36. In the meantime, the blessed bishop, as well as the other clerics of the church offered prayers to God in daily vigils with extended arms, tears and implorations, so that He might not deprive them of His visitation. 37. Thus, the imitation [on their part] of the saints was resplendent and exalted in every respect. 38. But when the impious executioners arrived, and found them engaged in prayer in the holy church, they tried to terrorize them by brandishing their swords, pounding upon their shields, gnashing their teeth, and by their fiery red complexions. Yet, they were not terrified at all, nor were their hearts weakened by the fear of the foe's rage, for they were shielded by the Lord, Who protected them. 39. Subsequently, [the Arabs] drove them out of the church all at once, and having divested them of their scanty robes, condemned them to death. Because of the opaque shades of darkness they sealed the eyes of their hearts and turned upon them. At first, they cut with their swords the sinews of the blessed bishop, just as one would chop down a tree with the sharp strokes of an axe. Then, they severed his head [from his body] with a sword. 40. They carried away the blessed priests, the celibate monks, and the psalmodists to their death as if they were sheep, and immolated them like the votive and fragrant sacrifice of Christ. The latter also were beheaded.
41. Thus, all of them, seemingly clad in full armor, shielded themselves with the true faith, and became worthy of clothing themselves in the ornamentation of the light, and of the glory of the unfading crown. 42. But the deacon T'eodoros was not among them at the time of their execution, for prior to that he had been wounded by the arrows of the enemy. 43. The wicked executioners also sought to behead him, yet, he was in no way afflicted with grief, nor as a result of his youth did he break into tears in distress, but rather willingly and compliantly offered his neck. 44. Thus, they beheaded him. He set the seal of death on his devotion to the true faith, and was reckoned among the children of God. 45. They drove the rest of the people in the fortress to the place of torments, and pushing them forward like sheep, made them prey to the insatiable Ishmaelite sword. They beheaded all of them in order to take the heads with them to the ostikan, and thereby receive praise for their bravery.
At the time of their execution [those that were beheaded] uttered the following words: "Almighty God Our Lord, Who art All-merciful, and [228] All-caring, we thank Thee for giving us patience to suffer [the hardships] in this trial. For we did not forget Thee, nor did we forsake Thine covenant, or betray Thee in our hearts. Thou hast made us worthy of attaining the Light, Which is the lot of the saints. 46. Now, accept our congregation in peace, and save the children of those who were killed for Thee." 47. Thus they became worthy of the beneficence of the Benefactor. 48. Among the inhabitants of that place there were also certain heathens who were occupied with the cultivation of the soil, and paid taxes to us. 49. At the outset of the above happenings, they all gathered in one place, and called on to the enemy in their own tongue: "like you, we are of the fold of the prophet Muhammad." When the executioners heard this, they turned their swords away from them, so that not one of them was lost. 50. These same heathens, out of compassion, urged the faithful one by one to come and mingle with them in order to be saved from the horrors of a fearful death. 51. However, the latter walked away, saying, "Christ is our life, and death is to our advantage." 52. Thus the deathbreathing thirsty sword could not make even one person waver in his love of Christ.
On the same day, and at the same time they were all presented to Christ as a perfect sacrifice in sweet savor, namely, 53. the blessed bishop Sahak, who left behind the sweet memory of a fruitful life, and was honored with the crown of Christ, and the blessed priests martyred together with the latter, Movses of the celibate order, and 54. the other Movses of the order of the married priests, as well as the brothers of the latter, who were also priests, Dawit' of the ascetic order and Sargis of the secular order. 55. But Sahak, who was blind from the time of his childhood, very knowledgeable and renowned for his virtuous deeds, was taken to be immolated like a sheep and was illuminated with the unapproachable and immortal light. 56. In like manner they also beheaded the blessed man of God Soghomon, who was from the land of Sagastan, and who had led a life of rigid austerity among us; in a miraculous manner he lived in flesh like an incorporeal being, and received the ineffable and luminous crown. 57. Finally with the deacon T'eodoros, about whom we spoke in advance, and who was reckoned among the saints for his great patience, they were all together eight people.
58. The number of the remaining multitude, both men of military and lay order killed on that day was over two hundred. Their names are inscribed in the Register of Life. Almost no one survived, except for a few who had departed from there prior to the harvest of the sword in order to tend to their work. 59. Of the clergy of the church [only] a [229] deacon by the name of Georg escaped the unbearable horror of death, for he was conspicuous among the clerics of the church. For this reason, they did not cast him into the furnace of their effervescent wickedness, so that perchance they might acquire something from him and like leeches suck his blood. 60. He did not withstand the evil, and leaving behind everything that he possessed, set out to come to us. 61. It was he who narrated to us one by one the details of the above account. 62. All of these events took place in the 372nd year of the Armenian era, on the tenth day of the month of Ahekan [A.D. 923].
63. The wicked Ishmaelite forces gathered in one place all the spoils taken from the dead, and the loot as well as the fodder for the numerous animals. They took captive the children and wives of those that had been killed, and having mounted the venerable heads of the massacred men on beasts of burden, made merry raising a hellish clamor and singing lewd songs and dancing. 64. In this way they took everything that came into their grasp, and continued their march. 65. At that time one could hear there the cries, unbearable laments, tearful moaning and the bitter imploration of the multitude of women and children. The horrible agony of the afflicted withered the hearts of all those that heard them, and caused them to break into bitter tears. 66. In view of the many woes in their hearts, they had no other consolation than the fact that their fathers', brothers', husbands', and children's blood, shed in vain, was offerd to Christ as a gift. Emboldened by such hope, they lifted their hands and begged the Lord to save them from the unrestrained ravages of the impious conquerors, captors, and spoke in this manner: "Let not the feet of the arrogant come against us, and let not the hands of sinners move us." Along with the captives the Ishmaelite forces also had at their disposal two men who were porters, one was of military rank, whereas the other was a layman, and both of them had the same name, Kiwrakos.
68. When they confronted the impious ostikan, and brought forth the captives, the venerable scalps of the chosen of God, and the spoils, he was greatly pleased and rejoiced at these. Then he immediately gave orders to dismiss all the captives, and let them go wherever they wanted, for the prayers of the blessed who had been killed were remembered before God, and His Providence had them mercifully redeemed in the presence of their captors. 69. But a few people, still young, about ten in number, were kept by the enemy. A short time later I ransomed them at the price of silver, and thus rescued them from their aberrant faith. 70. On the following day, the ostikan ordered the two namesakes, whom they had brought along with the captives as their porters, to be taken before the tribunal [and given the option of] either worshipping their [230] impious faith, or perishing by the sword. 71. When the latter were brought before the judges, and questioned, they answered with a gleam of joy in their eyes, and determination in their hearts to go to heaven: "It is not lawful for us Christians to forsake the divine worship of Christ, and convert to the ungodly religion of Muhammad. We are ready to die in the name of Christ, and do not desire to live with a guilty conscience." 72. Having realized that the porters' minds were set, they conducted both of them to the arena, and made them prey to the merciless sword. Thus, willingly tried, purified, and tested like silver in the flaming furnace of death, they rose to the apex of heaven, where they joined the orders of the angels, and received the crown of light and life. 73. The execution of these blessed men fell on the seventeenth day of the month of Ahekan.
74. Along with the captives they also had brought with them the soldiers who had betrayed the fortress into the hands of the heathen. They took the latter to the ostikan so that he might repay them for their favor, and relieve them of their annual taxes. 75. Meeting the ostikan they expected to receive rewards in recompensation for their services, but he immediately ordered them put to the sword. Thus, in accordance with what they deserved they died in agony, and all hope for life was lost to them. The trustworthy words of the wise poet, that "while there is life there is hope," come to their fulfillment with them.
At first I had gone to Ashot, the scion of royalty, and remained with him until the transition of the seasons from summer to fall. 17. He bestowed frequent favors on me indicative of his good intentions, as well as the token of his friendship, and generous bounties for all of my needs. Subsequently, I took leave of him and went to the king of Armenia Gagik in response to his frequent invitations. 18. For the patriarchal residence together with its villages and estates (gerdastan) had been entirely seized by Nasr, and we had been left without a residence. No one made any earnest effort to renovate the cathedral of the capital or struggle with spiritual cultivation to liberate the new Sion from her captivity; for the total number of the warriors had greatly diminished and declined. 19. Upon my arrival, king Gagik received me, and looked after my welfare with a genuine feeling of spiritual friendship, firm faith, and unwavering hope. Together with his brother Gurgen he protected me with undeniable love, and tended to my physical needs. 20. Also he turned to his customary and cheerful thoughts, and assured us with certainty that he would see to it, to the best of his ability, that we returned to our place of residence, and in particular would be mindful of peace for the entire land and concerned about the establishment of the holy church, even as the laws of the Christians demand that the power of the holy faith be kept intact. Yet, this cannot be brought about unless the Lord is willing.
21. But, be that as it may, at this time, the ostikan Nasr set out from Atrpatakan in Persia, and came to the region of Siwnik' together with cavalry detachments. 22. And as Smbat the prince of Siwnik' was staying in Vayoc' Dzor, which was his own district, because of his twisted mind the ostikan considered that the proper thing for him to do was either to march secretly against the prince and seize him, or to drive him away with a multitude of armed men in order to enslave and ransack [his land]. 23. However, when he noticed that Smbat had taken extreme measures of precaution by surrounding himself with many cavalry contingents and with fortifications, he offered him conditions of peace. After he had received many gifts from prince Smbat, he also agreed to [233] release his brother from incarceration, and set out to go to the city of Dvin. As soon as he had received the discharge of the unfair debt in dahekans from his younger brother whose name was Babgen, he released and sent him to prince Smbat, 24. but retained in prison his brother Sahak until he had received the promised payment in dahekans. Then, he would release and restore him to his own domain.
25. But when the inhabitants of the fortress of K'egh heard of the arrival of the ostikan, they remembered the threats that he had made, and struck with terror, they thought in their uncertainty that should the fortress fall into the hands of the ostikan, they would be condemned to intolerable tortures and death. Subsequently, having mindlessly been seized by such fear, they evacuated the inhabitants of the fortress. 26. Then the soldiers also set out to go wherever they pleased. 27. After a period of two days, when the ostikan learned that the fortress had been evacuated by its inhabitants, he seized it and took possession of it without any difficulty; he also subjugated all the villages, awans, and agaraks in its vicinity.
28. Henceforth, let us not be unaware of the constant harvest of the wicked tillers, who reap us with shadowy siege, for if in accordance with the course that the Creator had designed for us we had directed our glance to the heavens above, and if we conducted ourselves in the image of the Creator, to be sure, we would have been saved by means of the redeeming power of the Lord, and would no longer have fallen into the hands of our enemies. But rather, we also would have slain our adversaries, who would fall to the ground because of their weakness, and many people would have called us "blessed on the face of the earth." 29. The Lord says, "If my people had listened to me, or if Israel had walked in my ways, I would have put down their enemies very quickly, and would have laid my hand upon those that afflicted them." 30. But as we have become dull like cattle and the irrational beasts, and revealed that the image of the Lord was distorted within ourselves, for these reasons the enemies of the Lord deceived us. Like the mud on the streets we were trampled by the swine that are nourished in the woods, and by those that travel along the highways, and the stones of the vale of Achor were piled on our heads.
