Abgar V

Then we went to the right side of the church, out of doors, and opposite to us two cities were pointed out.

the one isibon now called egzabon which belonged to sion king of the amorites and the other now called sazdra the city of og the king of basan fogor which was a city of the kingdom of edom was also pointed out from thence opposite to us all these cities which we saw were situated on mountains but a little below them the ground seemed to be flatter then we were told that in the days when holy moses and the children of israel had fought against those cities they had encamped there and indeed the signs of a camp were visible there from the side of the mountain which i have called the left which was over the dead sea a very sharp-cut mountain was shown to us which was formerly called agri specula this is the mountain on which balak the son of beor placed balaam the soothsayer to curse the children of israel and god refused to permit it as it is written then having seen everything that we desired we returned in the name of god through jericho back to jerusalem along the whole of the route by which we had come visit to now after some time i wished to go to the region of ausitas to visit the tomb of holy job for the sake of prayer for i used to see many holy monks coming thence to jerusalem to visit the holy places for the sake of prayer who giving information of everything concerning those places increased my desire to undertake the toil of going to them also if indeed that can be called toil by which a man sees his desire to be fulfilled so i set out from jerusalem with the holy men who deigned to give me their company on my journey they themselves also going for the sake of prayer making my journey from jerusalem through eight stations to carneas the city of job is now called carneas but it was formerly called denaba in the land of ausytus on the confines of idumea and arabia travelling on this journey i saw on the bank of the river jordan a very beautiful and pleasant valley abounding in vines and trees for such excellent water was there and in that valley there was a large village which is now called the village which is situated in the middle of the level ground has in its midst a little hill of no great size shaped as large tombs are wont to be there is a church on the summit and down below around the little hill great and ancient foundations appear while in the village itself some grave mounds still remain when i saw this pleasant place i asked what it was and it was told me this is the city of king melchizedek which was called salem but now through the corruption of the language the village is called on the top of the little hill which is situated in the midst of the village the building that you see is a church which is now called in the greek language o pu melchizedek for this is the place where melchizedek offered pure sacrifices that is bread and wine to god as it is written of him the city of melchizedek directly i heard this we alighted from our beasts and lo the holy priest of the place and the clergy deigned to meet us and straightway receiving us led us up to the church when we had arrived there prayer was first said according to custom then the passage from the book of holy moses was read then one psalm suitable to the place was said then after prayer made we came down when we had come down the holy priest addressed us he was an elderly man well taught in the scriptures and he had presided over the place from the time he had been a monk to whose life many bishops as we learned afterwards bore great testimony saying that he was worthy to preside over the place where holy melchizedek when abraham was coming to meet him was the first to offer pure sacrifices to god when we had come down from the church as i said above the holy priest said to us behold these foundations which you see around the little hill are those of the palace of king melchizedek for from his time to the present day if any one wishes to build himself a house here and so strikes on these foundations he sometimes finds little fragments of silver and bronze and this way which you see passing between the river jordan and this village is the way by which holy abraham returned to sodom after the slaughter of chedorlaramar king of nations and where holy melchizedek the king of salem met him enon then because i remembered that it was written that st john had baptized in enon near to salem i asked him how far off that place was it is near two hundred paces off and if you wish i will now lead you there on foot this large and pure stream of water which you see in this village comes from that spring then i began to thank him and to ask him to lead us to the place which was done so we began to go with him on foot through the very pleasant valley until we reached a most pleasant orchard in the midst of which he showed us a spring of excellent and pure water which sent out continuously a good stream the spring had in front of it a sort of pool where it appears that st john the baptist fulfilled his ministry then the holy priest said to us this garden is called nothing else to this day than zippos to agui joannu in the greek language or as you say in latin otus sancti johannis many brethren holy monks direct their steps hither from various places that they may wash here so at the spring as in every place prayer was made the proper lection was read and an appropriate psalm was said and everything that it was customary for us to do whenever we came to the holy places we did there also the holy priest also told us that to this day at easter all they who are to be baptized in the village that is in the church which is called opus melchizedek