E05717: The Miracles of Saint Thekla recounts how *Thekla (follower of the Apostle Paul, S00092) punished with death a council member for an attempt to appropriate his deceased colleague's profits. Written in Greek at Seleucia ad Calycadnum (southern Asia Minor) in the 470s.

Miracles of Saint Thekla, 35

There were two council members, Pappos and Aulerios, who both were responsible for the expenditure for grain for military purposes. It happened that when Aulerios died, Pappos started to plot against Aulerios' children, that is to appropriate for himself the profit which he in fact should share with his colleague, and to leave only debts for the former's children.

Τί οὖν ἡ μάρτυς, ἡ μηδέποτε μηδὲ τῶν ὑπερορίων ἀφροντιστοῦσα, ὁμοίως δὲ κηδομένη πάντων τῶν πονούντων καὶ ἀδικουμένων; Σπεύδει καὶ ἐπικαταλαμβάνει τὴν τοῦ ἠδικηκότος καὶ πόλιν καὶ ἑστίαν, καὶ κακὸν ὄναρ—ὥς πού φησιν Ὅμηρος—κεφαλῇφιν ἐπέστη· «Τίς γάρ, φησίν, ὦ βέλτιστε, ὁ τοσοῦτός σοι πρὸς τοὺς ὀρφανοὺς πόλεμος; τίς δὲ ἡ οὕτως ἀναιδής σου κατὰ τῶν ὀρφανῶν συκοφαντία; τί δέ σε τοσοῦτον ἡ ἀπληστία κατέφλεξεν, ὡς ὁμοῦ πάντα παριδεῖν, καὶ Θεὸν καὶ πίστιν καὶ τὸ πρὸς ἀλλήλους συνειδός, ἵνα δὴ παντελῶς ὀλίγα κερδάνῃς, ἅπερ οὔτε τὸν σὸν οἶκον αὐξήσει, καὶ τὸν ἐκείνων βλάψει; Πάντως τοιγαροῦν ἴσθι, φησίν, ὡς ὁ παρὰ σοὶ τεθνηκὼς Αὐλέριος καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀδικούμενος, τῷ πάντων βασιλεῖ προσελήλυθε τῷ Χριστῷ κατὰ σοῦ, καὶ ἡ κατὰ σοῦ ψῆφος ἤδη θανατηφόρος ἐξενήνεκται, καὶ μέλλεις ὅσον οὐδέπω ἐπικαταλήψεσθαί τε ἐκεῖνον καὶ αὐτόθι τὰς τοῦ κοινοῦ λόγου δώσειν εὐθύνας. Τεθνήξει δὲ τῆς δευτέρας ἑβδομάδος κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν ταύτην πάντως ἡμέραν.»

'What, then, did the martyr do, she who never ceases to assist even those beyond her borders, with equal concern for all who are hard-pressed and suffer injustice. She rushed to the city and the very house of the one who had committed this misdeed, and a bad dream stood by his head, as Homer might say. "My good man," she said, "what is this great battle you are waging against the orphans? What is this shameless greedy plot of yours against the orphans? What is this immense avarice that consumes you, that you would disregard all things alike - God, good faith, a conscience toward others - in order that you might ultimately profit only a little, bringing no increase to your own household, while inflicting harm on the household of those orphans? Know this well", she said, "that your deceased colleague, Aulerios, who has been wronged by this, has presented himself before Christ the King of all to make a petition against you, and the sentence of death has already been pronounced against you, and you will join him without delay and there you will have to give an account of your common administration. You will die next week on this very same day."'

Having said this, Thekla flew away, and Pappos woke up trembling with fear, his head was shaking, he lost his sight, his tongue was paralyzed and heart pounding, and he was unable to stand on his feet. He lived long enough to confess his misdeed. But it did not improve his situation, since he did it not willingly, but of necessity. The prophecy was fulfilled, since he died on the appointed day when it was dawning, and the entire city learned about the fate that accompanied such an injustice.

Text: Dagron 1978. Translation: Johnson 2012. Summary: J. Doroszewska.