Книга 3

Constantius left this life with sorrow and contrition that he had deviated from the faith of his fathers. Meanwhile, Julian, on his way from Europe to Asia, learned of his death and, imagining that he no longer had an opponent, became bolder and ascended the throne. That, brought up in piety, he turned to wickedness Having not yet reached adulthood and being in his adolescence, Julian, together with his brother Gall, fed on the milk of pious teaching 87 . He adhered to the same teaching even when he entered adolescence and was approaching adulthood; even fearing Constantius, who killed his relatives with terrible tyranny 88, he was numbered among the host of readers and read sacred books to the people at liturgical meetings. Moreover, he also built a church in honor of the martyrs, only the martyrs, foreseeing his deviation into wickedness, did not accept his gift: the church, due to the fragility of the foundation, consistent with the fragility of the thoughts of the builder himself, fell even before it was consecrated. This is how his first and second years passed. That he previously hid his wickedness and discovered it later When Constantius, carried away by the war against Magnentius, had to move to the West, then he declared Gallus 89 to be the Caesar of the East, who at that time observed piety, and afterwards, until the end of his life, was pious. This incident disposed Julian to dispel the saving fear of his soul, and with reprehensible arrogance he began to covet the royal scepter: going around Hellas, he looked for prophets and fortune-tellers - with the intention of finding out whether his desire would come true. Finally he attacked the man who promised him to predict this. Having brought Julian to one idol church, that man showed him a place inside the sanctuary itself and began to summon crafty demons. When the demons appeared in their usual form, horror involuntarily communicated itself to Julian and forced him to put the sign of the cross on his forehead 90. Seeing this sign of Christ's victory and their own defeat, they instantly disappeared. The wizard learned about the reason for their flight and began to reproach Julian, but Julian confessed to him his fear and at the same time expressed amazement at how great the power of the cross was if the demons could not resist his image and fled. Don’t think so, good man, answered the deceiver, they left not out of fear, as you say, but out of disgust for what you did. Having thus seduced this poor man, he introduced him to the sacraments and filled him with iniquities. The passion to become a king stripped the unfortunate man of his piety. However, Julian, even after accepting rule, hid his wickedness for a long time, because he was afraid of the army, which was especially imbued with piety. It was first freed from ancient errors by the all-validated Constantine and from him it received a lesson in true teaching, and then the seeds of faith sown in it by its parent were even more confirmed by its children. If Constantius, deceived by the people who controlled him, did not accept the word “consubstantial,” then at least he sincerely confessed its meaning, because he called God the Word the Son, truly born of the Father before the ages, and clearly rejected those who dared to call Him a creature, and he resolutely forbade idolatry. Let us recall another commendable act of Constantius, which fully proves his zeal in matters of faith. During the war with Magnentius, he gathered the entire army and exhorted the soldiers to accept holy baptism. “We do not know the end of our lives,” he said, “especially in battle, when thousands of arrows, darts and spears fly from all sides, when blows from swords, sabers and other weapons threaten with violent death. Therefore, everyone must necessarily put on that coveted clothing that we will really need in the next world. And whoever is not disposed to put on this robe now, let him leave the army and return home; I do not want to fight alongside the unsanctified.” On the return of bishops from exile Understanding all this very clearly, Julian did not at all reveal his spiritual wickedness - even in order to gain general favor, he ordered the bishops exiled by Constantius and scattered throughout the state to return, each to his own church. By virtue of this command, Saint Meletius returned to Antioch, and the all-praised Athanasius returned to Alexandria. At that time, Hilary, Eusebius of Italy, and Lucifer, the shepherd of the island of Sardinia, were in the Egyptian province of Thebais, where Constantius had imprisoned them. Having gathered with others like-minded (bishops), they recognized it necessary to take care of establishing unity and harmony in the churches, because, in addition to external attacks on churches from opponents in doctrine, there was also a struggle in the bowels of the churches themselves. Thus, in Antioch, the Orthodox people split into two parties: adherents of the all-praised Eustathius, who had separated even earlier, gathered separately for divine services, and those who apostatized from the Arian society, together with the wondrous Meletius, performed divine services again separately in the so-called old church. Meanwhile, both of these parties equally professed the faith, for both of them stood with equal zeal for the symbol of the teaching set forth in Nicaea. The only thing that separated them was mutual enmity and the attachment of each to their primate, and the discord did not end even with the death of one of those bishops. Eustathius died before Meletius was ordained, but when the Orthodox, after the expulsion of Meletius and the ordination of Euzoius, separated from communion with the unjust, the Eustathians did not agree to unite with them. Therefore, those who gathered with Eusebius and Lucifer wanted to find a way to unite the mentioned parties, and Eusebius asked Lucifer to go to Alexandria to consult with Athanasius the Great regarding this matter, and he himself took on the task of reconciling the warring Antiochians. However, Lucifer did not go to Alexandria, but went to Antioch. He spoke many speeches about reconciliation to both parties, but seeing that the Eustathians, led by the presbyter Paulinus, did not agree to anything, he finally ordained this same Paulinus as bishop, and did not do well, because by his action he prolonged the existing discord for eighty-five years, 91 until the time worthy of all praise of Alexander, who, having accepted the helm of the rule of the Antiochian church, used all means, applied all diligence and zeal to restore the consubstantiality and finally managed to unite the separated