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Jews in Palestine He could not come to Armenia, but would send one of His disciples to teach him and his people the way of salvation. And that Jesus took a handkerchief from one of the messengers and pressed it to his face, whereupon an exact likeness of our Blessed Lord was imprinted on it. A handkerchief called the Veronica, having what is said to be a true picture of our Lord, is preserved at Ecshmiazin, in the monastery of the Armenian Patriarch, to the present day. No doubt this story of the Veronica is a fable, but Eusebius also states that after Christ's ascension Thaddeus, one of the seventy disciples, in consequence of a correspondence which had passed between Abgarus, king of Edessa, and the Lord Jesus Christ, was sent by the apostle Thomas to Edessa in Osrhoene, and converted the king and people; and from Edessa Christianity spread into Persia. According to Origen (Eus. iii. 1), Thomas himself preached in Persia. In the middle of the second century Bardesanes of Edessa (A.D. 170), a Valentinian, alludes to the spread of Christianity in India, Persia, Parthia, and Bactria; and the existence of the Manichæans in Persia in the third century proves the general spread of Christianity there. The Syrian-Persian Church on the Malabar coast in India is an offspring of the ancient Persian Church.

It is the opinion of some historians that St. Peter was the apostle who introduced Christianity into Persia, and if Babylon in 1 Pet. v. 13 be the literal Babylon on the Euphrates, where there was certainly a large colony of Jews of the Dispersion in the apostles' days, this is very probably true, as Babylon was then situated within the bounds of the Persian empire, and very near the capital city Seleucia-Ctesiphon on the Tigris.

From one or all of these sources the light of the Gospel found its way into the Persian empire, and for several centuries after Christ the Persian kings included among their subjects members of three branches of the Church of Christ: the Armenian, the Chaldæan, or as it is commonly called the Nestorian, and the Persian Churches. It is with the last of these three that we have immediately to do in this article. But as all three were bound together in the bonds of a common affliction, and went down together into the fiery trial of persecution which came upon the Eastern Church under the cruel rule of the Persian Zoroastrian kings, it is impossible to give even a brief account of the trials of one of them without including the other two. Strange to say, the two former came alive out of the fiery trial, and are still alive in the present day, but the third, viz. the Persian Church, died in the flames, and not a vestige of it remains except the ruins of ancient churches which are still to be seen in various parts of Persia.

The following account of that persecution is taken chiefly from the Patriarchate of Antioch, by J. M. Neale.

We see enough through the darkness of early Persian history to perceive that next to Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the then capital of Persia, and the seat of the Patriarch of the Persian Church, the strength of the young Church radiated from four nuclei: I. Shiraz, the capital of the province of Fars (here were the sees of Istakhr, the ancient

Persepolis, and of Darabgherd: to this belonged the island of Socotra, so famous for its export of aloes); II. Holwan, about one hundred miles north-east of Baghdad; III. Mosul, which, though then in the Persian empire, is now in Turkey, and contains a large Christian population; IV. Merw, in the north-east of Khorasan, now a desolate wilderness roamed over by the Tekhe Turcomans, then the locality of a flourishing Church.

In the early part of the fourth century the Magi made use of the connexion of the Christians with Rome to turn Sapor II., who reigned from A.D. 310 to A.D. 381, against them. On the death of his father Hormuz (the Hormisdas of the Greeks) the queen was left pregnant. If the future child were of the female sex, another branch of the house of the Sassanidæ would claim the crown; if the child were a male the loyalty of the Magi would claim for him the throne of his fathers. The consentient voice of the whole college of priests prophesied that a boy-king would be vouchsafed to the Persians. On this a royal bed was prepared with great pomp in the royal hall of the palace, and in the midst of the attendance of nobles, pontiffs, and the most distinguished inhabitants of the metropolis, the diadem was placed on the spot which was supposed to conceal the future heir of the kingdom of Persia. It thus happened that throughout his long reign of seventy years, the date of Sapor's royalty always preceded that of his birth. When he had attained the age of eighteen he was incited by the Magi to commence the persecution of the Christians, which sent an innumerable host of martyrs to glory. The names of 16,000 were preserved in the diptychs of the Persian Church, and it was well known that these were a very small portion of those who fell for the true faith. St. Symeon Bar-Saboe (" Simon, the son of the fuller ") at this time was Archbishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and Patriarch of the Persian Church. As his predecessor was known as "The wicked Pappas," it does not seem wonderful that a low state of religion should have been generally prevalent, and that at the commencement of the persecutions apostasies were not unfrequent.

