CatholicaAtkinson, The Passions and the Homilies from Leabhar Breac (1887) — translated from the Irish.
1 THE PASSION of the SEVEN SLEEPERS who slept in EPHESUS for three hundred and fifty-two years.
2 There was once a fierce, loveless king over the world, named
3 Decius. There was a great persecution of the Christians in his time, commanding
4 them to make offering to the gods. Now there were seven noble-born
5 youths in the king’s house at that time: these are their names —
6 Achelius, Eugenius, Zephanus, Probatus, Sambatius, Cyriacus, Maximianus.
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7 Now when these men saw Decius’s impiety and his
8 manifold idolatry — that he worshipped the deaf and dumb idols as the living God,
9 and that he compelled everyone to worship them — the grace of God came upon those
10 seven, so that they believed in Christ and were baptised; and other names were given them
11 at the baptism: these are they — Johannes, Serapion, Dionysius,
12 Constantinus, Martianus, Malchus, Maximianus. Then Decius came to
13 Ephesus, and said that everyone on whom the name of Christ was taken should be killed
14 at once. The king made offering to the gods, and everyone imitated him,
15 so that the smoke of the offerings hung over the whole city. When the seven
16 saw that, horror and fear seized them, and they were in
17 weeping and heavy sorrow; they made prayers and put ashes on their
18 heads, and were praying to God earnestly, that he would not abandon his own people
19 in the persecution that was upon them. Those who were persecuting the
20 Christians came and reported to the king that everyone was offering to the gods
21 except seven of his own household, whom he held dearest —
22 Maximian and the son of the chief judge among them. The king grew angry at this,
23 and ordered them to be brought to him. They were brought in chains to the king,
24 with the mark of sorrow on their faces and ash upon their heads. As they were
25 at their prayers the king looked upon them: “It seems to me,” said he, “that you have strayed
26 so that you will not approach your own gods, and that you make no offerings
27 to them; I swear by Apollo,” said he, “that you shall suffer various torments
28 for your disloyalty to the gods.” Then the holy men said to him
29 at that: “We are ready,” said they, “to die for the sake of the one
30 almighty God who made heaven and earth and sea. As for
31 your gods, they are made by skilled men’s hands, and they have no
32 power for anyone, and they shall go into everlasting punishment — those who worship
33 them.” The king grew angry at this, and said to his people:
34 “Strip off their garments so that they are bare,” said he, “that they may repent
35 of the deed they have done. Then take them to the royal house, that they may be in
36 the same condition, for it is not fitting to torture such comely bodies.”
37 Then their bonds were loosed from them at the king’s word: “Go to
38 Ephesus,” said the king, “and remain there until I come from another city.”
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39 Each man of them distributed to the poor what little he had of gold and silver and
40 clothing; and after that they went into a cave of Mount Cilion, taking
41 some of their goods with them, for they would be needed there. There was one of them
42 who used to come out of it to buy food, and to keep watch for news of the
43 emperor and the king — Malchus was the name of that servant. While the holy
44 men were in the cave, in heavy prayer, the emperor
45 Decius came to Ephesus, and was asking Maximian’s parents for him.
46 They said that he was in the cave of Mount Cilion, and that it would be easy to bring him
47 out, if it pleased the king. Then Malchus told them that saying, and
48 fear seized them there, and they cast themselves face down on the ground,
49 and were in lamentation and prayer together; and when God heard their petition,
50 he had mercy on them, sending a deep sleep upon them, so that their souls were
51 called from their bodies to him, and they lying on the
52 ground as though they were asleep. Then the king’s anger was roused,
53 and he said to his people: “Go,” said he, “and shut the door of the cave,
54 so that those men may not come out to fight against our gods, and to die
55 also.” When the king’s people went to close the cave, two Christian
56 men went with them — Theodorus and Iabinus were their names; and
57 they dared not yet openly worship Christ before the king, and they wrote on
58 leaden tablets the story and deeds and names of those holy men, and put them
59 at the door of the cave in a hidden place, unknown to anyone; for when it is pleasing to God that the deeds of his own champions be made known,
60 everything they had done in the name of God would be revealed in the tablets.
