martyrdom.victor.08 Chapter 1

And the duke answered,

And he said to her, 'Offer up sacrifice now, O Stephanou,'

and do not die an evil death.

And she said unto him, 'My name is indeed Stephanou, the interpretation of which is 'crown incorruptible,'

and therefore I will not offer up sacrifice, because I wish to receive the crown which is (indicated by) my name.

Then the duke was exceedingly wroth,

and he commanded his soldiers to set her between two palm-trees, and to tie her to each of them.

And they pulled the trunks of the two palms close to her holy body by means of a rope, and tied them together.

And afterwards the two palms were released suddenly by cutting the rope, and in this way she was rent asunder down to the middle of her body, and she became two pieces.

Thus she fulfilled her martyrdom in peace,

and she departed into the heavens, unto Him whom she had loved, the Christ, in great glory, amen.

Then the Duke passed the sentence of death upon Apa Victor, [and ordered his soldiers to] cut off his head.

And the blessed man Apa Victor answered and said unto him, 'I give thanks unto my Lord Jesus the Christ, Who hath given unto me these riches forever.

Now, therefore, hearken unto me, and I will declare unto you the following things which have been revealed to me.

Now after I am dead ye yourselves shall also die, at the end of my eleventh [year].

'And as concerning the Duke Sebastianos, an ekstasis shall take place, and certain men in a town shall delay [in paying tribute], and he shall embark in his boat and depart to despoil them,

and as (the crew) are tying the boat up to the bank, the Duke shall come forth.

And as he is coming down from the boat by the landing plank he shall trip up, and the monobolis shall penetrate his foot, and the foot shall mortify, and he shall die in the twenty-fourth year after my death.

And again, all the wise men and all the orators shall go and eat their midday meal together at the end of the eighth year after my death, and the house wherein they are shall fall upon them, and they shall all die together.

And when Asterius, the governor of the camp, the same who delivered the written accusation of me to the Count, as a result of which he tortured me, shall tie up his ass on the north side of the Camp when he shall arrive there, and shall beat her, she shall bite him, and he shall fall ill and die.

And after ten days the men of my household shall come seeking after my body;

Give it to them.

For I have already bought the funerary swathings for my body and my coffin in order that they may not bury me in the funerary equipment of a stranger.

Only, I pray you, do not prevent my body from being given unto those who shall seek after it.

For there shall be an exceedingly great upheaval of the sea, and mighty events shall take place in the spot wherein my body shall be deposited.

And the people of the whole country shall come to my shrine, and many mighty deeds shall take place on the spot where they shall deposit my head,

and the people of the whole country shall come to my shrine by reason of the mighty deeds which shall be done therein.

I am a young man twenty years of age.

I entreat you all, O my fellow soldiers, to let me depart to the presence of my Lord Jesus the Christ. This is the day which I have been (long) expecting,

and behold, it hath come this day.

And straightaway they tied a gag in his mouth.

And Apa Victor said unto the executioner, 'Dismiss me speedily, for the sake of the angels who have hold upon me.'

Now the executioner was not pleased to do so, for he only struck his neck with the sword,

And his head hung by the skin of his neck.

And Apa Victor was in torture, and his spirit was sorely distressed in him.

And he looked up and saw Horian the Kourson,

and he said unto him, 'Take the sword out of the hand of this lawless man, and do thou make an end of me, for this wicked man of Sioout hath already done very many evil thinks to me during my lifetime, and now also at my death he doth grievously afflict my spirit.

May the Lord reward him according to what he hath done unto me.'

And Horion the Kourson said unto Apa Victor, 'My lord, do not think in they heart concerning me that I would lift up my hand against my brother soldier.

I swear by thy salvation, O my brother Apa Victor, and by the dire need which is on thee, that I have never stretched out my hand even against a bird, to shed its blood, and it is impossible for me to lay my hand upon thee (with violence).

But I pray thee to remember me in the place whereunto thou departest.'

And Apa Victor answered and said, 'The Lord Jesus Christ shall shew mercy unto thee, for in this very same year thou shalt die, and the Lord shall forgive thee they sins. The enemy and the martyr shall come forth to thee, (and) I shall follow after them and shall sing hymns with them.'

And Horion placed his napkin before his face.

And (Apa Victor) said unto him, 'O my beloved brother, I entreat thee most earnestly,'

and (Horion) girded on the sword.

And the camp was shaken three times.

Then he cut off his head.

He consummated his martyrdom.

And Horion lifted up his eyes to heaven.

and he saw the soul of Apa Victor, which Ausouel carried (to heaven) in a napkin made of byssus,

and the saints saluted the soul of Apa Victor.

And when they had taken off the head of Apa Victor blood mingled with milk came forth.

And he consummated his glorious martyrdom on the twenty-seventh day of the month Parmoute, at the tenth hour of the day.

And all the words which he spake before they took off his head came true.

Peace be upon every one who hath suffered martyrdom for the Name of our Lord Jesus the Christ, to Whom be the glory, and to His Good Farther, and to the Holy Spirit, life-giving and consubstantial, now and always, forever and ever, amen.

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