John Bishop of Tella Anthony Alcock The Syriac text of this hagiography with Latin translation was published by E.W. Brooks in Vitae virorum apud monophysitas celeberrimorum (1907): Latin (pp. 23-68) and Syriac (pp.31-95) The text was written by a certain Elias, a disciple of John. An event in the text, the capture of Callinicus1 in 542, places the composition after that date. The numbers in brackets throughout the translation, made principally from the Latin, are the page numbers of the Syriac text given in the margin of the Latin translation. Elias' biography is the main source of chronological data about John but not the only one,2 and the following information has been extracted from all of them. John (483-538) was born in Callinicus. His full name, John son of Cursus, is not given in the text.3 In 503 he became a government employee before becoming a monk in about 511. In 519 he became bishop of Tella4 of Mauzlat. In 521 he was forced to resign his bishopric for his anti-Chalcedonian views 5 and was forced into exile. In 531, after an extended missionary tour of northern Syria as far east as the border with the Persian empire at Nisibis, he was recalled, with seven other bishops, from compulsory exile by the emperor Justinian in 531. In 532 he was summoned by Justinian to Constantinople to defend his Monophysite views. In 537 he attended a meeting hosted by the Chalcedonian Ephraim patriarch of Antioch at Resaina to discuss Christological issues. When John refused to accept the Chalcedonian doctrine, he was arrested by Ephraim and spent just over a year confined in the monastery known as Comes Manasse. In 538 he died The author clearly has a keen eye for detail and a fondness for a certain prolixity. 6 An interesting episode in the text is the presentation of John's thoughts (pp.50-53): it deals with the soul-searching of the saint when confronted by the prospect of high office (the episcopacy) in the Church at a particularly sensitive period facing those opposed to the decisions of Chalcedon, a dichotomy between the Church spiritual and the Church secular. Since the text is not a work of fiction, it has to be assumed that Elias knew John well enough to provide an accurate and credible account of his thoughts about the consequences of being a bishop, perhaps because John had laid bare his thoughts to his disciple. ‫ܝ‬ 1 It has more than one name and has been called Raqqa since the Muslim conquest in about 640. 2 There is also a text by John of Ephesus edited and translated by E.W. Brooks in 'Lives of Eastern Saints' Patrologia Orientalis 18 (1907) pp. 513-526 and a chronicle translated by E. W. Brooks and F. J. Hamilton Zachariah of Mitylene (1899). 3 His writings include canonical texts published in Dissertatio de Syrorum fide ed. P. Lamy (1859) and Canones ed. C.Kuberczyck (1901). 4 Also known as Constantia. Mod. Viranşehir. 5 He was driven out with twelve bishops 'of his neighbourhood' and at first went back to his old monastery of Mar Zakkai, cf. Brooks p. 515. 6 My translation has mostly followed Brooks' version, with occasional simplifications. 1 (31) The life of the holy and most blessed John of Tella, which prudent people secretly persuaded one who had spent some time with John to write for the benefit of all those who love the truth . To his spiritual brothers and Sergius and Paul, noble in the truth, 7 Elias your co-worshipper in the Lord sends greetings. Zealous performers of good works and lovers of Christ, I am very sad and anxious because I lack the power and knowledge to weave together a crown of eulogies, as you deserve and as is your due, because of the many things with which you are adorned and in which you are pleasing to God, you being the cause of all benefits to those who look up to you, because the memory and commemoration of your holy and spiritual fathers is preserved in you; because, as you are enlighted by reading the holy scriptures, you have also learned to imitate the sons of earlier righteous ones, how these took care to lay up spiritual treasures from the blessings of their fathers; because they truly believed that they could acquire for themselves the riches and treasures of the languages of their fathers; because they understood what is above and not what is on earth. 8 (32) So, he who takes on this task is full of praise that you have emulated the ancients and are not lacking in spirit and also have the blessing of this spiritual father; because the glow of love for the holy man and tried confessor9 has not died out in your heart, however long it has been tested, indeed you the genuine heir of truth have kindled it all the more with your love. It is truly a good thing that the sons and disciples who have slipped from the right path into error are ashamed and judged by their conscience, who because of their love of princely power and vainglory have been ensnared by traps and fallen into unwholesome desires, both stupefying and harmful, plunging people into destruction and ruin10 ; people who have caused untold misery for themselves, attacking the very people watching over them, I mean their shepherds and masters, to please those with whom they have taken refuge and those to whom they have recommended themselves in this transitory world. Amid these troubles, you and people like you the Lord has left to be the seed for our consolation, the comfort, joy and crown, who are for us in the place of life, who have been so pleasing while in this troublesome and perverse generation, like Lot among the deranged, you persisted in your faith, which is on a firm foundation and (33) have not been cowered into doing the opposite; you have kept the true Gospel, constructed as you are on the foundation of the apostles and prophets; you have scorned dangers; amid the force of so much temptation you have exerted yourselves for the sake of the many so that not only the name of this saint should be written to be of use to us now and future generations, but you have also stimulated me to employ my meagre skills to 7 8 9 10 Allusion to John 8, 32 Col. 3, 2 John was a homologêtês. In the notice by John of Ephesus he is called 'martyr', cf. Brooks p. 523. 1 Tim. 6, 9 2 make a written summary account of the conduct and work of this saint, the struggle in which he finished his life and received the crown of confession. And although you have thought I am equal to such a great work and record in writing a memoir of this holy man and shepherd from his childhood to his departure to the Lord, I confess, as I should, that I am not. My spiritual brothers, you will recall that you have often urged me to this work and you will bear witness that I have said. for example, for the sake of your love: "Surely nobody intending to build a house or a tower or polish a diadem or crown fit for the royal head would say, when the construction materials of all the things that he wants to use are ready, to an unskilled person unfamiliar with the names of things, their composition, style or comparison: 'My boy, take, or polish or sculpt and finish this work as I wanted to', knowing (34) that this is work only for skilled workmen ?" Again, apart from being unable, in my simplicity and ignorance, to produce a worthwhile life of this admirable man, because of my universal shortcomings, I have said to the love of God that is in you: "You who are wise in Christ and rich in knowledge, do this, especially as you are holy citizens of this city that you may be considered worthy to go in the new world to the city where all the saints dwell." And your reply to me: "You have told us a little of his conduct, but write it down, because you spent some time with him and saw his divine virtues with your own eyes, as far as was possible." 11And I, because I have experienced this great tenacious drive of yours that does not allow me to prevaricate in the face of your will, since this work will serve the interests of the many, assuming as I said earlier that I am equal to it, now make so bold as to begin, with the help of your prayers, as best I can. I beg those who read the work not simply to hear or look at the words (which will be repeated in various places as required) and ignore what is useful, which is necessary for the one who reads in love and not envy. I will begin by telling those who do not know (35) where John, who by the grace of God was made worthy to become bishop of Tella, was born and why he became a monk; how many years he spent as a monk; and what he did secretly before he took the tonsure12 for fear of his God-loving mother; and why I mention his mother in this account; which monastery he lived in; who his spiritual father was and what work he embarked on after his tonsure and unhesitatingly continued to his death; when he became deserving of the bishopric in Tella; the trials he suffered on becoming a bishop; how confidently he returned from the imperial city after having been summoned there with seven colleagues by the serene and victorious emperor, 13 when true bishops everywhere stood aside from those who did their best to ensure that the synod of Chalcedon entered the Church and were deposed from office; and what the saint did when he saw men violently abducted to confess the blameworthy definition of the synod; and also how he was responsible for converting many thousands in Persia to knowledge of the truth, which had latterly been attached to the Nestorian heresy; and how Ephraim, 14 with 11 12 13 14 The preceding passage seems to be Elias' attempt to sketch in some of the background to the genesis of his text. ‫ܣܦܪ‬ I take it that this refers to John's response to the summons issued by Justinian in 531. Patriarch of Antioch (527-545). Opponent of John. 3 the support of Antioch, had ensured that the saint was arrested that he might not repeat what he was doing to the building15 of the Church; and how he (Ephraim) had sent to Persian pagans to bribe them to arrest the saint who was living with the saints in the mountains; and how he was apprehended and at what time; how often pagans and magi, who arrested him with their help, brought him before them; and how often he was interrogated by them16 in the assembly of leaders known as hanzaman;17 and how Ephraim had brought him before himself at Resaina and how he had asked him to speak out in an angry disorganized and rowdy dispute; and the things that were out of sight and far from judicial proceedings; and what his judge ordered about him when he saw that he was intransigently disobedient and where he sent him with an armed guard; and in which small and narrow prison he and his companions were detained at Antioch; and what those appointed to guard him did; and how the saint, fortified by the grace of God, was able to conduct serious discussions fearlessly in prison; how good (37) his death in prison was and at what time he died; and how he was grudgingly buried by his opponents, who were not satisfied and did not relent even the slightest bit from their anger, not even when they saw his body with their own eyes; and how his enemies intended that the city be unaware of his death and zealously remove his body or perpetrate some other atrocity; and how at the hour of his death he prayed for all the children of the Holy Church, especially those who had hated him utterly for no good reason. But, before I begin to satisfy the mind that is longing to hear the beginning and end of all these things that I have promised to tell you, let me not incur the displeasure of those who judge what is said as 'cheap and badly ordered nonsense' and 'this should have been said earlier' or 'the order is wrong' or 'this should be different' or 'this was unnecessary' or 'it should have been so' or 'how