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THE ELEVENTH MONTH
Hamle 08
(July 15)

IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, 
ONE GOD.  AMEN.

On this day died the holy father, Abba Besoy, possessor of a fair memorial, the star of the desert in the monastery of Saint Abba Macarius.  This saint was from the city the name of which is Sanasa, in the country of Egypt, and he had six brethren.  And his mother saw a vision, wherein it seemed that the angel of God said unto her, “Thus saith God:  Give me one of thy seven sons to serve Me.”  And she said unto him, “My lord, take whichever pleaseth thee, for they all belong to God.”  And the angel stretched out his hand and touched the head of Saint Abba Besoy, the righteous man, and he said, “This is he whom the Son of God hath chosen, and who shall serve his Lord well”; now Saint Abba Besoy was thin and slight of body.  And the mother of Abba Besoy said unto the angel, who had touched his head, “O my lord, do thou take of them one who is strong to serve God.”  And the angel answered and said unto her, “This is he whom God hath chosen”; and after the angel had said this he disappeared from her.  And having grown up, Abba Besoy longed to wear the garb of the ascetic life, and he went to the desert of Scete and became a monk with Saint Abba Bamoy, who arrayed him in the apparel of Saint Abba John the Short.  And he fought an exceedingly great fight, and he fasted three times for forty days at a time, and ate nothing whatsoever until the end of the forty days [on each occasion].  And he read the Holy Books frequently, and he gave his soul to drink of the words of the Holy Spirit continually, and he fasted and kept vigil by day and by night; and he loved the word of God very much more than honey and sugar.  And he was like unto a tree, which is planted by a spring of running water, and our Lord Jesus Christ made Himself visible to him and appeared unto him on many occasions.  He washed His feet with water in a bowl, and drank one half of the water, and left the other half for his disciple to drink.  And after our Lord had gone up from him into heaven, the saint said unto his disciple, “Rise up and drink that water in the bowl.”  And the disciple said within himself, “Why doth he not give me to drink of the clean water which is in the water-pot?”  And he neither rose up nor drank that water as Besoy had commanded.  And again Abba Besoy said unto his disciple, “Rise up, O my son, and drink that water which is in the bowl.”  And having urged him the disciple rose up and went to that bowl, and he found in it no water whatsoever; and the saint informed him how he had washed the feet of our Lord, and had drunk one half of the water himself and left the other half for him.  Now the disciple did not know that it was the water from the feet of our Lord.  And when the saint told him this, he was very sorry, and was greatly terrified and dismayed.  And the saint sent his disciple to a certain righteous man in the city of ‘Akmim, pretending that he was mad, and that righteous man comforted him, and sent him back to his father Abba Besoy.  And when his disciple became terrified a second time he sent him again to that righteous man, who had died [meanwhile].  And Abba Besoy said unto his disciple, “Place in his hand this staff, and say unto him, My father telleth thee to rise up, and to hold converse with me.”  And when his disciple went, and laid the staff of Abba Besoy upon him, that righteous man rose up straightway, and comforted him, and admonished him, saying, “Hear and obey thy father, for this terror hath only come upon thee because thou didst transgress the word of the command of thy father, he having spoken to thee, saying, ‘Drink that water which is in the bowl’”; and when the righteous man had said these words he lay down again as before.  One day one of the disciples of Abba Besoy came to him and, before he went into his presence, he heard Abba Besoy talking with another person, but when he entered into the place where the saint was he found that there was no one with him.  And he asked Abba Besoy, and said unto him, “Who was he who was talking with thee?”  And Saint Abba Besoy said unto him, “The Emperor Constantine came unto me in the spirit this day, and he said unto me, ‘Had I known how great was the glory which attendeth monks, I should have abandoned my kingdom and become a monk.’  And I said unto him, ‘Thou hast set up the horn of the True Faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and hath destroyed the worship of idols, and hath not our Lord Jesus Christ given unto thee anything?’  And Constantine said unto Abba Besoy, ‘God hath given unto me many gifts, but none of them is like unto the glory which attendeth the monks, for I have seen among them a wing of fire as they were flying into the heavenly Jerusalem.’  