The Passion of Saint Shushanik
who was martyred by her husband Antipatros, the leader of the Georgians (3)
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I.
Certain renowned saints, foremost among the magnates, overseers of the land of Armenia and the cause of our enlightenment, descended from father to son down to great Saint Sahak, son of Nerses the Great, son of Atanagen, son of Husik, son of Vrtanes, son of Saint Grigor [the Illuminator]. He [Sahak] resembled all of his ancestors in virtue and excelled them in the realm of praying. For he had sixty pupils—religious men walking with bare feet and wearing sackcloth—who always made the rounds with him. With them he celebrated the eternal [Divine] Office and always observed the canonical hours as is done in the desert—[in which] the blessed Saint Sahak excelled even to a
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greater Degree. When his turn came, he could not sire sons, but he had a daughter called Sahakanush, who was given in marriage to Hamazasp Mamikonean (4). From her Saint Vardan [was born], and from Vardan [was born] Saint Shushanik, who was given in marriage to Antipatros, the leader of the Georgians. He submitted himself to the Zoroastrian religion of the Magi [partly] out of fear of men, but mostly of his own free will, impelled by [an unnatural lust for his own] daughter (5). Disapproving this, the blessed Shushanik reproached him and warned of the righteous judgment God brings down on those who do such things. He disdained her, however, and became more enraged because of her reproachfulness and her unwillingness [to share his] bed. He harassed the blessed Shushanik for six years with many tortures, insults and beatings, starvation and thirst, all manner of torments and afflictions. Thus the blessed [woman] suffered at the hands of the impious man who had alienated himself from God and from all expectation of the hope for life which is reserved for those who trust in
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Christ. And she patiently bore for the glory of God what the lips cannot narrate—namely the torments which the blessed Shushanik suffered at the hands of her husband over the years, months, days and hours all in the name of the Lord.
II.
But when the time came for her death, repose and passing to Christ, for whom she aspired, she summoned the chief bishop Samuel and his associate Hohan, who together with their households had supported her and attained much merit. They came and took part in the [final] blessing, thus escorting her to Christ, the haven, who gives rest to those who have labored. Similarly the magnates and the princesses of the cadets, the gentry [azat] and people of lower [anazat] rank in the land of Georgia, all took part in the blessed events, interning [her] as a valiant champion [of the
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faith] and a confessor of Christ; and they praised God. All the bishops and generals contended among themselves over who should receive the fetters on her feet as token of blessing; but the princess, becoming aware [of their commotion], told them: "I am unworthy of all of this, but do as you wish, in accordance with your love of God. What reckoning can I make of the afflictions I have suffered? Let Christ [our] God, who is my Lord and hope, accept me and bless all of you and give good gifts [Prv 4:2] according to each one's labor."
III.
She ordered that they bury her remains at the site from where she was first dragged—"If I am worthy of such consideration," she said. And taking leave of all, she tearfully praised God's victory. "Glory to you, O God, glory to you, O Holy Trinity, who are blessed by all the creatures—both those that are visible and those that
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are invisible. Through your beneficence accept me with those who praise your holy name in eternal life, so that I also may be on a par with my holy ancestors who loved you and were pleasing to your Lordship, for their demise was exalted before your Divinity. O Christ, my hope and haven, who gave me strength to endure all the afflictions and tortures [I suffered] for your name, and guarded firmly the hope in you—give me a part and parcel of the unfading and endless life [to be] with those whom you love, for yours is dominion and the power and the glory unto the ages and ages. Amen."
Saying "Amen" to all, Saint Shushanik, the blessed one, gave up her soul nobly confessing Christ, and those around her offered glory to God who had given such perseverance to the blessed one.
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IV.
Immediately thereafter, fine linen was brought and her body was washed clean from the worms and the pus that she had acquired as a result of the incarceration and the torture. The two bishops claimed the saint's body and after covering it [with a shroud] and treating it with aromatics, they brought it to the holy church together with the saintly priests and deacons and people, [chanting] psalms and spiritual songs; with lit candles and the sweet fragrance of incense they laid it with much honor in the prepared tomb. The blessed bishops Samuel and Hohan, together with all the people, praised God through the night with an angelic song of praise and Davidic psalmody. Thus with thanksgiving they praised God who is victorious in everything, grants victory to those whom He loves, and puts to shame those who oppose Him and are sacrilegious.
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V.
The blessed Saint Shushanik died on the seventeenth day of the month of Kaghots. She was delivered to Christ our Lord with great honor. They set a day of remembrance for her, commemorating her annually with a large multitude of people and praising the Holy Trinity.
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