Evagrius Scholasticus, Church History 4.7b
created: This entry is taken from Church History 4.7b written by Evagrius Scholasticus in
edition published: 2023-06-30-05:00
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https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/230

Καίσαρος πόλιν

,

τῆς Καίσαρος

, and

city of Caesar

are directly attested at Evagrius Scholasticus, Church History 4.7b. This passage was written ca. 593-598 CE possibly in Antioch on the Orontes. Evagrius Scholasticus came from a background of wealth and education in Syria and rose to prominence in the circles of power in the early Byzantine empire and church, as legal advisor of the Patriarchate of Antioch and honorary officeholder under Maurice and Tiberius II. His Church History covering First Council of Ephesus to the middle reign of Maurice (431-593/4 C.E.) provides especially rich evidence for the history of Late Antique Syria. His famous portrait of Zosimas of Synda reveals the holy man’s close connection to Caesarea (4.7), in particular his association with the otherwise unknown grandee Arcesilaus, who became the venerable monk’s discussant and likely patron. In this passage, Evagrius recounts the self-maiming by the wife of Arcesilaus and the miraculous intercession by Zosimas and John of Choziba, bishop of Caesarea (ca. 516 C.E.).

Διὰ τούτου πολλαί τε καὶ ἕτεραι θεοσημεῖαι γεγόνασιν, ὧν τὸ πλῆθος παρείς, ἐπεὶ καὶ κρείττονος εἰπεῖν ἀριθμοῦ τυγχάνουσιν οὖσαι, ἔνια λέξω. Συνήκμαζε τῷ Ζωσιμᾷ ἀνήρ, Ἰωάννης τοὔνομα, ταῖς ἀρεταῖς παραπλήσιος, ἐν Χουζιβᾷ τῇ μάνδρᾳ—κεῖται δὲ πρὸς τῇ ἐσχατιᾷ τῆς χαράδρας ἀνὰ τὸ ἀρκτῷον μέρος τῆς λεωφόρου τῆς φερούσης τοὺς διαπορευομένους ἐξ Ἱεροσολύμων ἐπὶ τὴν Ἱεριχουντίων πόλιν—τὸν μονήρη τε καὶ ἄϋλον διαπαλαίσας βίον, ἐπισκοπήσας δὲ τὴν εἰρημένην μοι Καίσαρος πόλιν. Οὗτος ὁ Ἰωάννης ὁ Χουζιβίτης, ἐπεὶ τὴν Ἀρκεσιλάου τοῦ λελεγμένου μοι γυναῖκα ἠκηκόει θάτερον τοῖν ὀφθαλμοῖν ὑπὸ κερκίδος ἐκκοπέντα, δρομαίως ᾔει πρὸς αὐτὴν τὸ πάθος ἐπισκεψόμενος. Ὡς δ’ οὖν ἐθεάσατο τήν τε κόρην ἐκπεσοῦσαν τέλεόν τε τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν διαρρυέντα, σπόγγον ἐπιτάττει τῶν τινι παρεφομαρτούντων ἰατρῶν ἐνεγκεῖν, εἰσαγαγεῖν τε τὸ διαρρυὲν ὡς ἂν δύναιτο, καὶ τὸν σπόγγον περιθέντα τελαμῶσιν ἀναδῆσαι, οὔτι παρόντος Ἀρκεσιλάου. Ἔτυχε γὰρ τῷ Ζωσιμᾷ παρὼν ἐν τῷ κατ’ αὐτὸν φροντιστηρίῳ, ὅπερ ἐπὶ τῆς Σινδηνῶν ἔκειτο κώμης, διεστώσης τῆς Καίσαρος σταδίους μάλιστα πεντακοσίους. Δρομαῖοι τοίνυν παρὰ τὸν Ἀρκεσίλαον ἐκτρέχουσίν οἱ ταῦτα διαγγέλλοντες. Καθῆστο δὲ πρὸς Ζωσιμᾷ ὁ Ἀρκεσίλαος τὰς διαλέξεις ποιούμενος: ὅπερ ἐπειδὴ διέγνω, διωλύγιον ἀνεκώκυε, καὶ τὰς τρίχας ἐκτίλλων καὶ διασπῶν εἰς οὐρανὸν ἀνέπεμπε. Τοῦ δὲ Ζωσιμᾶ πυνθανομένου τὴν αἰτίαν, τὸ συμβὰν ὁ Ἀρκεσίλαος ἔλεγε ταῖς οἰμωγαῖς καὶ τοῖς δάκρυσι συχνὰ διακοπτόμενος. Ἀφεὶς οὖν τοῦτον ὁ Ζωσιμᾶς αὐτὸς καθ’ ἑαυτὸν εἴς τι δωμάτιον ἐστρέχει ἔνθα τῷ θεῷ, ὡς θεμιτὸν τοῖς τοιούτοις, ἐνετύγχανεν. Μετὰ δ’ αὖ τινα καιρὸν προσελθὼν ἔχαιρέν τε καὶ σεμνὰ μειδιῶν πρὸς Ἀρκεσίλαον ἔλεγε τὴν χεῖρα καταψήχων· Ἄπιθι χαίρων, ἄπιθι· ἡ χάρις τῷ Χουζιβίτῃ δέδοται. Ἰάθη σου τὸ γύναιον, ἄμφω τὼ ὀφθαλμὼ ἔχει, οὐδὲν ἰσχυσάσης τῆς συμφορᾶς ἀφελέσθαι, οὕτω τοῦ Χουζιβίτου βουληθέντος. Ὅπερ καὶ γέγονεν ἀμφοῖντοῖν δικαίοιν κατὰ ταὐτὸ θαυματουργησάντοιν.