are always baptized in this spring returning early to vespers with the clergy and monks saying psalms and antiphons so that they who have been baptized are led back early from the fountain to the church of holy melchizedek then receiving eulogiae out of the orchard of st john the baptist from the priest as well as from the holy monks who had cells in the same orchard and always giving thanks to god we set out on the way we were going the city of elijah the brook then going for a time through the valley of the jordan on the bank of the river because our route lay that way for a while we suddenly saw the city of the holy prophet elijah that is thesby whence he had the name of elijah the tishbite there to this day is the cave wherein the holy man sat there too is the tomb of holy getha whose name we read in the books of the judges there too we gave thanks to god according to custom and pursued our journey and as we journeyed that way we saw a very pleasant valley opening towards us on the left it was very large and discharged a very great torrent into the jordan and in that valley we saw the cell of one who is now a brother that is a monk then i as i am very inquisitive began to ask what was this valley where the holy monk had now made himself a cell for i did not think it was without reason then the holy men who were journeying with us and who knew the place said this is the valley of korah where holy elijah the tishbite dwelt in the time of king ahab when there was a famine and at the bidding of god the raven used to bring him food and he drank water of the torrent for this brook which you see running through this valley into jordan is korah wherefore giving thanks to god who deigned to show us everything that we desired unworthy as we were we began to make our journey as on other days and as we journeyed day by day on the left side whence on the opposite side we saw parts of phoenicia there suddenly appeared a great and high mountain which extended in length a leaf is torn out burial place of job returned to jerusalem which holy monk and ascetic after so many years spent in the desert found it necessary to move and to go down to the city of carneas in order to advise the bishop and clergy of that time according as it had been revealed to him that they should dig in that place which had been shown to him which was done and they digging in that place which had been shown to him found a cave which they followed for about a hundred paces when suddenly as they dug a stone tomb came to light and when they had uncovered it they found carved on its lid the name job to this job the church which you see has been built in that place in such a manner that the stone with the body should not be moved but that it should be placed where the body had been found and that the body should lie under the altar that church which was built by some tribune has been unfinished to this day next morning we asked the bishop to make the oblation which he deigned to do and the bishop blessing us we set out there too we communicated and always giving thanks to god we returned to jerusalem journeying through each of the stations through which we had passed three years before journey into mesopotamia having spent some time there in the name of god when three full years had passed since i came to jerusalem and having seen all the holy places which i had visited for the sake of prayer my mind was to return to my country i wished however at god's bidding to go to mesopotamia in syria to visit the holy monks who were there in great number and who were said to be of such holy life as could hardly be described and also for the sake of prayer at the memorial of st thomas the apostle where his body is laid entire this is at edessa for jesus our god by a letter which he sent to abgar the king by the hand of ananias the courier promised that he would send st thomas thither after that he himself had ascended into heaven the letter is kept with great reverence at the city of edessa where the memorial is now your affection may believe me that there is no christian who having arrived at the holy places that are at jerusalem does not go on thither for the sake of prayer it is at the twenty-fifth station from jerusalem and since from antioch it is nearer to mesopotamia it was very convenient for me at god's bidding that as i was returning to constantinople and my way lying through antioch i should go thence to mesopotamia this then at god's bidding i did end of section seven section eight of the pilgrimage of etheria by etheria this librivox recording is in the public domain antioch to mesopotamia the crossing of the euphrates then setting out from antioch to mesopotamia in the name of christ our god i journeyed through certain stations and cities of the province of sile syria which is antioch and entering the borders of the province of augustophratensis i came to the city of geropolis which is the metropolis of augusto fratensis and as this city is very beautiful and rich and abounds in everything it was necessary for me to make a halt there for the borders of mesopotamia were not far distant then starting from hereopolis i came in the name of god at the fifteenth milestone to the river euphrates of which it is very well written that it is the great river euphrates it is huge and as it were terrible for it flows down with a current like the river rhone only the euphrates is still greater and as we had to cross in ships and in large ships only i waited there until after mid-day and then in the name of god i crossed the river euphrates and entered the borders of mesopotamia in syria edessa then journeying through certain stations i came to a city whose name