The shipwright was angry and did not heed our request, but, having stocked up on water, we weighed anchor. We were very sad, having lost such an opportunity, and we prayed to the saint with his prayers to forgive us and pray for us, that we might be saved and fulfill the work that had been entrusted to us. 56. When we were departing from Rhodes, and had sailed safely for two days with a favourable wind, suddenly there arose a storm, winds, lightning, thunder, and waves, and the waves began to rise and became like high mountains, and the ship rose so that we thought we were heading for the clouds. Shouts arose, and [45] tears, and prayers to God, and we also called upon the prayers of the hermit, the Monk Procopius. At the onset of evening, when the storm did not subside, we remained without sleep all that night. In the morning, as a result of great sorrow, the monk bishops fell asleep a little, and my bishop Porphyrius saw in a dream Procopius the hermit, who was among the saints, saying to them: "Announce and mark the shipwright (he belongs to the abominable heresy of Arius) and prepare him for the curse of Arius and his unbelief, and this storm so great as this great a storm will immediately calm down. He did not allow you to come to me because he belongs to the said heresy. Nevertheless, announce it, for it will receive Orthodoxy from you. 57. Hearing this, your venerable Porphyrius awoke and, summoning us, told us a dream; Immediately, calling the sailor, we said to him, "Do you want to save your ship, and all of us, and above all, your soul?" And he said, it is not worth asking. The bishops said to him: "Renounce your unbelief and believe in the right faith, and you, and your ship, and all of us will be saved." The shipwright said to him: "Since I see that you have foreknowledge (for you have understood what is in my heart, when no one has told you about it), behold, I say to you: I believe as you believe, and I deny the heresy of Arius and Arius himself. I ask you at your leisure to enlighten me from the Holy Scriptures into the right faith. The venerable bishops, taking him, marked him, and having made a prayer over him, communed him of the Holy Mysteries. In the meantime the storm subsided, and in the evening the wind changed, and we sailed comfortably; after spending four more days at sea, on the fifth in the morning we sailed to the coastal part of Gaza, which is called Mayuma 59. 58. When we came down, the Christians there, learning of this, received us with psalmody, as well as the Christians from the city, and greeted us with singing, having the sign of the honorable cross. Those who were from the two localities mingled and became not a small crowd; but more were from the coast, for there were many Egyptians, wine merchants. The idolaters, seeing what was happening, were tormented, but did not dare to do anything, since they heard that the most venerable bishops had great honor among the kings, and that the pagan temples of idols were to be destroyed, and they were in great care and cowardice. 59. When we entered the city, near the so-called Tetramphode 60, there was a marble statue, and they said that it was Aphrodite. It was on a stone altar; and the image of the statue represented a naked woman, who had all her shame visible, and all the townspeople revered the statue, especially [47] the women who lit candles and burned incense. It was said of her that she prophesied in a dream to those who wished to marry, and they deceived one another with lies; and those whom the demon advised to enter into a marriage union were often so unsuccessful that they either came to divorce or lived badly. This we have learned from those who have turned away from deception and have admitted the truth. 60. But even some of the idolaters, unable to endure the failures of the bad cohabitations which they had entered into at the behest of the demon Aphrodite, were indignant and confessed deceit. Such are the demons in order to deceive and not to say anything true, for they are not able to know exactly, but pretend to those who are enslaved by them that they possess it, predicting by probability. For how can those who have fallen away from the truth speak the truth? If they guess at all, predicting about someone, it is done by chance; just as people often accidentally predict about some deed, and it comes to pass by chance. And we are surprised at the rare successes due to chance, and we are silent about the failures that constantly occur. But enough about demons and their deception. 61. When we arrived in the city, as has been said, having come to the place where the said idol of Aphrodite was located (the Christians carried the venerable wood of Christ, that is, the image of the cross), the demon who dwelt in the statue [48], unable to bear the sight of the sign being carried, came out of the marble with great disorder, threw down the statue itself and broke it into many pieces. And it came to pass that two men of the idolaters were standing near the altar on which the statue was erected, and it fell and cut open the head of the one, and broke the shoulder and collarbone of the other: both of them stood mocking the holy people. 62. But many of the Greeks, seeing the sign that had taken place, believed, and mingling with the laity, entered with them into the church called Irene. On this day there was great joy for the Christians, for three reasons: first, because they met their priest in good health and doing what he desired, and secondly, because the pagan gods were crushed and became like dust scattered from a summer stream, and those who trusted in them found themselves crushed like them; thirdly, and this is more important than the first two reasons, that erring souls were saved, and joined the flock of Christ. The bishop, having marked them, dismissed them in peace, ordering them to engage in holy prayers: according to their number there were thirty-two men and seven women. Archbishop John, having spent two more days in Gaza, set off for Caesarea, being escorted for two miles by all the Christians and the monk bishop. 63. Ten days later, the wonderful [49] Cynigios also arrived, having with him a consul and a duca 61, and a great deal of military and civil assistance. Many of the idolaters learned of this beforehand and left the city, some to the villages, and others to other cities, and these were most of the rich inhabitants of the city. The aforementioned Kinigius gave the houses of the fugitives to a military stand. On the following day, summoning the inhabitants of the city, in the presence of the duca and the consul, he announced to them a royal decree, ordering them to overthrow the idols and temples and to set them on fire. The idolaters, learning this, immediately groaned loudly, so that the rulers were indignant and sent soldiers against them with threats, who beat them with rods and sticks, while the Christians with great joy glorified kings and powers. 64. And immediately they rushed with the authorities and soldiers and destroyed the temples. There were eight public idolatrous temples in the city: the Sun, Aphrodite, Apollo, Kore, 63, Yekaterina 63, the so-called Iroon 64, the Happiness of the city, called Tichion 65, and Marnion, 66, which was said to have been dedicated to Zeus, born in Crete, and which was considered the most glorious of all the temples everywhere. And there were many other idols in houses and villages, to which no one could [50] sum up. The demons, understanding the mood of the inhabitants of Gaza, who are easily changed, filled their entire city and environs with deception: this happens to the Gazanians because of their great simplicity. For this reason, translated into the holy faith, they become zealous Christians. But enough about the people of Gaza. 65. The soldiers with the Christians from the city and from the part of the sea rushed to the temples, but were repulsed from Marnium, for the priests of this idol, having heard beforehand, blocked the doors of the inner temple from the inside with large stones, and carried into the so-called 'aditi 67 all the precious vessels that were in it, and even the animals themselves dedicated to the gods, hid them there, and through the same 'adites fled to other exits. It was said that the mentioned 'adites have many exits to different places. Being repelled, as stated above, they turned to other temples, and some were destroyed, while others were set on fire, seizing all the precious vessels in them. Porphyrius, who was among the saints, anathematized in the church every Christian citizen who ever took anything from the temples for his own use, and therefore none of the faithful citizens took anything, with the exception of the soldiers and foreigners who were there. Together with the laity went pious men from the clergy and the Monk Porphyrius himself, preventing them [51] from appropriating anything. And the destruction of the idolatrous temples continued for ten days. 66. At the end of the days mentioned, they began to consult about Marnion as to what to do with it: some said that it should be destroyed, others that it should be burned, and still others that the place should be cleansed and consecrated for the church of God, and there was great perplexity about this.

