Syriac Life of St. Gregory the Wonderworker

Contents Syriac Life of St. Gregory the Wonderworker The Tale of the Glorious Deeds of Blessed Gregory, Bishop of Neocaesarea Syriac Life of St. Gregory the Wonderworker In 1894, the famous expert on the Syriac language, Victor Rissel, who provided great services to science with his translations of important Syriac monuments, published a translation of the Syriac life of St. Gregory the Wonderworker, Bishop of Neocaesarea, made by him from the manuscript of the British Museum (add. 14648) W. Wright, which belongs to the 6th century. This life turned out to closely coincide in its main content with the famous word of praise of St. Gregory of Nyssa about the life of St. Gregory the Wonderworker Θαυματουργόν, γενόμενον ἐπίσκοπον τῆς Νεοκαισαρίας 1 ); but in the arrangement of facts, in their details and in the general nature of the narrative, it is so different from the life of St. Gregory of Nyssa, that the question naturally arose about its sources and about the mutual relationship of Greek and Syrian life and their comparative historical value 2. In 1896, Paul Bedjan, based on the same British Museum manuscript used by W. Rissel, published the Syriac text of the life of St. Gregory the Wonderworker in “Acta martyrum et sanctorium”, t. VI (Parislis 1896), p. 83–106. This text differs in many respects from V. Rissel’s translation. However, it is not always possible to accurately determine whether these deviations are based on a more correct reading of the manuscript or on Bedjanʹa's own guesses. Heinr. Hilgenfeldʹy they seem more likely to be corrections, and for his part he gave corrections to the translation of V. Rissel only for the more striking deviations, in which, in his opinion, P. Bedjan offers a more correct reading 3. P. Bedjan admits that the edition of the Syriac Life in the British Museum manuscript is not entirely accurate; for example, the author of this life claims that St. Gregory the Wonderworker received episcopal consecration from Gregory of Nazianzus (Theologian), while Gregory of Neocaesarea died 50 years before the birth of Gregory the Theologian. P. Bedjan corrects such errors in footnotes based on the Berlin manuscript No. 321. The text of the latter is almost four times larger than the text of the British Museum manuscript, but P. Bedjan could not use it as the basis for his edition, since most of the leaves of this manuscript are in poor condition 4 . P. Bedjan, apparently, did not compare the life in the Berlin manuscript with the biography of St. Gregory of Nyssa. Meanwhile, the passage cited by P. Bedjan in approx. 1 per page 84, leads W. Riessel 5 to wonder whether the Berlin text is simply a translation (in a somewhat common form) of the life of Gregory of Nyssa. P. Bedjan does not provide material for judging this, and we do not have the opportunity to judge whether other parts of this biography are not adjacent to the Greek life - this may be indicated by the inscription marked by P. Bedjan in large red letters, made by a famous Orientalist on sheets 8 c and 9 a “The History of Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa”. But even if in other parts the Berlin text coincides with the Syriac biography, then even in this case, according to V. Rissel, it can be assumed that the Berlin manuscript provides an interpolation of the ancient Syriac biography through material borrowed from the Greek biography of St. Gregory of Nyssa. Proposed translation of the Syriac life of St. Gregory the Wonderworker was made from the German translation of V. Riessel, which, in view of the above judgment of Hilgenfeld, did not lose its meaning even after the publication of the original text in the edition of Bedjan, while Hilgenfeld’s corrections were taken into account. The footnotes indicate parallels to it in the laudatory speech of St. Gregory of Nyssa according to the publication of Min and according to the Russian translation of the Moscow Theological Academy. The Tale of the Glorious Deeds of Blessed Gregory, Bishop of Neocaesarea 1. Various types of spiritual life. My brothers, let us praise God, who has favor in the lives of all people [and wants] them to attain the knowledge of the truth and live, and by the way of their behavior ascend spiritually to the majestic heights of heaven, so that while they seem to walk on the earth in the flesh, they nevertheless remain like angels before the majesty of God. For not only in the mountains, in caves, and in gorges, and in the abysses of the earth, many expected the salvation of God, but also in times of peace for the Church, faith-filled ascetics were found, equipped with the weapons of the spirit and victoriously leading the fight against the enemy with the power of the Cross, as we will tell about Blessed Gregory, Bishop of Neocaesarea. 