Hagiographical texts edited by K. Kekelidze

We beseech you, we humble and lowly ones, dwelling alone, Theophilos, Sergios, and Eugenios, all our fathers and brothers, that you may hear the life of the blessed Makarios, who dwelt near Paradise at twenty million [stadia], who was separated from this world. For we were in the monastery of our father, the holy Asklepios, in Mesopotamia of Syria, between the two rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris. And on one day we completed the prayer of the ninth hour and went from there to a quiet place, and we three sat together and began each of us to speak about fasting, patience, and ascetic labors. And to me, the humble Theophilos, came this thought, and I answered and said to my brothers Sergios and Eugenios: "I desire to go all the days of my life and to go where the sky ends, to that place." And my brothers said to me: "Brother Theophilos!

First, we acknowledge you as our brother and spiritual father; from now on we are inseparable from you, and wherever you intend to go, there we shall accompany you, for this word greatly pleases us." And when evening came, secretly from the abbot and from all the brothers, we three departed from the monastery and traveled for twenty-eight days, and we arrived at Jerusalem and venerated the holy Resurrection and the precious Cross and the Tomb, and we went to holy Bethlehem, the imitator of the heavens, and venerated the holy cave where our Lord Jesus Christ was born. And we saw that place where the star became guide to the Magi, who had come to worship Christ, and when we had gone about two million stades to that place where the angels cried out with the shepherds and said: "Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, and goodwill among men." And we turned back and ascended the Mount of Olives, where our Lord Jesus Christ ascended, and we went to Bethany and venerated holy Lazarus, whom he raised from the dead, and we praised God at all times.

we sealed it with the miracle of the cross and departed from Jerusalem, and we traveled for thirty-five days and crossed the river Tigris and entered the land of the Persians, Pidiad, which is called Asia, where the valiant Christ-bearer Merkure killed Julian, the apostate from Christ, and we entered a Persian city which is called "Khatis Pontoy," where the holy youths Ananias, Azariah, and Misael are, separated from Babylon, and we worshipped God, who deemed us worthy to see them. And we remained fasting in prayer and supplication and tasted nothing for many days. And we worshipped the three holy youths and ate and drank and were satisfied and thanked God and glorified him. 2. And we departed from the city of "Khatis Pontoy" and after four months we traversed the land of the Persians of Abasht and entered the land of India, and we no longer expected to see this world because of the difficulty of the roads, the sight of foreign tribes. But we entered one Indian forest and were pursued by Indian men, for they have no cities or buildings, but all are forests in various places. And again we went to another uninhabited forest and we stayed in that forest for two days.

And the husband and wife came, and on their heads was something like a crown, the point of an arrow and a sword. And when they saw us, they were greatly frightened and became hostile toward us, and they forbade us to enter their land. And they went to their own people and brought men, about two thousand, and they surrounded that tent. And they found us praying and weeping to our Lord God, and they set fire to burn us. But we were afraid of being burned and came out of the tent and went to them, for we had no strength to flee. And they began to deliberate about us. But we did not know their voice, nor their language, and we were silent and answered nothing. And they seized us and placed us in a narrow place, and they commanded each other that for ten days they should give us neither bread nor water. But we prayed unceasingly day and night and glorified our God. And after ten days they thought of our death. A great multitude came to us, and they opened the tent, and found us in prayer and supplication to our Lord and God. And they devised an evil plan concerning us, and they struck us severely with rods and drove us out of their land. For nine days we tasted nothing, as only the Lord Himself knows.

We sealed our heads with the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and on the same road by which we had come, we went forth eastward. 3. We journeyed for many days and arrived at a magnificent and fruitful place, and there we found a single tree, exceedingly fruitful, full of fruit, and we praised our Lord Jesus Christ and ate of that fruit and were strengthened. And we went forth and arrived at the land of the dog-headed ones, and we passed through their midst in wonder. They looked at us but did us no harm, for each of them was dwelling under a cliff with his wife and children, in caves made for themselves. And on the following day we went forth and journeyed eastward for a hundred days and arrived at the land of the serpent-footed ones. When they saw us, they were terrified and fled from us, and we praised God, who had delivered us from their presence. And we arrived at a very high mountain, where neither a tree was to be seen nor any greenery was to be found, except for venomous reptiles: asps and vipers and dragons intertwined with one another. And we saw evil beasts whose names we do not know.

