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THE THIRD MONTH IN THE NAME
OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, On
this day died the holy father Canitus, that is to say Marcius (Martianus),
Bishop of the country of Thrace. This
holy man was a native of the city of Sorpeia, and his parents were
Christians; he was an ascetic, and a fighter, and he was gentle and good.
He persecuted the followers of Arius continually, and he rebuked
them, and cursed them, and called them “infidels”; because of this and
through them a very great tribulation came upon him.
And they used to lie in wait for him in the market places, and when
he passed they seized him on many occasions, and punished him and beat
him, and very often they dragged him about through the city by his feet.
And he fled from them to a city, which was afar off, and he came to
the shore of the Red Sea and he dwelt there in a cave for many years, and
he lived upon what grew out of the ground.
And when the history of him was noised abroad, and his spiritual
contending and his excellence, God chose him to be a bishop.
When he had been made Bishop of the country of Thrace, he adopted
in his diocese the course of life which was followed by the Apostles, and
he was superior to many men in love (or charity) and mercy, and God made
manifest through him many miracles. Once
when he was passing by he saw a dead man whom a wicked man had seized [for
debt]; he was an obstinate and a stupid man by nature, and he would not
allow the kinsfolk of the dead to bury the body, saying, “He owes me
four hundred dinars of gold, and they shall not bury him unless they give
me this [sum of money].” And
this holy man entreated him, and rebuked him seriously, and said unto him,
“Release this dead body so that [his kinfolk] may bury him”; and the
man would not hearken unto him. And
the holy man prayed and entreated God, and he raised up the dead man, and
rebuked the man who had seized him, before the people, saying, “Why
dost thou utter lies over him and hast no fear of God?”
Then he prayed to God and that avaricious man died, and he who had
been dead went alive to his house, and he lived for many years after this.
And this holy man finished his good course, and he pleased God, and
he died in peace. Salutation
to Marcius (Martianus), who was full of grace and goodness, and who raised
a man from the dead. And
on this day also died Abba Daniel, who worked miracles for the King of
Persia, and made him to believe on the Name of Jesus Christ.
Now the cause of his believing was this:
The King of Persia was sick of a grievous sickness in his belly,
and the physicians who dealt in magic could not heal him; and the King of
Persia had a very wise magician, but he was unable to heal him.
And when the king wished to kill the magician because of his
failure to heal him, the magician spoke unto him with cunning words,
saying, “O King, seek out a child, and let his mother bind him with
fetters, and let his father cut his throat and bring to thee his heart,
and when thou hast eaten it thou wilt recover.”
Now the magician said this because he believed that the king would
be afraid to do this thing, but the king gave one thousand dinars in gold
to the captain of his guard and told him to go and search in the city for
such a child and to buy him. Now there were in the city two poor people, a man and his
wife, and they had a little son, and when they heard the voice of the
herald, the love of money led them astray, and weeping they took their son
to the king; and the child said, “I have confidence in God Who created
me, and He will save me.” Then
his mother bound him with fetters, and his father drew his knife to cut
the throat of his son before the king and his nobles, and the child lifted
up his eyes to heaven and he spoke with his lips but uttered no sound.
And God put compassion in the heart of the king, and he commanded
[the father] to release the boy and to bring him to him.
And the king said, “What didst thou say when thou didst lift
thine eyes up to heaven?” And
the boy said, “O my lord, if a man is oppressed his father and his
mother ought to deliver him, and if the mother is serious the king and his
nobles ought to deliver him. As
for me, seeing that there was no salvation for me from all of you, I
prayed to God Who created me.” When
the king heard his words of instruction he gave him one thousand dinars of
gold. And because of this God
wished to have compassion on the king, and He sent unto him Daniel to heal
him, and when Daniel came to him he worked many miracles, and the king
believed on the Name of Jesus Christ. And Daniel baptized him and all his men with Christian
baptism, and the king was cured of his disease.
Then Abba Daniel departed to his own city, and he continued to
strive strenuously, and he died in peace.
Salutation to Daniel the monk who healed the King of Persia. And
on this day also died Abba John of the monastery of Bizan.
And on this day are commemorated Garses and Balaten.
Salutation to him that rebuked the foolish peoples by withholding
the rain and dew for a period of three years, that is to say, to John the
priest. Glory
be to God Who is glorified in His Saints.
Amen. |
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