Martyrdom Isaac Tiphrensis

The martyrdom of the holy Abba Isaac of Tiphre in the district of Panau, which was completed on the sixth day of the month of Pashons in the peace of God. Amen. Now in the days of Diocletian, the lawless king, he did many evil deeds that are not to be recounted. He built seventy temples of stone and temples of the gods for women, and he gave them names, saying, "These are gods, not gods." The foremost is Apollo, and Artemis, and the abomination of the gods. He wrote an edict in this manner, saying, "I am Diocletian the king. I command that the whole inhabited world offer sacrifice to the foremost gods, Apollo, and Zeus, and Hermes, and Heracles, and Artemis, the mother of all the gods. He who will not obey our decree shall be tortured with grievous tortures; afterwards, his house and all that he has shall be plundered." He gave the edict to Culcianus the governor. He brought it into Rakote, and he made the multitude offer sacrifice. He came to the south in Egypt; he came down to Tabah; he stayed at Tanemro. Now there was a small, wise child, exceedingly beautiful, who dwelt in a village called Tiphre in the district of Panau. His name was Isaac, and he was twelve years old. This one, however, served God day and night. An angel

of the Lord appeared to him while he was in the boat, sleeping. He stood over his head, woke him, and said to him, "Hail, Abba Isaac, the man who bears God. Why are you sleeping while the contest is ready?" He informed him of a crown and said to him, "This crown is yours. Do not be negligent of your salvation. Arise, go to the governor, confess Christ, and die for his holy name, so that you may be in his eternal kingdom." After the angel said these things to him, he departed from him. When the morning dawned, Abba Isaac arose and went down to his house. He greeted his father and mother and said to them, "I ask you, my parents." They said to him, "Where are you going?" He said to them, "I am going to the governor so that I may die for the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate. It is good for me to die in this world and to live in the kingdom of God." His parents restrained him, saying, "We will not let you die this evil death." In the evening of the same day, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, and the whole house was filled with light. The angel said to him, "Hail, Abba Isaac. The Lord is with you." The blessed one said to him, "Your grace will be a blessing." He took him outside his house and said to him,

Endure, and take the crown that does not perish, for I say to you that your crown and your throne are in the heavens. Do not fear; I am with you until you complete your martyrdom. There will be great sufferings for the sake of the name of Christ, but be strong, for I am coming to give you strength." These are the things that the angel said to him. Then he ascended into the heavens. The blessed Abba Isaac, however, arose in the strength of Christ. He moved his feet and went to Tabah. He found the governor in the prison. He stood before the gate. Behold, a soldier came out whose name was Dionysius. He said to him, "What is your business with him?" The nobleman said to him, "I have business with the governor." The soldier said to him, "What is your affair with the governor?" The saint said to him, "I am a Christian." Dionysius said to him, "Are you not afraid of this word? Do you wish to die an evil death?" The blessed one said to him, "Death of this world is not death, but life in the coming age." While he was speaking with Dionysius, the governor came out of the prison. When the nobleman Abba Isaac saw him, he cried out, saying, "I am a Christian, a curial." The governor looked at him and said to him, "Do you know what a Christian is?" The saint said to him, "I know. I am a servant of my Lord Jesus Christ." The governor said to him, "If you listen to me, you will live; if you do not listen to me, you will die.

The saint Abba Isaac said to him, "It is written in the holy Gospel: 'Do not fear before the one who will kill your body, for your soul, they have no power to kill it. But fear before the one who has power to give the soul and the body to be destroyed in the gehenna of fire.'" The governor said to him, "Are these things written?" The saint said to him, "They are written in the Gospel." The governor said to him again, "Are you a reader?" The saint said to him, "No." The governor inquired of him, "Are you a monk?" The saint said to him, "I am a farmer in the district of Panau." The governor Dionysius said, "See, he will not be able to turn his heart until I go to Tamiai to prepare the tribune." When the governor had gone up to the ship, he sailed to Tamiai. Dionysius, however, took the blessed one into his house and said to him, "Listen to me, make sacrifice to the gods. There is no son of my house except one daughter alone. I will give her to you as a wife. I will make the governor give you a rank of honor. You will be filled, you and my name, because of Jesus." The blessed one said to him, "Enough of the prayers of the saints. If you should grant me the kingdom of Diocletian, I will not abandon my Lord Jesus Christ." Dionysius, when he knew that he would not listen to him, he left him while he was speaking with him, and he sent him.

