PseudoJohn Chyrsostom Encomium Raphael

Jesus Christ. A logos which the holy John, the archbishop of Constantinople and the Chrysostom and the golden mouth, delivered. He delivered it concerning the holy archangel Raphael, on the day of his blessed commemoration, which is the twenty-fourth of Pachon. He delivered this logos in the monastery which was rebuilt for him by the pious emperor Arcadius, who built it in the name of the holy archangel Raphael, to the south of the city. And after the taking of the bread in the following year, the pious emperor came to pray and prostrate himself in the monastery which his brother had built. And he consecrated it. And the pious emperors Honorius and Arcadius were of one accord, and they besought the great John Chrysostom to deliver a small encomium to the holy archangel Raphael. And he, the holy Chrysostom, indeed the Pantokrator of the Holy Spirit, delivered this holy logos, having set forth a few of the powers and signs and wonders which were wrought through the hand of the holy archangel Raphael, and concerning the reason why he was called the 'Bow of the Spirit in the peace of God.' May his holy blessings come down upon us, and may we all be saved together. Bless us.

Amen. The beloved angel of the Lord seeks out those who fear him and saves them. Truly, the holy archangel of the Lord, Raphael, sought out those who feared him, Tobit, and saved him. And again he said, "He will reach out to his angels on your behalf, to guard your mouth, and they will carry you in their hands. Do not be cast into a stone of your ruin." For in truth, the Lord reached out to the holy archangel Raphael to guard Tobias, the son of Tobit, in all his ways. "Do not be cast into a stone of your ruin." Did not Sarah's husband cast a stone, and they fell? He sent his word and healed them, and saved them from all their afflictions. So said David the Psalmist. Truly, God sent his word, which is his great archangel Raphael, and healed Sarah.

The daughter of Raguel in the severe illness of the covenant of peace, and he saved her from the great snares of the servants of her father, according to the word of the holy apostle Paul: "Are they not all liturgical spirits of the Spirit, sent forth for services concerning those who will inherit salvation?" My beloved ones, if one thinks of the extent of the philanthropy of God toward men, especially toward the righteous, one will marvel greatly. The Lord of the righteous, according to what is written, forgives the sins of sinners. As he said in his divine mouth without deceit: "Joy arises in heaven before God and his angels over a sinner who truly repents." The holy angels are worthy of honor, but rather it is fitting that they rejoice with them, for the righteous are those to whom they minister, by the command of the Creator God the Pantocrator, with purpose and zeal. They rejoice over the return of sinners, the blessed angels, and moreover they are more eager to minister to the righteous, like a king of the earth when a tyrant or a violent man arises in his provinces and commits disorders and injustices.

Then the king would think in his heart, "How shall I prevail over this dragon?" Then he would call upon one of his magistrates who was skilled in sorcery to go out and slay the adversary of the king. When he had prevailed over him, he would return to his master with joy and gladness, while the one who was a dragon lay slain, bound to his horse. Then the king would exalt and rejoice because his enemy had fallen before his general, and he would bestow great honors and substantial estates upon his commander, more than all those he had previously.

This is the way the Lord did, the lover of humanity in this place. For indeed, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael—they are the great ones in the entire angelic order. Because of this, as for Michael, he sent him first. He struck the ancient serpent, that is, Sataniel, and he prevailed over him, and bound him for a thousand years. Because of this, the Lord granted him this great honor of this time. Gabriel also, his foreknowledge guided him with his good father and the Holy Spirit, that he would go to the virgin and the annunciation. Raphael also, he stands at the feet of righteous men, he serves them, and he leads them, and he heals them, and he binds Asmodaios, the evil demon. For God assigned each one of the angels according to the work that pertains to the meaning of their names. As for Michael, he assigned him to intercede for the men of the world because of his powerful vigilance. If one interprets Michael, it is "the one who seeks God," the Pantocrator. Gabriel also, "God with man." Because of this, he assigned him as a servant, and he is the annunciation of God that becomes man. For the interpretation of Raphael is "God who leads men." In this way, God named them beforehand through his foreknowledge of the things that would happen before they occurred.

