Daedalist

THE VISION OF ABBA LEONTIOS

Abba Leontios of the community of our holy father Theodosios told us: After the new lavriotes were driven out of the New Lavra, I went and took up residence in the same lavra. One Sunday, I went to the church to make my communion, and when I went in, I saw an angel standing at the right side of the altar. After I had received communion, I went back to my cell, and a voice came to me saying: ‘From the moment that altar was consecrated, I was commanded to remain here.’

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THE LIFE OF ABBA MYROGENES WHO HAD DROPSY

At the Lavra of the Towers, there was an elder named Myrogenes who had been so harsh in his treatment of himself that he developed dropsy. He would often say to the elders who came by to take care of him, “Pray for me, fathers, so that I do not develop dropsy in my inner man. I pray to God that I may endure this sickness for a long time.”

When Eutychios, the Archbishop of Jerusalem, heard about this, he wanted to send Abba Myrogenes all that he needed. However, he never received any reply to his offer other than, “Pray for me, father, that I might be delivered from eternal torment.”

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ABBA ELIJAH’S STORY ABOUT HIMSELF

Abba Elijah the grazer told us that he once lived in a cave in the area around Jordan because he was not in communion with Abba Macarios, the Bishop of Jerusalem. One day, about the sixth hour, when the heat was at its most intense, someone came knocking at the cave. I went out and saw a woman there.

“What are you doing here?” I asked her, and she answered, “Abba, I too follow this way of life, sir. I have a little cave in which I live about a stone’s throw from your cell.” She pointed out to me where it was located, away to the south. Then she said to me, “I have traveled across this wilderness and am very thirsty on account of the raging heat. Of your charity, please give me a little water.”

I took out my water bottle and gave it to her. She took it and drank, then I sent her on her way. When she had departed, the devil began to work against me on her account, putting lewd thoughts into my mind. The devil gained possession of me, and I could not bear the flame of lust. So I took my staff and set out from the cave in the heat of the day, across the burning stones. It was my intention to search for her and to satisfy my desire.

When I had gone about a furlong, my passion reached fever pitch, and I went into a trance. I saw the earth open up, and I fell down into it. There, I saw rotting corpses, badly decayed and burst open, filling the place with an unspeakably foul stench. I then saw a person of venerable appearance who pointed to the corpses and said to me, “See, this is a woman's body, and that is a man’s; go and enjoy yourself and do whatever your passion dictates. But in return for that pleasure, take note of how much labor you intend to destroy. Just look at the sort of sin for which you are prepared to deprive yourself of the kingdom of heaven. Oh, wretched humanity! Would you lose the fruit of all that toil for one hour’s pleasure?”

But I was overcome by the appalling stench and fell to the ground. The holy apparition came and set me on my feet. He caused the warfare to cease, and I returned to my cell, giving thanks to God.

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THE LIFE OF THE GODLY ALEXANDER, PATRIARCH OF ANTIOCH

Theoupolis had another patriarch who was compassionate and merciful; his name was Alexander. One of his secretaries once stole some gold from him, fled in fear, and came to the Thebaid in Egypt. He was found wandering around by the bloodthirsty barbarians of Egypt and of the Thebaid; they took him to the remotest corner of their land.

When the godly Alexander heard about this, he ransomed him from captivity at a cost of eighty-five pieces of gold. When the captive returned, the bishop was so loving and gentle with him that one of the inhabitants of the city once said, “There is nothing more profitable or advantageous for me than to sin against Alexander.”

On another occasion, one of the deacons slandered the godly Alexander before all the clergy. But the godly Alexander prostrated himself before the man, saying, “Brother, forgive me, sir.”

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THE LIFE OF ELIAS, ARCHBISHOP OF JERUSALEM AND CONCERNING FLAVIAN, PATRIARCH OF ANTIOCH

Abba Polychronios said of Abba Elias, Archbishop of Jerusalem, that when he was a monk, he never drank wine, and after he became patriarch, he continued to observe the same rule. It is said of Archbishop Elias of Jerusalem and Flavian, the Archbishop of Antioch, that Emperor Anastasios exiled them both on account of the holy synod of the fathers at Chalcedon: Elias to Eilat and Flavian to Petra.

One day, the two patriarchs revealed to each other that Anastasios had died that very day. "Let us go, too, to be judged with him," they said, and two days later, they went to the Lord.

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THE LIFE OF JOHN, THE DISCIPLE OF A GREAT ELDER WHO LIVED IN THE VILLAGE OF PARASEMA

Ptolemais is a city of Phoenicia. There is a village nearby called Paraséma, in which there resided a great elder. He had a disciple named John who was also great and who excelled in obedience.

One day, the elder sent the disciple to perform a task for him, giving him a little bread to sustain him on the way. The disciple went, completed the task, and then came back, bringing the bread with him, untouched. When the elder saw the bread, he said to him, “Why did you not eat any of the bread I gave you, my child?”

Making an act of obeisance, the disciple replied, “Forgive me, father, but when you blessed me and dismissed me, you did not say I was to eat of the bread; and that is why I did not eat it.” Amazed at the disciple’s discernment, the elder gave him his blessing.

After the death of this elder, a vision from God appeared to the brother, who had just concluded a forty-day fast, which said to him, “Whatever disorder you lay your hand on, it shall be healed.”

When morning came, by the providence of God, a man arrived, bringing his wife who had cancer of the breast. The man besought the brother to heal his wife. The brother replied, “I am a sinful man and unworthy of such an undertaking.” The woman’s husband continued to beg him to accede to his request and to have pity on his wife.

So, the brother laid his hand on the diseased part and sealed it with the sign of the cross, and she was immediately healed. From that time on, God performed many signs through him, not only in his own lifetime but also after his death.

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THE LIFE OF ABBA PALLADIOS AND OF AN ELDER OF THESSALONICA, A RECLUSE NAMED DAVID

Master Sophronios, the sophist (before he embraced the monastic life), and I met Abba Palladios in Alexandria. He was a man who both loved and served God, and he had his monastery at Lithazo-menon. We pressed him to speak an edifying word to us.

The elder began to say to us: “Children, the time that remains to us is short. Let us struggle for a little in this world, Jabour, so that we might enjoy very great things in eternity. Look at the martyrs, look at the holy men, look at the ascetics; see how courageously they persevered. We will ever wonder at the endurance of those whose remembrances have been preserved from time past. Everyone who hears of them acknowledges with great astonishment the superhuman endurance of the blessed martyrs: how their eyes were plucked out, how the legs of some of them were cut off, others their hands, whilst some had their feet destroyed.

Some were eliminated by raging fire while others were slowly roasted. Some were drowned in rivers, others at sea. Some were torn apart by carnivorous beasts like criminals, while others were fed to birds of prey after suffering exquisite tortures. In brief, if it were possible to describe all the different tortures devised for their affliction—everything that the enemy, the devil, has inflicted upon the martyrs and ascetics who loved God—it would be seen how much they endured and how they wrestled, triumphing over the weakness of the flesh by the courage of the soul. They attained to those good things for which they hoped by counting them more worthy than the trials of this earthly life.

This provides a demonstration of the solid quality of their faith in two ways. On the one hand, having endured a little, they now enjoy great benefits in eternity. On the other hand, they so cheerfully endured the physical torments with which the adversary, the devil, afflicted them. If, therefore, we endure affliction and persevere, with the help of God, we shall be found to be friends of God indeed. And God will be with us, fighting shoulder to shoulder with us in the battle, greatly alleviating that which we must endure.

My children, since we know what kind of times these are and what kind of labor is required of us, let us strive for the self-knowledge that is attained by means of the solitary life. For at this stage, it is required of us that we sincerely repent, so that we may indeed be temples of God. For it will not be honor such as the world gives that we will receive in the world to come.”

Again he said: “Let us remember Him who has nowhere to lay His head” (Mt 8:20), and again: “Since Saint Paul says tribulation worketh patience” (Rm 5:3), let us make our minds able to receive the kingdom of heaven. And again: “Children, let us not love the world, neither those things which are in the world” (Jn 2:15). The elder continued: “Let us keep a guard over our thoughts, for this is the medicine of salvation.”

We went to the same Abba Palladios with this request: “Of your charity, tell us, father, where you came from, and how it came about that you embraced the monastic life.” He said that he was from Thessalonica, and then he told us this: “In my home country, about three stades beyond the city wall, there was a recluse, a native of Mesopotamia, whose name was David. He was a man of outstanding virtue, merciful and continent. He spent about twenty years in his place of confinement.

At that time, because of the barbarians, the walls of the city were patrolled at night by soldiers. One night, those who were on guard duty at that stretch of the city walls nearest to where the elder’s place of confinement was located saw fire pouring from the windows of the recluse’s cell. The soldiers thought the barbarians must have set the elder’s cell on fire; but when they went out in the morning, to their amazement, they found the elder unharmed and his cell unburned.