There were in the city of Bethasa, in the province of Adiabene, at no great distance from Mosul, two brothers, by name Jonas and Berak-Jesus. Having heard that in the city of Hulaba an unusual number of apostasies had occurred, they determined themselves to travel thither, and to endeavour to strengthen the brethren. Their efforts were crowned with much success, and, besides a larger number of confessors, they had the satisfaction of reckoning nine martyrs among their pupils. The names of the latter were, Zebinas, Lazarus, Maruthas, Narsites, Elias, Mahan, Abihus, Sebas, and Shembaitas. The governor of the city, hearing of the enthusiasm of the strangers, summoned them before his tribunal, and on their refusing to worship the sun, moon, fire, and holy water, they were scourged with knotty branches of trees, and confined in separate prisons, under the hope that, if divided, each might be more easily overcome. Jonas was first called, and when put to torture said, "I yield Thee thanks, God of Abraham our father, who didst of old time call him by Thy grace out

of this land, and hast made me worthy by the mysteries of faith to know some few things out of many concerning Thee. And now I pray Thee, O Lord, give me to make good that which the Holy Ghost of old time spake by the mouth of David: 'I will offer unto Thee fat burnt-sacrifices, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks and goats. O come hither, and hearken all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what He hath done for my soul.' And one verse was continually in his mouth, "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I require," &c. It were endless to go through all the tortures by which this martyr of Christ was tried. Finally he was cut in pieces, and his remains were thrown into a well. On this Berak-Jesus was set before the tribunal, and when desired to spare his own body said, "It was not I who made it, neither will I destroy it; God, who gave it me, will restore it, will reward me, and punish you." Hormisdatshir, one of the chief Magi, forthwith gave orders that the martyr should be scourged, and then stuck full of sharp nails, and thrown into a tank of liquid sulphur. This happened on the 24th December, A.D. 327, and the details of the martyrdom were written by Isaiah of Erzeroum.

The next martyrs we hear of were two bishops named Sapor and Isaac, and three laymen by name Mahanes, Abraham, and Symeon. Isaac was stoned to death; Sapor, committed to prison, after being scourged gave thanks to God for the victory of his friend, and two days after rejoined him in glory; dying, it is said, partly from the effects of his wounds, and partly from the intolerable stench of the dungeon in which he was confined. Mahanes was flayed alive, Abraham had red-hot nails thrust into his eyes, and Symeon, buried to the waist in the ground, was shot to death with arrows.

"I now come to the great persecution of Sapor, one of the four which may claim the chief place among those which the malice of Satan has excited against the Church. The other three being that of Diocletian, that of Huneric in Africa, and that of Teycosama and his successors in Japan."

Symeon Bar-Saboe, who had been at the Council of Nicæa, was then Archbishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and Patriarch of the Chaldæan and Persian Churches. Sapor, incited by the Magi, who represented to him that the Christians were vassals in will of the Roman emperor, resolved to rid Persia of them root and branch.

Sapor seems to have acted with the cunning of the fox, and Symeon to have forgotten to practise the wisdom of the serpent. Sapor's first act was to impose a very heavy tax on the Christians; Symeon, in behalf of the Church, indignantly refused to pay it, and when brought into the presence of the enraged monarch, refused the accustomed adoration of the king-no doubt because he deemed it to be idolatrous. How similar was his conduct to that of Mordecai refusing to rise before Haman, almost on the same spot, for it was near Susa (Shushan) that Symeon was tried. He was urged by every argument to adore the sun, but in vain. When a chief of the eunuchs, by name Guhsciatazades, an apostate from Christianity, saluted him, the Archbishop turned his face

away. "If," said the wretched man, "Symeon, once my friend, now turns from me, because I denied my Lord and his, how shall I be received at the latter day by the God whose faith I have thus betrayed?" Resolved even now to take the kingdom of heaven by violence, he put on mourning apparel and presented himself in the palace. When asked the cause of so flagrant a breach of etiquette, he openly acknowledged the truth, and was beheaded on Maundy Thursday. The happy news having been carried to Symeon, he gave thanks to God, and besought Him to crown His goodness by so ordering his own martyrdom as that it should fall at the very hour of Christ's sufferings. Accordingly, at nine o'clock on Good Friday he was summoned before the king and beheaded.

