Michael, bishop of Misr, saying thus: “Thy
Paternity knows the state of orphanhood into which we are fallen, through the departure of
our blessed father, Abba John, to the Lord at this mournful time, and also how the princes
are changed. And thy Paternity knows that a flock of sheep without a shepherd is entered
and scattered by the wolf, and that every city without a wall is destroyed by the enemy.
For this cause we have assembled in the Great Church of Alexandria with the fathers and
bishops, and have written with one consent that our hearts approve the priest Mark, that
he may be a father to us. For we know that the Lord has chosen him, and that our departed
father informed you of this before his death. Therefore we say, as the blessed David said:
Instead of the fathers there came sons, whom thou shalt make rulers over all the land.”

2 This letter was conveyed to its destination by some of the bishops and the archdeacon of
the city. But when the priest Mark received the news of the letter, which had been written
concerning him, he was much grieved, and immediately rose up and fled to the monastery of
Saint Macarius in Wadî Habîb. Now the desert was at that time like the Paradise of God,
inhabited by holy and spiritual men, one of whom prophesied of this saint that he was
worthy of this ministry, as we related above. Then when the father, Abba Michael, bishop
of Misr, read the letter, he recalled the words of his teacher, Abba John, the deceased
patriarch. Therefore Michael summoned all the chief men at Misr, and they went to the
governor. And the bishops, that is Abba Michael and the envoys, entered into the
governor's presence, for he admitted no other. And he said to them: “What is your
business?” Abba Michael replied: “We make it known to thy lordship that our father, the
chief and father of our religion, whom we had, is dead.” Then the governor asked: “What
then do you desire?” They answered: “May God lengthen thy days! There are heavy taxes upon
the property of the Church, and therefore we desire to appoint a successor to him, who may
administer the affairs of the Church and the people.” Then the governor enquired: “And
what is his name?” They said that it was Mark. So he ordered that Mark's name should be
written in the Divan, and then gave them permission to appoint him in the place of Abba
John. And they went out from his presence.

3 After this the bishop, Abba Michael, learnt that the priest Mark had fled. Now the
bishop, Abba Michael, was superintendent of all matters concerning the monasteries. So he
at once despatched the bishops and clergy, and bade them fetter Mark, and conduct him to
Alexandria. And this they did to him on the 2nd. day of Amshir, the feast of the Father
Longinus; and Mark arrived at Alexandria on a Sunday. And among the bishops was George,
bishop of Memphis. 4 And Mark was ordained on the aforesaid day in the city of Alexandria.
When he had taken his seat upon the evangelical throne, while all the people bore witness
of him that he was worthy, then he read before them the Exegesis, which is called among
the orthodox the Logos, in which he declared that he was acquainted with their works. And
this Logos was full by the grace of the Holy Ghost of the doctrines of the orthodox; and
he demonstrated therein how the Council of Chalcedon had fallen and was rejected; and he
explained their error as consisting in the worship of a man. He also refuted those who
deny the sufferings of Christ our God, who endured them for our sake by his own will in
the body, which according to their teaching was a phantom. And when Abba Mark had
performed the service of the Liturgy according to custom, he communicated all the
congregation of the Holy Mysteries of the Body and the pure Blood. And when all was
accomplished, a week after his consecration came the week of carnival; and therefore he
departed to the holy monastery, the Monastery of Az-Zajâj, in order that he might live in
retirement there for prayer during the days of the Fast. After he arrived there, he
received letters from Abba Michael, bishop of Misr, advising him to repair to Misr after
the holy feast of Easter, in order to pay his respects to the governor. This was a
dispensation from God, because some of the churches were in a state of ruin up to that
time, and therefore the people mourned.

5 Accordingly, when the feast of Easter was over, the father patriarch, Abba Mark, made
his entry into Fustât Misr, that he might salute the governor. And when he reached the
city, its bishop, the father Michael, and the people were informed of their patriarch's
arrival, and went out to him, carrying books of the gospel and crosses and censers, and
met him with great rejoicing and shouting and chanting; and they said: “Happy and blessed
is thy arrival amongst us, O Mark, son of Mark.” Then he proceeded to his lodging to rest,
for it was the end of the day. And on the morrow the patriarch and the bishop Michael, and
the rest of the bishops assembled with them, arose, that they might pay a visit to the
governor. And when they reached the governor's house, and asked permission to see him, the
governor commanded that the patriarch should enter. Then he went in and saluted the
governor, who welcomed him; and afterwards the patriarch prayed for him; so that the
governor admired the sweetness of Abba Mark's voice and his gracious words and the grace
with which he. was surrounded. So God put good will towards the patriarch into the
governor's heart, and he bade Abba Mark sit beside him, and conversed with him on equal
terms, and said to him: “Take courage and be of good comfort, for I will perform all thy
needs, and enable thee to obtain all that thou desirest of me.” The patriarch answered:
“God will exalt thy authority and make thy days prosperous, and bring thy subjects into
accord with thy rule.” And he went out from his presence in peace.

6 When they afterwards considered the governor's discourse with Abba Mark, and the
interest which the former manifested with regard to the churches, Abba Michael, bishop of
Misr, said: “We must take measures for the rebuilding of the churches now, because the
governor evidently favours the Christians.” Accordingly, on the morrow the patriarch again
visited the governor, and saluted him. And the governor showed respect and honour to Abba
Mark, and raised him from the ground and gave him a seat, and addressed him as follows: “I
told thee yesterday that I would perform all thy needs, but thou hast asked nothing of me.
Now therefore, mention to me whatever thou requirest, and it shall be carried out by me,
because I have an affection for thee ”. Then the patriarch said to him with soft words:
“May the Lord preserve thy days, and exalt thee yet more, and increase thy power! Thou
knowest that thy servant has not been made ruler over money and revenue, but over souls
and churches. I request then of thy highness, ---- for we have here churches, some of
which were demolished by the tyrant before thy arrival in Egypt; and so the Lord
demolished his houses, and cut off his life from the earth. If then thy wisdom sees good
to order that we rebuild our churches, so that we may pray in them and intercede for thy
highness, the matter lies in thy hands”. Then God quickly put it into the governor's heart
that he should give orders for the restoration of the churches;and accordingly all the
churches of Fustât Misr were rebuilt. And all the orthodox rejoiced greatly, and praised
God for the great mercy which he had granted to them, and their sadness was turned into
joy. And our father Mark uttered praises in the spirit, and sang with David: “Blessed is
the Lord who has not rejected my prayer, nor removed his mercy from me”.

7 Then Abba Mark returned to Alexandria, and occupied himself with maintaining the unity
of the two sees of Alexandria and Antioch. For he wrote according to custom a synodical
letter, which was full of all wisdom, and sent it to Cyriacus, patriarch of Antioch,
informing him therein of the decease of the father, Abba John, and relating how he himself
had taken his seat upon the evangelical throne. And Abba Mark in his epistle reminded Abba
Cyriacus of all the heretics, and of the war waged by our fathers for the true Faith, and
renounced all schism and all heretics and the impure council of Chalcedon, as being the
cause of doubt throughout the world, and abjured the sect of Nestorius, composed of the
new Jews. And Abba Mark declared the concord of the two sees, and called Cyriacus Father
and Partner in the ministry. This letter he sent by two bishops who understood how to
pronounce an oration in Greek, one of them being Mark, the wise bishop of Tinnîs, and the
other also Mark, bishop of Al-Faramâ, besides the deacon George, superintendent of the
church of Alexandria.

8 When they had delivered the synodical to the patriarch Cyriacus, and he had read it, he
mourned over the departure of the Father John, and rejoiced at the appointment of the
father, Abba Mark, and over the holy bishops. And when the letter was read in the church
of Antioch, the souls of the people were filled with joy, as they heard Abba Mark's words
and the wisdom, full of spiritual perfume, which flowed from his heart, full as he was of
the Holy Ghost; and they blessed the Lord, and praised the fathers who were counted worthy
to sit upon the throne of Mark the evangelist. Then they admired the bishops, who had
brought the synodical from Egypt, for their comely faces and garments, and their humility,
and the eloquence of their speech and the sweetness of their words. And the bishops stayed
a few days with the patriarch, until he dismissed them with gifts worthy of the
patriarchal dignity; and he sent by them a letter of salutation, glorifying our holy
father, the patriarch Mark. When they reached Egypt, and the letter of the patriarch
Cyriacus was read in the churches of Egypt, the people glorified God and rejoiced over the
union of the two patriarchs, the one with the other.

9 We will now record another work done by the Lord in the days of our father Mark, that
your hearts may rejoice, and that you may know that he resembled the father Severus and
Cyril and Dioscorus, those men who repulsed the heretics in their time. There was a
community in Egypt named after Barsanuphi, and also called Those that have no head; and
this sect continued a long time, from the days of the patriarch Peter, who held the see
after Timothy the confessor, in the time of Zeno, the pious prince; and afterwards they
remained in their opposition to the truth. Therefore the father Mark, who concerned
himself with the salvation of men's souls, was sad, and prayed to the Lord for them,
saying: “O eternal Lord of hosts, unattainable and inscrutable Light, whom none beholds
nor approaches, who seest thy creatures drowned in the depths of sin through their
disobedience, thou hast offered us salvation by an incomprehensible mystery, and made
earth like heaven by thy death and holy resurrection. As the wise Paul says: That he may
gather the nations to himself in peace by the power of his Cross, which destroyed the
enemy, and announced peace to us, both those that are near and those that are afar off.
Who also didst go to the mountain, until thou hadst brought back the sheep that was lost
and saved him from the mouth of the cruel wolf, rescuing him not by sword nor scourge, but
by thy great mercy.

10 And thou wast not content with his return, but didst summon the heavenly hosts and the
sublime orders of the angels to rejoice with thee, saying to them in thy gospel: Rejoice
with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. Now, O Lord, hear the prayer of thy
servant, and let my prayer enter before thee on behalf of these lost sheep; and let the
members of thy Church be gathered together, that they may be one fold and one Shepherd
according to the true words of the gospel ”. So the Lord heard his prayer speedily, and
moved the hearts of the chiefs of that sect. Now their leader was a man named Abraham,
whose father in the flesh was a bishop of theirs. And the patriarch taught those two to
recognise the error in which the Barsanuphians were living, having left the fount of the
water of life flowing from the evangelical see, and dug for themselves a well of error, as
the prophet Jeremias says. So they rose up quickly, and visited the patriarch, Abba Mark
the Younger, and cast themselves down prostrate before him, saying: “Blessed is God, who
has enlightened us by the teachings of thy Holiness, which have come to our ears, and
converted us from the error which has kept us in darkness during this long period of time.
Now we shall be reckoned among thy sheep, as children of thy evangelical see, which is the
see of Saint Mark”.

11 Then when our father, the patriarch, saw that they had abandoned their former tenets,
and had returned to the spiritual flock, he rejoiced greatly and glorified God for that
conversion, and uttered the praises that were fitting in the words of David, where he
praises God in the Psalm: “When the Lord turned again the captivity of his people, we
became as those that are consoled. Let Jacob rejoice, and Israel sing praises!” 12 And
through the grace of God, shining forth in our holy father, the patriarch, he desired to
prove and examine the faith of the two men, whether they were humble as befits those that
wish to return to Christ, or were clothed with pride on account of the high offices which
they had occupied. Then he said to them with humility and kindness: “Hear what was said by
him in whom was the fount of mercy, Paul, the sweet-tongued, in one of his epistles: What
portion has the believer with the unbeliever, and what pleasure has Christ in Satan?
Therefore now think not that you two will remain in this office which you hold, and which
you received from your heretical sect, without ordination according to the canons. For the
Holy Ghost did not come down upon you, as he descends upon bishops at the reading of the
canonical prayers, established for them by the apostles.” When the two men heard these
words of the patriarch, they replied with humility, through the grace which had come to
them by the prayers of the holy father, and said to him: “Our holy father, henceforth we
are not worthy to be in office nor to remain in it. But we came to thee that we might be
under the shadow of thy prayers.

13 Only there is one thing that we beg of thee, that thou wilt pray the Lord to forgive us
the offence of our former error and negligence.” This they said in the power of faith and
confession. And they requested him to give them ink and paper, as they sat before him; and
they wrote in their own handwriting a declaration that they would never, under pain of
anathema, solicit of him a bishopric or any clerical office in any place whatsoever. So
when he saw how strong their faith was, and that they had returned to the orthodox belief
of our holy fathers, who were clothed with light, he blessed them from the depths of his
heart, saying like the apostle Paul: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace,
that you may abound in the right faith by the power of the Holy Ghost!” And according to
the custom of charity, and the manifestation of good at all times, and the rewarding of
it, God soon declared himself to those two men.

14 Then Abba Mark commanded that those two men, George and his son Abraham, should be
received. And after the patriarch had ascertained their intentions, he ordained them
bishops, and read the canonical prayers over them, and clothed them with the episcopal
vestments in the church of the martyr, Saint Mennas, at Maryût, on the day of his glorious
feast, which is the 15th of Hatûr, when all the orthodox people were assembled to keep the
martyr's festival. And the congregation stood upon tiptoe, that they might see what was
taking place. And they glorified God, who performed wonders by the hand of this holy man,
saying: “Glory be to thee, O Lover of mankind, who hast saved the souls of these two men
from the service of Satan, the seducer.” Then when the patriarch had finished the
celebration of the holy feast, he returned to the city of Alexandria, accompanied by all
the people with great rejoicing; for they praised him because he had presented this
offering to the Lord. And he took those two bishops to himself, and attached them to his
person. But after a little while two bishops died among those in the land of Egypt, one of
them being Apacyrus, bishop of Tunbudha, and the other, Mennas, bishop of Atrîb. Then the
patriarch appointed Abraham to Atrîb and George, his father, to Tunbudha; and these two
bishops became his elect ones to the day of their death. Glory be to the Lord Jesus
Christ, who rejoices over those that return to life!

15 The Barsanuphians of Egypt, mentioned above, when they saw that their chiefs had
returned to orthodoxy, and that no foundation remained for their community, wrote to Abba
Mark, praying him to visit them and consecrate their churches. And when he read the
letters, he rejoiced exceedingly, and left all his work, and went in haste to Misr, and
consecrated their churches and monasteries for them, and established liturgies for them
according to the ecclesiastical rule, and gave them the Holy Mysteries of the Body and
Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, our God. So there was at Fustât Misr great joy and
spiritual gladness. And the Lord Jesus Christ did for our holy father Mark all that he
asked of him. And all the congregations assembled to hear his discourse and his salutary
doctrines. Thus after a few days he found that the church which he had consecrated for the
Barsanuphians, the followers of that doctrine, would not contain the congregation, when he
went thither to celebrate the liturgy. Therefore he called the workmen, and spent money
upon it from his own resources, so that it was rebuilt and became a handsome edifice. For
this reason it is called the patriarch's church to the present day.

16 And this wonderful grace increased in his days. But the Enemy would not be patient,
when he saw this prosperity and these sublime events, and how the patriarch established
the divine precepts in the hearts of the faithful, and the liberation of the captives who
returned through his prayers. Therefore Satan discharged his arrows against the Church of
the east. For he influenced one of the metropolitans of Cyriacus, patriarch of Antioch,
named Abraham, so that he spoke perverse words of the mysteries of Christ, such as we
should have no desire to record, were it not necessary, lest the hearing them should
defile the ears of the faithful and pure. For I know that you are surrounded by grace at
all times through that Light of men, Saint Mark; since by the prayers of our father the
evangelist there will never be a lack of grace. The error into which that metropolitan
strayed was by blaspheming against the mysteries. Then when our father Mark heard of it,
he was greatly grieved and said: “What should we gain if we were at all times of one
accord in the faith, when this strange doctrine appears in the Church of Antioch? This
grief of mine is on account of the union of the orthodox fathers, to which we and they
cleave; and above all on account of Paul's words: “If one member of the body suffers, all
the members suffer;

17 and if one member of the body is glorified, the whole body rejoices with it.” This the
holy Mark, the patriarch, said, while he was praying to the Lord. And because he cared
greatly for the Faith and for union with the Antiochenes, he wrote to the Father Patriarch
Cyriacus a letter of which here is a copy: “A report has reached us of the seed that Satan
has sown in your holy Church in the error of Abraham. Therefore our Church mourned; and we
assembled together on that account, because we never heard before these days of anything
out of harmony with our union in the orthodox Faith, and with that which the Lord joined
together, when he brought us all into the true light. And now we have become like those
who have taken a prisoner, and offered him as a gift to the king; but while he is making
provision for him, he is attacked by a strange nation, which takes possession of the
captive. But I trust in that king, with whose weapons we are armed to fight his enemies,
that he will speedily put his enemies to shame, and deliver the captive from their hands.
Therefore, O blessed father, neglect not to seek out the erring one, and feed him with the
food with which the sick ought to be fed, namely the word of God. As the teacher Paul
wrote to us, saying:

18 Receive the weak in the faith, and help them, not with disputations on opinions, but by
the exercise of the art of healing. Human bodies are cured by those who understand their
sickness. Through proper treatment of the sick, they are restored to health and grow
strong. Thou art now a physician of souls, and, by the power of the doctrine of our Lord
Christ, thou wilt remove the disease implanted by the enemy. Salutation to our holy and
blessed Father! Amen. ” 19 When this letter reached Cyriacus, patriarch of Antioch, he
admired the solicitude shown by this holy man, and strove with all his might to bring back
that sinner, but had no power over him. For Satan continued to incline Abraham's heart;
and finally a number of his brother bishops in the regions of Antioch joined him, and went
astray with him in this error. Then the people of the east called them Abrahamites; and
they separated themselves from the Church and the orthodox Synod.

20 When our father Mark returned to Alexandria, after the building of the church known by
his name, the orthodox rejoiced and were all filled with divine emulation. And Solomon,
the pious magistrate, and a band of Christians with him, visited our father, and prayed
him earnestly, saying to him: “The whole land of Egypt is filled with joy through the
building of the churches, especially that church which thou hast built at Misr. And thou,
our father, knowest that during the lifetime of our father, Abba John, we begged him to
rebuild the church of the Lord and Saviour, and to enlarge it and increase it, because it
stands in the midst of the city. But the work was not done, and the church has remained as
it was till now. Therefore we ask thee to let us see this joy in thy days.” But the good
shepherd answered and said to them: “You know the jealousy of these neighbours of yours.
When we begin to do the work that you have mentioned, they will present petitions to the
governor against us, and complain of us; and so we shall fall into trials such as we
endured many times from them, I and my father John, during the building of the church of
Michael the Angel, also called the church of Repentance.” Nevertheless as often as he
spoke to them thus, they begged him again and urged him still more, saying: “Thy holy
prayers will be a strong wall for us, so that this monument may be completed”. And when he
saw the strength and ardour of their faith, he consented to their request.

21 Then Abba Mark gathered together a body of workmen and architects. And he laid the
foundation in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this church stood in the midst of the
city. So the patriarch used to rise at the time of prayer and at cockcrow, that he might
witness and superintend the progress of the building, as if he were one of the architects;
for the Lord had granted him all wisdom. And Abba Mark counted his labour rest, because he
loved good works and the building of churches. And while he went on building the aforesaid
church, through the grace of the Lord which descended upon him, he adorned it with all
kinds of decoration, until it became a sadness to the Chalcedonian heretics, and a joy and
delight to the faithful orthodox. And on the 17th. day of Tût, the feast of the Cross, the
bishops who were in the district of Alexandria, with other neighbouring bishops of Egypt,
assembled together; and the church was consecrated in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
How great was the joy on that day, with the singing of hymns and pronouncing of blessings
and glorifying of God, as the heavenly orders do in the highest! And the patriarch gave
large alms on that day to the poor and needy. How many were the works of the glorious
father, Mark the patriarch! For they cannot be counted, nor can my feeble tongue describe
them.

22 In those days the father appointed a superintendent over the patriarchal service. But
that superintendent was full of jealousy and malice against all men, and especially
against a secretary of our father Abba Mark, whom he accused of all wickedness, in order
that our father, the patriarch, might cast out that secretary, and commit the care of the
church to the superintendent by himself alone. And although our father restrained him, and
forbad him to say such words, yet he would not receive the medicine from the physician. So
on a certain day, namely the 16th. day of Tubah, when the holy father was about to
commemorate the death of the father John, who went to his rest on that day, that wicked
man appeared, and began to calumniate the brother and secretary, as Joseph's brethren did
to him. Then the patriarch said to him: “Now is thy malady dangerous. Now we have tried
upon thee every means of saving thy soul; but instead of checking thyself thou growest
worse. Therefore now let thine injustice rest upon thine own head, as the prophet says in
the psalm ”. And there was near them a picture, in which the glorious Lady Mary was
painted with the Lord Christ in her lap; and it was set up in the chamber where the
patriarch sat.

23 So that superintendent looked upon it, and, stretching out a finger of his right hand,
he said: “By her power, if I have told a lie in that which I have related, may this
picture take vengeance upon me!” Now hear the bitter fate that befell this wretch
according to the denunciation of that holy prophet, who spoke with authority. For he
uttered against him words full of terror, like the words of Daniel the prophet to the two
old men who contradicted the testimony of the chaste Susanna, saying: “O thou that art
grown old in wickedness, the angel of the Lord shall strike thee and cut thee in two, as
he did to those who bore false witness against Susanna”. And at that moment, when the
words which came from his mouth were ended, that wretched man fell at the patriarch's feet
upon his right side, that being the side of his right hand, which he had stretched out
towards the picture with evil intent; and he was struck with paralysis of one side, which
lasted to the day of his death. Therefore, when men saw this miracle and this terrible
occurrence, they all feared the patriarch's words, which were like the words of the
prophets.

24 Now my lords and fathers, and ye children of the orthodox, I told you at the beginning
that I could never give a perfect account of the deeds of my fathers, as the greatness of
those deeds deserves; for I am like the gleaner after the reapers. And I have no
illuminating wit, because I am plunged in the darkness of my sins. Yet from reliable and
truthful persons, who were constantly ministering to our holy fathers, we have heard the
narratives which we are relating in part. I will therefore give a further description of
that which was manifested by this father, the patriarch Abba Mark, that you may marvel and
glorify God for the mercy and compassion which he shows to his elect. As Paul says: “For
those that love God he does every excellent work”. 25 There was in the time of this saint
a great plague of locusts, which appeared in the province of Al-Buhairah and near
Alexandria, and devoured all the fruits of the earth and of the vineyards. As it is
written in the Psalm: “He spoke, and locusts and grasshoppers came, and ate up all the
green things on the earth”. So the father was sad when he was informed of this calamity.
And he bade the orthodox people proceed forth with incense and crosses and books of the
gospel, and pray the merciful God to remove from them the wrath which had descended upon
them. And the father went out with them and besought God in his heart with abundant tears.
Thus they marched outside the city to the place where the locusts were, as Abba Mark
directed them. There they saw the locusts, which had flown up high into the air; and there
were so many of them that the air was darkened. And the tears of the people were mixed
with their prayers. Then the patriarch said: “O Lord of mercy and pity, destroy us not for
our sins and offences, but turn away from our transgressions for thy mercy's sake. As thou
didst hear the people of Nineve, hear, O Lord, our supplication, and accept our petition.

26 And as thou didst hear the prayer of Moses in ancient times, and drive away the locusts
from the land of Egypt, so hear our request to-day, and look upon the tears of thy people
and their sighs which come from the depth of their hearts, and remove this wrath from us”.
If we did not abhor prolixity, we would fully report all the prayers and humble
supplications that they offered, and their ardour and their weeping. And God is the Mighty
one, who hears the prayers of his servants, and delivers those that cry to him. How great
was that miracle, in no respect less than that which took place in the days of Moses! How
great was the power of Christ in our father the patriarch! For at that very hour the
locusts flew away over the heads of the people, and afterwards came down again upon the
waves of the sea, where they all perished, through his prayers.

27 Hear now, my fathers and brothers, a thing at which your hearts will rejoice on account
of the gift of divine mercy, which God gave to this father. After this event, while he was
returning from Misr, and was making a visitation of the people, he passed through a town
now called Agharwah, but in former times Aghra. And the clergy came out to meet him
according to the custom, that they might chant before him, with a body of the laity, chief
men and leaders of the people; and he blessed them and prayed for all of them. And there
came out among the others a person possessed by a devil, which threw him down in the midst
of the people, and choked him until foam flowed from his mouth. So our father, when he saw
that man, pitied him and was sorry, and being filled with the Holy Ghost, said to the
people: “Bring him to me.” Then Abba Mark signed that man's face with the sign of the
Gross, and said: “O Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Word of the Father, who didst
confound the devils and free thy creatures from them, thou art he whom the devils
recognised, and thou art he who didst cast them down to Hell, wherefore they cried: What
have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God, art thou come to destroy us before the
time when we shall be chastised?

28 Now, my Lord Jesus Christ, drive away this unclean devil, and cast him out of this
man!” And when he had said this, the man fell upon the ground, and became unconscious and
tranquil as if he were asleep; and when he arose, a moment afterwards, the devil had left
him through the patriarch's prayers. So that man threw himself at Abba Mark's holy feet,
and thanked God for the deliverance thus granted. Then the father repeated to him the
words, addressed by Jesus in the gospel to the man with the withered hand, after he healed
him: “Thou art made whole, therefore sin no more, lest worse things than this befall thee.
And beware how thou goest up to receive the Holy Mysteries, and learn that the punishment
which overtook thee was because thou didst communicate of the Holy Mysteries unprepared.
Therefore guard thyself from vain words, which come forth from thy mouth.”

29 You have seen then, my friends, this excellent grace of which our father, the patriarch
Abba Mark, was counted worthy, and that by the word of his mouth he cast out devils by
command and with authority, like the pure apostles and disciples of Christ. He also
anointed many of the sick with oil in the name of the Lord Christ, and prayed over them,
and they quickly recovered their health. And if any objector say: “Why did he not cure
himself of the painful sickness from which he suffered?”, let him read in the scriptures,
and he will find that God declares that he tries his elect by sicknesses and trials. So,
for example, he tried Job the truthful by leprosy; and Joseph by his being cast into the
pit by his brothers; and Daniel with the fierce lions; and the three youths in the furnace
of fire; and Isaias with the wooden saw. But the prophets and good men of this class are
many, and if we were to relate all that each of them suffered, the volumes would not
contain it. For if the shadow of the apostle Peter passed over a sick man in the way, he
was healed of his sickness; and therefore the sick used to sit in the road which Peter
would traverse, and then his shadow passed over them, and they were healed. And Paul had a
pustule in his leg, from which he suffered, and which he could not cure;

30 but God only tried him thereby in mercy to him, lest he should magnify himself when he
was working miracles in the name of Christ. Simeon, the hermit, also suffered from
inveterate ulcers, which he could not cure; although by his prayers he healed the blind,
and cleansed lepers, and did many works; and he continued in his sickness three years. And
our holy father, Abba Mark the patriarch, continued in his pains twelve years. Yet he used
to give thanks to God, saying: “I thank thee my Lord and God, because thou hast counted me
worthy of these sufferings like Lazarus the beggar.” And the people and all the land of
Egypt remained in peace and prosperity all his days. 31 But Satan, the hater of good,
would not endure patiently, because he saw Abba Mark's works and wonders, which increased
every day. Therefore he began to raise up seditions against the land of Egypt, and there
was mourning in every place, including Alexandria. And great trouble came upon the
patriarch, such that no man who hears of it can refrain from weeping. Now therefore I will
relate to you that which happened.

32 In those days Hârûn ar-Rashîd had died at Bagdad; and his son Muhammad, called Al-Amîn,
sat in his father's place. The cause of offence was that Hârûn ar-Rashîd before his death
had assembled the chief personages of the empire, and said to them: “After me, the
caliphate belongs to my son, the lord Al-Ma'mûn.” But when Muhammad al-Amîn heard of this,
he was filled with anger, and gathered a host together, and made war upon his brother. But
Al-Ma'mûn killed Al-Amîn, and sat upon the throne of the empire. When the strife broke out
between the two brothers, a certain rebel arose, and assembled an innumerable army, and
kept the road between Egypt and the East. And he robbed those that were journeying to Misr
or Upper Egypt or Abyssinia or Nubia of all their goods; so that travelling was
interrupted on the roads and all the tracks through fear of him. This attack upon Egypt
lasted long on account of the disturbed state of the government of Bagdad. And the
insurgents rose against the government in Egypt, and gathered the taxes for themselves.
There was among them a man, called Abd al-Azîz al-Jarawi, who seized the land from Shatnûf
to Al-Faramâ, with the eastern province of Egypt, Bilbais and its territory. And there was
one named As-Sarî, son of Al-Hakam, who took the country between Misr and Aswan. These two
men took possession of the revenues. Moreover those that are called Lakhm and Judhâm, the
two tribes, seized the western part of Egypt and the districts of Alexandria and Maryût,
and ruled over the whole of Al-Buhairah. These two tribes were generally at war one with
the other, and plundered one another; and the country suffered greatly from them. So when
they reduced the city of Alexandria to extremities, the inhabitants prayed, and implored
the Lord's help, and begged him to deliver them from this tyrannical people.

33 Now there was in those days to the west of Alexandria a monastery, known as the
Monastery of Az-Zajâj, at which there was an aged hermit, endowed with grace to see
through the Holy Ghost signs and visions; and his name was John. And he said to the
Alexandrians prophetically: “I see that you are distressed by this people. In the same
way, believe me, a nation will come from the west, and will destroy without mercy this
people and this city, and plunder all that it contains.” And after he had said this,
Alexandria was invaded by a host of those who are called Spaniards, laden with much booty
from the islands of the Romans. And they continued to make raids from Egypt, as they had
done elsewhere, upon the islands of the Romans, plundering them, and bringing the captives
to Alexandria, and selling them as slaves. Therefore when our father Mark saw these
captives, he was grieved because human beings were sold, as if they were cattle; moreover
many of them became Muslims. And because his heart was compassionate he redeemed many of
them, such as monks and priests and deacons and virgins and mothers of children, until he
had bought as many as six thousand souls. When he purchased one of these prisoners, he
wrote a deed of emancipation for him on the spot, and gave into his hand a letter which
set him free.

34 And Abba Mark said to those whom he liberated: “If any of you wish to settle with me,
he shall be as my son. But to him that desires to return to his native country I will give
the means of bringing him to his own people.” And many of them, when they saw his deeds,
settled with him. And he placed them with teachers, who taught them the Psalms and the
doctrine of the Church. But to those that preferred to go back to their people he gave
provisions for the journey and all that they required. Then the report of him and what he
did was spread abroad in the kingdoms and among the officials of the various states, and
he gained a fair fame among them. Therefore Satan was filled with envy against him on
account of his deeds, and brought trials upon him and showed the sting of his wickedness.

35 There was in the city of Alexandria in those days a governor of high lineage among the
Muslims, named Omar son of Mâlik. But the tribes of Lakhm and Judhâm and Madlajah rose
against him and sought to slay him, that they might take possession of the city. So they
began to fight with him, but could not prevail against him. And there was among the
Spaniards a very old man who had come to Alexandria in his youth, and was skilful in all
guile and deceit; and he acted as mediator between the tribe of Lakhm and the Spaniards,
in order that the latter might assist the former to kill the governor; and they all came
to an agreement upon this matter. Accordingly the Spaniards joined the Lakhmites on the
10th. day of Ba'ûnah, in the year 530 of the Martyrs; and, after the old man's suggestions
had been accepted by them, he acted as their guide in this deed. Then they killed the
governor and took possession of the city. And that which happened subsequently is such as
to sadden and grieve us. For on the day after the murder of the governor, namely the 11th.
of Ba'ûnah, there was a quarrel between the Lakhmites and the Spaniards; and instead of
peace hostility and war broke out. And there was an encounter between them, and the
fighting did not cease till night, when the Spaniards were victorious.

36 When the Alexandrians saw these things, they drew their swords and marched into the
streets and lanes and baths and houses, and killed any of the Spaniards that they found in
any place; and the number of those whom they slew was eighty souls. When the combatants
parted, and the Lakhmites fled, the Spaniards enquired after their comrades; and, having
been informed that the Alexandrians had slain them, were filled with fury like fierce
lions, for they were very courageous, and drew their swords, and sallied forth raging
through the city, and killed all the townsmen that they met, whether Muslims or Christians
or Jews. And wherever the Spaniards found one of their comrades who had been slain, they
burnt that place with fire. Thus when they reached the church of the Saviour, which is
called the Soter and was rebuilt by our father Mark, they found some of their nation lying
at its doors, because the Muslims had killed them there in the houses, and carried them
out and cast them by the door of the church. This sight exasperated the Spaniards; and at
that moment there appeared a wicked old man, looking down upon the street from the roof of
the houses; and he was Satan who appeared in that form. And he said to the Spaniards: “I
saw the master of this church kill your comrades.” Then they set fire to the church; and
the conflagration spread so far that it consumed buildings at a distance from the church.

37 When our father heard of this calamity, he wept bitterly and was exceedingly sad. For
those men slew a countless number of people, and pillaged and burnt many buildings. After
this narrative we now desire to speak of the sufferings which entered the heart of our
father, the patriarch Mark, especially with regard to the church of the Soter. He lamented
in the words of the Psalm: “O God, the heathen are entered into thine inheritance, and
have defiled thy holy temple. They have turned Jerusalem into ruins like the darkness of a
prison. They have made the dead bodies of thy servants food for the birds of the air, and
the flesh of thy saints for the beasts of the earth, and have shed their blood like water
around Jerusalem, and they have none to bury them”. Then he descended from his throne, and
sat on the ground, and continued this lamentation, as the blessed Job says: “I was in
peace and he scattered me abroad, and stripped my garment from me, and shot his arrows at
me”. These and similar words he uttered, and did not break his fast that day nor that
night; and none could make him sit upon his throne nor even on a mat; but he lay upon the
ground mourning. Then at midnight he arose to pray according to his custom. And early on
the next day he went out in company with two of his sons.

38 And he said: “O holy city, in which much slaughter has been committed, and of which the
enemy has taken possession! O throne on which I believed that I should never sit! O home
of my holy fathers, clothed with light, where they died in joy and gladness, while I have
become a stranger therein for my sins!” This he said; and then he went forth from the
city, and journeyed from place to place, crossing rivers of waters and passing over
difficult ground. In this state of distress he remained during five years after his
departure from the city, like one who has been taken captive. Yet all this time he used to
thank God day and night. 39 What trials befell the children of the church at that time,
and the fathers and bishops, and the chief of the laity! But they used to come to the
patriarch, and console him, and consult him; and each of them begged to be allowed to
entertain him as a guest, in order to receive his blessing; but he would never consent.
And the pious official Macarius, son of Seth, a native of Nebrûwah, was of the diocese of
Samannûd. Therefore when he heard what had happened, he arose and went to the residence of
Abd al-Azîz, who was in possession of the eastern provinces, and solicited his protection
for the father patriarch, Abba Mark, saying: “The tribes which have conquered Alexandria
have robbed him of all his goods, and he has left his see, and is come to live beneath the
shadow of God and thy shadow. Therefore, if I have gained any favour before thee, write
him a letter in thine own name, that he may be encouraged by thy command to dwell in his
place in confidence”.

40 Then Abd al-Azîz wrote an urgent decree, as the pious official requested. At that time
the official acted the part of Dorotheus, the magistrate of Sakhâ, with whom the holy
father Severus lodged until he died; for he sent messengers from his house with the decree
of the Amir to the father patriarch, praying him to come and live in the dwelling of that
official. So our father the patriarch arose and prayed, and journeyed till he arrived at
Nebrûwah. And the official came forth with all his household to meet the patriarch, in
honour of his primacy, and, on seeing the father, prostrated himself before him in the
power of his faith, saying: “The Lord has done for me to-day a merciful deed in bringing
thy Paternity to lodge at the house of thy servant. For I believe that thy coming to us
will be a blessing and a healing to our souls”. Thereupon he conducted him to the church,
with chanting before him, as the rule for the patriarchs is. Afterwards he established him
in a place befitting his primacy, in a building erected by that magistrate's parents, and
dedicated to Saint Macarius of Wadî Habîb.

41 But in spite of all these troubles the holy father did not relinquish his care for the
holy churches at Alexandria, and the patriarchate, and the church of the martyr Saint
Mennas at Maryût, nor for the union of the separated members of the church of Antioch, who
had been led astray by the metropolitan Abraham and his followers. While Abba Mark was
taking thought for these matters, the Lord removed the father Cyriacus of Antioch, and he
went to his rest. After him an excellent person, named Dionysius, was elected. When he
took his seat upon the throne, he began to make gentle advances to Abraham, and brought
back many of those who had erred in his company; and they showed signs of repentance, and
confessed their error. As soon therefore as our holy father Mark heard of this, he
rejoiced greatly, and hastened to write a letter to the father Dionysius, patriarch of
Antioch, expressing interest in the conversion of the erring. The opening of the letter
was thus: “Blessed be the Lord and God of glory, who has never ceased to care for his
flock, that is his Church, those whom he bought with his pure Blood and taught at the
beginning. Verily thy Paternity will become by his holy name, as he testified of Paul: He
shall be for me a chosen vessel in my Name before kings and gentiles.

42 So by his holy will he has elected thee especially at this time to which we have been
assigned, and which is the end, as the blessed apostle says. Now I beg thy Paternity to
offer many prayers and supplications to the merciful Lord Christ, our God, that he may
guide us and his Church, since we are in great poverty; for by his inscrutable decrees he
will finish what he has begun”. Abba Mark continued: “The gentiles have entered his
inheritance, and defiled our holy temples, and made the great city of Alexandria like a
prison, through the fighting that has taken place therein between the tribes. At last the
slain found none to bury them; and many of their corpses became food for the birds of the
air and the beasts of the earth”. Such were the thoughts which he expressed, because these
events were like that which is written concerning Jerusalem in the Lamentations of the
prophet Jeremias, with reference to the fate of that city after the Resurrection of the
Lord Christ, when, in punishment for the sins of the misbelieving Jews, God sent against
them Titus, prince of the Romans, the miscreant Magian, to do to them what is described in
the second part of the writings of Josephus, son of Cyrtus, who undertook to compile the
history of the Jews. “For this reason,” pursued the patriarch, “we quitted the city
because of what we had witnessed therein. For they refrained not from slaying and
plundering and burning.

43 And there was none to hinder them. Therefore we have chosen to live in exile, and to
pray to the Lord Christ our God. These things we desired to make known to thy Paternity.
But there is great sorrow on account of those that have separated themselves from the
Church, through the fault of him that is called Abraham! Therefore when we heard recently
that some of them have sought repentance, and are returning from their errors, we rejoiced
greatly, and forgot the griefs which surround us. For if there were unity in the holy
Church, and she remained at peace, graces would be doubled among us. Now, my holy Father,
we know the mercy of the Lord Christ, our God, who came into the world not for the sake of
the good, but for the sake of sinners. Therefore open to them now the door of repentance,
and lead them to the way of truth, that the heavenly orders may rejoice at their return,
because they are numbered among the children of light”.

44 When this letter reached the father Dionysius, he, as well as the whole Syrian people,
was much pleased by the forethought and goodness of our father, Abba Mark. And by this
means the patriarch brought back those that had gone astray in those days, when they heard
his letter, all but a few who continued to adhere to Abraham, the source of their error,
and who are called Abrahamites to this day. So the Church of Antioch rejoiced greatly.
Then the father Dionysius, patriarch of Antioch, wrote a synodical letter to the father,
Abba Mark, to show him the bond of charity which existed between them, and to thank him
for his love and care for the salvation of all men. For this there was great joy in the
land of Egypt and in the East, on account of this unity; and they glorified God. 45 But
when God's favour had thus been shown, Satan, the perpetual adversary of peace and
supporter of evil, would not endure it. Therefore he began to bring great trouble upon the
desert of Wadî Habîb, which is a place where the Arabs dwell. Now the desert of Wadî Habîb
had been like the Garden of Eden. But the Arabs plundered it, and took the monks captive,
and demolished the churches and the cells there. And the holy seniors were scattered in
every part of the world. When therefore the father, Abba Mark, saw such a calamity, this
saint and mine of spiritual charity, whence love and faith abounded towards all men,
especially those in the holy desert of our fathers, meditated on these things. And he
could not bear this grief, but besought the Lord from the depths of his heart, repeating
the words of David in the Psalm: “My heart is disquieted within me, and in my reins a fire
is kindled. O Lord, let me know my end; for my hope is vanished, and I have no harbour of
safety where I can be secure. For the joy of Egypt has ceased, and Wadî Habîb, the Holy of
Holies, has become a ruin, the dwelling of wild beasts. The homes of our blessed fathers,
who passed their nights in prayer, have become the resort of the owl and the dens of cruel
foxes, namely this foul tribe.” Thus our father did not cease to weep night and day for
the distress and grief which had come, and especially for the ruin of the holy monasteries
and their churches.

46 So when the Lord saw these trials and griefs which this holy man was enduring, he
desired to give him rest from the treachery of this world. Accordingly he was attacked by
a fever during a few days. Then Mark the evangelist appeared to him in a dream on the
17th. day of Barmûdah, which was the Sunday of Easter that year, and said to him:
“Rejoice, O Mark, my trusted successor; rejoice, O champion of the Truth! Behold the Lord
Jesus Christ grants thee this favour, that he will transfer thee to his eternal mansions
on the day of his holy Resurrection. Be ready to meet him this night, when thou shalt be
parted from this body. And this shall be a sign to thee. When thou shall partake of the
Holy Mysteries, God will receive thy soul to himself.” Therefore the holy father on
awaking said to the bishops sitting with him: “Hasten to celebrate the Liturgy in honour
of the Resurrection of Christ our Lord.” But as the fathers and bishops saw him much
agitated, they did not wish to leave him; nevertheless, after he had made the sign of the
Cross over them, they did as he desired, and said the Liturgy. And when the Liturgy was
finished, they brought the Chalice to him; and he partook of the Body and Blood of Christ
our God. Afterwards, having said to them: “I commend you all to the Lord”, he opened his
mouth and gave up the ghost.

47 O how great was that sorrow which fell upon all the orthodox! Thereupon they gathered
around his body, and read the appointed office over him, and enshrouded him, and laid him
in a wooden coffin, which they placed in the church of Nebrûwah, until God should permit
its removal to Alexandria. Abba Mark had occupied the see twenty years and seventy days;
and he died on the 22nd. of Barmûdah, in the year 535 of the Martyrs, ruling the holy
Church. He wrote during his pontificate twenty one books of Mystagogia, and twenty Festal
Letters. And he went to dwell with the Saints in the Land of the Living. Glory belongs to
the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost for ever. Amen.


HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 2
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HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 2 continued

VOL. 1, PART 4 -- MENNAS I TO JOSEPH (849 AD) — JAMES, THE FIFTIETH PATRIARCH. A. D. 819-830

1 Before the decease of the holy father, Abba Mark, the holy desert of Wadî Habîb had been
laid waste; and this devastation had so tried the said father, that he besought the Lord
to remove him from this world, and not to leave him to the sorrow which he endured for
those monasteries, because of what they suffered at the hands of the miscreant Arabs,
through their having taken possession of them and driven out our holy fathers who dwelt
there, and killed many, and burnt the churches and the manshûbahs that is to say, the
cells, with fire. In consequence of this slaughter, the monks were dispersed among the
cities and villages and monasteries, in the various provinces of Egypt and the two
Thebaids. Thus none was left in the cells of Wadî Habîb save a few persons, who chose
death, that they might redeem the life of their brothers by their own life, and so
inherited eternal life by their endurance. And God protected them, so that none did them
any further hurt or injury.

2 At that time there was in the monastery of our father Macarius a priest, called James,
who shed light around him by his conduct. When the devastation of the monasteries began,
he quitted them and departed to a monastery in Upper Egypt, that he might serve God there,
while awaiting a time when he might return to the holy mountain of Mîzân al-Kulûb, or Wadî
Habîb. And the Lord, the Lover of mankind, who knows the hidden secrets, which he reveals
to his saints at all times, working his will among them, performed a wonderful thing
concerning this holy priest James, whom we have named, since he was counted worthy to
receive a revelation. For while he was in his cell at prayer according to his custom, he
saw a marvellous vision, in which our pure Lady, the Mother of the Light, appeared to him
standing beside his head at night, wearing a great crown, and shining with a very great
light, and accompanied by two angels. And the Queen of Truth said to him: “O my son James,
what harm have I done to thee? It is I that have brought thee up from thy childhood, and
preserved thee till now, since my beloved son elected thee from the time when thou wast in
thy mother's womb, to set thee over his household; and yet now thou hast departed from me.
Do not so, but rise up and return to the place which thou hast quitted.

3 For thou shalt be chief over a great congregation, namely those who have been chosen for
the place of rest; and that time is near and not far off”. Then a great fear fell upon
him. But he had not two minds nor any manner of doubt concerning the dream which he had
beheld; nay, he rose up quickly, and returned to the holy desert, Mîzân al-Qulûb. As soon
as he arrived there, the Lord desired that he should be comforted, and caused the
spiritual father Macarius to appear to him, saying: “Blessed is thy coming hither, O thou
in whom the Lord has confidence! See now, be not of two minds, and doubt not concerning
the dream which thou hast seen, for through thee my sons shall reassemble in their
dwellings, from which Satan has scattered them”. 4 Thus James continued among the monks
who had remained in their places, comforting and consoling them day after day. After he
had seen that dream, he grew in devotion and in good works, until he witnessed great and
sublime wonders; and all those that saw the light that shone around him knew that God had
chosen him. At that time God granted him a wonderful communication. While he was standing
in prayer at night, and spending the rest of the night working with his hands according to
his custom, fear and dread came over him, and he wept sore. His companions said to him:
“What has befallen thee, my holy Father, art thou not asleep?” And he replied: “My sons,
my thoughts have been caught up to high places, and I heard things concerning our holy
father, Abba Mark, that he would remain patriarch forty years. But afterwards I heard
another thing from the Lord, that he will take our father the patriarch to his rest this
year. Therefore I wept with a burning heart. Then I prayed the Lord to choose him whom he
will seat upon this throne for his merit”. After these words he was silent. And only a
short time passed after he had seen that vision before the holy father Mark first fell
sick of his mortal sickness, as we have related that he prayed the Lord to remove him to
himself.

5 And there were with the father Mark bishops, who prayed him humbly, saying: “Our blessed
Father, we beg thee to tell us what the Lord has revealed to thee. Who is worthy to sit
after thee upon the evangelical throne?” But the holy father would not reveal nor declare
to the bishops that he knew aught of this matter, only answering them thus: “The Lord has
lighted the lamp, and set it on the candlestick, that it may give light to all in the
house, which is his Church”. But one of the bishops, in whom was a firm faith in the
father patriarch, stood up and began to beg and adjure him, in the name of the Lord and of
the holy see, to declare who it was that the Lord had chosen to sit after him upon the
throne. Then he answered in a low voice and said to that bishop: “The holy James of the
church of our father, Saint Macarius, is the man adorned by his deeds”. And he commanded
the bishop not to disclose this secret to anyone, and made him swear this for the sake of
the Church, that they might see the glory of God perfected in him. After that the holy
father died, as we have before related. O the great glory of the throne of Saint Mark the
evangelist, and of all that sit thereupon!

6 For by the grace of the Holy Spirit, the Fire, they are chosen and elected through his
descent upon each one of them. As the Lord said to his disciples and apostles: “Behold, I
am with you all days even unto the end of the world”. 7 Now I would recount to you a few
of the deeds of the holy James, the priest, while he was a monk, before he was ordained
priest, and before he sat upon the throne, if I did not know my incapacity, and that I
cannot at all attain to an adequate description of the magnitude of his actions, and of
the glory of the Trinity which surrounded him. For this reason I will abridge my
discourse. As for his ordination and that which he endured at first, those things were a
profit and a blessing to all the orthodox. 8 When our father, the patriarch Abba Mark,
went to his rest, the Church and all the people mourned for him deeply, and above all the
God-loving city of Alexandria, because they missed the sight of their father among them,
and because of his absence from them. After a time the fighting and conflict ceased in
Alexandria and Egypt, and among all the tribes of the Spaniards and Lakhmites and
Madlajites. Then the people began to pray and beseech God to remember his Church, which he
bought with his Blood, and to show them their shepherd, who should feed and console them
in their trouble. So the bishops and the Christ-loving laity gathered together, to seek
one who was worthy of this degree. And they mentioned many names, and among them that of
the illuminator, James the priest. This was a dispensation from God, who placed this name
in their mouths because James was the one worthy of this primacy. Then the blessed bishop,
to whom the deceased patriarch Mark had spoken of James, the pillar of light, mentioned
this fact, and made the secret known to the assembled bishops. Therefore they cried with
one voice: “He is worthy, he is worthy, he is worthy, whose deeds are as the deeds of the
angels. He is of earth, and yet he is of heaven”. So they hastened, and came to the
desert, to the church of Saint Macarius, and took the priest James suddenly, before he
knew.

9 And they conducted him to the city of Alexandria, while he wept, saying: “Blessed is the
Lord! Alas for me, who am unworthy of this great honour! For I am unfit for this office
and the great glory to which I am promoted”. And he prayed God the whole of that night and
day to remove him from this world, before investing him with this dignity. And behold,
while he was weeping and praying for this release, he saw a wonderful dream, as he often
did; for God consoled him, and said to him, as he said to Jacob the ancient father: “Fear
not James, for behold I go with thee to Egypt; and I will strengthen thee and be with thee
in thy conflict, that thou mayest deserve the crown like thy militant brethren Severus and
Dioscorus, whose life thine own resembles”. Then he awoke trembling. Afterwards he was
brought into Alexandria, and consecrated archbishop with full authority and valid
ordination. And he was counted worthy of this ---- that an aged monk, who had come out of
the desert, when the open book of the gospels was held over the head of Abba James, beheld
two forms, one of them like the picture of Dioscorus and the other like that of Severus,
which grasped the gospels on this side and on that; and the name of the patriarch James
was between them.

10 After he had witnessed this wonder, and while he was thinking upon it, he saw men
conversing together, who said: “This man's conduct indeed resembles the conduct of these
two men”. 11 O my fathers, the life of this saint was virtuous like the life of the holy
Severus! Moreover Abba James was an admonition to the heretics, because they stood in awe
of him, and because of the excellence of his faith, and his confession and his office; and
they held his words in reverence. For when he was enthroned, he delivered an admonitory
discourse, in which he anathematized all the banished heresies, and the impure council of
Chalcedon, and the Phantasiasts, that is the Gaianites, who deny the lifegiving Passion of
God the Word, which he accepted in the flesh. On a certain day the patriarch communicated
the people, and then came to his residence. Now it was the custom of the Alexandrians that
the heretics used to pray with them, in order to see their festivals and the glory of the
patriarch. And they used to do this, that the orthodox might show the glory that God had
given them to the heretics, and the works which he manifested for his people of the
fathers, who came and sat upon the throne of Mark the evangelist. So the heretics did the
same thing with the father and patriarch James; for a company of them were present, and
saw him full of the grace of the Holy Ghost, while they were mixed with the orthodox.
Thereupon he exclaimed, like Paul the apostle: “What fellowship has truth with error, or
light with darkness? Or how does Christ agree with Satan?

12 Or what share has one that believes with a heretic?” Then he added: “Let these heretics
and their congregation remain far from this faithful and blessed assembly! For as they
have no share with us in spiritual things, so they shall have none in material things!” So
all the heretics went out in shame and confusion through the door of the church. And there
was among them a rich man, who had been set over the collection of the taxes at Alexandria
at that time, and had authority and superintendence among the Spaniards. Therefore that
man quickly departed, and informed the superintendent of the revenue of what had happened,
and accused the father patriarch, Abba James, declaring that he had excommunicated them.
The heretic, on hearing this, was filled with wrath against our father, the patriarch, and
uttered violent words, and sent a message to the father, saying: “I will make thee turn
round in the church, when thou sayest Peace be with you, and not find a person to answer
And with thy spirit”. But our father, when he heard these words from the heretic, answered
by the grace of the Holy Ghost thus: “Well did Isaias prophesy against this heretic,
saying that his wrath and fury and imagination should return upon his own head. And thy
violence and anger have come up to me, and therefore I will fasten thee with a bridle
between thy lips. And he shall not remove from his place till this judgment be executed
upon him;

13 and so his fate shall be. And I tell you truly that I shall not enter the church of the
Lord before God shall swiftly carry out this sentence upon him”. After that, a lawsuit was
brought against this man, and he was put to death, and everything that was in his house
was seized, and nothing was left that belonged to him. Therefore, when the heretics of
Alexandria saw this wonder that had taken place, and the fulfilment of that which was said
by the father, who was overshadowed by the Holy Ghost, not one of them could say a word
against him. And their own patriarch respected and feared him, and would not oppose him.
And the good works of Abba James increased and grew more than those of his monastic days.
And he did not look for the praise of men, but worked the works of God; and his mind was
set on high like that of Paul the apostle who did not cease to proclaim and preach the
name of Jesus Christ, and to praise God.

14 And Abba James said to his people: “I hear that there are among you vain idlers. But I
pray you to do your work quietly, and eat your bread, according to the words of the
apostle Paul: I served with my own hand, and was not a burden upon you. And it is good to
improve the lot of the needy”. And he did not take from anyone, and little of this world's
goods sufficed him; nor did he take up arms against misfortunes, as men do; but he ate his
bread with tears. Yea, his works shone forth in his face. And all that he asked of God he
gave him. And his word was sharper than a two-edged sword. Now I will inform you, my
brethren, that in the days of this blessed father, Abba James, there was a near relation
of his, named Macarius, who loved Christ; and he was a prominent official at Nebrûwah.
This man, when he heard that Abba James had been enthroned, rejoiced greatly, and
glorified God who chooses his elect, and increased in almsgiving and in charity towards
his brethren, and sent to Alexandria what was needed by the churches, on the ground that
he was a kinsman of the patriarch. And Macarius honoured the bishops and respected them.

15 But famine and plunder began to reappear at Alexandria; and the patriarch could not
find that which he was wont to give to the churches, for nothing was left to him. And the
visits of the faithful from all parts to the church of the martyr Saint Mennas at Maryût
were interrupted; and with them the patriarch used to trade. The cause of all this was the
war and fighting that took place between the Egyptians and the Madlajites and Spaniards;
and the scene of these disturbances was at Alexandria. And there was a deacon, named
George, who was one of the chief of the clergy of Alexandria, and superintendent of the
church of Alexandria. But he began to speak against this father, Abba James, and even said
to him: “Thou shalt give us what we need according to custom, or else go back to the
desert whence thou earnest”. When the father patriarch heard this rebel speak thus, and
perceived that he stood in no awe of the patriarchal dignity, but increased in his
insolence, he said to him: “Henceforth thy foot shall never again enter through this door
into this chamber”. And the deacon went out in great wrath from his presence, and departed
to his own house, and did not beg for absolution from the holy father, nor did he repent.
And a fever, accompanied by shivering fits, attacked him; so that they had to hold him on
account of the violent convulsions which seized him; and he died on that very day.

16 When the patriarch was informed, he lamented deeply, and prayed God to absolve the soul
of the deacon George from the bonds of excommunication with which he was bound, and to
absolve him also from sin. And from the day on which that deacon died, death and
dissolution visited all his household, and none of them has remained to this day.
Therefore when the multitude saw this wonder, and that the word of Abba James had
authority like that of the apostles, they were awestruck, and trembled with tear; and none
dared to rebuke him, for he was among them as a prophet. 17 On the approach of the Forty
Days, the holy fast, the father resolved to visit the desert of Saint Macarius, that he
might comfort and console the brethren and monks, and remain among them till the feast of
holy Easter, as the custom of the patriarchs was. When he reached the desert, the monks
rejoiced, and met him, crying: “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord”. And
all the fathers and seniors came from their caves and from the mountains, running like
deer which long for the waterbrooks. And they received his blessing with great gladness.
And this desert was like the Paradise of the Lord, through the prayers of the father
patriarch and the assistance of the baptized Egyptians. The patriarch had a great
affection for the desert, more than the monks had. And he acted there as Corneliusdid in
his time; for he sent a message to all the fathers and to the cells, saying: “If anyone
need anything for his cell, let him come and take it”. For the barbarians had robbed them
of all their goods, and wrecked the churches, and burnt the cells with fire. So when the
monks came together again, they praised the Lord for the renewal of his favour upon them,
and glorified God for these mercies. The father also rejoiced, seeing that the doves had
returned to their former nest. In the days of his priesthood he had begun to build a
sanctuary in the name of Saint Sinuthius, to the south of the sanctuary of Saint Macarius;
and there the monks began to assemble instead of the ruined churches. Now he finished it,
and restored the other churches. And they praised and glorified the Trinity, as the angels
do.

18 But when Satan saw this, he roared like a lion, and prepared arrows to discharge
against the patriarch and the Church. Now the patriarch had at that time a deacon, who was
attached to him for his service, and who did what he liked without taking advice. This
deacon punished one of the disciples by a severe beating for something that he had done;
and the blows were so many that the disciple died. And this accident was caused by the
snares of the Enemy, the Devil. When therefore the Madlajites, the protectors of the
monastery, heard of this crime, they seized the father patriarch, and troubled him on
account of the death of that person, and demanded of him that he should deliver the deacon
to them, that they might put him to death in retaliation for the murder. But the father
strove hard to save the life of the deacon, whom he had brought up from his youth, and had
intented to promote to a higher degree among the clergy. Thereupon the Madlajites, seeing
that the father was greatly interested in that deacon, and would not give him up to them,
grew violent in their demand, and required a large sum of money. But the patriarch had
nothing with which to satisfy them, and therefore the bishops and the God-loving people
assisted him, and contributed a sum of money, and so saved him from the hands of that
tribe.

19 After this the blessed father James departed to Upper Egypt, to make a visitation of
the people and the monasteries. And whenever the people and the monks came out to meet
him, they glorified God, saying: “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord”. And
they marvelled at his works, and said: “Blessed is our father, the new Elias”. He remained
among them a few days, and then returned. But they continued to boast of his deeds and
excellent virtues. And our father remembered the unity and charity and bonds between
himself and Dionysius, patriarch of Antioch, and desired to see him either by bodily
presence with him or by interchange of letters. But he was hindered in this by the wars,
carried on in the land of Egypt and on the roads to Syria; for they lasted fourteen years.
And ho used to pray God to confirm the love between the two glorious sees, the Alexandrian
and the Antiochene; and he implored God to join them together by personal intercourse and
by letters. And God did not disregard the prayer of this father, but granted it by
allowing him to behold the father Dionysius in the body. I will give you an account of
this event, and of the trouble and distress that came upon the land of Egypt and upon the
father James, the patriarch.

20 The Spaniards had possession of Alexandria, and Abd al-Azîz al-Jarawi ruled over part
of the country. And the father was praying and weeping over the devastation of the land
and the long continuance of the wars and fighting, and because the bodies of men became
food for the birds of the air, and because Al-Jarawi did not cease to slay the people and
take their goods. Al-Jarawi used to bury in the ground by night the money that he had
seized; and when he had buried it, he killed the men who had helped him to bury it, so
that none might be left, who knew where his buried treasures lay. So in him the words of
the prophet Michaeas were fulfilled, where he says: “These are they that meditate evil and
wickedness; for they raise their hands to this, and take fields, and oppress orphans, and
seize a man and his house and his heritage. Therefore, saith the Lord, I will bring evil
upon their tribes, and what they purpose shall not be accomplished”. For the judgment of
God, the high and mighty One, came upon this man in the following way.

21 He had collected the wheat from the whole of Egypt, and stored it in the granaries
which were under his own authority, saying: “I will cause a dearth throughout Egypt, and
gather in their money, as Joseph's Pharao did, so that all my adversaries will submit to
me.” And he did this, and there came a great dearth, so that wheat reached the price of a
dinar for one waibah. And he refused to send wheat to Alexandria, aiming at the
destruction of the Spaniards, who had taken possession of the city. So a waibah of wheat
was sold at Alexandria for two dinars and one dirhem; and the people in the land of. Egypt
found nothing to buy, and therefore they perished, especially at Alexandria. Then that
proud man heard that the people had perished, and he opened his mouth and said a word,
which God did not say: “I will make them sell wheat at a kadah for a dinar”. But in him
the words of the prophet Nahum were fulfilled, where he says: “God declares: To me belongs
vengeance upon my foe, and I will destroy my adversaries and my enemies swiftly”. For the
Lord pitied the sighs of men, and the dearth which he beheld, and the condition of the
people, and took vengeance on that man Abd al-Azîz, as we will now relate. For he departed
with his army to Alexandria, to fight the Spaniards; and they fled from him within the
walls, and shut the gates.

22 And the blockade lasted until they were driven by hunger to devour the flesh of their
horses. Meanwhile Abd al-Azîz was beating upon the walls with catapults, in order to
demolish them; and it was his intention to destroy all the inhabitants of Alexandria with
the sword. At the same time he was in pursuit of the patriarch, to whom he had sent a
message, in order to intercede for a certain person, and to request the patriarch to make
that person a bishop. But the patriarch refused to break the canon of the church.
Nevertheless the pious Macarius, seeing how angry Abd al-Azîz al-Jarawi was, wrote to the
father patriarch, and begged him to ordain that person bishop; and the patriarch consented
to do so. Still Al-Jarawi was eager in pursuit of the patriarch, and declared that he
would demolish the churches and slay the bishops everywhere, if the patriarch would not
meet him. Then Macarius, the magistrate of Nebrûwah, having heard of this threat, wrote a
letter to the patriarch, saying: “Thou canst not avoid consenting to an interview with
this man; for otherwise he will destroy the churches and kill the people”. Macarius also
swore to Abba James, saying: “I will give all my money for thee, that thou mayest suffer
no distress”. Thereupon the patriarch repeated the words of the prophet Isaias: “My life
is not precious to me, but belongs to God;

23 therefore let the Lord see to my salvation, for I trust in him, and fear not what men
can do to me ”. So he went out to meet Abd al-Azîz. And there was with them a priest, who
loved God, named Joseph, of the church of Saint Macarius; and this priest was counted
worthy to sit upon the apostolic throne; and we shall record his virtues in this history.
So while the patriarch was on the way, after he had finished his prayers, he said to the
priest Joseph: “I trust in God, my son, that this man will not see us, nor we see him
alive”. And when morning came, a stone from the wall fell upon Abd al-Azîz, and his eyes
were struck out of his face, and the top of his skull was fractured, and so he died. Thus
on him was fulfilled the word of the prophet Zacharias: “He purposed evil, but did not
attain to the performance of it”. And he was extricated from the stones; and when his
companions saw this, they carried his body away, and buried it in one of the hamlets. And
they stopped their noses for the odour of him and the stench of his corpse. And when the
news came to the father, his friends who had been with him glorified God;

24 and, as they had heard what he said to them before the event, they exclaimed: “Our
father, what thou didst foretell has been accomplished!” He answered: “My children, God
has punished this man thus, because he desired to kill human beings by starvation”. 25
Then the son of Abd al-Azîz became governor after him, and his name was Alî; and he did
not act according to the deeds of his father. So there came a great abundance, such that
men forgot the dearth, from which they had suffered. Therefore they said: “We praise thee,
O God, on this day according to the words of the prophet Isaias. For thou hast been angry
with us, and then didst turn thine anger from us and have mercy on us; for thou art our
Lord and our Saviour, and we trust in thee”. At that time God looked upon the dispersion
and separation of the monks, the sons of Saint Macarius, in every place, and so he brought
them back to their holy dwellings. For this cause the father patriarch gave thanks to God,
and glorified him, saying like the prophet David in Psalm 83: “Thou hast brought us back
to life. Thy people rejoice in thee. Show us, O Lord, thy mercy and grant us thy
salvation”. And again: “He speaks peace concerning his people and his saints”. Now the
father, Abba James, saw that the sanctuary of Saint Sinuthius was not large enough to
contain the congregation of the monks; and therefore he rebuilt the church which is named
after Saint Macarius, and which is the sanctuary of Benjamin. For it was in a state of
decay, but Abba James adorned it with every kind of ornament, and, when it was completed,
he consecrated it on the first day of Barmûdah. And this edifice became a monument to the
patriarch, and a glory to the Lord.

