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In sanctum Procopium (homilia 14)

Of Hesychius, presbyter of Jerusalem, an encomium on the holy martyr Procopius the Persian; and on the obedience of the psalm: «Precious

in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints», and on the saying of the apostle: «to them that love God all things work together for good», and on the apostolic word: «Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves,

and so forth».

1 Christ crowned the sacrifice for Procopius, seeing him a very comely and exceedingly brave bull, golden-horned by the multitude of his virtues, leading the herd of martyrs dear to him, but goring with authority the enemies of the flock, striking down with sight and voice alone the untamed and murderous lions, by faith and zeal turning to flight the many-spotted leopards of the demons, by courage and wisdom scattering the various kinds of beasts that belch forth our death, a bright spring having dawned for us after the gloomy winter of error, and having been shown by his deeds to be a disciple of Paul, carrying the theology of John everywhere, having imitated the fervent spirit of Elijah the Tishbite, having practiced the calling of Samuel from childhood as he did, greater than Samson—for he did not corrupt the locks of the spirit—, a parallel to David, since he cut off the head of the many-headed Goliath, but also having imitated the ark of Noah in the chest of his virtues, having renounced like Abraham the affection for house and kin and country, having become a whole burnt offering like Isaac before the slaughter of martyrdom by the mortification of the body.

2 Jacob wrestled with God, but Procopius for God, and he raised a glorious trophy throughout the whole world. Moses, then, crushed one calf made of idol-gold, but he destroyed many thousands of Jews who were blasphemers of the law; but Procopius not so, but he struck down all the wooden images of the idols without an axe, and having caught many nations and cities and lands in his net with a prophetic-sounding tongue, he offered them to Christ. He was pure like Enoch, according to Job «blameless, true like him and just and devout and abstaining from every evil thing»; for the boldness of his confession established him as true, the conduct of his life presented him as just, the end of his struggles proclaimed him devout, «abstaining from every evil thing» were his abstinence from pleasures, his control of the belly, his renunciation of luxury, the meagerness of his supper, the mortification of his body, his manifold and multifaceted and multiform ascetic practice.

3 He was, then, pure like Enoch, blameless according to Job; for he who dines on the accusations of sinners and belches forth the slanders of the just was able to slander or blame nothing of his, he did not dare to say concerning him: «Does Procopius revere the Lord for nothing?» For he did not see for him flocks of sheep thriving, nor did Procopius possess herds of burden-bearing camels. And from where grazing she-asses for the martyr? From where yokes of oxen ploughing the earth, for him who had not even left a clod of earth for himself? But neither did the common slanderer dare to bring these things forward, having reviled the patience of the martyr: «Skin for skin, all that a man has he will give for his life.» For was the martyr surrounded by a chorus of sons or a crown of daughters? Not of household servants

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In sanctum Procopium (homilia 14)

̔Ησυχίου, πρεσβυτέρου Ἱεροσολύμων, ἐγκώμιον εἰς τὸν ὅσιον μάρτυρα Προκόπιον τὸν Πέρσην· καὶ εἰς τὴν ὑπακοὴν τοῦ ψαλμοῦ· «Τίμιος

ἐναντίον κυρίου ὁ θάνατος τῶν ὁσίων αὐτοῦ», καὶ εἰς τὸ τοῦ ἀποστόλου ῥητόν· «Τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν τὸν θεὸν πάντα συνεργεῖ εἰς ἀγαθόν», καὶ εἰς τὸ ἀποστολικόν· «Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς πρόβατα ἐν μέσῳ λύκων

καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς».

1 Προκοπίῳ τὴν θυσίαν ὁ Χριστὸς ἐστεφάνωσε, ταῦρον αὐτὸν ἰδὼν ἄγαν εὐπρεπῆ καὶ λίαν ἀνδρεῖον καὶ τῷ πλήθει τῶν ἀρε τῶν χρυσόκερω, ἀγέλης μὲν τῆς αὐτῷ φίλης τῶν μαρτύρων πρω τεύοντα, ἀπ' ἐξουσίας δὲ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς τῆς ποίμνης κερατίζοντα, ὄψει μόνῃ καὶ φωνῇ τοὺς ἀνημέρους καὶ φονικοὺς κατακτυποῦντα λέοντας, πίστει καὶ ζήλῳ τὰς πολυστίκτους παρδάλεις τῶν δαι μόνων τροπούμενον, ἀνδρείᾳ καὶ φιλοσοφίᾳ τὰ ποικίλα τῶν θηρῶν γένη τῶν τὸν ἡμέτερον θάνατον ἐρευγομένων σκορ πίζοντα, ἔαρ ἡμῖν φαιδρὸν μετὰ τὸν κατηφῆ χειμῶνα τῆς πλάνης ἀνατείλαντα, καὶ Παύλου μὲν μαθητὴν ἀποδειχθέντα τοῖς πράγμασιν, Ἰωάννου δὲ τὴν θεολογίαν πανταχοῦ περιφέροντα, Ἠλίου τοῦ Θεσβίτου τὸ θερμὸν μιμησάμενον φρόνημα, Σα μουὴλ τὴν κλῆσιν ἐκ παιδὸς ὡς ἐκεῖνος ἀσκήσαντα, κρείττονα τοῦ Σαμψών-οὐ γὰρ ἔφθειρε τοὺς βοτρύχους τοῦ πνεύμα τος-, παράλληλον τῷ ∆αυίδ, ἐπειδὴ τοῦ πολυκεφάλου Γολιὰθ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀπέτεμεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ Νῶε τὴν κιβωτὸν ἐν τῇ τῶν ἀρετῶν μιμησάμενον λάρνακι, ἀρνησάμενον ὡς Ἀβραὰμ οἴκου καὶ γένους καὶ πατρίδος προσπάθειαν, ὁλοκαύτωμα κα θάπερ Ἰσαὰκ πρὸ τῆς σφαγῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου τῇ νεκρώσει γε γονότα τοῦ σώματος.