Finally, the bishop, who were among the saints, proclaimed to the people fasting and prayer, so that the Lord would reveal to them how they should act, and having fasted on this day and prayed to God about it, they finished the holy assembly in the evening. At the end of the meeting, a child of about seven years old, standing with his mother, suddenly cried out, saying: "Burn the inner temple to the ground, for many horrors have been committed in it, especially human sacrifices." Burn it in the following way: bring liquid pitch, sulphur, and lard: mix these three, and coat the bronze doors, and set them on fire; in this way the whole temple will be burned; otherwise it is impossible. Leave the outer temple together with the fence.

And having burned, cleanse the place and build a holy church. He also said the following: I testify to you before God, do not do otherwise; I do not speak, but Christ speaks in me. He said this in Syriac. All who heard were amazed and glorified God. 67. This miracle reached the ears of the venerable bishop, and raising his hands to heaven, he [52] glorified God, saying: "Glory to thee, Holy Father, I hid thee from the wise and prudent, and revealed it as a child" (Matt. 9:25).

If it pleases you, here is a child: take him and question him with threats, and if he said this at someone's suggestion, he will confess it out of fear, but if he says nothing else, it is clear that he was inspired by the Holy Spirit. The bishop, having listened to the words of the woman and praised her, said that she should depart for a while and bring the child; When the child appeared, he said: "Who inspired you to say in church what you said about Marnium? The child was silent. Then the most venerable bishop gave orders to bring a whip and lay the child down in order to frighten him, and holding the whip, he cried out loudly, saying: "Who told thee that thou shouldest speak? Tell me not to be beaten with a whip. The child remained silent, saying nothing. Then we, who were present, told him the same thing, with threats. He didn't move.