26 Now Macarius of Nebrûwah, the magistrate, desired to see the father patriarch and
congratulate him in his own dwelling, and therefore came to his house. A son had been born
to Macarius, in whom he took delight; and he remained with the patriarch, and gave large
alms, and did works of charity. And it was God's purpose to glorify the patriarch on this
occasion; and so he manifested the following miracle. For after a few days the child fell
sick and died. Then his father took him in faith, and brought him to the patriarch's cell,
like the ruler of the synagogue, whose daughter Christ raised. And the magistrate said to
the patriarch: “Help thy servant, for my son is dying”. The patriarch replied: “Bring him
to me”. So he brought the child, and the patriarch received him, and made the sign of the
Cross on his breast and heart and forehead, saying: “O Lord Jesus Christ, who givest life
and bestowest grace from thyself, restore this infant to life for his father”. Thereupon
the breath of life returned to the child, and he opened his eyes and moved his hands and
feet. So our father said in a loud voice to Macarius, the father of the child, as the Lord
Christ said to the ruler of the synagogue: “Thy son is not dead, but was asleep”. And when
the magistrate saw this great miracle, he was struck with profound awe of the patriarch,
and glorified God, who works wonders among his saints.

27 And at that hour the magistrate increased in his almsgiving and doing good; and his
alms flowed from his hands like a running and overflowing river, and he gave a third of
his wealth to the widows and orphans, and clothed them with garments, and did all that it
was right to do. And a report of these things reached the city of Jerusalem, whither
Macarius the magistrate sent, and built a church there, which is now to this day the place
of refuge of the orthodox, and of those who make pilgrimages to that city, in order to
pray there. Macarius built this church as a monument of himself for ever; and it is called
the church of the Magdalene. Therefore God blessed the work of his hands, and doubled his
wealth, as he did to the holy Job. Moreover it was God's will to show this man a great and
wonderful mystery for his abundant faith and charity, that God might give him the hope of
eternal life. And on a certain day Macarius took an oath that he would carry out two
resolutions, namely that he would never repulse any one who begged of him, nor shut his
door in the face of any one.

28 Hear now what happened to him! He used to put faith and hope in the intercession of
Saint Theodore, who guided him in his conduct, and satisfied his wants. Now under the
caliphate of Hârûn ar-Rashîd the taxes which Macarius had to pay were very heavy, because
of his large fortune and extensive possessions. So he left his home and went to the
prince, in order to pay what was due from him, and was away so long, that he spent all the
money that he had with him. For Macarius did not refrain from almsgiving, and could not
have an interview with the prince. But there came a day when Macarius was proceeding to
the prince's palace, and he perceived on the way a large mansion, highly adorned, which he
had not seen before that day. So Macarius said to his servants: “We have missed our way,
for we have never seen this house on our road before to-day”. And he became like a person
bewildered or without his senses. Then he beheld a shining personage, resembling one whom
Macarius knew in Egypt, who came out of the house, and said to the official: “O Macarius,
many days have passed since thou camest hither, and yet thou hast not visited me”. And the
magistrate, in the presence of those who accompanied him, answered his acquaintance, who
approached and embraced him; and they kissed one another.

29 And the master of the house took the magistrate's hand, and led him into the building
through many doors, and brought him into a chamber containing much money, which looked
like kings' treasures, and said to him: “Take all that thou needest for thy expenses, and
when thou shalt return to thine own country thou shalt repay me. Moreover today I will
accomplish what thou requirest with the prince, and do all that is necessary for thee”.
Accordingly the official, having received the money from the house of that bright being
who was conversing with him, went out and handed it over to his servants, who had
accompanied him and were standing at the door. And the man mounted his horse, and rode off
in haste before the magistrate. So as soon as the latter approached the palace, the
courtiers began to call for him, saying: “Where is Macarius, the Egyptian?” Then they took
his hand and led him to the prince, who addressed him, saying: “Ask for all that thou
needest and whatever thou requirest, so that I may accomplish it for thee this day”. So
the prince brought to pass that which Macarius desired. But the shining personage, who had
accosted him, after having conducted him through the palace, and brought him outside,
disappeared from beside him. The magistrate, seeing him no longer, supposed that he had
returned to his own house, where the two friends had first met one another.

30 When, however, Macarius reached the spot where the mansion had stood, he found no trace
of it at all. Thereupon the man gazed around, and lost his understanding for a moment. But
after a time he comprehended that his benefactor was the great martyr Theodore, the
commander of the troops, who had acted thus because Macarius had a devotion for him.
Therefore Macarius glorified God and increased in charity and almsgiving and good works,
and remained steadfast in this way of life until God removed him from this world. 31 Now
let us proceed with the history of the patriarch Abba James. For our only purpose in
relating these incidents in the life of Macarius, the magistrate, was to show the value of
the orthodox laity, since God does not desert them in this world nor in the world to come.
As Paul the apostle says: “Cease not to do good, so that thou mayest reap what thou hast
sown. As long therefore as our time lasts, let us do good to all men, especially to our
brethren, the people of faith”. Again he exhorted Timothy, his son, saying to him more
concerning the doing of good to the faithful. For he writes thus to him: “Charge the rich
of this world that their hearts be not proud, and that they set not their hope and trust
on the rich, for there is no profit in riches; but let their trust be in God, who gives us
all things richly; and let our actions be good, and let our riches be in laudable works,
that we may be upright and loving, so that we may have a firm foundation in the time to
come, and may lay hold on the true life”. Therefore accept my excuse, and hear from me the
remaining deeds of this holy and inspired father, who was a prophet, and to whom God
granted the gift of seeing hidden things from afar.

32 When God remembered the sick land of Egypt, that he might make wars to cease therein,
he revealed the matter to the holy father, that it was near and not far off. So Abba
James, as he had learnt that his archdeacon was acting against his will in certain
matters, called him and said to him: “My son, a governor will come soon to the land of
Egypt, and rule over Misr and her chiefs and over Alexandria and all her province.
Therefore when we come to Alexandria with the peace of God, beware of listening to any
man, or of raising thine eye to anything that belongs to this world. For in that case thou
wilt sin against the works of God, and we shall be abased before the heretical tribe,
which God has abased before us with their wicked leader. Know then that if thou shalt
neglect my advice, the Church of God will fall into great trials”. Shortly after he had
said this, there came to Egypt from the prince of the Muslims an Amir, named Abd Allah son
of Tâhir, who was a good and merciful man in his religion, and loved justice and hated
tyranny. Therefore God subdued all rebels under him, and humbled before him the tribe of
the Spaniards who were at Alexandria. And he remained some days in Egypt until public
affairs were settled.

33 Now let us return to the story of Abba James and his relations with Dionysius,
patriarch of Antioch. Abba James had been unable to send a synodical letter on account of
the wars in Egypt and the East. In this way the father patriarch Dionysius, since he was
hearing of the works of the father patriarch Abba James, desired to salute him, while he
was still in the body. Therefore when this Amir, on his way to Egypt, made an agreement
with the patriarch Dionysius, he travelled in his company as far as this country. Our
father, Abba James, on seeing Dionysius, rejoiced with a great spiritual joy, and met him
with the best of welcomes. And the whole land of Egypt exulted when those two beheld one
another. And the Egyptian clergy chanted before them from the words of David: “Mercy and
justice have met together, truth and peace have come to us”. Then the father Dionysius,
patriarch of Antioch, remained many days with the father, Abba James the patriarch, that
each of them might be satisfied with the holiness of the other. But the bishops of Egypt
began to lay complaints before the father Dionysius concerning the archdeacon of our
father Abba James, “because he imparts to him all that we undertake or say”.

34 Upon this the father Dionysius began as one who wished to remind this holy man, Abba
James, that he should reprove the archdeacon, and that he ought not to be a cause of
distress to the bishops, nor to address them unless he were required by the canons to do
so. But when the pillar of light, Abba James, heard this, the spirit of prophecy flowed
forth from him, and he said to the father Dionysius: “How could the bishops send this
message, and accuse one who is the elect of God and preaches him? But blessed is he, like
him who worked for one hour in the vineyard together with him who had worked eleven hours,
and received the wages for the whole day”. When the patriarch Dionysius heard the words of
the father, Abba James, and saw the Holy Ghost shining forth in his face, he prostrated
himself before him and said, like the prophet David: “As we have heard so have we seen. I
believe that I have beheld a man who holds with God the post of intercessor for the land
of Egypt”. Then he prayed our father the patriarch James to let him depart to his see. So
Abba James gave him splendid gifts in proportion to his primacy, and then with the bishops
bade him farewell in peace, glorifying and blessing God, because they had witnessed his
holiness and comeliness and dignity and chastity.

35 And when Dionysius reached the East, the land of Syria, he discoursed on what he had
witnessed of the holiness of our father Abba James, and thanked the Lord Jesus Christ, who
glorifies his elect. 36 The Amir Abd Allah, son of Tâhir, on arriving in Egypt, appointed
an Amir, who was one of his companions, as governor of Alexandria and collector of taxes
there and in the neighbouring districts. And the name of him whom he thus nominated was
Elias, son of Yazîd. At that time the deacon of our father James, mentioned above,
neglected the advice which he had formerly given him, namely that he should not raise his
eyes to any of the things of this world, for he went to certain villages and levied a rate
upon them, thinking that he would gain something for the Church thereby. For he did not
know that the prophecy of the father James would be accomplished; and therefore both the
father and the deacon fell into great sorrow through the taxes which they were compelled
to pay, when they had not the means of paying them. And the blessed father repeated to
that deacon the words of Paul, the wise apostle, saying: “It was not right for thee, my
son, to make for thyself an argument, but to obey what I enjoined thee to do, in faith and
love of the Lord Christ. Hast thou not heard, my son, what Paul said that those who desire
to be rich fall into trials and errors and foolish longings, which do not profit at all,
but cast men into destruction and perdition? For the root of all evil is the love of
money, which many have loved; and so they have gone astray from the faith, and drawn upon
themselves great cares”. Thereupon that deacon wept and begged the patriarch to pardon his
disobedience.

37 Now that Amir began to act harshly towards the father in demanding taxes when he had
nothing with which he could pay, as we related, through the poverty of the Church, arising
from the interruption of the pilgrimages to the church of Saint Mennas, the Martyr, in
consequence of the continual wars. When Abba James found no means of paying the taxes, he
brought forth the vessels of the church, to give them to the miscreant tribe. But the
Lord, who loves mankind and shows his wonders at all times in his Church, and makes her
victorious over princes in all ages, manifested a miracle, at which we must marvel. While
the Amir was sitting one day that he might break up the vessels, and the goldsmith was
breaking up one of the holy chalices, much blood flowed over his hands, like the blood of
a Lamb that had been slain. So when they saw this miracle, great fear fell upon them, and
the Amir and all these that were present were afraid. And the Amir commanded that none of
those vessels should be broken; and after that he feared to place them in his treasury,
and therefore he ordered that they should be restored to the father. But he demanded the
taxes with greater severity than before, and the patriarch was in great difficulties
before he could pay the taxes that he owed.

38 Afterwards the Amir in the city of Alexandria was removed, and departed to his own
country, where he was attacked by a mortal sickness. Many days later he remembered the
great miracle of the issue of blood from the Chalice; and at that time he commanded his
sons with insistence to send to Egypt the money that he had taken from the patriarch, that
it might be handed over to him who should be found to be patriarch of Alexandria. So his
sons obeyed him. And this miracle was accomplished in the days of one who deserved that it
should come to pass in his hands, as we will show to your charity at the end of this
history. 39 Now hear another wonder which was also manifested in the days of this holy
man, Abba James, the patriarch. While the Amir Elias was governor of Alexandria, a bishop,
who held the see of Fau in Upper Egypt, died; and a person was sent to the patriarch, that
he might consecrate him as successor to the deceased. But this man feared lest God should
make his conduct known to the patriarch, who would then refuse him. Therefore he went to
the Amir, and gave him money, and prayed him to command the father patriarch, Abba James,
to appoint him. In consequence of this the Amir requested that the appointment might be
made; but the father patriarch refused, because his faith and his attachment to the canons
were strong. Those that were present, however, asked him, saying: “Wilt thou consent to
the request of the Amir, lest evil befall both thee and the Church?” Thus they did not
cease to cajole him until he appointed that man. But when the newly made bishop departed,
Abba James uttered concerning him the following words, like those of Peter to Simon the
Magician in his time; for he said: “In the place where this bishop expected to gain
wealth, he shall disappear after a little while, and the wealth which he has acquired
shall be far from him”. And when that bishop drew near to his diocese, he fell sick on the
way; and he died before he could see his diocese.

40 Who now will not fear these wonderful works, and glorify God, who shows them forth in
this chosen one? But if we were to record a few out of the many miracles and the noble
struggles that we have heard related of this holy man, the account would be long. And we
cannot explain such things, because our darkened understanding is too weak to deal with
them. Yet we will relate what must be related, and describe the end of his conflict, for
the profit of those that listen, and as a blessing to them. 41 When Abba James proceeded
to the eastern provinces, to visit the churches and the people, and came to a village
called Bait Tashmat, they brought to him a young man possessed by a devil, which had made
him dumb and deaf; and they begged the patriarch to lay his hand upon him. Then the father
took a little oil from the lamp which hung over the bones of Saint Severus, and anointed
the youth therewith, making the sign of the cross on his face and ears, and saying: “In
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who delivered his creatures from the service of Satan,
may this young man be healed, and may the bonds of Satan be loosed from him!” And the
young man was healed on the spot, and his mouth and ears were opened, and he both spoke
and heard; and all that saw him marvelled, and glorified God in truth. Now this father was
in his holiness like the disciples, through the trials that he endured and the miracles
performed by him; for he brought the dead to life, and cast out devils, and cured many
that were sick. And our Lady, the Mother of the Light, appeared to him before he became
patriarch, and the Lord Christ also, and the Saints whom he was counted worthy to see.

42 Then Abba James desired to remain a few days in the city of Tandâ, when he passed by
it. And when he stayed there, one of the bishops, an honourable and trustworthy man, bore
witness to us, saying: “I went to him, to pay him a visit and receive his blessing. And
when I stood at the door of his chamber, I heard him say something in a low voice; and the
words were: O my Lady, Mother of my Lord, I pray thee to pardon me, for I am ready to
carry out what thou commandest me, and to observe it to my last breath”. The bishop
continued: “And when I was intending to show myself through the door within which he was,
and before I could enter, he cried aloud at what he saw, and I was afraid through my
respect for his dignity, and turned back. But I heard him say: God pardon thee, my
brother, for having hindered me from beholding the glory and light of my Lady, and allowed
her to depart from me.”

43 After the blessed patriarch had seen these great mysteries which were shown to him, he
bore witness that no patriarch sits upon this throne except those whom God chooses, but
that Satan resists their advancement and hinders their doing good. There are indeed men
who say in their hearts: “If we advance so far as to receive this degree, that is on
account of our birth”. But it is not so, for it is the Lord of glory who chooses. And the
father Abba James said this before his death, that it is God who elects the man whom he
will appoint; and although Satan tries to oppose him, it is God who prevails. It was the
custom of this patriarch, when he purposed to appoint bishops, to watch and fast strictly,
so that God might reveal their deeds to him. He used also to observe the anniversaries of
the death of the fathers, from Mark the evangelist to Mark, his own father in the Spirit.
On such days he used to keep festival in their honour, and put on his vestments, and
celebrate the Liturgy, whether he were in the city or in the monasteries, or in the
villages, to the glory of our Lord Christ, and in commemoration of his fathers.

44 And when God willed to give him rest from labour and translate him to the heavenly
mansions of the illuminated, the Lord appeared to him, seated on a cloud of light, and
accompanied by the twelve disciples, and said to him: “Have courage, thou good servant,
who hast made use of the talents of thy Lord, and gained a profit. Now will I take thee to
myself, and give thee rest from thy labours; and thou shalt sit with thy companions, who
carried on the warfare like thee, for thou hast become perfect like them”. Now before this
marvellous vision, Zacharias, bishop of Tandâ, had died; and the archdeacon, whom we have
before mentioned, and of whom we said that he would be a chosen vessel of God, had been
enthroned in his stead. So our father James fell sick, and his strength diminished; and on
the 14th. day of Amshir he went to his rest, that being the day of the death of the holy
father Severus. And at the fourth hour of the night they heard him saying: “Happy is your
coming, my fathers Severus and Dioscorus”. And again he said: “The whole world is absolved
through the prayers of the saints”. Thereupon he gave up his spirit into the hand of the
Lord. And a sweet perfume exhaled from his body, and filled the whole chamber.

45 When morning came, they enshrouded his body. And they offered the Sacrifice in
commemoration of the two blessed fathers, Severus and the father James. Thus the holy
monk's vision of the two figures, which he saw consecrating Abba James with the gospel,
was fulfilled. And so his life ended in a good old age, when he had held the evangelical
see during ten years and eight months. He committed his flock to the Lord of Sabaoth,
strong in the faith; and he was worthy to hear the voice saying: “Come to me, ye blessed
of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the creation of the world”. The
brother, who had prophesied of him, he ordained bishop; and he was firm and strong, and
did not lay by for himself a single dirhem, but was rich in the works of the Lord, and in
spiritual writings. He was counted worthy to close the patriarch's eyes, and to receive
his last blessing. And in the strength of his faith he laid the body of Abba James in a
coffin, and kept it in his city of Tandâ, that he might be blessed by its presence, and
offer intercessions at its feet. And after a short time the bishop died, through the
prayers which his father offered for him before the Lord Christ. To whom belongs glory,
with his Father and the Holy Ghost, the Giver of life, the Consubstantial, now and for
ever. Amen.

VOL. 1, PART 4 -- MENNAS I TO JOSEPH (849 AD) — SIMON II, THE FIFTY-FIRST PATRIARCH. A. D. 830

1 After the going to rest and departure to the Lord of the holy and glorious father, the
patriarch Abba James, the chosen and elect of the Lord, and the pillar of light, through
whose prayers God had scattered the armies and the wars and the ceaselessly fighting
tribes, which prevailed over Alexandria and the provinces of Egypt, then a short time
after his decease they appointed as his successor, by the command of the most high God, a
deacon and monk, whose name was Simon, a native of the city of Alexandria of good family.
He was a son of the father, Abba James, and dwelt in his cell; and he had been brought up
from boyhood with the late father Abba Mark. Abba Simon remained upon the evangelical
throne five months and sixteen days. And he went to his rest on the third day of Bâbah.
During the whole time that he occupied the see he was afflicted by the disease of the
gout, from which he suffered greatly until he died.

2 May the Lord have mercy upon us through the prayers of all of these saints!


HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 2
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HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 2 continued

VOL. 1, PART 4 -- MENNAS I TO JOSEPH (849 AD) — JOSEPH, THE FIFTY-SECOND PATRIARCH. A.D. 830-849

1 So after the father Simon went to his rest, the orthodox people met in the city of
Alexandria, and deliberated together with a view to the appointment of a patriarch, since
the see was vacant. For it had remained without a patriarch after the father, Abba James,
during a long interval; but then they had received consolation in the appointment of the
father, Abba Simon. Then upon his death, their trouble increased; and they said, like the
prophet David: “Remember not, O Lord, my first offences, but let thy mercy reach us soon,
for we are become very poor.” And all of them went about the city, and the community of
the Alexandrians and the bishops sought and enquired who was lit to sit upon the throne.
You are acquainted with the people of Alexandria, and are aware that they love material
pleasures. Accordingly they devised an evil plan in those days, contrary to the canons of
the Church. For there was at Fustât Misr at that time a man of family and wealth; and he
and his kinsmen possessed gold and silver and furniture. He was the chief of the Divan of
the governor of Egypt; and his name was the lord Isaac, son of Anthony. So, when the
Alexandrians saw his position and his wealth, together with the consideration in which he
was held, they wrote him a letter, saying: “We will not elect any man, to appoint him
patriarch, except thee”. But he was a layman and married to a wife.

2 So some of the bishops held aloof from this transaction of the hypocritical
Alexandrians, who followed this man for the sake of human glory, not remembering that
which is written in the fifty-second Psalm of David: “The Lord shall scatter the bones of
those that act hypocritically towards men.” And again he says: “They are ashamed because
the Lord brings them to nought.” At that time some of the bishops visited Isaac, and paid
court to him, saying: a We can have no patriarch except thee”. The names of these bishops
were Zacharias, bishop of Wasîm, and Theodore, bishop of Misr. These two men next
persuaded Isaac to write a letter to Alexandria, promising to confer many benefits on the
clergy and people there, when he should become patriarch. For he said: “If I take my seat
upon this throne, I will rebuild your ruined churches for you, and restore the dwellings
attached to the churches. And I will relieve you of the taxes as long as I live, by paying
them out of my own money for the clergy and the poorer laity”. And he promised them many
other things. Therefore when they heard all this, they were inclined to him, and desired
him, forgetting the words of the gospel: “No man takes an honour of himself, unless it be
given him from heaven from God”.

3 But there were at that time holy bishops, such as speak the truth, and are filled with
grace. Such were Abba Michael, bishop of Bilbais, and Abba Michael, bishop of Sâ, and Abba
John, bishop of Bana; and there were many like them, perfect in faith and religion. And
when they were informed of what the two bishops and the assembly of the Alexandrians had
done, the grace of God stirred within them, and they called together a synod concerning
those two. And they proceeded to Alexandria, as the canon prescribes. Having subsequently
verified the design of the Alexandrians, they said to them: “Where have you left the fear
of the Lord, since you have broken the canons so far as to have recourse to a layman
married to a wife, in order to seat him upon the throne of Saint Mark the evangelist, in
opposition to custom and to the canons?” Thereupon the people were silent, knowing their
fault, and uttered not a syllable in answer to the bishops. Then by the inspiration of
God, who visits his people at all times, and makes his face to shine upon his heritage,
mention was made of a holy man, perfect in good works; and his name was confirmed in the
assembly by the dispensation of God's grace. This man was the shining lamp Joseph, the
priest and superintendent of the church of Saint Macarius in Wadî Habîb. And when he was
named, my heart rejoiced, and my tongue sang praises.

4 Now I should desire to relate a little of his life and the works which he did while he
was a monk, only I fear to interrupt the description of the events which took place at his
enthronement. Yet will I relate those things subsequently, that the hearts of those that
hear the history of this holy man may rejoice. When the assembly, together with the
bishops and clergy, had accepted him, because they knew him when he was a lamp to the
father, Abba Mark, then they sent some of the bishops and Alexandrian clergy to the Wadi.
And while they were on the journey, they said thus: “If the Lord approves the appointment
of this person, we shall find the door of his cell open”. So when they reached the
monastery on the morrow, and presented themselves at the door of his cell, they found him
standing there, for he had come out to shut the door after his sons, who had gone to draw
water. Upon this they marvelled, and looked one at another, saving: “What we said on the
way is fulfilled. The Lord has made our journey easy; and we believe that God has chosen
this holy man.” When this blessed one, steadfast in purity and humility, saw the visitors,
he made obeisance before them, and saluted them, and at once conducted them into his cell.

5 As soon as they were within his chamber, they laid hands upon him, and put the iron
fetters over his feet, and said to him; “Thou art indeed worthy of the patriarchal
office”. But he began to weep profusely, saying: “What is the use of an incompetent man,
who takes upon him this heavy yoke?” On hearing these words, they consoled him and
pacified him. And they assembled in the church, and partook of the Holy Mysteries; for it
was the feast of the Angel Michael, the 12th. of Hatûr. And Joseph received the
benediction of the holy fathers, and begged them to pray for him, that God would bring his
course to an end. So they all prayed for him, and blessed him from the depth of their
hearts, and bade him farewell, weeping because they had lost from their monastery a holy
man, full of the Spirit of God.

6 So they started on their homeward journey. When they reached the top of the rock, Joseph
being with them, they heard a voice behind him saying: “The Lord will be with thee,
Joseph, and strengthen thee, that thou mayest endure the troubles which will befall thee,
and by which thou wilt obtain the crown of life”. The holy man and his companions, hearing
this great voice, but seeing no one, marvelled and were amazed, and knew that great trials
and bitter griefs would come upon him. Then they arrived at the city of Alexandria. And
the multitude, as soon as they heard that the envoys had returned, came forth to meet
them, singing praises and glorifying God. Then the people learnt from the envoys what had
happened to them on the way, and how they had found the door of Joseph's cell open, and
how they had taken him prisoner, and of the voice which they had heard behind them near
the road of the Cherubim on the top of the rock. Therefore the people glorified God, who
alone works wonders at all times.

7 After this they informed the Amir, who was governor of Alexandria, and was called Abd
Allah son of Yezîd, that they had brought this holy man, in order to obtain the governor's
consent and order, according to the perpetual custom before they consecrated the
patriarch. But the governor refused, and would not authorize them to appoint Joseph,
saying: “Isaac, the son of Antony, of Misr, has sent to me, and promised me a thousand
dinars, if he shall sit upon this throne. Therefore, if you have elected this man, give me
the same sum that Isaac has promised me”. Thus Abd Allah prevented them from ordaining
Joseph for some days. But the bishops continued to visit the governor's house, begging and
imploring him to give them his consent. Yet he refused, because he loved money. Then the
bishops from the eastern provinces assembled, and said to him: “We are not under thy
authority. Therefore, if thou wilt not grant our request, we will go to Fustât Misr and
ordain him there.” So when he saw their firmness, and understood that they would do what
they said, he gave them his permission.

8 So they met together in the Church of Mark the evangelist, as it is customary, on the
21st. day of Hatûr in the year 547 of the Martyrs. And they recited all the prayers in the
sanctuary, and inaugurated the elevation of Joseph to the rank of patriarch, blessing and
glorifying God. 9 Now I desire in this place to record the life of that blessed saint from
his youth, so that all who hear it may glorify God, before I describe the end of his
consecration, and the troubles which befell him, and which he patiently endured. This holy
man was of a good family of repute in the city of Upper Manûf, and his fathers were well
known among the chief men of Egypt. When his parents were dead and the saint was left an
orphan, an official, named Theodore, who had the rank of metwalli in Egypt, and was a
native of Nakyus, saw Joseph in this condition, and took him to himself, that he might
make him his son for the love of Christ, and on account of his honourable kindred. So the
child remained with that magistrate a long time. Then Joseph thought within himself:
“Behold, I am now an orphan; therefore there is nothing better for me than the holy desert
which is a place of refuge for orphans”. So he went to the chief in whose house he lived,
and who had brought him up, and begged him humbly for permission to depart to the holy
desert. But Theodore replied: “O my son, thou art of an excellent family, and hast been
brought up in the midst of wealth. Thou wouldst therefore be overcome by weariness in the
desert, and couldst not endure its hardships.” Thus Theodore would not allow him to depart
thither, but sent him to the city of Alexandria to the father patriarch, Abba Mark, to
whom the magistrate wrote a letter, in which he recounted the history of Joseph's life,
and confided him to the patriarch as a pledge.

10 So the holy Mark rejoiced over him, and put him under the care of a deacon, who had
charge of the sons of the Cell at that time and was a learned man, that he might teach the
youth to write in the Greek language. And God's assistance was with Joseph, and did not
allow him to forget his desire to retire to the monasteries. Accordingly, after a short
sojourn with the holy Abba Mark, Joseph made a prostration before him, and prayed the
patriarch to send him to the holy mountain. And the patriarch observed how he longed to go
thither, and knew by revelation from God that the youth had found grace. For this reason
Abba Mark speedily despatched him to the monastery of Saint Macarius, and placed him in
charge with a holy priest and hegumen named Paul, whose mode of life was admired by all.
For God revealed secrets to him, and enabled him to prophesy. So Paul, when he looked upon
the young man, was pleased with him and with his good conduct and humility, and did not
cease to nourish him with the holy teachings of the monks, and blessed him by night and by
day, especially on seeing his modesty. Then Joseph was counted worthy to be made a deacon,
and shortly afterwards to be ordained priest by the father, Abba Mark, the patriarch.

11 As the hegumen Paul grew old, he fell sick of various diseases, and Joseph, the young
saint, served him day and night in hope and faith, in order to obtain his blessing. And
the old man laid his hand upon Joseph's head, invoking upon him great blessings without
number, and, on the approach of death, began to say to this young man, upon whom his
spirit rested: “Behold, Joseph, the Lord grants thee his grace and his inheritance that
thou mayest inherit it”. Afterwards the hegumen added, using the words of the Lord to
Peter: “Return some time, thou also, and strengthen thy brethren, who have become thy
partners in the labour of this ministry, and promote them among the clergy”. For Paul had
sons with him, who ministered to him, besides Joseph. And Paul's words were fulfilled when
Joseph was seated on the throne, and those brethren of his in service were counted worthy
of the grace of the diaconate and the priesthood for a time in the church of Saint
Macarius. I have related this incident, that it may be profitable to all who hear it among
the young monks, that they may learn that God chooses those who serve him with an honest
intention.

12 Now I will return to the continuation of the history of this holy man, the glorious
father Abba Joseph. When he had taken his seat upon the evangelical throne, since the
Church had no real property, he began to make monuments, vineyards and mills and oil-
presses, which were to belong to the Church. But Satan, the hater of good, as he is wont,
would not endure this peace, and stirred up, at the beginning of Abba Joseph's
pontificate, a great war in the eastern and western parts of Egypt, which led to universal
plunder and slaughter. For there was much fighting throughout the country. In the words of
the prophet Amos: “This is what the Lord, the Ruler, says. There shall be lamentation in
all places”. 13 So when the holy father saw these calamities, he mourned, and besought the
Lord to protect and preserve the Church and the orthodox people, wherever they were. For
the patriarch prayed, saying, like David in the 73rd. Psalm: “O Lord, remember thy
congregation, which has been from the beginning. And thou hast delivered the rod of thine
inheritance, mount Sion wherein thou hast dwelt. Raise up thy hand against their pride for
ever, for many are the wicked deeds that the enemy has done”. Thus Satan did not cease to
stir up wars and murder. Two men at that time were overseers of taxes, one of whom was
named Ahmad son of Al-Asbat, and the other Ibrahîm son of Tamîm. These two men, in spite
of the troubles from which the people were suffering, persisted in demanding the taxes
without mercy, and men were increasingly and incalculably distressed. Their greatest
trouble arose from the extortion practised by the two overseers of taxes; for what they
could not pay was required of them. After this the merciful God by his righteous judgment
sent down a great dearth upon Egypt, so that wheat reached the price of one dinar for five
waibahs. Many of the women and infants and young people, and of the old and the middle-
aged, died of starvation, in fact of the whole population a countless number, through the
severity of the famine. And the overseer of taxes was doing harm to the people in every
place. And most of the Bashmurite Christians were severely chastised, like the Israelites;
so that at last they even sold their own children to pay their taxes, because they were
greatly distressed. For they were tied to the mills and beaten, so that they should work
the mills like cattle. And their tormentor was a man named Ghaith. So, after long and
wearisome days, death put an end to their sufferings.

14 But afterward the Bashmurites, seeing that they had no means of escape, and at the same
time that no troops could enter their country on account of the abundance of marshes which
it contained, and because none was acquainted with the roads except themselves, began to
rebel and to refuse to pay the taxes. And they came to an agreement and plotted together
over this matter. Now the prince at that time was Abd Allah al-Ma'mûn, son of Hârûn ar-
Rashîd. When the state of Egypt and the conduct of the conquerors and the overseers was
reported to him, he sent an army thither under the command of an Amir, named Al-Afshîn.
Then this man slew the conspirators and rebels, from the eastern parts of Egypt until he
reached the great city of Alexandria. He even wished to kill all the inhabitants of
Alexandria, since they had not fought, because they had allowed the enemy to enter their
city. But God prevented his doing this on account of the tears of the faithful and the
prayers of the patriarch, Abba Joseph. For Al-Afshîn used even to put the innocent to
death for the fault of the guilty, so that he would have allowed no one that he could see
to escape slaughter. And he killed many of the chief men of the Christians in every place.

15 The patriarch Joseph was grieved by these troubles that he witnessed: the plague and
the famine and the sword. Meanwhile the Bashmurites developed their plot, and prepared
weapons for themselves, and made war against the government. For they bound themselves not
to pay the taxes; and they rose up against any one who came to them for the purpose of
acting as mediator in their affairs, and put him to death. 16 When our father, the
patriarch Abba Joseph, saw this rebellion, he mourned over those weak ones, for they had
no power to withstand the government, and had deliberately chosen destruction for
themselves. And since he was full of anxiety for the salvation of his people, and was
their true steward, he began to write to the Bashmurites letters full of fear, and
reminded them of the fate that would befall them, hoping that they might return and
repent, and give up their disobedience, and cease to resist authority. But they refused to
return to their obedience. Yet he continued to write to them every day, and quoted for
them passages of the scriptures, saying: “Paul, the sweet-tongued, declares that whoever
resists the power resists the ordinances of God, and he that resists him shall be
condemned”. When the patriarch's letters by means of his bishops were conveyed to the
Bashmurites, those wicked men as soon as they saw the bishops assaulted them, and robbed
them of all that they had with them, and treated them with ignominy. Therefore the bishops
returned to the patriarch, and made known to him what had been done to them. Then he said:
“Destruction will not be slow in coming to those men. Yea, the words of the prophet Isaias
will be fulfilled upon them, where he says: I will give you up to the sword, and ye shall
all fall by slaughter; because I called you, and ye listened not to my words, but
disobeyed and did evil before me”.

17 On account of these troubles and sorrows which have been mentioned, the father
patriarch was unable to write a synodical letter to his partner in the ministry and in the
faith, the patriarch of Antioch. This omission caused Abba Joseph more auxiety than the
trials which befell him. For indeed he did not find rest for a single day after he was
enthroned, so that he could address to the see of Antioch a letter containing assurances
of union in charity and unswerving orthodoxy. Nevertheless the Lover of mankind did not
leave him thus in his sadness, for the sake of the union of the two sees, Alexandria and
Antioch; for he ordained a wonderful thing, namely that the father Dionysius, patriarch of
Antioch, should come to Egypt, and that the two patriarchs should behold one another, as
we. will relate hereafter. The commander Al-Afshîn, seeing that the Bashmurites continued
long in their hostility, and would not change their conduct, wrote a letter to the caliph,
Abd Allah al-Ma'mûn, to inform him of the events that had taken place.

18 Listen now to this also. There was on the episcopal throne of Tinnîs a bishop, named
Isaac, against whom his people had repeatedly brought serious accusations. They said to
the father Joseph: “If thou wilt not remove this bishop, and take him away from us, we
will forsake the religion of orthodoxy”. There was also at Misr another bishop, named
Theodore, and his flock spoke of him in a similar manner. For the inhabitants of Misr
wrote to the patriarch, saying: “If thou wilt not remove him and take him away from us, we
will stone him to death”. The holy patriarch, seeing this rising of the people, was much
grieved and troubled, saying: “What shall I do in this distress?” And he prayed, saying:
“O Lord, confirm thy people in loyalty to their pastors, and let there be no disaffection
in my days! ” Moreover he continued to send letters to the people at the two cities of
Tinnîs and Misr, saying, from the words of Paul: “Why are you glad when we are sick and
you are strong? This is what I pray for on your behalf, that you may be saved. And I write
this to you, being absent from you, as if I were present with you. I will not pronounce a
sentence of excommunication nor suspension, since the Lord commands me to build up and not
to pull down”.

19 But the people persisted in their conduct, saying with one voice which they never
altered: “If these two bishops are not removed, not one of us will remain in the orthodox
faith, but we will join the dissident party; and thou art responsible for our action”.
When Abba Joseph heard this, he hastened to Tinnîs, and begged the people to cease from
their wrath; but they refused, and grew still more furious. So also did the city of Misr
with its bishop. When the patriarch saw this, he sent and gathered together the bishops
from every place, and made the matter known to them. And he said to them: “I and you are
innocent of this offence at last. Let us therefore write and suspend the two bishops,
Isaac, bishop of Tinnîs, and Theodore, bishop of Misr”. Accordingly they deposed those two
men from their dignity, and removed them from the rank of. bishop. Yet our charitable
father did not cease to pray continually, nor to shed profuse tears, nor to give vent to
sighs over the cutting off of these two bishops.

20 Now Al-Afshîn at Misr was awaiting the answer to the letter which he had adressed to
Al-Ma'mûn concerning the Bashmurites. Al-Ma'mûn was a wise man in his conduct, and used to
make enquiries into our religion. And wise men used to sit with him, explaining our
scriptures for him. In this way he began to love the Christians. So he came to Egypt, and
assembled his army. And he invited the patriarch Dionysius of Antioch to accompany him 21
When the father patriarch, Abba Joseph, learnt that Al-Ma'mûn had arrived, and in his
company the patriarch of Antioch, he gathered the bishops together and journeyed to Fustât
Misr, to salute the caliph according to the respect which is due to princes. And when the
father Dionysius saw the father, Abba Joseph, he rejoiced with great spiritual joy. And
this was a dispensation from God, as I said at first, because Abba Joseph had not been
able to send the synodical letter to Dionysius. And Abba Joseph was honoured according to
his rank at the court of Abd Allah Al-Ma'mûn, who, being informed of his arrival,
commanded that he should be brought before him, and when he came into his presence
received him with joy, through the divine grace which descended upon the patriarch. Then
Abba Dionysius made known to the prince that our father had not delayed to write to the
Bashmurites, and to dissuade them from resisting the commands of their sovereign; and this
information was gratifying to Al-Ma'mûn. Upon hearing it, he said to the father, Abba
Joseph: “Behold, I command thee and thy colleague, the patriarch Dionysius, to pay a visit
to those people, and to lay your prohibition upon them, as you are bound to do according
to your law, in order that they may return from their disobedience and may submit to my
rule. Then if they consent, I will confer upon them all the benefits that they shall ask
of me. But if they persist in their rebellion, then we shall be innocent of their blood”.

22 Therefore our fathers, the two patriarchs, obeyed his command, and journeyed to the
Bashmurites, and besought them, and admonished them, and reprimanded them, that they might
cease from their deeds. But the insurgents refused to listen, and would not accept the
entreaties of the prelates. So the patriarchs returned, and informed Al-Ma'mûn of this
state of affairs. Then the caliph commanded the amir Al-Afshîn to march against the
Bashmurites with his army, and to fight them. But he could do nothing against them,
because their districts, which are named At-Tanfir, were fortified by the waters. The
Bashmurites, on the other hand, slew every day many of the soldiers of Al-Afshîn.
Therefore as soon as this was reported to Al-Ma'mûn, he started with his troops, and went
down to that region. And he gave orders to collect from the cities and neighbouring
villages and all places all the men who knew the roads of the Bashmurites, and from among
the natives of Tandâ and Shubra Sunbût those who were acquainted with the ways through
those places. And the troops followed those guides until they betrayed the Bashmurites to
them. Then the soldiers destroyed the insurgents and slew them with the sword without
sparing any, and plundered them and wrecked and burnt their dwellings, and demolished
their churches. Thus the words of the prophet David in the 77th. Psalmwere fulfilled upon
them: “He delivered their strength into captivity and their wealth to their enemies, and
gave his people over to the sword, and had no pity on his inheritance”. But when Al-Ma'mûn
saw the multitude of the slain, he bad his soldiers hold their swords; and those of the
Bashmurites who remained he carried as prisoners to the city of Baghdad, both men and
women.

23 When the father patriarch, Abba Dionysius, asked what was the cause of the rebellion of
these people, he was told that it was because of the extortions of the two overseers of
taxes from which they had formerly suffered. Therefore his heart was grieved for their
destruction, and he approached Al-Ma'mûn, and told him this, relying on the position which
he held at court. And there was in the suite of Al-Ma'mûn his brother Ibrahîm, who reigned
after him. And Dionysius said to the caliph: “These men were disaffected against the
government because they suffered from the tyranny of the two overseers of taxes, who also
taunted and insulted them”. On hearing these words, the caliph answered: “Take care of
thyself, and remain no longer in Egypt; for if this saying be reported to my brother
Ibrahîm, he will put thee to death, because the tax-collectors came from among his
followers”. So when the father Dionysius received this reply, he went forth sadly
troubled, and took leave of the father, Abba Joseph, saying to him.: “I cannot stay in
Egypt an hour longer”. Then he enquired what the reason might be, and the patriarch
Dionysius told him what had happened. And he bade him farewell weeping. And when Ibrahîm
was informed of this matter, he sought the patriarch Dionysius, and sent after him, but
learnt that he had departed to his own city. Thereupon he was greatly enraged, and his
wrath overpowered him for many days. And after the death of Al-Ma'mûn and the enthronement
of his brother Ibrahîm, the patriarch Dionysius fled, and would not remain in Antioch or
its province, until the caliph promised him that he would not slay him. And when Ibrahîm,
the prince, returned again to Misr, and the patriarch went out, he took leave of him
according to the respect due from him to princes. And he came to Misr, and remained there.

24 When the patriarch, Abba Joseph, was at Misr, he saw that official, Isaac, who had
solicited the patriarchal dignity, burning with inward fire because he and the bishops
were mocked by the Alexandrians. But the patriarch, meeting and accosting him, addressed
him pleasantly, as was his wont with all men, speaking soft words to him, in order to calm
his troubled thoughts. Next he contrived a wise plan, that he might thereby appease him,
for he said to him: “O my Lord Isaac, I have been longing after thee, and I have a strong
affection for thee. I desire that thou be equal to myself, I wish thee to be my deputy in
all my affairs, and hold the patriarchal signet-ring, so that all men may know that thou
art my administrator in all my business, both ecclesiastical and civil”. When Isaac heard
this, he rejoiced greatly, and was consoled, and said to our father, the patriarch: “I am
thy servant, and under thy orders in whatsoever thou shalt command me to do”. And when the
people attended the church of our Lady at Misr, in the Fort of Ash-Shama', on the Feast of
Palms, the patriarch ordained the official Isaac deacon. And there was a great
congregation in the church on that day, so that the number of those who were present could
not be counted.

25 But Satan the hater of good was there, and stirred up great trouble. For he entered
into the two deposed bishops, and made them his vessels. Accordingly they visited Al-
Afshîn, who was military commander under the caliph, and said to him: “God has delivered
up to thee thine enemies and those of the prince, and thou hast exterminated them. Now it
is binding on thee not to leave one surviving of those who were the cause of their
rebellion.” He answered: “Who was it then that drove them to conspire against the prince?”
And they replied: “It was the patriarch Joseph who did this, and he desired thereby even
to slay the prince. And behold, Joseph is now present at the church, accompanied by a
large body of men who never disobey him. All that has been done was done by his orders;
and thus this great calamity befell the prince and the amir, may God preserve him”. Now
when the two bishops entered into the presence of Al-Afshîn, he was drunk. So he was
filled with wrath, and sent his brother to the church, and many men with him, that he
might bring the patriarch to him, in order that he might put him to death. And Isaac, who
had been bishop of Tinnîs, acted as their guide, like Judas Iscariot, who betrayed the
Lord Christ to the Jews.

26 For he entered into the sanctuary and pointed with his finger at the patriarch, that he
might make known to his companions which he was, so that they might seize him. Thereupon
the brother of Al-Afshîn drew his sword to cut off the patriarch's head. But when he was
in the act, his hand slipped; and so the sword struck against a marble column, and was
broken. At this he grew still more angry. And he had at his waist a knife, which he took
and aimed at the patriarch's side, intending to kill him. But ah the greatness of the
miracle that was worked at that moment in the presence of all, and which God manifested
among his saints! When that man struck the patriarch with the knife, it cut the vestments
which he was wearing, and penetrated as far as the girdle which was around his waist, and
cut that; but his body-was not wounded at all. Then all the congregation in the church
were thrown into disorder and shouted loudly, thinking that he was dead. But when he who
was clothed in good works saw the confusion, and perceived the anxiety and excitement of
the people, he made a sign to them with his hand, and exclaimed: “Be not troubled!”. And
when they understood that Abba Joseph was alive, they rejoiced greatly, and glorified God,
and moved over towards him, to see what had happened to him; and they found him safe and
sound, for nothing had been cut save the vestments and the girdle.

27 Therefore they praised God, and cried aloud in the words of the prophet David: “The
Lord preserves his chosen ones; the Lord preserves the righteous, and will deliver them
from the hand of sinners”. And they thanked God for the patriarch's safety, and said: “If
the Lord had not delivered us, my soul would have been in Hell; and if I said that my foot
had slipped, thy mercy, O Lord, assisted me. And on account of the multitude of the griefs
of my heart thy consolation rejoiced me”. 28 The brother of Al-Afshîn, seeing this
miracle, and perceiving that the Lord was with the patriarch, took him that he might
conduct him to his brother, as he had commanded. And while he was being drawn along, that
he might be brought outside, while the people hung upon him, he said to them: “Keep me not
back, for we do not resist the government”. So he went out, while the people followed him
weeping, and kissed his feet and hands, thinking that he would be put to death. And when
the brother of the amir saw them holding him, he was greatly enraged, and, lifting up his
hand, struck him with a rod on the head with such violence that his eyes were injured.

29 So the patriarch entered into the presence of Al-Afshîn, who addressed him as it was
necessary, and told him what the bishops said of him, and of what they accused him.
Thereupon the patriarch said to those present, by the grace of God: “The affair of the two
bishops is a strange matter. For the fact is that I deposed them from their episcopal
rank. And the cause of that was----”. And he proceeded to make the events known to Al-
Afshîn, and showed him the falsity of their charges. For nothing that they had said of him
was true. Then he told the amir the reason of his removing those two bishops because their
people rose up against them. And Al-Afshîn perceived the truth, and saw that the bishops'
words concerning the patriarch were lies; and he began to think that those two were
responsible for the trouble. And he observed to those that were present: “These two men
intended to make me share in a great crime, and put the father of all the Christians to
death”. Then when the holy man saw that vengeance was descending upon those two for his
sake, he said to the amir: “My religion bids me do good to those that do harm to me. God
has now shown thee the truth with regard to the accusations that these two men brought;
and therefore I pray thee to treat them generously, as thou hast authority to do. Leave
them alone then in honour of God”. And when Al-Afshîn saw what the patriarch did, he
marvelled; and he set the two bishops free. So the people glorified God and gave thanks to
him, declaring that he was worthy of praise, because he had raised up as their leader this
holy father, who acted according to the divine commandments.

30 And when Al-Ma'mûn learnt the news from those who visited him, he commanded that a
decree should be written, directing that the patriarch should be honoured and respected,
and that none should oppose him in his judgments or with regard to those whom he should
appoint or depose. Afterwards Al-Ma'mûn gave orders that search should be made for the
Bashmurites still remaining in Egypt, and that they should be deported to Baghdad. So they
were removed, and remained in the prisons for a long period, until it was God's will to
save them from the hand of Ibrahîm, who reigned after his brother. Then some of them
returned to their native towns while others remained there at Baghdad, and laid out
gardens there, and continued in those parts until the present day, still bearing the name
of Bashrûdites. 31 After this the father Joseph desired to appoint two bishops at Tinnîs
and at Misr, in the place of those who had been deposed, that the words of the apostle
Paul might be fulfilled: “The greatest of my duties is the care of the churches”.
Therefore he consecrated as bishop over Wasîm Isaac, the official, whom he had made a
deacon and his own deputy. And he appointed a person named Demetrius over Tinnîs. But
Fustât Misr was left without a bishop; and the bishop of Wasîm continued to be
administrator of the diocese of Misr, and exercised authority over it; and none could
resist him because of the influence which his words had with the governors and his
brethren and his community, and he remained over the two sees until his death, When the
patriarch had recovered his strength a little, he took thought for the affairs of
Abyssinia and Nubia, and sent a letter to the people of those countries, and enquired
after them and their churches. But he did not succeed in communicating with them on
account of hostility between their kings and the Muslim governors of Egypt. And he prayed
to God that there might be peace between them, so that he might attain his object, which
was to restore the buildings under the jurisdiction of the Father, Saint Mark the
Evangelist. And God heard his prayer, and answered his petition. Now this war had lasted
fourteen years between them, until Ibrahîm, brother of Al-Ma'mûn, began to reign.

32 He set guards on the road to Abyssinia and Nubia. Now the king over the Nubians was
Zacharias. So Ibrahîm sent, and said to him: “If thou wilt do what other kings have done
before thee, then send the tribute for the past fourteen years. Otherwise we will make war
upon thee.” Now a deacon, named George, was the secretary of the governor of Upper Egypt.
So he wrote to the patriarch to make known to him what was contained in the letter of
Ibrahîm, the prince. And the patriarch, on hearing it, glorified God, and rejoiced,
saying: “This is an opportunity for me also to write to the kings of what concerns the
Church”. So he wrote a letter, full of the grace of the Holy-Ghost, as it behoved him; and
he saluted and praised the kings, and informed them of the kindly treatment that he had
received from the princes of the Muslims, since the Lord had seated him upon the glorious
and holy throne. And he added: “I am unworthy of this post, but I was desirous of
obtaining news of you. Only my sin prevented my communicating with you, on account of the
wars which have been waged in the land of Egypt, and the rebellion of the Bashrûdites
against the commands of the prince, until he slew them, and laid their dwellings waste,
and demolished their churches. But now we have found an opportunity by this correspondence
of making known to you what has happened. And now, my.

33 friends, you are bound to accomplish your duty to these princes. And if it were wrong
that we should bid you do any of these things, then I have undergone punishment from my
brethren, as Joseph, the son of Jacob, suffered from his brethren. And now you are bound
to pray that there may be peace between you, O you that love God, and that peace may
appear in the Church for your sake”. 34 This epistle Abba Joseph despatched to the
governor of the mines near Uswân, that he might forward it. And when this letter reached
king Zacharias, and was read to him, he said: “What shall I do concerning the prince's
demand upon me? Who will collect for me the tribute of fourteen years in human souls, that
I may send them to him? For I cannot leave my capital, lest the savages who are in
rebellion against me should take possession of it. Now must I despatch my son to the
prince.” So the king sent for his eldest son, whose name was George. And he had the
trumpet blown, and appointed a herald who proclaimed that George should reign after him.
Then he sent him to Misr, in company with the envoys who had come thence, together with
gifts which he had prepared. And when George arrived at Misr, he was met by the blessed
father Abba Joseph. On seeing the patriarch, George, son of king Zacharias, rejoiced
greatly, and prostrated himself before him. Then the patriarch gave him his benediction,
and informed him of some of the events that had taken place, in order to excuse himself
for the delay in sending a letter to the kingdom of the Nubians. But George replied:
“Blessed is the Lord, who deals not with us after our sins! But it was our fault that
hindered thee till this time; and it is thy holiness that has made me worthy to kiss thy
holy hands, O thou Lamp, that enlightenest the orthodox throughout the world!”

35 Then George started upon the road to Baghdad. And he begged the patriarch to pray for
him that God might bring him back in safety. On his arrival at Baghdad, the capital of the
empire, the prince received him with joy and said to him: “God gives thee the tribute of
all the past years, in return for thy coming to my court and thy obedience to me”. And
George remained with him many days in honour. Afterwards the prince dismissed him with
many gifts of gold and silver and garments, and despatched a troop of soldiers with him,
that they might conduct him to his own country in safety. So he returned to Misr with
great glory and ceremony, holding a golden cross in his hand, while all the people
welcomed him, according to the honour which the caliph had paid him. And George requested
leave of the patriarch that he might transport into the governor's palace, where he was
lodging, a consecrated sanctuary, made of wood, that could be taken to pieces and put
together again. And there were with him bishops from his own country, who celebrated the
Liturgy for him, so that the king's son and all his companions made their communion there.
And he gave orders that the wooden gong should be struck on the roof of the palace at the
time of the Liturgy, as it is done at the churches. And all men marvelled thereat; and all
the Christians rejoiced and glorified God for what he had shown forth through the prayers
of this holy man, the patriarch. And in his days the said king's son set out and started
upon his homeward journey. Therefore our father, the patriarch, proceeded with him, as far
as a place called Bûlâk, with great state. And the father was thereby consoled for the
trials which he had passed through.

36 Now who will not marvel when he hears these wonders, namely that every patriarch who
sits upon this holy throne directs his care towards three departments of business: the
care for the synodical letter to the patriarch of Antioch; secondly our relations with the
Abyssinians and the Nubians; and thirdly the carrying out of decrees issued by the
governor of Egypt to the patriarch and bishops, that the affairs of the orthodox churches
may be kept in good order? And God brought these three departments together for our
father, the patriarch Abba Joseph, by the coming of the caliph Al-Ma'mûn from his country
and the patriarch's interviews with him, and the arrival of his brother Dionysius,
patriarch of Antioch, with whom he held intercourse, and the coming of the son of the king
of the Nubians, as we have related, and the prosperity of affairs, and his seeing the
great glory in truth, as the prophet David says: “All nations shall worship before him”.

37 And God worked for him another wonder, so that he performed for him all that he had
prayed for, in order that the see of the illustrious father, Saint Mark the Evangelist,
might be glorified. May the blessings of his prayers preserve us! There was at that time a
bishop named John, whom the father, Abba James, had ordained for the land of the
Abyssinians. Now the king of the Abyssinians had gone forth to war. Then the people became
disaffected, and drove away that bishop, and appointed another of their own free choice,
thus breaking the canon. And the aforesaid bishop returned to Egypt and took up his abode
at the Monastery of Baramus in Wadî Habîb, because he had first become a monk there. But
the Lord, who loves mankind, and desires to save them and restore them to the knowdedge of
the truth, did not allow that country and its inhabitants to remain in their disobedience,
but he raised up against them the evangelical throne once more, that the Lord might show
forth wonders in the following manner. For he sent down upon them and upon their cattle a
plague with great mortality, and caused their king to be defeated by all who fought
against him; and his followers were slain. So, when he came back from the war, great
sadness fell upon him. And he did not know what had been done to the bishop, nor how he
had been banished from their city.

38 For it was the queen who had caused this mischief, acting as Eudoxia did in her time
against John the Golden Mouth. As soon therefore as the king learnt this, he hastened and
wrote a letter to the good shepherd, Abba Joseph, saying to him: “I prostrate myself
before the evangelical throne, upon which thy Paternity has been counted worthy to sit,
and by the grace of which my royal authority is confirmed. Now the people of my country
have strayed away from the light of the holy see, and have set their feet in a path full
of thorns by driving away thy vicar. Therefore the Lord has sent down the punishment of
that deed upon our heads, and has given us a taste of his vengeance through the death of
men and cattle by the plague. Moreover he has forbidden heaven to rain upon us. But now,
our holy father, overlook our folly, and send us someone who will pray to God for us, and
intercede for us, that we may be saved by thy acceptable prayers”.

39 When the father had read this letter, he rejoiced over the king's faith and quickly
sent and summoned that bishop from the monastery of Baramus, and having encouraged and
consoled him sent him back to the Abyssinians. And he despatched an escort of trustworthy
men with him on account of the dangers of the road, and gave him sufficient provision for
the journey. And he dismissed the party, giving them his blessing that God might make
their path easy. And God heard him; for they safely reached the friendly king, who
rejoiced over them with all the natives of the land. 40 After this, Satan, the enemy of
peace, suggested an idea to some of the people of that country. Accordingly, they waited
upon the king, and said to him: “We request thy majesty to command this bishop to be
circumcised. For all the inhabitants of our country are circumcised except him”. And the
working of Satan was so powerful that the king approved this proposal, namely that the
aged bishop should be taken and circumcised, or else that he should return to the place
whence he had come. And when the bishop recollected the hardships of his journeys, both
when he departed and when he returned, and then of what he would experience again, he
dreaded the difficulties of the road both by land and water. So he said: “I will submit to
this, for the salvation of these souls, of which the Lord has appointed me shepherd
without any merit of mine. Yet now Paul the apostle enjoins us, saying: If any man is
called without circumcision, let him not be circumcised”. So when he made this concession
to them, God manifested a miracle in him, as he wrote to our father the patriarch, Abba
Joseph; namely, that when they took him to circumcise him, and stripped him, they found
the mark of circumcision in him, as if he had been circumcised on the eighth day after his
birth. And he swore in his letter that he knew nothing of this before that day. Thus the
king and the people of the country were satisfied, and rejoiced greatly over this wonder,
and accepted the bishop with joy.

41 When the letter containing an account of this matter reached the patriarch, he rejoiced
greatly over the return of those erring ones to their shepherd and over the miracle which
had been manifested, saying: “Blessed is the Lord, who has turned the captivity of his
people and saved them from the hand of the enemy, and has not left them in error for
ever”. And because this good shepherd took so much care of his sheep and gave his life for
them, he appointed many bishops, and sent them to all places under the see of Saint Mark
the evangelist, which include Africa and the Five Cities and Al-Kairuwân and Tripoli and
the land of Egypt and Abyssinia and Nubia. For he said: “If the shepherds be not many to
guard the flock, the sheep will perish; therefore I do not neglect them, lest any of them
be lost or destroyed, even one, for whom I should be held responsible by Christ. For with
what purpose did he appoint me, unless it were to protect his flock from the lion which is
always watching for negligence on the part of the shepherd, that it may seize and devour
and destroy. Afterwards I shall say also in the presence of the Lord: Not one of those
whom thou gavest me has perished”. Yet while he was acting thus, the adversary who is ever
fighting bestirred himself that he might raise up trials and sorrows for him. But the Lord
was with this holy father, and delivered him at all times, and showed him the weakness of
his enemies and of the enemies of the Church day after day, according to the words of the
Lord, who said: “The gates of Hell shall never prevail against my Church”.

42 At that period the prince Ibrahîm sent men to Egypt with orders that the columns and
the marble should be taken from the churches in everyplace. He who came to search for
these things was a malignant heretic of the Nestorian sect, named Lazarus. So when he
arrived at Misr, the people of his foul sect gathered together to meet him; and they were
the Chalcedonian heretics dwelling at Alexandria. They did not cease denouncing the
churches by night and by day, and they persuaded Lazarus to demolish the churches of
Alexandria. And they guided him to the places where there were columns and pavements; and
so he carried them off by force and violence. Afterwards they led him out to the church of
the martyr, Saint Mennas, at Maryût, in their great jealousy against it, and then they
said to him: “None of the churches is like this one, for all that thou hast come to seek
thou wilt find herein”. So that Nestorian hastily arose, by the advice of the informers,
and entered the church of the martyr Saint Mennas. And when he looked at the building and
its ornaments, and saw the beauty of the columns and coloured marbles which it contained,
he marvelled and was amazed, and said: “This is what the prince needs. This is here, and I
knew nothing of it!” Therefore our father, Abba Joseph the patriarch, hearing that this
wicked person did not hold back his hand through the evil and malice that was in his
heart, and learning what the heretics had found, said to him: “Behold, all the churches
under my jurisdiction are before thee. Do with them therefore as the prince commands thee.
But this church alone I desire of thee that thou injure not. And whatever thou shalt ask
of me I will deliver to thee”.

43 Yet the heretic would not listen to the patriarch's words nor to his request, but
answered him face to face with unseemly language, and then set to work and robbed the
church of its coloured marbles and its unequalled pavement, which was composed of all
colours and had no match, nor was its value known. And when the marble arrived at the city
of Alexandria, that it might be forwarded to the court, the father was greatly grieved for
the church, and said: “I know that thou art able, O holy Martyr, to exact just punishment
for the wrong done to thee by this heretic, who has not respected thy house, although it
is a consolation for all the faithful”. And he did not cease to mourn thus night and day
for the calamity that had befallen this holy church. And he took care to restore it
quickly. For he sent for surface decoration from Misr and Alexandria, and began to repair
with all beautiful ornament the places from which the pavements had been stripped, until
no one who looked at them could perceive that anything was gone from them.

44 And in those days, while the heretic Lazarus was at Alexandria, the words that are
written were fulfilled concerning him: “Who is he that resists the Lord? For he shall be
crushed.” For the Lord struck him speedily with a plague in the following manner. His body
and his inward parts were swollen with the disease called the dropsy, and the colour of
his face was changed, and he remained in a recumbent posture, unable to raise his head. He
had also fallen into great poverty, so that he found none to supply nourishment for
himself or his beasts, nor to treat him medically. Therefore he begged and implored the
father patriarch to give him something to spend upon himself. And this father did what
Lazarus asked, according to that which is written namely: “If thine enemy hunger feed him,
and if he thirst give him to drink”. And the pains grew upon Lazarus greatly, as he lay
prostrate, and all who beheld him glorified God and his martyr, Saint Mennas, and blessed
the good shepherd, because he had done good to all who did evil to him. And the father's
tongue was like a sharp sword. Who would not be filled with admiration on hearing of the
virtues of this holy and blessed father, Abba Joseph? Listen now to yet another wonder, my
friends, concerning this father. There was at Alexandria a man who was one of the
Chalcedonian heretics; and he was very rich, and possessed water-wheels.

45 So when he went out one day to take recreation in one of his vineyards outside
Alexandria, he saw a broken water-wheel, and asked for a carpenter. Now there was an old
man, a priest, who was also a carpenter. So the Chalcedonian said to him: “Wilt thou come
now with me, that thou mayest mend the water-wheel for me?” But the priest replied: “To-
day is the Great Friday; and I can do no work to-day, because it is the day on which the
Word of God, the Saviour of the world, was crucified”. Then that cursed heretic opened his
cavilling mouth in answer, and blasphemed God the Word, saying what must not be recorded.
So the aged priest reproved him, and went away and left him. Now our father, the
patriarch, was staying in the desert of Wadî Habîb, in order to keep Easter in the
monastery, and to finish the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ: but as soon as he
returned to Alexandria, the aged priest reported to him the blasphemies that had been
uttered by the heretic. Thereupon he who was overshadowed by the Holy Ghost answered with
the voice of prophecy: “Let the lips which utter blasphemy against Christ my God be struck
with dumbness!” And he said also in the words of David: “An enemy has invented lies
against the Lord, and a foolish people has provoked thy name to anger”. Ah that great
miracle! At that very moment the heretic became dumb and could not speak;

46 and he remained paralysed to the day of his death. And a great dread fell upon all the
Alexandrian heretics who beheld this, so that even their chief, the pseudo-patriarch,
whose name was Sophronius, began to have faith and trust in our father, and paid several
visits to him, and acted humbly towards him, and saluted him. 47 In the seventh year after
Abba Joseph's appointment, namely the year 554 of the Martyrs, God showed a great sign in
the sky. For a great star appeared in the east and reached to the west, like a gleaming
sword; and it remained many days. And men said: “We have never seen anything like this.
What is likely to happen through this star?” And after some days there came a terrible
pestilence upon the cattle, and the beasts began to fall down dead in the enclosures and
in all places, until the people of Egypt had not a beast left, and lost the means of
carrying on their work. And no one could walk through the streets without stopping his
nose for the multitude of dead animals. Thus the cultivation of the land was interrupted,
and there was little produce; and the land of Egypt was full of sadness. Afterwards the
plague attacked men also, so that they perished like the cattle. As David says of the
people of Egypt: “He spared them not from death, nor their beasts”. Meanwhile our father
did not cease to weep for the men and the beasts, nor to pray to God with tears, saying:
“O Lord, thou hast turned thy face away from thy people on account of my sins. Yet deal
not with them according to my transgressions; but let thy mercy reach them speedily, and
save thy people, and renew the face of the earth, O God, Lover of mankind”. And God heard
his servant's prayer, and changed his wrath into health for men and beasts, and taught
them that He can do all things. For men and beasts multiplied in Egypt, and the people
forgot what had taken place; and the beasts even began to bring forth two at a birth,
until men and beasts became as if not one of them had died nor any of them perished.

48 I wish to relate to you an incident which occurred during the struggles and labours of
this father, that you may hear and glorify God, who worked wonders for him, and saved him
from his sorrows and distress. Upon the death of Isaac, bishop of Wasîm, who also ruled
the see of Misr, and who had formerly solicited the patriarchate, Abba Joseph appointed in
his place Banah the deacon, at the request of the chief men of Misr. But he promoted to
the see of Wasîm another of his sons, named Apacyrus, who died after a short time. Now
Isaac the deceased had a son named Theodore, a name common to three bishops who sat in
succession upon the episcopal throne of Misr. This man solicited the see of Wasîm, but the
people did not approve him; and the father did not think it right to appoint him against
the will of the people. There was in Egypt at that time a governor named Alî, son of
Yahya, the Armenian, acting on behalf of Abû Ishâk Ibrahîm al-Mu'tasim, son of Hârûn ar-
Rashîd, and brother of Abd Allah al-Ma'mûn. So Theodore cast aside the fear of God, and
paid a visit to the governor, and promised him money that he might compel the patriarch to
raise him to the episcopate. Therefore the governor sent and enquired concerning the
father patriarch, and interceded with him for Theodore. But the patriarch answered that
Theodore should never become bishop, and resisted the governor, saying: “I have no power
in this matter”.