Again, the following night they saw fire in the elder’s cell, the same way as before, and this went on for a long time. The occurrence became known to all the city and throughout the countryside. Many people would come and keep vigil at the wall all night long in order to see the fire, which continued to appear until the elder died. As this phenomenon was not merely observed once or twice but was often seen, I said to myself: 'If God so glorifies His servants in this world, how much more so in the world to come when He shines upon their face like the sun? This, my children, is why I embraced the monastic life.'”

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A True Saying of the Same Abba, Palladios, Concerning Heresies

By way of injunction, the elder said to us: “Believe me, children; heresies and schisms have done nothing for the holy church except to make us love God and each other very much less than before.”

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A Miracle of the Lord for the Wife and Daughter of One of the Faithful Who Was Accustomed to Entertaining Monks

On another occasion when we were visiting him, Abba Palladios told us about a Christ-loving man living in Alexandria, a man of great piety and mercy, who was hospitably disposed towards monks. He was married to a woman of singular piety who fasted all day long, and they had a six-year-old daughter. One day, this Christian gentleman set out for Constantinople, for he was a merchant. He left his wife and child with one servant in the house and departed to find a ship.

As he was leaving to embark, his wife said to him, “To whom are you commending us?” The husband replied, “To our Lady, the Mother of God.”

One day, while the mother was occupied with her tasks and the child was with her, the devil put it into the mind of the servant to murder the woman and her child, seize all their possessions, and run away. He took a knife from the kitchen and went to the dining room where the mistress was. However, when he reached the dining room door, he was afflicted with blindness, so that he was unable either to return to the kitchen or to go into the dining room.

He spent over an hour flailing in the air and making every effort to enter. Then he began to call for his mistress, saying, “Come here.” She was surprised that the servant was standing in the doorway and did not come to her, but rather called for her to approach him. She replied, “You come here,” for she did not know that he had been struck blind.

The servant then began to entreat her with oaths to approach him, but she swore that she would not. He said to her, “Then send the child to me,” but she refused, saying, “If you want to, you come here.”

Realizing that he was incapable of helping himself, the servant turned the knife around and struck himself a mortal blow. When his mistress saw what he had done, she screamed out, and the neighbors came in immediately. The police arrived as well and found the servant still alive. They learned everything from him and glorified the God who showed wonders, saving both the mother and her child.

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THE LIFE OF JOHN, AN ELDER AT THE SKOPELOS MONASTERY

We saw an elder in the same monastery whose name was John. The fathers of that place told us, "Believe us, Christians, that he is a great one and feared by the demons. Whoever comes here troubled by an unclean spirit, that elder provides a cure."

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The Death of Two Anchorites on Mount Ptergion

There were two anchorites beyond Rossos, living on Mount Ptergion, near the River Piapi and the monastery of Abba Theodosios at Skopelos. The elder anchorite died, and his disciple offered a prayer and buried him on the mountain. A few days later, the disciple of the anchorite came down from the mountain and approached the inhabited world, oikoumené. He came across a man working his land and said to him, “Of your charity, good fellow, take your mattock and spade and come with me.” The peasant did what the anchorite requested at once.

When they reached the mountain, the anchorite showed the man who lived in the world the tomb of his elder, the grave of the anchorite, and said to him, “Dig here.” While the peasant was digging, the anchorite stood in prayer. When his prayer was finished, he embraced the man from the world, saying, "Brother, pray for me, sir." He went down into the grave, placed himself on top of the elder, and surrendered his soul. The man from the world filled the grave in and gave thanks to God.

After he had gone about a stone’s throw down the mountainside, he said to himself, “I really ought to have received a blessing from those holy men.” He returned, but he could not find the saints’ grave.

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THE LIFE OF ABBA DANIEL, THE EGYPTIAN

On another occasion, the same elder told us this about Abba Daniel the Egyptian: One day, this elder went up to Terenuthis to sell what he had made with his hands. A young man entreated the elder, saying, “For the love of God, come into my house, good elder, and offer a prayer over my wife, for she is sterile.”

The elder let himself be persuaded by the young man and went into his house with him. He offered a prayer over the woman, and as it was the will of God, she became pregnant. Some men who did not fear God began to defame the elder, saying, “The truth of the matter is that the young man is sterile. It is by Abba Daniel that the woman is pregnant.”

This rumor came to the ears of the elder, and he told the woman's husband to let him know when she had her child. When she had given birth, the young man informed him, saying, “Through the grace of God and your prayers, father, she has given birth.”

Then Abba Daniel went and said to the young man, “Prepare a meal, and invite your neighbors and friends.” When they had eaten, the elder took the baby in his arms and said to all present, “Who is your father?” The child responded, “That man,” pointing with his finger to the young man. The child was twenty-two days old. Everyone praised the God who is the guardian of truth for those who seek Him with their whole hearts.

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Three Dead Monks Found by Fishermen at Paran

Some fishermen from Paran shared their story with us: Once, we ventured to Bouchti, on the other side of the Red Sea. We had a good catch and began our journey back. We anchored off Pteleos, intending to sail on to Raithou, but we were detained by contrary winds. A heavy sea held us up for ninety days.

While exploring that vast wilderness, we discovered three anchorites dead beneath one stone. They were wearing habits made of palm fiber, and their cloaks lay beside them. We brought the three corpses to the ship, and immediately the stormy sea subsided. The winds shifted into a favorable direction. We sailed with a following wind and arrived at Raithou, where the fathers buried them, along with the elders of former times.

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THE UNUSUAL RESPONSE OF ABBA ORENTES OF MOUNT SINAI

The same holy fathers told us about Abba Orentés—that one Sunday he went into church with his garment turned inside out, so that the hair was on the outside. As he stood in the choir, those who were in authority said to him: “Good elder, why have you come in like that, making us a laughing stock before strangers?”

The elder replied, “You have turned Sinai inside out and nobody said anything to you; why do you reproach me for turning my garment? Get on with you! Restore what you have overturned, and I will regularize what I have altered.”

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THE LIFE OF THE SAME GREGORY, PATRIARCH OF THEOUPOLIS

Some of the fathers said that Abba Gregory, Patriarch of Theoupolis, excelled in these virtues: almsgiving, forgiveness, and tears. He also had great compassion for sinners. "We certainly had many occasions to put these virtues to the test," they added.

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The Life and Holiness of the Bishop of Romilla

Abba Theodore told us that thirty miles from Rome, there is a small town called Romilla. In that town, there was a very great and virtuous bishop. One day, some of the people of Romilla came to the most blessed Agapetos, Pope of Rome, and made charges against their own bishop, saying that he ate from a consecrated paten. The pope was shocked when he heard this. He sent two clerics to bring the bishop, bound, to Rome on foot, and he threw him into prison when he arrived.

When the bishop had been in prison for three days, Sunday came around. Whilst the pope was sleeping, as dawn broke on the Sunday morning, he saw in his sleep someone who stood beside him and said, “You are not to celebrate the Eucharist this Sunday, neither you nor any of the clergy and bishops who are in this city, except the bishop whom you are holding in prison. I want him to celebrate the Eucharist this day.” When the pope awoke, he said to himself concerning the vision he had seen, “I have received such a complaint against him, and he is to celebrate the Eucharist?”

A second time, the voice came to him in his sleep, saying, “I told you: that bishop, who is in prison, he shall celebrate the Eucharist.” Likewise, a third time, the figure appeared to him as he was grappling with the problem and said the same thing to him.

When the pope awoke, he sent for the prison and had the bishop brought out. Then he questioned him, “What is your way of life?” But the bishop would answer nothing other than, “I am a sinner.” As he could not persuade the bishop to say anything else, he said to him, “Today you shall celebrate the Eucharist.”

When he stood at the holy altar with the pope beside him and the deacons in a circle around the altar, the bishop began the prayer of consecration; but before adding the conclusion, he began the prayer of consecration all over again for a second, a third, and a fourth time. Everybody was astonished at such repetition, and the pope said to him, “What is this then, that you are starting the holy prayer for a fourth time and do not bring it to a conclusion?”

Then the bishop replied, “Forgive me, holy pope, but I do not perceive the coming of the Holy Ghost as is usually the case; that is why I do not conclude the prayer. However, my sacred lord, would you send that deacon holding the fan away from the altar, for I do not dare to tell him to go.” Then the godly Agapetos gave the order, and the deacon went away.