Let us turn, then, to the subject of the discourse. We shall speak about Tobit, the son of Tobiel. For Tobit himself said, "I am Tobit. I walk on the paths of truth, righteousness in my hands at every time, all the days of my life." Truly, Tobit is a walker on the paths of truth, and he is a compassionate one in great mercy, and he is a giver of firstfruits and tithes to the house of God. He is the son of Tobiel.

Because of this, the devil was envious of him and made him blind. God himself said through the mouth of the holy prophet David, "Behold, I have grown old and have not seen a righteous man whom the Lord has left behind." Then he sent his holy angel Raphael. He granted him the light of his eyes. When he also wished to send his son Tobias on a distant journey, he made the good angel go before him. And the place where he went, he healed Sarah, the daughter of Raguel. He bound Asmodaeus the destroyer. In this way also, the house of the poor he filled with joy, the house of the rich he filled with gladness, the house of the sick he filled with health. He made the grief and sorrow of Raguel flee to the end. And again he wiped away the tears from her eyes, and he took the prayers of Sarah up to the seventh time, to God the Almighty. For this angel, O my beloved, is a good angel. He is a liturgist. He is a flame of fire. And he is a spirit. He is a guide on the way who is confident. He is incorporeal. He is also an archangel. He is a good servant. He is a commander. He is a worker without reward. He is a physician who heals without taking payment. All these things that I have said, this confident archangel did, by the command of his creator, God. You wish to know, O my beloved brothers.

All their names are fitting for this archangel, the merciful one. I will reveal the matter to you openly, since I have said that he is a good angel. Behold, his benevolence has manifested itself openly, because he is an angel who serves them, both the blind and the sighted, even to the point of preparing food for him. He is a man. He is a servant who stands before the king of the underworld, Christ, serving according to his command, in accordance with the word of the people of the desert.

Paul. Are they not all liturgical spirits? They are all sent on services for the sake of those who will inherit health. You see the merciful nature, which is a spirit according to the prophecy of David: "He who creates his angels of the spirit." He is a flame of fire according to what is written: "His ministers are a flame of fire." He is a guide, because he led the way before Tobias on the foreign land, without touching the ground. He is a chief cook, for he prepared the fish for the young son. He is also an angel, a bridegroom's attendant, for he spoke on behalf of Tobias and performed the marriage. He is incorporeal, for no one touched him in all the days he walked with him. He is an ambassador, for he interceded with the merciful Christ for Tobit and Tobias. His son and Sarah. He is a chief herald, for Tobias was in the place of marriage; he took a camel to Ecbatana and brought the silver. He is a physician, for he healed the eyes of Tobit, the merciful man who said to his son: "As you have, according to your abundance, do mercy, for mercy saves a man from death." He is a chief general, for he bound Asmodaeus. He is a mercenary, for he did not take the reward they prepared for him. He is a good servant.

because he served all those who had need of them. He is a deacon, for he stood at his post and served like a faithful servant. O Pelagos of the mercy of God! O the humility of this archangel! He who stood before the Lord Sabaoth, he stood over a man to serve. Come then, O my beloved, let us go to the middle, let us speak to you a little about the martyrion, which is gathered in the name of the archangel. It happened to me one day, I myself.

John, I perform my synaxis at the time of the sixth hour. A great light came into the house where I was. Behold, a wonder, exceedingly beautiful and joyful. He entered in to me, a great glory surrounding his face, a cherub of gold in his right hand, and a cross upon his head. He called to me three times, saying, "John, the vessel of the Holy Spirit! John, the physician of the souls that have been wounded in sin! John, the speaker upon the earth, to persuade God in the seventh month!" And when I heard these things, I was troubled and fell at his feet to worship him. He took hold of my hand, raised me up, and said to me, "Do not be afraid. Do not, for I am your fellow servant. Worship God." I said to him in trembling, "Who are you, my lord, in this manner? This great glory surrounds you. I have never seen anyone like you." And he, taking the fear from me, said to me, "I am Raphael, one of the seven archangels. I am Raphael, whom my master sent with Philotheos to present him to his father and mother of Christ. I am Raphael the archangel. Christ gave you into my hand from when you were small.

And again, from the day you were born until this very day, I have not separated from you for a single hour, nor for the twinkling of an eye. And again, I will not separate from you until the day I bring you before the King, Christ, and deliver you into his hands, you who are without fear, until the house of the scribe who taught you to write, and again until your journey on the sea, to Athens and Berytus, where you went. These journeys were with me, preparing your places of travel, and I guided your mind and your heart, like a mother who prepares for her children.