49 Then the governor was greatly enraged for the sake of the money which Theodore had
promised him, and began to pull down the churches of Fustât Misr. And he began by
attacking first of all the church which is in the Fort of Ash-Shama', called the Hanging
Church. So they demolished its upper part, until they reached the gallery. And the father
patriarch and the people were lamenting sadly and in great grief, and were weeping bitter
tears. As David the prophet says: “O Lord God, God of Hosts, how long wilt thou be wrath
against the prayer of thy servant? Thou feedest me with bread with my tears, and givest me
tears to drink. Thou makest me a byword to my acquaintances and a sorrow and mockery to my
enemies. O Lord God of Hosts, return, O Lord, and make thy face shine upon us, so that we
shall be saved”. And Abba Joseph gave vent to deep sighs in sadness of heart for the
demolition of the church.

50 But certain persons came to the father, and said to him: “How long wilt thou refuse to
appoint this man bishop? Until all the churches are demolished? God has seen thy
solicitude and thy struggle for the truth. Deal with this man who relies upon worldly
authority as he demands, and God will give him his portion, and his sin shall be on his
own head”. Then the patriarch consented to that which the people proposed. Yet the
governor did not cease from his fury, but required money of the father, saying: “I will
not put a stop to the destruction of the churches unless thou give me three thousand
dinars”. Thereupon the laymen and the bishops present with him were vexed and exclaimed:
“O our father be not distressed, we will furnish this money. Therefore divide the debt
equally among us, that thou mayest save the churches and no harm may befall them”. So the
officials proceeded to visit the governor, and gave him sureties that they would pay three
thousand dinars. Upon that his anger was appeased, and he commanded that the bishop should
be ordained. Accordingly the father ordained him. And he said from the depth of his heart
concerning the governor, as the prophet David says in the fifth Psalm: “The Lord abhors
the wicked man, but does justice to the poor”.

51 He quoted also the word which is in the Law of Moses: “On the day of vengeance I will
reward them, on the day when their feet shall slip”. And he added: “On the day of their
destruction I will reward them, and will judge the enemies and the oppressors”. And all
men knew that his words were like prophecy, and said: “What, thinkest thou, will come to
pass after this prophecy?” A short time afterwards, indeed, the caliph sent this governor
to the land of the Romans, to make a raid upon it; and he took some of them captive, and
conquered territory. Then the caliph sent him a second time; and some of the Romans came
out against him, and slew him and all his soldiers with cruelty, as the father had
foretold with regard to him. 52 When the trouble ceased from the churches, and that which
had been pulled down was restored, and the faithful provided for it and improved it, so
that it became finer and more beautiful than it had been before, because the Church is
founded upon the Rock, and nothing prevails against her, but she prevails over those who
oppose her, and destroys them, then the father said, in the words of the prophet David: “O
Lord, who is like unto thee? Thou hast shown us great troubles, but thou hast returned and
quickened us, and brought us up from the depth of the earth”. And again: “The Lord has
stripped off my sackcloth, and clothed me with gladness, and turned my lamentation into
joy”.

53 And the bishop of Misr began to request further promotion of the father patriarch. And
there was a judge at Misr, named Muhammad, son of Abd Allah, whom that man used to consult
in all his business. And this judge was a man to be feared, and one whose words none could
resist, for he was looked up to by all the Muslims as a lawyer and a leader, and was
learned in their religion. But he secretly did deeds that were worthy of blame, and loved
to drink wine and to hear singing, and he purchased beautiful slave-girls, and indulged in
amusement and debauchery without fear of God or shame before men, according to the words
of the Gospel concerning those like him. Nevertheless God endured him, and allowed him a
respite, and added to his days one equal to a thousand years, while he persisted in his
folly and insolence against the people of this orthodox religion and the other Christian
communities, and swore against Christ. In accordance with this character, he brought
lawsuits against the father patriarch several times, and mocked him. So God brought down
his deeds upon his own pate, as David says in the Psalm: “Pour out thy wrath upon the
heathen that have not known thee”. Therefore when Banah, bishop of Misr, saw the power of
this judge, and his influence over the governor and commanders of the Muslims, he made
friends with him, in order that the judge might do what he desired, and that none might
oppose him in his administration, just as the judge acted among the Muslims in what he
decreed, whether it were honest or perverse or deceitful.

54 But the father, Abba Joseph, did not cease to fight for the truth, and to declare his
trust in God; and therefore he feared none but God, who created him. Now the patriarch
knew what had taken place between the bishop and the judge. And the judge began to think
what evil he should do to the patriarch. So one day he gave orders that the father
patriarch should be summoned. And certain bishops were present at the judge's house that
day, and were trying to conciliate Banah, bishop of Misr; and their names were Abba
Pachomius, bishop of Bastah, and George, bishop of Taha, and another George, bishop of
Ahnâs, and Zacharias, bishop of Al-Buhairah, and Mennas, bishop of Al-Bahnasa, besides
others. So when the patriarch appeared before the judge, the latter said to him: “Who gave
thee authority to be chief over all the Christians?” The patriarch replied: “God gave me
this authority”. Then the judge turned to the aforesaid bishops and to the bishop of Misr,
who was with them, and said to them: “Obey this patriarch no longer from this day forth,
and call him not father; but make this man your father (that is to say Banah, bishop of
Misr), and let him be your leader”. And the bishops assented to his words, and said: “This
that thou sayest is good, O judge, and what thou commandest shall be done”.

55 Now this took place by a previous agreement made by them with the judge, and they had
promised to give him money. Then Zacharias, bishop of Al-Buhairah, said to our father, the
patriarch: “Did I not say to thee yesterday: Hinder not the bishop, Abba Banah, from doing
all that he desires, as the judge commands?” Our holy father, Abba Joseph, answered him
and said with an awful voice, in the Coptic language: “O you that have no understanding,
how have you gone astray thus, how have you accepted these words that have no
accomplishment? But true is that which Paul the Apostle prophesied of you; and he showed
your folly when he said: We did not do the truth of God with understanding, that we should
be converted of ourselves. And you have not obeyed the truth of God”. And there were some
of the lawyers sitting in the presence of the judge, and among them were some who
understood the Coptic tongue, and they discerned the meaning of the patriarch's words, and
how he was admonishing the bishops; and so they reported to the judge all that he had
said. When the judge heard it, he was furious, and said to the father: “Thinkest thou that
my commands will not be carried out?” Our father answered in a humble voice: “Hast thou
power to lay thy hand upon the sun, and hide its brightness? For if thou canst do this,
then thou wilt be able to do what thou sayest.

56 Or canst thou resist God, or the commands of my lord the prince, whom thou servest? I
said before that my primacy is of God, not of man. But now I also hold a decree from the
prince which establishes my power. Yet behold, thou sayest these words to these bishops
who have no authority over me: whereas my authority over them is from God and from the
prince, and the execution of my sentence takes place among my people and my flock; and I
have power tocut off and banish all those who err from the right path”. When the judge
heard these words from the patriarch's mouth he said to him: “Holdest thou a decree from
the prince, giving thee power to do what thou wilt?” Our father replied: “Yes, it is so”.
The judge said to him: “Bring it to me that I may read it”. Now Abba Joseph had with him
diplomas from the princes, from Al-Ma'mûn Abd Allah, son of Hârûn ar-Rashîd, issued when
he came to Egypt, and from Ibrahîm, his brother. And when Hârûn al-Wâthik, son of Ibrahîm,
began to reign, he was asked to issue a new decree for our father, and accordingly it was
written for him. And it was Harûn al-Wâthik who appointed this judge over Egypt. Therefore
our father handed him the decrees; and he read them, and learnt from them the superior
strength of those that walk straight over those that deviate from duty and from the right
path.

57 And the judge was ashamed and confounded, and bade our father depart with honour, so
that all that were present were amazed. Now there were many of the bishops who had
disapproved of these transactions, and had remained loyal to the patriarch, namely,
Mennas, bishop of Tânah, and Sinuthius, bishop of Sâ, and the rest of the bishops. So he
gave them the fruit of his lips praying for them and blessing them. The father patriarch
also used to say concerning the bishops who rebelled: “O Lord, lay not this sin to their
charge ”. 58 After this Satan brought upon Abba Joseph another trial. For this father was
merciful, and desired not the perdition of any man. So Satan put it into the heart of the
unjust judge, who had become his instrument, that he should seize the Roman and Abyssinian
pages of the patriarch, who were not yet of full age, and try to make Muslims of them. Now
many people used to give information, one against another, for this cause concerning the
pages belonging to their households, whom the judge thereupon took and into custody and
perverted to the religion of Islam, by means of persecution and intimidation. He also
sometimes imprisoned their masters for a time, and when they bribed him, he set them free.
Then he made curious inquiries concerning the Roman and Abyssinian pages of the patriarch,
who had been sent as presents to him from Africa and the Five Cities and Abyssinia and
Nubia. For he was told that the patriarch had pages at Alexandria, who were being taught
in the school. So he sent his officers thither in the company of the deposed bishop of
Misr, whose name was Banah, the interpretation of which is Fire. The bishop went as far as
the city of Alexandria, and entered the house wherein the pages were. And he took them and
led them away like lambs to the slaughter, while they wept helplessly until they were
brought into Misr, being eight in number.

59 Then when the unjust judge saw them, he rejoiced, saying: “This is a matter which will
disappoint and vex the patriarch”. Next he said to our father: “ It is not lawful for thee
to resist the princes' command nor to trample upon their orders; and it is not lawful for
thee to attempt to enslave these youths and make Christians of them”. The patriarch
answered: “I do not resist the prince's command nor any good words, but only unjust
orders”. The judge said to him: “Then am I unjust in thy opinion?” He replied: “Thou
knowest that none of thy predecessors forced any one like these, who are Christians and
the sons of Christians, to become Muslims. For they were presented to the churches as
gifts, and came from the king of the Abyssinians, or from the Nubians or Romans; and they
were sent to me as a present, and given to me”. But the judge, through Satan's power over
him, would not listen; and, as David says he was like the deaf asp that stops her ears,
and will not hear the voice of the charmer. Therefore he gave orders that the youths
should be brought in, while the patriarch was there, and intimidated them so that they
acknowledged themselves Muslims before him in the patriarch's presence, although he tried
to hold them to the Christian faith. So he said, weeping: “Woe is me, my sadness is
renewed, and my heart burns within me;

60 I have seen my punishment, my limbs are cut asunder from me. Now, O Lord, let me know
my end, for the sorrows of Hell encompass me”. Then the judge said to the father: “There
can be no further communication between thee and these youths, for they are become
Muslims. Take their price and leave them”. The father replied: “If it is thy desire to
make slaves of the free, I have no such wish; for these are free and the limbs of my body;
and God will judge thee for them, and thou wilt give an account of them before God, the
God of all”. After that the judge gave orders that the pages should be separated, and
accordingly the Muslims shared them among themselves. And when this compassionate father
saw this transaction, he sighed, and said before the Lord: “Thou seekest out blood and
rememberest them. Forget not the voice of the poor ”. He said also: “They have humbled thy
people, and done harm to thy heritage, and slain the orphans and the strangers, and said:
God doth not see ”. Thus he ceased not to weep and sigh and lament. And he said: “If any
one outrage these youths, may God destroy him!” Further he said: “O Lord, I am a sinful
man, but yet, O Lord, thou wilt take vengeance upon this unjust judge in return for his
wicked conduct, and thou wilt fulfil upon him the words of wise Solomon:

61 In the day of vengeance the hypocrites shall perish”. Such grief did the father endure,
while he prayed night and day, saying: “O Lord, them wilt not forsake thy people on
account of my sin”. 62 There were in his time faithful men, holy monks, who prayed for him
that patience might be given to him under these trials that afflicted him. And there was a
hermit among them whose name was Ammonius, at the monastery of Saint John. There was also
Abba Mennas, the hermit, on Mount Armûn, who was endowed with the spirit of prophecy, and
healed all the sick; many testified of him that he had power over unclean spirits and cast
them out of men. And I, the mean and feeble one, visited him, and he discoursed with me
concerning the Church. He was a eunuch from birth, pure unto God, and had been a monk from
his youth in the monastery of Saint John. But when the desert was ravaged in the last
years of the patriarch, Abba Mark, as we related above, this monk took refuge in a church
named after the Disciples, in a certain village. And he showed forth many miracles by
healing the sick and casting out devils. And I, the mean one, was present with him, and he
taught me writing; and that was in the tenth year of the patriarchate of the father, Abba
Joseph.

63 This holy old man was sitting one day, reading in the history of the ancient churches
and of what happened to the fathers, in the seventeenth part of the history of the church,
and I said to him in my simplicity, not knowing what I said: “What is this that he says?”
And he answered me in the words of the Holy Ghost: “O my son, blessed is he who wrote and
provided for the history of the patriarchs. Believe what I say to thee, my son, that none
shall begin the eighteenth part of the history of the Church, before he comes, whose name
is eighteen. And thou art he that shall take thought for the writing of it, for the Lord
calls thee to it”. Thereupon I became as if I were absent-minded, and could not ask him
anything further. Now this old man remained all his life a hermit. And he frequently gave
me his blessing. But I have abridged what I have written, and have left much unwritten
through fear of those who will read what I have written concerning this holy old hermit.
Here I have left the history of the fathers, and ceased to relate their history. Severus,
bishop of Sanabû, dilates in one of his homilies upon the history of this hermit.

64 But let us now return to that which God did by means of the father patriarch, Abba
Joseph, and I will relate the following miracle. When this father was at Misr in the time
of the unjust judge, whose dealing with him we have recounted, there came to him a
Christian person who said to him: “O my spiritual father, take pity on me! For I have a
son who has been possessed many days by a diabolical spirit which torments him. And he
cries aloud saying: I will not leave him until Abba Joseph, the patriarch, commands me.
Therefore have mercy on my son, thy servant, O father”. Now the father was exceedingly
humble, and he said to the man with a pure and humble heart: “What have I to do, my son,
with these of whom thou speakest? Yet on account of thy faith, thy son shall be
delivered”. Then the man accepted his words, as the centurion accepted the words of the
Lord, exclaiming: “I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under the roof of my house,
but speak the word only, and my lad shall be healed”. So this faithful person did not
cease to beg and implore the patriarch, saying: “Have pity on me, O my father!” Again the
father asked: “What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?” He answered: “I am not worthy
that thou shouldest go with me nor enter my house;

65 but wilt thou write for me with thine own hand a sentence in thine own name, and
nothing more, commanding the devil to depart? For then he will depart from my son”. When
our father heard him say this, he marvelled at him, and at the greatness of his faith, and
thought that he ought not to allow him to go away without that which he asked of him. And
I, the writer of this history, hearing this, became like the God-loving deacon Theopistus,
while he was with the holy father Dioscorus in the island of Gangra, on account of the man
with the withered arm who was cured by the blood from the confessor's hand. For I believed
that the Lord would do by means of this father that which would cure this man's son. And
while I was meditating on this, the Lord willed to increase my faith by this holy man. For
he bade me take a sheet of paper and an inkstand, and write upon the sheet thus: “Joseph,
the mean one, the least of all the patriarchs, speaks and bids thee, unclean spirit,
depart from the servant of Christ our God, and forbids thee to return to him henceforth,
through the power of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, the one God”.

66 Thereupon the father of the youth took this letter, and departed quickly to his house,
and read the writing over his son; and at once the devil went out of him, and did not
return to him. And while our father remained at Misr, that man came to him and prostrated
himself before him with great faith, saying: “I thank the Lord for thy prayers; for by thy
words my son was healed”. But our father forbad him under pain of ecclesiastical penance
to tell anyone of this matter. And the man swore to us that the devil had never returned
to his son since that day. In those days the father Dionysius, patriarch of Antioch, went
to his rest. So the metropolitans and the bishops and the orthodox laity took thought and
appointed in his place a person, perfect in his qualities, named John. This was in the
15th. year of the patriarchate of Abba Joseph, and in the year 562 of the Martyrs. After
John's enthronement at Antioch he wrote to our father a synodical letter according to
custom, proclaiming the unity of the two sees, and sent it by two metropolitans, namely
Athanasius, metropolitan of Apamea, and Timothy, metropolitan of Damascus, accompanied by
others of the clergy. Therefore the father, Abba Joseph, having heard that they were
approaching Egypt, with the synodical letter in their charge, travelled to Alexandria, in
order that they might meet him there with honour. And as they drew near to the city, he
sent to welcome them a body of bishops and clergy, who chanted before them, and conducted
them as far as the patriarchal cell with glory and reverence. And when our father had
received the synodical letter, he commanded that it should be read aloud to the orthodox
people; and they rejoiced exceedingly.

67 But the perpetual enemy saw this grace, and immediately began to stir up troubles
against our father the patriarch by means of one who was his instrument, as he had done
with the unjust judge. Now that judge employed a man worse than himself, who acted as his
deputy at Alexandria and in the neighbouring province; and this man's name was Muhammad
son of Bashîr. So those whom the patriarch had formerly excommunicated went to this man,
and advised him to put the patriarch to shame in the presence of the metropolitans. These
children of fire contrived this plan, thinking that this action would weigh heavily upon
him; whereas he, being clothed with humility, paid no heed, and did not think of what they
were thinking. For they thought in their hearts that, if they disgraced him before the
metropolitans, his dignity would be lessened, and knew not that their counsels were
contemptible; while the ever victorious one conquered, and gained the crown after the
contest, and received a blessing for his endurance. And by this his fame and the report of
his patience reached the ends of the east, after those righteous metropolitans had
witnessed that which was done to him.

68 At that time the judge of Alexandria sent and summoned the holy father, Abba Joseph the
patriarch, and the metropolitans with him. And when he appeared in the judge's presence,
he said to him: “I am informed that thou hast pages, whom the judge, my master, commanded
thee not to take to thyself again. Some of them are in thy house, and thou hast converted
them to thy religion”. Then the holy man answered and said to him: “I have none of those
of whom thou speakest, nor have I beheld the face of one of them since that day”.
Thereupon the judge ordered that the patriarch should be beaten upon his neck without
mercy; and they belaboured him soundly, and did not cease from beating him for a
considerable time. In consequence of this his head was bowed, and he could not raise it
for his weakness; and he did not open his mouth to utter a word, except when he said thus:
“I thank thee, Lord Jesus Christ”. But we, his children, wept bitterly for witnessing what
was done to him by this wicked judge. Yet the patriarch did not despair of mercy, but was
filled with courage. And so those metropolitans marvelled, and said: “Blessed be God, who
has counted us worthy to behold so faithful a champion!” And our blessed father repeated
the words of the Lord concerning the unjust judge, that the Lord would show forth
vengeance in him, which should come upon him, as Luke says: “God shall soon avenge his
elect who pray to him day and night, though he is longsuffering concerning them”.

69 After this the patriarch Joseph wrote to the patriarch John an answer to his synodical
letter, and dismissed the envoys with the glory and honour which befitted them. And they
praised our father Joseph, and began to publish his deeds throughout their country. And
there were in his days grace and peace. A wonderful thing took place in his time; for he
beheld the monasteries in every place grow and increase every day, through his prayers and
the prayers of the holy men who lived at that time. Above all the monasteries of the Wadî
Habîb were like the Paradise of God, especially that of Saint Macarius. And God's
assistance was with all the monks, and more than any with that oeconomus Sinuthius, the
holy priest, by whose means God manifested countless good works through his faith in Saint
Macarius. For Sinuthius raised monuments in honour of Saint Macarius, vineyards and
gardens and cattle and mills and oilpresses, and many useful things that cannot be
numbered. And when the faithful people beheld what he did, they rejoiced thereat, and were
zealous for his deeds, and helped him with good intentions.

70 And there were in the holy monastery innumerable persons, not only the orthodox, but
also heretics, on account of the wonders that were manifested in that church. This was the
doing of this oeconomus Sinuthius, who hoped for a reward from God, as Paul, the Apostle,
says: “We in the spirit in faith wait for a true hope”. And when Sinuthius saw the monks
increasing in numbers through the grace of God which called them, he began and built a
church to the north of the Great Church, and named it after the Fathers and Disciples. And
he completed it, and adorned it with every kind of ornament. And he invited our holy
father, Abba Joseph the patriarch, to visit this church; and when he saw it, his heart was
filled with joy; and he consecrated it on the first day of Barmûdah in the seventeenth
year of his patriarchate. And the father did not cease to bless this oeconomus Sinuthius
from the depths of his heart, and looked upon the monuments which Sinuthius made day after
day, and especially this holy church, which was capacious in size, and beautiful in
structure. And we, the sons of this father, had a great affection for this oeconomus
Sinuthius, on account of our father's love for him which we beheld. And the father said to
us by the power of the Holy Ghost, who descended upon him: “My sons, believe me, this
brother has many monuments which he will make, and there is building of churches and
chapels for him”. When we heard him say this, we said to him: “Thinkest thou that he will
build other churches on this mountain?”. And his words were like a prophecy, but we did
not know it until there was manifested to us after that a thing that we will record.

71 Our father had in his hand an elegant pastoral staff, which he gave to Sinuthius, the
oeconomus, saying to him: “Take this, my son, as a memorial for thyself”. On seeing this,
we said: “Verily this refers to something that will appear; for all his actions are done
by the grace of the Holy Ghost”. In the eighteenth year of Abba Joseph's patriarchate
there was made governor of Alexandria an amir, named Mâlik, son of Nâsir al Hadar, who was
a wicked man and unjust. So when he entered the city he began to do harm to many people,
more than the governor who preceded him. For he interfered with the artisans and the great
merchants and dealers in woven stuffs and shopkeepers, ordering them not to sell or buy
except within certain limits which he laid down for them. And he made a great measure; and
a crier began to proclaim thus: “If anyone is found having a garment less than this
measure, I will imprison him and put him to shame and slay him”. So when the people of
Alexandria saw this, they were sad and said: “We know now that God has abased this city
and its inhabitants by the hand of this unjust man”. But the poor people, the weavers and
the tailors, were left without employment because their means of livelihood were cut off,
and their children were forced to be idle, so that they were without food, and were
inclined to emigrate and depart to other countries, that they might earn a living. And
they were crying out night and day that God would save them from this tyrant.

72 And God did not neglect their supplication, but heard them speedily. For he said by the
prophet David's tongue in the ninetieth Psalm: “Cry unto me, and I will answer thee and
deliver thee”. And again: “The Lord is near those that call upon him ”. So on a certain
day that amir mounted his horse and came to the patriarch's Cell, accompanied by certain
female slaves; and he ate and drank with them. Then he arose and walked round all the
patriarch's chambers, until he reached the closet in which the patriarchs always slept.
Thereupon he drove the father out of it, and brought in his slaves and ate and drank with
them there, and reposed in that chamber, which was full of the savour of incense and sweet
perfume from the prayers of the holy patriarchs. Therefore the holy father, seeing this,
was grieved and wept much, repeating the words of David, the prophet in the 78th. Psalm:
“O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance, and have defiled thy holy temple”.
After this man had done these foul deeds without fear, he departed and returned to his own
house. And God, the worker of miracles at all times, took revenge upon him; for that very
day he was attacked by a pain in the inward parts, and quickly drew near to death. Yet he
did not cease from his injustice and wicked deeds.

73 At that time the children of fire went and laid information against the father, saying:
“This man writes letters to the princes of the Romans, and they send him much money”. So
the amir sent speedily, and summoned our father, and commanded that he should be
imprisoned in a narrow dungeon, and entrusted him to the charge of certain guards, who
were to watch over him. And he desired to torment the patriarch until he should give him a
thousand dinars, while the patriarch patiently endured; and the amir did not cease to
threaten him, and finally insisted on the sum of four hundred dinars. But during all this
the pains were increasing upon him; and the blood ran from his body, and he could not
sleep by night or by day. And he could not find a physician who could treat him, nor did
medicine benefit him. Meanwhile the father remained in prison for the sake of the four
hundred dinars, and prayed to God night and day, saying: “Let my supplication come before
thee, O Lord, and the sighing of the sick and the captives”. And he remained in straits
many days, while the governor threatened and intimidated him, in order that he might bring
the money. And the patriarch's disciples and friends were in great grief and trouble, and
counselled him to pay the money.

74 So he, upon whom the spirit of prophecy rested, said to them, that if he were not to
quit that place until he had paid what that tyrant demanded of him, then on the seventh
day after they had entered therein, one of God's sudden judgments would be manifested, at
which all men would marvel. Then Abba Joseph paid the four hundred dinars, and he and his
companions were released from the prison. And I, the mean writer of this history, was with
him in the dungeon. And the Lord, who beholds all things, accomplished the words of this
holy man; for on the seventh day after he paid the money, while we were with him, certain
men entered to him and informed him that the governor was dead, and that the crier was
calling in the streets to the people: “Rise up and bury the governor!” And all men praised
God, the worker of wonders among his saints. And the people of the city began to respect
and honour the father for the troubles and sorrows and straits which he had endured, and
because God had saved him from them all, manifesting wonders by his means.

75 Then on account of the straits and the sorrow and distress that had afflicted Abba
Joseph, it was God's will to give him rest from this world, and to call him to the
mansions of light, that he might enjoy eternal life. For so God had promised to that
saint, saying to him: “Thou shalt be happy for ever, and shalt live eternally”.
Accordingly after these events the patriarch fell sick of a fever. And on the seventh day
of his sickness the Lord visited him, and took him to himself. So he went to his rest on
the twenty-third day of Bâbah, in the year 566 of the Martyrs, at the time of the
communion of the Holy Mysteries, the day being Sunday. Thus he had remained upon the
evangelic and apostolic throne eighteen years and eleven months. And they carried his body
to the city of Alexandria and laid him with his holy fathers, with glory and honour. And
the people of Alexandria, both men and women, wept copious tears over him, because they
had lost a man who was constant in his fight against evil. And he obtained the crown of
victory.

76 Such were the events which I witnessed with my own eyes; but I have abridged my
narrative on account of the multitude of its wonders. We pray the Lord to allow the
prayers of that saint to be with us. 77 Now it is right for you, my holy lords, and my
duty also that I should make known to you and you should listen to the fulfilment of a
prophecy which he uttered to me, while he was living, and which the Lord accomplished
after his death, that those who hear may marvel and glorify God who is glorified in his
elect. I related before that, at the time when the unjust judge brought troubles upon
Egypt, the patriarch said: “As I am a sinner. God will send down vengeance upon this
tyrant for his deeds, yet not in my lifetime, but after my death”. And when Abba Joseph
went to his rest, there was a prince of the Muslims, named Ja'far, son of Ibrahîm; and he
sent to Egypt a man named Ya'kûb, son of Ibrahîm, to enquire into the state of Egypt, and
make it known to him. So when Ya'kûb came hither, he was informed, by God's decree, of the
conduct of the unjust judge, and of his evil deeds which he committed secretly and openly.
Thereupon Ya'kûb suddenly arrested the Superintendent of Public Order without his previous
knowledge; and accordingly all the judge's hypocritical acts by which he deceived the
people were brought to light, as well as his secret, foul, and reprehensible conduct So
Ya'kûb took him, and paraded him through all the streets of Misr, after shaving his beard
and baring his bead, while all gazed upon him; then he threw him into prison, and
confiscated his goods.

78 And all his companions who surrounded him, and even his children, were scattered in all
directions. Afterwards he banished him to the capital city of the empire, and there he
died a cruel death. Ya'kûb also dealt with the judge who was the other's deputy at
Alexandria, and who commanded that the father Abba Joseph should be beaten, as he had
dealt with his superior, and he was imprisoned; but he escaped subsequently and none ever
saw him again in the city, nor has anyone set eyes upon him to this day. And all who saw
these things or heard of them marvelled, and glorified God on account of these two unjust
judges upon whom vengeance was executed as they deserved. As it is written: “The fool and
he that is without understanding shall perish together”. 79 We have recorded, on account
of your love, the combat of the holy father, Abba Joseph. We will now mention to you what
he did during his whole time. As long as he remained upon the patriarchal throne his heart
was never preoccupied, nor was he distracted by the troubles that came upon him, but he
continued in prayer night and day. And he completed the reading of the whole Psalter every
day; seventy-five Psalms in the daytime, and seventy-five Psalms up to midnight. This was
in addition to the hymns that he recited, in supplication to the Lord with devotion and
humility. These were his qualities all the days of his life, I mean humility and charity
and tranquillity and chastity and continuance in prayer and giving alms; so that, after
all these years during which he remained patriarch, his cares and thoughts and feelings
were like those of one who lives in the corner of a cell in the Wadî Habîb. By these means
he gained the crown of his deeds from the Lord Jesus Christ, and entered with the saints
into the land of the living. Glory belongs to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy
Ghost for ever. Amen.


THE QUEEN OF SHEBA AND HER ONLY SON MENYELEK: THE KEBRA NAGAST (CHAPTERS 1. CONCERNING THE GLORY OF KINGS–34. HOW THE YOUNG MAN ARRIVED IN HIS MOTHER'S COUNTRY)
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THE QUEEN OF SHEBA AND HER ONLY SON MENYELEK: THE KEBRA NAGAST c. 14th century

The national epic of Ethiopia, in 117 chapters: it begins with the glory of kings from
Adam to Solomon, tells how the Queen of Sheba journeyed to Solomon, and how their son
Menyelek carried the Ark of Zion to Ethiopia, and ends with prophecies of Christ and of
the kings of Rome and Ethiopia. The Ge’ez text was put in its present form in the early
fourteenth century.

CHAPTER 1. CONCERNING THE GLORY OF KINGS

1 The interpretation and explanation of the Three Hundred and Eighteen Orthodox [Fathers]
concerning splendour, and greatness, and dignity, and how God gave them to the children of
Adam, and especially concerning the greatness and splendour of Zion, the Tabernacle
(tâbôt) of the Law of God, of which He Himself is the Maker and Fashioner, in the fortress
of His holiness before all created things, [both] angels and men. For the Father, and the
Son, and the Holy Spirit with good fellowship and right good will and cordial agreement
together made the Heavenly Zion to be the place of habitation of their Glory. And then the
Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit said, "Let Us make man in Our similitude and
likeness," and with ready agreement and good will They were all of this opinion. And the
Son said, "I will put on the body of Adam," and the Holy Spirit said, "I will dwell in the
heart[s] of the Prophets and the Righteous"; and this common agreement and covenant was
[fulfilled] in Zion, the City of their Glory.

2 And David said, "Remember Thine agreement which Thou didst make of old for salvation,
the rod of Thine inheritance, in Mount Zion wherein Thou dost dwell." And He made Adam in
His own image and likeness, so that He might remove Satan because of his pride, together
with his host, and might establish Adam—His own plant—together with the righteous, His
children, for His praises. For the plan of God was decided upon and decreed in that He
said, "I will become man, and I will be in everything which I have created, I will abide
in flesh." And in the days that came after, by His good pleasure there was born in the
flesh of the Second Zion the second Adam, Who was our Saviour Christ. This is our glory
and our faith, our hope and our life, the Second Zion.

CHAPTER 2. CONCERNING THE GREATNESS OF KINGS

Come then, let us go back, and let us consider, and let us begin [to state] which of the
kings of the earth, from the first even unto the last, in respect of the Law and the
Ordinances and honour and greatness, we should magnify or decry. Gregory, the worker of
wonders and miracles, who was cast into a cave because of [his] love for the martyrdom of
Christ and suffered tribulation for fifteen years, said, "When I was in the pit I pondered
over this matter, and over the folly of the Kings of Armenia, and I said, In so far as I
can conceive it, [in] what doth the greatness of kings [consist]? Is it in the multitude
of soldiers, or in the splendour of worldly possessions, or in extent of rule over cities
and towns? This was my thought each time of my prayer, and my thought stirred me again and
again to meditate upon the greatness of kings. And now I will begin."

CHAPTER 3. CONCERNING THE KINGDOM OF ADAM

And I go up from Adam and I say, God is King in truth, for Him praise is meet, and He
appointed under Him Adam to be king over all that He had created. And He drove him out of
the Garden, because of his apostasy through the sin of the Serpent and the plotting of the
Devil. And at that sorrowful moment Cain was born, and when Adam saw that the face of Cain
was ill-tempered (or, sullen) and his appearance evil he was sad. And then Abel was born,
and when Adam saw that his appearance was good and his face good-tempered he said, "This
is my son, the heir of my kingdom."

CHAPTER 4. CONCERNING ENVY

1 And when they had grown up together, Satan had envy of him, and he cast this envy into
the heart of Cain, who was envious [of Abel] first, because of the words of his father
Adam, who said, "He who hath the good-tempered face shall be the heir of my kingdom"; and
secondly, because of his sister with the beautiful face, who was born with him and who had
been given unto Abel, even as God commanded them to multiply and fill the earth—now the
face of the sister who had been born with Abel resembled that of Cain, and their father
had transferred them (i.e., the two sisters) when giving them [in marriage];—and thirdly,
because when the two [brothers] offered up sacrifice, God accepted the offering of Abel
and rejected the offering of Cain. And because of this envy Cain killed Abel. Thus
fratricide was first created through Satan's envy of the children of Adam. And having
killed his brother, Cain fell into a state of trembling and horrible fright, and he was
repulsed by his father and his Lord. And [then] Seth was born, and Adam

2 A 2 looked upon him and said, "Now hath God shown compassion upon me, and He hath given
unto me the light of my face. In sorrowful remembrance I will console myself (?) with him.
The name of him that shall slay my heir shall be blotted out, even to his ninth
generation."

CHAPTER 5. CONCERNING THE KINGDOM OF SETH

And Adam died, and Seth reigned in righteousness. And Seth died, and Hênôs (Enos) reigned.
And Hênôs (Enos) died, and Kâynân (Cainan) reigned. And Kâynân (Cainan) died, and Malâl'el
(Mahalaleel) reigned. And Malâl'el (Mahalaleel) died, and Yârôd (Jared) reigned. And Yârôd
died, and Hênôkh (Enoch) reigned in righteousness, and he feared God, and [God] hid him so
that he might not see death. And he became a king in his flesh in the Land of the Living.
And after Enoch disappeared Mâtûsâlâ (Methuselah) reigned. And Mâtûsâlâ died, and Lâmêkh
(Lamech) reigned. And Lâmêkh died, and Nôh (Noah) reigned in righteousness, and he pleased
God in all his works.

CHAPTER 6. CONCERNING THE SIN OF CAIN

And that accursed man Cain, the murderer of his brother, multiplied evil, and his seed did
likewise, and they provoked God to wrath with their wickedness. They had not the fear of
God before their eyes, and they never kept in mind that He had created them, and they
never prayed to Him, and they never worshipped Him, and they never called upon Him, and
they never rendered service to Him in fear; nay, they ate, and they drank, and they
danced, and they played upon stringed instruments, and sang lewd songs thereto, and they
worked uncleanness without law, without measure, and without rule. And the wickedness of
the children of Cain multiplied, until at length in the greatness of their filthiness they
introduced the seed of the ass into the mare, and the mule came into being, which God had
not commanded—even like those who give their children who are believers unto those who
deny God, and their offspring become the seed of the filthy Gomorraites, one half of them
being of good and one half of them of evil seed. And as for those who do [this]
wickedness, their judgment is ready, and their error in lasting.

CHAPTER 7. CONCERNING NOAH

Now Noah was a righteous man. He feared God, and kept the righteousness and the Law which
his fathers had declared unto him—now Noah was the tenth generation from Adam—and he kept
in remembrance and did what was good, and he preserved his body from fornication, and he
admonished his children, bidding them not to mingle with the children of Cain, the
arrogant tyrant, the divider of the kingdom, [who] walked in the counsel of the Devil, who
maketh evil to flourish. And he taught them everything that God hated—pride, boastfulness
of speech, self-adulation, calumniation, false accusation, and the swearing of false
oaths. And besides these things, in the wickedness of their uncleanness, which was
unlawful and against rule, man wrought pollution with man, and woman worked with woman the
abominable thing.

CHAPTER 8. CONCERNING THE FLOOD

And this thing was evil before God, and He destroyed them with the water of the Flood,
which was colder than ice. He opened the doors of heaven, and the cataracts of the Flood
poured down; and He opened the fountains that were under the earth, and the fountains of
the Flood appeared on the earth. And the sinners were blotted out, for they reaped the
fruit of their punishment. And with them perished all beasts and creeping things, for they
were all created for the gratification of Adam, and for his glory, some to provide him
with food, and some for his pleasure, and some for the names to the glorification of his
Creator so that he might know them, even as David saith, "And Thou hast set everything
under his feet"; for his sake they were created, and for his sake they were destroyed,
with the exception of Eight Souls, and seven of every kind of clean beasts and creeping
things, and two of every kind of unclean beast and creeping thing.

CHAPTER 9. CONCERNING THE COVENANT OF NOAH

And then Noah the righteous man died, and Shem reigned in wisdom and righteousness, for he
was blessed by Noah, saying, "Be God to thy brother." And to Ham he said, "Be servant to
thy brother." And he said unto Japhet, "Be thou servant to Shem my heir, and be thou
subject unto him.' And again, after the Flood, the Devil, our Enemy, did not cease from
his hostility against the children of Noah, but stirred up Canaan, the son of Ham, and he
became the violent tyrant (or usurper) who rent the kingdom from the children of Shem. Now
they had divided the earth among them, and Noah had made them swear by the Name of his God
that they would not encroach on each other's boundaries, and would not eat the beast that
had died of itself or had been rent [by wild animals], and that they would not cultivate
harlotry against the law, lest God should again become angry with them and punish them
with a Flood. And as for Noah, he humbled himself, and offered up sacrifice, and he cried
out, and groaned, and wept. And God held converse with Noah, who said [unto Him], If Thou
wilt destroy the earth a second time with a Flood, blot Thou me out with those who are to
perish." And God said unto him, "I will make a covenant with thee that thou shalt tell thy
children they shall not eat the beast that hath died of itself or that hath been torn by
wild beasts, and they shall not cultivate harlotry against the law; and I, on My part,
[covenant] that I will not destroy the earth a second time with a Flood, and that I will
give unto thy children Winter and Summer, Seedtime and Harvest, Autumn and Spring.

CHAPTER 10. CONCERNING ZION

1 "And I swear by Myself and by Zion, the Tabernacle of My covenant, which I have created
for a mercy seat and for the salvation of men, and in the latter days I will make it to
come down to thy seed, that I will have pleasure in the offerings of thy children upon
earth, and the Tabernacle of My covenant shall be with them for ever. And when a cloud
hath appeared [in the sky], so that they may not fear and may not imagine that a Flood [is
coming] I will make to come down from My habitation of Zion the Bow of My Covenant, that
is to say, the rainbow, which shall crown the Tabernacle of My Law. And it shall come to
pass that, when their sins multiply, and I am wishful to be wroth with them, I will
remember the Tabernacle of My Covenant, and I will set the rainbow [in the sky], and I
will put away Mine anger and will send My compassion. And I will not forget My word, and
that which hath gone forth from My mouth I will not overlook. Though heaven and earth pass
away My word shall not pass away."

2 And the Archbishops who were there answered and said to the blessed Gregory, "Behold
now, we understand clearly that before every created thing, even the angels, and before
the heavens and the earth, and before the pillars of heaven, and the abysses of the sea,
He created the Tabernacle of the Covenant, and this which is in heaven goeth about upon
the earth."

CHAPTER 11. THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN ORTHODOX FATHERS

And they answered and said unto him, "Yea, verily the Tabernacle of the Covenant was the
first thing to be created by Him, and there is no lie in thy word; it is true, and
correct, and righteous, and unalterable. He created Zion before everything else to be the
habitation of His glory, and the plan of His Covenant was that which He said, 'I will put
on the flesh of Adam, which is of the dust, and I will appear unto all those whom I have
created with My hand and with My voice.' And if it had been that the heavenly Zion had not
come down, and if He had not put on the flesh of Adam, then God the Word would not have
appeared, and our salvation would not have taken place. The testimony (or proof) is in the
similitude; the heavenly Zion is to be regarded as the similitude of the Mother of the
Redeemer, MARY. For in the Zion which is builded there are deposited the Ten Words of the
Law which were written by His hands, and He Himself, the Creator, dwelt in the womb of
MARY, and through Him everything came into being."

CHAPTER 12. CONCERNING CANAAN

1 Now, it was Canaan who rent the kingdom from the children of Shem, and he transgressed
the oath which his father Noah had made them to swear. And the sons of Canaan were seven
mighty men, and he took seven mighty cities from the land of Shem, and set his sons over
them; and likewise he also made his own portion double. And in later days God took
vengeance upon the sons of Canaan, and made the sons of Shem to inherit their country.
These are the nations whom they inherited: the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites,
the Hittites, the Amorites, the Jebusites, and Moses receiving the Table of the Law from
the hand of God on Sinai The image is too blurry to recognize any text content. the
Girgasites; these are they whom Canaan seized by force from the seed of Shem. For it was
not right for him to invade [his] kingdom, and to falsify the oath, and because of this
they ceased to be, and their memorial perished, through transgressing [God's] command, and
worshipping idols, and bowing down to those who were not gods.

2 And after the death of Shem Arphaxad reigned, and after the death of Arphaxad Kâynân
(Cainan) reigned, and after the death of Kâynân Sâlâ (Salah) reigned, and after him Eber
reigned, and after him Pâlêk (Peleg) reigned, and after him Râgâw (Reu) reigned, and after
him Sêrôh (Serug) reigned, and after him Nâkhôr (Nahor) reigned, and after him Târâ
(Terah) reigned. And these are they who made magical images, and they went to the tombs of
their fathers and made an image (or, picture) of gold, and silver, and brass, and a devil
used to hold converse with them out of each of the images of their fathers, and say unto
them, "O my son So-and-so, offer up unto me as a sacrifice the son whom thou lovest." And
they slaughtered their sons and their daughters to the devils, and they poured out
innocent blood to filthy devils.

CHAPTER 13. CONCERNING ABRAHAM

1 And Târâ (Terah) begot a son and called him "Abraham" (or, Abrâm). And when Abraham was
twelve years old his father Terah sent him to sell idols. And Abraham said, "These are not
gods that can make deliverance"; and he took away the idols to sell even as his father had
commanded him. And he said unto those unto whom he would sell them, "Do ye wish to buy
gods that cannot make deliverance, [things] made of wood, and stone, and iron, and brass,
which the hand of an artificer hath made? And they refused to buy the idols from Abraham
because he himself had defamed the images of his father. And as he was returning he
stepped aside from the road, and he set the images down, and looked at them, and said unto
them, "I wonder now if ye are able to do what I ask you at this moment, and whether ye are
able to give me bread to eat or water to drink? And none of them answered him, for they
were pieces of stone and wood; and he abused them and heaped revilings upon them, and they
spake never a word. And he buffeted the face of one, and kicked another with his feet, and
a third he knocked over and broke to pieces with stones, and he said unto them, "If ye are
unable to deliver yourselves from him that buffeteth you, and ye cannot requite with
injury him that injureth you, how can ye be called 'gods'?

2 Those who worship you do so in vain, and as for myself I utterly despise you, and ye
shall not be my gods. Then he turned his face to the East, and he stretched out his hands
and said, "Be Thou my God, O Lord, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Creator of the
sun and the moon, Creator of the sea and the dry land, Maker of the majesty of the heavens
and the earth, and of that which is visible and that which is invisible; O Maker of the
universe, be Thou my God. I place my trust in Thee, and from this day forth I will place
my trust in no other save Thyself. And then there appeared unto him a chariot of fire
which blazed, and Abraham was afraid and fell on his face on the ground; and [God] said
unto him, "Fear thou not, stand upright.' And He removed fear from him.

CHAPTER 14. CONCERNING THE COVENANT OF ABRAHAM

1 And God held converse with Abrâm, and He said unto him, "Fear thou not. From this day
thou art My servant, and I will establish My Covenant with thee and with thy seed after
thee, and I will multiply thy seed, and I will magnify thy name exceedingly. And I will
bring down the Tabernacle of My Covenant upon the earth seven generations after thee, and
it shall go round about with thy seed, and shall be salvation unto thy race; and
afterwards I will send My Word for the salvation of Adam and his sons for ever. And at
this moment these who are of thy kinsmen are evil men (or, rebels), and My divinity, which
is true, they have rejected. And as for thee, that day by day they may not seduce thee,
come, get thee forth out of this land, the land of thy fathers, into the land which I will
show thee, and I will give it unto thy seed after thee. And Abrâm made obeisance to God,
and was subject to his God. And [God] said unto him, "Thy name shall be Abraham"; and He
gave him the salutation of peace and went up into heaven. And Abraham returned to his
abode, and he took Sârâ (Sarah) his wife, and went forth and did not go back to his
father, and his mother, and his house, and his kinsfolk; and he forsook them all for God's
sake.

2 And he arrived in the city of Sâlêm, and dwelt there and reigned in righteousness, and
did not transgress the commandment of God. And God blessed him exceedingly, and at length
he possessed [3]18 stalwart servants, who were trained in war, and who stood before him
and performed his will. And they wore tunics richly embroidered with gold, and they had
chains of gold about their necks, and belts of gold round their loins, and they had crowns
of gold on their heads; and by means of these men Abraham vanquished [his] foe. And he
died in glory in God, and was more gracious and excellent than those who were before him.
He was gracious, and held in honour, and highly esteemed.

CHAPTER 15. CONCERNING ISAAC AND JACOB

And Isaac his son became king, and he did not transgress the commandment of God; and he
was pure in his soul and in his body, and he died in honour. And his son Jacob reigned,
and he also did not transgress the commandment of God, and his possessions became
numerous, and his children were many; and God blessed him and he died in honour.

CHAPTER 16. CONCERNING RÔBÊL (REUBEN)

And after him, Jacob's firstborn son transgressed the commandment of God, and the kingdom
departed from him and from his seed, because he had defiled his father's wife; now it is
not right to transgress the law which God hath commanded. And his father cursed him, and
God was wroth with him, and he became the least among his brethren, and his children
became leprous and scabby; and although he was the firstborn son [of Jacob] the kingdom
was rent from him. And his younger brother reigned, and he was called Judah because of
this. And his seed was blessed, and his kingdom flourished, and his sons were blessed. And
after him Fârês (Pharez) his son reigned. And he died and 'Isârôm (Hezron) his son
reigned. And after him his son Orni (Oren?) reigned, and after him Arâm (Aram) his son
reigned, and after him Amînâdâb his son reigned, and after him Nasôn (Naasson) his son
reigned, and after him Sâlâ (Salmon?) his son reigned, and after him Bâ'ôs (Boaz) his son
reigned, and after him Iyûbêd (Obed) his son reigned, and after him Ê'sêy (Jesse) his son
reigned. And this is what I say [concerning] the kingdom: The blessing of the father [was]
on the son, so that it (i.e., the kingdom) was blessed with prosperity. And as for the
kingship over Israel, after the death of Jesse David reigned in righteousness, and in
integrity, and in graciousness.

CHAPTER 17. CONCERNING THE GLORY OF ZION

1 And as concerning Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law of God: at the very beginning, as soon
as God had stablished the heavens, He ordained that it should become the habitation of His
glory upon the earth. And willing this He brought it down to the earth, and permitted
Moses to make a likeness of it. And He said unto him, "Make an ark (or, tabernacle) of
wood that cannot be eaten by worms, and overlay it with pure gold. And thou shalt place
therein the Word of the Law, which is the Covenant that I have written with Mine own
fingers, that they may keep My law, the Two Tables of the Covenant.' Now the heavenly and
spiritual [original] within it is of divers colours, and the work thereof is marvellous,
and it resembleth jasper, and the sparkling stone, and the topaz, and the hyacinthine
stone (?), and the crystal, and the light, and it catcheth the eye by force, and it
astonisheth the mind and stupefieth it with wonder; it was made by the mind of God and not
by the hand of the artificer, man, but He Himself created it for the habitation of His
glory. And it is a spiritual thing and is full of compassion; it is a heavenly thing and
is full of light; it is a thing of freedom and a habitation of the Godhead, Whose
habitation is in heaven, and Whose place of movement is on the earth, and it dwelleth with
men and with the angels, a city of salvation for men, and for the Holy Spirit a
habitation. And within it are a Gomor of gold [containing] a measure of the manna which
came down from heaven; and the rod of Aaron which sprouted after it had become withered
though no one watered it with water, and one had broken it in two places, and it became
three rods being [originally only] one rod.

2 And Moses covered [the Ark] with pure gold, and he made for it poles wherewith to carry
it and rings [in which to place them], and they carried it before the people until they
brought it into the land of [their] inheritance, which is Jerusalem, the City of Zion. And
when they were crossing the Jordan and the priests were carrying it, the waters stood
upright like a wall until all the people had passed over, and after all the people had
passed over the priests passed over bearing the Ark, and they set it down in the city of
Judah, the land of [their] inheritance. And prophets were appointed over the children of
Israel in the Tabernacle of Testimony, and the priests wore the ephod, so that they might
minister to the Tabernacle of Testimony, and the high priests offered up offerings, so
that they might obtain remission of their own sins and of the sins of the people likewise.

3 And God commanded Moses and Aaron to make holy vessels for the Tabernacle of Testimony
for the furnishing of the Holy of Holies, namely, vessels of gold, bowls and pots,
pitchers and sacred tables, netted cloths and tops for pillars, lamps and vessels for
filling them, torch-holders and snuffers, tongs, candlesticks, and rings and rods for
carrying them, large bowls and lavers, embroidered curtains and hangings, crowns and
worked vestments, purple cloths and leather work, carpets and draperies, unguents for
anointing priests and kings, hyacinthine and purple hangings, rugs of double thickness and
hangings of silk (?), skins of kids and red hides of rams, and sardius stones, and rubies,
and sapphires, and emeralds [and to place them] in the Tabernacle of Witness, where
dwelleth Zion, the habitation of His glory. [And God told them] to make for it the "belly
of a ship" with the Two Tables, which were written by the fingers of God—Zion shall rest
upon them—And thou shalt make for it a tabernacle of wood that the worms cannot eat,
whereon Zion shall rest, two cubits and half a cubit shall be the length thereof, and a
cubit and half a cubit the breadth thereof, and thou shalt cover it with pure gold, both
the outside thereof and the inside thereof. And thou shalt make the fittings and the cover
thereof of fine gold, and there shall be rings round about it; and thou shalt make in the
four sides four holes for the carrying-poles. And thou shalt make it of wood that the
worms cannot eat, and thou shalt cover it with pure gold, and in this ye shall carry the
Tabernacle of the Law.

4 In this wise did God command Moses on Mount Sinai, and He showed him the work thereof,
and the construction and the pattern of the Tent, according to which he was to make it.
And it (i.e., Zion) was revered and had exceedingly great majesty in Israel, and it was
acknowledged by God to be the habitation of His glory. And He Himself came down on the
mountain of His holiness, and He held converse with His chosen ones, and He opened to them
[a way of] salvation, and He delivered them from the hand of their enemies. And he spake
with them from the pillar of cloud, and commanded them to keep His Law and His
commandments, and to walk in the precepts of God.

CHAPTER 18. HOW THE ORTHODOX FATHERS AND BISHOPS AGREED

And again the Council of the Three Hundred and Eighteen answered and said, "Amen. This is
the salvation of the children of Adam. For since the Tabernacle of the Law of God hath
come down, they shall be called, 'Men of the house of God,' even as David saith, 'And His
habitation is in Zion.' And again he saith by the mouth of the Holy Ghost, 'And My
habitation is here, for I have chosen it. And I will bless her priests, and I will make
her poor to be glad. And unto David will I give seed in her, and upon the earth one who
shall become king, and moreover, in the heavens one from his seed shall reign in the flesh
upon the throne of the Godhead. And as for his enemies they shall be gathered together
under his footstool, and they shall be sealed with his seal."

CHAPTER 19. HOW THIS BOOK CAME TO BE FOUND

And Děmátěyôs (Domitius), the Archbishop of Rôm (i.e., Constantinople, Byzantium), said,
"I have found in the Church of [Saint] Sophia among the books and the royal treasures a
manuscript [which stated] that the whole kingdom of the world [belonged] to the Emperor of
Rôm and the Emperor of Ethiopia."

CHAPTER 20. CONCERNING THE DIVISION OF THE EARTH

From the middle of Jerusalem, and from the north thereof to the south-east is the portion
of the Emperor of Rôm; and from the middle of Jerusalem from the north thereof to the
south and to Western India is the portion of the Emperor of Ethiopia. For both of them are
of the seed of Shem, the son of Noah, the seed of Abraham, the seed of David, the children
of Solomon. For God gave the seed of Shem glory because of the blessing of their father
Noah. The Emperor of Rôm is the son of Solomon, and the Emperor of Ethiopia is the
firstborn and eldest son of Solomon.

CHAPTER 21. CONCERNING THE QUEEN OF THE SOUTH

And how this Queen was born I have discovered written in that manuscript, and in this
manner also doth the Evangelist mention that woman. And our Lord Jesus Christ, in
condemning the Jewish people, the crucifiers, who lived at that time, spake, saying: "The
Queen of the South shall rise up on the Day of Judgment and shall dispute with, and
condemn, and overcome this generation who would not hearken unto the preaching of My word,
for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon." And the Queen of
the South of whom He spake was the Queen of Ethiopia. And in the words "ends of the earth"
[He maketh allusion] to the delicacy of the constitution of women, and the long distance
of the journey, and the burning heat of the sun, and the hunger on the way, and the thirst
for water. And this Queen of the South was very beautiful in face, and her stature was
superb, and her understanding and intelligence, which God had given her, were of such high
character that she went to Jerusalem to hear the wisdom of Solomon; now this was done by
the command of God and it was His good pleasure. And moreover, she was exceedingly rich,
for God had given her glory, and riches, and gold, and silver, and splendid apparel, and
camels, and slaves, and trading men (or, merchants). And they carried on her business and
trafficked for her by sea and by land, and in India, and in 'Aswân (Syene).

CHAPTER 22. CONCERNING TÂMÎN, THE MERCHANT

1 And there was a certain wise man, the leader of a merchant's caravan, whose name was
Tâmrîn, and he used to load five hundred and twenty camels, and he possessed about three
and seventy ships. 2 Now at that time King Solomon wished to build the House of God, and
he sent out messages among all the merchants in the east and in the west, and in the north
and in the south, bidding the merchants come and take gold and silver from him, so that he
might take from them whatsoever was necessary for the work. And certain men reported to
him concerning this rich Ethiopian merchant, and Solomon sent to him a message and told
him to bring whatsoever he wished from the country of Arabia, red gold, and black wood
that could not be eaten by worms, and sapphires. And that merchant, whose name was Tâmrîn,
the merchant of the Queen of Ethiopia, went to Solomon the King; and Solomon took
whatsoever he desired from him, and he gave to the merchant whatsoever he wished for in
great abundance. Now that merchant was a man of great understanding, and he saw and
comprehended the wisdom of Solomon, and he marvelled [thereat], and he watched carefully
so that he might learn how the King made answer by his word, and understand his judgment,
and the readiness of his mouth, and the discreetness of his speech, and the manner of his
life, and his sitting down and his rising up, and his occupations, and his love, and his
administration, and his table, and his law. To those to whom Solomon had to give orders he
spake with humility and graciousness, and when they had committed a fault he admonished
them [gently]. For he ordered his house in the wisdom and fear of God, and he smiled
graciously on the fools and set them on the right road, and he dealt gently with the
maidservants. He opened his mouth in parables, and his words were sweeter than the purest
honey; his whole behaviour was admirable, and his whole aspect pleasant. For wisdom is
beloved by men of understanding, and is rejected by fools.

3 And when that merchant had seen all these things he was astonished, and he marvelled
exceedingly. For those who were wont to see Solomon held him in complete affection, and he
[became] their teacher; and because of his wisdom and excellence those who had once come
to him did not wish to leave him and go away from him. And the sweetness of his words was
like water to the man who is athirst, and like bread to the hungry man, and like healing
to the sick man, and like apparel to the naked man. And he was like a father to the
orphans. And he judged with righteousness and accepted the person of no man (i.e., he was
impartial). He had glory, and riches, which God had given unto him, in great abundance,
namely, gold, and silver, and precious stones, and rich apparel, and cattle, and sheep,
and goats innumerable. Now in the days of Solomon the King gold was as common as bronze,
and silver as lead, and bronze and lead and iron were as abundant as the grass of the
fields and the reeds of the desert; and cedarwood was also abundant. And God had given
unto him glory, and riches, and wisdom, and grace in such abundance that there was none
like unto him among his predecessors, and among those who came after him there was none
like unto him.

CHAPTER 23. HOW THE MERCHANT RETURNED TO ETHIOPIA

1 And it came to pass that the merchant Tâmrîn wished to return to his own country, and he
went to Solomon and bowed low before him, and embraced him, and said unto him, "Peace be
to thy majesty! Send me away and let me depart to my country to my Lady, for I have
tarried long in beholding thy glory, and thy wisdom, and the abundance of dainty meats
wherewith thou hast regaled me. And now I would depart to my Lady. Would that I could
abide with thee, even as one of the very least of thy servants, for blessed are they who
hear thy voice and perform thy commands! Would that I could abide here and never leave
thee! but thou must send me away to my Lady because of what hath been committed to my
charge, so that I may give unto her her property. And as for myself, I am her servant."
And Solomon went into his house and gave unto him whatever valuable thing he desired for
the country of Ethiopia, and he sent him away in peace. And Tâmrîn bade him farewell, and
went forth, and journeyed along his road, and came to his Lady, and delivered over to her
all the possessions which he had brought. And he related unto her how he had arrived in
the country of

2 B 2 Judah [and] Jerusalem, and how he had gone into the presence of Solomon the King,
and all that he had heard and seen. And he told her how Solomon administered just
judgment, and how he spake with authority, and how he decided rightly in all the matters
which he enquired into, and how he returned soft and gracious answers, and how there was
nothing false about him, and how he appointed inspectors over the seven hundred woodmen
who hauled the timber and the eight hundred masons who hewed the stone, and how he sought
to learn from all the merchants and dealers concerning the cunning craft and the working
thereof, and how he received information and imparted it twofold, and how all his
handicraft and his works were performed with wisdom. And each morning Tâmrîn related to
the Queen [about] all the wisdom of Solomon, how he administered judgment and did what was
just, and how he ordered his table, and how he made feasts, and how he taught wisdom, and
how he directed his servants and all his affairs on a wise system, and how they went on
their errands at his command, and how no man defrauded another, and how no man purloined
the property of his neighbour, and how there was neither a thief nor a robber in his days.
For in his wisdom he knew those who had done wrong, and he chastised them, and made them
afraid, and they did not repeat their evil deeds, but they lived in a state of peace which
had mingled therein the fear of the King.

3 All these things did Tâmrîn relate unto the Queen, and each morning he recalled the
things that he had seen with the King and described them unto her. And the Queen was
struck dumb with wonder at the things that she heard from the merchant her servant, and
she thought in her heart that she would go to him; and she wept by reason of the greatness
of her pleasure in those things that Tâmrîn had told her. And she was exceedingly anxious
to go to him, but when she pondered upon the long journey she thought that it was too far
and too difficult to undertake. And time after time she asked Tâmrîn questions about
Solomon, and time after time Tâmrîn told her about him, and she became very wishful and
most desirous to go that she might hear his wisdom, and see his face, and embrace him, and
petition his royalty. And her heart inclined to go to him, for God had made her heart
incline to go and had made her to desire it.

CHAPTER 24. HOW THE QUEEN MADE READY TO SET OUT ON HER JOURNEY

1 And the Queen said unto them, "Hearken, O ye who are my people, and give ye ear to my
words. For I desire wisdom and my heart seeketh to find understanding. I am smitten with
the love of wisdom, and I am constrained by the cords of understanding; for wisdom is far
better than treasure of gold and silver, and wisdom is the best of everything that hath
been created on the earth. Now unto what under the heavens shall wisdom be compared? It is
sweeter than honey, and it maketh one to rejoice more than wine, and it illumineth more
than the sun, and it is to be loved more than precious stones. And it fatteneth more than
oil, and it satisfieth more than dainty meats, and it giveth [a man] more renown than
thousands of gold and silver. It is a source of joy for the heart, and a bright and
shining light for the eyes, and a giver of speed to the feet, and a shield for the breast,
and a helmet for the head, and chain-work for the neck, and a belt for the loins. It
maketh the ears to hear and hearts to understand, it is a teacher of those who are
learned, and it is a consoler of those who are discreet and prudent, and it giveth fame to
those who seek after it. And as for a kingdom, it cannot stand without wisdom, and riches
cannot be preserved without wisdom; the foot cannot keep the place wherein it hath set
itself without wisdom.

2 And without wisdom that which the tongue speaketh is not acceptable. Wisdom is the best
of all treasures. He who heapeth up gold and silver doeth so to no profit without wisdom,
but he who heapeth up wisdom—no man can filch it from his heart. That which fools heap up
the wise consume. And because of the wickedness of those who do evil the righteous are
praised; and because of the wicked acts of fools the wise are beloved. Wisdom is an
exalted thing and a rich thing: I will love her like a mother, and she shall embrace me
like her child. I will follow the footprints of wisdom and she shall protect me for ever;
I will seek after wisdom, and she shall be with me for ever; I will follow her footprints,
and she shall not cast me away; I will lean upon her, and she shall be unto me a wall of
adamant; I will seek asylum with her, and she shall be unto me power and strength; I will
rejoice in her, and she shall be unto me abundant grace. For it is right for us to follow
the footprints of wisdom, and for the soles of our feet to stand upon the threshold of the
gates of wisdom. Let us seek her, and we shall find her; let us love her, and she will not
withdraw herself from us; let us pursue her, and we shall overtake her; let us ask, and we
shall receive;

3 and let us turn our hearts to her so that we may never forget her. If [we] remember her,
she will have us in remembrance; and in connection with fools thou shalt not remember
wisdom, for they do not hold her in honour, and she doth not love them. The honouring of
wisdom is the honouring of the wise man, and the loving of wisdom is the loving of the
wise man. Love the wise man and withdraw not thyself from him, and by the sight of him
thou shalt become wise; hearken to the utterance of his mouth, so that thou mayest become
like unto him; watch the place whereon he hath set his foot, and leave him not, so that
thou mayest receive the remainder of his wisdom. And I love him merely on hearing
concerning him and without seeing him, and the whole story of him that hath been told me
is to me as the desire of my heart, and like water to the thirsty man."

4 And her nobles, and her slaves, and her handmaidens, and her counsellors answered and
said unto her, "O our Lady, as for wisdom, it is not lacking in thee, and it is because of
thy wisdom that thou lovest wisdom. And as for us, if thou goest we will go with thee, and
if thou sittest down we will sit down with thee; our death shall be with thy death, and
our life with thy life." Then the Queen made ready to set out on her journey with great
pomp and majesty, and with great equipment and many preparations. For, by the Will of God,
her heart desired to go to Jerusalem so that she might hear the wisdom of Solomon; for she
had hearkened eagerly. So she made ready to set out. And seven hundred and ninety-seven
camels were loaded, and mules and asses innumerable were loaded, and she set out on her
journey and followed her road without pause, and her heart had confidence in God.