we read recorded in the scriptures batanis which city exists to-day it has a church with a truly holy bishop both monk and confessor and certain martyr memorials the city has a teeming population and the soldiery with their tribune are stationed there departing thence we arrived at edessa in the name of christ our god and on our arrival we straightway repaired to the church and memorial of st thomas there according to custom prayers were made and the other things that were customary in the holy places were done we read also some things concerning st thomas himself the church there is very great very beautiful and of new construction well worthy to be the house of god and as there was much that i desired to see it was necessary for me to make a three days stay there thus i saw in that city many memorials together with holy monks some dwelling at the memorials while others had their cells in more secluded spots farther from the city moreover the holy bishop of the city a truly devout man both monk and confessor received me willingly and said as i see daughter that for the sake of devotion you have undertaken so great a labour in coming to these places from far distant lands if you are willing we will show you all the places that are pleasant to the sight of christians then first thanking god i besought the bishop much that he would deign to do as he said from the face of abgar it seemed that he was a very wise and honourable man then the holy bishop said to me behold king abgar who before he saw the lord believed in him that he was in truth the son of god there was another statue near made of the same marble which he said was that of his son magnus this also had something gracious in the face then we entered the inner part of the palace and there were fountains full of fish such as i never saw before of so great size so bright and of so good a flavour were they the city has no water at all other than that which comes out of the palace which is like a great silver river the story of king abgarus then the holy bishop told me about the water saying at some time after that king abgar had written to the lord and the lord had answered king abgar by ananias the courier as it is written in the letter itself when some time had passed the persians came against the city and surrounded it and straightway abgar bearing the letter of the lord to the gate with all of his army prayed publicly and he said o lord jesus thou hast promised us that none of our enemies should enter this city and lo the persians now attack us and when the king had said this holding the open letter in his uplifted hands suddenly there came a great darkness outside the city before the eyes of the persians as they were approaching the city at a distance of about three miles and they were so baffled by the darkness that they could hardly form their camp and surround the whole city about three miles off so baffled were the persians that they could never afterwards see the way to enter the city but they surrounded it and shut it in with their hostile forces at a distance of about three miles for several months.

Then, when they saw that they could by no means enter, they wished to slay those within the city by thirst.

Now that little hill which you see, my daughter, over against the city, supplied it with water at that time, and the Persians, perceiving this, diverted the water from the city, and made it to run near that place where they had made their camp.

And on that day, and at that hour when the Persians diverted the water, the fountains which you see in this place burst forth at once at God's bidding, and by the favor of God they remain here from that day to this.

But the water which the Persians had diverted was dried up at that hour, so that they who were besieging the city had nothing to drink for even one day which thing is plain to the present time for no moisture of any sort has ever been seen there from that day to this so at god's bidding who had promised that this should come to pass they were obliged to return to their own home in persia moreover afterwards as often as enemies determined to come and take the city this letter was brought out and read in the gate and straightway all enemies were driven back by the will of god the holy bishop also told me that the place where these fountains broke forth had previously been open ground within the city lying under the palace of king abgar which same palace had been situated on somewhat higher ground as was plainly visible for the custom was at that time that whenever palaces were built they should always stand on higher ground but after that these fountains had burst forth here then apgar built this palace for his son magnus whose statue i saw near that of his father so that the fountain should be included in the palace and when the holy bishop had told me all these things he said to me let us now go to the gate by which ananias the courier entered with the letter of which i spoke so when we had come to the gate the bishop standing made a prayer and read us the letters then after he had blessed us another prayer was made moreover the holy man told us that from the day on which ananias the courier entered it with the letter of the lord the gate is kept to this day that no one who is unclean nor any mourner should pass through nor should any dead body be borne out through it the holy bishop also showed us the memorial of abgar and of his whole family very beautiful but made in the ancient style he took us also to the palace which king apgar had at first on the higher ground and if there were any other places he showed them to us it was very pleasant to me to receive from the holy man himself the