2. Installation of the hermit Gregory as Bishop of Neocaesarea. Until this time, he was a hermit and found joy in the desert of the mountains, so that there he could find the peace of creation. And while his soul was completely surrendered to this blissful joy and strived for a perfect life, his fame spread in many cities. And it was at this time, according to the special dispensation of God, that the bishop who sat on the apostolic throne of the city of Neocaesarea entered eternal rest from the labors of temporary life. The clergy gathered and came to the famous Gregory of Nazianza and asked to give them a shepherd, informing him of the repose of the man who had just died. When the righteous man of God heard this, he sent them away in peace at that time, so that they would leave him, saying: “The Lord cares for you, and He will appoint a shepherd for your flock according to His will.” Blessed Gregory, the saint of God, immediately gave himself over to overwhelming prayer; and he fell on his knees and prayed and said: “Lord, Almighty God! Thine are the heavens and the angels on them, the cherubim tremble before Thy radiance, and the strong seraphim fear before Thy command; You created the universe from the beginning and arranged the worlds in it by Your command; You, my Lord, first saved Your Church and acquired it with Your precious blood, You also choose a shepherd for Your flock according to Your will.” And when he prayed like this, then a sweet and pleasant dream came over him; and they heard a voice that said: “Do not choose anyone for this ministry except the hermit Gregory.” And he (sire?) said: “My Lord! Who will tell me about Gregory’s whereabouts? For here he is - an inhabitant of the mountains, he does not even have a permanent residence. For who can chase an eagle if it, having risen into the air, soars merrily on the wings of the ether? And again the voice came to him, for the second time, and said to him: “Come, let them bring the clergy; and take the holy Gospel in your hands and enter the altar of God, the holy place of redemption, and remember his name there and appoint him, even if he was not even there! And my job is to chase the eagle and bring it from where it is. For I know all the birds of the air and the wild inhabitants of My fields.” And when the wondrous man of God, Bishop Gregory, heard this, then he called the clergy, as he was commanded, and went with them to the altar of God. And he exclaimed and said: “We give the name of the hermit Gregory, whom God chose to the episcopal throne in the city of Neocaesarea.” And having said this, he blessed them and sent them away in peace.” 3. Gregory's visit to Nazian, acceptance of the ministry of bishop and revelation of the true teaching 6. For God, Who at all times works miracles in His saints and Whose care is revealed throughout the entire human race, 7 sent one of the fiery angels who stand in the service of His glory to Gregory on the mountain and commanded him to say to him: “Behold, you must be a saint of God in the city of Neocaesarea! Get up, go out there and join (the ministry)! But first, go to the city of Nazian and receive a blessing from God’s chosen one, Gregory, and then go to your city in peace!” Hearing this, he said: “You, Lord, who contain everything in Your power, You know that Your servant does not like passing glory; but if it pleases You, Lord, then Your will be done on us, as it is in heaven.” And immediately he got up and went to the city of Nazian and told Bishop Gregory what the angel had told him. Gregory also kept him with him and told him about the secret things of God that had happened to them. And so he blessed him and sent him away in peace. When the chosen Gregory descended into the city, he found it burning with the veneration of idols. Seeing the great honor that he showed to alien deities, he wept bitterly and prayed and said: “Lord God, creator and preserver of creatures! Since you sent your disciples, the apostles, the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, and enlightened their ignorance with your knowledge of the truth, then show your miracles at this time and give us through your writing an image of the hidden secrets of your faith! And immediately letters became visible on the wall, which read: “Three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one divine nature.” That night Gregory fell asleep and saw in a dream a young man who had a book in his hand, and a maiden who was dressed in precious clothes, and he held her hand, namely (he saw) John the Evangelist, the son of Zebedee, and Mary, the Mother of our Lord. They told him: “Notice what you see, husband! For behold, you are worthy 8 now to see the faith that has come from heaven. However, stand up like a high horn and preach before the people.” And he taught them incessantly day and night. 