The Passion of St. George (Part 3)
(Translation From E.A.W. Budge(1888), 274-331)
by David Woods
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The Encomium which the blessed Abba Theodotus, Bishop of Ancyra in Galatia, pronounced on the day of the glorious commemoration - which is the twenty-third of the month Pharmuthi - of Saint George, the martyr of Diospolis of [p. 275] Palestine, the sun of the truth, the star of the morning, the mighty man of the Galileans from Melitene and the valiant soldier of Christ; and he showed forth his family relationships and the mighty conflicts which he endured, and the honours which he received in heaven; in the peace of God, Amen.
It is meet and right and fitting for our souls, O holy beloved, that we should commemorate the sufferings and honourable contests of the saints, and more especially of Saint George the mighty, the most excellent and honourable athlete and warrior - whose festival we celebrate to-day in this glorious commemoration - who has shown himself to us approved by God and loveworthy before men, by reason of the righteous deeds which he displayed, through which he was worthy of being called into the healthful sufferings of Christ and of bearing wounds in his body for Christ's sake. He was perfect in great endurance, and mighty valour, and a pure heart, and in giving up his entire will to God through the great zeal which he had in his heart towards God, and in the fear of Him which he had within him, which bore fruit plentifully to Him a hundredfold, sixtyfold, and thirtyfold. Moreover, he forsook his own will, and the multiplying of his great wealth, and his servants, and all his riches, and hearkened unto the voice of God, and took up his cross, and walked after our Lord Jesus, following after Him with an upright heart. On this account he received so great an honour from Christ that He spake to him with an oath, saying, "Among all the martyrs who have existed there shall not be one like unto thee in heaven, neither shall there be any like unto thee for ever." He burned with the Holy Spirit and [p. 276] performed his daily life witrh zeal that he might be among those that are chosen and that benefit out souls. In short, he performed the whole will of God and put himself beyod the reach of every thought which could offend the soul. He lived in the service of God, and was remote from the vain sights of this life which are like dreams and which pass away quickly like shadows. For this reason he longed for heaven, remembering what the blessed Paul said, "If ye be risen with Christ, seek after the things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God," and "Remember the things which are above and not those which are upon earth." Neither his father's rank of Count, nor the high birth of his mother, nor the glory of his soldierhood could overcome the decision of the truly noble and holy Saint George, neither could any one of these lead him astray or seduce him to forsake his piety and firm decision and perfect faith. The grace of God perfected him in every thing concerning which he was anxious, and he feared God who watched over him, and God strengthened him on every side, like a precious stone of admant, that he might never be moved. On this account when the time of persecution came, the heart of the holy Saint George was ready, and when God called him into the holy contest he was prompt to obey. Moreover, he went to the holy contest and marched through it by himself; and when they tortured him he became valiant, and was firm and resisted his enemies. He fought with impious governors and received the crown incorruptible for ever, and an imperial sceptre and royal throne from the true and holy Bridgreoom our Lord jesus Christ. And not only himself, but multitudes of souls received crowns through him during the seven years in which they tortured him. If God in His true knowledge permit us, we hope to make manifest to you in this encomium the exalted honours of Saint George, the valiant athlete and soldier of Christ, the holy and noble man of Melitene. For the subject under discussion weighs upon us and compels us to show you everything truly. My heart rejoices greatly within me [p. 277] this day and urges me to speak more especially in honour of Saint George the great luminary, whose festival is celebrated today throughout the whole world. To him the Lord testified by oath, saying, "I swear by Myself and by my Holy Father, and the Holy Spirit, that among all those born of women there is not one like unto John the Baptist, and that in the whole Army of Martyrs there is not one like unto thee, neither shall there be one like unto thee for ever. For thou shalt be more exalted than they all in the kingdom of heaven, and they all shall call thee, "George the beloved of God the Highest." I am afraid, O my beloved, to begin to speak in honour of this great illuminator and