CHAPTER 25. HOW THE QUEEN CAME TO SOLOMON THE KING

1 And she arrived in Jerusalem, and brought to the King very many precious gifts which he
desired to possess greatly. And he paid her great honour and rejoiced, and he gave her a
habitation in the royal palace near him. And he sent her food both for the morning and
evening meal, each time fifteen measures by the kôri of finely ground white meal, cooked
with oil and gravy and sauce in abundance, and thirty measures by the kôri of crushed
white meal wherefrom bread for three hundred and fifty people was made, with the necessary
platters and trays, and ten stalled oxen, and five bulls, and fifty sheep, without
(counting) the kids, and deer, and gazelles and fatted fowls, and a vessel of wine
containing sixty gerrât measures, and thirty measures of old wine, and twenty-five singing
men and twenty-five singing women, and the finest honey and rich sweets, and some of the
food which he himself ate, and some of the wine whereof he drank. And every day he arrayed
her in eleven garments which bewitched the eyes. And he visited her and was gratified, and
she visited him and was gratified, and she saw his wisdom, and his just judgments and his
splendour, and his grace, and heard the eloquence of his speech. And she marvelled in her
heart, and was utterly astonished in her mind, and she recognized in her understanding,
and perceived very clearly with her eyes how admirable he was;

2 and she wondered exceedingly because of what she saw and heard with him—how perfect he
was in composure, and wise in understanding, and pleasant in graciousness, and commanding
in stature. And she observed the subtlety of his voice, and the discreet utterances of his
lips, and that he gave his commands with dignity, and that his replies were made quietly
and with the fear of God. All these things she saw, and she was astonished at the
abundance of his wisdom, and there was nothing whatsoever wanting in his word and speech,
but everything that he spake was perfect. 3 And Solomon was working at the building of the
House of God, and he rose up and went to the right and to the left, and forward and
backward. And he showed the workmen the measurement and weight and the space covered [by
the materials], and he told the workers in metal how to use the hammer, and the drill, and
the chisel (?), and he showed the stone-masons the angle [measure] and the circle and the
surface [measure]. And everything was wrought by his order, and there was none who set
himself in opposition to his word; for the light of his heart was like a lamp in the
darkness, and his wisdom was as abundant as the sand. And of the speech of the beasts and
the birds there was nothing hidden from him, and he forced the devils to obey him by his
wisdom. And he did everything by means of the

4 Aaron holding in his left hand his rod which blossomed skill which God gave him when he
made supplication to Him; for he did not ask for victory over his enemy, and he did not
ask for riches and fame, but he asked God to give him wisdom and understanding whereby he
might rule his people, and build His House, and beautify the work of God and all that He
had given him [in] wisdom and understanding.

CHAPTER 26. HOW THE KING HELD CONVERSE WITH THE QUEEN

1 And the Queen Mākēdā spake unto King Solomon, saying, " Blessed art thou, my lord, in
that such wisdom and understanding have been given unto thee. For myself I only wish that
I could be as one of the least of thine handmaidens, so that I could wash thy feet, and
hearken to thy wisdom, and apprehend thy understanding, and serve thy majesty, and enjoy
thy wisdom. O how greatly have pleased me thy answering, and the sweetness of thy voice,
and the beauty of thy going, and the graciousness of thy words, and the readiness thereof.
The sweetness of thy voice maketh the heart to rejoice, and maketh the bones fat, and
giveth courage to hearts, and goodwill and grace to the lips, and strength to the gait. I
look upon thee and I see that thy wisdom is immeasurable and thine understanding
inexhaustible, and that it is like unto a lamp in the darkness, and like unto a
pomegranate in the garden, and like unto a pearl in the sea, and like unto the Morning
Star among the stars, and like unto the light of the moon in the mist, and like unto a
glorious dawn and sunrise in the heavens. And I give thanks unto Him that brought me
hither and showed thee to me, and made me to tread upon the threshold of thy gate, and
made me to hear thy voice."

2 And King Solomon answered and said unto her, " Wisdom and understanding spring from thee
thyself. As for me, [I only possess them] in the measure in which the God of Israel hath
given [them] to me because I asked and entreated them from Him. And thou, although thou
dost not know the God of Israel, hast this wisdom which thou hast made to grow in thine
heart, and [it hath made thee come] to see me, the vassal and slave of my God, and the
building of His sanctuary which I am establishing, and wherein I serve and move round
about my Lady, the Tabernacle of the Law of the God of Israel, the holy and heavenly Zion.
Now, I am the slave of my God, and I am not a free man; I do not serve according to my own
will but according to His Will. And this speech of mine springeth not from myself, but I
give utterance only to what He maketh me to utter. Whatsoever He commandeth me that I do;
wheresoever He wisheth me to go thither I go; whatsoever He teacheth me that I speak; that
concerning which He giveth me wisdom I understand. For from being only dust He hath made
me flesh, and from being only water He hath made me a solid man, and from being only an
ejected drop, which shot forth upon the ground would have dried up on the surface of the
earth, He hath fashioned me in His own likeness and hath made me in His own image."

CHAPTER 27. CONCERNING THE LABOURER

1 And as Solomon was talking in this wise with the Queen, he saw a certain labourer
carrying a stone upon his head and a skin of water upon his neck and shoulders, and his
food and his sandals were [tied] about his loins, and there were pieces of wood in his
hands; his garments were ragged and tattered, the sweat fell in drops from his face, and
water from the skin of water dripped down upon his feet. And the labourer passed before
Solomon, and as he was going by the King said unto him, "Stand still"; and the labourer
stood still. And the King turned to the Queen and said unto her, "Look at this man.
Wherein am I superior to this man? And in what am I better than this man? And wherein
shall I glory over this man? For I am a man and dust and ashes, who to-morrow will become
worms and corruption, and yet at this moment I appear like one who will never die. Who
would make any complaint against God if He were to give unto this man as He hath given to
me, and if He were to make me even as this man is? Are we not both of us beings, that is
to say men? As is his death, [so] is my death; and as is his life [so] is my life. Yet
this man is stronger to work than I am, for God giveth power to those who are feeble just
as it pleaseth Him to do so." And Solomon said unto the labourer, "Get thee to thy work."

2 And he spake further unto the Queen, saying, "What is the use of us, the children of
men, if we do not exercise kindness and love upon earth? Are we not all nothingness, mere
grass of the field, which withereth in its season and is burnt in the fire? On the earth
we provide ourselves with dainty meats, and [we wear] costly apparel, but even whilst we
are alive we are stinking corruption; we provide ourselves with sweet scents and delicate
unguents, but even whilst we are alive we are dead in sin and in transgressions; being
wise, we become fools through disobedience and deeds of iniquity; being held in honour, we
become contemptible through magic, and sorcery, and the worship of idols. Now the man who
is a being of honour, who was created in the image of God, if he doeth that which is good
becometh like God; but the man who is a thing of nothingness, if he committeth sin
becometh like unto the Devil—the arrogant Devil who refused to obey the command of his
Creator—and all the arrogant among men walk in his way, and they shall be judged with him.
And God loveth the lowly-minded, and those who practise humility walk in His way, and they
shall rejoice in His kingdom. Blessed is the man who knoweth wisdom, that is to say,
compassion and the fear of God."

3 And when the Queen heard this she said, "How thy voice doth please me! And how greatly
do thy words and the utterance of thy mouth delight me! Tell me now: whom is it right for
me to worship? We worship the sun according as our fathers have taught us to do, because
we say that the sun is the king of the gods. And there are others among our subjects [who
worship other things]; some worship stones, and some worship wood (i.e., trees), and some
worship carved figures, and some worship images of gold and silver. And we worship the
sun, for he cooketh our food, and moreover, he illumineth the darkness, and removeth fear;
we call him 'Our King,' and we call him 'Our Creator,' and we worship him as our god; for
no man hath told us that besides him there is another god. But we have heard that there is
with you, Israel, another God Whom we do not know, and men have told us that He hath sent
down to you from heaven a Tabernacle and hath given unto you a Tablet of the ordering of
the angels, by the hand of Moses the Prophet. This also we have heard—that He Himself
cometh down to you and talketh to you, and informeth you concerning His ordinances and
commandments."

CHAPTER 28. HOW SOLOMON GAVE COMMANDMENTS TO THE QUEEN

1 And the King answered and said unto her, "Verily, it is right that they (i.e., men)
should worship God, Who created the universe, the heavens and the earth, the sea and the
dry land, the sun and the moon, the stars and the brilliant bodies of the heavens, the
trees and the stones, the beasts and the feathered fowl, the wild beasts and the
crocodiles, the fish and the whales, the hippopotamuses and the water lizards, the
lightnings and the crashes of thunder, the clouds and the thunders, and the good and the
evil. It is meet that Him alone we should worship, in fear and trembling, with joy and
with gladness. For He is the Lord of the Universe, the Creator of angels and men. And it
is He Who killeth and maketh to live, it is He Who inflicteth punishment and showeth
compassion, Who raiseth up from the ground him that is in misery, Who exalteth the poor
from the dust, Who maketh to be sorrowful and Who maketh to rejoice, Who raiseth up and
Who bringeth down. No one can chide Him, for He is the Lord of the Universe, and there is
no one who can say unto Him, 'What hast Thou done?' And unto Him it is meet that there
should be praise and thanksgiving from angels and men. And as concerning what thou sayest,
that 'He hath given unto you the Tabernacle of the Law,' verily there hath been given unto
us the Tabernacle of the God of Israel, which was created before all creation by His
glorious counsel. And He hath made to come down to us His commandments, done into writing,
so that we may know His decree and the judgment that He hath ordained in the mountain of
His holiness."

2 And the Queen said, "From this moment I will not worship the sun, but will worship the
Creator of the sun, the God of Israel. And that Tabernacle of the God of Israel shall be
unto me my Lady, and unto my seed after me, and unto all my kingdoms that are under my
dominion. And because of this I have found favour before thee, and before the God of
Israel my Creator, Who hath brought me unto thee, and hath made me to hear thy voice, and
hath shown me thy face, and hath made me to understand thy commandment." Then she returned
to [her] house. And the Queen used to go [to Solomon] and return continually, and hearken
unto his wisdom, and keep it in her heart. And Solomon used to go and visit her, and
answer all the questions which she put to him, and the Queen used to visit him and ask him
questions, and he informed her concerning every matter that she wished to enquire about.
And after she had dwelt [there] six months the Queen wished to return to her own country,
and she sent a message to Solomon, saying, "I desire greatly to dwell with thee, but now,
for the sake of all my people, I wish to return to my own country. And as for that which I
have heard, may God make it to bear fruit in my heart, and in the hearts of all those who
have heard it with me. For the ear could never be filled with the hearing of thy wisdom,
and the eye could never be filled with the sight of the same."

3 Now it was not only the Queen who came [to hear the wisdom of Solomon], but very many
used to come from cities and countries, both from near and from far; for in those days
there was no man found to be like unto him for wisdom (and it was not only human beings
who came to him, but the wild animals and the birds used to come to him and hearken unto
his voice, and hold converse with him), and then they returned to their own countries, and
every one of them was astonished at his wisdom, and marvelled at what he had seen and
heard. 4 And when the Queen sent her message to Solomon, saying that she was about to
depart to her own country, he pondered in his heart and said, "A woman of such splendid
beauty hath come to me from the ends of the earth! What do I know? Will God give me seed
in her?" Now, as it is said in the Book of Kings, Solomon the King was a lover of women.
And he married wives of the Hebrews, and the Egyptians, and the Canaanites, and the
Edomites, and the Iyôbâwiyân (Moabites?), and from Rif and Kuërguë, and Damascus, and
Sûrest (Syria), and women who were reported to be beautiful. And he had four hundred
queens and six hundred concubines. Now this which he did was not for [the sake of]
fornication, but as a result of the wise intent that God had given unto him, and his
remembering what God had said unto Abraham, "I will make thy seed like the stars of heaven
for number, and like the sand of the sea." And Solomon said in his heart, "What do I know?
Peradventure God will give me men children from each one of these women." Therefore when
he did thus he acted wisely, saying, "My children shall inherit the cities of the enemy,
and shall destroy those who worship idols."

5 Now those early peoples lived under the law of the flesh, for the grace of the Holy
Spirit had not been given unto them. And to those [who lived] after Christ, it was given
to live with one woman under the law of marriage. And the Apostles laid down for them an
ordinance, saying, "All those who have received His flesh and His blood are brethren.
Their mother is the Church and their father is God, and they cry out with Christ Whom they
have received, saying, 'Our Father, Who art in heaven.'" And as concerning Solomon no law
had been laid down for him in respect of women, and no blame can be imputed to him in
respect of marrying [many] wives. But for those who believe, the law and the command have
been given that they shall not marry many wives, even as Paul saith, "Those who marry many
wives seek their own punishment. He who marrieth one wife hath no sin." And the law
restraineth us from the sister [-in-law], in respect of the bearing of children. The
Apostles speak [concerning it] in the [Book of] Councils.

CHAPTER 29. CONCERNING THE THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN [PATRIARCHS]

1 Now we ordain even as did they. We know well what the Apostles who were before us spake.
We the Three Hundred and Eighteen have maintained and laid down the orthodox faith, our
Lord Jesus Christ being with us. And He hath directed us what we should teach, and how we
should fashion the faith. And King Solomon sent a message unto the Queen, saying, "Now
that thou hast come here why wilt thou go away without seeing the administration of the
kingdom, and how the meal[s] for the chosen ones of the kingdom are eaten after the manner
of the righteous, and how the people are driven away after the manner of sinners? From
[the sight of] it thou wouldst acquire wisdom. Follow me now and seat thyself in my
splendour in the tent, and I will complete thy instruction, and thou shalt learn the
administration of my kingdom; for thou hast loved wisdom, and she shall dwell with thee
until thine end and for ever." Now a prophecy maketh itself apparent in [this] speech.

2 And the Queen sent a second message, saying, "From being a fool, I have become wise by
following thy wisdom, and from being a thing rejected by the God of Israel, I have become
a chosen woman because of this faith which is in my heart; and henceforth I will worship
no other god except Him. And as concerning that which thou sayest, that thou wishest to
increase in me wisdom and honour, I will come according to thy desire." And Solomon
rejoiced because of this [message], and he arrayed his chosen ones [in splendid apparel],
and he added a double supply to his table, and he had all the arrangements concerning the
management of his house carefully ordered, and the house of King Solomon was made ready
[for guests] daily. And he made it ready with very great pomp, in joy, and in peace, in
wisdom, and in tenderness, with all humility and lowliness; and then he ordered the royal
table according to the law of the kingdom.

3 And the Queen came and passed into a place set apart in splendour and glory, and she sat
down immediately behind him where she could see and learn and know The Archangel Gabriel
appearing to Zacharias as he ministered at the altar in the Sanctuary everything. And she
marvelled exceedingly at what she saw, and at what she heard, and she praised the God of
Israel in her heart; and she was struck with wonder at the splendour of the royal palace
which she saw. For she could see, though no one could see her, even as Solomon had
arranged in wisdom for her. He had beautified the place where she was seated, and had
spread over it purple hangings, and laid down carpets, and decorated it with miskât
(moschus), and marbles, and precious stones, and he burned aromatic powders, and sprinkled
oil of myrrh and cassia round about, and scattered frankincense and costly incense in all
directions. And when they brought her into this abode, the odour thereof was very pleasing
to her, and even before she ate the dainty meats therein she was satisfied with the smell
of them. And with wise intent Solomon sent to her meats which would make her thirsty, and
drinks that were mingled with vinegar, and fish and dishes made with pepper. And this he
did and he gave them to the Queen to eat.

4 And the royal meal had come to an end three times and seven times, and the
administrators, and the counsellors, and the young men and the servants had departed, and
the King rose up and he went to the Queen, and he said unto her—now they were alone
together—"Take thou thine ease here for love's sake until daybreak. And she said unto him,
"Swear to me by thy God, the God of Israel, that thou wilt not take me by force. For if I,
who according to the law of men am a maiden, be seduced, I should travel on my journey
[back] in sorrow, and affliction, and tribulation."

CHAPTER 30. CONCERNING HOW KING SOLOMON SWORE TO THE QUEEN

1 And Solomon answered and said unto her, "I swear unto thee that I will not take thee by
force, but thou must swear unto me that thou wilt not take by force anything that is in my
house." And the Queen laughed and said unto him, "Being a wise man why dost thou speak as
a fool? Shall I steal anything, or shall I carry out of the house of the King that which
the King hath not given to me? Do not imagine that I have come hither through love of
riches. Moreover, my own kingdom is as wealthy as thine, and there is nothing which I wish
for that I lack. Assuredly I have only come in quest of thy wisdom." And he said unto her,
"If thou wouldst make me swear, swear thou to me, for a swearing is meet for both [of us],
so that neither of us may be unjustly treated. And if thou wilt not make me swear I will
not make thee swear." And she said unto him, "Swear to me that thou wilt not take me by
force, and I on my part will swear not to take by force thy possessions"; and he swore to
her and made her swear.

2 And the King went up on his bed on the one side [of the chamber], and the servants made
ready for her a bed on the other side. And Solomon said unto a young manservant, "Wash out
the bowl and set in it a vessel of water whilst the Queen is looking on, and shut the
doors and go and sleep." And Solomon spake to the servant in another tongue which the
Queen did not understand, and he did as the King commanded, and went and slept. And the
King had not as yet fallen asleep, but he only pretended to be asleep, and he was watching
the Queen intently. Now the house of Solomon the King was illumined as by day, for in his
wisdom he had made shining pearls which were like unto the sun, and moon, and stars [and
had set them] in the roof of his house.

3 And the Queen slept a little. And when she woke up her mouth was dry with thirst, for
the food which Solomon had given her in his wisdom had made her thirsty, and she was very
thirsty indeed, and her mouth was dry; and she moved her lips and sucked with her mouth
and found no moisture. And she determined to drink the water which she had seen, and she
looked at King Solomon and watched him carefully, and she thought that he was sleeping a
sound sleep. But he was not asleep, and he was waiting until she should rise up to steal
the water to [quench] her thirst. And she rose up and, making no sound with her feet, she
went to the water in the bowl and lifted up the jar to drink the water. And Solomon seized
her hand before she could drink the water, and said unto her, "Why hast thou broken the
oath that thou hast sworn that thou wouldst not take by force anything that is in my
house?" And she answered and said unto him in fear, "Is the oath broken by my drinking
water?" And the King said unto her, "Is there anything that thou hast seen under the
heavens that is better than water?" And the Queen said, "I have sinned against myself, and
thou art free from [thy] oath. But let me drink water for my thirst." Then Solomon said
unto her, "Am I perchance free from the oath which thou hast made me swear?" And the Queen
said, "Be free from thy oath, only let me drink water." And he permitted her to drink
water, and after she had drunk water he worked his will with her and they slept together.

4 And after he slept there appeared unto King Solomon [in a dream] a brilliant sun, and it
came down from heaven and shed exceedingly great splendour over Israel. And when it had
tarried there for a time it suddenly withdrew itself, and it flew away to the country of
Ethiopia, and it shone there with exceedingly great brightness for ever, for it willed to
dwell there. And [the King said], "I waited [to see] if it would come back to Israel, but
it did not return. And again while I waited a light rose up in the heavens, and a Sun came
down from them in the country of Judah, and it sent forth light which was very much
stronger than before." And Israel, because of the flame of that Sun entreated that Sun
evilly and would not walk in the light thereof. And that Sun paid no heed to Israel, and
the Israelites hated Him, and it became impossible that peace should exist between them
and the Sun. And they lifted up their hands against Him with staves and knives, and they
wished to extinguish that Sun. And they cast darkness upon the whole world with earthquake
and thick darkness, and they imagined that that Sun would never more rise upon them. And
they destroyed His light and cast themselves upon Him and they set a guard over His tomb
wherein they had cast Him. And He came forth where they did not look for Him, and
illumined the whole world, more especially the First Sea and the Last Sea, Ethiopia and
Rôm. And He paid no heed whatsoever to Israel, and He ascended His former throne.

5 And when Solomon the King saw this vision in his sleep, his soul became disturbed, and
his understanding was snatched away as by [a flash of] lightning, and he woke up with an
agitated mind. And moreover, Solomon marvelled concerning the Queen, for she was vigorous
in strength, and beautiful of form, and she was undefiled in her virginity; and she had
reigned for six years in her own country, and, notwithstanding her gracious attraction and
her splendid form, had preserved her body pure. And the Queen said unto Solomon, "Dismiss
me, and let me depart to my own country." And he went into his house and gave unto her
whatsoever she wished for of splendid things and riches, and beautiful apparel which
bewitched the eyes, and everything on which great store was set in the country of
Ethiopia, and camels and wagons, six thousand in number, which were laden with beautiful
things of the most desirable kind, and wagons wherein loads were carried over the desert,
and a vessel wherein one could travel over the sea, and a vessel wherein one could
traverse the air (or winds), which Solomon had made by the wisdom that God had given unto
him.

CHAPTER 31. CONCERNING THE SIGN WHICH SOLOMON GAVE THE QUEEN

And the Queen rejoiced, and she went forth in order to depart, and the King set her on her
way with great pomp and ceremony. And Solomon took her aside so that they might be alone
together, and he took off the ring that was upon his little finger, and he gave it to the
Queen, and said unto her, "Take [this] so that thou mayest not forget me. And if it happen
that I obtain seed from thee, this ring shall be unto it a sign; and if it be a man child
he shall come to me; and the peace of God be with thee! Whilst I was sleeping with thee I
saw many visions in a dream, [and it seemed] as if a sun had risen upon Israel, but it
snatched itself away and flew off and lighted up the country of Ethiopia; peradventure
that country shall be blessed through thee; God knoweth. And as for thee, observe what I
have told thee, so that thou mayest worship God with all thy heart and perform His Will.
For He punisheth those who are arrogant, and He showeth compassion upon those who are
humble, and He removeth the thrones of the mighty, and He maketh to be honoured those who
are needy. For death and life are from Him, and riches and poverty are bestowed by His
Will. For everything is His, and none can oppose His command and His judgment in the
heavens, or in the earth, or in the sea, or in the abysses. And may God be with thee! Go
in peace." And they separated from each other.

CHAPTER 32. HOW THE QUEEN BROUGHT FORTH AND CAME TO HER OWN COUNTRY

1 And the Queen departed and came into the country of Bâlâ Zadîsârêyâ nine months and five
days after she had separated from King Solomon. And the pains of childbirth laid hold upon
her, and she brought forth a man child, and she gave it to the nurse with great pride and
delight. And she tarried until the days of her purification were ended, and then she came
to her own country with great pomp and ceremony. And her officers who had remained there
brought gifts to their mistress, and made obeisance to her, and did homage to her, and all
the borders of the country rejoiced at her coming. Those who were nobles among them she
arrayed in splendid apparel, and to some she gave gold and silver, and hyacinthine and
purple robes; and she gave them all manner of things that could be desired. And she
ordered her kingdom aright, and none disobeyed her command; for she loved wisdom and God
strengthened her kingdom.

2 And the child grew and she called his name Bayna-Lehkem. And the child reached the age
of twelve years, and he asked his friends among the boys who were being educated with him,
and said unto them, "Who is my father?" And they said unto him, "Solomon the King." And he
went to the Queen his mother, and said unto her, "O Queen, make me to know who is my
father." And the Queen spake unto him angrily, wishing to frighten him so that he might
not desire to go [to his father] saying, "Why dost thou ask me about thy father? I am thy
father and thy mother; seek not to know any more." And the boy went forth from her
presence, and sat down. And a second time, and a third time he asked her, and he
importuned her to tell him. One day, however, she told him, saying, "His country is far
away, and the road thither is very difficult; wouldst thou not rather be here?" And the
youth Bayna-Lehkem was handsome, and his whole body and his members, and the bearing of
his shoulders resembled those of King Solomon his father, and his eyes, and his legs, and
his whole gait resembled those of Solomon the King. And when he was two and twenty years
old he was skilled in the whole art of war and of horsemanship, and in the hunting and
trapping of wild beasts, and in everything that young men are wont to learn. And he said
unto the Queen, "I will go and look upon the face of my father, and I will come back here
by the Will of God, the Lord of Israel."

CHAPTER 33. HOW THE KING OF ETHIOPIA TRAVELLED

1 And the Queen called Tâmrîn, the chief of her caravan men and merchants, and she said
unto him, "Get ready for thy journey and take this young man with thee, for he importuneth
me by night and by day. And thou shalt take him to the King and shalt bring him back
hither in safety, if God, the Lord of Israel, pleaseth." And she prepared a retinue
suitable to their wealth and honourable condition, and made ready all the goods that were
necessary for the journey, and for presenting as gifts to the King, and all that would be
necessary for ease and comfort by the way. And she made ready everything for sending him
away, and she gave to the officers who were to accompany him such moneys as they would
need for him and for themselves on the journey. And she commanded them that they were not
to leave him there, but only to take him to the King, and then to bring him back again to
her, when he should assume the sovereignty over her land.

2 Now there was a law in the country of Ethiopia that [only] a woman should reign, and
that she must be a virgin who had never known man, but the Queen said [unto Solomon],
"Henceforward a man who is of thy seed shall reign, and a woman shall nevermore reign;
only seed of thine shall reign and his seed after him from generation to generation. And
this thou shalt inscribe in the letters of the rolls in the Book of their Prophets in
brass, and thou shalt lay it in the House of God, which shall be built as a memorial and
as a prophecy for the last days. And the people shall not worship the sun and the
magnificence of the heavens, or the mountains and the forests, or the stones and the trees
of the wilderness, or the abysses and that which is in the waters, or graven images and
figures of gold, or the feathered fowl which fly; and they shall not make use of them in
divining, and they shall not pay adoration unto them. And this law shall abide for ever.
And if there be anyone who shall transgress this law, thy seed shall judge him for ever.
Only give us the fringes of the covering of the holy heavenly Zion, the Tabernacle of the
Law of God, which we would embrace (or, greet). Peace be to the strength of thy kingdom
and to thy brilliant wisdom, which God, the Lord of Israel our Creator, hath given unto
thee."

3 And the Queen took the young man aside and when he was alone with her she gave him that
symbol which Solomon had given her, that is to say, the ring on his finger, so that he
might know his son, and might remember her word and her covenant which she had made [with
him], that she would worship God all the days of her life, she and those who were under
her dominion, with all [the power] which God had given her. And then the Queen sent him
away in peace. And the young man [and his retinue] made straight their way and they
journeyed on and came into the country of the neighbourhood of Gâzâ. Now this is the Gâzâ
which Solomon the King gave to the Queen of Ethiopia. And in the Acts of the Apostles Luke
the Evangelist wrote, saying, "He was the governor of the whole country of Gâzâ, an eunuch
of Queen Hendakê, who had believed on the word of Luke the Apostle.'

4 1. An angel bringing food to Mary when she was living in the Temple 2. The high priest
addressing Hannā and Joachim and their daughter Mary The following table is a simple
diagram and cannot be extracted.

CHAPTER 34. HOW THE YOUNG MAN ARRIVED IN HIS MOTHER'S COUNTRY

1 And when the young man arrived in his mother's country he rejoiced there in the honour
[which he received], and in the gifts [that were made] to him. And when the people saw him
they thought him to be the perfect likeness of Solomon the King. And they made obeisance
to him, and they said unto him, "Hail, the royal father liveth!" And they brought unto him
gifts and offerings, fatted cattle and food, as to their king. And [the people of] the
whole country of Gâzâ, as far as the border of Judah, were stirred up and they said, "This
is King Solomon." And there were some who said, "The King is in Jerusalem building his
house"—now he had finished building the House of God—and others said, "This is Solomon the
King, the son of David." And they were perplexed, and they disputed with one another, and
they sent off spies mounted on horses, who were to seek out King Solomon and to find out
if he were actually in Jerusalem, or if he were with them [in Gâzâ]. And the spies came to
the watchmen of the city of Jerusalem, and they found King Solomon there, and they made
obeisance to him, and they said unto him, "Hail, may the royal father live! [Our] country
is disturbed because there hath come into it a merchant who resembleth thee in form and
appearance, without the smallest alteration or variation. He resembleth thee in noble
carriage and in splendid form, and in stature and in goodly appearance; he lacketh nothing
in respect of these and is in no way different from thyself. His eyes are gladsome, like
unto those of a man who hath drunk wine, his legs are graceful and slender, and the tower
of his neck is like unto the tower of David thy father. He is like unto thee exactly in
every respect, and every member of his whole body is like unto thine."

2 And King Solomon answered and said unto them, "Where is it then that he wisheth to go?
And they answered and said unto him, "We have not enquired of him, for he is awesome like
thyself. But his own people, when we asked them, 'Whence have ye come and whither do ye
go?' said, 'We have come from the dominions of Hendakê (Candace) and Ethiopia, and we are
going to the country of Judah to King Solomon.'" And when King Solomon heard this his
heart was perturbed and he was glad in his soul, for in those days he had no children,
except a boy who was seven years old and whose name was Iyôrbe'âm (Rehoboam). It happened
to Solomon even as Paul stateth, saying, "God hath made foolishness the wisdom of this
world," for Solomon had made a plan in his wisdom and said, "By one thousand women I shall
beget one thousand men children, and I shall inherit the countries of the enemy, and I
will overthrow [their] idols. But [God] only gave him three children.

3 His eldest son was the King of Ethiopia, the son of the Queen of Ethiopia, and was the
firstborn of whom [God] spake prophetically, "God sware unto David in righteousness, and
repented not, 'Of the fruit of thy body will I make to sit upon thy throne.'" And God gave
unto David His servant grace before Him, and granted unto him that there should sit upon
the throne of Godhead One of his seed in the flesh, from the Virgin, and should judge the
living and the dead, and reward every man according to his work, One to whom praise is
meet, our Lord Jesus Christ, for ever and ever, Amen. And He gave him one on the earth who
should become king over the Tabernacle of the Law of the holy, heavenly Zion, that is to
say, the King of Ethiopia. And as for those who reigned, who were not [of] Israel, that
was due to the transgression of the law and the commandment, whereat God was not pleased.

4 And Solomon the King sent the commander of his army, on whose hand he was wont to lean,
with gifts and meat and drink to entertain that traveller. And the commander set out with
a great number of wagons, and he came to Bayna Lehkem, and embraced him, and gave him
everything that Solomon the King had sent unto him. And he said unto him, "Make haste and
come with me, for the heart of the King is burnt up as with fire with the love of thee.
Peradventure he will find out for himself whether thou art his own son or his brother; for
in thine appearance and in thy conversation (or, manner) thou art in no way different from
him. And now, rise up quickly, for my lord the King said unto me, 'Haste and bring him
hither to me in honour, and comfort, and with suitable service, and in joy and gladness.'"
And the young man answered and said unto him, "I thank God, the Lord of Israel, that I
have found grace with my lord the King without having seen his face; his word hath
rejoiced me. And now I will put my trust in the Lord of Israel that He will show me the
King, and will bring me back safely to my mother the Queen, and to my country Ethiopia."

5 And Joas (?), the son of Yôdâhê, the commander of the army of King Solomon, answered and
said unto Bayna Lehkem, "My lord, this is a very small matter, and thou wilt find far
greater joy and pleasure with my lord the King. And as concerning what thou sayest, 'my
mother' and 'my country,' Solomon the King is better than thy mother, and this our country
is better than thy country. And as for thy country, we have heard that it is a land of
cold and cloud, and a country of glare and burning heat, and a region of snow and ice. And
when the sons of Noah, Shem, and Ham, and Japhet, divided the world among them, they
looked on thy country with wisdom and saw that, although it was spacious and broad, it was
a land of whirlwind and burning heat, and [therefore] gave it to Canaan, the son of Ham,
as a portion for himself and his seed for ever. But the land that is ours is the land of
inheritance (i.e., the promised land), which God hath given unto us according to the oath
that He swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, where sustenance is
[ours] without anxiety, a land that yieldeth fruit of every kind in its season without
exhausting labour, a land which God keepeth watch over continually from one year to the
beginning of the revolution of the next. All this is thine, and we are thine, and we will
be thine heirs, and thou shalt dwell in our country, for thou art the seed of David, the
lord of my lord, and unto thee belongeth this throne of Israel."

6 And the headmen of the merchant Tâmrîn answered and said unto Benaiah, "Our country is
the better. The air (i.e., climate) of our country is good, for it is without burning heat
and fire, and the water of our country is good, and sweet, and floweth in rivers, moreover
the tops of our mountains run with water. And we do not do as ye do in your country, that
is to say, dig very deep wells [in search of] water, and we do not die through the heat of
the sun; but even at noonday we hunt wild animals, namely, the wild buffaloes, and
gazelles, and birds, and small animals. And in the winter God taketh heed unto us from
[one] year to the beginning of the course of the next. And in the springtime the people
eat what they have trodden with the foot as [in] the land of Egypt, and as for our trees
they produce good crops of fruit, and the wheat, and the barley, and all our fruits, and
cattle are good and wonderful. But there is one thing that ye have wherein ye are better
than we are, namely wisdom, and because of it we are journeying to you."

7 And Joas (read Benaiah), the commander of the army of King Solomon, answered [saying],
"What is better than wisdom? For wisdom hath founded the earth, and made strong the
heavens, and fettered the waves of the sea so that it might not cover the earth. However,
rise up and let us go to my lord, for his heart is greatly moved by love for thee, and he
hath sent me to bring thee [to him] with all the speed possible." 8 And the son of the
Queen rose up, and arrayed Joas (Benaiah), the son of Yôdâhê, and the fifty men who were
in his retinue, in gorgeous raiment, and they rose up to go to Jerusalem to Solomon the
King. And when they came nigh unto the place where the horses were exercised and trained,
Joas (Benaiah), the son of Yôdâhê, went on in front, and came to the place where Solomon
was, and he told him that [the son of the Queen] was well-favoured in his appearance, and
that his voice was pleasant, and that he resembled him in form, and that his whole bearing
was exceedingly noble. And the King said unto him, "Where is he? Did I not send thee forth
to bring him as quickly as possible?" And Joas (Benaiah) said unto him, "He is here, I
will bring him quickly." And Joas (Benaiah) went and said unto the young man, "Rise up, O
my master, and come"; and making Bayna Lehkem to go quickly he brought him to the King's
Gate. And when all the soldiers saw him they made obeisance unto him, and they said,
"Behold, King Solomon hath gone forth from his abode." And when the men who were inside
came forth, they marvelled, and they went back to their places, and again they saw the
King upon his throne; and wondering they went forth again and looked at the young man, and
they were incapable of speaking and of saying anything. And when Joas (Benaiah), the son
of Yôdâhê, came in again to announce to the King the arrival of the young man, there was
none standing before the King, but all Israel had thronged outside to see him.


THE QUEEN OF SHEBA AND HER ONLY SON MENYELEK: THE KEBRA NAGAST (CHAPTERS 36. HOW KING SOLOMON HELD INTERCOURSE WITH HIS SON–59. HOW THE KING QUESTIONED AN EGYPTIAN, THE SERVANT OF PHARAOH)
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THE QUEEN OF SHEBA AND HER ONLY SON MENYELEK: THE KEBRA NAGAST continued

CHAPTER 36. HOW KING SOLOMON HELD INTERCOURSE WITH HIS SON

1 And Joas (Benaiah), the son of Yôdâhê, went out and brought Bayna Lehkem inside. And
when King Solomon saw him he rose up, and moved forward to welcome him, and he loosed the
band of his apparel from his shoulder, and he embraced him, with his hands [resting] on
his breast, and he kissed his mouth, and forehead, and eyes, and he said unto him,
"Behold, my father David hath renewed his youth and hath risen from the dead." And Solomon
the King turned round to those who had announced the arrival of the young man, and he said
unto them, "Ye said unto me, 'He resembleth thee,' but this is not my stature, but the
stature of David my father in the days of his early manhood, and he is handsomer than I
am." And Solomon the King rose up straightway, and he went into his chamber, and he
arrayed the young man in apparel made of cloth embroidered with gold, and a belt of gold,
and he set a crown upon his head, and a ring upon his finger. And having arrayed him in
glorious apparel which bewitched the eyes, he seated him upon his throne, that he might be
equal in rank to himself. And he said unto the nobles and officers of Israel, "O ye who
treat me with contumely among yourselves and say that I have no son, look ye, this is my
son, the fruit that hath gone forth from my body, whom God, the Lord of Israel, hath given
me, when I expected it not."

2 And his nobles answered and said unto him, "Blessed be the mother who hath brought forth
this young man, and blessed be the day wherein thou hadst union with the mother of this
young man. For there hath risen upon us from the root of Jesse a shining man who shall be
king of the posterity of our posterity of his seed. Concerning his father none shall ask
questions, and none shall say, 'Whence is his coming?' Verily he is an Israelite of the
seed of David, fashioned perfectly in the likeness of his father's form and appearance; we
are his servants, and he shall be our king." And they brought unto him gifts, each
according to his greatness. And the young man took that ring which his mother had given
him when they were alone together, and he said unto his father, "Take this ring, and
remember the word which thou didst speak unto the Queen, and give unto us a portion of the
fringe of the covering of the Tabernacle of the Law of God, so that we may worship it all
our days, and all those who are subject unto us, and those who are in the kingdom of the
Queen." And the King answered and said unto him, "Why givest thou me the ring as a sign?
Without thy giving me a sign I discovered the likeness of thy form to myself, for thou art
indeed my son."

3 And the merchant Tâmrîn spake again unto King Solomon, saying, "Hearken, O King, unto
the message which thy handmaiden, the Queen my mistress, sent by me: 'Take this young man,
anoint him, consecrate him, and bless him, and make him king over our country, and give
him the command that a woman shall never again reign [in this country], and send him back
in peace. And peace be with the might of thy kingdom, and with thy brilliant wisdom. As
for me, I never wished that he should come where thou art, but he urged me exceedingly
that he should be allowed to come to thee. And besides, I was afraid for him lest he
should fall sick on the journey, either through thirst for water, or the heat of the sun,
and I should bring my grey hairs down to the grave with sorrow. Then I put my trust in the
holy, heavenly Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law of God, that thou wilt not withhold it in
thy wisdom. For thy nobles cannot return to their houses and look upon their children, by
reason of the abundance of wisdom and food which thou givest them, according to their
desire, and they say, The table of Solomon is better for us than enjoying and gratifying
ourselves in our own houses. And because of this I, through my fear, sought protection so
that thou mightest not stablish him with thee, but mightest send him [back] to me in
peace, without sickness and suffering, in love and in peace, that my heart might rejoice
at having encountered thee.'"

4 And the King answered and said unto him, "Besides travailing with him and suckling him,
what else hath a woman to do with a son? A daughter belongeth to the mother, and a boy to
the father. God cursed Eve, saying, 'Bring forth children in anguish and with sorrow of
heart, and [after] thy bringing forth shall take place thy return to thy husband'; with an
oath He said, 'Bring forth,' and having sworn, thy return to thy husband [shall follow].
As for this my son, I will not give him to the Queen, but I will make him king over
Israel. For this is my firstborn, the first of my race whom God hath given me." And then
Solomon sent unto the young man evening and morning dainty meats, and apparel of honour,
and gold and silver. And he said unto him, "It is better for thee to dwell here in our
country with us, where the House of God is, and where the Tabernacle of the Law of God is,
and where God dwelleth." And the young man his son sent a message unto him, saying, "Gold,
and silver, and [rich] apparel are not wanting in our country. But I came hither in order
to hear thy wisdom, and to see thy face, and to salute thee, and to pay homage to thy
kingdom, and to make obeisance to thee, and then [I intended thee] to send me away to my
mother and to my own country. For no man hateth From the Book of the Miracles of the
Virgin Mary (edited by Budge, London, 1900, frontispiece)

5 Portrait of Our Blessed Lady Mary, the two-fold Virgin, and Child. By her side stand the
Archangels Michael and Gabriel the place where he was born, and everyone loveth the things
of his native country. And though thou givest me dainty meats I do not love them, and they
are not suitable for my body, but the meats whereby I grow and become strong are those
that are gratifying to me. And although [thy] country pleaseth me even as doth a garden,
yet is not my heart gratified therewith; the mountains of the land of my mother where I
was born are far better in my sight. And as for the Tabernacle of the God of Israel, if I
adore it where I am, it will give me glory, and I shall look upon the House of God which
thou hast builded, and I will make offering and make supplication to it there. And as for
Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law of God, give me [a portion of] the fringe of the covering
thereof, and I will worship it with my mother and with all those who are subject to my
sovereignty. For my Lady the Queen hath already rooted out all those who served idols, and
those who worshipped strange objects, and stones and trees, and she hath rooted them out
and hath brought them to Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law of God. For she had heard from
thee and had learned, and she did according to thy word, and we worship God." And the King
was not able to make his son consent to remain [in Jerusalem] with all [his persuadings].

CHAPTER 37. HOW SOLOMON ASKED HIS SON QUESTIONS

1 And again Solomon held converse with his son when he was alone, and he said unto him,
"Why dost thou wish to depart from me? What dost thou lack here that thou wouldst go to
the country of the heathen? And what is it that driveth thee to forsake the kingdom of
Israel?" And his son answered and said unto him, "It is impossible for me to live here.
Nay, I must go to my mother, thou favouring me with thy blessing. For D thou hast a son
who is better than I am, namely Īyōrbe'ām (Rehoboam) who was born of thy wife lawfully,
whilst my mother is not thy wife according to the law." 2 And the King answered and said
unto him, "Since thou speakest in this wise, according to the law I myself am not the son
of my father David, for he took the wife of another man whom he caused to be slain in
battle, and he begot me by her; but God is compassionate and He hath forgiven him. Who is
wickeder and more foolish than men? and who is as compassionate and as wise as God? God
hath made me of my father, and thee hath He made of me, according to His Will. And as for
thee, O my son, thou fearer of our Lord God, do not violence to the face of thy father, so
that in times to come thou mayest not meet with violence from him that shall go forth from
thy loins, and that thy seed may prosper upon the earth. My son Rehoboam is a boy six
years old, and thou art my first-born son, and thou hast come to reign, and to lift up the
spear of him that begot thee. Behold, I have been reigning for nine and twenty years, and
thy mother came to me in the seventh year of my kingdom; and please God, He shall make me
to attain to the span of the days of my father. And when I shall be gathered to my
fathers, thou shalt sit upon my throne, and thou shalt reign in my stead, and the elders
of Israel shall love thee exceedingly;

3 and I will make a marriage for thee, and I will give thee as many queens and concubines
as thou desirest. And thou shalt be blessed in this land of inheritance with the blessing
that God gave unto our fathers, even as He covenanted with Noah His servant, and with
Abraham His friend, and the righteous men their descendants after them down to David my
father. Thou seest me, a weak man, upon the throne of my fathers, and thou shalt be like
myself after me, and thou shalt judge nations without number, and families that cannot be
counted. And the Tabernacle of the God of Israel shall belong to thee and to thy seed,
whereto thou shalt make offerings and make prayers to ascend. And God shall dwell within
it for ever and shall hear thy prayers therein, and thou shalt do the good pleasure of God
therein, and thy remembrance shall be in it from generation to generation."

4 And his son answered and said unto him, "O my lord, it is impossible for me to leave my
country and my mother, for my mother made me to swear by her breasts that I would not
remain here but would return to her quickly, and also that I would not marry a wife here.
And the Tabernacle of the God of Israel shall bless me wheresoever I shall be, and thy
prayer shall accompany me whithersoever I go. I desired to see thy face, and to hear thy
voice, and to receive thy blessing, and now I desire to depart to my mother in safety."

CHAPTER 38. HOW THE KING PLANNED TO SEND AWAY HIS SON WITH THE CHILDREN OF THE NOBLES

1 And then Solomon the King went back into his house, and he caused to be gathered
together his councillors, and his officers, and the elders of his kingdom, and he said
unto them, "I am not able to make this young man consent [to dwell here]. And now, hearken
ye unto me and to what I shall say unto you. Come, let us make him king of the country of
Ethiopia, together with your children; ye sit on my right hand and on my left hand, and in
like manner the eldest of your children shall sit on his right hand and on his left hand.
Come, O ye councillors and officers, let us give [him] your first-born children, and we
shall have two kingdoms; I will rule here with you, and our children shall reign there.
And I put my trust in God that a third time He will give me seed, and that a third king
will be to me. Now Balṭāsōr, the King of Rōm, wisheth that I would give

2 D 2 my son to his daughter, and to make him with his daughter king over the whole
country of Rôm. For besides her he hath no other child, and he hath sworn that he will
only make king a man who is of the seed of David my father. And if we rule there we shall
be three kings. And Rehoboam shall reign here over Israel. For thus saith the prophecy of
David my father: ' The seed of Solomon shall become three heads of kingdoms upon the
earth.' And we will send unto them priests, and we will ordain laws for them, and they
shall worship and serve the God of Israel under the three royal heads. And God shall be
praised by the race of His people Israel, and be exalted in all the earth, even as my
father wrote in his Book, saying, ' Tell the nations that God is king'; and again he said,
' Announce to the peoples His work, praise Him and sing ye unto Him '; and again he saith,
' Praise God with a new song. His praise is in the congregation of the righteous, Israel
shall rejoice in his Creator.' Unto us belongeth the glory of sovereignty and we will
praise our Creator. And the nations who serve idols shall look upon us, and they shall
fear us, and make us kings over them, and they shall praise God and fear Him. And now,
come ye, let us make this young man king, and let us send him away with your children, ye
who possess wealth and position. According to the position and wealth that ye have here
shall your children [rule] there. And they shall see the ordering of royalty, and we will
establish them according to our law, and we will direct them and give them commands and
send them away to reign there."

3 And the priests, and the officers, and the councillors answered and said unto him, " Do
thou send thy first-born, and we will send our children also according to thy wish. Who
can resist the commandment of God and the king? They are the servants of thee and of thy
seed as thou hast proclaimed. If thou wishest, thou canst sell them and their mothers to
be slaves; it is not for us to transgress thy command and the command of the Lord thy
God." And then they made ready to do for them (i.e., their children) what it was right to
do, and to send them into the country of Ethiopia, so that they might reign there and
dwell there for ever, they and their seed from generation to generation.

CHAPTER 39. HOW THEY MADE THE SON OF SOLOMON KING

1 And they made ready the ointment of the oil of kingship, and the sounds of the large
horn, and the small horn, and the flute and the pipes, and the harp and the drum filled
the air; and the city resounded with cries of joy and gladness. And they brought the young
man into the Holy of Holies, and he laid hold upon the horns of the altar, and sovereignty
was given unto him by the mouth of Zadok the priest, and by the mouth of Joas (Benaiah)
the priest, the commander of the army of King Solomon, and he anointed him with the holy
oil of the ointment of kingship. And he went out from the house of the Lord, and they
called his name David, for the name of a king came to him by the law. And they made him to
ride upon the mule of King Solomon, and they led him round about the city, and said, "We
have appointed thee from this moment"; and then they cried out to him, "Bâḥ [Long] live
the royal father! And there were some who said, "It is meet and right that thy dominion of
Ethiopia shall be from the River of Egypt to the west of the sun (i.e., to the setting
sun); blessed be thy seed upon the earth!—and from Shoa to the east of India, for thou
wilt please [the people of these lands].

2 And the Lord God of Israel shall be unto thee a guide, and the Tabernacle of the Law of
God shall be with all that thou lookest upon. And all thine enemies and foes shall be
overthrown before thee, and completion and finish shall be unto thee and unto thy seed
after thee; thou shalt judge many nations and none shall judge thee. And again his father
blessed him and said unto him, " The blessing of heaven and earth shall be thy blessing,"
and all the congregation of Israel said, " Amen. And his father also said unto Zadok the
priest, " Make him to know and tell him concerning the judgment and decree of God which he
shall observe there " [in Ethiopia].

CHAPTER 40. HOW ZADOK THE PRIEST GAVE COMMANDS TO DAVID THE KING

1 And Zadok the priest answered and said unto the young man, " Hearken unto what I shall
say unto thee. And if thou wilt perform it thou shalt live to God, and if thou dost not
God will punish thee, and thou shalt become the least of all the nations, and thou shalt
be vanquished by thy foes. And God shall turn away His face from thee, and thou shalt be
dismayed, and sad, and sorrowful in thy heart, and thy sleep shall be without refreshing
and health. And hearken unto the word of God, and perform it, and withdraw not thyself
either to the right hand or the left, in respect of that which we command thee this day;
and thou shalt serve no other god. And if thou wilt not hear the word of God, then hearken
to all the curses here mentioned which shall come upon thee. Cursed shalt thou be in the
field, cursed shalt thou be in the city. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy land, cursed
shall be the fruit of thy belly, and the herds of thy cattle, and the flocks of thy sheep.
And God shall send upon thee famine and pestilence, and He shall destroy that whereto thou
hast put thine hand, until at length He shall destroy thee, because thou hast not
hearkened to His word. And the heavens which are above thee shall become brass, and the
earth which is beneath thee shall become iron;

2 and God shall make the rain [which should fall upon] thy land to be darkness only, and
dust shall descend from heaven upon thee until it shall cover thee up and destroy thee.
And thou shalt be smitten in battle before thine enemies. Thou shalt go forth to attack
them by one road, and by seven ways shalt thou take to flight before their faces, and thou
shalt be routed; and thy dead body shall become food for the fowl of the heavens, and
there shall be none to bury thee. And God shall punish thee with sores (or, leprosy), and
with the wasting disease, and with the fever that destroyeth, and with the punishments
(i.e., plagues) of Egypt, and with blindness and terror of heart; and thou shalt grope
about by day like a blind man in the darkness, and thou shalt find none to help thee in
[thy] trouble. Thou shalt marry a wife, and another man shall carry her away from thee by
force. Thou shalt build a house, and shalt not dwell therein. And thou shalt plant a
vineyard and shalt not harvest the grapes thereof. Men shall slay thy fat oxen before
thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat of their flesh. Men shall snatch away thine ass, and
shall not bring him back to thee. Thy sheep shall run to the slaves and to thine enemy,
and thou shalt find none to help thee.

3 And thy sons and thy daughters shall follow other people, and thou shalt see with thine
own eyes how they are smitten, and shalt be able to do nothing. An enemy whom thou knowest
not shall devour the food of thy land and thy labour, and thou shalt not be able to
prevent him; and thou shalt become a man of suffering and calamity. When the day dawneth
thou shalt say, 'Would that the evening had come!' and when the evening cometh thou shalt
say, 'Would that the morning had come!' through the greatness of thy fear.—[All these
things shall come upon thee] if thou wilt not hearken to the word of the Lord. But if thou
wilt truly hearken unto the word of the Lord—hear thou—the goodness of God shall find
thee, and thou shalt rule the countries of the enemy, and thou shalt inherit everlasting
glory from the Lord God of Israel, Who ruleth everything. For He honoureth him that
honoureth Him, and He loveth him that loveth Him, for He is the Lord of death and of life,
and He directeth and ruleth all the world with His wisdom, and His power, and His [mighty]
arm."

CHAPTER 41. CONCERNING THE BLESSING OF KINGS

1 "Hearken thou now to the blessing that shall come upon thee, if thou wilt do the Will of
God. Thou shalt be blessed in all thy ways, blessed shalt thou be in the city, blessed
shalt thou be in the field, blessed shalt thou be in thy house, blessed shalt thou be
outside it, and blessed shall be the fruit of thy belly. And those who were gathered
together said, Amen. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy land. Amen. Blessed shall be the
fountains of thy waters. Amen. Blessed shall be the fruit that thou hast planted. Amen.
Blessed shall be thy cattle-runs and the flocks of thy sheep. Amen. Blessed shall be thy
granaries and thy barns. Amen. Blessed shalt thou be in thy coming in. Amen. Blessed shalt
thou be in thy going forth. Amen. 2 "And God shall bring to thee thine enemies who have
risen up against thee, and they shall be trodden small beneath thy feet. Amen. And God
shall send His blessing on thy houses and on everything to which thou hast put thine hand.
Amen. And God shall multiply for thee good things, namely, children of thy body, produce
of thy land, and births among thy flocks and herds. Amen. And in the land which He swore
[to give to] thy fathers, He will give thee according to the days of heaven. Amen. And God
shall open for thee the storehouse of the blessing of the heavens, and He shall give thee
blessed rain, and shall bless the fruit of thy labour. Amen. Thou shalt lend unto many
peoples, but thou shalt not borrow. Amen. Thou shalt rule over many nations, but they
shall not rule over thee. Amen. And God shall set thee at the head St. Luke the Evangelist
painting the portraits of Christ and the Virgin Mary and not at the tail, and thou shalt
be at the top and not at the bottom. Amen. And thou shalt gather together of every
blessing of the land for thy flocks and herds, and thou shalt take the spoil of the
nations for thine army, and they shall bow down to thee to the face of the earth, to thy
sovereignty, because of the greatness of thy glory. Thine honour shall rise up like the
cedar, and like the Morning Star, the brilliance of thy glory shall be before all the
nations of the earth, and before every tribe of thy people Israel.

3 "For God shall be with thee in all thy ways, and He will perform thy will in everything
that thou determinest. And thou shalt inherit the countries of thine enemy, and the
greatness of thy people shall be praised because of the greatness of thine awesomeness,
and because of the multitude of thy soldiers. And all those who do not perform the Will of
God will fear thee because thou dost do His Will, and dost serve Him, and therefore He
will give thee great majesty in the sight of those who see thee. Their hearts shall
tremble before the bridle of thy horses, and the quiver of thy bow, and the glitter of thy
shield, and they shall bow down to the face of the earth, for their hearts shall be
terrified at the sight of thy majesty. And when those who are in the mountains see thee
afar off they shall come down to the plain, and those who are on the seas and in the deep
waters shall come forth, so that the Lord may bring them into thy hand, because they have
transgressed the command of God. And thou, when thou doest His Will, shalt receive from
Him everything for which thou hast asked; for if thou lovest Him He will love thee, and if
thou keepest His commandment He will grant thee the petition of thy heart, and everything
that thou seekest thou shalt receive from Him.

4 For He is the Good One to the good, and the Compassionate to the compassionate, and He
doeth the will of those who fear Him, and He giveth a reward to those who wait patiently
for Him. Be patient in respect of wrath, and at the end He will make thee to rejoice; love
righteousness and He will make life to blossom for thee. Be a good man to the good, and a
reprover of sinners. And put aside the wickedness of the evil man by rebuking and
correcting him, and condemn and disgrace the evil man who doeth violence to his neighbour
in the court of law. And do justice to the poor man and to the orphans, and release them
from the hand of him that doeth them wrong. And deliver him that is forsaken and the man
who is in misery, and release him from the hand of him that causeth him to suffer. Judge
not with partiality, and have no respect of persons, but judge righteously. When thou
undertakest to judge, love not gifts (i.e., bribes) and accept not persons. And admonish
thy governors (or, judges) that they be free from the taking of gifts, and that they
accept not the persons of their friends, or of their enemies, or of rich or poor, in
giving judgment; and they shall surely judge their neighbours in righteousness, and with a
just judgment.

CHAPTER 42. CONCERNING THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

1 "And hear ye, Israel, that which God commandeth you to keep; He saith, 'I am the Lord
thy God Who hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt and out of the house of bondage.
There shall be no other gods besides Me, and thou shalt not make any god that is graven,
and no god that is like what is in the heavens above, or in the earth beneath, or in the
water which is under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down to them, and thou shalt not serve
them, for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God. [I am He] Who visiteth the sin of the
father on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, and I
perform mercy to a thousand (or, ten thousand) generations of those who love Me and keep
My commandments. "Thou shalt not swear a false oath in the Name of the Lord thy God, for
the Lord will not hold innocent the man who sweareth a false oath in His Name.

2 "And observe the day of the Sabbath to sanctify it, even as the Lord thy God commanded.
Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day, the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,
thou shalt do no work at all, neither thyself, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy
servant, nor thine ass, nor any beast, nor the stranger that abideth with thee. For in six
days God made the heavens and the earth, and the sea and all that is in them, and rested
on the seventh day, and because of this God blessed the seventh day and declared it free
[from work]. "Honour thy father and thy mother so that may be good to thee the many days
that thou shalt find in the land which the Lord thy God hath given thee. "Thou shalt not
go with the wife of [another] man. "Thou shalt not slay a life.

3 "Thou shalt not commit fornication. Thou shalt not steal. "Thou shalt not bear false
witness against thy neighbour. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his house,
nor his land, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his cattle, nor his
ass, nor any of the beasts that thy neighbour hath acquired." This is the word which God
hath spoken, His Law and His Ordinance. And those who sin He rebuketh, so that they may
not be confirmed in error, and may restrain themselves from the pollution wherewith God is
not pleased. And this is the thing with which God is not pleased, and it is right that men
should abstain from it. 4 "No man shall uncover the shame of one with whom he hath
kinship; for I am the Lord your God. The shame of thy father and mother thou shalt not
uncover, for it is thy mother. Thou shalt not uncover the shame of thy father's wife, for
it is the shame of thy mother. Thou shalt not uncover the shame of thy sister who was
begotten by thy father or thy mother. Whether she was born unto him from outside or
whether she is a kinswoman of thine thou shalt not uncover her shame. Thou shalt not
uncover the shame either of thy son's daughter, or the shame of the daughter of thy
daughter, for it is thine own shame. Thou shalt not uncover the shame of the daughter of
thy father's wife, for she is thy sister, the daughter of thy mother, and thou shalt not
uncover her shame. Thou shalt not uncover the shame of thy father's sister, for she is of
thy father's house. Thou shalt not uncover the shame of thy mother's sister, for she is of
thy mother's house. Thou shalt not uncover the shame of the wife of thy father's brother,
for she is thy kin[swoman]. Thou shalt not uncover the shame of thy son's wife, for she is
thy son's wife. Thou shalt not uncover the shame of thy daughter and the wife of thy
brother's son, for it is thine own shame. Thou shalt not uncover the shame of thy
brother's wife, for it is thy brother's shame as long as thy brother liveth. Thou shalt
not uncover the shame of a woman and that of her daughter, nor that of the daughter of her
son, nor that of the daughter of her daughter. Thou shalt not cause their shame to be
uncovered; it is thy house and it is sin.

5 "And thou shalt not take to wife a maiden and her sister so as to make them jealous each
of the other, and thou shalt not uncover their shame, nor the shame of the one or the
other as long as the first sister is alive. Thou shalt not go to a menstruous woman, until
she is purified, to uncover her shame whilst she is still unclean. And thou shalt not go
to the wife of thy neighbour to lie with her, and thou shalt not let thy seed enter her.
"And thou shalt not vow thy children to Moloch to defile the Name of the Holy One, the
Name of the Lord. "And thou shalt not lie with a man as with a woman, for it is pollution.
"And thou shalt not go to a beast and thou shalt not lie with it so as to make thy seed go
out upon it, that thou mayest not be polluted thereby. And a woman shall not go to a beast
to lie with it, for it is pollution. And ye shall not pollute yourselves with any of these
things, for with them the nations whom I have driven out before you have polluted
themselves, and with them ye shall not pollute your bodies.

6 "And sanctify ye your souls and your bodies to God, for He is the Holy One, and He
loveth those who sanctify their souls and their bodies to Him. For He is holy, and to be
feared, and He is high, and merciful, and compassionate. And to Him praise is meet for
ever and ever. Amen."

CHAPTER 43. HOW THE MEN OF THE ARMY OF ISRAEL RECEIVED [THEIR] ORDERS

1 And the city rejoiced because the King had made his son King, and had appointed him King
from his own territory to that of another. But the city sorrowed also because the King had
commanded that they should give their children who were called "firstborn." And those who
were on the right hand should sit in the same way as their fathers sat with King Solomon,
even so should they sit at the right hand of his son David, the King of Ethiopia; and
those who were on the left hand should sit as their fathers sat with King Solomon, even so
should they sit on the left hand of his son David, the King of Ethiopia; and their rank
should be like that of their fathers, and their names should be like those of their
fathers. And each should be according to his ordinance, and each according to his
greatness, and each according to his position of authority, and each according to his
wages, and each according to his rank; in this wise shall they be. As Solomon did to his
nobles so shall David do to his nobles; and as Solomon ordained for his governors so shall
David order the direction of his house.

2 And the names of those who were appointed to be sent away were these:— 'Azâryâs
(Azariah), the son of Zâdôk, the priest, who was the high priest. 'Êlyâs, the son of Arnî
the Archdeacon; now the father of Arnî was the Archdeacon of Nathan the prophet. 'Adrâm,
the son of Ardêrônes, leader of the peoples. Fankêrâ, the son of Sôbâ, scribe of the oxen.
'Akônhel, the son of Tôfêl, the youth. Sâmneyâs, the son of 'Akîtâlam, the recorder.
Fikârôs, the son of Nêyâ, commander of the armed men, that is to say, chief of the troops.
Lêwândôs, the son of 'Akîrê, commander of the recruits (?). Fâkûtên, the son of 'Adrây,
commander on the sea. Mâtân, the son of Benyâs, chief of the house. Ad'araz, the son of
Kîrêm, servant of decorations. Dalakêm, the son of Mâtrêm, chief of the horse-soldiers.
'Adaryôs, the son of Nêdrôs, chief of the foot-soldiers.

3 'Awstêrân, the son of Yôdâd, bearer of the "glory." 'Astar'ayôn, the son of Asâ,
messenger of the palace (?). Îmî, the son of Matâtyâs, commander of the host (?). Mâkrî,
the son of 'Abîsâ, judge of the palace. 'Abîs, the son of Kâryôs, assessor of taxes
(tithes?). Lîk Wendeyôs, the son of Nêlenteyôs, judge of assembly. Kârmî, the son of
Hadnêyâs, chief of the royal workmen. Serânyâs, the son of 'Akâz'el, administrator of the
King's house. These are all those who were given to David, king of Ethiopia, the son of
Solomon, King of Israel. And Solomon also gave him horses, and chariots, and riding-
camels, and mules, and wagons for carrying loads, and gold, and silver, and splendid
apparel, and byssus, and purple, and gems, and pearls and precious stones; and he gave his
son everything that would be wished for in the country of Ethiopia. 4 And then they made
ready to set out, and [though] there was great joy with the nobles of the King of
Ethiopia, there was sadness with the nobles of the King of Israel, because through the
firstborn son of Solomon, King of Israel, that is to say, the King of Ethiopia, the
firstborn sons of the nobles of Israel were given to rule over the country of Ethiopia
with the son of Solomon the King. Then they assembled together and wept, together with
their fathers, and their mothers, and their relations, and their kinsfolk, and their
peoples, and their countrymen. And they cursed the King secretly and reviled him because
he had seized their sons against their will. But unto the King they said, "Because of this
thou hast done well. Thy wisdom is so good that the kingdom of Israel, by the Will of God
and by thy wisdom, extendeth to the country of Ethiopia. And God will gather together the
other kingdoms [of the world] into thy hand, for thou hast a right mind towards God, and
thou wishest that they shall serve the God of Israel, and that idols may be destroyed out
of the world."

5 And they praised him and said unto him, "Now know we that God spake concerning thee to
our father Abraham [when He said], 'In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be
blessed.'" And they made their faces to appear happy, and they jested before him, and they
praised him exceedingly (i.e., fulsomely) because of his wisdom. And when they said these
things unto him, he understood them in [his] wisdom, and bore with them patiently; now God
beareth with us patiently knowing well all our sins. And the whole earth, and the heavens,
and the ends of the world, and the sea, and the dry land, are the kingdom of God. He
judgeth. And He hath given the earth to the king to be subject unto him, that he may judge
(or, rule), as He doth, those who do evil so that he may requite them with evil, and those
who do good so that he may reward them with good. For the Spirit of God resteth in the
heart of the king, and His hands are in his mind, and His knowledge is in his
understanding.

CHAPTER 44. HOW IT IS NOT A SEEMLY THING TO REVILE THE KING

1 Now it is not a seemly thing to revile the king, for he is the anointed of God. It is
neither seemly nor good. If he doeth that which is good he will not suffer loss in three
kingdoms: FIRST, God shall overthrow for him his enemy, and he shall not be seized by the
hand of his enemy. SECONDLY, God shall make him reign with Him and with His righteousness,
and shall make him to sit on His right hand. THIRDLY, God shall make him to reign upon
earth with glory and joy, and shall direct his kingdom for him, and shall bring down the
nations under his feet. And if he treateth God lightly, and doth not do that which is
good, and doth not himself walk in the path of uprightness, God shall work as He pleaseth
against him; on earth He will make his days to be few, and in heaven (sic) his place of
abode shall be the habitation of Sheôl with the Devil. And on earth he shall enjoy neither
health nor gladness [and he shall live] in fear and terror, without peace and with
perturbation.

