psflavianus.encomium.01 Chapter 1

THE ENCOMIUM WHICH OUR SAINTED FATHER FLAVIANUS, BISHOP OF THE CITY OF EPHESUS, PRONOUNCED UPON SAINT DEMETRIUS ARCHBISHOP OF RAKOTE, ON THE DAY OF HIS GLORIOUS COMMEMORATION, WHICH IS THE TWENTIETH DAY OF THE MONTH THOTH.

AND HE SPAKE ALSO CONCERNING THE MIRACLES WHICH GOD WROUGHT BY HIS HAND.

AND HE SPAKE ALSO IN THIS SAME ENCOMIUM CONCERNING THE SAINT, AND MARTYR, AND VIRGIN, APA PETER ARCHBISHOP OF THIS SAME CITY RAKOTE.

AND [HE SPAKE ALSO] CONCERNING THE HOLY WOMAN WHO WAS A NATIVE OF THE CITY OF ANTIOCH AND A MARTYR, AND HER TWO SONS PHILOPATOR AND EUTROPIUS.

AND HE SPAKE ALSO CONCERNING THE IMPULSE OF THE SOUL, AND CONCERNING THE PASSAGE WHICH IS WRITTEN IN [THE BOOK OF] JEREMIAH THE PROPHET, WHICH SAITH, 'IN THAT DAY I WILL ESTABLISH SUNRISE (OR, MORNING) IN THE HOUSE OF DAVID.'

IN THE PEACE OF GOD. AMEN.

The occasion moveth me to set in motion the organ of my halting tongue, and my infirm mouth, and it maketh me a to say with the Psalmist David, the Singer of God, 'Thou visitest the earth, Thou makest it to produce food, Thou multipliest in great abundance the riches [thereof].

The river of God is full of water.

Thou preparest their food.' This is our preparation in truth.

He hath visited the earth, He hath made it to produce food, He hath multiplied the riches [thereof] in great abundance.

If material wine be the joy of men, the which when they drink it to excess causeth them to become drunk, and there is arrogance therein, how very much more joy and gladness will those men have who have drunk of the Fountain of living water, the Christ!

If the earth rejoiceth when the water of heaven cometh upon it, how much more joy and gladness shall men [feel] at the moment when the waters of understanding fall upon the grass of the mind!

Now the waters which are manifest yield fruits which are manifest, and are of fleshly character;

and when the waters of the Spirit have descended upon the earth of men they yield fruits of the Spirit.

Of what kind now are these fruits?

Hearken and I will tell you;

only ye must neither feel any doubt [about what I say], nor must ye murmur.

One church only hath closed [its door]:

I speak of the synagogue of the Jews,

but I do not call this truly a spiritual church, because it hath shut its door against Him that rose from the dead, and hath taken His seat on the right hand of His Father; He became man at His command.

And the things which have been opened unto us through His holy Blood, which He shed for us, are thousands of thousands, and tens of thousands of tens of thousands.

Now the fruits to which I have already alluded are these: continence, purity, virginity, compassion, peace, hope, long-suffering, obedience, et cetera.

These are the things which the spiritual meadow produceth through the spiritual rain which falleth upon it.

And, moreover, now is the time for me to say with the prophet and law-giver Moses, 'Let us ascribe glory unto the Lord, for he hath gotten glory.'

If those who lived in days of old marveled when they saw their enemies dying in the sea, why should I not marvel when I behold Him that died for us and rose [from the dead], until He had humbled pride?

Assuredly then I will set in motion the organ of my tongue, and I will declare a few glorious things concerning the saint in whose name we are gathered together,

for he was a father who loved his children,

and a shepherd who pastured his sheep wisely. He was clothed with the foundation of virtue, virginity, and holy matrimony.

But perhaps someone will tell me that it is not possible for a man to become a virgin after he hath married a wife;

let that someone hearken, and I will give him an absolute proof that this is possible from Holy Scripture.

I myself say, with our Saviour, that there exist some who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom which is in the heavens.

Those who were born eunuchs from their mother's womb to those the name of eunuch certainly belongeth,

but as concerning the man who hath made himself an eunuch, who is able to declare adequately his valour?

The acts of David, when he destroyed Goliath with armour and weapons of war upon him, and when the people applauded him with sympathy, are wholly different from the valour of the man who hath made himself an eunuch.

But now, when once David had destroyed him, without armour and without spear, Goliath was dead once and for all, even as every other person who dieth, and [he obtained] the prize which belongeth to the victors.

Even so is it in the case of a man if he has been horn an eunuch; he striveth, hut languidly, and without the strength which is shewn by the man who striveth, being in possession of all his members.

Now David destroyed the lion and the bear, once, or twice, and even three times,

but Demetrius the Archbishop destroyed his lusts every day.

He who fighteth with wild beasts is not as valiant as the man who fighteth against passion.

When the wild beast devoureth a man the man is no longer forthcoming to fight with him again.

