Born Gay? No Way!

God has created you to be heterosexual. Deep inside, He has planted a seed that is meant to be nurtured and fed by a healthy family and cultural environment so that at the right moment in your emotional development heterosexuality will blossom and become a natural part of your self-identity and self-expression.

Unfortunately for some, damage is done to that dormant seed and it fails to germinate. It never gets watered and fed with the elements necessary for a healthy emotional development. For others, the seed or emerging seedling is damaged by abuse. What arises in its place during preadolescence is a false identity - an identity that has emerged to fill the void caused by the failure of the healthy seed to germinate.

The person sets out on their own search for identity, trying to force the completion of their emotional self through willful acts - both social and sexual. The void of sexual self-identity that causes them to fix on their own gender for the hope of their completion is exacerbated when God fails to heal them with the touch of His magic wand (a typical preadolescent expectation). Envy and idolatry erupt from the heart and the child forsakes God and sets out on a trail of tears, (borne on a river of self-pity), to heal him or herself.

If the child has invested a great deal of hope that God will heal them, His seeming indifference is perceived as a lack of love and the child may set out on a course designed to pay God back. The child makes a dramatic, self-destructive plunge into behavior he or she knows God would consider "wicked" in order to cause God to suffer for failing to rescue them (according to their immature picture and timetable of how that must occur). This volatile cocktail of uninitiated cause and willful "sins of response" explodes into anger, rebellion and self-justification.

The "creation account" in Genesis 1 & 2 reveals three intentions that are clearly built into the very design of human beings:

1. There was intention and purpose in creating them male and female because God thinks and acts out of a place of pure wisdom and purpose. In fact, due to His omniscience, He is incapable of doing anything that lacks meaning and purpose. One thing God can never say is, "Oops!"

2. The call to be fruitful and multiply requires heterosexual monogamy; heterosexual, to make babies; monogamy, to avoid the natural consequences to promiscuity and homosexual behavior found in the natural order.

3. The command to reunite what had been separated - for male and female to "become one flesh" again can only be realized in monogamous, heterosexual unions.

4. Scripture condemns every departure from this model, for what it does to society, for what it does to our bodies and for what it does to the image of God in us.

Even if homosexuality was discovered to have a physiological component, the point is moot for several other reasons:

1. Even though alcoholism is believed to have a genetic link, (although the early studies on that have been found to be inconclusive), God still calls us to live sober lives. He clearly labels drunkenness a sin worthy of eternal damnation (Gal 5:19-21). His power is available to us in the areas where we fall short, whether the problem is physiological, emotional or psychological and so the, "I couldn't help it" defense can never be used for sin of any kind.

2. Everyone is born with an inherited propensity to sin. The formative code of the entire human race has this same inbred mutation. We sin as a natural course of being. Yet God expects us to take advantage of His provision to overcome that predilection so as to live holy lives instead of sinful. This is as true of the homosexual inclination as it is of the basic inclination to sin.

3. Even if one cannot accept the first two propositions, it could still be properly argued that genetics and hormones could never force (without recourse) a behavior that God condemns man for acting out. If they could, God would be unjust for condemning mankind for a behavior that could not be helped. If God created some people to be homosexual, He could not judge their behavior to be sinful, which He clearly does throughout Scripture.

"Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable." (Lev 18:22)

"God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion." (Rom. 1:26-27)

"Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Cor. 6:9-11)

A lot has been made in the press and by gay activist groups that science has proven a genetic or physiological cause for homosexuality. The publicity campaign has been so effective that the average person on the street assumes this is true. However, the fact is that it is not true - that there is no scientific evidence whatsoever that homosexuality is caused by such factors. Many scientists have even pointed out that the idea that homosexuality can be caused by such a thing as genetics is a ludicrous proposition to begin with - that it shows a fundamental ignorance as to the part that genetics plays in behavior.

A number of years ago, "fetal brain androgen" studies were said to indicate a physiological component to some sexual identity confusion. However, the studies were few and highly speculative, creating a great deal of unscientific, biased speculation by pro-gay propagandists.

In an article, "Born or Bred?", the February 24, 1992 issue of Newsweek magazine reported more recent studies using the size of the hypothalamus gland as "proof" that homosexuals were born that way. Another study of identical twins supposedly "proved" the same thesis according to pro-gay groups. Fortunately, the Newsweek article fairly reported the insurmountable evidence against these "political" conclusions. Here are some reasons why:

Regarding the genetically identical twin experiment? a study that was reported to have proven genetic causation for homosexuality. In this study, the researchers found that some genetically identical twins were either both gay or both straight. The theory was that this proved a genetic link to sexual identity.

The problem with this theory is that many of the "genetically identical" twins had one who was gay and one who was straight. If genetics were the cause, this outcome would never occur. Newsweek reports, "How could two individuals with identical genetic traits and upbringing wind up with totally different sexual orientation (if sexual orientation is genetically determined)?" Even the researchers admitted, "There must be something in the environment to yield the discordant twins." And so what they actually proved was that genetics could not be the causal factor for homosexual orientation. Newsweek reported: "Instead of proving the genetic argument, it only confirms the obvious: that twins are apt to have the same sort of shaping influences. 'In order for such a study to be at all meaningful, you'd have to look at twins raised apart,' says Anne Fausto Sterling, a developmental biologist at Brown University. 'It's such badly interpreted genetics.'"

Newsweek quoted the response of the dean of American sexologists, John Money (of Johns Hopkins University) to the "discovery" that there are brain differences involved in sexual orientation as: "Of course it is in the brain. The real question is, when did it get there? Was it prenatal, neonatal, during childhood, puberty?"

"Many scientists (says Newsweek) say it's naive to think a single gene could account for so complex a behavior as homosexuality."

Then we had the famous study on the hypothalamus gland. The theory here was that a part of this gland was smaller in size in homosexuals, thus proving a physiological cause to homosexuality. First, you have not addressed the very real question of whether or not it was the homosexual beliefs and behavior that caused the change in the gland. Secondly, there were heterosexuals in the study found with the smaller area in the gland and there were homosexuals in the study with a normal sized gland. Thus the study actually showed that this area of the hypothalamus gland was not a causal factor in homosexual orientation rather than the reverse. And thirdly, another huge procedural problem with the study is that the researcher used AIDS infected cadavers in his research. He used the bodies of men who had died from a disease that ravishes the brain, to study a part of the brain! Newsweek points out, "One of the major criticisms of the study was that AIDS could have affected the brain structure of the homosexual subjects." Newsweek quoted the researcher in the study as admitting, "We can't say on the basis of that (the size difference of the gland in some homosexuals) what makes people gay or straight."

Newsweek goes on to say, "The trickier question is whether things might work the other way around: could sexual orientation affect brain structure? Kenneth Klivington, an assistant to the president of the Salk Institute, points to a body of evidence showing that the brain's neural networks reconfigure themselves in response to certain experiences. One fascinating NIH study found that in people reading Braille after becoming blind, the area of the brain controlling the reading finger grew larger. There are also intriguing conundrums in animal brains. In male songbirds, for example, the brain area associated with mating is not only larger than in the female but varies according to the season.

Says Klivington: 'From the study of animals, we know that circulating sex hormones in the mother can have a profound effect on the organization of the brain of the fetus. Once the individual is born, the story gets more complex because of the interplay between the brain and experience. It's a feedback loop: the brain influences behavior, behavior shapes experience, experience effects the organization of the brain, and so forth.'"

Newsweek quotes the researcher of the hypothalamus study as admitting he knew "regrettably little" about the sex histories, or the presumed orientation of his subjects. "That's a distinct shortcoming of my study," he said. In the article, he also confesses to going into the experiment with the intention to prove that homosexuality is genetically caused. Any research scientist will tell you that going into a study with a pre-intended outcome is the number one cause of inaccurate research.

Newsweek also reveals, "Even within the enlightened ranks of the American Psychoanalytic Association there is still some reluctance to let homosexual analysts practice. As arrested cases themselves, the argument goes, they are ill-equipped to deal with developmental problems. The belief that homosexuality can and should be cured persists in some quarters of the profession."

New York City analyst Charles Socarides says, according to Newsweek, that the only biological evidence is "that we're anatomically made to go in male-female pairs." "Some psychiatrists still see the removal of homosexuality from the official list of emotional disorders as a mistake. It was instead innocuously identified as 'sexual orientation disturbance.'"

E.L. Pattullo, former director of Harvard's Center for Behavioral Sciences, recently pointed out in Commentary magazine that the scientific evidence does not support the claim that sexual orientation is biologically fated and thus entirely impervious to environmental influence." (from Chas Krauthammer commentary in the Honolulu Advertiser (April 1993)?columnist for the New Republic and Time)

Finally, we have the 1993 Hamer et al. "Genetic Link" study, touted by the press as "proof" that homosexuality is genetically caused. It did not prove any such thing. This was an investigation of 40 pairs of homosexual brothers, whose X chromosomes were studied to see if they shared inherited genetic peculiarities that could be attributed to sexual orientation.