And I said unto him, ‘Verily, God hath given unto them that glory because of their great toil.  Thou hast a wife, and sons, and riches, and dost gain consolation there from, whereas the monks are poor, and hungry, and thirsty, and afflicted, and it is for this reason that God hath given them the glory they have.’”  And one day God spoke unto Abba Besoy, saying, “I will make this desert like the habitation of doves, and I will fill it with monks.”  And the saint said unto Him, “My Lord, if there be many people, where will they find food to eat?”  And God said, “I will care for them, and will not allow them to want anything.”  And it was said concerning a certain elder monk who lived in the desert of the city of Antinoe, and to whom many people gathered together because of their confidence in him, that he fell into serious error, and said, “There is no Holy Spirit.” and many men followed him.  And when Abba Besoy heard this report about that desert monk, he was very sad, and he placed three ears on his place of hearing.  And he came to the desert of Antinoe, and when he visited that desert monk he found many people with him, and he saluted the saint and asked him about the three ears which he had fixed on his place of hearing. And he said unto them, “I have a Holy Trinity, and everything I have is like the Trinity.”  And he said unto him, “Doth the Holy Spirit exist?”  And the saint began, and interpreted to the people the Books of the Old and the New Testaments, and he made manifest to them that the Holy Spirit is One of the Three Holy Beings; and those people returned to the True Faith, and that elder, who had fallen into error, and had led them into error, also returned to the True Faith.  And Abba Besoy had a disciple who was a simple man, and when he went to sell what they had made with their hands, one of that multitude met him, and led him so far astray from the path of righteousness that he uttered the word of blasphemy against our Lord Jesus Christ.  And when that disciple returned to Abba Besoy, the saint saw that the grace of the Holy Spirit [which had been upon him], through Christian baptism, was removed from him.  And Abba Besoy said unto his disciple, “What hath come to thee, O my son?”  And the disciple told him the man had led him into error.  And the saint continued to pray for him for seven days, and at the end of that time the grace of the Holy Spirit of Christian baptism, in the form of a dove, descended upon his head, and entered his mouth.  And the saint thanked our Lord Jesus Christ, and he commanded his disciple to keep the True Faith, and to take good heed to himself that from this time onwards he never uttered a word in simplicity without his knowledge.  And when the Barbarians came to the desert of Scete, Abba Besoy went and took up his abode in the desert of Antinoe, and there he died.  And when the time of tribulation was ended [the monks] brought the body of Abba Besoy, and the body of Abba Bula, of the city of Tamowa, to the monastery of Saint Abba Besoy, in the desert of Scete, and many signs and miracles took place through his holy body; and his body is “living,” and hath not suffered corruption until this day.  And he dwelt in the desert of Scete seven and twenty years, and he fought the fight and devoted himself to God in the desert of Antinoe for ten years, and he lived in the world before he became a monk twenty years; and all the days of his life were seven and fifty years.  Salutation to Abba Besoy.

And on this day also ‘Aberokh and ‘Atom, his brother, became holy martyrs.  These saints were of the men of the city of Gamnudi, and their parents were believers, and God-fearing folk, who gave much alms; the name of their father was “John,” and that of their mother was “Mary.”  When their parents died they were grown-up men, and the days of ‘Aberokh were thirty years, and the days of ‘Atom were seven and twenty years. They were devoted in their attendance in the church, and they were perfect in all excellences, and in the practice of righteousness.  And at the time of the persecution, when many became martyrs, the saints rose up and departed to the city of Farima, in order to trade and gain money.  And they found there the soldiers of the king, who had with them the body of a certain learned priest who had been martyred, and whose name was Anianus.  And they gave the soldiers much money, and they took the body from the soldiers and brought it into their house, and they laid it in a fine stone coffer, and they hung up before it a lamp, which burned continually; and great signs and wonders took place through it.  