does the writer know so much, who is separated from events by such a great distance from someone he did not even know ? ' Remember that I said at the outset that I was not equal to the task and that of those things that were to be handed down in this history some I had seen and some I had heard from his teachers and some I heard from him at a time of tribulation, (38) when the quiet and tranquillity of his early monasticism had become a distant memory and some I heard from his mother, but most of them I saw, as I said earlier. First, which city did he come from ? This is necessary because there are many who do not know but want to know. He came from Callinicus, a city that was full of wise and worthy people who loved each other and who might all have been born of the same parents. To anyone who dares to say: "If some of them were so virtuous, why was the staff of Assyria cut down ?"18 I would reply: "The Lord chastizes those he loves and flogs children who please him." 19 "If there is no chastizement for everyone, you become strangers and not sons." And again: "Chastize me, Lord, with mercy and not anger, that you do not belittle me." Again: "Your rod and staff are my consolation." Again: 15 16 17 18 19 Perhaps in the metaphorical sense of 'growth'. Probably non-Monophysites. Persian word: 'assembly'. The city was destroyed in 542 by the Persians, cf. Procopius History of the Wars 2, 21 The following citations in the order of the text: Heb. 12, 6 and 8; Jer. 10, 24; Ps. 23, 4: Ps.94, 12; Job 9, 12; Ez. 21, 3 4 "Blessed is the man whom you chastize, Lord. The judgements of the Lord are like an abyss." (39) And: "Who is the man who will blame his hand and say to it: 'What are you doing ?' The just are also distressed when sinners are flogged. Let one hear the prophet when, from the mouth of the Spirit of God, he said in Jerusalem; "I will draw my sword from my sheath and cut off from you the just and the sinner." This is enough against those who are quick to utter futile ignorant words, believing that they have escaped in their righteousness from the punishment visited upon others. Let us resume our narrative. When John was two and a half, his father died. His mother remained a widow for fifty years after three and a half years of marriage. On the death of her husband she devoted herself to the service of God day and night with fasting, prayer, abstinence, tears20 and affliction. John was brought up by her and his grandparents, as he himself has told us, with care and diligence, and was taught Greek by them. At the age of twenty he went to work in the governor's residence,21 where he received instruction and wore fine clothes (40) appropriate to his station. Various foods were prepared for him, but he was not greedy. He was given a teacher who taught him to fear God properly. His mother, worthy of blessings, tried to ensure that he was brought up not to cause or incur offence, that he saw and enjoyed all the good things parents justly and lawfully provide for their children, in accordance with the beautiful laws of the Creator and the blameless traditions handed down to us in writing; and having found him a wife, she prepared a marriage in great joy and at great expense. But when all was ready, the dispensation of God began to make itself secretly felt and allowed it be known in public that the love22 of Christ was stronger in John than love of the world. He weighed the relative merits of both, the impermanence of the mundane against the permanence of the celestial, riches that pass away with time and riches that do not; (41) and the fire which the Saviour had injected into his soul grew stronger, and attending to a wife, children and possessions were not as strong in him as attending to God and the future life or the punishments meted out to wrongdoers and the vengeance of the blazing fire. 23 And while his mother vehemently used to insist on things of no importance, he would say nothing, while at the same time struggling with his thoughts, emerging and fading, uncertain which of them would prevail. In all of them he continued to call upon God: "Show me your way that I may travel on it."24 But this thought was in his mind: "If I do not flee from the world, I will not escape from errors." And he immediately fled to a certain saint named Abgar, who lived as a recluse not far from the fortifications25 of the Romans, a holy and righteous man, famed for his great and 20 Weeping as an expression of spiritual development is one of the subjects treated in David Bradford The spiritual tradition in Eastern Christianity (2016). 21 ‫ܦܪܛܘܪܝܢ ܕܕܘܟܣ‬ 22 ‫ܪܚܡܬܐ‬ 23 Seems to be an allusion to 2 Thess. 1, 7-8 24 Ps. 142, 8. Followed by two more quotations, which I have omitted. 25 I take this word to be the same as the one in R. Payne-Smith Syriac Dictionary (1903) p. 568a. Callinicus was not far from the border with the Sassanian Empire, fortifications may not have been uncommon. 5 divine works, to be blessed by him, enjoy his conversation and secretly do his bidding. When his mother learned where he had gone, she rose quickly with her servants, bereft of reason 26 that her son had left only a short time before. She brought him back home, where he cautiously and wisely submitted to his mother, taking care to leave her in peace and to depart for the monastic life, 27 where he spent five years. His mother said to him: "You can please God, as others with wordly possessions have done." He replied: "It is the task of the strong, mother, that they can blamelessly serve in both cases, so that they give to Caesar the things of Caesar and to God the things of God, and, like the just and upright fathers whose names you have mentioned to me, they can be in the world. But I cannot be involved in wordly matters and please God." 28 One day he took up the story of Thecla, who had been a disciple of Paul, and began to read it. He was a chosen vessel and not like his contemporaries, who had not received instruction. He had been wounded by the burning weapons of evil and was not bound by wordly desires. He was protected by the grace and the care of those who reared him, and the love of Christ burned in his soul. He then took up the works of Paul and read them. He became a disciple of Thecla and Paul29 and constructed for himself a small solarium in the courtyard (43), where he stayed with his teacher. They agreed that his mother should not know of his intention or what he was doing. He gave up wine and meat and ate what his teacher produced. He ate only dry bread from evening to evening and tasted food30 on alternate days, and no-one knew of this. When he sat down to enjoy the food that came up to him, according to his teacher, the saint stood and bowed, bent like a hook with his hands behind his back and his hair hanging loose to the ground, and he stood in this position all evening until he lay down to sleep for a little. He had learned the Psalms in Syriac and recited them with his teacher, who had learned them with him.When his blessed mother saw the colour of her son's face and the transformed beauty of his youth, she asked the teacher: "What is this sign that I see in my son that he is affected by so much sadness ?" To placate her he said: "He reads a lot late at night." She was glad that he read so much, for he was avidly studying what would be of use to him. At night he was occupied (44) with this and in the daytime he used to visit the blessed recluses around the city, each one of whom deposited a spiritual seed in him. One day one of them said to him: "John, remember that you are mortal. You do not want to be like the other boys, delicate, proud and disdainful, who do not think that their delicacies are excrement and worms." The saint said: "What am I to do ?" He replied: "Shave your head and become a monk. Flee from the world before death overtakes you. Whatever in the world is desire is desire of the body 26 ‫ܫܩܝܠܗܘܢܗ‬ 27 ‫ܥܘܡܪܐܕܕܝܪܝܐ‬ 28 2 Tim. 2, 4 29 This apocryphal story was viewed in two quite contrary ways in early Christianity: Tertullian was quite hostile to Thecla because of the prominent status she appeared to confer on women in the Church; others were admirers of her devotion to the ascetic life. A church of St Thecla in Isauria, three days' journey from Tarsus, is mentioned in the travel account of the 4th cent, pilgrim, Etheria/Egeria, cf. M.L. McLure and C.L. Feltoe The pilgrimage of Etheria (1919) p. 41 30 ‫ܛܥܡ‬ 6 and the eyes and worldly pride. The world and its desire will pass away." 31 We learned this from his teacher, and he received it from the mouth of the saint, like parched earth seeking water. 32 He heard Paul the Apostle, who loved the Lord above all, saying among other things: "I beseech you, brothers, to make your body a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God. Do not be like this world, but change by renewing your minds." 33 He attended to the (45) the holy readings and rejoiced in them and made progress. He then decided to take the tonsure and become a monk. When his mother found out, she was astonished that she, a widow who had lost her husband, was now about to lose her son and heir, the light and consolation of her life, so she did her utmost to dissuade him from his intention. This happened through a dispensation of God to test John for the benefit of many who were being easily overcome by phantasms and dreams. 34 He began to take refuge with saints living in various places, where he heard warning advice and examples of the religious life. John was twentyfive at this time. Without delay he took refuge in the monastery of St Zakkai 35, where he received the tonsure. When his mother found out, she did what all mothers deprived of such upright children do: she wept, lamented and wailed. Ultimately, she was visited by the grace of God because she was in truth a widow, and with her hope in God strengthened, she began to want what her son wanted. And in one spirit they set free all their servants and divided what they wanted from their wealth among the poor, the saints and widows. (46) He had a spiritual father whose name was John, 36 and many on familiar terms with him knew his spiritual beauty and how rich he was in his religious observance, 37 especially in modesty and humility. His entire face emitted sanctity; in a word, though he was in this life with us, he was dead to the world and lived for God alone. And because I am not equal to the task of writing the history of this humble man, I am taking refuge in the story of his disciple. After John the elder had taken in and given the tonsure to John the younger, the latter persuaded the elder to give him a small cell 38 in the monastery that for a short time he might profit from a modicum of stillness. The worthy elder knew that the younger man's request was pleasing to God and granted it to him. He kept assiduously to his cell, serving virtue, reading sacred books, constantly ministering, fasting and weeping profusely. He abstained from wine, bread and oil, eating only boiled vegetables and wild herbs suitable for those fasting. He observed vigils of three to four days. sometimes longer. He acquired a small bowl, which contained two small cups, and this is what he ate, or an ounce of dried fruit, when he was abstaining from cooked food, with a drink of water and a cutting of oxymel:39 the passion of Christ was always before his eyes, 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 I John 2, 16 Ps. 63, 2 Rom, 12, 1. Three more citations follow. I do not understand this. Not far from Callinicus Also named by John of Ephesus, cf. Brooks p. 525. ‫ܕܚܠ‬ ‫ܟܘܪܚܐ‬ Vinegar-honey mixture, referring perhaps to John 19, 29. The Syriac seems to be 7 ‫ ܒܟܝܠ‬but