Житие святого отца нашего Порфирия, епископа Газского

Gaza is a Palestinian city 1629, located in the neighborhood of the Egyptian country, which first belonged to the children of Israel, the tribe of Judah, then conquered by the Philistines 1630 - the same one in which Samson once took the closed gate on his shoulders (Judges 16:3). This city was filled with idolatrous wickedness. After the incarnation of Christ our God, he was partly enlightened by the holy faith preached by the holy Apostles and bishops who came after them; but still, most of its inhabitants wandered for a long time in the darkness of idolatry, worshiping an idol called “Marnas” 1631, as well as Venus 1632 and other wicked Hellenic gods. At the same time, Christian blood was repeatedly shed in it, especially during the time of the godless Tsar Julian the Apostate in 1633: for then all the priests, monks and virgins dedicated to God were mercilessly beaten by the infidels. Such wickedness continued in the city of Gaza for a long time, and no one could cleanse it of idolatry and completely enlighten it with the holy faith, until Saint Porphyry was elected bishop of Gaza, about whom we will have a word. He completely enlightened Gaza, destroyed all the idols, erected a church in the middle of the city and acquired the whole city for God with great difficulty, as the following narrative will show. The saint was the son of wealthy parents, born in Thessalonica in 1634. Leaving his father's house, brothers and wealth, he, being twenty-five years old, went first to Egypt, then to Skete 1635, where he took on the monastic robe with the intention of pursuing a fasting life. Having stayed with the holy fathers in the Skete for five years, he came to Jerusalem and, having venerated the Life-Giving Cross and the Holy Sepulcher and having visited all the holy places, went to the Jordanian countries in 1636. Here, having settled in a certain den, Saint Porfiry lived and labored in fasting and unceasing prayer. After five years, he fell ill and begged one of his acquaintances to take him to Jerusalem, since due to illness he could not walk without outside help. However, in Jerusalem, every day, despite his illness, he walked around the holy places, worshiping the Lord; when he could not walk due to his illness, he crawled on his knees, but did not leave a single day without coming to the holy Church of the Resurrection and the Holy Cross. Seeing him working like this every day, despite his illness, a certain young monk named Mark (later the writer of his life) began to serve him for God’s sake. This Mark was sent by Saint Porphyry to Thessalonica with a letter in order to divide among his younger brothers the estate left by his parents, and to bring the part belonging to Porphyry to him so that he could distribute it to the poor. Mark, having gone, divided everything as it should, and sold part to Porfiriev for three thousand gold coins; In addition, Porfiry received another portion from his parents’ gold - one thousand and four hundred gold coins, as well as clothes and silver. Mark delivered all this to Saint Porphyry in Jerusalem, whom he found completely healthy. Porfiry, having accepted what was brought, immediately distributed it to the poor and poor monasteries, and he himself became poor. Then the saint spoke about how he was healed of his illness. “When I was at the all-night weekly vigil in the great church,” he said, “I had an attack of illness. Not having the strength to endure any longer, I went and lay down at Holy Golgotha, and from a great illness I was, as it were, in a frenzy. And I saw our Savior nailed to the Cross, and one thief with Him hanging on another cross, and I began to cry out, saying: “Remember me, Lord, when You come in Your Kingdom.” The Savior said to the thief: “Come down from the cross and heal him from bodily illness, as I healed you from mental illness.” The thief, coming down to me from his cross, hugged me and kissed me and raised me up from the ground saying: “Come to the Savior.” Having approached the Lord, I saw Him descend from the Cross, and He said to me: “Take this tree and keep it.” I, having accepted the Cross of Christ, began to wear it and immediately came to my senses and found myself completely healthy, as if I had never been sick.” A short time after this, blessed Porfiry was appointed presbyter by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and he was given for safekeeping the Honest Tree of the Life-Giving Cross, placed in a special closed golden ark, and the other part of it was taken to Constantinople by the holy Queen Helena. This is how Porfiry’s vision was fulfilled, in which he saw the Lord giving him to keep His Cross. Three years passed after the Monk Porfiry was installed as a presbyter. At this time, a bishop named Aeneas reposed in the city of Gaza. The faithful from the inhabitants of Gaza came together with the clergy to Caesarea Palestine in 1637 to the metropolitan, under whose jurisdiction Gaza was, Blessed John, begging him to give them a bishop who could resist in word and deed the idolaters, of whom there were very many in Gaza. Metropolitan John, having commanded everyone to fast, prayed to God to show him a husband worthy and capable of this work; and it was revealed to him in a vision about the Monk Porphyry, presbyter of Jerusalem, guardian of the Life-Giving Tree. The Metropolitan immediately wrote a letter to the Most Holy Patriarch of Jerusalem, in which he asked to send Father Porfiry to him, without mentioning, however, the reason for such a request. The Patriarch, calling Porfiry and showing him the metropolitan’s letter, ordered him to go to Caesarea. At first the Monk Porfiry doubted, and then said: - May the will of the Lord be done! Then, leaving the patriarch, he said to his disciple: – Brother Mark, let’s go and worship the holy places and the Tree of the Honest Life-Giving Cross: for we will not see it soon. - Why do you say that, father? I think that you will stay in Caesarea no more than one week? – Last night I saw the Savior, who said to me: “Give Me the treasure (Tree of the Cross) that I have placed with you: for I want to marry you with a bride, it is true that she is wretched and rejected by people, but good-natured; and you, taking her, decorate her so that she forgets her former poverty, for although she is poor, she is not a stranger to Me, My sincere sister. Take care that, having taken her and built a house, you do not acquire anything by untruth or theft, or