28

having imparted to him the grace of the high priesthood, sent him out to the cultivation of the nation. But he, leaving his fatherland and scorning the vast sea, arrived at the uncultivated nation, and cultivated it eagerly, having as his co-worker the God-given grace. For, using apostolic miracles, he hunted those who tried to contradict his words, and the working of wonders, bearing witness to what was said, caught very many alive each day. So then, Frumentius became a guide to the knowledge of God for the Indians. But the Iberians, at the same time, a captive woman led to the truth. For she engaged in constant prayer, and her bed and soft mattress were a sackcloth spread on the floor, and she considered fasting the highest luxury. This toil imparted to her the apostolic gifts. For since the barbarians, lacking medical knowledge, were accustomed when sick to go to one another, and to learn the way to health from those who had already been sick and had been freed from their illness, a certain woman came to the praiseworthy person, having a sick child and begging to learn what to do. But she, taking him and laying him on the bed, besought the creator of all things to consent and to release the 75 disease; and he, accepting the supplication, granted health. From this, the wonderful woman became much talked about. For what had happened did not escape the notice of the king's wife, and immediately she sent for her; for she herself was also afflicted by a certain severe malady. But she, being of a modest mind, did not accept the queen's request; but that one, compelled by her need, was unwilling to take her royal dignity into account, but she herself ran to the captive woman. And she, again laying her on the humble bed, offered prayer as a remedy against the evil of her malady. The queen brought a reward for the healing which she considered worthy of acquisition: gold and silver and tunics and cloaks, and whatever gifts are of royal munificence. But the divine woman said that she had no need of these things, but considered the knowledge of piety a great reward; and she offered, as she was able, the divine teachings, and urged her to erect a divine temple to Christ who had saved her. Having heard these things, she arrived at the palace. and immediately she amazed her husband with the swiftness of the cure; then she made known the power of the captive's God and exhorted him to know this one alone as God and to build a temple to him and to convert the entire nation to his worship. But he praised the miracle that had happened to his wife, but was not willing to build the temple. After a short time had passed, he