I do know what it (47) so that the food he was eating would not taste pleasant. Why should anyone believe this ? Because we used to notice from time to time, for the sake of our instruction, when he ate how, with the plate on his knees (very often his table), tears would moisten his food. He would do this when he was eating alone. When he rose from his meal and left his small amount of food, he rose from the table so quickly that, while those living with him sought to start their meal, he was already finished. And when saints from elsewhere came to visit him, his table would satisfy them amply and generously, and their food and drink would give him as much pleasure as if he were eating it himself. He firmly impressed upon his soul some of the admirable qualities and example of all his visitors, of whatever status, by reading their books assiduously. Moreover, he added to his labours after he had been made bishop. From midnight to dawn he spent his time in silent and modest prayer and weeping, his tearful voice inaudible to all. (48) If anyone dared to look at him as he stood saying his office 40 in order to derive benefit from this activity, he would see him looking up to heaven in much affliction and weeping profusely. His bed was a rush mat on the ground; his blanket was an animal skin; and he had one pillow on which to rest his head. His clothing was of hairs, with a leather belt, sandals and a cloak. Unless he was prevented by important business, he spent his time from matins41 to the third hour in prayer, after which he read sacred texts or the spiritual fathers. After the midday prayer, he prayed until the ninth hour 42 and was so assiduously engaged in reading that he did not waste an hour. He was modest and well-regulated in all matters. His gait was orderly and those who saw him never failed to be impressed by his appearance and demeanour. Let no-one reproach me for having mentioned his physical as well as his spiritual beauty, for we have read in sacred books accounts of the physical beauty of the righteous and others. For example, the Holy Spirit's description of David: "He is fair, his eyes are beautiful, he is comely and the Lord is with him." 43 And about Moses the prophet: (49) "His parents saw that the boy was beautiful", 44as the blessed Apostle says in his letter to the Hebrews. 45 The beauty and appearance of many others are recorded in sacred books. His speech was humble and gentle. And though he was a spiritual pastor and rector of the Holy Church, he was eager to learn from others and to ask questions when necessary. And when he read the sacred books, he did do with much feeling and knowledge. The flesh of his body became loose and wasted through his many labours until the joints of his bones could be seen. The belt of his garment could hardly be held up on his thighs. When he spent time in the mountains and deserts among the saints who lived there, he used to bear the scorching heat and biting 40 41 42 43 44 45 means. apart from 'lamentation'. The only Syriac word I can find meaning 'oxymel' is ‫ܢܓܝܢ‬%%%%%%%%%‫ ܣܟ‬. Is the passage a compact allusion to Christ's passion, cf. John 19, 29 ? ‫ܬܫܡܫܬܐ‬ ‫ܨܦܪ‬ There is perhaps an echo of this regime in The Chronicle of Zachariah of Mytilene tr. by F Hamilton and E.Brooks (1899) p. 211 1 Kg. 16, 12 The initial word 'saw' is followed by a particle ‫ ܠܡ‬that often function as a sort of quotation mark. Heb. 11, 23. The Syriac writer is in little doubt that Paul wrote this letter. 8 cold with great patience. His pupils became enlarged, and when modest women were sitting at his feet listening to a sermon full of wholesome advice, he looked none of them in the face, but with head bowed backwards, he looked at the ground, avoiding fraudulent evil tempations, 46 as he told them what was good for them. When he heard anyone say the name of saints and tell of the excellence of their way of life, his soul greatly desired to see them, to emulate their way of life and to be blessed by them. And in no small measure did he honour, magnify, love and venerate those who had achieved extreme old age. (50) When he was made bishop, there was a great persecution of the Church by those who succeeded the blessed emperor Anastasius47 and who asked priests everywhere to accept the definition of faith made at Chalcedon and the false addition made to it. At this time the bishop of Tella died, and John was called by the synod of bishops of the province to be bishop because they had heard reports of his virtue and way of life. When he saw that they wanted to consecrate him, he asked them to leave him alone, and when they persisted, he said to himself: "I must leave now. I am convinced that he who becomes a leader of many can hardly avoid feeling or exercising any of these passions, unless he is truly strong, especially vainglory, which can easily destroy the soul of the one trapped in it and the body in self-imposed death, 48 the sort of thing enemies do. He becomes one who is eager to please those in his charge in such a way that he always does things that provoke God's anger and are contrary to his laws because he is anxious to avoid people's disapproval. He is constantly surrounded by flatterers, who are careful to approach (51) him as in support and tell him that he does not have to this irksome labour in order to bring him down to their level, in particular to deflect him from his rules of behaviour and abstinence. They then pretend to be sparing with the badly administered property of the Church so that in this way they may make him angry, bitter, morose, cruel and mean, miserly and misanthropic. Or he joins the ranks of the others indiscriminately and without consideration for others and becomes lax and remiss, someone given to physical pleasures, more concerned with his body than his soul, and because of trivial and inappropriate matters of common business neglects the hours so useful to the spirit; for this reason he is submerged in a deep cave where there is no room to stand because of his wish to please men; if there is war of heretics against the Church, he abandons the principles of his faith, and anyone who does this incurs so much loss that it would be better if he had not been born or come into this world. It is essential that he who is a leader in the Church of God be 'without stain and blame''49 in everything, ought to give an account of his flock on the day of reckoning and walk in the footsteps of God himself and be like the one who was in the world 50 and 46 47 48 49 50 The editors note is 'sic textus', and I have added 'avoiding' to make sense of the passage. 431-518: named perhaps because of his sympathy with the Monophysite cause Presumably by choosing the wrong way of life. Col. 1, 22 1 John 2,6 9 hear St Paul: 'Be like me as I am like Christ.' 51 (52) It is essential that those who are princes of the Church and pastors be like a column of fire, so that there is no darkness or obscurity in any aspect of their life, and not like shepherds, 52 but be a good example for all men, especially the faithful, and be ready to die and endure tribulations, as Christ volunteered his life. He should flee from all desires that wage war on the soul, be modest and well-regulated, honest and a good teacher, long-lived; he should not be angry or drink too much, according to the prescription of the Apostle: he should be pure and honest, and, for the one who is responsible for the word of God, holy; he should keep his soul free from desires lest in any way he should be estranged from sacred injunctions of the Gospel and the teaching of the Apostle to Titus and Timothy, who were truly worthy of this great gift. All who are confident of being equal to the task are promoted to the episcopacy. Souls are entrusted to their care, which are purchased by the blood of God not by corruptible money. They are not dumb animals, but living creatures saved by the passion and death of God. What is the punishment taken by God on the shepherd who is responsible for a flock if some desire of this world holds him in its thrall and one of the sheep of (53) his flock perishes from his negligence. And when he had pondered on this and more and made for himself a clear image and contemplated the greatness of heaven as well as the shameful ignominy and the punishment of those who prefer present delights to those promised in the future, the saint arose, with a certain elder called Damian,53 his aide, who was truly worthy of sharing his dwelling, and both fled from the bishop's residence in Edessa at dawn, while John was very respectfully kept in custody by three bishops until Sunday, on which according to Church law the bishop was appointed. While this man was being sought and they saw that the one truly elected had fled, the one acceptable to the servants of God, all the holy bishops gathered there, hoping to enjoy this joy, became sad and troubled. One of them, Jacob bishop of Batnan, 54 said: "Do not worry, brothers. I will go and look for him. And I believe in God, if he so decides and wills that the one chosen by your saintly assembly become bishop, that I will find him." He rose immediately and prayed. On the road by which John and his companion had left the city, he found him hiding about a mile from the city between two rocks. John begged him: "Please, my lord, have mercy on me", with other appropriate supplications. Jacob the bishop said: "At this time, when the Church is under attack and suitable men are needed to fight our enemies, is it time for its servants to turn and run ? If something is good, why run away from it. If it is bad, tell us, and we will run with you." In all tearful humility the saint said: "My lord teacher, leave me as I asked you. This is work for strong men such as yourself." While they were talking to each other, many arrived and seized him to take him back to the church. They all begged him, admonishing and comforting him before ordaining him bishop. They then took him off to Tella, where he had 51 1 Cor. 11, 1 52 I am not sure that I understand this, but it may well be connected with the thought in the concluding section about the negligent shepherd. 53 Otherwise unknown, 54 Jacob of Serug was a well-known hymnographer, claimed by both Chalcedonians and non-Chalcedonians, who died at the time when John was stripped of his bishopric. Batnan is about 20km SW of Serug. 10 been called by the grace of God, and installed him on the episcopal throne. The bishops returned to their own sees, and when all the honourable and praiseworthy clerics were assembled in the church, John addressed them with words of admonition, harmony and unanimity, The Eastern churches were being buffeted like ships at sea by violent storms. He heard some, who were attached to bodily concerns (55) and contemptuously rejected spiritual concerns, say: "If we receive an order to accept the synod of Chalcedon, we will first persuade him to accept it, since it is of no importance. Nobody can refuse to comply with an imperial command." From the very start he showed them his resolution and strength; "If you are of one mind and soul, then be prepared to accept tribulation for Christ." And "Do not disdain tribulations." He then reminded them of the persecutions inflicted by pagans and then the heresies to which the Church had been subjected. All of them praised and thanked God for the pastor he had sent them, he told them the history of Chalcedon. They were scathing about the Diophysite addition and the Tome of Leo 55 of Rome: those who caused this damage should be anathematized. He then said to them: "Bring me the diptychs." 