Lives and Martyrdoms of the Saints, Volume 1

In the fourth year of the leader original: "առաջներորդի" — likely referring to the calendar or ruler of the Armenian era marginal note: "(1) There is a clear scribe's error in the date. Perhaps the letter 'Ղ' (90) was confused with 'ԴԷ' (4+5=9). Thus, it becomes 91 in the Armenian era, which is the year 642 of the Savior, truly the time of the waning of Persian power.", while the magi-ism Zoroastrian priesthood of the Persian power had diminished completely, the Jews were quite bold in the region of the Sigarites. There was a certain man, a Jew from the city of Sigar, very wealthy, who had many possessions, and the man was known by the name Levi. He was the leader of the Jews at that time. He had many sons, and he used to send one of them to graze his sheep. And there was one among them, the youngest, of eleven years of age, whose name was Aber. He would graze his father's herd of oxen and bring them to drink water, where all the shepherds would come to prepare water for their flocks. And many of his peers would come and gather in that place. Some of them were from the offspring of Christians, and some from the magi Zoroastrian priests. And while many of the herdsmen were gathering in that place to eat bread, some of them would sit separately as Christians, and a little further away from them were the sons of the magi. And Aber would remain alone from them, for there was no Jewish companion of his. And he desired to eat with the Christian children, but they considered him loathsome because of his Judaism. And he was beloved by the Christians. And they sought ways to see how they could draw him near to themselves, and [tell him] what they always told him about the faith in Christ, and the asceticism of the holy martyrs, which they had heard from their parents. After this, they had gathered according to their custom in a nearby place to eat bread. And Aber rose up, ran quickly to them, and said, "O my beloved brothers, tell me, what is the way for me to draw near to you and to eat food, and not be loathsome in your eyes?" The children answered unanimously and said, "If you believe with all your heart, and are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, then at that very hour you shall mingle in our group, and draw near to..."