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61 Then the king’s people came and brought heavy stones,
62 and shut the door of the cave with them, and this is what they said then: “Let them die
63 of hunger there, or let each eat another of them.”
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64 Now Decius the emperor died after a while, and Theodosius son of
65 Arcadius took the kingdom after him. It was in his time that the heresy of the
66 Sadducees raised its head — denial of the resurrection, for they said that
67 there would be no resurrection of the dead. Now this was grievous to Theodosius
68 the emperor in his mind, and he was praying to God to reveal to him what he should do
69 about it.
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70 There was a rich man in Ephesus at that time; his people used to be
71 penning his cattle on the side of Mount Cilion, and that man said to
72 his people: “This is a good place for our cattle,” said he; “make
73 folds here for them.” The herdsmen were gathering the stones of the mountain
74 to make walls around the cattle; they came then to the door of the
75 cave, and found heavy stones there, which they carried to make
76 their fold, for they did not go into the cave itself. Then the Lord sent back the
77 souls of those seven into their bodies, and they arose and
78 were conversing among themselves; and it seemed to them that they had been
79 asleep no more than one night. Their bodies were comely, and their clothing was
80 wholly whole.
81 They said to Malchus: “Take silver with you, and go into the city and
82 buy food for us, and learn for yourself what Decius the emperor has decreed
83 concerning us, for we are ready for death in the name of God before we will make
84 offering to the gods.” He took his goods with him — and it was the name of Decius
85 that was written on them. When he came to the city, he saw
86 the sign of the cross on the gate of the city; he wondered greatly, and
87 said to himself: “Why,” said he, “is it not yesterday that I left this city?
88 Perhaps the mind of Decius the emperor has been changed, since the gate of his city
89 has been sealed with the sign of the cross.” Then Malchus went into the
90 city, and heard everyone swearing by God’s name; he saw them also
91 going throughout the city to the church, and renewing it.
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92 He wondered at this in himself, and said: “It seems to me,” said he, “that it is
93 some other city I have come to.” When he came to the market, he was
94 selling his goods for food; everyone was looking at the coins: “Look,”
95 said they, “this man has found a treasure of coins, for it is
96 in the time of Decius they were made.” Malchus was saying to himself: “What
97 do want with me? Is it a dream I am seeing?” They seized him then and he was
98 brought to the bishop — Marinus was his name — and to the chief judge also.
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99 The judge said to him: “From what land have you come here?” “From Ephesus,
100 for me,” said Malchus, “and is this Ephesus? for I remember that
101 it is no more than a day or two since I was in it.” “From where did you bring these coins?”
102 said the judge. “From the house of my father and my mother I brought
103 them,” said Malchus. “Who are they?” said the judge. Malchus told them
104 their names, and they did not know them. “Tell us the truth,” said the
105 judge, “from where did you bring the silver that is from the time of Decius here? for
106 it is three hundred and seventy-two years since Decius died; and unless
107 you tell the truth, you shall be tortured there.” Then Malchus was in heavy
108 sorrow, and said: “I would know of you, by the living God, where is the persecutor
109 of the Christians, Decius the emperor, who was in this city,
110 or does Marinus the holy bishop still live?” “That Decius is dead,
111 long ago,” said they. When Malchus heard that, he said to the
112 holy bishop: “It seems to me,” said he, “it is no more than one night that I
113 and my brothers have been asleep; but since I see that ages have passed
114 while we have been asleep, it may be that it is God who has waked us from the dead, so
115 that the men of the world may know that there shall truly be a resurrection of the dead in the
116 glorious judgement. Come with me, then,” said he, “that I may show you my brothers,
117 who arose along with me.” Now it was a great wonder to the bishop
118 and to the judge, that tale. Malchus told his brothers everything
119 that had befallen him in the city. Then he went into the cave and found
120 a shrine in it, with two silver clasps upon it. He came out quickly
121 and called the people, and the shrine was opened, and he found two leaden tablets in it;
122 and this is what was written in them — “the passion of those holy seven,” as we
123 have said before; so that thereby they believed that everything Malchus had
124 told them was true. Then they went into the cave and found the
125 holy men in the end of the cave, sitting; and their faces were shining
126 like the sun.