lawlessness: for by this you will anger Me and offend her. Hope and do not be faint-hearted, and everything will be sent to you from where you would not expect.” This is what the Lord told me in a vision at night, and I am afraid that the burden of other people’s sins will be placed on me, when I have many of my own. Having said this to the disciple, Saint Porfiry went and venerated all the holy places, also the Life-Giving Tree of the Holy Cross: and having locked it in the ark, he went and gave the key to the most holy patriarch. Having taken a blessing from the patriarch, he set off on a journey to Caesarea in Palestine with his disciple Mark and another young man Baruch, whom some time earlier he had found sick and covered with scabs on a puss, and whom he healed with his prayer. When the Monk Porfiry came to Caesarea, he was received here with great joy. His Eminence Metropolitan John began to persuade him to accept ordination as bishop of the city of Gaza. The monk wept bitterly and inconsolably, saying that he was not worthy of such a rank, and then he surrendered himself to the will of God and was released to Gaza with the clergy and people of Gaza. But the wicked inhabitants of one village near Gaza, waiting for his arrival, covered the entire path that the Christian bishop Saint Porfiry should have walked, covered it with thorns, dug ditches on it, ditched a lot of stinking dung and smoked great and stinking smoke, so that they made that path inconvenient for passage: they did this out of hatred for Christians and out of demonic enmity against Saint Porphyry. Thus, the saint endured many obstacles along the way along with his companions, enduring ditches, thorns, and smoke, and toiling all day long; Finally, at night they came to the city. There was only one Christian church in the city, and even that was a small one, for there were not many Christians in it. Opposite the idol churches there were many in the city, and idols even stood on the streets, but in the middle of the city was the church of Marnas, their oldest god, great and beautiful, built in ancient times, adorning the entire city with its grandeur, height and beautiful design. And the Monk Porfiry, having accepted his throne, began to shepherd the small flock of Christ that was there. In the year in which Saint Porphyry of Christ came to Gaza, there happened to be no rain and great drought and famine. And all the wicked citizens said that for the sake of the coming of Porphyry to the city, the gods, angry, closed the sky; and the priests spread a rumor among the people that the god Marnas had told them that Porfiry was the culprit of all evil. And so, all the idolaters, having gathered in the church of Marnas, made many sacrifices, praying and crying out to Marnas so that he would send down rain, for they said that he was the god of rains. So they prayed for seven days, chanting their sacred songs and going out of the city in solemn processions; but there was still no rain. Then all the Christians gathered with their wives and children, so that their number was two hundred and eighty: for there were only so many souls of believers in Christ in Gaza at that time. And they asked Saint Porfiry, their bishop, to perform a conciliar prayer and go out of the city with crosses and ask God for rain, for the hunger was already painful for everyone, and at the same time they suffered reproach and annoyance from the wicked, who attributed the lack of rain to the Christian bishop. Saint Porfiry commanded fasting and ordered all believers to gather in church in the evening; and having completed the all-night vigil, the next morning he served a litiya with the presentation of the Holy Cross. Thus, the Christians with a procession of the cross went out of the city to the ancient dilapidated church, which was on the western side, which was once created by the most blessed Bishop Asklipius, a confessor of Christ, who suffered a lot for the Orthodox faith; from there, singing songs, they went to the place of torment of St. Timothy, where the relics of other saints were laid. Having prayed thus, they returned to the city with a procession of the cross at nine o'clock in the afternoon and found the city gates closed; for the wicked idolaters, seeing the Christians leaving the city with their bishop, closed the gates, not wanting to let the believers in. The Christians stood before the gates for two hours, and no one opened them. And so God, seeing the patience and tearful prayer of His servants and listening to the prayers of His saint Porphyry, raised a wind from midday, as once with Elijah the prophet (1 Kings 18:17-45), and covered the sky with clouds of rain, and there was lightning and thunder, and at sunset a great rain fell. Then some of the pagans, seeing such a miracle, opened the city and, joining the Christians, walked, exclaiming: – Christ alone is the True God! And everyone entered the church with great joy, and the believing pagans received from the bishop the holy blessing and the catechumen for baptism, and, thanking God, they went to their homes. Of those who believed, there were one hundred and seven men, thirty-five women, and fourteen children. And there was great rain all that night, and on the second and third day, and watered the earth sufficiently. Seeing this, on the third day another 127 joined the flock of Christ, and after them in the same year another 105. And, having received holy baptism, they were all zealous in the holy faith. And other idolaters did not cease to quarrel with Saint Porphyry and to annoy the Christians, for when the hegemon came to the city, they, giving him a lot of gold, set him up to torment the Christians, and moreover, they tormented the faithful with city work, as the Egyptians once did the Israelites. Saint Porfiry, seeing the insults inflicted on the believers, was very sad and incessantly, day and night, with tears, prayed to God to turn the lost to the path of knowledge of the truth. After this, the aforementioned disciple of Saint Baruch was sent to a nearby village to receive an annual payment in favor of the Christian church from an idolater who lived on church land. Wanting to postpone the payment until another time, he began to argue with Baruch, and a dispute arose between them. During the dispute, other idolaters came running, who began to beat blessed Baruch to death with stakes, then, thinking that he was already dead, they dragged him outside the village and threw him into an empty place. And the next day, Deacon Cornelius