...so that they might guard him and give him his daily food, bread and water. But behold, the saint came out after some days. Behold, a blind man was sitting there, lacking mercy. Dionysius said to him, "Come, give honor to the man of God, so that he may place his hands upon your eyes, and you will see again." Immediately he cried out, saying, "Man of God, help me so that I may see again!" The blessed one said to him, "Did our Lord Jesus not say to anyone, 'See again'? But according to your faith, it shall be for you." Then he placed his hands upon his eyes, saying, "In the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, see again!" And immediately he saw again. He cried out, saying, "One is the God of the Christians, the God of Apa Isaac!" Behold, a woman cried out, saying, "My Lord, may your mercy reach me, for I am a sinner, and my son as well." The blessed one said to her, "Whom do you serve among the gods?" She said, "I serve Zeus and Hermes." The saint said to her, "You are a pagan, and your gods are pagans. If you listen to me, the blessing of the Lord will be with you. Go, serve Christ; his blessing will be with you." The blessed one remained in the house of the soldier until the governor summoned him. When he had taken him, Dionysius questioned him, saying, "Has the Christian changed his mind to repent?" Dionysius said to him, "You have been burned with Apollo and Zeus, if...

Now I serve my Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, forever, and the Holy Spirit. The governor said to him, "There is no business of mine with you, but I will send you to your tribune." Dionysius said to him, "God lives, Abba Isaac. He will not eat nor drink until you give your sentence, so that I may receive the crown of Christ in his kingdom." When the governor arose to go to his house, his chariot was shattered, and he was unable to proceed to the palace. He said to Dionysius, "You have shown today that you are a magician." He, however, said to him, "I am not a magician, but I am a servant of Christ." Then the governor wrote his sentence, which was of this type: "Dionysius the soldier, having heard the command of the kings, I command that his head be cut off." They led him south of the city to the place of the theater, and they cut off his head. He completed his martyrdom on the twenty-eighth of Pashons, in peace. Amen. The governor said to Abba Isaac, "Behold, the soldier has died by your hand. I will now go to the court to test you." He took him with him to the ship, and brought him to the court. When he arrived, the governor sat on the tribunal. He ordered them to bring the blessed Abba Isaac. When they brought him, he said to him, "Listen.

...after me, make sacrifice so that you may be released from these many sufferings. I give you until tomorrow," said the saint to him, "If you have given me until tomorrow, do not give me until tomorrow at all." Then he ordered that he be taken to the amphitheater and that he be burned. The saint, however, made the sign of the cross over himself, saying, "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, help me, my good Savior." At that hour the amphitheater collapsed, breaking in its middle. When the soldiers saw the miracle that had happened, they cried out, "One is the God of the Christians, the God of Abba Isaac." The governor said to lift him onto a bed of iron and to pour pitch over him until he was completely consumed. He had them bring torches and lamps down upon his chest. The governor said to him, "Listen to me, do not die an evil death." The blessed one said to him, "All the tortures that you wish, do them to me; I will endure them through the power of Christ." The governor said, "Take him to prison until I decide what I will do to him." They took him to prison. On the next day, however, he sat on the tribunal. Behold, the governor Arianus had arrived in the city. They greeted one another. Colkianos said to Arianus, "There is a Christian in this place whom I have not been able to persuade to sacrifice to the gods of the king." Arianus said to him, "Show him to me." They brought the saint to him. Arianus said to him, "Are you the magician who leads astray and despises the gods of the emperors?" The blessed one said...

ⲛⲁϥ ϫⲉ said to him,

I am not a magician, but I am attached to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Arianos said to the Koulkianos, "Send him to me, I will do what I wish with him." Koulkianos said to the holy Abba Isaac, "Since you did not listen to me, behold, I will exile you." Then he sent him with Arianos, and he was bound to the south. The blessed one, however, they took him to the east of the ship. Behold, he revealed himself to him on the east of the ship, the Savior whom the blessed one had seen. He took him down, and he worshipped him, saying, "Remember, O Lord, to give me strength until I complete my course." The Lord said to him, "Do not fear; I will not leave you, neither you nor those who are with you, until you inherit this kingdom." As he was saying these things, he gave him the peace and went up to the heavens. The blessed Abba Isaac, however, prayed to the Lord above, saying, "O God, who formed me from the womb of my mother, be merciful to me in every place where I will go. Do not let the nations say, 'Their god has fled.'" As he was saying these things, the sailors of the ship were listening to him. They said to one another, "This is a man of God." But one of the sailors opened the east of the ship and said to him, "Hail." The blessed one answered, "Hail, my good brother. Do me the charity of giving me a little water." He brought him the katous and drank. He said to the sailor, "May the Lord have mercy on you.

On the great day of judgment, he received the *katous, and a little water was poured into it.