56 They were brought. The name of Sophronius the bishop of the city57 was written on them: he was one of those who had attended the synod, and John ordered the names of them all to be deleted. Those with unacceptable opinions began to fear as well as those who attended to physical pleasures. A certain noble Paul said to him: "Now is not the time. He is the emperor, and this synod will accept his order." But this opinion was hardly impartial. The saint said angrily to him; "Surely (56) you have heard everything that has been said ?" And he ordered Paul to be removed, saying: "You wish to insult God and please people. It is for all of you to judge impartially: do the names of all who have done and said the things I have told you about need to be proclaimed on the holy altars ? It is more important to obey God than man."58 The names were deleted without delay, and the whole church gave thanks, with many other things that he did fearlessly for peace in the city, and so that reverence of him might not be cheap but modest and well-ordered. For at that time he had become incensed, almost to the point of insanity, by the cheap spectacle of dancers, and it almost killed him because he sought to drive out the sickness of insanity from them.59 And with the help of God he quickly put out the flame that Satan had lit in them. And after he had, in a manner of speaking, shaken off their intoxication, and they knew that he was working and struggling for the salvation of their souls, they thanked God that he visited them through the shepherd whom divine grace had given to them. The persecution of the Church to the east of the Euphrates had not yet finished while all this was happening. John had been bishop for more or less two years when the order came that bishops 55 The document in question is the letter Leo sent in 449 to Flavian the patriarch of Constantinople, accepted at the synod two years later. It bears the number 28. 56 ‫ ܕܝܦܛܘܟܐ‬In ecclesiastical diptychs, which adorned altars, the two leaves contained the names of the living and the dead worthy of honourable mention. 57 Accused in the Latrocinium of 449 of practising divination. Translation of the relevant documents may be found in S.G. Perry Second Synod of Ephesus (1877) pp. 189-199. 58 Acts 5, 29 59 Probably the spectators. 11 (57) who refused to allow the synod of Chalcedon to be proclaimed were to be deposed. Without delay John vacated his see, for he saw that he could no longer stay there unless he agreed to do what he had been told to do. He chose what has been written about Moses, namely that he suffered jointly with the people of God and was not pleased by sin even for a brief time and, for the love of high office, he would not have no part of things anathematized by the holy fathers, as some did who were fonder of pleasure than the love of God. And with no material thing taken from the city itself, he withdrew, and he was replaced by a member of an opposing party. 60And so it was in many cities, where some came to replace others: the false the truthful, the rapacious the peaceful, heretics the faithful, and like merciless rapacious creatures fell upon the flock of Christ and subjected the greater part of the population forcefully to their opinion with unstinting tribulation and torture. Voices of lamentation were heard everywhere and property was pitilessly confiscated and people of a different opinion were taken by force like captives. Some concealed themselves (58) from their pursuers in the hills, graves and caves, and the faithful who refused to bow down to their dogged tyrannical authority were harried into exile and in dark narrow cavernous prisons by heretics. Unbaptized children were allowed to live for several years through the fear of the persecutors, who did many other wicked things that the written historians of writers 61 have not recorded. Amid these troubles, the man of God withdrew from the city to the desert to lead a life of suffering and prayer in solitude. He then imagined what God would want to know from him what he had done with his talent 62 and arose and embarked on a wonderful piece of work, when he started to think of what God said through Simon Peter: "Feed my lambs and sheep" and "do the work of the preacher." 63 John was comforted by these thoughts and was able to look down on his own life, the threats made by kings to the righteous, and in truth did the work of preaching, as said above. When people saw his zeal and power, they flocked to him from everywhere, villages and cities, to the desert where he lived:64 (59) he made priests for churches and monasteries, with all diligence and scrutiny, so that they received letters and licence from the patriarch Severus and the metropolitans and bishops who had fled to distant regions. And these saints, with these letters, gave him the licence to ordain priests in their cities and regions. He freed many from communion with heretics. When the emperor 65 heard of this, he summoned him and his fellow bishops, eight in all, to interrogate them about their faith. When he saw they remained firm in their faith, the true faith, and would not submit to his faith, for they had gone to him under oath, he threateningly ordered those who disagreed with him not to make any more priests. The saint kept repeating: "It is more 60 In the notice by John of Ephesus it is said that he returned to his old monastery of Zakkai but was soon driven out of by his opponents, cf. Brooks p. 515. 61 ‫ܣܥܪܝܢ‬ 62 ‫ ܟܟܪ‬Presumably a reference to the parable of the talents, cf. Matth. 25, 14ff. 63 Allusions to John 21, 15ff. and 2 Tim. 4,5 There are several more Biblical references, which I have omitted. 64 Lit. 'rendezvous': ‫ܒܝܬܨܘܒܐ‬ 65 Justinian (527-565). John was summoned to the imperial residence c. 532. 12 important to obey God than man."66 The emperor and empress, 67 through their curatores,68 tried as hard as they could to persuade John to accept a gift of some sort, but he refused. He said: "How am I to accept a corporal gift from them when they refuse to accept a true and spiritual gift from us ?" Briefly, he would not accept a gift from the emperor, the Empress or anyone (60), but with a little something his mother had given him when going up 69 he was able to live frugally, he and his companions, for their will was his will. He received money of any sort from no-one, neither for himself nor any one, openly or secretly. In a word, after the efforts to convert John and the bishops, the emperor dismissed them, and they returned to their homes. John, after he had arrived home, set about gathering the Church together and liberating them from the heresy of the Two Natures. The few faithful in Persia heard of his heroism and brave deeds and decided to write to him and to Thomas the blessed bishop of Dara,70 who abounded in divine ornaments as well as sacred and secular knowledge, with a request that both send bishops to their region to contend knowledgeably on behalf of the true faith, which (61) had almost died out because of the error 71 of the miserable idolater Nestorius. And indeed this was done before the saints arrived in the royal city. And when they knew that it was God's will, they agreed with alacrity. And from that region suitable people were sent, and with the advice and consent of these two saints together with Sergius of Cyrrhus,72 Mariûn of Sura,73 and Nuna Circusiûn,74 and they were made bishops who had been sent and returned home with great joy. Many people and regions were converted to the true faith. And of those saints who had been made bishops in that region some were martyred either by heretics or pagans; some continued to live and work in those regions. And when the aforementioned saints died and there were only a few left of those who had been made bishops in the region and had been incarcerated for the true faith, and for a while there were still some orthodox bishops in the East and they came to John who was living in one of the mountains with hermits, and others were brought with him who (62) asked for bishops to be ordained for those who had been martyred. After everybody had agreed to this, they promoted those they had brought to the rank of bishop. Everything that I have written and inserted into this story, the deeds of those saints who came twice to see John, and what he did for the edification of the Church, I have done to show the miracles performed by God through this man in far-off places. Groups of the faithful have multiplied in these regions and error has been smashed. Behold ! There are many thousands 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 Acts 5, 29 The empress was the Monophysite sympathizer Theodora. Senior officials. ‫ ܣܠܩ‬Does this refer to joining the monastic life ? About 20 km west of Nisibis. A fortress city on the border of the Byzantine and Sassanian empires. ‫ܛܥܝܘܬ‬ Cyrrhus is about 170km SW of Edessa. Probably Sergius II About 20km west of Callinicus, E of the Euphrates. Burned to the ground by Chosroes I in 532. An unnamed bishop is mentioned by Procopius Wars 2, 5, sent by the Byzantine forces to beg Chosroes for mercy. 74 About 200km SE of Callinicus. Euphrates garrison town on the border of the Persian Empire. Nuna (Nonnus) had two episcopates: 518 and 532. 13 who have been liberated from the serpent-like utterances of the miserable Nestorius and who now sincerely and faithfully praise God. I do not have enough time to speak of the struggles that faced him in connection with the phantasiast Julian of Halicarnassus75 and how he assiduously wrote to every place to teach them about Julian's error that people might abandon it (and with the help of God he saved many from this error) and what sort of letters he wrote about the matter of faith to every place where the noxious error had reached, to the Castrum Mundhir,76 (63) where the evil measure of the one who denied all the passions 77 that had been incorporated into the flesh of Our Lord Jesus Christ has come to rest78 (there too the Manichaean heresy of the enemy of the Saviour and accuser of our spiritual fathers had crept into, penetrated and come to rest in the hearts of the deceived). These and other such things he was able to perform through the dispensation of God. At that time only a few, I may say, remained Diophysite79 because the true Church of God was being built, magnified and multiplied by the true religion. Some fled from their oppressors as from a harsh captivity because they saw that this true shepherd stood firmly against all temptations in order to help the cause of the truth. And now one should describe the words and warnings he taught those who came to him to be ordained priests for the benefit of those who love to hear them. But so that this story does not become too long or offend those easily offended, I will keep my remarks to a minimum. These are a few things from (64) the teaching of the blessed Apostle:80 Serve your Lord, be fervent of spirit and assiduous in prayer; tolerate your tribulation, hate evil and cleave to goodness; do not attend excessively to your flesh because of its desires; serve with God; do not give anyone cause for offence lest there be any stain on our ministry; let no base word come from your mouth but only words suitable to edify; do nothing in contention or vainglory but be an example to the faithful in speech and relations with others, love, faith and purity. In these things show yourselves to be ministers of Christ and true priests, and keep the image of the crucified Christ before your eyes. And in accordance with the mandate of the blessed Apostle, be henceforth and from nowon in this temporal dwelling after you have been made new men and soldiers of Christ, with no drunkenness, song, promiscuity or greed for food that harms the mind and the body; and hold fast to the teaching you have learned and the divine confessions you have made before us. All these admirable things John used to say to those going forward to be ordained priests. Also, when he alone was offering the oblation, which was quite common, someone would marvel and be astonished that he would spend up to four hours, 75 An anti-Chalcedonian who proposed that the body of Christ was incorruptible only for as long as Christ wanted it to be incorruptible. Opponent of Severus of Antioch. 