4. The deception of the Jews, their punishment and the mercy of Gregory 9. And after he had stayed with them for some time, he then went out to visit his diocese. And when he went his way, behold, then two men from the Jewish people said to each other in their insidious way: “Behold Gregory passes; let us deceive him a little and receive alms from him.” And they said: “How?” And one said to the other: “You lie down as if dead, and I will cry over you!” And it happened: when Gregory approached them, the husband who was standing [there] threw himself on his face before him and said: “I ask you, sir, have mercy on me. We were going our way when this friend of mine lay down [dead]. Give me as much as is necessary for his burial.” Gregory immediately cut off half of his cloak and threw it on him; and immediately his soul left his body. And thus their lies were clearly revealed. When Gregory had gone far from them, then the husband approached the [just] deceased, touched him and said: “Well, get up! So we laughed at my husband and received alms from him.” But when he saw the body, which had now truly become a corpse, he ran to Blessed Gregory and said: “Have mercy on me, sir, disciple of Christ,” telling him all his lies in advance. And he said: “Because of his poverty, sir, he did this. And just as your Lord, lord, Who showed His kindness towards our worthless people, so show your kindness towards us. For he has a wife and children, and they are waiting for him.” And when the man of God heard this, he returned with him and stood over the dead man, and prayed to the Lord and said: “Christ, the Savior of the world! Since You voluntarily came into the kingdom of the dead in order to awaken Adam, Your image, from the corruption of death, and delivered him from the sin of breaking the commandment in Eden and brought him out captive, who had been sitting captive since the [first] generation of the world; Likewise, Lazarus, my Lord, when You called him, death endured and laid before You, You, Lord, now have mercy on this young man and command his soul to return to his body.” And when he finished his prayer, he took him by the hand and said to him: “To you, soul, creation of God, I say in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ: return to your place and dwell again in your body, just as you were in it before.” And immediately the young man stood up, and everyone who was there glorified God for the miracles that He performs in people through His chosen ones. Also, these Jews immediately accepted baptism and became faithful monks (literally: inhabitants of the monastery). 5. The expulsion of the demon-soothsayer and the conversion of the pagan priest 10. And it happened: when blessed Gregory came to one city, he saw a pagan temple outside it, and he entered and spent the night in it, and remained awake in it the whole night. The demon, who was revered in the church, was afraid before the prayer of Blessed Gregory and left from there. As soon as the blessed one finished the night service, he went on his way. When the day came, a pagan priest came to the temple, who usually served this god (more correctly: he had care of the cult of this god), and when he, as usual, prayed a lot and cried, there was no god who was supposed to appear to him. Because of the great sadness that overwhelmed him, he tore his clothes; and when he [once again] prayed a lot, he appeared to him and said to him: “From now on you can no longer wish for me to appear here! It was Gregory, a disciple of Christ, who came here, prayed here and expelled me, and thus I can no longer come here. The priest tells him: “So, if Gregory had ordered you, you would have come here!?” And he said, “If he commands me, I will come in here.” Hearing this, the priest ran to Blessed Gregory in the mountains and said to him: “If you command the god who is revered by the inhabitants of this country, but has now been driven out by your prayer, and he will again enter his place, then I will come and become a disciple of the God whom you preach.” When blessed Gregory heard this, he wrote to him on a tablet: “Gregory, disciple of Christ, to the idol. Enter your place." The priest took the tablet, entered the church and laid it there; and immediately God appeared. And the priest said to him: “Now that you have received this order, have you returned to your place!?” And he told him: “Yes!” Then the priest answered and said: “So, Gregory is stronger than you, so you obey his orders?” And the demon answered and said to him: “It is impossible for us to resist the power of the Cross, because legions of angels and people and demons are subordinate to it.” Then the priest answered and said: “So, if the student is so much stronger than you, then how much more so is his teacher! Therefore, it is my duty to leave to serve someone greater than you!” And immediately he abandoned him to the mercy of fate and went to blessed Gregory and became his disciple. 6. The priest's doubts in Gregory's story about the martyrdom of the young man 11. And it happened one day when Gregory was sitting and explaining (the Scripture), he began to listen and listened to something and saw as if with the eyes of the spirit. The priest said: “Tell me, sir, what you see and why you listen as if you were hearing something!” Blessed Gregory said: “I see how right now in the city a young man stands before the judge and gives testimony, and kills Satan with the goodness of God.” The priest said: “Sir, let me go and see, so that in this way I can be confirmed in faith.” And he told him the power of his prayer and said: “Go in peace, and may our Lord go with you.” And immediately the priest went to the city and entered it and saw, as he had been told, and the martyrdom of that young man was accomplished by fire. And the priest exclaimed with a loud voice of surprise and said: “Blessed is our Lord, who freed us from the deception of idols through His disciple Gregory.” 