Straightaway, the bishop and the pope saw the presence of the Holy Ghost; the curtain which was above the altar moved of its own volition and overshadowed the pope, the bishop, all the deacons who were in attendance, and even the holy altar itself, for three hours. Then the godly Agapetos realized that this was a great bishop who had been falsely accused. So great was his distress at having wronged him that he resolved never again to make any hasty decision, but to act with much thought and great patience.

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THE LIFE AND SAYINGS OF MARCELLUS THE SCETIOTE, ABBA OF THE MONASTERY OF MONIDIA

At the Lavra of Monidia, we encountered Abba Marcellus the Scetiote. Wishing to edify us somewhat, he told us this: When I was in my homeland, he was from Apameia, there was a charioteer whose name was Philerémos, meaning "lover of the wilderness." One day, when he failed to take the prize, his supporters rose up, shouting, "Philerémos takes no prize in the city." After I came to Scété, whenever I was tempted by my thoughts to go to the city, I would say to myself, "Marcellus, Philerémos takes no victor’s crown in the city." By the grace of Christ, that thought kept me from leaving Scété for thirty-five years, until the time when the barbarians came, sold me into slavery, and devastated Scété.

This same Abba Marcellus told us this story, as though it were about another elder who lived at Scété, but it was, in reality, himself: One night, he got up to perform the office and, as the service was beginning, he heard a sound like that made by a military trumpet. The elder was troubled by this and wondered to himself from where this sound could be coming. No soldiers were there, nor was there any fighting in the district. As he pondered, behold—a demon approached him and said, "Yes, there is war. If you wish neither to fight nor to be attacked, go to sleep; then you shall not be attacked."

Again, the elder said, "Believe me, children, there is nothing which troubles, incites, irritates, wounds, destroys, distresses, and excites the demons, and the supremely evil Satan himself against us, as the constant study of the psalms. The entire holy Scripture is beneficial to us and not a little offensive to the demons, but none of it distresses them more than the psalter. In public affairs, when one party sings the praises of the emperor, the other party is not distressed, nor does it move to attack the first party. But if that party begins reviling the emperor, then the other will turn on it.

Thus it is that the demons are not so much troubled and distressed by the rest of holy Scripture as they are by the psalms. For when we meditate upon the psalms, on the one hand, we are praying on our own account, while, on the other hand, we are bringing down curses on the demons. Thus, when we say, "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your great goodness: and according to the multitude of your tender mercies, do away with my transgressions" (Ps 50:1), and again, "Cast me not away from your presence: and take not your holy spirit from me" (Ps 51:11) and "Cast me not away in the time of age: forsake me not when my strength fails me" (Ps 70:9), we are praying for ourselves. But then we bring down curses on the demons when, for instance, we say, "Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered: let those also that hate him flee before him" (Ps 68:1), and again, "Let him scatter the people that delight in war" (Ps 67:31), and "I myself have seen the ungodly in great power and flourishing like a green bay-tree: I went by, and behold, he was gone; I sought him, but his place could nowhere be found" (Ps 36:35-36), and "Their sword shall go through their own heart" (Ps 36:15), and "He has excavated and dug up a pit, and is fallen himself into the destruction which he made for another" (Ps 7:16-17). "His travail shall come upon his own head, and his wickedness shall fall on his own pate."

Again, the elder said, "Believe me, children, when I say to you that it is a highly praiseworthy and a very glorious thing, a kingdom in itself, for a man to take vows and become a monk, for spiritual pursuits are eminently preferable to the quest for what gratifies the senses. Therefore, great is the disgrace and the dishonor of a monk who lays aside his habit, even if it be to become emperor."

Again: "In the beginning, man was in the likeness of God. But when he fell away, he became like the wild beasts." Again: "Nature raises up the physical desires, brethren; but the intensification of asceticism extinguishes them." Again: "You must have personal experience of the good life and not be frightened as though it were impossible." Again: "Do not be amazed that, though you are an earthling, you can become an angel, for a glory like that of the angels lies before you, and he who presides over the games promises that glory to those who run the race."

Again: "There is nothing which draws monks to God so much as good, decent, godly purity, which is conducive to a graceful and constant fidelity to the Lord" (1 Cor 7:35). "The all-holy Spirit bears witness to this through the godly Paul." Again: "Brethren, let us leave marriage and the raising of children to those whose eyes are towards earth, who long for the things of the present and take no thought for that which is to come; who do not strive to possess the good things of eternity and are unable to disentangle themselves from the ephemera of this world."

Again: "Let us make haste to depart from the life of the body, even as Israel hurried to escape from slavery in Egypt." Again: "We have the splendid and delicious rewards of God ahead of us, brethren, in exchange for the bitter delights of this world." Again, the elder said: "Let us flee from avarice, which is the mother of all evils" (1 Tim 6:10).

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THE WONDROUS DEED OF THEODORE THE ANCHORITE WHO MADE FRESH WATER AT SEA BY HIS PRAYER

There was an anchorite in the area of the holy Jordan, Theodore by name, who was a eunuch. He was obliged, for some reason or other, to go to Constantinople, so he boarded a ship. The vessel was delayed so long on the high sea that they ran out of water. Sailors and passengers alike were greatly afflicted by anxiety and despair.

The anchorite stood up and stretched out his hands to heaven, to the God who saves our souls from death. He offered a prayer and sealed the sea with the sign of the cross. Then he said to the sailors, "Blessed be the Lord! Draw as much water as you need." They filled every receptacle with fresh water out of the sea, and everybody glorified God.

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The Life of a Woman Religious Sanctimonialis Feminae Who Was from the Holy City

We visited John the anchorite, known as ‘the red,’ and he told us that he had heard Abba John the Moabite say that there was in the Holy City a nun, monastria, who was very devout and progressing in the service of God. The devil resented this virgin, so he implanted a satanic desire for her in the heart of a certain young man. That wondrous virgin perceived the demon’s subterfuge and foresaw the young man’s destruction.

So she put some beans soaked in water into a basket and went into the wilderness. By her withdrawal, she brought peace and serenity to the young man, while she herself attained the security borne of solitude. A long time afterward, by the providence of God, so that her virtuous conduct should not remain unknown, an anchorite saw her in the wilderness of the holy Jordan. He said to her, ‘Amma, what are you doing in this wilderness?’

Not wishing to reveal herself to the anchorite, she said to him, ‘Forgive me; the fact is that I have lost my way. But of your charity, father, and for the sake of the Lord, show me any path.’ By divine inspiration, he knew all about her. He said to her, ‘Believe me, amma, you have neither lost your way nor are you looking for the path. You know that lies are of the devil; so tell me the real reason why you came here.’

Then the virgin said to him, ‘Forgive me, abba; a young man was in danger of falling into sin on my account, and for that reason, I came into the wilderness. I thought it was better to die here than to be an occasion of stumbling to somebody, as the Apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians 6:3, says.’

The elder asked, ‘How long have you been here?’ ‘Seventeen years, by the grace of Christ,’ she replied. ‘What do you eat?’ asked the elder. She produced the basket containing steeped beans and said to the anchorite, ‘I brought this basket away from the city with me, containing these few steeped beans, and so great has been the providence of God to me that I have been able to eat of them all this time, and they have not decreased. And this too you should know, father: that His goodness has sheltered me so much that in all these seventeen years, no man ever laid eyes on me until you did today. Yet for my part, I could see all of them.’

When the anchorite learned this, he glorified God.

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How A Brother Was Reconciled With A Deacon Who Was Aggrieved At Him

An elder told me something like this: Once I stayed for a short time at the Lavra of Abba Gerasimos, and there was somebody there who was very dear to me. One day, as we were sitting together talking about those things that are beneficial to the soul, I recalled this saying of Abba Poimén: that each man should always question himself on every matter.

He said to me, “Father, I have experience of those sayings, of their severity and of their strength. Once I had a beloved and dear deacon from the lavra. Somehow or other, something about me came to his ears that brought him grief, and he began to treat me very coolly. When I perceived his coldness, I sought to know the reason for it. He said to me, “You have done such-and-such.” Since I was not aware of having done any such thing whatsoever, I began to assure him, “I am not aware of having done such a thing.”

He replied, “Forgive me, but I am not convinced.” I retired to my cell and began to search my heart to see whether any such deed had been done by me, and I found nothing. Seeing him holding the holy chalice and distributing holy communion, I swore to him on the chalice that I had no knowledge of having done such a thing, but he was not convinced.

Then I became myself again and thought of these words of the holy fathers that each man should always question himself on every matter. I put my trust in them and changed my line of reasoning a little. I said to myself, “The kindly deacon loves me, and, prompted by his love for me, he has confided in me that which was in his heart concerning me to put me on my guard. I will make sure that I do not do that deed in the future. But, oh, wretched soul! While you say you have not done that deed, are there not thousands of misdeeds done by you which you have forgotten? Where are the things you did yesterday or the day before that or ten days ago? Can you recall them? Is it not possible that you have done this deed as lightly as you did the others and have forgotten it as readily as you forgot them?”

