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But when, as the account said, they carried the divine Maximus away to exile, it happened that he suffered many things along the way, and endured many pains, being able to be seated neither on a beast of burden, nor on a litter; because he was completely worn out by his labors, and exhausted by countless agonies. Indeed, placing him into a kind of bier woven of rods, with difficulty and toil they carried him along that long road; and having made him a prisoner in one of the forts in Alania, called Schemaris, they left him entirely uncared for. And when they drove the good disciple along with his namesake on the same road, they separated them both from their teacher; and they also separated them from each other; one by one passing through many places, and being led somewhere far off in the land of the Abasgians; from which one of them, having given up from the great hardship, also gave up the ghost, which alone was left to him; and not even the very day on which he departed from this life was known exactly, as his namesake had said; I mean Anastasius the apocrisiarius.

40. But indeed to the divine Maximus, already imprisoned in the fort in Alania,

a certain divine vision from above came; revealing to him the day of his death, and summoning him to the dwellings there. And when that day arrived; and it was the thirteenth of the month of August, he left the things here, and ran up to the heavens, truly worthy of the heavens and of the dwelling there. And where his holy body was laid, three transparent torches since then have shone upon the tomb during one of the nights; sending forth a wonderful radiance, and, as is likely, creating a more wonderful astonishment in those who saw, (15C_334> and showing forth the most abundant grace of the greatly-giving God concerning His servant.

41. But to you, O most holy father, great is both the glory and splendor of the present things,

the Master having honored you even more here; but much greater and most excellent is your heavenly inheritance there; standing by the great light, and receiving in yourself the whole splendor of the blessed and archetypal-light Trinity; and seeing God, most paradoxically, having indeed become a god yourself by union, and being wholly deified by participation, and undergoing an ineffable deification. Therefore, having obtained such glory, give much help from yourself to us who are still 0109 swimming through present things, and sailing through this long and most perilous life; so that under you as pilot and guide, having lightly sailed over the unstable sea, we might be brought to anchor in the wave-less and eternal harbors; where there is the blessed way of life and the most serene rest.

42. This discourse from us to you, O best and most child-loving of fathers, falling short in every way

of the deeds, as I myself know, but I think falling short of no desire. The cause and leader of this discourse is in every way the hierarch who adheres to you; who was also enriched with the same name and the same manner as the chief shepherd in Myra; this man, always marvelously loving your words, and desiring you exceedingly; and making your most sweet name the delight of his tongue. To whom may you grant in return co-dwelling and co-tabernacling with you; as you see, he too has undertaken a great struggle for the good, and gives his very soul, if only he might accomplish something better in these matters; in Christ Himself our Lord, to whom be glory and power, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

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Ἐπεί δ' ὡς ὁ λόγος ἔφη, πρός τήν ὑπερορίαν τόν θεῖον ἀπήνεγκαν Μάξιμον, πολλά μέν συνέβη τοῦτον παθεῖν κατά τήν ὁδόν, καί πολλάς ὑπομεῖναι τάς ἀλγηδόνας, οἷα μήτ' εἰς ὑποζύγιον, μήτ' εἰς λεκτίκιον καθεσθῆναι δυνάμενον· τῷ πάντη κατειργάσθαι τοῖς πόνοις, καί ταῖς μυρίαις τετρυχῶσθαι ὀδύναις. Ἀμέλει καί εἴς τι χαλάδριον βέργεσι πεπλεγμένον τοῦτον ἐνθέμενοι, μόλις καί κόπῳ διαβαστάζοντες, τήν μακράν ὁδόν ἐκείνην ἀπήγαγον· ὅν καί εἰς ἕν τῶν κατά τήν Ἀλανίαν κάστρων, Σχίμαριν οὕτω λεγόμενον, ἔμφρουρον ποιησάμενοι, εἴασαν αὐτόν παντάπασιν ἀτημέλητον. Ἐπεί δέ καί τόν καλόν μαθητήν μετά τοῦ συνωνύμου αὐτοῦ τήν αὐτήν ὁδόν ἤλαυνον, διαιροῦσι μέν ἀμφοτέρους τοῦ διδασκάλου· διαιροῦσι δέ καί αὐτούς ἀπ' ἀλλήλων· ἕνα πρός ἕνα πολλούς διαμείβοντας τόπους, καί πόῤῤω που τῆς τῶν Ἀβασγῶν χώρας ἀπαγομένους· ἐξ οὗ καί τόν ἕνα αὐτῶν τῇ πολλῇ ἀπειρηκότα κακοπαθείᾳ, καί αὐτήν τήν πνοήν διαφεῖναι, ἤ μόνη τούτῳ περιελείπετο· καί μηδ' αὐτήν ἐγνῶσθαι ἀκριβῶς τήν ἡμέραν καθ' ἥν τῶν ὦδε μετέστη, ὡς ὁ τούτου εἰρήκει ὁμώνυμος· ἀποκρισιάριός φημι Ἀναστάσιος.