We saw among them wild bulls, wild asses, leopards, lions, bears, wolves, and others, as many as there are on the earth, and we praised God, who delivered us from their mouths and strengthened us on the whole journey. As we traveled for twenty days, we heard the hissing of asps and the roaring of whales, and we were unable to endure or bear it; we stopped our ears, and by the help of God and his protection, nothing harmed us from them. And again we came to a great and deep cliff, and we climbed up and stayed there for seven days, and we besought the Lord to deliver us from that cliff. And behold, a great deer stood before us with purpose and began to leap and cry out before us. And we followed its voice and arrived at another place, very difficult and hard to descend, and we descended it with great fear and came out into a great, glorious, and spacious place. And there countless elephants were grazing, and we passed through their midst, and nothing harmed us from them; and we found a good road, and we besought the Lord God, and we went on that road, and we saw nothing of any taste for many days.

4. And we again came to a place broad and very fertile, and there was no light with us, nor did it become bright, except for mist and darkness. And we sat down there and wept and lamented greatly, and the light of day departed from us. But when we had been there seven days and were beseeching with many tears and weeping to the Lord, the Lord sent a star. And the star sat down before us, and it flew up and ascended into the sky. And we received great joy and praised God, and we followed that star and found a great arch. And written around the arch was this: "This arch Alexander, king of the Macedonians, built when he pursued Darius the Persian through Chalcedon and chased him as far as here, and from here onward is the realm of darkness, and whoever wishes to go on from here should proceed to the left side of the arch, for on the right side are difficult and hard-to-enter cliffs and very waterless places." And when we read this on that arch of Alexander's, we received great eagerness and praised God, who at every time was our helper on that whole journey. We began to go on the left side, where we traveled for a day like forty. And a spirit of very fierce torpor met us.

and we were unable to endure the stench of it, and we became as if dead, and we besought the Lord that our souls might be taken. And we saw before us a terrible and great lake, which was full of serpents, and the water of that lake was not visible because of their multitude. And behold, a lamentation, a great wailing and mourning, as of a multitude of men, arose from there. And we heard a voice from heaven, which said to us: "This is the lake of judgment, and these are those who denied our Lord Jesus Christ." And with great fear we passed by that lake of judgment. 5. And again we journeyed for twenty days and we came upon two high mountains. Within was a man, long and lean and exceedingly tall, whose length was about a hundred cubits. And he was bound with iron chains, his whole body. And there were four of those chains fastened on his right side, and the other four were fastened on his left side. And there was a fiery furnace all around him. And his voice was heard as of thirty million. And when that man saw us, he began to weep and to cry out to us and to bow his head. And he was utterly scorched and shriveled by that mighty fire, by which he was consumed.

and we heard a voice, which spoke to us thus: "This is the devil, who first expelled Adam and Eve from the paradise of delight. This is he who loves falsehood and deceit and hates truth. This is he who plants evil in the heart of men and is the enemy and adversary of all." And when we saw him, we were ashamed, and trembling seized us, and we became as if dead, and we fell down together from those high mountains. And we came to another place, which was a place of torment, great and deep. And there was a certain woman there, with her hair loosened, standing at the edge of a pit. And there was a very great serpent coiled around her, from her feet up to her neck, entwined about her. And whenever she attempted to open her mouth and speak a word, the serpent would close her mouth. And the hairs of her head were loosened and went down to the ground.