7. But henceforth I shall offer prayers for you who read [this book] so that you would never again be borne to this place of torments where we have now become universally lethargic in the smoke of sinners. But [I pray that you] listen willingly to my supplications and advice for unanimity; that you become children of Seth, who was a good gift, and be reckoned among the children of God; 8. that you do not mingle with the base, enticing and vile daughters of men who are of the race of the accursed fratricide Cain; 9. that you are not inundated by the wicked torrents of the underworld [sandaramet], dying in vain like the men of Noah's age who were drowned by the waters that descended from heaven and streamed through the earth, but as the evangelical net is cast into the sea, through a disciplined and restrained life you are gathered in the royal fisheries by means of hooks; 10. [I beg you] not to climb to the housetop of iniquity with your disorderly conduct nor let the diabolical storm with its sparkling flashes of sulphur whirl you around and set you on fire with a destructive blaze. But leaving Sodom and Segor, soar up to the spiritual height of the wonderful mountains of eternity where a holy torch is brightly ablaze for those who are alert and vigilant. 11. Do not go astray, either to the left or right side, from the main road by allowing your will [to follow] the seductions of the deceiver, since a multitude of brigands waits in ambush on both sides [of the highway] and death awaits those who fall into their hands. 12. Let neither the sham sun nor the moon harm you by day or night with a diabolical confusion that deceived and deceives us through the passions of our [235] nature. Set aside seductive thoughts about fickle desires so that the true sun of righteousness may rise in your hearts with divine love. 13. Shipwrecked because of a wicked and impure life, do not regret your straight and correct conduct, nor become the trampled mire in the ways like the salt that lost its taste. But remain perfectly safe and unspoiled by the slanderous violator in order to reach with joy the haven of life. 14. Do not consider pride in ancestral virtues sufficient for you lest by confiding in it you might become negligent of yourselves and sink into abysmal depths. For if the father steered the helm with skill and knowledge, what good will it do to the sons as they perish in a shipwreck? For this reason I do not think that the father's skill will be of any benefit to the sons' shipwreck. 15. Do not alienate yourselves from the mother who gave you a new birth into a living hope by the newly given living Word. 16. Do not be deceived by being aborted from the womb, nor strip yourselves naked of that luminous and redeeming garment in which you were properly clad from the womb of the [baptismal] font. 17. Do not speak lies, considering in vain what was taken as not taken, and disavowing the Beloved Son's divine commands that tower like a mountain. But with the warmth of a devout heart keep away from that which is harmful and hostile to the soul, and with a clear mind cast aside the sadness of the vain elements [of this life]. 18. Thus you also may perhaps soar up to the deep mysteries of even the triple orders of the seraphim, and properly divide the songs of praise with six-winged instruments that move quickly, being startled by some [of the wings] to restrain yourselves from even lifting [your] eyes toward heaven, not considering yourselves worthy of it. On the other hand, by certain others you may be stirred up to eternal exultations to worship the glory of God after the entrusted ones round about the throne. 19. Then, after the short span of this life, you shall become openly worthy of the glory of even entering the intelligible cloud of Mount Sinai. 20. You shall not be brought down like brushwood to the trial of fire on the day of scrutiny, but with wings that travel in clouds you shall soar up to the upper Sion, seeking to see the Lord. You shall not be thrown into the shade in a crevice of the rock and behold only the backside [or the Lord], but shall look directly at the entire stamp of the glory of the Father. 21. Leaving aside the somewhat trivial knowledge of the present, you shall acquaint yourselves with the splendor that is ready at hand; and then you shall know Him as He knew you.
22. Now, let this word of advice from me suffice you. But I, the unworthy and wretched Yovhannes, humbly katholikos of Armenia, beg you who read and listen to the message of this history to deem my name worthy of remembrance in your holy and pious prayers. For on the last day of His visitation both you and I may perhaps receive our remuneration from the Lord Who is always blessed and glorified by all the creatures to the ages and ages. Amen.
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