In sanctum Procopium

Hesychius, presbyter of Jerusalem, encomium on the holy martyr Procopius the Persian; and on the response of the psalm: "Precious before the Lord is the death of his saints," and on the saying of the apostle: "For those who love God, everything works together for good," and on the apostolic: "Behold, I send you as sheep among wolves, and so forth." 1 Christ crowned the sacrifice of Procopius, seeing him as a bull exceedingly comely and very brave, and with the multitude of his virtues golden-horned, leading the herd dear to him of the martyrs, and by his authority goring the enemies of the flock, striking down the savage and murderous lions by sight alone and voice, overcoming the many-spotted leopards of the demons by faith and zeal, scattering the various kinds of beasts that belch forth our death by courage and philosophy, a bright spring for us after the gloomy winter of error, and shown to be a disciple of Paul by his deeds, and bearing the theology of John everywhere, imitating the fervent spirit of Elijah the Thesbite, practicing the calling from childhood like Samuel, stronger than Samson—for he did not destroy the clusters of the spirit—parallel to David, since he cut off the head of the many-headed Goliath, but also imitating the ark of Noah in the chest of virtues, renouncing like Abraham attachment to house and family and fatherland, having become a holocaust like Isaac before the slaughter of martyrdom by the mortification of the body.

Jacob wrestled with God, but Procopius wrestled for God, and he set up a glorious trophy throughout the whole world. Moses crushed one golden calf, and destroyed many thousands of blasphemous Jews against the law; but Procopius did not do so in this way: rather, he consumed all the wooden idols without an axe, and having netted many nations, cities, and regions with his prophet-voiced tongue, he offered them to Christ. He was pure as Enoch, and according to Job, "blameless, truthful as he was, and righteous, and god-fearing, and abstaining from every evil thing." For the boldness of his confession established him as truthful, the conduct of his life set him forth as righteous, the end of his struggles proclaimed him god-fearing, and "abstaining from every evil thing" was shown by his abstinence from pleasures, his continence of the belly, his renunciation of luxury, the meagerness of his meal, the mortification of his body, and his manifold, many-sided, and varied asceticism. He was therefore pure as Enoch, blameless according to Job; for the one who feasts on accusations of sinners and belches forth slanders of the righteous was unable to accuse or blame him, nor did he dare to say concerning him: "Does Procopius not serve the Lord for nothing?" For he saw no flocks of sheep thriving for him, nor did Procopius possess herds of camels bearing burdens. Whence would she-asses be pastured for the martyr? Whence yokes of oxen plowing the land, for one who left not even a clod of earth for himself? But the common slanderer did not even dare to bring these charges, having reviled the endurance of the martyr.

Skin for skin, he will give up everything that exists for a man for the sake of his soul." For was the martyr surrounded by a chorus of children or a crown of daughters? Did he have household-born children, offspring of concubines, and a robust body? Was not bread his food and water his drink? Was not his fast continuous? Was not his dinner more meager than a lack of food? Abel, having died, was judged by Cain; and the earth had his body, the sky his mouth, Hades his tongue, the judge his voice, the clay the clay, the merchant the pearl, but having died, he was judged by Cain. Procopius, however, is not so, but he intercedes with God on behalf of his enemies and advocates, he pleads for Greeks, he entreats for Jews, he hastens to mediate for Samaritans, and he benefits his enemies after death, and for the deaf among them he reforges their ears, for the blind he makes the sun new, he stretches out the feet of the lame, and those who previously could not move their fingers are seen running; for lepers do not approach the reliquaries, but before approaching they shed their scales, and after being cleansed, they stand as dancers in a bridal chamber, as groomsmen beside the bridegroom. But who is capable of praising Procopius in order? Which of his contests shall we take up first? Which shall we place second? Which third shall we arrange? And where will the fourth be placed? What place will the fifth find that is fitting? What sixth crown shall we complete for him? What seventh shall we weave among the prizes? What eighth ladder of praise shall we ascend? What ninth tower of encomia shall we forge?

Which of the discourses shall we be able to pass over as the last? Error held the human race captive; Adam was deceived, but he did not perceive the deception. God was not God to him, but stones were gods; the creator was not creator, but the works of hands were creators—the carvings of fingers, the forms of iron, all that the smith blew upon and the smelting purified, whose belly the anvil hollowed, whose back the hammer broadened, whose shoulder it crowned and whose neck it raised, whose head it forged and on which it set a skull, whose ear the graver deepened and whose nostrils it arched, whose lips it outlined, whose eyes it engraved, whose pupils it shaped, whose locks it plaited, whose brows it circled and whose eyelids it composed. Thence the enemy exulted over life: "You shall not kill" was mocked, "You shall not commit adultery" was laughed at, "You shall not steal" was suspended, "You shall not bear false witness" was considered nonsense and myth, "You shall not covet what belongs to your neighbor" was a hostile commandment to life, and the law was alien to the commonwealth.

