DISCOUESE ON ABBATON BY TIMOTHY,

AKCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA
(Brit. Mus. MS. Oriental, No.
7025)
FoijaTHE
DISCOURSE WHICH APA TIMOTHY,i ARCII-
^^
BISHOP OF RAKOTE, OUR HOLY FATHER,
WHO WAS GLORIOUS IN EVERY RESPECT,
PRONOUNCED ON THE MAKING OP AB-
BATON, THE ANGEL OF DEATH. OUR HOLY
FATHERS THE APOSTLES ASKED THE
SAVIOUR ABOUT [ABBATON], SO THAT THEY
MIGHT BE ABLE TO PREACH ABOUT HIM
TO ALL MANKIND, FOR THEY KNEW THAT
MEN WOULD ASK THEM QUESTIONS ABOUT
EVERYTHING. AND THE SAVIOUR, WHO
DID NOT WISH TO DISAPPOINT THEM
ABOUT ANY MATTER CONCERNING WHICH
THEY ASKED HIM QUESTIONS, INFORMED
THEM, SAYING, 'THE DAY ON WHICH MY
FATHER CREATED ABBATON WAS THE THIR-
TEENTH DAY OF THE MONTH ATIIOR,^ AND
HE MADE HIM KING OVER ALL CREATION,
WHICH HE HAD MADE, BECAUSE OF THE
TRANSGRESSION OF ADAM AND EVE.' AND
THE ARCHBISHOP WISHING
[
TO LEARN
CONCERNING THIS FEARFUL AND TERRIFY-
ING BEING WHOM GOD MAD]'\ AND WHO
*
lie sat from about 380 to 385.
2
November 9.
DISCOURSE ON ABBAT6n BY TIMOTHY 475
PURSUETII EVERY SOUL UNTIL IT YIELD-
ETII UP ITS SPIRIT IN MISERY,
WHEN HE
WENT INTO JERUSALEM TO AYORSIIIP THE
CROSS OF OLR SAVIOI^R, AND HIS LIFE-
GIVING TOMB, ON THE SEVENTEENTH
DAY OF THE MONTH THOTH/ SEARCHED
THROUGH THE BOOKS WiUCU WERE IN THE
LIBRARY OF JERUSALEM, AND VYIIICH HAD
BEEN MADE BY OUR HOLY FATHERS THE
APOSTLES, AND DEPOSITED BY THEM THERE-
IN, UNTIL HE DISCOVERED [THE ACCOUNT
OF] THE CREATION OF ABBAT6n, WITH AN
AGED ELDER, AYHO WAS A NATIVE OF
JERUSALEM. WHEN ONE ASKED HIM WHAT
WAS THE OCCASION FOR THE DISCOURSE
HE HAD FORGOTTEN M HAT IT WAS. AND
HE SPAKE ALSO CONCERNING THE HOLY
APOSTLE SAINT JOHN, THEOLOGIAN AND
VIRGIN, WHO IS NOT TO TASTE DEATH
UNTIL THE THRONES ARE SET IN THE
VALLEY OF JEHOSAPHAT, WHICH IS THE
PLACE WHEREIN THE LAST STRIFE OF
THE WORLD
|
SHALL TAKE PLACE.
IN THE
FoL2
PEACE OF GOD ! AMEN. BLESS US !
"t^
Hearken vmto my speceli, whicli is sweet and is filled
with gladness of every kind ! My Lord and my God
crietla out to us daily in the Holy Gospel, saying-, 'Every
one who asketli shall receive, he who seeketh shall find,
and to him that knocketh they will open.'
^
And ag-ain,
'
Everything- which ye
shall ask in My Name from
(?)
My Father, shall he unto you.'
^
And the holy song-- writer
David saith,
'
Blessed are they who are righteous in the
1
August U.
^
Matt. vii. 8
;
Luke xi. 9.
2
John XV. 16.
476 DISCOURSE ON ABBAT6n
F(.l. 2ij
way,
[
and who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are
*^
the saints, and those who seek them. Blessed are those who
walk in His testimonies, and who seek Him with their
whole heart.'
^
And ag-ain,
'
Those who seek after the Lord
shall not lack any manner of thing- which is good.'
^
Who
are they who seek after the Lord ? O my beloved, hearken
attentively, O [ye] who love to hear, [and I will tell
you]. Those who seek the Lord are all those wise men
who meditate upon His law, and His commandments, and
His righteous judgements, by day and by night, according to
what is written,
'
The law^ of God shall never be absent from
thy mouth' (or speech).^ And again, 'It is meet that every
Fo\. Ha
man who is a Christian
j
should fill his body with the fruits of
his lips, as if it were corporeal food.'
*
Those who seek after
God are those men who enquire concerning- the creation of the
angels of God, and who make manifest their holy commemora-
tions. Those who seek after God are all those men who
seek after His saints, and who bear in remembrance the suffer-
ing's which they endured, and record
(?)
them in the churches.
Those who seek after God are all the men who give alms, and
charities, and offerings unto God at their holy commemora-
tions, each one according- to his power. Those who seek after
Foi. Sf^God
j
are all the men who love
strangers (i.e. who shew
c
hospitality), and those who love the poor, and who clothe the
naked on the festival of the saints, each one according- to his
power. For this reason, then, O my beloved brethren, let us
give this day unto the saints, each one according fo his power.
For this reason, then, O my beloved brethren, let us g-ive
with a right heart and with a perfect faith, in order that we
may find them (i.e. our gifts) for ourselves in the day of our
visitation. Our Saviour informeth us in the Holy Gospel,
saying, 'Whosoever shall give one of these little ones even
'
Ps. cxix.
