the introduction of the Lord's arrival to him and the other things which the preceding part of the story has shown. 22 So when, both from these things and from the laying on of the hands of Thaddeus in the name of Jesus Christ, the painful things were withdrawing and the paralyzed parts were as if being tightened up, and the deformity was being scattered, and all things were running towards health, Abgar, being seized with amazement from all sides: "Truly," he said, "you are a genuine disciple of Jesus the Son of God, who heals without medicines and herbs. And I am so bound by affection and faith for him, that if I did not fear the superior power of the Romans, who do not tolerate those under them to take up arms against one another, I would have perhaps waged war against the Jews who crucified the Lord, and I would have subdued and enslaved them. But now since I have been taught that his passion was voluntary and I am persuaded that, had he not willed it, the ungrateful ones would not have prevailed against him, I am not meddling further. But I ask also to be deemed worthy of divine baptism and with my whole household to be made his own and to be dedicated to the Lord Christ." 23 Therefore, after first performing many miracles, the apostle of the Lord, and healing all from their diseases, among whom was also the one who first brought the report about him to Abgar, whom he freed from an ailment of the feet, brought Abgar to the divine font and having performed the customary rites over him, he baptized him and his wife and children and all who were in his house; and he came out from this divine water of cleansing completely clean and healthy, the small remaining trace of the leprosy on his forehead also having vanished at once. 24 From then on, honoring and revering in every way such a likeness of the Lord's form, the toparch also added this to the others; a statue of one of the famous Hellenic gods had been erected by the ancient citizens and founders of Edessa before the public gate of the city, which it was necessary for everyone wishing to enter the city to worship and to offer certain customary prayers, and thus to take to the roads and streets in the city. 25 This, therefore, at that time Abgar, having torn down and given over to destruction, set up in the place of its standing this acheiropoieton icon of our Lord Jesus Christ, having affixed it to a board and having beautified it with the gold that is now visible, having inscribed on the gold these words: "Christ God, he who hopes in you does not fail." And he decreed that everyone about to pass through that gate, instead of that old, useless, and unprofitable stele, should give the fitting reverence and the owed worship and honor to the most-wondrous, wonder-working icon of Christ, and thus enter into the city of Edessa. 26 And such an inscription and dedication of the man's piety was preserved until the sojourn in this life both of Abgar himself and of his son, who became the successor of his father's kingdom and piety. 27 But his son and grandson became successor of the paternal and grand-paternal rule, but he did not, however, become an heir of the piety. But he kicked away, so to speak, piety and deserted to the demons and idols. Therefore, and as if giving back a recompense to the demons, he wished, since his grandfather had given over that idolatrous stele to destruction, to bring the same condemnation also upon the icon of the Lord. But the deceitful one did not obtain his prey. 28 For the bishop of the place, foreknowing this, took the necessary precaution. And since the place where the icon was set up preserved the shape of a cylindrical hemisphere, having lit a lamp before the icon and having placed a tile over it, then from the outside, having blocked the entrance with plaster and baked bricks, he made the wall straight into a smooth surface; and as the envied form was not seen, that impious man desisted from the attempt. But the tile, I think for this reason, was appointed by the priest to be placed before the icon, so that no decay

ἀφίξεως τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν τοῦ κυρίου εἰσήγησιν καὶ τἄλλα ὅσα τὸ φθάσαν τῆς ἱστορίας ἐδήλωσεν. 22 ὡς οὖν ἀπό τε τούτων ἀπό τε τῆς ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐπιθέσεως τῶν χειρῶν τοῦ Θαδδαίου τὰ λυποῦντά τε ὑπεξίστατο καὶ τὰ παρειμένα οἱονεὶ συνεσφίγγετο, καὶ ἡ ἀμορφία διεσκεδάννυτο, καὶ πάντα πρὸς ὑγείαν ἔτρεχε, τῷ πανταχόθεν θάμβει ὁ Αὔγαρος συνεχόμενος· "ἐπ' ἀληθείας", ἔφη, "γνήσιος εἶ μαθητὴς Ἰησοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ δίχα φαρμάκων καὶ βοτανῶν θεραπεύοντος. καὶ ἐγὼ τοσοῦτον τῇ περὶ αὐτὸν στοργῇ καὶ πίστει συνδέδεμαι, ὥστε εἰ μὴ ἐδεδίειν τὸ ὑπερέχον τῆς τῶν Ῥωμαίων δυνάμεως, οἳ τοῖς ὑπὸ σφὰς οὐκ ἀνέχονται κατ' ἀλλήλων ὁπλίζεσθαι, τάχα ἂν κατὰ τῶν σταυρωσάντων τὸν κύριον Ἰουδαίων ὅπλα ἐκίνησα καὶ παρεστησάμην καὶ ἠνδραποδισάμην αὐτούς. νῦν δὲ ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸ πάθος αὐτοῦ ἐδιδάχθην ἑκούσιον καὶ πέπεισμαι, ὡς οὐκ ἂν μὴ βουληθέντος αὐτοῦ κατίσχυσαν οἱ ἀγνώμονες κατ' αὐτοῦ, οὐδὲν προσπεριεργάζομαι. δέομαι δὲ καὶ τοῦ θείου βαπτίσματος ἀξιωθῆναι καὶ πανοικὶ προσοικειωθῆναι καὶ ἀνατεθῆναι τῷ δεσπότῃ Χριστῷ". 23 πολλὰ τοίνυν ἐπιτελέσας πρότερον θαύματα ὁ τοῦ κυρίου ἀπόστολος καὶ πάντας ἀπὸ τῶν νόσων αὐτῶν ἰασάμενος, ἐν οἷς ἦν καὶ ὁ πρῶτος τὴν περὶ αὐτοῦ φήμην τῷ Αὐγάρῳ ἀνενεγκών, ὃν ποδαλγικοῦ παθήματος ἠλευθέρωσε, προσήγαγε τῇ θείᾳ κολυμβήθρᾳ τὸν Αὔγαρον καὶ τὰ νενομισμένα ἐπ' αὐτῷ τελέσας, ἐβάπτισεν αὐτόν τε καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τὰ τέκνα καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ἀπὸ τοῦ θείου τούτου τῆς καθάρσεως ὕδατος καθαρὸς ὅλος καὶ ὑγιής, ἀφανισθέντος ἀθρόως καὶ τοῦ ὑπολειφθέντος μικροῦ λειψάνου τῆς λέπρας ἐν τῷ μετώπῳ αὐτοῦ. 24 ἐντεῦθεν παντοίως τιμῶν καὶ σεβόμενος τὸ τοιοῦτον ὁμοίωμα τῆς τοῦ κυρίου μορφῆς καὶ τοῦτο τοῖς ἄλλοις ὁ τοπάρχης προσέθηκεν· ἐκ τῶν παλαιῶν τῆς Ἐδέσης πολιστῶν τε καὶ οἰκιστῶν τῶν ἐπισήμων τινὸς ἑλληνικῶν θεῶν ἄγαλμα πρὸ τῆς δημοσίας πύλης τῆς πόλεως ἀνεστήλωτο, ᾧ πάντα τὸν ἐντὸς τοῦ ἄστεος γενέσθαι βουλόμενον ἀναγκαῖον ἦν προσκυνῆσαι καὶ νενομισμένας εὐχάς τινας ἀποδοῦναι καὶ οὕτως ἔχεσθαι τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει ὁδῶν τε καὶ ἀγυῶν. 25 τοῦτο οὖν τότε ὁ Αὔγαρος καθελὼν καὶ ἀφανισμῷ παραδοὺς εἰς τὸν τῆς ἐκείνου στάσεως τόπον τὴν ἀχειροποίητον ταύτην εἰκόνα τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐπὶ σανίδος κολλήσας καὶ διὰ τοῦ νῦν φαινομένου χρυσοῦ καλλωπίσας ἀνέστησεν ἐπιγράψας ἐν τῷ χρυσῷ ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα· "Χριστὲ ὁ θεός, ὁ εἰς σὲ ἐλπίζων οὐκ ἀποτυγχάνει." ἐθέσπισέ τε πάντα τὸν διὰ τῆς πύλης ἐκείνης διέρχεσθαι μέλλοντα, ἀντὶ τῆς παλαιᾶς ἐκείνης στήλης τῆς ἀχρήστου καὶ ἀνωφελοῦς τὸ προσῆκον σέβας καὶ τὴν ὀφειλομένην προσκύνησιν καὶ τιμὴν ἀπονέμειν τῇ πολυθαυμάστῳ θαυματουργῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰκόνι καὶ οὕτως εἰς τὴν πόλιν Ἐδέσης εἰσέρχεσθαι. 26 καὶ διετηρήθη τὸ τοιοῦτον τῆς τοῦ ἀνδρὸς εὐσεβείας οἷον προχάραγμα καὶ ἀνάθημα μέχρι τῆς ἐν τῷ βίῳ παροικίας αὐτοῦ τε τοῦ Αὐγάρου καὶ τοῦ τούτου υἱοῦ, ὃς τῆς βασιλείας καὶ τῆς εὐσεβείας τῆς πατρικῆς κατέστη διάδοχος. 27 ἀλλ' ὁ τούτων υἱός τε καὶ υἱωνὸς τῆς μὲν πατρῴας καὶ παππῴας ἀρχῆς διάδοχος γέγονεν, οὐ μὴν καὶ τῆς εὐσεβείας κληρονόμος ἐγένετο. ἀλλ' ἀπελάκτισεν ὡς εἰπεῖν τὴν εὐσέβειαν καὶ πρὸς τοὺς δαίμονας καὶ τὰ εἴδωλα ηὐτομόλησε. διὸ καὶ οἱονεὶ τὸ ἀνταπόδομα τοῖς δαίμοσιν ἀνταποδιδοὺς ἐβουλήθη, ἐπεὶ ὁ πάππος αὐτοῦ τὴν εἰδωλικὴν ἐκείνην στήλην ἀφανισμῷ παραδέδωκε, τὴν αὐτὴν καταδίκην καὶ τῇ τοῦ κυρίου εἰκόνι προσαγαγεῖν. ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐπέτυχε τῆς θήρας ὁ δόλιος. 28 ὁ γὰρ ἐπίσκοπος τοῦ τόπου τοῦτο προγνοὺς τὴν ἐνδεχομένην ἔθετο πρόνοιαν. καὶ ἐπεὶ ὁ τόπος, καθ' ὃν ἀνέκειτο ἡ εἰκών, κυλινδροειδοῦς ἡμισφαιρίου σχῆμα διέσωζεν, θρυαλίδα πρὸ τῆς εἰκόνος ἅψας καὶ κέραμον ἐπιθεὶς εἶτα ἔξωθεν τιτάνῳ καὶ πλίνθοις ὀπταῖς ἀποφράξας τὸ ἐμβαδὸν εἰς ὁμαλὴν ἐπιφάνειαν τὸ τεῖχος ἀπηύθυνε· καὶ ἐν τῷ μὴ ὁρᾶσθαι τὴν φθονουμένην μορφὴν ἀπέστη τῆς ἐγχειρήσεως ἐκεῖνος ὁ δυσσεβής. ὁ δὲ κέραμος διὰ τοῦτο οἶμαι πρὸ τῆς εἰκόνος τεθῆναι πρὸς τοῦ ἱερέως διώριστο, ὡς ἂν μή τινα σῆψιν