we heard a voice, which spoke to us: "This is Herodias, who for the sake of her daughter had the Forerunner and Baptist of Christ, John, beheaded." And we heard a voice and a word from that place of the abyss, which said: "Have mercy on us, these sinners and unrepentant ones, O Son of the Most High God." And when we heard, we were terrified and said thus: "O Lord our God, fulfill our life in this place, for our souls have seen great judgments upon the earth." 6. And again we came to some place and saw fig trees, and on the branches of those trees there was a multitude of birds, and those birds were large, having the likeness of a siren, and their voice was human, and they cried out and said: "Judge us, O Lord, judge us, as the merciful God, for we have sinned before you more than all the earth." And we prayed and said: "O Master Lord, our God, reveal to us what this terrible mystery of yours is." And immediately the earth shook beneath us, and we heard a voice which spoke to us: "It is not for you to know this mystery, but go forth to our Gaza with great fear and much lamentation." And again we came to a place, a plain, terrible and glorious.

And there stood four men with great glory, and their appearance was indescribable and very beautiful. And before those four men there were many sharp, gleaming swords, beautiful and numerous, and a flame of fire before them. And on their heads were royal crowns, adorned with gold and pearls, and in their hands they held golden scepters. And those holy men approached us and said to us: "Do not be afraid, Theophilus, Sergius, and Eugenius, but let us go on your way, which the Lord has revealed to you for your journey. This is commanded to us: to guard these until the day of judgment, when the King and God will come with all His glory to judge the earth and to receive each man according to his deeds." And when we heard this from those holy men, we bowed down to them from afar and praised God, who had delivered us from faint-heartedness.

7. And we departed from there and went on our way under the guidance of our Lord Jesus Christ the God. And we saw nothing, save water, for forty days. And we heard a prayer imperceptibly, as of a great multitude, and we were filled with the fragrance of many-vialed sweet oil, and with the sweetness of that voice which was heard from that chanting, and with indescribable fragrances we were lulled to sleep. When we fell asleep, our lips became sweet like honey of the comb. On a great and glorious plain there was an altar, and beneath the altar a spring of water issued forth, and its appearance was white, like the appearance of milk, until it seemed to us to be pure milk. And around that spring stood holy men, and they chanted with a voice like that of cherubim and the chanting of angels. And when we saw them standing there glorifying God, trembling seized us. And behold, one of those who stood by that spring looked at us and said to us: "This spring which you see, brothers Theophile, Sergius, and Eugenius, is of immortality, hidden for the righteous to receive for eternity." And when we heard this, we fell to the ground and glorified the Lord and that holy man continually.

And we departed from there with great joy, and we saw nothing, as only the Lord Himself knows, for many days. 8. And again we approached a great river; we drank from it and refreshed ourselves, and we glorified Christ our God. And it was the sixth hour of the day, and the heat was great, and we sat down on the bank of that river and deliberated among ourselves as to what we should do. And from that river eastward we saw a great light, twice as bright as the light of this world. And when we looked up, we beheld the four quarters of heaven and earth. And no breath of wind blew, as the wind blows here. But the eastern and western quarters have a green color, and the northern quarter a white color, like snow. And the stars of the sky have a brilliance surpassing that of [our stars], and the sun there is seven times brighter than this one. And the trees there are taller than these, and more luxuriant in branches and leaves, whether they are fruit-bearing or not. And the mountains there are higher than these mountains. And all that earth is of two colors: reddish and blue. Likewise the birds of the sky: each species has a different appearance, and they rejoice and sing to God in different ways.

And we stayed there, and we saw no taste of anything, as only the Lord Himself knows, for many days, except only water. And behold, suddenly there came to us a great multitude of women and men and children. And some of them were very tall, having a height from the ground of about one cubit, and others again were very short. And when we saw them, we were greatly afraid, lest they devour us. But I, Theophile, the most unworthy among the other brothers, Sergius and Eugenius, said to them: "Come, brothers, and let us shave the hairs of our head and throw them upon them, and either we shall be put to flight by fear or they will devour us." And quickly we shaved our hairs and threw them upon them. And when they saw us going with the hair, they were frightened and snatched up their children and fled from us, and they gnashed their teeth at us. But we crossed that river and found there a white grass, like honey, and its taste was similar to that of comb honey, and it stood one cubit high from the ground. And we ate of that grass and were strengthened, and we glorified the Lord our God, who always, every day, nourished us and went before us.