2 It is not a good thing for any of those who are under the dominion of a king to revile
him, for retribution belongeth to God. Now the priests are like the prophets, only better
than the prophets, for the mysteries The Nativity. "Jesus lying in a manger" edged with
straw. Above, on clouds, are the angels of heaven; on the right, the ass and the ox which
warmed the stable with their breath are given unto them, so that they may lay hold upon
the sun of righteousness, whilst the Seraphim, who were created out of fire, are only able
to lay hold upon the mysteries with tongs. As for the priests He named them "salt," and
moreover, He named the priests "lamp" and also "light of the world," and also "the sun
that lighteneth the darkness," Christ, the Sun of righteousness, being in their hearts.
And a priest, who hath in him understanding, rebuketh the king concerning the work that he
hath seen; and that which he hath not seen God will enquire into, and there is none who
can call Him to account. Moreover, the people must not revile the bishops and the priests,
for they are the children of God and the men of His house, for which reason they must
rebuke [men] for their sins and errors. And thou, O priest, if thou seest sin in a well-
known man, shalt not hesitate to rebuke him; let neither sword nor exile make thee afraid.
And hear how angry God was with Isaiah because he did not rebuke King 'Ūzyān (Uzziah). And
hearken also concerning Samuel the Prophet, how he rebuked Saul the king, being in no way
afraid of him, and how he rent his kingdom [from him] by his word; and [hearken also] how
Elijah [rebuked] Ahab. Do thou then fear not, and rebuke and teach him that transgresseth.

3 And Israel from of old reviled their kings and provoked their prophets to wrath, and in
later times they crucified their Saviour. But believing Christian folk dwell in peace,
without sickness and suffering, without hatred and offence, with our king... who loveth
God and who removeth not from his heart the thing of righteousness, and faith in the
Churches and in the believers. And his enemies shall be scattered by the might of the
Cross of Jesus Christ.

CHAPTER 45. HOW THOSE WHO WERE SENT AWAY WEPT AND MADE A PLAN

1 And the children of the nobles of Israel, who were commanded to depart with the son of
the king, took counsel together, saying, "What shall we do? For we have left our country
and our birth-place, and our kinsfolk and the people of our city. Now, come ye, let us
establish a covenant between us only, whereof our kinsfolk shall know nothing, that we
will love each other in that country: none shall hasten or tarry here, and we will neither
fear nor have any doubt. For God is here, and God is there, and may God's Will be done!
And to Him be praise for ever and ever! Amen." And 'Azāryās and Elmīyās, sons of the
priests, answered, "Let not the other matter—that our kinsfolk hate us—cause us sorrow,
but let us sorrow on account of our Lady Zion, because they are making us to leave her.
For in her they have committed us to God, and we have served her to this day; and let us
be sorrowful because they have made us to leave her. It is because of her and because of
this that they have specially made us to weep." And the others answered and said unto
them, "Verily she is our Lady and our hope, and our object of boasting, and we have grown
up under her blessedness. And how is it possible for us to forsake Zion our mistress? For
we have been given to her. And what shall we do? If we resist his command the king will
kill us, and we are unable to transgress the word of our fathers or the king's command.
And what shall we do concerning Zion our Lady?"

2 And 'Azāryās, the son of Zadok the priest, answered and said, "I will counsel you what
we shall do. But make a covenant with me to the end of your lives; and swear to me that ye
will not repeat it whether we live or whether we die, or whether we be taken captive or
whether we go forth [unhindered]." And they swore an oath to him in the Name of the Lord
God of Israel, and by the heavenly Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law of God, and by what God
had promised unto Abraham, and by the purity and excellence of Isaac, and by His making
Jacob to arrive in and inherit a land whereto he was a stranger, and his seed after him. 3
And when they had sworn thus to him, he answered and said unto them, "Come now, let us
take [with us] our Lady Zion; but how are we to take her? I will show you. And carry ye
out my plan and if God willeth we shall be able to take our Lady with us. And if they
should gain knowledge of our doings and slay us, that shall not trouble us, because we
shall die for our Lady Zion." And they all rose up, and kissed his head, and his face, and
his eyes, and they said unto him, "We will do everything that thou hast counselled us to
do; whether we die or whether we live, we are with thee for the sake of our Lady Zion. If
we die it will not cause us sorrow, and if we live—the Will of God be done!" And one of
them, the son of Yôas (Benaiah), whose name was Zechariah, said, "I cannot sit down
because of the great gladness that is in my heart. Tell me, moreover, canst thou indeed
carry her off, and is it not a lie? Thou canst go into the House of God in the place of
thy father Zadok, and the keys are continually in thy hand. But ponder well what we
counsel thee before they take the keys out of thy hand. Thou knowest the hidden openings
(or, windows) which King Solomon made; but none of the priests may enter therein except
thy father once each year in order to offer up sacrifice in the Holy of Holies on behalf
of himself and on behalf of the people. Ponder, consider, and sleep not in the matter of
thy wish to carry away Zion. And we will depart with her as soon as she hath been
committed to our care, and we shall have joy and our fathers sorrow when she arriveth with
us in the country of Ethiopia."

4 E 2 And Azāryās said unto them, "Do ye what I tell you, and we shall succeed. Give ye to
me each of you ten didrachmas, and I will give them to a carpenter so that he will make
haste to prepare for me good planks of wood—now because of his love of money he will
fasten them together very quickly—of the height, and breadth, and length and size of our
Lady [Zion]. And I will give him the dimensions of myself, and I will say unto him,
Prepare for me pieces of wood for a framework (?) so that I may make a raft therefrom; for
we are going to travel over the sea, and in the event of the ship sinking I shall be able
to get up on the raft, and we shall be saved from the sea. And I will take the framework
without the pieces of wood thereof being fixed together, and I will have them put together
in Ethiopia. And I will set them down in the habitation of Zion, and will drape them with
the draperies of Zion, and I will take Zion, and will dig a hole in the ground, and will
set Zion there, until we journey and take it away with us thither. And I will not tell the
matter to the king until we have travelled far."

5 And they each gave him ten didrachmas, and this money amounted to one hundred and forty
didrachmas, and he took them and gave them to a carpenter, who straightway fashioned a
good piece of work from the remains of the wood of the house of the sanctuary, and Azāryās
rejoiced and showed it to his brethren.

CHAPTER 46. HOW THEY MADE A PLAN CONCERNING ZION

1 And while Azāryās was asleep at night the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said
unto him, "Take to thee four goats, each a yearling—now they shall be for your sins,
thyself, and 'Ēlmeyās, and Abīs, and Mākrī—and four pure sheep, yearlings also, and an ox
whereon no yoke hath ever been laid. And thou shalt offer up the ox as a sacrifice on the
east side of her (i.e. Zion), and the sheep and the goats to the right and left thereof,
and at the west of it, which is close to its exit. And your Lord David shall speak to
Solomon the King and shall say unto him, One thing I ask from thee, O father, I would
offer up a sacrifice to the holy city Jerusalem, and to my Lady Zion, the holy and
heavenly Tabernacle of the Law of God.' And Solomon shall say unto him, 'Do so.' And David
shall say unto him, 'Let the son of the priest offer up sacrifice on my behalf, even as he
knoweth'; and he will give thee the command, and thou shalt offer up the sacrifice. And
thou shalt bring forth the Tabernacle of the Law of God after thou hast offered up the
sacrifice, and I will again show thee what thou shalt do in respect of it as to bringing
it out; for this is from God. For Israel hath provoked God to wrath, and for this reason
He will make the Tabernacle of the Law of God to depart from him."

2 And when Azāryās awoke from his dream he rejoiced greatly, and his heart and his mind
were clear, and he remembered everything that the Angel of the Lord had shown him in the
night, and how he had sealed him [with the sign of the Cross], and given him strength and
heartened him. And he went to his brethren, and when they were gathered together he told
them everything that the Angel of God had shown him: how the Tabernacle of the Law of God
had been given to them, and how God had made blind His eye in respect of the kingdom of
Israel, and how its glory had been given to others, and they themselves were to take away
the Tabernacle of the Law of God, and how the kingdom of Solomon was to be seized by
them—with the exception of two "rods," and how it was not to be left to Īyōrbēʿām
(Rehoboam) his son, and how the kingdom of Israel was to be divided. And [Azāryās said],
"Rejoice with me. I rejoice because it hath been shown unto me thus; for the grace of
their priesthood and kingdom shall depart with us, and it shall be by the Will of God.
Thus said he (i.e. the Angel) unto me. And now come ye, and let us go and tell David our
Lord so that he may say to his father, 'I will offer up a sacrifice.'

3 And they went and told [David, the son of Solomon] and he rejoiced, and he sent to Yô'as
(Benaiah), the son of Yôdâhê, to come to him, that he might send him to his father, and he
came. And David sent him to his father Solomon, and he said unto him, "Send me away, for I
will depart to my own country, together with everything that thy goodness hath given me;
and may thy prayers accompany me always whithersoever I shall go. But now there is one
petition which I would make unto thee, if peradventure I have found grace with thee, and
turn not away thy face from me. For I thy servant am going to depart, and I wish to offer
up a sacrifice of propitiation (or, salvation) for my sins in this thy holy city of
Jerusalem and of Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law of God. And peace [be] with thy majesty."

CHAPTER 47. CONCERNING THE OFFERING OF AZÂRYÂS (AZARIAH) AND THE KING

And Yôâs (Benaiah), the son of Yôdâhê, went and told King Solomon, and the King rejoiced
over it and commanded them to make ready the altar of offering so that his son might
sacrifice. And he brought and gave unto him that which he had vowed to God, one hundred
bulls, one hundred oxen, ten thousand sheep, ten thousand goats, and ten of every kind of
animal that may be eaten, and ten of every kind of clean bird, so that he might offer
libations and sacrifices to the God of Israel; and twenty silver sâhal of fine white
flour, each weighing twelve shekels, and forty baskets of bread. All these things did
Solomon the King give unto his son David. And again David sent a message saying, "Let
Azâryâs the priest offer up sacrifice on my behalf"; and Solomon said unto him, "Do that
which thou wishest." And Azâryâs rejoiced because of this thing, and he went and brought
from his father's flock an ox whereon never yoke had been laid, and four yearlings of the
goats and four clean yearlings of the sheep. And the king went to offer up sacrifice, and
the priests made themselves ready, and the poor folk were gathered together, and the birds
of the heavens rejoiced, and they were all united in their great gladness that day. And
Azâryâs mingled [his offerings] with the offerings of the king, and he made an offering
with his vessels, even as the Angel of God had commanded him to do by night. And then,
after they had offered up their sacrifices, they went back to their houses and slept.

CHAPTER 48. HOW THEY CARRIED AWAY ZION

And behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared again to Azâryâs and he stood up above him like
a pillar of fire, and he filled the house with his light. And he raised up Azâryâs and
said unto him, "Stand up, be strong, and rouse up thy brother Êlmêyâs, and 'Abêsâ, and
Mâkarî, and take the pieces of wood and I will open for thee the doors of the sanctuary.
And take thou the Tabernacle of the Law of God, and thou shalt carry it without trouble
and discomfort. And I, inasmuch as I have been commanded by God to be with it for ever,
will be thy guide when thou shalt carry it away." And Azâryâs rose up straightway, and
woke up the three men his brethren, and they took the pieces of wood, and went into the
house of God—now they found all the doors open, both those that were outside and those
that were inside—to the actual place where Azâryâs found Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law
of God; and it was taken away by them forthwith, in the twinkling of an eye, the Angel of
the Lord being present and directing. And had it not been that God willed it Zion could
not have been taken away forthwith. And the four of them carried Zion away, and they
brought it into the house of Azâryâs, and they went back into the house of God, and they
set the pieces of wood on the place where Zion had been, and they covered them over with
the covering of Zion, and they shut the doors, and went back to their houses. And they
took lamps and set them in the place where [Zion] was hidden, and they sacrificed the
sheep thereto, and burned offerings of incense thereto, and they spread purple cloths over
it and set it in a secret place for seven days and seven nights.

CHAPTER 49. HOW HIS FATHER BLESSED HIS SON

1 And then the King of Ethiopia rose up to depart to his country, and he came to his
father that he might pray on his behalf, and he said unto him, "Bless me, father"; and he
made obeisance unto him. And the King raised him up, and blessed him, and embraced his
head, and said, "Blessed be the Lord my God Who blessed my father David, and Who blessed
our father Abraham. May He be with thee always, and bless thy seed even as He blessed
Jacob, and made his seed to be as many as the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea. And
as Abraham blessed Isaac my father even so shall thy blessing be—the dew of heaven and the
spaciousness of the earth—and may all animals and all the birds of the heavens, and all
the beasts of the field, and the fish of the sea, be in subjection unto thee. Be thou
full, and not lacking in fullness; be thou perfect, and not lacking in perfection; be
gracious, and not obstinate; be in good health, and not suffering; be generous, and not
vindictive; be pure, and not defiled; be righteous, and not a sinner; be merciful, and not
oppressive; be sincere, and not perverse; be long-suffering, and not prone to wrath. And
the enemy shall be afraid of thee, and thine adversaries shall cast

2 1. The angels appearing to Mary at the birth of Christ 2. The oxen bowing before Christ
themselves under the sole of thy foot. And my Lady Zion, the holy and heavenly, the
Tabernacle of the Law of God, shall be a guide unto thee at all times, a guide in respect
of what thou shouldst think in thy heart and shouldst do with thy fingers, whether it be
far or near to thee, whether it be low or high to thee, whether it be strong or weak to
thee, whether it be outside or inside thee, whether it be to thee in the house or in the
field, whether it be visible or invisible to thee, whether it be away from or near to
thee, whether it be hidden from or revealed to thee, whether it be secret or published
abroad to thee—unto thee our Lady Zion, the holy and heavenly, the pure Tabernacle of the
Law of God, shall be a guide." And David was blessed, and he made obeisance, and departed.

CHAPTER 50. HOW THEY BADE FAREWELL TO HIS FATHER AND HOW THE CITY MOURNED

1 And they bade [the king] farewell and departed. And first of all they set Zion by night
upon a wagon together with a mass of worthless stuff, and dirty clothes, and stores of
every sort and kind. And [when] all the wagons were loaded, and the masters of the caravan
rose up, and the horn was blown, and the city became excited, and the youths shouted
loudly, awesomeness crowned it and grace surrounded it (i.e. Zion). And the old men
wailed, and the children cried out, and the widows wept, and the virgins lamented, because
the sons of their nobles, the mighty men of Israel, had risen up to depart. But the city
did not weep for them alone, but because the majesty of the city had been carried off with
them. And although they did not know actually that Zion had been taken from them, they
made no mistake in their hearts and they wept bitterly; and they were then even as they
were when God slew the firstborn of Egypt. There was not a house wherein there was not
wailing, from man even to the beast; the dogs howled, and the asses screamed, and all
those who were left there mingled their tears together. It was as though the generals of a
mighty army had besieged the great city, and had captured it by assault, and looted it,
and taken its people prisoners and slain them with the edge of the sword; even thus was
that city of Zion—Jerusalem.

2 And King Solomon was dismayed at the weeping and outcry of the city, and he looked out
from the roof of the palace, the fort of the king's house, and saw the whole city weeping
and following them. And as a child, whom his mother hath removed from her breast and left,
followeth in her footsteps crying out and weeping, even so did the people cry out and
weep; and they cast dust upon their heads, and they shed tears with their eyes. And when
Solomon saw the majesty of those who had departed, he was deeply moved and he trembled,
and his bowels quaked, and his tears fell drop by drop upon his apparel, and he said, "Woe
is me! for my glory hath departed, and the crown of my splendour hath fallen, and my belly
is burned up because this my son hath departed, and the majesty of my city and the
freemen, the children of my might, are removed. From this moment our glory hath passed
away, and our kingdom hath been carried off unto a strange people who know not God, even
as the prophet saith, 'The people who have not sought Me have found Me.' From this time
forth the law, and wisdom, and understanding shall be given unto them. And my father
prophesied concerning them, saying, 'Ethiopia shall bow before Him, and His enemies shall
eat the dust.' And in another [place] he saith, 'Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands to
God, and He shall receive her with honour, and the kings of the earth shall praise God.'
And in a third [place] he saith, 'Behold, the Philistines,' and the Tyrians, and the
people of Ethiopia, who were born without the Law. The Law shall be given unto them, and
they shall say unto Zion, 'our mother because of a man who shall be born.' Will this man
then be my son who is begotten of me?"

3 51. How He Said UNTO ZADOK THE PRIEST, "GO AND BRING THE COVERING (OR, CLOTHING) WHICH
IS UPON IT (i.e. ZION)" And he said unto Zadok the priest, "Go, bring that covering which
is upon Zion, and take thee this covering which is better than that, and lay it over the
two [cherubs] which are below it." (Now this covering was made of threads of the finest
gold wirework twisted together and hammered out into a pattern, and they were not woven
like the threads of purple.) "And the five mice which were given to Zion, and the ten
figures of their shame (i.e. the emerods) which the nobles of the Philistines made for
their redemption—now on the fringes are figures of gold that came forth from the land of
Kâdês, which Moses in Sinai commanded should be made (or, worked) in the fringe of the
apparel of Aaron his brother—gather [all these] together in the covering of Zion and give
[them] to my son David. For his mother said in [her] message by Tâmrîn her servant, 'Give
us some of the fringe of the covering of Zion, so that we may worship it, we and those who
are in subjection unto us and all our kingdom.' And now, give it to him, and say unto him,
'Take [and] worship this covering of Zion, for thy mother sent a message concerning this,
and hath said unto thee thyself, Give us some of the fringe of its covering, which we can
worship, so that we may not, like the heathen, worship another [god].' And Zion, the
Tabernacle of the Law of God, shall be unto thee a guide wheresoever thou art.

4 But it must remain with us perpetually, although we have not paid it all the honour
which is its due; and you, although it be not with you, must honour it, and revere it
according to what is due to it and what is meet. For God said unto Eli by the mouth of
Samuel the Prophet, 'I wished you to remain, thou and thy father's house, to offer up
incense to the Tabernacle of My Law, and to dwell before Me for ever, but now I have
repented. I will turn My face away from thee because thou hast treated My offerings with
contempt, and hast preferred thy sons to Me. And now, him that honoureth Me I will honour,
and him that esteemeth Me lightly I will esteem lightly; and I will destroy all thy seed.'
This He said because the Levites had esteemed Him lightly. And say unto him: Take this
covering of Zion, and this votive gift shall be in the place of it, and place it in thy
sanctuary. And when thou takest an oath and makest another to take an oath, swear thou and
make him to swear by it, so that thou dost not make mention of the names of other gods of
the heathen. And when thou sacrificest let thy face be towards us, and sacrifice to
Jerusalem and the holy Zion; and when thou prayest let thy face be towards Jerusalem, and
pray towards us."

CHAPTER 52. HOW ZADOK THE PRIEST DEPARTED

1 And Zadok the priest went and gave David the covering of Zion, and he delivered unto him
all the commands which Solomon had spoken. And David, the son of Solomon, rejoiced because
of this, and he marvelled and held himself to be blessed exceedingly, and said, when the
covering of the Tabernacle of the Law of God was committed to his charge, "This shall be
to me my Lady." And Azāryās answered and said before his father, "Thou rejoicest over the
covering, but how very much more wilt thou rejoice over the Lady of the covering!" And his
father said unto him, "Verily he rejoiceth over the Lady of the covering, and he might
subjugate all of us if he were not going to his own country." And he said unto the king,
"Make now a covenant with me that thou wilt give to this my son this possession for his
Lady and his sponsor and his protection, that he may guard it all the days of his life,
for himself and for his seed after him; and that thou wilt give him tithe, and that thou
wilt give him a city of refuge in thy kingdom, and also the tenth of the cities in all thy
kingdom; and that he shall be unto thee priest, and seer, and prophet, and teacher to thee
and to thy seed after thee, and the anointer with oil of thy kingdom for thy children and
thy children's children." And he said, "I agree." And they struck (i.e. made) a covenant,
and he received from his father the votive offering, and the covering of Zion, and a chain
of gold.

2 And they loaded the wagons, and the horses, and the mules in order to depart, and they
set out on their journey prosperously, and they continued to travel on. And Michael the
[Arch] Angel marched in front, and he spread out [his wings] and made them to march
through the sea as upon dry land, and upon the dry land he cut a path for them and
spreading himself out like a cloud over them he hid them from the fiery heat of the sun.
And as for their wagons, no man hauled his wagon, but he himself (i.e. Michael) marched
with the wagons, and whether it was men, or horses, or mules, or loaded camels, each was
raised above the ground to the height of a cubit; and all those who rode upon beasts were
lifted up above their backs to the height of one span of a man, and all the various kinds
of baggage which were loaded on the beasts, as well as those who were mounted on them,
were raised up to the height of one span of a man, and the beasts were lifted up to the
height of one span of a man. And every one travelled in the wagons like a ship on the sea
when the wind bloweth, and like a bat through the air when the desire of his belly urgeth
him to devour his companions, and like an eagle when his body glideth above the wind. Thus
did they travel; there was none in front and none behind, and they were disturbed neither
on the right hand nor on the left.

CHAPTER 53. HOW THE WAGON WAS GIVEN TO ETHIOPIA

1 And they halted by Gâzâ, the city of the mother of the king, which Solomon the king had
given to the Queen of Ethiopia when she came to him. And from there they came in one day
to the border of Gêbês (Egypt), the name of which is "Mesrîn." And when the sons of the
warriors of Israel saw that they had come in one day a distance of thirteen days' march,
and that they were not tired, or hungry, or thirsty, neither man nor beast, and that they
all [felt] that they had eaten and drunk their fill, these sons of the warriors of Israel
knew and believed that this thing was from God. And they said unto their king, "Let us let
down the wagons, for we have come to the water of Ethiopia. This is the Takkazî which
floweth down from Ethiopia, and watereth the Valley of Egypt"; and they let down their
wagons there, and set up their tents.

2 And the sons of the warriors of Israel went and drove away all the people, and they said
unto [David] their king, "Shall we tell thee a matter? Canst thou hold it [secret]? And
the King said unto them, "Yes, I can [hold it secret]. And if ye will tell it to me I will
never let it go forth or repeat it to the day of my death. And they said unto him, "The
sun descended from heaven, and was given on Sinai to Israel, and it became the salvation
of the race of Adam, from Moses to the seed of Jesse, and behold, it is with thee by the
Will of God. It is not through us that this hath been done, but by the Will of God; it is
not through us that this hath been done, but by the Will of Him that fashioned it and made
it hath this happened. We wished, and God hath fulfilled [our wish]; we agreed concerning
it, and God made it good; we held converse [concerning it], and God performed; we
meditated [upon it], and God devised the plan; we spoke, and God was well pleased; we
directed our gaze, and God directed it rightly; we meditated, and God hath justified. And
now God hath chosen thee, and is well pleased with thy city, to be the servant of the holy
and heavenly Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law of God;

3 and it shall be to thee a guide for ever, to thee and thy seed after thee if thou wilt
keep His command and perform the Will of the Lord thy God. For thou wilt not be able to
take it back, even if thou wishest, and thy father cannot seize it, even if he wisheth,
for it goeth of its own free will whithersoever it wisheth, and it cannot be removed from
its seat if it doth not desire it. And behold, it is our Lady, our Mother and our
salvation, our fortress and our place of refuge, our glory and the haven of our safety, to
those who lean upon it." 4 And Azāryās made a sign to Ēlmeyās, and he said unto him, "Go,
beautify, and dress our Lady, so that our King may see her." And when Azāryās had said
this, King David was perturbed and he laid both hands upon his breast, and he drew breath
three times and said, "Hast thou in truth, O Lord, remembered us in Thy mercy, the
castaways, the people whom Thou hast rejected, so that I may see Thy pure habitation,
which is in heaven, the holy and heavenly Zion? With what shall we requite the Lord in
return for all the good things which He hath done for us? there being with Him no glory
and praise! He hath crowned us with His grace, so that we may know upon earth His praise
and may all serve Him according to His greatness. For He is the Good One to His chosen
ones, and unto Him belongeth praise for ever."

5 And King [David] rose up and skipped about like a young sheep and like a kid of the
goats that hath sucked milk in abundance from his mother, even as his grandfather David
rejoiced before the Tabernacle of the Law of God. He smote the ground with his feet, and
rejoiced in his heart, and uttered cries of joy with his mouth. And what shall I say of
the great joy and gladness that were in the camp of the King of Ethiopia? One man told his
neighbour, and they smote the ground with their feet like young bulls, and they clapped
their hands together, and marvelled, and stretched out their hands to heaven, and they
cast themselves down with their faces to the ground, and they gave thanks unto God in
their hearts.

CHAPTER 54. HOW DAVID [THE KING OF ETHIOPIA] PROPHESISED AND SALUTED ZION

1 And King [David] came and stood up before Zion, and he saluted it, and made obeisance
thereto, and said, "O Lord God of Israel, to Thee be praise, because Thou doest Thy Will
and not the will of men. Thou makest the wise man to forget his wisdom, and Thou
destroyest the counsel of the counsellor, and Thou raisest the poor man from the depth,
and Thou settest the sole of his foot upon a strong rock. For a full cup of glory is in
Thy hand for those who love Thee, and a full cup of shame for those who hate Thee. As for
us, our salvation shall go forth out of Zion, and He shall remove sin from His people, and
goodness and mercy shall be poured out in all the world. For we are the work of His hands,
and who shall rebuke us if He loveth us as Israel His people? And who shall reprove Him if
He raiseth us up to heaven His throne? For death and life are from Him, and glory and
dishonour are in His hand, He hath the power to punish and to multiply His compassion, and
He can be wroth and multiply His mercy, for it is He who trieth the heart and the reins.

3 The old man Simeon carrying Christ in his arms He giveth and He taketh away, He planteth
and He uprooteth. He buildeth up and He throweth down. He beautifieth and He deformeth;
for everything be-longeth to Him, and everything is from Him, and everything existeth in
Him. And as for thee, O Tabernacle of the Law of God, salvation be whither thou goest, and
from the place whence thou goest forth; salvation be in the house and in the field,
salvation be here and be there, salvation be in the palace and in the lowly place,
salvation be on the sea and on the dry land, salvation be in the mountains and in the
hills, salvation be in the heavens and on the earth, salvation be in the firm grounds and
in the abysses, salvation be in death and in life, salvation be in thy coming and in thy
going forth, salvation be to our children and to the tribe of thy people, salvation be in
thy countries and in thy cities, salvation be to the kings and to the nobles, salvation be
to the plants and to the fruits, salvation be to men and to beasts, salvation be to the
birds and to the creeping things of the earth; be salvation, be an intercessor, and a
merciful one, and have regard for thy people. Be unto us a wall, and we will be unto thee
a fence; be thou a king unto us and we will be thy people;

4 be thou a guide unto us and we will follow after thee. And be not impatient, and mark
not closely, and be not angry at the multitude of our sins, for we are a people who have
not the Law, and who have not learned Thy praise. And from this time forward guide us, and
teach us, and make us to have understanding, and make us to have wisdom that we may learn
Thy praise. And Thy name shall be praised by us at all times, and all the day, and every
day, and every night, and every hour, and all the length of time. Give us power that we
may serve Thee. Rise up, Zion, and put on thy strength, and conquer thine enemies, and
give us strength, our queen, and put thou to shame those who hate thee, and make to
rejoice those who love thee." 5 F And then he made a circuit and said, "Behold Zion,
behold salvation, behold the one who rejoiceth, behold the splendour like the sun, behold
the one adorned with praise, behold the one who is decorated like a bride, not with the
apparel of fleeting glory, but the one who is decorated with the glory and praise which
are from God, whom it is meet that [men] shall look upon with desire and shall not
forsake; whom [men] shall desire above all things and shall not reject; whom [men] shall
love willingly and shall not hate; whom [men] shall approach willingly and shall not keep
afar off. We will draw nigh unto thee, and do not thou withdraw far from us; we will
support ourselves upon thee, and do not thou let us slip away; we will supplicate thee,
and do not thou be deaf to us; we will cry out to thee; hear thou our cry in all that we
ask of thee, and desire not to withdraw thyself from us, until thy Lord cometh and
reigneth over thee; for thou art the habitation of the God of heaven."

6 Thus spake David the King, the son of Solomon, King of Israel. For the spirit of
prophecy descended upon him because of his joy, and he knew not what he said and he was
like Peter and John on the top of Mount Tâbôr. And they all marvelled and said, "This, the
son of a prophet, is he to be numbered among the prophets?"

CHAPTER 55. HOW THE PEOPLE OF ETHIOPIA REJOICED

1 And [the people of Ethiopia] took flutes, and blew horns, and [beat] drums, and [played
on] pipes, and the Brook of Egypt was moved and astonished at the noise of their songs and
their rejoicings; and with them were mingled outcries and shouts of gladness. And their
idols, which they had made with their hands and which were in the forms of men, and dogs,
and cats, fell down, and the high towers (pylons or obelisks?), and also the figures of
birds, [made] of gold and silver, fell down also and were broken in pieces. For Zion shone
like the sun, and at the majesty thereof they were dismayed. And they arrayed Zion in her
apparel, and they bore the gifts to her before her, and they set her upon a wagon, and
they spread out purple beneath her, and they draped her with draperies of purple, and they
sang songs before her and behind her.

2 Then the wagons rose up (i.e. resumed their journey) as before, and they set out early
in the morning, and the people sang songs to Zion, and they were all raised up the space
of a cubit, and as the people of the country of Egypt bade them farewell, they passed
before them like shadows, and the people of the country of Egypt worshipped them, for they
saw Zion moving in the heavens like the sun, and they all ran with the wagon of Zion, some
in front of her and some behind her. And they came to the sea Al-Ahmar, which is the Sea
of Eritrea (i.e. the Red Sea), which was divided by the hand of Moses, and the children of
Israel marched in the depths thereof, going up and down. Now at that time the Tabernacle
of the Law of God had not been given unto Moses, and therefore the water only gathered
itself together, a wall on the right hand and a wall on the left, and allowed Israel to
pass with their beasts and their children and their wives. And after they had crossed the
sea God spake to Moses and gave him the Tabernacle of the Covenant with the Book of the
Law. And when the holy Zion crossed over with those who were in attendance on her, and who
sang songs to the accompaniment of harps and flutes, the sea received them and its waves
leaped up as do the high mountains when they are split asunder, and it roared even as a
lion roareth when he is enraged, and it thundered as doth the winter thunder of Damascus
and Ethiopia when the lightning smiteth the clouds, and the sound thereof mingled with the
sounds of the musical instruments.

3 F 2 And the sea worshipped Zion. And whilst its billows were tossing about like the
mountains their wagons were raised above the waves for a space of three cubits, and among
the sound of the songs the [noise of the] breaking of the waves of the sea was wonderful.
The breaking of the waves of the sea was exceedingly majestic and stupefying, and it was
mighty and strong. And the creatures that were in the sea, those that could be recognized,
and those that were invisible, came forth and worshipped Zion; and the birds that were on
it flapped their pinions and overshadowed it. And there was joy to the Sea of Eritrea, and
to the people of Ethiopia, who went forth to the sea and rejoiced exceedingly, and with a
greater joy than did Israel when they came out of Egypt. And they arrived opposite Mount
Sinai, and dwelt in Kâdês, and they remained there whilst the angels sang praises; and the
creatures of the spirit mingled their praises with [those] of the children of earth, with
songs, and psalms, and tambourines joyfully.

4 And then they loaded their wagons, and they rose up, and departed, and journeyed on to
the land of Medyâm, and they came to the country of Bêlôntôs, which is a country of
Ethiopia. And they rejoiced there, and they encamped there, because they had reached the
border of their country with glory and joy, without tribulation on the road, in a wagon of
the spirit, by the might of heaven and of Michael the Archangel. And all the provinces of
Ethiopia rejoiced, for Zion sent forth a light like that of the sun into the darkness
where-soever she came.

CHAPTER 56. OF THE RETURN OF ZADOK THE PRIEST, AND THE GIVING OF THE GIFT

1 And when Zadok the priest returned to Solomon the King he found him sorrowful. And the
King answered and said unto Zadok the priest, "When the Queen came there appeared to me by
night this vision: It seemed as if I were standing in the chamber of Jerusalem, and the
sun came down from heaven into the land of Judah, and lighted it up with great splendour.
And having tarried a time it went down and lighted up the country of Ethiopia, and it did
not return to the land of Judah. And again the sun came down from heaven to the country of
Judah, and lighted it up more brilliantly than it did the first time; but the Israelites
paid no heed to it, and they wished to extinguish its light. And it rose below the earth
in a place where it was not expected, and it illumined the country of Rôm, and the country
of Ethiopia, and afterwards all those who believed on it."

2 And Zadok the priest answered and said unto him, "O my lord, why didst thou not tell me
before that thou hadst seen a vision of this kind? Thou makest my knees to tremble. Woe be
unto us, if our sons have carried off our Lady, the holy, heavenly Zion, the Tabernacle of
the Law of God!" And the King answered and said unto him, "Our wisdom is forgotten and our
understanding is buried. Verily the sun that appeared unto me long ago when I was sleeping
with the Queen of Ethiopia was the symbol of the holy Zion. But tell me: yesterday when
thou didst take off the splendid covering that was lying upon Zion, didst thou not make
certain that Zion was [there]?" And Zadok the priest answered and said, "I did not, lord;
it had three coverings over it, and I took off the outermost, and dressed Zion in the
covering which thou didst give me, and I brought [the other] to thee." And the King said
unto Zadok, "Go quickly and look at our Lady and examine her closely." And Zadok the
priest took the keys, and went and opened the house of the sanctuary, and he examined [the
place] quickly, and he found there nothing except the wooden boards which Azâryâs had
fastened together and had made to resemble the sides of the pedestal of Zion.

CHAPTER 57. CONCERNING THE FALL OF ZADOK THE PRIEST

And when Zadok saw this he fell forward on his face flat upon the ground, and his spirit
was poured out over him, for he was terrified; and he became like a dead man. And when he
tarried in coming out Solomon sent to him Iyôas (Benaiah), the son of Yôdâhê, and he found
Zadok like one dead. And he lifted up the head of Zadok, and felt his heart and his nose
to find out whether there was any sign of breath being in him; and he fanned him, and
lifted him up, and rubbed him and laid him out upon the table. And he rose up and looked
at the place where Zion had been set, and he found her not, and he fell down upon the
ground. And he cast dust upon his head, and [then] rose up and went out and wailed at the
doors of the house of God; and the sound of his cries was heard as far as the King's
house. And the King rose up and commanded the crier to go round, and the soldiers to blow
the trumpets, so that the people might go forth and pursue the men of the land of
Ethiopia, and if they overtook them they were to seize his son and bring him back with
Zion, and slay the [other] men with the sword. For with his mouth he spake and said, "As
the Lord God of Israel liveth, they are men of death and not of life; for verily they
deserve death because they have robbed the house of the sanctuary of God, and have desired
to pollute the habitation of His Name in a land wherein there is not the Law."

CHAPTER 58. HOW SOLOMON ROSE UP TO SLAY THEM

1 Thus spake King Solomon. And the King rose up in wrath and set out to pursue [the men of
Ethiopia]. And when the King, and his nobles, and his mighty men of war rose up (i.e. had
set out), the elders of Israel, and the widows, and the virgins gathered together in the
house of God, and they wept for Zion, for the Tabernacle of the Law of God had been taken
away from them. Now after Zadok had remained [senseless] for a season, his heart returned
to him. And then the King commanded that the soldiers should go forth on the right hand
and on the left, on the chance that some of the [fugitives] might turn aside through fear
of the theft. And the King himself rose up and followed the track of the road of the men
of Ethiopia, and he sent out mounted horsemen, so that they might [ride on before him and]
find out where they were, and might return and bring him news [of them]. And the horsemen
journeyed on and came to the country of Mesr (Egypt), where the men of Ethiopia had
encamped with their king, and where they had made peace with Zion, and they rejoiced. And
the soldiers of King Solomon questioned the people, and the men of the country of Egypt
said unto them, "Some days ago certain men of Ethiopia passed here; and they travelled
swiftly in wagons, like the angels, and they were swifter than the eagles of the heavens.

2 And the King's soldiers said unto them, "How many days ago is it since they left you?
And the men of Egypt said unto them, "This day is the ninth day since they left us. And
some of the King's horsemen who returned said unto King Solomon, "Nine days have passed
since they left Egypt. Some of our companions have gone to seek for them at the Sea of
Eritrea, but we came back that we might report this to thee. Bethink thyself, O King, I
beseech thee. On the second day they went forth from thee, and they arrived on the third
day at the river Takkazi [of] the land of Mesr (Egypt). And we being sent forth by thee
from Jerusalem, arrived on the day of the Sabbath. And we came back to thee to-day [which
is] the fourth day of the week. Consider in thy wisdom the distance which those men
traversed. And the King was wroth and said, "Seize the five of them, until we find out the
truth of their words."

3 And the King and his soldiers marched quickly, and they came to Gâzâ. And the King asked
the people, saying, "When did my son leave you?" And they answered and said unto him, "He
left us three days ago. And having loaded their wagons none of them travelled on the
ground, but in wagons that were suspended in the air; and they were swifter than the
eagles that are in the sky, and all their baggage travelled with them in wagons above the
winds. As for us, we thought that thou hadst, in thy wisdom, made them to travel in wagons
above the winds." And the King said unto them, "Was Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law of
God, with them?" And they said unto him, "We did not see anything."

CHAPTER 59. HOW THE KING QUESTIONED AN EGYPTIAN, THE SERVANT OF PHARAOH

1 And Solomon left that place, and he met a noble of the nobles of Egypt, whom King
Pharaoh had sent unto him with a gift; and there was an abundance of treasures with him,
and he came and made obeisance to the King. And Solomon the King made haste to question
him, even before he had presented his gift and embassy, and said unto him, "Hast thou seen
men of Ethiopia fleeing by this road? And the ambassador of Pharaoh answered and said unto
the King, "O King, live for ever! My lord, King Pharaoh, sent me unto thee from
Alexandria. And behold, I will inform thee how I have come. Having set out from Alexandria
I came to Kâhêrâ (Cairo), the city of the King, and on my arrival these men of Ethiopia of
whom thou speakest arrived there also. They reached there after a passage of three days on
the Takkazî, the river of Egypt, and they were blowing flutes, and they travelled on
wagons like the host of the heavenly beings. And those who saw them said concerning them,
'These, having once been creatures of earth, have become beings of heaven.' Who then is
wiser than Solomon the King of Judah? But he never travelled in this wise in a wagon of
the winds.

2 And those who were in the cities and towns were witnesses that, when these men came into
the land of Egypt, our gods and the gods of the King fell down, and were dashed in pieces,
and the towers of the idols were likewise broken into fragments. And they asked the
priests of the gods, the diviners of Egypt, the reason why our gods had fallen down, and
they said unto us, 'The Tabernacle of the God of Israel, which came down from heaven, is
with them, and will abide in their country for ever.' And it was because of this that,
when they came into the land of Egypt, our gods were broken into fragments. And thou, O
King, whose wisdom hath no counterpart under the heavens, why hast thou given away the
Tabernacle of the Law of the Lord thy God, which thy fathers kept pure for thee? For,
according to what we hear, that Tabernacle used to deliver you out of the hand of your
enemies, and the spirit of prophecy, which was therein, used to hold converse with you,
and the God of heaven used to dwell in it in His Holy Spirit, and ye are called men of the
house of God. Why have ye given your glory to another? And Solomon answered in wisdom and
said, "How was he (i.e. David) able to carry away our Lady, for she is with us?"


THE QUEEN OF SHEBA AND HER ONLY SON MENYELEK: THE KEBRA NAGAST (CHAPTERS 60. HOW SOLOMON LAMENTED FOR ZION–76. CONCERNING LYING WITNESSES)
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THE QUEEN OF SHEBA AND HER ONLY SON MENYELEK: THE KEBRA NAGAST continued

CHAPTER 60. HOW SOLOMON LAMENTED FOR ZION

1 And Solomon entered into his tent, and wept bitterly, and said, "O God, willest Thou to
take away the Tabernacle of Thy Covenant from us in my days? If only Thou hadst taken away
my life before this which Thou hast taken away in my days! For Thou canst not make Thy
word to be a lie, and Thou canst not break Thy Covenant which Thou didst make with our
fathers, with Noah Thy servant who kept righteousness, and with Abraham who did not
transgress Thy commandment, and with Isaac Thy servant who kept his body pure from the
pollution of sin, and with Israel, Thy holy one, whom Thou didst make many by the Holy
Spirit, and didst call 'Thy trace' [sic], Israel, and with Moses and Aaron Thy priests, in
whose days Thou didst make the Tabernacle of the Law to come down from heaven upon earth,
to the children of Jacob Thine inheritance, with Thy Law and Thy Commandment, in the form
of the constitution of the angels. For Thou hadst already founded Zion as the habitation
of Thy glory upon the mountain of Thy sanctuary. And again Thou didst give it to Moses
that he might serve it nobly upon the earth, and might make it to dwell in the 'Tent of
Witness,' so that Thou Thyself mightest come there from the mountain of Thy sanctuary, and
mightest make the people to hear Thy voice, so that they might walk in Thy Commandments."

2 "Now I know that Thou esteemest Thine inheritance more lightly than Thy people Israel.
And until this present it was with us, and we did not minister unto it rightly, and for
this reason Thou art angry with us, and Thou hast turned Thy face from us. O Lord, look
not upon our evil deeds, but consider Thou the goodness of our forefathers. My father
David, Thy servant, wished to build a house to Thy Name, for he had heard the word of Thy
prophet, who said, 'Which is the house for My habitation, and which is the place for Me to
rest in? Is it not My hands that have made all this, saith the Lord,' Who ruleth
everything?' And when he had meditated upon this Thou didst say unto him, 'It is
impossible for thee to build this, but he who hath gone forth from thy loins shall build a
house for me.' And now, O Lord, Thy word hath not been made a lie, and I have built Thy
house, Thou being my helper. And when I had finished building Thy house, I brought the
Tabernacle of the Covenant into it, and I offered up sacrifices to Thy thrice-holy Name,
and Thou didst look on these [benevolently]. And the house was full of Thy glory, the
whole world being filled with Thy Godhead, and we Thy people rejoiced at the sight of Thy
glory therein. And this day it is three years since that time, and Thou hast snatched away
Thy light from us that Thou mayest illumine those that are in darkness. Thou hast removed
our honour that Thou mayest honour those who are unworthy; Thou hast blotted out our
majesty that Thou mayest make majestic him that is not majestic; Thou hast taken away our
life that Thou mayest build up him whose life is far from Thee.

3 "Woe is me! Woe is me! I weep for myself. Rise up, David, my father, and weep with me
for our Lady, for God hath neglected us and hath taken away our Lady from thy son. Woe is
me! Woe is me! Woe is me! For the Sun of righteousness hath neglected me. Woe is me! For
we have neglected the command of our God, and we have become rejected ones on the earth.
As priests we have not acted well, and as Kings we have not done what is right in respect
of judgement to the orphans. Woe be unto us! Woe be unto us! What is right hath passed
from us, and we are rebuked. Woe be unto us! Our joy hath turned aside to our enemies, and
the grace that was ours hath been removed from us. Woe be unto us! Woe be unto us! Our
back is turned towards the spears of our enemies. Woe be unto us! Woe be unto us! Our
children have become the spoil and captives of those whom we recently had spoiled and made
captives. Woe be unto us! Woe be unto us! Our widows weep, and our virgins mourn. Woe be
unto us! Woe be unto us! Our old men wail and our young men lament. Woe be unto us! Woe be
unto us! Our women shed tears and our city is laid waste. Woe be unto us! Woe be unto us!
From this day to the end of our days [we must mourn], and our children likewise. Woe be
unto us! Woe be unto us! For the glory of the glorious daughter of Zion is removed, and
the glory of the daughter of Ethiopia, the vile, hath increased.

4 "God is wroth, and who shall show compassion? God hath made unclean, and who shall
purify? God hath planned, and who shall gainsay His plan? God hath willed, and who shall
oppose His intention? God speaketh, and everything shall come to pass. God hath abased,
and there is none that shall promote to honour. God hath taken away, and there is none who
shall bring back. God hateth, and there is none who shall make Him to love. Woe be unto
us! Our name was honoured, to-day it is nothing. Woe be unto us! From being men of the
household we have become men of the outside, and from being men of the inner chambers we
have been driven out through our sins. For God loveth the pure, but the priests would have
none of the pure, and have loved the impure. And the prophets rebuked us, but we would not
accept rebuke, and they [wished to] make us hear, but we would not hear. Woe be unto us!
Through our sins we are rejected, and because of our defection we shall be punished.
Sovereignty profiteth nothing without purity, and judgement profiteth nothing without
justice, and riches profit nothing without the fear of God. The priests love the words of
fables more than the words of the Scriptures; and they love the sound of the harp more
than the sound of the Psalter; and they love the service of the world more than prayer;
and they love the disputing of the world more than the voice of the Godhead;

5 and they love laughter and fornication more than the weeping of life; and they love the
food that passeth away more than the fasting to God; and they love wine and sweet drink
more than sacrificing to God; and they love idleness more than prayer; and they love
possessions more than [the giving of] alms; and they love sleeping more than praising; and
they love dozing more than watching. Woe be unto us! Woe be unto us! 6 "O Queen, we have
been negligent in respect of the Commandment of God. We have loved the words of the
fablemongers more than the word of the priests. We have wished to gaze upon the face of
our women rather than upon the face of God in repentance. We have loved to look upon our
children rather than to hear the word of God. We have consoled ourselves more with the
sardius stone than with the administering right judgement to the orphans. We have loved to
look upon our honour rather than to hear the voice of God. We have loved the word of
foolishness more than the words of the wise. We have loved the words of fools more than
hearing the words of the Prophets. Woe be unto us! Of our own free will we have polluted
our life. Woe be unto us! Woe be unto us! The repentance and mercy which God loveth we
have not done. Woe be unto us! He gave us glory, and we have thrown it away. He made us
very wise, and of our own freewill we have made ourselves more foolish than the beasts. He
gave us riches, and we have beggared ourselves even [to asking for] alms. We looked upon
our horses, and forgot our coming back. We have loved fleeting things, and we have not
recognized those that abide. We have made our days to deride our life, we have preferred
the luxuriousness of food, which becometh dung, to the food of life which endureth for
ever.

7 [We have put on] the garments of apparel which benefit not the soul, and have put off
the apparel of glory which is for ever. Our governors and the people do what God hateth,
and they love not what God loveth, love of their neighbours, and lowliness, and
graciousness, and mercy for the poor, and patient endurance, and love of the house of God,
and the adoration of the Son. But what God hateth is, augury by birds, and idolatry, and
enquiry of witches, and divination, and magic, and flies, and 'akartinô, the animal that
hath been torn, and the dead body of a beast, and theft, and oppression, and fornication,
and envy, fraud, drink and drunkenness, false swearing [against] neighbours, and the
bearing of false testimony [against] neighbours. 8 "All these things which God hateth they
do. And it is because of them that God hath taken the Tabernacle of His Covenant away from
us and hath given it to the people who do His Will and His Law, and His Ordinance. He hath
turned His face from us and hath made His face to shine upon them. He hath despised us and
hath loved them. He hath shown mercy unto them and hath blotted us out, because He hath
taken away the Tabernacle of His Covenant from us. For He hath sworn an oath by Himself
that He will not abrogate winter and summer, seed time and harvest, fruit and work, sun
and moon, as long as Zion is on the earth, and that He will not in wrath destroy heaven
and earth, either by flood or fire, and that He will not blot out man, and beast, and
reptiles and creeping things, but will show mercy to the work of His hands, and will
multiply His mercy on what He hath formed. And when God taketh away the Tabernacle of His
Covenant He will destroy the heavens, and the earth, and all His work; and this day hath
God despised us and taken from us the Tabernacle of His Law." And whilst Solomon was
saying these things he ceased not to weep, and the tears ran down his cheeks continually.

9 And the Spirit of Prophecy answered and said unto him, "Why art thou thus sorrowful? For
this hath happened by the Will of God. And [Zion] hath not been given to an alien, but to
thy firstborn son who shall sit upon the throne of David thy Father. For God swore unto
David in truth, and He repenteth not, that of the fruit of his body He would make to sit
upon his throne for ever, in the Tabernacle of His Covenant, the Holy Zion. And I will set
him above the kings of the earth, and his throne shall be like the days of heaven and like
the ordinance of the moon for ever. And He who sitteth upon the throne of the Godhead in
the heavens shall rule the living and the dead in the flesh for ever. And angels and men
shall serve Him, and every tongue shall praise Him, and every knee shall bow to Him in the
abysses and in the rivers. Comfort thyself with this [word], and get thee back to thy
house, and let not thy heart be wholly sad."

10 And the King was comforted by this [word], and he said, "The Will of God be done, and
not the will of man." And again the Angel of God appeared unto him openly, and said unto
him, "As for thyself, thou shalt build the house of God, and it shall be glory and as a
support for thee; and if thou wilt keep His Commandment and wilt not serve other gods thou
shalt be beloved by God, even as David thy father."

CHAPTER 61. HOW SOLOMON RETURNED TO JERUSALEM

1 And then Solomon came back to the city of Jerusalem, and he wept there with the elders
of Jerusalem a great weeping in the house of God. And after this the King and Zadok the
priest embraced each other, and they wept bitterly in the habitation of Zion, and they
remained silent for a long time. And the elders rose up and spake unto the King, saying,
"Be not thou sorrowful concerning this thing, O our Lord, for we know, from first to last,
that without the Will of God Zion will not dwell [in any place], and that nothing
happeneth without the Will of God. And as concerning Zion in olden time, in the days of
Eli the priest, before our fathers had asked for a king, the Philistines carried Zion away
captive into [their] camp—God having neglected Israel in the battle, and its priests 'Afnî
(Hophni) and Pînâhas (Phinehas) having fallen by the edge of the sword. And the
Philistines carried away the Tabernacle of the Law of God, and brought it into their city,
and set it in the house of their god Dagon. And Dagon was broken to pieces and destroyed,
and became like dust, and their land became a desert through mice, and they ate up all the
fruit of their land, and their persons became sores and boils.

2 And they gathered together their priests, and magicians, and star-gazers, and they
entreated them and said unto them, How can we relieve ourselves of these sores and the
tribulation which have come upon us, and upon our country?' And those magicians meditated
and withdrew themselves to be alone, and they brought their magical instruments, and
pondered, and considered, and planned how they could relieve them from tribulation of
their city and their persons. And they discovered that this punishment had come upon them
and their city because of Zion. And they went to their kings and their governors, and they
said unto them, 'All these things have befallen you through the heavenly Zion, the
Tabernacle of the Law of God. And now, know ye how ye will take her back into her city,
and her country, and her house. And we must by no means send her away empty, but must give
her an offering, so that she may forgive you your sins, and do away your tribulation when
she hath returned to her city. And if ye will not send her to her city, no good will come
of making her to live with you, but ye shall continue to be punished until ye are
destroyed.'

3 "And their kings and governors said unto their priests, 'What gift now say ye that we
ought to give her, and how shall we send her back? Find out, and tell us what we must do.'
And the priests of the Philistines took counsel together again, and they said unto their
kings and The Virgin and Child and Joseph fleeing to Egypt governors, 'Make for her
according to the heads of your houses, sixty figures of mice in gold, since mice have
destroyed your land, and sixty figures of the member of a man, since your own persons have
suffered from sores and boils on your members.' And the Philistines made as they commanded
them one hundred and twenty offerings of gold, and gave them to Zion. And again they said
unto the priests, 'How shall we send her away? And whom do ye say shall set her in her
city?' And again the magicians of the Philistines said unto them, 'Let them bring two she-
camels that brought forth their firstborn at the same time, and let them attach a wagon to
them—and they must keep back their young ones and shut them up in the house—and they must
yoke the two she-camels together, and then set them free and let them go where they will.
And if they march straight for Jerusalem we shall know that peradventure God hath had
compassion on our land; but if they wander about, and go hither and thither, and wish to
turn back to the place whence they started, then we shall know that God is [still] wroth
with us, and that He will not remove His punishment until He hath blotted out ourselves
and our city.'

4 "And the Philistines did as the priests commanded their governors, and they sent away
Zion, and prostrated themselves before her. And those camels made their way straight to
the country of Judah, and they came to the threshing floor and the house of thy kinsfolk
received them. And those who did not receive them were the men of the house of Dân, and
they did not do homage to Zion, for they regarded her in anger as their destroyed (?) God.
And they cut up the pieces of wood of the wagon, and they made those camels to be
sacrifices, and Zion returned to her place. And whilst Zion was in [her] house Samuel the
Prophet ministered unto her, and vision and prophecy were revealed unto him, and he
pleased God in all his actions, and he ruled Israel for forty-eight years. 5 "And after
him our people entreated God to give them a king like the nations that were round about
them. And Samuel the Prophet anointed Saul king, and he reigned forty years. And he was of
the tribe of Benjamin, which was the youngest branch of the peoples of Israel. And Samuel
the Prophet also anointed thy father David. And when the Philistines fought with Saul the
King, Saul was conquered and died with [Yô]nâthân his son. And those of his sons who were
left wished to carry away Zion, when they knew that their father and their brother were
dead. And then when they wished to hide her and to transfer her to the Valley of Gêlâbûhê
(Gilboa) in order that thy father David might not carry them off, she would not let them
carry her away until thy father came and carried her away from their city, but not with
offerings, and not with incense and burnt offerings. For it was impossible to carry Zion
away unless she wished it and God wished it. And again, when thy father reigned rightly
over Israel he took her from the city of Samaria and brought her here to Jerusalem,
dancing on his feet before her, and clapping his hands because of joy for her; for she was
taken by him that she might come to the city of David thy father.

6 And as for that which thou sayest concerning the going of Zion to their city, to the
country of Ethiopia, if God willed it and she herself willed it, there is no one who could
prevent her; for of her own will she went, and of her own will she will return if God
pleaseth. And if she doth not return it will be God's good pleasure. And as for us, if God
hath willed it Jerusalem shall remain to us wherein thou hast built for us a house of God.
And now, let not thine heart be sad, but comfort thou thyself with what we have said unto
thee. And the wisdom, which the Lord God of Israel hath given thee, hath sprouted from
thee. For wisdom is a strange thing. As a lamp is not the sun, and as vinegar and aloes
are neither profitable nor useful additions to honey, even so the words of fools are not
beneficial to the wise man. And as smoke is to the eye, and unripe fruit to the tooth,
even so the words of fools are not beneficial to the wise."

CHAPTER 62. CONCERNING THE ANSWER WHICH SOLOMON MADE TO THEM

1 And Solomon the King answered and said unto them, "Hearken ye unto me and to what I
shall say unto you. Supposing He had taken me away whilst I was carrying Zion—what is
impossible to God? And supposing He had taken you away whilst ye were carrying her—what is
impossible to God? And supposing He were to make them to inherit our city, and destroy
us—what is impossible to God? For everything is His, and none can gainsay His Will, and
there is none who can transgress His command in heaven above or on earth below. He is the
King Whose kingdom shall never, never pass away, Amen. But now let us go and kneel in the
House of God." And the elders of Israel together with their King went into the House of
God, and they entered the Holy of Holies, and they made supplication, and prostrated
themselves, and ascribed blessing to God. And Solomon wept in the habitation of the
heavenly Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law of God, and they all wept with him, and after a
little while they held their peace. And Solomon answered and said unto them, "Cease ye, so
that the uncircumcised people may not boast themselves over us, and may not say unto us,
'Their glory is taken away, and God hath forsaken them.' Reveal ye not anything else to
alien folk. Let us set up these hoards, which are lying here nailed together, and let us
cover them over with gold, and let us decorate them after

2 G 2 the manner of our Lady Zion, and let us lay the Book of the Law inside it. Jerusalem
the free that is in the heavens above us, which Jacob our father saw, is with us, and
below it is the Gate of Heaven, this Jerusalem on the earth. If we do the Will of God and
His good pleasure, God will be with us, and will deliver us out of the hand of our enemy,
and out of the hand of all those who hate us; God's Will, and not our will, be done, and
God's good pleasure, and not our good pleasure, be done. Through this He hath made us
sorrowful. Henceforward His wrath will cool in respect of us, and He will not abandon us
to our enemies, and He will not remove His mercy far from us, and He will remember the
covenant with our fathers Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. He will not make His word to be a
lie, and will not break His covenant so that our fathers' seed shall be destroyed."

CHAPTER 63. HOW THE NOBLES OF ISRAEL AGREED [WITH THE KING]

1 And then the elders of Israel made answer and said unto him, "May thy good pleasure be
done, and the good pleasure of the Lord God! As for us, none of us will transgress thy
word, and we will not inform any other people that Zion hath been taken away from us." And
they established this covenant in the House of God—the elders of Israel with their King
Solomon unto this day. And Solomon lived [thus] for eleven years after the taking away of
Zion from him, and then his heart turned aside from the love of God, and he forgot his
wisdom, through his excessive love of women. And he loved very greatly the daughter of
Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, whose name was Mâkshârâ, and he brought her into the house
which he had made; and there were figures of the sun, moon, and stars in the roof thereof,
and it was illumined by night as brightly as by day. Its beams were made of brass, and its
roof of silver, and its panels (?) of lead, and its walls of stone, red with black, and
brown with white [and] green; and its floor was of blocks of sapphire stone and sardius.
And he used to go and dwell therein through his love for his house and his wife Mâkshârâ,
the daughter of Pharaoh the king of Egypt.

2 Now the queen possessed certain idols which her father had given her to bow down before,
and because, when Solomon saw her sacrificing to them and worshipping them, he did not
rebuke her or forsake her, God was wroth with him, and made him to forget his wisdom. And
she multiplied her sacrifices, and her worship, and her folly, according to the stupidity
of the Egyptians, and all the people of her house worshipped the idols, and learned the
foolish service of idols. And enjoying the pleasure of their foolish service they
worshipped with the daughter of Pharaoh, and the children of Israel joined themselves to
her, and the women and their handmaidens joined themselves unto her in the worship and
foolish service of idols. And Solomon himself found pleasure in hearing their foolish
service and folly. And when she saw that he loved her, and hearkened, and held his peace,
and asked many questions about the foolish service of the gods of the Egyptians, she made
herself exceedingly agreeable to him, and she spoke to him with honeyed words, and with
the tender speech of women, and with the sweet smile that accompanieth the presentment of
an evil deed, and with the turning of the face and the assumption of a look of good
intent, and with the nodding of the head. With actions of this kind she caused his heart
to turn away from his good intent, and she enticed him to the evil of her work, wishing to
drag him down into the folly of the foolish service of idols through carelessness. And as
the deep sea draweth down into its depths the man who cannot swim, until the water
overwhelming him and destroyeth his life, even so did that woman wish to submerge Solomon
the King.

CHAPTER 64. HOW THE DAUGHTER OF PHARAOH SEDUCED SOLOMON

1 And then the daughter of Pharaoh appeared before Solomon, and said unto him, "It is good
to worship the gods like my father and all the kings of Egypt who were before my father."
And Solomon answered and said unto her, "They call gods the things which have been made by
the hands of the worker in metal, and the carpenter, and the potter, and the painter, and
the hewer in stone, and the sculptor; these are not gods, but the work of the hand of man,
in gold, and silver, in brass and lead, in iron and earthenware, and in stone, and ye call
'our gods' the things that are not your gods. But we worship none else than the Holy God
of Israel and our Lady, the holy and heavenly Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law of God, whom
He hath given us to worship, us and our seed after us."

2 And she answered and said unto him, "Thy son hath carried away thy Lady Zion, thy son
whom thou hast begotten, who springeth from an alien people into which God hath not
commanded you to marry, that is to say, from an Ethiopian woman, who is not of thy colour,
and is not akin to thy country, and who is, moreover, black." And Solomon answered and
said unto her, "Though thou speakest thus art thou not thyself of [that race] concerning
which God hath not commanded us that we should take wives from it? And thy kin is her kin,
for ye are all the children of Ham. And God, having destroyed of the seed of Ham seven
kings, hath made us to inherit this city, that we and our seed after us may dwell therein
for ever. And as concerning Zion, the will of God hath been performed, and He hath given
her unto them so that they may worship her. And as for me, I will neither sacrifice to nor
worship thine idols, and I will not perform thy wish."

3 And though she spake in this wise unto him, and though she shewed herself gracious unto
him evening and morning, and night and day, he continued to refuse her [request]. And one
day she beautified and scented herself for him, and she behaved herself haughtily towards
him, and treated him disdainfully. And he said unto her, "What shall I do? Thou hast made
thy face evil towards me, and thy regard towards me is not as it was formerly, and thy
beautiful form is not as enticing as usual. Ask me, and I will give thee whatsoever thou
wishest, and I will perform it for thee, so that thou mayest make thy face (or, attitude)
gracious towards me as formerly"; but she held her peace and answered him never a word.
And he repeated to her the words that he would do whatsoever she wished, and she said unto
him, "Swear to me by the God of Israel that thou wilt not play me false." And he swore to
her that he would give her whatsoever she asked for, and that he would do for her
everything that she told him. And she tied a scarlet thread on the middle of the door of
[the house of] her gods, and she brought three locusts and set them in the house of her
gods. And she said unto Solomon, "Come to me without breaking the scarlet thread, bend
thyself and kill these locusts before me and pull out their necks"; and he did so. And she
said unto him, "I will henceforward do thy will, for thou hast sacrificed to my gods and
hast worshipped them." Now he had done thus because of his oath, so that he might not
break his oath which she had made him to swear, even though he knew that it was an offence
(or, sin) to enter into the house of her gods.

4 Now God had commanded the children of Israel, saying, "Ye shall not marry strange women
that ye may not be corrupted by them through their gods, and through the wickedness of
their works and the sweetness of their voices; for they make soft the hearts of simple
young men by the sweetness of their gentle voices, and by the beauty of their forms they
destroy the wisdom of the foolish man." Who was wiser than Solomon? yet he was seduced by
a woman. Who was more righteous than David? yet he was seduced by a woman. Who was
stronger than Samson? yet he was seduced by a woman. Who was handsomer than 'Amnôn? yet he
was seduced by Tamar the daughter of David his father. And Adam was the first creation of
God, yet he was seduced by Eve his wife. And through that seduction death was created for
every created thing. And this seduction of men by women was caused by Eve, for we are all
the children of Eve.

CHAPTER 65. CONCERNING THE SIN OF SOLOMON

Now Solomon sinned an exceedingly great sin through the worship of idols, and from being a
wise man he became a fool, and his sin is written down in the Book of the Prophets. And
the Archbishops who were there answered and said, "Hath God had mercy on Solomon for this
error which is written down [as] his sin?" Yea, God hath had mercy upon him, and his name
is numbered with [the names of] Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and David his father in the
Book of Life in heaven. For God is a forgiver of those who have sinned. Come now, and
consider, which was the greater of the two, the sin of his father David or the sin of his
son Solomon? David caused Uriah to be slain in battle by means of a plan of deceit so that
he might take his wife Bérsâbêh (Bathsheba), the mother of Solomon; and he repented, and
God had compassion on him. And when he was dying he advised his son Solomon, saying, "Kill
Joab as he killed 'Amêr (Abner), and kill Shimei because he cursed me'; and he performed
the will of his father and slew them after the death of David his father. And Solomon
killed no one except his brother when he wished to marry the The Baptism of Christ by
John. Immediately above His halo is the dove; on the left of Christ are the three chief
Archangels Samênâwît, the wife of his father David whose name was 'Abîs (Abishag). And as
concerning the error of Solomon which is written down I will reveal it to you, even as God
hath revealed it to me.

CHAPTER 66. CONCERNING THE PROPHECY OF CHRIST

1 Now, according to the interpretation of prophecy, the name Solomon signifieth in the
secret speech "Christ." And as Solomon built the house of God, so Christ raised up His
Body and made it into the Church. And when He said unto the Jews, "Throw down this house,
and in three days I will build it up [again],' He spake to them of the house of His Body.
And as Solomon multiplied wives from alien peoples because of their beauty and
winsomeness, and desires [arose] in him in his feigning love [for them], so Christ
gathered together from alien peoples those who had not the Law, but who believed on Him.
And there was no uncircumcised man to Him, and no pagan; and there was no slave, and no
Jew, and no servant and no free man; but He gathered them all into His heavenly kingdom by
His Flesh and Blood. And in the Song of Songs Solomon himself sang and said, There are
sixty mighty men round about the bed of Solomon, all of them trained in war and holding
swords, each man with his sword upon his thigh.' The number sixty indicateth the number of
the righteous Patriarchs, and the Prophets, and the Apostles, and the Martyrs, and the
Believers, and the Saints, and the Monks who have resisted the evil thought and the war of
Satan. And the word sword" is, being interpreted, the word of the Scriptures. The word of
the Lord cutteth like a straight sharp razor, and in like manner the Scriptures cut from
men's hearts the danger caused by lying dreams by night. And the words "bed of Solomon"
are, being interpreted, the Church of Christ.