In their research article in the July 16, 1993 issue of Science magazine, the researchers admitted that seven of the 40 pairs of homosexual brothers did not co-inherit the variation in the genetic region that supposedly was the locus for the "homosexual gene" found in the other pairs, and that these discordant pairs might be the result of "non-genetic sources of variation in sexual orientation." Neither did they have any control data indicating the presence or absence of the genetic variant in non-homosexual men. At the end of their report, the researchers admitted: ". . . a single genetic locus does not account for all of the observed variability," and that the sibling pairs that did not fit their conclusions might exist because there could be "environmental, experiential and cultural factors that influence the development of male sexual orientation." Hardly "proof" of a genetic cause for homosexuality.

In an accompanying article in the same issue of Science, Robert Pool commented: "The field of behavioral genetics is littered with apparent discoveries that were later called into question or retracted. Over the past few years, several groups of researchers have reported locating genes for various mental illnesses?manic depression, schizophrenia, alcoholism?only to see their evidence evaporate after they assembled more evidence or re-analyzed the original data. 'There's almost no finding that would be convincing by itself in this field,' notes Elliot Gershon, chief of the clinical neurogenetics branch of the National Institute of Mental Health."

Pool goes on to note: "(Researcher) Hamer warns, however, that this one site cannot explain all male homosexuality."

In a letter to the editor in the September 3, 1993 issue of Science magazine, Evan Balaban of Harvard University and Anne Fausto-Sterling of Brown University criticize the weaknesses of the Hamer et al. study, noting the lack of an adequate control group and a logical misassumption of the study: "We wish to emphasize that?correlation does not necessarily indicate causation. A gene affecting sexual orientation in some segment of the male population might do so very indirectly. For instance, any gene that might increase the tendency of brothers to psychologically identify with one another might influence their similarity in such matters as sexual orientation and would be picked up in the present study." In other words, the data collected by the study doesn't even begin to prove the hypothesis that it purports to prove.

Finally, the researchers themselves admit, in a letter of response: "We agree that genetic studies can never, in and of themselves, determine the mechanism by which a locus influences a trait." You certainly didn't hear them saying that before being publicly challenged with the erroneous conclusions that had been publicized about the study.

Richard Dawkins, a geneticist at Oxford University says that homosexuality is not genetic?that genes do not affect behavior.

God creates us with a time-release seed of heterosexual identity. For some, this sexual identity is set askew from its divinely intended mark. Somewhere along the line, the emotional growth stopped and these folks underwent the sexualization of unmet emotional needs, blocking the healthy emergence of their true heterosexuality.

Let's lovingly help them. Let's extend God's grace-filled hand of love to them and show them the way to the Father. He will heal their inner wounds. He will fill in the empty places. He will feed and germinate that dormant seed, and over time, their true heterosexual identity will emerge (provided they are also putting to death the false homosexual identity as the Holy Spirit leads and empowers them).

Are you one of those whose emotional growth and sexual identity has been damaged or has remained unformed? Join the human race! We all have such areas of immaturity, incompletion and corruption. Let's all sit before the Father and receive His plan and His power for our transformation. Let's humble ourselves and do it God's way. Let's make the sacrifices that maturity requires. Let's devote ourselves to the One who died on a Cross for us and decide today that whatever it takes, however long, we will love and serve our Father in heaven before all others - even ourself. +++

Peter the Iberian

With the life and career of Peter the Iberian (c. 409-488), we emerge from the local traditions of the Georgian Church into the wider arena of Byzantine religious and political affairs. During the events surrounding the Council of Chalcedon,, held in the year 451, Peter stood out as champion of the Monophysite or anti-Chalcedonian cause, denying the doctrine of the dual nature of Christ as formulated at that Council. While the orthodox Patriarch Sophronius of Jerusalem indignantly refers to Peter as that putrefaction from Georgia, with his barbarous mind, the Syrian, Coptic and Armenian Churches, which also refused to accept the dogma of Chalcedon, regard Peter as an eminent saint and ascetic. Peter's native Georgian Church has tried to gloss over his doctrinal deviations. 

Born the son of a Christian king of Georgia, Peter renounced his royal lineage for an ascetic life in the Holy Land. His biography provides valuable material for the history of the Christian Orient during the 5th century, since Peter was personally acquainted with many prominent personalities of the time, including the Emperor Theodosius II and his consort Eudocia, St. Melania the Younger, and the famous Patriarchs Nestorius, Juvenal, Proterius of Alexandria and Timothy the Cat, and has handed down vivid reminiscences of them. Furthermore, the late Professor Ernest Honigmann sought to identify Peter the Iberian as author of the important mystical writings purporting to have been composed by the Apostle Paul's contemporary', Dionysius the Areopagite. This theory has aroused considerable discussion in recent years, hut tins not found general acceptance.

Peter's life has come clown to us in two versions. First there is the biography originally written in Greek by Peter's disciple John Rufus soon after the saint's death. Of this, we now have only the Syriac translation, in a manuscript dating from the 8th century. Another biography, preserved in a Georgian version, apparently derives at third-hand from the lost Greek life of Peter by Zacharias Rhetor, bishop of Mitylene, and in its present form is not older than the 13th century. This Georgian text has been much distorted by its pious redactors, who wanted to present the heretic Peter as an impeccably Orthodox saint. For this reason, we have preferred to draw on John Rufus’ version, adding a few episodes from a collection of Peter's reminiscences known as the Plerophoriae, also preserved in Syriac. It should be noted that such terms as 'orthodox' and 'God-fearing' are used in Peter's biography in the sense of Monophysite and anti-Chalcedonian, while the partisans of Chalcedonian Orthodoxy are termed 'renegades' and 'apostates.'
 

Biography of the holy Peter the Iberian,
the venerable bishop, ascetic and confessor of our Lord.

The blessed Peter's fatherland was the renowned country of the Iberians, those northern people who dwell towards the rising of the sun - a land perpetually at war with the Romans and the Persians, because each of these nations was attempting to annex it for strategic reasons. In the language of their count, he first bore the name Nabarnugios, but when he was made worthy to bear a monk's holy garb he was given instead the name of Peter, after that of the first of the Apostles.

Now the father of the blessed Peter was Bosmarios,. king of the Iberians, and his father’s father was also called Bosmarios. His mother was Bakurdukhtia, and his grandfather on his mother's side was the great Bacurius. On his father’s side, his grandmother was Osdukhtia, whose brother Pharasmanios enjoyed great favour with Arcadius, Emperor of the Romans, and occupied the rank of general in the army and a position of supreme distinction. Later, however, the intrigues of Eudoxia, wife of Arcadius, forced him to seek refuge in flight. Returning swiftly to his homeland, he reigned over the Iberians and called in the White Huns [A.D. 395] who were neighbors of the Iberians, as a result of which the peoples subject to the Romans suffered great disasters.
The brother of the great Bacurius was the saintly Archilios, who reined jointly with Bacurius and Bosmarios according to the custom of the Iberian royal house. He attained a great age, and ended his life in chastity and all piety.

The blessed Peter had no blood-brother. He had a half-sister on his father's side, born of a concubine, and her name was Bomisparia. In accordance with his father's wishes, however, he treated her as a full sister. A holy and renowned woman called Tsutso brought Peter up as a child, and he remained hidden in her home to avoid being handed over as a hostage to the Persians, who sent many envoys to gain possession of his person.

After he had thus been conceived, born and brought up under the protection of God's grace, he was dispatched [A.D. 421] at the age of twelve as a hostage to the God-fearing and Christian king of the Romans, Theodosius the Younger, since his father Bosmarios valued the friendship of the Romans as Christians more highly than that of the godless Persians. He was sent off with great ceremony and pomp, and when he came to the blessed Theodosius he was welcomed affectionately and brought up and loved like a son.

Observing the reverence and love which the Emperor Theodosius and the Empress Eudocia bore towards Christ, as also did the men and women who served them, and notably the eunuchs who are called chamberlains, he was inflamed with zeal. And there was a certain deacon, a native of Antioch, and one of the outstanding members of the clergy, whose name was Basil. It was he who set Father Peter on the road to salvation when he was a child at the imperial city, and lit in him the flame of monastic life.

When still living at home with his parents, he had already imbibed the love of God, so that it was like a spark within him. Now therefore he fanned this spark carefully from day to day by feats of pious austerity, until he had made himself into a complete flame of heavenly goodness. Next to his body he wore a hair tunic, on top of which, to hide his virtuous conduct, he wore a brilliant and resplendent robe. His food was that which Daniel and his friends used to eat, and this he took in moderation only once in three or four days, or sometimes only once a week. To subdue the disorderly pleasures of the flesh he resorted to self-chastisement, and the earth served the young and tender prince as a bed.

He had with him the relics of holy martyrs, Persian by nationality, who had died a martyr's death in those days. (Their names air known to us even today from tradition handed clown by the blessed Peter, so that we still celebrate their anniversaries and react their acts.) These he had laid with all honour in a coffer in the same room where he performed his pious devotions. There he would sleet before them on the ground and perform sacred rites with candles and incense, hymns and prayers.