member of it to the body of the church. Having thus increased the discord, Lucifer remained in Antioch for quite some time. Meanwhile, Eusebius also arrived there and, noticing that due to poor healing, the disease had become incurable, he sailed to the west. But Lucifer returned to Sardinia and added something alien to the church dogmas, so that his followers began to be called by his name and for a long time were known under the name Luciferians. However, this teaching was subsequently destroyed and consigned to oblivion. Such and such things happened upon the return of bishops from exile. That Julian did not openly kill Christians out of love for humanity, but out of hatred As soon as Julian's wickedness became apparent, the cities were filled with turmoil 92. Those given over to the error of idolatry again took courage, dissolved the idol churches and began to perform their unclean and oblivious sacraments, lit a sacrificial fire and infected the air with incense and smoke, and desecrated the earth with the blood of victims. Driven into a frenzy by the demons they served, they went on a rampage, ran through the squares like madmen, persecuted Christians with curses and ridicule, and directed all kinds of curses and insolence against them. And the worshipers of piety, not having the strength to endure their blasphemy, themselves responded to them with insults and exposed their error. Indignant at this and shielding their insolence with the favor of the sovereign, the figures of wickedness inflicted unbearable beatings on Christians. And the godless king, instead of caring about the peace of his subjects, even more incited the struggle among the people and did not seem to notice the insults inflicted by daring people on meek people. He entrusted all civil and military positions to the most cruel and most wicked of the citizens, who, although clearly did not force the zealots of piety to apostatize, nevertheless, however, dishonored them in every possible way. He also took away the benefits that the great Constantine had granted to the clergy. About how many and what kind of insults were inflicted on Christians by the pagans they protected Those given over to the error of idolatry inflicted so many insults on Christians at that time that a special essay was needed to describe them; but out of many things I will tell you a little. In Ascalon and Gaza, Palestinian cities, they seized husbands who had been awarded the priesthood and wives who had taken a vow of virginity, tore their wombs and, filling them with barley, threw the sufferers as food for pigs. In Sebaste, the main city of the province of the same name, they opened the tomb of John the Baptist, set his bones on fire and scattered their ashes. And who can tell without tears the atrocity they committed in Phenicia! In Iliopolis, near Lebanon, there lived a deacon, Cyril. Flaming with divine jealousy, during the reign of Constantine he destroyed many idols that were worshiped there. Remembering his deeds, these haters not only killed him, but also, cutting open his womb, ate his liver. However, such fury was not hidden from the All-Seeing Eye; they were righteously punished for their villainy. The participants in this atrocity lost, firstly, their teeth, which all fell out, then they lost their tongues, which decayed, being affected by rotting, and finally they lost their sight, and with their torment they showed how great the power of piety is. In the city of Emesa, not far from there, the pagans dedicated a newly built church to Dionysus Ginidas and placed in it a laughable male-female idol. In the noble Thracian city of Dorostol, the commander of all Thrace, Capitolinus, burned the victorious warrior of Christ Aemilian at the stake. And the story of the Aretuz bishop Mark? It would take the sublime eloquence of Aeschylus or Sophocles to adequately represent the suffering of this saint. During the time of Constantius, having destroyed one idolatry, he built a church in Arethusa. The Arethusans, having now learned of Julian's intention, discovered their anger against Mark for this. According to the commandment of the Gospel, Mark at first tried to escape, but then, having learned that some of his flock had been captured instead of him, he returned and voluntarily gave himself up to the villains, and they, having taken him, did not spare his old age and were not ashamed of his virtues. Having exposed this famous man both in life and in his teaching, they first flogged him and covered all the members of his body with wounds, then they threw him into a fetid cellar, having pulled him out, they gave him over to a crowd of boys to be mocked, ordering them to mercilessly stab him with their styles, then they put him in a basket, smeared him with fish oil and honey, and in the hottest time they lifted him high into the air in order to thus present him food for wasps and bees. By doing this, the tormentors forced him to do one of two things, that is, either restore the destroyed church, or contribute the money required for this. But, enduring such severe suffering, he did not agree to fulfill any of these proposals. The pagans thought that Mark was not providing the required amount due to poverty, and therefore they reduced the required amount by half and insisted on paying the other half, but he, hanging in the air, having been stabbed with styles and eaten by wasps and bees, did not at all reveal a feeling of pain, on the contrary, he still mocked the wicked, calling them low creatures and reptiles on the earth, and himself high and soaring to the sky. Finally, the tormentors demanded from him the smallest part of the money, but he replied that he considered it equally impious to give them the entire required amount or even one obol. Having been thus defeated, they freed Mark and, amazed at his firmness, were transferred from one extreme to the other, that is, from his opposition they learned piety. Julian's laws against Christians At that time, everywhere, on land and at sea, wicked people inflicted many other insults on pious people, because the God-hating apostate had clearly already begun to legislate laws against piety. Firstly, he forbade the children of the Galileans, calling by this name those who believe in our Savior, to study poetry, rhetoric and philosophy: they stab us, he said, according to the proverb, with our own styles, that is, they wage war against us, armed with the works of our own writers. Then he issued another law, commanding the expulsion of all Galileans from military service 93 . On the exile and flight of Saint Athanasius At that time, Athanasius, an invincible ascetic in all kinds of