and two other Christians with him, passing by that place, found Baruch lying as if dead, for he could neither speak anything, nor hear, nor see with his eyes, nor move his arms or legs, and only his spirit was in him. Taking Baruch on their backs, they carried him into the city. Some idolaters, seeing Baruch being carried, thought that they were carrying a dead man into the city; so they rushed at the carriers and began to beat them, saying: “Why are you doing such an abomination, bringing a dead man into the city?” For it was the custom of the Ghazians to carry the dead out of the city for burial. Having taken Baruch away, the wicked grabbed him by the legs and dragged him outside the city again. Deacon Cornelius, running, announced this to the holy Bishop Porfiry. And the bishop went with haste and the rest of the brethren with him, and having caught up with those who were leading him, he humbly begged them to leave such unmercifulness, and they began to annoy the bishop. A multitude of people came running and, seeing the patience and humility of the bishop, that he did not answer anything in opposition to those who were annoying him, they began to argue with the annoying ones, who were dragging Baruch; and a discord and quarrel arose between them, so that they raised their hands against each other, and began to beat each other; and there was great confusion and noise. Meanwhile, the holy bishop and the Christians, taking blessed Baruch, carried him to church when it was already late in the evening. When they saw that his spirit was still in him, all the believers began to take care of his healing. The saint prayed to God for him all that night with tears. And so the sick man opened his eyes and spoke, asking for a drink, and when they gave him something to drink, he began to talk and told everything that had happened to him. In the morning the elders of the city came to the church with many people and began to shout and cry: -Why was the dead man brought into the city against the ancient fatherly law? Then the holy Bishop Porfiry came out to them with all those who were with him. Seeing the bishop, they began to slander and dishonor him, and then rushed at the Christians who were with him and began to beat them. And suddenly blessed Baruch, having received extraordinary strength from God, quickly stood up, as if he had never been sick, and, grabbing a stick, began to beat and drive away the noisy wicked people. The pagans, seeing him alive, were horrified with great fear, for they thought that he had risen from the dead: and driven partly by fear, partly by a strong beating, they fled, trampling each other. And Baruch drove them from the church, as Samson of the Philistines once did, to their most vile church of Marnassus. From that time on, all the wicked were afraid of Baruch and were afraid to even meet him on the way. And Saint Porfiry, having thanked God for the sudden healing of Baruch, made him a deacon; He elevated his other disciple Mark to the same rank. Seeing the constant persecution of infidels against believers, Saint Porfiry of God sent Mark, his deacon, to Constantinople to the pious Tsar Arkady 1638, begging him to command the overthrow of the idolatrous churches in Gaza. He also wrote a letter to the Most Holy Patriarch of Constantinople, John Chrysostom, asking for help and intercession with the king. And the king ordered the idolatrous temples in Gaza to be closed and locked so that bad sacrifices would no longer be performed in them, but he did not order them to be destroyed, so as not to sadden the pagans too much. To fulfill this royal command, a certain courtier, named Ilarius, arrived in Gaza, who, taking many assistants and warriors from Azot and Ascalon 1639 and showing the Gazans the royal letter, closed the idol churches and locked them. But the wicked, having collected a lot of gold, brought it to the royal dignitary Hilary, begging him not to close their one large church, Marnasov, standing in the middle of the city. Then Hilary, having loved gold more than Christ God, left them the main church of Marnassus free for access, and closed the smaller churches, crushing the idols in them. And this gold-lover departed, as if fulfilling the royal command: for truly only in appearance he was a Christian, but inside he was filled with unbelief and secretly tried in every possible way to help the pagans. The wicked, having access to the great Marnas church, did not grieve about the other locked churches and did not stop harassing Christians. At that time, Saint Porphyry performed one miracle, which led many people to the holy faith. The time had come for a certain noble woman, the daughter of one of the leading citizens and the wife of a noble man, named Elijah, who was pregnant; but she could not be relieved of the burden and every day her illnesses multiplied, for the next day she was worse, the third even worse; many grandmothers, sorceresses and wise men brought to her could not help her. She suffered like this for seven days. Her husband, as well as her father and mother and all her relatives, made continuous sacrifices all these days and fervently prayed for her in the church of Marnas, with tears asking for help from their god. But there was no help; on the contrary, she experienced great weakness and an increase in severe pain, unable to give birth. And everyone already despaired of this woman’s life, looking at her such torment, and they themselves ached in their hearts, cried and sobbed for her, awaiting her death. Among them there was one old woman of the Christian faith; She ran to the church and prayed with many tears to Christ God for that sick woman. Seeing this old woman crying and praying on her knees, holy Bishop Porfiry asked her about the reason for such crying. Falling at the feet of the saint, she told him about everything that was happening and begged him to pray to the humane God for the fiercely suffering one. The saint sent her back to the sick woman, teaching her what to do and say. So, having come to that house, the old woman gathered the parents, husband and all the relatives of the sick woman and said to them: “There is a kind and skillful doctor here; he sent me to you, asking what will you give him if he heals a sick woman? Hearing this, the parents said: “If he wants, then let him take all our property, as long as we see our beloved daughter alive and healthy.” The husband said the same thing, being ready to give everything for the life and health of his wife. Then the old