On the other hand, the lust to which a man giveth place in himself never ceaseth to crush him all day and every day, and it increaseth in him until it destroyeth him.

And the wise men who were continent knew that this is so, and it was because of this very thing that they fled into the desert.

Let us, however, turn our discourse to this holy man Demetrius, and we will now make known unto you his virtues and his valour.

Now this holy man Demetrius was descended from a great and very old and famous family in the city of Rakote.

And after Saint Julianus, the Archbishop of Rakote was dead, the throne of Rakote remained empty for many days, and there was no bishop, and no man sat on the archiepiscopal throne, because it was the period during which lawless and idol-worshipping Emperors reigned. A great persecution of the Church was in progress, and the people were like unto the sheep that are without a shepherd.

However, by the Will of God, and by the votes of the whole congregation, they laid hold of a second Joseph,

I mean Saint Demetrius, and they enthroned him on the throne of Saint Mark the Evangelist.

But, perchance, thou who art listening to me wilt say, 'Thou mayest compare this holy man to Joseph, but thou must not compare the wife of this holy and wise man to that worthless woman who bore ill will towards the holy man Joseph, I mean the wife of the Egyptian.'

Most certainly not, and far be it from me to do so. But forgive me, O Christ-loving congregation.

If Joseph had lain with the Egyptian woman, it would have been a sin to him,

for it would have been fornication that he was committing, and it was for this very reason that he kept his body pure in respect of God Who had created him.

Now in the case of Saint Demetrius, even if he had Iain with his wife, it would not have been sin unto him, because they had been joined together by God.

But, notwithstanding my answer, thou wouldst say unto me in any case, 'He was a bishop, and it was not seemly for him to take a wife.'

Speak not in this wise, O brother,

for the holy Canons of the Apostles speak thus: 'If a head hath a wife who was married to him before he became a bishop, he shall not put her away after he hath become a bishop, but let him remain with her.'

And the holy Apostle used to say, 'Marriage is honourable in everything, and the marriage bed is pure,

[but] the whoremonger and the adulterer shall God judge.'

Therefore this holy man Demetrius hath triumphed, according to what we said.

When, therefore, they had enthroned him upon the episcopal throne, he loved to act in this way:

He never upbraided a man.

And he was in the habit of saying, 'My son, go and withdraw thyself from whatever land of sin it is which thou art committing, and afterwards [come] and partake of the Holy Mysteries.'

And when he had continued to act in this manner for a considerable time the whole city withdrew itself from sin to such an extent that hardly any sin was committed.

If any man saw another committing a sin he would rebuke him, saying, 'Withdraw thyself from this act lest the Archbishop turn aside from thee, and the whole congregation will look at thee'; and that sinner would become afraid and would continue to be so;

and for this reason very many ceased entirely to commit sin.

Nevertheless, there be many a quarrelsome man who will say, 'Hath not this Demetrius his wife with him?' And he will also say these words

'All the people were scandalized, and there was murmuring- because of him, because [until this man did so] no one had sat upon the archiepiscopal throne of Saint Mark the Evangelist, who was no virgin.'

However, there are some who understand the Scriptures who will say to those who utter these words, 'Marriage is honorable in every way,

and the marriage bed is pure,

and it is God Who instituted marriage

what aileth you that ye murmur against the Archbishop?'

But in spite of these words those [who murmur] do not wish to be persuaded, and they say, 'This man Demetrius who hath seated himself on the archiepiscopal throne is the twelfth, and of them all only this man hath had a wife.

But it is God Himself, the Good, Who did not wish the [virtue of the] holy man to remain hidden, and He desired to make him manifest, and [to make him] to be glorified by the people, according to what He said in the Gospel,' Men do not light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but they place it upon a candlestick, so that it may give light to all those who are in the house.'

And the matter was revealed to the Archbishop when he was lying asleep one night,

for behold, the Angel of God appeared unto him, and he said unto him, 'Demetrius, Demetrius, seek not only thine own happiness, but that of thy neighbour.

And remember what the Lord spake in the Gospel, saying, ‘The good shepherd layeth down his life for his sheep.'

And the holy man Demetrius said unto the Angel, 'What is it, O my Lord? What is it that Thou wouldst command me to do? If Thou wishest to send me forth to martyrdom, am I not ready to pour out my blood for the Name of my Lord Jesus the Christ?'

The Angel said unto him, 'Hearken unto me, O Demetrius.

The Christ became man because He loved us, and because of this He also redeemed His people.

Now, therefore, is it a right thing for thee to cause a scandal among the people over whom God hath set thee?'

The Archbishop said unto the Angel, 'My Lord, shew me my sin, and I will withdraw myself from it.'

The Angel said unto him, 'The mystery which is between thee and thy wife must be made manifest unto the whole congregation.'

Demetrius said, 'I beseech thee, O my Lord, let me die before Thee, only let not this thing be, and do not let any man have knowledge thereof.'

The Angel said unto him, 'Thou knowest, O Demetrius, what is written, namely, ‘The disobedient shall end in destruction.'

