Translated from Russian
NEAR-DEATH TESTAMENT
of St. Ephraim the Syrian
WORKS, Volume 3
WORKS, Volume 3
(This testament has been preserved in Syriac script
and in a Greek translation.
Offered here is a translation from the Syriac [into Russian, first].
Places in [brackets] are missing in the Syriac script and
have been supplemented from the Greek translation)
and in a Greek translation.
Offered here is a translation from the Syriac [into Russian, first].
Places in [brackets] are missing in the Syriac script and
have been supplemented from the Greek translation)
I, Ephraim, am dying and I'm writing a testament, wishing to leave to everyone for remembrance something of what I have in me so that those who know me will commemorate me albeit for my words.
Alas! My time has passed, the continuation of my years has disappeared. Tissue is over, and the canoe is at the end of base. Oil in the lamp is exhausted, my days and hours have moved over, the mercenary has outlived his [full] year, the wanderer has finished his term. On all sides I have been surrounded by officers, urging me to hurry, and placing on my neck a chain as on a criminal.
Do I have to weep? But there is no one to hear. Am I to wail for help? But there's no deliverer. Woe to thee, O Ephraim, on Judgment [Day] when you shall stand before the Throne of the Son! Those who know you shall surround you from all sides.
Alas, what opprobrium! Woe to him who shall be reached by shame there!
Thou, Jesus, do judge Ephraim, and do not hand to another Judgment. For those whom God will judge, he shall gain bounties at the Judgment.
I have heard from the wise and have learned from those in the know: he who sees the face of the King, he would not be handed to death, even if he were sinful.
Woe to me, my brethren! What has befallen me? Wail and weep for my lot. Those urging me to hurry have come to pick me up and take me away, as well as others.
I am strongly frightened by Hosea. He rebukes and reproves me: gray hair are on Ephraim, he is still unashamed (Hos. 7:9).
And further: Ephraim is a heifer and trends his necks out of the yoke (Hos. 10:11). And if anyone says that Hosea says this about Ephraim, the son of Joseph, then I know that he would not know Ephraim from Ephraim, nor me from anyone else.
I am comforted somewhat by David, saying: Ephraim also is the strength of mine head (Ps. 60:7). I do not want to boast with this – God is my witness in this, but to you, my brethren, I wish to give a commandment and to teach you and make certain that you would commemorate me in prayers and supplications, so that at least for my words those who know me would commemorate me.
And so, come over, close my eyes; it's a closed case – I have to die, determination has been made – I am separating from you and I cannot stay.
I swear by your life, my disciples, and by the life of Ephraim himself, that he would not come down from the bed to which he has ascended, because I am burdened with a grave illness and my pains [tortures] are unbearable.
I exhibit to you a flag, I put a mirror in front of you, and in it there is an image, so that you would incessantly gaze at it [him] and would try to emulate [become like] it [him]. Day or night, in all my life, I have never spoken evil of anyone, and never since the beginning of my existence have I quarreled with anyone. But I have constantly competed in gatherings with apostates. For you know that even the master of sheep beats his dog, which – having seen a wolf coming into the fold – does not run and bark at him.
A wise man has no hatred to anyone; and even if he hated someone, then [this would be] only the one stupid. And a stupid man also has no love to anyone; and even if he loved someone, then [this would be] only the one stupid.
(Marvel not, my brethren, that some have disowned me while training [them] in obedience. Even in the Twelve Apostles there was one traitor, Judas. You know also that initially in a vineyard there usually grow thorny plants; and thorns are reaped amidst roses. Before you, as before sincere and unanimous brethren, I do confirm that my faith is robust, I even take an oath in its steadfastness. For I wish that your thinking be firm about the inviolable and single[autocratic]-authority faith in the faithful.)
I swear by the One Who descended on Mount Sinai, and by the One portending from the rock (Exod. 17:6), I swear with lips, that have cried, Eloi, [Eloi, lama sabachthani] (Mark. 15:34), and having thus led the entire beings into shudder. I swear by Him Who was sold by Judas and beaten in Jerusalem; I swear by the power of the One Slapped onto the handsand the One Who received spitting with sublimity. I swear by [all the] three names of Fire (Deuter. 4:34), and by the One Single God's being exists and [by the] One Single will that I have never separated from the Church, have never rebelled against God's omnipotence.