[Ed. Bidez and Parmentier 1898]

Through him many other miracles occurred; omitting the majority, because they are of too great a number to recount, I will relate a few. At the same time as Zosimas there flourished a man named John, who was similar in his virtues. He had wrestled in the solitary life without matrial possessions at the monastery of Choziba, which is situated at the edge of the ravine at the northern part of the highway that leads travelers from Jerusalem to the city of Jericho, but now he was bishop of the city of Caesar, which I have mentioned. When he heard that the wife of Arcesilaus, whom I have mentioned, had put out one of her eyes with a weaving shuttle, this John the Chozibite went running to her to examine the injury. When he saw that the pupil had fallen out and that the entire eye was discharging, he instructed one of the attending doctors to bring a sponge, to reinstate what had discharged as far as he could, and to bind on the sponge and secure it with bandages. All this happened while Arcesilaus was absent, for he was by chance with Zosimas in his institution, which lay near the village of Sinde about 500 stadia from the city of Caesar. Accordingly runners raced off to bring news of this to Arcesilaus. He was sitting beside Zosimas having a discussion. When Arcesilaus learned this he uttered a piercing wail, rent and pulled out his hair, and threw it into the air. When Zosimas asked the reason, Arcesilaus said what had happened with frequent interruptions for groans and tears. And so Zosimas left him and hurried by himself into a certain room where, as is the custom for such people, he used to encounter God. After some time he approached him again and greeted Arcesilaus with a solemn smile and spoke to him, touching his hand, “Depart in happiness, depart: grace has been granted to the Chozibite. Your wife is cured, she has both her eyes, and the misfortune cannot deprive her of anything, because such was the will of the Chorizibite.” This indeed happened because the two just men had worked wonders for the same purpose.

[Rev. Whitby 2000]

Works Cited

[...] 4.7b 157-158
[...] 4.7b 206-207

[Nicephorus Callistus Xanthopoulos 17.4]

[Choziba

Jericho

Jerusalem

Synda]

[Archelaus

John the Chozibite, bishop

Zosimas of Synda, monk]

[Biology and Medicine

Christianity

Family

Society and Culture

Travel]