Asterius Amasenus, Laudatio Phocae

In the month of July, on the 22nd day, among the holy fathers, the encomium of our father Asterius of Amasea, bishop, on the holy priest-martyr of Christ, Phocas. Father, give the blessing. Good and better than the zeal of the ascetics is the commemoration of the saints. For not only does the memory of virtue and good service stir up those who desire it, but also the deeds of those who have lived righteously stand before us as clear teachers. Concerning this, our God, for the guidance of the elect, says as a commandment: "He who both does and teaches shall be called great." And elsewhere: "Let your light shine before men, so that they may see the good works and glorify your Father in heaven." For the verbal recollection of action is inferior and weaker than the deed itself, yet it is a teacher. And as much as we say that hearing is less certain than seeing, so much is the superiority of deed over word acknowledged. Thus we learn arts, thus we are trained in the virtues, more accustomed to learning by word than by direct experience. After this, by hand and experience, we are gradually strengthened to act.

and as for the measurer of the earth concerning books, he is exceedingly boastful and filled with hearing from his teacher, yet otherwise he cannot attain to the power of the individual delineations, not even if he has studied the points, the drawn lines, and the circumferences on the tablet. Nor, again, can the desire of astrology attain to the word concerning the swift motion, not even if the skilled teacher of the sphere has set before the eyes the movement of the heavens. And Hippocrates the physician, even when he boasts greatly, and other teachers, the unskilled physician is not such that, first among many sick persons, a companion of theirs might learn the healing of the sick from them. So also we, disciples of the martyrs, first, as those who have the teacher of the praises, we learn the deeds of patient men, until the preservation of the good service of their holy tombs to the last torments, as if we were beholders of monuments, by means of the delineations set forth from the paintings, and those who clearly make manifest the martyr-like struggle with intensity.

And as those who approach the oak of Mamre, or the cave of Moschidulos, which Ephrem the Syrian consecrated as the tomb of Sarah, where the patriarch himself is buried with his own sons, immediately after seeing those places, they renew the dream within their thoughts, and with their mind they behold the faithful patriarch, the beginning of good service, and his prior preparation. And they recall the shoots that sprang from his root—Isaac and Jacob. And after the remembrance of these men, they become witnesses to the entire ancient narrative. So also I, today, having arrived at the honorable altar, thrice-blessed, of Phocas, am filled from the place with the remembrance of all the narratives spoken about him, unitedly; I see the blessed one with skill, simple in soul, a lover of strangers, especially of the seashore, the middle of the earth—the doer of good deeds, the holiest of the holy, and the most glorious of those glorified by Christ.

For all the bands of the holy martyrs are worthy and sacred, repaying the sufferings of Christ with their own sufferings, fulfilling the vicarious office of the Savior with blood for blood; yet among them there is not one glory for all, nor is the honor of all apportioned according to a single and equal measure, but the holy band itself cannot escape preeminence and subsequence. And for this reason I consider the great discernment and impartiality of the judge. For he examines the multitude of torments, and the endurance in resistance, and the test of the struggle, and divides the rewards among the contestants according to merit. And nowhere is such justice honored by God in vain. For even among us, the commanders of horsemen and the leaders of contests are not equal to the discharged or the dismissed, but according to the measure of each one's advancement, they bestow appropriate gifts. And I have said these things in order to show that he who today has granted us this occasion for assembly is more illustrious than the other fellow-martyrs. For the others are not all known by all, nor do they have a celebrated valor.

But Phocas’s is not lacking; rather, as the radiance of the sun is spread before all eyes, so too is the fame of this martyr spread to all hearing. And to speak concisely, as many as have known the Lord Christ have also known his faithful servant. But if it pleases you more, having set aside the general praises of others, I shall relate to you, lovers of martyrs, the most excellent accounts of this martyr. This holy man, a great benefit to Christians, was brought forth by neighboring Sinope, a city ancient from the beginning and trained in strength, patience, and philosophy. For let no one now imagine a division of service, but rather, if in some way, it was deemed a nurse and mother to swift men; yet the craft of his life was the tending of the vine and labor, the profit of which he somewhere before the gates of the city, on the face of the promontory, toiled with love of his own labor and for the consolation of the life of passersby. And he would open even to strangers that small and cramped dwelling with great eagerness. And dwelling on a hill, he would set before the common possessions of the future. And he was a new Lot, not of the Sodomites, but of the Sinopeans. And when the time...