[53] 68. Finally, when everyone had calmed down, the child, opening his mouth, said in Greek: "Burn the inner temple to the ground, for many horrors have been committed in it, and especially human sacrifices." Burn it in the following way: bring liquid pitch, sulphur, and lard; mix these three and coat the bronze doors and set them on fire; in this way the temple will burn down; otherwise it would not happen.

Leave the outer one with a fence. And having burned, cleanse the place, and there build a holy church. I testify to you before God, do not do otherwise. For it is not I who say to you, but Christ in me. The most venerable Bishop Porphyrius and those with him, hearing the boldness of the child and the fact that he spoke separately, and summoning his mother, he asked her whether she or her son knew Greek. She swore that neither she nor her child knew Greek. The most Monk Porphyrios, hearing again, glorified God and bringing three nomisms, he gave it to the woman. The boy, seeing the nomisma in his mother's hand, exclaimed, saying in Syriac: "Do not take your mother, do not sell the gift of Christ for gold." And again, when we heard it, we were more surprised. The woman returned the three nomisms, saying to the bishop, "Pray for me and for my child, and commit us to God." And the venerable bishop dismissed them in peace. [54] 69. In the morning, having gathered together the pious clergy and Christ-loving people, as well as the wonderful Kinigius and the archons, he told them how the child had spoken about Marnium; When they heard this, they were amazed, and agreed, they said that according to the word of the lad he should be burned in this way. And so, having brought liquid pitch, and sulphur, and lard, and having mixed these three, they smeared the inner doors, and having made a prayer, they set a fire, and immediately the whole temple was set on fire; Those of the soldiers and strangers who were able to grab from the fire what they could find: gold, or silver, or iron, or lead. 70. There was a man from the military commanders, called tribune 68, who was assigned to burn down the temple. Outwardly, he was a Christian, but secretly from the crowd he was an idolater. He, being present and seeing the burning and theft by the soldiers, was tormented, and under the pretext of their disorder, mercilessly scourged everyone whom he found carrying any of the booty.

Thou hast loved malice more than goodness, unrighteousness, rather than speak the truth.

Thou hast loved all evil words, Thou hast flattered thy tongue. For this reason God will destroy thee to the end: He will exalt thee, and bring thee away from thy dwelling, and thy root from the land of the living (Psalm 51:3-8), and the following words of the Psalm. The pagan temple continued to burn for many days. 71. After this, house searches were made (there were many idols in many courtyards), and what was found was burned or thrown into the dirt. Books full of magic were also found, which they called sacred, and by which idolaters performed sacraments and other iniquities; and these books suffered the same fate as their gods. 72. Many resorted to the holy faith, some out of fear, others repenting of their former way of life, and the holy church opened its doors to all, remembering the Holy Scriptures, which say: "To him who interprets it will be opened, and seek it finds" (Matt. 7:8), and "If by guilt, if by truth, we preach Christ" (Philippians 1:18). Some of the faithful told the venerable bishop that it was not proper to receive those who came out of fear, but those who had a good intention. 73. The venerable bishop answered thus: there are virtues that appear in people as a result of [56] circumstances.