7. The priest's victory over the demon in the bathhouse through the prayer of Gregory 12. But, further, there was a bathhouse in the city, and a strong demon lived in it and did not allow anyone to enter it, except from the third hour to the ninth. And if anyone dared to enter there at the wrong time, he killed him. But the priest, tired from the stress of the journey, wanted to enter outside this time to wash himself. Then the owner of the bathhouse held him tightly and turned him away from this, saying: “Husband, do you want your death?” But the priest, since he had great hope in the prayer of Blessed Gregory, boldly entered there; and when the demon saw him, he howled and shook the doors, and the bathhouse almost collapsed; and he said to the priest: “Husband! Still sacrificial meat between your teeth (i.e. you were just still a pagan priest), how dare you despise me so much? For what can I do to you when the prayer of Blessed Gregory accompanies you? But the priest fulfilled his wish and then went out and stood up and told Blessed Gregory everything that had happened. 8. Diversion of the Lika River from the city it threatens 13 . There was a city in that country, and a river flowed through the city area, and the water constantly caused great damage, so that they called that river, for its great ferocity, “Wolf” (i.e. Λύκος). When the people of the city heard about the extraordinary miracles that our Lord performed through the hands of Blessed Gregory, then they went to him to inform him about this, saying to him: “We pray to you, sir! Have pity on us! The situation of the city, sir, in which we live is excellent; however, the river that flows next to it causes great damage and carries away, sir, our property and our cattle; She also destroys our houses to the ground and carries them away and kills the people who live in the houses. But just as your Lord, the great builder of peace, Who came to recreate what had been destroyed (Ezek. 36:36) and to give peace again to the desolate dwellings of the children of Adam, so you, lord, can also restore peace to the city that was devastated by the damage of the river.” When Blessed Gregory heard about this from them, he stood up and went with them. And when he saw the many potholes that surrounded the river in the middle of the city, also the great damage that it had caused, then he took his staff and stuck it in the surroundings of the city into the ground and said: “I say to you, dumb nature, and to you, wet waters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God of the whole world: you must not again invade it (i.e., the city) and cause any harm in it. And immediately his staff budded and became a great tree; and whenever the waters came and encountered it, they had to turn again from the city district and they made indentations in another place, now flowing south of the city. 9 . Draining the lake to reconcile two brothers 14. At that time, a noble man lived in the city, and by the command of God he passed away from bodily life and left two sons. When these heirs divided all their inheritance, they were left with a lake, which brought great income to its owner, for it contained an extraordinary mass of different fish. And therefore, regarding him, things came to a great discord among them. They argued so much and heatedly that they even kept their servants armed and ready to fight against each other. These friends informed Blessed Gregory about this state of affairs. The Man of God immediately went to them to reconcile them, saying to them: “Men, you are brothers! Why do you want to please Satan? Let one keep the lake for himself, and let the other take the money that will cost him!” And one of them says, “I won’t let him out.” And another: “Until death I will not give up on him!” The blessed one ordered us to go to the lake together; and when everyone stood next to him, then the blessed one said to them: “People, why are you arguing about what does not belong to you? The waters belong to God; the pond also belongs to God. [So] why are you arguing about something that is not under your control? Do you want to establish peace among yourselves, or should I show you that the lake does not belong to you? But they said: “No!” When blessed Gregory saw that they were not persuaded to make peace, and Satan was inciting them to water the earth with their blood, then he stretched out his hands over the waters and said: “I tell you, wet waters, subject to Christ! In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whose command you have been gathered to this place, in this [precisely] name of Christ, I tell you that you should leave this place and be swallowed up by the abyss of the earth, so that because of love for you the image of God (i.e. the human body) will not be destroyed.” And immediately these waters dried up, and the bottom and soil of the earth became