9. And we journeyed again for twelve days, and we did not know the way, which one we were going. By the command and providence of our Savior Jesus Christ, we met a good road and a straight path, which our holy father Macarius had traveled, and we praised God. And with great joy we set out upon that good and beautiful road, and we walked for many days, and we found the cave of holy Macarius, adorned like a holy temple, and we performed prayer and sealed our heads with the sign of the cross, and the desire to enter came upon us, and we entered that cave, and we found no one, and we said to one another: "This arrangement is of human nature, but let us stay here until evening and see that dweller here." And we remained in that cave until evening. And behold, the spirits of the incorporeal ones were made within that cave, and they came to our nostrils and awakened me. And we came out from that cave, and we lifted our eyes toward the east of the cave. And behold, a fearsome man, clothed in white hair. And this was the great and holy Macarius. From the multitude of years, the hairs of his head had grown long and covered his entire body.

When he came to us by way of the cave, the stench of our garments struck him from afar, and he quickly fell to the ground and began to cry out to us and to swear, and he said to us with a curse: "If you are servants of our Lord Jesus Christ, approach me here, to my side; if you are servants of the persecutor of all believers, depart from me, from this lowly and sinful one." For the holy one had been tested by evil spirits. And we quickly called out to him and said: "Bless us, holy father, and pray for us to the Lord, you who dwell in this desert, for we also are servants of the great God, who created the heavens and the earth, and the devil and all his minions have we renounced, and we have been separated from the world." When the holy one heard this from us, he approached us and raised his hands toward the sky and blessed us, and he parted the hair of his head from his face and spoke to us, and all his hair was white, like snow. And then we saw the holy and angel-like face of his. Because of his great old age, his eyes were not visible, and his nails had grown, like a single claw.

His moustache hairs covered his face, hung down and were entangled at the chin, and when he spoke to us, he showed that he was saying something to us from some depth. His skin was like the skin of a bull's neck. And he began to bless us and said: "Where are you from, brothers, or whence have you come here?" And we told him everything that had befallen us on that road, and that we intended to go and arrive where the sky rests. And when we had told him all this thus, the holy elder answered us and said: "Hear my word, my children, and know the truth, for from this place eastward it is not possible for any man who is of flesh to enter, nor can anyone know the wonders of God. For I, the sinful Macarius, greatly dared to go where the sky rests, and this is the resting place, where the sky ends. In a night vision an angel of the Lord appeared and said to me thus: Macarius, do not be bold in going eastward from this place. But I, lowly, answered him with boldness: Why, my Lord?

And he said to me: "Behold, here for twenty million there is paradise and unspeakable joy and countless delights, where Adam the first-created was, and that upper side of paradise to the east the sky ends. And at the outer gate of paradise God placed a fiery cherub and a turning sword, which guards the entrance to paradise and that tree of life. Now the cherubim have from their feet up to the waist the form of a man, and their breast is like that of a lion, and their hands are those of a griffin, and in their hands they hold swords of fire, so that no one may enter into paradise, for the angels and all the heavenly powers stand there, where that sky rests. And when I heard this from the holy angel, I no longer dared to go forward." 10. And when we heard those words of the venerable elder, we fell to the ground at his feet and glorified that holy elder, who had revealed to us the wonders of God. And when evening came, the elder said to us: "I beseech you, my beloved brothers, go a little away from this place, for I have with me two children, and every day they roam over the mountains and come to me evening by evening. And these are two lions.

...so that they may not see you unawares and attack you and fall upon you and do you harm." So we withdrew a little, and those two lions came with him. They bowed down at his feet and worshipped him with a roar. And we heard their voice and were terrified and fell face down on the ground, and we could not lift our heads or rise. But the holy one laid his hands upon them and said to them: "My dear and good children! Three brothers have come from the world to us, and if you have love for me, your nurturer, do them no harm, for they are servants of God." The holy Makarios called out to us and said: "Come, brothers, approach me and fear nothing, so that we may perform our evening prayer." And we went to him with great fear. But those two lions met us and licked our feet and were as if they could speak. They bowed their heads and their feet and worshipped us. And when we saw this, we praised God, who had tamed them towards us. And we also laid our hands upon them and blessed them, and we performed the evening prayer and sat down for the whole night in joy.