For this reason the Scripture of God says: "When I have slain, then I will seek him, and find myself, and will be in the morning unto God" (Psalm 77:34); And he saith for the sake of those who turn away and refuse the yoke of God: "With the reins and bridle of their jaws thou shalt draw them that do not come near thee" (Psalm 31:9). It is necessary, my children, that humanity be reminded of fear, threats, and punishment. Therefore He says: "It is good for me, for Thou hast humbled me, that I may learn by Thy righteousness" (Psalm 118:71). I said this for the sake of those who wish to approach our holy faith. For if they draw near, and with hesitation, time, which is well pleased with Christ, may soften them; and another thing I will tell you, that if they do not prove worthy of faith, as those who were clothed with evil,[57] then those who are born of them can be saved by turning to good. 74. Having said this, and having persuaded the brethren, the Monk Porphyrius received all those who wished to be enlightened, having read them out for many days, not only before baptism, but also after that; He constantly taught the word, not speaking pompously out of a desire to show himself, but teaching in simple speeches, and resolving everything from the Scriptures. And so in that year about three hundred names joined the flock of Christ, and from that time the number of Christians increased every year. 75. When Marnion was finally burned and order was restored in the city, the blessed bishop consulted with the most honorable clergy and Christ-loving people about the establishment of a holy church on the burned place, as he had been announced in a revelation when he was in Constantinople, and for which he had received money from the pious queen Eudoxia. And so, having dismissed the archons and the Christ-loving people, he withheld part of the reinforcements, so that no change would occur after their departure, and not only for this, but also for help in bringing material for the said holy church. Some advised to build it in the position of a pagan temple: it was circular and surrounded by two porticoes, one inside the other; in the middle was a ciborium 69 with an outlet, extending to [58] height; He had other idol devices, adapted to what happened among idolaters, and it was filthy and lawless. And so, some said that the holy church should be built according to this provision, while others disagreed, saying that the very memory of the situation should be destroyed. Those who said this persuaded all, as those who had said well, but the monk bishop said: let us leave this also to the will of God. At the time when the place was being cleared, a magistrian arrived, bringing the royal epistle to the ever-memorable Eudoxia. It contained greetings and a request for prayer for her and for the kings – her husband and son. On the other charter, separately from the letter, there was a plan of the holy church, in the form of a cross, as it is now seen, and in the letter it was concluded that the holy church should be built according to the plan. Porphyrios, who was among the saints, rejoiced when he read and looked at the plan: he learned that this also happened by Divine revelation, and he remembered the words of the Scriptures: "The king's heart is in the hand of God" (Proverbs 217:1). The letter also stated that valuable columns and marbles would be sent. 76. When the ashes had been removed and all the abominations had been destroyed, the remaining fragments of the marble ornaments of Marnion, which were said to be sacred, and were in a place inaccessible to women, the venerable bishop [59] decided to insert them into the square, outside, in front of the church, so that they might be trampled underfoot, not only by men, but also by women, and pigs, and beasts. This grieved the idolaters more than the burning of the temple, which is why many of them, especially women, do not even set foot on marble to this day. A little later, he declared a fast for one day, and after the dismissal of the morning prayers, the God-loving bishop ordered each Christ-loving man to bring pickaxes, rakes and similar tools. This he announced in advance, in the evening, so that everyone would be ready in the morning, which was done. 77. When the people gathered with the said instruments in the holy church called Irene, he ordered that all go with the singing to the former Marnion, and he himself followed, carrying the holy gospel and having around him an honest clergy, in truth imitating Christ with the disciples. Before the people was preceded by the ever-memorable Barokha, carrying the image of the honorable cross, and on both sides of the people were soldiers left behind for the sake of the deanery in the city. As they went, they sang, and at the places where the psalm was divided, they said, Hallelujah. And there was a psalm which they sang:

Come, let us rejoice in the Lord, let us cry out to God our Saviour: let us go before his face in confession, and in the psalms let us cry out to him. For the Lord is a great God, and a great king in all the earth. For in his hand are all the ends of the earth, and the heights of the mountains: for he is the sea, and that he created it, and [60] the dry land of his hand. Come, let us worship him, and let us bow down to him, and let us weep before the Lord who created us: for he is our God, and my people pasture him, and the sheep of his hand (Psalm 94:18). 78. Other psalms were also sung until they entered Marnion. Bishop Porphyrius, who was among the saints, turned to a certain Rufinus, an architect from Antioch, a faithful and knowledgeable man, through whom the entire building was completed. This one, taking plaster, marked the position of the holy church on the model of the plan sent by the most God-loving Augusta Eudoxia. And the most venerable bishop, having made a prayer and kneeling, ordered the people to dig. Immediately all with one accord, with the same readiness, began to dig, exclaiming: Christ has conquered. And it was impossible to notice the difference between husband and wife, old man and child, but readiness gave everyone the same strength, and some dug and others carried out the earth, so that in a few days the whole place was excavated and cleared. 79. Having prepared in advance the material of the huge stones (hewn in the hill) called Aldiomatus,70 which is to the east of the city, and of other substances which are among the saints, having again gathered together the Christ-loving people, and having made many prayers and psalmody on the spot, having girded himself up, the first [61] began to carry the stones and lay them in the foundation, then the God-loving clergy and all the laity, rejoicing and singing with a loud voice, so that they could be heard three miles from the city. 80. On this day a great miracle took place. There are wells inside the enclosure of the sanctuary, one of which is on the western side of the present holy church of God, which is not a little deep. And so the three youths, thirsty, came to drink, and approaching the opening of the well, they bent down, leaning on the tree that was on the hole, as children do, and as the tree broke, all three fell into the well. Some who were there went to tell the people what had happened, and there was no small confusion, and all ran to the well.