1,2;
cxxviii. 1.
^
Ps, xxxiv. 10.
s
Compare Exod. xii. 14
;
xiii 9
;
Num. xv. 39
;
Deut. vi. 7
;
xi. 19.
*
Prov. xviii. 20.
BY TIMOTHY, ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA 477
a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, Amen, I say
unto you '
^
|
[Three leaves wanting-]
a week of days before the festival came. And in this manner Foi. 4 a
we entered into tlie martyrium of the holy (jod-hearer Mary,
^"^
which had been built to her in the Valley of Jehosaphat, and
we received a
blcssino-, and we prayed together with those
who had come there for the festival. And in this wise we
were mindful of the Offering- with all diUgencc, and wo
received the Eucharist with all the people on tliat day. And
each man departed to his house, and we withdrew ourselves
from the festival, and I took up my abode in the church.
And whilst we were living- there
the ag-ed presbyter, whose
name was John, came up to me, and did homage before me,
saying-,
'
If thy servant hath found favour before thee, let my
lord father
|
come to the house of thy servant, for w'e w^ould
Fol. 4
!'
enjoy thy blessing,' And when I had perceived his great
^"^
love for his fellow man, and his gentleness, which was like
[unto that of] an angel of God,
I rose up, and I went with
him, both I and those who were with me.
And when he
had taken us u]) into the upper storey of his house we prayed,
and we sat down according to the commandment of our Saviour.
And he made for us a great
banquet that day, because he was
a lover of men, and he was
especially hospitable to strangers,
and to every one who sojourned in the church, even as was
the Patriarch Abraham.
And when the morning
had come we talked together
concerning the mighty deeds and miracles which
|
ourpol.
5 a
Saviour had wrought, and how the godless Jews had crucified le
Him because of their jealousy of Him. And in this wise
I spake unto the old man,
the presbyter,
'
My noble son, is
not the Book of the appointing of Abbat6n,the
Angel of Death,
among all these books which are here, and under thy charge?
I want it because
I wish to
learn how it came about that
1
Matt. X. 42
;
Mark ix. 41.
478
DISCOURSE ON ABBAT6n
God made liim the king of all mankind, and of all the created
things which He made, and ho\v it was that God made him
awful and terrifying, for he comcth and pursueth after every
soul unl,il it hath yielded up its spirit.' And straightway
Fol.
5 6 the old man, the elder, said unto me with a face
|
filled with
**^
graciousness,
'
Well hath the INIaster of us all, the Christ,
said in the Holy Gospel, "Whosoever seeketh shall find, and
whosoever knocketh it shall be opened unto him, and whoso-
ever asketh shall receive."
^
And as for thee, O my holy
father, thou seekest, and thou shalt find
;
thou knockest, and
it shall be opened unto tbeo; thou askest, and thou shalt
receive. The Lord shall fulfil thy petition which thou hast
asked.'
And when I had heard these things from the old man, the
presbyter, I gave thanks to God because He had never
disappointed me in respect of any matter which I had asked
from Him
;
and thus the [old man] brought it (i. e. the book)
to me. And when it had come into my hand I rejoiced
|
Fol. 6aover it more than [I should have done over] very much
J'^
riches, and I cried out with David the Psalmist, the righteous
king, saying,
'
I rejoice over thy words even as doth the
man who hath found great spoil.'
^
And I read in the book,
and I found wa-itten therein the following
:
And it came to pass that when our Saviour, Who is the
Root of all good, had finished everything, when the days of
His Apocalypse were completed, and He was to ascend up
to His Father, He laid His hand upon each one of His holy
Apostles, and He prayed over them, and sent them forth into
Fol. 6 6
all the world to preach His holy Resurrection
|
to all the
IH
heathen, and He filled them with power and with His Holy
Spirit, and He spake unto them, saying,
'
The mighty deeds
and miracles which I have performed, ye yourselves also shall
do. Ye shall lay your hands upon the sick and they shall
have rest
(or, relief). Ye shall tread upon serpents and
1
Matt. vii. 7.
2
Ps. cxix. 162.
BY TIMOTHY, ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA 479
scorpions. Ye shall take up serpents in your hands. And
when ye drink deadly poisons they shall have no evil effect
upon you.
Baptize those who believe in Me, and in My
Good Father, and the Holy Spirit, in the Name of the Father,
aud the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and I will for^-ive them
[their sins]. Those who do not believe shall be condemned
to the second death.
[
Depart in peace. The peace which is
FoL7 n
Mine shall be with you. And I will never cease to walk with
^^
you even to the end of this world.'
^
Then the Lord answered and said unto Saint Peter, the
g-reatest of the Apostles, the pillar of the Church, the steward
of the king-dom which is in the heavens,
'
Him that thou
wishest to take into it, take
;
and him that thou wishest to
reject, reject.'
^
[And Peter] said unto the Saviour,
'
My
Lord and my God.
Behold, Thou hast informed us con-
cerning* everything
about which we have asked Thee, and
Thou hast hidden nothing
from us.
And now, O my Lord
and my God,
|
behold, Thou hast sent us out into the whole
Fol^7 b
world to
preach Thy holy
Resurrection to all the nations, and
^
the mighty deeds and
miracles
which Thou hast done, the
which we have seen with our eyes, and concerning which we
have heard, and Thou hast explained them all to us, even
[the matter of] Thy
Virgin Mother, and Thy holy Birth.
And, O my
Lord,
Thou knowest that there are very many
contentious and
unbelieving
people who will ask questions
of us concerning
everything,
and we wish to be able to explain
unto them
everything.