woman said to them: “Raise your hands up and confirm your word with an oath, so that your word may be true, that you will not despise that doctor.” They raised their hands with zeal and tears and said: - All the days of our life we ​​will be his slaves, if only he would heal our only begotten daughter, without whom we cannot even be alive: for what kind of life and joy will we have without her? Hearing this, the old woman exclaimed loudly over the sick woman: – The Great Priest of God Porfiry tells you this: Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, heals you. Believe in Him and you will live. And immediately the woman groaned and gave birth to her child, and her illness was alleviated. All those who were there, surprised, cried out: – Great is the Christian God, great is His priest Porfiry. In the morning, the parents, husband and all the relatives of that woman, coming to Saint Porfiry, fell at his feet, asking for Christian baptism. The saint, having announced them, commanded them to fast and come to the holy church; after some time had passed, he baptized them, as well as the woman who gave birth, and the child who was born, whom he called by his name, Porfiry, since he was male. And then sixty-four people joined the Church of Christ. When the flock of Christ multiplied, the enmity of the idolaters also multiplied, and day by day they persecuted the faithful more and more, burdening them with incessant city labor and forcing them, like slaves, with beatings to do any kind of work. In addition, they annoyed the faithful in the fields and vineyards, so that the faithful remained in great poverty and could not pay the usual national taxes and royal taxes. Seeing this and not enduring such oppression inflicted by the unfaithful on the faithful, Saint Porphyry of God went to Caesarea to Blessed John, his metropolitan, and begged him either to release him from his bishopric, or to go with him to Constantinople to beg the king to order the complete destruction of the idolatrous temples and to overthrow the pride of the pagans. Metropolitan John deigned to take on the labor of traveling better, even in winter, than to release Blessed Porfiry from his bishopric. So, boarding the ship, they set off. Having a safe voyage, they reached an island called Rhodes 1640 in ten days; Having heard here about a certain monk living as a hermit in a deserted place, named Procopius, a holy and perspicacious man, they went to visit him. The same one, having foreseen their arrival and having known their holy rank, met and honored them as it should be to honor such bishops, and, having learned the reason for their journey, taught them what they should do in Constantinople in order to get what they wanted. “Run,” he said, “first to the most holy patriarch of the capital, John Chrysostom.” True, he himself now does not visit the royal chambers, because Queen Eudoxia is angry with him, but for this reason the queen’s cuvicular 1641, eunuch 1642 Amantius, a pious and virtuous man, is committed to him, to whom he will entrust you. Through the intercession of this eunuch you will receive everything; for he will bring you to the queen, and you yourself will tell her about your need. At the same time, predict to her that she will give birth to a son who will reign, and she, having heard this from you, will rejoice, for she has not been idle for the ninth month. Therefore, having heard your prophecy, she will fulfill everything according to your wishes. The holy bishops John and Porfiry, having received such instruction and assurance, joyfully set off on their further journey and in the course of another ten days reached Byzantium. Obeying the advice of the Monk Procopius, first of all they went to His Holiness Patriarch John Chrysostom. He received them with honor and, having learned the reason for their coming, promised them his assistance. The next day, calling the queen's cuvicular, the eunuch Amantius, he showed him the bishops who had come from Palestine, and instructed him to take care of them and intercede for them before the king. The eunuch, having heard from the holy bishops a detailed account of all the griefs that believers in Gaza endure from the pagans, shed tears and, filled with Divine jealousy, said: – Do not grieve, holy fathers, for the Lord Jesus Christ Himself will protect His faithful servants and deliver them from those who offend. So, you pray to the Lord, and I will speak to the queen, and I trust in the God of all, that He will incline her heart to mercy. In the morning I will bring you yourself to her, and you will say everything with your own lips. Having told this to the bishops, the eunuch left. In the morning, he called the saints of God John and Porfiry to the royal chambers and brought them to the queen. The queen, seeing the saints, was the first to say: They bowed to her. Receiving the holy bishops, the queen sat on a golden bed, so she said to them: - Forgive me, bishops of God, that I cannot give you the due honor, having a burden in my belly, for it would be fitting for me to meet your shrine at the door; but pray to the Lord for me, that by His grace I may give birth to the child who is in my womb. The Holy Fathers, surprised at her humility, said: - He who blessed the womb of Sarah, and Rebecca, and Elizabeth, may he bless your womb and bring the fruit carried in it to life! Then the queen, ordering them to sit down, began to say: “I knew why you took up such a labor of travel, for Amantius told me everything.” However, if you want, speak up yourself so that I can better know what you require. And the bishops told the queen in detail about all the oppression that Christians were suffering from idolaters, and begged her to help the oppressed. She, having listened to what was said, said: - Do not be sad, holy fathers; for I trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that I will implore the king to grant your request; now go and take a break from the road; I see that you are tired. And pray to God for me, that He may help my intercession for you. Having told this to the holy bishops, the queen released them. When the king came to the queen, she told him about the Palestinian bishops who had come and the reason for their coming and begged him to destroy the idolatrous churches in Gaza. Hearing this request, the king said: “I know that in this city they serve idols with great zeal, but it provides us with a lot of wealth thanks to the tributes collected from there. So, if we immediately destroy the temples