Pilgrimage 1 part 3/3

For from that day on which the courier Ananias entered through this very gate bearing the letter of the Lord, even to the present day it is kept that no one unclean and no one in mourning may pass through this gate, nor may the corpse of any dead person be carried out through it. 18. The holy bishop also showed us the memorial of Abgar and of his whole household, very beautiful, but made in the ancient manner. He also led us to that upper palace which King Abgar had possessed from the first, and whatever other places there were besides, he showed us. 19. This too was very pleasing to me, that I might receive for myself from the holy bishop himself the very letters, both of Abgar to the Lord and of the Lord to Abgar, which the holy bishop had read to us there.

And although I had copies of these letters in my own country, nevertheless it seemed more pleasing to me to receive them there from him as well, lest perhaps something less had reached us in our country; for truly what I received here is fuller. Wherefore, if our God Jesus shall command and I shall come into my country, you yourselves shall read it, my ladies, the souls dear to me. XX. 1. And so, when a stay of three days had been made there, it was necessary for me still to go further forward as far as Charra, for so it is now called. For in the holy Scriptures it is called Haran, where holy Abraham dwelt, as it is written in Genesis, the Lord saying to Abraham: Go out from your land and from your father's house, and go into Haran, and the rest. 2.

So when I had come there, that is, to Charra, I went at once to the church which is within the city itself. I also soon saw the bishop of that place, a truly holy man and a man of God, himself both a monk and a confessor, who at once deigned to show us all the places there which we desired. 3. For he led us straightway to the church which is outside the city in that place where the house of holy Abraham had been, that is, upon its very foundations and of the very stone, as indeed the holy bishop said. So when we had come into that church, a prayer was made and that very passage from Genesis was read, one psalm also was said, and after prayer had been repeated and the bishop thus blessing us, we went out. 4.

Likewise he deigned to lead us to that well from which holy Rebecca used to carry water. And the holy bishop said to us: Behold the well from which holy Rebecca gave drink to the camels of the servant of holy Abraham, that is, of Eliezer; and thus he deigned to show us each thing. 5. Now the church which I mentioned outside the city, venerable lady sisters, where the house of Abraham first was, there a martyrium has also now been set up, that is, of a certain holy monk by the name of Helpidius. And this fell out very pleasingly for us, that we came there on the day before his martyr's feast, that is, of holy Helpidius himself, on the ninth before the Kalends of

of May, on which day it was necessary for all the monks from everywhere and from all the borders of Mesopotamia to come down into Charra, even those greater ones who dwelt in the wilderness, whom they call ascetics, on account of that very day, which is there observed with great solemnity, and on account of the memory of holy Abraham, because his house had been there, where now the church is, in which is laid the body of that holy martyr himself. 6.

And so this fell out for us beyond hope and very pleasingly, that we saw there the holy monks of Mesopotamia, truly men of God, even those whose fame and life were heard of far and wide, whom nevertheless I had not supposed I could see at all; not because it was impossible for God to grant me this also, He who deigned to grant all things, but because I had heard of them that, except on the day of Easter and except on this day, they did not come down from their places, since they are such as to perform many mighty works; and because I did not know in what month was this day of the martyr's feast which I mentioned. And so, God so commanding, it came about that I came there on the very day which I had not even hoped for. 7.

So we spent two days there also, on account of the martyr's feast and on account of the sight of those holy ones, who deigned with a most willing spirit to receive me to greet them and to speak with me, of which I was not worthy. For they themselves were not seen there even immediately after the martyr's day, but soon, while it was still night, they sought the desert, each one his own monastery, wherever he had it. 8. But in that city itself, apart from a few clerics and holy monks, if indeed any dwell in the city, I found absolutely no Christian, but they are all heathen.