Rise thou up then early in the morning,

and after thou hast administered the Sacrament gather together all the clergy, and all the business folk, and shew them the mystery which existeth between thee and thy wife.'

And when the Angel had said these things unto him he disappeared from him.

And when the morning had come, now it was the Day of Pentecost, the Archbishop made ready to celebrate the Catholic Synaxis.

Now on that day he used to expound passages of the Scriptures to the congregation with his holy mouth,

and after the people had received the Holy Mysteries he would complete the Liturgy.

And the Archbishop commanded the Archdeacon not to allow any member of the congregation to leave the church, but to gather them all together in the council chamber, saying, 'The Archbishop biddeth me say: Let not one of you depart to his house, for I have somewhat to say unto thee.'

And when they had all taken their seats in the council chamber the Archbishop commanded [his servant] to gather together a large quantity of wood, and he made them bring in fire and set light to the wood.

And the congregation marveled what this thing meant.

Then the Papa said, 'Rise up, let us pray'

and when they had prayed they sat down.

And the Papa said unto them, 'I invoke your love so that your servant, that is to say, my wife, may come forth, and enjoy your blessing'.

And they marveled, and said, 'Whatsoever our father commandeth, let it take place.'

Then the Archbishop called one of his servants, and said unto him, 'Go and call the servant of these holy men, that is to say, my wife.'

And when the holy woman heard [these words] she came into the midst of the brethren.

Then the Archbishop rose up and looked round upon all present, and he stood up on the blazing- pieces of wood of the fire, and he spread out his tunic, and took some of the burning coals in his hands and threw them into it.

And all the brethren who were sitting in the council chamber marveled at the large quantity of fire which he put into his tunic, and why it did not catch fire.

Then he told his wife to spread out her tunic and her other garment,

and the holy man transferred the coals of fire to her garment, and she remained standing there before him in the midst of the fire, and neither she nor her apparel was burnt.

And the Archbishop said a second time, 'Let us pray'; and the coals of fire were in his garment, and he was not burnt.

Hearken ye now unto me.

Ye marvel at me, O my brethren, because I say that when a man hath made himself an eunuch he is more glorious than the man who was an eunuch when he was born.

It was because of this very thing that these saints were not burnt, for they had extinguished the flame of the fire of lust;

let us then not be troubled at the words.

Let us return now and finish the narrative, which will glorify God.

When they had prayed, and were seated,

the clergy said unto the Archbishop, 'We entreat thee and the holy woman to explain unto us the meaning of this symbolic act which thou hast performed, for we are all wondering about the matter, and what it meaneth.'

And the Archbishop said unto them, 'Hearken unto me, and I will shew you. For I have not done this thing with the view of seeking- after the praise of men.

I am sixty years of age this day,

and the woman whom ye see is more than fifty-one.

Her father died when she was a little girl, and the brother of her father, who was my father, brought her to our house; she was an only child, just as I myself am an only child, and we were brought up together in the same house.

And when I was fifteen years of age my parents wished to betroth me to her,

in the first place naturally because we were brethren of each other (i.e. cousins), and secondly because, according to the pride of this world, we did not wish any stranger to enter our family and take any part of our inheritance.

And when we had celebrated our marriage, it was incumbent upon me, as it befitteth men, to go in unto her.

And when we were lying together she said unto me, ‘My brother, a brother ought not to marry [his] sister';

and I said unto her, ‘Assuredly not.'

And she said unto me, ‘Why then have they given us each to the other? Am I not thy sister?'

And I said unto her, ‘If thou wilt hearken unto me, O my sister, we shall live in a world where they shall never separate us, the one from the other.

But if I take thee to wife in this world, I shall be separated from thee by death, and thou wilt be separated from me.

If we keep our bodies holy in purity we shall never leave each other in the Jerusalem which is in the heavens.'

And when she had heard these words from me we made a compact together to keep our bodies unpolluted.

And my parents did not know of [this] conversation,

but they told the men who were in the bride-chamber to bring to them the tokens of the virginity of the bride, according to the custom which, as ye well know, men observe in this matter.

And these men persuaded our parents, saying, ‘They are mere children still,'

and by reason of these words our parents ceased to make enquiries concerning our affairs.

And when our parents were dead we remained together, both being orphans.

Then as for these three children which we for ourselves, it was God Who ordained them each other.

And the same covering which clothed (or, covered) us both …. each other except at the time when the woman separateth from the man,

And the Lord Who shall judge the living and the dead,

and Who knoweth what is hidden in the heart, knoweth that I have never known this woman, and that she hath never known me. I am only the husband of us two in appearance,

and as for the carnal intercourse of this world which taketh place on a bed I have no knowledge of it whatsoever.

Moreover, when we used to lie together in bed, we used to see a creature like unto an a eagle flying in the air, and he would come and sing over the bed whereon we two were lying;

and me he used to place under his right wing,

and the woman under his left wing.