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Life of St Porphyry, Bishop of Gaza
Mark the Deacon, tr. Hill, 1913
Chapter 30
So when the old woman had heard the words of the blessed bishop, and he had commended her unto God, she ran to the house, and finding them all weeping and the woman in uttermost peril, she exhorted her parents and her husband to be of good courage, and said unto them that ‘An excellent physician sent me unto you, that ye may give me your word that if she be cured ye will not deny him.’ And when her parents and her husband heard it they said: ‘If he wish to take all our possessions, we shall not withhold them, only let us see our daughter live.’ And the nurse said: ‘Lift up your hands unto heaven, and give me this promise that ye will not deny the physician.’ And they eagerly and with tears lifted up their hands, saying that ‘Nay, all that is ours shall be his all the days of our life; for what comfort shall we have if she die? ‘For she was their only child, and fair and pleasant in her ways above all others. But the nurse, when she heard their words, said with a loud voice before them all: ‘Thus saith the great priest Porphyry: “Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, healeth thee; believe on him and live.”’ And straightway the woman shrieked aloud, and brought forth the child alive.