136

was crucified, after a period of one year, just as also Mark and Luke the evangelists and James the brother of God, as was said before. Therefore, the blessed Luke was crucified on a fruit-bearing olive tree, as no dry wood was found in the place to make a cross. And someone, having taken his body and having buried it among many tombs, made the grave unknown. But when the disciples were searching afterwards and could not find his tomb because of the multitude of graves, after they prayed 1.373 that night, God rained down medicinal collyria upon the apostle's tomb, symbols of his science, and from these the tomb became known. Whose precious and holy relic was brought up in the time of Constantius, the son of Constantine the Great, through the holy Artemius, and was placed in the church of the holy apostles, under the holy table, with Andrew and Timothy the holy apostles. The Jews therefore, after the Lord's ascension, remained unwarred upon for 40 years, as the long-suffering of God extended to them a time for repentance, so that, having fought against knowledge, they might recall their own transgression. But they, rather inclining to the worse through envy, also killed the saints, Stephen, James the son of Zebedee, James the brother of God and the rest. Wherefore they also worthily drew upon themselves the God-sent utter destruction. Whence fearsome and clear signs were shown to them, foretelling the capture that was about to befall them. For at the feast of Unleavened Bread, around the 9th hour of the night, so much light shone around the temple and the altar for about one hour that it seemed to be day. Then a star above the city, similar to a broadsword, was seen. Another time the eastern bronze gate of the city, which was closed with iron-bound bolts and opened with difficulty by 30 men, was seen opened around the 8th hour of the night. Again, before sunset, things like chariots in the air and armed camps were seen running through the air 1.374 and surrounding the cities of Judea fearfully. And four years before the capture, at the feast of Tabernacles, while the city was still at peace, a certain man named Jesus suddenly came forth in the midst of the people and cried out, "A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and all the people." And going about the whole city for many days, he cried these things out unceasingly. Wherefore some of the citizens, becoming angry, tortured him with whips. But at each of the blows he cried out, "Woe, woe, woe to Jerusalem." And during that same feast, a cow being led to sacrifice miraculously gave birth to a lamb in the midst of the temple; which, I think, clearly signified the utter destruction that would befall them completely.

Therefore, when the Jews had rejected their subjection to the Romans, Nero sent Vespasian his son and Titus his grandson, who also sacked it, after all the Christians had departed from Jerusalem through a divine revelation, and only the Jews from the whole country were shut up in Jerusalem as in a prison during the feast of Passover, so that the multitude numbered about three million. And all justly received the destruction hanging over them from God because of their war against God dared against Christ our God and their murderous deed. For Vespasian, after being proclaimed emperor by the army in Palestine after the death of Nero, 1.375 departed for Rome, leaving his son Titus there. And he, having constructed siege engines and all sorts of towers, was warring against the walls of Jerusalem in two ways. He drove the Jews, therefore, from the outer wall. and having fled to the second, and from there having forced them by very violent wars, he pushed them to proceed to the inner and third wall, where also a fierce battle took place, from each battle line very many