And so I disposed my thoughts to accept the possibility that I had, in truth, committed that deed, but had forgotten it—just as I had forgotten my other misdeeds. Then I began to give thanks to God and to the deacon because, through him, God had made me worthy to acknowledge my fault and to repent of it.

With these thoughts in my mind, I got up to go and apologize to the deacon and to thank him because, through him, I had acknowledged my fault. I knocked at the door; he opened it and immediately fell at my feet, saying, “Forgive me; I was deceived by demons into thinking that of you. But in truth, God has informed me that you are not guilty of anything.” He said that he would not allow me to offer my assurance, for there was no need.

I was greatly edified by this experience, and I glorified the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; to whom be the power and the magnificence, for ever and ever. Amen.

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TO HIS BELOVED IN CHRIST, SOPHRONIOS THE SOPHIST

In my opinion, the meadows in spring present a particularly delightful prospect. They display to the beholder a rich diversity of flowers that arrests one with its charm, bringing delight to the eyes and perfume to the nostrils. One part of this meadow blushes with roses; in another place, lilies predominate, drawing attention away from the roses. In yet another part, the color of violets blazes out, resembling imperial purple. In short, the diversity and variety of innumerable flowers afford delights to both nostrils and eyes on every side.

Think of this present work in the same way, Sophronios, my sacred and faithful child. In it, you will discover the virtues of holy men who have distinguished themselves in our own times—men, as the Psalmist says, planted by the waterside (Psalm 1:3). They were all equally beloved of God (by the grace of Christ), yet there was a diversity in the virtues from which the beauty and charm of each derived. From among these, I have plucked the finest flowers of the unmown meadow and worked them into a crown that I now offer to you, most faithful child; and through you, to the world at large.

I have called this work "Meadow" on account of the delight, fragrance, and benefit it will afford those who come across it. For the virtuous life and habitual piety consist not merely of studying divinity; they do not solely involve thinking on an elevated plain about things as they are here and now. It must also include the written description of the way of life of others. Thus, I have striven to complete this composition to inform your love, oh child. As I have assembled a copious and accurate collection, I have emulated the most wise bee, gathering up the spiritually beneficial deeds of the fathers.

Now I will begin to tell you those things.

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THE LIFE OF JOHN THE ELDER AND THE CAVE OF SAPSAS

There was an elder living in the monastery of Abba Eustorgios whom our saintly Archbishop of Jerusalem wanted to appoint as higoumen of the monastery. The candidate, however, would not agree and said, “I prefer prayer on Mount Sinai.” The archbishop urged him first to become higoumen and then to depart for the mountain, but the elder would not be persuaded. So the archbishop gave him leave of absence, charging him to accept the office of higoumen on his return.

The elder bid the archbishop farewell and set out on the journey to Mount Sinai, taking his own disciple with him. They crossed the River Jordan, but before they reached even the first mile-post, the elder began to shiver with fever. As he was unable to walk, they found a small cave and went into it so that the elder could rest. He stayed in the cave for three days, scarcely able to move and burning with fever.

Then, whilst he was sleeping, he saw a figure who said to him, “Tell me, elder, where do you want to go?” He replied, “To Mount Sinai.” The vision then said to him, “Please, I beg of you, do not go there.” But as he could not prevail upon the elder, he withdrew from him. Now the elder’s fever attacked him more violently.

Again, the following night, the same figure with the same appearance came to him and said, “Why do you insist on suffering like this, good elder? Listen to me and do not go there.” The elder asked him, “Who then are you?” The vision replied, “I am John the Baptist, and that is why I say to you: do not go there. For this little cave is greater than Mount Sinai. Many times did our Lord Jesus Christ come in here to visit me. Give me your word that you will stay here and I will give you back your health.”

The elder accepted this with joy and gave his solemn word that he would remain in the cave. He was instantly restored to health and stayed there for the rest of his life. He made the cave into a church and gathered a brotherhood together there; the place is called Sapsas. Close by it and to the left is the Wadi Chorath, to which Elijah the Tishbite was sent during a drought; it faces the Jordan.

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THE ELDER WHO FED LIONS IN HIS OWN CAVE

There was another elder at that place called Sapsas, whose virtue was so great that he would welcome the lions that came into his cave and feed them on his lap. So full of divine grace was this man.

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ABBA POLYCHRONIOS STORY OF THE THREE MONKS

Abba Polychronios told us: I saw one of the brothers at the Lavra of the Towers of Jordan who was not keeping himself up to the mark, for he never fulfilled his Sunday duties. Then, some time later, I saw this man, who had formerly been so lax, devoting himself to his duties with all diligence and great zeal.

So I said to him: "Now you are doing well, brother, and looking after your own soul." He replied: "Abba, I am about to die, sir," and three days later he was dead.

This same Polychronios, priest of the New Lavra, also told me this: Once, whilst I was staying at the Lavra of the Towers, one of the brothers died. The steward said to me: "Of your charity, brother, come so we can carry that brother’s effects into the storeroom." As we began to move his things, I saw the steward weeping.

I asked him: "Come now, abba, why are you weeping in this way, sir?" He replied: "Because today I am carrying out that brother’s effects, and two days from now others shall bear away mine." And so it was; two days later the steward himself died, just as he said.

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ANOTHER STORY OF ABBA POLYCHRONIOS

Abba Polychronios the priest told us that he had heard from Abba Constantine, who was the higoumen of the New Lavra of Holy Mary, the Mother of God, that one of the brethren died in the hospital at Jericho. They brought him back to The Towers to bury him there, and from the moment they left the hospital until they arrived at The Towers, a star traveled with them and never ceased shining over the dead brother until they laid him in the earth.

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THE LIFE AND DEATH OF AN ELDER WHO WOULD NOT BE HIGOUMEN OF THE LAVRA OF THE TOWERS

There was an elder dwelling at the Lavra of the Towers, and when the higoumen died, the priests and other brethren at the lavra wanted to make him higoumen because of his great virtue. The elder begged them not to, saying, “Let me rather go and weep for my sins, fathers, for I am no fit man to undertake the care of souls. This is a task for great fathers such as those who were with Abba Anthony and the others.”

The brethren, however, would not permit this. Each day they came begging him to accept, but he would not. When he saw that they were determined to make him change his mind, he said to them all, “Give me three days for prayer, and I shall do whatever God requires of me.” This was on a Friday; he died on Sunday morning.

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THE WONDROUS CHARITY OF AN HOLY ELDER

At the same Lavra of the Towers, there was an elder who practiced poverty to an exceptional degree; yet, his particular spiritual gift was that of almsgiving. One day, a beggar came to his little tower asking for alms. The elder had nothing but a single loaf of bread, which he brought out and gave to the beggar.

“It is not bread I want,” said the beggar; “I need clothing.” Wishing to minister to the man’s needs, the elder took him by the hand and led him into his tower. When the beggar found that there was nothing there at all other than what the elder stood up in, he was so impressed by his virtue that he opened his bag and emptied out all its contents in the middle of the cell.

“Take this, good elder,” he said; “I will satisfy my needs elsewhere.”

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THE LIFE OF BARNABAS THE ANCHORITE

There was an anchorite at the Caves of the Holy Jordan called Barnabas. One day he went down to drink at the Jordan and got something sharp deeply embedded in his foot. However, he left it there and would not let a doctor examine it. His foot turned septic, which compelled him to seek assistance at one of the towers. As the infection worsened, he often said to everyone who called on him that the more the outer man suffered, the more the inner man flourished.

After Abba Barnabas the anchorite had left the cave, come to the Towers, and been there for some time, another anchorite went out to his cave. Upon entering, he saw an angel of God standing at the altar, which the elder Barnabas had set up and consecrated in the cave. The anchorite asked the angel, "What are you doing there?" The angel replied, "I am the angel of the Lord; and from the moment that this altar was consecrated, it was entrusted to me by God."

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THE LIFE OF ABBA HAGIODOULOS

Abba Peter, priest of the Lavra of our holy father Saint Sabas, told us that when Hagiodoulos was higoumen of the Lavra of the blessed Gerasimos, one of the brethren there died without the elder knowing of it. When the precentor struck the wooden signal for all the brethren to mourn together and send the dead man on his way, the elder came and saw the body of the brother lying in the church. He grieved at not having been able to take leave of him before he died.

Going up to the bier, he said to the dead man, "Rise up and greet me, brother," and the dead man rose up and greeted him. Then the elder said to him, "Take your rest now until the Son of God shall come and raise you up again."