visible. And the blessed one said to these brothers: “Do you see now that the waters did not belong to you!? Were they in any way subject to your command? Could you somehow command them to stay in your pond? Therefore go in peace!” The brothers, although [before] they did not want to, made peace with each other and left. 10. Election of the blacksmith Alexander as bishop 15. In that country there was a small city, which was also subordinate to [the episcopal authority of] Neocaesarea. These days, by the command of God, the bishop who was in it, exhausted [by the labors of his life], departed from the life of the world. The clergy, according to the custom that prevailed in the city, went to Neocaesarea to get a shepherd there. Appearing to Gregory, they gave him a list of names that were to be taken into account. But when the list was read, it turned out that there was the name of a husband who had many shortcomings and whose name was put on the list for the sake of his wealth. Among the clergy there was one zealot; when he heard his name on the list, then the jealousy of God aroused him, and he said: “Do not place anyone except Alexander the blacksmith.” Blessed Gregory, having heard this word, realized that the story with the blacksmith Alexander had not surfaced by chance, and thus he released the clergy, and they left. He immediately spread his mantle before the Lord and knelt down in prayer and said: “Lord God, sitting on the cherubim, before the beginning of all times you founded the earth, and your fingers created the sky, you do not come with generations and do not change with time and do not disappear like days, but you are always the same, [already] before the beginning of the worlds, and the heavens and the earth and the depths together with the airy space are like palms before you and like a drop from a bucket. And now, Lord, by whose wave people came into existence, now deign to choose for yourself a husband who is pleasing to Your will.” And when he finished his prayer, then a heavenly voice came to him and said to him: “You should not appoint anyone there as a bishop except the blacksmith Alexander.” But Gregory said: “Oh, Lord, who will show me this husband?” And the second time a divine voice came to him and said to him: “Come, let them bring the husband who works with him, and from him you can receive information about his excellent qualities.” And immediately he sent quickly for his husband; and when the blacksmith appeared in the room in front of Gregory, he stood up and said to him: “Tell me, my brother, who is Alexander who is working with you, and what kind of person is he?” The blacksmith answered and said: “He wants to make us certainly believe, oh lord, that he is a stupid man; but I, oh lord, do not consider him a fool, for his deeds are not the deeds of a fool” 16. His earnings are more than 150 groschen (actually nummus) a day, but he does not take more than 50 groschen from me and with this money he eats a small amount of bread; and what remains he gives to the poor. And he doesn’t eat meat, and he doesn’t drink wine, and no one has ever seen him wash in a bathhouse, and his supper is enough for him from evening to evening. But when he speaks, words of wisdom come out of his mouth, the likes of which have never been spoken by worldly philosophers 17.” Hearing this, blessed Gregory said to the blacksmith: “For God's sake, my brother! As you know, depending on what the cunning of the craft tells you, bring him here.” The blacksmith went back to his house and said to Alexander: “We are short of iron. Let's go to the city of Neokesarea." And when they came to the city, he brought him before Gregory. But Alexander, as soon as he entered, began to pretend childishly and say nonsense words. However, when he appeared at the door, he appeared to the one before whom he appeared like a shining star. And Bishop Gregory exclaimed and said: “This is a man whose face shines like the morning dawn and whose soul is enlightened by the radiance of heavenly glory.” And he placed him before the people and conjured him and said: “I conjure you by Him who stretched out the heavens like carpets, and on it erected the throne of His glory and settled there angels of fire and spirit to serve His majesty; I conjure you with this. Who founded the earth on the waters from the beginning and laid the circle of the earth on them and designated them as a dwelling for man; I implore the One who stretched out His hands on the cross and drew the earth into the knowledge of the truth - do not put a veil on your true qualities (Sir. “creation”, i.e. your moral state; or maybe vm. γένεσις = origin), - but I want to see you as you are for God - if you are wise, then as wise, if you are mad, then as mad.” And when Alexander heard this, he was afraid of the extreme power of his spell, and he said: “O lord, why is it necessary that you [so thoroughly] examine your slave? For as far as was in my power, God was for me [the goal of my] knowledge.” But Gregory said to him: “Tell me where you are from and what is your occupation?” Alexander revealed to him the whole state of the