If I have in my mind exalted more the Father rather than the Son, then let Him have mercy on me. If I have belittled the Holy Spirit before the Lord, then let my eyes be covered with darkness. If I have confessed otherwise than what I spoke, then let me be cast into the outer [utter] darkness. If I speak hypocritically, then let me be – together with the evil ones – burning in flames. If I speak this out of servility-to-men, then may the Lord not listen to me at the Judgment.
I also swear by yours', my disciples, and by my lives: Ephraim has had no property, he has had no wand, no sheath, because I have heard the words of our Lord: Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth (Matt. 6:19).
Do come, my brethren, speak peace unto me and let me go; I'm parting with you. I charge you, my beloved, remember me in prayers and supplications, because I've spent my days and hours in sinful vanity.
I charge you, my disciples, with vows inviolable, that my words shall not be in vain: do not transgress my commandments!
If someone puts me under the altar, then may he not see the altar of God, because it is indecent for stinking uncleanness to lie in the holy place.
If someone put me in the temple, may he not see the light's temple, because vainglory is useless to the one who is unworthy of glory.
Each one shall appear naked to give an account for oneself. Why dignify the one who was unable to keep his honor? He who has not glorified himself, that one the world should not praise either.
Everything passes away, as you have heard from our Lord (Matt. 24:35), therefore I speak these things with tears, my brethren. A temple made of stone gets destroyed [thrown down] as you have heard and read (Matt. 24:2), and the temple of flesh (man's flesh) rebels for retribution and the Judgment. Our Lord does not judge [the] stones, but judge the sons of men. Take nothing from me for your remembrance, my brethren, my beloved, my children, children of the Holy Church, for you have for remembrance what you have heard from our Lord, Who is the Life-giver to us all. If you take something from Ephraim, then Ephraim would be responsible [held accountable]. The Lord shall say to me, "They believed more in you [rather] than in Me. And if they trusted Me more, then they would have taken nothing from you for their remembrance."
Do not put your trust on me with the martyrs, because I am a sinner and I'm worth nothing; by my shortcomings I fear to even approach their bones. If straw is brought closer to fire, the fire will ignite and devour it. I do not ban this because the proximity of the martyrs was disgusted me was unsavory to me, but I'm afraid [I do so] by my shortcomings.
I heard what the prophet says: "Noah, Daniel, and Jobshall not deliver their neighbors(Ezek. 14:14, 18); a brother cannot by any means redeem his brother, nor a kinsman – his kinsman" (Ps. 49:7).
He who'll carry me on their hands, their hands shall not be covered with leprosy, like Gehazi; but lifting me on their shoulders, carry as soon as possible, and lend me to burial, as a despicable one, for my days have passed disastrously.
What for would you praise me for when I'm ashamed before the Lord? Why would you call me blessed when I have [done] no good deeds? If someone has described to you my deeds, then every one of you would have spat me in the face. If those approaching him would feel the stench of a sinner, then everyone would run away from the stench of Ephraim.
He who would lay silk clothing with me into the grave, let him be cast into outer [utter] darkness. He who would lay a scarlet robe with me into the grave, let him be overthrown down into the fiery Gehenna. Lend me to the earth in my chasuble[1] and capuche[2], because the decoration is indecent to the useless, while splendor is useless to a dead man stretched out in the tomb. I am a sinner, like I have already said. Let no one call me blessed.
[1] The shirt of a monk
[2]The cap of a monk in medieval Russia, Eastern Orthodox, as 'capuche'. Capuche was always black and embroidered by signs of faith, as skulls, that meant the readiness to death; Orthodox cross; world of a prayer. A capuche was sewed together with a long cloak, also embroidered.
My deeds are open to God, He knows the [acts of] lawlessness, which I have made. I'm desecrated by impurity and uselessness, I'm blackened by sins. What impurity is not there in me? What sin does not weigh on me? All that is useless, all that is lawless and obscene, like I have already said, is there in me.
Come you over, you residents of Edessa, my brethren, my lords, children and fathers, bring what you have promised, and put in the coffin together with your brother. Bring what you have promised, my brethren, and put in front of me so that I may myself – while there remains with me some memory – appoint to it a price.
Let expensive clothing be sold, let their price be offered and handed out to the poor, the poor on spirit, and the needy. This will serve both your remembrance, and me as profit. You shall be reward for this by the grace of God as those who hand out and me – as councilor. But another reward for the case, and another - for the words. The giver is more than him who receives, as you have heard, beloved (Acts 20:35).
I thank you, my brethren, for what you have set aside for me and for what you have honored me with, though I am unworthy for I have spent in sins my days. He that receiveth a prophet ...shall receive a prophet's reward, as our Teacher assures us with His mouth (Matt. 10:41). And you know that He is not deceitful.
Though a sinner I, but Christ will reward you, because for His sake and by trust in Him you have done me this honor. Him for Whose sake you have honored me, beloved, will reward you for your vows and will receive your offerings. Although I'm no prophet, but you shall receive a prophet's reward.
Blessed is the city you inhabit – Edessa – mother of the wise! It was blessed living mouth by the Son via His disciple. (When King Abgar, the founder of this city expressed – through the ambassadors – a desire to receive at his place the Savior who appeared on earth, the Lord of all sorts of Christ, and was sauing: "I have heard about all that Thou has done, and about what Thou hast suffered from the Jews rejecting Thee: therefore, come here and live with me; I have a small town, it will serve both you and me." Then the Lord – astonished at his faith, and – [by] sending eternal messengers – blessed the city, strengthening its foundation.)
And may this blessing abide on it until the coming of the Holy One!
He who keeps in himself anything of what he's promised me, let him die the death of Ananias, who thought to lie to the Apostles – and fell dead at their feet.
(When Ephraim spake, one of them who stood there – a rather eminent man, was struck by an unclean spirit, he fell immediately onto the bedside and began crying out loud. Ephraim told him: "What was it you made you, man?" And standing up immediately at this word, he said: "I've brought expensive clothes intending to put it on you. And as soon as you commanded that nothing be put in the coffin with you, I changed my thought, saying, 'If he cannot be put in such clothing, then what for is it to be put on display? If he commands us to give to the poor on spirit, we'll give to the needy, as much as needed, out of something else that we have.' " The blessed replied to him, "Go and fulfill your intention." Then, after praying for him, and having laid hands on him, he healed him from the evil spirit and continued on.)
He who will carry before me a wax candle let him be devoured by the fire from his bowels [outward]. What is a fire for to the one who is burned by his own fire? As soon as a visible fire kindles – it also ignites an internal, innermost [hidden] fire.
I've had enough with my inner illness; do not increase it further with an outward one, as well. You better shed, brethren, your tears about me, about my friends and about all [who are] like me.
In sins and in useless vanity have I spent my days; and on the day when I expected not – a burglar came and attacked me; in an hour when I imagined [thought] not – the thief crept up and approached, and he compels me to go away from here into a country unknown to me.
I implore you, [you who are] dragging me, do not perturb me and do not torment me. And if you do to me according to my sins, then I will be seized by great fear: and then what will happen to me? When I recall what I have done – my knees tremble and my teeth gnash; when I bring to memory what I have done – dread embraces me. For nothing good at all has been done by me in all my days, nothing good at all has been done since I was brought to light [born] by my parents.
Do not place with me in the coffin flavors, because this honor is useless for me. Do not place fragrances, because they shall not rescue me from Judgment. Burn the aromas up at the holy place, and accompany me with prayers; offer the fragrances as a gift to God, and render ne into the earth with psalm-chanting.
Rather than squander fragrances and aromas, remember me in your prayers, for what benefit is there from fragrances for the dead man who cannot sense them? And the aromas burn up at the holy place, so that with their fragrance they would delight those who enter there.
Cover not with stinking pus silk clothing, which will not come to serve anything. Leave him lie at the pus-place because he is unable to sense the honor bestowed. Befitting a rich man is splendor, becoming a poor man – a pus-place; belonging to king's descendant is a kingdom, and belonging a stranger – squalor. Do not place me in your tombs, because your decorations will serve nothing for me. I have already made a vow to God that I be buried with strangers.
I am as much a stranger as they were; put me with them, my brethren. Every bird likes those of its sort, and a man, too, loves his kind.
Put me at the cemetery, where the brokenhearted are buried, so that the Son of God may in His coming sprinkle me, as well, and raise me up with them.
Behold, O Lord, my incantations, and may Thy generosities be upon me. I beseech Thee, Son of the Merciful, do not do to me according to my sins.
If thou ... shouldest mark iniquities, ... who shall stand before Thee? (Ps. 130:3) If Thou demandest an account at the Judgment, no one will be acquitted. Every mouth may be stopped, as is written, and all the world may become guilty (Rom. 3:19). I do not lose hope, saying so, but I repeat the writing.
What shallst Thee attain, O Son of the Merciful, if I be cast into the fire? Reveal unto me the usual generosity of Thine, so Thine goodness may be known. If you will be judging rigidly, then indeed, like Thine justice [righteousness] heralded, no, not one [not a single one out] of thousands would be acquitted, nor a couple [nor [both] the two] out of the dark (Ps. 14:3).
"Are you really taking comfort in this, Ephraim, that I shall not judge men, that the righteous shall be compared with the lawless, the virtuous and the good – with the evil?"
No, there can never be communion of light and darkness. As how can Abel and Cain, his killer be equalized? Or how can the martyrs and their persecutors, of whom the martyrs would cry and complain? If I say this, then I do not ask to compare the good with the evil, but I beseech Thee, the good Son, to pardon me, my friends and the likes of me.
That's what I have said, and am saying, and I do not step back from my words: if Thou shalt not render mercy, no one shall see the Kingdom! For of all the vested in flesh One is only pure from sin. And I am saying this not just because of the fact that I myself am a sinner, but the Scriptures actually say so, as I suggest to you, my brethren.
"Leave your sophistry, Ephraim – the angel of death tells me – useless to you are your intricacies; those dragging you will not listen."
And in great anger he further says to me, "Put a fence on your mouth – not all shall die as you will. The sinner thinks that everyone is just as he is; the blind man assumes that all are like him."
Do come over, my brethren, put me [down] for I am losing my sinews already, and soon there will be me no more; admonish [give directions to] me with prayer, psalms, and offerings. When thirty days turn after my death, serve for me a commemoration, my brethren, because offerings do help the dead, commemorations served by the living (both the Greek and the Syriac text read in accord thus: the thirtieth day. And this indicates a special custom in the ancient Church to serve commemoration for the dead on other [different] days, and on the thirtieth, as well).
Have you, indeed, not noticed that when the living wine matures in the vineyard, also wandering is the dead winein the earthenware?
And if, my beloved, the onion issuing a heavy smell shows in itself a feeling (when one grows alone in the field, then the other produces sprouts in the house), should not the dead feel even more when a commemoration is served for them?
You, wise man, shall object to me: "This is done according to the laws of nature, but nature does not convince me, unless you provide evidence." But have patience, I'll present to you, if you will, an evidence from the Scriptural, too. Moses said in his blessing to Reuben: in the third generation, Let Reuben live, and not die (Deuter. 33:6).
And if it may be impossible for the dead to get help, then why did the son of Abraham bless Reuben? And if you think that the dead do not feel, then listen to what the Apostle says: If the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?(1 Cor. 15:29).
Mattafyina's sons, keeping only the ways [of living] of truth, smoothed out through victims – as is written – the sins they had defiled themselves with by pagan offerings and [those who have?] fallen in battle (2 Mak. 12:40-46).
Are not the priests of the Son of God even more capable than this – with their holy sacrifices and prayers of their mouth – of cleansing the sins of the dead?
But when you come to serve for me commemoration, let none of you do lawlessness and sin, but abide purely, chastely, and holy, my brethren, in vigil. Not because this is needed that the sin of lewdness is harder than all sins, because there are more grievous sins, to speak nothing of debauchery, even. But so that I would not be held responsibility because of you, for our Lord shall say to me: "You, O Ephraim, have gathered these adulterers and whoremongers." It is also written that God will judgethem at the final Judgment (Hebr. 13:4).
And what more can I say? I utterly dread, my beloved, and now I repeat what I said shortly. He who God will judge, he shall gain for himself generosities at the Judgment.
Carnal lust in the body is the same as leaven in flour: it is generated by man just like fire is – by iron, and as soon as it is generated inside it, it devours and corrupts it.
Draw near to me, my disciples, take blessing with the force of the blessed Shepherd. I am no Noah, but you shall be like Shem and Japheth. I am not like Melchizedek, but you shall be blessed as Abraham. I am no Isaac, either, but you shall take blessing, like Jacob did. I am not like Moses, but you shall be like unto Joshua, the son of Nun; I am no Elijah, but you shall receive my spirit, like Elisha.
- May Christ exalt your memory, wondrous Abba, may He enlighten your light, like the angels', may you shine up glorified, as Moses, may all, looking unto you, come to know that you are a slave of God!
May the God of Abraham hear you, who are striding in my footsteps, [you] Abraham, and you shall just [simply] wish to unbind your mouth – may your Lord fill them in with suggestions of wisdom, as I have heard the Prophet said, open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. (Ps. 81:10).
May God hear you, Simeon, when you call upon Him in your prayer; in whatever town you may come, may you fill in the Church there as a chalice! Brides will come to see you; virgins will come, locked (in their chambers) to heed the your salvific instructions, to obtain help from you, to be instructed by you for the salvation of souls, to hear from you what is wise and edifying [beneficial for the soul] – and you shall be glorified in the world, as a doctor in the camp.
You immaculate, simple-hearted and sincere Mara of Agel; immaculate not by nature, but by the simplicity of his will, you followed me – while trusting Him – in my sufferings, may He reward you – together with the righteous – a reward that the holy ones shall receive!
You warrior and hunter Zenobius from Mesopotamia, may your word be like fire, and may it consume the thorns of heresies; like a flame in the forest; – may your teaching burn their word. Like David, conquer and subdue the sons of delusion instead of Goliath; clothe yourself in the weaponry of the Prophets and in the armor of the Apostles; may your Lord be unto thee a companion and an invincible host!
Cursed be your mother, Pavlon! Anguish to the womb, to have given you birth! For you have been taking part in all heresies, and have been devising all sorts of disputes, and therefore you have lost all your works [efforts], like Judas – [lost] the pieces of silver. The pillar (1 Tim. 3:15) that you left shall display the wonder in your body because you have pinned your trust onto a crushed cane, you have abandoned the staff of the Cross.
Mutineer Arvada, may your memory be consumed from among the living, because you have abandoned the wine of Christ and have drunk the yeast of sin. May the Son Whom your mouth have blasphemed, exact from your hands for His vilification!
Cursed be the Arians and the Manicheans, the Cafaros and the Ophites, the Marcionites and the Eviomianes, the vardesanes and the kukitys! Cursed be the Pavlianes and the Vitalians, the Sabbatarians and the Vorvorians together with the scientists of other impure heresies!
Blessed he who has chosen the Holy Church. This is an ewe which the wolf has not torn – a pure dove, which the hawk chasing it cannot overtake.
For in the hand of the LORD there isa cup, and the wine is red [not dissolved] (Ps. 75:8), apostates have drunk it up – and drunken, separated themselves – and have rebelled against Jesus. As a raging dog bites – if it can – its own master, so the apostates spew blasphemies against their Lord.
Praise be to Him Who is exalted above them, and Whose height is unattainable for them! For if the wicked were somehow able to ascend unto [enter] heaven, then they would also introduce their feuds there – into the peaceful abode of the upper [[those] above]. Their brothers were bold and wished once to ascend to heaven, but the truth condemned them, and the wicked were shamed and abashed. And if those who wished to ascend into the abode of the upper Angels were reached by such a court [verdict] and by such a penalty, then to what conviction, brethren, shall be subject those daring ones who want to split the Father, the Son and the Spirit?
Abide in my teaching and do not fall away from my faith, my disciples. Whoever doubts about God, may that one – justas Cain – be a fugitive ... in the earth (Gen. 4:12). Whoever belittles the Son to the Father, may the earth swallow him alive. Whoever doubts about the Holy Spirit, may he obtain no pardon. Whoever rebels against the Church, may his flesh – like Gehazi – be covered with leprosy. Whoever backs away from my faith, may he be befallen by Judah's strangulation.
Blasphemy is a great tribulation, run away from it, beloved; he who curses and blasphemes sins against the living God. Carnal sins alone are for us [more than] enough, let us not add up infamy to them.
In that alone is my hope and my consolation before God – that I have never spoken ill about my Lord, and no blasphemy has come out of my mouth. For I hated, O Lord, those who hated Thee, and I have not loved Thine enemies.
Write my words onto your hearts, and remember about me, for after my death impious men will come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.(Matt. 7:15). Their talking will be sweet, but the inclinations of the hearts will be full of bitterness. They will be good outwardly, but they originate from Satan. Run from them and from their teachings, and do not approach them.
You do know that the one captured in a place where the king was blasphemed, is brought to the court and subjected to interrogation; and although he is innocent and has not blasphemed the king, still he suffers a punishment for not having had fervency for the king. Therefore do not commune with false teachers and do not converge with unbelievers.
It is easier to live with a demon rather than with an unbeliever. At the demon you will utter an incantation – and it will step away, because it cannot resist the name of Jesus; but if utter even thousands of incantations at an unbeliever – he will not back down from his spite, nor will he forsake his madness. It is easier to teach a demon rather than convert the sons of delusion. Demons confessed and spake, Thou art the Lord, the Son of God (Mark. 3:11); on the contrary, the unbelievers stubbornly allege that He is not the Son of God.