Procopius, coming forward into the midst, offers a common exhortation to those who are drunk: "Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong one another? For what reason do you ignore each other, being slain by each other's swords? And why do you not know that each of you is shot by your own or your neighbor's arrows? Give me your eyes, you who are blind in judgment, or rather first entrust your feet, you who are lame in mind. Why do you compare the divine to idols and liken the creator of all to beasts, and compare him who breathes life into creation to soulless things, and rank the planter of reason among the irrational? And why, having abandoned virtue, are you drunk with pleasures? The gold is not ours, but of the earth which we received, we ought to trample underfoot. Silver is a possession of clay; how will clay be able to benefit the soul, the rational one? The wealth of garments is food for moths and a deception of the eyes, vainly phantasizing and deluding man. Was not the much-talked-of rich man clothed in byssus? But a furnace and a melting of limbs and a fire-blazing pan succeeded the byssus of the tongue. Did not Herod wear a royal robe? But worms, along with the flesh, also feasted on the garment. How many gold-purple tunics did Pharaoh possess? But he is buried naked in the Red Sea. And if you desire purple, practice temperance. If you care for byssus,

Set justice right. Train yourself in patience; for it is a royal necklace. Work at mercy; for its web is woven on earth but cut in heaven. If you hasten to bind a high crown upon your head, pursue humility; for nothing more glorious than this has been ordained by God. For this, flee neither temptations nor shrink from dangers nor refuse the sweats nor be cowardly toward death. 6 Do not flee temptations; for "Blessed is the man who endures temptation." Do not refuse persecutions, since "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs." Do not shrink from danger; "Dangers of Hades found me, and I called upon the name of the Lord," says David, "and it came as an ally from the heavens." Do not be cowardly toward death; for just now, as the church was singing, you heard "Precious before the Lord is the death of his saints," and very reasonably so. For the grain before the harvest—the farmer by no means dares to trust in it, since he is wary of the locust and fears the grasshopper, is terrified of rust, does not cease suspecting the blows of hail, and agonizes over the wounds of the wind-driven storm; but when the grain is taken by the sickle and comes under the hand of the reaper and is added to the sheaves and is carried with the straw on the wagons and reaches the threshing floor and the winnowing shovel goes up and, after being winnowed, is stored sealed within the granary, then he trusts in it and rejoices as one who has grown rich, and prides himself as one who has not labored in vain.

And at one time he will open the storehouses, loosen the bolts, and fling wide the doors, and receive; at another, having set the grain out in the midst of the merchants, he will boast of the labors of his own hands. In the same way, the sower of the race, the farmer of our mixture, does not trust Adam until he sees him transferred from the earth, until he has passed through the temptations, until he has ridden the course of dangers for the sake of philosophy. But when he has departed from the earth, then he rejoices in him and trusts and takes pride and says to him: "Well done, good and faithful servant." Then he adds: "Enter into the joy of your Lord." Then he calls out: "Come, you who are blessed of my Father." Then by experience of good things he demonstrates that "for those who love God, everything cooperates for good"—whether affliction besieges a man, whether narrowness constrains the faithful, whether nakedness holds him, whether dangers surround him, whether a sword is sharpened, none of these will be able to separate the faithful from Christ, none will be able to cut off the soldier from the king. For if affliction besieges them, beholding Christ as the steward of joy, they are glad; if narrowness constrains them, looking to the teacher they are enlarged; if persecution presses upon them, expecting heaven they do not care for earth, but take care not to stumble their feet; if famine oppresses them, touching the bread of life they are filled; if nakedness holds them, they are clothed in spirit, they put on grace, and naturally do not care for garments.

If danger is threatened, they know the general, they recognize the ally, and they naturally do not endure reining in the boldness of speech; if a sword is sharpened, the tongue does not endure silence even when placed under it. And for each of the impending threats, they are ready as harmless lambs and pure sheep and yearlings, receiving with pleasure the command of the shepherd: "Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves," that is, take courage and go, hasten quickly, gather the nations, increase the flocks, throw the wolves into confusion, display the power of the shepherd. You are not inferior to Moses, nor second to Jeremiah, nor were you entrusted with a worse portion than Ezekiel. With you is the one who sent Elijah; he will send you as well, as each of the prophets. See then who Moses was and to whom he was sent, and what kind of trophy was raised and accomplished by him. The lawgiver was naked and was sent to those who judge by appearance, but the staff of the naked man subdues the armed and overcomes armies. You, instead of a full panoply, arm yourselves with the following commandment: "Be therefore wise as serpents and pure as doves." The wise is good, and the pure is likewise admirable, but when each is joined to the other, it possesses what is beneficial and useful. Neither wisdom alone nor purity alone can justify and preserve a person, and for this reason it is necessary to acquire both the wisdom of serpents and the purity of doves together.

The serpent is clever, but it is not guileless, and you rightly regard the beast as a venomous, repulsive thing; the dove alone is guileless, and for this reason it is easy for all to plot against. You, therefore, blend the guileless with the clever, and become guileless in worldly matters, clever in spiritual matters. If you buy or sell a field or transact any other worldly business, pursue guilelessness; for being wronged is more honorable than wronging, being defrauded is more profitable than defrauding for those who wish to gain heavenly rather than earthly things. But if you study the law, then belch forth cleverness and seek the purpose of what is written: how this is, why that is, what the letter of the law intends, what the spirit of the prophecy commands, whether the word is simple, whether the reed of teaching sets forth in parables. And pay attention to what other signs you receive along with these concerning the army and generalship on behalf of the one who sends. "They will hand you over to councils," but take courage: the Father is not separated, the Son is not far off, the Spirit does not withdraw, angels attend as bodyguards. "And in their synagogues they will scourge you." But you rejoice greatly; for the wars on behalf of piety and the welts from the scourges are more seemly than the rays of the sun. "And you will be brought before governors and kings on my account, for a testimony to them and to the nations." Do not grow slack at this either; on my account you stand before governors, for my glory you are brought before kings.

With you, therefore, is the one who anointed the emperors; among you is the one who assigned boundaries to the governors, who measured the tribunal for these and granted the scepter to those. Consider also this: that you become not so much objects of seizure for emperors and governors, but rather a testimony to them—evident to the children of the Jews, and indeed also to the nations—so that they may know the power of the one witnessed among you: that the poor bridle the rulers, the rustics put the consular council to shame and spit upon the much-vaunted senate, the private citizens put tyrants to shame and confound emperors. "But when they hand you over, do not be anxious about how or what you will say"; for you are tongues of the Word and pipes of wisdom and heralds of life and orators of the one who has no need of orators, and for this reason the following attends you: "For you will be given at that hour what to say." Before the hour, the Word is not supplied to you from grace, lest you ever think that the words borne by you are your own; "For you are not the ones speaking, but the spirit of your father speaking in you"; for the contest is on his behalf, the struggle is for him; the arena is for his sake. Therefore, it is necessary to await grace from him, to expect the Word, to receive the grace of confession, to hope for the panoply against which the enemy is powerless, because it is forged by God. "Brother will hand over brother to death, and father his child, and children will rise up against parents and put them to death." Nature is divided, and grace is gathered together; the clay marches against itself, but the potter does not consent to hand over the clay.

The earthenware clash against one another, so that they may come into need of the potter's wheel, and thus receive remembrance of the potter and necessity of him. "And you will be hated by all for my name's sake": this is sufficient for your glory, enough for your dignity, not small for your confidence, that you are hated by all; but the one over all does not allow you to be betrayed, but continues to cherish and warm your love more fervently: "For you will be hated by all for my name's sake; but the one who endures to the end, this one will be saved." 11 Hear the word, O faithful one, and keep the commandment, and cultivate patience with zeal, and reap the ear of grain from it with great joy. Harvest the grape, tread the cluster in the winepress. Do not say much: "The terrors are varied, the sorrows are harsh, the things that oppress are gloomy; things from the homeland are joyful, but those found in a foreign land are gloomy; those who encourage are few, but many are those who trip you up; philosophy is reviled and virtue is mocked; fear for my household holds me, a struggle for my relatives has befallen me, care for my own besieges me." Do not say these things, do not reckon them, nor loosen the sinews of patience, nor cultivate the sheaves of despondency within yourself, but look with zeal at this royal cross, gaze at it and observe, and after it, this sacred bridal chamber, the Resurrection. Paint for yourself the king hanging on wood, the master unjustly slapped by slaves, the lawgiver shamelessly spat upon by those under his authority, the one who possesses every garment of attire shamelessly stripped naked.

But do you see in whom the resurrection is? Here the linens of the one who was stripped display his wealth; angels will present the power of the one who was slapped; the voices of those who descended from the heavens proclaim the glory of the one who was buffeted. Glory to him now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.