29

to save those 2.7.6 who are in dire straits.” Although the woman often seemed to speak well on such matters, the ruler of Iberia was doubtful and not entirely persuaded, suspecting the novelty of the affair and revering his ancestral religion. Not long after, he went into a forest with his attendants to hunt. Suddenly, a very dense mist and thick air poured over them from all sides, and covered the sky and the sun; and a deep night and great darkness possessed the forest. 2.7.7 Then, fearing for himself, each one was scattered from the others. But the king, wandering alone, as is wont to happen to men who are helpless in dire straits, thought of Christ; and he resolved in his mind to consider Him God and to worship Him henceforth, if he should escape the present evil. And while he was still pondering these things, the mist was immediately dispersed and the air changed into clear sky 2.7.8, and when the sun's ray struck the forest, he was saved there. And having shared what happened with his wife, he sent for the captive woman and commanded her to teach in what manner it was proper to worship Christ. And when she had explained as much as is lawful for a woman to say and to do, he, having gathered his subjects, publicly announced the divine benefits that had befallen both him and his wife; and though not yet initiated into the matters of the doctrine, he shared it with his subjects; and they persuade the whole people to worship Christ, he the men, 2.7. and the queen with the captive woman, the women. And quickly, by common agreement of the whole nation, they most zealously prepared to build a church. And when they had raised the enclosure around the sanctuary, setting up machines they were lifting the columns and setting them on their bases. But it is said that after the first and second were raised, the raising of the third column became laborious and could neither be set upright by the skill of the experts nor forced by strength, 2.7.10 although there were many pulling. When evening came, the captive woman alone spent the night there, supplicating God that the setting of the columns might become easy, but all the others withdrew, being disheartened, and especially the king; for the column, having been raised halfway, remained suspended crosswise and, being fixed to the ground from its bottom end, was immovable. But through this, the preceding marvels were destined to make the Iberians 2.7.11 more steadfast concerning the divine. For around dawn, when they came to the church—a wonderful thing and like a dream—the column that was immovable the day before appeared upright, suspended a short distance above its own base. And while all were astounded and confessing together that the only true God is Christ, as all watched, it slid down gently