And the saints meditated upon the end of this fleeting world, and upon the happy life of the kingdom of the heavens, and they agreed together and departed to the city of Alexandria, and confessed our Lord Jesus Christ before the governor of the city of Alexandria.  And he commanded the soldiers to torture them, and to beat them, and they beat them with whips of bulls’ hide until their blood ran down upon the ground.  Then they drove long sharp iron nails into their bodies, and lighted a fire under them, but God sent His angel who saved them from the fire.  And after this the governor commanded the soldiers to hang them up upon a high tree, with their feet in the air and their heads towards the ground, and they hung them up and at length their blood ran out of their nostrils and mouths; and the angel of God descended and delivered them from crucifixion.  And the governor commanded the soldiers to shut them up in prison, and after this he sent them to the city of Farma.  And when they stood before the governor he marveled exceedingly at their strength, and at the goodliness of their appearance, and he said unto them, “Cast incense to the gods,” but they hearkened not to his command, and refused to do his will.  And he mixed together salt, and dust of tiles, and pepper, and vinegar and poured them into their nostrils, and they endured patiently all this suffering.  And after this they stripped them and laid them on a bed of iron, and lighted a fire under them, and plucked out the nails of their hands and feet; and they beat them severely with iron rods upon their mouths.  Now at that time the wife of the governor died, and the king asked them to forgive him for the torture, which he had inflicted upon them, and to raise up for him his wife from the dead.  And the saints besought our Lord Jesus Christ, and he sent away the saints, and they departed to their city Gamnudi.  And they gave to the poor and needy what was left of their possessions, and they gave the body of Saint Anianus to a righteous man whose name was Sarabamon, and commanded him to keep the lamp burning continually before him as before; and then they went into the city of Sarabamon, and confessed our Lord Jesus Christ before the governor.  And he commanded the soldiers to beat them severely, and they dragged them all round the city, and their blood flowed upon the ground.  And a certain deaf and dumb woman came and took some of their blood, and she smeared it on her mouth and ears, and she heard and talked straightway.  And the governor commanded the soldiers to shut them up in prison, and they did so, and when he was tired of torturing them, he commanded them to cut off their heads, now Sarabamon was with them, and they cut off their heads and the saints received the crown of martyrdom in the kingdom of the heavens.  And Sarabamon took the bodies of the saints, and there were with him two other men from the city of Gamnudi, and they wrapped them up in fine linen, and in costly cloths, and they anointed them with sweet-smelling unguents, and carried them to their city Gamnudi.  And when they came to the outer part of the city the beasts that were drawing their bodies on a wagon stood still, and would not move, and although they beat them to make them go on they would not move.  And they heard a voice, which said, “This is the place which God hath chosen for our bodies to rest in”; and they laid the bodies there until they had built a church, and then they placed them inside it, together with the body of Saint Anianus, the physician.  And there they have remained until now in the city of Gamnudi, and many signs and wonders have appeared through them.  And Saint ‘Aberokh was very ruddy of countenance, and tall of stature, and the pupils of his eyes were blue like nil.  And Saint ‘Atom was tall of stature, and the color of the pupils of his eyes was like antimony, and his beard was black. And our Lord Jesus Christ promised them in the time of their tribulation that He would blot out the sins of everyone who should mention their names, or should celebrate their commemoration, to the best of his ability, and that he should never see the Judgment.  Salutation to ‘Aberokh and to his brother ‘Atom.

And on this day also Saint Abba Belane, of the city of Bari, which was on the border of the city of Saka, in Lower Egypt, became a martyr.  This saint was a priest, and when he heard of the tribulations of the believers, and the killing of the martyrs, he gave all his goods to the poor and needy, and went to the city of Antinoe, and confessed the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ before the governor.  And the governor tortured him with divers kind of severe tortures for many days, and he delivered up his soul into the hand of God and received the crown of martyrdom in the kingdom of the heavens.  Salutation to the blessed Bulana.