For just as we with great reverence regard that place where the house of holy Abraham first was, for the memory of him, so too those heathen, about a thousand paces from the city, with great reverence regard the place where are the memorials of Nahor and Bethuel. 9. And because the bishop of that city was very learned in the Scriptures, I asked of him, saying: I pray you, lord, to tell me what I desire to hear. And he said: Say, daughter, what you wish, and I will tell you, if I know it. Then I said: I know from the Scriptures that holy Abraham came to this place with his father Terah and his wife Sarah and Lot the son of his brother;

but Nahor and Bethuel, when they passed through this place, I have not read, except that this only I know, that afterwards the servant of Abraham came into Charra in order to seek Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor, for the son of his master Abraham, that is, for Isaac. 10. Then the holy bishop said to me: Truly, daughter, it is written, as you say, in Genesis that holy Abraham passed through here with his own; but as for Nahor with his own, or Bethuel, the canonical Scripture does not say at what time they passed through. But clearly they too passed through here afterwards; and indeed their memorials are here, about a thousand paces from the city.

For truly Scripture testifies to this, that the servant of holy Abraham came hither to receive holy Rebecca, and again that holy Jacob came here when he took the daughters of Laban the Syrian. 11. Then I asked where was that well at which holy Jacob had watered the flocks which Rachel, the daughter of Laban the Syrian, used to pasture. And the bishop said to me: That place itself is at the sixth milestone from here, beside the village which was then the estate of Laban the Syrian; but when you wish to go, we will go with you and show you, for there are also many very holy monks and ascetics there, and there is a holy church there. 12. This too I asked of the holy bishop, where then was that place of the Chaldeans, where Terah with his people first dwelt. Then the holy bishop himself said to me:

That place which you seek, daughter, is at the tenth halting-station from here, inward toward Persia. For from here as far as Nisibis there are five stations, and thence as far as Ur, which was the city of the Chaldeans, there are five other stations; but at present there is no access for Romans there, for the Persians hold all that region. This part, moreover, is especially called the eastern part, which lies on the border of the Romans and the Persians and the Chaldeans. 13.

And he deigned to relate many other things besides, just as the other holy bishops and holy monks also deigned to do, yet all from the Scriptures of God or from the deeds wrought by holy men, that is, by monks, whether of those who had already departed, what marvels they had done, or even of those who are still in the body, what they do daily, these, however, who are ascetics. For I would not have your affection suppose that the tales of the monks are ever anything other than either from the Scriptures of God or the deeds of the greater monks. XXI. 1. After the two days, however, which I had spent there, the bishop led us to that well where holy Jacob had given water to the flocks of holy Rachel, which well is at the sixth milestone from Charra;

in honor of which well a very large and beautiful holy church has been built there beside it. When we had come to this well, a prayer was made by the bishop, that very passage from Genesis was also read, one psalm too suited to the place was said, and after prayer had been repeated the bishop blessed us. 2. We also saw, lying beside the well, that exceedingly huge stone which holy Jacob had rolled away from the well, which is shown to this very day. 3. But around the well no others dwell except the clergy of that church which is there, and the monks having their monasteries nearby, whose manner of life the holy bishop related to us, but truly an unheard-of one.

And so, when a prayer had thus been made in the church, I went with the bishop to the holy monks through their monasteries, giving thanks to God and to those who deigned, wherever I entered through their monasteries, to receive me with a willing spirit and to address me with those words which it was fitting should proceed from their mouths. For they deigned also to give blessed gifts to me and to all who were with me, as it is the custom of monks to give, namely to those whom they receive with a willing spirit in their monasteries. 4. And because that place itself is in a great plain, there was shown to me opposite, by the holy bishop, a very large village, about five hundred paces from the well, through which village we had our way.