When this same Hagiodoulos had come down to the banks of the holy Jordan, he pondered in his mind as to what had become of the stones which Joshua the son of Nun collected and set up before his chosen leaders. As he was pondering these things, the waters suddenly parted to either side, and he saw the twelve stones. He humbly prostrated himself before God and went his way.

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A Saying of Abba Olympios

A brother asked Abba Olympios, the priest of the Lavra of Abba Gerasimos, to say something to him. This is what he said: “Do not consort with heretics; keep a watch over the tongue and the belly, and wherever you stay, keep on saying to yourself, ‘I am a stranger.’”

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THE LIFE OF ABBA MARK THE ANCHORITE

They said that Abba Mark the anchorite, who lived near the Penthoucla monastery, practiced the austerity of fasting all week long for sixty-nine years, resulting in some people believing he was incorporeal. He also labored night and day in accordance with Christ’s commandments. What he gained, he gave to the poor, and he never accepted anything from anybody.

There were some people, friends of Christ, who heard of him and came, intending to give him some charitable donation. But he said to them, "I do not accept alms. The labor of my hands is sufficient both for me and for those who come to me by the grace of God."

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A Brother Assailed by a Lascivious Spirit Who Was Stricken with Leprosy

On another occasion, Abba Polychronios told us the following tale: In the Community of Penthoucla, there was a brother who was extremely ascetic and attentive to his soul’s health. He had, however, to strive against sexual temptation. As he was not winning the battle, he left the monastery and went off to Jericho to satisfy his desires. Just as he was entering the den of fornication, he was suddenly afflicted with leprosy all over. When he saw himself in such a condition, he immediately returned to the monastery, giving thanks to God and saying, "God has stricken me with this terrible disease in order that my soul should be saved," and he glorified God exceedingly.

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THE WONDROUS DEED OF ABBA CONON

They said that Abba Conon, higoumen of the Penthoucla monastery, met some Hebrews one day when he was on his way to the holy place of the Bites. They wanted to kill him; they drew their swords and ran towards the elder. But when they reached him and lifted up their hands to strike at him, their hands remained immobile in the air. The elder made a prayer on their behalf, and they went their way, praising and glorifying God.

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ABBA NICOLAS’ STORY ABOUT HIMSELF AND HIS FRIENDS

There was an elder living at the Lavra of Abba Peter near the holy Jordan whose name was Nicolas. He told us that when he was staying at Raithou, three of the brethren, of whom he was one, were sent to perform a service at the Thebaid.

“But when we were going through the desert,” he said, “we lost our way and wandered far and wide. Our water was all used up, and we went for days without finding any. We began to faint from thirst and heat. When we could not take one more step, we found some tamarisk trees in the desert and flung ourselves down wherever any shade could be found, fully expecting to die of thirst.

As I lay there, I fell into an ecstasy and saw a pool of water full to overflowing. Two people were standing at the edge of the pool, drawing water with a wooden vessel. I began to make a request of one of them in these words: ‘Of your charity, sir, give me a little water, for I am faint,’ but he was unwilling to grant my request. The other one said to him, ‘Give him a little,’ but he replied, ‘No, let us not give him any, for he is too easy-going and does not take care of his soul’. The other said, ‘Yes, yes; it is true that he is easy-going, but he is hospitable to strangers,’ and so he gave some to me and also to my companions. We drank and went on our way, traveling three more days without drinking until we reached civilization.

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THE LIFE OF ANOTHER ELDER AT THE MONASTERY OF THE LAVRA WHO SLEPT WITH LIONS

Abba Polychronius the priest also told us about another elder living in the same Lavra of Abba Peter, who would often go off and stay on the banks of the holy Jordan. There, he found a lion’s den in which he installed himself. One day, he discovered two lion cubs in the cave. Wrapping them up in his cloak, he took them to church.

"If we kept the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ," he said, "these animals would not fear us. But because of our sins, we have become slaves, and it is rather we who fear them."

Greatly edified, the brethren returned to their caves.

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The Conversion of a Soldier (Whose Life is Briefly Described) When God Worked a Miracle for Him

One of the fathers told me that a military standard-bearer had shared the following account:

"We were in a battle with the Mauritanians in the African provinces. The barbarians defeated us and put us to flight. They pursued us, and many of us were slain. One of the barbarians caught up with me and raised his spear to strike me. When I saw this, I began calling on God.

'Lord God,' I said, 'You who appeared to your servant Thecla and delivered her from impious hands: deliver me from this calamity and save me from this bitter death. Then I will go and lead a life of solitude in the desert.'

When I turned around, there was not a barbarian in sight. I came straight away to this Lavra of Kopratha, and by the grace of God, I have lived thirty years in this cave."

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THE DEATH OF AN ANCHORITE AND OF HIS SLAYER

Abba Gerontios, higoumen of the monastery of our holy father Euthymios, told me this: There were three of us who were grazers living beyond the Red Sea, over towards Besimon. Once, when we were walking around on the mountainside, another grazer was walking along the shore of the sea below us. It happened that he encountered some Saracens passing through the area. As they passed by him, one of the Saracens turned back and struck off the head of the anchorite. We saw all this from a distance as we were on the mountain. While we were grieving for the anchorite, suddenly a bird came over the Saracen, seized him, and carried him up into the air. It then let him drop to the ground, where he was turned into carrion.

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THE LIFE OF ANOTHER ELDER NAMED CONON

In the community of our holy father Theodosios the Archimandrite, there was an elder named Conon, a native of Cilicia. This is the rule of life which he maintained for thirty-five years: he partook of bread and water once a week, he worked unceasingly, and he never went out of the church.

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THE LIFE OF THEODOULOS THE MONK

We saw another elder in that same monastery, a former soldier named Theodoulos, who fasted every day, never wore shoes, and never slept lying down.

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An Elder Who Lived at the Cells of Choziba

There was an elder living at the Cells of Choziba, and the elders there told us that when he was in his home village, this is what he used to do. If ever he saw somebody in his village so poor that he could not sow his own field, then, unknown to the man who worked that land, he would come by night with his own oxen and seed—and sow his neighbor's field.

When he went into the wilderness and settled at the Cells of Choziba, this elder was equally considerate of his neighbors. He would travel the road from the holy Jordan to the Holy City of Jerusalem, carrying bread and water. If he saw a person overcome by fatigue, he would shoulder that person’s pack and carry it all the way to the holy Mount of Olives. He would do the same on the return journey if he found others, carrying their packs as far as Jericho.

You would see this elder, sometimes sweating under a great load, sometimes carrying a youngster on his shoulders. There was even an occasion when he carried two of them at the same time. Sometimes he would sit down and repair the footwear of men and women if this was needed, for he carried with him what was necessary for that task. To some, he gave a drink of the water he carried with him, and to others, he offered bread. If he found anyone naked, he gave him the very garment that he wore. You saw him working all day long. If ever he found a corpse on the road, he said the appointed prayers over it and gave it burial.

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A Brother at the Monastery of Choziba, the Words of the Prayer of the Holy Offering and Abba John

Abba Gregory, a former member of the Imperial Guard, told us of a brother at the Community of Choziba who had learned by heart the words used at the offering of the holy gifts. One day, he was sent to fetch the eucharistic oblations, and as he returned to the monastery, he recited the offering prayer as though he were reciting verses. The deacons placed the same oblations on the paten in the holy sanctuary.

At that time, the priest was Abba John the Choze-bite, who later became Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine. When he offered the gifts, he did not perceive the coming of the Holy Spirit in the accustomed manner. He was distressed, thinking that it might be on account of some sin on his part that the Holy Spirit was absent. He withdrew into the sacristy in tears and flung himself face down. An angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Because the brother who was bringing the oblations here recited the holy prayer of offering on the way, they are already consecrated and made perfect.”

The elder laid down a rule that from henceforth nobody was to learn the holy prayer of offering unless he had been ordained; nor was it ever to be recited at any time other than in a consecrated place.

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The Life of the Priest of the Mardardos Estate

Ten miles from the city of Aégaion in Cilicia, there is an estate called Mardardos, which houses an oratory of Saint John the Baptist. There resided an elder who was a priest, an elder of great prestige and virtue.

One day, those who lived on that estate went to complain about him to the Bishop of Aégaion. "Take this elder away from us," they said, "for he is objectionable to us. When Sunday comes around, he holds the service at the ninth hour, and even then, he does not follow the appointed order of service."

The bishop took the elder aside privately and said to him, "Good elder, why do you behave like this? Do you not know the procedure of the holy church?"

The elder replied, "Truth to tell, great sir, it is just as you say, and you have spoken well. But I do not know what to do. After the vigil service of the holy Lord’s Day, I remain close by the holy altar; and until I see the Holy Spirit overshadowing the holy sanctuary, I do not begin the eucharistic service. When I see the coming of the Holy Spirit, then I celebrate the liturgy."