And on this day also died Abba Mesael, whom Abba Kiros (Cyrus), the beggar, buried.  And this is his history:  When Saint Abba Kiros (Cyrus) had by the commandment of God gone into the mountain of Basat. He arrived in the monastery of the monks, and saluted the church.  And he saw therein a figure of our holy Lady, the two-fold Virgin, Mary, the God-bearer, and tears were flowing from her eyes.  And he said unto her, “O my Lady, remember me in thy prayer.”  And the figure spoke and said unto him, “O Kiros (Cyrus), thy path is fair, inhabit not this place.  Go back to thy habitation to protect the bones of thy father”; and when Abba Kiros (Cyrus) heard this, he made seven hundred bowings at the feet of the figure, and he heard a voice which spoke unto him, in Hebrew, saying, “This is enough for thee, for thou art a pilgrim; thou shalt lay up treasure for thyself in the treasury of mercy.”  And when he went out of that place, the monks saw how goodly his countenance was, and that his whole person was pleasant, and they said among themselves, “It would seem that this monk hath come from the country of Egypt, for his body is not emaciated by fasting and prayer”; and they hated him exceedingly, and they brought him to his abode.  And he found there a poor beggar lying upon the ground, and he was sick with the masfares sickness, wherewith he had been stricken many days before, and he was nigh unto death.  And Abba Kiros (Cyrus) saw Saint Michael by his head, and Saint Gabriel by his feet, and Saint Raphael on his right hand, and Saint Sadakyal (Zadakiel) on his left, and they were covering him with their wings, but none of the men saw them doing this with the exception of Saint Abba Kiros (Cyrus).  And the angels saluted him, and said unto him, “Hail, strong man, who fearest not death by the slayers.”  And Abba Kiros (Cyrus) marveled and said unto the holy angels, “What would ye do with me?”  And they said unto him, “There is a command laid on us by God that we protect this beggar.”  And Abba Kiros (Cyrus) said unto them, “Until when?”  And they said unto him, “Until God commandeth us to take him up.”  And Abba Kiros (Cyrus) went back, and said unto the monk, “How many years have thou dwelt in this place?”  And the monk said unto him, “Five and twenty years.”  And Abba Kiros (Cyrus) said unto him, “Can it be then that the abbot and the monks did not visit thee?”  And the monk said unto him, “They did not; as thou seest me.  For fifteen years I never saw their faces, nor ate of their food nor drank of their water.”  And Abba Kiros (Cyrus) said unto him, “Tell me now; who was thy father, and who was thy mother?”  And he said unto him, “My father was the King of Chalcedonia, and my mother was the daughter of Rakhrakha; I speak unto thee truly, O Abba Kiros (Cyrus).  I was dressed in gold, and silver, and fine linen in my father’s house.”  And Abba Kiros (Cyrus) said unto him, “Who then was it that brought thee into this city?”  And the monk said unto him, “Two men, who were like unto thee, came to my father’s house, and they passed the night there.  And at midnight a shining man came unto me, and called me, and he said unto me, ‘Misael, Misael, Misael, at dawn rise up, and depart with these saints.  For this thing have I come, and I will be with thee if they do not what is good.”  And Abba Kiros (Cyrus) said unto him, “Listen, for I will comfort thee.  There is a certain monk whose name was Babnudi; he was exceedingly poor, and his place of abode was the desert.  And the Hater of good deeds (i.e. Satan) came unto him and seduced him, and God gave the flesh of that poor man of whom I speak to the lions, and to the birds of the heavens.  Now, that man was the son of King Kefaz, who was of honorable family, and ruled under the authority of the Emperor of Rome.  And I also tell thee that there was a certain poor man, who was the son of the Emperor of Rome, who went forth from his father’s house suddenly, without taking anything whatsoever with him, except a staff.  And I knew that man very well.  And he traveled about from one desert to another, and from one monastery to another; whether he is dead I know not, or whether he is alive, I know not.  And there was another poor man, the son of a king, and he kept vigil by day and by night, and dressed in sackcloth, and he ate and drank only on Sabbath days; and he continued to practice these things, and died in honor.  And the angels of light took his soul, and placed it in the kingdom of the heavens.  And now hearken, O my brother, unto what I shall say unto thee:  pretend not that thou hast been harshly entreated before God, Thy Creator, for he whom He loveth, He chasteneth.”  And the monk said unto Abba Kiros (Cyrus), “Rightly hath it happened to me that I have been punished according to my deserts”; and having said this he held his peace and passed that night [in silence].  And Abba Kiros (Cyrus) prayed to God that He would visit that sick man, and straightway our Lord Jesus Christ came, and with Him were thousands of thousands, and tens of thousands of tens of thousands of angels, and they sang praises to Him, and glorified Him, saying, “Hallelujah to our God.  Hallelujah to the King, the Bestower of favors on the righteous.  Hallelujah to the Hope of the saints who have toiled on this earth.  Let them rejoice.”  When Abba Kiros (Cyrus) saw this he bowed low upon the ground, and he said unto Him, “O my Lord and God, what is it that hath brought Thee hither?”  And our Lord said unto him, “I came unto thee because thou didst call Me.”  And Abba Kiros (Cyrus) said unto Him, “Let this poor man die, for he is grievously afflicted.”  