Satan who lives in them confesses, they are firm in their obstinacy. If a willow can grow on a bare rock, then an apostate, too, may accept the teaching. It is easier for the mountain, according to the Scriptures, to lower itself down to the valley, easier for the willow – in fulfilling the prophetic word – to grow on a bare rock, rather than for an apostate to learn the truth. If the crows may turn white, then the misfortunate, too, can become righteous.
When it snows in winter and it falls onto the raven's feathering, then even a raven may at times appear white from the snow on its feathers. Thus, sometimes the misfortunate – hearing about the `Judgment – get terrified of the future torments, repent briefly for what they have done, and abandon for a time they ways of living, turning away from their misfortune.
Listen to my instructions, disciples of mine, keep in mind my words: do not step away from my faith, and do not transgress my word! The time will come, that all things written will be done and the predicted [things] will be performed: Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass, as with an oath our Teacher uttered (Matt. 5:18), and you know that he is not deceitful (in the Syriac original script these words are followed by a long story about the struggle of Moses with the magicians of Egypt, which is totally irrelevant to his testament, and cuts off the link of speech. As noted by the publisher, this story has been taken from some other work of Ephraim's and has been inserted here by an unreasonable scribe).
Here comes, and is close already, the one who is taking me. Leave, O Ephraim, your sophistry. I beseech thee, O Lord Jesus, as a man begs his friend: "Do not put me on Thy left when you comest!"
Further, I'll tell you something. I swear by your life, it's no lie. When I was still quite small and was lying on the lap of my mother, then I imagined [it came to me] as if in a dream that later came true. On my tongue there grew a vine branch, it grew higher and higher, and soared up to the sky; there appeared a countless multitude of fruits on it, and the leaves were out of count. Increasingly growing, expanding and broadening in a circle, it sprawled in the whole world; they gathered its fruits, and the fruits did not decrease; it was even that the more grape they harvested, the more their number multiplied.
Grapes – these are talks, leaves – these are chants. The giver of this is God. Praise Him for His goodness! By His good vouchsafing He granted me this out of His treasure-house.
Farewell, my friends, pray for me, my beloved. Here, the time has come for the buyer [merchant] to head into his country. But alas! My possession has been ruined, all my treasures have been squandered. No one cries for the good ones because they descend into the grave to live. For me, however, for my neighbors, like me, do shed your tears, my brothers, because in vanity we spent our days and years.
Farewell. o land, may your sons live in joy, may peace in Churches be reserved, may the persecutions by the wicked cease, may the wicked be made righteous, and may the sinners offer repentance!
Peace be with you, leading me [out and] away, taking the soul out of the body and separating them into specific abodes until the Resurrection!
***
When Ephraim spake this, and all the people wept, – the here present virgin named Lamprotata, daughter of the Edessa militaryCommander, exclaimed with bitter tears and sobs: "Edessa is dying, because crumbling down now is its bastion, its light is fading now." Then, pushing apart the large crowd of men and women, the virgin came close to the sick man, fell onto his chest and said in tears, "I conjure you the One Who has vouchsafed to dwell in you and Who has vouchsafed to speak through you! Permit, I beg you, to make a new coffin for you, like the one I want, and another – for me and to place it at your feet, so I would not to be separated from you – be it in the Kingdom, or even in the Gehenna."
- Get away from me, you virgin, may God glorify your memory! But your petitions confuse me, your words are bitter for my ears. It is true that weeping becomes you, but I cannot fulfill your desire. I'm afraid of temptation lest they say after my death; "She was beloved of Ephraim." Go and do what you're asking for, but let there be others participating with you in this. Only do not make a marble tomb, because honors are indecent to me. One commandment I give to you and to all those women who have fellowship with you, Do not use stretchers and do not allow that you be carried by men, for I have heard the words of the Apostle: that the head of every man is Christ (1 Cor. 11:3). So remember that there is a court order not to confound thee before the Judge. I heard it is written that everyone will be recompensed according to his deeds (Rom. 2:6).
Then the girl took oath and said before all the congregation: "I swear to God, to Whom you've served from youth to your old age, that I will no longer use stretchers, and no men will carry me. If I swear in hypocrisy, then let my youth perish; and if I shall transgress your commandment, let me be ashamed in front of everyone."
The blessed One replied: "Before I have died even I wish to give you a blessing: may Godliness not be lifted away from your house unto the ages, until God comes to destroy heaven and earth."
