danced about. And once, when they were performing their play on the bank of the river, the blessed Apollo, and a few brethren who were with him, happened to be passing through the district at that time, and, when from a distance he saw the crowd which had begun its devilish sports, he bowed the knee on the spot where he was, and prayed to the Redeemer of all, and straightway all the people became bound with cords, and he put all the heathen in such a state that they were unable to crawl away from where they were, and as they were not able to depart from that place, one by one became parched [with thirst], and was obliged to suffer under the fierce heat of the sun the whole day long, and they marvelled at what had happened to them. Then their priests said, “There is a certain Christian in your borders, and it is he who hath done these things to them,” now they were speaking of the blessed man Apollo, who, by means of his prayers had brought to naught their festival, “and it is right that we should make entreaty unto him that we may not come into tribulation.”
And when the inhabitants of the country round about them heard [these things], they came at the sound of the uproar and asked them, saying, “What is this commotion which hath suddenly come upon you? And what is the cause thereof?” And they said, “We do not know, but we have a suspicion, we confess, of a certain man who is a Christian, and who liveth on the side of the mountain, and it is right that we should make entreaty to him.” Then the inhabitants bore testimony, saying, “Yea, this blessed man did pass through this country,” and the priests begged them that they would help them at once; and, wishing [to know] whether they were able to move the idol from his place, they brought oxen to draw him along, but the idol and the oxen became like unto beings who had been fixed there a long time. Now when there was not a (successful) issue to their undertaking on any side whatsoever, and no [help could be obtained] by entreating the people round about them, the priests of the idol sent to the holy man, saying that, if they were delivered from that place, they would turn aside from all their error. And when all these things had been told to the blessed man by a message, that servant of God came down quickly, and prayed over them, and released them from that restraint; and straightway they all followed him, and they believed in the Redeemer, the Lord of all, Who doeth wonderful things, and they straightway delivered the idol over to burn in the fire, and they became converted, and were baptized, and were added to the number of the sons of the Church, and many of them live to this very day in the habitation of the monastery. Thereupon the report of