And as for the sprinkling of water upon the foreheads, now then, be strong, have courage, do not be afraid, O wondrous confessor, for I am not one who frightens souls, but I am one who gives comfort to souls. For I am called by my fellow angels "the angel of peace." Be strong, and let your heart be steadfast; do not be afraid, for I am not one of disturbance, but I am one of peace. Now then, O John, behold, the king of Arcadia will ask you for a word of counsel, for he will build for me a martyrion in my name. Exhort him with your wise words, for it is written, "The work of the righteous is more precious than gold and silver," and you will give him joy in the building of my shrine. If you sanctify my shrine with honor and reverence, the God-loving king will give... I will set forth these words to the pious king... the treasury... Christ... the one who... the Holy Spirit... which is fragrant, which pours forth from his mouth. Let the peace of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be with you. When the archangel said these things, he departed upward to the heavens with great glory. But I, John, did not eat nor drink on that day, because of the joy in my heart from the conversation with the archangel. Then, on the next day, the pious king of Arcadia...

I come to my least to the patriarchate. He received a blessing outside from the hand. And I said to him, "Sit down for yourself, O lover of Christ, O one whose spirit was troubled because of the building of the holy archangel Raphael. O one whose good remembrance caused him to seek the outside of himself. O one whose remembrance of the service of the saints caused him to perform the washing away of the enjoyment of the kingdom." These good things, good things will happen to you. Truly, the word of the blessed Paul was fulfilled, that you have served the saints. And also, "God is not unjust to wash away your work and the love that you have shown forth in his name." When I said these things to him, the blessed king opened up greatly, and he answered me, saying, "Blessed are we, O Israel, because those who do for God show forth to us. Blessed are we also because God has raised up for us a father of this kind of icon. For truly, you are an angel walking upon the earth with men. Therefore, the word of the holy hymnographer was fulfilled, 'The generation of the upright will receive a blessing.' Therefore, O my holy father, behold, a multitude of days, my heart is troubled because of the building of the place of the holy archangel Raphael. May your holy prayers not receive any hindrance at all in this night.

Concerning this matter, behold, the Spirit [eight pages wanting]... Good of the Lord God took me again to the river of the city of the south. I found all the little children of Herod, slain because of the name of Christ. They all greeted me. I said to the angel, "My Lord, what man will remain with these holy little children?" The angel said, "What men will preserve the purity of their virginity holy, without any defilement? If they come forth from the body, they are taken, and they worship God, and they are given into the hand of Michael, and he brings them to this place, and he gives them into the hand of this multitude of little children, and they greet them as their fellow members and their brothers, and they inherit with them the city of Christ Jesus forever." He took me out to the river of wine, which is the west of the city. I found Abraham and

Isaac and Jacob greeted me. I said to the angel, "Who are these?" He said to me, "What sort of people are these who are lovers of strangers? When they come out from the body, they go to the feet of God, they worship him, and he gives them into the hand of Michael, who brings them into the city. And all the righteous greet him on the way, saying, 'O our children and our brothers, you have received hospitality. Come, inherit the city of the Lord our God, each according to his deed.' He finds the people who resemble them in the city of Christ, Jerusalem. I looked and saw some people inside the gate, singing psalms and glorifying God, and rejoicing greatly. I said to the angel, "What are these?" He answered me, saying, "These are those who give their praise to God, without hypocrisy among men. For these people who rejoice and sing psalms and hymn God with their whole heart, they are brought into this gate and placed in his city, placed near the holy ones who sing psalms to Christ at all times." He brought me inside to the middle of the city, to the twelfth wall. I found him standing before all the gates. There is a great glory on that wall, which no fleshly man can describe the glory and honor of that wall. I, however, said to the angel,

My Lord, is there a place in this place that is more beautiful than the others? The angel said to me, "O chosen one of God, Paul, behold the second wall is more beautiful than the first, and the third wall is more beautiful than the second. They are more beautiful than each other, all of them, up to the twelfth wall." I said to the angel, "My Lord, open the eyes of my understanding, for I do not know them." The angel said to me, "If there is