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THE THIRD MONTH IN THE NAME
OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, The doctors of the Law command us on this day to make a feast in
honor of the thousands of thousands of spirit beings who have no bodies,
and who make intercessions for all the world, and of whom Enoch speaks,
saying, “I was in the waters, and the winds and the clouds carried me up
and brought me into a house which was built with a tongue of fire, and I
saw there thousands of thousands.”
And he also says, “I saw the children of the angels standing upon
flames of fire and their apparel was as white as snow.”
And Jacob says, “I saw in the mount of Bethel a ladder on the
earth which reached even to the heavens, and the angels of God were
ascending and descending on it.” And
Jacob also says, when he returned from Syria, “I saw hosts of angels.”
And Moses says, “Arrange the people each [tribe] on its own
border, and the number of each was as the angels of God.”
And Moses also says, “God came from Sinai, He appeared unto me in
Seir, and with Him were His angels.”
And David says, “Who makes His angels spirits, and those who
minister unto Him a flame of fire.”
And he also says, “The chariots of God are thousands, and the
tens of thousands who rejoice.” Elijah
also saw the chariots of fire and the horses of fire surrounding him like
a wall. And Daniel says,
“And the Ancient of Days sat, and His apparel was as white as snow, and
the hair of His head was as wool. His throne was a blazing fire, and the wheels thereof were
red-hot coals, and a river of fire flowed out there from.
Thousands of thousands ministered unto Him, and tens of thousands
stood before Him.” And Luke
says, “Suddenly there came with that angel multitudes of the hosts of
heaven, and they praised God, saying, Glory [be] to God in the heavens,
and peace upon earth, [and] His goodwill to the children of men.
Then the angels passed from them, and went up into the heavens.”
And Matthew says, “And behold, angels came and ministered unto
Him.” And he also says, “Then shall the Son of man come in His
glory, and all His angels with Him.”
And John says in the words of Jesus Christ, “Verily, verily, I
say unto you, ye would see the heavens opening, and the angels of God
ascending and descending to the Son of man.”
And Judah says, “Behold, God shall come with His thousands of
saints.” And the heads of
the Church have enumerated the various kinds of angels thus:
Angels, Archangels, Lords (Virtues), Dominions, Powers, Thrones and
Principalities. Salutation to
the tens of thousands of tens of thousands of angels and to the Cherubim
and to the Seraphim. And on this day also died Saint ‘Askanafer, the chief of the
thirteen thieves who became Christians of His Faith. This ‘Askanafer was one of the nobles of Rome, and he gave
alms to the poor and needy. Now,
in those days there was a gang of thirteen robbers who destroyed the
travelers whom they found on the road.
When they heard the story of ‘Askanafer, and that he succored the
monks, they went to him to kill him by an ambush, and to take his money.
Then they dressed themselves in the garb of monks, and stood by the
gate of his courtyard, and when ‘Askanafer saw them he thought that they
were the Twelve Apostles, and that one of them was Christ. And he bowed low before them, and took them into his house,
and he brought a table of food to them, and then he washed their feet, and
he sprinkled the water on his son who was paralyzed, and had been ill for
five and thirty years, and he was healed immediately.
When the thieves saw this they were greatly frightened.
And ‘Askanafer said unto them, “Tell me, O my fathers, which of
you is Christ? Show Him to me
that I may worship Him.” And
when the men of the city heard that the son of the nobleman was healed,
they came to him, and they bowed low before [the thieves], and they said
unto them, “O saints of God, bless us and heal our sick folk.”
Then the thieves took out their daggers and gave them to the
nobleman, [and their chief] said unto him, “Take these knives so that
thou mayest kill us even as we wished to kill thee.”
And ‘Askanafer said unto them, “Ye say this that ye may abase
yourselves.” And they said
unto him, “God would have trodden us in the dust if we could not have
boasted ourselves of thy prayer”; and after they had spoken thus they
embraced him. And each of
them took a few lentils in a bag, and they departed [on a journey] of
twenty-five days, and they sowed the lentils in the sand, and at the time
of sunset they ate three (sic) lentils.