The bishop was amazed at the virtue of the elder. He informed the inhabitants of the estate and dismissed them in peace; they went their way glorifying God.

Abba Julian the Stylite sent greetings to this elder, along with a folded cloth containing three coals of fire. The elder received the greeting and found the three coals still not dead. He sent them back to Abba Julian in the same cloth, having poured water into it and tied it up. They were about twenty miles apart from each other.

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A Wondrous Deed of Abba Julian the Stylite

Abba Cyril, the disciple of the aforementioned Abba Julian the Stylite, told this story: I, my father, and my brother, hearing what was said about Abba Julian, came to him from our own country. I had an incurable disease that no doctor was able to heal. The elder healed me with prayer as soon as I arrived. So, the three of us stayed with him and renounced the world. The elder appointed my father to be in charge of the grain.

One day, my father came to Abba Julian and said, “We have no grain.” The elder replied, “Go, gather together whatever you can find and grind it up. God will take care of tomorrow for us.” My father was troubled by this command because he knew there was nothing left in the granary; he withdrew to his cell.

When the need became very pressing, the elder indicated that he should come to him, and as soon as he entered, he said to him, “Brother Conon, go and prepare whatever you find for the brethren.” Almost in anger, he took the keys of the granary and went off, intending to bring back some earth. Having released the lock, he wanted to open the doors, but he could not do so because the granary was completely filled with grain. When he saw this, he humbly prostrated himself before the elder, glorifying God.

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THE LIFE OF ISIDORE THE MONK OF MELITENE AND ANOTHER MIRACLE OF THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT

There is a market-town in Cyprus called Tadai, which contains a monastery located near a place called Philoxenos. When we arrived there, we found in the monastery a monk named Isidore, a native of Melitene. We noticed that he was always in tears and groaning. Everybody tried to persuade him to desist a little from his lamentation, but he would not be comforted. He told them all: “I am as great a sinner as there has been from Adam to this day.”

We said to him: “But abba, in truth, sir, nobody is really sinless except one: God himself.” He replied: “Believe me, brethren, I have found no sin amongst men which I have not committed, whether I have learned it from writing or by hearsay. If you think that I am accusing myself unjustly, hear of my sin so that you can pray for me.”

“In the world,” he continued, “I had a wife, and both she and I were of the Severan persuasion. One day, when I came home, I could not find my wife, but I heard that she had gone to a neighbor's to take communion. Now he was a communicant of the holy Catholic Church, so I ran immediately to stop my wife. As I entered the neighbor's house, I found my wife exactly at the point of receiving the holy portion and making her communion. I grabbed her by the throat and forced her to emit the holy portion. I seized it and threw it up and down, and it fell in the mud.

All at once, I saw a flash of lightning take up the holy communion from the spot where it lay. And two days later, I saw a black-faced one wearing rags who said to me: ‘You and I are alike condemned to the same damnation.’ I asked: ‘Who are you?’ The black-faced one replied: ‘I am he who struck the cheek of the Creator of all things, our Lord Jesus Christ, at the time of his passion.’ It is on this account,” said the monk, “that I cannot desist from weeping.”

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THE CONVERSION AND LIFE OF MARY THE HARLOT

Two elders set off from Aigaion to Tarsos in Cilicia. By the providence of God, they came to an inn where they could rest, for the heat was intense. There, they found three younger men who had a harlot with them, going to Aigaion. The three elders sat discreetly apart; one of them took the holy gospel out of his traveling bag and began to read aloud.

When the harlot saw the elder begin to read, she came and sat down near him, forsaking the youths. The elder drove her off, saying to her, “Wretched woman, you seem very indecent. Are you not ashamed to come and sit near us?” In reply, she answered, “Oh father, please do not treat me with loathing. Even if I am filled with every kind of sin, the master of all, our Lord and God, did not send away the harlot who came to him.”

The elder answered her, “But that harlot remained a harlot no longer.” She said to him, “My hope is in the Son of the living God that from this day forward, neither will I continue in this sin.” Forsaking the youths and everything she had, she followed the elders. They placed her in a women’s monastery called Nakkiba, near Aigaion.

I saw her as an old woman of great experience. It was from her that I heard all this, and her name was Mary.

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The Conversion and Life of Babylas the Actor and of Cometa and Nicosa, His Concubines

There was an actor at Tarsos in Cilicia whose name was Babylas, and he had two female companions: one named Cometa and the other Nicosa. He led a disorderly life, performing deeds that were truly worthy of the demons who urged him on.

One day, he went into a church, and by the providence of God, the gospel was being read, which contained the verse that says, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." This struck him forcibly; he began to reproach himself with tears for the evils of his ways. As soon as he came out of church, he called his two companions and said to them, "You know how I have lived in disorderliness with you and never preferred one of you over the other. Now you are to have everything I possess for your own. Take all that I have and share it, for this very day I am going to renounce the world and become a monk."

The women replied as though with one voice and in tears, "We have shared with you in the experience of sin and in the destruction of our own souls. Now that you have decided on this course of action which is pleasing to God, will you keep us out of it and do it alone? Indeed you shall not! Let us also be partakers with you of the good."

The actor immediately shut himself up in one of the towers of the city walls. The women sold their property and gave the proceeds to the poor; then they too received the monastic habit. After that, they made a cell for themselves near the tower and shut themselves up in it. I happened upon it myself and profited from the experience. The man is very compassionate, very forgiving, and humble-minded. I wrote this for the benefit of those who chance to come upon it.

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The Life of the Holy Bishop Theodotos

One of the fathers told us that there was formerly an archbishop of Theoupolis (Antioch) whose goodness was such that once, when there was a feast day, he invited several of the clergy who had celebrated the feast with him to dinner. There was one of them who refused the invitation. The patriarch made no comment, but on another occasion, he went personally to find the cleric and invited him to share his table.

They also told this story about the same Archbishop Theodotos: such were his humility and lowliness that once he was traveling with one of his clergy, the bishop reclining in a litter while the cleric rode a horse. The patriarch said to him, "Let us defray the tedium of the journey by exchanging our modes of travel."

"It would disgrace the patriarch," said the cleric, "if I were to get into the litter and he to mount the horse." The godly Theodotos would have nothing of that. He persuaded his attendant cleric that it would be no disgrace and so prevailed upon him to make the exchange.

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THE LIFE OF EPHRAIM, PATRIARCH OF ANTIOCH AND HOW HE CONVERTED A STYLITE MONK FROM THE IMPIETY OF THE SEVERAN HERESY

One of the fathers told us that the blessed Ephraim, Patriarch of Antioch, had a great deal of zeal and fervor for the orthodox faith. One day he learned that a stylite in one of the regions around Hierapolis was one of Severus' excommunicate Acephalites. He went to this stylite with the intention of talking him around. Upon arrival, the godly Ephraim began to urge and entreat the stylite to take refuge in the apostolic throne and to enter into communion with the Catholic and apostolic church.

In response, the stylite said to him, “It will never be the case that I will communicate with the orthodox Synod.” The godly Ephraim rejoined, “Well then, what must I do to convince you that, by the grace of Christ Jesus our Lord, the holy Church has been set free of every trace of heretical teaching?” The stylite replied, “Let us light a fire, my lord Patriarch, and let you and I go into it. If one of us comes out unharmed, he is the orthodox, and he is the one we ought to follow.” He said this to terrify the patriarch; but the godly Ephraim responded, “You ought to have obeyed me as a father, my child, and to have asked nothing of us. Since you have asked something beyond my meager ability, I have put my trust in the mercies of the Son of God that, for the sake of your soul’s salvation, I will do what you suggest.”

Then the godly Ephraim said to those who stood by, “Blessed be the Lord! Bring some wood here.” When the wood arrived, the patriarch lit it before the column and said to the stylite, “Come down, and we will both walk into the fire to carry out your test.” The stylite was amazed at the patriarch’s trust in God and did not want to come down.

The patriarch said to him, “Was it not you who suggested we do this? How is it that you no longer want to go through with it?” Then the patriarch took off the omophorion he was wearing and, coming close to the fire, prayed in these words: “Lord Jesus Christ our God, who for our sakes condescended truly to be made flesh of our Lady, the holy Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary, show us the truth.” When the prayer was finished, he threw his omophorion into the fire.

The fire burned for three hours. Then, when the wood was all burnt up, he retrieved the omophorion from the fire—still in one piece. It was undamaged and unmarked, with no sign of having been in the fire. When he saw what had happened, the stylite received instruction, rejected Severus and his heresy with an oath, and entered the holy church. He received communion at the hands of the blessed Ephraim, glorifying God.