warrior, for I know the poverty of my intellect and the feebleness of my halting speech and that I shall not attain to the measure of his exalted and excellent contest. But I hope and trust that the Lord will send me the rays of the light of that valiant man to illuminate my heart and to quicken my halting tongue, that I may speak a few words in his honour to a Christ-loving congregation. and since the description of the honour of this valiant man, O beloved, is above the conception of every man upon earth, more especially of my humble tongue, I, who desire to speak in honour of holy Saint George, the valiant martyr, need wisdom from the Lord and a celestial tongue that I may not omit anything of the mighty and exalted contests of that noble and valiant man, which he fought before all people through his great endurance and bravery. And also, he is honourworthy for each deed of valour which he wrought with great sufferings and a great number of contests: and if the Lord permit we will set before you a few of them. But meanwhile we will set before you the qualities of which we have spoken of this brave soldier of Christ, Saint George. And what are these qualities ? His upright and unwavering faith in God; his certain hope; his sincere love; his compassion for every one and the whole human race; his gentleness to all creatures, both great [p. 278] and small; his benignity; his goodness; his zeal; his patient endurance of the cares of this life; his good disposition and the joy of his soul; the blamelessness of his heart; his taking his stand at the tribunal boldly; his freedom of speech before the governors, entirely without shame or fear of man, as David the Psalmist said, "I will speak thy testimonies before kings, and will not be ashamed;" his patient endurance of tortures with great joy of heart; and the other sufferings which he bore for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of these contests we will set forth a few before you, as we promised to do in the beginning of the preface: the contests about which he heard that blessed voice of the Lord, saying, "As My Father has appointed Me a kingdom, so also will I appoint you who stand with Me in My temptation an unending and indestructible kingdom for ever." And again, "Ye shall eat and drink with Me in my kingdom." By reason of the words full of joy and every happiness Saint George was especially ready for the strife: and the remembrance of those good things made suffering light to him. He bore every thing with a ready will, for he was gladly prompt in every thing. Nothing stood in the way of his rigid resolution to suffer, for the sufferings of this world prepared him for the good things of the world to come, and patient endurance prepared for him the crown incorruptiblefor ever in heaven. We have extended our preface until now, O beloved, and have not as yet set forth before you the glorious and marvelworthy sufferings of Saint George the athletic martyr of Christ who warred and fought against impiety. But now we will proclaim to you the things which we have set down, together with those which we shall say after them.
Now it came to pass in times of old that when Dadianus, the great king of the Persians, had obtained sovereignty he ruled over the whole world. Now it is said of this tyrannical governor that he was lord of the whole world, but the true Lord of the world, Who is over all things and Who gave us this dominion was not known. And everyone carried his life in his hand for he [p. 279] knew that the devil, the father of all wickedness, was envious of our race at all times. Now when the devil saw the faith of Christ increasing day by day throughout the whole world, he was filled with great envy, and entered into the heart of that impious governor Dadianus, who was more wicked than anyone else on the whole earth, and who hardened his heart like Pharaoh of old and raised up a great persecution against all Christians. And he sat down and issued an edict to all the world in which was written as follows. "Inasmuch as a rumour has reached my ears that He whom Mary bore, and whom the ravening wolves of Jews slew, is to be worshipped and served by all people, and that Apollo and Poseidon and Hermes and Zeus and Artemis and the rest of the gods are not to be worshipped, I write to you, O all ye governors of the whole world upon whose head rests the authority of empire, that ye may all come to me with your followers, counts, generals, soldiers, tribunes and rustics, that ye may know what I wish to ask of you." And he sent copies of the edict throughout the whole world. And sixty-nine governors, each with his retinue, were gathered together from all parts of the world, and came to him at the end of five years: and when they came to him, the whole country was in an uproar by reason of the greatness of the vast and innumerable multitude of those who were with them.