letters of apgar to the lord and of the lord to apgar which the holy bishop had read to us there for although i have copies at home yet it seemed to me more pleasant to receive them from him lest perhaps something less might have reached us at home and indeed that which i received here is fuller so if jesus our god bids it and i come home you too shall read them ladies my own souls then after three days spent there it was necessary for me to go still farther to shireh as it is now called in holy scripture it is called sharon where holy abraham dwelt as it is written in genesis when the lord said unto abram get thee out of thy country and from thy father's house and go to sharon and the rest and when i arrived at shereh i went straightway to the church which is within the city and soon i saw the bishop of the place a truly holy man of god both monk and confessor who deigned to show us all the places there that we desired he took us at once to the church which is without the city on the spot where stood the house of holy abraham it stands on the same foundations and it is made of the same stone as the holy bishop said when we had come to the church prayer was made the passage from genesis was read one psalm was said and after a second prayer the bishop blessed us and we came out then he deigned to take us to the well whence the holy rebekah used to fetch the water and the holy bishop said to us behold the well whence holy rebekah watered the camels of holy abraham's servant eleazar thus he deigned to show us each thing now at the church which is outside the city as i said ladies reverend sisters where abraham's house was originally there is now the martyr memorial of a certain holy monk named helpidius it happened very pleasantly for us that we arrived on the day before the martyr's feast of st helpidius which is on the twenty third of april on that day it was of obligation that all the monks from all parts and from all the borders of mesopotamia should come down to shireh even the greater ones who dwelt in solitude whom they call ascetics for this day is observed with great dignity there on account of the memorial of holy abraham whose house stood where the church now is in which the body of the holy martyr is laid so it happened to us very pleasantly beyond our expectations that we should see these holy monks of mesopotamia truly men of god as well as those whose good report and manner of life had reached men's ears far and wide whom i thought that i could not by any means see not because it was impossible for god to give me this who had deigned to give me all things but because i had heard that they never came down from their dwellings except on easter day and on this day for they are men who do many wonders and moreover i did not know in what month was the day of the martyr's feast which i have mentioned but at god's bidding it came about that i arrived on the day that i had not hoped for we stayed there two days for the memorial day and for the sake of seeing these holy men who deigned to receive me very willingly for the sake of salutation and to speak with me of which i was not worthy nor were they seen there after the memorial day for they sought the desert without delay in the night each one returning to his own cell in that city i found scarcely a single christian excepting a few clergy and holy monks if any such dwell in the city all are heathen and in like manner as we gazed with great reverence at the place where the house of holy abraham was at first for the sake of his memorial so do those heathen gaze with great reverence at a place about a mile from the city where are the memorials of nahor and bethuel and since the bishop of that city is very learned in the scriptures i asked him saying i beg of you my lord to tell me that which i desire to hear and he said tell me daughter what you wish and i will tell it you if i know it then i said i know by the scriptures that holy abraham came to this place with his father terah and with sarah his wife and with lot his brother's son but i have not read when nahor and bethuel came here i know only that afterwards abraham's servant came to shereh that he might seek rebekah the daughter of bethuel the son of nahor for isaac the son of his master abraham then the holy bishop said to me truly daughter it is written as you say in genesis that holy abraham came here with his relatives but canonical scripture does not say when nahor and his relatives and bethuel came here but it is plain that they did come here afterwards since their memorials are here at about a mile from the city the scripture does indeed relate how holy abraham's servant came here to take holy rebekah and how holy jacob came here when he took to himself the daughters of laban the syrian then i asked where was the well where holy jacob watered the flocks which rachel the daughter of laban the syrian was feeding the bishop said to me the place is six miles hence near the village which then was the farm of laban the syrian and if you wish to go there we will go with you and show it to you there are also many very holy monks and sthetics and a holy church i also asked the holy bishop where was that place of the chaldees where tyrra lived at first with his family and the holy bishop said to me the place daughter of which you ask is at the tenth station hence as you go into persia there are five stations from here to nisibis and five stations thence to hur which was a city of the chaldees but there is now no access for romans for the persians hold the whole country this district is specially called the eastern it is on the borders of the romans the persians and the chaldees and many other things he