and automatically, as if by skill, was fitted to its base. After these things, the other columns were raised easily, 2.7.12 and the Iberians accomplished the remaining tasks more eagerly. When the church had been built with zeal, at the suggestion of the captive woman, they send ambassadors to Constantine, the emperor of the Romans, bearing an alliance and treaties, and in return for these, requesting that priests be sent to the nation. And when the ambassadors recounted what things had happened among them, and how the entire nation worships Christ with great care, the emperor of the Romans was pleased with the embassy, and having accomplished everything according to their mind, he sent the ambassadors away. In this way, then, the Iberians came to know Christ, and they still worship him with care even now. 2.8.1 [Next, the doctrine also passed through the neighboring tribes and increased in number.] But I learned that the Armenians, in turn, had become Christians before this. For it is said that Tiridates, the ruler of the nation at that time, because of a certain marvelous divine sign that occurred concerning his own house, at once both became a Christian and commanded all his subjects under a single proclamation to worship in like manner. 2.8.2 Next, the doctrine also passed through the neighboring tribes and increased in number. And I think that the Persians also became Christians at the beginning, as many as, on account of their intercourse with the Osroenians and Armenians, as is likely, associated with the divine men there and of their virtue

29

τοὺς 2.7.6 ἐν δεινοῖς ὄντας σῴζειν.» τοιαῦτα πολλάκις εὖ λέγειν δοκούσης τῆς γυναικὸς ἀμφίβολος ἦν ὁ τῆς ᾿Ιβηρίας ἡγούμενος καὶ οὐ πάνυ ἐπείθετο, τοῦ πράγματος τὸ νεώτερον ὑπονοῶν καὶ τὴν πατρῴαν θρησκείαν αἰδούμενος. μετ' οὐ πολὺ δὲ ἅμα τοῖς ἀμφ' αὐτὸν εἰς ὕλην ἐλθὼν ἐθήρα. ἐξαπίνης οὖν ἀχλὺς πυκνοτάτη καὶ παχὺς ἀὴρ ἐπιχυθεὶς αὐτοῖς πάντοθεν τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὸν ἥλιον ἐκάλυψε· νὺξ δὲ βαθεῖα καὶ σκότος πολὺ τὴν ὕλην κατεῖχεν. 2.7.7 ἐνταῦθα δὲ περὶ ἑαυτῷ δείσας ἕκαστος διεσκεδάσθησαν ἀλλήλων. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς μόνος ἀλώμενος, οἷα φιλεῖ συμβαίνειν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἀμηχανοῦσιν ἐν τοῖς δεινοῖς, ἐνενοήθη τὸν Χριστόν· καὶ θεὸν αὐτὸν ἡγεῖσθαι καὶ τοῦ λοιποῦ σέβειν κατὰ νοῦν ἐδοκίμασεν, εἰ τὸ παρὸν διαφύγοι κακόν. ἔτι δὲ αὐτοῦ ταῦτα ἐνθυμουμένου παραχρῆμα διελύθη ἡ ἀχλὺς καὶ ὁ ἀὴρ εἰς αἰθρίαν 2.7.8 μετέβαλεν, ἐμβαλούσης τε τῆς ἀκτῖνος τῇ ὕλῃ διεσώθη ἐνθάδε. καὶ τὸ συμβὰν τῇ γαμετῇ κοινωσάμενος μετεπέμψατο τὴν αἰχμάλωτον καὶ τίνα τρόπον προσήκει τὸν Χριστὸν θρησκεύειν ἐκέλευσε διδάσκειν. τῆς δὲ ὅσα γυναικὶ θέμις λέγειν τε καὶ ποιεῖν εἰσηγησαμένης ἀγείρας τοὺς ὑπηκόους ἐκεῖνος τὰς συμβάσας αὐτῷ τε