struggle for the truth, was exposed to a new danger. Unable to bear the power of his words and prayers, the demons opposed him with the slander of their servants. Their henchmen, turning to the patron of wickedness, presented him with many other reasons to expel Athanasius, and added the following to them: if Athanasius remains, they said, then not a single pagan will remain, he will attract them all into his society. Having heeded such a request, Julian ordered not only to expel him, but to kill him. While the Christians were in fear, Athanasius is said to have predicted that this storm would soon subside, and called it a quickly dissolving cloud. However, having learned that the messengers had arrived, he left the city and, having found the ship on the river bank, sailed to Thebaid. And the one who was ordered to kill him, hearing that he had run away, quickly pursued him. Meanwhile, however, one of the Afanasyevs’ friends overtook the pursuer and managed to notify Afanasy about the hasty pursuit of him. Then some of the companions asked him to evade into the desert, but he ordered the helmsman to turn the ship back to Alexandria. As they thus sailed towards their pursuer, this bearer of the death sentence approached them and asked: “How far is Athanasius sailing?” “Not far,” answered the Saint and, parting with him, he went to Alexandria, where he then hid for the rest of Julian’s life 94 . About the statue of Apollo in Daphnia and about Saint Babylon Intending to enter into war with the Persians, Julian sent his more trusted servants to all the soothsayers who were in the Roman Empire, and he himself asked the Daphnian oracle for the discovery of the future. The oracle replied that the proximity of the dead prevented him from divining, that their bodies must first be transferred to another place; Then he will predict: “I cannot prophesy until my grove is cleared.” And at that time the remains of the victorious martyr Babyla 95 and the youths who labored with him lay there: it is clear that his grace-filled power forbade the false soothsayer to give ordinary false predictions. This is how Julian understood it too. During the times of his former piety, he knew the power of the martyrs and therefore did not remove any dead body from there, but ordered the confessors of Christ to transfer only the remains of the victorious martyrs. In accordance with this command, the faithful joyfully gathered in the grove 96 and, placing the coffin on the chariot, publicly accompanied him and, singing the song of David, concluded each verse of the psalm with the words: “Let all who worship idols be ashamed” (Ps 96.7), for the transfer of the martyr was considered evidence of his victory over the devil. Julian could not bear the shame caused to him by this triumph, and the next day he ordered the arrest of the main culprits. The then prefect Sallust, although he was a slave of wickedness, nevertheless tried to beg the tyrant so that he would not contribute to the desire of Christians, who considered persecution to be their glory, but, seeing that the king could not moderate his anger, he grabbed one who happened to be passing through the square, a young man, adorned with holy zeal, and, ordering him to be publicly tied to a post, flogged him with belts, tore his sides with hooks and thus tortured him from the very morning until the end of the day, and then ordered him to be put in iron shackles and imprisoned. In the morning, reporting this to Julian and telling him about the young man’s firmness, the prefect added that such a thing only shames us, but adorns Christians with glory. Convinced by his ideas, the hater of God forbade to torture others in this way and ordered Theodore himself to be released from prison, for that was the name of this young and courageous champion of the truth. After that they asked Theodore 97 whether he felt pain while enduring such cruel and inhuman torment? At first I felt a little, he answered, then someone appeared to me and, constantly wiping the sweat from my face with a soft and cold towel, commanded me to take courage, so that when the executioners stopped their work, I did not rejoice, but began to feel pain, for at the same time the encourager retreated from me. Meanwhile, the false prophet, the demon, further increased the glory of the martyr and revealed his own deceit, because lightning that fell from the sky burned the entire church and the very statue of Apollo, wooden and only gilded on the outside, turned to the smallest dust. Having learned about this fire at night, Julian, the maternal uncle of King Julian, the prefect of the East, went with all speed to Daphne to give help to the deity they revered, and, finding the so-called god already turned into dust, tortured the servants of the church on the assumption that the fire was caused by some Christian, however, and under torture they did not dare to make a false statement and said that the flame first appeared not below, but at the top. The same was confirmed by the villagers gathered from neighboring villages, testifying that they themselves saw how lightning fell from the sky. On the confiscation of church vessels into the treasury and the confiscation of grain reserves Convinced that everything really happened like that, the wicked took up arms against the God of all. The tyrant ordered the church vessels to be handed over to the royal treasuries, the doors of the great church built by Constantine to be boarded up and made inaccessible to Christians who gathered there for prayer. This Church was then owned by the Arians. Together with the prefect of the east, Julian, the guardian of the state treasury, Felix, and the keeper of treasures and acquisitions belonging to the king himself, Elpidius, or Comes privatus, as the Romans call this position, entered this church of God. Felix and Elpidius were formerly, they say, Christians, but to please the wicked king they abandoned piety. Julian desecrated the holy throne and slapped Euzoes in the face when he attempted to prohibit this. They say that on this occasion Julian added: “Now Divine Providence no longer cares about Christian affairs,” and Felix, drawing attention to the preciousness of the sacred vessels, which were made by Constantine and Constantius with all generosity, said: “These are the vessels on which the Son of Mary is served!” About what happened to the king's uncle, Julian, and other wicked people But they did not wait long for punishment for this wicked and insane reproach. Julian was immediately struck down by a severe illness, from which his insides rotted, so that cleansing was no longer accomplished through