Acts of ʾAzqir

The Struggle and Martyrdom of the Holy Martyr ʾAzqir, Priest of Nagrān, Who Taught Christianity First in Nagrān and Revealed Christianity in the Time of Sarābiḥēl Yinkif, King of Ḥimyar, and Destroyed the Altar of the Idol and the Temple. And the nobles of the city of Nagrān, of the families of Suʿlbān and ʿQfān, heard him, and they destroyed the altar of the idol and broke the temple, and they seized ʾAzqir and cast him into a prison house in darkness, and they call that deed “Qefnayt” by name. And while he was in the prison house, people arrived whom he had taught without being seized, who had brought in young Christians, and they arrived while seeking baptism. And the holy ʾAzqir said to the guards of the prison house, “Show these people,” but the guards of the prison house refused to show them.

§ 5 And the saint arose and prayed, and said, “My Lord Jesus Christ, who loosened the fetters of iron for Peter and freed his bonds, command now that these fetters be loosened all night and not be tightened until your servants come and receive your grace.” § 6 And that fetter was loosened by itself through the power of God, and those fifty men came. § 7 And the guards of the prison arose to tighten the fetter {when it was loosened}, and they found fifty men, and the guards of the prison were amazed at that fetter, that it did not come to the holy ʾAzqir, and the guards of the prison knew that this miracle was from God. § 8 And they loosened it then and left, and those fifty men came to the holy ʾAzqir, and he performed baptism in the prison and baptized them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and those men were baptized that night, and he performed the prayer and completed the liturgy in the prison as he did, and this was the first miracle that the holy ʾAzqir performed in the prison.

§ 9 And King Ḥimyar Śarāḥbīʾēl heard of this deed which the holy ʾAzqir had done, and he sent to the king in the place where the nobles dwell, Nagrān, saying, “Quickly, bring that man who introduced a new teaching into my country.” § 10 And a certain man named Kiryāqī ran to the holy ʾAzqir while he was in prison, and told him, and said to him, “I bring you good news, for the King of Ḥimyar has sent for you to bring you to him for a hearing.” § 11 And ʾAzqir said to that man, “I believe in you; your good news is good news for me.” And the people of the city came and took him and brought out the holy ʾAzqir from prison, and they imprisoned him together with that man who had told ʾAzqir. § 12 And then many merchants arrived from Tanāḥ, and with them they sent ʾAzqir to the King of Ḥimyar. And he went out from Nagrān; many people accompanied him and sent him off as far as a place whose name is Wāṣiḥā, and they remained there for a distance of fifteen miles from the city of Nagrān.

§ 13 And when they arrived there, the two men asked him to baptize them, and he did. C.R. 732 A spring burst forth there, a well gushed up, and water flowed; and he baptized them there in that place, saying, while there was no pool, that place was water; and by the prayer of the holy ʾAzqir, water gushed forth until this day. And the well is the place where the water gushed forth. § 14 And when he saw this miracle, that one who was traveling with him asked him and said to him, “Remember, my lord, when I told you, while you were in the prison, that you would say to me, ‘Your gospel is against me, and the gift of goods that you would give me is my gospel—gold and silver—I do not desire, nor anything else; but baptize me, and that will be my gospel.’” And the holy ʾAzqir entrusted him to God on account of that man, and he baptized him as well. § 15 And they departed from that place, and as they traveled, they arrived at a desert whose name is G W ʿ N, as the book says: “My soul thirsts in the desert, where there is no tree nor water.” And likewise that place has no tree nor water, and it is called G W ʿ N. C.R. 733 It is said in the Arabic language; its interpretation is “hunger,” it is said.

§ 16 And when they arrived at that place, they all fasted, the merchants and the servants. They found great abundance, both them and their animals, and the time of the feast. They went and prostrated themselves before Saint ʾAzqir and asked him, saying, “Pray for us to the Lord God on behalf of every soul, that we may not die of thirst, that we may know that you have prayed to the Lord God, and he will give to you.” § 17 And ʾAzqir said, “Give me a bowl.” And they brought it to him, and he withdrew from them, and he placed the bowl before him, and he spread out his hands, and he raised his eyes toward the sky, and he prayed, and he said: § 18 “My Lord Jesus Christ, who appointed water and wine and saved many peoples from the five loaves, you perform a miracle and send your mercy, and show it to the thirsty souls.” § 19 And a cloud descended into the bowl, about the height of a man, and the bowl was filled with water. And they drank, and the people and the animals were refreshed, and they were satisfied from it. And the people who drank that water were able to eat, each one, from six hundred, without their animals.