And they lived thus for thirty years, and then the Arami (i.e.,
desert robbers) came and killed them.
Salutations to ‘Askanafer who raised a paralytic from his couch
and healed him. Salutation also to the thieves who fought a fight for thirty
years as the result of seeing this miracle. And on this day also died the holy father Abba Timothy, Bishop of
the city of Ensena. This holy
man was righteous and chaste from his youth, and he fought a great fight
in working righteousness. And
the governor of the city seized him because of his faith in our Lord Jesus
Christ, and because he taught His own True Faith to men, and he tortured
him with severe tortures for many days, and he shut him up in the prison
house, and he tortured him continually during a period of three years.
And there were with him in the prison house many saints who were
bound in fetters for the Faith. And
that infidel governor had them brought out of the prison house, and he
tortured them, and he poured out their holy blood until at length only a
very few prisoners remained in the prison house, and among these was this
holy man Timothy. At that
time God blotted out the Emperor Diocletian, the infidel, and the
God-loving Emperor Constantine reigned.
And an Edict came from him into every country ordering that those
who were believers on Christ should be brought out of the prisons, and
they brought out from the prison house this holy man among those who were
released. And this holy man
departed to his house, and he gathered together the monks and the priests
who were in his diocese, and he made a long prayer [which lasted] from
evening to daybreak wherein he entreated God for the salvation of the soul
of that governor who had tortured him, and he prayed thus:
“O Lord, have mercy upon that governor, for it is he who hath
brought me great good, and who hath been the means of bringing me nigh
unto Thee, O my Lord. In the
same manner, O Lord, do Thou work upon him so that he may believe in Thee,
and may come to Thee,” And
the people marveled at the simplicity (or innocence) of heart of this
father, and they told the governor, saying, “Abba Timothy is praying to
God for thee that He may have mercy upon thee, and may deliver thy
soul.” When the governor
heard this thing he marveled exceedingly, and he said, “I should have
thought that he would curse me rather because of the punishments which I
have inflicted upon him, and he obtained from him knowledge of the Law of
the Christians, and this father revealed to him the causes of the
Incarnation of the Son of God, and how the prophets spoke concerning Him
in the beginning, many years ago, and how their prophecies were fulfilled,
and how the matter concerning Him is written in the Holy Gospel.
And the governor believed on our Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ
through this holy man, and he baptized him with holy Christian Baptism.
And the governor forsook his office, and became a monk, and was
numbered among the folk of this father.
And during the remainder of his days this father continued to teach
his flock at all times, and to confirm them in the Orthodox Faith, and he
died in the peace of God. Salutation
to Timothy. And on this day died the holy father Zachariah, the sixty-fourth
Archbishop of the city of Alexandria.
He was a native of the city of Alexandria, and was a priest
therein, and he was steward of all the property of the Church. And he was chaste in his striving, and a virgin in body, and
gentle in disposition, and an old man in his days. When Archbishop Philotheus died, the bishops assembled in
order to elect with the counsel of God the man who was fit for this
office. And as they were all
gathered together in the church of Saint Mark, the evangelist and apostle,
and discussing together who was the most suitable man for this office,
behold, they heard that a certain man had obtained from the emperor a
letter by bribery, and that he had with him slaves and soldiers from the
emperor who were going to appoint him archbishop against the wishes of the
bishops. And the bishops were
sorry that an archbishop should be appointed by bribery, and by the
transgression of the Canon and commandment of the Apostles, and they
prayed continually and entreated God, the Glorious and Most High, to
appoint him whom they had chosen. And
as they were praying to God behold this father came down the stairs of the
roof of the church, and he had in his hand a vessel of acid (vinegar ?),
and as he was coming down his foot slipped, and he fell from the top of
the roof-stairs to the bottom. And
he lifted himself up still holding in his hand the vessel, which was
unbroken, and the acid was unspilled.
