Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume VIII/Memoirs of Edessa And Other Ancient Syriac Documents/Extracts Concerning Abgar and Addaeus/Chapter 1

Ancient Syriac Documents.

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Extracts from Various Books Concerning Abgar the King and Add&#230;us the Apostle.

I.

Of the blessed Add&#230;us the apostle.&#160; From his teaching which he gave in Edessa before Abgar the King and the assembly of the city.

And, when he had entered the sepulchre, he was raised to life again, and came forth from the sepulchre with many.&#160; And those who were guarding the sepulchre saw not how He came forth from the sepulchre; but the watchers from on high&#8212;they were the proclaimers and announcers of His resurrection.&#160; For, had He not willed, He had not died, because He is Lord of death, the exit from this life; nor, had it not pleased Him, would He have put on a body, inasmuch as He is Himself the framer of the body.&#160; For that will which led Him to stoop to be born of the Virgin, likewise caused Him further to descend to the suffering of death.&#8212;And a little after (we read):&#160; For, although His appearance was that of men, yet His power, and His knowledge, and his authority, were those of God.