76 ‫ ܚܝܪܬܐ‬is translated by Brooks as castrum. Payne-Smith provided various renderings, including 'shepherd's camp'. It may be the place known as Sergiopolis, about 100km S of Sura. 77 There are five adjectives here that I have not translated in the text: 'voluntary, natural, true, salvific and blameless'. 78 ‫ܢܘܚ‬ 79 The Syriac term is: 'two natures' 80 What follows is a medley of quotations from Paul. 14 (65) sometimes longer, in prayer, sighs, affliction and many tears before the altar itself and the spiritual mysteries until the foundations of the altar were damp with tears, the whole time in a bent position, after which he performed the canonical work.81And when the offering was before a congregation, he made it, as was appropriate, at the holy hour.82 And when all this was performed by John to edify and correct the Church, Ephraim the patriarch in Antioch83 saw the wonderful deeds of this saint and was aroused by envy to destroy them. And because he had no other hope of overcoming those who defected from his power, that is the Diophysite heresy, than to arrest John and silence him with a long term in prison and exile (and who is able to destroy such good unless he goes down and does it himself ?), he cunningly asked the emperor and told him what he was going to, and was granted permission by the emperor with an army to go down to the East.84 Within a few days he submitted many to his will with much violence. (66) To stop the source of help completely, he devised a plan and sent men whom he had found to do his will to the Pesian marzban at Nisibis,85 to whom he promised a large sum that he might send his own troops together with Romans that this saint of famous victories might be driven from the mountain called Singara, 86 to which the saint had withdrawn in this difficult time because of its many advantages. The men sent by Ephraim to the marzban told him many lies about John. The pagan, whose name was Mihrdaden, eagerly sent cavalry soldiers and one of his counts, also a pagan. Some Persians, Cadiseni 87 and Romans arrived at the mountain together with their Roman and Persian spies who knew the place. The person sent by Ephraim to do this work, from Bêth Bâlâs88 in the Antioch region known as 'strangler of thieves', was called Cometas, who has been repaid for his deeds by Our Lord, went down initially to Harran 89 before going to Nisibis. Having made enquiries, he went into a certain man (67) said to be a pagan priest (and God knows what Cometas did there) and he brought the son of this priest dressed as a doctor. On one occasion he said to us: 90 "We killed a bull in our house before we came to you." When they reached the mountain where the saint was, he and the Romans and Persians with him, after enquiring, went to a certain monk living outside the mountain and found that he was of the Julianist faction. And, the secret revealed, they promised him a gift. He brought them in the middle of the night to the mountain where the saint lived and showed them the small cell occupied by the athlete of Christ and withdrew. They descended on him like wild beasts, swords drawn and bows stretched in the Assyrian way. There was much snow there, and the great columns of ice in the rock under which the saint lived had melted. 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 ‫ܗܘܥܪܢܐ‬ In the Catholic Church associated with the Eucharist He became patriarch in 527. Approx. 537 On the border of Roman Asia Minor and the Sassanian Empire. The title 'marzban' means something like 'margrave' Roman defence fortress SE of Nisibis against the Persians. Persian allies. The editor cites various texts, which I am unable to locate. Cometas seems to be otherwise unattested. Also known as Carrhae. About 40 km SE of Edessa. Suggests a conversation with Cometas at which Elias was present. 15 They were blinded by the Lord at that hour so that they would not find him. If they had found him and dragged him out, he would have died that night because of the excessive cold. Some of those with the saint and lived near him were arrested. They were mercilessly pressed to say which of them was the one being sought and where he was. One those (68) arrested deceitfully admitted that he was the one being sought and deliberately told them that his name was John that he might liberate the saint from the hands of the oppressors. And while they were engaged in this struggle the whole night, because they did not find the one of whose description and beauty they had heard, those who had been arrested were taken away individually and flogged by the Romans with forked and split branches to lacerate them. And no-one said where he was. He remained in his cell, it was there that he was attacked. At dawn they found him and dragged him out. When the Persian count saw him, his elbow resting on the ground, he addressed the saint angrily through an interpreter: "You deserve to die an unpleasant death ! What are you doing here ? If you were not wicked, you would not be living in horrible desert places among lions and wild boars ! Why have you run away from your masters ? I will burn down this whole mountain, kill everyone who lives here and leave !" The Assyrian 91 made many other boastful claims. Meanwhile, the saint stood before him in all humility as was his custom and said: "Am I allowed to speak ? Or am I to remain silent while you do what you want ?"And he said: "Say loud and clear 92 what you have to say." John said: "Control yourself. (69). Examine me and you will see that nothing of what you say against me is true.Your highness will find out if those who have sent you here really wish to say that I am not as you have said nor the saints who have lived on this mountain for many years." The wretched Cometas approached and kissed the Persian count on the head and said to him: "On your life, my lord, tell him to sit. He does not have these things." 93 The count drew his sword to strike him and said to him angrily: "Why have you told so many lies before the marzban ?" He then ordered those with him, and the whole cell was searched thoroughly but they found nothing of what they had hoped to find. They then rose and put John on a transport animal they had and took him away. It was the new moon of the month Shebat.94 From the third hour of the day to the middle of the night they made their way through the trackless solitude in snow and ice, though the saint had eaten nothing. When they did not find the way that leads to Nisibis, because of the dark, the marzban ordered them to bring the saint to the tent95 at Nisibis until he received what he had been promised, and for this reason they were forced to find the way but did not. In the dark of night they dismounted and sat around John who had been placed in the middle of a circle, the horses tied to the necks of their owners. That night 91 I assume this refers to Cometas. Was 'Assyrian' a byword for a violent person ? 92 ‫ܚܝܨܐܝܬ‬ 93 It is clear (p. 72) from the conversation between John and the marzban that there must have been some talk about donations visitors supposedly gave to John and (p. 79) that there was a false accusation that John had been receiving money for ordination. 94 Starts on 29 February 95 ‫ܡܫܟܢܐ‬ 16 (70) was bitterly cold. The Persians railed at those who had deceived them, especially because they had not found what they said they would. The next day they arose and found John with ice on his beard and lips, without having eaten anything since the time of his arrest, but still alive. The magi learned from a fellow captive, who knew a little of the other's language, why he had been arrested. They were afraid that he might curse them, and he became a person of much honour in their eyes. The following day they reached the cultivated land and turned off to a certain village to spend the night there. They placed the saint in custody in a secure house, where there was a woman who had given birth two days before they arrived. Though she was in very delicate health, she complained of the mockery and abuse to which the saint had been subjected, for she was a Christian96: "A man who did not even dare freely to look at the face of his mother, they have made him share, under close guard, accommodation with a woman recently in labour !" When he was brought into Nisibis, the marzban put him in an inn with ten magi to guard him. All those with him slept in the house of confinement. And when he went out to urinate, some went out with him to keep a close eye on him. He did not neglect his usual office, even if the pagans mocked him. After some days the marzban became aware that the envoy who had been sent to tell Ephraim that John had been captured and Nisibis was enclosed was late. In secret (71) he97 began to ask seriously: " What has this man accused by the Romans done wrong, this man we have arrested and imprisoned as a malefactor ?" When he learned that all the charges against him were false, he had all the important officials of the city assemble and sent to the place where John was being detained and had him brought to him. As John came before them seated on the ground, the marzban saw his face, beauty, stature, moderation, modesty and his lovable face and, with his hand stretched out to the magnates, he nodded through it: it was the Persian custom, especially for magi, to indicate their thoughts silently and without words to each other merely by crooking their fingers. This gesture meant: 'This is a well-born man, not a slave. He is modest and not a wrongdoer.' One of the magnates sitting there, a Christian, said: "Pray, if this man enters before Caesar, Caesar will rise before him. According to Christian law, as I have learned, he is a bishop." When the marzban heard this, he gave an order and sat before him and through an interpreter said to him in Greek: "How have you dared, such a man as yourself, to travel through our land without us 98 Do you not know that this another state99 ?" The saint replied in Greek (72) through the interpreter: "It is not the first time I have crossed through your country. It is the third. So 96 Lit. 'believer'. 97 Presumably the marzban. 98 ‫ ܡܢ ܒܠܥܕܝܢ‬Brooks understands 'without our permission', which sounds plausible but opens up a wide area of enquiry as to the nature of that permission: how did one get it, what form did it take, where was it issued ? One assumes that certain travellers (envoys, for instance) had a sort of inviolate status. When other religious groups (Manichaeans and Nestorians, for instance) travelled from one politeia (here meaning empire) to another, did they need travel documents ? 