When that wicked tyrant saw that they threw themselves down at his feet and worshipped him and gave him gifts, his heart was puffed up exceedingly, and he roared like a lion: and he feasted with them for seventy days, and did not sit in judgement at all, for he feasted every day. After seventy days Dadianus, the impious, godless, and senseless governor, (and sixty-nine other governors, making seventy godless governors in all), sat upon the tribune and caused them to bring before him all the instruments of the torture-chamber; the instruments for trial, the iron bars (?), the axes, the two-edged swords, the saws, the wheels, the iron hooks, the scrapers (?) of brass, the brazen cauldrons, the knives for splitting the tongue, the iron hands for splitting the bones, the large knives with saw-like edges, the workmen's [p. 280] chisels into which were fitted sharp pieces of iron, and other instruments of torture which we cannot describe. Now all these had been prepared by the governor for those days. And the tyrannical governor swore an oath before the sixty-nine governors and the whole army, saying, "If my hands find any persons throughout the whole world who are doubtful about serving the gods concerning whom we have given commands, I swear by the might of my kingdom that I will torture them with all these instruments which lie before me, I will smash in their skulls, I will saw off their legs, and I will take out their brains through their nostrils. And as for you, O governors, and everyone who hears me today, go ye all and worship the glorious gods that ye may receive the more honours from my majesty. But as for those who will not obey me and who believe on Jesus Whom the Jews crucified, I swear by the might of my kingdom and the crown upon my head, that I will lave all these instruments in the blood of their own bodies and in the blood of their sons and tender daughters, that I will confiscate all their property, and that I will burn them alive;" and the governors and all the multitude cast themselves down and worshipped the polluted gods. When all those who believed in God heard of this oath they were dismayed and terrorstricken by reason of the storm which had risen up against the church of Christ.
Thus three years passed over the world without any one daring to utter from his lips the words, "I am a Christian;" and there was much tribulation of heart throughout the whole world, and no-one uttered the name of the Lord from his mouth. But listen, O beloved, and I will declare to you what happened after these things, for it is time to lead you to this honourable man and champion of Jesus Christ; this valiant conqueror; this verifiable pearl of God; this new David who destroyed Goliath, which is the devil and his wicked dragon; this sun of truth in the heavens; this [luminary] whose radiance and light illuminated the whole world; this man whose festival is celebrated today throughout the whole world.
Saint George, the beloved of God and His angels, came [p. 281] from the country of Cappadocia and was the son of the governor of Diospolis. His father, an exceedingly orthodox man, died and left the righteous man, then ten years old, and his two sisters, one of whom was called Kasia and the other Mathrona. Now they were exceeding rich in gold and silver; and they had menservants and maidservants in exceeding great numbers, and immense herds of cattle, and fine horses, and countless flocks of sheep. In short, there were none like unto them in all Palestine and its borders, and all the city loved them because of the good deeds which they wrought for everyone.
Shortly after the death of Saint George's father, a new governor was appointed over the country of Palestine in his stead; and he was a great lover of God. And he knew of the rank of the righteous man and of the good birth of his parents, and he had no child except a daughter two years old. When he came into the city with a mighty following, such as befiited his dignity and honour and greatness, he sent and fetched the holy youth, Saint George, and kissed him many times, and wept for the removal of his father by death. And afterwards he entreated his mother to give him Saint George that he might be to him as a son, and that he might appoint him general over all the multitude that was with him; and she gave him. And he sent him to the king with one hundred soldiers, and he wrote to the king concerning him and showed him his rank and the good birth of his parents. When the king had read the letter he rejoiced in Saint George greatly, and immediately appointed him general over five thousand men, and wrote down that he should receive three thousand pieces of money every month besides his taxes for the public treasury which were remitted to him; and the king sent him back to the eparch with much royal pomp.