Now once when the festival of the Holy Epiphany had arrived, at which time custom demanded that every senator pay a visit to the emperor and to one another, he shut himself tip in the martyrs' room and sent to his chamberlain for oil to be brought to light the lamps. But the latter was indignant because Peter took no delight in the things of this world and said, 'Woe to the great hopes placed in him by his country', now that he who was sent to the Romans for the sake of honour and royal splendour wants to become a monk and bring misery on all of us his companions ." And he refused to send any oil. But when the holy youth and sage perceived the activity of the Evil One, he filled all the lamps with water alone, and no oil, and lit them. And they stayed alight continuously night and day for the seven days of the holy festival. When the emperor and all his family and the members of the Senate heard of this, they were amazed, so that many of them conceived the desire to mutate his conduct and ascetic way of life.

Our father and bishop, the venerable Abba Peter the Iberian, used to tell us that he was in Constantinople when Nestorius was still alive and exercising the episcopate. 'When Ncstorius was ending the commemoration of the Forty Holy Martyrs in the church which is called Maria, he rose in my presence to expound the scriptures before all the people. He had a clear and feminine voice. In front of me, he began to blaspheme and say in the middle of his sermon: Thou shalt not be glorified, O Mary, as if thou hadst given birth to God; but O excellent one, thou hast given birth not to God, but to a man, the instrument of God. - As soon as he had said this, he was possessed in the pulpit by a demon, so that his face and right hand were twisted askew. As he was all bent up and on the point of falling, the attendants and deacons seized him quickly and carried him into the sacristy. Front then on, most of the townsfolk cut themselves off from communion with him, especially the people of the palace, and in particular I myself, although he was very fond of me.'

'While I was still a child,' he used to tell its, 'and residing at the palace in Constantinople, holding vigil and living an ascetic life, I used to reason in my mind on the mystery of the Holy Trinity how it is that when we confess one single God, we believe at the same time in a Trinity of the same essence, eternal, without beginning; and also whether He who was incarnate for us is one of the Trinity”. Then be told us that he had a vision in which tire Apostle Peter led him to a high place and showed him in the heavens a great light, inaccessible and incomprehensible, in the shape of a wheel, like the sun, and said to him That is the Father. Then he showed hint a second light which followed the first and resembled it completely, in the middle of which was our Lord, represented with the features of the Nazarene and he added : That is the Son. Finally he showed him a third light similar in every way to the preceding ones, and St. Peter said to him That is the Holy Spirit - one essence, one nature, one glory. one power, one light, one Godhead in three hypostases; but while all three are inaccessible, only that in the centre was represented with the figure of the Nazarene, to show that He who was crucified is one of the Holy Trinity and not another - far from it! But the two others are simply a light inaccessible, unimaginable, unattainable, incomprehensible.

Now as Peter grew in age and spiritual love, he experienced a compelling urge to retire from the world and its emptiness and undertake a pilgrimage, that most virtuous of enterprises. But though he tried many times to flee away, he could not succeed in doing so for the devil and his myrmidons found it out. Peter’s slaves, namely the spearmen who carried him around in his litter, went so far in their hate for him that they made many secret attempts on his life. The god-fearing Emperor Theodosius himself was concerned to keep Peter as a hostage, in ease his own people demanded him back. If he could not then return Peter to them, the emperor feared that he might make them into militant enemies instead of friends and allies. So he had him strongly guarded to stop him leaving secretly.

But nothing is stronger than the power of Christ, and nothing warmer than the love of those who love Him uprightly. Christ had loved Peter from his childhood days, and protected him as one of His sheep. So now Peter found a helpmate given by God in the person of his godfather, John the Eunuch, who shared his aspirations and was like him in his longing for the life eternal. Originally John came from the land of Lazica, and was adorned with all reverence and meekness. Peter united himself with him by the bonds of affection, like Paul with Barnabas, and availed himself of his advice and companionship in his escape.

As Peter knew that it was through the activities of the demons that their plans failed to remain secret, he took John to the coffer where the bones of the holy martyrs were laid. While they both had their heads bowed over these relies and spoke to each other there, they arranged the time and manner of their escape.

Now that they felt themselves to be secure, they looked for a ship. Through the help of the martyrs, they found one, and boarded it immediately. But the feared they might be captured if they were pursued, or if they were recognizes at the straits of the Bosphorus, so they hanged into shabby slaves’ costume. Then by the protection of God, they managed to escape the vigilance of the people who were stationed in the Bosphorus to intercept them.

At this point they left their ship and continued on foot. They went on their way alone through Asia Minor, in company with the holy martyrs, whose venerable relics they carried in a golden casket. In joy and happiness, as if it had been a short excursion, they covered the distinct from the New Rome to Jerusalem. When they had reached the outskirts of the holy city of Jerusalem which they loved, they saw from a high place five stades away the lofty roof of the holy church of the Resurrection, shining like the morning sun, and cried aloud, 'See, that is Sion the city of our deliverance !' They fell down upon their faces, and from there onwards they crept upon their knees, frequently kissing the soil with their lips and eyes, until they were within the holy walls and had embraced the site of the sacred cross on Golgotha.

Seeing tat they were strangers in the Holy Places, God Himself led them to good hosts, guides and helpers in their holy purpose, namely the blessed Melania, a Roman lady residing there with her husband Pinianus and her mother Albina. Among the senatorial families of Rome, they had occupied the first place, possessing lineage, riches and honor, but since they loved Christ dearly and despised all these things, they had renounced the world and departed to live in prayer at the Holy City. When they had arrived there they built two large monasteries on the Mount of Olives, near the holy church of the Ascension, one for men and one for women, and endowed them for the glory of God.

When Melania heard of the arrival in Jerusalem of the holy youths Peter and John - at this point, however, they were still called in the language of their homeland Nabarnugios and Mithradates - she received them gladly. She remembered that site bad once visited Constantinople and seen the blessed Peter there as a young boy when he was being brought up to a king's estate. So Melania welcomed the saints like beloved sons, and they became held in honor for the exemplary life they led in the monastery which she had built. Without delay they received the monk's habit from the renowned Gerontius, who was priest and abbot on the Mount of Olives. This Gerontius enjoyed a great reputation, and lived until the days of the apostasy of the synod of Chalcedon, when he showed the zeal of true witness throughout his bondage and afflictions.

Now that they were living in peace in the monastery of which Gerontius was abbots they deposited there the venerated relics of the holy martyrs, side by side with those of the renowned Forty Martyrs of Sebastia, over whose interment the righteous and blessed Cyril, archbishop of Alexandria, presided [AD. 438-39]. For when Cyril was requested by the pious Empress Eudocia to come and inter the relics of the protomartyr Stephen and to consecrate the beautiful temple which she had built outside the northern gate of the city, he accepted the invitation with gladness. After he had arrived with a company of bishops from all Egypt, he also acceded to the request of the holy Melania to celebrate the interment of the Persian martyrs together with the Forty Martyrs of Sebastia in the smaller temple on the Mount of Olives, which had also been splendidly restored by the Empress Eudocia, as is commemorated by an inscription on one of the walls there.

At this time, the holy city of Jerusalem was still lacking in inhabitants, as well as being deprived of walls, since the former walls had been destroyed by the Romans. As the bishops residing in Jerusalem wanted to increase the number of citizens, they gave free permission to anyone to take whatever site he liked gratis, and build there a dwelling place. Accordingly the blessed Peter chose a place on the north side by the holy church of Sion near the so-called Tower of David, and built there a cloister which is called to this day the Abbey of the Iberians, and lies to the left when you go from the second door of that tower towards the holy church of Sion.
We must not omit to mention a miracle which occurred while they were building this place. Their neighbor was a prominent member of the clergy who had also taken a site and was building a residence on it. While Peter was sitting quietly in his cell, a quarrel arose over the boundary line, as often happens between neighbors. John the Eunuch, who was outside with the workmen, spoke to the other in peaceable and conciliatory tones, as was his custom. The other, who was in the wrong, hit him violently on the cheek. In spite of the pain he felt John made no attempt to retaliate but went indoors to join Father Peter, holding his cheek with his hand. Then they both went down on their knees and gave thanks to our Lord, because He had deemed them worthy to be partakers of the blows which He had suffered. On the following morning that shameless man was dead, although he had felt no previous pains. All the citizens of Jerusalem realized that God the righteous was prompt to punish the shame inflicted on these holy men, to whom He afforded every assistance.

As they were living by themselves and still had some money left out of what they had brought from Constantinople, they decided to perform good works by welcoming and refreshing the pilgrims and poor folk who came from all sides to pray at the Holy Places. They laid in a supply of provisions, and invited in pilgrims in such numbers that it often happened that they had ten tables in one day, especially on high feasts.

However their residence there was not fated to be of long duration. The Empress Eudocia, consort of the pious Emperor Theodosius the Younger, heard of the zeal of the afore-mentioned Melania, and likewise conceived the desire for the calm and tranquillity of the Holy City, to worship and be near the scene of the Passion which Christ, the King of Glory, suffered for us. In pomp and ceremony she passed through various towns, and arrived at the Holy City for which she longed. When she heard that Father Peter lived there she was anxious to see him, since she had brought him up with a mother's tender love at the royal palace. At first, he begged that he might be excused from leaving his cell, since he regarded this as a temptation. But since she insisted, he came out on one occasion to talk to her. She observed with attention his great meekness and wisdom and said, 'Blessed are you, my son, for you have chosen the good thing! Remember me in your holy prayers!' But he rejoined, 'What benefit can a sinner's prayers bring?' But she replied, 'May your sins be upon my head, my son.' And so he returned to his cell in peace.