Now therefore, O my Lord, we wish
Thee to
inform us concerning the day wherein Thou didst
stablish
Abbaton, the
Angel of Death, and didst make him to
be awful
and
|
disturbing, and to
pursue all souls until they Fol. 8
a
yield up their
spirits, so
that we
may preach concerning him
K*^
to all mankind,
even
as we
preach concerning all liis fellow
angels w^hom
Thou
hast
created, and of whom Thou hast
shewn
us the days
of their
stablishing, and also that when
I
Matt, xxviii. 19,
20
;
Mark xvi.
15-18.
^
M^tt. xvi. 19
;
xviii. 18.
480 DISCOURSE ON ABBAT6n
men hear of [him on] the day of his stablishing they
may
be afraid, and may repent, and may give charities and gifts
on the day of Ids commemoration, just as they do to
Michael
and Gabriel, so that their souls may find mercy and respite
on the day of Thy holy llesurrection.'
And the Saviour, the Storehouse that is filled with mercy
Fol. 8b
and compassion
]
of every kind. Who loveth everything which
^
is good in respect of His day, Who wisheth not to cause us
disappointment about anything concerning wdiich we are
asked, said unto them,
'
O ye whom I have chosen from out
of the whole world, I will hide nothing from you, but I will
inform you how My Father stablished him (i.e. Abbaton)
over all the created things which He had made. For I and
My Father are one,^ according to what Philip said unto me,
"
Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufRceth us." And I said
unto him,
"
O Philip, in all the time which thou hast been
with Me, hast thou not known Me ? He who hath seen Me
Fol. 9 a hath seen
[
My Father. Believe thou that I am in My
J^''^
Father, and My Father is in Me. If it be impossible [for
thee], believe His works."
^
And now, O my holy members,
whom I have chosen from out of the whole world, I will hide
nothing from you. It came to pass that when My Father
was creating the heavens, and the earth, and the things
which are therein. He spake the word, and they all came into
being, Angel, and Archangel, and Cherubim, and Seraphim,
and Thrones, and Divine Governors, and Dominions, and all
the Powers that are in the heavens, and all the army of
heaven. And He made the earth also, [and] the wild
Fol. 9 b
animals, and the reptiles, and the cattle,
|
and the birds, and
K-x everything which moveth upon it. And He ])lanted also
a paradise in the eastern part of the earth. And My Father
saw that the whole world was a desert, and that there was no
one to work it. And My Father said,
"
Let us make a man
in Our image and likeness, that he may continue to praise
1
John X. 30.
2
John xiv. 8-11.
BY TIMOTHY,
AECHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA 481
us by day and by nig-ht, and that [every one] may know that
it is the hand of the Lord that bath made all tliese thing's
;
for I existed before these things were." And My lather
commanded an ang-el, saying,
"
By My wish and by My
command get thee to the land of Edem (i. e.
^1?', the East-
laud), and bring to Me some
virgin earth in order that I may
make a man in Our
j
image and likeness therewith, so that he
Fol. lOa
may ascribe blessing unto Us by day and by night."
^^
'
And the angel went to the land of Edem, according to My
Father's command. And he stood upon the earth, and he
reached out his hand to gather together some of it and take
it to My Father. And straightway the earth cried out with
a loud voice, saying,
"
I swear unto thee by Him Who sent
thee to Me, that if thou takest me to Him, lie will mould
me into a form, and I shall become a man, and a living soul.
And very many sins shall come forth from my heart (or,
body), and many fornications, and slanderous abuse, and
jealousy, and hatred and contention shall come
forth from
his hand, and many murders and sheddings
[
of blood shall
Fol.
10
&
come forth from his hand. And they
shall cast me out to
^^
the dogs, and to the cats, and into pits and holes in the
ground, and into streams of water before my time, and after
all these things they will finally cast me into punishment,
and they will punish me by
day and by night. Let me stay
here, and go
back to the ground and be quiet."
'
And when the Angel of God had heard these things
he was afraid of My Father's Name, and he returned and
came to My Father, and said, "My Lord, when I heard Thy
awful Name I did not wish to bring the earth unto Thee.''
And straightway My Father commanded an angel a second
time to go to it, and then a third angel, and so on even unto
seven angels, and not one of them wished to
|
approach the Fol. 11 a
earth because it took awful oaths by mighty [names]. And
^'{
when My Father saw that none of the angels wished to bring
the earth to Him, He sent tlie angel Mouriel to the earth,
3Q
482
DISCOURSE ON ABBATON
sayinsc
unto him,
"
Go thou by My command to the land
of Edcm, and bring- unto me some virgin earth so that
I may fashion a man therefrom, after Mine own image and
likeness, that he may ascribe blessing unto Us by day and
by night."
'And when the Angel of God had departed to the earth
he stood upon it in great power and might, and in the
commandment of God. And he reached out his hand to take
some of it, and straightway the dust (or, clay) cried out with
a loud voice, saying,
"
I swear unto thee by the name of Him
Fol. m
that
j
created the heavens, and the earth, and the things
*^W
that are therein, that thou sha1t not approach me to take me
unto God." And the angel Mouriel was not afraid at [the
mention of] the Name of My Father when he heard it, and
he paid no heed thereto, but he went to it, and he laid hold
of it with firmness and determination, and he brought it to
My Father [Who] rejoiced over it. And He took the clay
from the hand of the angel, and made Adam according to
Our image and likeness, and He left him lying- for forty days
and forty nights without puttings breath into him. And He
heaved sitj^hs over him daily, saying, "IE I put breath into
Fol. 12 a
this [man], he
[
must suffer many pains." And I said unto
^^
My Father,
"
Put breath into him
;
I will be an advocate for
him." And My Father said unto Me,
"
If I put breath into
him. My beloved Son, Thou wilt be obliged to go down into
the world, and to suffer many pains for him before Thou shalt
have redeemed him, and made him to come back to his
primal state." And I said unto My Father,
"
Put breath
into him
;
I will be his advocate, and I will go down into
the world, and will fulfil Thy command."
