martyrdom.victor.06 Chapter 1

And Apa Victor looked closely at the man, and he knew of a certainty that he was a phantom, and he; said unto him

Get thee gone from me. It is through thee that the whole world is in a state of disruption, and it is through thee that the worship of idols flourisheth.'

And the blessed man Apa Victor turned his face towards the east, and said

Shew Thy compassion upon me, O Thou only Son of Thy Father, my Lord Jesus the Christ, and deliver out of all my tribulations

And when the Devil heard the Name of Jesus, straightway he made himself visible.

And Apa Victor continued to live in the Camp, and Jesus was with him in everything which he did.

And the noble man Victor meditated within himself and said, 'What kind of work can I do whereby I may live?'

Now he had learned the trade of an artisan, and whilst he was living by himself in the Camp he used to make seats and lamp-stands.

And it came to pass one day whilst the blessed, man Apa Victor was living in exile that the Lord Jesus came to him. Now He had changed His apparel (or, form),

and had taken the appearance of a grey-headed old man, who had come thither from a far-distant place.

And He knocked at the gate of the Camp,

and Apa Victor came outside

and when he saw the grey-headed old man he was filled with sorrow and compassion for Him

and he kissed Him, saying,

Come inside, O my lord brother, Thou good man; it seemeth to me as if I had seen Jesus this day.

And Apa Victor did not know who the old man was

and the two of them went into the tower wherein Victor lived.

Then Apa Victor said unto the man,

Let us offer up prayer to God'

and Jesus said unto him,

Let us offer up prayer

And Apa Victor said unto Him,

Do Thou stand up first, because Thou art greater than I, and Thou art (more) holy (than I). I am nineteen years old this day,

and the sign of this world hath not as yet ceased, to manifest itself in my body, and the wickedness of this world hath not entirely disappeared from my heart.

And Jesus said unto him,

Forgive me, O my brother! I will stand up (and pray).'

And Jesus and Apa Victor spread out their hands,

and it came to pass that as they were praying the ten fingers of Jesus became ten lamps of fire which penetrated to the throne of the Father.

And it came to pass that when they had finished praying Apa Victor went forward and saluted Jesus — now he knew not who lie was — and he said unto Him

Sit Thou down so that I may be able to enjoy thy face fully, for behold, it is a very long time since I have seen a man. And I adjure Thee to inform me truthfully of what place Thou art a native, so that I may know whether Thou art a native of my own city (or not)

And Jesus said unto Him,

Thou art a Roman (Greek?) of Cilicia.

Thy father is Romanus and thy mother is Martha, and the wife whom they betrothed to thee is Theonoe; but God hath chosen thee for Himself

And Apa Victor wept in His face, and said unto Him,

O my brother, great is Thy faith.

I see that Thou art a prophet, or perhaps Thou art an angel of God.

But tell me news about my house (or, home), for behold, it is a very long time since I departed from my country.

And Jesus answered (and said)

O my brother, shew an act of lovingkindness to me, and give me a cake of bread, so that I may eat it, for it is seven days since I ate food.

And Apa Victor said unto Him

In truth, O my brother, this day is the fortieth day in which nothing hath entered my mouth, and for forty days I have not taken my clothes off my body.

And as the Lord liveth I have neither bread nor water in this wilderness, nor anything whatsoever which hath the appearance of food.

But now, O my brother, rise up, take this lamp-stand and these seats (or, stools), and also my shoe latchet, and go Thou into the city which is near and sell them at their (proper) price, and buy us some bread that we may eat, lest our souls decay through weakness.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, 'Where in this wilderness dost thou find a man with whom to hold converse? And who is it that taketh care to provide thee with food?

And Apa Victor answered and said unto Him,

Woe be unto me, O my brother! (Long will it be) before I shall arrive in that other world wherein no respect of persons is shewn. Mayest Thou find it. My Lord the Christ dwelleth there, the Apostles and the Patriarchs dwell there, and thousands of thousands, and tens of thousands of tens of thousands stand round about it.

And if any man who is a sinner shall arrive therein lie shall not find boldness (or, freedom of speech) therein, because of the sins which he hath committed, both those committed during the day and those committed during the night

As for me, how wretched shall I be in that hour! Woe is me, because of the ignorance which hath been set in the hearts of men, whereby each one faileth to remember death until the moment when it overtaketh him before he knoweth it!

Woe is me, for I have made supplication to death, but I have not found it.

I have begged that some sickness might attack me, but it hath not done so.

Thou knowest, O my Lord, that I have made entreaty for my death more than for my life, for I am without father and without mother in this world.

I bear witness by my Lord Jesus the Christ, that if Thou departest from me this day, Thou shalt come back again and shalt visit me.

I am the servant which is unprofitable.

When I shall die Thou shalt bury my body, lest it remain lying about in this world, wherein there is no man whatsoever who shall keep me in remembrance.

Then Jesus had compassion upon Apa Victor, and He looked upon him as he wept,

and said unto him,

Dost thou know Who I am?

I am he Who delivered thee from the rack of torture at Rakote.

I am He Who delivered thee from the iron bed.

I am He Who kept thee in safety in the furnace of the bath.

I am Jesus the Christ, Who delivered thee from all thy tribulations.

I will be with thee in every place whither thou shalt go.

Grieve thou not because thou art living in this wilderness.

Amen, I say unto thee, that thou shalt be with Ale in the Jerusalem of heaven, My beloved city. And as I shall take My seat upon My throne, thou also shalt sit upon thy throne.

thou also shalt sit upon thy throne. And I will make every tyrant (or. governor) and every ruler to hold in wonder thy name whensoever they shall hear it.

