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Justin Martyr

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Part 14

St. Ignatius

St. Daniel the Stylite

Introduction

Ch. 1-34

Ch. 35-70

Ch. 71-102

Notes

The Life of
St. Theodore
of Sykeon

Pass. 3-10

Pass. 11-20

Pass. 21-30

Pass. 31-40

Pass. 41-50

Pass. 51-60

Pass. 61-70

Pass. 71-80

Pass. 81-90

Pass. 91-100

Pass. 101-110

Pass. 111-120

Pass. 121-130

Pass. 131-140

Pass. 141-148

Notes

A homily of
St. Gregory Palamas
on Matthew 5:1-12

St. John Chrysostom Letters to Olympias

Letter 1

Letter 2

Letter 3

Letter 4

Letter 5

THE LIFE AND WORKS OF OUR HOLY FATHER,
ST. DANIEL THE STYLITE

[An asterisk * indicates a note, keyed by chapter, at the end of the life.]

71.

And it happened by God's providence that on the following day Basiliscus sailed to Anaplus, and sent a Chamberlain* named Daniel, to the holy man to say, 'Do those things which the Archbishop Acacius is practising against me seem just to your angelic nature?* for he has roused the city against me and alienated the army and rains insults on me! I beg you, pray for us that he may not prevail against us'. After listening to him the holy man said to Daniel, 'Go and tell him who sent you, "You are not worthy of a blessing for you have adopted Jewish ideas and are setting at nought the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ and upsetting the Holy Church and despising His priests. For it is written 'Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine' (Matt. 7: 6.) Know therefore and see, for the God Who rendeth swiftly will surely rend your tyrannous royalty out of your hands". When the chamberlain heard this answer he said he dared not himself say these things to the Emperor and besought Daniel to send the message in writing, if he would, and to seal it with his seal. The holy man yielded to the eunuch's entreaties, wrote a note and after sealing it, gave it to Daniel and dismissed him; and he returned and delivered the sealed note to the Emperor. He opened it and when he learnt the purport of the message he was very angry and immediately sailed back to the city. These things were not hidden from the Archbishop Acacius and his most faithful people; therefore on the following day almost the whole city was gathered together in the Great Church and they kept shouting, 'The holy man for the Church! let the new Daniel save Susanna in her peril! another Elijah shall put Jezebel and Ahab to shame! in you we have the priest of orthodoxy; he that standeth for Christ will protect His bride, the Church'. And other such exclamations they poured forth with tears.

72.

On the morrow the Archbishop Acacius sent to Daniel some of the archimandrites who were best beloved of God; these were the blessed Abraamius of the monastery of St. Kyriakus, Eusebius who dwelt near the Exakionium* Athenodorus of the monastery of Studius* and Andreas, the vicar of the exarch,* and some others. Having chosen these he sent them saying, 'For my sake and the faith's go to the holy man Daniel, throw yourselves before his column and importune him with entreaties saying, "Do you imitate your teacher Christ Who 'bowed the heavens and came down' (Ps. 18:9) and was incarnate of a holy virgin and consorted with sinners and shed His own blood to purchase His bride, the Church. (Acts 20:28) Now that she is insulted by the impious, and her people are scattered by fierce wolves and the shepherd tempest-tost, do not ignore my grey hairs but incline your ear and come and purchase your mother, the Church'. And they went and did as they were bid and threw themselves down before the column; and the holy man seeing them lying on the ground was disturbed and began to call to them from above, 'What are you doing, holy fathers, mocking my unworthiness? What is it that you bid me do?' Then they stood up and said, 'That you with God's help should save the faith which is being persecuted, save a storm tossed church and a scattered flock, and save our priest who, despite his grey hairs, is threatened with death'. And Daniel said to them, 'He is truthful that said, "The gates of hell shall not prevail against the holy Church'' (Matt. 16:18); wait patiently therefore where you are and the will of God shall be done; pray then that God may reveal to us what we should do'. And it came to pass that as Daniel was praying in the middle of the night, and as the day dawned-it was a Wednesday-he heard a voice saying distinctly to him, 'Go down with the fathers and do not hesitate; and afterwards fulfil your course in peace!' Obedient therefore to the counsel of the Lord he woke his servants. And they placed the ladder and went up and took away the iron bars round him. And Daniel came down with difficulty owing to the pain he suffered in his feet, and in that same hour of the night he took the pious archimandrites with him and they sailed to the City and entered the church before the day had begun.

73.

