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THE FOURTH MONTH IN THE NAME
OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, On this day Elias, that is Elias Zelotes, appeared before Israel.
He was of the tribe of Levi. His
father’s name was Iyasenyu and that of his mother Tona.
Concerning him it is said that on the day of his birth his father
saw two men shining with light bowing down before him, and they wrapped
the boy in fire instead of the rags in which they wrap children.
And after his birth his father came to Jerusalem and told the
priests this, and they said, “Is it that his abode shall be in light,
and that he shall cut (i.e. decide) with his words, and shall judge Israel
with the sword and with fire?” Now
the story of the miracles, which he wrought in the days of Ahab, the king
and his wife Jezebel, and the story of his ascension into heaven, are
written in the section for the sixth day of the month of Ter (Jan.-Feb.),
and concerning his death also. The
Vision of John Abukalamsis (i.e. John of the Apocalypse) saith that he
will come with Enoch and will rebuke the False Christ, and they shall
perform miracles before him. And he shall call them the two olive trees, and the two
lamps, which are before God. And
having conquered them, and slain them, and cast out their dead bodies for
three days, the Spirit of God shall come and shall enter into them, and
they shall rise up alive and all those who see them shall be afraid. And when a voice shall call them they shall go up to heaven
upon a cloud, and then there shall be a great earthquake, and men shall
die, one hundred souls. Salutation
to Elias who shut up the heaven that there should be no rain. And on this day also died Naboth the Jezreelite.
This Naboth was the possessor of a vineyard near the threshing
floor of Ahab, the king in Samaria; and Ahab said unto Naboth, “Give me
this thy vineyard so that it may become the place of an oil press, for it
is nigh unto my house, and I will give thee gold, the price of thy
vineyard.” And Naboth said
unto Ahab, “God forbid that I should give thee the inheritance of my
fathers”; and Ahab was very sorry and he went and lay down upon his bed,
and he covered his face and refused to eat.
And Jezebel his wife came unto him and said, “What maketh thee so
sorry that thou dost not eat?” And
he said unto her, “I talked with Naboth and I said unto him, ‘Give me
thy vineyard at a price’; and he said, ‘I will not give my father’s
inheritance for gold.’” And
Jezebel said unto him, “Dost thou thus act the king for Israel?
Rise up and eat and I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the
Jezreelite.” And she wrote
a letter in Ahab’s name, and she sealed it with his seal, and she sent
that letter to the elders of the city who lived with Naboth, and in it she
spoke thus, “Proclaim ye a fast, and place Naboth before the people, and
set up two men, sons of inequity, who shall say, ‘He cursed God and the
king’; then take him outside [the city] and stone him to death.”
And the men of the city did according to the message which Jezebel
sent to them, and they proclaimed a fast and they set Naboth before the
people, and two men, sons of iniquity, came, and they testified against
Naboth, saying, “He cursed God and the king”; and then they took him
outside the city and stoned him and he died. Salutation to Naboth who was killed by King Ahab for the sake
of his vineyard. And on this day also died the holy father Abba Peter of the city
of Gaza. This holy man was a
native of the city of Roha (Edessa) and belonged to a noble family, and
his parents gave him to the Emperor Theodosius so that he might appoint
him a governor, and he made him a governor.
And he renounced rank and glory, and fought spiritually and devoted
himself to the worship of God in the palace of the emperor, and he had
with him some of the bodies of the holy martyrs from the country of
Persia; now at that time his days were twenty years.
Then he went out and became a monk in a certain monastery, and he
fought a great spiritual fight. When
the bishops heard of his holiness, and his spiritual strife, they took him
and against his will made him Bishop of Gaza and all the neighboring
district. And it is said of
him that when he read the Office for the consecration of the Offering, so
much blood flowed from the Offering that [the vessel] was filled with His
Blood. And when they brought
the body of Saint James the “dismembered” he took it and dwelt in one
of the monasteries of Jerusalem. And
it came to pass in the days of Marcion the heretic that he fled to the
land of Egypt, and with him was the body of James the “dismembered”;
and he dwelt in a monastery for some days. Once when he was preparing to
consecrate the Offering certain men who were standing there talked
together at the time of the preparation, but Saint Peter did not rebuke
them. And he saw the angel of the Lord holding him back from them, and he
wished to cast himself down on the ground for he honored them and was
afraid to rebuke them. When
the days of Marcion the infidel were ended, Saint Peter returned to the
land of Palestine. And he strengthened the churches, and the people foregathered
with him, and they assembled about Isaiah the Egyptian.
And the report of him was heard by Zeno the emperor, and he wished
to see him, but Peter neither wished it nor desired it, because he fled
from the affairs of this fleeting world.
Then he came to the shore of the lake (or sea) of Gawer and dwelt
there. And there came the
feast of Saint Peter, Archbishop of the city of Alexandria, and he made
arrangements to consecrate the church on the day of his festival.
And Saint Peter appeared unto him and said, “Behold, our Lord
Christ will call thee to come to us,” and from that day Saint Peter knew
the time of his death. And he
summoned the people to him, and he commanded them to be strong in the True
Faith; then he stretched out his hand, and delivered up his soul into the
hand of God. Salutation to
Peter, for when he broke the bread of the Offering blood distilled there
from until the whole of the paten was filled therewith. And on this day died the holy father Abba John, the thirtieth
(sic) Archbishop of the city of Alexandria.
This holy man was a priest, and he was a native of the city of
Gamnudi. And in the days of
this father the church of Sergius and Bacchus, the holy martyrs, was
built, and also the church of ‘Abukir and the church of John in the
inner wall of Mesr (Cairo). And
a certain God-fearing man, an Egyptian, a Jacobite, whose name was Andrias,
and who was a scribe of Abdal-Aziz, and son of Merwan, took care of them. And it was this father Abba John who was building the church
of Saint Mark the evangelist in the city of Alexandria, which is known as
“Kamos” for a period of three years in the days of King Adel. And during the days of this father a great famine, [which
lasted] for three years, took place.
And he was careful for the poor, and the needy, and those who were
in misery, and he used to give them silver and bread twice a week, and he
gave many alms and gifts to the poor, and was a doer of good works.
In his days the Khalifah Yazid died, and Merwan reigned in his
stead. This father sat upon
the throne of Mark the evangelist for nine years, and he died in peace.
Salutation to Archbishop John with whom, on the day of his death,
is associated the Patriarch Athanasius. Glory
be to God Who is glorified in His Saints.
Amen. |
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