ordinary parts of the body, but his organ was the foul mouth, which had previously served him as an organ of blasphemy. They say that on this occasion his wife, famous for her faith, said this to her husband: “We must thank Christ the Savior, husband, that with this punishment He made you understand His power. You would not have known who He was against Whom you were at enmity, if, out of His usual long-suffering, He had not sent these blows upon you from above.” With similar speeches from his wife and his painful suffering, having realized the cause of his illness, this unfortunate man begged the king to return the church to those whom he had deprived of it, but he did not convince him and ended his life. Likewise, Felix was suddenly punished from above: blood flowed from his lips day and night, as if it were directed to this organ from all the veins of the body. Having thus bled to death, he became obsolete and was given over to eternal death. This is how these people were punished for their wickedness 99. Around that time, a youth, the son of a priest, brought up in wickedness, entered the host of the pious. His mother knew a very well-behaved wife who had been awarded the degree of deaconess. When his mother visited her with him as a child, she caressed him and encouraged him to be pious. Then, no longer having a mother, the boy continued to visit her and listened with pleasure to her ordinary instructions. Determined to follow the good advice of his mentor, he asked her how he could avoid his father’s superstition and accept the truth she preached. She answered that she should leave her father and prefer God to him, who created both him and his father, she should go to another city in which she could hide and escape from the hands of the wicked king, and finally she promised to take care of this herself. So I will come to you, answered the youth, and I will give my soul at your disposal. A few days after this, Julian arrived in Daphne with the intention of giving a public holiday. The boy’s father was with him, as a priest and the king’s ordinary companion, and both the boy himself and his brother had to be with the father, because both of them occupied the places of servants at the church and had to sprinkle the royal dishes. The holiday in Daphne usually lasted seven days. Having been placed at the royal bed on the first day and, as usual, having sprinkled and filled the royal dishes with pagan defilement, the youth then fled to Antioch and, appearing to that wondrous wife, said: “Here I came to you, I did not change my word: take care of my salvation, spiritual and physical, fulfill the promise.” Then she immediately got up and herself took him to the man of God, Meletius, who ordered him to live in the upper part of his house for the time being. Meanwhile, the father, looking for his son, walked all over Daphne, then came to the city and walked all the streets and alleys, looked everywhere and tried in every possible way to find traces of him. Finally, having arrived at the village in which the dwelling of Saint Meletius was located, he looked and, seeing that his son was peeking out from behind the bars, he immediately ran, dragged him out and led him away. Having brought him to his home, he first inflicted many beatings on him, then burned his arms, legs and back with hot skewers, and finally locked him in the bedroom with an outside lock and went to Daphne. I heard this from him himself when he was already an old man. Having come, as it were, to inspiration and filled with divine grace, he also said that in that bedroom he destroyed all the idols of his father and laughed at their impotence, and then, thinking about what he had done, he imagined with horror his father’s return and began to pray to the Lord Jesus Christ to destroy the locks and open the doors for him. Truly it was only for Your sake, he prayed, that I endured such torment and did this. According to my words, he continued, the locks really fell away, the doors opened, and I ran away again to my mentor. She dressed me in a woman's dress, put me in a covered wagon and took me back to St. Meletius. Meletius handed me over to the bishop of Jerusalem, and Cyril was then the bishop of Jerusalem. And so at night they left with all haste for Palestine. Then, after the death of Julian, he converted his father to the truth, because he also told us about this among other things. In this way they were brought to the knowledge of God and received salvation. About the Romans Juventinus and Maximus 100 Meanwhile, Julian, more and more boldly, or better yet, more and more shamelessly, armed himself against piety, covered himself with the guise of condescension and set traps and snares to ensnare those who were being deceived into the destruction of wickedness. Firstly, he ordered all the wells in the city and in Daphne to be desecrated with disgusting idolatrous sacrifices, so that everyone, drawing water from them, would thereby partake of the defilement. Then he filled with the idol’s plague everything that was sold in the square, for bread, meat, fruits, and garden vegetables - he ordered everything edible to be sprinkled with sacrificial water. Seeing this, the people who bore the name of the Savior groaned and, abhorring desecration, lamented, however, they could not help but eat everything, following the apostolic commandment: “Eat everything that is sold in the marketplace, not doubting your conscience” (1 Cor 10.25). Two noble warriors, foot shield-bearers of the king, at one dinner with particular fervor expressed their complaint about this desecration and, repeating the wondrous speech of the glorious Babylonian youths, said: “Thou hast delivered us, O Lord, to an apostate king, more wicked than all the earth” (Dan 3.32) 101. One of the interlocutors reported this to the king, who immediately called those excellent men and asked what they said. Taking the king’s question as an opportunity for boldness, they answered him with commendable zeal in the following way: “Having been brought up in piety, Sovereign, and obeying the all-praiseworthy Christian laws, and these laws were given to us by Constantine and his children, we complain now when we see that everything is desecrated, that every food and every drink is contaminated with hated substances sacrificed to idols. And at home we cried about it, and now we cry in your presence. Truly, of all your royal deeds, this one is unbearable.” Having heard such words, the king, the meekest and wisest, as those like him called him, threw off the mask of condescension and showed the image of his real wickedness. He ordered these men to be subjected to cruel