2 And again Solomon sang, saying, "King Solomon hath made a litter for himself," and these
words are to be interpreted that Christ hath put on our body. The name Solomon in the
language of the Hebrews is, being interpreted, "Christ." And the foolish Jews imagine that
the words of David, "The Lord said unto me, 'Thou art my son and I this day have begotten
thee,'" were spoken concerning Solomon his son. "O God, give Thy judgment to the king, and
Thy righteousness to the son of the king, so that he may judge thy people with
righteousness and thy needy ones with justice. And he shall live and they shall give him
of the gold of Arabia, and shall pray for him continually, and shall follow him [with good
words], and he shall be a support for the whole earth on the tops of the mountains, and
his fruit shall be greater than the cedar, and he shall flourish in the city like the
grass of the earth, and his name shall be blessed for ever, and his name shall be before
the sun. I have brought thee forth from the belly before the Morning Star. God hath sworn,
and He will not repent, thou art His priest for ever, after the appointment of
Melchizedek."

3 And concerning this prophecy and others like thereunto, which David prophesied
concerning Christ, the foolish Jews, who are blind of heart, say that what David said in
the beginning of his book was spoken concerning his son Solomon; this do the Jews say, and
they make Christ to be Solomon because of the similarity of name, and the wisdom, and
because He was the Son of David in the flesh. And although those who came after David and
Solomon, namely Elijah and Elisha, knew this, they ascribed Solomon's sin to him in the
Book of Kings in order that they might put to shame the Jews, who are blinded in heart and
the enemies of righteousness. And Solomon the King, the son of David the King and Prophet,
was himself also King and Prophet, and he prophesied many similitudes concerning Christ
and concerning the Church, and he wrote four books of prophecy, and is numbered with
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and David his father in the kingdom of the heavens.

CHAPTER 67. CONCERNING THE LAMENTATION OF SOLOMON

1 And now I will tell you how he died. His days were sixty [years], when a sickness
attacked him. And his days were not as the days of David his father, but they were twenty
[years] shorter than his, because he was under the sway of women and worshipped idols. And
the angel of death came and smote him [in] the foot, and he wept and said, "O Lord God of
Israel, I am conquered by the terrestrial law, for there is no one free from blemish
before Thee, O Lord, and there is no one righteous and wise before Thee, O Lord. For Thou
dost scrutinize and try the heart. Nothing is hidden from Thee. Thou lookest upon the
hidden things [as if they were] revealed, and Thou searchest out the heart. Have mercy
upon me, Lord. Thou examinest the heart of man and dost try the reins. Have mercy upon me,
Lord. Thou hearest both the whisper and the thunderclap. Have mercy upon me, Lord. And if
Thou hast mercy upon the righteous who have not transgressed Thy commandments, what is
there wonderful in Thy mercy? Have mercy upon me, Lord. But if Thou shouldest show mercy
upon me, a sinner, Thy mercy would be a marvellous and gracious thing. Have mercy upon me,
Lord. And although I have sinned remember Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, my fathers who
did not transgress Thy commandment. Have mercy upon me, Lord, for Thou art merciful and
forgiving; for the sake of David Thy servant have mercy upon me, Lord. O Master of the
world, and of kings and governors, have mercy upon me, Lord. O Thou who makest fools to be
wise, and the wise to be fools, have mercy upon me, Lord. O Turner of sinners and Rewarder
of the righteous, have mercy upon me, Lord." And as he spake these words tears streamed
down his face, and he searched for his napkin.

2 And the Angel of God went down to him and said unto him, "Hearken thou unto what I shall
say unto thee, for the sake of which God hath sent me. From being a wise man thou hast
turned thyself into a fool, and from being a rich man thou hast turned thyself into a poor
man, and from being a king thou hast turned thyself into a man of no account, through
transgressing the commandment of God. And the beginning of thy evil was the taking of many
wives by thee, for through this thou didst transgress His Law, and His decree, and the
ordinance of God which Moses wrote and gave to you, to Israel, that ye should not marry
wives from alien peoples but only from your kinsfolk and the house of your fathers, that
your seed might be pure and holy and that God might dwell with you. But thou didst hold
lightly the Law of God, thinking that thou wast wiser than God, and that thou wouldst get
very many male children. But the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men, and
He hath only given thee three sons: the one who carried off thy glory into an alien land,
and made the habitation of God to be in Ethiopia; the one who is lame of foot, who shall
sit upon thy throne for the people of Israel, the son of the kin of thy kin from Tarbāna,
of the house of Judah;

3 and the one who is the son of a Greek woman, a handmaiden, who in the last days shall
destroy Rehoboam and all thy kin of Israel; and this land shall be his because he
believeth in Him that shall come, the Saviour. And the tribe of Rehoboam, and those who
are left of Israel, shall crucify Him that shall come, the Redeemer, and the memory of you
shall be blotted out from the earth. For they shall think out a plan which they shall not
be able to establish, and He will be wroth with them and blot out the memorial of them. 4
"And as for thee, Joseph, the son of Jacob, shall be a symbol of thee. For his brethren
sold him into the land of Egypt from Syria, the country of Lâbâ (Laban), and on his going
down into the land of Egypt there arose a famine in Syria and in all the world. And
through his going down he called his kinsfolk and delivered them from famine and gave them
a habitation in the land of Egypt, the name whereof is Gêshên (Goshen). For he himself was
King under Pharaoh, King of Egypt. Similarly the Saviour Who shall come from thy seed
shall set thee free by His coming, and shall bring thee out of Sheôl, where until the
Saviour cometh thou shalt suffer pain, together with thy fathers; and He will bring thee
forth. For from thy seed shall come forth a Saviour Who shall deliver thee, thee and those
who were before thee, and those who shall [come] after thee, from Adam to His coming in
the kin of your kin, and He shall make thee to go forth from Sheôl as Joseph brought out
his kinsfolk from the famine, that is to say the first Sheôl in the land of famine, so
also shall the Saviour bring out of Sheôl you who are His kinsfolk. And as afterwards the
Egyptians made [the kinsmen of Joseph] slaves, so also have the devils made you slaves
through the error of idols.

5 "And as Moses brought his kinsmen out of the servitude [of Egypt], so shall the Saviour
bring you out of the servitude of Sheôl. And as Moses wrought ten miracles and punishments
(or, plagues) before Pharaoh the King, so the Saviour Who shall come from thy seed shall
work ten miracles for life before thy people. And as Moses, after he had wrought the
miracles, smote the sea and made the people to pass over as it were on dry land, so the
Saviour Who shall come shall overthrow the walls of Sheôl and bring thee out. And as Moses
drowned Pharaoh with the Egyptians in the Sea of Eritrea, so also shall the Saviour drown
Satan and his devils in Sheôl; for the sea is to be interpreted by Sheôl, and Pharaoh by
Satan, and his hosts of Egyptians by devils. And as Moses fed them [with] manna in the
desert without toil, so shall the Saviour feed you with the food of the Garden (i.e.
Paradise) for ever, after He hath brought you out from Sheôl. And as Moses made them to
dwell in the desert for forty years, without their apparel becoming worn out, or the soles
of their feet becoming torn, so the Saviour shall make you to dwell without toil after the
Resurrection. And as Joshua brought them into the Land of Promise, so shall the Saviour
bring you into the Garden of Delight. And as Joshua slew the seven Kings of Canaan, so
shall the Saviour slay the seven heads of 'Iblis.' And as Joshua destroyed the people of
Canaan, so shall the Saviour destroy sinners and shut them up in the fortress of Sheôl.
And as thou hast built the house of God, so shall churches be built upon the tops of the
mountains."

CHAPTER 68. CONCERNING MARY, OUR LADY OF SALVATION

1 "And again, there shall be unto thee a sign that the Saviour shall come from thy seed,
and that He shall deliver thee with thy fathers and thy seed after thee by His coming.
Your salvation was created in the belly of Adam in the form of a Pearl before Eve. And
when He created Eve out of the rib He brought her to Adam, and said unto them, 'Multiply
you from the belly of Adam.' The Pearl did not go out into Cain or Abel, but into the
third that went forth from the belly of Adam, and it entered into the belly of Seth. And
then passing from him that Pearl went into those who were the firstborn, and came to
Abraham. And it did not go from Abraham into his firstborn Ishmael, but it tarried and
came into Isaac the pure. And it did not go into his firstborn, the arrogant Esau, but it
went into Jacob the lowly one. And it did not enter from him into his firstborn, the
erring Reuben, but into Judah, the innocent one. And it did not go forth from Judah until
four sinners had been born, but it came to Fârês (Perez), the patient one. And from him
this Pearl went to the firstborn until it came into the belly of Jesse, the father of thy
father. And then it waited until six men of wrath had been born, and after that it came to
the seventh, David, thy innocent and humble father;

2 for God hateth the arrogant and proud, and loveth the innocent and humble. And then it
waited in the loins of thy father until five erring fools had been born, when it came into
thy loins because of thy wisdom and understanding. And then the Pearl waited, and it did
not go forth into thy firstborn. For those good men of his country neither denied Him nor
crucified Him, like Israel thy people; when they saw Him Who wrought miracles, Who was to
be born from the Pearl, they believed on Him when they heard the report of Him. And the
Pearl did not go forth into thy youngest son 'Adrâmî. For those good men neither crucified
Him nor denied Him when they saw the working of miracles and wonders by Him that was to be
born from the Pearl, and afterwards they believed in Him through His disciples. 3 "Now the
Pearl, which is to be your salvation, went forth from thy belly and entered into the belly
of 'Îyôrbê'âm (Rehoboam) thy son, because of the wickedness of Israel thy people, who in
their denial and in their wickedness crucified Him. But if He had not been crucified He
could not have been your salvation. For He was crucified without sin, and He rose [again]
without corruption. And for the sake of this He went down to you into Sheôl, and tore down
its walls, that He might deliver you and bring you out, and show mercy upon all of you. Ye
in whose bellies the Pearl shall be carried shall be saved with your wives, and none of
you shall be destroyed, from your father Adam unto him that shall come, thy kinsman Éyâkêm
(Joachim), and from Eve thy mother, the wife of Adam, to Noah and his wife Tarmîzâ, to
Târâ (Terah) and his wife Amînyâ, and to Abraham and his wife Sârâ (Sarah), and to Isaac
and his wife Rêbkâ (Rebecca), and to Jacob and his wife Lêyâ (Leah), and to Yahûdâ and his
bride Tê'emâr (Tamar), and to thy father and his wife Bêrsâbêh (Bathsheba), and to thyself
and Tarbânâ thy wife, and to Rehoboam thy son and his wife Amîsâ, and to Îyô'akêm
(Joachim) thy kinsman, who is to come, and his wife Hannâ.

4 "None of you who shall have carried the Pearl shall be destroyed, and whether it be your
men or your women, those who shall have carried the Pearl shall not be destroyed. For the
Pearl shall be carried by the men who shall be righteous, and the women who have carried
the Pearl shall not be destroyed, for they shall become pure through that Pearl, for it is
holy and pure, and by it they shall be made holy and pure; and for its sake and for the
sake of Zion He hath created the whole world. Zion hath taken up her abode with thy
firstborn and she shall be the salvation of the people of Ethiopia for ever; and the Pearl
shall be carried in the belly of 'Ayôrbê'âm (Rehoboam) thy son, and shall be the saviour
of all the world. And when the appointed time hath come this Pearl shall be born of thy
seed, for it is exceedingly pure, seven times purer than the sun. And the Redeemer shall
come from the seat of His Godhead, and shall dwell upon her, and shall put on her flesh,
and straightway thou 1. John the Baptist baptizing Christ in the Jordan

5 2. The heavenly dove hovering over Christ as He leaves the water thyself shalt announce
to her what my Lord and thy Lord speaketh to me. "I am Gabriel the Angel, the protector of
those who shall carry the Pearl from the body of Adam even to the belly of Hannâ, so that
I may keep from servitude and pollution you wherein the Pearl shall dwell. And Michael
hath been commanded to direct and keep Zion wheresoever she goeth, and Uriel shall direct
and keep the wood of the thicket which shall be the Cross of the Saviour. And when thy
people in their envy have crucified Him, they shall rush upon His Cross because of the
multitude of miracles that shall take place through it, and they shall be put to shame
when they see its wonders. And in the last times a descendant of thy son 'Adrâmis shall
take the wood of the Cross, the third [means of] salvation that shall be sent upon the
earth. The Angel Michael is with Zion, with David thy firstborn, who hath taken the throne
of David thy father. And I am with the pure Pearl for him that shall reign for ever, with
Rehoboam thy second son; and the Angel Uriel is with thy youngest son Adrâmî[s]. This have
I told thee, and thou shalt not make thy heart to be sad because of thine own salvation
and that of thy son."

6 And when Solomon had heard these words, his strength came [back] to him on his bed, and
he prostrated himself before the Angel of God, and said, "I give thanks unto the Lord, my
Lord and thy Lord, O thou radiant being of the spirit, because thou hast made me to hear a
word which filleth me with gladness, and because He doth not cut off my soul from the
inheritance of my father because of my sin, and because my repentance hath been accepted
after mine affliction, and because He hath regarded my tears, and hath heard my cry of
grief, and hath looked upon my affliction, and hath not let me die in my grief, but hath
made me to rejoice before my soul shall go forth from my body. Henceforward [the thought
of] dying shall not make me sorrowful, and I will love death as I love life. Henceforward
I will drink of the bitter cup of death as if it were honey, and henceforward I will love
the grave as if it were an abode of costly gems. And when I have descended and have been
thrust down deep into Sheôl because of my sins, I shall not suffer grief, because I have
heard the word which hath made me glad. And when I have gone down into the lowest depth of
the deepest deep of Sheôl, because of my sins, what will it matter to me?

7 And if He crush me to powder in His hand and scatter me to the ends of the earth and to
the winds because of my sins, it will not make me sorrowful, because I have heard the word
that hath made me to rejoice, and God hath not cut my soul off from the inheritance of my
fathers. And my soul shall be with the soul of David my father, and with the soul of
Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob my fathers. And the Saviour shall come and shall bring us
out from Sheôl with all my fathers, and my kinsmen, old and young. And as for my children,
they shall have upon earth three mighty angels to protect them. I have found the kingdom
of the heavens, and the kingdom of the earth. Who is like unto God, the Merciful, Who
showeth mercy to His handiwork and glorifieth it, Who forgiveth the sins of the sinners
and Who doth not blot out the memorial of the penitent? For His whole Person is
forgiveness, and His whole Person is mercy, and to Him belongeth praise. Amen.

CHAPTER 69. CONCERNING THE QUESTION OF SOLOMON

1 And Solomon turned and looked at the Angel and stretched out both his hands, and said,
"My lord, is the coming of the Saviour of which thou speakest near or far off?" And the
Angel answered and said unto him, "He will come three and thirty generations from thy kin
and from thy seed and will deliver you. But Israel will hate their Saviour, and will be
envious of Him because He will work signs and miracles before them. And they will crucify
Him, and will kill Him, and He shall rise up again and deliver them, for He is merciful to
the penitent and good to those who are His chosen ones. And behold, I tell you plainly
that He will not leave in Sheôl His kinsmen of Israel by whom the Pearl hath been
carried." 2 And when the Angel of God had spoken these words unto Solomon, he said unto
him, "Peace be unto thee." And Solomon answered and said unto him, "My lord, I beseech
thee, I would ask thee one question; be not unheedful of my cry." And the Angel said unto
him, "Speak, ask me thy question, and I will make thee to know what I have heard and
seen." And Solomon said unto him, "Now I am grieved because of Israel, His people, whom He
hath chosen as His firstborn from among all the ancient tribes of His inheritance; tell
me, will they be blotted out after the coming of the Saviour?" And the Angel of God
answered him again and said unto him, "Yea, I have told thee that they will crucify the
Saviour. And when they have poured out His blood on the wood of the Cross they shall be
scattered all over the world." And Solomon said, "I weep for my people. Woe to my people!
who from first to last have always provoked their Creator to wrath. I and those who have
been before me are unworthy to have mercy shown unto us because of the evil of our works,
for we are a faithless generation. Woe unto those who shall pour out innocent blood, and
calumniate the righteous man, and divide his spoil, and who neither believe on His word
nor walk in His Commandment! Their judgement is waiting, and their error abideth; great is
their punishment. And their sin is waiting, and it shall never be forgiven to them, and
the sin of their fathers shall be remembered; for

3 H 2 their work was sin, and they shall be destroyed by that which they themselves have
imagined. And woe also unto my soul! for I who have been honoured shall on my death be
treated with contempt; and I who have been renowned for wisdom upon the earth shall become
dust. In what way is the king superior if he hath not done good upon the earth to the
poor? Their falling into the grave is the same, and their path in the deep is the same. Of
what benefit (or, use) are we who are men? We are created in vain, and after a little time
we become as if we had never been created. As for the breath which we breathe, if it cease
for a short time, our soul passeth away, and if the beat of the spark of our heart which
moveth in our mind passeth away we become dust, and our friends and acquaintances hold us
to be a loathsome thing. And the understanding of our mind which is above [in] our heads
[is destroyed] when our soul is poured out, and we become worms and filth; and when the
heat of our body hath passed away we become nothingness and we pass away like the
dissolving of a cloud. What then? To multiply speech is useless, and the goodliness of the
stature is destroyed, and the strength of kings is blotted out, and the might of governors
is destroyed and is no more found. And we all pass away like shadows, and when we have
passed away in death our name is forgotten, and the trace of us cannot be found; after
three generations of our children there is none who will remember our name."

4 And straightway he turned his face to Rehoboam his son, and he said unto him, "O my son,
withhold thyself from evil and do the things that are good, so that thou mayest find many
days upon earth. And do not bow down to strange gods, and do not worship them, but fear
and honour God only, so that thou mayest conquer thy foes and thy adversaries, and mayest
inherit the habitation of thy father in the heavens, and also eternal life." And he said
unto him, "Write me in the roll of the Book, and lay it in the chest." And he said unto
Zadok the priest, "Anoint my son and make him king. As my father David, my lord, made me
king whilst he was alive, even so do I make my son Rehoboam king. And his seed shall be
the salvation of myself and of my fathers for ever, according to what the Angel of the
Lord spake unto me."

CHAPTER 70. HOW REHOBOAM REIGNED

1 Then Zadok the priest took Rehoboam and made him king, and he anointed him and performed
for him whatsoever the Law demanded. And Rehoboam laid a tablet of wood upon the
Tabernacle, and he found it with the name of his father Solomon [written upon] it, and
then they set him upon the king's mule, and said unto him, "All hail! Long live the royal
father!" and the city resounded with cries, and the trumpet was blown. And before Rehoboam
could return to his father Solomon died. And they laid Solomon in the tomb of his father
David, and they mourned for him with great mourning, for there was not found his like in
wisdom in those days. 2 And when seven days had passed Rehoboam made the mourning for his
father to cease. And the people of Israel gathered themselves together to Rehoboam, and
they said unto him, "Lighten for us [our] labour, for thy father made it very heavy in the
hewing of wood, and in the dressing of stone, and in making wagons for bringing down
cedarwood. And Rehoboam took counsel with the councillors and the elders of the house of
the king, and they said unto him, "Answer them graciously. For at this present thou art
like a young animal and thy loins are not able to bear the yoke. And now, speak unto them
graciously, and say unto them, 'I will do for you everything ye wish.' And when thy hand
hath gotten power over them thou canst do with thy people what thou wishest. And Rehoboam
drove out the elders and brought in the foolish young men who had been brought up with
him. And he took counsel with them, and told them of the message which the house of Israel
had sent to him and what the elders of the house of the king had counselled him to do. And
those foolish young men said unto him, "An aged man giveth the counsel of an aged man, and
the elder giveth the counsel of an elder, and a man stricken in years giveth the counsel
of the man who is stricken in years, and a young man like thyself giveth the counsel which
appertaineth to youth.

3 As for these men who are stricken in years, their loins are as tender as those of a
young animal that cannot walk. And as concerning this matter of which thou speakest, who
can dispute the command of our Lord the King? And one of them leaped up into the air
before Rehoboam, and another drew his sword, and another brandished his spear, and another
seized his bow and quiver. And when they had made an end of their playing they counselled
him, saying, "O our lord, may we be with thee, and thou with us! Now thy father in wisdom
gave us, the sons of men of Israel who are learned in the art of war, to grow up with thee
that thy kingdom might be strong after him. O our lord, show not a timid face to those
men, lest they think that thou art weak and art not able to make war against them and
against thine enemies. For if they see in us an attitude of weakness in word and in deed,
we shall be held in contempt by them, and they will not give us gifts, or presents, or
slaves, or tribute, and thy kingdom will be destroyed. But address them with bold words,
and speak unto them haughtily, saying, 'In respect of my father ye say in wood and in
stone, but I will make you to serve me with chains of iron and with scorpion-whips.

4 For my thin flank shall be stronger than the thickest part of my father's body, and my
counsel is greater than the counsel of my father who begot me. None shall diminish for you
the labour and the forced service, nay it shall be increased for you in every particular.
And if ye will not do my command, I will make your cattle my plunder, and your children
shall be captives, and my knife of slaughter shall consume you. And I will seize your
cities and your fields, and your plantations, and your wells, and your gardens, and your
lands, and your fruit (or, crops), and I will bind your honourable ones in chains of iron,
and your riches shall [provide] food for my servants, and your women shall be for the
adornment of the house of my nobles. And I will not alter this my decision, and will not
diminish it, and I will neither make it to be a lie nor to have no effect; and I will
carry it out quickly, and will write it down for ever. For the whole of this land was
given to David my grandfather for his kingdom, and to my father Solomon after him. And
[God] hath given it to me after my fathers as to them, and I will make you to serve me as
ye served them; and now take counsel and obey me.'"

5 And thus also did Rehoboam speak unto the elders of Israel. And the people all rose up
together in their full number, and they said, "Get back to [your] house[s], O Israel. Have
we none else whom we can make king save in the house of Judah and in the house of
Benjamin? We will reject their houses and the men of both of them, and we will make as our
king and governor the man whom we wish for and in whom our soul delighteth." And they took
up their weapons of war, and fled in a body, and came to the city of Samaria of Bēth
Ēfrātā, where they took counsel and were gathered together in a body. And the house of
Israel cast lots among themselves so that they might make king the man whom they chose
from the house of the father of the man wherein the lot fell. And the lot fell on the
house of Ephraim, on the son of Nābāt, and they chose a man from the house of his father,
and made Jeroboam king. And thus was the kingdom separated from Rehoboam, the son of
Solomon, and there were left to it only the house of Benjamin and the house of Judah his
father.

6 And the word which God spake unto David His servant was not made a lie, "Of the fruit of
thy body I will make to sit upon thy throne"; and again He said, "Ordained like the moon
for ever"; and again He said, "God sware unto David truly and will not repent. He Who
reigned on the throne of David His father was Jesus Christ, his kinsman in the flesh by a
virgin, Who sat upon the throne of His Godhead; and upon earth He granted to reign upon
His throne the King of Ethiopia, Solomon's firstborn. To Rehoboam God gave only two stems
(or, roots); and the King of Rômê is the youngest son of Solomon. And God did this in
order that foolish people might not call us Jews, because of Solomon and because of
Rehoboam his son—now God knoweth the heart—and He did this that they might not imagine
such a thing. They called Rehoboam "King of Judah," and they called the King of Samaria
"King of Israel. And of the generations of Rehoboam, from Rehoboam to 'Îyâkêm (Joachim)
were forty-one generations. And there were born to Malkî two children, Levi and Shem, the
begetter of Hônâsê. And Hônâsê begat Kalâmyôs, and Kalâmyôs begat Joachim, and Joachim
begat Mary, the daughter of David. And again Îlî begat Malkî, and Malkî begat Mâtî, and
Mâtî begat Êlî, and Jacob, and Hanna, the wife of Joachim. And Êlî took a wife and died
without children.

7 And Jacob took to wife Yôhadâ, the wife of Êlî, and he begat by her Joseph the
carpenter, who was the betrothed of Mary. And Joseph was the son of Jacob in the flesh and
the son of Êlî according to the The Temptation of Christ in the Desert. The Devil appears
in the form of an elderly bearded man and is offering a stone to our Lord. Behind him
stands the Spirit of Satan in the form of a man with wings, horns, tail, and claws instead
of feet Law; now God had commanded Moses that the Israelites were to marry their kinsfolk,
each in the house of his fathers, and that they were not to marry alien women.

CHAPTER 71. CONCERNING MARY, THE DAUGHTER OF DAVID

And from this it is evident that Mary was the daughter of David, and that Joseph was the
son of David. Therefore was Mary betrothed to Joseph her kinsman, as it is said in the
Gospel, "O Joseph, son of David, fear thou not to take to wife Mary thy betrothed, for
that which is to be born of her is of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God." And there was
born of her God, the Word, Light of Light, God of God, Son of the Father, Who came and
delivered His creation; from the hand of Sheôl, and from Satan, and from death He hath
delivered all of us who have believed in Him, He hath drawn us to His Father and hath
raised us up into heaven His throne to become His heirs; for He is a lover of man, and
unto Him praise belongeth for ever. Amen.

CHAPTER 72. CONCERNING THE KING OF RÔMÊ (CONSTANTINOPLE)

1 And we will begin to tell you what we have heard, and what we have found written, and
what we have seen concerning the King of Rômê. The kingdom of Rômê was the portion and
dominion of Japhet, the son of Noah. And sitting down they made twelve great cities, and
Darius built the greatest cities of their kingdoms: 'Anṭôkyâ (Antioch), Dîresyâ (Tyre?),
and Bârtonyâ (Parthia?), and Râmyâ (Roma?), and those who reigned dwelt there; and King
Constantine built Constantinople after his own name. Now the sign of the Cross having
appeared to him during the battle in the form of stars cut in the heavens, he was
delivered out of the hands of his enemy; and from that time onwards the Kings of Rômê made
their habitation there. And that Darius had many descendants; and from Darius to the days
of Solomon were eighteen generations. And of his seed was born a man whose name was
Zanbarês, and he made in wisdom a drawing of the astrolabe, and placed stars therein, and
[he made also] a balance (i.e., clock) for the sun. And he [fore]saw what would come
after, and that the kingdom would not remain to the children of Japhet, but would depart
to the seed of David, of the tribe of Shem. And when he thus saw, he sent a message to
David the King, saying, "Take my daughter for thy son";

2 and David the King took her and gave her to Solomon his son, and Solomon begat a son by
her and called his name "'Adrâmî. And Zanbarês died before [this] and Balṭasôr, who was of
his kinsmen, became king. And he lacked male offspring to reign after him upon his throne,
and he was jealous lest the children of his father should reign after him. And he sent a
written message to Solomon the King, saying, "Hail to the greatness of thy kingdom, and to
thine honourable wisdom! And now, give me thy son, whom I will make king over the city of
Rômê. For I have not been able to beget male children, but only three daughters. And I
will give him whichever of my daughters he pleaseth, and I will give him my throne, and he
shall be king, he and his seed after him in the city of Rômê for ever."

3 And when King Solomon had read this letter, he meditated, saying, "If I keep back my son
he will send to the King of the East, who will give him his son, and that which I have
planned will be made void; therefore I will give him my son." And he took counsel with his
counsellors of the house of Israel, and he said unto them, "We have already given our son
and our children to the country of Ethiopia, and Israel hath a kingdom there. And now, so
that we may have a third kingdom, the country of Rômê, I will send thither 'Ardâmîs my
youngest son. Hold ye not it against me as an evil thing that formerly I took away your
sons, for it is a pleasing thing to God that the men of Ethiopia have learned His Name,
and have become His people. In like manner, the men of Rômê, if we give them our children,
will become the people of God, and unto us moreover shall be given the name of People of
God,' being spoken of thus and called thus: The people of Israel have taken the kingdom of
Ethiopia and the kingdom of Rômê. Give ye your youngest sons as before [ye gave the
eldest], and let those of middle age stay in our city."

4 And they rose up, and took counsel, and returned, and said unto him, "We will speak this
matter unto the King, and he shall do his will." And he said unto them, "Make me hear what
ye would say." And they said unto him, "Thou hast already taken the eldest of our houses,
and now take the youngest of their children." And he was pleased with this counsel, and he
did for them as they wished. And he set forward 'Adrâmî his son, who took some of the
nobles of the lower grades of the house of Israel, and the lot fell upon him in the name
of his father Solomon; and they gave him a priest of the tribe of the Levites whose name
was Akîmîhêl, and they set Adrâmî upon the king's mule, and cried out to him, "Hail!
[Long] live the royal father!" And all the people said, "It is right and proper." And they
anointed him with the oil of kingship, and commanded him to keep all the laws of the
kingdom, and they made him to swear that he would worship no other god except the God of
Israel. And they blessed him as they had blessed David his brother, and admonished 'Adrâmî
even as they had admonished David, and they accompanied him on his way as far as the sea
coast.

5 And Solomon the King wrote and sent a letter, saying, "Peace be to Balṭasôr, the King of
Rômê! Take my son 'Adrâmî, and give him thy daughter, and make him king in the city of
Rômê. Thou didst wish for a king of the seed of David my father, and I have done thy will.
And I have sent unto thee his nobles, fourteen on his right hand and fourteen on his left,
who shall keep the Law with him and be subject unto thee according to thy will." And they
arrived there with the ambassadors of the King of Rômê, together with much splendour and
all the equipment that was requisite for the country of Rômê. And they came to the city of
Rômê, to Balṭâsâr the King, and they repeated all that Solomon had sent them to say, and
delivered over to him his son. And Balṭâsâr rejoiced exceedingly, and gave him his eldest
daughter, whose name was 'Adlônyâ; and he made a great marriage feast according to the
greatness of his kingdom, and established him over all his city of Rômê. And he blessed
him, for he was noble in stature, and his wisdom was marvellous, and he was exceedingly
mighty in his strength.

6 And one day Balṭâsâr wished to test his knowledge in the trying of cases, a man, the
possessor of a vineyard, having come to him and appealed to him, saying, "My lord,
'Arsânî, the son of Yôdâd, hath transgressed thy word, and hath laid waste my vineyard
with his sheep. And behold, I have seized his sheep and they are in my house; what
decision wilt thou come to in respect of me?" And the owner of the sheep came to the King
and made an appeal to him, saying, "Give me back my sheep, for he hath carried them off
because they went into his vineyard." And the King said unto them, "Go ye and argue your
case before your King 'Adrâmî, and whatsoever he shall say unto you that do." And they
went and argued their case before him. And 'Adrâmî asked him, saying, "How much of the
vineyard have the sheep eaten? The leaves, or the tendrils, or the young grapes, or the
shoots by the roots?"

7 And the owner of the vineyard answered and said unto him, "They have eaten the tendrils
and the branches that had grapes upon them, and there is nothing left of the vines except
the twigs by the root." And 'Adrâmî asked the owner of the sheep, saying, "Is this true?"
And the owner of the sheep answered and said unto him, "My lord, they ate [only] the
tendrils with leaves on them." And 'Adrâmî answered and said, "This man saith that they
ate the grapes: is this true?" And the owner of the sheep answered and said, "No, my lord,
but they ate the blossoms before they had formed into grapes."

CHAPTER 73. CONCERNING THE FIRST JUDGMENT OF 'ADRÂMÎ, KING OF RÔMÊ

And 'Adrâmî said unto them, "Hearken ye to the judgment which I will declare unto you. If
the sheep have destroyed all the shoots from the root of the vine, then they all belong to
thee. And if they have eaten the leaves of the branches, and the blossoms of the grapes,
take the sheep, shear their wool, and [take also] the young of those which have not yet
brought forth. But the sheep which have already brought forth young for the first time
leave to the owner of the sheep." And all those who heard the judgment which he pronounced
marvelled, and Balṭâsâr said, "Verily, this judgment is a judgment of the people of the
God of Israel. Henceforward judge him that hath a case at law, wage war with him that
would wage war, rule him that would be ruled, keep alive him that should be kept alive,
and pass the judgment that ought to be passed according as men would be judged, and take
this city to thyself and to thy seed after thee." And all the men of the city of Rômê were
well pleased, and they made 'Adrâmî king over them, and they rejoiced in him with a great
joy; for it happened thus by their will and by the Will of God. And [then] a fever seized
Balṭâsâr, and thereupon he sent Adrâmî to the war, and into everything that he wished,
whilst he himself remained in the city; and after this Balṭâsâr died, and Adrâmî directed
the kingdom. And the city of Rômê became the possession of Adrâmî and of his generations
after him, for by the Will of God the whole of the kingdom of the world was given to the
seed of Shem, and slavery to the seed of Ham, and the handicrafts to the seed of Japhet.

CHAPTER 74. CONCERNING THE KING OF MEDYÂM

1 The king of Medyâm was of the seed of Shem. For of the seed of Isaac was Esau, who went
forth from his mother's womb with Jacob clinging to the sole of his foot; and Jacob
carried away the right of the firstborn from Esau for the sake of a mess of pottage. And
the name of Esau's kingdom was called, according to his name of contempt, "Edom," for the
interpretation of "Edom" is "lentiles"; and because of this the seed of Esau were called
"Edomites. For through the greed of his belly he forsook and lost the right of the
firstborn of the seed of Shem. For unless the soul be restrained by temperance, it will
bring down into a net the whole of the lust of the belly which is of the body. For the
body is greedy, but temperance restraineth the soul, and therefore Paul said, "That which
the soul doth not wish the body wisheth; and that which the body doth not wish the soul
wisheth, and each contendeth against the other. If a man willeth a thing, and his soul
bandeth itself with the desire of his body he becometh like the Devil; but if he
restraineth his body, and his soul bandeth itself with his desire he becometh like Christ.
For the Apostles say that Christ is the Head of every man who travelleth upon the straight
road. And our Lord said unto His disciples, "Walk in the Spirit, and perform ye not the
lust of your bodies.

2 And when they heard this they forsook all the lust of the flesh, and they said unto our
Lord, "Behold now, we have forsaken everything and followed Thee; what is our reward? And
our Saviour said unto them, "Ye have made your bodies like unto those of the angels, and
ye shall do mighty deeds even as do I. And behold, I have given you authority to raise the
dead, and I have given you power to heal the sick, and ye shall trample upon all the power
of the Enemy. And at My second coming ye shall judge and shall put to shame the Twelve
Tribes of Israel, because they have not believed on Me, and have treated My glory with
contempt. And as for those who believe in Me, ye shall magnify them and shall make them to
rejoice with you in My kingdom.'

CHAPTER 75. CONCERNING THE KING OF BABYLON

Now the King of Babylon is of the seed of Shem, and we will show you clearly that the King
of Babylon is of the seed of Shem. It came to pass in days of old that there lived in the
kingdom of Manasseh, the King of Israel, a certain man whose name was Karmîn, and he was a
fearer of God, and he gave many alms and oblations to the poor of Israel. And when he made
offerings to the house of God, he did so with sincerity, and his tithe he gave twofold;
and he was good in all his ways, and there was no evil whatsoever before him. And Satan,
the enemy of all good, became envious of him, for he saw that his course of life was good.
And that man was exceedingly rich in camels and horses, and flocks of sheep, and herds of
cattle, and gold and silver, and fine apparel, and he used to feed the mule of the king in
'Armâtêm, a city of Israel. Now his native place was the country of Judah, his fathers'
portion, but because of [his] love for wealth he departed into 'Armâtêm to dwell there,
and Israel allowed him to settle there because of his riches; for he was exceedingly rich
and had many possessions, and the governors [of Judah] were afraid of him.

CHAPTER 76. CONCERNING LYING WITNESSES

1 And there was a certain depraved man of the seed of Benjamin, whose name was Benyâs, who
used to lead the mule of the King of Israel, and Karmîn used to feed him, together with
the mule of King Manasseh. And among the neighbours of Karmîn there were certain men who
were envious of him because of [his] pastures and wells, and because of the multitude of
his flocks and herds and servants, for the region [where he had settled] was the
inheritance of their fathers, and for this reason they wished to drive him away from their
country. And they kept watch upon Benyâs, the leader of the king's mule, with evil intent,
and they abused Karmîn, and said unto Benyâs, "This Karmîn blasphemeth, and he hath
blasphemed the King of Israel, the anointed of God, saying, 'This king is not the son of a
free woman, but the son of an old woman servant whom [a certain man] bought for two Kôr-
measures [of grain] to work at the mill and brick-making.' Do thou take thy case against
him to the king and accuse him, for we will be thy witnesses before the king, and we will
not let thee be put to shame." And they made a covenant together, and they swore to him
that they would bear false witness against Karmîn, by whose tongue such a word had never
been uttered, and into whose mind such a thought had never entered.

2 And Benyâs went to his lord, the King, and told him all this matter. And the King said
unto him, "Is there any man who hath heard this with thee?" And Benyâs answered and said
unto him, "Yea, there are some who have heard—two of the nobles of Israel who belong to
'Armâtêm." And the King said unto him, "Go now and bring them hither secretly so that we
may find The Gadarene swine rushing down into the sea out whether they agree with thy
words; [and if they do] we will cut off the head of Karmîn." And Benyâs departed and
brought Zaryôs and Kârmêlôs, of the tribe of Manasseh, for it had been agreed between them
that they would not put him to shame before the King in the matter of their lying
testimony. And these two men agreed together and planned when they were on [their] way,
saying, "When we have spoken to the King if he shall ask us afterwards separately (so that
he may find out the truth of our words), saying, 'Where did you hear these words?' we will
each of us answer and say unto him, 'When we were drinking wine with him.' And when he
shall say unto us, 'What day [was this]?' we will say, 'Five days after the new moon.' And
when he saith unto us, 'What time [of the day]?' we will say unto him, 'At the ninth hour,
when he was sitting with us, and we were drinking wine together.' And when he shall ask
us, saying, 'What did ye drink out of? and where were ye sitting?' we will say unto him,
'Out of cups of gold, and our seats were in the hall of his house where the cushions for
reclining upon were placed.'" And they agreed together on this evil plot [whilst they
were] on their way.

3 And when they arrived in the presence of the King Benyâs brought them forward, and the
King questioned them, and they repeated to him all their lying counsel. And he asked
them—according as they had surmised on the road—the occasion, and the day, and the hour of
their drinking [wine] and their sitting [in the hall], and they told him. Now, God hath
commanded that kings, and governors, and all those who occupy a high position shall
investigate an accusation, even as God commanded Moses. And when the King had enquired
into all this matter, he called the captain of his host who stood before him, and said
unto him, "Go at dawn of day to-morrow and surround the house of Karmîn and let not anyone
of his 1 people escape thee, neither man nor woman, and slay [them all] with the sword.
And as for Karmîn, cut off his head, and bring hither all his possessions, and his goods,
and all his flocks and herds, and his gold and silver."

4 And those liars rejoiced and returned to their district, and they went into the house of
Karmîn and held converse with him with words of peace, and they paid him compliments, and
they made jests before his face, evil being in their hearts. And then was fulfilled on
them the prophecy of David, who said, "Those who speak words of peace with their
neighbour, and [have] evil in their hearts, reward them according to the evil of their
works and according to the evil of their thoughts." And they drank themselves drunk in the
house of Karmîn, and they slept together with him. And when they had fallen asleep,
behold, the Angel of God was sent to Karmîn, and he awoke him and said unto him, "Leave
all thy possessions and save thyself, for men have been commanded by Manasseh the King to
cut off thy head. Take as much of thy riches as thou canst carry, and flee into another
country, for this Manasseh is a slayer of the prophets, and a seeker after the blood of
innocent men."

5 Then Karmîn rose up straightway, and sought out his treasure in gold and took it, and he
awoke his wife and his two sons, and he also awoke his chosen servants, and loaded them
with possessions of great value, and went forth by night. And he sent off his wife and his
sons with two servants to go to Jerusalem, and departed with two of his servants to a
remote country—a distance of three months' journey—and he arrived at Babylon. And he came
to Balâ'ôn, the King of Babylon, and gave him a gift, and related unto him what had
happened to him. And Balâ'ôn loved Karmîn, and gave him a habitation near the house of his
merchant, who had departed to a far country for a period of three years. And those men who
had borne lying testimony they killed in bed in Karmîn's house. 6 And the wife of the
merchant loved Karmîn, and she was seduced by him, and became with child; now the
behaviour of women is bad. And the husband of the woman had left her when she was with
child, and she brought forth and gave the child to a nurse who brought it up. And in the
second year she went astray and became with child by Karmîn, for the person of Karmîn was
exceeding goodly in Israel. And the woman wished to throw the child whom she had conceived
into the river when he was born and to wait for the merchant her husband as if she had not
gone astray, and had not done anything [wrong]. Even as Solomon the wise man saith, "There
are three things which are difficult to me in my mind, and the fourth of these I cannot
comprehend:—The track of the eagle in the heavens, the path of the serpent on the rock,
the track of a ship on the sea.' Now the fourth of them of which he speaks concerneth the
wicked woman, who, having wronged her husband, and washed herself, sitteth down like a
woman who hath done nothing, and she sweareth an oath falsely.

7 And at that time the wife of Balâ'ôn, the King of Babylon, conceived and brought forth
something which was like unto an eagle, a perfect bird but altogether without wings. And
she called a handmaiden who was a favourite, and sent the thing away in a wicker-basket
and commanded her to cast it into the sea (i.e. river), without letting anyone know about
it. And the time for the bringing forth of the wife of the merchant arrived, and she
brought forth a man-child, comely in form [and worthy of] compassion. And without suckling
it she called to a handmaiden who was a favourite, and put it into the inner part of a box
and commanded her to throw him into the sea (i.e. river), without anyone knowing about it;
for she was afraid of her husband. And in the same night two women brought forth, [the
merchant's wife] and the wife of the King, and at daybreak the two women sent their
handmaidens to cast their children into the river.

8 And by the Will of God these two handmaidens met each other before they had thrown the
children into the river, and they talked together. And the handmaiden of the King asked
the handmaiden of the merchant, saying, "What is in thy box?" and she showed her the
beautiful child. And the King's handmaiden said unto her, "Why hast thou brought him
here?" And the merchant's handmaiden said unto her, "Because the wife of my lord hath gone
astray with a certain Israelite, and she conceived and brought forth a child, and she hath
commanded me to throw him into the river." And the King's handmaiden said unto her, "Why
doth she not bring up a child who is so beautiful?" And the merchant's handmaiden said
unto her, "Her husband left her with child, and she brought forth a child, and is rearing
him; how then can she rear this child who is of strange and alien seed?" And the
merchant's handmaiden asked the King's handmaiden, saying, "What hast thou in thy box?"
And the King's handmaiden said unto her, "My lady hath brought forth a child that hath not
the appearance of a man but of a wingless eagle, and she hath commanded me to throw it
into the river. And now, give me this child of thine that I may give it to my mistress,
and do thou take this bird, and cast it into the river"; and they did so. And the
handmaiden of the King took the child [of Karmîn] to her mistress, and the Queen rejoiced,
and it was reported to the King that the Queen had borne a son. And the Queen gave the boy
to the nurses, and he grew up in the house of the King, and she called his name
"Nâbûkēdnâṣar" (Nebuchadnezzar), which is, being interpreted, "By the luck of the bird."

9 And through this it is well known that the King of Babylon is the seed of Shem. And he
came and overthrew Jerusalem by the Will of God, and he carried away captive the children
of Israel, and he made them to wander in the town of Babylon with the grandchildren of
Manasseh. And he was so very rich that he set up a pillar of gold on the plain of Babylon
sixty cubits high, and he was very arrogant, and he used to say, "I make the sun to shine
in the heavens"; and he worshipped idols. And God abased him so that he might know Him,
and He set his portion with the beasts of the field. And when he knew the Name of the Lord
after seven years He had compassion upon him, and brought him back in repentance. And the
kingdom of Babylon was his, and it belonged to those who were of his seed for ever.


THE QUEEN OF SHEBA AND HER ONLY SON MENYELEK: THE KEBRA NAGAST (CHAPTERS 77. CONCERNING THE KING OF PERSIA–97. CONCERNING THE MURMURING OF ISRAEL)
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THE QUEEN OF SHEBA AND HER ONLY SON MENYELEK: THE KEBRA NAGAST continued

CHAPTER 77. CONCERNING THE KING OF PERSIA

1 And the King of Persia is likewise of the seed of Shem, and we will inform you
concerning the matters that relate to him. Judah begot two sons, and he brought in Tē'mār
(Tamar) for his eldest son, and he died. And Judah sent his younger son to her that he
might raise up seed to his brother by his brother's wife. And he did that which God hated,
and he did not wish to raise up seed to his brother as his father Judah had commanded him.
Now when he lay with Tamar he made his seed to go into the ground, so that it might not
germinate in her womb and be called the seed of his brother, but he wished to raise up
seed by his own wife in his own name. And when God saw his evil act He turned His face
away from him and slew him. And Judah, the father-in-law of Tamar, brought her back, and
set her in the house of her father, and said unto her kinsfolk, "Keep carefully this
Israelitish woman, and let her not defile herself with an alien. For I have a little son,
and if God will let him grow up I will give him to her. And whilst Tamar was living as a
widow in her father's house, behold, Judah her father-in-law came to the place where his
sheepfolds were to shear wool with great satisfaction and pleasure.

2 And when Tamar heard that her father-in-law had come, she cast away from her the apparel
of widowhood, and she put herself in splendid apparel, and she veiled herself after the
manner of a harlot, and she followed him and sat down. And he sent a message to her,
saying, "I wish to company with thee. And she said unto him, "What wilt thou give me for
my hire? And he said unto her, "I will send to thee in the morning early a sucking lamb";
and she said unto him, "Give me a pledge until thou givest me the lamb. And he gave her
[his] staff, and ring, and the close-fitting cap that was under his headdress. And he
companied with her, and she took [the things] and departed unto her house. And he sent the
lamb unto her early in the morning. And his servants enquired and said, "Where is the
house of the harlot? And they said unto him, "There is no harlot in our town"; and they
returned into their city and told him that there was no harlot in their town. And Judah
said, "Leave ye [it]; the Will of God be done."

3 Then Tamar conceived and they told her father-in-law that she had conceived. And he went
and took the elders of Israel to the father of Tamar, and he said unto him, "Bring to me
thy daughter who hath conceived that we may stone her with stones even as Moses commanded,
for she hath brought reproach upon the house of Israel." And the father and kinsfolk of
Tamar told her that her father-in-law spake thus. And she brought out the ring, and the
staff, and the cap, and gave [them] to her father and her kinsfolk, and she said unto
them, "The owner of these things hath seduced me; let them stone me with him with stones."
And when Judah saw his possessions he recognized [them], and he said, "Tamar is more
righteous than I"; and he left her and came to his house. And Tamar brought forth twins,
two nations, Fârês (Perez) and Zârâ. And Fârs (Persia) was founded in the name of Fârês,
and he ruled over it and his seed after him, and they were called "Farasâwîyân"
(Persians). Behold now, it is proved that the King of Persia is of the seed of Shem.

CHAPTER 78. CONCERNING THE KING OF MOAB

1 And the King of Moab is of the seed of Shem, and we will inform you how this hath come
to pass. When God made Abraham to depart from his father's country into the land of Kârân
(Harran), He made Lot to pass over into the land of Sodom and Gomorrah. And when God
wished to blot out the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, He sent His Angels Michael and
Gabriel to bring out Lot and to burn up the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah; and they
destroyed them and brought out Lot with his children. And his wife turned round so that
she might see the city of her father and her mother. Now the wrath of God came down on the
city of Sodom [in the form of] a rain of fire from heaven, which burned up mountains, and
hills, and stones, and earth. And lightnings, and forked lightnings, and peals of thunder
came down mingled with the crashing of the wrath of God, and a cloud of fire which made
the heat to emit smoke. And when all this uproar was being heard the Angels said unto Lot,
"Turn not round after ye have gone forth from the city, turn not round that ye die not the
death. But when 'Akmâbâ, the wife of Lot, heard this, she turned round, and she became a
pillar of salt, and she existeth to this day, to this very day. And as for Lot, God made
him to dwell in the mountains of Ararat.

2 And he planted a new vineyard, and his daughters made their father to drink wine, and
they plotted a wicked plot, and they said, "How (i.e. why) shall the possession of our
father be wasted (or, blotted out)? Our mother hath been destroyed on the road, and there
is no one to marry us here. And they made their father drunk, and his elder daughter lay
with him whilst his mind was clouded with wine, and Lot the righteous man did not know
when his daughter lay with him and when she rose up from him, for his mind was clouded
with strong drink. And Noah was drunk and naked before his wife and children, and he
cursed his son who laughed at him; and [the act of lying with his daughter] was not
reckoned against Lot as sin, for he did it unknowingly. And his elder daughter conceived
and brought forth a child, and she called him "Moab," which is, being interpreted, "From
my father on my knee. And he was the father of the Moabites and the Agarenes. Behold now,
it is clear that the King of Moab is of the seed of Shem.

CHAPTER 79. CONCERNING THE KING OF AMALEK

1 And it came to pass that when the elder daughter of Lot had brought forth her son, she
said unto the younger daughter, "Come now, let us make our father drink wine, so that thou
also mayest company with him that, peradventure, thou mayest get offspring." And again
they prepared wine, and again they spoke to him the words of foolishness, and said unto
him, "Drink wine, O our father, so that thy heart may be comforted"; and he, the simple
man, drank and became drunk. And again, when he had drunk and his mind was clouded with
wine, the younger daughter came and lay with him, and again he did not know of her lying
with him, or of her rising up from him. And she also conceived and gave birth to a son,
and she called his name "Ammon," and he is the father of the Amalekites. Christ casting a
devil out of a man in the presence of the Jews and His Apostles The following table is a
simple diagram and cannot be extracted.

2 Behold now, it is clear that the King of Amalek is of the seed of Shem.

CHAPTER 80. CONCERNING THE KING OF THE PHILISTINES

1 And behold, the seed of Samson reigned over the Philistines. And Samson was of the seed
of Dan, [one] of the twelve sons of Jacob, and he was the son of a handmaiden of Jacob;
and we will inform you how this Samson came into being. The Angel of the Lord appeared to
the mother of Samson and said unto her, "Keep thyself from all pollution, and company with
no man except thy husband, for he who shall be born of thee shall be a Nazarite, holy to
the Lord, and he shall be the deliverer of Israel from the hand of the Philistines." And
then she brought forth Samson. And again the Angel appeared unto her and said unto her,
"Thou shalt not let a razor go upon his head, and he shall neither eat flesh nor [drink]
wine, and he shall marry no strange woman but only a woman of his own kin and from the
house of his father." And how God gave him strength ye have heard in the Book of Judges.
But he transgressed the commandment of God, and came and married a daughter of the
uncircumcised Philistines. And because of this God was wroth, and He delivered him into
the hands of men of the uncircumcised Philistines, and they blinded his eyes, and they
made him act the buffoon in the house of their king. And he pulled the roof down upon
them, and slew seven hundred thousand of them, and during his life he slew seven hundred
thousand of them with iron, and stone, and [his] staff, and the jaw-bone of an ass. For
their number was as that of the locusts, until he released Israel from the service of the
Philistines.

2 And then Dalīlā (Delilah) conceived by Samson, and whilst she was with child Samson died
with the Philistines; and Delilah brought forth a son and she called his name "Menahem,"
which is, being interpreted, "Seed of the strong man." Now Delilah was the sister of
Maksâbâ, the wife of the King of the Philistines, and when Samson slew the King of the
Philistines in the house with his people and his household, and he died with him, Delilah
went to her sister Maksâbâ, the Queen of the Philistines. Now both women were beautiful,
and they had no children, but both had conceived; Maksâbâ had been with child six months
by Kwôlâsôn, the King of the Philistines, and Delilah had been with child four months by
Samson; and the husbands of both were dead. And the two women loved each other
exceedingly. And their love for each other was not like the love of sisters, but like that
of the mother for the child, and of the child for the mother; even so was their love. And
they lived together. And the dominion over those who were left of the slaughter [made] by
Samson in the house of the king was in the hands of Maksâbâ, for none of the mighty men of
war of the kingdom of the Philistines were left, and therefore Maksâbâ ruled over those
that were left. And they spake unto her morning and evening, saying, "We have no other
king except thyself, and except that one that shall go forth from thy belly. If our Lord
Dâgôn will do a favour unto us that which is in thy belly shall be a son, who shall
reverence our god Dâgôn and shall reign over us. And if it be a daughter we will make her
to reign over us, so that thy name and the name of Kwôlâsôn our lord shall be your
memorial over us."

3 And then Maksâbâ brought forth a man-child and all the men of the Philistines rejoiced,
and they did homage to her and sang, saying, "Dâgôn and Bêl have honoured her and loved
Maksâbâ, and the seed of Kwôlâsôn is found again from Maksâbâ." And Delilah also bore a
son, and the two women brought up the children in great state and dignity. And when the
children were five years old they ate and played together before them, and the mothers
made garments of costly stuff for them, and [set] daggers above their loins, and chains on
their necks. And the people seated the son of Maksâbâ on the throne of his father, and
made him king over the Philistines.

CHAPTER 81. HOW THE SON OF SAMSON SLEW THE SON OF THE KING OF THE PHILISTINES

1 Now that other son Akamhel, the son of Samson, spake unto his mother Delilah, saying,
"Why am I not reigning and sitting upon this throne?" And his mother said unto him,
"Cease, my son. This throne did not belong to thy father, and this city was not thy
father's city; when the God of thy father hath let thee grow up thou shalt go to thy
father's throne." And her son said unto her, "Nay, I will neither forsake thee, my mother,
nor Maksâbâ my mother, and I will be king here." And one day the two youths were drunk
after [their] meal was ended, and the doors were shut. And the two women were sitting
together about to eat flesh, and the two youths were playing before them, and they ate
with them, and a maidservant held the dish between them. And 'Akêmêhel, the son of
Delilah, took from the dish [a piece of] flesh, which would fill both his hands, and put
it to his mouth, and Tebrelês, the son of Maksâbâ, the King of the Philistines, snatched
away that part of the flesh that was outside his mouth. And Akêmêhel drew his sword and
cut off his head, and it fell into the dish before he could swallow what he had seized;
and his body fell upon the paving of the house; and his hands and his feet twitched
convulsively, and he died straightway. And fear and dismay laid hold upon their two
mothers, and they spake never a word to anyone because they were afraid, but they
swallowed the food which was in their mouths, and they looked at each other, not knowing
what to do.

2 And that handmaiden rose up from them, and she took the head of Tebrêles out of the
dish, and put it back on its neck and covered it over with her garment. And Delilah rose
up and seized the sword of the dead son of her sister, and went to kill 'Akêmêhêl, but he
saved himself by hiding behind a pillar. And he made ready to kill his mother. And her
sister rose up and seized her, saying, "Why should we be destroyed through their
[quarrel?]. This [youth] is [sprung] from a bad root, and cannot [bear] good fruit; come,
my sister, let him not destroy thee also." And she took the sword from her hand, and drew
up from her pillow (?) rich purple clothing which kings wear, and she gave it to him, and
she spake kindly words unto him, saying, "Take the apparel, my son, and thou thyself shalt
sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Philistines." And 'Akêmêhêl raged like a savage
bear, for he wished to slay both women until he made them to leave the house. And they
went out, and when he had made them leave the house he took the purple apparel, and went
out. And the two women came back, and made the dead body ready for burial, and they buried
it secretly.

3 And when the time for the evening meal had come, the young men and the stewards sought
for [their king] and found him not, and they asked about him, and his mother said unto
them, "Your king is sick, and this man will sit in place of him." And they took him and
set him on the throne, and they prepared a feast, and rejoiced. And from that time onward
the son of Samson reigned over them, and there was none who transgressed his
commandment—now he committed this act [of murder] fif[teen] winters after he was born—and
the kingdom of the Philistines became his and his seed's after him. Therefore, beloved, it
is well known that the kingdom of the Philistines belongeth to the seed of Shem.

CHAPTER 82. CONCERNING THE GOING DOWN OF ABRAHAM INTO EGYPT

1 And we could also inform you that when God had given unto Abraham glory and riches, he
lacked a son. And Sârâh and Abraham talked together on their bed, and he said unto her,
"Thou art barren," and she said unto him, "It is not I who am barren but thyself"; and
they continued to discuss the matter and to dispute together about it. And there came a
famine in the land of Canaan, and Abraham heard that there was some food in the land of
Egypt, the country of Pharaoh. And when he had spent all his possessions in charity to the
poor during the days of the famine, without providing for the morrow, the famine waxed
strong in the land of Canaan, and he lacked food to eat. And he said, "I give thanks unto
God that what He hath given unto me I have expended on my servants. But as for thee, my
sister Sârâh, come, let us go into the land of Egypt in order to save ourselves from death
by famine." And she said unto him, "Thy will be done, O my lord, and if thou die I will
die with thee, and if thou live I will live with thee; it is not for me to gainsay thy
word for ever." And then they rose up and set out on their journey.

2 And when they drew nigh [to Egypt] Abraham said unto Sârâh, "One thing I must ask of
thee, and do thou what I ask of thee"; and Sârâh said, "Speak, my lord." And he said unto
her, "I have heard that the habits of the Egyptians are lawless, and that they live in
idolatry and fornication. And when they have seen thee they will plot evil against me, and
slay me because of the goodliness of thy beautiful form; for there is among them no one
that can be compared unto thee. And now, in order that thou mayest save my life, do thou
say, if they happen to ask thee questions about me, 'I am his sister,' so that thou mayest
save my soul from death by the hand of the strangers." And Sârâh said, "Thy will shall be
done. The word which thou tellest me I will speak, and what thou tellest me to do I will
do." And they wept and worshipped God, and they came into the great city of the King of
Egypt.

3 And when the Egyptians saw Abraham and Sârâh they marvelled at the beauty of their
appearance, for they imagined that they had been brought forth by the same mother. And
they said unto Abraham, "What is this woman to thee? And Abraham said unto them, "She is
my sister. And they also asked Sârâh "What is this man to thee? And she said unto them,
"He is my brother. Therefore did the people make a report to Pharaoh that a pair of goodly
form had arrived, one a woman and the other a young man, and that there was no one like
unto them in all the land. And Pharaoh rejoiced, and he sent a message to Abraham, saying,
"Give me thy sister that I may betroth her to myself. And Abraham pondered in his mind,
saying, "If I keep her back he will kill me and take her"; and he said, "Do so, provided
that thou dost make me well content. And Pharaoh gave him one thousand silver taşlâhet,
and took Sârâh to make her his wife. And he brought her into his house, and set her upon
his bed and Pharaoh the King of Egypt would have companied with her. But the Angel of the
Lord appeared unto him by night carrying a sword of fire, and he drew nigh unto him, and
he lighted up the whole chamber with his fiery flame, and he wished to slay Pharaoh.

4 And Pharaoh fled from one wall of the chamber to the other, and from one corner of the
chamber to the other; wheresoever he went the Angel followed him; and there was no place
left whereto he could flee and hide himself. Then Pharaoh stretched out his hands and said
unto the Angel, "O lord, forgive me this my sin. And the Angel said unto him, "Why dost
thou attack the wife of [another] man? " And Pharaoh said unto him, " O lord, slay thou
not innocent blood. For he said unto me ' She is my sister,' and therefore I took her to
myself innocently. What shall I do to deliver myself from thy hands? " And the Angel said
unto him, " Give Abraham's wife back to him, and give him a gift, and send him away to his
own country. And straightway Pharaoh called Abraham, and gave unto him his wife Sârâh,
together with a handmaiden whose name was 'Agâr (Hagar), and he gave unto him gold, and
silver, and costly apparel, and sent him away in peace.

5 And Abraham and his wife returned to their country in peace. And Sârâh said unto
Abraham, " I know that I am barren. Go thou in to this my handmaiden whom Pharaoh gave
unto me; peradventure God will give thee seed in her. As for me, my person is shrunk and
withered, and the flower of my body hath dried up." And she gave 'Agâr unto him. And
Abraham went in to Agâr, and she conceived by him, and she brought forth a son and called
his name Ishmael, which is, being interpreted, " God hath heard me." And afterwards God
gave Abraham seed from his wife Sârâh and he begat Isaac. And afterwards Sârâh became
jealous of Ishmael, the son of her handmaiden, because he would reach manhood before her
son, and she said, " Peradventure he will slay my son and inherit his father's house." And
Abraham offered up offerings to God and said, " Lord, what shall I do in respect of
Ishmael, my son, my firstborn? I wish him to live for me before Thee, but Sârâh, my
sister, is jealous because Thou hast given me seed in her old age." Now Ishmael was
fourteen years old before Isaac was born. And God said unto Abraham, " What Sârâh saith is
true; cast out the handmaiden with her son Ishmael. Let Ishmael live before Me, and I will
make him a great nation, and he shall beget twelve nations and shall reign over them. And
I will establish My covenant with Isaac My servant, the son of Sârâh, and in him I will
bless all the nations of the earth, and I will make for him a great kingdom over all the
nations of the earth, and in the heavens also I will make him king."

CHAPTER 83. CONCERNING THE KING OF THE ISHMAELITES

And therefore the children of Ishmael became kings over Tereb, and over Kebet, and over
Nôbâ, and Sôba, and Kuergue, and Kîfî, and Mâkâ, and Môrnâ, and Fînkânâ, and 'Arsîbânâ,
and Libâ, and Mase'a, for they were the seed of Shem. And Isaac reigned over Judah and
over Amôrêwôn, and over Kêtêwôn, and Îyâbûsêwôn, and Fêrzêwôn, and Eêwêwôn, and Kêkêdêwôn,
and Rômyâ, and Anşôkyâ (Antiochia), and Sôryâ (Syria), and Armenia, and Felesteêm
(Palestine), and Ethiopia, and Edom, and Philistia, and Îyôâb, and Amalek, and Phrygia,
and Babylon, and Yônânest, and Ebrâyast. For as God sware He gave all kingdoms to the seed
of Shem, and an exalted throne and dominion to the seed of Shem, even as his father Noah,
by the word of God, blessed his son Shem, saying, "Be lord to thy brethren and reign over
them." And this that he said had reference to the Redeemer, the King of us all, Jesus
Christ the King of heaven and earth, Who magnifieth kings, and Who when He pleaseth
abrogateth their power; for unto Him belong power and dominion over all created things for
ever and ever. Amen.

CHAPTER 84. CONCERNING THE KING OF ETHIOPIA AND HOW HE RETURNED TO HIS COUNTRY

And the King of Ethiopia returned to his country with great joy and gladness; and marching
along with their songs, and their pipes, and their wagons, like an army of heavenly
beings, the Ethiopians arrived from The Transfiguration. Christ in converse with Moses and
Elias on Mount Tabor Jerusalem at the city of Wakêrôm in a single day. And they sent
messengers in ships to announce [their arrival] to Mâkedâ, the Queen of Ethiopia, and to
report to her how they had found every good thing, and how her son had become king, and
how they had brought the heavenly Zion. And she caused all this glorious news to be spread
abroad, and she made a herald to go round about in all the country that was subject unto
her, ordering the people to meet her son and more particularly the heavenly Zion, the
Tabernacle of the God of Israel. And they blew horns before her, and all the people of
Ethiopia rejoiced, from the least to the greatest, men as well as women; and the soldiers
rose up with her to meet their King. And she came to the city of the Government, which is
the chief city of the kingdom of Ethiopia; now in later times this [city] became the chief
city of the Christians of Ethiopia. And in it she caused to be prepared perfumes
innumerable from India, and from Bâltê to Gâltêt, and from 'Alsâfu to Azazat, and had them
brought together there. And her son came by the Azyâbâ road to Wakêrôm, and he came forth
to Masas, and ascended to Bûr, and arrived at the city of the Government, the capital
[city] of Ethiopia, which the Queen herself had built and called "Dabra Mâkedâ," after her
own name.