deigned to tell me as did also the other holy bishops and holy monks but all they told us was from the scriptures of god or of the acts of holy men that is of monks either the wonderful things that those already departed had done or what those who are still in the body do daily at any rate those who are ascetics for i would not that your affection should think that the monks ever told me any other stories except from the scriptures of god or else those of the acts of the great monks rachel's well the return to now after two days which i spent there the bishop took us to the well where holy jacob had watered holy rachel's flocks the well is six miles from cherrie and in its honor a very great and beautiful holy church has been built hard by when we had come to the well prayer was made by the bishop the passage from genesis was read one psalm suitable to the place was said and after a second prayer the bishop blessed us we saw also lying on a spot near the well that very great stone which holy jacob had moved away from the well and which is shown to-day no one dwells there around the well except the clergy of the church which is there and the monks who have their cells near at hand whose truly unheard-of mode of life the bishop described to us then after prayer had been made in the church i visited in company with the bishop the holy monks in their cells giving thanks both to god and to them who deigned with willing mind to receive me in their cells wherever i entered and to address me in such words as were fitting to proceed out of their mouth they deigned also to give me and all who were with me eulogii such as is the custom for monks to give those whom they receive with willing mind into their cells and the place being in a large plain a great village over against us was pointed out to me by the holy bishop about five hundred paces from the well through which village our route lay this village as the bishop said was once the farm of laban the syrian and is called in the village the memorial of laban the syrian jacob's father-in-law was shown to me the place was also shown to me where rachel stole her father's images so having seen everything in the name of god and bidding farewell to the holy bishop and the holy monks who had deigned to conduct us to the place we returned by the route and by the stations through which we had come from antioch antioch to tarsus when i had gone back to antioch i stayed there for a week while the things that were necessary for our journey were being prepared Then, starting from Antioch and journeying through several stations, I came to the province called Cilicia, which has Tarsus for its metropolis.

I had already been at Tarsus on my way to Jerusalem, but as the memorial of St. Thecla is at the third station from Tarsus, in Hisaria, it was very pleasant for me to go there, especially as it was so very near at hand.

Visit to St. Thecla's church, return to Constantinople so setting out from tarsus i came to a certain city on the sea still in cilicia which is called pompeopolis thence i entered the borders of hisaria and stayed in a city called coricus and on the third day i arrived at a city which is called cilicia in hisaria on my arrival i went to the bishop a truly holy man formerly a monk and in that city i saw a very beautiful church and as the distance thence to st thecla which is situated outside the city on a low eminence was about fifteen hundred paces i chose rather to go there in order to make the stay that i intended there is nothing at the holy church in that place except numerous cells of men and of women i found there a very dear friend of mine to whose manner of life all in the east bore testimony a holy deaconess named marthana whom i had known at jerusalem whither she had come for the sake of prayer she was ruling over the cells of apotactite and virgins and when she had seen me how can i describe the extent of her joy or of mine but to return to the matter at hand there are very many cells on the hill and in the midst of it a great wall which encloses the church containing the very beautiful memorial the wall was built to guard the church because of the hissari who are very malicious and who frequently commit acts of robbery to prevent them from making an attempt on the monastery which is established there when i had arrived in the name of god prayer was made at the memorial and the whole of the acts of st thecla having been read i gave endless thanks to christ our god who deigned to fulfil my desires in all things unworthy and undeserving as i am then after a stay of two days when i had seen the holy monks and apothecary who were there both men and women and when i had prayed and made my communion i returned to tarsus and to my journey from tarsus after a halt of three days i set out on my journey in the name of god and arriving on the same day at a station called mansokrine which is under mount taurus i stayed there on the next day going under mount taurus and travelling by the route that was already known to me through each province that i had traversed on my way out to wit cappadocia galicia and bithynia i arrived at chalcedon where i stayed for the sake of the very famous martyr memorial of st euphemia which was already known to me from a former time on the next day crossing the sea i arrived at constantinople giving thanks to christ our god who deigned to give me such grace unworthy and undeserving as i am for he had deigned to give me not only the will to go but also the power of walking through the places that i desired and of returning at last to constantinople when i had arrived there i went through all the churches that of the apostles and all the martyr