When the bishops and the priests saw this they marveled
exceedingly. And the people
of the city of Alexandria enquired concerning this holy man Abba
Zachariah, and they talked about his virtues and his righteousness, and
all the men of the city of Alexandria agreed with the bishops about the
appointment of this holy man as archbishop, and they enthroned him.
And during the days of his rule great tribulation came upon him,
and he sorrowed greatly through the King of Egypt, Hakam, that is to say
the governor. In those days
there came unto him a certain monk from the monastery of Abba Macarius,
and he said unto him, “Make me a bishop.”
And Abba Zachariah said unto him, “Have patience, O my son, and
do not transgress the command of the Canon of the Apostles, but return to
thy monastery, and fight for the salvation of thy soul, and God’s Will
shall be done.” When the
monk heard these words he became full of rage, and Satan entered into his
heart, and he went to the King of Egypt, that is to say the governor, and
made to him false accusations against Saint Abba Zachariah.
And the king seized the holy man and shut him up in prison, and
then he cast him to the lions so that they might rend him, but the lions
would not go near him at all. And
the king was wroth with the keeper of the lions, and he thought that he
had taken a bribe from the archbishop.
Then the king starved the lions, and took some of the blood of an
ox and smeared the archbishop therewith, and threw him to the lions to
eat; but they would not go near him at all; and the king marveled at this
thing, and he took the archbishop from among the lions.
Then he shut him up in prison for three months, and he was always
saying unto him, “If thou dost not forsake the Christian Faith, and if
thou dost not enter my own faith, I will punish thee, and will kill thee
with the sword, and will cast thee again to the lions, and if I do not
that I will cast thee into the fire.”
But Saint Abba Zachariah was strong in the True Faith, and he was
not in any way afraid of him. Then the king made him many promises, and said unto him,
“If thou wilt hearken unto my command, and wilt enter my faith, I will
give thee much money, and I will appoint thee judge over every judge.”
But he did not listen to him in the least degree, and he did not
turn aside from the least of the good works, which he was wont to do, and
he answered and said unto him, “If thou wert to give me all the kingdom
of this world, I would not forsake the True Faith.”
After this the king shut him up in prison for a few days, and then
he released him from the prison house.
And when Saint Zachariah came forth from the prison house he
departed to the desert of Scete, and very many bishops went with him
through fear of the governor. And
in those days the king commanded [his people] to destroy all the churches
in the countries under his dominion.
And he made very many Christians to forsake their Faith after he
had tortured them with very severe tortures; and the Christian peoples
lived in this state of tribulation of nine years, and during this period
of nine years [the Muslims] destroyed the churches.
At the end of nine years Christ had compassion on his people, and
He turned away his wrath from them, and He removed from them all this
tribulation. And the king,
that is to say, governor, commanded [the Christians] to build churches
everywhere in the countries under his dominion, and he gave back to them
all the goods and money which he had taken from them, and the lands which
were endowments of the Church; and all the churches were built, or rebuilt
and restored with more than their former splendor.
And this father Abba Zachariah built many churches, and the king,
that is to say, governor, commanded the Christians to blow a trumpet in
the churches, and to rejoice at their times of prayer and when they
celebrated the Holy Eucharist. And
the Christians lived in great happiness under the right observance of the
Law of the Church and of believers, and this father continued to build and
to endow churches for twelve years. One
day a bishop whose name was Mercurius came to him, and his body was
leprous. And Abba Zachariah
said unto him gently and with kindliness of heart, “O my brother, Abba
Mercurius, I will help thee because of this disease which hath come upon
thee. And thou knowest that
God said unto Moses, ‘Thou shalt accept the person of no man in respect
of right judgment.’ The
priesthood is not fitting for thee whilst this disease is upon thee,
unless God shall remove this disease from thee, for the Book calls it
unclean.” And Mercurius the bishop wept and said unto him, “O my
father, help me by thy prayer”; and he went away from him, and departed
and went into the church of our Lady, the holy Virgin Mary, which was in
his diocese, and he stood up before the picture of our Lady Mary, and he
wept, and prayed and entreated and made supplication to her to cleanse him
from this disease. And he did
this from the morning of the Second Day until the ninth hour of the Fourth
Day of the week; he invoked [the Virgin] and he prayed by day and by
night. And at the ninth hour,
being weary, he rested his head against the wall whereon was the image of
our Lady Mary, and he saw the hand of the image rubbing his body.
