Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

“ Then Kotolos (Cotylus) sent his sister to a certain priest and he baptized her secretly with Christian baptism, and she returned to her father the king and said unto him, “It would be a good thing for thee if there happened to thee what hath happened to me and to my brother Kotolos (Cotylus) . For there is no God but Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, Who hath made the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and all that is therein.” ”

“ Now there was in Jerusalem a certain bishop whose name was Abba Macarius, and he gave her counsel, saying, “Do not thus, for after a few days [foreign] peoples will come and will rule over this country, and they will take possession of this place, and will lay it waste, and will seize whatsoever is made of gold and silver and precious stones. But it is meet that you should build a good, strong building which can neither be overthrown nor torn up from the foundations. And the remainder of this money give unto the poor and the needy.” ”

“ O my brethren, is there any man whatsoever who hath the power to flee from God, the Most High? If the heart of this prophet of the prophets of the children of Israel was thus, how could their hearts be to the people? ”

“ On this day the holy honourable Cyprianus and the virgin Justina became martyrs. This holy man Cyprianus was at one time a magician, and an infidel, and a teacher of sorcery in a city of the West, and in knowledge of magic he excelled every other man in the city of the West. And because of his excessive impudence, and his arrogance, and his infidelity, and his sorcery, he rose up and went to the city of Antioch in order that he might find out whether there existed among the people of that city any other kind of magic ”

“ And let all men forsake their evil works, that is to say, oppression, and fornication, and lying, and theft, and fraud, and blasphemy, in order that God may, peradventure, have mercy upon you, and remove His wrath from you.” And straightway all the people repented, and they fasted, and begged for mercy from God, blessed be His Name, and God had mercy on them. And the prophet Jonah was sad with a very great sadness, and he said, “O God, take my life, for death is more preferable to me than life.” And Jonah went outside the city and sat down there and fell asleep. ”

“ He made him a promise, and said unto him, “O my chosen one Fasiladas (Basilides) , know thou that everyone who shall celebrate thy commemoration, or shall give alms to the poor for thy name’s sake, or shall give clothing to the naked, or shall give incense to the church for thy commemoration, and everyone who shall celebrate thy commemoration, whether in little or whether in much, to all these will I give remission of sins, and I will make their habitation to be with Me in the kingdom of heaven.” ”

“ The fathers of this righteous man were among the nobles of Kuelzem (Kolsum, i.e. Clysma) , which city is on the borders of Egypt; they were rich in gold and silver, and they gave alms to the poor and needy. His father loved God exceedingly, and he had no son. One day he saw the children learning their lessons, and in their hands were tablets whereon were written, “Let us remember our fathers who have taught us by their lives so that we may become children of God. O God, make their souls to have rest in the heavens with the righteous and the martyrs.” ”

“ When the men of Nineveh heard the preaching of Jonah the prophet they were exceedingly afraid, and they believed on God and they repented and fasted and put on sackcloth made of hair and sat in the ashes. Then the king commanded that a herald should go round about proclaiming thus: “The king hath commanded that his nobles, and all the people, great and small, and women and children, and sheep and oxen and goats shall fast, and that they shall neither eat nor drink any water whatsoever, and they shall put on sackcloth made of hair; and similarly, even the beasts shall not eat grass. ”

“ And when her handmaidens were departed, the two Rabbans rose up, and seized her, and they said unto her, “We wish to lie with thee, and if thou refusest we will be witnesses against thee that we found a man with thee.” And Sosena wept, and said, “I am in affliction in every way: If I do [what ye want] I shall die, and if I do not I cannot be saved. It is better for me to fall into the hand of God than to sin before Him.” And Sosena uttered a cry at the top of her voice, and the Rabbans cried out at her, and one of them ran and opened the doors of the garden. ”

“ This holy man had righteous and believing parents, and they gave him as a votive offering to God. When he had finished his instruction in the school house his parents took him into the mountains of Alexandria, and they gave him to the Archimandrite Abba Gabriel, and he made him a monk when he was a boy twelve years of age. When he was twenty years of age he went forth with his teacher into the desert in order to strive in the ascetic life. And they found there a high tower, and at the bottom was a spring of water, and Abba Gabriel and Mar Jacob went up to the top of the tower ”

“ When those painters arrived in the city of Rome they discovered a certain nunnery, and they found therein this virgin ‘Arsima; and there was in the nunnery none like unto her in her appearance, and there was none who resembled her. And the painters painted a portrait of her and sent it to the Emperor Diocletian. When the emperor saw her portrait he rejoiced exceedingly. ”

“ When it goeth forth from the body it is taken to the place for which it is suitable. And on the day of the Resurrection, when the trumpet soundeth, and dead bodies of men shall rise up by the command of their Creator. And all the souls of men shall go each into the body whereto it belongeth, and it shall rise with it, and according to its work it will either rejoice for ever, or suffer punishment for ever. And the two (i.e. soul and body) will remain in the state in which they have risen forever and forever and ever. May the prayer of this Council be with us. ”

“ And Tobit went frequently to Jerusalem, and he took the wool of his flock with him, and the tenth of his crop, and he gave one-third to the poor. When all his brethren were taken captives to Nineveh they ate with the Gentiles, but he restrained himself from eating because he remembered God with all his heart. One day he found the dead body of a man in the market place, and he rose up although fasting and brought it into a house until the sunset, and when the sun had set he dug a hole in the ground and buried him. ”

“ When the young man heard of the arrival of Saint Cyprianus in the city of Antioch, and knew that he was reported to be superior to every man in Antioch through his sorcery, straightway he went to him, and told him about the sorrow in his heart, caused by the virgin Justina, and how he longed for her, and how he loved her exceedingly, but could not obtain possession of her. ”