He threw him upon one of the jars of oil as if he were playing. That jar, however, was a single eye, from which not a drop could be taken. He opened it as if it had never been ill. And the jars that saw what had happened gave glory to God, who alone works great wonders. They also brought him some bread so that he might eat. The blessed one said to them, "My God will bless you. I will not eat until I complete my course. I will eat bread in the kingdom of the heavens with my Lord Jesus Christ." At the completion of the forty days, he persevered in the prison. They brought the blessed one down to the city. The people of the city were very hospitable. He found the blessed Philoxenos and Apa Sirene in the prison. He greeted them. They said to him, "Greetings, our beloved brother. Grace has brought us to greet you." The blessed Apa Sirene said, "May the Lord God give us strength so that we may stand in his holy name until we complete our struggle. Amen." The blessed Abba Isaac said to them, "Remember my fathers, that I am a small child. I know nothing." Apa Philoxenos said to him, "Greetings, my brother. The governor will hear you first. You will receive the crown of your martyrdom. But remember us in the house of God in the evening prayer." The holy ones prayed.

He opened his mouth, Abba Isaac, and blessed God, saying, "I will bless you, O God, in my life. I will sing psalms to my God as if I were present. Let my prayer ascend to the height before you like incense, for you have preserved me in the furnace of your grace and saved me through your holy name. For yours is the glory forever. Amen." After his prayer, the governor Arianos sat upon the tribunal and said thus, "Bring me this magician and sorcerer." The other *stonarii* came to the prison. The blessed Abba Isaac said to the holy ones, "Remember me to God. Give me strength." They said to him, "God, whom we serve day and night, will give you strength until you complete your course." When he was brought before the governor, he said to him through the interpreter, "Has your heart not yet been moved to sacrifice to the honored gods, for whom the kings have written, so that you might escape from these tortures?" The holy Abba Isaac said to him, "Not once, nor twice, have I desired to say to you that I will sacrifice to your gods. I have desired to say to you that the whole world has perished, but my God will endure forever." When the governor heard these things, he became enraged, gnashed his teeth, and foamed at the mouth until his nostrils were blocked. The holy one, however, contended in these things.

all of them, then he had them make the body of the saint into strips, strip by strip, with a knife of Benipi. He had them bring a poker and a spit over his ribs. He had them dislocate his limbs, one by one, his hands and his feet. He had them pour vinegar over them and lime without water. He had them bring scribes of Benipi, burning with fire, and they thrust them into his ears and poured them inside them until the fire was quenched in his head. The saint, however, rose up against all these things with great strength. The entire crowd and the governor were amazed. But Arianos the governor turned to Abba Isaac the brave and said to him, "Truly, your magic has been revealed today." The saint said to him, "You see, it is not you, O wretched one, for my Lord Jesus Christ has saved me how many times from your schemes and your tortures." Arianos said to him, "Truly, no one has saved you except your magic which you perform in the name of Jesus, in whom you believe. But come, your salvation is the gods Apollo and Artemis, the mother of the gods, for I will make your limbs into pieces, pieces until you know that your magic cannot save you from my hands." The governor said to him again, "What is your name?" The saint said to him, "My name which my parents gave me in the flesh according to the world is Isaac. The name by which I am enrolled in citizenship is Christian." The governor said to him, "Isaac, your words of wisdom will not benefit you at all. Listen to me, make an offering.

his feet. The blessed one said to him, "I am not a fool, but I am wise. If I listen to you, then I will be a fool." The governor said to have him taken to the iron rack and to have him stretched until all his limbs were dislocated. The governor said to him, "Make a sacrifice so that I may release you." The blessed one said to him, "My body may be tortured with various torments, but my soul and my spirit—you have no power over them." The governor commanded, "Bring oil, fat, and pitch, put them on the copper plate, heat them until they boil, and pour them over his wounds first, then again over his entire body." They did this to him in this manner. The saint, when he saw the copper plate, said, "My Lord Jesus, help me as you sent your angel and saved the holy one from the furnace of fire of Nebuchadnezzar the king. In this way, may you save me, my Lord, so that the governor may not say that his god has abandoned me." When he had said this, he made the sign of the cross over himself three times, saying, "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." Then he descended into the copper plate and prayed to God, saying, "Lord God, the Pantocrator, Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, come to me, do not abandon me." At that hour, Michael the archangel came.

out of the sky, he melted the copper, making it like flowing water. But the people of the city, when they saw what had happened, cried out, wanting to stone the governor, saying, "Either release him or give his sentence." Then the governor commanded that he be put on a ship and drowned in the river. After he gave his sentence, he wrote as follows: "Isaac of Tiphre, in the district of Panau, since his wish is to die for the name of Jesus, I order that his head be cut off with the sword." Thus he drew the document and stood up from the tribunal. When the servants of lawlessness came, they dragged the saint, with the iron collar around his neck. When they brought him to the riverbank, the whole city came out to meet him, marveling at his appearance and the glory surrounding him. When they had drawn him out, saying that they were about to cut off his head, the holy father Abba Isaac said to the servants, "Wait for me, my brothers, a little while, so that I may pray to my God before you kill me." The other soldiers withdrew from him. The blessed Abba Isaac turned his face toward the east, opened his mouth, and prayed thus: "The angels of the light are standing before you with me today. The archangels of the light are standing before you with me today. The seraphim of the light are standing before you with me today. The liturgies of