of the gods of Gaza and thereby embitter the pagan inhabitants of it, then they, frightened, will flee and the city will be empty, but we will lose so many tributes. Therefore, isn’t it better to humble them little by little? First, wrest the leadership of the city from their hands, then close their churches and prohibit the offering of idol sacrifices? Seeing how they are humbled, they will learn the truth and join the believers. At these words from the emperor, the queen was very upset and said with tears: – Christ God Himself will help His Christian servants if we do not want to help them. Hearing the royal conversation, Cuvicular Amantius recounted it to the holy bishops. The next day the queen again called the holy bishops and said to them: “I told the king about you, about your need and your petition, but he does not want to listen to me, considering it inconvenient to offend the idolaters of Gaz. But don't mourn; I will not stop bothering the king with requests until he fulfills your request. Hearing this, the bishops bowed to her. Then Saint Porfiry, remembering the prophetic words of Saint Procopius, said to her: – Work hard for us, mistress, for Christ’s sake. For your labor, he will give you a son, who will reign during your lifetime, and will live for many years in all royal prosperity. Hearing this, the queen was filled with joy, and her face brightened with joy. Then she said: - Pray for me, holy fathers, so that I will give birth to a son, and if this happens, then I promise to fulfill everything that you wish; Moreover, with the help of Christ I will do not only what you ask, but also what you do not ask, for I will build a holy church in the middle of the city of Gaza. So, go in peace and wait, praying for me to God who loves mankind. Then the time came for the queen to give birth, and she gave birth to a male child, as the holy fathers prophesied, and he was given his grandfather’s name - Theodosius, for the father of King Arkady was Theodosius 1643, who reigned together with Gratian 1644. This second Theodosius was born in a “shirt”, as if in purple, which was an omen of his reign; and there was great joy for King Arkady and the entire reigning city. Queen Eudoxia sent her cuvicular Amantius to the holy fathers John and Porphyry with the words: - I thank Christ God, who through your holy prayers gave me a son. Ask the Lord, holy fathers, for life and longevity for the born, and for health for me, the humble one, so that I can fulfill my promise to you. Seven days later, the queen again called the saints of God John and Porfiry to her and met them at the door of her bedroom, carrying a newborn child in her arms. Bowing her head before them, she said: - Bless, fathers, me and my son, whom God gave to me through your holy prayers. Saints John and Porphyry made the sign of the cross over her and her son and, sitting down, talked with her about many useful things. Among other things, the queen said: “Do you know, fathers, what I have decided to do regarding your request?” “Everything you thought of, madam, came from God; for that night the following was revealed to me in a vision: it seemed to me that I was standing in Gaza, in the church of the idols of Marnas; you, also standing there, gave me the Holy Gospel, saying at the same time: “Take and read.” Taking the Gospel from your hands, I straightened it out and found the place where the Lord says to the Apostle Peter: “I say to you: you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). You, madam, in accordance with this, told me: “Peace be with you, take courage and be strong.” I perked up, and from here I am convinced that the Son of God has placed good advice about us in your heart. So, tell me, mistress, what good have you thought of us? – If Christ wills, then after some time the baby will be worthy of holy baptism. Before that time, go and prepare a scroll in which you write everything you want, and when the child is worn out from holy baptism, hand the scroll to the one who will carry the newborn in his arms, and I will teach him what he should do, and I hope in the Son of God that He will arrange everything for good. They went out and prepared a scroll, writing on it a request not only for the destruction of idols and the destruction of their churches, but also for the relief of the believers from work and taxes and for them to be given control of the city. They also asked that the holy Christian church, which was very poor and wretched, be given something from the royal estates and that food be given to its servants. They wrote many other things encouraging for the oppressed and impoverished Christians in their petition and then began to wait for the day on which the king’s son would be baptized. Before his baptism, it was announced that he would be a king, since he was born in purple and at first was dressed not in swaddling clothes, but in purple. Then the future king was solemnly carried into the church for baptism, while the whole city was magnificently decorated, and the people dressed in their dearest and brightest attire. The future king, covered with royal scarlet, was carried by some especially chosen person, shining with valuable clothes; many princes and boyars walked in front and behind him; All around walked an army wearing armor and weapons shining with gold. And one could see all the royal glory, and beauty, and greatness, so that Saint Porfiry said: - If such is the glory of the earthly, temporary king; then what is the glory of the Heavenly King, the Eternal! When they brought the prince into the church, both holy bishops stood at the church door, holding the prepared scroll, and, after holy baptism, when everyone with the newly baptized prince left the church, the holy bishops exclaimed: “We beg you, newborn king, accept our petition and at the beginning of your reign show yourself to be merciful.” Saying this, the holy fathers placed the scroll on the baby. The husband carrying the prince stopped and, taking this scroll and unfolding it, began to read publicly, for this was what he had been taught by the queen. And having read part of the scroll, he rolled it up again, and, placing his right hand under the baby’s head, raised it a little, as if to express permission, and exclaimed: “His Royal Majesty commands that everything written here be fulfilled without fail; this is his royal command, which cannot be changed in any way. Everyone who saw and heard this was surprised, blessing the newborn king and celebrating him for many