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he sent a force sufficient for battle, a man most noble and most skilled in strategy, who also set up many trophies against the descendants of Hagar. When this emperor was serving Theophilitzes, as has been said, he went down with him to the Peloponnese and entered the church of the holy apostle Andronikos with his master. And a certain monk was waiting there, pretending to be virtuous, who paid no attention to Theophilitzes, but upon seeing Basil, he both rose up to meet him and prostrated himself and greeted him kindly. And a certain widow in that region, who was first among the locals and flowing with much wealth, being an acquaintance of the monk and having learned what had happened, sent for him and asked how it was that he had deemed Theophilitzes, a renowned ruler and related by birth to the emperors, worthy of neither address nor any greeting, but to the one serving him he both spoke and gave honor not corresponding to his station, but even greatly exceeding it. For, knowing the monk, she guessed that he had not done this without reason. And he said, "I saw Theophilitzes as a private citizen, but Basil as an emperor, and for this reason I have honored the man as an emperor. For know that he has been designated as emperor by God." When the woman heard these things, since Basil had fallen ill and was left behind there, his master having departed from there, she took him into her house and deemed him worthy of care and, when he recovered, persuaded him to become an adopted brother to her son and gave him money; then she also foretells his reign, and asks that when he attains the rule, he not forget her son, nor herself, if she should still be counted among the living. So Basil departed on these terms. But when he had just become emperor, she came to the queen of cities with her son, bringing many costly gifts; the emperor received her with honor and honored her son, whom he had, as has been said, as a brother by spiritual disposition, as a *protospatharios*. And when various earthquakes occurred, from which many churches were shattered, the emperor again restored them; moreover, with the devices of artisans he both bound together and made firm the great western arch of the Wisdom of the Word of God, which had cracked and was expected to fall. And he persuaded many of the Jews to become Christians with gifts of money and promises; and having made a treaty with the nation of the Rus', he caused them to come to a knowledge of our mystery. For when they agreed to be baptized, an archbishop was sent to them by the emperor. But those who were about to convert from their own religion to ours were hesitant and doubtful and said to the archbishop, "Unless we see some miracle, such as the many you yourself teach occurred by Christ, we would never be persuaded to accept your doctrine." And he said, "Ask what you wish." And they said, "The book which teaches about Christ must be thrown into the fire; and if it remains unconsumed, this will be proof for us that the one preached by you is truly God." The bishop agreed to do this; a fire was kindled, the archbishop raised his hands and his eyes to heaven; "Glorify your name," he said, "Christ our God." He placed the holy Gospel in the fire; and having remained in the flame for some time, it was unharmed. The barbarians were amazed, believed the preaching, and hastened to be perfected by the divine baptism. So these things happened in this way. But one of the emperor's sons, Constantine, whom he loved more than the others, fell ill and died; and the emperor bore his death heavily and was inconsolable and sought for him to appear to him alive. And there was a certain monk Theodore, whose surname was Santabarenos; this man was extremely intimate with the emperor, who believed he had attained a most virtuous life, so as to perform signs from it; this Santabarenos, therefore, who also served as metropolitan of Euchaïta, is said to have shown the emperor his dead son alive