11. And when it dawned, we said to the elder: "We beseech you, holy father, tell us, how did you come here?" And the holy elder said to us: "I, my children, this poor and humble one, was the son of a Roman synkletikos, who was called Adreuel, and against my will, through distress and affliction, my father gave me a wife. And my neighbors, who were my peers, made arrangements for my wedding. And when evening came, the time arrived for me to be led to the bridal chamber. And while all were in general rejoicing and in the wedding chambers, and no one knew my heart, then I made an excuse to go out, so that I might relieve myself. And having gone out from there, I went and hid in the house of some poor woman. And that widow was there and brought me news of my house for seven days, which, if mentioned, would be good before God. And they sought me greatly but could not find me. They made great lamentation and mourning for me. But at midnight I arose and offered thanks to God, and left peace for that poor woman as well, and went out from there and set out on my way, and said within myself: Where should I go?

But the Lord gave me the archangel Raphael as my guide on that road, in the form of a monk; and when I saw him, I bowed down and said to him: "Where are you going, venerable father monk?" And he answered me thus and said: "Where you intend to go, there I am going." And I said thus: "My Lord, lead me on this road, which leads to salvation." And from then on we set out on that road, and all along that road we begged for bread and water. We would come upon some village or other, and thus we traversed the entire road. And the angel of God showed me everything without hindrance, just as you have seen. And when we came to this mountain, we both dwelt together in one cave. But I fell asleep, and when I awoke, I could no longer see that venerable monk anywhere, and I began to grieve and mourn.

Then the angel of the Lord revealed to me one night the whole matter and said to me: "I am the angel of the Lord, Raphael, who led you here in the form of a monk, as the Lord commanded me. From now on, cast out from yourself despair and sorrow, and daily thank and glorify God, for behold, we have traversed every difficult and necessary place and ice, and have seen the wonders of God, and all the punishments of sinners, and the glory of the holy angels, and the spring of immortality, which is preserved for the saints to receive for life." All this the angel of the Lord Raphael said to me, and he became invisible from me. 12. Then I arose and began to go even more deeply into the desert, and I met a grazing wild goat, and I adjured it thus: "I adjure you by God, who created you, show me the dwelling place of man." And immediately that wild goat rose from grazing and led me before it, and followed behind for two days. And after two days, a great deer met us. And when that wild goat saw that great deer, it turned back to its own place. Again that deer led me for two days. And behold, as we were proceeding, a great whale approached and was dragging itself upon the earth. And when the deer saw that whale, it turned back to its own place.

Then I was greatly ashamed before that serpent and began to swear to it by God that it should not harm me. And that serpent raised itself upon its tail, opened its mouth, and said to me in a human voice: "Welcome, servant of God Macarius, for it has been commanded to me for twelve years that I should await this mountain. You are Macarius, concerning whom the archangel foretold to me and showed me the form of your face, your gait, and your age. And as I learned from him, behold, I have been deemed worthy to see you. For it is now ten days since I have been awaiting you here, and I have not partaken of either food or drink, and in this gloom I saw you sitting upon a cloud of light and heard a voice from heaven which said to me: 'Arise, go to meet the servant of God Macarius!' And now I have come forth and received you, and I will show you your place, wherein you shall glorify God." And when that serpent had said this to me, it led me to this door of the cave. Then, entering this cave, I found a dead lioness lying there and these two cubs lying upon her, weeping greatly and wailing because of the lack of milk which they might suckle. Then I took these two cubs, raised them with the root of that mallow from which I myself obtained my sustenance, and I regard them as my own children.

