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THE FOURTH MONTH IN THE NAME
OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, On this day the holy Apostle Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter,
became a martyr. The lot of
this holy man went forth that he should preach in the city of Leda, and in
the cities of Akorakod. When
he came into the city of Leda, many of the people thereof believed through
Peter his brother; and he had with him Philemon, his disciple, who had a
sweet voice, and he was wise, and a good reader, and pious.
And Andrew the apostle commanded him to go up on the top of certain
steps and to read (or sing) in a sweet voice, and he went up and read in a
sweet voice. And when the
priests of the idols heard of the coming of Andrew the apostle, they rose
up and took their weapons of war and went to the church so that they might
hear whether [the Christians] cursed their gods [or not].
And when they heard Philemon reading and saying, “The gods of the
nations are gold and silver, the work of men’s hands.
They have mouths and speak not, they have eyes and see not, they
have ears and hear not, they have noses and smell not, they have hands and
handle not, they have feet and walk not, they cry not out with their
throats, and there is no breath in their mouths.
May those who make them and those who put their trust in them
become like unto them!” (Psalm
cxv). And through his beautiful voice and the sweetness of his
words their hearts were opened, and they came into the church, and bowed
down at the feet of Andrew the apostle, and they believed on our Lord
Jesus Christ. And the apostle
taught them the doctrine of the Church and baptized them with Christian
baptism; and many of those who worshipped idols believed with them.
After this Satan came into the city and he found playing together
two youths, one of whom was the son of John, the priest of the city, and
the other the son of one of the great men of the city.
And whilst one of them was amusing himself with the other he smote
the other a blow, and he died. And
the father [of the dead boy] made a charge against [the father of the
living boy] and he said unto him, “Bring me thy son so that I may kill
him in the place of my son whom he killed.”
When John heard this he was very sorry, and he said unto the men of
the city, “Be surety for me whilst I go to my father Andrew who shall
come and raise up the boy who is dead” and they became surety for him.
And John the priest came to Saint Andrew and he found him baptizing
all the people. And Andrew
answered and said unto him, “I cannot go with thee at this moment
because of the people whom I have to baptize, but take Philemon with thee,
and he shall raise for thee the boy who is dead.”
So Philemon and John the priest departed from Andrew, and when he
came to the city of Nawa [he found] Koros the governor searching for the
murderer, for Satan had told him all that had happened, and he imagined
that a grown up man [had been killed]. And the people said unto Philemon, “Go not into the city
lest the governor kill thee”; and Philemon said, “I cannot transgress
the command of my lord and teacher, but I must go and raise him up; and if
they kill me my teacher will come and raise me up and him that is dead
likewise.” So Philemon came
into the city, and he met Koros the governor who commanded his guards to
kill him. And the governor
said, “Who knoweth whether this man killed the boy who is dead [or
not]?” And the guards went
to kill Philemon, and they seized him and hung him up.
And Philemon answered and said unto Koros the governor, “Why dost
thou scourge me? I am a
little person who hath done no sin, and torturing ought not to be
inflicted upon me. Where is
Andrew my teacher that he may see what they are doing to his disciple?”
And he turned his face to the guards, and said unto them, “Is
there anyone among you who is merciful and will take compassion upon me,
and will go to my teacher Andrew and will tell him in what state I am, how
I am scourged and hung up [upon a tree]?”
When the guards heard this they wept because of the sweetness of
his voice. And straightway
certain birds came and talked with him as they talked to Noah in days of
old, and they said unto him, “Behold, whatsoever thou wishest from us we
will send unto thee.” And a
small bird came nigh unto him, and she said unto him, “I am lighter in
body than these [other] birds, and I will go to thy teacher to bring him
to thee.” And Philemon said
unto her, “Thou art a whore, and thou shalt not tempt me.
Get thee gone from me, and if thou canst find anyone of thy kin
dwell with her, and return not in a hurry speedily.”
And a raven drew nigh unto him and said unto him, “I will go to
him.” And Philemon said
unto the raven, “In days of old when thou wast sent [from the ark] thou
didst not return to report to Noah who sent thee forth, and shall I send
thee?” And Philemon called the dove and said unto her, “O
excellent pilgrim, whom God hath named as the gentlest of all the birds
who brought news to Noah, when he was in the ark during the days of the
Flood, and whom our father Noah, the righteous man, blessed, get thee to
the country of Leda (Leda) to my teacher Andrew and tell him to come
hither and see his disciple Philemon, whom they have hung upon a tree to
scourge him.” And the dove
went and told Andrew and she returned and answered and said unto Philemon,
“Be strong and fear not; behold Andrew is coming and he will hear thy
word.” When Koros the
governor heard this, he rose up quickly and he released Philemon with his
own hands from the scourging, and he believed on our Lord. And Satan was
jealous, and he entered into the heart of the governor’s wife and she
killed her sons, and her slaves returned and seized her, and they told the
governor and Philemon. And
Philemon called the dove and sent many messages into the house of the
governor [by her]. And when the people heard the dove talking, they were amazed,
and they all thronged to the place where Philemon was. And behold Andrew came and commanded Philemon his disciple to
raise the dead youth, and he prayed to our Lord Christ and raised the
young man from the dead. And
they went also into the house of the governor, and Saint Andrew prayed and
made his wife and his sons, who were dead, to live.
And the youth who came to life told everything that had happened
[to him] and what he had seen in heaven.
And behold whilst the dove was flying about Andrew’s head and in
front of him, the apostle said unto her, “How many are thy days?” and
the dove said unto him, “Sixty years are my days.”
And the blessed Andrew said unto her, “Because thou didst hearken
to the voice of Philemon, my disciple, get thee into the desert, and thou
shalt be free from the work of the men of this world, and no man shall
have any authority over thee”; and the dove went forth into the desert
as Andrew commanded. And when
the people who were gathered together saw this, they all believed and were
baptized in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost.
Then he went forth from them and departed to the cities of Akrad,
and Aksis, and Akseyas, and Henefores, and after this he departed with
Bartholomew to Azri-Gazrinos; and what happened to him [from the time when
he met] the Dog-faces until he returned is in the knowledge of God [only].
When Saint Andrew had entered that city and preached to the people
thereof, now these men were exceedingly evil, and they would neither
submit nor obey, some of them believed because of the signs and wonders
which they saw [worked] by Saint Andrew.
And those who did not believe took counsel with evil intent against
Saint Andrew, and they sent a message to him with deceit asking him to
come, meaning to rise up against him and to kill him.
When their messengers came to Saint Andrew, and heard his good
doctrine, and saw his shining face, they believed on our Lord Christ, and
returned to those who had sent them. And there were some who tortured them, and these belonged to
those evil men who had taken counsel together, saying, “We will rise up
and burn him in the fire.” And
there gathered together about him many evil men, and they came to Saint
Andrew to kill him. And the
blessed man asked Christ that fire might come down from heaven and consume
them, and straightway fire came down from heaven and burnt them up; and
those who were left were exceedingly afraid.
And the report of the blessed Andrew the apostle was heard
throughout all that country and many people believed on our Lord Christ.
And the priests of idols saw all these signs and wonders and did
not believe, but they sought out Saint Andrew the apostle in all that
country that they might kill him. Afterwards
they gathered together and came and took the holy Apostle Andrew, and they
beat him severely and dragged him round about the city naked, and they
cast him into the prison house, so that they might kill him on the
following day. Now the custom
of these people was when they wanted to kill a man to take him and hang
him up on a tree, and stone him until he died. That day Andrew the apostle
asked our Lord Christ that fire might come down upon them from heaven and
consume them as it did before. And
our Lord Christ appeared and said unto him, “Be not afraid, be not
sorrowful, be not dismayed, for thy departure from this world is nigh”;
and He gave him “Peace,” and disappeared from him; and the soul of the
blessed Andrew the apostle rejoiced. When the morning came they hung him up upon a tree and stoned
him with stones until he died. And
certain believing men came and took the body of the saint and laid it in a
grave, and great signs and wonders were made manifest.
Salutation to thee, O disciple of Jesus, who preached the Gospel
and taught in Nicomedia, and who roused up the country of Leda (Leda) from
the dead. On this day are commemorated Abba ‘Os and the Virgins, and
James, and Zachariah, and Simon, and Theodora, and Theophana. Glory
be to God Who is glorified in His Saints.
Amen. |
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