and terrible tortures and deprived them of real life, or better yet, freed them from this deplorable age and gave them the crowns of victors. Julian stated that the reason for their execution was not piety, for which they were killed, but insolence: he said that these soldiers were executed as insulters to the royal majesty, and ordered that everyone should be told about them so that the name and glory of the martyrs would be taken away from the champions of truth. Of these martyrs, one was called Juventinus, and the other Maximus. Honoring them as devotees of piety, the Antiochians placed them in a precious shrine and to this day publicly celebrate their memory every year 102. About Valentinian, who was later king There were other dignitaries and honorable people who decided to take similar boldness before the king and were adorned with the same crowns. Among them was Valentinian 103, who reigned a little later 104, and at that time was the commander of a thousand and the leader of the royal spearmen, and likewise did not hide his zeal for piety. One day, stunned by wickedness (Julian), he solemnly entered the church of genius. The servants of the church, standing on both sides of the doors, sprinkled everyone who entered it with the intention of first purifying them. On this occasion, walking ahead of the king, Valentinian noticed a drop of sacrificial water on his clothes and hit the servant with his fist - as punishment for not purifying him, but desecrating him, for which he was awarded the earthly and heavenly kingdom. Seeing this, the hater exiled Valentinian to a desert fortress and ordered him to live there. However, after a year and several months, he, as a reward for his confession, was proclaimed king, for the righteous Judge exalts those who care about the Divine not only in the future life. Sometimes He rewards good works immediately and confirms hopes for the future with gifts immediately sent. The tyrant chose other weapons against piety. According to ancient custom, when distributing money to the regiments, he sat on the royal throne and on this occasion, contrary to custom, he placed a censer filled with burning coals next to his place, and incense on the table with the command that everyone who went for money would first put some incense into the censer, and then approach to receive the money from his hands. Most of the army, out of complete ignorance, fell into this deception, but those who found out about it first pretended to be sick and avoided such a dangerous trap. Others, out of passion for money, neglected their salvation, or, fearing the king, betrayed their piety. After this disastrous distribution of money, several warriors from among those who received gold feasted at the same table. One of them, taking a cup of wine, before drinking, put the saving sign of the cross on it, but another feast reproached him and said that this was disgusting to his recent act. What did I do that was disgusting, he asked? And this one reminded him of the censer and incense, of his former renunciation, and said that such things were contrary to the profession of Christianity. Hearing this, many of those who were feasting screamed in horror and sobbed, began to tear out their hair and, leaving the feast, ran across the square and shouted that they were Christians, that they were deceived by the king’s cunning and were now singing the opposite, ready to restore the battle lost through ignorance. With similar cries, they soon ran to the palace and, loudly complaining about the tyrant’s cunning, asked to be burned, so that, having been defiled by fire, they could be cleansed through another fire. Such and similar words inflamed the anger of the destroyer, and he first ordered their heads to be cut off. Therefore, they were taken out of the city, accompanied by many city residents, who rejoiced at their generosity and were amazed at their boldness for piety. Arriving at the place where villains were usually executed, the eldest of them began strenuously asking the executioner to cut off the head of the youngest one first, so that, seeing the murder of the elders, he would not be overcome by fear. But as soon as the youngest knelt on the platform and the executioner drew his sword, a messenger of forgiveness galloped up, shouting from afar that there would be no murder. That young man, dissatisfied with the abolition of the death penalty, said: know Roman 105 was not worthy to be adorned with the name of the martyr of Christ, for that was his name. However, that crafty abolished the death penalty in this case only out of hatred, wanting to deprive the ascetics of good fame. He did not allow them to live in cities and exiled them to the borders of the Roman Empire. Likewise, Julian not only deprived him of his property, but also cut off the head of Artemius, who commanded the Egyptian troops. The reason was that, having accepted this position during the time of Constantius, he destroyed many idols 106. This is how many and what deeds this, according to the ungodly, king, the most meek and the most moderate in anger, did. In my story I will also add a story about one of the most distinguished women, for even the wives, armed with divine jealousy, despised his ferocity. About Deaconess Publius' Boldness in God At that time there lived a certain Publius, a famous woman famous for her deeds of virtue. From her short marital union, she brought God worthy fruit: her holy mother’s womb produced that John, who for a long time ruled over the Antiochian presbyters and, having been elected to the apostolic see many times, always avoided presiding 107 . Now she surrounded herself with the face of virgins who had vowed to be virgins all their lives, and with them she constantly praised the Creator and Savior God. One day the king passed by them, and the ascetics sang together even louder than usual, considering the persecutor worthy of disdain and ridicule and choosing mainly those songs in which the powerlessness of idols was ridiculed. “Idols of silver and gold, the works of men’s hands” (Ps 113.12), they proclaimed with David and, later describing their insensibility, sang: “let him who creates be like them, and he who trusts in her” (Ps 113.16). Hearing this, the king was very offended and ordered the singers to remain silent when he passed by. But Publiya, thinking little about his orders, kindled even greater jealousy in her host and, with the new passing of Julian, ordered him to sing: “Let God rise again, and let his enemies be scattered” (Ps 67.2). Then the king was indignant and ordered the director of the choir to be brought to him. Seeing before him an old