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THE THE
EIGHTH
MONTH IN THE NAME
OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, On this day also the holy and honored Eusebius, the slave of Susenyos, became a martyr. When the Emperor Diocletian was torturing Saint Susenyos, the father of Saint Susenyos laid information against this holy man before the emperor, saying, “Susenyos hath a slave, whose name is ‘Ausonius, and he worshippeth Christ as his God, with all his heart, and he will not worship the gods.” And the emperor commanded him to be brought to him, and when he had come, he asked him concerning his Faith, and he confessed our Lord Christ, and His Godhead, before him. And the emperor used much persuasion, and punished him, and rebuked him for forsaking the gods. And the holy man rebuked the emperor for forsaking the Lord Who is God in truth, and the anger and fury of the emperor was added to greatly, and he ordered the soldiers to cut off the head of the holy man with the sword before his lord; and they cut off this head with the sword and he received the crown of martyrdom in the kingdom of the heavens. Salutation to ‘Ausonius the slave of Susenyos. And on this day also Abba Peter, the brother of Abba ‘Ebsoy, became a martyr. The name of the father of this holy man was Sidrak, and his mother’s name was Mary. When this holy man was born, Koris, his mother’s sister, took him, and brought him up with her son Abba ‘Ebsoy. And when he was seven years old she took him to a teacher, and he learned all the Law of the Church, and the two continued to fast and to pray, and they worked signs and wonders; and Gabriel, the angel of the Lord, appeared unto them, and told them that they were going to become martyrs for the sake of our Lord Christ. And after a few days Satan led astray the wicked Diocletian, and made him to worship idols. And certain men accused these holy men of being Christians before Arianus the governor of ‘Ensna, and when he had them brought before him, he tried to compel them to worship idols. And when they refused he commanded his soldiers to put them up upon the henbaz (i.e. a sort of rack) until the blood ran down upon the ground. Now the pain of the torture caused the blessed Peter great agony, for his body was tender through excessive fasting and prayer; and straightway the angel of the Lord came and he healed him of his suffering. When Arianus saw this. He commanded the soldiers to take him to the east of the city, and to cut off his head with the sword. Now Abba ‘Ebsoy was in the prison house, and the angel of the Lord caught him up, and brought him to his brother Peter, and they embraced each other, and kissed, and then they prayed to God to bring them to the heavenly Jerusalem. And behold a voice came unto them from heaven, saying, “Peace be unto you, O ye fighters, for ye shall be among the company of heaven, and your bodies shall not be separated from each other upon earth”; and then the angel of the Lord took Abba Peter and brought him back into the prison house. And the soldiers cut off the head of the mighty and victorious Abba Peter, and they hung his body on a tree. Then Abba ‘Ebsoy asked the keeper of the prison house to let him go away secretly, and having gone he brought the body of Abba Peter, and swathed it with scented cloths, and buried it in a secret place. Salutation to Peter of goodly face and form.
Glory
be to God Who is glorified in His Saints.
Amen. |
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