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pleasing, show him your obedience with diligence and purpose, even to the point of every danger. Having exhorted them with these words, therefore, they all immediately pledged their goodwill and obedience to him with frequent oaths; for they had hoped in their minds that Manuel had a desire for the empire and for this reason was charming them with such words, even if the opposite of these things had been declared by him. For he had cried out expressly: "May the years of Michael and Theodora proceed for a very long time." But when they heard this acclamation, they were filled with despondency and were overcome with manifold affliction, but nevertheless they fulfilled what was commanded; and the matters of the empire were settled. 4.2 And the cause of Orthodoxy is brought to light, seizing a sacred opportunity and the God-loving devotion of men of good purpose, after the abominable heresy of the iconoclasts had been reviled for 30 years from the reign of Leo the Amalekite. Both Theoktistos and especially Manuel himself held to the straight course, even if for some intervening <time> he deviated. But he fell into a certain illness, because of which his case was despaired of; during which God is shown to work wonders, just as in the case of Hezekiah, indeed. He was seized, therefore, by the disease and was severely worn down and was paralyzed by a deep stupor, so that from this it seemed to everyone that he had died, even if a faint breath flickered in him and a dim voice was heard from him intermittently. In response to this, what happens, and what is God's contrivance on our behalf? He raises up monks of the Stoudion, men truly known to God, to visit him on the next day. For it had been heard that he had passed away, and they had come together to offer him funeral hymns; which they had for a time composed as he was growing weak, according to <the> poem. And approaching the bed, some of the monks, of whom we have already made mention above, having confidence in God and in the perfection of their virtue, encouraged him who was as dead or would be shortly, saying that he would recover. And when he, from the depths of his distressed soul, revived a little and was at a loss as to whether this would happen to him according to his hope, they cried out, "If you are under a promise to God to restore the divine icons according to the ancient custom, we proclaim life to you, being sure of it." They went away, and what had been proclaimed was soon accomplished, and miraculously, as if from Hades, he emerged, having been delivered from death. When, therefore, he recognized that he had, against all hope, recovered from his weakness, he contended in an orthodox manner with the Empress Theodora, telling her to restore the