Inventio imaginis in Camulianis

In the same month, on the 9th, the finding of the not-made-by-hands and divine image of the Camuliani, composed by our father among the saints Gregory, bishop of Nyssa. 1 Our Lord Jesus Christ, the righteous and only true God, who is invisible in the essence of divinity, invincible in power, ineffable in might, philanthropic and good by nature, unrepentant in giving; the exact image of the Father, who was invisibly born from the Father before the ages and in the last days was born from a virgin mother, deigned to appear here again in a holy image through his own goodness and immeasurable compassion. And there he guided the Magi on their journey by a star, while here he leads those with immature minds to perfect knowledge of himself. O ineffable philanthropy, O immeasurable care, O unspeakable forbearance, O indescribable gift, O incomprehensible mysteries; truly a paradoxical and awesome wonder, that the creator is seen among us, made of clay, in an immaterial character. There he appeared as a newborn from a virgin through birth, here the same one deigned to be venerated today in a bodily image. O wonder, more paradoxical than wonders; for again a descent of the philanthropic master to his own servants has occurred.

Come then, brothers and fathers, listen, and I shall relate to you all who fear the Lord, all that happened in the new Bethlehem of the Camuliani, and concerning the precious image and the blessed Bassa, who was renamed Aquilina; I, the humble Gregory, will set these forth in the midst, as they were revealed to me, the unworthy one, by the Holy Spirit. This blessed woman, being a Greek and having a husband named Camulus, who was himself a Greek and a toparch, and who raged violently against the Christians according to the edict of the Emperor Diocletian, was illumined by divine grace and sought to abandon both her husband and his religion, hastening to place her hope and knowledge in the sole master and king of life, the Lord, in secret because of the fear she had of her lawless husband. And she continually besought the Lord to receive holy baptism, occupying herself with all-night prayers and daily fasts, bearing in herself every purity of soul and body, and persevering in chastity. For this reason she was deemed worthy of the revelation of the Holy Spirit. For as she prayed to our Lord Jesus Christ with tears and a contrite heart, God, who fulfills the will of those who fear him, hearkened to her supplication, having measured her faith, and said: Since for the salvation of men I came down from the Holy Spirit and from Mary the Virgin, I now come to you, having pitied your tears.

Prepare a clean table, and place upon it a white linen cloth and a pure, transparent vessel with water, and set these in a decorated chamber, and throw yourself upon the floor of the outer part of the bedchamber, and my right hand will cover you, and I shall appear to you as I wish. And so the blessed Aquilina fell, as the divine voice commanded her. And the Lord Christ descended to her—O strange and awe-inspiring mystery—He who is always and everywhere present and never overlooks those who hope in Him and cry out to Him and yearn for Him. Alas for such condescension and ineffable philanthropy, that He deemed His servants worthy of such gifts. And all the powers of the heavens came together with Him around the fifth watch of the night, singing and saying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord Sabaoth.” And He who previously washed the feet of His disciples and wiped them with the towel with which He was girded, now also washed His own face with His hands in the water—O wonder—and having washed, He wiped His immaculate and inscrutable face with the clean linen cloth. And immediately the type of His God-man form, the most holy and most true likeness, was displayed, as is shown to all today. And just as before, by His own philanthropy and condescension, He manifested His incarnation, so now He manifests it to the venerable and most devout Aquilina. Therefore, when these things were thus arranged, the woman gave thanks to the Lord, and in her thanksgiving she did not become wearisome.

having placed such a holy character in one of the chests of her house, fearing her husband, she honored him exceedingly. Therefore, having foreseen her own departure, she made excellent provision for this holy, not-made-by-hands, and colorless image, and having written down the events that followed in it and having placed it with her, she secured it. After her death, it was revealed to me, the unworthy Gregory, in the Camulianae, in her dwelling place through the Holy Spirit, and having gone to the place indicated to me, having dug out the wall, I found a chest in which lay the holy character of the paternal radiance, and the lamp that had been hung by the blessed woman, burning for many years and from times immemorial, O the wonder, and a small censer providing the fragrance of incense. This first and greatest miracle I, the least bishop, have seen with my own eyes, and thus I made it manifest to all, and I chose it to be placed in the metropolis of the Caesareans. Through it many healings occurred, as many as at his incarnation, of the blind and the lame and the possessed and the paralyzed being healed instantly, so that the fullness of the grace and gift of the Holy Spirit might be evident, that the incarnate Word of the Father without beginning both lives and is strengthened and endures and reigns for ever and ever. These things happened in the Camulianae during the reign of Diocletian, when the immaculate and not-made-by-hands image was made and hidden.

under Theodosius the Great, having been manifested and working miracles to the glory of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, of the one divinity and kingdom, now and for the endless ages.