99 ‫ܦܘܠܝܛܝܐ‬ 17 ? that I may pray among these saints who have been living for many years on the mountain where you arrested me as a wrongdoer. Who am I that your highness should know about me and then allow me to travel ? As you see, I am a poor man. Now that there is peace between our kingdoms I make no distinction between state and state. Two kings are brothers united in love. When I am here, I feel as though I am at home. And when I among Romans, I feel as if I am here because of the peace. The marzban said: "How can you say that you are poor when you have so much money from people who visit you ?" John said: "Look, those you sent to arrest me, let them say what they found on me when they arrested and examined me.And again I beg your highness, if possible, to send trustworthy men to visit the whole of our region and to interrogate my enemies who have accused me and friends to determine if I have ever taken anything from anyone. If any of the accusations are true, let me be crucified in the middle of the city. What I received from my parents and from others I gave away. " The marzban said: "Why are you running from your emperor and from those who exercise power in (73) his land ? Do you not know that he who runs away from his masters is a wrongdoer ? If you wish, I will reconcile you with the Romans and you will do as they wish and live in peace." The saint said: "I am not running from our victorious peaceful and benign emperor. I am his subject in the world, like my fellow servants, as is proper. And I pray for him that he may administer the empire in accordance with God's will." When the marzban heard so much praise for the king, he cried out and said how they normally express praise: "May the fortune of the king of kings be with you, who are godlike." He said to his magnates: "You may wonder how much opprobrium is attached to those who have accused this man or how much he praises them and shows that he loves them." The saint said: "May I inform your highness that the only reason why they persecute me is that I will not abandon the faith in which I was baptized, and they are the ones who hate me. I will submit only to those who, like me, have rejected them." The marzban said: "I am a magus with two sons. If our lord the king of kings said to me: 'Unless you change what you hold and accept something else, I will kill your sons in front of you,' I would prepare myself for the blood of my sons striking me in the face, but I would not change what I hold. I have learned that what is said against you is false." He asked the saint many other things, to which he replied as was necessary. The marzban sent him (74) to a place where he was locked up. He100 thought that he was about to receive a bribe. One of the men came and said to him: "If you have anything to give, for we know that you have been unjustly arrested, we will release you and you can escape." The saint replied: "Truly, even if the Roman emperor were to come and arrest me and order me to flee, I would not. I have nothing and, with the help of God, I fear no-one." After he had spent thirty days at Nisibis, Ephraim sent an agreement to the Persians. They accepted it and handed John over to the Romans. He was then taken to Dara with a large force and was handed over at the border, where he spent five days in prison. Mamas the bishop of Dara worked strenuously on Ephraim's behalf, together with all who are pleasing to man but not to God, that he might obey them and agree to what they 100The marzban. 18 wanted. After many arguments101 he said to them: "You are wrongly forcing people against their will to obey what is not true so that God will desert you because you seek to please man and not God, Ephraim and not the truth." And because Ephraim was about to arrive at Resaina and, as he thought, to ensnare John and many others in his nets, the marzban stopped him en route and he was was brought there with many Romans. And when Ephraim entered, the bishops present (75) who had been told of Ephraim's arrival gathered to stop him and said: "Why are you doing all this ? Why have you caused so much trouble to the Church ? Why do you not lead a private life like your colleagues ? Which law allows you to do what you have done ?" He said to them: "When the Church is in turmoil, it does not scrupulously observe the laws. As you know and are able to learn, how scrupulous was the one of blessed memory and holy martyr, Eusebius of bishop of Samosata, 102 in the things he did when the Arian fanatics held the Church, or the great Athanasius or others like them ?" They replied: "Be silent about matters that cannot help you. Now just obey the patriarch, and he will cancel and forgive everything. And you will return home in honour and glory." He said: "Did you hear what I said ? 103 You can leave, depart and weep over your sins. Do not weep for me. No-one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God according to the teaching of our Saviour."104 He also said: "Remember Lot's wife, and passage in Ezekiel: 'The peoples of the earth will enter before God at the time of festivity, and those who enter by the north gate to adore him will leave by the south gate; and those (76) who enter by the south gate will leave by the north gate. Each one enters by one gate and leaves by the other.'"105 He tried to explain what this meant, despite their unwillingness to listen: "Those who have been made disciples of Christ and received his life-giving commandments should not turn back and devote their thoughts to secular rather than sacred matters, change with the times, bend with every wind, lean on every tree, walk on every path and drink from every spring. It is known that those who do these things become the object of contumely. But all those who are Christians must persevere with constancy in their way of life step by step." But Asylus the bishop of Resaina106 said: "The passage you quoted from Ezekiel above is not there." John said: "In truth, I have to tell you: you are mistaken and do not know the Scriptures or the power of God."107 And he said to them: "Even if you tell me this and more, with blandishments or threats, then I will become a polypus, about which it is written that when it wishes to strike to find food for itself, whatever it touches, it acquires its colour. " This angered them, and they got up and left. On the following day (77), gathered in the winter secretariat of the church, 108 they summoned him by messenger, and told him that 101‫ܬܚܘܝܬܐ‬ 102 330-379 103 This is only a guess. 104 Lk. 9, 62. Elias seems to emphasize that these are the words of Jesus. 105 Ez. 46, 9 106 In 535 Sergius of Antioch went to see the patriarch to lodge a complaint (unspecified) against Asylus. 107 Matth. 22, 29 108 I take this to mean the part of the church where administrative work is done. 19 he was a fraud and troublemaker. He said to them: "Who is disturbing the Church of God, I or those who lead the great armies of Goths and force the people of God violently to submit to all manner of torture ? 109 He who clings to the truth of constitutional law makes the wealth of the world as in the days of the pagans. 110 When have you seen or heard men entering the church with swords and cudgels ? Whom have I deceived, as you have said, I who come in from the wilderness to enter a church only rarely ? You have gold. You have freedom. You have, one might say, the whole world. You bestow principates and make promises. Hosowever this may be, men flee from you as from enemies. And you say that I have deceived the world, even though I have nothing of what you have. It would be rather more important to obey you who have everything than me who have nothing. If anyone comes to me and asks me about the truth, do you want me to lie ? Do I deceive by telling the truth ? " Christopher the chorbishop111 of Amida after some time said: "You deceive the world with your hair shirt, black garments and (78) long beard." To which the saint replied: "You sound like a foolish child ! He who is clothed in hairs or in the garb of an ancient saint is one who shows us an example of humility. Others, of whom the sacred books bear witness that they were pleasing to God with their humble dress, are also deceivers, according to what you say. You too are wearng a hair shirt. But no-one would call you a deceiver." This is how the conversation started and finished. There was a large gathering in the city of Resaina from the villages and other cities. And, through the agency of some, many were armed that they might be unjust accusers, but God reduced them all to silence. They testified that a lot of money, and many other things, had been collected for ordinations. But their lies were exposed and the truth was victorious. The charge was diligently investigated and it was found that nobody had received anything either for himself or those with him, not even a single mna.112Then Ephraim arrived with a large army and was received with great ceremony, chariots and waggons and mules in harness. On the following day, early in the morning, he came in and sent a messenger to bring John from his place of incarceration. Many Romans went ahead of and behind him, carrying cudgels. There was so little room that one could hardly move because of the people (79) gathered there. The Romans escorting him, with a large divided mob, 113 were able to move him forward only with difficulty, all the faithful saying: "The one you have served from boyhood to old age will be with you." He entered before Ephraim, who was sitting in the secretariat of the church. There were bishops sitting there and a large crowd standing. They said to Ephraim: "Do not speak to him in front of the people. Before 109 There were several wars with the Goths (from east of the Black Sea) between the mid-3rd cent. and the mid-6th cent. 110 ‫ ܛܝܛܠܘܣܐ‬follows 'truth' in the Syriac, but with what function I do not know. The editor cites a passage from John Malalas containing the aorist of the verb τιτλόω ('confiscated'), but I cannot see the connection. His translation of part of the sentence: qui veritati adhaesit mundi opes publici iuris facit . . . seems to mean 'he who clings to the truth makes the wealth of the world (a matter) of public right . . .' but I do not fully understand it. One might expect something like: 'Those who accept the truth reject the world's wealth'. 111 Roughly, 'rural bishop', under the authority of the metropolitan bishop. 112 Coin or weight. 113‫ܐܟܠܘܣ‬ 20 your holiness arrived, we said much that he might obey. He in turn said things that almost caused a riot." Ephraim arose, took him and entered the baptistery, together with some of his own people, some secular nobles and Rufinus his advocate.114Some of those standing there cried out: "He should be burned. He should be stoned." Everyone stood outside waiting to see what the outcome might be, and Ephraim began his interrogation of John: "I will do you the honour of not sitting while you stand, but let us speak to each other in love and peace. To tell you the truth. I will first implore God to open your heart that you may hear my words. If your thinking is erroneous and you refuse to obey, we will grant you this." (80) But John said to him: "I will say nothing to you. And if I say anything, it will not benefit me, as it has not benefitted many better men than me who have spoken to you. Is a poor man such as myself to dispute with a patriarch in such a tumult ? Because this is a matter of debate for the patriarch, the Metropolitans and, dare I say, the whole synod, that which is disputed should be corrected, as is the custom of the Holy Church." Ephraim said: "Each is permitted to declare his faith. Rank and other considerations are not important. But each is permitted to say of his faith what he wants. Our faith was not disovered by wise men or sophists, but by tailors, fishermen and others. Tell us in what way your thinking is different from ours. If a person believes the wrong thing, then he should not be allowed to persevere in it and become like Jews and Samaritans. Everyone knows that their belief is heterodox: they blush before other Jews and prefer to die in their heterodox faith.115 We should be converted from the wicked to the good." John said: "You have spoken well. The words are good. And I will not now say anything to you because there are no trustworthy mediators to investigate the matter and absolve the innocent and condemn the guilty. There is no mediator who can judge impartially." Ephraim said: "Whatever you decide, I will say nothing. The laity is present. Say what you want to them." Then Rufinus the sdvocate approached, seized116 the saint's beard with great savagery (81) and. with staring eyes, mouth twisted while speaking (this is how he used to talk) and high-pitched rasping voice, said: "The faithful Church says: 'One of the Trinity, the Word of God, took on a body and became human. It confesses and proclaims Mary the Mother of God 117 . . . his miracles and passions. Tell the whole city in what respect you impugn the Church." John said: "Do not bother me with your noise or expect that you will frighten me. Let us take a moment to talk. 118 I, now and for the rest of my life, will proclaim one nature and hypostasis119 of the Word of God who became human, like Cyril, who fought against those who maintained two natures after the union." Rufinus said: "Is the Word of God who assumed a human body one nature ? Surely you do not mean that the Word of God and the body share one nature ?" John said: "No." Rufinus said: "So the nature of the Word is one thing and the nature of the body another." John said; "You started honestly but finished badly. I am not saying anything new, as you have said. And I have not tried to 114‫ܣܟܘܠܣܛܝܩܐ‬ 115 I do not understand this. 116‫ܚܡܠ‬ 117 Something appears to have been omitted, according to the editor. 