136

ἐσταυρώθη, μετὰ περίοδον χρόνου ἑνός, καθά περ καὶ Μάρκος καὶ Λουκᾶς οἱ εὐαγγελισταὶ καὶ Ἰάκωβος ὁ ἀδελ φόθεος, ὡς ἔμπροσθεν εἴρηται. ὁ οὖν μακάριος Λουκᾶς ἐπὶ ἐλαίας καρποφόρου ἐσταυρώθη, μὴ εὑρισκομένου ξύλου ξηροῦ ἐν τῷ τόπῳ πρὸς τὸ γενέσθαι σταυρόν. καὶ λαβών τις τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ καὶ μεταξὺ πολλῶν μνημείων θάψας ἄδηλον ἐποίησε τὸν τάφον. τῶν δὲ μαθητῶν ἀναζητούντων μετέπειτα καὶ μὴ εὑρι σκόντων αὐτοῦ τὸν τάφον διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν μνημάτων, προσευ 1.373 ξαμένων αὐτῶν τῇ νυκτὶ ἐκείνῃ κολούρια ἔβρεξεν ὁ θεὸς ἰατρικὰ ἐπάνω τοῦ τάφου τοῦ ἀποστόλου, σύμβολα τῆς ἐπιστήμης αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐκ τούτων ἐγένετο γνώριμος ὁ τάφος. οὗ τὸ τίμιον καὶ ἅγιον λείψανον ἀνακομισθὲν ἐπὶ Κωνσταντίου τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ μεγάλου Κωνσταντίνου διὰ τοῦ ἁγίου Ἀρτεμίου, ἐτέθη ἐν τῷ ναῷ τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων, ὑποκάτω τῆς ἁγίας τραπέζης, μετ' Ἀνδρέου καὶ Τιμοθέου τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων. Οἱ τοίνυν Ἰουδαῖοι μετὰ τὴν τοῦ κυρίου ἀνάληψιν ἀπολέ μητοι διέμειναν ἔτη μʹ, μετανοίας αὐτοῖς καιρὸν τῆς μακροθυμίας ἀπεκτεινούσης τοῦ θεοῦ, ἵνα γνωσιμαχήσαντες τὴν ἰδίαν ἀνακα λέσωνται πλημμέλειαν. οἱ δὲ μᾶλλον εἰς τὸ χεῖρον νεύσαντες τῷ φθόνῳ καὶ τοὺς ἁγίους ἀνῄρουν, Στέφανον, Ἰάκωβον τὸν τοῦ Ζεβεδαίου, Ἰάκωβον τὸν ἀδελφόθεον καὶ λοιπούς. διὸ καὶ ἀξίως ἐφ' ἑαυτοὺς τὴν θεήλατον ἐπεσπάσαντο πανωλεθρίαν. ὅθεν αὐ τοῖς φοβερὰ σημεῖα καὶ ἐναργῆ ἐπεδείκνυντο, τὴν μέλλουσαν κατα λαμβάνειν αὐτοὺς ἅλωσιν προμηνύοντα. ἐν γὰρ τῇ τῶν ἀζύμων ἑορτῇ, περὶ ὥραν θʹ τῆς νυκτός, τοσοῦτον φῶς τὸν ναὸν περιέ λαμψε καὶ τὸν βωμὸν περὶ ὥραν μίαν ὡς δοκεῖν ἡμέραν γενέσθαι. ἔπειτα ἀστὴρ ὕπερθεν τῆς πόλεως ῥομφαίᾳ παρόμοιος ὠπτάνετο. ἄλλοτε ἡ ἀνατολικὴ πύλη χαλκῆ τῆς πόλεως, σηδηροδέτοις κλειο μένη μοχλοῖς καὶ μόλις ὑπὸ ἀνδρῶν λʹ ἀνοιγομένη, ὤφθη περὶ ὥραν ηʹ τῆς νυκτὸς ἀνεῳγμένη. πάλιν ὡράθησαν πρὸ ἡλίου δύ σεως ὡσεὶ ἅρματα μετέωρα καὶ στρατόπεδα ἔνοπλα περὶ τὸν ἀέρα 1.374 διατρέχοντα καὶ τὰς πόλεις τῆς Ἰουδαίας φοβερῶς περιστοιχί ζοντα. πρὸ ἐτῶν δὲ τεσσάρων τῆς ἁλώσεως, ἐν τῇ ἑορτῇ τῆς σκηνοπηγίας, ἔτι τῆς πόλεως εἰρηνευούσης, ἄνθρωπός τις Ἰησοῦς ὀνόματι ἐξαίφνης ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ λαοῦ παρελθὼν ἐβόα "φωνὴ ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν, φωνὴ ἀπὸ δυσμῶν, φωνὴ ἀπὸ τῶν τεσσάρων ἀνέμων, φωνὴ ἐπὶ Ἱεροσόλυμα καὶ πάντα τὸν λαόν." καὶ ταῦτα ἐπὶ πολ λαῖς ἡμέραις περιερχόμενος ὅλην τὴν πόλιν ἀνενδότως ἐβόα. διὸ καί τινες τῶν δημοτῶν ἀγανακτήσαντες μάστιξιν αὐτὸν ᾐκίζοντο. ὁ δὲ πρὸς ἑκάστην τῶν πληγῶν ἔκραζεν "οὐαὶ οὐαὶ οὐαὶ τοῖς Ἱερο σολύμοις." κατ' αὐτὴν δὲ τὴν ἑορτὴν βοῦς ἀχθεῖσα πρὸς θυ σίαν παραδόξως ἔτεκεν ἄρνα ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ ἱεροῦ· ἥτις, οἶμαι, σαφῶς ἐνέφαινε τὴν γενησομένην αὐτοῖς ἄρδην πανωλεθρίαν.

Τῶν οὖν Ἰουδαίων τὴν πρὸς τοὺς Ῥωμαίους ὑποταγὴν ἠθετηκότων ἀπέστειλε Νέρων Οὐεσπασιανὸν τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ Τίτον τὸν ἔκγονον αὐτοῦ, οἳ καὶ ἐπόρθησαν αὐτήν, πάντων τῶν Χρι στιανῶν δι' ἀποκαλύψεως θείας τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων ἐξελθόντων, μόνον δὲ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐκ πάσης τῆς χώρας ἐν τῇ τοῦ πάσχα ἑορτῇ ὥσπερ ἐν εἱρκτῇ τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις συγκλεισθέντων, ὡς ἀμφὶ τὰς τριακοσίας μυριάδας τὸ πλῆθος ἀριθμεῖσθαι. καὶ πάν τες τὸν ἐπηρτημένον αὐτοῖς ὄλεθρον πρὸς θεοῦ διὰ τὴν εἰς Χρι στὸν τὸν θεὸν ἡμῶν τολμηθεῖσαν αὐτοῖς θεομαχίαν καὶ μιαιφο νίαν ἐνδίκως κατεδέξαντο. Οὐεσπασιανὸς γὰρ ἐν τῇ Παλαιστίνῃ μετὰ θάνατον Νέρωνος ἀναγορευθεὶς βασιλεὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ στρατοῦ 1.375 πρὸς Ῥώμην ἀπῆλθε, Τῖτον τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ καταλείψας ἐκεῖσε. ὁ δὲ ἑλεπόλεις καὶ πύργους παντοίους τεκτηνάμενος διχῶς τὰ τείχη Ἱεροσολύμων κατεπολέμει. ἐξελαύνει γοῦν τοῦ ἔξω τείχους τοὺς Ἰουδαίους. πρὸς δὲ τὸ δεύτερον καταφυγόντας κἀκεῖθεν σφόδρα βιαίοις πολέμοις ἀναγκάσας ἐπὶ τὸ ἐνδότερον καὶ τρίτον συνώθει χωρεῖν, ὅπου καὶ καρτερᾶς διαμάχης γενομένης ἐξ ἑκατέρας πα ρατάξεως πλεῖστοι