years, who began his reign with a deed of mercy, also pleasing Emperor Arcadius and saying that he was blessed by God, that he was honored to have a son who would co-reign with him, and who was already giving his commands for such good deeds. All this was announced to the queen. She, filled with joy, bowed to God, giving thanks. When the newly baptized child was carried into the royal chambers, the mother came out to meet him and, taking him in her arms, kissed him motherly. Then, bringing Arkady to her husband, Tsar, she congratulated him, saying: “Blessed are you, my lord, that while your eyes are still alive, your eyes see the king who came from your loins.” Tsar Arkady, hearing this, was very happy. And the queen, seeing him bright and cheerful, said: “If you wish, my lord, then we will find out what is written in this scroll given to our royal son, so that his first command about everything written here can be quickly fulfilled.” The king ordered the scroll to be read, and when it was read, he said: “It is difficult to fulfill this request, but it is also difficult to refuse, since by doing so we will cancel the first command of our son, and this is inconvenient and indecent.” “It is not only indecent to cancel the first filial decree, but it is also sinful to despise the prayer of the holy men who predicted the birth of a son for me.” And immediately King Arkady ordered that everything that was written in the scroll by the Palestinian bishops be approved by royal letters. When the letters written on behalf of both kings Arcadius and Theodosius were prepared, the queen called the bishops of God, John and Porfiry, and showed them those letters, asking if they were acceptable to them. They, having bowed, thanked her for her merciful and wise diligence and began to ask that, to fulfill the royal command, they would send a pious, honest and faithful man to Gaza, and not the same as the one sent before. And a man of good faith and fear of God was found in the person of a certain Cynegias, who was instructed by the kings to go to Gaza and arrange everything in the best possible way according to the command. The queen gave Saint Porfiry a lot of gold to build a stone church in the middle of the city of Gaza, as well as to build a hostel, and also promised to give as much as was needed for the building of the church; In addition, she gave both bishops gifts and church vessels, gold and silver, for the Caesarea and Gaza churches, and gold for the journey. Likewise, the king, having honored the holy bishops and provided them with gifts and money in abundance, sent them away in peace. They, having greeted His Holiness Patriarch John Chrysostom, sailed to their dioceses; and after them the royal nobleman Kinegius, to whom the royal commands were given, set off on the journey. When the travelers approached the island of Rhodes, the holy fathers John and Porfiry begged the helmsman to land on the shore so that they could greet the Monk Procopius the hermit; but he did not want to, saying that the wind was inconvenient, and did not at all heed the request of the saints of Christ; for he was secretly an Arian and hated Orthodox bishops. But when they passed that island, immediately there was a storm and disturbance in the sea, and everyone was in great fear, fearing drowning. This excitement lasted all day and all night. When the morning dawn appeared, Saint Porfiry fell asleep a little and in a dream he saw the Monk Procopius saying to him: “Convince the helmsman to renounce the Arian heresy 1645 and curse it, and prepare him for holy baptism, and immediately the terrible excitement will cease.” Having arisen from sleep, Saint Porfiry told about this to Blessed Metropolitan John and others who were with him; then, calling the helmsman, the saints said to him: – If you want your ship and all of us to be saved from sinking, and most importantly, for your soul to be delivered from eternal destruction, then renounce your evil faith, the Arian heresy, and join the Catholic Church. The helmsman was surprised that the holy bishops learned a secret that no one knew, and said to them: - Since God has revealed to you the secrets of my heart, I reject the wisdom of Arius and believe as you believe: you will confirm me in the holy faith. When he said this, the storm immediately stopped and there was silence in the sea. And the saints, having instructed him from the Divine Scripture and confirmed him in Orthodoxy, announced him and baptized him. The further journey was completed safely, and the holy bishops landed on the shore in Mayyum 1646, twenty stadia from Gaza 1647, and from here they went overland to the city of Gaza. Having learned about their coming, the faithful came out to meet them with psalms and singing, presenting the holy cross, and with great joy and triumph they brought the bishops of God into the city. The idolaters, seeing this, were very angry, gnashing their teeth, but did not dare to do any harm to them: for they had already heard that the Christian bishops were received with honor by the king and that after them the royal command was sent to humble the ferocity of the pagans and destroy the temples of their gods. Meanwhile, the Christians, walking with an honorable cross and with their bishops, approached the idol of Venus; The inhabitants of Gaza, especially the women, showed great honor to this idol by burning candles and burning incense with fragrant censers: for the demon living in that idol seduced many in sleepy ghosts, inclining virgins or wives to all kinds of carnal sins. So, when the Christians approached that idol, which stood in the street on an elevated place, the demon immediately fled, throwing the idol to the ground; and the idol, falling to the ground, was crushed into many pieces, for it was marble, and killed two of the infidels, who, standing there, laughed, reviling Christian worship. Seeing this miracle, many of the pagans believed in Christ and, joining the Christians, went to the holy church and asked for holy baptism: there were thirty-two husbands and seven wives who believed. And there was great joy for the faithful about the safe arrival of their shepherds and the salvation of human souls. After that, blessed Metropolitan John stayed in Gaza for two days and then went to Caesarea, and the Christians saw him off. After a few days, the royal nobleman, the aforementioned Kinegius, arrived in Gaza, having with him many dignitaries and a governor with military strength. The pagans were greatly frightened, and some