CHAPTER 85. CONCERNING THE REJOICING OF QUEEN MÂKEDÂ

1 And David the King came with great pomp unto his mother's city, and then he saw in the
height the heavenly Zion sending forth light like the sun. And when the Queen saw this she
gave thanks unto the God of Israel, and praised Him. And she bowed low, and smote her
breast, and [then] threw up her head and gazed into the heavens, and thanked her Creator;
and she clapped her hands together, and sent forth shouts of laughter from her mouth, and
danced on the 2 K ground with her feet; and she adorned her whole body with joy and
gladness with the fullest will of her inward mind. And what shall I say of the rejoicing
which took place then in the country of Ethiopia, and of the joy of the people, both of
man and beast, from the least to the greatest, and of both women and men? And pavilions
and tents were placed at the foot of Dabra Mâkedâ on the flat plain by the side of good
water, and they slaughtered thirty-two thousand stalled oxen and bulls. And they set Zion
upon the fortress of Dabra Mâkedâ, and made ready for her three hundred guards who wielded
swords to watch over the pavilion of Zion, together with her own men and her nobles, the
mighty men of Israel. And her own guards were three hundred men who bore swords, and in
addition to these her son David had seven hundred [guards]. And they rejoiced exceedingly
with great glory and pleasure [being arrayed] in fine apparel, for the kingdom was
directed by her from the Sea of 'Alêbâ to the Sea of Ôsêkâ, and everyone obeyed her
command. And she had exceedingly great honour and riches; none before her ever had the
like, and none after her shall ever have the like. In those days Solomon was King in
Jerusalem, and Mâkedâ was Queen in Ethiopia. Unto both of them were given wisdom, and
glory, and riches, and graciousness, and understanding, and beauty of voice (or, eloquence
of speech), and intelligence. And gold and silver were held as cheaply as brass, and rich
stuffs wherein gold was woven were as common as linen garments, and the cattle and the
horses were innumerable.

CHAPTER 86. HOW QUEEN MÂKEDÂ MADE HER SON KING

And on the third day Mâkedâ delivered over to her son seventeen thousand and seven hundred
chosen horses, which were to watch the army of the enemy, and would again plunder the
cities of the enemy, and seven thousand and seven hundred mares that had borne foals, and
one thousand female mules, and seven hundred chosen mules, and apparel of honour, gold and
silver measured by the gômôr, and measured by the kôr, some six and some seven, and she
delivered over to her son everything that was his by law, and all the throne of her
kingdom.

CHAPTER 87. HOW THE NOBLES (OR GOVERNORS) OF ETHIOPIA TOOK THE OATH

1 And the Queen said unto her nobles: "Speak ye now, and swear ye by the heavenly Zion
that ye will not make women queens or set them upon the throne of the kingdom of Ethiopia,
and that no one except the male seed of David, the son of Solomon the King, shall ever
reign over Ethiopia, and that ye will never make women queens." And all the nobles of the
king's house swore, and the governors, and the councillors, and the administrators. And
she made Êlmêyâs and 'Azâryâs (Azariah) the chief of the priests and the chief of the
deacons, and they made the kingdom anew, and the sons of the mighty men of Israel
performed the Law, together with their King David, in the Tabernacle of Witness, and the
kingdom was made anew. And the hearts of the people shone at the sight of Zion, the
Tabernacle of the Law of God, and the people of Ethiopia cast aside their idols, and they
worshipped their Creator, the God Who had made them. And the men of Ethiopia forsook their
works, and loved the righteousness and justice that God loveth. They forsook their former
fornications, and chose purity in the camp that was in the sight of the heavenly Zion.
They forsook divination and magic, and chose repentance and tears for God's sake. They
forsook augury by means of birds and the use of omens, and they returned to hearken unto
God and to make sacrifice unto Him. They

2 K 2 forsook the pleasures of the gods who were devils, and chose the service and praise
of God. The daughters of Jerusalem suffered disgrace, and the daughters of Ethiopia were
held in honour; the daughter of Judah was sad, whilst the daughter of Ethiopia rejoiced;
the mountains of Ethiopia rejoiced, and the mountains of Lebanon mourned. The people of
Ethiopia were chosen [from] among idols and graven images, and the people of Israel were
rejected. The daughters of Zion were rejected, and the daughters of Ethiopia were
honoured; the old men of Israel became objects of contempt, and the old men of Ethiopia
were honoured. For God accepted the peoples who had been cast away and rejected Israel,
for Zion was taken away from them and she came into the country of Ethiopia. For
wheresoever God is pleased for her to dwell, there is her habitation, and where He is not
pleased that she should dwell she dwelleth not; He is her founder, and Maker, and Builder,
the Good God in the temple of His holiness, the habitation of His glory, with His Son and
the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

3 And Mâkedâ, the Queen of Ethiopia, gave the kingdom to her son David, the son of
Solomon, the King of Israel, and she said unto him, "Take [the kingdom]. I have given [it]
unto thee. I have made King him whom God hath made King, and I have chosen him whom God
hath chosen as the keeper of His Pavilion. I am well pleased with him whom God hath been
pleased to make the envoy of the Tabernacle of His Covenant and His Law. I have magnified
him whom God hath magnified [as] the director of His widows, and I have honoured him whom
God hath honoured [as] the giver of food to orphans." And the King rose up and girded up
his apparel, and he bowed low before his mother, and said unto her, "Thou art the Queen, O
my Lady, and I will serve thee in every thing which thou commandest me, whether it be to
death or whether it be to life. Where-soever thou sendest me I will be sent, and
wheresoever thou orderest me to be there will I be, and whatsoever thou commandest me to
do that will I do. For thou are the head and I am the foot, and thou art the Lady and I am
thy slave; everything shall be performed according to thy order, and none shall transgress
thy commandment, and I will do everything that thou wishest. But pray for me that the God
of Israel may deliver me from His wrath. For He will be wroth—according to what they tell
us—if we do not make our hearts right to do His Will, and if we do not readily observe all
His commands in respect to Zion, the habitation of the glory of God. For the Angel of His
host is with us, who directed us and brought us hither, and he shall neither depart from
us nor forsake us.

4 "And now, hearken unto me, O my Lady. If I and those who are after me behave rightly and
do His Will, God shall dwell with us, and shall preserve us from all evil and from the
hand of our enemy. But if we do not keep our hearts right with Him He will be wroth with
us, and will turn away His face from us, and will punish us, and our enemies will plunder
us, and fear and trembling shall come to us from the place whence we expect them not, and
they will rise up against us, and will overcome us in war, and will destroy us. On the
other hand, if we do the Will of God, and do what is right in respect of Zion, we shall
become chosen men, and no one shall have the power to treat us evilly in the mountain of
His holiness whilst His habitation is with us.

5 "And behold, we have brought with us the whole Law of the kingdom and the commandment of
God, which Zadok the high priest declared unto us when he anointed me with the oil of
sovereignty in the house of the sanctuary of God, the horn of oil, which is the unguent of
priesthood and royalty, being in his hand. And he did unto us that which was written in
the Law, and we were anointed; Azariah to the priesthood and I to the kingdom, and
'Almēyās, the mouth of God, keeper of the Law, that is to say, keeper of Zion, and the Ear
of the King in every path of righteousness. And they commanded me that I should do nothing
except under their advice, and they set us before the King and before the elders of
Israel, and all the people heard whilst Zadok the priest was giving us the commands. And
the horns and the organs were blown, and the sounds of their harps and musical
instruments, and the noise of their outcries which were made at that time were in the
gates of Jerusalem. But what shall I tell unto you, O ye who were present there? It seemed
to us that the earth quaked from her very foundations, and that the heavens above our
heads thundered, and the heart trembled with the knees."

CHAPTER 88. HOW HE HIMSELF RELATED TO HIS MOTHER HOW THEY MADE HIM KING

1 "And when these had become silent there rose up the priest who gave us the Commandments,
with the fear of God, and he shed tears whilst our bodies quaked and our tears flowed
down. God is indeed, without falsehood, in our hearts, and He dwelleth in His commandment.
And His commandment is uttered, and it removeth itself not from those who love Him and who
keep His commandment, and He is with them continually. And now, hearken to the judgment
and laws which the elders and the sons of the mighty men of Israel brought, which they
wrote before King Solomon and have given unto us, so that we may not turn aside either to
the right hand or to the left from what they have commanded us. And also they told us and
made us to understand that we bear death and life, and that we are like unto a man who
hath fire in his left hand and water in his right, and who can put his hand into whichever
he pleaseth. For punishment and life are written therein; for those who have done evil,
punishment, and for those who have done good, life."

2 And 'Elmēyās and Azariah brought forth that writing which was written before God and
before the King of Israel, and they read it before Mākēdā and before the great men of
Israel. And when they heard these words all those who were round about, both small and
great, bowed down and made obeisance, and they glorified God Who had made them hear these
words and had given them this commandment, so that they might perform the justice and
judgment of God. And moreover, He made them members of His house, for Zion was among them,
and she is the habitation of the glory of God, and she delivered them from all evil, and
blessed the fruit of their lands, and multiplied their sheep and cattle, and blessed their
wells of water, and blessed their labours, and the fruit of their gardens, and made their
children to grow up, and protected their aged men, and became the foreguard and rearguard
wheresoever they dwelt, and vanquished their enemies wheresoever they went. And all the
people of Ethiopia rejoiced.

3 And the Queen said unto her son, "My son, God hath given unto thee the right, walk thou
therein and withdraw not thyself from it, neither to the right hand nor the left. And love
thou the Lord thy God, for He is merciful unto the simple-minded. For His way is known
from His commandment, and His goodness is comprehended through the guidance of His word."
Then she turned towards 'Elmēyās and Azariah and all the mighty men of Israel [saying],
"Do ye protect him and teach him the path of the kingdom of God, and the honour of our
Lady Zion. And whatsoever our Lady loveth not let us not do. Tell us [this] truly and
carefully for ever and from generation to generation, so that she may not be wroth with
us, if we do not perform her service well, so that God may dwell with us. And thou, my
son, hearken unto the word of thy fathers, and walk in their counsel. And let not drink
make thee foolish, nor women, nor pride of apparel, nor the bridles and trappings of
horses, nor the sight of the weapons of war of those who are at the head or at the rear.
But let thy confidence be in God and in Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law of God, thy
Creator, so that thou mayest vanquish thine enemy, and so that thy seed upon the earth may
multiply, and so that thy foes and adversaries, near and far, may be overthrown."

4 And those sons of mighty men answered and said with one voice, "O our Lady, we are with
you always, and we will remember the lord, the King. Behold, what is written and the
performance thereof shall take place if the God of Israel shall be unto him a helper, and
if he hearkeneth to the word of his mother; and we will inform him about the path of doing
good works. For there is no one to be found in these days as wise as thyself, except our
lord the King. Thou hast drawn us hither as thy servants with our Lady, the heavenly Zion,
the Tabernacle of the Law of the Lord our God, just as a man draweth a camel that is
loaded with valuable possessions with a little piece of thin, tough cord fastened over his
nose. And now, reject us not and treat us not as strange people, but make us like unto thy
slaves who wash thy feet, for whether we die or whether we live we are with thee; we have
no longer any hope in the country of our birth, but only in thee and in our Lady, the
heavenly Zion, the habitation of the glory of God."

CHAPTER 89. HOW THE QUEEN TALKED TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL

1 And the Queen answered and said unto them, "Not as servants as ye say, but as a father
and a teacher will we treat you. For ye are the guardians of the Law of God, and the
guides of the commandment of the God of Israel, and the men of the house of God, and the
guardians of Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law of God, and we do not wish to transgress your
commandments, for ye shall be unto us a guide to the path of God away from all evil. At
your words we will withdraw from that wherewith God is not well-pleased, and we will draw
nigh unto every good thing wherewith God is well-pleased at your commandment. Only do ye
instruct all this people, and teach them the words of knowledge, for never before have
they heard such things as they have heard this day. It is only those who have
understanding in them that wisdom and understanding illumine like the light of the sun. As
for me, up to this present I have not drunk deeply of the water of knowledge.

2 Now it is sweeter than honey, and quench-eth the thirst more than wine, and it
satisfieth and maketh wisdom to bubble up, and it stimulateth the understanding, and
maketh a man to pour forth words like a drunken man, and maketh the unsteady man like one
who flieth, and maketh a man as hot as he that carrieth a heavy load on a difficult road
in a parched land that is burnt up by a blazing sun. When the hearts of the wise are open
to prophecy and to knowledge, they do not fear the king because of the greatness of his
glory if he turneth himself aside from the way of God. And mark this: The word of the Law,
which hath been uttered, is indeed understanding unto those who wish for it, and who drink
it in and soak themselves therein. I pray Thee, O Lord God of Israel, Thou Holiest of the
Holy, grant unto me that I may follow wisdom, and may not become a castaway; grant unto me
that I may make her a wall unto myself, and may never fall down; grant that I may make her
a foundation for me, and may never be overthrown; grant that I may stand upon her as
[firmly as] a pillar, and may never shake; grant that I may hide in her, and never have
her stripped from me; grant that I may build myself upon her, and may not topple over;
grant that I may become vigorous through her, and not suffer from exhaustion;

3 grant that I may stand through her, and may not fall; grant that I may lay hold upon
her, and may not slip away; grant that I may grasp her firmly, and may not slide; grant
that I may dwell in her in her peace; [grant that] I may be satisfied at her table, and
may not vomit, and drink her and not get drunk upon her, and may be satisfied with her and
not spit her out." 4 "I have drunk of her, but have not tottered; I have tottered through
her, but have not fallen; I have fallen because of her, but have not been destroyed.
Through her I have dived down into the great sea and have seized in the place of her
depths a pearl whereby I am rich. I went down like the great iron anchor whereby men
anchor ships for the night on the high seas, and I received a lamp which lighteth me, and
I came up by the ropes of the boat of understanding. I went to sleep in the depths of the
sea, and not being overwhelmed with the water I dreamed a dream. And it seemed to me that
there was a star in my womb, and I marvelled thereat, and I laid hold upon it and made it
strong in the splendour of the sun; I laid hold upon it, and I will never let it go. I
went in through the doors of the treasury of wisdom and I drew for myself the waters of
understanding. I went into the blaze of the flame of the sun, and it lighted me with the
splendour thereof, and I made of it a shield for myself, and I saved myself by confidence
therein, and not myself only but all those who travel in the footprints of wisdom, and not
myself only but all the men of my country, the kingdom of Ethiopia, and not those only but
those who travel in their ways, the nations that are round about.

5 For the Lord hath given us seed in Zion and a habitation in Jerusalem. And moreover,
there hath come to us a portion with those whom He hath chosen, the seed of Jacob, for He
hath set His habitation to abide with us. From this time forth they are set down, and from
this time forth we are set upright. From this time forth they are despised and rejected,
and from this time forth we shall be honoured and loved for ever and ever, and throughout
all the generations that are to come. 6 "And ye, O noble ones, hearken unto me, and learn
well what cometh forth from my mouth and my words. Love ye what is right and hate
falsehood, for what is right is righteousness and falsehood is the head of iniquity. And
ye shall not use fraud and oppression among yourselves, for God dwelleth with you, and the
habitation of His glory is among you; for ye have become members of His household. And
from this time onward cease ye to observe your former customs, [namely] making auguries
from birds, and from signs, and the use of charms, and incantations, and portents, and
magic. And if after this day there be found any man who observeth all his former customs,
his house shall be plundered, and he and his wife and his children shall be condemned."
And the Queen said unto Azariah, "Speak and declare how much thou lovest our Lady with her
Heavenly King."

CHAPTER 90. HOW AZARIAH PRAISED THE QUEEN AND HER CITY

1 And Azariah rose up and said unto the Queen, "O our Lady, verily there is no one like
unto thee in wisdom and understanding—the which have been given unto thee by God—except my
lord the King, who hath brought us unto this land with our Lady Zion, the holy and
heavenly Tabernacle of the Law of God. Now we and our fathers of olden time have said, God
hath chosen none except the House of Jacob, us hath He chosen, us hath He multiplied, us
hath He held to please Him, and He hath made us kings and made us members of His
household, and councillors of His glory and of the Tabernacle of His covenant. And as for
a country, we say that He hath chosen no country except ours, but now we see that the
country of Ethiopia is better than the country of Judah. And from the time that we arrived
in your country everything that we have seen hath appeared good to us. Your waters are
good and they are given without price (or, payment), and [we have] air without fans, and
wild honey is as [plentiful as] the dust of the market place, and cattle as the sand of
the sea. And as for what we have seen there is nothing detestable, and there is nothing
malign in what we hear, and in what we walk upon, and in what we touch, and in what we
taste with our mouths. But there is one matter that we would mention: ye are black of
face, and I only mention this because I have seen it, and if God lighteth up your hearts
there is nothing that can do you harm."

2 "And withdraw ye yourselves from meat that dieth of itself, and from blood, and from
bodies torn by wild animals, and from fornication, and from everything that God hateth, so
that we may rejoice in you when we see you fearing God and trembling at His word; even as
God commanded our fathers and said unto Moses, 'Give them commands about everything, and
tell them to keep My Law and My Ordinance.' And turn ye not aside, neither to the right
hand nor to the left, from that which we command you this day; and now [we command] you
that ye worship God, the Holy One of Israel, and do His good pleasure; for He hath
rejected our nation even as our prophets prophesied, and hath chosen you. Doth not God
your Creator belong to all of you? In what will God find it difficult if He loveth us and
hateth them? For everything belongeth to Him, and everything is His handiwork, and there
is nothing impossible for the Lord God of Israel.

3 "And hearken ye unto His command, which I will declare unto you. Let not one overcome
his fellow by violence. Plunder not the possessions of your neighbours. Ye shall not
revile each other, and ye shall not oppress each other, and ye shall not quarrel with each
other. And if by chance an animal belonging to your neighbour come among your property, be
not blind to the fact but make it go back to him. And if ye do not know who is the owner
of the property, take care of it for him, and as soon as one hath found out to whom it
belongeth return his property to him. And if the property of your neighbour hath fallen
into a pit, or into a well, or into a hollow or into a ravine, do not pass on and go not
by it until ye have told him and helped him to drag out the animal. And if a man hath dug
a well or hath built a tower (or, shelter), he shall not leave the well without a cover
nor the tower without a roof. And if there is a man who is carrying a heavy load, or if
the load hath slipped from the man who is carrying it, ye shall not pass on your way until
ye have helped him to lift it up or to lighten it for him; for he is your brother. Ye
shall not cook a young animal in the milk of his mother. Ye shall not turn aside the right
of the poor and the orphans. Ye shall not accept the person, and ye shall not take bribes
to turn aside the right and bear false witness.

4 "And when ye find a bird in your land with her young ones, ye shall spare her life and
shall not take away her young, so that your days may be long upon the earth, and your seed
may be blessed with (or, for) length of days. And when ye reap the harvest of your food,
ye shall not be careful to reap all of it. Gather not up what falleth from it, and the
sheaves which ye have forgotten leave when ye go back, and take them not up, but leave
them for the stranger in your city, so that God may bless the fruit of your land. And ye
shall not work impurity, and ye shall not judge with partiality, and ye shall not deal
oppressively with one another in anything, so that ye may be blessed, and so that the
fruit of your land may increase, and so that ye may be saved from the curse of the Law
which God hath commanded, saying, 'They shall curse the worker of evil.' And He wrote,
saying, 'He who leadeth the blind man out of his path is accursed. And he who addresseth
vile words to a deaf (or, dumb) man is accursed. And he who defileth his father's bed is
accursed. And he who beateth his neighbour with fraud is accursed. And he who perverteth
justice for the alien so that he may slay innocent blood is accursed. And he who treateth
his father and his mother lightly is accursed.

5 And he who maketh a filthy graven image of stone or smelted metal, the work of a man's
hand, and setteth it up and hideth it in his house, and worshippeth it as a god, not
believing that God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, Who made Adam in His own
image and likeness, and set him over everything which He had created, we all being His
work—the man who doth not believe [this] accursed let him be! Amen. And he who lieth with
a beast, let him be accursed. And he who lieth with a man as with a woman, let him be
accursed. And he who slayeth a life, innocent blood, with fraud and violence, let him be
accursed.' 6 "And over and above all these things ye shall worship no other gods, for God
is jealous concerning those who despise Him and do thus, and He setteth His face upon them
until He rooteth out their lives from the earth, and blotteth out their memory for ever.
Blessed are those who hearken to the voice of God, and perform and keep [His
commandments]. And blessed are those who turn aside from those who do evil, so that none
of the punishments which shall come upon sinners shall fall upon them. And if it be that
thou wilt keep the word of God, withdraw thyself from the way of sinners, so that thou
mayest not be beaten with the rod wherewith they shall be beaten. Even as David the
grandfather of our lord David saith, 'God will not let the rod of sinners [fall] upon the
portion of the righteous,' so that the righteous may not lift up their hands in violence
(or, oppression). When a man hath the power to do that which is good, and he watcheth
himself and telleth his neighbour, he becometh as it were the owner of two talents, and
yet other two talents are added to him, and he getteth abundant reward from God. For he
hath done it himself and taught his neighbour to do it, and because of this his reward
shall be exceedingly great. And again, blessed shall ye be if ye give your possessions,
without usury and not as loans."

CHAPTER 91. THIS IS WHAT YE SHALL EAT : THE CLEAN AND THE UNCLEAN

1 "And this is what ye shall eat: the clean and that which is not clean. The ox, the
sheep, the goat, the ram, the stag, the gazelle, the buffalo, the deskěna antelope, the
we'elā antelope, the oryx, the zěrāt gazelle, and every creature with a cleft hoof and
nails eat ye, and the creatures that chew the cud. And these which ye shall not eat among
those that chew the cud and have a cleft hoof are the camels and the hare and the
kârgělyôn (coney?), for they chew the cud but their hoofs are not cleft. The wolf and the
pig ye shall not eat, for their hoofs are cleft but they do not chew the cud: ye shall not
eat what is unclean. Whatsoever is in the waters with fins and scales eat ye; whatsoever
is unclean therein eat ye not. Among birds everything that is clean eat ye, but ye shall
not eat the following: the eagle, the vulture, the 'ělyāťān eagle, the osprey, the hawk,
and the like, the raven, ostrich, the owl, the seagull, the heron, the swan, the ibis, the
pelican, the hawk, the hoopoe, the night raven, the hornbill, the water-piper, the water-
hen, and the bat; these are unclean. And ye shall not eat the locust nor anything of his
kind, nor the akāṭān nor anything of his kind, nor the grass-hopper nor anything of his
kind, nor the field locust nor anything of his kind. Of the things that fly (or, spring)
and have two or four or six feet, their flesh is unclean, ye shall not eat thereof. And ye
shall not touch their dead bodies, and whosoever toucheth them shall be unclean until the
evening.

2 "Now these things we have declared unto you in order that ye may keep and perform the
fear of God so that ye may be blessed in this your country, which God hath given unto you
because of the heavenly Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law of God, for because of her have ye
been chosen. And our fathers have been rejected, because God took from them Zion, the
Tabernacle of the Law of God, to keep you and your seed for ever. And He will bless the
fruit of your land, and He will multiply your cattle, and will protect them in everything
wherein they are to be protected. "And as for thee, O my Lady, thy wisdom is good, and it
surpasseth the wisdom of men. There is none that can be compared with thee in respect of
thy intelligence, not only in the matter of the intuition of the women who have been
created up to this present, but the understanding of thine heart is deeper than that of
men, and there is none who can be compared with thee in the abundance of thine
understanding, except my lord Solomon. And thy wisdom so far exceedeth that of Solomon
that thou hast been able to draw hither the mighty men of Israel, and the Tabernacle of
the Law of God, with the ropes of thine understanding, and thou hast overthrown the house
of their idols, and destroyed their images, and thou hast cleansed what was unclean among
thy people, for thou hast driven away from them that which God hateth.

3 Christ riding into Jerusalem on an ass on the "Day of Hosanna" (Palm Sunday) "And as
concerning thy name, God hath prepared it [especially], for He hath called thee 'Mâkedâ,'
whereof the interpretation is 'Not thus.' Consider thou [the people] of thy nation with
whom God was not well pleased, and thou wilt say 'Not thus [is it] good, but it is right
that we should worship God'; 'Not thus is it good to worship the sun, but it is right to
worship God,' thou wilt say. 'Not thus is it good to enquire of the diviner, but it is
better to trust in God,' thou wilt say. 'Not thus is it good to resort to the working of
magic, but it is better to lean upon the Holy One of Israel,' thou wilt say. 'Not thus is
it good to offer up sacrifices to stones and trees, but it is right to offer up sacrifices
to God,' thou wilt say. 'Not thus is it good to seek augury from birds, but it is right to
put confidence in the Creator,' thou wilt say.

4 "And besides, inasmuch as thou hast chosen wisdom she hath become to thee a mother; thou
didst seek her, and she hath become unto thee a treasure. Thou hast made her a place of
refuge for thyself, and she hath become to thee a wall. Thou hast desired her eagerly, and
she hath loved thee above everything. Thou hast placed thy confidence in her, and she hath
taken thee to her bosom like a child. Thou hast loved her, and she hath become unto thee
as thou didst desire. Thou hast laid hold upon her, and she will not let thee go until the
day of thy death. Thou hast been sorrowful on her account, and she hath made thee to
rejoice for ever. Thou hast toiled for her sake, and she hath made thee vigorous for ever.
Thou hast hungered for her sake, and she hath filled thee with food for ever. Thou hast
thirsted for wisdom, and she hath given thee drink in abundance for ever. Thou hast
suffered tribulation for the sake of wisdom, and she hath become unto thee a healing for
ever. Thou hast made thyself deaf for the sake of wisdom, and she hath made thee to hear
for ever. Thou hast made thyself blind for the sake of wisdom, and

5 L she hath illumined thee more than the sun for ever. And all this hath happened from
God because thou hast loved wisdom for ever. For wisdom, and knowledge, and understanding
are from the Lord. Understanding and knowledge, and the beginning of wisdom, and the fear
of the Lord, and knowledge, and the perception of good, and sympathy, and compassion that
existeth for ever, all these things thou hast found, O my Lady, with the God of Israel,
the Holy of the holiest, the Knower of hearts, Who searcheth out what is in the heart of
man; from Him everything is. And it came to pass by the Will of God, that Zion hath come
unto this country of Ethiopia, and it shall be a guide to our King David, the lover of
God, the guardian of her pavilion, and the director of the habitation of His glory."

CHAPTER 92. HOW THEY RENEWED THE KINGDOM OF DAVID

1 And Azariah said, "Bring hither the jubilee trumpets, and let us go to Zion, and there
we will make new the kingdom of our lord David." And he took the oil of sovereignty and
filled the horn [therewith], and he anointed David with the unguent, that is to say, with
the oil of sovereignty. And they blew horns and pipes and trumpets, and beat drums, and
sounded all kinds of musical instruments, and there were singing and dancing and games,
and [displays] with horses and shield [-men], and all the men and women of the people of
the country of Ethiopia were present, small and great, and the little Blacks, six thousand
in number, and virgin women whom Azariah had chosen for the women of Zion by the law, whom
David the King had destined for [the service of] the table and banquets in the royal
fortress when he should go up thereto [clad in] raiment of fine gold. And in this wise was
renewed the kingdom of David, the son of Solomon the king of Israel, in the capital city,
in Mount Mâkedâ, in the House of Zion, when the Law was established for the first time by
the King of Ethiopia.

2 And then when he had completed the stablishing of the Law, they made, according to what
they had seen in Jerusalem, the Law in the House of Zion for the nobles of the kingdom,
and for those who were inside, and for those that were outside, and for the people, and
for the islands, and for the cities, and for the provinces; and for all the inhabitants
and for all their tribal kinsfolk they made ordinances in the same manner. And thus the
eastern boundary of the kingdom of the King of Ethiopia is the beginning of the city of
Gâzâ in the land of Judah, that is, Jerusalem; and its boundary is the Lake of Jericho,
and it passeth on by the coast of its sea to Lêbâ and Sâbâ; and its boundary goeth down to
Bîsîs and 'Asnêt; and its boundary is the Sea of the Blacks and Naked Men, and goeth up
Mount Kêbêrênêyôn into the Sea of Darkness, that is to say, the place where the sun
setteth; and its boundary extendeth to Fênê'êl and Lasîfâlâ; and its borders are the lands
[near] the Garden (i.e. Paradise), where there is food in plenty and abundance of cattle,
and [near] Fênêkên; and its boundary reacheth as far as Zâwêl and passeth on to the Sea of
India; and its boundary is as far as the Sea of Tarsîs, and in its remote (?) part lieth
the Sea of Medyâm, until it cometh to the country of Gâzâ; and its boundary is the place
where [our enumeration] began. And moreover, the dominion of the King of Ethiopia
belongeth to him and to his seed for ever.

CHAPTER 93. HOW THE MEN OF RÔMÊ DESTROYED THE FAITH

1 And after they had waited for three months—now Zion came into the country of Ethiopia at
the beginning of the first month in the language of the Hebrews, and in Greek Târmôn and
in Gê'êz (Ethiopic) Mîyâzyâ, on the sixth (or, seventh) day—they wrote down the Law and
the names, and they deposited [the writing] for a memorial for the later days, so that
what was right should be done for the pavilion [of Zion] L 2 thereby, and so that the
glory of the kings of Ethiopia and the glory of the kings of Rômê might be well known. For
the kings of Ethiopia and the kings of Rômê were brethren and held the Christian Faith.
Now first of all they believed in an orthodox manner in the preaching of the Apostles up
to [the time of] Constantine, and 'Êlênî (Helena) the Queen, who brought forth the wood of
the Cross, and they (i.e. the kings of Rômê) continued [to believe for] one hundred and
thirty years.

2 And afterwards, Satan, who hath been the enemy of man from of old, rose up, and seduced
the people of the country of Rômê, and they corrupted the Faith of Christ, and they
introduced heresy into the Church of God by the mouth of Nestorius. And Nestorius, and
Arius, and Yabâsô (?) were those into whose hearts he cast the same jealousy as he had
cast into the heart of Cain to slay his brother Abel. In like manner did their father the
Devil, the enemy of righteousness and the hater of good, cast jealousy, even as David
saith, "They speak violence in the heights of heaven, and set their mouths in the heavens,
and their tongue waggeth on the earth." And those same men who know not whence they came,
and know not whither they are going, revile their Creator with their tongues, and
blaspheme His glory, while He is God, the Word of the Lord. He came down from the throne
of His Godhead, and put on the body of Adam, and He is God the Word. And in that body He
was crucified so that He might redeem Adam in his iniquity, and He went up into the
heavens, and sat upon the throne of His Godhead in that body, which He had taken. And He
shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and shall reward every man
according to his work, for ever and ever. Amen.

3 And we believe thus and we adore the Holy Trinity. And those who do not believe thus are
excommunicated by the Word of God, the King of heaven and earth, both in this world and in
that world which is to come. And we are strong in the Orthodox Faith which the Fathers the
Apostles have delivered unto us, the Faith of the Church. And thus Ethiopia continued to
abide in her Faith until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory for ever
and ever. Amen.

CHAPTER 94. THE FIRST WAR OF THE KING OF ETHIOPIA

1 And after three months they (i.e. David and his soldiers) rose up to wage war from the
city of the Government, with Mâkedâ his mother and Zion his Lady. And the Levites carried
the Tabernacle of the Law, together with the things that appertained to their office, and
they marched along with great majesty, and as in times of old when God on Mount Sinai made
Zion to come down in holiness to Moses and Aaron, even so did Azariah and 'Elmiyâs bear
along the Tabernacle of the Law. And the other mighty men of war of Israel marched on the
right side of it and on the left, and close to it, and before it and behind it, and
although they were beings made of dust they sang psalms and songs of the spirit like the
heavenly hosts. And God gave them beautiful voices and marvellous songs, for He was well
pleased to be praised by them.

2 And they came from the city of the Government, and encamped at Mâya 'Abaw, and on the
following morning they laid waste the district of Zâwâ with Hadêyâ, for enmity had existed
between them from olden time; and they blotted out the people and slew them with the edge
of the sword. And they passed on from that place and encamped at Gêrrâ, and here also they
laid waste the city of vipers that had the faces of men, and the tails of asses attached
to their loins. 3 And [the Queen] returned and encamped in the city of Zion, and they
remained therein three months, then their wagons moved on and came to the city of the
Government. And in one day they came to the city of Sâbâ, and they laid waste Nôbâ; and
from there they camped round about Sâbâ, and they laid it waste as far as the border of
Egypt. And the majesty (or, awe) of the King of Ethiopia was so great that the King of
Mêdyâm and the King of Egypt caused gifts to be brought unto him, and they came into the
city of the Government, and from there they encamped in 'Ab'ât, and they waged war on the
country of India, and the King of India brought a gift and a present (or, tribute), and
himself did homage to the King of Ethiopia. He (i.e. David) waged war wheresoever he
pleased; no man conquered him, on the contrary, whosoever attacked him was conquered. And
as for those who would have played the spy in his camp, in order to hear some story and
relate it in their city, they were unable to run by the wagons, for Zion herself made the
strength of the enemy to be exhausted. But King David, with his soldiers, and the armies
of his soldiers, and all those who obeyed his word, ran by the wagons without pain or
suffering, and without hunger or thirst, and without sweat or exhaustion, and travelled in
one day a distance which [usually] took three months to traverse.

4 And they lacked nothing whatsoever of the things which they asked God through Zion the
Tabernacle of the Law of God to give them, for He dwelt with her, and His Angel directed
her, and she was His habitation. And as for the king who ministered to His pavilion—if he
were travelling on any journey, and wished something to be done, everything that he wished
for and thought about in his heart, and indicated with his finger, everything [I say] was
performed at his word; and everyone feared him. But he feared no one, for the hand of God
was with him, and it protected him by day and by night. And he did His Will, and God
worked for him and protected him from all evil for ever and ever. Amen. 5 This I found
among the manuscripts of the Church of Sophia in Constantinople. And the Archbishops who
were there said unto him [Domitius?], "This is what is written from the days of Solomon
the King." And Domitius of Antioch said, "Yea, that which is written up to the day of the
death of Solomon is to be accepted, and that which hath been written by other prophets
after his death is to be accepted likewise."

CHAPTER 95. HOW THE HONOURABLE ESTATE OF THE KING OF ETHIOPIA WAS UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED

1 Now through the KEBRA NAGAST we know and have learned that of a surety the King of
Ethiopia is honourable, and that he is the King of Zion, and the firstborn of the seed of
Shem, and that the habitation of God is in Zion, and that He there breaketh the might and
power of all his enemies and foes. And after him the King of Rômê was the anointed of the
Lord because of the wood of the Cross. And as concerning the kingdom of Israel—when the
Pearl was born of them, and of the Pearl again was born the Sun of Righteousness, Who hid
Himself in her body—now had He not hidden Himself in the body of a man He could not have
been seen by mortal eyes—and having put on our body He became like unto us, and He walked
about with [men]. And He wrought signs and wonders in their midst.

2 He raised their dead, and He healed their sick folk, and He made the eyes of their blind
to see, and He opened the ears of their deaf folk, and He cleansed the lepers, and He
satisfied the hungry with food, and He performed many miracles, some of which are written
down and some of which are not, even as saith John the Evangelist, the son of Zebedee, "If
everything which Jesus did were written down, the whole world would not be able to hold
all the writings that would have to be written.' And when the wicked children of Israel
saw all this they thought that He was a man, and they were envious of Him because of what
they saw and heard, and they crucified Him upon the wood of the Cross, and they killed
Him. And He rose from the dead on the third day, and went up into heaven in glory, [and
sat] on the throne of the Godhead. And He received from the Father a kingdom incorruptible
for ever and ever over the beings of the spirit, and the beings of earth, and over every
created being, so that every tongue shall adore His Name, and every knee bow to Him; and
He shall judge the living and the dead and reward every man according to his work. So
therefore when the Jews shall see Him they shall be put to shame, and shall be condemned
to the fire which is everlasting.

3 But we who believe in the Orthodox Faith shall be upon our throne, and we shall rejoice
with our teachers the Apostles, provided that we have walked in the way of Christ and in
His commandments. And after the Jews crucified the Saviour of the world, they were
scattered abroad, and their kingdom was destroyed, and they were made an end of and rooted
out for ever and ever. 4 And all the saints who were gathered together said, "Assuredly,
in very truth the King of Ethiopia is more exalted, and more honourable than any other
king upon the earth, because of the glory and greatness of the heavenly Zion. And God
loveth the people of Ethiopia, for without knowing about His Law, they destroyed their
idols, whereas those unto whom the Law of God had been given made idols and worshipped the
gods which God hateth. And in the later times when He was born to redeem Adam He wrought
signs and wonders before them, but they did not believe in Him, neither in His preaching
nor in the preaching of His fathers. But the people of Ethiopia believed in one
trustworthy disciple, and for this reason God hath loved exceedingly the people of
Ethiopia." An angel bringing the Cross and the cup to Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.
By Him are Peter,

5 John, and James asleep Philip Plate Xxiii CALIFORNIA The image is too blurry to
recognize any text content. And the Bishops answered and said unto him (Gregory), "Well
hast thou spoken, and thy word is true, and what thou hast expounded and interpreted to us
is clear. Even as Paul saith, 'Hath not the seed of Abraham exalted the seed of Shem?'
They are all kings of the earth, but the chosen ones of the Lord are the people of
Ethiopia. For there is the habitation of God, the heavenly Zion, the Tabernacle of His Law
and the Tabernacle of His Covenant, which He hath made into a mercy-seat through [His]
mercy for the children of men; for the rains and the waters from the sky, for the planted
things (or, vegetation) and the fruits, for the peoples and the countries, for the kings
and nobles, for men and beasts, for birds and creeping things."

6 And Gregory the Bishop, the worker of wonders, answered and said unto them, "Verily,
salvation hath been given unto all of us Christian people, unto those who have believed in
our Lady Mary, the likeness of the heavenly Zion. For the Lord dwelt in the womb of the
Virgin, and was brought forth by her without carnal union. And the Ten Words (Decalogue)
of the Law were written by the Finger of God, and made (i.e. placed) in Zion, the
Tabernacle of the Law of God. And now, come ye, and we will declare from the Law of Moses
the prophecies of the Prophets our Fathers, the holy men of olden time, and the prophecies
concerning Christ our Redeemer, so that the generations of posterity may hear the
interpretation (or, explanation) of the story, and we will relate unto them the narrative
of the interpretation of the Scriptures. We will begin then with the beginning of the
Book, and we will make [you] to understand in the Spirit, as David saith, through the Holy
Spirit, 'In the beginning the Book was written because of me.'"

7 And one answered and said, "What is the beginning of the Book?" And they answered and
said unto him, It is the Law which was written concerning Christ, the Son of God. And it
saith, 'In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth'; and they existed from olden
time. Now the earth was formless, but there were mixed together darkness, and winds, and
water, and mist, and dust; all of these were mixed together. And the Spirit of God hovered
above the waters. This meaneth that by the Word of God the heavens and the earth were
created; and these words mean that the Spirit of God dwelt over all creation."

CHAPTER 96. CONCERNING THE PROPHECY ABOUT CHRIST

1 Moreover Moses proclaimed in the Law and said, "A prophet like myself shall rise up for
you from your brethren, and hearken ye unto him; and every soul that will not hearken unto
that prophet ye shall root out from among the people." And this he said concerning Christ
the Son of God. And he also prophesied concerning His Crucifixion, and said, "When the
serpents afflicted the children of Israel they cried out to Moses, and Moses cried out to
God to deliver them from the serpents. And God said unto him, Make an image of brass of a
serpent and suspend it in a place where it can be known as a sign, and let every one whom
a serpent hath bitten look upon that image of brass, and he shall live. And when they
failed to look at it they died, and those who looked on it and believed lived." And in
like manner was it with Christ; those who paid no heed to Him and did not believe in Him
perished in Sheôl, and those who believed and hearkened unto Him inherited the land of
everlasting life, where there will never be pain or suffering.

2 And now we will make known unto you how they paid no heed to Christ, the Word of God.
When the children of Israel spake against Moses, saying, "Is it that God hath spoken to
Moses only? How is it that we also do not hear the Word of God that we may believe on Him?
And God, Who knoweth the hearts of men, heard the murmuring of the children of Israel, and
He said unto Moses, "Thou dost ask forgiveness for thy people, and yet they murmur against
thee, saying, Why doth not God speak with us? And now, if they believe in Me, let them
come hither to Me with thee. And tell them to purify themselves, and to wash their
apparel, and let the great men of Israel go up to hear what commands I will give them, and
let them hear My voice and perform the commandments which I shall give them. And Moses
told the children of Israel what he had been commanded, and the people bowed low before
God, and they purified themselves on the third day. And the seventy elders of Israel went
up into Mount Sinai, and they departed from the encampment and ascended Mount Sinai. And
they were distant from each other the space of the flight of an arrow, and they stood
still, each facing his neighbour.

3 Now, though there were many of them and they used their endeavours, they were not able
to ascend into the cloud with Moses, and fear and trembling seized upon them, and the
shadow of death enveloped them; and they heard the sound of the horn and pipes, and [they
felt] the darkness and the winds. And Moses went into the cloud and held converse with
God, and all the great men of Israel heard that Voice of God, and they were afraid and
quaked with terror, and because of the overwhelming terror which was in their hearts they
were unable to stand up. And when Moses came forth they said unto him, "We will not hear
this word of God so that we may not die of terror. And behold, we know that God holdeth
converse with thee. And if there be anything that He would say unto us, do thou hearken
thereto and declare it unto us. Be thou unto us a mouth in respect of God, and we will be
unto Him His own people. Do ye not see that they denied Christ and said, "We will not
hearken to that Voice so that we may not die in terror"? Now Christ was the Word of God,
and therefore when they said, "We will not hearken to that Voice," they meant, "We do not
believe in Christ."

4 And again Moses spake unto God and said, "Shew me Thy Face." And God said unto Moses,
"No one can look upon My Face and live, but only as in a mirror. Turn thy face to the west
and thou shalt see in the rock the mirroring of My Face." And when Moses saw the shadow of
the Face of God, his own face shone with a brightness which was seven times brighter than
the sun, and the light was so strong that the children of Israel could not look upon his
face except through a veil. And thereupon he saw that they did not desire to look upon the
Face of God, for they said unto him, "Make unto us a veil so that we may not see thy
face." And having said these words it is evident that they hated the hearing of His words
and the sight of His Face.

5 And moreover, when Abraham took his son Isaac up into Mount Karmelēwōs (Carmel), God
sent down from heaven a ram for the redemption of Isaac. And Isaac was not slaughtered,
but the ram which had come down from heaven was slaughtered. Now Abraham is to be
interpreted God the Father, and Isaac is to be interpreted as a symbol of Christ the Son.
And when He came down from heaven for the salvation of Adam and his sons, the Godhead
which had come down from heaven was not slain, but His body which He had put on for our
sakes, that earthly body which He had put on from Mary, was slain. Can ye understand and
know that likeness and similitude for the earthly being Isaac, the son of Abraham, who was
an offering of the will of his father? The heavenly ram became a redemption (or,
substitute), and the son of Abraham was redeemed. And as for Him Who came down, the Son of
God, He became the redemption of the Godhead, His body for the earthly, and He died in His
body, the Godhead suffering in no wise and remaining unchanged; and the mortal became
living in the Resurrection with the Godhead. And it is clearly manifest: in that Christ,
the Son of God, hath redeemed us, He hath magnified us men. And we must honour especially,
both upon the earth and in heaven, this our Lady Mary the Virgin, the Mother of God.

6 And hearken ye to this explanation concerning the first man, who is our father Adam. Eve
was created from a man, from a bone in his side, without carnal embrace and union, and she
became his companion. And having heard the word of guile, from being the helpmeet of Adam
she became a murderess by making him to transgress the command. And in His mercy God the
Father created the Pearl in the body of Adam. He cleansed Eve's body and sanctified it and
made for it a dwelling in her for Adam's salvation. She [i.e. Mary] was born without
blemish, for He made her pure without pollution, and she redeemed his debt without carnal
union and embrace. She brought forth in heavenly flesh a King, and He was born of her, and
He renewed his life in the purity of His body. And He slew death with His pure body, and
He rose without corruption, and He hath raised us up with Him to immortality, the throne
of divinity, and He hath raised us up to Him, and we have exchanged life in our mortal
body and found the life which is immortal. Through the seduction of Adam we suffered
affliction, and by the patient endurance of Christ we are healed. Through the
transgression of Eve we died and were buried, and by the purity of Mary we receive honour,
and are exalted to the heights.

7 And Ezekiel also prophesied concerning Mary and said, "I saw a door in the east which
was sealed with a great and marvellous seal, and there was none who went into it except
the Lord of hosts; He went in through it and came forth therefrom." Hear ye now this
explanation: When he saith, "I saw a door," it was the door of the gate of heaven, the
entrance of the saints into the kingdom of the heavens. And when he saith that it was "in
the east" he referreth to her purity and her beauty. Men call her the "Gate of Salvation,"
and also "the East" whereunto the saints look with joy and gladness. And the "closedness"
of which he speaketh referreth to her virginity and her body. And when he saith that she
was sealed with "a great, wonderful seal," this showeth plainly that she was sealed by
God, the Great and Wonderful, through the Holy Ghost. And when he saith, "None goeth
through it except the Lord of hosts, He goeth in and cometh out," [he meaneth] the Creator
of the heavens and the earth, the Creator of the angels and men and the lords. The Lord of
hosts is the fruit of the Godhead, Who put on our body from her, Christ. He went into and
came forth from her without polluting her.

8 And Moses also prophesied concerning Mary, saying, "I saw a bramble bush on Mount Sinai
which the devouring fire consumed not." And the signification of this fire is the Godhood
of the Son of God; and the bramble bush, which burned without the leaves thereof being
shrivelled, is Mary.

CHAPTER 97. CONCERNING THE MURMURING OF ISRAEL

1 And once again the children of Israel murmured concerning the ministration of the
priests before the Lord, saying, "Are we not Israel, we the seed of Abraham, and why
cannot we also offer up sacrifice like them in the Tent of Witness by the Tabernacle of
the Law of God, the holy Zion, with censers and incense and the holy instruments? Why
should Moses, and his brother Aaron, and their children alone do this? Are we not people
whom God hath chosen as much as they are, and shall we not do His Will? " And when Moses
heard [this] he said unto them, " Do ye whatsoever ye will." And the elders of Israel went
and had made seventy censers wherewith to cense Zion and to praise God, and they took
incense and coals in the censers, and went and came into the Holy of Holies to offer up
incense. And immediately they threw the incense into the censers, at the first swing of
them fire came forth from the censers, and they were burned up straightway and melted
away. And as wax melteth before the face of the fire, even so did they melt away; and as
grass withereth when flame approacheth it, even so were they consumed, together with their
instruments, and there was nothing left of them except their censers. And God said, "
Sanctify to Me these censers for My Tent (or, Pavilion), and they shall be used for My
offerings, for they are consecrated by the death of those men."

2 Now the censer is Mary, and Christ, the Son of God, the Godhead, is the coals, and the
odour of the incense is the perfume of Christ, and through the perfume of Him Apostles,
and Prophets, and Martyrs, and Monks, have rejected the world and inherited the kingdom of
heaven. And the chains of the censers are the ladder which Jacob saw, to which [the
angels] clung as they went up and came down; and upon the perfume of the incense the
prayers of the pure go up to the throne of God. 3 And when the flame had burned up the
sinners, the people who were kinsmen of these who had been destroyed reviled Moses and
Aaron, and said unto them, " Ye have made our elders to perish "; and they took up stones
to stone Moses and Aaron. And God was exceedingly wroth with Israel, and He abominated as
a filthy rag the counsel of Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Korah. And the Word of God made
a sign to the earth, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, together with
all their companions, and their wives, and their children, and their beasts. They went
down into Sheôl alive, and the earth shut herself up over them. And as for the people who
had been associated with them and had heard their revilings [of Moses] God sent upon them
a plague, and they died forthwith. And Moses and Aaron came with incense and censers, and
they wept before God, and entreated Him for forgiveness for the people, saying, "Remember,
O Lord, Abraham Thy friend, and Isaac Thy servant, and Israel Thy holy one, for we are
their seed, and the children of Thy people. Cool Thy wrath in respect of us, and make
haste to hear us, destroy us not, and remove Thy punishment from upon Thypeople." And God
the Merciful saw the sincerity of Moses, and had compassion upon them.

4 And God spake unto Moses and said unto him, "Speak thou to this people and say unto
them, 'Sanctify ye yourselves, and bring ye for each of the houses of your fathers a rod,'
and write ye [the name] upon it so that ye may know their rods, thou and thy brother
Aaron. Now of your houses let Aaron write upon his rod, but upon thine own rod make no
mark, for it shall be a perfect miracle for the children of thy people, a vindication for
the wicked, and a sign of life for all those who believe. If thou didst write [thy name]
now with them, they would say unto thee, 'This hath been a worker of miracles from of old
by the word of God'; let them say this when I have shown them a miracle by it (i.e. the
rod). But for the house of thy father write upon the rod of Aaron."


THE QUEEN OF SHEBA AND HER ONLY SON MENYELEK: THE KEBRA NAGAST (CHAPTERS 98. CONCERNING THE ROD OF MOSES AND THE ROD OF AARON–116. CONCERNING THE CHARIOT OF ETHIOPIA)
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THE QUEEN OF SHEBA AND HER ONLY SON MENYELEK: THE KEBRA NAGAST continued

CHAPTER 98. CONCERNING THE ROD OF MOSES AND THE ROD OF AARON

1 And Moses spake these words unto them, and they brought a rod into each of the houses of
their fathers which they had chosen for purity, and there were twelve rods. And Moses
wrote upon their rods the names of their fathers: on the rod of Aaron was written the name
of Levi, and on the rod of Karmîn was written the name of Judah, and on the rod of Adônyâs
was written the name of Reuben, and on the rod of every man of all the houses of Israel
was written in like manner the name of his father. And God said unto Moses, "Carry [the
rods] to Zion, to the Tent of Witness, and shut them up therein until the morning, and
[then] take them out before the men and give unto each of them his rod, according to the
houses of their fathers whose names are written on the rods, and the man on whose rod a
mark shall be found is he whom I have chosen to be priest to Me." And Moses told the
people these words, and they did according as God had commanded them. And then, when the
morning had come, Moses took the rods, and all the elders of Israel and Aaron came. And
Moses came before them, and he lifted up the rods and brought them before all the people,
and the rod of Aaron was found with the fruit and flower of an almond which emitted a
fragrant perfume. And Moses said unto them, "Look ye now. This is the rod which the Lord
your God hath chosen, fear ye Him and worship Him"; and all the people bowed down before
God.

2 Now this rod is Mary. And the rod which without water burst into bloom indicateth Mary,
from whom was born, without the seed of man, the Word of God. And that He saith "I have
chosen, I will make manifest a miracle, and he shall be priest to Me," meaneth that God
chose Mary out of all the congregation of Israel, M even as David her father prophesied,
saying, "The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the habitations of Jacob," and he
further said, "Marvellous is His speech concerning thee, O city of God." And when he
saith, "more than all the habitations of Israel" and "her gates" [he referreth to] the
silence of her mouth, and the purity of her lips, and the praise which goeth forth from
her mouth, like honey which floweth from her lips, and the purity of her virginity which
was without spot or blemish or impurity before she brought forth; and after she had
brought forth she was pure and holy, and so shall it be, even as it was, unto all
eternity. And in the heavens she goeth about with the angels a pure thing; and she is the
rod of Aaron. She liveth in Zion with the pot which is filled with manna, and with the two
tables that were written with the Finger of God. And the heavenly, spiritual Zion is above
them, the Zion, the making and constitution of which are wonderful, of which God Himself
is her Maker and Fashioner for the habitation of His glory.

3 And God spake unto Moses [saying], "Make a Tabernacle of wood which is indestructible
[by worms and rot], and cover it over with plates of fine gold, every part thereof." And
the gold is the fineness of the Godhead that came down from heaven, for the Godhead
comprehendeth all heaven and earth; and in like manner is plated with gold the Tabernacle,
the abode of the heavenly Zion. And the Tabernacle is to be interpreted as Mary, and the
wood which is indestructible is to be interpreted as Christ our Redeemer. And the Gômôr,
which is the pot of gold inside the Tabernacle, is to be interpreted as Mary, and the
manna which is in the pot is to be interpreted as the Body of Christ which came down from
heaven, and the Word of God which is written upon the two tables is to be interpreted as
Christ, the Son of God. And the spiritual Zion is to be interpreted as the light of the
Godhead. The spiritual Pearl which is contained in the Tabernacle is like a brilliant gem
of great price, and he who hath acquired it holdeth it tightly in his hand, grasping it
and hiding it in his hand, and whilst the gem is in his hand its owner goeth into the
Tabernacle, and he is an inmate therein. And he who possesseth the Pearl is interpreted as
the Word of God, Christ. And the spiritual Pearl which is grasped is to be interpreted as
Mary, the Mother of the Light, through whom "Akrâtôs," the "Unmixed," assumed a body. In
her He made a Temple for Himself of her pure body, and from her was born the Light of
Light, God of God, Who was born of His own freewill, and was not made by the hand of
another, but He made a Temple for Himself through an incomprehensible wisdom which
transcendeth the mind of man.

4 And on another occasion, when God brought Israel out of Egypt, they thirsted for water
in Kâdês, and they murmured and wept before Moses; and Moses went to God and made Him to
know this. And God said unto him, "Take thy rod and smite this rock"; and Moses smote the
rock lengthwise and breadthwise in the form of the Cross, and water flowed forth, twelve
streams. And they drank their fill of the water, their people and their beasts, and when
they had drunk that rock followed after them. And the rock is to be interpreted as Christ,
and the streams of water as the Apostles, and that which they drank as the teaching of the
Apostles, and the rod is the wood of the Cross. And the rock is stable, as it saith in the
Gospel, "He who buildeth upon a rock shall not be moved by the demons." And again He
saith, "I am the gate," and again He saith, "I am the door." And observe ye that when
speaking He distinguished between his disciples even as He did between those who [came]
after them, the Bishops and the Christian Community. "Thou art the rock," He said unto
Peter, "and upon thee I will build the Christian people." And again He said, "I am the
Shepherd of the sheep," and He said unto him thrice, "Feed my sheep." And again He said,
"I am the stem of the vine," and unto them He said, "Ye are its branches and its clusters
of fruit."

5 And the rod of Moses by means of which he performed the miracle is to be interpreted as
the wood of the Cross, whereby He delivered Adam and his children from the punishment of
devils. And as Moses smote the water of the river therewith, and turned it into blood, and
slew their fish, in like manner Christ slew Death with His Cross, and brought them out of
Sheôl. And as Moses smote in the air with his rod, and the whole land of Egypt became dark
for three days and three nights with a darkness which could be felt so that [the
Egyptians] could not rise from their couches, so also Christ, being crucified upon the
Cross, lightened the darkness of the hearts of men, and rose up from the dead on the third
day and third night. And as the rod of Moses changed itself and transformed itself by the
Word of God, being dry yet possessing life, and possessing life yet became a dry thing,
even so Christ with the wood of His Cross made life for the Christian people who believed
on Him, and with the Sign of the Cross made them to drive away devils. For the demons and
the Christians became changed; the spiritual beings became reprobates, and through
transgressing the commandment of their Lord they became exiled ones by the might of His
Cross.

6 And we have become spiritual beings through receiving His Body and Blood in the place of
those spiritual beings who were exiled, and we have become beings worthy of praise who
have believed in His Cross and in His holy Resurrection. And as Moses smote the mountains
by stretching out his hands with his rod, and brought forth punishments by the command of
God, even so Christ, by stretching out His hands upon the wood of the Cross, drove out the
demons from men by the might of His Cross. When God said unto Moses, "Smite with thy rod,"
He meant, "Make the Sign of the Cross of Christ," and when God said unto Moses, "Stretch
out thy hand," He meant that by the spreading out of His hand Christ hath redeemed us from
the servitude of the enemy, and hath given us life by the stretching out of His hand upon
the wood of the Cross.

7 And when Amalek fought with Israel, Moses went up into the mountain, and Aaron was with
him; they went up to pray because Amalek was prevailing. And God commanded Moses and said
unto him, "Stretch out thy hand until Israel obtaineth the power [over Amalek]." And it
saith in the Tôrâh that the hands of Moses were held out until the sunset; but the hands
of Moses became heavy, and being aweary he dropped his hands that had been stretched out,
and then Israel ceased to prevail and their enemies overcame them. And when Moses kept his
hand up and stretched out straight, Amalek was overcome, and Israel put to flight and
vanquished their enemy Amalek. And when Aaron and Hôr (Hur) saw this, they piled up stones
on the right and on the left of Moses, and they made the hands of Moses to rest on the
stones which they had built up, and Aaron on his right and Hôr on his left held Moses up
with their shoulders, so that his hands might not drop from their stretched out position.

8 And now I will explain this to you. The war of Amalek against Israel is the war of
believers against the demons, and before Christ was crucified the demons conquered the
believers. But when He stretched out His hand on the wood of the Cross because of the sin
of Adam and his children, and when He stretched out His hand and His palm was pierced
[with the nails], those who were sealed with the Sign of the Cross of Christ conquered
them (i.e. the demons). The stretching out of the hand of Moses indicateth the Cross of
Christ; and that Aaron and Hôr builded up stones indicateth the wood of the Cross and the
nails. And Aaron indicateth the thief on the right, and Hôr the thief on the left; and
Amalek indicateth the demons, and the king of Amalek indicateth Satan. And as concerning
that they (the Amalekites) were conquered, this indicateth that we have conquered the
demons and Satan by the Resurrection of Christ and by His Cross.

9 And again when Israel went out of Egypt they came to bitter water, and they lacked drink
because the water was bitter; and first of all they murmured because of the bitterness of
the water. And God said unto Moses, "Lift up thy rod, and cast it into the water, and sign
it with the Sign of the Cross right and left." Now mark what followeth. Had God said unto
him, "Let it become sweet," then would the water not have become sweet? But He made
manifest that by the Sign of the Cross everything becometh good, and bitter water becometh
sweet, and that by the might of the Cross of Jesus Christ every polluted thing becometh
good and pleasant. And here I will declare unto thee yet other matters from the rest of
the Prophets concerning His Crucifixion. David saith, "They have pierced for me my hands
and my feet'; now this referreth clearly to the nails of His hands and His feet. And again
he saith, They made me drink vinegar for my thirst," and this showeth clearly that He
drank vinegar because of the sin of Adam. The Breath of Life that had breathed upon Adam
drank vinegar, and the Hand that had founded the earth was pierced with a nail. He Who for
the sake of Adam abased Himself was born, and took the form of a servant.

CHAPTER 99. CONCERNING THE TWO SERVANTS

1 Now [it is said] that a certain king had two slaves: the one was arrogant and strong,
and the other was humble and weak. And the arrogant slave overcame the humble one, and
smote him and all but slew him, and robbed him, and the king upon his throne saw them. And
the king descending seized the arrogant slave, and beat him, and crushed him, and bound
him in fetters, and cast him into a place of darkness. And he raised up his humble and
weak slave, and embraced him, and brushed away the dust from him, and washed him, and
poured oil and wine into his wounds, and set him upon his ass, and brought him into his
city and set him up on his throne, and seated him on his right hand. Now the king is in
truth Christ, and the arrogant servant whom I have mentioned is Satan, and the humble
servant is Adam. And when Christ saw how the arrogant servant overcame the humble one, and
cast him down in the dust, He came down from His throne and raised up Adam, His servant,
and bound Satan in fetters in the terror of Sheôl. And He seated the body of Adam upon the
throne of His Godhead, and magnified him, and exalted him, and honoured him; and he was
praised by all the beings whom He had created, the angels and the archangels, thousands of
thousands, and tens of thousands of thousands of spiritual beings.

2 For He brought low the arrogant and raised up the humble, and reduced the arrogant to
shame and exalted to honour the humble, and rejected the arrogant and loved the humble,
and scorned the haughty and had pity on the lowly. He cast down the arrogant from his high
place, and lifted the poor up out of the dust. He snatched away the mighty one from his
honour, and raised up the poor from corruption, for with Him are honour and disgrace. Whom
He wisheth to honour He honoureth, and whom He wisheth to disgrace He disgraceth.

CHAPTER 100. CONCERNING THE ANGELS WHO REBELLED

1 And there were certain angels with whom God was wroth—now He, the Knower of the heart
knew them—and they reviled Adam, saying, "Since God hath shown love to him He hath set us
to minister unto him, and the beasts and creeping things, and the fish of the sea, and the
birds of the air, and all fruits, and the trees of the field, and the heavens and the
earth also; and He hath appointed the heavens to give him rain, and the earth to give him
fruits. And the sun and the moon also hath He given him, the sun to give him light by day
and the moon to give him light in the night season. He hath fashioned him with His
fingers, and He hath created him in His own image, and He hath kissed him and breathed
upon him the spirit of life; and He saith unto him, 'My son, My firstborn, My beloved.'
And He hath set him in a garden to eat and enjoy himself without sickness or suffering,
and without toil or labour, but He hath commanded him not to eat from one tree. And being
given all these things by God, Adam hath transgressed and eaten of that tree, and he hath
become hated and rejected, and God hath driven him out of the Garden, and from that time
Adam hath abandoned his hope, for he hath transgressed the commandment of his Creator."

2 And God answered the angels who reviled Adam in this wise, and He said unto them, "Why
do ye revile Adam in this wise? For he is flesh, and blood, and 3 The soldiers tying
Christ's hands and spitting in His face ashes and dust." And the angels answered and said
unto Him, "May we declare before Thee the sin of Adam?" And God said unto them, "Declare
ye [his sin], and I will hearken unto you, and I Myself will answer you in respect of Adam
My servant." For God had worked on behalf of Adam. And God said, "I created him out of the
dust, and I will not cast away that which I have fashioned. I brought him forth out of
non-existence, and I will not make My handiwork a laughingstock for his enemies." And
those angels said, "Praise be unto Thee, O Lord. For Thou, the Knower of hearts, knowest
that we have reviled Adam because he hath transgressed Thy commandment that he was not to
eat of one tree after Thou hadst made him lord over everything which Thou hast created,
and hadst set him over every work of Thy hands. And if Thou hadst not told him, and if
Thou hadst not commanded him not to eat of one tree there would have been no offence [on
his part]; and if he had eaten because of a lack of food there would have been no offence
[on his part]. But Thy word made him to know, and Thou didst say, 'As surely as thou
eatest of this tree thou shalt die.' And he, after hearing this, made bold and ate. Thou
didst not let him lack sweet fruits to eat from the Garden, and Thou didst not let him
lack one to comfort him and a companion like unto himself. And these things we say and
make known unto Thee, and we have revealed unto Thee how he hath transgressed Thy
commandment."

4 And the Merciful One and the Lover of mercy answered them on behalf of Adam, and said
unto them, "You have I created out of fire and air with the one intent [that ye should]
praise [Me]. Him have I created of twice as many elements as you—of dust and water, and of
wind and fire; and he became [a being] of flesh and blood. And in him are ten thoughts
(or, intentions), five good, and five bad. And if his heart inciteth him to good, he
walketh with good intent; and if the Devil seduceth him, he walketh with him on an evil
path. As for you, ye have no other object in your minds but praise of Me, with the
exception of that arrogant one who produced evil, and became an evil being, and was driven
forth from your assembly. And now, why do ye magnify yourselves over Adam? If ye were as
he is, and I had created you of water and dust, ye would have been flesh and blood, and ye
would have transgressed My commandment more than he hath done, and denied My word." And
the angels said unto Him, "Praise be unto Thee, O Lord! Far be it from us! We will not
transgress Thy commandment, and we will not oppose Thy word; for we are spiritual beings
for life, and he is a creature of dust [doomed] to folly. And now try us well, and put us
to the test so that Thou mayest know whether we are able to keep Thy word."

5 And when they had vaunted themselves in this manner God, the Lover of men, said unto
them, "If now ye go astray so far as this in transgressing My word, the wrong will be upon
your own heads, [for] Jahannam (or, hell), and fire, and sulphur, and fervent heat, and
whirlwind shall be your habitation until the Great Day: ye shall be kept in chains which
can neither be loosened nor broken for ever. But if ye keep truly My word, and ye do My
commandment, ye shall sit upon My right hand and upon My left. For everyone who hath
conquered is mighty, and he who is conquered shall be overpowered. Now Satan hath no power
whatsoever, for he hath only what he maketh to germinate in the mind; and he cannot grasp
firmly, and he cannot perform anything, and he cannot beat, and he cannot drag, and he
cannot seize, and he cannot fight; he can only make thoughts to germinate silently in the
mind. And him who is caught by the evil mind he prepareth for destruction; and if [a man]
hath conquered the evil mind he findeth grace and hath a reward which is everlasting. And
to you, according to what ye wish, there shall be upon you the mind of a man and the body
of a man. But take good heed to yourselves that ye transgress not My word and break not My
commandment; and defile not ye yourselves with eating, or drinking, or fornication, or
with any other thing whatsoever; and transgress ye not My word."

