The Faithful of Edessa

But we must mention here some things that happened at Edessa in Mesopotamia. In that city there is a magnificent church dedicated to Saint Thomas the Apostle, in which, because of the holiness of the place, religious assemblies are held without ceasing. The emperor Valens wished to inspect this building. When he learned that all who usually gathered there were opposed to the heresy he favored, he is said to have struck the prefect with his own hand for having failed to drive them out of there as well. The prefect, after enduring this humiliation, was most unwillingly forced to carry out the emperor’s anger against them, for he did not want to bring about the slaughter of so many people. So he privately let it be known that no one should be found there. But no one paid any attention to either his warnings or his threats, for on the next day they all crowded to the church. [a]

As the prefect was going toward it with a large military force to satisfy the emperor’s rage, a poor woman, leading her own little child by the hand, hurried past on her way to the church, breaking through the ranks of the prefect’s soldiers. The prefect, irritated at this, ordered her brought to him and spoke to her: “Wretched woman! Where are you running in such a disorderly way?” She replied: “To the same place the others are hurrying.” “Have you not heard,” he said, “that the prefect is about to put to death everyone found there?” “Yes,” said the woman, “and that is why I am hurrying, so that I may be found there.” “And where are you dragging that little child?” said the prefect. The woman answered: “So that he too may be made worthy of martyrdom.”

When the prefect heard this, he guessed that the others assembled there were moved by the same resolve, and he went straight back to the emperor and told him that all of them were ready to die for their faith. He added that it would be absurd to destroy so many people at one time, and so he persuaded the emperor to restrain his anger. In this way the people of Edessa were saved from being massacred by order of their sovereign.