16 And on that night, the blessed John sends for the Gazans and says to them: Be ready for the departure; for today you receive your priest, a man whom the Lord has appointed, blameless, beloved of God, fervent in faith. And when morning came, seizing the blessed one, they ordained him bishop of Gaza. But he wept much and it was not a time for his tears; for he said he was unworthy of such a priesthood. And having been persuaded with difficulty by both the Gazans and the Christians found there, he became calm. And after we had celebrated the holy liturgy of the Lord's day, we were again urged to eat with the archbishop.

17 And he permitted us to leave at once, and after spending one more day, we departed. We slept at Diospolis, and from there, after traveling by night, we entered Gaza late in the evening, very weary and distressed. And the cause of the distress was this. Near Gaza there happen to be villages along the road which belong to the idol-madness. By agreement, therefore, their inhabitants covered the entire road with thorns and caltrops, so that one could not pass, and they also poured out filth and burned other foul-smelling things, so that we were choked by the stench and were in danger concerning our sight. Having therefore with difficulty been saved, we entered the city around the third hour of the night. And this difficulty met the blessed one from a demonic attack. But he was not disheartened. For he understood the ambush of the devil, that he wished to turn back the righteous one from his entrance.

18 We went to the episcopal residence, which the aforementioned bishop among the saints, Eirenion, had built, along with the holy church called Eirene. They say that it has the name for two reasons. For the people of Gaza say that when the city was taken by Alexander the Macedonian, according to some sign the war ceased there, and from that time the place was called Eirene (Peace). Finding this place honored by the Gazans, the blessed Eirenion built the church in it. Therefore, whether because of the aforementioned things or because of the name of the founder, it has remained so called until now. There, therefore, we went to the very small episcopal residence built by him.

19 In that year it happened that a drought occurred, and all the people of the city attributed the matter to the entrance of the blessed one, saying that "It was revealed to us by Marnas that Porphyry is of ill omen for the city." And as God persisted in not sending rain during what they call the first month, Dios, and also the second, Apellaios, all were distressed. And those of the idol-madness, gathering in the Marneion, made many sacrifices and prayers for this reason; for they said that Marnas was the lord of the rains, and they say that Marnas is Zeus. And when they persisted for seven days, saying hymns and going out of the city to a place called a place of prayer, they became discouraged and returned to their own works, having accomplished nothing. When these things had happened, the Christians gathered, men, women, and children, two hundred and eighty in number, and they begged the holy Porphyry to go out with them to prayer and to make supplication for the sending down of rain (for a famine had already occurred), and all the more because they attributed the drought to the entrance of the blessed one.

20 And the holy one, being persuaded and having proclaimed a fast, commanded all to gather from evening in the holy church, so that we might perform the vigil there. And throughout the whole night we made thirty prayers and as many genuflections, apart from the choirs and the readings. And when morning came, taking the sign of the precious cross, which went before us, we went out with hymns to the ancient church to the west of the city, which they say the most holy and most blessed Asclepas the bishop built, who endured many persecutions for the sake of

16 Τῇ δὲ νυκτὶ ἐκείνῃ μεταπέμπεται ὁ μακάριος Ἰωάννης τοὺς Γαζαίους καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Ἕτοιμοι ἔσεσθε ἐπὶ τὴν ἔξοδον· σήμερον γὰρ τὸν ἱερέα ὑμῶν λαμβάνετε, ἄνδρα ὃν ἀπέδειξεν ὁ κύριος, ἄμεμπτον, θεοφιλῆ, ζέοντα τῇ πίστει. Πρωίας δὲ γενομένης, ἁρπάσαντες τὸν μακάριον, ἐχειροτόνησαν αὐτὸν ἐπίσκοπον Γάζης. Πολλὰ δὲ ἐδάκρυσεν καὶ οὐκ ἦν καιρὸς τῶν δακρύων αὐτοῦ· ἔλεγεν γὰρ ἑαυτὸν εἶναι ἀνάξιον τῆς τοιαύτης ἱερωσύνης. Μόλις δὲ παρακληθεὶς παρά τε τῶν Γαζαίων καὶ τῶν ἐκεῖ εὑρεθέντων Χριστιανῶν ἡσύχασεν. Ποιήσαντες δὲ τὴν ἁγίαν λειτουργίαν τῆς κυριακῆς, πάλιν προετράπημεν γεύσασθαι μετὰ τοῦ ἀρχιεπισκόπου.

17 Ἐπέτρεψεν δὲ ἡμῖν τὴν ταχίστην ἐξελθεῖν, καὶ ποιήσαντες ἄλλην μίαν ἡμέραν ἐξήλθομεν. Ἐκοιμήθημεν δὲ εἰς ∆ιόσπολιν, κἀκεῖθεν νυκτερεύσαντες ὀψὲ βράδιον εἰσήλθομεν εἰς Γάζαν πολλὰ κοπωθέντες καὶ θλιβέντες. Ἡ δὲ αἰτία τῆς θλίψεως αὕτη ἐτύγχανεν. Πλησίον Γάζης κῶμαι τυγχάνουσιν παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν αἵτινες ὑπάρχουσι τῆς εἰδωλομανίας. Ἐκ συνθήματος οὖν ὁ τούτων οἰκήτορες κατέστρωσαν πᾶσαν τὴν ὁδὸν ἀκανθῶν καὶ σκολόπων, ὥς τινας μὴ δύνασθαι παρελθεῖν, ἐξέχεαν δὲ καὶ βόρβορον καὶ ἐκάπνιζον ἄλλα δυσώδη, ὥστε ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς δυσοσμίας πνίγεσθαι καὶ περὶ τὴν ὅρασιν κινδυνεύειν. Μόλις οὖν διασωθέντες, περὶ τρίτην ὥραν νυκτερινὴν εἰσήλθομεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν. Τοῦτο δὲ τὸ δυσχερὲς ἀπὸ προσβολῆς δαιμονικῆς ὑπήντησεν τῷ μακαρίῳ. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐδυσχέρανεν. Ἐνόησεν γὰρ τὴν ἐνέδραν τοῦ διαβόλου ὅτι ἠθέλησεν ἐκ τῆς αὐτοῦ εἰσόδου ἀποστρέψαι τὸν δίκαιον.

18 Ὡρμήσαμεν δὲ εἰς τὸ ἐπισκοπεῖον, ὃ ἔκτισεν ὁ προονομασθεὶς ἐν ἁγίοις Εἰρηνίων ὁ ἐπίσκοπος μετὰ καὶ τῆς ἁγίας ἐκκλησίας τῆς καλουμένης Εἰρήνης. Τὸ δὲ ὄνομα λέγουσιν αὐτὴν ἔχειν κατὰ δύο τρόπους. Φασὶ γὰρ οἱ ἀπὸ Γάζης, ὅτε παρελήφθη ἡ πόλις ὑπὸ Ἀλεξάνδρου τοῦ Μακεδόνος, κατά τινα σύμβολον ἐκεῖ καταπαῦσαι τὸν πόλεμον, καὶ ἐξ ἐκείνου καλεῖσθαι τὸν τόπον Εἰρήνην. Τοῦτον τὸν τόπον εὑρὼν ὁ μακάριος Εἰρηνίων τιμώμενον ὑπὸ τῶν Γαζαίων ἐν αὐτῷ ἔκτισεν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν. Εἴτε οὖν διὰ τὰ προλελεγμένα εἴτε διὰ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ κτίστου ἔμεινεν οὕτως καλουμένη ἕως τοῦ νῦν. Ἐκεῖ οὖν ὡρμήσαμεν εἰς τὸ παρ' αὐτοῦ κτισθὲν μικρότατον ἐπισκοπεῖον.

19 Τῷ δὲ ἐνιαυτῷ ἐκείνῳ συμβαίνει ἀνομβρίαν γενέσθαι, καὶ ἐπέγραφον πάντες οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως τὸ πρᾶγμα τῇ εἰσόδῳ τοῦ μακαρίου, λέγοντες ὅτι Ἐχρηματίσθη ἡμῖν ὑπὸ τοῦ Μαρνᾶ, ὅτι κακοποδινός ἐστιν ὁ Πορφύριος τῇ πόλει. Ὡς δὲ ἐπέμενεν μὴ βρέχων ὁ θεὸς τὸν παρ' αὐτοῖς πρῶτον μῆνα καλούμενον ∆ῖον, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τὸν δεύτερον Ἀπελλαῖον, πάντες ἐθλίβοντο. Συναχθέντες δὲ οἱ τῆς εἰδωλομανίας εἰς τὸ Μαρνεῖον, πολλὰς θυσίας καὶ εὐχὰς ἐποίουν τούτου ἕνεκεν· ἔλεγον γὰρ τὸν Μαρνᾶν κύριον εἶναι τῶν ὄμβρων, τὸν δὲ Μαρνᾶν λέγουσιν εἶναι τὸν ∆ία. Ὡς δὲ ἐπέμενον ἡμέρας ἑπτὰ λέγοντες ὕμνους καὶ ἐξερχόμενοι ἔξω τῆς πόλεως εἰς τόπον καλούμενον προσευχῆς, ὀλιγωρήσαντες ἀνεχώρησαν ἐπὶ τὰ ἴδια ἔργα μηδὲν ἀνύσαντες. Τούτων οὕτως γενομένων, συναχθέντες οἱ Χριστιανοὶ μετὰ ἀνδρῶν καὶ γυναικῶν καὶ παιδίων τὸν ἀριθμὸν διακόσιοι ὀγδοήκοντα, παρεκάλουν τὸν ὅσιον Πορφύριον ἅμα αὐτοῖς ἐξελθεῖν εἰς προσευχὴν καὶ λιτανεῦσαι περὶ τοῦ καταπεμφθῆναι τοὺς ὄμβρους (ἤδη γὰρ λιμὸς ἐγένετο), καὶ πολλῷ γε πλέον ὅτι ἐπέγραφον τῇ εἰσόδῳ τοῦ μακαρίου τὴν ἀνομβρίαν.

20 Πεισθεὶς δὲ ὁ ὅσιος καὶ κηρύξας νηστείαν ἐκέλευσεν πάντας ἀφ' ἑσπέρας συναχθῆναι εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν ἐκκλησίαν, ἵνα ἐκεῖ τὴν ἀγρυπνίαν ἐπιτελέσωμεν. Ἐποιήσαμεν δὲ δι' ὅλης τῆς νυκτὸς εὐχὰς τριάκοντα καὶ τοσαύτας γονυκλισίας ἐκτὸς τῶν χορῶν καὶ τῶν ἀναγνωσμάτων. Πρωίας δὲ γενομένης, λαβόντες τὸ σημεῖον τοῦ τιμίου σταυροῦ, προηγουμένου ἡμῶν, ἐξήλθομεν μετὰ ὕμνων ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχαίαν ἐκκλησίαν τὴν ἀπὸ δυσμῶν τῆς πόλεως, ἣν λέγουσι κτίζειν τὸν ἁγιώτατον καὶ μακαριώτατον Ἀσκληπᾶν τὸν ἐπίσκοπον, τὸν πολλοὺς διωγμοὺς ὑπομείναντα ὑπὲρ