'
And whilst He was wishing to put breath into him He
took a book, and wrote therein [the names of] those who
should come forth from him and who should enter into the
kingdom which is in the heavens, according to what is
written,
"
These are they whose names are written in the
BY TIMOTHY, ARCHBISHOP OF
ALEXANDRIA 483
Book of Life from the foundation of tlie world."
^
And He
put breatli into him in this way
;
He hreathed into his nostril;^
the breath of hfe three times, sayini>-, ''Live!
Live! Live!
according- to the type of My Divinity." And the man lived
straig-htway, and ])ecarae a living- soul, according- to the imag-e
and likeness of Cod. And when Adam had risen up he cast
himself down before [My]
leather,
saying,
"
My^ Lord and my
(}od !
j
Thou hast made me to come into being- [from a state Fo\. i:wt
in which] I did not exist." Thereupon My^ J^ather set him
Xiv
upon a g-reat throne, and He placed on his head a crown of
glory, and He put a royal sceptre [in his hand], and My
Father made every order [of angels] in the heavens to come
and worship him, whether angel or archangel.
And all the
hosts of heaven worshipped Cod first of all, and then thoy^
worshipped Adam, saying-,
"
Hail, thou iniag-e
and likeness of
God
!"
And He intended that the order of the ano-els who
were fashioned [before Adam] should worship him, and My
Father said unto him (i. e. their chief),
'
Come, thou thyself
shalt worship my image and likeness."
|
And he, a being of Fol. 13 5
great pride, drew^ himself up in a shameless
manner, and said, \fe
'
It is meet that this [man Adam] should come and worship
me, for I existed before he came into being."
'
And when My Father saw^ his great pride, and that his
wickedness and his evil-doing were complete,^ He commanded
all the armies of heaven, saying-,
"
Remove the writing- [which
is] in the hand of the proud one, strip ye otf his armour, and
cast ye him down upon the earth, for his time hath come.
For he is the greatest of them all,^ he is the head over
them, and is like
]
a king, and he commandeth them as the Fol. 14 a
general of an army [commandeth his] soldiers ; he is the \i,t
head over them, and their names are written in his hand."
Thus is it with this cunning- one, and the [names of the]
angels were written in his hand. And ail the ang-els
1
Phil, iv. 3
;
Rev. xvii.
8
; xxi. 27.
'^
i.e. had reached their highest pitch.
'
i. e. all the rebellious angels.
484
DISCOURSE ON
ABBAT6n
gathered together to him, and they did not wish to remove
the writing- from his hand. And My Father commanded
them to bring a sharp reaping-knife, and to stab him there-
with on this side and on that, right through his body to the
vertebrae of his shoulders, and he was unable to hold himself
up. And straightway My Father
commanded a mighty
Cherubim, and he smote him, and cast him down from heaven
Fol, 14 & upon the earth,
|
because of his pride, and he broke his wings
A-^
and his ribs and made him helpless, and those whom he had
brought with him became devils with him.
'
And My Father made them take Adam into Paradise^, and
a multitude of angels sang hymns before him, and they left
him there;, and he continued to ascribe blessing unto God.
And Adam lived alone in Paradise for one hundred years.
And when he had completed the period of one hundred
yearsnow Adam lived in the Paradise of Delight, and
remained there alone, and the
angels used to come to him
every day
My
Father said,
"
It is not good to allow the man
FoLJSa to live by himself, but let Us make
|
for him a helper like unto
?Ve himself." And He brought
a slumber upon Adam, who fell
into a deep sleep, and He took out one of his ribs and filled
up [the place thereof]
with flesh, and He made a w^oman
according to the form of Adam. And when Adam woke up
out of his sleep he saw her, and he said,
"
This now is bone
of my bones, and flesh
of [my flesh]
;
she shall be called
'
woman
',
because she was taken out of her male." Now it
was Adam who gave names to all the cattle, and to the wild
beasts and to the birds, and to every living creature which
moveth upon the earth, and even to those which are in the
waters
;
unto all of them did Adam give names, according to
Fol. 15 b the
j
command of My Good Father.
\v
'
And Adam lived in the Paradise of Delight, he and Eve
his wife, for two hundred years
;
and they were virgins, and
they were even as the angels of God. And when they had
been living in the Paradise of Delight for
two hundred years,
BY TIMOTHY, ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA 485
Eve came forth and passed throug-h the northern part of
Paradise, close by the wall, in order to obtain fruit (sic) for
the cattle and for all the [other] creatvires, because My Father
had told Adam and Eve to feed them accordino- to Ilis
command, and they received their food from the hand of
Adam and E\^e. And the serpent himself came
|
at the hour
Fol. K'xr
of evening- to receive his food according- to his wont, for the \7
serpent was like unto all the [other] beasts, and he W'alked
upon his feet just as did 1-hey. And the Devil lived nig-h
unto Paradise, and he lay in wait for Adam and Eve by day
and by night, and when he saw Eve by herself he went into
the serpent, and said within himself,
"
Behold, I have found
[my] opportunity
;
I will speak into her ear, and I will make
her to eat of the tree, and I will cause them to be expelled
from Paradise, for I myself was expelled from Paradise for
their sakes."
'
And the Devil spake unto Eve through the mouth of the
serpent, saying,
"
Why do ye not eat
|
of the tree which is in
Fol. iHh
the middle of Paradise, as ye do of all the [other] trees, for \si
the fruit thereof is good ?
"
And [Eve] said,
*'
God said unto
us, Ye may certainly eat of every tree which is in Paradise
with the exception of the tree of knowledge of the good and
of the evil ; in the day wherein ye eat thereof ye shall surely
die." And the serpent said unto her,
"
Yc shall not surely
die, but ye shall be like unto these gods, ye shall know the
good and the evil, and ye shall [be able] to separate the sweet
from the bitter. God spake unto you in this manner because
|
when ye have eaten thereof ye shall become as gods." And Fol. 17 a
the Devil ceased not to speak into her [ear] until he had
"Ko
beguiled her and she ate of the tree. And straightway Eve
became naked, and she knew that she was naked, and she took
some leaves of the fig-tree, and covered her nakedness. And
she went to Adam, and when Adam saw her, and saw that she
was naked, he was exceedingly
grieved, and he became very
sorrowful in heart, [and shed] tears in great abundance. And
486 DISCOURSE ON ABBAT6n
he said unto her,
"
Wherefore hast thou acted in this wise ?
Behold, from this day forward we shall die, and God will be
Fol. i7&\A'roth with us, and He will east us forth from
|
Paradise."
A*
And Eve said unto him,
"
Come thou and eat. If God
shall
blame thee, I will take everything* upon myself before God,"
And in this way Adam took, and ate, and he became naked,
and he knew immediately that he was naked
;
and he covered
his nakedness with fig'-leaves.
'
And straig-litway the voice of My Father came to him in
Paradise, saying, "Adam, where art thou?" And he said,
"
My Lord, I heard Thy voice, but I was afraid, and I hid myself
because I was naked." And My Father said unto him,
"
Who
told thee [so] ? Hast thou eaten of the tree until thou hast
^''1-
18
a
become naked?"
And Adam
said, "My
|
Lord, the woman
**^
whom Thou didst g-ive unto
me as a helper made me eat,
and I became naked." And My Father said imto her,
"
Wherefore hast thou done this thing ?
"
She said imto Him,
"
My Lord, the serpent
led me astray
;
I ate, and I became
like the gods." And My Father said unto the serpent,
"
Because thou hast done this thing, cursed art thou among-
all the beasts of the earth.
Thou shalt walk upon thy belly
all the days of thy life, and all thy seed [shall be accursed]
throughout all generations
on the earth. Thou shalt eat earth
and ashes all thy time, and so shall all those that shall come
forth from thee."
It was in this way that the serpent came
Foi. 18 b
to walk
I
upon his belly,
according to what My Father
Afe decreed for him.
And He said unto the woman also,
"
Because
thou hast done this thing- thou shalt bring- forth children in
sorrow and sighing, and thou shalt turn to thy husband."
And similarly He turned
to Adam, and said unto him,
"
Cursed be the earth
because of thy deeds. Thou shalt eat
thy bread by the sweat of thy face, and all those who shall
come out of thee shall do likewise. Behold, thou shalt die
from this day onwards, because thou art earth, and thou shalt
return again to the earth. Thou shalt live in the world a life
EY
TIMOTHY, ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA 487
of nine hundred and thirty years, and when death cometh
upon thee thou shalt turn to the earth
j
again. Thy soul
Fol.l'.t.;
shall abide in Amente, and thou shalt sit in black darkness
*-*-^*
for four and a half thousand of years . . .
"And when five and a half thousand of years are fulfilled
I will send My beloved Son into the world, and He shall
abide in a virg-in womb, that is to say, the holy Virgin Mary.
She shall g-ive Him birth on the earth in lowliness and
humility,
and [after she hath done so] she shall remain a
virgin, even as she was before. He shall pass thirty-three and a
half years in the world, and He shall receive every attribute
of humanity,
|
sin alone excepted. He shall perform innumer- Fol. 19 6
able mighty deeds and wonders, He shall raise the dead, He
**'^
shall drive out the devils, He shall heal those who are sick of
the palsy, He shall make the lame to walk, the deaf He shall
make to hear, and the dumb He shall make to speak, He
shall cleanse the lepers, and [restore] the arms that are
withered, and He shall open the eyes of the blind by the
word of His power. In short, there shall be no limit to the
miracles which He shall perform, but in spite of all these
men will not believe on Him. And at length, after all these
things, they shall rise up against Him, and they shall deliver
Him over unto death, and
|
they shall give Him into the Fol. 20 a
hand of the Governor, that is to say, Pilate, and he shall
*^*^
judge Him for thy sake. He shall be in the form of a
servant for thy sake. They shall smite Him in the face for
thy sake. They shall treat Him with contempt and vilify
Him for thy sake. They shall pass sentence of condemnation
upon Him as if He were a sacrilegious person. They shall
mount Him upon the wood of the Cross, between two thieves,
for thy sake. They shall set a crown of thorns upon His
head for thy sake. They shall make Him drink vinegar and
gall for thy sake. They shall drive nails into His hands
and feet for thy sake. He shall yield up His Spirit on
the Cross. TTiey shall pierce His side with a spear so that
488
DISCOURSE ON ABBATON
Tni. 20 b
water and blood shall flow forth therefrom,
|
and it is these
*^^
which shall cleanse the sins of the world. They shall lay
Him in a new tomb. He shall rise from the dead on the
third day. He shall g-o down into Amente, He shall shatter
the g'ate of brass, and break in pieces the bolts of iron, and
shall bring" thee up therefrom tog-ether with all those who
shall be held there in captivity with thee. For thy sake,
O Adam, the Son of God shall suffer all these things until
He hath redeemed thee, and restored thee to
Paradise, unto
the place whence thou didst come, for He made Himself
to be thy advocate (or, protector), when thou wast clay,
before He put spirit (or, breath) into thee."