matter and said: “I, sir, was the son of Maximilian from the city of Rome. And when my father died, then I thought a lot about getting closer to God. And I saw that for a soul that loves God, there is no preferable way of existence than that it should be in poverty in this world. When I reasoned this way, then I sold all the property that my parents left me as an inheritance, gold and silver, and estates and clothes, and gave it to the poor; also the slaves whom I had, seven hundred [in number], I set free in one day. And Christ, my Lord, will reveal to your holiness - He who rules over the thoughts of the soul and Who knows the thoughts of people 19 - will reveal that I did not tell this for vain self-praise, but out of fear of an oath.” Gregory further said to him: “For God’s sake, my brother! Tell me, why did you choose this path of foolishness for yourself?” Alexander said to him: “Because I have seen how the world has foolishly placed ruthlessness in the place of love and unmercifulness in the place of mercy - today people honor it and tomorrow they despise it, today they glorify it and tomorrow they revile it, this one blesses and another curses it - I saw how people feel attracted in three ways to declare themselves in God's creation: either to be glorified by people, or to have material (proper) adv. bodily) benefit or to have the power of a ruling position. Therefore, I chose poverty for myself in order to defeat Satan through it. If it happens that a poor man is on the way and robbers come and see that he is completely poor, then they satisfy [even] his needs from what they have.” And when Gregory heard this, he was amazed and surprised and said: “Praise be to You, God, who has given this treasure in an earthly vessel, since this is the Holy Spirit of God, Who dwells in the vessel chosen (by Him), (i.e., in one of the people). And immediately he elevated him to the sacred rank, saying: “Go, my brother; from now on feed the flock of Christ.” And he asked him and said: “Ascend, expound in the pulpit (the Scriptures) and satisfy the people with your divine sayings.” And, indeed, with his sayings he surprised the people; and he brought him to the fear of God, so that everyone glorified our Lord for the wisdom that He gave to people. But when Gregory released him so that he could go away in peace in order to sit on the pulpit of his hierarchical ministry, then he gave thanks and said: “Praise be to You, O God! However, how many saints You have in the world, and they are unknown and hidden from people due to their humble position, but they stand great in Your eyes.” When Alexander and his clergy were sent away in peace, then blessed Gregory was left alone with his soul and gathered his whole soul together with his thoughts in order to pour it out before God in a profuse tearful outburst, crying and saying: “O Lord, my God! From the west (resp. from the evening, according to Gen. 1:5?) You called the earth [into being] to the ends of the world, and all the creatures of angels and people received existence, O Lord, by the wave of Your will, also the wild animals that frolic in the solitude of the desert, and the birds, which, by virtue of their lightness (resp. speed), frolic in the air, bear the image of Your Cross [with their outstretched wings] and thus dare to soar high on the peaks; likewise, a crowd of fish, O Lord, which moves in the depths of the sea, receives Your breath, so as not to suffocate in the wildly raging stream of waters; and when Your will pleased, You, O Lord, fed the stiff-necked people in the desert for forty years with bread that was not baked with hands, and further, when Your grace was revealed over the race of Adam’s children and wanted to make visible the hidden powers of the earth, You fed seven thousand in the desert with five loaves, leaving twelve boxes left for them for supper - and now, Lord, I thank You that You are exactly like Yours. goodness grants to all beings what they need, and he sent me a husband, Alexander, who must humble my poor soul so that it exalts itself to me in self-satisfaction.” 11. The slander of Gregory by a dissolute woman, her punishment and pardon 21. And when blessed Gregory finished his prayer, he fell into a quiet sleep due to tension and exhaustion from tears. And he saw in a dream how someone in the form of a man stood on his right side, and he said to him: “Take courage, man of God Gregory!” for you will have to endure much from your enemies, and [in the end] you will stand victoriously [in the struggle], and they will fall into the pit that they are digging for you. And immediately he arose from his sleep and thanked the Lord for this vision that he had seen. And the enemy of righteousness, who from the beginning has been killing people, when he saw that from the population of the city of Neocaesarea, among which [at the beginning] there were only seventeen believers, he led countless thousands to the true faith - then the hater (i.e. Satan) wanted to shower him with arrows of malice and taught the slaves of lies how they could slander Gregory. These disciples of depravity, taking the