of them fled from the city. Having gathered all the elders of the city and all the people in the morning, Kinegius showed them the royal command, by virtue of which the idol churches in Gaza should be destroyed and the idols crushed. When this commandment began to be read publicly, the crowds of the wicked, raising their voices, began to cry and sob. Kinegius, not tolerating the cry, gave a sign to the soldiers, and they, rushing at the pagans, began to beat them; and the meeting of the wicked was dispersed, and the Christians, rejoicing with great joy, thanked the kings, pleasing them with many praises. Then, together with the soldiers, they rushed to the idol churches and began to destroy them with great noise. There were eight more important idol temples in the city: the Sun 1648, Venus, Apollo 1649, Proserpina 1650, Hecate 1651, Fortune 1652 and Marnas; the last temple was the largest and most often visited by wicked pagans. There were also countless other idols in the marketplaces and on the streets, in various buildings and on city walls, and near the city along the roads and hills and fields: and the Christians in ten days destroyed all those idols, destroyed the bad idol churches, except for the large and most beautiful church of Marnasov, about which many said that there was no need to destroy it, but cleansed it from filth idolatrous, consecrated into the Church of God. In view of this desire of many to preserve the church of Marnas, Saint Porphyry began to pray to God, asking Him for guidance; and when he was performing the Divine service in the holy church, the voice of a child was heard from among the people: - Let the church of Marnas be burned and ruined, since it is desecrated by the blood of people sacrificed to demons, and let its foundation be dug out of the ground and swept away, and in that place let a new church be built for the glory of God. This child was seven years old, so the clergy thought that it said so according to the teachings of its mother. Having taken him, they began to intimidate him, as if wanting to beat him so that he would say who taught him to say this. The child began to speak in Greek, saying the same thing - so that the church of Marnas would be burned and destroyed; then everyone knew that he was speaking from the Holy Spirit, for being seven years old and untaught in Greek, the child now spoke Greek well. So, believing the words of the children, they burned and destroyed the beautiful church of Marnas to the very foundation, which, having dug it out of the ground, they scattered it along the streets and roads so that it would be trampled upon by everyone. Then the soldiers began to walk through all the buildings and dwellings of the pagans and collected hidden idols everywhere; having gathered a great many of them, they put the idols together and set them on fire; This is how idolatry was eradicated from Gaza. Kinegius, having sufficiently humbled the wicked leaders and punished them for oppressing Christians, returned to the kings, and, at the request of the saint, left part of the army in the city, so that the idolaters would not again raise their horn against the Christians. After this, the saint of Christ founded, on the site where the church of Marnas was, a cruciform church, the image of which Queen Eudoxia sent written on the charter. For this church she also sent thirty marble pillars, among which two were shining like emerald. So, with the help of the queen, in five years a church was built, incomparably more beautiful than the former church of Marnas. Having consecrated this church, the bishop of God began to perform the Divine service, giving great thanks to Christ the Lord for the fact that in the place where they had previously made nasty bloody sacrifices to false gods, now the Bloodless Most Pure Sacrifice began to be offered to the True God. Then Saint Porfiry, using the gold given from the pious queen, built a hospice and gave rest to the strange in it and fed the poor. With God's help, he wisely shepherded the flock of Christ with the word of God, so that the number of the faithful increased more and more: for many of the pagans, leaving the wickedness of idols, turned to Christ God; and other pagans were consumed with anger and envy, seeing the beautifully flourishing and multiplying Christian Church, while paganism was fading and diminishing. And so they again attempted to rebel against the holy shepherd and his flock. Once there was a dispute between the church iconomer and an idolater, a noble citizen, whose name was Sampsychius, over some thing belonging to church estates. The faithful and the unfaithful came running to the noise, each helping his own - the faithful to the icon, the unfaithful to Sampsychia. But since there were more infidels, they overpowered the faithful and started a battle, seizing daggers and weapons. Having killed seven of the faithful, and severely wounded many, the pagans, with disorderly screaming and noise, ran to the bishop's courtyard, wanting to kill Saint Porphyry. He, having learned this, said to Deacon Mark: “Let’s run, brother, let’s hide for a while, until the wrath of the Lord passes by.” And having climbed over the wall, they ran in the direction opposite to the rebels and hid with a certain maiden named Salafa, who was a pagan by faith. Left orphaned by her parents, she lived with her grandmother, who was sick; she served her and nourished her from the labor of her hands. This girl hid the holy bishop and his deacon with her, giving them food and drink. And Saint Porphyry stayed with her that day and night and the whole day. The next night, when the noise and riot subsided, the saint came with Mark to his house and found everything that was plundered, and blessed Baruch lying beaten and covered with wounds, so that he could barely breathe. Christians announced all this to the anfipat of 1653, who lived in Caesarea. He, having sent soldiers, took all those who raised this rebellion and committed murder, and executed some by death, and, having beaten others cruelly, released them alive. From that time on, the wicked became silent. And Saint Porphyry of Christ lived the rest of his life in peace and kind silence. The above-mentioned maiden Salafa, with whom he was hiding from murderous hands, the saint thanked and enlightened her with holy baptism; and he healed the sick old woman and also baptized her and gave them food from the church estates. He wanted to marry the girl with her lawful husband, but she wanted to marry Christ, about