12. Satan, the enemy of our race, could not look on, but writhed threateningly. He worked on the chief magian, the Môpêtân Môpêt, named Dadhormizd, and his companions, the chiefs of the magians, so that they went to the King of Kings and stirred him up with their accusations, so that they said, “The Catholicos Aba, the leader of the Christians, does not respect you as King and Lord, and he does not honour these, your great and glorious majesty. When he came to Pars and into the eastern provinces of your realm, they received him with great honour. The religion of the magians, which Hormizd was given by God, who ruled in your realm, he attacks as reprehensible and destroys it. He has converted many magians to Christianity. Our religion he harms; his own he promotes. We, the chiefs of the magians, he treats as nobodies. In short, he is a friend of the emperor[1] and an enemy of your majesty.”
The peaceful and benevolent King of Kings did not accept their accusations. But after they came often before him and talked, he gave over the matter to them. When they found an opportunity (to carry out) their desire, the magians sent a message to the blessed one and called him before their assembly, when the king, in the twelfth year of his reign, set out from the royal quarter (ôstân) in order to go into the northern district of the Armenians and Gûrzânâjê and make war with the Khazars.
After he had come, everyone acted as very angry and gnashing their teeth against him in great bitterness. The holy one did not allow himself to be frightened, but he made the cross of Christ on his forehead, which reinforced him with every invincible shield, and he rejoiced and exulted to be tried for the sake of Christ.
- [1]The Roman emperor.↩