118 It sounds as if John is trying to calm Rufinus down. 119‫ܩܢܘܡܐ‬ 21 respond to you at length or briefly. Talking to you is like striking the air. 120 As I said earlier, I repeat what our holy fathers have said, that there is one nature and hypostasis of the Word of God, (82) who assumed a human body without confusion and without change, and after the union there were not two natures. I recognize one Christ of two natures. Those who maintain two natures after the union contradict the fathers." Rufinus said: "Are these two natures independent of each other or confused with each other ?" John said: "Please do not ask these questions. Listen to what Cyril said in his sermon Christ is One: 'Who is so mentally unbalanced or uneducated as to think that the nature of the Word has been transformed into what it is not or that the flesh of transformation has merely been converted into the nature of the Word ? This is not possible. For we say that there is one Son and his nature is one, even in the assumption of flesh it is understood to have been endowed with an intellectual soul.' 121 Open your ears and hear what is in his letter to Acacius: 'For this reason, since we accept those things from which the only Son and Lord Jesus Christ has come about by reason, we say that the two natures are united. After the union, the division into two ceased to exist, and we believe that the nature of the Son is one as of incarnate human being.'122 Rufinus said: "Does what you see according to your reason exist or not ? Or is one absorbed by the other ?" John said: (83) "Once again Cyril says that when the mode of incarnation is investigated, the human mind always sees two beings united with each other ineffably and inexplicably." Rufinus interrupted John here and did not allow him to complete the quotation, saying: 123 "So, you have just said that the human mind sees two persons." And with both hands raised to heaven, he cried aloud, standing between John and Ephraim: "Christ is victorious ! The Church is victorious ! Such is his shame before the people that he confesses correctly !" There was then a lot of clamour, and John was not allowed to say any more, for they knew what he was about to say. Ephraim then went out to the people and left Rufinus with John and the others disputing. When he was outside, he said: "Look, you have seen how I received him with honour and asked him what he believed, and he professes what we profess. He has spoken of the two natures of Christ. His shame has made him tell us this." And all who were hired for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread, 124 whose only hope was what they saw of the flesh, of whom God is their stomach and glory their shame, who, as it is written, do not serve Jesus but their stomach, whose mind is rooted in the earth, who, when they did not see that the judgement made was unjust125 (84) that in fact it was a perverse126 judgement, unjust violence having been praised, cried out in unison: 120 1 Cor. 9, 26 121 Patrologia Graeca 75, 289 122 PG 77, 192 123 Seems to suggest that Elias was present at the interrogation. 124 Ezek. 13, 19 followed by several references to Philippians and Romans 125 ‫ܥܘܠ‬ 126 ‫ܡܥܩܡ‬ 22 "Long life to the true doctor Ephraim ! Long life to the herald of truth ! He who disagrees with you is a heretic !" They were just some of the empty voices shouting. The action 127 was one in which they maliciously affirmed that John had attributed two natures to Christ. As the day was drawing to a close, Rufinus and his colleagues disputed with the saint, who had been incarcerated in extreme cold in the baptistery. They followed each other attacking him, for he was exhausted. It was a fast, and because of the toil of the fasting and the cold he could barely speak. He was then taken to and locked in a place inside the house, where he was kept under guard. On the following day Rufinus came and started to dispute with him, his knees beside those of the saint.128 His speech was in the form of shouting, his mouth and head contorted like a those of a madman with each syllable he uttered, He called John a Manichean. The saint said: "You are doing all the talking and you do not allow me to speak. You did this yesterday before your patriarch when you interrupted my sentence, at the end of which you were not a little vexed. Lawyers are not known for this. It is not an attractive feature of your wisdom. Is this how you want to convert the world ? As Mundhir (85) violently converted the Arabs ?"129 Rufinus said: "Acephalous one, who is your head ? Whom do you follow ?" John said: "Our proper head is Christ. After Christ the patriarchs Severus, Theodosius and Anthimus,130 with all the other orthodox bishops who suffer persecution for the sake of truth." Rufinus jumped up angrily and poured out a torrent of noisy abuse againt John and those whose names he had mentioned, like someone possessed by an evil spirit who does not know what he is saying, unaware that he is mocking the martyrs even when he praises them. And with all this the demonic anger left him. Others formed groups that came to the saint, and Basiliscus the notary of Ephraim in particular openly made fun of John. When they realized that their atrocious behaviour did not achieve what they had hoped, they changed it into one of flattery. They sent a messenger and brought John to Ephraim and those assembled with him in the evening and spoke to him gently for a long time that he might obey them and enter his place. 131 When they saw he was not going to obey them in this way either, they became even more disturbed than they had been before. And Bar Kîlî132 (86) of Amida took him to a certain house and once again employed the tactic of flattery. When he saw that he was not going to deceive him into obedience, he exclaimed to the saint: "Promise me that you will not flee that we may conduct an action. Swear to me that you will not flee. You are dishonest, and no-one believes you." John said: "The judge is wise. We have sworn statements 133 and a legal action at the same time. If you believe the sworn statements, why do you need the action ? I promise that I will not flee. I would not flee 127 ‫ ܦܪܟܣܝܣ‬Some sort of interrogation, which is mentioned more than once in what follows. 128 Presumably indicates a hostile proximity. 129 Mundhir ('warner') is not an uncommon name, but, in chronological terms, the most likely candidate seems to Mundhir III (503-554), the Lakhmid 'client' king of the Persian Empire. I do not know what 'conversion' might mean here. 130 Severus of Antioch (512.538); Theodosius of Alexandria (535-566); Anthimus of Constantinople (535-536). 131 Does this mean that John will have a 'place' if he submits to them ? 132 Zachariah (pp. 167 and 296) mentions a certain Abraham bar Kili of Amida. 133 ‫ܡܘܡܬܐ‬ 23 even if the emperor were to order me. Whatever you are competent to do, do it." After this, and more, they sent him to Antioch, with many Romans appointed to escort him. The journey from Nisibis to Antioch took thirty days,134 cautiously moving from town to town, that they might show to the world John who had been doing these things for many years and that the hands might be relaxed 135 of those who believed in him after God that matters that had become corrupt and confused with the descent of Ephraim to the East would be corrected. When they reached Harran, before making their ascent to Antioch, Cometas, who escorted him in Harran, placed John in a bedchamber for safekeeping in the house of a man said to be a pagan. Cometas inflicted heavy punishment on the faithful whom he had arrested from Harran, doing the same to their companions in all the towns and villages through which he went. Those he met on his way, the poor, the rich, women, he found an excuse to treat them most shamefully. (87) Cometas hoped that he would be rewarded for inflicting this punishment, and with this hope and promise he threw himself into this wickedness. One day in Harran he tied the hands of an orthodox 136 deacon arrested with others behind his back and left him suspended for a long time from the roof beams of a house. The deacon cried out in torment: "Christ Son of God, help me." The insolent Cometas merely uttered blasphemies, which we may not write lest the listeners become unnerved in their heart. He forced him to receive the Eucharist and to give so many darics. 137 He was an avaricious overweening blasphemer. These few things I have narrated about this man that you may see to what sort of savage and dangerous beast John was handed over, the sort that calls itself a shepherd of the Church. What flattery and words of religious admonition for the salvation of his soul did the wretch hear from the captive whom he was escorting ! And not one them able to mollify his hard heart ! When they got as far as Giglyqe near Antioch, they found gathered in the monastery called Comes Manasse138 the chorbishop of Antioch, church lawyers, notaries and many others with the monks of the monastery itself and the surrounding monasteries in all their wildness. When the hired labourer,139 tired and worn-out, entered and stood among the Romans escorting him, they received him according to their preparation. 140 It is sufficient for the listener to know what a commotion there was at that time. There were some who cursed (88) him, derided him, nodded their head, moved their foot, clapped their hands. There was general confusion and an unpleasant rabble. It was an evening of drunkenness. After their verbal onslaught they said to him: "We have been instructed by the patriarch to keep you in custody in this monastery. We have decided who will guard you and who will be with you. Give their names to the legal officer and tell him that you will flee that we may conduct a legal action." The accused said: "I was asked today to conduct a legal action. If I 134Approx. 450km 135I take this to mean that no violence would be offered by John's supporters. 136‫ܐܘܪܬܘܕܘܟܣܐ‬ 137 Persian gold coin. 138 I can find no other reference to Giglyqe or this monastery. Not mentioned by John of Ephesus. 