But when she again insisted on seeing him, he hastened to the holy Zeno, the hermit and prophet, a pupil of the great and renowned Silvanus, and revealed his thoughts to him, as he was accustomed to . From him, Peter received the counsel, 'Save yourself and flee.' Accordingly, he left the holy city of Jerusalem, handing over his cloister to a group of men who had likewise renounced the world, and went to stay in the monastic community which is situated between Gaza and the small town named Mayuma which is by the seaside. It was divine providence which guided his wandering to this place, thus providing for this most Christian town a high priest and bishop particularly suited for this time of apostasy, at which there was need for a man who could be at once an inspirer of reverence and a preacher, a custodian of the orthodox faith and an intercessor for our souls.

While he was living in this community he used constantly to go with his cell-mate John to visit the holy Zeno who then lived in the village of Kefr-Searta fifteen miles from Gaza. The blessed Peter used to relate in after years, 'Once when I came to him, the holy Zeno was standing in prayer. And he turned to me and said, Pray! This he repeated three times. In astonishment I said to him, Forgive me, reverend Father, but do you not know that I am a layman and a sinner? Then he said, Yes, yes. Forgive me. He himself completed the prayers and sat down.' And seven days later Peter was himself ordained!

A.D. 445. How this came about we must not pass over in silence. When Peter was still living in the Holy City, Juvenal, who was then its bishop, sought many times to ordain him, but could not succeed in doing so, for God was Peter's protector. Now at this time when Peter was residing in the vicinity of Mayuma, Juvenal's nephew, Paul, was bishop of that place. On the commemoration day of the glorious martyr Victor, when an assembly of many bishops was in session, Paul drew one of these aside and persuaded him to carry out the ordination. This bishop took with him as his assistant the blessed father superior Irenaeus, who was on good terms with these holy men, and caught Peter and John by surprise. and ordained them to the priesthood under duress in spite of their struggles and resistance. Then Peter recognized the foreknowledge and prophetic wisdom of the holy Zeno.

A.D. 451. After he had thus received the laying on of hands, Peter refused obstinately for seven years to carry out the priestly offices, until it fell to him to be raised to the episcopate in the time of the transgression of Chalcedon. It was then that the apostasy of all those schismatic bishops, sanctioned by the godless Tome of Pope Leo, and attended by the adoption of the scandalous doctrine of Nestorius, resulted in Dioscorus, chief of the bishops of Egypt and a zealous fighter for truth, being driven into banishment, while Juvenal, who bore the tide of bishop of Jerusalem, signed the act of apostasy and thereby assumed the role of the traitor Judas.

A.D. 452. When this became known to the clergy and monks of Palestine they came out into the streets before Juvenal and implored him to remember his promise to eschew godlessness and fight for the true cause. When he refused to yield they assembled in the Holy City and elected the blessed Theodosius, a man devoted from his youth to the monastic way of life and imbued with the fear of the Lord, and who had distinguished himself even at the godless synod by his championship of the orthodox faith, and they made him pastor of the Holy City of Jerusalem. Afterwards Theodosius chose pious men from among the monks and bearers of the cross to consecrate them as bishops and confessors of the faith. Then the citizens of Maya which belongs to Gaza, who knew the blessed Peter to possess every' virtue, hurried to the spot where be was living in tranquillity and carried him off by force, although he bolted the door against them. A crowd of prominent burghers and clergy and common people bore him to the Holy City, so that they might receive a pastor and bishop from the hands of the chief of the priesthood.

On the way they came to a village called Sokha, and turned into an inn nearby, while the saint and his attendants spent the night in a house at the upper end of the village. In the depths of the night, when everyone was tired out from the journey, he asked his guardians for permission to go out on to the roof as if to satisfy a need of nature. When he had emerged by himself he hastened to cast himself down from the height on to a rocky place nearby, in the expectation that he would either escape completely, or be so maimed and disabled that his captors would release him. When he was about to commit this action he heard a voice saying, 'Peter, Peter, if you do this, you will have no share in me!' So he was prevented from carrying out his intent and was brought to Jerusalem. He protested his unworthiness, and when he was nevertheless consecrated bishop, he would not perform any church services until he had again been admonished by the voice of God. On the seventh of August, he arrived at the holy church of Mayuma and was borne inside and seated on the throne amidst general rejoicing.

He remained some six months in his holy church, during which time the people of Mayuma joyfully celebrated all the religious festivals, rejoicing in the protection of God who had granted them such a pastor, whom they cherished as an angel with love and affection. Then there arose the devil, that prince of renegades and arch-counsellor of apostates, who was unable to endure the sight of such great glorifying of God and salvation of men. Accordingly he entered into the monarch who now held the reins of government, the Emperor Marcian, who readily listened to the devil's commands and he incited him to issue a decree deposing the righteous bishops who had been appointed throughout the towns of Palestine by the apostolic Patriarch Theodosius. In case of resistance, they were to be forcibly expelled from their sees and killed, while the Patriarch Theodosius was condemned to death. They all chose to go into exile, as the Patriarch Theodosius himself advised, since he deemed it more pleasing to God for the preachers of truth to he saved, rather than that they should perish and deprive the orthodox folk of comfort and support.

So the blessed Peter departed into Egypt and arrived by God's will at the city of Alexandria, where the rebel Proterius was now patriarch. Peter went into hiding and afforded encouragement and solace to the orthodox. Celebrating the divine service in secret, he did not allow their zeal and faith to be quenched.

It was granted him to see a fearsome vision in the following circumstances. While all the townsfolk were watching a play in the theatre the faithful believers were filled with zeal and suddenly shouted out, 'Up with Dioscorus and the orthodox ! Bum Proterius’ bones! Throw out the Judas !' They demanded the return of the pious Dioscorus from his unjust exile, and the expulsion of the ravening wolf and anti-Christ Proterius, the new Caiaphas. The authorities brought in a troop of armed soldier's ho surrounded the theatre and menaced the people with slaughter, so that they fled outside and threw each other down in the narrow passages of the theatre many of them losing their lives. At that time the blessed Peter was celebrating the holy sacrament in secret. In an ecstasy he saw many souls being carried up by the angels into heaven. When people came from the city and td him what had occurred, it transpired that the number of those who had perished by violence in the crush and confusion was the same as that of the blessed souls that he had seen in his vision.

At last the blessed Peter could no longer conceal himself from the godless Proterius, who was eager to deal him a mortal wound and send murderers in the night to seize and kill him. But he succeeded in escaping from then, for our Lord revealed the plot to him. When the emissaries approached and knocked on the door of his hiding-place, they pretended to be some of his friends among the orthodox and begged him to baptize a little boy whom they pictured as being in a critical condition. But a divine voice said to him, 'Do not open, these are scoundrels!' So he and the brethren with him shouted out loud, 'Father in heaven, look down! Robbers! Help!' When the neighbors and others nearby heard this they came running and drove off the villains.
After they bad thus been delivered from the snares of the hunters they departed and wandered in the upper regions of the Thebaid until they arrived at the town of Oxyrynchos. There Peter stayed, being cared for by one of the notables of the town, Moses by name. Oxyrynchos was a great and rich town of the Thebaid, in which the grace of God prevailed to such an extent that all the inhabitants were Christians, and the number of monks in the monasteries round about reached ten thousand.

A.D. 457. Later the blessed Peter left Oxvrynchos and returned to Alexandria. Now when the news of the death of Marcian, the leader and arch-inciter of all these evil deeds, reached Alexandria, the God-fearing populace breathed again and gave thanks to our Redeemer Christ. By unanimous resole they sent into the wilderness to fetch the holy Timothy, that renowned and true confessor, and brought him to the city, right into the church which is called the Kaisarion, to consecrate him as high priest and champion of the faith. But they could find only one of the orthodox bishops, namely Eusebius of Pelusium, the others having hidden themselves from the persecution. Learning that the blessed Peter was also there, the people hurried to the spot where he was living and carried him on their shoulders to the Kaisarion, where the populace was assembled. And the blessed one together with that other bishop carried out the consecration of Archbishop Timothy, the grace of God being with them.

Seeing himself menaced, the wicked and unprincipled Proterius was even further incensed. So he bribed the authorities with much gold, and notably an officer called Dionysius, a choleric and murderous individual, whom Proterius roused to such a pitch of frenzy that he hastened with an armed troop of brutal soldiery into the holy church of God and murdered many laymen, monks and nuns. Since the multitude could not endure this, they were inflamed with the zeal of martyrdom and daily resisted the soldiery with all the bloodshed of civil war. Then the civic authorities were afraid that this royal city would he altogether mined. When the news of the accession of the new Emperor Leo reached them, they decided to remove Proterius from the city until instructions were received from the sovereign. While Proterius was being escorted out by the soldiers one of them lost his temper and killed him, twenty days after the consecration of the blessed Timothy. They left him lying in the road like a pig or a dog, which he resembled in his manners and ferocity.

