Phocas reveals himself to the soldiers

They were to lead him away unjudged, without defense. For the charge was reverence for God, a charge the one who committed it confessed with a clear voice; and when no one asked, he showed it by his deeds, but when someone inquired, he shouted it out with joy. So the executioners of his punishment—and the cause of our festival—came and lodged with the very man they were seeking, neither knowing him nor being known by him. For the time being they kept the reason for their visit secret, so that they might first learn from those outside the city who Phocas was and where he stayed, and then suddenly surround and seize him, as the Jews once did with Judas in the garden when they seized the Lord (cf. John 18:3). But they were unaware, holding the prey inside their nets: the dogs with the ram, the wolves with the lamb, and the kid rested with the leopards, and the lamb grazed with the wolves, and the lions shared their common life with the calf. And when, as usually happens, table and familiarity gave them confidence in one another, the martyr asked them who they were and for what reason they had come to his city. They, out of respect for the man's eager welcome and hospitality, and after instructing him to tell no one what would be said, made known to him the secret and disclosed the plot of their scheme—that they were seeking Phocas to take him for punishment. Therefore, in addition to his hospitality, they asked him to grant them this favor as well: to labor with them in the hunt for the man they sought. The servant of the Lord heard this and received the word with an untroubled soul. He suffered nothing low or ignoble, nor did he say anything of the sort; nor did he shrink from the danger and look to flight, even though he had great freedom to do so, since it was not yet clear that he himself was the one they were seeking. But he did exactly the opposite, choosing rather to act with courage and not to flee. And indeed he nodded to their request. "I too," he says, "will join you in the task before us. For I know the man and will easily search him out and find him. I will show him to you not after a long time, but on the next day. Only rest here in my poor lodging." Having thus given them a firm promise, he divided himself between two tasks: welcoming his own murderers and preparing his tomb. When he had made ready the grave and the things necessary for burial, he came to them on the next day and said, "I have searched diligently for Phocas for you, and the prey is now ready. And if it seems good, let him be seized." When they said with joy, "And where is the man?" he said, "Not far off, but with you. I myself am he. Do what you will with the matter and fulfill the purpose of your journey and labor."