advice of their teacher, sent to bring a depraved woman; and then they said to her: carry out a secret plan with us, namely, take yourself twelve gold pieces and speak to Gregory what you tell you, and while he sits among the elders of the city, go and stand before him and tell him: “Give me my wages for this night, because you slept with me.” She took the money; and it happened: when Gregory sat in innocence and explained (the Scriptures) to the people, and his archdeacon stood next to him, then a dissolute woman squeezed through and stopped in front of him and said to him: “Give me my payment, because you had an affair with me that night.” Gregory and all the people who stood near him were surprised at this speech; and Stephen, his archdeacon, when he saw the shameful slander, asked his lord to remain silent for a long time, so that he could reveal the deception of the liars; then he stood up and said to the slutty woman: “I don’t know what you want to say, my daughter.” But she told him: “Exactly so, Gregory! And I will not forgive you my payment." Stefan stood up a second time and said to her: “Woman, go your way away from me; I don’t understand what you want to say?” But since the dissolute woman did not know how to distinguish their faces from each other, namely the face of Gregory and the face of Stephen, she stretched out her hands to Stephen and said: “Give me my payment, because you had an affair with me. You don’t dare deceive me, Gregory!” Then all the people, seeing that she could not recognize Gregory’s face, admitted that this was a great slander. And Gregory said: “This is enough for liars.” When Stefan saw that in this way the deception of the priests and the dissolute woman had been discovered, then Stefan said to her: “You are probably in league with the demons; Why did you devote your lips to serving Satan, so that through them he uttered a shameful lie against the servant of God. Yes, vicious (own daughter of sin), why did you make a secret plan with these atheists and wanted to throw dirt into the immaculate sun? Why did you raise your hands to throw a stone into the sky, when your foremother in heaven already deprived our father Adam of Edenic bliss? According to this plan of lies, you wanted to betray the pearls (to plunge them) into destruction; and your sister, the wife of Sampson, in a treacherous alliance with the Philistines, bound the Nazarite and made him a laughing stock before her people, and your relative was the high council of the unrighteous people [who condemned Christ]. In the same way, you laughed at the Old One (i.e., Christ, cf. Dan. 7:9, combined with the messianic passage Mic. 5:1), Who forgave Adam’s guilt resulting from his crime, and denied Him before the face of Pilate.” When Stephen said this, Gregory said to him: “Give this woman her wages, as much as she wants, and order her to leave, so that she does not distract us from studying the word of God, and so that I also do not withhold the bribe of the oppressed” (cf. James 5:4, etc.). Stefan gave her her payment, how much she wanted to receive. And it happened: when she stretched out her hands and took the sinful money, then the demon immediately threw her to the ground, and she told them not to rob her completely for the sake of Gregory’s excellent qualities. When the man of God saw that she was robbed by a demon, he took pity on her and stretched out his hands over the demon and said: “I say to you, unclean spirit! You are subservient to Christ, and I also serve Christ. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, come out of this girl without harming her.” The demon immediately left the woman, and she became healthy; and Gregory sent her away to leave in peace, ordering her not to announce the deception of liars. 12. Gregory's slander as a boy 22. When Gregory stood one day and taught the people, behold, a young man from the crowd of people shouted in a loud voice and said: “Do not be afraid, people! For Gregory does not say this from himself (properly not from his own will), but someone else stands on his right side, and this one teaches him what he should say.” Hearing this, Gregory said to those who stood near him: “This young man is not clean from demons.” And immediately the demon threw the young man to the ground. But Gregory, hearing this, took a piece of outer clothing that was thrown over the young man’s shoulders, blew on it from his mouth, and threw it on the young man, and said: “It is not I who command you, it is Christ who commands you, He who cast you and the pigs into the sea (cf. Matthew 8:32): come out of this young man.” When the demon heard the name of the divine majesty, he cried out with a loud voice and said: “Woe is me because of Jesus, woe is me because of his disciples, that we are here expelled from all creation, and that we are there reserved for the scorching fire of the underworld, because of the enmity that arose in Eden between the progenitors of our race and the progenitor of the human race.” And thus he left the young man and went away. The young man, when he became healthy again, said: “Now I no longer see the