2 Ἰακὼβ ἐπάλαισε μετὰ θεοῦ, ὑπὲρ θεοῦ δὲ Προκόπιος, καὶ τὸ τρόπαιον σεμνὸν κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην ἀνέστησεν. Ἕνα μὲν οὖν συνέτριψε μόσχον Μωυσῆς εἰδωλόχρυσον, πολλὰς δὲ Ἰουδαίων χιλιάδας νόμου βλασφήμους ἔφθειρε· Προκόπιος δὲ οὐχ οὕτως, ἀλλ' ὅλα μὲν τῶν εἰδώλων τὰ ξόανα χωρὶς ἀξίνης κατέ τρωσεν, ἔθνη δὲ πολλὰ καὶ πόλεις καὶ χώρας προφητοφθόγγῳ γλώττῃ σαγηνεύσας τῷ Χριστῷ προσενήνοχεν. Καθαρὸς ἦν ὡς Ἐνώχ, κατὰ τὸν Ἰὼβ «ἄμεμπτος, ἀληθινὸς ὡς ἐκεῖνος καὶ δίκαιος καὶ θεοσεβὴς καὶ παντὸς πονηροῦ πράγματος ἀπεχόμε νος»· ἀληθινὸν μὲν γὰρ ἡ τῆς ὁμολογίας παρρησία συνέστησε, δίκαιον δὲ ἡ τοῦ βίου πολιτεία παρέστησε, θεοσεβῆ τὸ τέλος τῶν ἀγώνων ἐκήρυξε, «παντὸς πονηροῦ πράγματος ἀπεχόμενον» ἡ τῶν ἡδονῶν ἀποχή, ἡ τῆς γαστρὸς ἐγκράτεια, ἡ τῆς τρυφῆς ἀπόγνωσις, τὸ στενὸν τοῦ δείπνου, ἡ τοῦ σώματος νέκρωσις, ἡ πολυειδὴς καὶ πολυμερὴς καὶ πολύτροπος ἄσκησις.

3 Ἦν τοίνυν καθαρὸς ὡς Ἐνώχ, κατὰ τὸν Ἰὼβ ἄμεμπτος·οὐδὲν γὰρ αὐτοῦ διαβαλεῖν ἢ μέμψασθαι ὁ τὰς τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν κατηγορίας δειπνῶν καὶ τὰς τῶν δικαίων συκοφαντίας ἐρευγό μενος ἴσχυσεν, οὐκ ἐθάρρησεν εἰπεῖν ἐπ' αὐτῷ· «Μὴ δωρεὰν τὸν κύριον ὁ Προκόπιος σέβεται;» Οὐδὲ γὰρ αὐτῷ ποίμνας προ βάτων εὐθηνουμένας ἔβλεπεν, οὐδὲ καμήλων Προκόπιος ἀγέ λας ἀχθοφορούσας ἐκέκτητο. Ὄνοι δὲ θήλειαι πόθεν νομάδες τῷ μάρτυρι; Πόθεν ζεύγη βοῶν ἀρούντων τὴν γῆν, τῷ μηδὲ βώ λακα γῆς ἑαυτῷ καταλείψαντι; Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ταῦτα ἐπαγαγεῖν ἐθάρ ρησεν ὁ κοινὸς συκοφάντης καὶ τὴν ὑπομονὴν λοιδορή σας τοῦ μάρτυρος· «∆έρμα ὑπὲρ δέρματος, πάντα ὅσα ὑπάρχει ἀνθρώπῳ ὑπὲρ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ ἐκτείσει.» Μὴ γὰρ παίδων χορὸν ὁ μάρτυς ἢ θυγατέρων στέφανον ὑπῆρχε περικείμενος; Μὴ οἰκογενῶν