And He said unto him, “Take thee and place in his hand a flower of ‘apilyanos.”  And he said unto Him, “Lay Thy hand on the face of this poor man, so that Thy hosts of angels may see how greatly Thou hast loved him.”  And Abba Kiros (Cyrus) did as He commanded him, and his soul departed quickly without pain or suffering.  And our Lord took it into His hand, and kissed it, and laid it on the chariot with Him; and He took it up towards the Ocean, and placed it in the kingdom of heaven.  And Abba Kiros (Cyrus) wept, and the matter was difficult for him, and he went to the abbot and told him that the monk was dead.  And the Abbot said unto him, “What is that to me?”  And Abba Kiros (Cyrus) looked at him, and the abbot said, “This was not a man, but Satan.”  And Abba Kiros (Cyrus) asked him that he might [be allowed] to bury his body, and grudgingly the abbot commanded seven saints [to help him].  And they brought censers, but Abba Kiros (Cyrus) adjured them in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, saying, “Bring not your unclean censers.  Leave him in his place, for there are others who will cense him; bury ye him.”  And these saints said among themselves, “Where doth this monk come from?”  And they went into the church murmuring against him.  And the four archangels rose up, and censed his body with myrrh, and stacte, and almonds, and juniper gum, and cumin, and tefah, and honey, and the whole place was filled with the smoke thereof.  And the monks said, “Is he then acquainted with magic?  Whence hath he this incense?”  Now they did not see the angels.  Then they took his body, and buried it in the tomb for pilgrims in the monastery, and a spring of clear water burst forth, and it became a means of healing for those who were sick and suffering.  Salutation to Misael.

And on this day also became martyrs the company of Esdros (Isidore), and Peter, and his wife and son, and nine and forty of his servants.

And on this day also Abba Bima, for the city of Behensa in Upper Egypt, became a martyr.  This saint was a rich man, and a very good one, and a lover of the poor; and he was set over the city.  And he saw our Lord Jesus Christ in a vision, and He was shining with a light which was far brighter than that of the sun, and He embraced him and said unto him, “Rise up, and go to the governor, and confess My Name [before him], for behold a crown of joy is prepared for thee.”  And when he awoke from his dream he rose up and gave all his goods to the poor and needy, and then he went forth from the city of Behensa, and confessed the Lord Jesus Christ before the governor.  And when the governor knew that he was the prefect of the city, and the kenkelawos (i.e. Chancellor), he demanded from him the sacred moneys of the churches of his city, and said unto him, “Sacrifice to the gods.”  And the saint answered and said unto him, “Of sacred moneys there is nothing whatsoever left, and as for the worship of unclean idols I will neither submit to thee, nor obey them, for I worship the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, the Creator of heaven and of earth and of everything which is in them.”  And the governor was wroth with him, and commanded the soldiers to cut out his tongue with the sword, and they did so; but God restored to him his tongue whole and uninjured as it was at first.  And then they crushed him with iron implements, and nailed him upon a bed of iron, and lighted a fire under him, but God delivered him from his torture, and raised him up whole and uninjured.  Then the governor sent him to the city of Alexandria, and our Lord Jesus Christ appeared unto him and strengthened him.  And the governor cast him into prison where the saint worked great signs and wonders.  Now the sister of Julius, who was from the city of ‘Akfahas, was ridden by a devil, and the saint cast out the devil from her; and the report of the saint was heard in all the city, and many believed on our Lord Jesus Christ through him and became martyrs.  And the governor was wroth, and tortured him with divers kinds of tortures, and [broke him] on the wheel, and they plucked out the nails of his hands and feet, and they dragged him about in iron chains which had been made red-hot, and they cast him into the furnace of the public baths; and after this they hung a large stone about his neck and cast him into the river.  And God caused him to be delivered from all these tortures and raised him up sound and uninjured.  And then they cast him into the fire, but he was saved from it, and stood up and prayed.  And when the governor was tired of torturing him he sent him to Upper Egypt, where they tortured him and hung him up head downwards.  And then they cast him into a cauldron, and lighted a fire under him, and God appeared unto him and delivered him, and promised him that He would write in the Book of Life the name of every man who celebrated his commemoration, or who wrote the history of his fight, or who had it read.  And when the governor was tired of torturing him he commanded the soldiers to cut off his head, and they cut it off with the sword, and the saint received the crown of martyrdom in the kingdom of the heavens.  And the servants of Julius, who were from the city of ‘Akfahas, took the body of Abba Bima, and carried it to his city, and laid it in a good place until the end of the days of persecution.  And they built a fine church and a monastery and laid his body therein, and many signs and miracles took place through it.  And his body healeth to this day all the sick that come to it, and salute it in faith.  Salutation to Bayma.

