TRANSLATION OF THE HOLY MANDELION

HYMN OF PRAISE

PRINCE ABGAR

A gentle God, Who reveals mysteries,

Wonderful mysteries, never before dreamed of,

Once by the lake, You proclaimed

That many pagan peoples

From throughout the east, to the west

With Abraham to sit at the table,

And the unbelieving sons of the Jews

To utter darkness, will be expelled

Because of their hardened heart.

The mystery You spoke and the mystery came about:

The Jews in Your face gazed,

Behind Your back, death, were preparing.

And from distant regions, Prince Abgar,

A leprous body and a wretched soul

From a false faith of paganism,

Heard of You from mouth to mouth,

Heard of Your words and miracles,

Heard of You and, in You, believed

Of Your All-pure face, saw the likeness

With tears, kissed the likeness

In both body and soul, became whole

His soul in Paradise, took up abode

With Abraham to rejoice eternally.

REFLECTION

The Orthodox Church surpasses all other Christian groups in the richness of her Tradition. The Protestants want only to adhere to Holy Scripture. But, not even Holy Scripture can be interpreted without Tradition. The Apostle Paul himself commands: "Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or our epistle" (2 Thessalonians 2:15). The tradition of Prince Abgar, without doubt, is of Apostolic Tradition even though the apostles do not mention him in their writings. The Apostle Thaddaeus, did not write anything at all and, according to Protestant thinking, did not say anything and neither did he teach the faithful. According to what then was he an apostle of Christ? St. John Damascene [Damaskin] mentions the tradition of Prince Abgar in his defense of the veneration of icons. How wonderful and touching is the letter of Abgar to Christ. And since he previously wrote that he heard of His miraculous power, that He cures the sick and since he implored Him to come and to heal him, Abgar further writes: "I also hear that the Jews hate You and that they are preparing some evil against You. I have a city, not large, but beautiful and bountiful in every good: come to me and live with me in my city, which is sufficient for the both of us for every need." Thus wrote a heathen prince while the princes of Jerusalem were preparing death for the Lord, the Lover of Mankind.