himself went out to hunt, but the philanthropic Lord hunted him like Paul. For a sudden darkness falling upon him did not allow him to proceed further. and while his fellow hunters enjoyed the light as usual, he alone, being caught, was bound by the bonds of blindness; and being in perplexity he found a way of salvation. For immediately calling his disobedience to mind and calling on the God of the captive woman as a helper, he was freed from the darkness. And having gone to that admirable captive woman, he besought her to show the plan of the building. And he who filled Bezalel with the 76 wisdom of architecture also deemed this woman worthy of grace, so as to sketch the divine temple. And she drew the plans, and they dug and built. And when the building was completed and the roof was put on and only priests were needed, the wonderful woman found a way for this too. For she persuaded the ruler of the nation to send an embassy to the king of the Romans and to ask for a teacher of piety to be sent to them. So he, accepting the suggestion, sent out the ambassadors. But the king, having learned the reason for the request (and it was Constantine, the most ardent lover of piety), deemed the ambassadors worthy of much friendliness, and a man adorned with faith and understanding and a good life, and deemed worthy of the high priesthood, as a herald to the nation of the knowledge of God

28

ἀρχιερατικῆς αὐτῷ χάριτος μεταδούς, εἰς τὴν τοῦ ἔθνους ἐξέπεμψε γεωργίαν. ὁ δὲ καὶ τὴν πατρίδα κατα λιπὼν καὶ τοῦ μεγίστου πελάγους καταφρονήσας, κατέλαβε μὲν τὸ ἀγεώργητον ἔθνος, ἐγεώργησε δὲ προθύμως συνεργὸν ἔχων τὴν θεόσδοτον χάριν. ἀποστολικαῖς γὰρ κεχρημένος θαυματουργίαις τοὺς ἀντιλέγειν τοῖς λόγοις πειρωμένους ἐθήρευε, καὶ ἡ τερατουργία μαρ τυροῦσα τοῖς λεγομένοις παμπόλλους καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἐζώγρει. Ἰνδῶν μὲν οὖν ὁ Φρουμέντιος πρὸς θεογνωσίαν ἐγένετο ποδηγός. Ἴβηρας δὲ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον γυνὴ δορυάλωτος πρὸς τὴν ἀλή θειαν ἐξενάγησεν. αὕτη γὰρ προσευχῇ μὲν ἐχρῆτο διηνεκεῖ, εὐνὴ δὲ ἦν αὐτῇ καὶ στρωμνὴ μαλακὴ σάκκος ἐπὶ τοῦ δαπέδου καθηπλωμέ νος, τρυφὴν δὲ ἄκραν τὴν νηστείαν ἐνόμιζεν. οὗτος ὁ πόνος τῶν ἀποστολικῶν αὐτῇ μεταδέδωκε χαρισμάτων. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ οἱ βάρβαροι τῆς ἰατρικῆς σπανίζοντες ἐπιστήμης εἰώθασιν ἀρρωστοῦντες πρὸς ἀλλήλους φοιτᾶν, καὶ παρὰ τῶν ἤδη νενοσηκότων καὶ τῆς ἀρρωστίας ἀπαλλαγέντων μανθάνειν τῆς ὑγείας τὸν τρόπον, ἀφίκετό τις γυνὴ πρὸς τὴν ἀξιέπαινον ἄνθρωπον παιδίον ἀρρωστοῦν ἔχουσα καὶ μαθεῖν τὸ πρακτέον ἀντιβολοῦσα. ἡ δὲ τοῦτο λαβοῦσα καὶ εἰς τὴν εὐνὴν κατακλίνασα, ἱκέτευε τὸν τῶν ὅλων