Now this village, as far as the bishop said, had once been the estate of Laban the Syrian, which village is called Fadana. For there was shown to me in that village the memorial of Laban the Syrian, the father-in-law of Jacob; there was also shown to me the place from which Rachel stole the idols of her father. 5. And so, in the name of God, when all had been seen through, taking my leave of the holy bishop and the holy monks, who had deigned to escort us as far as that place, we returned by the way and stations by which we had come from Antioch. XXII. 1. When, however, I had returned to Antioch, I afterwards spent a week until those things which were necessary for the journey were prepared.

And so, setting out from Antioch and journeying through several stations, I came to the province which is called Cilicia, which has as its metropolitan city Tarsus, where indeed I had already been at Tarsus on my way going to Jerusalem. 2. But since at the third station from Tarsus, that is, in Isauria, is the martyrium of holy Thecla, it was very pleasing to me to go there too, especially since it was so near at hand. XXIII. 1. For setting out from Tarsus I came to a certain city upon the sea, still in Cilicia, which is called Pompeiopolis. And from there, having now entered the borders of Isauria, I stayed in a city which is called Corycus. And on the third day I came to the city which is called Seleucia of Isauria.

When I had arrived there, I went to the bishop, a truly holy man who had been a monk; I also saw there a very beautiful church in that same city. 2. And because from there to holy Thecla — which place is beyond the city on a hill, but level — it was perhaps fifteen hundred paces from the city, I preferred to go on out there, so that I might make there the stay which I was going to make. But there at the holy church there is nothing else except countless monasteries of men and women. 3. For I found there a certain woman most dear to me, and to whose manner of life all in the East bore witness, a holy deaconess by the name of Marthana, whom I had known at Jerusalem, where she had gone up for the grace of prayer; and she governed these monasteries of apotactites or virgins.

When she had seen me, what joy could there have been, either hers or mine — can I even write it? 4. But, to return to the matter: there are very many monasteries there throughout that hill, and in the midst a huge wall which encloses the church in which is the martyrium, which martyrium is very beautiful. The wall, moreover, was set up for guarding the church on account of the Isaurians, because they are very wicked and frequently practice brigandage, lest perhaps they should attempt to do something against the monastery which is assigned there. 5.

So when I had come there in the name of God, after a prayer had been made at the martyrium and after the whole account of the acts of holy Thecla had also been read, I gave boundless thanks to Christ our God, who deigned to fulfill for me, unworthy and undeserving, my desires in all things. 6. And so, when I had spent two days there, having also seen the holy monks and apotactites, both men and women, who were there, and after a prayer and the communion had been made, I returned to Tarsus to my journey, where, after a stay had been made of three days, in the name of God I set out from there on my way. And thus coming on the same day to the station which is called Mansocrenae, which is at the foot of Mount Taurus, I stayed there. 7.

And from there, on another day, going up Mount Taurus and making my way now familiar through the several provinces which I had crossed on my way going — that is, Cappadocia, Galatia, and Bithynia — I came to Chalcedon, where, on account of the most famous martyrium of holy Euphemia, already known to me of old, which is there, I stayed in the place. 8. And so, on another day, crossing the sea, I came to Constantinople, giving thanks to Christ our God, who deigned to grant to me, unworthy and undeserving, so great a grace — that is, that He had deigned to grant me not only the will to go, but also the means of traveling through the places which I desired, and of returning again to Constantinople. 9.

When I had come there, throughout the several churches and shrines of the apostles, and also throughout the several martyria, of which there are very many there, I did not cease to give thanks to our God Jesus, who had thus deigned to bestow His mercy upon me. 10. From which place, my ladies, my light, while I was sending these things to your affection, it was already my intention, in the name of Christ our God, to go on to Asia, that is, to Ephesus, on account of the martyrium of the holy and blessed apostle John, for the grace of prayer. But if, even after this, I shall be in the body, and if I shall be able to come to know any further places, I will either, being present myself — if God shall have deigned to grant it — relate them to your affection, or surely, if something else shall have settled in my mind, I will announce it by writings.

Only do you, my ladies, my light, deign to be mindful of me, whether I shall be in the body or already out of the body.