When Saint George came back to his house, the whole city and the eparch came out to meet him, and they carried him into his house with great joy. On the morrow his mother spread out a feast for the whole city, for rich and poor alike, male and female, small and great; andshe distributed much money among the widows and orphans. Then she invited the eparch and all [p. 282] his company and made a great feast for them three whole days. And the eparch wrote down Saint George as his son and the heir of every thing that he possessed, and he betrothed his daughter to him, and made him lord over all his house: and he was associated with him in the affairs of government, and lived with him until ten years were ended. When Saint George had completed his twentieth year he was so exceeding strong and valiant that he was the leader in the fight, and there was no one among all the company of soldiers who could be compared with him for strength and beauty. and the grace of God was with him, and He gave him such beauty and strength that all those who saw him marvelled at his power and youth. When he went into battle he was a terror to those who saw him and to those who stood up against him, and when he rushed upon the battle array of the enemy [seated upon] his horse, he carried his drawn sword in his hand, and cried out to then, "I am George of Melitene and I come against you in anger;" and straightway the weapons of battle fell from their hands, and he destroyed them all, and carried away their spoil. In short, God was with him in all his ways.
When Saint George had completed his twentieth year, the eparch was anxious that he should celebrate his marriage with his daughter; but he did not know that Christ was keeping him a pure virgin bridegroom for Himself. While the eparch was meditating these things in his heart, he went to his rest in God, and left every thing that he had to Saint George. And the good God wished to lead this very valiant man to Himself that His holy name might be glorified in him, and He made this suitable counsel come into his heart, saying, "Behold, I hear that Dadianus the governor has gathered together a number of governors to him in the city of Tyre in respect of the boundaries of the empire. I will arise and take gifts and money, and will go and give them to them, and will ask them to make me eparch in the place of my fathers who have passed away." So he rose straightway, and took much money and many gifts, and put them in a ship with himself and his servants, and went to the governors.
[p. 283] When the saint had come to them he left his servants in the ship with all the baggage, and came up to the governors at once. And he met the lawless Dadianus, and saw the idols before him and people offering up sacrifices to them with great zeal. And he was stupefied entirely for a long time and said within himself, "Why did I leave my own house and the beauty of a Christ-loving city in which they worship the Lord of heaven and earth by day and night, and come to these profane and lawless ones who have forsaken God and worship Satan ? Why did I seek the rank of count grom the hands of these godless and lawless ones ? Cursed be these polluted lawless governors and their dominion, which shall pass away in a moment, with them ! I know that the Lord will receive me to Himself, and I will not seek a destructible kingdom of this world, but I will seek the kingdom of my Lord Jesus Christ which endureth for ever; and I will not return to my native city to my mother. And now enough of my life in this world, for I will rely upon my Lord Jesus Christ, who endureth for ever, in His goodness to give me strength to die for His holy name, and to take my bones again to myplace of sojourning upon earth, and to lay them in the sepulchre of my dead ancestors." When Saint George had meditated these things in his heart he returned to the ship to his servants, and told them everything that was in his heart. And they entreated him, saying, "Master, if it is to be so let us return to our city with the ship, and let no one know for what purpose we came hither." Saint George said to them, "Far be it from me to return to my house to look upon the face of my mother again, but I will die in this place for the holy name of my Lord Jesus Christ, the king of heaven and earth and that which is beneath the earth, the Lord of all things. And now receive ye your freedom and your wages, and swear to me by God the true Almighty that ye will not return to my house again while I am alive, lest muy mother and my sisters know of my condition, and bring only death upon themselves. But now receive ye your wages and take each one of you three pounds of gold and ten changes of raiment and go wheresoever ye please in the whole [p. 284] world, my city alone excepted. And if ye are alive and hear that I am dead, do me the kindness for Christ's sake to take my body to my native city and bury it." When the servants of the blessed man George had heard these things they wept a long time, but afterwards they saluted him [and went their way]. Now one of them did not return to Diospolis until the holy man consummated his martyrdom, and three of them dwelt with the holy man in the city of Tyre to witness his strife. And the blessed man distributed the great wealth which he had brought among the poor and the infirm, and the gifts which he had brought for the governors he gave awy entirely to the destitute; and he gave away his very clothes to the naked.