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The Life of a Bishop Who Left His Throne and Came to the Holy City Where He Changed His Clothes and Became a Builder's Labourer

One of the fathers told of a bishop who left his own diocese and came into Theoupolis, where he worked as a labourer. At that time, the Count of the East was Ephraim, a merciful and compassionate man; so much so that he was rebuilding the public edifices, as the city had been dilapidated by an earthquake.

One night, Ephraim saw the bishop lying down, with a column of fire standing over him that reached up into heaven. As he had this vision not once, but several times, Ephraim was greatly amazed, for it was an awesome and truly astounding apparition. He asked himself what it might be, for he had no idea that the workman was a bishop. How could he have known that the labourer was a bishop, considering his uncombed hair and shabby clothing? This was a poverty-stricken man, broken down by much endurance, asceticism, labour, and the continuous burden of toil.

One day, Ephraim sent for the labourer who was once a bishop, wanting to learn more about him. He took him aside and began asking him where he was from and what his name was. The sometime bishop replied, "I am one of the poor men of this city. For lack of any support, I work as a labourer, and God sustains me by my toil."

God prompted Ephraim to insist, "Believe me, I shall not let you go until you tell me the whole truth about yourself." Unable to conceal himself any longer, the bishop said, "Give me your word that you will never tell anybody what you are about to hear from me as long as I am still alive, and I will tell you about myself. But I will not tell you my name or the name of my city."

The godly Ephraim swore to him: "I will not tell anybody what you are about to tell me as long as it pleases God to keep you in this life." The bishop then revealed, "I am a bishop. At the behest of God, I left my diocese and came to this place, because it was totally unknown to me. Here I have suffered affliction and laboured at menial tasks. By my toil, I earn a little bread, but you should add what you can by way of almsgiving. For in these days, God is going to raise you up to the throne of Theoupolis to be the shepherd of His people, which Christ our true God purchased by His own blood. As I said to you, you are to strive for almsgiving and orthodoxy. By such sacrifices, you will be well-pleasing to God.”

Within a few days, it came about as he had predicted. When the blessed Ephraim had heard the bishop out, he glorified God, saying, “Oh, how many hidden servants God has, and they are known only to Him alone!”

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THE DEATH OF THE IMPIOUS EMPEROR ANASTASIOS

One of those who loved Christ told us about the Emperor Anastasios, who dismissed Euphemios and Macedonios, Patriarchs of Constantinople, and exiled them to Euchaita in Pontus because of the holy synod of the fathers at Chalcedon.

In his sleep, the Emperor Anastasios saw a man of striking appearance, dressed in white and standing before him, carrying a written book from which he was reading. He turned over five pages of the book, read out the emperor’s name, and said to him: “See, because of your faithlessness, I am expunging fourteen years,” and they say he erased them with his own finger.

Two days later, there was a severe outburst of thunder and lightning. In deep terror, the emperor surrendered his spirit, greatly distressed. This was his reward for having despised the most holy Church of Christ our God and for having exiled her shepherds.

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The Life of Abba Cosmas the Eunuch

This story was told to us by Abba Basil, priest of the monastery of the Byzantines: When I was with Abba Gregory the Patriarch at Theoupolis, Abba Cosmas the Eunuch of the Lavra of Pharén came from Jerusalem. This man was most truly a monk, orthodox and of great zeal, with no small knowledge of the holy Scriptures. After being there a few days, the elder died.

Wishing to honor his remains, the patriarch ordered that he should be buried at a spot in the cemetery where a bishop lay. Two days later, I came to kiss the elder’s grave. A poor man stricken with paralysis was lying on top of the tomb, begging alms of those who came into the church. When this poor man saw me making three prostrations and offering the priestly prayer, he said to me: “Oh Abba, this was indeed a great elder, sir, whom you buried here three days ago.” I answered him saying: “How do you know that?” He told me: “I was paralysed for twelve years and, through this elder, the Lord cured me. When I am distressed, he comes and comforts me, granting me relief. And now you are about to hear yet another strange thing about this elder. Ever since you buried him, I hear him at night calling and saying to the bishop: ‘Touch me not; stay away! Come not near, thou heretic and enemy of the truth and of the holy catholic Church of God.’”

Having heard this from the man cured of his paralysis, I went and repeated it to the patriarch. I besought that most holy man to let us take the body of the elder and lay it in another tomb. Then the patriarch said to me: “Believe me, my child, Abba Cosmas will suffer no hurt from the heretic. This has all come about that the virtue and zeal of the elder might become known to us after his departure from this world; also that the doctrine of the bishop should be revealed to us, so that we do not hold him to have been one of the orthodox.”

The same Abba Basil also told us this concerning Abba Cosmas: I visited him when he was staying at the Lavra of Pharén, and he said to me: “A doubt once perplexed me concerning the saying of the Lord to his disciples: ‘He who has a garment, let him sell it and buy a sword,’ and they said to him: ‘Here are two swords.’ After agonizing unsuccessfully over the meaning of this passage, I went from my cell out into the heat of the midday sun, driven by a compulsion to go to the Lavra of Pyrgia, where Abba Theophilos was, to ask him about the matter. When I came into the desert, near Calamén, I saw an exceedingly large dragon coming down from the mountain towards Calamén. It was so large that it made a great vault of itself as it moved. I suddenly realized that I was passing through its vault unharmed. I knew, he said, that the devil was trying to frustrate my purpose but that the prayer of the elder had prevailed.

I went my way, he said, and recited the passage of scripture to Abba Theophilos. He told me the explanation of the two swords is this: the active and the contemplative (τὸ πρακτικόν καὶ τὸ θεωρητικόν). If a person has these two virtues, he is approaching perfection.

I visited Abba Cosmas at the Lavra of Pharén and stayed there for ten years. Whilst he was speaking to me about the salvation of the soul, we came across an opinion of Saint Athanasios, Archbishop of Alexandria. The elder said to me: “When you come across a saying of Athanasius the Great, if you have no paper, write it on your clothing”—so great was the appetite of this elder for our holy fathers and teachers.

They also said this about him: that on the eve of the holy Lord's Day, he would stand from vespers to dawn, singing and reading, in his cell or in church, never sitting down at all. Once the sun had risen and the appointed service had been sung, he would sit reading the holy Gospel until it was time for the Eucharist.

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THE LIFE OF ABBA PAUL OF ANAZARBOS

At the same Lavra of Pharén, we saw Abba Paul, a holy man of great humility and self-abnegation, wholly devoted to God; a man who wept many tears each day. I don’t know whether I ever met his like in all my life. For almost fifty years, this elder had led a solitary life, sustained by nothing more than the charitable dole of the church, for he would accept nothing in addition to the rations he received. He came from Anazarbos.

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THE LIFE OF ABBA AUXANON

At the same place, we saw Abba Auxanón in his cell—a man of compassion, continence, and solitude—who treated himself so harshly that over a period of four days, he would only eat a twenty-epta loaf of bread, such as we offer at the Eucharist. Sometimes, this was sufficient for him during a whole week. Towards the end of his life, this ever-memorable father fell ill with a stomach complaint. They carried him to the patriarchal infirmary at the Holy City.

One day, when we were visiting him, Abba Conon, the higoumen of the Lavra of our saintly father Sabas, sent him a small basket containing the church dole and six pieces of gold, along with a message: "Forgive me, but my sickness prevents me from coming to greet you." The elder accepted the dole but sent the gold back with this message: "If it be the will of God that I be in this life, father, I have ten pieces of gold. If I have need of these others, I will let you know, and do you send them to me. But you should know, father, that two days from now I will go forth out of this world"—which indeed he did.

We bore him to the Lavra of Pharén and buried him there. This blessed one had been the fellow-monk of those saintly men Eustochios and Gregory, but, leaving them both, he completed his formation in the wilderness. He was a native of Ancyra in Galatia.

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THE HORRIBLE DEATH OF THALILAIOS, ‘THE IMPIOUS ARCHBISHOP OF THESSALONICA’

In Thessalonica, there was an archbishop named Thalilaios who feared neither God nor the reward that was in store for him. The wretch trampled Christian teaching underfoot and impiously treated the priestly dignity as nothing worth. He turned out to be a ravening wolf rather than a shepherd. He declined to worship the holy and consubstantial Trinity, turning instead (Oh Lord, forgive me!) to the worship of idols.

Those who presided over the holy churches at that time expelled him by a canonical vote. However, a little while later, this man, so full of iniquity, wished to resume his priesthood. Since, as the most wise Solomon says, all things are obedient to gold, he was recalled and ordered to return to his own diocese. (For it was at Constantinople that the rulers lived, of whom Isaiah spoke: "Which justify the wicked for reward and take away the righteousness of the righteous man from him." - Isaiah 5:23.)