6 And straightway there were given unto them with His word flesh, and blood, and a heart
of the children of men. And they were content to leave the height of heaven, and they came
down to earth, to the folly of the dancing of the children of Cain with all their work of
the artisan, which they had made in the folly of their fornication, and to their singings,
which they accompanied with the tambourine, and the flutes, and the pipes, and much
shouting, and loud cries of joy and noisy songs. And their daughters were there, and they
enjoyed the orgies without shame, for they scented themselves for the men who pleased
them, and they lost the balance in their minds. And the men did not restrain themselves
for a moment, but they took to wife from among the women those whom they had chosen, and
committed sin with them. For God hath no resting-place in the hearts of the arrogant and
those who revile, but He abideth in the hearts of the humble and those who are sincere.
And He spake in the Gospel, saying, "Woe be unto those who make themselves righteous, and
despise their neighbours.' And again He saith, God loveth the humble, and He holdeth
lightly those who magnify themselves."

7 And straightway God was wroth with them, and He bound them in the terror of Sheôl until
the day of redemption, as the Apostle saith, "He treated His angels with severity. He
spared them not, but made them to dwell in a state of judgement, and they were fettered
until the Great Day. The word of God conquered, Who had fashioned Adam in His likeness
(or, form), and those who had reviled and made a laughing-stock of Adam were conquered.
And the daughters of Cain with whom the angels had companied conceived, but they were
unable to bring forth their children, and they died. And of the children who were in their
wombs some died, and some came forth; having split open the bellies of their mothers they
came forth by their navels. And when they were grown up and reached man's estate they
became giants, whose height reached unto the clouds; and for their sakes and the sakes of
sinners the wrath of God became quiet, and He said, "My spirit shall only rest on them for
one hundred and twenty years, and I will destroy them with the waters of the Flood," them
and all sinners who have not believed the word of God. And to those who believed the word
of their fathers, and did His Will, no injury came from the waters of the Flood, but He
delivered them, saying, "If thou believest My word thou canst save thyself from the Flood.

8 And Noah said, "O Lord, I believe Thy word, make me to know by what means I can be
saved. And God said unto him, "Thou canst be saved from the water by wood. And Noah said,
"How, O Lord? And God said unto him, "Make thyself a four-sided ark, and build it with the
work of the carpenter, and make for it three storeys inside, and go into it with all thy
house. And Noah believed the word of God, and made [the ark], and was saved. 9 Now hearken
ye unto me, and I will explain to you concerning this thing. When God gave the command He
could have given unto Noah a wing like the eagle and transported him to the country of the
living, with all his house, until His anger with the sinners who had not believed the word
of God and the word of their fathers, had abated, or He could have lifted him up into the
air, or He could have commanded the water of the Flood—[which was] like a wall—not to
approach the one mountain where He would make Noah to dwell with his sons and not to
submerge the beasts and cattle which he wanted. But know ye this—God was well pleased that
by means of wood which had been sanctified the salvation of His creation should take
place, that is to say, the ark and the wood of the Cross. God said unto Noah, "Make that
whereby thou shalt be saved," that is to say, the Tabernacle of the Church; and when He
said unto him, "Make it foursided," He showed that the Sign of the Cross was fourfold. Now
the four corners of the ark are the horns of the altar; and He commanded Moses to make the
ark out of indestructible wood. He said, "I will sanctify thee by that heavenly and
spiritual work of My hand. And do thou sanctify thyself from filth, and impurity, and
fornication, and vindictiveness, and falsehood, together with thy brother and thy house.

10 And sacrifice unto Me a clean sacrifice with cleanness, and I will accept thee after
thou hast sanctified thyself and thy house; command all the people to sanctify themselves,
for My holy things [must be offered] by holy ones. And this thou shalt seek, the
Tabernacle of My Covenant which I have created for My praise. And if ye come with purity
of heart, with love, and with peace, without mockery and reviling, and if ye will make
right your hearts in respect of Me and your neighbours, I will hear your prayers, and I
will listen to your petitions about everything which ye submit to Me, and I will come and
be with you, and I will walk among you, and I will dwell in your hearts, and ye shall be
unto Me My people, and I will be your God in truth."

CHAPTER 101. CONCERNING HIM THAT EXISTETH IN EVERYTHING AND EVERYWHERE

1 And again God said unto Moses: " Make for Me an open space before the courtyard of the
Tabernacle; no man who is impure sexually and unclean shall come there, and no one who is
not pure. For I am there, and not only there, but in every place like thereunto where My
Name is invoked in purity. I was with Daniel in the den [of lions], and I was with Jonah
in the belly of the great fish, and I was with Joseph in the pit, and I was with Jeremiah
in the well [fed from] the lake. I stand under the deepest deep so that the mountains may
not sink down under the waters; and I am under the waters so that they may not sink down
upon the fire, and sulphur; I stand under the fire and sulphur so that they may not sink
down upon the winds and the rust. I am under the winds and the rusty fog so that they may
not sink down under the darkness. And I stand under the deepest darkness and under the
abysses, and every created thing supporteth itself on Me, and every thing which I have
created cometh to Me as a place of refuge.

2 " I am above the earth, and I am at the ends of the world, and I am Master of
everything. I am in the air, My place of abode, and I am above the chariot of the
Cherubim, and I am praised everlastingly by all the angels and by holy men. And I am above
the heights of heaven, and I fill everything. I am above the Seven Heavens. I see
everything, and I test everything, and there is nothing that is hidden from Me. I am in
every place, and there is no other god besides Me, neither in the heaven above nor in the
earth beneath; there is none like unto Me, saith God; My hand hath laid the foundation of
the earth, and My right hand hath made strong the heavens; I and My Son and the Holy
Spirit."

CHAPTER 102. CONCERNING THE BEGINNING

1 As David prophesied by the mouth of the Holy Spirit, saying, "With Thee was the headship
on the day of might.' Now what do these words, day of might" mean? Is it not the day
whereon Christ, the Word of the Father, created heaven and earth? For Moses saith in the
beginning of the Book, "In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth.' Understand
then In the beginning" meaneth "in Christ"; the interpretation of "beginning" is Christ.
John the Apostle, the son of Zebedee, saith concerning Christ, "This is the first (or,
beginning) Whom we have heard and seen, Whom we have known, and Whom our hands have felt.'
And we will relate unto you how we have a portion with Him, and ye who believe our words
shall have a portion with us. And Luke the disciple saith in the Acts of the Apostles, In
the beginning we make speech concerning everything,' and this that he saith [sheweth] that
Christ was the redemption of all, and we believe in Him. And Mark the Evangelist in the
beginning of his Book wrote, saying, The beginning of the Gospel is Jesus Christ, the Son
of God'; and these words mean that Christ was the glad tidings for the Prophets and the
Apostles, and that we all have participated in His grace. And again John the Evangelist
wrote, saying, In the beginning was the Word, and that Word was with God";

2 and in another place his word showeth [this] plainly, and he saith, "And likewise in the
beginning was God the Word.' And now observe that that Word of the Father is Christ,
whereby He made the heavens and the earth and every created thing. It is He Who created,
and without Him nothing that came came into being, nothing whatsoever: He spake, and they
came into being; He commanded, and they were created. And the third glorious thing,
hearken [to it]: "Through the breath of His mouth He created all their host. This maketh
manifest the Holy Spirit, Who is clearly referred to. 3 And what shall we say? Let us weep
for them. Woe be unto the Jews and unto the pagans ('Aramî) who have wandered from the
truth and have refused to submit to the love of God, with which in His goodness He hath
loved man. For after Adam was rejected through his sin He saved him by the greatness of
His mercy, being crucified on the wood of the Cross, His hands being pierced with nails.
With His palm stretched out in humility, and His head bowed on one side, for our sakes He,
to Whom suffering was unfitting, suffered in the everlasting majesty of His Godhead. He
died that He might destroy death; He suffered exhaustion that He might give strength to
the wearied being of dust; athirst He drank vinegar, He was crowned with a crown of
thorns; He feared not and was not ashamed of the contumely and hatred and spitting of the
polluted Jews. He suffered beating, He was buffeted with fists, He was pierced, He was
transfixed with nails, He was reviled and mocked, being God and the King of Death, and the
Bestower of glory, and because of this He endured patiently all disgrace. Wearied and
miserable, they made Him sad when they rejected Him and hated Him; but strong and
glorious, what could sadden Him when they brought false charges against Him? For He
Himself knew His Godhead, and He knew His glory, and He knew Himself. And there was none
who knew Him, for He was the Creator of everything. And if they had known Him they would
not have crucified the Lord of praise (or, glory). And He said in His mercy, "Forgive
them, Father, for they From Brit Mus. MS. Orient, No. 510, fol. 72a

4 How the Jews crucified our Lord. The Virgin Mary stands on His right and St. John on His
left. Between the Virgin and the Cross stands Longinus, the soldier who pierced our Lord's
side. The Crusaders are said to have found the body of Longinus in the church of St. Peter
at Antioch in the XIth century know not what they do." They likened their Creator to
something that had been created, and they slew a sojourner who did not belong to mortal
creatures, and He was not a thing that had been made with the hand. But He Himself was the
Maker, and He Himself was the Creator, Light of Light, God of God, Son of the Father,
Jesus Christ. 5 He was the Refuge, He was the Feeder, He was the Director; He, Whose
domain was above what is on high, and above everything, abased Himself. Even as Isaiah,
the man of keen words among the Prophets, saith, "He was a humble man, and His appearance
was rejected, like a root He hid Himself in parched ground, He came in the flesh, a being
of the earth, [though He was] the Sustainer of the universe and the Saviour of the
universe." And David ascribeth beauty to Him, saying, "On Thy beauty and in Thy goodliness
of form." And again he saith, "His form is more goodly than that of the children of men."
And again he saith, "Graciousness is poured forth from Thy lips." And again he saith,
"Direct aright with prosperity, and reign through righteousness, and justice, and
sincerity." And again he saith concerning the Jews, the enemies of the truth, "Thine
arrows are sharp and strong in the hearts of the haters of the King"; "it is right that
they should transfix their hearts," He saith "unto those who did not wish Me to be King,
and they shall be brought before Me and pierced" [with spears]. And again Isaiah saith
concerning the Jews, "I have sought for them and found them not; I have called unto them
and they have not answered Me; I have loved them and they have hated Me." And again David
saith, "They returned unto me evil for good, and they hated me in return for my love for
them." And again Isaiah saith, "With their lips they profess love for Me, but in their
hearts they keep afar from Me, and their worshipping of Me is an empty thing." And as
Moses saith, "They have moved Me to wrath with their gods, and I will move them to
jealousy with that which is not a nation, for they are a people whose counsel is
destroyed."

6 And those who said, "We have no Law," unto them hath the Law been given, for God is the
Giver of the Law unto every one. And God rewarded the Jews according to their wickedness,
and He treated the Gentiles according to their simplicity. For He is merciful and
compassionate to those who call upon Him and who take refuge in Him, and who purify
themselves from all uncleanness in the Church and in the Tabernacle of the Law of God; and
He loveth those who weep and repent even as Stephen, [one] of the Seventy Disciples saith.
Now among the Seventy Disciples there were seven who were chosen for service with the
Twelve Apostles, to perform service with Sīlās, and Barnabas, and Mark and Luke and Paul.
And this Stephen spake unto the Jews whilst he was standing up to martyrdom and the Jews
were killing him, and said unto them as he showed them their folly in not having kept the
commandment of God, "Ye have not kept the Tōrāh according to the ordinance of the angels,
as ye received it. And it saith in the Acts [of the Apostles], "When they heard this they
went mad with anger and gnashed their teeth. Now hearken ye unto me.

7 In his saying "Ye have not kept the Tōrāh according to the order of the angels," [we
have] a form and a [fore] shadowing of what is in the heavens, that is to say, the
heavenly and free Jerusalem, the habitation of the Most High, whereof the situation and
construction are incomprehensible to mortal heart. And in it is the throne of the Most
High, which is surrounded with fire, and four beasts bear it in their place, which is the
sixth heaven. And a throne goeth up to the seventh heaven, the habitation of the Father,
and there dwelleth He Who is with His Father and the Holy Spirit, Who vivifieth
everything. And the Tabernacle of the Church is a similitude of the Jerusalem which is in
the heavens, and the Church of the Gentiles is a similitude of the Jerusalem which is in
the heavens.

CHAPTER 103. CONCERNING THE HORNS OF THE ALTAR

1 Now, the Tabernacle symbolizeth the horns of the altar, where the holy priests offer up
sacrifice, whereon they place the ṭarapīzā, (i.e. table), the similitude of the grave
wherein He (i.e. Christ) was buried in Golgotha. And what is on the table, that is, the
offering, is a symbol of the firstling, that is to say, the Body of Emmanuel, [or]
"'Akrāṭōs," the "pure," the "unmixed," which our Saviour took from Mary, of the which He
said unto His holy Apostles, "Eat ye My Body; whosoever eateth not of My Body hath no
portion with Me, and no everlasting life. But he who hath eaten My Body, even though he be
dead, shall live for ever, [for] he is associated with My Body and My Blood, and he hath
become My heir, and he shall say to My Father, 'Our Father which art in heaven,'" and the
Father shall answer him, saying, "Thou art My Son," and the crown (i.e. the covering),
which is above the offering, is a similitude of the stone with which the Jews sealed the
grave. And when the priest saith, "Send the Holy Spirit," the Holy Spirit shall be sent,
and the Body of our Lord shall be perfect (or, complete). And when we have received we
shall be participators in the Body and Blood of our Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ, the
Son of the Living God, and the Holy Spirit, henceforth and for ever.

2 Speak ye then to one another so that the Jews, who are blind in heart, and who are our
enemies and the enemies of our Lord God, may not boast themselves over us. And they say,
"Your gods are many, and ye worship wood" (i.e. the Cross), and they say, preaching openly
the word of Isaiah the Prophet, "Ye worship the half of it, and with the other half ye
cook the body and eat [it]. Now Isaiah speaketh thus in respect of those who worship
graven images and idols. And they say [that we say], "These are our gods, and they have
created us"; and that we talk to them and worship them as the Lord our God. And these also
are they whom the devils lead into error in their wickedness, and David saith, concerning
them, "The gods of the heathen are devils, but God hath created the heavens; truth and
goodness are before Him."

CHAPTER 104. MORE CONCERNING THE ARK AND THE TALK OF THE WICKED

1 And as concerning the Ark: God saved Noah in the Ark. And God held converse with Abraham
in the wood of Manbar, that is to say the wood that cannot be destroyed; and He saved
Isaac by means of the ram which was caught in the thicket; and He made Jacob rich by means
of three rods of woods which he laid in running water; and through the top of his staff
Jacob was blessed. And He said unto Moses, "Make a tabernacle of wood which cannot be
destroyed, in the similitude of Zion, the Tabernacle of the Covenant." And when David took
it from the city of Samaria, he placed the Tabernacle of the Law in a new Tabernacle, and
rejoiced before it. For from the beginning God had made the Tabernacle the means of
salvation, and very many signs and wonders were performed through it by its form and
similitude. Hearken ye now unto me, and I will show you plainly how God had ordained
salvation through the wood of His Cross, in the Tabernacle of His Law, from the beginning
to the end.

2 Salvation came unto Adam through the wood. For Adam's first transgression came through
the wood, and from the beginning God ordained salvation for him through the wood. For God
Himself is the Creator and Giver of life and death, and everything is performed by His
Word, and He created everything, and He maketh righteous him that serveth Him in purity in
His pure Tabernacle of the Law. For it is called "mercy-seat," and it is also called
"place of refuge," and it is also called "altar," and it is also called "place of
forgiveness of sins," and it is called "salvation," and it is called "gate of life," and
it is called "glorification," and it is called "city of refuge," and it is called "ship,"
and it is called "haven of salvation," and it is called "house of prayer," and it is
called "place of forgiveness of sins for him that prayeth in purity in it," so that [men]
may pray therein in purity and not defile their bodies. God loveth the pure, for He is the
habitation for the pure. Those who come into His habitation, and are accepted in the holy
Tabernacle, and who pray unto Him with all their hearts, He will hear and will save in the
day of their tribulation, and He will fulfil their desire. For He hath made the holy
Tabernacle to be a similitude of His throne.

3 But there are some among those whom ye have brought unto us who are like unto us
Christians, but who have not abandoned the sin which their father the Devil hath made to
spring up in them. And he said, "Thus it is right that we should pray in Zion, the
Tabernacle of the Law of God; she was at the first and is even now. The similitude thereof
and the fruit thereof are the Mother of the Redeemer, Mary; it is right that we should
worship her, for in her name is blessed the Tabernacle of the Law of God. And it is right
that we should worship Michael and Gabriel." 4 And the Archbishop Cyril answered and said
unto them: And if he hath said this unto them, we also will say unto them: What did our
Lord Jesus Christ say when He was teaching those who believed in Him? One came from
outside and said unto Him, " Behold them, Thy father and Thy mother outside seeking Thee."
And Christ the Lover of men answered and, stretching out His hand towards those whom He
was teaching, said, without making any distinction or difference between man and woman, "
Behold them, My father, and My mother, and My brother. Whosoever hath heard My word and
hath done the Will of My Father, that same is My father, and My mother, and My sister." O
thou blind-hearted Jew, canst thou not see His mercy and His love for men when He spake
thus? He neither separated nor made a distinction, but He said unto them, " My brother."
For He loveth those who love Him and keep His commandment, especially the martyrs, who for
His sake delivered themselves over to death, though they knew the bitterness of death; and
the solitary monks who keep the commandment of God, and love Him with all their hearts,
and He loveth them. And their graves which are built, that is to say, the martyriums, and
the churches which are built in their names, and the tabernacles which the Bishops
consecrate in their names; every one is holy in the house of the Sanctuary of God. And the
man who prayeth in their names God heareth. And those who pray in purity, without
uncleanness and blemish, and in humility and sincerity in a tabernacle which hath been
consecrated—whether it be in the name of a martyr, or in the name of an angel, or in the
name[s]

5 of the righteous, or in the name of a virgin, or in the name of holy women—if it be
consecrated, the Holy Spirit cometh down upon them and changeth the wood so that it
becometh a spiritual being. In this wise God transformed the rod of Moses by His word, and
it became a thing of life and made Moses fear his Lord. And in like manner Joseph
worshipped the top of the rod of Jacob when he was before him; none forced him, but
through the belief of his father he worshipped the top of his rod. And this which Moses
wrote is a prophecy for the last days, so that we may know that tabernacles in the name[s]
of martyrs and righteous men are holy, namely, when he saw him he worshipped the top of
his rod. 6 And I will also declare unto you what is written concerning the pride of
Pharaoh. Moses did as God commanded him, and turned his rod into a serpent; and Pharaoh
commanded the magicians, the sorcerers, to do the same with their rods. And they made
their rods into three serpents which, by means of magic, wriggled before Moses and Aaron,
and before Pharaoh and the nobles of Egypt. And the rod of Moses swallowed up the rods of
the magicians, for these deceivers had worked magic for the sight of the eyes of men. Now
that which happeneth through the word of God overcometh every [kind of] magic that can be
wrought. And no one can find him to be evil, for it is the Holy Spirit Who guideth and
directeth him that believeth with an upright heart without negligence. Even as Paul saith,
"By believing the fathers of olden time were saved.' He wished to make known each by his
name from Adam, and Noah, and Abraham, to Rahab the harlot who received the spies. And
thou, O blind Jew, canst thou not understand from what thou readest in the Law, that is to
say, the Tôrâh wherein thou believest, that inasmuch as thou canst not perform its
commandments thou art cursed thereby? For when He saith, All those who walk therein, if
they do not keep what is written therein, accursed shall they be," He saith it to thee.
But us, who believe in Christ, the Son of God, the grace of God hath chosen, saying, "He
who believeth and is baptized shall be saved."

CHAPTER 105. CONCERNING THE BELIEF OF ABRAHAM

1 And thou dost not understand that they were justified by faith—Abraham, and David and
all the Prophets, one after the other, who prophesied concerning the coming of the Son of
God. And Abraham said, "Wilt Thou in my days, O Lord, cast Thy word upon the ground?" And
God said unto him, "By no means. His time hath not yet come, but I will shew thee a
similitude of His coming. Get thee over the Jordan, and dip thyself in the water as thou
goest over, and arrive at the city of Sâlêm, where thou shalt meet Melchizedek, and I will
command him to show thee the sign and similitude of Him." And Abraham did this and he
found Melchizedek, and he gave him the mystery of the bread and wine, that same which is
celebrated in our Passover for our salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the
desire and the joy of Abraham as he went round the altar which Melchizedek had made,
carrying branch and palm on the day of the Sabbath. See how he rejoiced in his belief, and
see how he was justified by his belief, O blind Jew, who though having eyes seest not, and
having ears hearest not, even as the Prophet Isaiah saith concerning you, "Their eyes are
blind, and their hearts are covered with darkness, so that they may not understand and God
may not show compassion unto them."

2 Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking Christ down from the Cross

CHAPTER 106. A PROPHECY CONCERNING THE COMING OF CHRIST

1 And now hearken how each one of them hath prophesied concerning Him, [for the narrative]
is pleasant to hear. Isaiah the Prophet prophesied concerning His coming and said, "A Son
is born unto us. A Child is given unto us. Dominion is written upon His shoulder. He is
God, strong in rule, King, great Counsellor is His name.' Now the meaning of this is
manifest: the Son of God is born, Whose sovereignty was written down before the world was,
and He is wiser than anyone else: [this is what] he saith unto thee. And again Isaiah
prophesied and said, Behold My servant Whom I have chosen, on Whom is the delight of My
soul, and the nations shall put their confidence in Him.' And these words give us to
understand that Christ is the Spirit of God, the Word of the Father Who put on our flesh
and was born for us: and the peoples of Rômê and Ethiopia and all other nations have
believed in Him. And he spake unto the people of Israel, and again he prophesied, saying,
Many shall follow after Thee with their loins girded up, and their backs bound with
fetters, and they shall pray to Thee and worship Thee, for thou art God, and we have not
recognized Thee.' Now this he spake concerning the martyrs, and those who became monks in
the desert and solitary monks, whose hearts were fettered with His commandment, and who
prayed to Him, meaning that reward was meet for both the martyrs and the solitary monks.

2 And we did not recognize Thee": Israel made itself blind, and crucified Him, and refused
to walk in His righteousness. And again Isaiah prophesied and said, "God shall come, and
the heathen shall put their trust in Him and shall know Him; this meaneth that Christ
shall come, and the Jews shall reject Him, but the heathen shall believe in Him. And again
he prophesied and said, "Be strong ye weak hands and tired knees, and rejoice ye hearts
that are cast down, for God hath come, Who shall requite our debt, and save us. And He
shall open the eyes of the blind, and He shall make the ears of the deaf to hear, and the
feet that are lame shall run, and the tongues of the dumb shall speak.' These words are
spoken in respect of those who err in worshipping idols, and those who are dead in sin,
and those whose hearts are darkened, and of you who do not know that God created you.
Rejoice ye this day: He hath come Who will redeem the sin of Adam, and make Adam's debt
His own. He was crucified being sinless. He hath killed Death by means of His own death,
and the blind see, and the lame walk, and the deaf hear, and the dumb speak unhaltingly,
and besides all these things the dead are raised. This is the meaning of this prophecy.

3 Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "God shall come in visible form, and our God
will not keep silence.' Thus Jeremiah prophesied and said, "God shall come down upon the
earth, and shall walk about with men like us.' Thus Ezekiel the Prophet prophesied and
said, "I your God will come, and I will walk about among them, and they shall know Me that
I am their God.' Thus David prophesied and said, "Blessed is He Who cometh in the name of
God: we have blessed you in the Name of the Lord.' Thus Habakkuk prophesied and said, "God
shall come from the South, and the Holy One from Mount Fârân and from the cities of
Judah.' Thus Elijah the Prophet prophesied and said, With a new covenant shall God come
unto us." Thus Joel the Prophet prophesied and said, "The heavenly Emmanuel shall come and
shall deliver the work which He hath fashioned with His own hand from the hand of the
Devil, the deceiver, and his devils which lead astray."

4 Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "The God of gods shall show Himself in Zion.
The people say out of Zion, A man is born therein, and He the Most High hath founded it."
Thus Solomon his son prophesied and said, "Verily God shall be with men, and He shall walk
about upon the earth." Thus his father David prophesied and said, "He shall come down like
the dew upon wool, and like the drop which droppeth upon the earth, and righteousness
shall spring into being in his days." Thus Solomon his son prophesied and said, "A Saviour
shall be born out of Zion, and He shall remove sin from Jacob." Thus Hosea the Prophet
prophesied and said, "I will come to thee, O Zion, and I will walk about in thee,
Jerusalem, saith God, the Holy One of Israel." Thus Micah the Prophet prophesied and said,
"The Word of God shall appear in Jerusalem, and the Law shall go forth from Zion."

5 Thus Hosea the Prophet prophesied and said, "God shall appear upon the earth, and shall
dwell with men like us." Thus Jeremiah the Prophet prophesied and said, "A saviour shall
be sent from Zion, and He shall remove sin from the people of Israel." Thus Micah the
Prophet prophesied and said, "God shall come from the heavens and dwell in His temple (or,
citadel)." Thus Zechariah the Prophet prophesied and said, "Rejoice, O daughter of Zion!
Behold, I am alive, and I will dwell in thee, saith God, the Holy One of Israel." Thus
Micah the Prophet prophesied and said, "Behold, God shall come, and shall shine upon those
who fear Him; Sun of righteousness is His Name." Thus Hosea the Prophet prophesied and
said, "God shall come upon thee, Jerusalem, and shall appear in the midst of thee." Thus
David the Prophet prophesied and said, "And He shall live, and they shall give Him of the
gold of Arabia, and they shall pray for Him continually, and He shall be the stay of all
the earth upon the tops of the mountains."

6 Thus Job the just prophesied and said, "God shall walk about upon the earth, and He
shall travel over the sea as upon the dry land." Thus David the Prophet prophesied and
said, "He bowed the heavens and came down." Thus Isaiah the Prophet prophesied and said,
"Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and shall bring forth a Son, and she shall call His
name Emmanuel." Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "I brought Thee forth from the
womb before the star of the morning." And again he said, "God said unto me: Thou art my
Son, and I have this day brought Thee forth." Thus Gideon prophesied and said, "Behold, He
shall come down like dew upon the earth." Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "God
looked down from heaven upon the children of men, and from the temple of His sanctuary."
Thus Moses the Prophet prophesied and said, "And all the children of God shall say: He is
strong, for He avengeth the blood of His sons."

7 Thus David prophesied and said, "And there will I make a horn to David to rise up, and I
will prepare a lamp for Mine Anointed, and I will clothe His enemies with shame, and in
Him shall My holiness flourish." Thus Hosea the Prophet prophesied and said, "Fear not,
for Thou shalt not be put to shame. And be not dismayed because of Thy praise." And again
he said, "Hearken unto Me, hearken unto Me, My people, for My judgement (or, justice) is
right. I will come and I will dwell with you, and the nations shall put their trust in My
light; for the nations shall be the loved ones of Christ." Thus David the Prophet said, "A
people whom I do not know shall serve Me; at the mere hearing of the ear they shall answer
Me." And to the Jews he said, "The children of the stranger have been false to me, the
children of the stranger have become old and have travelled haltingly on their path. God
liveth, and blessed [is] my God." When he saith unto thee, "God liveth," he speaketh of
His Godhead, and when he saith unto thee "and blessed [is] my God," he speaketh concerning
His putting on the flesh. And again he speaketh concerning His putting on the flesh in
Isaiah the Prophet, saying, "Who is this glorious One who cometh forth from Edom, Adônâi,
Who came down from heaven, and put on the things of Basôr, glorious in majesty?" When he
saith "glorious" he refereth to His sweet odour; and when he saith "Adônâi," he meaneth
the Word of the Father Who was before the world, the Son of God; when he saith "He put on
the things of Basôr, the glorious in majesty," he indicateth clearly the body of Adam.

8 Thus David the Prophet prophesied saying concerning Christian folk, "Declare ye to the
nations that God is King, and that He hath made fast the world so that it shall never be
moved." And he also prophesied concerning His coming to the nations, and said, "Before the
face of God shall He come, He shall come and shall judge the earth, and He shall judge the
world in righteousness, and the nations with justice." Thus Isaiah the Prophet prophesied
and said, "The Lord of hosts hath planned to destroy the contumely of the nations, and He
shall bring to nothing the nobles and the mighty ones of the earth." And continuing his
prophecy he said, "He shall come and shall build His house, and He shall deliver His
people." And he added other words, saying, "And at that time there shall spring from the
root of Jesse One Who shall be set over the nations, and the nations shall put their trust
in Him, and the place where He shall abide shall be glorious for ever."

9 Thus David prophesied, and said, "Sing ye unto God Who dwelleth in Zion, and declare ye
to the nation His work." Thus Solomon his son prophesied and spake concerning our Saviour
Emmanuel, the Sun of righteousness, "He brought Me forth before the hills, and before He
made the lands and set them in order, and founded Me before the world; before He made the
earth, and before He made the abysses, and before the waterfloods came forth, and the
beauty of the flowers appeared, and before the winds blew, God created His work before His
face, and I existed conjointly with My Father." Thus his father David prophesied and said,
"His name was before the sun, and before the moon, generation to generation." Thus his son
Solomon prophesied and said, "When He made strong the firmament above the clouds, and when
He set in position the walls of the boundaries of the heavens, and when He set the sea in
its appointed place, and before He founded His throne above the winds, and when He made
strong the foundations of the earth, I existed conjointly with Him. I was that wherein He
rejoiced continually, and day by day, and I exulted with Him at all times before His
face."

10 Thus Job the Prophet prophesied and said, "The face of my God is in the East, and His
light is before [that of] the sun, and the nations put their trust in His Name." Thus
Isaiah the Prophet prophesied and said, "Remember ye not the things of the past, and think
not about the things of olden time; behold, I will make a new thing, which shall now
spring up, so that ye may know that I make a road through the desert and water floods in
the wilderness; and the beasts of the field shall follow after Me, and the young birds,
and the ostriches. For I have given water in the desert, and made streams of water to flow
in the wilderness, so that I may give drink to My people and to My chosen ones whom I have
gotten, so that they may declare My glory, and perform My commandment."

11 Thus Solomon prophesied and said, "Who hath gone up into heaven and come down? And who
hath gathered together the winds in his bosom? And who hath collected the waters in his
garment? And who hath measured the waters of the sea in his hand, and the heavens on the
palm of his hand? And what is his name and what is the name of his son?" Thus Micah the
Prophet prophesied and said unto the Jews, "I have no pleasure in you, saith God Who
ruleth all things. And I have no pleasure in your offerings, and I will accept no gift
from your hands. For from the rising of the sun to the setting thereof shall My Name be
praised among all peoples, and in all countries incense shall be offered up to my great
Name among all peoples, saith Almighty God." And again Micah the Prophet said, "A new
covenant shall appear upon the mountain of God, and it shall be prepared upon the tops of
the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and people shall say, 'Come ye,
let us go up into the mountain of God.' And many nations shall go thereto and shall say,
'Come ye, let us go up into the mountain of God,' and they shall declare unto us His way,
and we will walk therein.'"

12 Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "Hearken unto Me, O My people, and I will
speak unto thee, Israel, and will bring testimony to thee; I am God, thy God." Thus Moses
the Prophet prophesied and said concerning the Trinity, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God
is One." And this is to be explained thus: Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit are One God,
Whose kingdom is one, Whose dominion is one, and as One men shall worship Them in the
heavens and in the earth, in the sea and in the abysses. And to Him be praise for ever and
ever! Amen. Christ taking Adam out of Sheol and trampling the Devil under His feet

CHAPTER 107. CONCERNING HIS ENTRANCE INTO JERUSALEM IN GLORY

1 And the Prophets have prophesied concerning His glorious entry into Jerusalem, and
Isaiah the Prophet said, "Shine thou, shine thou, Jerusalem, thy light hath come and the
glory of God hath risen upon thee." Thus the Prophet Zechariah prophesied and said,
"Rejoice, rejoice, daughter of Zion, and let Jerusalem shout for joy." Thus David
prophesied and said, "Out of the mouth of children and babes Thou hast prepared praise
because of the enemy, so that Thou mightest overthrow the enemy and the avenger." Thus
Solomon prophesied and said, "The children are taught by God, and the peoples rejoice
within thee." Thus David his father prophesied and said, "Blow ye the horn in Zion, on the
day of the new moon, on the appointed day of our festival, for it is an ordinance for
Israel." Thus Ezra the Scribe prophesied and said, "Get ye out, make ye a festival in
gladness, and say unto the daughter of Zion, Rejoice thou, behold thy King hath come."

2 Thus Isaiah the Prophet prophesied and said, "Rejoice thou, Jerusalem, rejoice thou.
Behold, thy King hath come riding upon an ass. His reward is with Him, and His work is
before His face." Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "Blessed is He who cometh in
the name of the Lord." Thus Jacob the son of Isaac prophesied and said, "Judah, thy
brethren have praised thee. Thine hand is upon the back of thine enemy, and the children
of thy mother shall worship thee. And the dominion shall not diminish from Judah, and the
government shall not depart from his kin, until he shall find Him Who hath been waited
for, and Who is the Hope of the nations." And he also prophesied and said, "His teeth are
white as with snow, and His eyes are glad as with wine, and He shall wash His apparel in
wine and His tunic in the blood of clusters of grapes." And again he prophesied, saying,
"Judah is a lion's whelp; thou hast lain down, and thou hast slept; no one shall wake him
up except him that hunteth until he findeth him; rise up from thy strong place." And again
Jacob blessed his son Judah, and said unto him, "There is a King who shall go forth from
thee and shall wash His apparel in wine, and glorious is the place of rest of the
Beloved"; now, by "Beloved" Christ is meant, and by "Messiah" Christ is meant, and Jesus
meaneth "Saviour of the people." Now the Prophets mention Christ under a secret name and
they call Him "the Beloved."

3 And Isaiah spake concerning His Ascension in his prophecy, saying, "On that day the
Beloved shall come down from heaven, and shall choose for Himself twelve Apostles." And
again he said, "I have seen the ascension of the beloved Son to the seventh heaven, and
the Angels and the Archangels receiving Him, He being very much higher than they." And
David said, "The beloved is like the son of the unicorn"; and again he said, "And thine
only one from the horns of the unicorn." And again he said, "Let my horn be exalted like
that of the unicorn." "Horns" meaneth the kingdoms of the world; and "unicorn" meaneth He
Who is over His kingdom Whom no one can resist, for He is the governor of kings; He
destroyeth whom He will and He setteth up him whom He will. Even as David saith, "I will
make thee to rejoice more than those who are mighty through their horns," which meaneth,
"Thou art nobler than the noble kings, and thou dost rejoice."

4 And Habakkuk prophesied, saying, "Horns are in his hands, and he hath placed the beloved
in the strength of his power," which meaneth, "The palms of the hand, wherein the life of
all is held, of the holder of the dominion of kings, are pierced with nails, which Christ,
the beloved, hath endured in the strength of His might."

CHAPTER 108. CONCERNING THE WICKEDNESS OF THE INIQUITOUS JEWS

1 And the Prophets prophesied concerning the wickedness of the Jews. And David said
concerning it, "The man of violence hunteth iniquity to destroy himself." And again he
saith, "His sorrow shall return upon his head, and his iniquity upon his forehead" (or,
skull). Thus Solomon his son prophesied and said, "The foolish man and the man of iniquity
travel by paths that are not straight. He winketh with the eye, and tappeth with the foot,
and he giveth a sign by movements of the fingers and motion of the lips, and his perverted
heart meditateth evil at all times; a man who is like this will make to come tumult and
murder, and the shedding of blood through double-dealing, and he shall not escape the
judgement." And David his father prophesied and said, "They brought forth against me the
word of error; he who sleepeth shall he not awake? Shall then the man of my peace (i.e.,
my friend), whom I trusted, who ate my food, lift up his foot against me?"

2 Thus Isaiah the Prophet prophesied and said, "Woe be unto the man of iniquity who
bringeth wrath." And again he said, "Let them remove the sinner so that he may not see the
glory of God." Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "The sinner speaketh what will
condemn him, and there is no fear of God before his eyes." Thus Solomon his son prophesied
and said, "The man of iniquity bringeth tumult to the city; and he willingly maketh to
come destruction, and beating, and calamity which cannot be healed, for he rejoiceth in
everything which God hateth." Thus prophesied Moses the Prophet and said, "God wisheth not
to forgive him but rather to increase vengeance upon him; and He will make punishments to
rest upon him, and the curse which is written in this book shall come upon him; and his
name shall be blotted out from under heaven."

3 Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "His heart is ready for slaughter; he
preferreth cursing and it shall come to him; he refuseth blessing and it shall be far from
him." Thus Jeremiah the Prophet prophesied concerning him and said, "The man of iniquity
shall be destroyed because of the love of money, and he looketh upon darkness because of
his fraud." Thus Job prophesied and said concerning him, "His Creator will destroy his
fair work, and his root shall dry up under him, and his flower shall be beaten down upon
him, and his memorial shall be blotted out from the earth, and his name shall be cast far
away, and men shall remove him into the darkness so that he may not see the light, and the
house of the man of iniquity shall be blotted out." Thus Hosea prophesied and said
concerning him, "Hearken unto me, O children of Israel, for there is no righteousness, and
no mercy, and no fear of God in his heart, but falsehood, and theft, and murder, and
fornication."

4 And David the Prophet prophesied and said, "Satan standeth at his right hand"; and again
he said, "Let another take his office." And Moses cursed in the Law and said, "Cursed be
every one who taketh bribes to slay innocent blood; and all the people said, Amen. And
Amen." Thus Habakkuk the Prophet prophesied and said, "The governor maketh [men] wise
concerning this perversion of the Law, and no right judgement cometh forth; for the sinner
corrupteth the righteous man, and therefore a perverted judgement cometh forth." Thus
David the Prophet prophesied and said, "The sinner seeth and becometh wrathful, and he
gnasheth with his teeth and is dissolved." Thus Solomon his son prophesied and said, "A
false balance is a hateful thing to God." Thus Jeremiah prophesied and said concerning
Judah, "My hire is ready (or, weighed) for me—thirty [pieces of] silver."

CHAPTER 109. CONCERNING HIS CRUCIFIXION

1 And the Prophets also prophesied concerning the Crucifixion of Christ. Thus Moses, the
servant of God, prophesied and said, "Ye shall see your salvation crucified upon the wood,
and shall not believe." Thus David prophesied and said, "Many dogs have seized Me; and
they drove nails through My hands and My feet; and they counted all My bones; though they
knew Me they despised Me; and they divided My garments among themselves; and they cast
lots for My apparel." Thus Isaiah prophesied concerning the Incarnation and Crucifixion of
Christ, and said, "Who believeth our word, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
And we spake like a child before Him: and He is like a root in parched ground, He hath no
beauty and no form; and His form is more rejected and abased than [that of] any man. He is
a broken man and a man of suffering; for He hath turned away His face, and they treat Him
with contempt and esteem Him as nothing."

2 Thus Solomon prophesied and said, "Let us kill the righteous man, for he is a burden
unto us; he setteth himself up against our works, he resisteth our intentions continually,
and we are an abomination unto him because of our sins." And he continued, saying, "My
son, let not wicked men lead thee astray; if they say unto thee, 'Come with us, be a
partner with us, let us hide innocent blood and take plunder from him; and let there be
one purse common to us all': withdraw thyself from their footsteps, for let it not be
through thee that the birds find the net." Thus David prophesied and said, "They cast gall
into My meat, and they gave Me vinegar to drink to [quench] My thirst." Thus prophesied
Isaiah the Prophet and said, "He hath taken our disease and carried our sickness, and by
His wound we are healed; and we saw Him suffering, and wounded in his pain; and He opened
not His mouth in His pain, and He came to be slaughtered; like a lamb before his shearer
He opened not His mouth in His suffering until they took away His life; and they knew not
His birth; through the sin of My people have I come even unto death."

3 Thus Jeremiah the Prophet prophesied and said, "And they took the price of the
honourable one thirty [pieces of] silver, whom they had honoured among the children of
Israel. And God said unto me, Cast it into the melting pot, and test it [and see] if it be
pure; and they gave it for the field of the potter; as God hath commanded me I will
speak." Thus Isaiah the Prophet prophesied and said, "They counted Him with the sinners,
and brought Him to death." Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "Those who hate Me
wrongfully are many, and they have rewarded Me with evil for good." Thus Zechariah the
Prophet prophesied and said, "And they shall look upon Him Whom they have crucified and
pierced." Now there are still very many passages which have been written and many
prophecies which might be mentioned concerning His coming, and His Crucifixion, and His
death, and His Resurrection, and His second coming in glory. But we have only mentioned a
few of the prophecies of the prophets—we have mentioned one of each kind—so that ye may
hear, and believe, and understand, even as it is said in the Acts of the Apostles, "By the
Gospel Thou hast guided us, and by the Prophets Thou hast comforted us; for the words of
the Prophets make right the faith of those who doubt."

CHAPTER 110. CONCERNING HIS RESURRECTION

1 And the prophet David also prophesied concerning His Resurrection and said, "I will
arise, saith the Lord, and I will make salvation and manifest it openly." And again he
saith, "Rise up, O Lord, and judge the earth, for Thou shalt inherit among the nations."
And he also prophesied and said, "Rise up, O Lord, help us, and deliver us for Thy Name's
sake." And again he said, "Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered, and let His
enemies flee from before His face." And he also prophesied and said, "God hath risen up
like one who hath woke up from sleep, and like a mighty man who hath left [his] wine."
Thus Isaiah the prophet prophesied and said, "He will remove sickness from his soul, for
he hath not committed sin, and falsehood hath not been found in his mouth. And to him that
hath served righteousness and good will he show light and he will justify him; and he
shall do away the sins of many, for he hath not committed sin, and falsehood is not found
in his mouth."

2 Thus prophesied David the Prophet and said, "For My soul shall not be left in hell."
Thus Solomon his son prophesied and said, "The Sun of righteousness shall arise, and shall
travel towards the right, and shall return into His place."

CHAPTER 111. CONCERNING HIS ASCENSION AND HIS SECOND COMING

1 Thus all the Prophets and many of the early Fathers prophesied concerning His Ascension
and His Second Coming to judge the living and the dead. And David said concerning His
Resurrection, "He hath gone up into the heights. Thou hast made captive captivity, and
hast given grace to the children of men." And he also said, "Having gone forth, I will
Christ ascending into heaven and being received by angels. Below are the Virgin Mary and
the Apostles The cock crowing after St. Peter's denial of our Lord. The figures to the
left are those of Mary and John come back, and I will return from the abyss of the sea."
And again he said, "Sing ye unto God Who hath gone up into the heavens, the heavens which
are opposite the morning." Thus Amos the Prophet prophesied and said, "The Messiah, Who
made the time of the morning, hath come and is exalted from the earth into the heights:
and His Name is God Who ruleth all things."

2 Thus prophesied David the Prophet and said, "Thou art exalted, O Lord, by Thy might, and
we will praise and hymn Thy strength." Thus prophesied Zechariah the Prophet and said,
"His foot standeth on the Mount of Olives to the east of Jerusalem. And He rideth upon the
Cherubim, and He flieth upon the wing of the winds." Thus David said, "Open ye the gates
of the princes, and let the doors which were from the creation be opened, and the King of
glory shall come! Who is this King of glory? God, the mighty and strong One, God, the
mighty One in battle." And he also made known and said, "Open ye the gates of princes, and
let the doors which were from the creation be opened, and the King of glory shall come!
Who is this King of glory? The Lord God of Hosts is this King." And again concerning His
coming—He shall judge the living and the dead—He to Whom belongeth glory for ever and
ever. Amen.

3 Thus Zechariah the Prophet prophesied and said, "That day the Lord my God shall come,
and all His saints with Him." Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "God spake once,
and this according [to what] I have heard: Compassion belongeth unto God. And Thine, O
Lord, is the power, for Thou wilt reward every man according to his work." Thus spake
Daniel the Prophet and said, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, there came [one]
like unto the Son of man to the Ancient of Days, and there were given unto him dominion,
and glory, and sovereignty, and all the nations and peoples and countries shall serve Him,
and His dominion shall have no end for ever and ever. Amen." And all the Prophets
prophesied, and nothing that hath happened hath been without the prophecy of the Prophets.
And they have declared everything that hath happened, and what shall happen, what hath
been done and what shall be done, and that which belongeth to the times of old and that
which belongeth to the latter days up to His Second Coming. And this they have done not
only by what they have prophesied and declared, but together with their prophecies they
have given manifestations of Him in their bodies. And there was a famine in the land of
Canaan, and our father Abraham went down to Egypt, and came back with much riches and
honour without blemish. And in like manner our Redeemer went down and delivered the
Church, the Assembly of the Nations, and He went up [again], having gotten honour and
praise.

CHAPTER 112. HOW THE PROPHETS FORESHADOWED HIM IN THEIR PERSONS

1 Isaac commanded his father, saying, "Bind me"; and he was offered up as a sacrifice,
though he did not die, being redeemed by the ram which came down from heaven. And in like
manner the Son of God was obedient to His Father even unto death. And He was bound with
the love of men, and He was nailed [to the Cross] and was pierced, and the Son of God
became our ransom, and His Godhead suffered not. Thus Jacob his son departed to the land
of Lâbâ (Laban), the country of his mother's brother, with his staff only, and there he
made many cattle, and acquired beasts both clean and unclean, and he begot twelve sons,
and he revealed baptism, and returned to his own country where he received a blessing from
Isaac his father. And in like manner our Lord Christ came down from heaven, the Word of
Godhead by Itself; and the staff of Jacob wherewith he pastured his sheep is our Lady Mary
our salvation. And moreover, the staff signifieth the wood of the Cross whereby, being
crucified upon it, He redeemed His flock and took possession of us from among the Jews,
and the heathen, and the Gentiles. And He chose for Himself Twelve Apostles, and they made
the people believe in all the earth and in every country, and He went up to heaven to His
Father.

2 Thus Moses departed to the country of Midian, and there he held converse with God, Who
made him to learn and to know the belief in the resurrection from the dead of his fathers
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And by means of his staff (or, rod) He endowed him with the
power to perform miracles; and he begot two sons. And this showeth clearly that we shall
be saved by the Trinity. As the mouth of God proclaimed, "I am the God of Abraham"—this of
the Father—"and the God of Isaac"—this of the Son—"and the God of Jacob"—when He saith
this it is of the Holy Ghost—indicating the Trinity clearly and plainly. "I am not the God
of the dead, but the God of the living," for they all are alive with God; and by this the
Resurrection of the dead is to be understood. Jonah was swallowed up and cast into the
belly of the great fish; and our Redeemer went down into the heart of the earth, and rose
again the third day. And Daniel was cast into the pit of the lions, and [the king and the
lords] sealed it with their seals; and he rose up therefrom without the lions devouring
him. And similarly our Lord was cast into the grave, and the Jews sealed it with their
seals, imagining that they were sealing up the rising of the sun so that it should not
shine. O ye foolish, wicked, blasphemous, blind, and weak-minded men, would ye assert that
the Spirit of Life should not appear and come forth? And the Jews were put to shame, and
He went forth to illumine us who have believed upon Him.

3 Joseph was sold by the hand of his brethren, and our Lord was sold by the hand of Judah.
And Joseph where he was sold delivered his brethren from the famine, and Christ hath
delivered us who believed upon Him and hath made us His heirs and His brethren. And as
Joseph gave an inheritance unto his kinsfolk in the land of Gêsham (Goshen), so shall
[Christ] give unto His righteous ones a habitation, an everlasting inheritance. 4 And
moreover, in order that ye may know, and understand, and be certain about the resurrection
of the dead, I will give you a sign, which ye shall understand by the guidance of His
word. When Abraham had come unto the land of [his] inheritance he bought first of all a
tomb wherein to gather together the dead bodies of his kinsfolk, and his children, and his
wife, so that he might join them in the resurrection; and there he buried his wife Sarah
and he himself was buried. For he was a prophet, and he knew that he would be raised up
with his kin. And Isaac and Rebekah his wife were also buried there. And it remained their
possession from the time when Jacob went down to the land of Egypt with seventy-seven
souls, because of the famine and because Joseph his son [was there], until their number
became six hundred thousand marching men who were equipped for war, without [reckoning]
women and children. And Jacob died in Egypt at a good old age, and he said unto Joseph his
son, "I adjure thee by the life of my father and by my God, Who is the renewer of my life,
that thou bury me not in this country, but in the tomb of my fathers, so that my death may
be with them and my life subsequently with them." Know then by this similitude of the
word. And Joseph his son carried Israel and buried him by the grave of his fathers, for he
reverenced the oath which Jacob had made him to swear.

5 And again, when Jacob fell sick in Egypt he called his brethren and his children, and
made them to swear that they would not leave his bones in the land of Egypt, and said,
"When God maketh you to return take ye my bones with you and mingle them in the grave of
my fathers."

CHAPTER 113. CONCERNING THE CHARIOT AND THE VANQUISHER OF THE ENEMY

1 And the Archbishops (or, Patriarchs) answered and said unto Gregory, the Worker of
Wonders, "Behold now, we know well, and thou hast made us to understand that the Kings of
Ethiopia have become glorious and great through Zion. And the Kings of Rômê also have
become great because of the nails [of the Cross] that Helena made into a bridle, which
hath become the vanquisher of the enemy for the King of Rômê. And the chariot belongeth to
the King of Ethiopia, and it hath vanquished his enemy. And tell us also how long the
vanquisher of the enemy shall remain with the King of Rômê, and the chariot containing
Zion with the King of Ethiopia. Tell us, for God hath revealed unto thee what hath been,
and what shall be, vision and prophecy, like Moses and Elijah." 2 And Gregory answered and
said unto them, "I will reveal unto you concerning the King of Rômê when he shall
transgress and shall provoke God to wrath in the faith. This faith which we have ordered
and laid down shall a king transgress who shall come in Rômê, and there shall be
associated with him a certain archbishop, and they shall change and pervert the word of
the Twelve Apostles, and they shall cast it aside in the desire of their heart[s], and
they shall teach what they wish, and they shall turn the Scriptures to suit their own
nature, even as the Apostle saith, 'They have behaved themselves like [the people of]
Sodom and Gomorrah.' And our Lord said unto His disciples in the Gospel, 'Guard ye
yourselves against those who shall come unto you in the apparel of sheep, and who are
inwardly wolves that tear.' And when they have destroyed the faith the vanquisher of the
enemy shall be taken away from them, and there shall be none of those who have changed our
faith who shall sit upon the throne of Peter, and the bowels of their Archbishops shall be
emptied out if they have taken their seat upon it in perverted faith. For the Angel of God
hath been commanded to protect the throne of Peter in Rômê.

3 And God shall take away the vanquisher of the enemy from the king who shall not guard
the faith, and the Persians shall make war upon him and defeat him, and it seemeth to me
that his name is Marcion the Apostate. And the King of Persia, whose name is Harênêwôs
(Irenaeus) shall conquer (? him, and the king shall carry him away, together with his
horse, and by the Will of God the horse on which is the vanquisher of the enemy shall be
stirred up, and shall go into the sea and perish therein. But the nails shall shine there
in the sea until Christ shall come again in great glory upon a cloud of heaven, together
with power. 4 "Now this hath God showed me in the pit. And as concerning the King of
Ethiopia, and Zion, the Bride of heaven, and her chariot whereby they move, I will declare
unto you that which my God hath revealed unto me and hath made me to understand.
[Ethiopia] shall continue in the orthodox faith until the coming of our Lord, and she
shall in no way turn aside from the word of the Apostles, and it shall be so even as we
have ordered until the end of the world. And one answered and said unto the Worker of
Wonders (i.e. Gregory), "Now when Samályál cometh, who is the False Christ (Antichrist),
will the faith of the people of Ethiopia be destroyed by his attack?" And Gregory answered
and said, "Assuredly not. Hath not David prophesied saying, 'Ethiopia shall make her hands
come to God?' And this that he saith meaneth that the Ethiopians will neither pervert nor
change this our faith and what we have ordered, and the faith of those who were before us,
the teachers of the Law of the Apostles."

CHAPTER 114. CONCERNING THE RETURN OF ZION

And the Tabernacle of the Law of God, the Holy Zion, shall remain here until that day when
our Lord shall dwell on Mount Zion; and Zion shall come and shall appear unto all
prepared, with three seals—even as Moses gave her—as it saith in the Old Law and in the
New, "At the testimony of two or three [witnesses] everything shall stand." And then,
saith Isaiah the Prophet, "The dead shall be raised up, and those who are in the graves
shall live, for the dew which [cometh] from Thee is their life." And when the dead are
raised up, His mercy whereby He watereth the earth shall cease; they shall stand up before
Him with the works which they have done. And Enoch and Elias shall come, being alive, so
that they may testify, and Moses and Aaron from the dead shall live with everyone. And
they shall open the things that fetter her (i.e. Zion), and they shall make to be seen the
Jews, the crucifiers, and they shall punish them and chide them because of all that they
have done in perverting the Word of God. And the Jews shall see what He wrote for them
with His hand—the Words of His Commandment, and the manna wherewith He fed them without
toil [on their part], and the measure thereof, the Gômôr, and the spiritual Zion, which
came down for their salvation, and the rod of Aaron, which blossomed after the manner of
Mary.

CHAPTER 115. CONCERNING THE JUDGEMENT OF ISRAEL

1 And He shall answer and say unto them, "Why did ye deny Me, and entreat Me evilly and
crucify Me, [seeing that] I did all this for you, and that by My coming down [from heaven]
I delivered you from Satan and from the slavery of Satan, and that I came for your sakes?
Look ye and see how ye pierced Me with nails and thrust the spear through Me." And the
Twelve Apostles shall be raised up, and they shall pass judgement upon them, and shall say
unto them, "We would have made you hear, but ye would not hear the prophecy of the
Prophets and the preaching of us the Apostles." And the Jews shall weep and repent when it
shall be useless to do so, and they shall pass into everlasting punishment; and with the
Devil, their father who had directed them, and his demons who had led them astray, and
with the wicked they shall be shut in.

2 And those who have believed and who have been baptized in the Holy Trinity, and have
received His Body and His Blood, shall become His servants with their whole heart, for
"there is no one who can hate His Body altogether." The Body of Christ crieth out in our
Body, and He hath compassion because of His Body and Blood, for they have become His sons
and His brethren. And if there be some who have sinned they shall be judged in the fire
according to the quantity of their sins; he whose burden of sin is light his punishThe
Last Judgement. God Almighty, holding a standard with flags attached to it, sits in the
centre with His angels about Him. On His right are seated the blessed, clothed, and on His
left are the damned in the form of naked men and women. At His feet lie "Diabolus, the
lover of iniquity" and two other fiends ment shall be light, and he whose burden of sin is
heavy, exceedingly great shall his punishment be. One day with God is as a period of ten
thousand years; some there shall be who shall be punished for a day; and some for half a
day, and some for three hours of a day, and some for one hour of a day; and some there
shall be who shall be tested and who shall be absolved from their transgressions.

CHAPTER 116. CONCERNING THE CHARIOT OF ETHIOPIA

And the Archbishops answered and said unto Gregory, the Worker of Wonders, "Behold now,
thou hast told us concerning the vanquisher of the enemy of Rômê, and now [tell us] of the
chariot of Ethiopia and whether it shall remain henceforward, to the Coming of Christ, as
thou hast told us concerning Zion, and concerning the faith of the people of Ethiopia, and
likewise if their chariot shall remain." And Gregory said unto them, "It shall assuredly
not disappear. And again, hearken ye unto me and I will declare this unto you: A few Jews
shall lift up their heads against our faith in Nâgrân and in Armenia in the days after
this, and this God will do by His Will so that He may destroy them, for Armenia is a
territory of Rômê and Nâgrân is a territory of Ethiopia."


THE QUEEN OF SHEBA AND HER ONLY SON MENYELEK: THE KEBRA NAGAST (CHAPTER 117. CONCERNING THE KING OF RÔMÊ AND THE KING OF ETHIOPIA)
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THE QUEEN OF SHEBA AND HER ONLY SON MENYELEK: THE KEBRA NAGAST continued

CHAPTER 117. CONCERNING THE KING OF RÔMÊ AND THE KING OF ETHIOPIA

1 And the King of Rômê, and the King of Ethiopia, and the Archbishop of Alexandria—now the
men of Rômê were orthodox—were informed that they were to destroy them. And they were to
rise up to fight, to make war upon the enemies of God, the Jews, and to destroy them, the
King of Rômê 'Ênyâ, and the King of Ethiopia Pinhas (Phinehas); and they were to lay waste
their lands, and to build churches there, and they were to cut to pieces Jews at the end
of this Cycle in P twelve cycles of the moon. Then the kingdom of the Jews shall be made
an end of and the Kingdom of Christ shall be constituted until the advent of the False
Messiah. And those two kings, Justinus the King of Rômê and Kâlêb the King of Ethiopia,
met together in Jerusalem. And their Archbishop was to make ready offerings and they were
to make offerings, and they were to establish the Faith in love, and they were to give
each other gifts and the salutation of peace, and they were to divide between them the
earth from the half of Jerusalem, even as we have already said at the beginning of this
book. And for love's sake they were to have jointly the royal title [of King of Ethiopia].
They were to be mingled with David and Solomon their fathers. The one whom in faith they
chose by lot to be named from the Kings of Rômê was to be called "King of Ethiopia," and
the King of Rômê likewise was to bear the name of "King of Ethiopia," and he was to have
part in the lot whereby he should be named with David and Solomon their fathers, after the
manner of the Four Evangelists. And the fourth the one whom they were to choose each in
his own country...

2 And thus after they had become united in a common bond, and had established the right
faith they were to determine that the Jews were no longer to live, and each of them was to
leave his son there; and the King of Ethiopia was to leave there his firstborn son whose
name was Israel, and was to return to his own country in joy. And when he came to his
royal house, he was to give abundant thanks unto God, and to offer up his body as an
offering of praise to his God. And God shall accept him gladly, for he shall not defile
his body after he hath returned, but he shall go into a monastery in purity of heart. And
he shall make king his youngest son, whose name is Gabra Maskal, and he himself shall shut
himself up [in a monastery]. And when one hath told this to the King of Nâgrân, the son of
Kâlêb, he shall come in order to reign over Zion, and Gabra Maskal shall make his armies
to rise up, and he shall journey in a chariot, and they shall meet together at the narrow
end of the Sea of Libâ, and shall fight together. And on the same night the two of them
shall pray from sunset until the dawn, when the fight waxeth strong upon them.

3 And when they have cried out to Him with tears God will look upon the prayer of both of
them, and the penitent prayer of their father, and will say, "This one is the elder and he
hath stood up to perform the will of his father, and that one, the younger, hath loved his
father, and hath prayed to God [for him]. And God will say to Gabra Maskal, "Choose thou
between the chariot and Zion," and He will cause him to take Zion, and he shall reign
openly upon the throne of his father. And God will make Israel to choose the chariot, and
he shall reign secretly and he shall not be visible, and He will send him to all those who
have transgressed the commandment of God. And no one shall build houses, and they shall
live in tents, and none shall suffer fatigue in labouring, and none shall suffer thirst on
the journey. And their days shall be double of those of [ordinary] men, and they shall use
bows and arrows, and shall shoot at and pierce him that God hateth.

4 Thus hath God made for the King of Ethiopia more glory, and grace, and majesty than for
all the other kings of the earth because of the greatness of Zion, the Tabernacle of the
Law of God, the heavenly Zion. And may God make us to perform His spiritual good pleasure,
and deliver us from His wrath, and make us to share His kingdom. Amen. And they answered
and said unto him, "Verily, thou hast spoken well, for thus was it revealed unto thee by
the help of the Holy Spirit. Thou hast told us everything which hath taken place, and thou
art in agreement with the book of Damôtiyôs (Domitius) of Rômê. And P 2 thou hast
prophesied also what shall happen to the two cities, the brides of Christ, the Churches
Nestāsyā and 'Arḵādyā, and Mārēnā, and Ethiopia, the great cities of God, wherein pure
sacrifices and offerings shall be offered up at all times.

5 May God show us His grace! The blessing of all the saints and martyrs [be with us] for
ever and ever! Amen. Christ is our King, and in Christ is our life for ever and ever.
Amen. And Amen."

Colophon

6 In the Arabic text it is said: "We have turned [this book] into Arabic from a Coptic
manuscript [belonging to] the throne of Mark the Evangelist, the teacher, the Father of us
all. We have translated it in the four hundred and ninth year of mercy in the country of
Ethiopia, in the days of Gabra Maskal the king, who is called Lālibā, in the days of Abbā
George, the good bishop. And God neglected to have it translated and interpreted into the
speech of Abyssinia. And when I had pondered this—Why did not 'Abal'ez and Abalfarog who
edited (or, copied) the book translate it? I said this: It went out in the days of Zāguā,
and they did not translate it because this book says: Those who reign not being Israelites
are transgressors of the Law. Had they been of the kingdom of Israel they would have
edited (or, translated) it. And it was found in Nāzrēt."

7 "And pray ye for me, your servant Isaac the poor man. And chide ye me not because of the
incorrectness of the speech of the tongue. For I have toiled much for the glory of the
country of Ethiopia, and for the going forth of the heavenly Zion, and for the glory of
the King of Ethiopia. And I consulted the upright and God-loving governor Yā'ebika
'Egzi'ē, and he approved and said unto me, Work.' And I worked, God helping me, and He did
not requite me according to my sins. And pray ye for your servant Isaac, and for those
Sheol, the abode of the Devil and his angels. Three of Satan's chief devils dragging the
souls of the damned with chains of fire through the fire-pits of hell who toiled with me
in the going out (i.e. production) of this book, for we were in sore tribulation, I, and
Yamharana-'Ab, and Hezba-Krestôs, and Andrew, and Philip, and Maḥārī-ab. May God have
mercy upon them, and may He write their names in the Book of Life in the kingdom of
heaven, with those of all the saints and martyrs for ever and ever! Amen."


SOURCES AND CREDITS
===================

Where each text comes from, and the licence under which it may be reused.

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 1 English translation:
an out-of-copyright translation as transcribed, or commissioned and given to the public
domain, by Roger Pearse for his collection Early Church Fathers – Additional Texts (
tertullian.org/fathers ). SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short
sections; the wording is the translator’s own. No Greek or Latin text is shown beside it
yet, and no modern English version has been made. Licence. published 1904; published 1910.
Licence: Public domain.

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, PART 2 English translation:
an out-of-copyright translation as transcribed, or commissioned and given to the public
domain, by Roger Pearse for his collection Early Church Fathers – Additional Texts (
tertullian.org/fathers ). SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short
sections; the wording is the translator’s own. No Greek or Latin text is shown beside it
yet, and no modern English version has been made. Licence. published 1904; published 1910.
Licence: Public domain.

THE QUEEN OF SHEBA AND HER ONLY SON MENYELEK: THE KEBRA NAGAST English translation by E.
A. Wallis Budge, from The Queen of Sheba and her only son Menyelek: being the history of
the departure of God and His Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem to Ethiopia , a complete
translation of the Kebra Nagast, by E. A. Wallis Budge (London: The Medici Society, 1922);
public domain. The text was read by machine (Mistral OCR) from a scan of the 1922 edition
at the Internet Archive and has not been proofread against the printed book. SermonIndex
has removed running heads and page numbers, joined words split across lines, and divided
the text into chapters and short sections; the wording is the translator’s own. Footnotes
and the editor’s introduction are left out. Budge’s long introduction, his notes, the
index and the list of Bible passages are also left out. No original-language text is shown
beside it, and no modern English version has been made. Licence. The translation was
published in 1922 and is in the public domain. Licence: Public domain.