which the saint greatly rejoiced in spirit; having dedicated her to Christ's service, he numbered her among the immaculate virgins: she pleased God until the end of her life, observing her immaculate virginity in fasting and prayer, with the assistance of the God-pleasing prayers of the saint of God Porphyry, who sent constant prayers to God for his flock - night and day. The saint of Christ became famous as a great miracle worker. Thus, through his prayer, he made three youths who had fallen into a deep well safe and sound, and he killed a certain woman who belonged to the Manichaean heresy, full of demonic cunning and heretical fables, who greatly blasphemed Orthodoxy and deceived many into her wickedness, by prayer: for, having suddenly fallen, she gave up the ghost. And Saint Porfiry performed many other miracles for the glory of God. After shepherding the Church of Christ for twenty-four years, eleven months and eight days, the saint went to the Chief Shepherd Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Great Bishop, to Whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be honor and glory forever 1654. Amen. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyr Sebastian, beheaded by the sword under the emperor Nero in 1655. We adorn your most sacred morals, you have illuminated your priestly garments, O all-blessed God-Wise Porphyry, and you enrich healings with sublimities, praying unceasingly for all of us. The city of Gaza is located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and once served as the southern limit of the Canaanites. During the time of Roman power, Gaza was a significant trading city in Palestine. Subsequently, this flourishing city lost all its significance, and now only sandy hills and miserable ruins serve as evidence that a great city once existed here. The Philistines are a people who left Egypt and settled on the border with Egypt in Asia, along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The country they occupied was in the southwest of Palestine, just between Egypt and the land of Canaan, conquered by the Jews. The Philistines waged frequent wars with the Jews and more than once enslaved them, forcing them to pay tribute and taking their cities. On the other hand, the Jews often prevailed over the Philistines. The veneration of the image of Marnas was the exclusive property of Gaza. The inhabitants of this city considered him a great healer of all kinds of diseases and, moreover, a god and lord of the rains; during droughts, solemn religious processions were performed to appease him. Venus is the Greco-Roman goddess of love, beauty, voluptuousness and unclean lusts. Reigned from 361 to 363. Thessalonica (otherwise Thessalonica) is a very significant, ancient city of Macedonia, located in the depths of the Thessalonica or Thermaean Gulf near the Aegean Sea (Archipelago). Currently, this city under the name of Thessaloniki, after Constantinople, is the first trading city in European Turkey, with a very large population. Here, of course, is not a well-known type of monastic monastery, in the sense of individual cells of lonely hermits, but an area in the northwestern part of Egypt, a day's journey (25-30 versts) from Mount Nitria. It was a waterless rocky desert, a favorite place for Egyptian hermits, famous for the ascetic exploits of the monks who took refuge in it. From this area, the monastic desert monasteries subsequently received the name skete, in which the most zealous monks settled for the strictest solitude and inviolable silence. Of course, the Jordanian desert, located along the banks of the Jordan River, in which ascetics settled and there were many monastic monasteries. Caesarea, called Palestine in contrast to Caesarea Cappadocia (Vt., Asia Minor), is a large city on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, built by the Jewish king Herod on the site of the ancient city of Stroton and for a long time the former political capital of Palestine, in which the leaders of Palestine had citizenship. This city was repeatedly destroyed and now in its place there are only ruins covered with wild plants. The Byzantine Emperor Arcadius reigned from 396 to 408. Azoth is an ancient city founded by the Philistines, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, near Gaza. Nowadays there is a small village - Yezdud. Ascalon is also a city known in the history of the Philistines, located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, between Gaza and Azoth. Currently, Ascalon is uninhabited and is visited only because of the ruins of churches and monasteries. Rhodes is an island in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Asia Minor. Cuvicularium is a sleeping bag, a bedding bed at the royal court, a rather important court rank. Eunuch means eunuch. Subsequently, all courtiers in general were called by this name, even if they were not eunuchs. Of course, Theodosius the Great, who reigned from 379–395. Gratian was a contemporary Western emperor of Theodosius, reigning from 375–383. The Arian heresy traces its origins to the wicked Arius (at the beginning of the 4th century), who taught that the Son of God is not God, Consubstantial with God the Father, but a higher creature through whom God the Father created the world. This heresy was condemned at the First Ecumenical Council (in 326), at which the true teaching about the Son of God was set forth in the first seven members of the faith. Mayouma is a port city of Palestine, serving as a harbor for Gaza, which was located not near the sea coast, but somewhat far from it. Stage is a measure of length, about 88 fathoms; 20 stadia - a little more than 3 miles. The Greek sun god, Helios, was revered in many places. Art depicted him as similar to Apollo, only with a fuller face. Apollo was revered as the god of light, also of mental enlightenment, poetry and music. Proserpina was revered as the mistress of the underworld, as well as of plant crops emerging from the bowels of the earth. Hecate is a formidable underground deity who dominates evil and harmful demons, can summon the souls of the dead from the underworld and frighten people with ghosts. Fortuna was revered as the goddess of chance, especially happiness and prosperity. Anfipat is the highest commander of the region. The death of Saint Porphyry dates back to the year 420. This holy martyr belonged to the squad of Saint Photina, whose memory is on March 20th. The Roman Emperor Nero reigned from 54 to 68. You might be interested in: