Mazgaba Maṣāḥəft

Title

• ገድል፡ ወስምዕ፡ ዘቅዱስ፡ እንጣዎስ፡, Gadl wa-sǝmʿ za-qǝddus ʾƎnṭāwos, Combat and Martyrdom of Saint Antaeus

Description

(from Synaxary version as in ) Originally this saint was a wicked man, and knew not Christ, and he devoted all his toil and thought to heap up money. And having arrived in the city of Damascus, he went into the church of Saint Theodore, the man from the East, whilst the congregation was assembled there, now it was the day of their festival, and having entered the church, he set fire to the furniture thereof, and broke the cross. And when he went up into the upper part of the church, he saw with his own eyes fire coming down from heaven in the form of arrows, which transfixed all his soldiers, and one of the arrows pierced his right eye, and he suffered great agony, and the sweat dropped from him. And he cried out from the depth of his heart, and, shedding tears, said, “I believe in Thee, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, the God of Saint Theodore, and in the Holy Trinity”; and he pledged himself never again to worship any other [god]. Now the Christians, who were celebrating the Offering, did not know what had happened, and when they heard they marveled, and their Faith was increased. And when Saint ‘Entawos (Entaeus) had gone to the bishop, whose name was Elias, he told him everything that had happened, and he asked him to baptize him with Christian baptism. And when the bishop prayed over the water in the vessel for baptism, a pillar of light, like unto the rainbow came down, and all the people saw it. And Saint ‘Entawos (Entaeus) and those who were with him, both Jews and pagans, sixteen hundred and ninety-eight in number, were baptized, and received the Body and Blood of Christ. And Saint ‘Entawos (Entaeus) said, as he marveled at this, “I saw in a dream a shining Lady, and she took me by the hand and led me to the altar, and she brought me near with her hand. And then I went to Jerusalem and I received the Body of Christ. And again I saw on the altar a White Lamb, and having been slain with the knife (?) of the cross, its blood ran into the cup. And when I had partaken of the Body of Christ, the Body became pure bread, and His Blood became wine.” And then, when he was departing from Damascus, the people thereof seized him, and took him to the king. And when the king knew that he was strong in the Faith of Christ, he commanded his soldiers to beat his mouth with clubs (?) until his teeth were broken, and his blood filled his mouth. And then they tied him up in strips of hide for several days, without water and food, and they took him out from them and cast him into a furnace, which was heated with pitch, and sulfur, and bitumen, and fat, and there came forth there from a sweet and pleasant odor. And when the soldiers looked at him they found him standing up in the middle of the fire praying, and they took him to the king. And the king said unto him, “Where didst thou learn the power of magic?” And the saint said unto him, “I know nothing of magic, but [I know] that the might of my Lord Jesus Christ hath put thee to shame.” And being filled with wrath, the king commanded the soldiers to cut off his head with the sword. And when Saint ‘Entawos (Entaeus) stood up facing the East, he stretched out his hands, and committed his soul to God; and as he was praying, a voice came from heaven saying, “Come, My servant, in peace, so that thou mayest rest with George and Stephen.” And when he had finished his prayer the soldiers cut off his head with the sword, and having finished his martyrdom innumerable signs and wonders were made manifest through his body.