A.D. 457-74. After this, Peter went about Alexandria and the monasteries nearby in secret, and visited many other towns and villages of Egypt, edifying the hosts of true believers like a second Paul and providing for all an exemplary model of pious ardour. The wonders and great miracles and deeds of healing which he performed there we have not the power to describe in full detail.
When all this came to the ears of the orthodox brethren in Palestine it awakened their love towards their holy father and bishop. Many saintly men came to him and entreated him to visit his flock in Palestine also, now that they had been so long deprived of his spiritual care. So he returned to the land of Palestine. When he reached the town of Ascalon, be received a joyous welcome from the brethren there, and stayed in a village called Pelaea, ten stades from the town. While he was there many people came from all sides to see him, some of whom he confirmed in the faith, while others he enlightened and brought into the fold of the orthodox Church. For this purpose he made frequent journeys, now through the region of Gaza and Mayuma, now through that of Caesarea and Jerusalem, as far as the borders of Arabia.

Now I will relate further incidents in the life of the blessed Peter which the present writer either witnessed in person or else was privileged to learn by report, or heard from the very mouth of the saint, though this narrative will be but a small selection from the abundant material available.

Once the saint happened to go into the regions of Arabia to take a cure by bathing in the thermal waters of Livias, which ire called the Spring of Moses. Since his youth he had bruised his body and tormented it by various forms of ascetic discipline, so that his flesh had wasted away and only his skin and a thin one at that - was stretched over his dried-up bones. in his old age, indeed, he became so weak that he threw up with bloody "omit even what little food he swallowed. This was his motive for going to the hot spring at Livias.
After he had been using the thermal waters there for one day only, he refused to o into them any more, explaining that he got no benefit from them, as they were too cold. But the people from Arabia said that there was another warm spring in their country, very hot and health-giving, at a place called Baaru, and urged him to visit this one. So next day we set off for Madeba and later descended into the place called Baaru where the hot spring is. This spot is a deep gorge surrounded on all sides by high mountains, heated by streams of boiling hot water, which spurt up not only from the earth but also from the surrounding crags. The valley is heated to such an extent that the hills around are as black as a chimney from the clouds of smoke hovering perpetually about them. But on all the days when the saint was there the air was so clear and fresh that it seemed as if a dewy breeze was wafting, and all those who had come down with him were amazed, saying, 'Never have we seen such a marvel!'

Another miracle happened to strengthen them in their faith in the following circumstances. The folk who gathered there in winter-time used to collect reeds from the mountain stream which flows down the middle of the valley and make them into shelters. hen they left and summer came on, and there was nobody about, then these shelters shrivelled and dried up from the heat. Now finding these ready made the people with us settled down inside. When one of them lighted a fire to prepare his food a spark sprang out and caught the reeds alight. The fire caught the other shelters nearby and turned them to ashes, and the flames darted so high that everyone in the shelters raised cries of alarm from fear of certain doom. Then the saint stepped forth in tears and fearfulness and stretched out his arms to heaven. While his mouth was silent he cried aloud in his heart, like Moses, to the Lord. Praise be to the unspeakable power and love of God Although nobody could quench the fire with water, and the shelters were reduced in a moment to ashes, they found neither man nor beast, neither pot nor garment destroyed, except for just one donkey's pack saddle, so that everyone knew that it was the saint's prayer alone which had checked the fire and rescued them.

Now in the city of Gaza there lived a pious scholastic called Dionysius, who was filled with love towards the saint. And he begged Peter to stay in his village, which was called Magdal Tutha, to the south of Gaza nearby the temple of the holy Hilarion, the great ascetic. After he had built a splendid residence for the saint he kept him there for three years.

At this time the blessed Isaiah the Egyptian, that great anchorite and prophet, was living in the neighbourhood, in the village of Beth Daltha, four miles from Father Peter. We must marvel at the trust and love which these saints showed towards one another. Every lay the blessed Peter used to send Father Isaiah some victuals suitable for an aged man who was abstemious and frail in body namely the sort of Gaza bread he used to eat, a bunch of parsley and leeks, cleaned and washed, and two little fishes. In exchange, the other used to send him three cakes.

A.D. 485. While they were living in this way, the Emperor Zeno learnt of the virtue and powers of those saints. As he wanted to receive their blessing, he sent the eunuch Cosmas, one of his favorite chamberlains, with letters to induce them to come to him, promising to let them go again without delay. When he heard of this the blessed Peter was very distressed and fell on his face in front of the holy altar and said Lord, deliver me from the outrages of mankind ! And he decided to travel into the borders of Phoenicia and hide there until he had sent a petition to tell the emperor of his enfeebled state and persuade him to excuse him from so great an exertion-which indeed came to pass, since our Lord supported the saint's petition.

Then after Whitsun we travelled to Azotus, a place situated on the coast, for the Holy Spirit summoned the saint there for the comfort of those who lived in that town. Though many begged the venerable saint to take up his residence in the middle of the town, he refused and settled down in a narrow and wretched shed by the sea, shorn of any sort of bodily comfort.
While we were living in this shed the saint happened to fall sick. As soon as this came to the ears of Elias the Tribune, who had been the confidant of the Empress Eudocia and now resided in Jerusalem, he was impelled by his anxiety to go down and see Peter. And Elias took him and led him to a place on the outskirts of the town of Yamnia, which lay near the sea, and was excellently suited to the saint's invalid condition. This he did because the resort was crown property, and had once been the residence of the Empress Eudocia.

When we were here, there came round the commemoration day of John the Eunuch, who had been the cell-mate of Father Peter, and had passed away on the 4th of December. According to his custom, Peter invited many people to this festival, especially from the mountain regions round about, and gave orders to buy quantities of fish from the sea nearby. Now it happened that winter came on so suddenly that sea-fishing had to be completely abandoned. We were troubled because we could not entertain the brethren as the saint had instructed. But suddenly shortage turned to plenty. During the night so much rain fell that the river which flowed near us flooded its banks and inundated the vineyards round about. In the morning such shoals of fish were picked up that the local people said they could never remember such a prodigy, and we could not cope with all the fish who had come to attend the commemoration feast of that holy man.

Now the time was drawing near for the blessed one to find rest and be called to Jesus whom he loved-a time to is unknown and unexpected, but to him long announced in advance; for us, an event grievous and painful, for him a cherished moment awaited with joy, since he yearned to reach that goal which is the crown of God's heavenly call. He made his will, in which he named four heirs: John the Deacon, known as the Qanopite, and with him, his cell-mates Zacharias and Andrew, as well as the scholastic Theodore of Ascalon. He bid us remain fast until death in the orthodox faith and to shun and curse all heresies, namely the synod of Chalcedon and the godless Tome of Pope Leo. - “In addition to steadfastness in the faith, take care to attain purity of soul and body, without which no man can see the Lord, and love towards one another, and the concord which comes from the heart and flows from a clear conscience and untarnished belief. Beware of indiscreet talk either with men outside or amongst yourselves, for unrestrained frankness inflames the passions. Meditate on the writings of the saintly bishop Basil concerning the ascetic life, and model your manners and conduct according to his holy precepts. For these writings were brought into being by divine grace for the inculcation of virtue and the edifying of monastic communities everywhere.'

All that day we fasted, and we remained until evening in heavy sorrow and grief, while the blessed one was now preparing himself for his end and holding converse with the Lord. When evening came we sat down at table to eat. In the middle of the meal, Euphrosynus, an honored monk whom the saint loved and who was by his side looking after him, cried out, 'The father is dying! Come and receive his blessing!" Then we sprang up from table and hurried sorrowfully to his bedside. So that we should not hurt the blessed one, who was breathing his last, Euphrosynus took the saint's right hand and gave it to each one to kiss and receive the benediction. When the blessed one in happy tranquillity had entrusted his spirit into the hands of God, who even now was near him and bore him away, it was Father Gregory who closed his eyes for the last time.

It was now the dead of night, and soon Friday was about to dawn. When morning came we shrouded the saint’s body according to the custom and laid it before the holy altar, so that the holy sacraments might be celebrated in his memory. Afterwards we, his heirs, hastened to take his body and lay it to rest in his old cloister which lies in the neighborhood of Mayuma by Gaza. For we feared that if the townspeople of Gaza and Mayuma came to hear of it beforehand, they might he impelled by the great trust and love they bore him to carry off his sacred body and inter it in one of the churches in those towns. So we carried away the body of the pious departed. After spending a short time in a monastery on the outskirts of Ascalon, we went on all night and came before daybreak to the saint's old cloister. Now while the blessed one was still living here in quietness, he had erected three burial urns, into the middle one of which we now laid to rest his sacred body. In the right-hand urn reposed the holy relics of Father John the Eunuch, and on the left, those of Father Abraham, a pious hermit from Athribis.

When morning came the townspeople of Mayuma and Gaza heard of the death of the blessed one and the interment of his body. They hurried in a crowd to the cloister and fell down and prayed beside his sacred urn and kissed and embraced it like children bereaved not only of a father, but also of a teacher, guide and pastor. They remained assembled for seven days, holding vigil over him to the sound of hymns and liturgies, and seeking consolation for the grief they felt at his departing.

