of the orthodox faith, whose life and works are written in the paradise of delight. So, having come to the aforementioned church, we made so many prayers there, and departing from there we went to the holy martyrium of the glorious martyr Timothy, in which also are laid other precious relics of Maiorus the martyr and Thea the confessor, and there having made so many prayers and genuflections we returned to the city, making on the way three prayers and three genuflections. But when we were near the gate, we found it closed (for it was the ninth hour); for those of the idolatry, wishing to scatter the people, had done this, so that we might not complete the litany. But when we had waited two hours before the gate and there was no one opening it, God, seeing the patience of the people and the wailing and the unspeakable tears, especially of the holy man, being moved with compassion as in the case of the great Elijah the prophet, stirs up a south wind, and the sky becomes cloudy and lightning and thunder begin to happen at the same time as the sun set, and a great rain falls, so that it was thought that they were not drops, but that hail was falling from heaven. But we, from joy, were scarcely aware of it; for we were embracing one another.

21 But some of the Hellenes, having seen the great wonders God had performed for us, believed and opened the gate and joined us, shouting: Christ alone is God, he alone has conquered. And they came with us to the holy church, and from there the blessed man dismissed them in peace, having sealed them with the seal of the cross. They were 127 in number, about 78 men and 35 women and 14 children, of whom five were girls. And we, having made the perfect thanksgiving, departed each to our own homes with joy and peace. And so much rain fell that night and on the next day, that all were afraid lest houses collapse; for most of them happened to be of unbaked brick. And our Lord Jesus Christ made it rain unceasingly from the eighth of Audynaeus until the tenth. Audynaeus among them is the month of January according to the Romans, but their months precede the Roman ones by five days. And on the eleventh we celebrated the day of the Theophany of the Lord Jesus Christ with joy, singing hymns and giving thanks for all that his love for mankind had done for us. And there were added to Christ's flock in that year, in addition to the 127, another 35. But those of the idolatry did not cease plotting against both the blessed one and the other Christians. For whenever a Hellene magistrate took office, they would approach him, either with money or through their godless religion, to harm the Christians, and from this no small affliction befell the most blessed man. Therefore, he continuously pleaded night and day with the man-loving God, that he might turn them from error to his truth.

22 Since I have mentioned the blessed Barochas above, I will relate the rest concerning him. This man had a divine zeal as few others did; for he endured many hardships from the idolaters. For once, when he had gone on account of an ecclesiastical canon to a village not far from the city—and the one who owed the canon was an idolater, who being asked for it and wishing to mock him into a postponement, the God-fearing Barochas not tolerating it—from this a quarrel arose between them, and the unholy man summons some farmers, his fellow villagers like him, and they begin to beat the blessed Barochas with clubs, and carrying him half-dead they threw him outside the village into a deserted place; and he lay there speechless and senseless. But on the next day, by the loving-kindness of God, Cornelius the deacon passes by that place with two other Christians, and finding the God-loving Barochas and recognizing him, they carried him and brought him into the city.

τῆς ὀρθοδόξου πίστεως, οὗτινος ὁ βίος καὶ τὰ ἔργα ἀναγέγραπται ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τῆς τρυφῆς. Γενόμενοι οὖν ἐν τῇ εἰρημένῃ ἐκκλησίᾳ κἀκεῖ εὐχὰς τοσαύτας ἐποιήσαμεν, κἀκεῖθεν ἐξελθόντες ἐπορεύθημεν ἐπὶ τὸ ἅγιον μαρτύριον τοῦ ἐνδόξου μάρτυρος Τιμοθέου, ἐν ᾧ ἀπόκεινται καὶ ἄλλα τίμια λείψανα Μαΐουρος μάρτυρος καὶ Θεῆς ὁμολογητρίας, κἀκεῖ τοσαύτας εὐχὰς καὶ γονυκλισίας ποιήσαντες ὑπεστρέψαμεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν, ποιήσαντες ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ τρεῖς εὐχὰς καὶ τρεῖς γονυκλισίας. Γενόμενοι δὲ περὶ τὴν πύλην εὕραμεν αὐτὴν κεκλεισμένην (ἦν δὲ ὥρα ἐνάτη)· οἱ γὰρ τῆς εἰδωλομανίας βουλόμενοι διασκεδάσαι τὸν λαὸν τοῦτο πεποιήκασιν, ἵνα μὴ πληρώσωμεν τὴν λιτάνειον. Ὡς δὲ ἐμείναμεν ὥρας δύο πρὸ τῆς πύλης καὶ οὐδεὶς ὁ ἀνοίγων, ὁρῶν ὁ θεὸς τὴν ὑπομονὴν τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ τὰς οἰμωγὰς καὶ τὰ ἄφατα δάκρυα, μάλιστα τοῦ ὁσίου ἀνδρός, σπλαγχνισθεὶς ὡς ἐπὶ τοῦ μεγάλου Ἡλίου τοῦ προφήτου κινεῖ ἄνεμον νότον, καὶ γίνεται συννεφὴς ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἄρχονται ἀστραπαὶ καὶ βρονταὶ γίνεσθαι ἅμα τῷ δῦναι τὸν ἥλιον καὶ καταφέρεται πολὺς ὄμβρος, ὡς νομίζεσθαι σταγόνας μὴ εἶναι, ἀλλὰ χάλαζαν ἀπ' οὐρανοῦ καταφέρεσθαι. Ἡμεῖς δὲ ἀπὸ χαρᾶς σχεδὸν οὐκ ᾐσθόμεθα· ἀλλήλους γὰρ ἦμεν περιπτυξάμενοι.

21 Τινὲς δὲ τῶν Ἑλλήνων θεασάμενοι ὅσα ἐποίησεν ἡμῖν ὁ θεὸς θαύματα, πιστεύσαντες ἤνοιξαν τὴν πύλην καὶ συνεμίγησαν ἡμῖν βοῶντες· Ὁ Χριστὸς μόνος θεός, αὐτὸς μόνος ἐνίκησεν. Συνῆλθον δὲ ἡμῖν εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν ἐκκλησίαν, κἀκεῖθεν ἀπέλυσεν αὐτοὺς ὁ μακάριος μετ' εἰρήνης σφραγίσας τῇ τοῦ σταυροῦ σφραγῖδι. Ἦσαν δὲ τὸν ἀριθμὸν ˉρˉκˉζ, ἄνδρες ὡς ˉοˉη καὶ γυναῖκες ˉλˉε καὶ παιδία ˉιˉδ, ἐξ ὧν ἦσαν κόραι πέντε. Ἡμεῖς δὲ ποιήσαντες τὴν τελείαν εὐχαριστίαν ἀνεχωρήσαμεν ἕκαστος μετὰ χαρᾶς καὶ εἰρήνης εἰς τὰ ἴδια ἑαυτῶν. Τοσοῦτος δὲ κατηνέχθη ὄμβρος τῇ νυκτὶ ἐκείνῃ καὶ ἐν τῇ ἄλλῃ ἡμέρᾳ, ὥστε πάντας φοβηθῆναι ἵνα μὴ συμπτώματα οἴκων γένηται· τὰ γὰρ πλεῖστα ἐτύγχανεν ἀπὸ ὠμοπλίνθου. Ἐποίησεν δὲ βρέχων ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ἀπαύστως ἀπὸ τῆς ὀγδόης Αὐδυναίου μέχρι τῆς δεκάτης. Ἔστιν δὲ ὁ παρ' αὐτοῖς Αὐδυναῖος Ἰανουάριος μὴν κατὰ Ῥωμαίους, πέντε δὲἡμέρας προάγουσιν οἱ κατ' αὐτοὺς μῆνες τοὺς Ῥωμαϊκούς. Τῇ δὲ ἑνδεκάτῃ ἐπετελέσαμεν τὴν ἡμέραν τῶν Θεοφανίων τοῦ δεσπότου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μετὰ χαρᾶς ὑμνοῦντες καὶ εὐχαριστοῦντες ἐπὶ πᾶσιν οἷς ἐποίησεν ἡμῖν ἡ αὐτοῦ φιλανθρωπία. Προσετέθησαν δὲ τῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ποίμνῃ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ πρὸς τοῖς ˉρˉκˉζ καὶ ἄλλοι ˉλˉε. Οἱ δὲ τῆς εἰδωλομανίας οὐκ ἐπαύοντο ἐνεδρεύοντες τῷ τε μακαρίῳ καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς Χριστιανοῖς. Ὅτε γὰρ ἐδράσσοντο ἄρχοντος Ἕλληνος, ὑπεισήρχοντο αὐτῷ, εἴτε διὰ χρημάτων εἴτε διὰ τῆς ἀθέου αὐτῶν θρησκείας, κακῶσαι τοὺς Χριστιανούς, καὶ ἐκ τούτου οὐχ ἡ τυχοῦσα θλῖψις συνέβαινεν τῷ μακαριωτάτῳ. Συνεχῶς οὖν νύκτωρ τε καὶ μεθ' ἡμέραν ἐδέετο τοῦ φιλανθρώπου θεοῦ, ἵνα αὐτοὺς ἐπιστρέψῃ ἐκ τῆς πλάνης εἰς τὴν αὐτοῦ ἀλήθειαν.

22 Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἀνωτέρω ἐμνήσθην τοῦ μακαρίου Βαρωχᾶ, τὰ λοιπὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ διηγήσομαι. Οὗτος ἔσχεν ζῆλον θεϊκὸν ὡς εἰ καί τις ἄλλος· πολλὰ γὰρ ὑπέμεινεν χαλεπὰ παρὰ τῶν εἰδωλολατρῶν. Ποτὲ γὰρ ἀπελθόντος αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐκκλησιαστικοῦ κανόνος εἰς κώμην οὐκ μήκοθεν τῆς πόλεως· ἦν δὲ ὁ τὸν κανόνα χρεωστῶν εἰδωλολάτρης, ἀπαιτούμενος δὲ καὶ βουλόμενος διασῦραι εἰς ὑπέρθεσιν, τοῦ θεοσεβοῦς Βαρωχᾶ μὴ ἀνασχομένου, ἐκ τούτου ἐρεσχελίας γεναμένης μεταξὺ αὐτῶν προσκαλεῖται ὁ ἀνόσιος γεωργούς τινας ὁμοίους αὐτοῦ συγκωμήτας, καὶ ἄρχονται τύπτειν ῥοπάλοις τὸν μακάριον Βαρωχᾶν καὶ βαστάσαντες αὐτὸν ἡμιθανῆ ἔρριψαν ἔξω τῆς κώμης εἰς τόπον ἔρημον· ἔκειτο δὲ ἐκεῖ ἄφωνος καὶ ἀναίσθητος. Τῇ δὲ ἄλλῃ ἡμέρᾳ κατὰ θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίαν παρέρχεται διὰ τοῦ τόπου ἐκείνου Κορνήλιος ὁ διάκονος μετὰ ἄλλων δύο Χριστιανῶν, καὶ εὑρόντες τὸν θεοφιλῆ Βαρωχᾶν καὶ ἐπιγνόντες αὐτόν, βαστάσαντες εἰσήγαγον εἰς τὴν πόλιν.