man who stood next to Gregory and taught him what he should say.” When the demon came out of the young man, then a voice was heard in the air, which said: “Now I must go to the pagan king, and he will avenge Gregory for me.” 13. Persecution of Christians and flight of Gregory 23. In these days, when the Church of God was expanding due to the successful spread of the faith, the enemy, who - already from the creation of the world - does not take pleasure in our peace, suddenly opened persecution against her; and the tyrant king sent a judge to that country, who carried with him threats and curses against all who loved Christ. When Gregory saw the [threatened] punishment, he immediately began to thirst for martyrdom, like a precious stone, so that he could first of all become its victim and at the same time a model for those who belonged to his church; but then he also took into account the weaknesses of human nature and said: “I am afraid that if I leave the pasture (i.e., the diocese) to the mercy of fate, a [wolf] may rush in and destroy the flock of Christ.” And he prayed before the Lord and said: “O Lord, who sat on the cherubim, who sat on a donkey and entered Jerusalem, You, the mighty God, whose right hand stretched out the heavens, 24 and Who in humility appeared in the world, and the crucifiers nailed it to the tree, because You voluntarily, O Lord, endured the suffering of death for our sake, - so have mercy on the suffering of the servant Yours at this hour and assign me a lot, which, by the will of Your Divinity, I must take upon myself.” And immediately a voice was heard near him and said to him: “Get ready, take your people and leave, go into the desert and hide until the rage passes.” And immediately he got ready, took the church with him and left. 14. The miraculous salvation of Gregory and his deacon 25. But when the judge heard what had happened, he sent men who were to pursue Gregory and bring him. And they went and found him at the cave, along with a pagan priest who became his disciple, and they took them for trees and did not know that they were people. And the people who were sent returned to the judge, saying to him: “We went through the whole desert and in caves, and in gorges, and in the abysses of the earth and looked for (them) and found no one except two trees that were planted near the cave.” But the people from the judge’s soldiers, in whom the hidden faith in Christ rested, knew that it was a miracle and glorified God. 15. The return of Gregory, the success of his activities and his death 26. But soon after that, the tormenting king died and peace came on earth. Gregory and all the people of God returned to their church with honor. And he looked around at all the people of the city and saw that there were only no more than seventeen unbelievers in it, and he thanked the Lord and said: “I thank you, Lord, that once, when you brought me to this city, I found in it (only) seventeen believers, and now, behold, there remain in it still (only) seventeen unbelievers. Join them together with their brothers to Your flock, O Christ.” And after all this, the blessed one left this world of suffering and went victorious to his Lord. May mercy reign over the earth and its inhabitants through his prayers until eternity. Amen. Migne, P.S.G. t. XLVI, col. 893–958. Creation of St. Gregory of Nyssa in Russian translation. Part VIII. Moscow, 1872, pp. 126–197. Wed. V. Ryssel, Eine syrische Lebensgeschichte des Gregorius Thaumaturgus in “Theologische Zietschrift aus der Schweitz” XI (1894), 4 S. 228–241, and Prof. P. Koestchau, Zur Lebensgeschichte Gregors des Wunderthäters, in “Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Theologie” 41 (1898), pp. 211–250. Die vita Gregorʹs des Wunderthäters und die Syrischen Acta martyrum et Sanctorum in “Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Theologie” 41 (1898), S. 454–456. Acta martyrum et Sanctorum, p. VI. Literal. Centralblatt 1896, Nr 21, Sp. 761–762. Wed. Migne, P.S.G. t. XLVI, col. 909 sqq. Russian translation part VIII, page 144 ff. .H. Helgenfeld in “Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Theologie” 41 (1898), S. 454. Migne, P.S.G. t. XLVI, col. 940 sq. Russian translation part VIII, page 176 ff. Wed. Migne, P.S.G. t. XLVI, col. 913 sqq. Russian lane part VIII, page 149 ff. Wed. Migne, P.S.G. t. XLVI, col. 949. Russian translation part VIII, page 186 ff. Wed. Migne, P.S.G. t. XLVI, col. 952. Russian translation part VIII, page 188 ff. Wed. Migne, P.S.G. t. XLVI, col. 925 sq. Russian translation part VIII, page 161 seq. Wed. Migne, P.S.G. t. XLVI, col. 933 sq. Russian lane Part VIII, p. 169 ff. Actually: “bei deinem Leben.” And here: “bei deinem Leben”. Wed. Migne, P.S.G. t. XLVI, col. 901 sq. Russian lane part VIII, page 136 ff. Wed. Migne, P.S.G. t. XLVI, col. 941 sq. Russian translation part VIII, page 179 ff. Wed. Migne, P.S.G. t. XLVI, col. 944 sq. Russian translation part VIII, page 180 ff. Wed. Migne, P.S.G. t. XLVI, col. 948 sq. Russian translation part VIII, page 184 ff. Wed. Migne, P.S.G. t. XLVI, col. 953 sq. Russian translation part VIII, page 191 seq.