And thus it was that when the people came to God's house while, according to custom, the fiftieth psalm was being sung, they saw the holy man in the sanctuary with the Bishop and marvelled; and the report ran through the City that he had come. All the City, and even secluded maidens, left what they had in hand and ran to the Holy Church to see the man of God. And the crowds started shouting in honour of the Saint saying, 'To you we look to banish the grief of the Church; in you we have a high priest; accomplish that for which you came; the crown of your labours is already yours'. But the holy man beckoned with his hand to the people to be silent and addressed them through the deacon, Theoctistus, 'The stretching forth of the hands of Moses, God's servant, utterly destroyed all those who rose up against the Lord's people, both kings and nations; some He drowned in the depths of the sea, others He slew on dry land with the sword and exalted His people; so to-day, too, your faith which is perfect towards God has not feared the uprising of your enemies, it does not know defeat nor does it need human help; for it is founded on the firm rock of Christ. Therefore do not grow weary of praying; for even on behalf of the chief of the apostles earnest prayer was offered to God, not as if they thought he was deserted by God but because God wishes the flock to offer intercessions for its shepherd. Do you, therefore, do likewise, and amongst us, too, the Lord will quickly perform marvellous things to His glory'. After he had said this they took down all the mourning draperies from the sanctuary and the whole church. Daniel also wrote a letter to the Emperor saying, 'Does this angering of God do you any service? is not your life in His hands? What have you to do with the Holy Church to war against its servants, and prove yourself a second Diocletian?' And many other things like these he wrote both by way of counsel and of blame. When the Emperor received the letter and found that Daniel had come down and was in the church he was stung by the prick of fear and sent back word to him, 'All your endeavour has been to enter the City and stir up the citizens against me; now see, I will hand the City, too, over to you'. And he left the palace and sailed to the Hebdomon.*

74.

When the holy man heard this news, he took the crossbearers and the faithful people and bidding the monks guard the Church and the Archbishop he went out. As they reached Ammi, close to the chapel of the prophet the holy Samuel, the just man being carried by the crowd of the Christ-loving people, behold, a leper approached and cried aloud saying, 'I beseech you, the servant of the God Who healed lepers, to pray Him that I may be healed!' On hearing him the holy man ordered his bearers to halt; and when the leper had drawn near, the holy man said to him, 'Brother, how came you to think of asking me things that are beyond my power? for I, too, am a man encompassed with weakness even as you are'. The leper replied, 'But I beg you, I know that you are a man of God; and I believe that the God Whom you serve will grant me cleansing in answer to your prayers; for the apostles too were but men and yet through their prayers the Lord healed many'. The holy man marvelling at his faith said to him, 'Do you then believe in Him Who gave healing to many through His saints?' The leper said, 'Yes, and I believe that even now if you pray I shall be healed'. Then Daniel turning to the East asked the people to stretch forth their hands to heaven and with tears to cry aloud the 'Kyrie eleeson' (Lord, have mercy!) And when he deemed that they had done this long enough, he said to the men near him, 'In the name of Jesus Christ, Who cleansed lepers, take him and wash him in the sea and wipe him clean and bring him back'. They ran off with the man, washed him in the sca and by the power of Jesus Christ the leper was healed on the spot. When the multitudes saw this astonishing miracle they shouted unceasingly the 'Kyrie eleeson'. Then the crowds took the man that was healed, all naked as he was, and returned to the City and brought him into the Holy Church and leading him up to the pulpit declared this wondrous miracle to all. The whole city ran together and beholding him who had been a leper cleansed by God through the holy man's prayers they glorified God for making the leper spotless. And so all those in the City who had sick folk ran to the servant of God. And the Lord gave healing abundantly to them all.

75.

Thereafter as the holy man with the crowd approached the palace of Hebdomon, a Goth leant out of a window and seeing the holy man carried along, he dissolved with laughter and shouted, 'See here is our new consul !' And as soon as he said this he was hurled down from the height by the power of God and burst asunder. Then sentinels, or the palace guards,* prevented those who had seen the fall from entering into the palace, saying they should have an answer given them through a window. But when the people insisted with shouts that the holy man should enter the palace but received no answer, the servant of God said to them, 'Why do you trouble, children? You shall have the reward promised to peacemakers from God; and since it seems good to this braggart to send us away without achieving anything, let us do to him according to the word of the Lord. For He said to His holy disciples and apostles, "Into whatsoever city or village ye shall enter and they do not receive you, shake off the dust of your feet against them as a testimony to them"; (Matt 10:11) let us therefore do that'. And he first of all shook out his leather tunic and incited the whole crowd to do likewise; and a noise as of thunder arose from the shaking of garments. When the guards who were on duty* saw this and heard all the marvellous things God had wrought by Daniel most of them left all and followed him.

76.

When the impious Basiliscus heard what the holy man had done in condemnation of him, he sent two guardsmen of the court and a legal secretary of the Emperor* with them to overtake Daniel and implore him to return. These men overtook Daniel and implored him in the name of Basiliscus saying 'The Emperor says "if I indeed sinned as a man, do you as servant of Christ propitiate Him on my behalf and I will seek in everything to serve God and your Holiness"." But the holy man said to them, 'Return and say to the Emperor: Your words of guile and deceit will not avail to deceive my unworthiness, for you are doing nothing but "treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath"; (Rom 2:5) for in you there is no fruit of good works; wherefore God will shortly confirm his wrath upon you that you may know that "the Most High ruleth over the kingdom of men" (Dan 5:21) and will give it to the good man in preference to you'.(Cf. I Sam 15:28) With these words he bade the Emperor's secretary to spread out his cloak and after shaking the rest of the dust from his own clothing into the cloak he said, 'Go, carry this to the braggart as a testimony against him and against her who is his confederate* and against his wife' Directly after the messengers had returned and given the Emperor the just man's answer, the tower of the palace fell; since even lifeless things may feel the wrath of God to the salvation of many.

77.

When the just man had arrived at the Golden Gate and saw the concourse of people, he besought them to return each to their own home. But they as with one voice cried, 'We intend to live and die with you; for we have nothing with which to repay you worthily; receive the resolve of your suppliants and lead us as you will, for the Holy Church awaits you'. Whilst the people were uttering these cries two young men afflicted with demons were brought to him; and after he had prayed with tears to God, they were immediately cleansed and they followed him glorifying God.

78.

When they came to the chapel of St. John in the monastery of Studius* the monks came out and requested the holy man to come in and offer prayer in their prophet's shrine and to rest a little from the thronging press which encompassed him. When he consented to come in and offer prayer there was such a crush of people in the narrow passages that many only narrowly escaped being trodden to death. Then after Daniel had offered prayer in the venerable shrine and passed through to the sacristy he and the men who carried him had a short rest. And the monks had the idea of taking him through the garden to the sea and bringing him by boat to the Great and very Holy Church. When the people got wind of this, a great tumult arose among them and they shouted and said, 'Bring the just man here if you love orthodoxy; do not begrudge healing to the sick'. They also said to the just man, 'Freely you have received therefore freely give! (Matt 10:8) if you desert us we will burn down the chapel at once'. So the holy man came out of the sacristy and addressed them, reassuring them and asking them to go on ahead of him and thus relieve the pressure of the crowd.

79.

When Daniel came out of the prophet's shrine and was going on his way, behold, a certain woman, as did the woman of Canaan, (Matt 15.22) cried to him saying, 'Oh servant of God, have pity on my daughter, for she whom you see has now been bedridden for three years in the grip of an unknown disease, and though many doctors have visited her, not one of them has been able to help her. So now I beseech you, oh holy man, do not despise my tears for I am sorely distressed about her'. Seeing her in such terrible grief, the holy man was dissolved in tears, and raising his eyes to heaven and stretching out his hands to God he prayed; and then calling the girl close to him he sealed her with the sign of the precious Cross and said to her, 'In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ Who ever worketh our salvation and does not desert us, be thou cured of this disease'. And the girl was cured of her scourge in that hour in the sight of all the people.

80.

When they drew nigh to the house of the most glorious patrician Dagalaiphus,* the patrician himself leaned out from an upper window and seeing that the holy man was being unbearably crushed by the thronging crowd, he ran down with a body of helpers and took him out of the crush and caused him to be carried into his house near the Forum of the Ox* to rest there. He himself stood in the porch and excused himself to the people by saying, 'I did this in order that my house might be blessed'. And he put Daniel into a litter and secured him well by posting men round the litter to prevent his being troubled by the crowd. And in this manner he was brought in safety to the Church without any difficulty.

81.

When he entered into the most holy Cathedral he was received in great sincerity and with acclamation by the Archbishop Acacius and the holy archimandrites and all the reverend clergy and the most pious monks and the most faithful people. And all glorified the merciful God for the marvellous things that they had heard and seen which God had done through him. And they led him into the vestry that he might have a short rest from the pressure of the crowd. And behold a snake came out from some hole and wound itself round his feet; those present were terrified on seeing the animal and ran forward to kill it; but the holy man prevented them saying, Leave it alone, it is near its end'. and shaking it off his feet he said to it 'Go to thy place !' and it went to the wall opposite them and in the sight of all of them it burst in pieces.

82.

The patrician Herais* hearing that he was in the vestry came in, threw herself on the ground and seized the holy man's feet, begging him that she might have a son. But when she saw that on the one foot the sole had dropped away from the ankle bone and there was nothing left but the shin bone she was amazed at the man's endurance. She gave him a little cord and begged him to wind it round his inflamed foot and give it to her. But he would not suffer this to be done. Then the Archbishop Acacius and all the pious men present besought the holy man to grant her what she asked. Then the holy man consented, took the cord and placed it on his inflamed foot and gave it to her saying, 'According to thy faith may the Lord grant thee thy request for a son; and his name shall be Zeno'. And it came to pass that soon afterwards this most noble woman conceived and bore a son and called him by the name of Zeno according to the word of the Saint.

83.

When all these things had been thus auspiciously accomplished by the grace of the Lord, and when Basiliscus of ill-omened name* had heard from his legal secretary of the Saint's condemnation of him and of the sudden fall of the palace tower, it did not seem to him to augur any good. And immediately without a moment's delay he entered a boat and sailed from the Hebdomon to the City; and the next day he sent senators to the very holy Cathedral to beseech the Saint to take the trouble to come as far as the palace. But he would not consent to go but said, 'Let him come himself to the Holy Church and make his recantation before the precious Cross and the holy Gospel which he has insulted; for I am but a sinful man'. The senators went back and gave this message to the Emperor, whereupon in solemn procession he at once went to the Church. The Archbishop met him with the holy Gospel in the sanctuary and was received by the Emperor with dissimulation; then after the customary prayer had been offered Basiliscus went in with the Archbishop to the holy man. And they both fell at his feet before all the people, both Basiliscus and the Archbishop Acacius. And Daniel greeted them and counselled them to seek the way of peace and for the future to refrain from enmity towards each other. 'For if you are at variance', he said, 'you cause confusion in the holy churches and throughout the world you stir up no ordinary unrest'. The Emperor then made a full apology to the holy man and the people cried out saying, 'Oh Lord, protect both father and sons; it is in Thy power to grant us concord between them; let us now hear the Emperor's confession of faith! why are the canons of orthodoxy upset? why are the orthodox bishops exiled? To the Stadium with Theoctistus,* the Master of the Offices! the Emperor is orthodox! burn alive the enemies of orthodoxy! send the disturbers of the world into exile! a Christian Emperor for the world! let us hear what your faith is, Emperor!'

These and countless other exclamations the people kept shouting, and all the time the Emperor and the Archbishop lay prostrate on the ground at the holy man's feet.

84.

Then the holy man summoned Strategius, the imperial secretary, and bade the Emperor make a proclamation to the people by way of justification, and this he did. And the secretary mounted the pulpit and began to read as follows: 'We believe that your Reverences-perfect in understanding as you are-cannot fail to know that from infancy up we have been orthodox and have communicated in the very Holy Church in which our children were baptized; and that we believe in the one holy and consubstantial Trinity, and we approve your warm championship of the faith. Do not, therefore, accept any childish insinuation against us from those who say that we do not think rightly concerning the holy faith. For you know yourselves that we who are soldiers brought up and trained to arms are not able to understand the depths of the holy faith; but since it is now a time for peace and no season for controversy, I can pass over many things, since we are able completely to convince you, our beloved subjects, that we shall not be found guilty of a single one of those charges which men in their fickleness plotted to bring against us. This is our justification before God and the holy man and we have stated it clearly to you.' Having in this way appeased the holy man and the people, the Emperor was reconciled to them. And having been reconciled to the Archbishop in the sight of them all the Emperor returned to his palace. Thus did our Master God bring the enemy of His Holy Church to His feet.

85.

When all minds were set at rest and the people were moving off to their own homes the servant of God returned to his usual practice of asceticism, but when he had sailed back he reached his column only with difficulty owing to the press of faithful people and of those overmastered by divers illnesses. Therefore with great danger and much distress he made the ascent of his column and summoned them all, and after praying to God he dismissed them all restored to health. To the clergy and monks and the people who had remained behind he said, 'It was not with honesty of purpose that the persecutor appeared to make peace with us; be patient therefore and you will soon see the glory of God; for the Lord will not overlook the affliction of His servants and His holy churches'. And thus it was accomplished by the will of God, for after a short time Zeno, the Emperor, returned with his wife, the Empress Ariadne, the daughter of royal parents.* Thenceforth the holy churches rested in much contentment and the State grew glorious and the Roman government waxed in strength. And the aforesaid usurper met with his due reward, as the servant of God had foretold. And thereafter the Emperor often went up to the holy man returning thanks to the merciful God, and also to the Saint, reminding him of the things which he had foretold should happen.

86.

Once a goldsmith came up from the City to the holy man with his wife and they brought with them their seven-year-old child who had never walked from birth but spent his life crawling along. This goldsmith came to the holy man and throwing himself and his child in front of the column, he besought the holy man saying, 'Oh servant of God, have pity on my young child who longs to stand up but cannot do so, for nature conceived him contrary to nature; grant me this joy, oh servant of God, for I have followed your holy foosteps; do not send me away, I pray you, with my petition unfulfilled'. The holy man replied, 'Do not be so impatient in your words; for your zeal towards God, if accompanied by faith and patience, will release your son from his calamity; do not be discouraged but go with the child and remain by the holy relics of Simeon,* the holy servant of God and our father; anoint the child's feet with the holy oil and bring him back here when prayer is being offered, and we trust in God that He will give him healing'. The man did as the holy man had ordered him, and on the seventh day, when prayer had been offered in the enclosure, the boy suddenly jumped on to the steps of the pillar and went up and embraced the column; all marvelled and glorified God for this wonderful happenings And his parents gave thanks to God and to the holy man and took the boy home in health. When the boy grew to be a man he frequently visited the holy man, received a blessing and returned home.

87.

A certain man travelling to Constantinople from the East fell among robbers who stole from him everything that he had with him, mutilated his body, cut the sinews of his knees and leaving him half dead, went their ways; but by the providence of God they had not inflicted any mortal wound on him. Some wayfarers who came to that place picked him up and carried him to the city of Ancyra, for it was close to that city that this had befallen him. There they took him to the bishop who ordered him to be conveyed to the hospital and cared for there. But while his wounds were tended he was not able to walk. He therefore made this request of the bishop, 'I was travelling to Constantinople in fulfilment of a vow making my way to our lord Daniel, who stands on the column, when I met with this accident; and now that, thanks to you, I have been healed it behoves me to fulfil my vow. I pray you, therefore, servant of God, to send me safely to Constantinople to the holy man' The bishop, since he thought that this was a pious request; gave him money for his expenses, also a beast and two men to conduct him to the holy man Daniel. So the men took him and brought him to the holy man's enclosure and then carried him and laid him in front of the column. The man cried aloud and told the holy man the reason for which he had come and related what had happened to him and how he had been saved by the help of God and the bishop. The holy man sent thanks to the bishop for the kindness he had shown to the man and after furnishing those who had brought him with supplies for their journey he dismissed them in peace with presents for the bishop. He handed over the man to some of the servants with orders to carry him and bring him to the enclosure daily at the hour of prayer, and to anoint him with the oil of the saints; the man's legs hung down as if they did not belong to him. After a few days, one Friday when the Saint had said the prayers as usual and all had said 'Amen', the man suddenly leapt from the litter, and stood on his feet and said with a loud voice, 'Bless me, oh servant of God'. And he quickly ran up the steps and embraced the column giving thanks the while to God.

88.

Here I think it would be reasonable to make known the faith which lay hidden in Hippasius, the 'second centurion'.( Matt 7:5-13: Luke 7:2-10) This man was so rich in the great poverty of Christ that the cures performed by Christ's disciples he accepted as though wrought by the Lord Himself; for if any one of his house, be it son or daughter or man-servant or maid-servant, fell ill or suffered from anything, he judged himself unworthy to seek the intercession of the Saint, but would send letters asking for the Saint's prayers. On receiving the holy man's written rep1y he would lay the letter, as if it were the miracle-working hand of Jesus, on the sufferer and immediately he received the fruits of his faith

89.

A certain woman had a son of twelve years, Damianus by name, dumb from birth; him she brought to the holy man's enclosure and signing to him not to go away, she left him and departed. Then when the brethren saw the boy staying there and saying nothing to anybody, they brought him to the holy man. He, beholding him, ordered that he should remain in the monastery, saying, 'The boy shall be God's minister'. The brethren said, 'He is dumb, master !' He said to them, 'Moisten his tongue with the oil of the saints'. But the brethren suspected that from stress of poverty the mother had suggested to him to feign dumbness; so very often when the boy was asleep they woke him suddenly by making a noise; and at other times they would prick him in the body with needles or pens to try whether he would speak. But he said nothing, as he was held by the power of dumbness. One Sunday, after some considerable time had passed, when the holy Gospel was going to be read aloud, and the deacon had announced the lesson from the holy Gospel of St. Matthew, the boy shouted out ahead of the others, 'Glory be to thee, oh Lord!' And after uttering this first cry he in future surpassed all the brethren in his singing of the psalms. A certain chamberlain, Calopodius by name, had built an oratory to the holy Archangel Michael and came to the holy man asking him to give him some brethren for this oratory in Parthenopolis.* And together with the brethren the holy man gave him this boy to sing the psalms and he became God's minister, as the servant of God had foretold about him. So great are the achievements of grace, so great the gifts of our Master to His sincere servants; he came not speaking and became a good speaker, he came voiceless and gained a beautiful voice, he was deserted by his mother as dumb and he proved to be the wonderful herald of the church.

90.

Many other marvellous works, too, were performed by God through His servant Daniel which neither words can describe nor tongue relate; these we must of necessity omit so as not to prolong our story unduly; for those we have told are sufficient to confirm the faithful and to lead the faithless to turn to the faith. But let us attempt to describe how resolute and inflexible was the faith of the holy man.

Through the Devil's working a tumult once arose in the most holy churches, for tares had sprung up from vain disputations and questionings, so that some of the monks, who were renowned for good living, through their simple-mindedness and through their failure to consider the matter with precision, left the most Holy Church and separated themselves from the holy fellowship and liturgy. These mischief-makers came to the holy man and tried to confound him with similar arguments, but he who kept the foundation of the holy faith unmovable and unshakable answered them saying, 'If the question which you raise is concerning God, your inquiry is no simple or ordinary matter, for the Divinity is incomprehensible; and it will be sufficient for you to study the traditions of the holy apostles about Him and the teaching of the divine Fathers who followed in their steps and not trouble yourselves any further. But if the matter in dispute is about human affairs, as, for instance, if one priest has removed another, or has accepted one to whom the others object, all such things must be submitted to the judgment of God and to the rulers themselves to judge according to the divine canons; for we are the sheep and they are the shepherds, and they will give account to God for the flocks entrusted to them; let us abstain from vain and dangerous questionings and let us each consider that which concerns ourselves knowing that it is not without danger that we separate ourselves from our holy mother, the Church. For her bridegroom is the true Shepherd Who is able to recall to His fold the sheep that have strayed and to lead those who have not strayed to better pasture. Therefore it suffices us to believe unquestioningly in the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and to receive the incarnate dispensation of our Lord Jesus Christ and his birth from the Virgin in the same way as He Himself was pleased to do in His own loving kindness, for it is written: 'Seek not out the things that are too high for thee, neither search the things that are too deep for thee' (Ecclesiasticus 3:21). With this and similar counsel and warning he led their hearts away from soul-destroying questionings and kept them unshaken in the faith.

91.

He also foresaw the death of the Emperor Zeno and this he made known to him through one of those who often came to visit him, first by ambiguous messages, and then later he warned him clearly that he would receive the recompense for his good and evil deeds. He told Zeno that owing to his faith in God and his good deeds he might have full confidence when he came into the presence of God; but he must be mindful to abstain from all covetousness, and he must excel in the good ordering of his life and banish all informers and treat with generosity all those who had sinned against him; for by nothing is God better pleased than by forgiveness and gentleness. These things he said before Zeno's death; and to us he foretold that after her husband's death the Christ-loving Ariadne would reign over the Empire because of her perfect faith in the God of her fathers. And that with her would reign a man who loved Christ and had devoted his whole life to hymns to God and to vigils, who was a model of sobriety to all men and who in gentleness and justice would surpass all those who had reigned at any time; 'he will turn aside, too', he said, 'from that love of money which according to the apostle is "the root of all evil''.(I Tim 6:10) He will govern the State impartially and honestly, and throughout his reign he will grant peace and confidence to the most holy churches and to the order of monks. In his time the rich shall not be favoured, neither shall the poor be wronged, for this above all, both in peace and in war, will be the surest guarantee of prosperity to the world.' All these predictions were confirmed shortly afterwards, for when Anastasius* had been elected Emperor, his acts in themselves were sufficient proof to the world that the Saint's prophecies had been fulfilled, and those who dwelt in the holy man's enclosure realized this more especially since they received all manner of benefits.

92.

During the holy man's first illness, from which he was expected to die, the pious sovereigns of whom I have spoken moved by divine zeal, displayed great eagerness to honour his memory, for they brought from the capital a very large tomb of precious stone and splendid metal-work which can be seen to this day in the consecrated enclosure, a very wonderful sight for visitors and of surpassing lavishness, and whatever was needed for the funeral they supplied with the greatest generosity. And it is superfluous to mention the munificence of the liberality of the pious sovereigns and their unfailing protection. This devotion to the Saint which was so fruitful and a fountain of kindly deeds the servant of God heard of after his recovery and said, 'All these acts are truly great and worthy of their faith in God and sufficient to call down the goodwill from above upon them, but a resting-place of stone and one so distinguished does not befit me; for I desire the earth only according to God's command: "Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return''.(Gen. 3:19) The rulers will receive a far greater recompense from God; but I myself wish to be buried deep down in the earth and have the remains of holy martyrs laid above me, so that, if anyone should wish to visit my resting-place to strengthen his faith, he may pay his reverence to the Saints and from them receive the reward of his good deeds and free himself from condemnation'. This wish we carried out according to his orders after his second illness and actual translation. For above his revered grave lie the relics of the three holy children, Ananias, Azarias and Misael. These were brought from Babylon by the Emperor Leo of pious memory during the lifetime of the holy man, and were deposited by Euphemius,* the most holy Archbishop of the imperial city, who out-rivalled all others in his zeal for showing honour to the holy man; so we did not experience any feeling of separation from our blessed and glorious father. And at the moment of Daniel's blessed death the sovereigns increased their gifts, for they bought tens of thousands of candles and illuminated both the oratories; and beginning at the very top of the column they filled with candles all the spiral scaffolding built for the descent of the holy corpse.

93.

So great a grace of prophecy was granted to this holy man that three months before his falling asleep he foretold to us that within a few days he would quit the dwelling of his body and go to dwell with the Lord. And from that time on he did not converse with those that resorted to him about present-day matters only, but by foreknowledge he also announced future events to them, strengthening them with words of good counsel, and he gave injunctions to his usual attendants and to us how his precious body was to be brought down from the column.

And in every instance in which we obeyed him things turned out propitiously for us; but if perchance we did anything contrary to his command, or as we thought fit, being satisfied with our human planning, it was sure to turn out contrariwise for us; for he had been deemed worthy by God of the prophetic gift.

94.

And as he had been granted this wonderful grace the glorious man also told us beforehand of Herais,* the servant of God, and said that moved by spiritual zeal she would not allow his holy body to be brought down except by the means she herself would provide, and he warned us that nobody should oppose her in this intention, and this, too, came to pass. For this most noble servant of God, Herais, generous as ever, made lavish provision for the funeral of our thrice-blessed father Daniel supplying an abundance of candles and oil beyond measure and gold for distribution to the poor and a great quantity of wood. And she ordered a number of men who were experienced in such works to erect a structure spiralwise round the column and about the entrance to the oratory where the much-enduring body of the noble champion of the ascetic life was to lie, so that it might not be injured by the onrush of the crowd trying to snatch a relic. And according to the command of the holy man nobody hindered her in this pious purpose.

95.

Seven days before his falling asleep he summoned the whole brotherhood, from chiefest to least, and some he bade stand quite near him on the top of the ladder and listen to his words. When he knew they were assembled, he said, 'My brothers and children, behold, I am going to our Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. God Who created all things by His word and wisdom, both the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that in them is, Who brought the race of men into being from that which was not, He Who is terrible to the angels but good to men, Who "bowed the heavens and came down'' (Ps. 18:9) upon the earth "like rain upon the mown grass", (Ps. 72:6) upon the holy virgin Mary, the mother of God, and was pleased to be incarnate of her, as He alone understands, and to be seen by men upon earth, Who "took away the sins of the world'' (John 1:29) and suffered for us, and "with His stripes" (Is. 53:5) upon the Cross healed our spiritual wounds, and "nailed the bond that was against us to the wood of the Cross'', (Col 2:14) He will strengthen you and will guard you safe from evil and will keep your faith in Him firm and immovable if you continue in unity with each other and perfect love until you draw your last breath. May He give you grace to serve him blamelessly and to be one body and one spirit continuing in humility and obedience. Do not neglect hospitality; never separate yourselves from your holy mother, the Church, turn away from all causes of offence and the tares of heretics, who are the enemies of Christ, in order that ye may become perfect even as also your heavenly Father is perfect. And now, I bid you Farewell, my beloved children, and I embrace you all with the love of a father; the Lord will be with you.' These words he ordered to be read aloud to the brethren by those who had stood nearest to him and caught the words, for he was lying down. When this had been done, and the brethren had heard the holy father's prayer and farewell they burst into such weeping and wailing that the noise of their lamentation sounded like unto a clap of thunder. Once again the holy man prayed over us and then dismissed us telling us not to be faint-hearted but bear up bravely, 'and make mention of me in your prayers !'

96.

From that hour on, as if moved by some divine providence, the body of faithful people came up of their own accord. And they would not move from the holy man's enclosure until Euphemius, the most holy Archbishop of this imperial city, arrived. He mounted the column and looked, and then standing high up on the ladder, announced to all the people, 'The holy man 1S still alive and with us; do not be troubled; for it is impossible for his holy body to be consigned to the grave before news of his death has been published to everyone and all the holy churches everywhere have been informed'. And this was done.

But I must not forget to mention the greatest thing of all which was indeed worthy of wonder. Three days before his falling asleep in the middle of the night he was allowed to see at one time all those who had been well-pleasing to God. They came down and when they had greeted him they bade him celebrate the divine and august sacrament of the Eucharist, and two brethren standing by were allowed to be hearers of the words and to make the due responses. And directly he had completed the liturgy of God he woke up from his trance and coming to himself he asked for the holy communion to be administered to him; this was done and he partook first, and we all at that hour of midnight also partook of the Holy Mysteries just as if he had been administering to us the holy sacrament. Then, bidding farewell to the crowds who surrounded him, he bade the brethren present throw incense into the censer without ceasing.

97.

Just about the time of his holy departure from this life a man vexed with an unclean spirit suddenly cried aloud in the midst of the people, announcing the presence of the saints with the holy man, naming each one of them; and he said, 'There is great joy in heaven at this hour, for the holy angels have come to take the holy man with them, besides there are come, too, the honourable and glorious companies of prophets and apostles and martyrs and saints; they are tormenting me now, and to-morrow at the third hour they will drive me out of this tabernacle; when the holy man is going to his home in the heavens and his saintly corpse is being brought down, I shall come out.' And this did indeed happen. Our glorious father Daniel died at the third hour on the following day, a Saturday, December 11th in the second indiction (A.D. 493), and at the time of his death he worked a miracle in that the man with an unclean spirit was healed.

98.

When they took down the railing they found his knees drawn up to his chest, and his heels and legs to his thighs. And whilst his body was being forcibly straightened, his bones creaked so loudly that we thought his body would be shattered; yet when he was laid out, he was quite entire except that his feet had been worn away by inflammation and the gnawing of worms. The weight of the hair of his head was divided into twelve plaits, each of which was four cubits long; likewise his beard was divided into two and each plait was three cubits long. Most of the Christ-loving men saw this.

They clad him, as was his wont, in a leather tunic, and a plank was brought up and laid on the column and he was placed on it.

99.

At early dawn the Archbishop Euphemius, dearly beloved of God, came and went up the column by the spiral way and kissed the precious corpse, and thus, too, did all the faithful high dignitaries and officials, for they went up* to the head of the column, gave their benediction and kissed his blessed body and came down.

But the people demanded that the holy man should be shown to them before his burial, and in consequence an extraordinary tumult arose. For by the Archbishop's orders the plank was stood upright-the body had been fixed to it so that it could not fall-and thus, like an icon, the holy man was displayed to all on every side; and for many hours the people all looked at him and also with cries and tears besought him to be an advocate with God on behalf of them all. When this had been done, behold, all the people suddenly saw clearly with the naked eye three crosses in the sky above the corpse and white doves flying round it.

100.

Next there was great anxiety about the manner of bringing it down for the funeral; for the Archbishop Euphemius was afraid the corpse might be torn asunder by the crowd, so he ordered it to be put into a case of lead, and this coffin the aforementioned 'illustris', the most pious Herais, also provided. This coffin was raised on the shoulders of the most holy Archbishop Euphemius and he bore it together with the noblest officials and pious men, and they brought down the corpse by way of the spiral stairway without its being hurt.

But in order to receive a blessing the people rushed forward in front of the entry to the chapel and as the planks could not bear such a sudden rush they parted from each other and all the men who were carrying the coffin were thrown to the ground with the holy corpse. By the grace of the Lord the carriers did not suffer any injury nor did they give way, but they most marvellously withstood the onrush of the crowd so that among those countless thousands of men, women and children not a single one sustained any harm.

And Daniel was brought into the oratory and laid to rest underneath the holy martyrs as he had wished.

101.

These few short reminiscences out of many, beloved, we have recorded in this our work as best we might. We rejected a multitude of words in order to avoid satiety, and although numberless incidents have been omitted, we are assured that these will suffice the faithful for remembrance and give them all that they desire.

Now let us in a short summary review his whole life down to the end of his time on earth.

Our all-praiseworthy father Daniel bade adieu to his parents when he was twelve years old, then for twenty-five years he lived in a monastery; after that during five years he visited the fathers and from each learned what might serve his purpose, making his anthology from their teaching. At the time when the crown of his endurance began to be woven the Saint had completed his forty-second year, and at that age he came by divine guidance, as we have explained above, to this our imperial city. He dwelt in the church for nine years, standing on the capital of a column, thus training himself beforehand in the practice of that discipline which he was destined to bring to perfection. For he had learned from many divine revelations that his duty was to enter upon the way of life practised by the blessed and sainted Simeon.

For three and thirty years and three months he stood for varying periods on the three columns, as he changed from one to another, so that the whole span of his life was a little more than eighty-four years.

During these he was deemed worthy to receive 'the prize of his high calling';( 1 Philipp. 3:14.)1 he blessed all men, he prayed on behalf of all, he counselled all not to be covetous, he instructed all in the things necessary to salvation, he showed hospitality to all, yet he possessed nothing on earth beyond the confines of the spot on which the enclosure and religious houses had been built. And though many, amongst whom were sovereigns and very distinguished officials occupying the highest posts, wished to present him with splendid possessions he never consented, but he listened to each one's offer and then prayed that he might be recompensed by God for his pious intention.

102.

While we bear in mind our holy father's spiritual counsels let us do our utmost to follow in his steps and to preserve the garment of our body unspotted and to keep the lamp of faith unquenched, carrying the oil of sympathy in our vessels that we may find mercy and grace in the day of judgment from the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost now and henceforth and to all eternity, Amen.

 

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