CHAPTER XXII

NAAMANES THE ARAB

AT the same time Naamanes, chieftain of the Scenites, after having been a detestable and vile heathen, to such an extent as to sacrifice with his own hand human beings to his gods, approached the sacred baptism. At which time he melted down a Venus of solid gold, and divided it among the poor, and also brought over all his followers to the service of God.

Gregory too, after the presentation of the crosses of Chosroes, while making, with the approbation of the government, a visitation of the solitudes on the borders, where the doctrines of Severus extensively prevailed, brought into union with the Church of God many garrisons, villages, monasteries, and entire tribes.