In this same city, Ledan, near Susa, five bishops and ninety-five priests or deacons were kept in prison. To these Symeon addressed a few words of exhortation, bidding them remember that" their resurrection would on that most holy day be buried along with them; that the Lord had been slain and was alive, and in Him their life was hid;" after which the 104 submitted themselves to the sword. Then came the turn of Symeon himself, and of his companions Ananias and Abdechalar. Ananias showed some signs of fear. On this a bystander, by name Phusik, master of the royal workmen, cried out, "Have no fear, O Ananias, close your eyes but for one moment, and they shall open in the light of heaven." When the three had entered into rest, the man Phusik was hurried before the king, and condemned to perish in the most frightful tortures, having his tongue torn out by the roots. His daughter confessed Christ, and received the crown of martyrdom with her father. From that day till the second Sunday after Pentecost not a day passed but added to the list of martyrs. Several of these were soldiers of the royal life guards, and one, Azades, a eunuch of the palace, is especially commemorated as a glorious martyr.

A still more glorious confession followed. The Queen of Sapor was attacked by an unknown disease, and the Jewish physicians who attended her suggested that it was caused by the incantations of Symeon's sister, Thesba, a virgin of rare beauty and dedicated to God, and Pherbutha, the widow of a nobleman of high reputation. These two were stripped of their garments, tied to posts, and cut into fragments, and the queen was led, by the prescription of the Magi, between the reeking portions, followed by the whole forces of their city. She shortly after perished miserably.

Shahdust, the nephew and successor of Symeon Bar-Saboe, with 128 companions, were arrested and imprisoned for five months. After having endured horrible tortures they were condemned to be beheaded, and gave up their souls to God after singing Psalm xliii.

About the same time an abbot of great piety, named Barsabias, with ten of his monks, after suffering divers tortures, were condemned to lose their heads near Persepolis. While the bloody tragedy was being enacted, one of the Magi, struck by the calmness and courage of the martyrs, professed himself a Christian, and suffered with the others.

In the sixth year of the persecution, Barbasimon, the successor of

Shahdust in the see of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, with sixteen of his clergy, were carried before Sapor and put to death. A fresh edict against the Christians followed this martyrdom. A vast number fell through the various provinces; but their names, though written in heaven, are forgotten on earth.

"A priest named Paul, with five of his nuns, named Thecla, Mary, Martha, Mary, and Anna, were brought before a violent persecutor, by name Nerses Tamsapor. Paul was very rich, and through love of his earthly pelf abjured his master. Tamsapor was much disgusted at losing his hopes of Paul's money, and in order to deter him from apostasy, appointed him executioner of the five virgins. Iscariot betrayed his Lord for silver, and Paul stooped to this unutterable disgrace for lucre. They received one hundred stripes each, and were then given over to their late priest to be slain. And are we,' said they, 'to be made a sacrifice by those very hands from which we so lately received that holy thing, the sacrifice and propitiation of the whole world?' But so great

a crime did not go unpunished; Nerses was resolved to have his money, and on that very night Paul was murdered in prison by his guards.' (The Patriarchate of Antioch, by J. M. Neale.)

This persecution continued to rage for forty years with varying violence and extent.

Yezdijird, who reigned from A.D. 401-420, was favourable to the Christians. But the Bishop Abdas in the province of Susa, having in his false zeal for the truth destroyed a fire-temple, caused a new persecution (in A.D. 418), which lasted thirty years, and was particularly violent under Varanes V. (A.D. 420-438).

Among those who won the crown of martyrdom in this persecution were Deacon Benjamin, who having lingered for two years in prison was released at the request of the Roman ambassador, who promised that he should not preach Christ to a Persian, but Benjamin would not consent, and was put to death in a horrible manner; and Jacobus, who suffered slow death by having one limb after another torn from his body. Many Christians took refuge with Theodosius II., and his refusing to give them up caused a war between the Romans and Persians (A.D. 422). Peace was made in A.D. 427 by the generosity of Acacius, Bishop of Amida, in Mesopotamia, who sold the church utensils and ransomed 7000 Persian captives with the price of them, and sent them back to Persia. This rendered the state of the

Christians more tolerable for a time.

Enough has been said to give the reader some idea of the fearful fire of persecution into which it pleased God to permit the Church in Persia to fall during the reigns of the Persian kings of the Sassanian dynasty. The Armenian and the Chaldæan (or Nestorian Church, as it is commonly called) passed through a similar fiery trial; but both of these Churches came out of the furnace and exist to the present day. The Persian Church fell into it and was entirely consumed. Not a vestige of Christianity, except the ruins of the buildings, remains to the present day. We cannot but praise God for the wondrous forti

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