Then I brought their mother out, placed her outside, and covered her with earth, and I no longer saw that serpent. And from then on I began to sing praises to God unceasingly and to give thanks for His goodness. 13. When I had spent two years here with great longing, on one of the days I went out from my cave at the ninth hour to see the fields and mountains, and I sat in the sun with those two lion cubs. And behold, Satan began to tempt me, and I was utterly unable to understand. But he, without my knowledge, showed me precious patriarchal veils lying near me. And I, weak, was troubled by evil thoughts and did not comprehend that lawlessness of the enemy. I took and placed that veil in my cave, and I pondered within myself what this might be, and I disregarded it and did not seal myself with the sign of the cross, for the holy cross of Christ is the armor of Christians and the repeller of the enemy. And again I went out on the following day and found a red patriarchal mantle, and I disregarded that too with unseemly thoughts; I took it and placed it also with that veil, and again I remained without sealing myself. And after three days, at dawn, I arose and went out to worship the good and philanthropic God. And again, because of the enemy's instigation, I did not seal myself with the sign of the cross, so that by that sign of the precious cross I might be left deprived because of my lawlessness.

Again I saw the devil sitting, in the likeness of a woman, clothed in garments of great value, beautiful in appearance, and adorned with every ornament. And behold, she was sitting on a stone atop a high cliff. And I, when I saw her, said to her: "Who are you, woman, or whence have you come here?" And she began to weep with great weeping and abundant tears. And I, wretched and weak, took pity on her and began to weep likewise. She said to me, wretched and weak as I am: "I am the daughter of some Roman synkletikos, who is a priest, and my father gave me in marriage, and on that very evening my husband departed from me and from all of them unexpectedly, by reason of a flood of water, and I went on an inner path and did not know the way, but came down through mountains and cliffs and by force have arrived here." And I, weak and foolish, believed her deceitful speech, did not comprehend her folly and cunning, and thought of her as my wife. And I took her hand and led her into the cave, and she wept unceasingly. And I gave her to eat from this bread, lest she perish from hunger. But my foolish soul! Evening came, and I, inflamed with guile, sang a hymn, lay down, and slept a little. And while I, weak one, was sleeping, she came and sat down near me.

And she lifted a little of my garment upward and encircled her arm and examined my entire body. And I was in sleep, greatly weighed down. But I, the weak one, who had no recollection whatsoever of the taste of lust, I added judgment to the judgment of my soul, and I found myself a doer of sin, and immediately she became invisible from me. But I, the unworthy one, found myself lying face down on the ground; I awoke from that deception and that darkness, and I came to my senses and recognized that evil sin of mine, and I departed from this cave and wept bitterly. 14. And when these lions perceived my lawlessness, they departed from me for about ten days. But I, this weak one, looked into the distance and began to weep bitterly to God with many tears, that the philanthropist God might forgive me my sin, He who rejoices in a man's repentance and accepts tears. And He disregarded that evil lawlessness of mine and calmed those two lions of mine and sent them to me. And when we entered this cave, I commanded them to dig a pit with their paws, which had a depth of only one man. And when I descended into that pit, I again commanded them to bury me. And I remained in the earth for two years, weeping and beseeching my Lord to forgive me my sin, and I ate grass.

And after two years, by the command of God, a great wind arose and uncovered this cave above my head. And the winter rains came, and the water's flow widened the opening of the cave, and I lifted up my eyes and saw the light of day, and I praised the philanthropist God, who had wiped away my sin. For the Lord commanded: "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." And I stretched my hand out of the pit and cut a mallow and ate it and grew strong. And again, by the command of God, these two lions entered the cave, and when they saw my head and face, I emerged from that pit entirely whole, and I had my strength twice as before. I prayed and praised the philanthropist God, and I came out of that cave, and I knelt facing east for forty days and forty nights, and I praised the Creator and Maker, who had granted me such patience. When I arose from my supplication, I looked at my cave and saw all four walls of the cave shining, and a great light within it. And within the cave was the Savior Christ, in the form of a youth, seated; on his head was a crown of gold and precious stone, and he was singing a wondrous human hymn. And his voice was great...

