Страдание святого мучениика Аскалона

When hegemon Arrian was heading from the city of Hermopolis 3331 to the city of Antinous 3332, one of the Christians, named Ascalon, was brought to him on the way. Seeing him, the hegemon said: One of the hegemon’s advisers, named Apollonides, said: - I think he is a Christian. The hegemon said to Apollonides: Apollonides asked the saint: – Have you heard about the royal decrees sent to all countries, which oblige Christians to make sacrifices to the gods? – Yes, I heard about those wicked decrees issued to tempt many. “How dare you vilify kings like this, calling their sacred and saving decrees a temptation?” - Do with me what you want, for I do not have those decrees, since they are illegally issued not for the benefit, but for the destruction of people; because how can there be any benefit from those decrees that call for the worship of idols? “It’s not enough for you to vilify our kings: you call our gods idols.” I swear to you by the gods themselves that if you do not worship them and do not make sacrifices to them, you will be given over to the torments prepared for the disobedient. “I am not afraid of your threat, but I am afraid of the One who said: “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but fear Him more who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna” (Matthew 10:28). Therefore, you must fear God, Who can eternally torment the whole person, and not you, who torment only one body, and that not forever, but for a short time. - Listen to me and make a sacrifice to the immortal gods; because if you do not listen, then the place for torment and the tormentors have already been prepared. “We will see which of us will emerge stronger: will you convince me through torment to call idols gods, or will I convince you to recognize Christ my Lord as the true God and Creator of everything.” The angry hegemon ordered to beat the naked martyr and hang him on a tree and whittle him with iron tools. The saint, when they mercilessly tormented and tormented his body, so that parts of it fell to the ground, remained silent, not uttering a painful groan and not uttering a single sound. - Has your heart softened to make a sacrifice to the gods? One rhetorician 3333, named Visamon, standing right there, said: “Death had already approached him and he fell into a frenzy. Immediately the saint said to him cheerfully: – I am not in a frenzy, and I will never retreat from God, my Creator. “Again you are hardening your heart.” However, this place, on the way, is not convenient enough for you to be worthy of torment; Let's go to the city and there you will receive the torment worthy of you for your disobedience. Having said this, the hegemon ordered to immediately untie the martyr and lead him along with him. On the way, a great river named the Nile flowed near the city. The holy martyr Ascalon had already been brought to the city by Antinous, because the hegemon, slowly, walked behind. The Antinoian citizens who came out to meet the hegemon surrounded the saint, naked and wounded, lying on the ground on the bank of the river (for from his wounds he could neither stand nor sit), and condoled him, and immediately, seeing the hegemon reaching the river and getting into the boat, they prepared to meet and greet him. And the holy martyr, hearing those who said that the hegemon was crossing in a boat, gathered his strength, stood up from the ground and, raising his hands to heaven, cried out to the Lord, saying: - My God, Jesus Christ, for whose sake I endure this torment and for the love of whom I stand naked to the shame of all! Hear me now to glorify Your holy name and stretch out Your almighty hand: hold this boat in which the wicked judge sits in the middle of the river and do not let him reach this shore until he confesses You as the one true God, Creator and Ruler of all, and before all the people glorifies Your Holy name, Which he hates. When the saint prayed like this, suddenly the boat in which the hegemon was sitting stopped in the middle of the river and could not budge at all. Seeing this, Arrian was surprised and, remembering the words of the martyr who promised to lead him to the recognition of Christ as God, said to his servants: – What do you think about the fact that the boat stopped at sea? Didn't it happen by magic from that Christian? Having said this, the hegemon ordered another boat to be brought and got into it, and the boat from which the hegemon came immediately left its place; The one in which he sat down became as if on land, and could not move in any way, although there were many oarsmen, and the sails were spread, and the wind was favorable. The hegemon, seeing this, sent to say to the martyr: “Since you were afraid of the torment that I threatened you with, you made it impossible for me to cross the rivers and enter the city with your witchcraft.” The martyr answered the messenger: “The Lord my God lives, and the boat in which Arrian is in will not move until he confesses the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, as I told him before.” - Even if the hegemon confesses the name of your God, being in the middle of the river, as you want, then how will you, sitting on the bank, hear his voice, for the river, as you see, is very wide? “Let him write the confession of my Lord on the charter and send it to me, and at that very moment the boat will move from its place and land on the shore.” Returning, the messenger announced the words of the martyr to the hegemon. The hegemon immediately took the charter and wrote the following words in his own hand: – One is the true God, Whom Ascalon worships, and there is no other but Him. He is the Creator and Lord of everything. Having written this, the hegemon sent the charter to Ascalon. The martyr, having read what was written, prayed to God and immediately the boat with the hegemon moved and reached the shore. Having entered the city, the hegemon sat down in the judgment seat and, when they brought the martyr before him, said to him: “You raised all your God-hating witchcraft power against me to keep me on the river, and on land I will show the full force of my power over you.” And he immediately ordered to strip the martyr naked, hang him on a tree and burn his ribs and belly until his whole body melted. The saint, scorched, remained silent. – As I see, you are already dead, Ascalon. “Even if I die, I will nevertheless live again.” And the hegemon said to his servants: “We just bother ourselves by torturing him; I see he would rather die than give up his faith. However, we will do what we can. Having said this, the hegemon ordered a large stone to be tied to the saint’s feet and ordered the saint to be thrown into the depths of the river. The soldiers took the saint and led him to the river. And many people followed him, among whom were many Christians who had come to see the death of the martyr. The Christians, taking bread with them, begged the saint to eat from it. He didn’t want to, saying: “I will not eat any of this corruptible food of this world, because I have prepared to go and receive that which “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and nothing has entered into the heart of man” (1 Cor. 2:9). Try, brothers and sisters, to receive the blessings prepared for the saints of God. When the saint spoke thus, the soldiers put him in a boat and, sailing away from the shore, began to tie a large stone to his feet. And he, turning to the Christians standing on the shore, said: - My children, do not neglect my burial, however, today and the next day do not look for my body; on the third day, come to the northern part of the city and there you will find my body with a stone tied on the shore; bury me with that stone. And everything was like that. On the third day after the drowning of the martyr, Christians found his holy body as he had told them, with a stone tied to it, and buried him with honor, glorifying our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom honor and worship are given with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Two cities are known in Egypt with the name of Ermopolis: one (Hermopolis the Small) was located in Lower Egypt, the other (Hermopolis the Great) was located in Middle Egypt. In this case, of course, the latter. The city of Antinous was located in Middle Egypt, lying opposite Hermopolis the Great on the opposite bank of the Nile River. 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