venerable icons as before, as this was perhaps also pleasing to her, who was possessed of genuine love for God, with the support, as they say, of both the patrikia her mother and her own patrician brothers. But she resisted them and Manuel all the more, whether because of the change of so great a matter, or perhaps because of an irrational love for her husband, preferring human things to those of God. For she had said to Manuel, "My husband and late emperor indeed possessed sufficient wisdom, and nothing of what was needful was hidden from him; and how, forgetting his decrees, could we be turned to another way of life?" When she had said these things, Manuel discreetly threatened her, saying that if she would not take thought for the restoration and veneration of the icons, matters concerning her favor or the empire itself, with God's good pleasure, would be arranged otherwise. Seemingly downcast by these words, but in her thoughts very much rejoicing, the empress yields to what seemed best to them and rises up with them; and she decreed that the orthodox should be gathered in the apartments of the kanikleios, and there practice among themselves the problems and dogmas concerning orthodoxy. 4.3 And quickly, after appropriate deliberation, the divine icons were restored and the affairs of the church were turned toward the right path, with some of the priests and bishops in it being converted from their impiety, while others resisted the pious dogma and were justly cast out, and above all else, John the impious patriarch from the patriarchal throne

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ἀρέσκον, κατὰ σπουδὴν καὶ προαίρεσιν τὸ εὐπειθὲς αὐτῷ μέχρι καὶ κινδύνου παντὸς ἐπιδείξασθε. τούτοις οὖν αὐτοὺς παραινέσας, παραχρῆμα ἅπαντες τὰ τῆς ἀρεσκείας αὐτῷ καὶ ὑπακοῆς δι' ὅρκων συχνῶν παρετίθεντο· ἠλπίκεσαν γὰρ κατὰ νοῦν ὄρεξιν ἔχειν τῆς βασιλείας τὸν Μανουὴλ καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τοιαῦτα κατεπᾴδειν αὐτῶν, εἰ καὶ τὰ ὑπεναντία τούτοις παρ' αὐτοῦ διηγόρευτο. ἐκεκράγει γὰρ διαρρήδην· Μιχαήλ τε καὶ Θεοδώρας τὰ ἔτη πρὸς πλεῖστον ὁδεύσειεν. ὡς δὲ ταύτης τῆς ἀναρρήσεως διενήχηντο, ἐπλήσθη σαν ἀθυμίας καὶ πολυειδοῦς ἐνεφορήθησαν θλίψεως, ἀλλ' ὅμως τὸ προσταγὲν ἐξεπλήρουν· καὶ τὰ τῆς αὐτοκρατορίας διετετράνωτο. 4.2 Καὶ τὰ τῆς ὀρθοδοξίας ἀνακαλύπτεται, καιροῦ λαβόμενα εὐαγοῦς καὶ θεοφιλείας ἀνδρῶν εὐπροθέτων, τῆς στυγητῆς αἱρέσεως τῶν εἰκονομάχων διασυρείσης ἀπὸ βασιλείας Λέοντος τοῦ Ἀμαληκίτου μέχρι χρόνων λʹ. εἴχοντο δὲ τοῦ εὐθέος σκοποῦ ὅ τε Θεόκτιστος, ἄλλως τε καὶ αὐτὸς Μανουήλ, εἰ καὶ διὰ μέσου <χρόνου> τινὸς παρεμπεσόντος διώκλασεν. ἀλλὰ περιπίπτει τινὶ ἀρρωστίᾳ, δι' ἧσπερ ἀπέγνωστο· καθ' ἣν θεὸς παραδοξοποιῶν ὡς ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἐζεκίου δηλαδὴ καταφαίνεται. συνείχετο τοίνυν τῇ νόσῳ καὶ χαλεπῶς ἐτετρύχωτο καὶ ἐγκατόχῳ κάρῳ νενέκρωτο, ὡς ἐντεῦθεν ἐδόκει πᾶσι τεθνάναι, εἰ καὶ βραχύ τι πνεῦμα ἐν αὐτῷ ἐσπινθήριζεν ἀμυδρά τε φωνὴ διαστηματικῶς ἐξ αὐτοῦ διηκούετο. πρὸς ταῦτα τί γίνεται, καὶ τί τὸ περὶ ἡμᾶς τοῦ θεοῦ μηχανούργημα; διανίστησι μοναχοὺς τῶν Στουδίου, ἄνδρας τῷ ὄντι θεῷ γνωστούς, ἐπισκεψαμένους κατὰ τὴν ὑστεραίαν αὐτόν. ἐξήκουστο γάρ, ὅτι περ ἀπεβίω, καὶ συνεπεφοιτήκεσαν, ὅπως ἐπικηδείους αὐτῷ ὕμνους προσοίσειαν· ὃ τέως ἐπεποιήκεσαν ὀλιγοδρανέοντι κατὰ <τήν> ποίησιν. καὶ προσελθόντες τῇ κλίνῃ τῶν μοναζόντων τινές, περὶ ὧν ἤδη ἀνωτέρω μνείαν πεποιήμεθα, τεθαρρηκότες θεῷ καὶ τῇ τῆς ἀρετῆς τελειότητι ἀναθαρροῦσι τὸν ὡς νεκρὸν ἢ μετ' ὀλίγον ἐσόμενον, λέγοντες τοῦτον ἀναρρωσθήσεσθαι. τοῦ δὲ ἐκ βάθους ἐστενωμένης ψυχῆς μικρόν τι ἀνενεγκόντος καὶ διαπορήσαντος εἰ τοῦτο ἔσται αὐτῷ κατ' ἐλπίδα, ἐπεβόησαν ὡς εἴπερ ἐν ὑποσχέσει ἐστί σοι πρὸς θεὸν τὰς θείας εἰκόνας κατὰ τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἀνανεώσασθαι, τὴν ζωὴν εὐαγγελιζόμεθα βεβαιούμενοι. ἀπῄεσαν, καὶ τὸ εὐαγγελισθὲν συντόμως ἐπεπραγμάτευτο, καὶ παραδόξως ὡς ἐξ ᾅδου ἀνέδυ τοῦ θανάτου ἀπαλλαγείς. ὡς οὖν ἑαυτὸν διέγνωκεν παρ' ἐλπίδα τῆς ἀσθενείας ἀπορραΐσαντα, πρὸς βασίλισσαν Θεοδώραν ὀρθοδόξως διαγωνίζεται, φράζων αὐτῇ τὰς σεβαστὰς ἀνακαινίζειν εἰκόνας κατὰ τὸ πρότερον, καθὼς περὶ τούτου τάχα καὶ ταύτῃ συνήρεσκεν θεοφιλείας γνησίας ἐξεχομένῃ, συνεπιλαμ βανομένης, ὥς φασι, καὶ πατρικίας τῆς ταύτης μητρὸς καὶ τῶν αὐταδέλφων αὐτῆς πατρικίων. ἀλλ' ἀντέπιπτεν αὕτη τούτοις καὶ τῷ Μανουὴλ ἐπὶ μᾶλλον, εἴτε διὰ τὴν τοῦ τηλικούτου μετάθεσιν πράγματος, εἴτε διὰ φιλανδρίαν ἴσως παράλογον, προτιμωμένην τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ ἀνθρώπινα. εἰρήκει γὰρ πρὸς Μανουὴλ, ὡς ὁ ἐμὸς ἀνήρ γε καὶ βασιλεὺς μακαρίτης σοφίας ἀρκούντως ἐξείχετο, καὶ οὐδὲν τῶν δεόντων αὐτῷ ἐλελήθει· καὶ πῶς τῶν ἐκείνου διαταγμάτων ἀμνημονήσαντες εἰς ἑτέραν διαγωγὴν ἐκτραπείημεν; ταῦτα εἰπούσης κατηπείλησε σωφρόνως ὁ Μανουήλ, ὡς εἴπερ τῶν εἰκόνων μὴ φροντίσειας ἀναμορφῆς τε καὶ προσκυνήσεως, ἑτέρως τὰ τῆς εὐνοίας ἢ αὐτῆς τῆς βασιλείας, θεοῦ εὐδοκοῦντος, διατεθήσεται. τούτοις τῷ φαινομένῳ καταπεσοῦσα ἡ βασιλίς, τῷ δὲ νοουμένῳ καὶ μάλα χαρεῖσα, τὸ δοκοῦν αὐτοῖς ἐπαφίησι καὶ σὺν αὐτοῖς διανίσταται· καὶ τοὺς ὀρθοδόξους τοῖς τοῦ κανικλείου ἐνδιαιτήμασιν ἀγείρεσθαι διεθεσμοθέτησεν, κἀκεῖσε πρὸς ἀλλήλους γυμνάζειν τὰ περὶ ὀρθοδοξίας προβλήματά τε καὶ δόγματα. 4.3 Καὶ ταχέως μετὰ προσηκούσης τῆς διασκέψεως αἵ τε θεῖαι εἰκόνες ἀνεμορφοῦντο καὶ τὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας πρὸς τὸ ὀρθοτομοῦν μετεκλίνετο, τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ ἱερέων, πρὸς δὲ καὶ ἀρχιερέων, τῶν μὲν μεταστοιχειουμένων τῆς δυσσεβείας, τῶν δὲ ἀνθεστηκότων τῷ εὐσεβεῖ δόγματι καὶ δικαίως ἐξωθουμένων, καὶ πρό γε πάντων Ἰαννοῦ τοῦ δυσσεβοῦς πατριάρχου τοῦ ἀρχιερατικοῦ θρόνου