Then Saint George leaped among the impious governors and cried out, saying, "I am a Christian openly, and I fear not your madness, O governors of violence, for your gods are devils; may the gods who have not made heaven and earth perish from under the whole heaven and let every one who worships them hold his peace. !" When the dragon of death, the lawless Dadianus, looked upon him and saw that he was refined in body and fair in face as the light of the moon when she shines, and that he was altogether handsome in his form like precious, pur, white, alabaster, he knew straightway that he was well born and that he was the son of an eminent eparch; and he rose up speechless, marvelling at his youth and his gentle answers. And he answered and said to him, "All we upon the earth are filled with all the good things of the gods, and we are very dear to them, and thou thyself art numbered with us in honour and majesty, and by thy noble bearing thou showest that thou art of exceeding high rank. And now be it known to thee, O beloved one, the beauty of whose countenance I love, that during the three years which I and the sixty-nine governors whoom I have gathered together from all parts of the world, have been sitting here, during these three years I say, we have not heard such a word as "Christian" uttered throughout the whole world until this moment. I know in my heart that thou art most noble, and that thou art mighty in thy strength and in the multitude of thy riches; but neither [p. 285] the other governors, nor the multitudes which surround them will regard thee with the same respect. But now, let the matter be manifest to thee, O noble one, it is not only we and the governors that thou hast despised, but thou hast also despised the righteous gods themselves; it is meet therefore for thee to repent, and to be changed in heart, and to worship the gods that they may forgive thee thy first ignorance. As for us and the governors, we will take thee to ourselves as one of our beloved sons, and thou shalt receive from the gods and from us all the greatest honours and imperial rank; and thou shalt be ruler over ten fine cities with their suburbs from whatever part of the world thou shalt choose them." Saint George the truly blessed man answered and said to him, "Cursed art thou, and the lawless governors who are with thee, and the foul idols to which thou givest the name of gods ! they are not gods but devils, perish thou and they together !" And the governor was enraged and said to him, "I spoke to thee as a father speaking to his son, and I advised thee for thine own honour and welfare; and thou hast despised us like a stupid and silly man. But tell me, Whence comest thou ? What is thy name ? What is the name of thy god ? What are the names of thy parents who brought thee into the world ? Why hast thou come hither ?" Now the blessed man did not wish to reveal his name nor the lofty rank of his parents. And the governor and all the other governors said to Saint George, "O beautiful youth, we adjure thee by Jesus Christ, whom thou callest God, to tell us what is thy name, and the name of thy parents, and the name of thy city, if those who begat thee are alive, if thou hast brother or sister, what thou seekest and for what purpose thou hast come to this city ?" Now because they had adjured Saint George by the name of Christ, he declared, saying, "Inasmuch as ye have adjured me by the name of my God I am unable to hide anything from you. I am a Christian, and the son of a Christian, and no one of my family was ever an idolator. My father was Anastasius the governor of Melitene, and was the son of John the chief governor of Cappadocia. When the emperor saw the valour of my father Anastasius, he demanded [p. 286] him from his father John, the governor of Cappadocia, and appointed him governor over Melitene and the whole country of Palestine. My father Anastasius was twenty-five years of age when he received the office of governor, and the emperor gave him a company of three thousand armed soldiers for the maintenance of his authority over the whole country of Palestine. And Anastasius sought out a noble lady, after the superior rank of the people of Melitene, among the great ones of the town, whom he might take to wife in holy wedlock. And they advised him, saying, "In all this city there is no one meet for thy rank and dignity and greatness except Kira Theognosta, the daughter of Dionysius, the count of Diospolis, who is associated with the rule of your majesty, for she is a virgin aged eighteen years, and there is no one [of like rank] in the whole country of Melitene except her father and his house." And Anastasius commanded, and they straightway brought her father Dionysius, and he gave him her dowry - twice her weight in gold - and many presents, and male and