139 %%%%%%%‫ܠ‬ ‫ ܦܥ‬John ? 140‫ܛܘܝܒ‬ 24 am being detained, why the action ?" They remonstrated with him: "You will conduct the action and be detained so that you do not flee." He said: "I have said it more than once, and I will say it again: If the emperor were to order me to flee, I would not. Because I am not guilty of any offence and have done nobody any harm." After this there was general uproar, and he said to them: "Do you what you have been told to do. And do not add to your threats like your colleagues. Whatever you are able to do, take it up and do it." He was then locked up in a narrow cell with bars, inside a bedchamber, together with four of his companions. Seven guards were assigned to him, pallbearers, monks and nocturnal constable. 141 One of the latter was called Barabbas. Because of the crimes that made him suitable for the position, he was made nocturnal constable of the shrine of Julian the martyr. He dragged men and women off, tortured them and threw them into prison because they rejected the Diophysite heresy. (89) For this reason he dared to enter the houses of the faithful, and, as many have said, even his colleagues guarding John, participated in slaughtering them as well as in many other crimes. Lo and behold ! His deeds recommended him and he was made a cleric. And because he was so clever he was appointed to guard the saint, on whom he inflicted malicious deeds, too many to be described. He was habitually aroused by much lascivious laughter and the company of jesters and harlots. He was fond of boxing matches and the stories of dancers and perpetual delirium. Modesty forbids me to say any more about his wicked and immoral behaviour. After the weeping and sighing, his ceaseless laughter could be heard by all. 142 Spending the night in that small narrow cell with the saint and his companions were Barabbas and one of his colleagues inside the door post. Others outside blocked the passage of those inside, and they slept next to the door post. So when the saint went out to urinate, those outside opened the cell door and he went out and then returned to his place. None of those with him dared to speak to the saint, except furtively and paying attention to the time. The cell door was opened in the daytime, and whenever he wanted, he went into the bedchamber outside, the doors and windows of which were secured. At night he was confined to his place. One of those with the saint (90), who accompanied him everywhere and obeyed him in many things for the sake of Our Lord, was removed from him on the orders of Ephraim and locked up in a place about two miles away because he had thought that John would not agree to this; and two of the men who had remained with him for reasons of conscience left him and withdrew. And for this reason those guarding him were more vigilant. Many were sent to John and there were intense discussions. John was asked to write down a statement of his belief in such a way that they might find words to use against him and to speak against him. John was not afraid to do this and sent it to them. Two days before the dedication of the church at Antioch, which Ephraim had re-built after the second destruction143 that overtook it, which was attended by countless dignitaries, the 141 Nocturnal constable may be a somewhat fanciful term but probably not entirely inapposite. 142 I take this to mean that the suffering of others was a source of enjoyment to him. 143 ‫ ܗܦܘܟܝܐ‬earthquake of 528 AD. The first earthquake was in 526. All those attending the dedication are subsumed under 'countless dignitaries'. 25 archimandrite of the Comes Manasse monastery in which the saint was confined went into see Ephraim, a co-religionist, and said to him: "John, who is confined in my monastery, is asking to come to you and express his agreement144 with you." This news spread throughout the city. Ephraim quickly rose and went to him, accompanied by bishops and others. He sent a messenger, and John came down courageously to the monastery courtyard. Ephraim said (91): "I have heard that you wanted to come and see me. And, I thought, though it is not proper procedure, 145 that instead of your coming to me I would go to you. Whar have you done ? What is your plan ? Do you agree with the holy Church? I do not wish you to continue in your opinion." John replied: "When did I ask to come to you ? You may not say all the things you think.146 Indeed, I do not seek this, nor is it my plan to see you or enter the gates of this city. Please leave me. I am not a child to be flattered." John grasped the tip of his beard and said: "God forbid that my white hairs bring shame on the Church. This is like the accusation you made against me at Resaina when you said and wrote that I had spoken of two natures. To be honest, if my patriarch Severus had come and ordered me to ascribe two natures after the union, I would have laid both hands on his head and anathematized him. Why did you interrupt me at Resaina 147 and not allow me to finish ? You demanded a defence of the truth and said: 'It is not possible for you to deny two natures even after the union.' And I began to recite the words of Cyril: 'When the mode of incarnation is investigated, the human mind always sees two united with each other ineffably and inexplicably.' At that point you started to shout and you said that I had said two natures. I hesitate to add other things that you precluded with your shouting, such as: 'When the two are united, no-one can separate (92) them, but everyone believes and firmly accepts that he has become one from two and is God, Son, Christ and Lord.' Surely you do not think that I said two natures after the union or that I have changed from that which I am ? And now, while I am alive and if possible after death, I would anathematize anyone who believes differently from what was said by the holy fathers who have taught and enlightened us." Ephraim, looking at the archimandrite, said: "Do not be upset, lord archimandrite. He is used to lying." He got up and left. The contumelious mockers remained with John, attacking him with their insults, but John merely replied: "We too have a mouth and can shout insults if we want. God forbid that we should break Christ's commandment and employ insults and curses. We have not been taught to do this." One of them replied: "We know that you have a mouth. It eats camels and wild donkeys." This was just one of many insults. He left them standing like a pillar. and went up to his place. After the dedication they went back home. Ephraim went up to Constantinople. When he arrived, he ordered the one who had been separated from John and detained elsewhere to be sent to John. Two months before he died John announced openly that his death was 144 ‫ܫܠܡ‬ 145 ‫ܠ ܐܩܪܝܒܘܗ‬ 146 Ephraim has not heard the exact words of John, but merely the archimandrite's account, and it seems that something may have been 'lost in translation' and John is rejecting Ephraim's understanding of what he said. 147 On p. 83 it seems to be Rufinus that interrupts John. 26 imminent and told everyone of the vision he had seen, to which he swore everyone to secrecy. He gave himself intensively to much prayer and weeping day and night, of which he could not get enough and from which he did not cease. In truth, he declared what he had seen at dawn, and in the evening of the same day (93) a saint went up to him, of excellent virtuous conduct and doer of stupendous works. We saw with our own eyes one of his miracles. His name was Heliodorus, 148 the archimandrite of one of the monasteries around Antioch. He took had been confined to the monastery of Comes Manasse for professing the same belief. Three days before he died this elder made a supplication 149 and went up to where John was being confined and John made him swear, saying: "By the prayers of our father Severus, shepherd and patriarch, let nobody apply aromatic substances to my corpse but you. For I will soon be dead. Do not be sad but take comfort. You will soon follow me." Three days later John died. As many have taught us, from the time when he received the tonsure and, during the little time we spent with him and saw with our own eyes, he was engaged in assiduous toil. He made for himself a loincloth150 of skin from the waist to the ground. He did not wear his tunic151 when he was wearing the loincloth and he would stand in the sun all day, devoted to his prayers and his ministry. His skin burned like fire with the heat of the sun. One day, when we were looking down on him, some people brought to him a young man possessed by an evil spirit and bound with linen ropes. They pushed him forward while the saint was standing in the sun. John prayed over the boy and anointed him. Within three days the spirit had left him, and he received holy orders and became venerable. (94) Many praised God, who heard the voices of those worshipping and did the will of those who feared him. This saint152 died thirty days before our spiritual father died. In the first indiction 153 of the year of Alexander 849,154 day 6 of Shebat, in the middle of the Sabbath this spiritual father left the world, whose death was always before his eyes and who contemplated the hour of his death without oblivion. 155 He was taken out of his confinement cell and laid in the outer bedchamber. The brothers of the monastery had been instructed by him, and he was honoured in their eyes because they had seen his patience, gravity and upright behaviour. Their archimandrite was not present when the saint died, so everyone went up diligently and they placed the body that had been taken down on a bed in a shrine. They announced this to the sons of the church and sent to the legal representative of the church to come and see what God had done to the saint. And what the envoy, Parthenius, said over the corpse, may God forgive him. Daylight failed and it became dark. The leading figures in the church ordered and guards carefully decided that nobody should see him die lest there be a commotion and the city be thrown into turmoil. The saint was buried in early hours of Sunday. The total 148 I cannot identify this person. 149 ‫ܦܝܣ‬ 150 ‫ܦܪܙܘܡܐ‬ 151 ‫ܟܘܬܝܢ‬ 152 Does this mean the man possessed by the evil spirit ? 153 The Syriac uses the Greek word, which it writes as if the initial vowel had a rough breathing. 154 Also known as Anno Graecorum, a calendar that began in 312 BC with the re-conquest of Babylon by Seleucus Nicator. 155 Presumably, 'in full possession of his faculties'. 27 period of his confinement was one year and six days. He was fifty-five when he died. Before he died, espcially at the hour of his death (95), he spent time praying for the peace of the church and those who had so furiously tormented him. His work was complete and his ship had sailed into port because he had fought a good fight and completed his course and preserved his faith. He had added to his talent 156 and received the crown of victory because he had sustained the burden and heat of the day. Among the wealth of blessings are these, which the Lord says to saints of this sort: Blessed are the hungry for they will have their fill, Blessed are you who weep for you will laugh and Blessed are you when you are scorned and persecuted and your name is rejected as wicked for the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and exult, for your great prize is in heaven. 157This is the place promised to them by Christ in his sermon: Where I am there too will be my servant.158 To whom glory forever and ever. The end of the life of the holy and most blessed John Bishop of Tella 156 Allusion to Matth. 25, 14, as earlier cf. note 53. 157 Lk. 6, 21ff. and Matth. 5,11 158 John 12, 28 28