woman, worthy of all respect in her years, he did not take pity on her gray hair, did not honor her spiritual prowess, but ordered one of the spearmen to hit her on the cheeks, and the murderous hands stained her cheeks with blood. Having changed dishonor into high honor, Publiya returned home and continued to amaze the king with spiritual chants, just as the writer of psalms and teacher of chants himself tamed Saul, possessed by an evil spirit. About the Jews, about their intention to build a church and about the punishment sent down on them from above Indeed, this king, while raging and raging against piety, was also the home of destroying demons. For this reason, he armed the Jews against believers in Christ. First, having gathered them, Julian asked why they did not offer sacrifices, whereas the law commanded them to do so, and, having received the answer that, according to the regulations, they should conduct their worship in only one place, the God-hating apostate immediately ordered them to erect the destroyed church. He vainly intended to expose the Lord’s prophecy as a lie, and meanwhile, having joyfully listened to the king’s words, the Jews announced his command to all their fellow tribesmen in the state. Therefore, they began to flock from everywhere, bringing their wealth and their zeal for the restoration of the church. The one who prescribed the matter gave them a very large allowance, not out of generosity, but out of hostility against the truth. He also sent a commander to the construction site, a worthy executor of wicked commands. They say that the Jews' shovels, buckets, and baskets were made of silver. Having begun to dig and pull out the earth, many tens of thousands of them worked on it from morning to evening, but during the night the excavated earth from the shaft was itself transferred again to its original place. So they had already excavated the very remains of the former church and hoped to build everything again. For this purpose, many tens of thousands of medimns of alabaster and lime were brought, but suddenly strong winds, whirlwinds, storms, hurricanes arose, and all this was soon scattered. However, the builders continued to persist and were not admonished by God’s patience. Finally, a strong earthquake occurred and - completely alien to the Divine faith - it led to considerable amazement. But they were not afraid - and then fire erupted from the excavated foundations and burned most of the diggers, and scattered the rest 108. These latter, in very large numbers, gathered for the night to rest in one neighboring portico, but the building they occupied suddenly collapsed along with the roof and crushed everyone sleeping in it 109 . That same night and then again the next, a light-like outline of a saving cross was visible in the sky. Even the very clothes the Jews wore were dotted with crosses, only not light-shaped, but black. Seeing this and fearing the heavenly executions, the enemies of God fled, returned to their places and confessed as God the One who was crucified on the cross by their ancestors. Julian heard about this event, for it was known to everyone, but he hardened his heart, like Pharaoh. Having learned about the death of Constantius, the Persians became bolder and, declaring war, entered the borders of the Roman Empire. Julian ordered to gather an army, but did not want to have an assistant in God: he sent to Delphi, Delos, Dodona and other soothsayers to ask the oracles whether he should fight 110. The oracles commanded to start a war and promised victory. To expose the lies, I will add one of their predictions into my history, namely the following: “all of us, the gods, are now ready to carry the trophies of victory to the river Beast, and I, the violently furious and powerful Ares in battle, will lead them.” Let the people who call Pythias the eloquent god of science and the leader of the muses ridicule these funny verses: I only regret the one who was deceived by such lies. The Tigris River, which has the same name as the beast, is called the Beast River here. It leaves the borders of Armenia and, flowing through Assyria, flows into the Persian Gulf. Seduced by such prophecies, the unfortunate man dreamed of victory and, after the defeat of the Persians, planned a war against the Galileans. And he called Christians Galileans, thinking by such a name to bring dishonor on them, although he, as an educated person, should have known how little harm a change of name can do to good reputation. Let Socrates be called Critias, and Pythagoras Phalaris, through such a change of name, neither would receive harm. Even if Nereus had been known under the name of Thersites, he would not have lost at all the beauty given to himself by nature 111. But, having learned all this and not understanding what he was learning, Julian thought to harm us with a nickname that does not concern us at all! Believing in false predictions, he threatened to erect a statue of the goddess of shamelessness in churches. About the daring of one government official in Beroe 112 Having made similar threats, Julian was defeated by one husband at Beroe. This man, famous in general because he belonged to the local government, became even more famous for his zeal for the faith. Seeing that his son had deviated into the then prevailing wickedness, he kicked him out of the house and clearly renounced him. The son came to the king when he had his camp not far from Beroe, and revealed to him both his thoughts about faith and his expulsion from his parental home. The king commanded the young man to be calm and promised to appease his father. Then, having arrived in Beroe, he invited all the dignitaries and honorary citizens to dinner, among whom was also the young man’s father. Julian ordered both his father and his son to recline on their own bed and, halfway through dinner, turning to the former, he said: “It seems to me that it would be unfair to do violence to people with a different mood of thoughts and against the will of a person to direct him to other thoughts. So, do not force your son to follow your teaching when he does not want to. After all, I don’t force you,” he continued, “to follow mine, although I could very easily force you to do so.” But the father, reviving his mind with faith in God, answered: “You are talking, king, about this lawless man who preferred lies to the truth.” “Come on, grumbler,” said Julian, putting on again a mask of meekness and, turning to the young man, added, “I myself will take care of you, when I could not persuade your father to do this.” I recall the event described not without a purpose: I wanted to show not only the