καὶ τῇ γαμετῇ θείας εὐεργεσίας εἰς κοινὸν ἐξήγγειλε· μήπω δὲ μυηθεὶς τὰ περὶ τοῦ δόγματος μετέδωκε τοῖς ἀρχομένοις· καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν πανδημεὶ σέβειν πείθουσιν, αὐτὸς μὲν τοὺς ἄνδρας, 2.7. ἡ δὲ βασίλισσα ἅμα τῇ αἰχμαλώτῳ τὰς γυναῖκας. καὶ ἐν τάχει κοινῇ συνθήκῃ παντὸς τοῦ ἔθνους φιλοτιμότατα παρεσκευάσαντο ἐκκλησίαν οἰκοδομεῖν. ἐπεὶ δὲ κύκλῳ τοῦ νεὼ τὸν περίβολον ἤγειραν, στήσαντες μηχανὰς ἀνίμων τοὺς κίονας καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν βάσεων ἐστήριζον. λέγεται δὲ τοῦ τε πρώτου καὶ δευτέρου ὀρθωθέντος ἐργώδη γενέσθαι τοῦ τρίτου κίονος τὴν στάσιν καὶ μήτε τέχνῃ τῶν ἐπιστημόνων κατορθωθῆναι μήτε ἰσχύι βιασθῆναι, 2.7.10 καίπερ πολλῶν ὄντων τῶν ἑλκόντων. ἑσπέρας δὲ ἐπιγενομένης μόνη ἡ αἰχμάλωτος αὐτόθι διενυκτέρευεν ἱκετεύουσα τὸν θεὸν εὐπετῆ γενέσθαι τῶν κιόνων τὴν διόρθωσιν, οἱ δὲ ἄλλοι πάντες ἀνεχώρησαν δυσφοροῦντες καὶ μάλιστα ὁ βασιλεύς· ὀρθωθεὶς γὰρ μέχρι τοῦ μέσου ὁ κίων ἐγκάρσιος ἔμενε καὶ τῷ ἐδάφει ἐμπαγεὶς ἐκ τῆς κάτωθεν ἀρχῆς ἀκίνητος ἦν. ἔμελλε δὲ διὰ τοῦτο ἢ τὰ πρὸ τούτου παράδοξα βεβαιοτέρους καὶ περὶ τὸ θεῖον ποιήσειν 2.7.11 τοὺς ῎Ιβηρας. περὶ γὰρ τὴν ἕω παραγενομένων αὐτῶν εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν- θαυμάσιόν τι χρῆμα καὶ ὀνείρῳ προσεοικός-ὀρθὸς ἐφάνη ὁ τῇ προτεραίᾳ ἀκίνητος κίων ἀπὸ μικροῦ διαστήματος ἐπὶ τῆς ἰδίας βάσεως αἰωρούμενος. καταπλαγέντων δὲ πάντων καὶ μόνον εἶναι θεὸν ἀληθινὸν συνομολογούντων τὸν Χριστόν, θεωμένων πάντων ἡσυχῇ διολισθήσας αὐτομάτως ὡς ἀπὸ τέχνης τῇ βάσει προσηρμόσθη. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα εὐπετῶς οἱ ἄλλοι ὠρθώθησαν, 2.7.12 καὶ προθυμότερον οἱ ῎Ιβηρες τὰ λοιπὰ ἐπετέλουν. σπουδῇ δὲ τῆς ἐκκλησίας οἰκοδομηθείσης, ὑποθεμένης τῆς αἰχμαλώτου πέμπουσι πρέσβεις πρὸς Κωνσταντῖνον τὸν βασιλέα ῾Ρωμαίων συμμαχίαν καὶ σπονδὰς φέροντας, ἀντὶ δὲ τούτων ἱερέας τῷ ἔθνει ἀποσταλῆναι δεομένους. διεξελθόντων δὲ τῶν πρέσβεων, οἷα παρ' αὐτοῖς συνέβη, καὶ ὡς τὸ πᾶν ἔθνος ἐν ἐπιμελείᾳ πολλῇ σέβει τὸν Χριστόν, ἥσθη τῇ πρεσβείᾳ ὁ ῾Ρωμαίων βασιλεύς, καὶ πάντα κατὰ γνώμην πράξαντας τοὺς πρέσβεις ἀπέπεμψεν. ὧδε μὲν ῎Ιβηρες τὸν Χριστὸν ἐπέγνωσαν, καὶ εἰσέτι νῦν ἐπιμελῶς σέβουσιν. 2.8.1 [᾿Εφεξῆς δὲ καὶ διὰ τῶν ὁμόρων φυλῶν τὸ δόγμα διέβη καὶ εἰς πλῆθος ἐπέδωκεν.] ᾿Αρμενίους δὲ πάλιν πρότερον ἐπυθόμην χριστιανίσαι. λέγεται γὰρ Τηριδάτην τὸν ἡγούμενον τότε τοῦ ἔθνους ἔκ τινος παραδόξου θεοσημείας συμβάσης περὶ τὸν αὐτοῦ οἶκον ἅμα τε Χριστιανὸν γενέσθαι καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἀρχομένους ὑφ' ἑνὶ κηρύγματι προστάξαι ὁμοίως θρησκεύειν. 2.8.2 ᾿Εφεξῆς δὲ καὶ διὰ τῶν ὁμόρων φυλῶν τὸ δόγμα διέβη καὶ εἰς πλῆθος ἐπέδωκε. καὶ Περσῶν δὲ χριστιανίσαι τὴν ἀρχὴν ἡγοῦμαι, ὅσοι προφάσει τῆς ᾿Οσροηνῶν καὶ ᾿Αρμενίων ἐπιμιξίας, ὡς εἰκός, τοῖς αὐτόθι θείοις ἀν-δράσιν ὡμίλησαν καὶ τῆς αὐτῶν ἀρετῆς