He did not obtain that commandment without cost, for from hospitality he acquired the cause of a life-giving death. But hear from whom and how, briefly recounted: when the word of good service was proclaimed to us, and the preaching of theology reached every ear, then Christ and his mysteries became known, as the Psalm says: "The pagans were stirred up, and kings and princes gathered together, and the peoples of that deception raged against the reign of Jesus." And every Christian was sought out as an evildoer, the neighbor was tortured, and the distant one was denounced. For this reason, neither the skill of flattery nor the art of dissimulation could conceal Phocas; rather, he too, as a more intimate confidant of Christ, was denounced. Then the troubles of this wretched and transient world came upon him, and orders were given to bring him in without trial, without a hearing. For his crime was such that with a clear voice he confessed that new faith, and by his deeds he showed that he acknowledged no one's authority, and when questioned, he cried out joyfully.

And when the tormentors of his martyrdom, and the cause of our festivity, themselves lodged with the object of their search, neither with the learned nor with the studious; for they had an unspeakable reason of desire, that the most learned of the city might ask the outsiders who Phocas is and where he dwells, so that they might suddenly seize him by those set upon him, as once the Jews with Judas in the betrayal of the Lord. But it was otherwise, for within the nets he had a hunting-ground: those dogs—the lamb, those wolves—the kid, those predators, those sharp-clawed ones—the fawn. But as the prophet Isaiah says: "The leopard would lie down with the goat, and the wolf would graze with it, and the lion would have a common dwelling with the calf." And since, as it befits, the table and companionship mutually bestowed boldness upon them, the martyr inquired of them: who they were and for what reason they had arrived at their city. And they, with desire and hospitality toward this man, the despisers of hospitality, and those who inform no one of his words, revealed to him that secret and the brotherhood of cruelty, confessing that they seek Phocas for punishment, and they begged that he might add charity to hospitality and show them to the door of the sought one.

When the servant of the Lord heard this, with an unshaken soul he received the word, and nothing lowly or weak befell him, nor did he, terrified by the threat, resort to flight; but, as one possessed of a great and unceasing desire for escape, he did the opposite of all that, and yielded to their entreaty. "I," he said, "will offer myself to you for the present matter. For I know that man, and as one who can easily find him, I will inform you; and this not far off, but after one day. Only you must rest in this lodging." And having thus firmly pledged himself to them, he devoted himself to two tasks: hospitality to his own murderers, and preparation of his own tomb. And when he had prepared the tomb and the things suitable for burial, he said to them afterwards, when they had come: "I have found Phocas with difficulty, and the hunt is ready; if it pleases you, let him be seized." And when they said joyfully, "Where is the man?" he said: "Not far, but he is with you. For I myself am he who is with you, from whom you demanded the command; and fulfill the purpose of your journey and your labor.

When the men heard this, they were troubled in soul, and were restrained only in respect of hearing, being mindful of the salt and the table, and of the honors of the hospitable host within the lodging. But he prayed for the hastening of the slaying, and commanded not even a slight betrayal, saying that the killing was not of their hand, but the deed of the rulers. He spoke, convinced, and suffered. And with his head cut off, he was received and joined to God in a fitting manner. And from that time until now, we have him steadfast and firm for the churches of God among men, and he is the most illustrious among the martyrs, holding primacy among the chosen and blessed. For a star adds to a star in glory, according to the common and harmonious sound of a chosen and most excellent lyre, and in every respect he is among the saints, and draws all and hastens them toward his own abode. And the churches of each village are full of those hastening to the place of prayer. Whence is his great and magnificent temple—a solace for the afflicted, strength for the weary, a remedy for the distressed, an Egypt for the enemies; and without cost, Phocas, perfected, nourishes, even as the living Joseph. For he distributed the grain for silver, but he bestows it freely upon the needy.