commendable boldness of the mentioned husband, but also the fact that there were many people who despised the power of the tyrant. One teacher's prediction By the way, there was one excellent man in Antioch who took the trouble to teach children, but understood much more about the sciences than what was needed for a teacher, and therefore enjoyed the acquaintance of the then head of teachers, the famous sophist Libanius 113. Being a pagan, expecting victory over the Persians and dreaming of Julian’s threats, Libanius mockingly asked this children’s teacher about our affairs and said: “The carpenter’s son is doing something now!” At these words, the teacher was filled with divine grace and predicted the event that would soon follow. “The maker of all things, whom you, sophist, mockingly call the son of a carpenter, is now making a coffin,” he answered. After several days, the rumor of Julian's death actually spread, and he was brought in a coffin: his boastful threats turned out to be empty, and God was glorified. About the prophecy of the holy hermit Julian In the flesh, imitating the life of the disembodied, Julian, called Savva in the Syrian language and described by me in “God-loving history,” heard about the threats of the wicked king and began to pray more zealously to the God of all. On the very day when Julian was killed, Savva, during prayer, received a revelation about his death, although there were more than twenty stations from the hermit’s monastery to the royal camp. They say that when he prayed and asked for mercy from the Lord, a lover of mankind, suddenly the flow of his tears stopped, his face shone with joy, became inspired, brightened, and thus revealed spiritual joy. Noticing this change, people close to him begged him to reveal to them the reason for his joy, and he told them that the wild boar, the devastator of God's helicity, had been punished for his untruths, that he was now dead and his plans had ceased. Having learned about this, everyone rejoiced, offered up a song of thanks to God, and then, through the messengers about the death of Julian, they made sure that he was killed on the very day and hour when the holy elder foresaw and predicted this 114. About the assassination of King Julian in Persia His madness is even more clearly demonstrated by his death. Having crossed the river separating the Roman possessions from the Persian ones, and having crossed over the army, he immediately burned all the ships and thereby forced, rather than convinced, the soldiers to fight. Excellent commanders usually inspire their subordinates with courage, but even if they notice cowardice in them, they still calm and encourage them with hopes; and this one, having burned the transport ships, from the first time took away from the army all hope of retreat 115. Moreover, the necessary maintenance had to be delivered and transported to the troops from everywhere, but this sage did not order anything to be taken from his state, and did not try to find booty in the abundant enemy country, but, leaving populated areas, led the army through the desert. As a result of this, suffering from a lack of food and drink, having no guides and wandering through a deserted country, the warriors now, of course, recognized all the foolishness of the wisest king. They mourned and groaned, when suddenly they saw that the raging enemy of God was lying wounded. The powerful Ares did not keep his promise and did not help him in battle, the prophecy of Loxius turned out to be false, and the lightning carrier did not strike the killer with Peruns. Here is a boast of threats spread out on the earth! Who dealt Julian this righteous blow is still unknown to anyone. Some say that he was struck by an invisible force, others that one of the nomadic inhabitants of the desert, called the Ishmaelites, and others think that the killer was his own warrior, driven to despair by hunger and the difficulty of marching in the desert. But whether a man or an angel stretched out his sword, whoever did it, obviously he was only the executor of the will of God. They say that, having received a wound, he immediately took a handful of blood and, throwing it into the air, said: “You have won, Galilean!” At the same time admit victory over yourself and dare to commit blasphemy? What madness! 116 About the sorcery discovered after his death in the city of Carragh After his murder, the deceptions of his sorcery were discovered; and the city of Carrha still preserves monuments of this wickedness. Passing through the mentioned city, and leaving Edessa, adorned with piety, on the left, he entered one temple revered by the pagans and there, having done something with the accomplices of his atheism, he then hung locks and his seals on all the doors and, placing selected guards at the doors, ordered that no one should be allowed into the temple until his return. But when the news of his death came and after the wicked reign came a pious one, they entered the church and discovered an amazing proof of Yulianov’s “fearlessness, wisdom and piety” - they discovered a woman hanged by her hair, with outstretched arms and a cut womb: the villain, no doubt, was guessing from her liver about victory over the Persians. So this atrocity was discovered in Carrhae. About severed heads discovered in the Antioch palace And in the Antioch palace, they say, many boxes were found filled with human heads, and many Antioch wells were filled with dead bodies; all this is the suggestion of the damned gods. About the national celebration in Antioch Having learned about the murder of Julian, the city of Antioch celebrated public holidays and held solemn meetings. The Antiochians not only expressed their joy in the churches and temples of the martyrs, but preached the victory of the cross and laughed at pagan prophecies in the very theaters. I will add their beautiful exclamations to my history, so that the memory of them will be preserved in our posterity. They all unanimously cried out: “Where are your predictions, stupid Maxim! God and Christ defeated him!” And Maxim, mentioned by them, was a contemporary of Julian and, under the guise of philosophy, practicing magic, he was famous for predicting the future 117. That the Antiochians, instructed in divine dogmas by the two supreme apostles, Peter and Paul, and ardently devoted to the Lord of all and the Savior, constantly disdained Julian - may his memory be forgotten - he himself clearly stated this, and that is why he wrote an essay against them under the title: “Misopogon” 118. I end this book with the triumph of the death of the tyrant, for I consider it indecent to bring the