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δυνάμεως ἀξιομάχου 433 ἐκπέπομφεν, ἄνδρα γενναιότατον ὁμοῦ καὶ στρατηγικώτατον, ὃς καὶ πολλὰ κατὰ τῶν Ἄγαρ ἐκγόνων ἐστήσατο τρόπαια. Ὅτε δὲ τῷ Θεοφιλίτζῃ, ὡς εἴρηται, ἐξυπηρέτει οὗτος ὁ βασιλεύς, συγκατῆλθεν ἐκείνῳ εἰς Πελοπόννησον καὶ εἰς τὸν τοῦ ἁγίου ἀποστόλου Ἀνδρονίκου ναὸν εἰσῆλθε σὺν τῷ κυρίῳ αὐτοῦ. ἦν δ' ἐκεῖσε προσμένων μοναχός τις ἀντιποιούμενος ἀρετῆς, ὃς τοῦ μὲν Θεοφιλίτζη οὐδεμίαν φροντίδα πεποίητο, τὸν δὲ Βασίλειον θεασάμενος καὶ ἐξυπανέστη καὶ προσεκύνησε καὶ φιλοφρόνως ἐδεξιώσατο. γυνὴ δέ τις χήρα ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ ἐκείνῃ τυγχάνουσα καὶ τῶν ἐγχωρίων πρωτεύουσα πλούτῳ τε περιρρεομένη πολλῷ, συνήθης οὖσα τῷ μοναχῷ καὶ μαθοῦσα τὸ γεγονός, μετεπέμψατο τοῦτον καὶ ἤρετο πῶς τὸν μὲν Θεοφιλίτζην ἄρχοντα περιφανῆ καὶ τοῖς βασιλεῦσι κατὰ γένος προσήκοντα οὔτε προσρήσεως οὔτε δεξιώσεώς τινος κατηξίωσε, τῷ δ' ἐκείνῳ ὑπηρετοῦντι καὶ προσεφώνησε καὶ τιμῆς μετέδωκεν οὐκ ἀναλογούσης τῇ καταστάσει αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ λίαν ὑπερβαλλούσης αὐτήν. εἴκαζε γάρ, εἰδυῖα τὸν μοναχόν, μὴ ἀλόγως 434 ποιῆσαι τὸ γεγονός. ὁ δέ "τὸν μὲν Θεοφιλίτζην ἰδιώτην" εἶπεν "ἑώρων, βασιλέα δὲ τὸν Βασίλειον, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὡς βασιλέα τὸν ἄνδρα τετίμηκα. ἴσθι γὰρ ὡς πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ βασιλεὺς ἐκεῖνος ἀφώρισται." ταῦτα ἀκούσασα ἡ γυνή, ἐπεὶ νοσήσας ἐκεῖ κατελείφθη ὁ Βασίλειος, ἀπάραντος ἐκεῖθεν τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ, προσελάβετό τε αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτῆς καὶ θεραπείας ἠξίωσε καὶ ἀναρρωσθέντα εἰσποιητὸν ἀδελφὸν τῷ υἱῷ αὐτῆς γενέσθαι πέπεικε καὶ χρήματα παρέσχεν· εἶτα καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτῷ προαγορεύει, καὶ ὅτε τεύξεται τῆς ἀρχῆς, μὴ ἐπιλαθέσθαι τοῦ παιδὸς αὐτῆς ἀξιοῖ μήτ' αὐτῆς, εἰ τοῖς ζῶσιν ἔτι συγκαταλέγοιτο. ὁ μὲν οὖν Βασίλειος ἐπὶ τούτοις ἀπῆλθεν. ἐκείνη δὲ βασιλεύσαντος ἄρτι πρὸς τὴν βασιλίδα τῶν πόλεων μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ παρεγένετο, δῶρα προσαγαγοῦσα πολυτελῆ καὶ πολλά· ἣν ἐντίμως ὁ βασιλεὺς προσεδέξατο καὶ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς, ὃν ἀδελφὸν ἐκ πνευματικῆς διαθέσεως, ὡς εἴρηται, ἔσχηκε, πρωτοσπαθάριον τετίμηκε. Σεισμῶν δὲ διαφόρων συμβάντων, ἐξ ὧν πολλοὶ ναοὶ διερράγησαν, ὁ βασιλεὺς αὖθις αὐτοὺς ἀνωρθώσατο· οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ 435 καὶ τὴν δυτικὴν μεγάλην ἁψῖδα τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου Σοφίας ῥαγεῖσαν καὶ πεσεῖν τυγχάνουσαν προσδοκήσιμον μηχαναῖς τεχνιτῶν συνέσφιγξέ τε καὶ ἥδρασε. Καὶ τῶν Ἰουδαίων πολλοὺς δόσεσι χρημάτων καὶ ὑποσχέσεσι χριστιανοὺς γενέσθαι πέπεικε· καὶ τῷ ἔθνει τῶν Ῥῶς σπεισάμενος εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἐλθεῖν τοῦ καθ' ἡμᾶς μυστηρίου πεποίηκε. συνθεμένοις γὰρ βαπτισθῆναι ἀρχιερεὺς αὐτοῖς ἐστάλη παρὰ τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος. οἱ δὲ μεταθέσθαι μέλλοντες ἐκ τῆς οἰκείας θρησκείας εἰς τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶς ὤκνουν τε καὶ ἐδίσταζον καί "εἰ μή τι θαῦμα ἴδοιμεν" εἶπον πρὸς τὸν ἀρχιερέα "οἷα πολλὰ διδάσκεις αὐτὸς γενέσθαι πρὸς τοῦ Χριστοῦ, οὐκ ἄν ποτε δέξασθαι πεισθείημεν τὸ δόγμα τὸ σόν." καὶ ὅς "αἰτήσασθε" εἶπεν "ὃ βούλεσθε." κἀκεῖνοι "τὴν βίβλον" εἶπον "ἣ τὰ περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ διδάσκει, βλητέον εἰς πῦρ· καὶ εἰ διαμείνῃ ἀνάλωτος, πίστις ἔσται ταῦτα ἡμῖν ἀληθῶς εἶναι θεὸν τὸν παρὰ σοῦ κηρυττόμενον." συνέθετο ποιῆσαι τουτὶ ὁ ἐπίσκοπος· ἀνήφθη πυρκαϊά, ἦρε πρὸς οὐρανὸν ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς τὰς χεῖράς τε καὶ τὰ 436 ὄμματα· "δόξασόν σου" εἶπε "τὸ ὄνομα, Χριστὲ ὁ θεός." ἐνέθετο τῇ πυρκαϊᾷ τὸ ἱερὸν εὐαγγέλιον· τὸ δὲ χρονίσαν ἐν τῇ φλογὶ ἀδιαλώβητον ἔμεινεν. οἱ βάρβαροι ἐξεπλάγησαν, ἐπίστευσαν τῷ κηρύγματι καὶ τελεσθῆναι κατήπειγον τῷ θείῳ βαπτίσματι. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ταύτῃ συμβέβηκεν. Ὁ δ' εἷς τῶν τοῦ βασιλέως υἱῶν ὁ Κωνσταντῖνος, ὃν καὶ μᾶλλον τῶν ἄλλων ἐφίλει, νοσήσας ἐξέλιπε· καὶ ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ βαρέως τὸν ἐκείνου ἤνεγκε θάνατον καὶ ἦν ἀπαράκλητος καὶ ἐζήτει ζῶντα τοῦτον ἐμφανισθῆναι αὐτῷ. ἦν δέ τις μοναχὸς Θεόδωρος, ᾧ Σανταβαρηνὸς τὸ ἐπώνυμον· οὗτος τῷ βασιλεῖ προσῳκείωτο εἰς ἄκρον ἐναρέτου βίου αὐτὸν ἐφθακέναι πιστεύοντι, ὡς ἐντεῦθεν καὶ σημεῖα ἐργάζεσθαι· οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ Σανταβαρηνός, ὃς καὶ τῆς μητροπόλεως Εὐχαΐτων ἐχρημάτισε πρόεδρος, λέγεται δεῖξαι τῷ βασιλεῖ τὸν τεθνηκότα υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ζῶντα