female servants. To her he gave raiment and gardens and fields and vineyards which could not be confiscated, and he took her to wife, and he loved her exceedingly so that he forgot Cappadocia and his parents; and he lived in Palestine until God visited him there. When my mother, Kira Theognosta, the noble lady, bore me to him, he called my name George after his father's father. And again my mother bore him my two sisters, the name of the one was Kasia and that of the other Mathrona. My blessed father, Anastasius the governor, went to his rest and left me when I was ten years old; one of my sisters was six years old and the other two. After this another governor whose name was Justus, was appointed in the room of my father, and he took the place of my blessed father to me; he moreover appointed me general over five thousand soldiers, and wrote my name to the king to receive three thousand pieces of money every month, and he knew nothing of what was in his house, except what he ate and drank, for it was I who ruled his possession and his house; and he betrothed me to his daughter that I might take her to wife in happy wedlock. And while he [p. 287] was purposing to carry out our marriage the time of all men came upon him, and he departed from the sojourning of this vain life, and I buried him in the sepulchre of my blessed fathers; may God grant them everlasting rest, Amen ! As for myself, I carried out my military duties satisfactorily, and by the skilful working of my lands and the generosity of my mother, I acquired wealth, and with wealth came honours, and then in a ship of my own I came with my servants to this city to present gifts and offerings to you and the other governors that ye might make me governor in the room of my fathers who have passed away. But when I saw that ye had forsaken the God of heaven and earth who had granted royalty unto you and that ye served Satan, I said in my heart, "Let every kingdom which proceedeth from Satan and his children - which ye are - perish !" And I gave all my gifts and possessions to the lesser brethren of my Lord Jesus Christ, who are more worthy of them than you, and I came to you to chide your folly, for the things which ye worship are not gods, but foul devils. Now, behold, I will inform you of the whole matter, I am a Christian boldly; whatsoever ye desire to do unto me, that do."
When the governors heard from him that he came from Melitene of Cappadocia, and that he was the son of the chief governor, they were afraid. And they spake to him with flattering words, saying, "O youth, we know thy rank and the good birth of thy ancestors, come now, listen to us, and let our advice be acceptable unto thee. Offer sacrifice unto the gods, that thou mayest receive from them not only the office of governor held by thy ancestors, but also the rulership over the whole world which we will give thee. Furthermore, next in order to these governors present, thou shalt appoint whomsoever thou thou pleasest to be counts in every province of the whole world, and they shall be generals and commanders and leaders under thy authority in every place." The just man answered, and said, "This counsel of yours is [p. 288] exceedingly wicked, for it would lead me to destruction with you. And now, O lawless ones, tell me to what god ye desire me to offer sacrifice ?" Dadianus replied, "George, we wish thee to offer sacrifice to Apollo who spread out the heavens." The blessed man answered, "If Apollo had in truth spread out the heavens, thou couldst rightly have called him "God"; and if Poseidon had in truth made fast the earth thou couldst rightly have called him "God" likewise. Art thou not ashamed, O godless, wicked one and dragon of hell, to call this impure and diabolical idol by the name of "God" ? I will now make mention of some of the saints, not for thy sake nor for the sake of the godless governors who are sitting with thee, but for the sake of these multitudes who are here present. To whom, O governor, wouldst thou compare Apollo ? Wouldst thou compare him to the great Peter, the Arch-apostle to whom were given the keys of the kingdom of heaven ? Or wouldst thou compare hoim to the mighty Elijah the Tishbite who was an angel upon earth, and who was taken up to heaven in chariots of fire ? Is he not more excellent than the wicked sorcerer Poseidon ? or Smaraktos (Scamandros ?) the profane who worked enchantment by fire ? and who lived with the defiled one, whom they call Timetia (Demeter ?) who gave birth to the Saraphin the sea warriors, who on account of their deeds were cast into the abyss of the sea ? In whom wouldst thou believe, O king, in Jezebel who slew the prophets, or in the most exalted Virgin Mary who bore us our Lord Jesus Christ ? Be ashamed then, O foolish one, for thy wicked and impure gods are devils."
When Dadianus the governor heard these things he was greatly enraged, and he commanded them to strip off the clothes which he had on and to tie a girdle round his loins and to hang him upon the wooden horse and to torture him until his bones protruded through his skin. Now he was twenty-one years and three months old, and it was on the first day of the new moon of Pharmuthi that they began to torture the righteous man. And his holy body was disfigure with blood; but the blessed man bore such fearful sufferings as these with patience and fortitude. [p. 289] And they forced iron boots upon his feet and drove iron nails into them; and his blood flowed forth like water. And again they threw him upon his back, and laid a stone weighing six hundred pounds (?) upon his belly until it burst asunder and his bowels poured forth upon the ground. And they beat upon his head with iron-headed bars until his brains poured out through his nostrils white like milk. But he was of good cheer in all these sufferings, for Christ strengthened his soul within him. And again they brought iron knives the edges of which were like saws, and they sawed his flesh into threads with them; and Dadianus commaned them to bring salt and strong vinegar, and to pour them upon his wounds. Then he made them lacerate his body with hair bands until his bones protruded, and his flesh fell in pieces on the ground; but the blessed man did not die, for God stengthened his spirit within him. And they threw him upon a wooden bed, and they drove twenty nails through his body into the wooden bed; and they lifted him up senseless, and carried him into the prison. And multitudes of those who were standing by in those days wept for his beauty and his stature and his youth, saying to each other, "Alas for the beauty of this youth from Melitene, and the comeliness of his noble body which the lawless ones are destroying with fearful tortures, such as they have brought upon him this night." And when they had gone to their homes they spake to their wives and children, saying, "Verily we have to-day seen with our eyes in what manner and in what form ........"; and the whole city was talking about him that night.
And it came to pass that an angel of light appeared to him in prison in the middle of the night, and there was a great earthquake and the city was moved to its very foundations. And behold God came into the prison with thousands of his holy angels, and the whole place was filled with exceeding precious incense. And God called to Saint George, saying, "George, my beloved, rise up healed and without corruption, from the couch on which thou sleepest;" and he straightway leaped up without any pain in his body, and he was like one who had risen up [p. 290] from a royal feast. Then he cast himself down and worshipped the Lord, but He took hin by the hand and raised him up, and saluted him lovingly, and laid His hand upon all his body, and filled him with strength, and said to him, "O beloved one, be strong and of good cheer, for I will be with thee until thou hast put to shame these lawless kings. I swear by Myself, O George My beloved, that as there has never arisen among those born of women one greater than John the Baptist, so there shall never be any one among the martyrs that can be compared with thee, or be like unto thee. And behold these seventy lawless kings shall torture thee for seven years, and thou shalt do many mighty deeds, and shalt die three times, and I will raise thee up again: but on the fourth time I will come to thee on a cloud of light with the celestial hosts and the Prophets and the Apostles and the holy Martyrs, and I will bring thee to the place of safe keeping which I have prepared for thee." When the Saviour had said these words to him, He gave him the salutation of peace and filled him full of joy; and He went up to heaven with His angels. And the blessed man was looking after Him and rejoicing greatly and blessing God until day-break by reason of the words which God had spoken to him. When it was morning, the lawless governor and those who were with him commanded that they should go into the prison and see if the righteous man was alive or not. When they opened the door of the prison they saw the saint standing up praying, and his face shone like the sun, and they marvelled greatly and ran and told the governor everything; and they commanded them to bring him up on the tribune. While they were bringing him the saint said, "My God, my God, hasten to me, O my God, why hast thou forsaken me, my God, haste thee to deliver me." When he had come to the tribune, he said, "O tribune, O tribune, I and my Lord Jesus Christ have come to thee and thy Apollo." And when the lawless ones saw him they marvelled, and said to him, "How is it that no harm has come to thee ? and who has healed thee ?" The righteous man said to them, O lawless ones, Ye are not worthy to hear with your orofane ears the name of Him that has healed me." [p. 291] Then Dadianus was furious with rage, and commanded them to tie the saint to four high stakes