'
It was I, the Son of God, Who suffered all these things
Foi. 21 a
until I delivered man
j
from the hand of the Devil. And ye have
**'^
seen all these things with your eyes^ O my holy Apostles. It
was in this wise that My Father expelled Adam and Eve from
Paradise. He shut the gate [thereof], and He placed a mighty
being of fire to watch the gate of Paradise, so that no one might
enter therein until all those things which He had proclaimed
concerning Adam had been fulfilled.
'
And the Devil went to meet Adam outside Paradise, and
he said unto him," Behold, O Adam^ I was cast forth from my
glory through thee, and behold, I have made thee to be
expelled from the Paradise of Delight because thou hast
caused me to become a stranger to my dwelling-place in
heaven. Know thou that I will never cease to contend
Fol. 21 b against thee and against all those who shall
|
come after thee
A*H
from out of thee, until I have taken them all down into
Amente with me."
'
And when Adam heard these things he became very
sad, and shed many tears both by day and by night. And
My Father said unto Mouriel the angel,
"
Behold, the man
whom I created in My image hath transgressed the com-
mandment which I gave him. Pie hath eaten of the tree,
and hath brought a great injury upon all mankind. For this
BY TIMOTHY, ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA 489
reason I make thee king- over him, for it was thou who didst
bring- him to Me on this day, which is the thirteenth of
the
month Ilathor.
"Thy name shall l)e
|
a terror in the mouth of every one. Fol. 22

They shall call thee Abhaton, the Angel of Death.

Jute
"Thy form and thine image shall be [associated with] com-
plaining-, and wrath, and threatening- in all souls, until they
have yielded up their spirits.
"
Thine eye and thy face shall be like unto a wheel of fire
which beareth waves and waves [of fire] before me.
"
The sound of thy nostrils shall be like unto the sound of
a lake of fire wherein burn fire and sulphur (or, naphtha).
"
The sound of the noises made by thy lips shall be like
unto the sounds of the seven thunders which shall speak
with their tongues.
|
"
Thy head shall be like unto these great pillars of fire
Fol-
-^ ^
which [reach] from heaven downwards.
"^
"Thy teeth shall project from thy mouth the length of half
a cubit.
"
The fingers of thy hands and [the toes of] thy feet shall
be like unto sharp reaping-knives.
"
Seven heads shall be on the top of thy head, and they shall
change their shapes and forms [continually].
"Their teeth shall project outside their mouths for the
length of two palms, and they shall point towards the four
quarters of the world. Thou shalt be suspended in the midst,
and thou shalt sit upon a throne of fire.
"Thine eyes shall look down upon the earth, and upon
whatsoever is in the depths of the waters ;
nothing shall be
hidden from thee in heaven, nor from one end of the earth
|
to the other, from the north to the south, and from the east Fol. 2.3 a
to the west, among- all the created things
which I have "^^
made.
"
Not one of them shall yield up his
spirit until he hath
seen thee.
3 n
490
DISCOURSE ON ABBAT6n^
"
Tliou shult shew compassion neither upon small nor great,
and thou shalt carry all away mercilessly. The Powers shall
be under thy control, and thou shalt send them after every
soul. They shall strike terror into souls, and shall chang-e
their forms.^ AVlien the period of their life hath come to an
end thou shalt appear to them, and they shall look upon
thee ; and when they look upon thy face their souls shall not
be able to abide in them, even for a moment, and they will be
forced to yield them up. Thus thou shalt continue to be king-
Fi.i. 2:ji&
over them until the period for which I have ordained
|
the
ufe
world [to last] shall be ended."
'And when the ang-els saw him they were all g-reatly
disturbed tog-ether, and they said,
"
Woe ! Woe be unto the
sons of men who shall be born into the world ! For behold,
even we who are incorporeal shall perish throug-h terror."
Then Abbaton, the Ang-el of Death, cast himself down before
My Father, saying-,
"
My
Lord, behold Thou hast made me to
be an object of terror unto all the ang-els. Now, therefore,
O my Lord, I entreat Thee, and I beseech Thy Goodness to
g-rant that when the sons of men w^ho shall be born into the
world shall hear that thou hast made me to be an object of
Foi. 2t a
terror and fear they shall become afraid,
[
and shall g-ive
**^
charity, and alms, and g-ifts, in my name, and that the day
whereon Thou didst stablish me may be written down in the
Book, and that they may appear on [the day of] my com-
memoration, and may seek after mercy and rest for their sonls.
And now, O my Lord, let Thy Spirit stablish them. And
grant unto me power over them, so that I may take them to
the place of rest, and to the dwelling--place of all those who
rejoice, and let them celebrate a festival in my honour upon
the earth even as they celebrate festivals in honour of all my
fellow ang-els. O my Lord, let Thy mercy help them !
"
'And My Father spake, saying, "I tell thee, O Abbaton,
.thou Ang-el [of Death], whosoever shall hold thee in terror,
^
i.e. transform themselves [frequently].