Our blessed father and bishop Peter died on the 1st of December, as Sunday was about to dawn, on the third day of the commemoration of Peter, the great martyr and archbishop of Alexandria, and five months after the passing of Father Isaiah the ascetic. And a year later, on the day before the commemoration feast of Father Peter, we renterred his body in the crypt beneath the altar of the monastery church. The span of his life on earth was about eighty years. We celebrate his memory during three days: the first being the anniversary of the translation of his relies to the crypt beneath the altar, the second, that of the assembly of the people, and the third, the day of his burial in the earth and his committal into the hands of Christ Jesus, our Lord, God over all things, to whom be praise, honour and power to all eternity, AMEN.
 

The Martyrdom of St.Abo Tfileli

During the two centuries, which separate the lives of St. Eustace and St. Abo, the whole political structure of the Near East had been altered by a series of military and political upheavals. After capturing Jerusalem in 614, the Persians had undergone complete and humiliating defeat at the hands of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius. The two great powers were by the middle of the 7th century so weakened by their death-struggle that Persia fell an easy prey to the new force of Islam, while the Arabs came at one point near to storming Constantinople itself. Tiflis, which had been for a short time under Byzantine control, was surrendered to the Arabs about the year 655, and remained until early in the 11th century under Muslim sway.

The Passion of St. Abo of Tiflis, who was put to death by the Arab governor of Georgia on January 6th, 786, is described by a Georgian observer, John son of Saban. His account has the merit of being written soon after Abo's death. In a prologue, which has been omitted in this translation, John describes the pitiful condition to which the Georgian nation had been reduced by Arab rule. The Caliphs had spared no effort to turn the Georgians into Muhammadans; force, cunning and economic coercion, complains John, had all been brought into play, with the result that some of the folk were "shivering like reeds in a high wind." It was partly to encourage his countrymen to stand firm that John relates the heroic death of St. Abo, himself an Arab by birth, but converted to Christianity while living in Georgia.

Abo's Passion is of value not only for the religious history of Georgia, but also for the remarkable account it contains of a journey to the Khaqan or Emperor of the Khazars, a people of Turkish origin who adopted the Jewish faith. From their headquarters on the Volga they played a vital role in caster's politics and trade. Their rather unattractive habits and appearance became a byword among the Greeks, who used the expression, "You Khazar-face!" as a term of abuse.

The German version of the Passion of St. Abo edited by K. Schultze in Harnack's Texte und Untersuchungen (1905) gives a full list of references for the numerous biblical quotations encountered throughout the text.

JANUARY 7Th. Passion of the Holy and blessed Martyr of Christ Abo, who was martyred in Georgia, in the town of Tiflis, by the hands of the Saracens; related by John, son of Saban, at the command of Samuel, by the grace of God Catholicos of Georgia.

Abo's arrival in Georgia, and his baptism

A.D. 772. Now this happened at the time when the ruling prince of Georgia, Nerses, son of the Kuropalates (#1) and ruling prince Adarnerse, had been summoned to the land of Babylon by its ruler, the Saracen Caliph Abdulla, the Commander of the Faithful, who ruled in the great city of Baghdad which he himself had built. At the instigation of evil men, be cast Duke Nerses of Georgia into a dungeon, where he was kept for three years until by God's command the Caliph Abdulla died and was succeeded by his son Mahdi (A.D. 775-85). Then God in His beneficence prevailed on Mahdi the Commander of the Faithful to release Nerses. So be let hint out of his foul dungeon arid sent him home again to be Duke of his own country once more.

And now, O lovers of Christ, I should like to tell you about the blessed saint and martyr Abo, what sort of person he was, and how he came here to Georgia. He was born of the line of Abraham, of the sons of Ishmael and the race of the Saracens. He had no foreign blood in him, nor was he born of a slave-woman, but of pure Arab stock on both his father's and his mother's side of the family. His father and mother and brothers and sisters resided there in Baghdad, the city of Babylon. And he was a lad about eighteen, or at least seventeen years old.

Wishing to come here to Georgia with Duke Nerses, he entered into his service, because he was good at preparing fragrant scents and lotions, as well as being versed in the literature of the Saracens, the children of Ishmael, whom Hagar bore to Abraham.

It was not of his own free will that Abo decided to come to our country. Just as the Lord spoke to the blessed Abraham in that land of Chaldaea, saying, "Depart from your country and your kindred and your father's house, and enter into a land which I will show you" - in the same way this descendant of Abraham was not actuated by his own resolution but by a divine summons. So he left his father and mother, his brothers, sisters and relatives, his possessions and lands, as it is laid down in the Holy Gospel, and travelled here with Nerses for the love of Christ. When he arrived in Georgia he lived with Duke Nerses; his good qualities made him generally popular, and he learnt to read and write and converse freely in Georgian.

Then he started to acquire and read the holy books of the Old and the New Testaments, for the Lord guided his understanding. He used to go to church and listen regularly to the Holy Gospel and readings from the Prophets and Apostles, and ask questions and gain information from many expert theologians. Some of them, by seeming to oppose him, were really giving him the chance to gain knowledge. In this way he became perfectly familiar with all the doctrine which has been given by Christ to the Holy Catholic Church. And so he became estranged from the faith of Muhammad and abandoned the rites and beliefs of his native land. He began to love Christ with all his heart, being inspired by the words, "They related to me the creed of the heathen; but it was not like unto Thy law." As he could not profess Christianity openly, he fasted and prayed to Christ in secret, and looked for a hidden place where he might receive the baptism of Christ, for he was afraid of the Saracens who occupy and rule our land.

A.D. 779-80. Now at this time the Saracen authorities again became enraged against Duke Nerses, and he took to flight. Though hard-pressed by the Saracen army the Lord saved him from their hands, and he passed through the gateway of the Ossetes, which they call Dari-Alan (the Alans' Gate, or Dariel Pass over the Caucasus). Among the three hundred men of his escort was Abo, the blessed servant of Christ.

Nerses came as a refugee from his own country into the land of the north, where is the home and abode of the sons of Magog who are called the Khazars - wild men, fearsome of face, savage in character, drinkers of blood, without religion, except that they recognize a god the creator. When Duke Nerses arrived in the presence of the King of the Khazars the latter welcomed him graciously, as a stranger and a refugee from his enemies, and gave him and his followers food and drink.

When the blessed Abo saw that he had left the dread of Saracen tyranny far behind he hastened to draw near to Christ, and was baptized by the hands of venerable priests, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. For there are many towns and villages in that northern land which by the grace of the Holy Ghost abide securely in the Christian faith. The blessed Abo was henceforth evermore filled by Christ's grace, and able to devote himself without hindrance to fasting and prayer.

After some time had elapsed Nerses asked the King of the North to let him leave for the land of Abkhazia; he had earlier sent his mother, wife, children and treasure and all his household there since that country was secure from the Saracen threat.

Then God put the King of the North into a kindly mood, and he let Nerses go after presenting him with many gifts. So they set out, joyful in God's grace, and crossed the land of the heathen folk who are entirely ignorant of God, travelling in safety day and night for three months (#2). The blessed Abo spent all the journey in prayer and fasting and uninterruptedly singing psalms. When they reached the land of Abkhazia, the prince of that country welcomed Nerses and all his retinue. When Nerses set eyes on the queen his mother, and his wife and children, everyone gave joyful praise to God for keeping them safe and sound.

After the prince of Abkhazia had heard about the blessed Abo and how he had recently been baptized, he and all his people were very glad. The prince and the bishops and priests invited him and gave him their blessing, fortified him with encouraging words and cheered him with the promise of eternal life in Christ Jesus. Abo for his part thanked them, answering with words of true faith, so that they were amazed and glorified God. More and more thanks did the blessed Abo render to God when he saw how their country was filled with Christ's faith, and no pagans were to be found living inside its borders. The frontiers of their land are formed by the Pontic (Black) Sea, which is a special domain of the Christian faith right up to the Khaldian borders. Trebizond is situated there, and so is Apsarea and the port of Nicopsia. And these towns and places are under the sway of the servant of God, the emperor of the Ionians, whose residence is in the great city of Constantinople.

When the blessed Abo saw the exceptional devoutness of the local people and their assiduity in prayer, he was filled with a fever of emulation, remembering the words of the holy apostle, "It is always good to imitate excellence." In that wintry season, on the 17th of January, the commemoration of our holy father Antony, he began to emulate Antony's severe exertions. Though living an urban life he struggled against man's enemy the devil as if he were out in the wilderness. By vigil and fasting he subdued his youthful flesh so that he was able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. He remembered how our Redeemer went out into the desert after His baptism and by praying and fasting forty days defeated the wiles of His tempter the devil. In the same way the blessed Abo uttered no word in human society, but directed his gaze up to God in pious prayer; and thus he passed three months plunged in fasting and silent meditation. During those holy days of Lent, for seven weeks he used to partake of the sacred mystery of the body and Blood of Christ on Sundays and Saturdays. On these occasions only he used to take a little food. At last he reached the great and holy. Festival day of the Resurrection of Christ Our Lord; after this he relaxed his austere fasting and loosed his tongue from its silence and glorified God.