δημιουργὸν νεῦσαι καὶ λῦσαι τὴν 75 νόσον· ὁ δὲ τὴν ἱκετείαν δεξάμενος παρέσχε τὴν ὑγείαν. ἐντεῦθεν ἡ θαυμασία γυνὴ πολυθρύλητος γέγονεν. οὐδὲ γὰρ τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ὁμόζυγα τὸ γεγενημένον διέλαθε, παραυτίκα δὲ αὐτὴν μετεπέμψατο· ὑπό τινος γὰρ καὶ αὐτὴ χαλεποῦ κατείχετο πάθους. ἡ δὲ μετρίῳ κεχρημένη φρονήματι τῆς βασιλίδος τὴν αἴτησιν οὐκ ἐδέξατο· ἀλλ' ὑπὸ τῆς χρείας ἐκείνη βιαζομένη τὴν βασιλικὴν ἀξίαν εἰς νοῦν λαβεῖν οὐκ ἠθέλησεν, ἀλλ' αὐτὴ πρὸς τὴν δορυάλωτον ἔδραμεν. ἡ δὲ πάλιν ἐπὶ τῆς εὐτελοῦς εὐνῆς αὐτὴν κατακλίνασα φάρμακον ἀλεξίκακον προσενήνοχε τῷ πάθει τὴν προσευχήν. ἡ δὲ βασιλὶς τῆς θεραπείας μισθὸν προσεκόμιζεν ὃν ἐνόμιζεν ἀξιόκτητον, χρυσὸν καὶ ἄργυρον καὶ χιτῶνας καὶ ἀμπεχόνας καὶ ὅσα τῆς βασιλικῆς ἐστι δῶρα φιλοτι μίας. ἡ δὲ θεία γυνὴ τούτων ἔφη μὴ δεῖσθαι, μέγαν δὲ ἡγεῖσθαι μισθὸν τὴν τῆς εὐσεβείας ἐπίγνωσιν· καὶ προσέφερεν, ὡς ἐνῆν, τὰ θεῖα παιδεύματα, καὶ θεῖον ἀνεγεῖραι παρεγγυᾷ νεὼν τῷ σεσωκότι Χριστῷ. τούτων ἐκείνη ἀκούσασα κατέλαβε τὰ βασίλεια. καὶ παραυ τίκα μὲν ἐξέπληξε τὸν ὁμόζυγα τῷ συντόμῳ τῆς θεραπείας· εἶτα τοῦ θεοῦ τῆς αἰχμαλώτου τὴν δύναμιν ἐδήλου καὶ παρεκάλει τοῦτον μόνον εἰδέναι θεὸν καὶ νεὼν αὐτῷ κατασκευάσαι καὶ ἅπαν εἰς τὴν τούτου θεραπείαν μεταθεῖναι τὸ ἔθνος. ὁ δὲ τὸ μὲν εἰς τὴν ὁμόζυγα θαῦμα γεγενημένον εὐφήμει, τὸν δὲ νεὼν οὐκ ἤθελε δείμασθαι. Ὀλίγου δὲ διελθόντος χρόνου, αὐτὸς μὲν εἰς θήραν ἐξῆλθεν, ὁ δὲ φιλάνθρωπος αὐτὸν δεσπότης κατὰ τὸν Παῦλον ἐθήρευσε. ζόφος γὰρ αὐτῷ ἐξαπίνης προσπεσὼν οὐκ εἴα περαιτέρω προβαίνειν. καὶ οἱ μὲν συνθηρεύοντες τῆς ἀκτῖνος συνήθως ἀπήλαυον, οὗτος δὲ μόνος ἀποληφθεὶς τοῖς τῆς ἀορασίας ἐπεδήθη δεσμοῖς· ἐν ἀπορίᾳ δὲ ὢν πόρον εὗρε τῆς σωτηρίας. εὐθὺς γὰρ εἰς νοῦν τὴν ἀπείθειαν λαβὼν καὶ τὸν τῆς αἰχμαλώτου θεὸν καλέσας ἐπίκουρον, ἀπηλλάγη τοῦ ζόφου. καὶ τὴν ἀξιάγαστον ἐκείνην καταλαβὼν δορυάλωτον, παρε κάλει δεῖξαι τῆς οἰκοδομίας τὸ σχῆμα. ὁ δὲ τὸν Βεσελεὴλ τῆς 76 ἀρχιτεκτονικῆς σοφίας ἐμπλήσας καὶ ταύτην ἠξίωσε χάριτος ὥστε τὸν θεῖον διαγράψαι νεών. καὶ ἡ μὲν διέγραφεν, οἱ δὲ ὤρυττόν τε καὶ ᾠκοδόμουν. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἐτελέσθη τὸ οἰκοδόμημα καὶ ὁ ὄροφος ἐπε τέθη καὶ μόνων ἐδεῖτο τῶν ἱερέων, εὗρε καὶ τούτου πόρον ἡ θαυ μασία γυνή. ἔπεισε γὰρ τὸν τοῦ ἔθνους ἡγούμενον πρὸς τὸν Ῥωμαίων πρεσβεύσασθαι βασιλέα καὶ αἰτήσασθαι πεμφθῆναι σφίσι διδάσκαλον εὐσεβείας. ὁ μὲν οὖν δεξάμενος τὴν εἰσήγησιν τοὺς πρε σβευσομένους ἐξέπεμψεν· ὁ δὲ βασιλεύς, τῆς αἰτήσεως τὴν αἰτίαν μαθών (Κωνσταντῖνος δὲ ἦν ὁ τῆς εὐσεβείας θερμότατος ἐραστής), φιλοφροσύνης μὲν παμπόλλης τοὺς πρέσβεις ἠξίωσεν, ἄνδρα δὲ πίστει καὶ συνέσει καὶ βίῳ κοσμούμενον καὶ τῆς ἀρχιερωσύνης ἠξιωμένον κήρυκα τῷ ἔθνει τῆς θεογνωσίας