As many as five thousand men, or an innumerable multitude. And when he finished that singing, another voice came from heaven three times thus: "Amen, amen, amen, from eternity and unto eternity." Immediately the Savior came out of the cave and ascended into heaven. And again a cloud of fire entered into that cave, where Christ had been, a great light, and ascended into heaven, like a flame and a cloud. There were mighty thunders, lightnings, and great tremblings, and the birds of the sky cried out in their own voice: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord." And I was amazed, and trembling seized me, and these lions also came. Then I knew truly that our Lord and Savior of the world, Christ, came with a cloud of light of the color of fire and blessed and sanctified this cave of mine, while I, weak and unworthy, was amazed that I, unworthy, was deemed worthy to see these miracles and terrible deeds. And from that time until now there are seventy years, or perhaps even more. And I was then forty-eight years old. And behold, all this, as to the brother monks, I have told you what happened to me in this world.

Now you are able to endure and bear the temptations of the devil; abide and remain here. But if you are not able, may our Lord and God, with peace and righteousness, protect you and lead you with Him, and be your companion on every road of yours, wherever He may go. 15. But we sinners, when we heard this from holy Makarios, glorified our merciful, good, and philanthropic God. And immediately those two lions came near us, and the blessed elder laid his hands upon them and blessed them. But we were terrified and fell upon our faces to the ground and worshipped the holy elder. And that elder said to us: "Lay, my children, your hands also upon these my children and bless them." Then we too laid our hands upon them and blessed them. And our Lord God pacified them through the prayer of the holy and blessed elder, without harm to us.

Then we answered the elder: "Holy Father, grant us your blessing, so that we may return to the world and recount to all your holy way of life and conduct, first to the holy city of Jerusalem and to the holy archbishop Theodore, to the holy churches of God and to all the monasteries." The holy elder arose and prayed for a long time to God on our behalf, that He might lead us and guide us back to the world unharmed on our entire journey. And he gave us his two lions as traveling companions. Then we bade farewell to the holy one and set out on our way, and with God's help the lions accompanied us as far as the land of darkness. We saw again the arch of Alexander, king of Macedon. And both lions bowed their heads and did homage to us, and returned to the holy Macarius, their nurturer. And the philanthropist God preserved us unharmed from all those pagans through the prayer of our holy father Macarius. And we arrived in the land of the Persians and came again to Pidiad, where the lawless Julian, the apostate from Christ our God, was slain through the intercession of the holy martyr Mercurius by the prayer of our holy father Basil of Caesarea and by the command of the holy Queen, the Ever-Virgin.

And we entered the city of the Persians, which is called "Khatis Pontoy," where the three holy youths Ananias, Azarias, and Misael are, and we venerated them. And we departed from that city and crossed the Tigris River and met with Christians and rejoiced. We traveled for forty-two days and entered holy Jerusalem. And we venerated the holy Resurrection and the holy Crucifixion and the precious Stone and Bethlehem, where our Lord Jesus Christ was born, and we ascended the holy Mount of Olives, where the Lord ascended. And we recounted without omission the powers and miracles of our Lord Jesus Christ and the punishments of sinners and the unrepentant and the darkness and that spring of immortality and the glory of the saints and the way of life of our holy father Makarios and the gentleness of those two lions toward all the monasteries and the secluded lavras and to Patriarch Theodore of Jerusalem together with all his flocks. And all those who heard this wrote down the way of life of our holy father Makarios in books for the sake of love and for the hearing of Christ-loving men, for hearers and readers.

And we went out from Jerusalem and entered the monastery of Asklepios, of our elder father, and we venerated all our brethren in Christ and recounted to them the wonders of our God, and again the blameless life of our holy father Makari, so that all who heard might glorify Christ our God and his holy servant Makari, that through the intercession of our holy father Makari we might all be deemed worthy to cleave to eternal life for the remission of our sins—speakers, readers, and hearers—with zeal and fervent fear of Christ our God, to whom is due glory, honor, and worship from the Father without beginning and the all-holy and life-giving Spirit, now and forever and unto the ages of ages, amen. The holy father Makari, the goodly martyr for Christ our Lord, fell asleep in the year 120, on the tenth of February, and he is an intercessor for us before the philanthropic God.