Meanwhile after the flight of Nerses from Georgia, the Caliph Muhammad sent Stephen, son of Gurgen, and nephew of Nerses, to be prince of that country in place of his uncle, according to God's command. Then Nerses was glad because God had not deposed his family from its royal dignity. As he was extremely homesick, he sent envoys to ask the Caliph's representatives in Georgia to grant him a safe-conduct, and set off homewards with all his followers.

Just as they were leaving the land of Abkhazia, the prince of Abkhazia summoned the blessed Abo and said to him, "Do not leave this country because the Saracens control the land of Georgia, and you are of Saracen birth. They will not tolerate you among them as a Christian. I am afraid for your sake lest they deflect you willynilly from the Christian faith, and so bring to nothing your great feats of piety."

But the blessed Abo replied, "Now that Christ has shown His mercy towards me and released me from the darkness of my original ignorance and made me worthy of being baptized in Him, nothing can make me deny' His name. Even if they offer me vast sums of gold and silver or interrogate me with tortures and flogging, they cannot take away from me the love of my Saviour! So do not detain me, O faithful servant of God! For what merit is there in my staying here, where no danger exists, nor any chance of dying for Christ? I pray you now to let me go to reveal my Christian faith to those that hate Christ, just as I have heard that it was declared by Christ in the Holy Gospel, "No one lights a candle and puts it under a bushel, but they set it on a candle-stick, so that it may give light to all. Thus let your light shine before men." So why should I hide this radiant truth with which Christ has illumined me? Nothing will make me hide from the risk of death, for I have learnt from the holy apostle that "the faint-hearted cannot inherit the kingdom of God." Therefore I am not afraid of death, since I look for the kingdom of Christ."

A.D. 782. In this way he won over the prince who let him go. Then he went with Nerses to the land of Georgia and entered the city of Tiflis, where he walked about openly professing the Christian faith. Of the local Saracens who had known him before some swore at him, others tried to intimidate him, others pestered him, while some tried to win him over by soft words. But he remained firmly attached to Christ, and was quite unmoved by them. For three years he went about openly in the city and the villages nearby as a professing Christian, and nobody molested him, for his time had not yet come. But God-fearing people who knew of his piety provided him with food and clothes.

The martyrdom of St. Abo

You, who love Christ Jesus and the holy martyrs, listen to my account of this Christian hero, whose glorious courage won him the martyr's crown!

A.D.786. In the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ, in that year after His Passion and Resurrection when Constantine, son of Leo, was reigning over the Christians in the great city of Constantinople, when Mousa, son of Mahdi, Commander of the Faithful, was reigning among the Saracens, in the pontificate of Samuel, Catholicos of Georgia, when Stephen, son of Gurgen, was Duke of Georgia, in the year 6424 from the Creation (#3), on Friday, January 6th, we commemorate the day of witness of the blessed saint and pious hero Abo in the city of Tiflis. Now this is how it occurred: -

A.D. 785. A little time before those days, the blessed martyr of Christ had been arrested and brought before the magistrate who was Amir (Saracen governor) over the city of Tiflis, who cast him into prison because of his Christian beliefs. Soon afterwards, however, Duke Stephen of Georgia intervened on his behalf and brought him out of prison and let him go.

A few days later, the people who had denounced the holy martyr were again moved to anger and fury, and filled with spite against the Christians. They concerted an intrigue against the saint and appeared before the new magistrate, who had replaced the previous Amir and judge in the city of Tiflis, and said to him, "In this town there is a youth who was a Saracen by birth and brought up to live in that faith which Muhammad the Prophet gave us; and now he has abandoned this faith of ours and declares himself a Christian and walks fearlessly about the city teaching many of our people how to become Christians. Now you order his arrest and have him tortured arid beaten until he confesses the faith of our prophet Muhammad. If he refuses, then kill him, so that his words may not win him a lot of imitators."

When certain Christians heard what these people were urging they quickly went and told the blessed Abo. "Look you," they said, "they are now hunting for you to arrest, torture and heat you." And they besought him to run away and hide. But he replied, "I am ready to face not only torture hut even death for Christ's sake." So he went out cheerfully and walked openly about the city precincts.

Then the magistrate's ushers came and arrested the blessed Abo and dragged him before the judge. And the magistrate said to him, "What is this I hear about you, that you are a Saracen by birth and descent, and have abandoned your native religion and fallen into error among the Christians? Now get ready to pray according to the faith in which your parents brought you up."

The blessed Abo, however, fortified in devotion to Christ and filled with spiritual faith, said to the Amir his judge, "You are quite right saying that I am a Saracen by blood, born into that race oil both father's and mother's side. I was educated in the religion of Muhammad, and lived according to it as long as I remained in ignorance. But when the Almighty had mercy on me and selected me from among my brothers and relatives and saved me through His Son Jesus Christ my God, and granted me a more perfect understanding, then I quitted my former faith, as being a manmade creed based on fables thought up by human subtlety and invention. So now I cling to the true faith of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, as revealed to us by Jesus Christ. In that faith I have been baptized and now worship, for this is the True God, and now I am a Christian unwavering in my conviction."

The judge said to him, "Give up these insane ideas! If it was through any material want that you were attracted to the Christians, I will now treat you with greater gifts and favour."

The blessed Abo said to him, "Let your gold and silver remain with you for your own corruption. I do not seek human favours for I possess Christ's bounty, the crown of life incorruptible and grace eternal in heaven."

Then the judge ordered Abo's hands and feet to be bound with iron chains, and in this condition he was shut up in prison. But the saint was happy and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, "I thank Thee, O Lord, my God and Redeemer Jesus Christ, for making me worthy of enduring trial and imprisonment for Thy holy name." It was then Tuesday, December 27th, the commemoration of St. Stephen the disciple of Christ, first deacon and protomartyr, and prince of all the martyrs; thus it fittingly befell that the prince of all martyrs, together with all the martyred host, should intercede for him, that this latest witness for Christ might not be prevented from being numbered among their glorious company!

So the blessed Abo stayed in his dungeon fasting and praying and singing psalms incessantly day and night. He performed deeds of charity, selling all his property to minister to the wants of his needy and famished fellow-prisoners. But the teachers of falsehood and the informers came to him and uttered words of cunning flattery: "Son, do not sacrifice yourself, do not bargain away your young life in exchange for Christianity or alienate yourself from your brothers and relatives, lest you bring evil on your own head, and make us all sad." Some of them threatened hint and said, "What use this Christ of yours be to you? Who is going to save you from our hands? For they are already getting fire and instruments of torture ready to be used on you if you do not turn to us."

Abo paid no attention to them, but went on praying and singing psalms silently in his mind. After they had gone on talking a long time he said, "It is no use haranguing me, for I am like a deaf man and have heard nothing, and like a dumb man who never opens his mouth; I have become like a man deprived of hearing, with whom it is quite useless to converse, for my hope is in the Lord. Leave me alone, you worthless people, so that I can seek out the commandments of my God." Since they could not shake this righteous man they went crestfallen away.

The blessed Abo remained in prison nine days, and spent all the daytime fasting and the nights in vigil until dawn, But on the ninth day he said to all the Christians and others who were with him in jail, "tomorrow is the day of my passing away, to be united with my Lord God Jesus Christ." For this fact was revealed by the Lord to His martyr.

After this he stripped off his clothes and gave them to be sold, so that they could buy candles and incense to burn for him; and these he distributed for burning in all the city churches. He also sent to ask all the priests to pray for bun, so that he might not be deflected from the Christian faith, but be made worthy of the calling of the Christian martyrs.

He passed the night before his solemn commemoration day in vigil, and lifted up two great candles in his hands and stood up in the middle of his prison. There he remained standing upright till dawn without respite, until he had finished reciting the Psalms and the candles had burnt away in his hands, which were fastened to his neck with iron chains. And as lie stood steadfastly he spoke aloud, saying, "I will lift up my eyes unto the Lord, He is ever before me, for He is my right hand, that I may not falter," and the words that follow.

When the tenth lay dawned it was the 6th of January, the commemoration of our Lord's baptism; and it was a Friday. And the blessed Abo said, "This is a great day for me, for I see the twofold victory of my Lord Jesus Christ, since it was on this day that He went down unclothed into the river Jordan to be baptized; and the heads of the monster hidden in those deep waters He annihilated by divine power. Now it is my turn today to vanquish the fears which beset my soul's fleshly covering, and go down into the city as into the sacred waters to be baptized in my own blood by fire and spirit, as John the Baptist preached. Then indeed I shall enter again into the waters to receive baptism, for it is today that the Holy Spirit goes out over all the waters, by which all Christ's faithful followers are baptized as in the river Jordan. When I am divested of my body, I shall revile and trample on the wily machinations which Satan has devised for me in this city.

"And again, it was on a Friday that my Lord Jesus Christ in His Passion, with His bands nailed to the Cross exposed the enemy of all mankind and put him to shame to all the ends of the earth. Now grant me too that I may take up the struggle against that foe of the Christians, and by shedding my blood for Christ may turn him into an object of contempt and derision for all Christians because he imagined that he could estrange me by fear of death from the love of my Lord Jesus Christ. But I shall pour scorn on his plans and overcome him by Christ's grace and thus repay my twofold debt to my Saviour."