And as in the winter season, at the time of the evil preparation of food, the birds, upon the fresh shoots of the new fields, alight upon their two-horned [altars?], so all the poor and the scattered people of Sinope run together as to a common treasure. But if elsewhere also, as from the mother city to the place of settlement, the martyr, by means of small portions, transferred his head. That place too is wondrous and urgent for all Christians, as among us this holy place is a gathering-place for feast-days. "For the death of his worthy ones is honorable before the Lord," and divided in many ways, they everywhere completely celebrate the invocation of the thrice-blessed one: thus also in the royal city, in the chariot of Italy and in the queen of the countryside, there is a great offering of gifts to him, and honor, and a special house swiftly built. And the Romans serve Phocas no less than they serve Peter and Paul. And as the word teaches, they swiftly obtained the head of the martyr by the fitting order of the chosen ones before the vile Orodes. For he, the thirster for blood, demanded the head of the righteous man for dishonor; but they brought it for their own honor and benefit.

And not only those who sail upon the bosom of the Euxine, but also those who rule the Adriatic, and those who are borne upon the Aegean, and as many as sail upon the evening ocean, and who dwell in the eastern bosoms, the customary heralds, by whom they relieve the toil of sailing, have changed this into a new custom for the sake of this blessed one, and upon their tongue is this thrice-blessed name, whereby it clearly bestows the experiences of assistance. For many times he appeared to the helmsman, tossed upon the wave of the Pontus, awaiting the night of storm, and again sometimes to those who unfurl the sails and to the sailors, and especially to the guardians of the bilge-water. Whence they established as a law to have the name of Phocas as a fellow-sailor with the sailors, and since now it is impossible to have him as a companion in his bodiless life, learn how with pious intention they contrived the impossible: day by day they distribute an equal portion of the meals to the martyr as to the eaters. But one of those fellow-sailors, his purchaser, places silver, and then another, and then another; and thus the portion of the purchase went around over all. They give day by day that portion to the purchaser.

When they had been brought into the harbor by the ship and had disembarked onto land, the silver was distributed to the poor. And this is the portion of Phocas: the distribution of alms to the needy. Even kings marvel at this, being altogether patient and God-loving, and from their treasuries they adorn his divine temple. And those who come after are lovers of victory, surpassing the most unwearied in ascension. And it is no wonder, if those who hold the rule of the Romans, good servants of the fathers, reared in laws and ordinances, have such reverence for the servant of Christ, since his wonder has reached even to the barbarians: and all the utterly wild Scythians, as many as dwell in the interior of the Euxine Pontus, around Lake Maeotis and the river Tanais, and as many as inhabit the Bosporus and are spread as far as the river Phasis, all of them. They bring gifts to this blessed one. And though separated from us by every custom and manner, they alone are made fellow celebrants with us, being tamed by the truth through the manner of the wild.

One of the princes and the king himself took off his crown, resplendent with the floral patterns of gold and gems, and stripped off the military belt, the bearer of rich substance (for the weapon of the barbarians is the bow and the quiver), and sent them as offerings to God through the martyr and his power, and made the causes of honor into ecclesiastical things. For it is evident that the crown was a gift of kingship, and the weapon—the power of battles. But above these, the works of charity, interwoven with diligence, through the visions within the revelations, and the cures by which the sick are healed—how could one recount them day by day, making it impossible to forgive the word over the deeds without ceasing? It is fitting to say this much concerning the servants of the polytheistic temptation: that one servant of Christ and fellow servant of ours accomplishes more truthful deeds than the many you consider gods; let the prophecies be silenced, as they are indeed vanquished by the true predictions among us. But let the works of healing be idle, and let Asclepius not be worshipped! And let the servants of Zeus not consider themselves as saviors of sailors, for they know the deliverer from grievous sufferings.

Where now is the female soothsayer, the false prophet, who bestows upon those who seek the hidden arts and the reception of the invisible? So that by the deceitfulness of words she might prepare in advance a response of ignorance and delusion? Where now is the spring of the water of divination, the begetter of thought? All the instruments and devices that serve for deception? Bow down, therefore, to God, you who are faithful, that servants have been deemed worthy of such grace, not acting by their own power, but, according to the gift given to them, being benefactors to their fellow servants; and this after their departure from here and separation from the body. Recognize the great power of the Lord from his servants, and praise with truth God above all, to whom it is fitting to bow down now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.