The Monk Porphyrius, having learned of what had happened, ran to the place himself and ordered that everyone should be silent; when this was done, he began to pray and ask God with great tears to preserve the youths alive and unharmed, and especially for the sake of the idolaters, so that they would not say: "Where is their God" (Psalm 113:11), in whom they trusted? And after spending an hour, prostrating himself on the ground, and getting up, he ordered someone to go down on the bucket ropes and look for the children. From the crowd they shouted, calling out to the children, and no one could hear them from below from the well. 81. And when the man descended, the three youths found themselves sitting motionless on a large stone,[62] talking merrily to one another. And when the man saw them, he was very much amazed and glorified God, and crying out from below, he said, "Glorify God, for the three youths are alive." The monk bishop and the people, hearing this, rejoiced, and lowering down a large basket, they gave orders to lift up all three together, since they were not large, about six or seven years old. And the one who was below, taking the basket and tying it firmly, sat down three of them, commanded them to close their eyes until they were lifted up, and said, Jesus Christ, save me. And having done this, he cried out to pull the rope with dexterity, and when they were being dragged they said the song of the three youths: "Blessed art thou the Lord God our father" (Dan. 3:52). And when they were pulled out and the bishop who was among the saints saw them (he was standing at the opening of the well and holding a rope), then, filled with joy and tears, he exclaimed:

Bless all the works of the Lord the Lord, sing. (Dan. 3:57). When they were taken out of the basket, we felt if there was anything damaged on their bodies, and they did not find any damage, then we saw a great miracle. 82. For three youths were found having cross-shaped images, as if from a needle prick, one in the middle of the forehead, another above the right bone, near the fingers, and the third on the right shoulder. The crosses were imprinted beautifully, neither crooked nor oblique, but one-dimensional, [63] so that it was clear that this was a sign of God. And they did not hurt them, there was no blood, but were sealed as with paint, and remained on them for a long time to be seen and amazed by all. And many of the strangers, seeing it, believed. 83. When the man who had descended for the sake of the children was also lifted up, he assured me by oath, saying that when I put them in the basket and they were rising, I saw lightning all around them until they reached the opening of the well. Christians on this day had great joy, and idolaters sorrow and temptation. The building moved forward day by day, as everyone worked with eagerness and diligence. For the bishop did not take away his reward from anyone, but paid more, treating them generously to those who worked, and saying, "It is just that the whole work of building should not be cursed, but blessed." 84. The following year, Queen Eudoxia sent the columns that she had promised; they were large and thirty-two in number (they are called Carystia),71 glittering in the holy church like smaragds. When they arrived, the diligence and readiness of the Christ-loving people were again manifested, for all, when they heard, immediately ran to the shore, not only men, but also [64] women, and children, and elders (all were strengthened by the desire for faith), and having brought carts and placed each column on them, they dragged and laid them in the courtyard of the temple, then returned and dragged another, and did so until until they dragged everyone. And this is about these. 85. At this time a certain Antiochian wife, named Julia, who belonged to the abominable heresy of the so-called Manichaeans, arrived in the city, and learning that some were newly enlightened and not yet confirmed in the holy faith, she crept in and corrupted them with her sorcerer's teaching, and much more with the distribution of money. For he who laid the foundation for the said godless heresy could not catch anyone in any other way than by distributing money. For their doctrine is full of all blasphemy and condemnation for men of understanding, and of old women's fables, which attract women, and husbands who are child-like, and who are weak in mind and reason. They composed this evil teaching of theirs from various heresies and Hellenic teachings, wishing to attract everyone by deception and cunning.

They say that there are many gods in order to please the Greeks, then they recognize horoscopes 72 and astronomy 73 in order to sin without fear, since sin is not in us, but it occurs by fatal necessity. [65] 86. They also confess Christ, for they say that He became incarnate illusory, and they themselves ghostly call themselves Christians. I omit what is worthy of laughter and condemnation, so as not to fill the ears of readers with unpleasant words and fables. For they have composed their own heresy, mixing the teaching of the Christians with the teaching of the scenic Philistion and Isiod 75 and other so-called philosophers. Just as a painter, making a mixture of different colours, paints a ghostly man, or a beast, or anything else, in order to deceive those who see, so that to fools and madmen it may seem true, and to the rational – a shadow and deception, and a human invention, so in Manichaeans, drawing from various teachings, they composed their own evil teaching, or, rather, collecting poison from various reptiles and mixing, they prepared a deadly potion for the destruction of human souls. And, as mentioned above; Upon the arrival of the pernicious woman, some were carried away by her deceptive teachings. 87. Porphyrius, who was among the saints, learned a few days later, and sent for her and asked who she was and where she came from, and what doctrine she professed. She also named the fatherland and confessed that she was a Manichaean. When those who were around him became angry (and there were some pious men among him), the blessed one asked them not to be angry, but to exhort them with insistence, and once, [66] and twice, according to the words of the holy Apostle (Titus 3:10).

Then he said to the woman, "Sister, abstain from such an evil teaching, for it is satanic." And she answered, "Speak and listen, and either you will convince or you will be convinced."