The suffering of the holy martyr Ascalon .

When Arrian was on his way from Hermopolis (one in Lower Egypt, the other in Middle Egypt) to Antinous (the city of Antinous was opposite Hermopolis on the opposite bank of the Nile), he was led by a Christian named Askalon.

And when he saw him, he said, Who is this? And one of the councilors of the council, whose name was Apollonius, answered and said, I suppose he is a Christian. And the council said to Apollonius, Ask him who he is. And he said to the saint, Who art thou? And he said, I am a Christian. And the council said to him, Hast thou heard the decrees of the kings, which are sent throughout all the countries, that the Christians are to sacrifice unto the gods? And the saint said, Asklon.

And I heard of the wicked decrees of many, which were made to deceive. And the holy one said, How dareest thou so blaspheme against kings, calling their holy and saving decrees deceit? And the holy one said, Do with me as thou wilt, for I have no such decrees; for they are not lawfully made to profit, but to destroy men. And the decrees that call to idolatry are of what avail?

And he said, Is it not enough that thou hast reproached our kings, and that thou hast called our gods idols? I swear by the gods themselves, if thou wilt not worship them, and if thou wilt not sacrifice unto them, thou shalt suffer the torment of the rebellious.

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell".

"Listen to me and sacrifice to the immortal gods, for if you do not listen, the place of torment and tormentors is already prepared". The saint replied, "We will see which of us will be stronger: will you convince me by torture to call idols gods, or will I convince you to acknowledge Christ my Lord as the true God and creator of all things?"

And when the holy man was tormented and tortured so that his body fell to the ground, he was silent, and there was no groaning of pain, and no sound. And the holy man said to him, Is not thy heart softened that thou hast offered sacrifice to the gods?

And he said unto him, I am not mad, neither will I ever depart from God my Maker. And he said unto him, Thou hast hardened thy heart again; but this place is not good enough for thee to be in the way, that thou shouldest be punished: let us go to the city, and there thou shalt be punished for thy disobedience.

And it came to pass, when the king of Assyria came to the city of Ashkelon, that the king of Assyria came to the city of Ascalon, and said unto him, Behold, I am come unto thee, saith the Lord GOD.

The citizens of Antioch, who went out to meet him, surrounded the saint, naked and wounded, lying on the ground on the bank of the river (for from the wounds he could neither stand nor sit), and condoled with him, and immediately, seeing the saint, who had reached the river and sat in the boat, prepared to meet and greet him.

But when the holy martyr heard that the egemon was passing in the boat, he gathered strength, rose from the ground and, raising his hands to heaven, cried out to the Lord, saying: "My God, Jesus Christ, for whose sake I endure these sufferings and for the love of whom I stand naked before all shame".

Hear me now, for thy holy name's sake, and stretch out thy almighty hand, and restrain the boat in which the unrighteous judge sitteth, in the midst of the river, and let him not come to this shore, until he confess thee the only true God, the Creator and Lord of all things, and glorify thy holy name, which he hateth, before all the people.

When the saint had thus prayed, suddenly the boat in which Egimon was sitting stopped in the middle of the river and could not move at all. Seeing this, Arrian was amazed and, remembering the words of the martyr who had promised to lead him to confess Christ God, said to his servants: "What do you think about the fact that the boat stopped in the sea? Did it not happen by the magic of that Christian?

So he ordered that another boat be brought near, and he got into it. The boat that he had been in ran aground and was unable to move, because the oarsmen were so many that the sail was broken because the wind was against it.

He said, "As surely as the Lord my God lives, the boat in which he is will not set sail until he confesses the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, as I have told him".

And if the Ethiopian should confess the name of thy God in the midst of the river, as thou wilt, how canst thou hear his voice from the bank, for the river is very broad? And the martyr said unto him, Let him write the testimony of my lord upon a piece of paper, and send it unto me, and the boat shall at once depart from her place, and come to the bank.

And when the messenger had returned, he told him the words of the martyr. And he took the letter, and wrote with his own hand, saying, There is one true God, whom Ashkelon worships, and there is none else besides him; he is the Creator and Lord of all things. And when he had written, he sent the letter to Ashkelon. And the martyr read it, and prayed to God, and the boat with him went forth, and reached the shore.

And when he was come into the city, he sat in the judgment seat, and a martyr was brought before him, and he said unto him, Thou hast cast thy wicked magic upon me, that thou mightest keep me in the river, and I will show thee my power upon the land.

And Ashkelon said, I see that thou art dead. And the holy man answered and said, If I die, I shall certainly live. And Achimelech said to his servants, Let us only trouble ourselves, and afflict him; for I see that he will rather die than turn from his faith; but we will do what we can.

And when he had said this, Egemon commanded to bind a great stone to the feet of the saint, and to cast the saint into the river. And the soldiers took the saint, and led him to the river. And a great multitude followed him, including many Christians, who came to see the death of the martyr.

I will not eat of the food that perishes. I will not eat of the food that perishes. I will not eat of the food that perishes. I will not eat of the food that perishes.

My sons, neglect not my sepulchre, but seek not my dead body to-day, nor to-morrow; and when ye come to the north part of the city on the third day, ye shall find my dead body there, and the stone hanging there on the bank; bury me with the stone.

And so it was. On the third day after the martyr's drowning, the Christians found his holy body as he had told them, with the stone tied to it, and they buried him with honor, glorifying our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be honor and worship with the Father and the Holy Spirit now and forever and ever. Amen.