E00272: Eusebius of Caesarea, in his Ecclesiastical History, recounts the life and miracles of *Narkissos (bishop of Jerusalem, S00148). Although not a martyr, he is remembered as a miracle worker and ascetic. Written in Greek in Palestine, 311/325.

Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 6.9.1-3

(1.) πολλὰ μὲν οὖν καὶ ἄλλα παράδοξα οἱ τῆς παροικίας πολῖται ὡς ἐκ παραδόσεως τῶν κατὰ διαδοχὴν ἀδελφῶν τοῦ Ναρκίσσου μνημονεύουσιν, ἐν οἷς καὶ τοιόνδε τι θαῦμα δι’ αὐτοῦ γεγονὸς ἱστοροῦσιν. (2.) κατὰ τὴν μεγάλην ποτὲ τοῦ πάσχα διανυκτέρευσιν τοὔλαιόν φασιν τοῖς διακόνοις ἐπιλιπεῖν· ἐφ’ ᾧ τὸ πᾶν πλῆθος δεινῆς ἀθυμίας διαλαβούσης, τὸν Νάρκισσον τοῖς τὰ φῶτα παρασκευάζουσιν ἐπιτάξαι ὕδωρ ἀνιμήσαντας ὡς αὐτὸν κομιεῖσθαι. (3.) τούτου δὲ ἅμα λόγῳ πραχθέντος, ἐπευξάμενον τῷ ὕδατι, ἐγχέαι κατὰ τῶν λύχνων πίστει τῇ εἰς τὸν κύριον γνησίᾳ παρακελεύσασθαι· ποιησάντων δὲ καὶ τοῦτο, παρὰ πάντα λόγον δυνάμει παραδόξῳ καὶ θείᾳ μεταβαλεῖν ἐξ ὕδατος εἰς ἐλαίου ποιότητα τὴν φύσιν, παρά τε πλείστοις τῶν αὐτόθι ἀδελφῶν ἐπὶ μήκιστον ἐξ ἐκείνου καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς βραχύ τι δεῖγμα τοῦ τότε θαύματος φυλαχθῆναι.

'(1.) The members of that community keep the memory of several other extraordinary things about Narkissos, as handed down by the brethren in succession. Among these, they relate that the following miracle was performed by him. (2.) Once, at the great all-night vigil of Easter, the deacons ran out of oil. The entire congregation was greatly dismayed by that, and Narkissos ordered those preparing the lights to draw water and bring it to him. (3.) That was said no sooner than done, and he prayed over the water and, with unfeigned faith in the Lord, he ordered them to pour it down into the lamps. And, when they did so, against all reason and by extraordinary and divine power, it changed its nature from water into the quality of oil. And, for a very long time down to our own days, many of the local brethren have kept some of it, as a small sample of that miracle.'

Summary: 6.9.4-6.11.1-3
Narkissos is at some point falsely accused by three men who take oaths over their claims. Although none of the faithful believes the accusations, Narkissos steps down and retires to live as a recluse in the wilderness. While he is away, his accusers suffer exactly those punishments they mentioned in their oaths: one perishes in fire; the second dies after dreadful disease; the third confesses publicly the plot, and, after incessant weeping, his eyes are destroyed. In the absence of Narkissos, a new bishop, Diōn, is appointed in Jerusalem, and soon he is succeeded by Germaniōn and Gordios. During the latter’s episcopate, Narkissos returns from the wilderness and is reinstated as bishop. In his later years, unable to perform his ministry due to his old age, he admits *Alexander (S00149) as his assistant bishop. He dies over 116 years old.

Text: Schwartz et al. 1999. Translation and summary: E. Rizos.