The light descended and stood before you, and with me today. Come to me today, my Lord Jesus, and give me strength. Let me be worthy to hear your voice before my death, so that my heart may be stirred within me, and I may remember you in my desire, which is in my heart. As the holy Abba Isaac was saying these things, behold, the Lord Jesus came out of the sky, borne upon a chariot of light, with countless angels hymning him. He halted the chariot above the place where the holy one was. The Lord cried out in a loud voice, "Come up to me, my beloved Isaac. I will give you your reward for the suffering you have endured for my name. As for the desires you have longed for, I will grant them to you, for I am a giver of joy, my father." When the holy Abba Isaac heard what the Savior said to him, his heart was strengthened, and he spoke with the Savior, saying, "Listen to me, my Lord. Stir my heart in the one I remember through you. You know, my Lord, that my faith is a small thing. Would that an enemy might rise up against it, and you send Michael the archangel to embolden them and give them strength to destroy my enemies. If a man sins, let him come upon my body and beseech you to forgive him his sins, before the sun sets on that day." The Lord said to him, "Let it be so, my beloved." The holy one said to him, "I will remember you for the one who will care for my body in

A covering you shall spread over his body at the time of his necessity, that he may not be naked. He who will write my martyrdom, let him reveal it, and write his name in the book of life. He who will give my name to his son with a desire of heart, let him bind his heart. He who will give an offering to my shrine, let him give from the offering of the incorruptible in the sanctuary of Abba Isaac. For these things the Savior answered him with a joyful voice, saying, "Come, I say to you, that all the works you have done, I will give them to you. The other things you have not thought of, I will grant them to you, O Michael the great archangel, whom I have appointed over your shrine, where they will place your body. Let him serve you in every place, and heal. The people will inquire after them from you." After these things, Abba Isaac turned to the other strategoi and said to them, "Come, fulfill what was commanded to you." In this manner, the other strategoi came, they put the bit in his mouth, they placed his head on a great stone, they stretched out his neck, and they cut off his head with a sword. Blood and water came out of his body. The place where they cut off his head moved to this side and that, three times. Fear and trembling occurred in the city, a multitude.

The people heard and came out to see the miracle that had happened. The blood and the sweat were drawn out from the body of Abba Isaac. Moreover, the blind and the lame and the deaf and the dumb who partook of the blood and the sweat that came from the body of the blessed one, they placed them upon their afflicted limbs and they were healed. The blind saw, the lame walked, the deaf heard, the dumb spoke. This is the manner in which Abba Isaac completed his martyrdom on the twenty-third of the month of Pachons. He went to the one whom he loved, Christ. He received the imperishable crown forever and ever. Amen. After these things, the governor came. He brought a linen garment and placed it on his head. He also brought some tunics and covered the body of the blessed Abba Isaac. But I, the sinner Christophoros, I am a relative of this saint. From the beginning I was with him. I wrote down his acts of endurance, and I did not conceal them nor omit anything from them, because I saw that there was no one else there. I confronted the governor. He gave me a proclamation and six servants of his. I carried the body and brought it to the riverbank of his village. I did not find a boat to cross with him. God commanded the beasts, and they walked upon the water as if on dry land. When the people of the village heard, they all came out to him, the small and the great. They brought him into the church with glory and honor, rejoicing and praising God.

He who alone works the miracles. After these things, I, Christophoros, built his house to the south of the church in the month of Paoni. I built an oratory for the saint. I gave his crown. I sent for and brought the bishop, and he consecrated it. On the seventh day of the month of Tobi, there came to pass in it many powers and miracles, to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, and his good Father, and the Holy Spirit, the Life-giver, now and at all times, and forever and ever, amen. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, this good memorial came to pass from this little book of reading, from the hand of our God-loving father Abraham of Koltha and his spiritual sons. He brought it into the holy church of our holy father Abba Makari of Shihit, in the time of our holy father Abba Kosma, the archbishop of Rakoti, who was reading over the chair of our father Abba Makari. By the hand of the deacon Jacob, in the third of the martyrs, that is, the repentance. Remember. I, for the sinful work, who wrote it, Theodore, the spiritual son of my father Abraham of Koltha. O Lord Jesus Christ, grant me forgiveness of my sins and all my transgressions, amen.