And on this day also died the holy father Abba Kiros, who dwelt in the desert of the West, near the Sa’id (Upper Egypt); he was the brother of Theodosius the Great.  And when this saint saw the oppression which was in the world, he abandoned all his possessions, and went forth from his city, and our Lord Jesus Christ guided him and brought him to the Western Desert, wherein he lived by himself for many years; and during the whole of that period he never saw a man but only the wild beast of the desert.  And there was in the desert of Scete a certain priest whose name was Abba Bawma, and it was he who prepared for burial the body of Saint Hilaria, the daughter of the Emperor Zeno.  And that priest said:  “Whilst I was in my church by myself I heard a voice from heaven which said unto me, ‘O Abba Bawma, rise up, and depart, and go into the Inner Desert so that thou mayest prepare for burial the body of a certain desert priest who hath performed My good pleasure more than many saints.’  And straightway I rose up rejoicing, and I journeyed into the desert for three days.  I arrived at a habitation, and I knocked at the door, and an elder desert monk opened the door to me, and we saluted each other, and I asked him, saying, ‘O my father, is there any other desert monk in this desert?’  And he said unto me, ‘Yea.’  And I said unto him, ‘How long hast thou lived in this desert, and what is thy name?’  And he said unto me, ‘My name is Simon, and behold up to the present I have lived in this desert for seven years.’  And I went forth from him, and I journeyed for another three days into the desert, and I found another desert monk whose name was Abba ‘Ammon.  And I saluted him, and said unto him, “Is there another desert monk in this desert?’  And he said unto me, ‘Yea.’  And I saluted him and I journeyed yet four days more into the desert, and I arrived at the habitation of this Saint Kiros.  And I knocked at the door of his abode, and said, ‘Bless me, O holy father.’  And at that moment he spoke unto me saying, ‘Good is thy coming unto me this day, O Abba Bawma, thou saint of God!  Enter in peace’; and I entered, and saluted him and was blessed by him.  And I saw the grace of God in his face, and in the hair of his head, and his beard was white as snow.  And when I had sat down he drew me to his breast, and embraced me, and he said unto me, ‘Behold, I have dwelt in this abode for six and fifty years waiting for this hour’; and straightway he fell sick, and lay down and was in a state of suffering during the whole night.  And at the time of dawn a great light shone in his abode, and a shining man came in with a cross of light in his hands.  And Abba Kiros sat down, and the shining man embraced him, and blessed him, and consoled him, and gave him the salutation of peace, and disappeared from him.  And I was afraid of him, and I asked the saint, saying, ‘Who is this that is arrayed in such great glory, and who shineth so brightly?’  And he said unto me, ‘O my son, this is our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, and He is wont to come unto me daily and comfort me.’  And at the ninth hour of the day preceding the Sabbath, I heard a great cry, which reached to heaven, and the mountains and the hills quaked at the cry of them.  And I said unto him, ‘O my father, what is this cry and whose are the voices which I hear?’  And he said unto me, ‘O my son, this is the cry of the sinners who are in Sheol, to whom God giveth rest from their punishment on the day of His holy Resurrection, from the ninth hour of the day preceding the Sabbath until the sun setteth on the First Day of the Week; and they praise God because it is He Who giveth them rest on the First Day of the Week.’  And I marveled exceedingly, and I praised God because He had given them rest.  Now that day was the eighth day of the month of Hamle.  And Saint Abba Kiros cried out, saying, ‘A great pillar hath fallen this day in Upper Egypt, that is to say Sinoda, the chief of the desert monks.’  And on that night, which was the First Day of the Week, Abba Kiros was greatly disturbed through the severity of his sickness, and behold, a great light shone in the dwelling, and our Lord Jesus Christ came and sat by the head of Abba Kiros.  