Μ´. Ἀλλά γάρ τῷ θείῳ Μαξίμῳ τῷ κατά τήν Ἀλανίαν ἤδη κάστρῳ ἐγκαθειρμένῳ,

θεία τις ἐπιφοιτᾷ ἄνωθεν ὄψις· τήν τε ἡμέραν αὐτῷ δηλοῦσα τῆς τελευτῆς, καί πρός τάς ἐκεῖθεν μετακαλουμένη σκηνάς· Ἐπεί δέ καί ἡ ἡμέρα καταλάβοι ἐκείνη· ἡ δέ ἦν ἡ τρισκαιδεκάτη τοῦ Αὐγούστου μηνός, ἀφίησι μέν τά ἐνταῦθα, πρός δέ τούς οὐρανούς ἀνατρέχει, ὁ τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀληθῶς καί τῆς ἐκεῖ κατοικίας ἄξιος. Ἐν ᾧ δέ τό ἱερόν αὐτοῦ σῶμα ἐναπετέθη, τρεῖς διαφανεῖς πυρσοί κατά μίαν τῶν νυκτῶν ἔκτοτε τῷ μνήματι ἐναυγάζουσι· θαυμαστήν μέν τήν αἴγλην ἐναφιέντες, θαυμαστοτέραν δ᾿, ὡς εἰκός, τοῖς ὁρῶσι τήν ἔκπληξιν ἐμποιοῦντες, (15Γ_334> καί τοῦ μεγαλοδώρου Θεοῦ περί τόν ἑαυτοῦ θεράποντα πλουσιωτάτην χάριν ἐμφαίνοντες.

ΜΑ΄. Ἀλλά σοί μέν, ὦ ἱερώτατε πάτερ, μεγάλη μέν καί ἡ τῶν παρόντων δόξα τε

καί λαμπρότης, πλέον σε κἀνταῦθα τοῦ ∆εσπότου τετιμηκότος· μείζων δέ πολλῷ καί ὑπεροχικωτάτη ἡ αὐτόθι λῆξις καί οὐρανία· φωτί τῷ μεγάλῳ παρισταμένῳ, καί ὅλην τήν αἴγλην τῆς μακαρίας καί ἀρχιφώτου Τριάδος ἐν ἑαυτῷ δεχομένῳ· καί Θεόν ὁρῶντι, τό παραδοξότατον, θεῷ δηλαδή καί αὐτῷ τῇ ἑνώσει γεγενημένῳ, καί κατά μέθεξιν ὅλῳ θεουμένῳ, καί ἄῤῥητον τήν θέωσιν ὑφισταμένῳ. Οὐκοῦν οὕτω δόξης τυχών, δίδου πολλήν καί τήν παρά σου βοήθειαν τοῖς ἔτι 0109 νηχομένοις ἡμῖν τά παρόντα, καί τόν δολιχόν τοῦτον βίον καί πολυκινδυνότατον διαπλέουσιν· ὡς ἄν ὑπό σοί κυβερνήτῃ καί ὁδηγῷ, κοῦφοι τήν ἄστατον θάλασσαν ὑπερπλεύσαντες, τοῖς ἀκλύστοις καί ἀϊδίοις λιμέσι καθορμισθείημεν· ἔνθα ἡ μακαρία διαγωγή καί κατάπαυσις ἡ γαληνοτάτη.

ΜΒ´. Οὗτος ὁ παρ' ἡμῶν σοι λόγος, ὦ πατέρων ἄριστε καί φιλοτεκνότατε, τῶν μέν

πραγμάτων, ὥσγε καί αὐτόν οἶδα, πάντη ἀπολειπόμενος, τοῦ δέ πόθου οἶμαι οὐδενός ἐλαττούμενος. Αἴτιος δέ πάντως τοῦ λόγου καί καθηγεμών, ὁ σοῦ ἐξεχόμενος ἱεράρχης· ὅς καί τήν ὁμωνυμίαν καί ὁμοτροπίαν τοῦ ἐν Μύροις ἐπλούτησε ποιμενάρχου· λόγων οὗτος ἀεί τῶν σῶν θαυμασίως ἐρῶν, καί σέ διαφερόντως ποθῶν· καί τρυφήν γλώσσης, τό ἥδιστόν σου ποιούμενος ὄνομα. Ὧ καί ἀντιδοίης τήν μετά σοῦ συναυλίαν καί συσκηνίαν· πολλήν ὡς ὁρᾷς καί αὐτῷ ὑπέρ τοῦ καλοῦ τεθεμένῳ τήν ἀγωνίαν, καί τήν ψυχήν προϊεμένῳ αὐτήν, μόνον εἴ τι βέλτιον εἴη τούτῳ ἐν τοῖς πράγμασι καταπράξασθαι· ἐν αὐτῷ Χριστῷ τῷ Κυρίῶ ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καί τό κράτος, νῦν καί ἀεί, καί εἰς τούς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν