And the priests reached forth their hands towards John, wishing to lay hold of him, and they could not. Then Philip with Bartholomew said to John: Where is Jesus, who enjoins upon us not to take into our own hands vengeance on those that torture us? for after this I will not endure them. And Philip spoke in Hebrew, and said: My Father Uthael, i.e., O Christ, Father of majesty, whose name all the ages [2205] fear, who art powerful, and the power of the universe, whose name goes forth in lordship, [2206] Eloa: Blessed art Thou to the ages; Thou whom dominions and powers fear, trembling before Thy face; King of honour! Father of majesty! whose name has gone forth to the wild beasts of the desert, and they have become quiet because of Thee, and through Thee the serpents have departed from us: Hear us before we ask. Thou who seest us before we call, who knowest our thoughts, the All-surveyor [2207] of all, who sends forth from Himself unnumbered compassions; let the abyss open its mouth, and swallow up these godless persons who will not accept the word of Thy truth.
And in that very hour the abyss opened its mouth, and all that place was violently shaken, from the proconsul to all the multitude along with the priests; and they were all sunk down. And the places where the apostles and all who were with them were remained unshaken, and the house of Stachys, and Nicanora the tyrant's wife, and the twenty-four wives who fled from their husbands, and the forty virgins who had not known men. These alone did not go down into the abyss, because they had become servants, and had received the word of God, and His seal; but all the rest of the city were swallowed down into the abyss.
And the Saviour having appeared at that hour, said to Philip: Who is it that has put his hand to the plough, and has turned back from making the furrow straight? or who gives his light to others, and himself remains sitting in darkness? or who dwells in the dirt, and leaves his dwelling-place to strangers? or who lays down his garment, and goes out in the days of winter naked? or what slave that has done his master's service, shall not be called by him to supper? or who runs with zeal in the racecourse, and does not get the prize? Philip, behold my bridal chamber is ready, and blessed is he who has his own shining garment; for he it is who gets the crown of joy upon his head. Behold, the supper is ready, and blessed is he who is called by the bridegroom. Great is the harvest of the field; blessed is the able workman.
And when Philip heard these words from the Saviour, he answered and said to him: Thou didst give us leave, O Jesus of Nazareth, and dost Thou not enjoin us to smite those who do not wish Thee to reign over them? But this we know, that Thy name has not been proclaimed in all the world, and Thou hast sent us to this city. And I did not intend to come into this city, and Thou didst send me, after giving me Thy true commandment, that I should drive away all deceit, and bring to nothing every idol and demon, and all the power of the unclean one. And when I came here, the demons fled from our faces through Thy name, and the dragons and the serpents withered away, but these men did not take to themselves Thy true light; and for this reason I resolved to bring them low, according to their folly.
And the Saviour said: O Philip, since thou hast forsaken this commandment of mine, not to render evil for evil, [2208] for this reason thou shalt be debarred in the next world for forty years from being in the place of my promise: besides, this is the end of thy departure from the body in this place; and Bartholomew has his lot in Lycaonia, and shall be crucified there; and Mariamne shall lay down her body in the river Jordan.
And the Saviour turned and stretched out His hand, and made the sign of the cross in the air; and it was full of light, and had its form after the likeness of a ladder. And all the multitude of the men of the city who had gone down into the abyss came up upon the ladder of the cross of light and none of them remained in the abyss, but only the tyrant and the priests, and the viper which they worshipped. And when the multitudes came up from the abyss, they looked and saw Philip hanging head down, and Bartholomew upon the wall of the temple, and they also found Mariamne in her first shape. And the Saviour went up into heaven in the sight of Philip and Bartholomew and Mariamne, and the leopard and the kid of the goats, and Nicanora and Stachys; and they all with a loud voice glorified God with fear and trembling, crying out: There is one God who has sent us His salvation, whose name these men proclaim: we repent therefore of the error in which we were before yesterday, not being worthy of eternal life; and we believe, having seen the wonderful things that have come to pass through us. And some of them threw themselves on their faces, and worshipped the apostles; and others made ready to flee, saying: There may be another earthquake like the one that has just happened.
And stretching out his hands, the Apostle Philip, hanging head down, said: Men of the city, hear these words which I am going to say to you, hanging head down. Ye have learned how great are the powers of God, and the wonders which you saw when your city was destroyed by the earthquake which came upon it. And this was manifest to you, that the house of Stachys was not destroyed and that he did not go down into the abyss, because he believed on the true God, and received us His servants. And I, having fulfilled all the will of my God, am His debtor for what I requited to him that did evil to me.
And some of those who had been baptized ran to loose Philip hanging head down. And he answered and said to them: My brethren,... [2209] those who are virgins in the members of their flesh and commit fornication in their hearts, and the fornication of their eyes, shall abound like the deluge. And they grow immoderate from listening to persuasive pleasures, forgetting the God of the knowledge of the Gospel; and their hearts are full of arrogance, eating and drinking in their worship, forgetting the holy commandment, and despising it. That generation is turned aside; but blessed is he that retires into his retreat, for he shall obtain rest in his departure. Knowest thou not, Bartholomew, that the word of our Lord is true life and knowledge? for the Lord said to us in His teaching, Every one who shall look upon a woman, and lust after her in his heart, has completed adultery. [2210] And on this account our brother Peter fled from every place in which a woman was, and yet there was scandal on account of his own daughter; and he prayed to the Lord, and she had paralysis of her side, that she might not be deceived. Thou seest, brother, that the sight of the eyes brings gainsaying, and the beginning of sin, as it is written, [2211] She looked, and saw the tree, that it was pleasing to her eyes, and good for food, and she was deceived. Let the hearing, then, of the virgins be holy; and in their going out let them walk two and two, for many are the wiles of the enemy. Let their walk and conversation be well ordered, that they may be saved; but if not, let their fruit be common.
My brother Bartholomew, give these promises to Stachys, and appoint him ruler and bishop in the Church, that he may be like thee, teaching well. Do not entrust the office to a man too young: appoint not such a one to the chair of the teachers, lest thou profane the witness of Christ. For he that teaches should have his works corresponding to his words, that the word may be ready on every occasion in its own glory. But I am being released from my body, hanging head down. Take, then, my body, and prepare it for burial in Syrian paper, and do not put about it linen cloth, since they put it upon the body of our Lord, and wrap it close in paper and papyrus, and put it in the vestibule of the holy church. And pray over me for forty days, that God may forgive the transgression which I did, in that I requited evil to him that did evil to me, and there may not be for me in the world to come the forty years.
And after thus speaking, Philip prayed, saying: My Lord Jesus Christ, Father of the ages, King of all light, who makest us wise in Thy wisdom, who hast given us the exalted knowledge, who hast graciously conferred upon us the counsel of Thy goodness, who hast never departed from us; Thou who takest away disease from those who take refuge in Thee; Thou who hast given us the Word, to turn unto Thee those who have been led astray; Thou who hast given us signs and wonders on behalf of those of little faith; Thou who presentest the crown to those who have conquered; Thou who art the judge of the games, who hast given us the crown of joy, who speakest with us, that we may be able to withstand those that hurt us; Thou art He who sows and reaps, and completes, and increases, and vivifies all Thine own servants: reproaches and threats are to us help and power through those who turn to Thee through us, who are Thy servants. Come, Lord, and give me the crown of victory in the presence of men. Let not their dark air envelope me, nor their smoke burn the shape of my soul, that I may cross the waters of the abyss, and not sink in them. My Lord Jesus Christ, let not the enemy find anything that he can bring against me in the presence of Thee, the true Judge, but clothe me in Thy shining robe, and...(The rest is wanting.)
[2203] [The Greek text of this addition is given by Tischendorf in the supplement appended to his volume containing Apocalypses Apocryphæ, pp. 141-150. The ms. from which it is taken is of the eleventh century. Tischendorf regards this form as of Gnostic origin.--R.]
[2204] upostasin.
[2205] Or, æons.
[2206] dunasteia.
[2207] panepiskopos.
[2208] Matt. v. 39; 1 Pet. iii. 9.
[2209] Here a good deal of the text is wanting. The Bodleianms. fills up the blank to some extent:--Walking two and two, but let them not talk with the young men, lest Satan tempt them. For he is a creeping serpent, and made Adam be destroyed even to death. And thus shall it be again at this time, for the time and the season shall be wicked. Many women and men shall leave the work of marriage, and the women shall assume the name of virginity, but knowing nothing at all about it, and that it has a great and glorious seal. And there shall be many men in those days in word only, and not in its power; for they shall observe virginity in the members of the flesh, and commit fornication in their hearts, etc. [Thems. is that referred to on p. 500. Tischendorf gives large extracts from it; the Greek text of this paragraph may be found on pp. 154, 155, supplement to Apocalypses Apocryphæ.--R.]
[2210] Matt. v. 28.
[2211] Gen. iii. 6.
Acts and Martyrdom of the Holy Apostle Andrew.
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What we have all, both presbyters and deacons of the churches of Achaia, beheld with our eyes, we have written to all the churches established in the name of Christ Jesus, both in the east and west, north and south. Peace to you, and to all who believe in one God, perfect Trinity, true Father unbegotten, true Son only-begotten, true Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father, and abiding in the Son, in order that there may be shown one Holy Spirit subsisting in the Father and Son in precious Godhead. This faith we have learned from the blessed Andrew, the apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose passion also we, having seen it set forth before our eyes, have not hesitated to give an account of, according to the degree of ability we have.
Accordingly the proconsul Ægeates, [2212] having come into the city of Patras, began to compel those believing in Christ to worship the idols; to whom the blessed Andrew, running up, said: It behoved thee, being a judge of men, to acknowledge thy Judge who is in the heaven, and having acknowledged Him, to worship Him; and worshipping Him who is the true God, to turn away thy thoughts from those which are not true gods.