“Vladimir then asked: ‘What are your commandments?’ And they answered: ‘Fasting in proportion to a man’s power, but if any one eats or drinks let it be for the glory of God, as our teacher, Paul, declared.’ Then Vladimir said to the Germans: ‘Go your way; our fathers did not receive this law.’ “The Jews, hearing of these missions, came and said: ‘We have learned that Mohammedans and Christians have come, each teaching his own faith. Him in whom the Christians believe we crucified. We believe in the one God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ Vladimir asked: ‘What is your law?’ and they said: ‘To be circumcised; not to eat pork or rabbits; to observe the Sabbath.’ Then he asked: ‘But where is your land?’ ‘In Jerusalem.’ ‘Is it indeed there?’ They answered: ‘God became angry with our fathers and scattered them through the nations on account of our sins, and our land was given to the Christians.’ Then Vladimir asked: ‘How is it that you teach others when you are yourselves outcasts rejected of God? If God loved you and your law, he would not have scattered you through strange lands. Do you think to bring this evil on us, too?’ “Then the Greeks sent a philosopher to Vladimir, who told him that the Mohammedans defiled the earth, that they were cursed above all people, and were like the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, whom God destroyed with fire from heaven and overwhelmed in the Dead Sea. That a like day of destruction awaits the Mohammedans when the Lord shall come to judge the earth and destroy all who work unlawful things. Vladimir said: ‘The Jews came to me and declared that the God of the Greeks and the Germans is the man whom they crucified.’ The philosopher replied: ‘That was foretold by the Prophets. The Lord took upon Himself death by the cross at the hands of the Jews, and arose from the dead on the third day and ascended into heaven. To His executioners forty-six years were given for repentance, but not repenting, the Romans were sent against them to destroy their cities and scatter them over the face of the earth, where they now wander.’ Vladimir asked: ‘For what cause did God come down upon the earth and suffer such torments?’ The philosopher replied: ‘If you wish, I will tell you all from the beginning.’ Vladimir answered: ‘I am glad to listen.’ And the Greek told him all from the creation of the world.