and to give him four hundred lashes on his back, and after that to turn him round, and to give him four hundred lashes on his belly; and his lacerated flesh fell to the ground piece by piece and his blood ran like water. And Dadianus made them bring hot ashes and lay them on his body, and pour vinegar and naptha over his flesh; and he caused eight soldiers and five military tribunes to watch over him in prison until the next day. Now the fire was kindling in the whole body of the blessed man, and he was in great suffering. And the Lord Jesus Christ saw his sufferings and that he was unable to speak at all, and came down from the summit of heaven and spake with him, saying, "I am strenthening thee, O My beloved George, stand forth from all thy sufferings and be of good cheer, for I am with thee." And the righteous man arose, and God laid His hand upon all his body and healed him, and He gave him the salutation of peace, and went up to heaven in glory and honour; and the blessed man sang psalms in prison until the morning. When the soldiers and the tribunes who were guarding him saw what had happened to the saint and that he was strong they marvelled and told the governors. Dadianus the governor said, "George is an arch-magician, but I will hear no more of him until I can bring an arch-magician more powerful than he." And he straightway sat down and wrote a rescript, saying, "Dadianus the governor writes to the whole world, greeting. Let any magician who has the power to put an end to the magic of the Christians come hither to me, and I will give him one hundred pounds of gold, and two hundred pieces of silver, and every sort of possession, and he shall be second in my kingdom;" and this rescript was read in every place. And behold there appeared before the governor a magician, whose name was Athanasius, saying, "O king, live for ever ! Command this man called George to perform something before thee, and I will destroy his magic." Dadianus rejoiced greatly and said to the magician, "What thing wilt thou do in my prsence that I may know that thou canst overcome the magic of this Christian ?" Athanasius said to the [p. 292] governor, "Command them to bring me an ox;" and he commanded them to bring an ox. And Athanasius spoke some words into the ears of the ox, and he split asunder into two pieces. The governor laghed, and said, "Verily thou art able to vanquish the magic of the Christians." Athanasius said to the governor, "Let tem bring me a pair of scales." And when they had brought them they threw the parts of the ox into the two pans of the scales, and they came out equal to one another. Then Dadianus the governor caused them to bring Saint George to him, and he said to him, "It is for thy sake that I have summoned this arch-magician into my kingdon; thou must either overcome his magic or he will overcome thine." Saint George said to the governor, "The Christian who has taken refuge in Christ never works magic, O impious one." And the saint said to the magician, "Hasten, my son, and what thou desirest to do unto me, do speedily; for I see that the grace of God has drawn nigh unto thee." Then Athanasius took a cup and filled it by his magic, and invoked the powerful names of demons over it, and gave it to Saint George to drink; and when he had drunk it no evil happened to him at all. Athanasius said, "O George, I will give thee another cup, and if no evil happens to thee I myself will believe on thy God." And Athanasius the Magician took the cup and pronounced the names of demons more evil than the first over it, and gave it to the righteous man; and he drank it, and no evil happened to him at all. Then Athanasius threw himself down at the feet of the saint, and said to him, "I conjure thee by Jesus Christ to give me the sign of the cross of Jesus Whom thou servest that He may open to me the kingdom of heaven." When the holy martyr saw his faith, he struck the earth with his foot, and there welled up a stream of water filled with an exceeding precious odour. An the blessed man prayed quietly, and Thomas the Apostle came and baptized Athanasius the magician in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, and he obtained the remission of his sins. And the Apostle gave them the salutation of peace secretly and him himself from them; and straightway the fountain of water returned [p. 293] to its place. When the governor and those that were with him saw what had happened they were silent and marvelled. And Athanasius cried out before the governor, and said, "I am a Christian, and I thank God and his servant George, that He hath numbered me - the workman of the eleveneth hour - among His servants, and I hope that His mercy will receive me through the prayer of George the holy and mighty martyr." And the lawless governors were enraged, and they commanded that Athanasius should be taken outside the city and have his head cut off with the sword: so he consummated his martyrdom on the 23rd of the month Tobi, on the Sabbath day; may his holy blessing be with us all for ever and ever, Amen.