§ 20 And that mountain is there to this day in Tonāḥ, the house of one of the sons of ʾAzqir. C.R. 734 And this is the third miracle that the holy ʾAzqir performed in the name of his God from the time he was burned. § 21 And passing from there, he arrived at Ṣfār before King Ḥēmer, and they brought him before the king. And when he entered, he did not acknowledge him, and the king became very angry and said to the holy ʾAzqir, “What is this new teaching that you have brought into my country?” § 22 And the holy ʾAzqir said, “This teaching is not new, beyond what the Law and the Prophets proclaimed.” And he began to speak from the scriptures with the Jews. And the king said to him, “Why, ʾAzqir, have you abandoned all this understanding and wisdom for me, and your life in this world, since Christ, in whom you have believed, will not save you from a terrible punishment?” § 23 And the holy ʾAzqir said, “My life in this world is death, and your punishment, which is death at your hands, is life for me.

§ 24 And he began to mock with words, and the holy ʾAzqir said to him: "Gold and silver are transitory, but Christ abides forever." § 25 And one of the nobles rose up and said to the king: "My lord, this Christian is here. If there were a craft that could cause a man to suffer, and if, after he had been struck, he could deny Christ, then if there were in his nature that he could not deny Christ forever, would it not be excessive to speak with him? Send him to his Christian relatives in Nagrān, so that he may be judged there, that the people may see and fear." § 26 And the king agreed to this matter, and he wrote to the governors who dwell in Nagrān, to the place of the Ṣaʿlubān and the Qefān, and he sent ʾAzqir to Nagrān. And the king wrote, saying in his letter: "ʾAzqir has come to you; judge him in secret, not in public, and crucify him on a tree, and pile wood upon him, and set it ablaze upon him while he is alive.

§ 27 And the holy ʾAzqir went out from the king, rejoicing, because he had heard that the king had written that he should crucify him and burn him with fire for the sake of Christ. And when he arrived at Nagran, he taught and brought in many Christians. § 28 And they brought him out at dawn from the city, and they set up a tree there, and they crucified him upon it, and they brought wood from the tops of palm trees, many, and heaped it upon him. § 29 And one of the Jews said: "Let Christ come and save you, in whom you have trusted, if he is able." And the holy ʾAzqir said: "I have trusted in the Lord, my Lord Jesus Christ. Even if you kindle all the wood of your country upon me, there is none who will deliver me." § 30 And they kindled it upon him, and all the wood and the ropes with which they had bound his hands and his feet burned, and the holy ʾAzqir came down from the tree and stood in the midst of the fire like refined gold.

§ 31 And the Jews said, “The sorcerer, this man who has died for the fire.” And they said, “Give [him] that we may stone him with stones.” § 32 And there was a certain Jew with his wife and his son, and they had prepared themselves and gone out as if to be present for the killing of the holy martyr ʾAzqir. And they stoned the holy ʾAzqir with stones before everyone, he and his wife and his son. And no stone reached the holy ʾAzqir. § 33 And he and his son died before his father, while he was watching, and his father’s belly burst open and he died, and his wife also, while she was alive, was paralyzed. § 34 And the Jews gathered together among themselves, “Give [him] with a sword that we may stab him.” And one of them said, “Until when shall we be tormented by this man? Give [him] that we may ask for a sword with which to kill him.” § 35 And there was found a certain man of Nagran who was a friend of ʾAzqir, who had built a great church and who forged swords. And they asked him to sharpen [them] for them, and he refused them the sharpening. And the holy ʾAzqir desired to complete his martyrdom and said to him, “My son, sharpen your sword, and if you sharpen it, you will have no reward with me.

§ 36 And at that time, they drew the sword against the Jew, and they cut off the head of the holy ʾAzqir. And the Jews stoned [him], and they cut off the head of the holy priest and martyr ʾAzqir. And many miracles were wrought at his tomb. May his prayer reach us. Amen. § 37 And they were crowned and did not perish, and they offered themselves to the fire before the sacrifice, for the sake of the name of our Savior Christ, that they might receive the crown of the monastic life eternal. And they were crowned in the land of Nagran: bishops, priests, deacons, and monks, men and women, and a multitude of people with them who were condemned. § 38 And their number was thirty-eight. And their commemoration is from the 24th of the month of Ḥedār in the winter. May their prayer reach us, and may we partake of their portion, for all the saints and martyrs, before our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is praise forever. Amen.