BY TIMOTHY, ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA 491
and shall g-ive alms and charities in thy name, or repent,
{
or
Fol. 24 b
write in the Book [the day of] thy stablishing-,
that is to say,
""^
the thirteenth day of the mouth Ilathor, the day whereon
I stablished thee over Adam because of his disobedience,
I will write their names in the Book of Life, and I will g-ive
them as a gift unto thee in My king-dom, and they shall never
experience any kind of punishment (or, torture). But thou
shalt not g-o unto them in this terrible form of thine, but thou
shalt g-o unto them and treat them with gentle tenderness,
until thou art able to bring them (i.e. their souls) out of the
body. I will give thee power over them, and thou shalt take
them to the place of rest, the dwelling-place of all those who
rejoice,
|
for I am God, the Good and Compassionate towards
Fol. 2.5
My clay." Then Abbaton, the Angel [of Death], cast himself
^^t
down before My Father, and he spake unto Him, saying,
"
I will purify them, O Lord, my God and my King, in the
place of all those whom Thou hast made,"
'
And now, O my holy Apostles, I have made you to know
what My Father did in respect of Abbaton, the awful and
terrifying [angel], [and how He set him] over the creation
which He had made, because of the transgression of Adam
and Eve
;
preach ye it to all mankind,'
And Saint John, the virgin, answered and spake [unto Him],
saying,
'
My
Lord and my God,
j
Who hast sanctified me
Fol. 25 (
unto Thyself, Who hast made all my thoughts to cling unto
*^*^
Thee, Who didst guard me and didst not permit me to take
unto myself a wife
;
when Thou shalt gather together all Thy
clay into the Valley of Jehosaphat, in order that each one
may receive according to what he hath done, whether it be
good or whether it be evil, if Abbaton, the Angel of Death,
shall come on that day, being in forms of his own person,if
this be so, I say, my Lord, there is not one soul that shall be
able to stand before Thy awful throne. Behold, we shall
perish through fright when we hear these things at Thy
hand.'
492 DISCOURSE ON ABBATON
Vol. 2Qu
And the Saviour opened
j
His mouth with a smile in the
^^S
face of John, and lie spake unto him, saying-, 'O John, My
beh)ved, who didst cast thyself upon My breast because of
the purity of thy heart, and the purity of thy holy body, and
tliy virg-iniiy, dost thou not know that in the day of the
Holy Ilcsurrection men will not take unto themselves wives,
and women will not live with husbands, and that there shall
be no death, because old thing's shall have passed away '? And
there shall remain onl\' the second death for those who have to
meet it. On the day of the Holy Resurrection I shall come
upon the clouds of hea\'en, and every eye shall see Mc, and
Fol. 2(;f>all peoples and tong-ues shall lament. And
|
thousands of
i^H
thousands, and tens of thousands of tens of thousands of
angels shall be before Me. And My Cross shall advance
before Me, like a symbol of sovereignty before a king,
according to what I have said unto you,
"
The Son of Man
shall come in His glory, and with that which is of His
Father, and all His angels wdth Him."
^
I will command
My chief Archangel, the holy Michael, and he shall blow
a blast on his trumpet in the Valley of
Jehosai)hat, that
those who are dead may arise incorruptible, and there shall
not remain upon the earth one soul that shall not rise up,
from Adam the lirst man even unto the last man that shall
be born into the world. And they all shall rise up in the
Vol. 27
a
XiiWey oi" Jehosaj)hat,
J
so that each one may receive in his
^^^
body according to what he hath done, whether it be good or
whether it be evil. And they shall stand [there] in fear and
trembling awaiting the Spirit of My lather.
'
And as for thee, O My beloved John, thou shalt not die
until the thrones have been })rep;ired on the Day
of the
Resurrection, because the thrones of glory shall come down
from heaven, and ye shall sit upon them, and I will sit in
your midst. All the saints shall see the honour which I
Will pay unto thee, O
My
beloved John. I will command
1
Matt. xix. 28
;
xxv. 31 S. ; Luke ix. 26.
EY TIMOTHY, ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA 493
Abbatun, the Ang-el of Death, to come unto tliee on that
(lay, and he shall not be in any
]
form tliat will terrify Fol. 27 ^
thee, but he shall come unto thee in the form of a g-entle
'J,
man, with a face like unto tliat of Michael, and he shall
take away thy soul and bring- it unto Me. Thy body
shall not be in tlic toml> for ever, neither shyll the oartli rest
upon it for ever. All the saints shall marvel at tliee because
that shalt not be judg-ed uTitil thou judg^est them. Thou
shalt be dead for three and a half hours, lying upon thy
throne, and all creation shall see thee. I will make
th}^ soul
to return to Ihy body, and thou shalt rise up and array
thyself in apparel of glory, like unto
that of one who hath
stood up in the marriag-e chamber.
|
Ye shall judg-e the world, Fol. 28
according- to what I have ordained for you, and ye
shall sit
^^
upon thrones and shall judg-e the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
And I said wdth [My] mouth unto Paul,
"
AVe shall judge
the angels before we come to the beings of the earth." For on
that day [when] everything shall stand in fear and trembling
I shall say,
"
Let them be separated from each other, even as
a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, the righteous
on the right hand, and the sinners on the left," and not one
shall make a sound (liteially "give his voice") until he who
is chief
|
in his day shall coiimiand him.
Fol. 28 b
'
1 shall look upon all My clay, and when I see that lie is <^ik
going to destruction I shall cry out to My Father, saying,
"
My Father, w hat profit is there in My Blood if he goeth to
destruction?" And straightway the voice of My Father
shall come unto Me from the seventh heaven, and none
shall
hear it except Myself, for I and My Father are One, saying,
"
Power belongeth unto Thee, O My Son, to do whatsoever
Thou pleasest with Thy clay." And in that day I shall say,
"
I rejoice because Thou didst cleave My covering, and didst
gird me about with joy, and My right hand shall bless Thee
because I am without sorrow."
j
I shall say unto you in that Fol. 29 a
day,
"
O My holy Apostles, and all My saints, whether ye be ^^
494 DISCOURSE ON ABBATON
angels or archangels, or whether ye be prophets or righteous,
and especially My Virgin Mother, and My chief Archangels
Michael and Gabriel, I speak unto you, saying : No man who
shall celebrate your commemoration upon earth, or shall give
a loaf of bread in your name shall go to destruction." And
straightway all the saints shall rush forward towards them,
and each one shall seize upon those that belong to him. All
F.)l. 29 b
those who have shewn love
|
to you upon earth shall be
^"^
brought back to the others who are on the right hand. Then
shall the others cry out with loud wailings, and tears, and
with suffering and sorrow of the heart, saying,
"
Lord the
Merciful One, the Son of the Merciful One, shew mercy upon
us." Thereupon straightway shall the Son of God shed tears
over them, and He shall say unto them, " My word remaineth
with My Father."
'
And straightway My Father shall shut the door of heaven,
and go
His w^ay. And I shall say to them straightway,
"
My
Father doth not desire to shew mercy upon you." And they
Fol. 30 a
shall cry out
|
the more, saying,
"
Have mercy upon us, for
^^
the Devil would not permit us to repent. If we had known
that these things were to be we should have repented even
unto the shedding of blood." And forthwith I shall utter
curses upon Satan that day, and I wall make them to seize
him, and to fetter him in the bonds which cannot be broken,
and I wall curse that lying prophet wdio hath led astray all
the nations, and Antichrist, the son of perdition, and they
shall cast them into the Lake of Fire which burneth with fire
and sulphur, together with all those who have been their
followers in the world, and they shall never enjoy repose,
FoJ.SOb
day or
night.
|
Their worm shall not die, and their fire shall
^^
not be quenched.
'
Now therefore, O My holy Apostles, behold I have shewn
you everything which ye asked Me to explain, and how
Adam transgressed until death came into the world, and
how Abbaton, the Angel [of Death], became king over all
BY TIMOTHY, AKCIIBISHOP OF
ALEXANDRIA 495
created things. And now ye shall proclaim the day of his
commemoration, so that the sons of men may be afraid and
repent. Speak ye unto all mankind, sayinq-,
"
Whosoever
doeth that which is g-ood shall rise in the resurrection
life. Whosoever shall do that
|
which is evil shall rise in Fol. 31 a
the resurrection to judgement." Then the Apostles wor-
^^
shipped the Saviour, saying,
"
Our Lord and our God! Thou
hast filled us with blessings, and Thou hast never disappointed
us in any way, in [answering] the questions which we have
asked of Thee."
' And the Saviour kissed them, and the
angels bore Him up into heaven whilst they followed Him
with their gaze. And the Apostles worshipped Him, and
each one of them departed to preach what the Lord had
commanded them.
Now behold, we have declared these things unto you, O my
beloved, according to what we found in [the books of] the
Library of Jerusalem, which our holy Fathers
|
the Apostles
Foi. si h
brought and placed therein, for the benefit of the believers
^**
and for the salvation of the men who are unbelievers. Now
therefore, my beloved, let us be zealous in bestowing charities
and making offerings on the day of the commemoration of
Abbaton, the Angel of Death, each according to his power.
Remember what is written in the Gospel wherein our Saviour
ascribed more blessing to the poor woman who cast two mites
into the treasury than to all the other folk who had cast in
[their offerings], and how He said,
'
All these have cast in
gifts from their superabundance, but she hath given out of
her absolute poverty.'^
{
May God Who hath deemed us
Fol. 32 a
worthy to gather together in this place this day to commemo- ^
rate Abbaton, the Angel of Death, whom God hath made to
be king over us, hold us to be worthy to gather together in
His kingdom, which is in the heavens. O my beloved, we
all have need of the Spirit of our God, even as the wise man
saith,
^
As I wish to live, I wish to make every one else live
1
Mark xii. 42
;
Luke xxi. 3.
496 DISCOURSE ON ABBATON BY TIMOTHY
also.' ' And may it be, O my beloved, that He will deem us
wortliy to hear the blessed voice, that is filled with all glad-
Foi. 32 b
ness, ' Come, ye blessed ones of My Father, inherit the
j
king-
O
dom which hath been prepared for you from the foundation
of the world,'
^
throuj^-h tlio g-race and love of man of our Lord
Jesus the Christ, to Whom be g'lory, and to His Good Father,
and to the Holy Sj)irit for ever and ever! Amen.
COLOPHON
Remember of your charity Thcopistus, the least worthy of
men, O every one who shall read iu this book, [and pray]
that God will forgive nae the multitude of my sins. Written
on the eleventh day of the month of Thoth, in the Third
Indiction, of the six hundred and ninety-eighth year of the
Era of the Martyrs (i.e. a.d.
982).
With God ! This little book was made by the zeal and
care of the God-loving brother, Etout
(?)
Khael, the son of the
blessed Stephen, the lion hunter, w^ho undertook [the writing
thereof] at his own expense, and gave it to the Monastery of
St. Mercurius of the city of Tbo (Apollinopolis, or Utfu, or
Udfu), for the salvation of his soul, in order that [the monks
might] read therein in the name of Abbafcon, the Angel of
Death, and that Saint Mercurius mig-ht invoke Christ on his
behalf, and bless him in this world, and deliver him from all
the wiles of the Devil and of wicked men, and might help
him to bring every work to a successful issue, and that when
he Cometh forth from this life the Archangel vVbbaton may
shew kindness on his behalf before God, and may forgive
him his sins. So be it ! Amen. Amen.
1
John xiv. 19.
2
jijjtt_ XXV. 34.