memorials of which there are very many and i ceased not to give thanks to jesus our god who had thus deigned to bestow his mercy upon me from which place ladies light of my eyes while i send these letters to your affection i have already purposed in the name of christ our god to go to ephesus in asia for the sake of prayer because of the memorial of the holy and blessed apostle john and if after this i am yet in the body and am able to see any other places i will either tell it to your affection in person if god deigns to permit me this or in otherwise if i have another project in mind i will send you news of it in a letter but do you ladies light of my eyes deign to remember me whether i am in the body or out of the body and of section eight section nine of the pilgrimage of etheria by etheria this libervox recording is in the public domain jerusalem one daily offices one matins now that your affection may know what is the order of service operatio day by day in the holy places i must inform you for i know that you would willingly have this knowledge every day before cockcrow all the doors of the anastasis are opened and all the monks and virgins as they call them here go thither and not they alone but lay people also both men and women who desire to begin their vigil early and from that hour to daybreak hymns are said and psalms are sung responsively and antiphons in like manner and prayer is made after each of the hymns for priests deacons and monks in twos or threes take it in turn every day to say prayers after each of the hymns or antiphons but when day breaks they begin to say the matin hymns thereupon the bishop arrives with the clergy and immediately enters into the cave and from within the rails cancelli he first says a prayer for all mentioning the names of those whom he wishes to commemorate he then blesses the catechumens afterwards he says a prayer and blesses the faithful and when the bishop comes out from within the rails every one approaches his hand and he blesses them one by one as he goes out and the dismissal takes place by daylight two sext and non in like manner at the sixth hour all go again to the anastasis and psalms and antiphons are said while the bishop is being summoned then he comes as before not taking his seat but he enters at once within the rails in the anastasis that is in the cave just as in the early morning and as then he again first says a prayer then he blesses the faithful and as he comes out from within the rails every one approaches his hand and the same is done at the ninth hour as at the sixth three vespers now at the tenth hour which they call here the kinnikon or as we say lucinaria all the people assemble at the anastasis in the same manner and all the candles and tapers are lit making a very great light now the light is not introduced from without but it is brought forth from within the cave that is from within the rails where a lamp is always burning day and night and the vesper psalms and antiphons are said lasting for a considerable time then the bishop is summoned and he comes and takes a raised seat and likewise the priests sit in their proper places and hymns and antiphons are said and when all these have been recited according to custom the bishop rises and stands before the rails that is before the cave and one of the deacons makes the customary commemoration of individuals one by one and as the deacon pronounces each name the many little boys who are always standing by answer with countless voices kyrie eleison or as we say miserere domine and when the deacon has finished all that he has to say first the bishop says a prayer and prays for all then they all pray both the faithful and catechumens together again the deacon raises his voice bidding each catechumen to bow his head where he stands and the bishop stands and says the blessing over the catechumens again prayer is made and again the deacon raises his voice and bids the faithful each where he stands to bow the head and the bishop likewise blesses the faithful thus the dismissal takes place at the anastasis and one by one all draw near to the bishop's hand afterwards the bishop is conducted from the anastasis to the cross with hymns all the people accompanying him and when he arrives he first says a prayer then he blesses the catechumens then another prayer is said and he blesses the faithful thereupon both the bishop and the whole multitude further proceed behind the cross where all that was done before the cross is repeated and they approach the hand of the bishop behind the cross as they did at the anastasis and before the cross moreover there are hanging everywhere a vast number of great glass chandeliers and there are also a vast number of serio falla before the anastasis before the cross and behind the cross for the whole does not end until darkness has set in this is the order of daily services operatio at the cross and at the anastasis throughout the six days two sunday offices one vigil but on the seventh day that is on the lord's day the whole multitude assembles before cockcrow in as great numbers as the place can hold as at easter in the basilica which is near the anastasis but outside the doors where lights are hanging for the purpose and for fear that they should not be there at cockcrow they come beforehand and sit down there hymns as well as antiphons are said and prayers are made between the several hymns and antiphons for at the vigils there are always both priests and deacons ready there for the assembling of the multitude the custom being that the holy places are not opened before Now, as soon as the first cock has crowed, the bishop arrives and enters the cave at the Anastasis.