And he awoke straightway, and he found that his body was cleansed
of the leprosy, and he rejoiced with a great joy; and he praised our Lord
Jesus Christ, and gave thanks to our Lady, the holy Virgin Mary.
And straightway his disciple came to him, and he said unto him,
“Come, O my son, and look at my body, for behold our Lady Mary hath
healed me of my disease by her prayers, and it befits me to stay in this
place for three days in order to thank my Lord Christ for the gracious
gift which He hath bestowed upon me.”
Then he ate a little bread, and drank a little water, and he
remained in that church until the beginning of the Sabbath.
Then he rose up and went to the Archbishop Abba Zachariah when he
was in the church on the First Day of the week and informed him of what
had happened to him, and he said unto him, “It hath all happened through
thy prayer.” And Saint Abba
Zachariah answered and said unto him, “God hath looked upon thy pure
heart and thy humility, and hath cleansed thee from thy disease, and hath
received thy prayer, and thy tears. And
now it is meet for thee to consecrate the Holy Mysteries, and to
administer them to us so that we may be blessed by the grace which thou
hast received.” And when
the Holy Eucharist had been administered, all those who were in the church
were blessed thereby, and they marveled exceedingly at this miracle, and
they glorified God the Worker of wonders.
On another occasion a certain deacon came to Saint Abba Zachariah
the archbishop, and he bowed down before him weeping abundantly, and he
kissed his feet and said unto him, “Have compassion upon me, O my lord,
for I have gone astray and have fallen into sin, and straightway all my
body hath become leprous.” And Abba Zachariah said unto him, “O my son, art thou able
to persevere in fasting before our Lord Jesus Christ?” And the deacon said unto him, “Yea, O my father, command me
to do whatsoever thou wishes, and I will do (it).”
And straightway the archbishop brought him into a dark chamber, by
him, and he stood there and turned his face to the east, and he said unto
the deacon, “O my son, pray to God, and entreat Him with tears by day
and by night without ceasing, and repent, and return not to [thy] sins.”
And after three days and three nights Abba Zachariah gave him a
little bread by measure and a little water, and Abba Zachariah ate and
drank in the same manner. And
after fifteen days Abba Zachariah visited him and said unto him, “Be not
afraid.” And after one
month was ended Abba Zachariah visited him, and uncovered his body, and he
saw that the leprosy was diminishing on his body; and he said unto him,
“Be not afraid.” And
after four days he visited him again, and he found that his body was free
from leprosy, and he washed him with water and anointed him with oil.
And he prayed over him and said unto him, “O my son, know
thyself. Behold, thou art
healed of thy disease; commit sin no more.”
And the archbishop sent him away to his house rejoicing and
praising God. And God wrought
very many signs and wonders by the hand of this Saint, Archbishop Abba
Zachariah. Now he [lived] in the sixth hundred and ninety-first year of
the Holy Martyrs (i.e. A.D. 975). He
sat as archbishop eight and twenty years; of that period he passed seven
years in rest and peace, nine years in tribulation, and twelve years in
joy and in building churches. And
he departed to God and died in peace, and entered into the kingdom of
heaven. Salutation to Abba
Zachariah who succeeded Philotheus, and whom the lions refused to eat. And on this day also are commemorated Lestelia, and Mekrona, and
Mariana, and Philopator, and ‘Abrani, and the Emperor Honorius. Glory
be to God Who is glorified in His Saints.
Amen. |
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