story of an impious reign into contact with the history of a pious reign. Julian was born in 331. His father is Julius Constantius, half-brother of Constantine the Great. Theodoret's report about Julian's pious Christian upbringing does not correspond to reality. Julian led a double life: his main teacher was the pagan eunuch Mardonius. Subsequently, such outstanding figures of ancient culture as Liberius and Maximus of Ephesus became his mentors. For those around him, Julian was a Christian, whose beliefs, however, were shaped by Eusebius of Nicomedia, the leader of the Arian party. Julian's father was killed in the summer of 337 by soldiers, possibly with the secret consent of Constantius. Julian's half-brother, Gall, became Caesar in 354. Theodoret gave a respectful description of this person, most likely because Gall was killed on the orders of Constantius, who suspected him of organizing a conspiracy. While in Greece, Julian was initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries, which is probably reported in such a grotesque form by Theodoret, forgetting, however, to say that there Julian also met with Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus. Theodoret is referring to the total duration of the schism in Antioch, which ended in 415. On December 11, 361, Julian arrived in Constantinople, where he openly declared himself a pagan. The “atrocities” of pagans from among the local population described above, on the one hand, are largely fictitious, and on the other hand, they actually happened. However, even Theodoret does not directly write that all this is the result of the actions of Julian and his religious policy. Such an anti-Christian reaction on the part of the ordinary population was quite understandable, given the fate of all the pagan sanctuaries, which were unusually actively destroyed in the 40s and 50s. by order of Emperor Constantius. Julian understood that persecution of Christians was impossible. Moreover, reformed paganism very much resembled Christianity in its external side: the priests were assigned a range of social responsibilities, they were ordered to lead an immaculate life, they had to give alms to the poor and set up almshouses. In churches, boys' choirs sang hymns at certain hours, pulpits for preachers appeared in them, etc. Only the last words of Theodoret are true - the church again became only tolerant, as by decree of Galerius in 311. Property transferred to Christians was returned back. Athanasius's fourth exile lasted from 362 to 364. Vavila, ep. Antiochian (238–251) died during the persecution of Christians under Decius. This grove is located about 6 km from the city. The English historian E. Gibbon identified this young man with Presbyter Theodoret, who was martyred at about the same time in Antioch by Julian, the emperor’s uncle. See Soz. V. 8. 12. These two positions were created by Emperor Constantine the Great. Comes rei Privatae also kept the so-called book of grants, a description of the privileges given by the emperor. Information about a similar death of Julian and Felix is ​​also contained in John Chrysostom in the 2nd word about St. Babyla, and in the History of Ammianus Marcellinus, XXIII. 1. In a number of handwritten versions, this chapter is called “About St. martyrs Juventine and Maximus." These words from the prayer of Azariah, one of the three young men who underwent the trial of the fiery furnace, are given inaccurately. The text reads like this: “And he delivered us into the hands of lawless enemies, the most hated apostates, and an unjust and wicked king in all the earth” (Dan 3.32). At the end of the 4th century, this day was celebrated on September 3 and was one of the most solemn holidays in Antioch. Valentinian was born in Tsibalis on the river. Sava in Pannonia. He was elected emperor on 11/26/364 and reigned until 17/1X. 375 Despite his Christian beliefs, he was quite lenient towards paganism, considering it the religion of peasants, shepherds, etc. “A little later”, i.e. after 2 years. Perhaps it was Romanus, the tribune of the shield-bearers, whom, according to Ammianus Marcellinus, Julian exiled along with the tribune Vincent. Ammianus Marcellinus also writes about this, XXII. 11. Probably this particular John St. Meletius appointed Bishop of Apamea. See V.4. The pagan Ammianus Marcellinus also writes about this in his History, XXIII. 1. According to one point of view on this event, the restoration of the church stopped due to severe thunderstorms and storms. Julian's appeal to the oracles is the last example of when persons of similar rank turned to them for help. The oracle of Apollo on Delos was consulted only in the summer months, since it was believed that in winter the god was in Patara. The oracle of Dodona in Epirus was one of the oldest, see Odyssey, canto XIV: He himself went, I was told, to Dodona so that the oracle of the Dark-shady Diev oak would teach him there... (translated by V.A. Zhukovsky). These examples indicate Theodoret's knowledge of certain works of classical literature and his attitude towards their heroes. The philosopher Socrates is contrasted with Critias, one of the most unfortunate politicians of Hellas, Pythagoras with Phalaris, the Sicilian tyrant, Nereus with the ugliest man in the world, Thersites. The city of Beroe in Syria, now Aleppo. Libanius, b. in 314 in Antioch, one of the most outstanding orators of late antiquity. He left an interesting autobiography. Emperor Julian was wounded near Symbria, not far from the river. Tiger on the morning of June 26, 363 and died around midnight. Julian burned almost the entire fleet with the exception of several ships in the town of Abuzatha, where he spent five days (Zosim. III. 26). The direct cause of Julian's death is still unclear. There are also disagreements about the emperor's last exclamation. Sozomen, VI. 2 believes that he was thus reproaching the sun for not helping him. Ammianus Marcellinus reports (XXV. 3. 9) that he lost hope of recovery when he learned that he was in Phrygia, for it was predicted to him that he would die there. Although the latter may also be a literary device designed to somehow heroize a person: the same thing happened with Cambyses in Ecbatana (Herod. III. 60), and with the king of Epirus Alexander at Acheron (Liv. VIII. 2 4). About him see: Ammianus Marcellinus, XXIII. 5. The pamphlet "The Enemy of the Beard" was written by Julian in Antioch in seven months. In it he criticized the traditions and customs of the Antiochians. It should be noted that the majority of the inhabitants of this city, both Christians and pagans, did not like him. You might be interested in: