“I have been informed concerning thee and thy cures, which are performed without the use of medicines or of herbs.
“For it is reported that thou dost cause the blind to see, the lame to walk, that thou dost cleanse the lepers, and dost cast out unclean spirits and devils, and dost restore to health those who have been long diseased, and also that thou dost raise the dead.
“All which when I heard I was persuaded of one of these two things:
“Either that thou art God himself descended from heaven;
“Or that thou art the Son of God.
“On this account, therefore, I have written unto thee, earnestly desiring that thou wouldst trouble thyself to take a journey hither, and that thou wilt also cure me of the disease under which I suffer.
“For I fear that the Jews hold thee in derision, and intend to do thee harm.
“My city is indeed small, but it is sufficient to contain us both.”
In the history of Moses of Chorene, this letter begins with the words “Abgar, the son of Archam,” but the substance of it is the same as the above, which is taken from the pages of Eusebius, who lived a century earlier than Moses of Chorene. This author ascribes the answer to St. Thomas the Apostle, who was deputed to write an answer to the above in these words:
“Happy art thou, O Abgarus, forasmuch as thou hast believed in me whom thou hast not seen.