Then he asked for water and washed his face and anointed his head and said, "Once upon a time I myself was a skilled perfumer and mixer of fragrant oils. But today this is my anointing for the grave. From now on I shall no longer be anointed with this perishable oil of my petty nature, but as Solomon the Wise taught me in his Song of Songs, "I ran in the savour of Thy good ointments," O Christ, who filled me with the imperishable perfume of Thy faith and love. Thou knowest, O Lord, that I have loved Thee more than I have loved myself ."

When he had spoken these words he went into the holy church and they let him partake of the Holy Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood. It was the third hour of his solemn festival day, and when he had partaken of the true and lifegiving mystery, he said, "I thank Thee, my Lord God Jesus Christ, who hast given me as provision for my journey this life-imparting flesh of Thine, as well as Thy sacred blood to be my cheer and strength!

Now I know that Thou bast not abandoned me, hut art standing by me, and I by Thee. From now on I shall take no more of that other food from which one grows hungry again, nor of that other drink from which one thirsts again, but this is sufficient for me until the life eternal. Now though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou, O Lord, art with me."

As soon as he had said these words the judge's minions arrived, and he took leave of all the imprisoned Christians and said, "Remember me in your prayers, for you will see me no more in this transitory world." And they attached chains to his feet and hands and brought him out through the town. The Christians and friends of his who saw him shed tears for his sake ; but St. Abo said to them, "Do not weep over me, but he glad, for I am going to my, Lord. Send me on my way with prayers, and may the peace of the Lord protect you !" But he went along like someone who is making a corpse to walk, for it was thus that he looked upon his body; and as he went along he repeated in his mind the 118th Psalm (#4) "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord." After he had chanted this passage he repeated the words of that blessed robber, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom."

In this way he arrived before the judgment seat of the Amir his judge; when he had come there, he boldly made the sign of the Cross over the gate, and crossed himself. Then they brought him before the magistrate, who said to him, "What is this, young man, what ideas have you got into your head?" But the holy martyr became filled with the Holy Ghost and said, "I have taken thought. and am a Christian."

The judge said to him, "Have not you abandoned your idiocy and folly?" The blessed Abo said to him, "Although I was once sunk in ignorance and foolishness, nevertheless I later became worthy of Christ."

The judge said to him, "Do you not realize that with these words of yours, you have pronounced your own death sentence?" St. Abo replied, "If I die, I am convinced that I shall live with Christ. Why do you delay? Carry out your design upon me! For I am as firm as that wall against which you arc leaning; I do not listen to your futile words, for my mind is with Christ in heaven."

The judge said to him, "What is this delight granted to you from Christ, for the sake of which you do not even shrink from death?" St. Abo said to him, "If you desire to know this delight, then believe in Christ yourself and he baptized in Him, and thereby you will become worthy to experience the delight he bestows."

Then the Amir became angry and ordered him to he taken out and beheaded. The attendants led him out from the bar of judgment into the palace courtyard and removed from him the irons which shackled his hands and feet. But the saint himself quickly tore off the robe in which he was clad; when he was naked he made the sign of the Cross over his face and body, saying, "I thank and bless Thee, O Holy Trinity, that Thou hast made me worthy to take part in the feats of Thy holy martyrs!" After saying this, he folded his arms crosswise behind his back, and with a glad face and steadfast spirit invoked Christ and bowed down his neck to the sword.

Three times they struck him with the sword, for they thought that by fear of death, they might separate him from Christ; hut the holy martyr looked on the sword in brave silence until he offered up his soul to the Lord.

When the foes of Christ who had denounced the saintly martyr saw that the blessed one's life was accomplished in Christ, that he had fought the good fight and had overcome their demented frenzy by his faith and constancy, they were even more filled with spite, and appeared in front of the tyrant and said, "We know that the Christians have a custom that if someone is executed for this Christ of theirs, they steal his body and give it honourable burial. And with fraudulent intent they publicly declare it to have miraculous healing powers and distribute the garments and the hair from its head as well as its bones as a talisman against sickness, and in this way they deceive a lot of ignorant people. Now order his body to be handed over for us to take out and burn with fire and scatter to the wind and confound the fraud of the Christians, so that they may all see and be afraid, and some of them be converted to our faith. Our people also would be deterred by this from turning to the doctrine of the Christians." Although they said this from spite towards the Christians they testified to the strict truth, since Christ's martyrs are a source of healing grace to all who draw near to them in Christ-given love and faith.

The judge answered, "Take it wherever you like, and do with it whatever you think best." Then they went and raised his sacred body from the ground and laid it in a portable box together with his clothes; from the earth they scooped up the blood that had been shed by this righteous one, leaving absolutely nothing upon the ground, and they poured it into a receptacle. They loaded the saint on to a cart, just like those forty steadfast saints for the place where they cut off the head of the holy martyr was by the portals of the holy church dedicated to the Forty Saints (#5) , so that it was fitting that he should be treated in the same way as those forty valiant holy martyrs had been.

After they had transported the saint's sacred body outside the town and taken it up to the spot which is called the Place of Lamentation - for it is there that the burial ground of the people of this town is situated, they took him off the cart and laid him on the ground. They collected firewood and straw and oil, and heaped it on to the holy body and set fire to it, until they had burnt the flesh of the holy martyr on that spot which is to the east of the city fortress which they call Sadilego ("the Dungeon"), at the edge of a cliff on the steep bank of the great river which flows eastwards from the city and is called the Kura (Mtkvari).

They did not let any of the Christians come near that place until they had finished burning the holy martyr's corpse. But the relics of the holy martyr, which they were unable to destroy by fire, they stuffed into a sheep-skin which they sewed up firmly and carried and threw into the great river, below the city bridge on which the venerable Cross of the Bridge was set up. And the river water became a winding sheet for those sacred relics and the depths of the waters a sepulchre for the holy martyr, so that no one should wantonly disturb them. Thus it was that Christ's foes acted, and thus that the blessed one completed his noble deeds of piety.

Then a multitude of Christians from the town assembled and set aside all dread of the tyrants and came out in a body to the place where they had burnt the corpse of the holy martyr. Old folk hurried along with their sticks, the lame hopped along like deer, youths came running, children raced each other, while the women were like those saintly bringers of perfume who ran to bring sweet ointments to the tomb of Christ our Lord - truly now they imitated them, for they ran with tears and brought with them candles and incense in their hands. All of them came joyfully, offering up thanks to Christ, and scooped up the earth at that spot and brought many who were afflicted by various diseases, and they were cured that same day.

But God Omnipotent showed His might still more greatly, and gave glory to His martyr and revealed a wondrous miracle so that all should know that this was a martyr of Christ. When that day was growing dim and it was the first hour of the night, the Lord set over that spot a flaming star like a fiery torch, which stood for a long time over the place where they had burnt the blessed martyr of Christ. It stood high up in the sky until the third hour of the night or longer, and gave forth a brilliance that was like no earthly fire, but like a fearsome lightning flash, seen by all the townspeople, including the judge and all the local Christians and all the Saracens and travellers who had come from other lands. For a long time they gazed with the pupils of their eyes until the tyrants were put to shame; and some of the Saracen judge's attendants came out to look at that spot because they imagined the Christians might have lit the place up. When they drew near the spot they saw the star rising up higher in the air, and could not approach the place, for they were seized with the fear of God.

Again, on the second night a light still more wondrous issued from the river. The Saracens, amazed by this unusual spectacle of heavenly fire between earth and sky, tried to conceal the marvel; yet no waters could quench it, nor could the furiously seething waves and depths put it out. Where they had hurled in the divinely consecrated relics of the blessed martyr below the bridge, a light shone in the form of a pillar like a lightning flash, which continued bright for a long time. Both sides of the river were lit up, the craggy banks, and the bridges from top to bottom. This also was witnessed by the whole multitude of the townsfolk, so that all might be convinced that this was indeed a martyr of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and that everyone, whether believers in Christ or unbelievers, might understand that true is the word of the Lord when He said, "If anyone serve me, he will receive honour from my Father, which is in heaven."

If now He showed such honour to Abo's perishable flesh, how much more shall we not see him honoured at the resurrection of the just, when he is crowned imperishably among the angels in glory and exaltation? What shame for their demented frenzy will fall upon those who denied Christ and smote and persecuted and destroyed those saints of His whom then He will be admitting into His heaven! But now, beloved, it behoves us all the more to cherish the memory of those first blessed martyrs, that through what we have witnessed of this new martyr we may believe also in those protomartyrs, and utter the words of the blessed David:

"Honourable before the Lord is the death of His saints!"
And to Him belongs glory, now and always and for all eternity, AMEN. 

NOTES:
1. A high Byzantine court title, regularly bestowed on the ruling prince of Georgia, Armenia and other frontier states adjoining Byzantium.
2. Some manuscripts read "three days", which is absurd when we consider the distance between the Volga and the Black Sea province of Abkhazia.
3. Thus is some of the manuscripts; however, the list of names of contemporary sovereigns shows this date, corresponding to A.D. 915 is wrong, and that the year must in reality have been A.D.786.
4. In the English Psalter, Psalm 119.
5. These are the Forty Martyrs of Sebastia, to whom there is more than one reference in the Life of Peter the Iberian, above.