And I will make them to come to thy shrine and to bring gifts unto thee in My Name.

I will make many mighty wonders and signs to become manifest at thy shrine.

Whosoever shall come to thy shrine, and shall make a vow, and shall not pay the same, because of these unpaid vows will I enter into judgement with them.

As for this tower wherein thou dwellest, the multitudes who shall come thereto shall not destroy it, (The story of) thy life and conversation and of thy great valour shall reach the uttermost ends of the earth.

This year shalt thou dwell in exile, but in the next year they shall cut off thy head with the sword in this Camp

for thou shalt suffer certain pains for My Names sake.

And I will come unto thee again, and I will give thee strength until thou shalt have put to shame the Duke and his torturings.

And straightway Apa Victor cast himself down at the feet of the Lord, saying

Who am I, that I should be deemed worthy by Thee for Thee to speak to, O my Lord?

And Jesus kissed him, and He departed into heaven, and the angels sang hymns to Him.

And Apa Victor continued to live in the Camp, and the Lord Jesus was with him.

And Apa Victor purchased for himself the materials for his burial, and his coffin.

And large numbers of soldiers flocked to the Camp for the sake of the blessed man Apa Victor.

And the blessed man Apa Victor doubled the number of the prayers which he used to make, and he ke2)t fasts for very long periods, and he diligently observed the Sabbaths, and the Lord Jesus was with him. In the peace of God, May His holy blessing be with us! Amen

THE FOURTH MARTYRDOM OF APA VICTOR. IN THE PEACE OF GOD. BLESS US. AMEN.

And it came to pass that after Saint Apa Victor was banished he lived in the Camp.

And Sebastianus, the Duke, came to inspect the Camp.

And Asterius, the praetor of the Camp, cast himself down before the Count, and Soterichos, who was the accountant (or, clerk), gave him a written statement concerning Apa Victor, so that he might summon him into his presence.

Then the Duke ordered his servants to set his judgement throne inside the gate of the Camp, in order that he might hear (the case of) the holy man Apa Victor.

And when the morning had come the Duke took his seat upon the throne, and he commanded his servants to bring the righteous man into his presence.

And the torturers seized Apa Victor whilst he was in his cell, and he had lentils in his hand, and he was eating

and Apa Victor threw the lentils through the window, saying

O my Lord Jesus the Christ, do Thou make these lentils to become stones which shall never be destroyed! And they shall be a sign unto all the generations which are to come, lest these wicked men tread them down.'

And Apa Victor prayed, saying,

O my Lord Jesus the Christ, let me not be put to shame before this wicked man.'

And afterwards he came down (from his cell), and stood before the Duke.

And the Duke said unto him,

These are the letters which the Emperor hath sent to be read unto thee; hearken unto them, and offer up sacrifice.'

And Apa Victor answered and said,

I belong to a King Who is deathless, and therefore I will not worship an emperor who will die.

kingdoms of the world shall perish and be destroyed, but the glory of God shall never, never perish; therefore I will not offer up sacrifice.

For the pomp and glory of this world are nothing as compared with God.

Verily, I know well that I did receive a salary of sixty from my father, who is a general, and that God hated me because I received these things wickedly.

Now therefore, O Duke, neither gold nor silver will be of the least value to a man in the hour of his necessity.

For this reason let us fight with ourselves, for forgetfulness hath spread itself over our heart, so that we may never cease to remember the death (which cometh) in this world.

I have never glorified myself, and I have never exalted myself.

For this reason that which is written is fulfilled in me: 'He who exalteth himself shall be abased, and he who abaseth himself shall be exalted.'

Then Sebastianus was exceedingly wroth, and he said unto Apa Victor, 'Offer up sacrifice.'

And Apa Victor answered and said, 'I will not offer up sacrifice.

Whatsoever thou wishest to do unto me that do.

I fell into the hands of the four torturers (?) before this, and I was not afraid of them, for the Lord gave me strength during all my torturings.

Now therefore, O Duke, I was banished to this spot because of this Name, for (they said), 'Offer up sacrifice,'

(and I would not do so). And, moreover, I do not wish to remain in this world which shall dissolve away and perish.

Be it known unto thee also, O Duke, that if thou put me to the torture many, many times, thou wilt only give additional strength to the reasoning power of the mind which is within me.

Wholly fitting for me is it that I should be held worthy to endure revilings for the Name of the Christ.'

And the Duke said unto Apa Victor,

Cease thy say; thou art always talking!

Art thou a deacon, or a reader, that thou possessest such perfect knowledge of this (kind) of wisdom?

And Apa Victor said,

I would give thanks unto the Christ (if I were), only I am not worthy of so great a gift as this — to be made a deacon or a reader. The grace of God is received through Jesus the Christ, Who giveth wisdom unto every man whose heart is right with Him, because He is the giver of riches and His treasury is filled with wisdom (which) He giveth unto every one who shall profit through Him in respect of good things.

For as the good husbandman is in the habit of giving manure to his field, so that he may supply it with strength and enable it to bring forth its crop,

even so doth the wisdom of God live in the soul of him that seeketh after it, and it permitteth neither the net of death nor the wiles of the Devil to have dominion over it. For the Lord is mighty, and He is able to perform everything.'

And the Duke said unto him,

Dost thou then go so far as to choose for thyself death rather than life?

And Apa Victor answered and said unto him,

'This death is not by any means death, but life everlasting.

I am able to endure patiently thy torturings.'