And he said unto the Redeemer, ‘My Lord and God, bless this man, for he hath come from a far country.’  And our Redeemer said unto me (?), ‘O Abba Bawma, My chosen one, be strong, and fear not; My peace and My blessing shall be with thee.  And now, write the history of the strife of this Abba Kiros, whom thou hast heard and seen, and who is renowned.’  And again our Redeemer spoke unto Abba Kiros, saying, ‘O My chosen one, be not sorrowful, thou art going to die, but thy death is not death, but life everlasting.  Every man who shall write the history of thy strife, or shall cause it to be read, or shall listen to it being read, or shall celebrate thy commemoration upon earth lovingly, I will make to sit at meat with Me at the Feast of a Hundred Years on Mount Zion, and I will number him with My saints.  And whosoever giveth an offering, or alms, or lighteth a lamp for thy name’s sake, him will I reward with manifold gifts in My kingdom.  Whosoever writeth the book of thy strife, I will destroy the register of his sins and write his name in the Book of Life.  Whosoever shall show mercy to the poor and needy on the day of thy commemoration, which is the eighth day of the month of Hamle, I will make him to see that which hath never appeared to the eye, and which hath never been heard of by the ear, and which the heart of man hath never imagined.  And I will bring unto them the Holy Mysteries in the church, and I will bless them, and I will bless their house, and I will make their children to grow up, and they shall lack nothing whatsoever of the good things of this world.  And now, O My beloved Kiros, I will make thee into the place of heavenly light, in everlasting joy.’  And as our Redeemer was saying this, behold David the prophet came, and he had his harp with him, and he played upon it, saying, ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad therein’ (Psalm 118:24).  And our Redeemer said unto Abba Kiros, ‘Behold David hath come, tell him what thou wishest him to sing unto thee.’  And David said unto him, ‘On what string doth thou wish me to play, and what style of singing (i.e. what tune) shall I employ, and what voice (i.e. tone)?  Shall it be the first, or the second, and so on up to the tenth.’  And Abba Kiros said unto him, ‘I wish to hear [all] ten strings, and the tone of each and the sound of each.’  And David made ready his harp, and he played it and said, ‘Honorable is the death of the righteous man before God.’  ‘O Lord I my Thy servant and the son the Thine handmaiden’ (Psalm 116:15, 16).  And again he said, ‘I have been young, and I am old, but the righteous man that is cast away I have never seen’ (Psalm xxxvii, 25).  And David sang out loudly and he made his voice beautiful, and he played vigorously.  And behold the soul of Abba Kiros remained in the breast of our Redeemer, and He took it, and kissed it, and gave it to Michael.  And I, Bawma, buried the body of Abba Kiros, and when I came out from his cell I saw that the whole mountain was filled with hosts of light, and captains of the armies of the angels; and our Redeemer laid His Cross on the cell wherein was the saint’s body, and sealed it.  And our Redeemer was in the midst of them rejoicing in the soul of Abba Kiros, and He took it up into the kingdom which is forever.  And I, Bawma, was left by myself in that place, and I put myself into the cell of Abba Ammon.  And after this I traveled for three days, and I came to the cell of Abba Simon; and I traveled for another three days and at length I arrived at my monastery in the desert of Scete, and I saluted all the monks, and I described to them the strife of Saint Abba Kiros, according to what I had seen and according to what I had heard, and according to what Abba Sinoda had prophesied concerning him.  And when the monks heard this story they marveled exceedingly, and praised God Who giveth such grace to those who fear Him.  And they wrote down the history of this Abba Kiros, and I sent it to all the churches and monasteries; and there is hope and comfort in the history of Abba Kiros for all who read it.”  Salutation to Kiros.

And on this day also are commemorated the fifteen martyrs who suffered with Abba Nob.  [In the Bodleian MS. this paragraph is given under the ninth day.]

Glory be to God Who is glorified in His Saints.  Amen.