But God did not disregard His church. He reversed the judgment that had been pronounced in the bishop’s favor in contravention of the Apostolic canons.

On a certain day, when he was all dressed up splendidly and ready to go before the rulers in order to regain his priestly dignity by their decision, just as he was about to leave his house, his belly intimated that he was in need of the privy. After two hours in there without coming out, some of those who stood by went in to ask him whether he was coming out. They found him with his head down in the drain of the privy and his feet up in the air. He had gained for himself an equally well-matched eternal death as that which bore off Arius, the sacrilegious enemy of God.

For Arius too, when his hopes ran high of being arbitrarily restored to the church by the cooperation of those in authority, the wondrous angel of the holy church of God and of the great council scattered his bowels (bitterly afflicted with the labor pains of blasphemy) in a privy. When Thalilaios hoped to continue the evil he had previously committed by the unjust intervention of those in authority, the angel who governed the Thessalonican church set out together with the great martyr Demetrios.

In the very place where he used to associate with the impure demon that provoked him and contrived his onslaughts against the holy church of God, there, in that place, he nailed the unhallowed body of him, the unprofitable servant, and lifted up into the air those feet which would not walk in the way of righteousness, bearing the marks that indicated the judgment awaiting him. Indeed, it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. - Hebrews 10:31.

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THE LIFE OF AN ELDER, A MONK LIVING NEAR THE CITY OF ANTINOE AND CONCERNING HIS PRAYER FOR A DEAD BROTHER

When we came to the Thebaid, one of the elders told us that there was an elder of great repute living outside the city of Antinoé, one who had kept his cell for about seventy years. He had ten disciples, but one of them was very careless regarding his own soul. The elder often besought and entreated him, saying, "Brother, pay attention to your own soul, for death awaits you, and the road to punishment is near."

The brother always disregarded the elder, refusing to accept what he said. Eventually, death carried the brother off, and the elder was deeply troubled, knowing that he had left this world sadly lacking in faith and devotion. The elder fell to his prayers and said, "Lord Jesus Christ, our true God, reveal to me the state of the brother’s soul."

He went into a trance and saw a river of fire with a multitude of people in the fire itself. Right in the middle was the brother, submerged up to his neck. The elder called out to him, "Was it not because of this retribution that I urged you to look after your own soul, my child?"

The brother answered, "I thank God, father, that there is relief for my head. Thanks to your prayers, I am standing on the head of a bishop."

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The Wondrous Vision of the Duke of Palestine by Which He Was Compelled to Renounce the Aforementioned Heresy and to Enter into Communion with the Church of Christ

Anastasios the Priest also told us that when Gébémer became the military governor of Palestine, his first act was to come and worship at the holy Church of the Resurrection of Christ, who is God. As he was about to approach, he saw a ram charging at him, intent on impaling him on its horns. So great was his fear that he stepped backward towards the guardian of the Chapel of the Cross, who was present, as well as the lictors who stood by.

They said to him, "What is the matter, your highness? Why do you not enter?" He replied, "Why did you bring in that ram?" They were taken aback by this, but they peered into the holy sepulchre and saw nothing. They spoke to him, urging him to enter and assuring him that there was no ram in there. A second time, he made as though to enter, and again he saw the ram charging at him, preventing him from entering. This happened several times, at least in his eyes. Those who were with him saw nothing, and the guardian of the Chapel of the Cross said to him, "Believe me, your highness, there is something in your soul, and it is because of this that you are prevented from worshipping at the holy and life-giving sepulchre of our Saviour. You would do well to confess before God, for he is kindly disposed towards humanity, and it was to show mercy on you that he made you see this vision."

Bursting into tears, the governor said, "I am responsible for many great sins against the Lord." He cast himself face down on the ground and remained weeping in that position for a long time, confessing to God. Then he got up and made as though to enter the sepulchre, but he could not. The apparition of the ram prevented him no less than before. The guardian of the Chapel of the Cross then said to him, "There is still some other impediment."

The governor replied, "Could it be that I am forbidden to enter because I am in communion with Severus and not with the holy Catholic and apostolic Church?" He begged the guardian of the Chapel of the Cross that he might partake of the holy and life-giving mysteries of Christ our God. When the holy chalice arrived, he made his communion, and thus he entered and worshipped, no longer seeing anything that deterred him.

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The Vision and a Saying of Abba George the Recluse

Scythopolis was the second city of Palestine. There I met Abba Anastasios, who told us about Abba George the recluse.

One night, I got up to beat the wooden signal (for I was the precentor), and I heard an elder weeping. I went and entreated him, saying, "Abba, what is the matter, sir, that you weep so?" He answered me not a word. So I asked him again, "Tell me the cause of your grief." Sighing from the depths of his heart, he said to me, "How should I not weep, seeing that our Lord is not willing to be placated on our account? I thought I stood before one who sat on a high throne, my child."

Around him were several tens of thousands who besought and entreated him concerning a certain matter, but he would not be persuaded. Then a woman clothed in purple raiment came and fell down before him, saying, "Please, for my sake, grant this request," but he remained equally unmoved. "That is why I weep and groan, for I am afraid of what is going to happen to me." He said this to me at first light on Thursday.

The next day, Friday, about the ninth hour, there was a severe earthquake that overthrew the cities of the Phoenician coast. Abba Anastasios spoke to us again and told us this about the same elder: Some time later, as he stood at the window of his cell, he began to weep and said to me, "Woe are we, brother, for we have no compunction, but live heedlessly. I fear we are at the gates of perdition and that the wrath of God has overtaken us." The next day, fire appeared in the sky.

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A Saying of Abba Elias the Solitary

A brother visited Abba Elias the solitary at the community of the cave of Abba Sabas and said to him, "Abba, give me a saying!" The elder responded, "In the days of our fathers, three virtues were cherished: poverty, humility, and continence. Now monks are dominated by avarice, gluttony, and audacity. Hold on to which of these you will."

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The Life of Cyriacos the Elder from the Monastery of Saint Sabas

Abba Stephan Trichinas told us about an elder named Cyriacos living at the Lavra of our saintly father Sabas, who once went down to Coutila. He stayed for a little while there beside the Dead Sea; then he started back to his cell. The heat was so intense that the elder was about to faint. So he stretched out his hands to heaven and prayed to God, saying: “Lord, you know that I can hardly walk for thirst.” Immediately, a cloud came about him and it was not taken away from him until he was back at his cell once more. It was a distance of twelve miles.

The same Stephan told us this about the same elder: One day, some of his relatives came wanting to see him. When they came into the Lavra, they inquired where his cell was. Some people showed them where it was located, so they went and knocked at the door. Realizing who they were, the elder prayed to God not to let him be seen by them. He opened the door and went out of his cell, but he was not seen by them. He went out into the wilderness and did not return to his cell until they had gone away.

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THE LIFE OF THE MONKS OF SCETE AND CONCERNING AN ELDER NAMED AMMONIOS

At Terenuthis, we met Abba Theodore of Alexandria. This elder said to us, “My child, it was by their nature that the monks lost Scété, just as the elder predicted. Believe this elder who speaks to you, children; amongst the Scetiotes, there was great love, asceticism, and discernment. I have seen elders there who never ate at all unless somebody came that way. Amongst these was an elder named Ammonios, who lived close by me.

Once I realized the way he lived, I used to visit him every Saturday so that, by my intervention, he would take some food. No matter at what hour visitors arrived for the purpose of prayer, it was the practice of those fathers, once they had offered their prayers, to set the table for them and immediately to eat some food.

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The Life of an Elder Who Stayed at Sceté and Concerning Abba Irenaeus

Abba Irenaeus told us that there was an elder living at Scété who saw the devil at night offering gardening implements to the brethren. The elder said to the devil, “What are these?” The devil replied, “I am presenting the brothers with a distraction to make them less assiduous in glorifying God.”

The same Abba Irenaeus spoke to us again, saying: When barbarians came to Scété, I withdrew and came into the district of Gaza, where I accepted a cell for myself at the Lavra. From the abba of the Lavra, I received a book of sayings of the elders. That same day, I set myself to read it, and as soon as I unrolled the book, I found a passage in which a brother visited an elder and said to him, “Pray for me, father.” The elder replied, “When you were with us, I used to pray for you. Now that you have gone away to your own homeland, I pray for you no longer.”

When I read this, I rewound the book and said to myself, “Oh wretched Irenaeus, to have fled to your own homeland—and the fathers no longer pray for you!” I immediately gave the book back to the abba, left that place, and came to The Cells. And that, children, is why I am here.

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THE DEATH OF SYMEON THE STYLITE AND CONCERNING ABBA JULIAN, ANOTHER STYLITE

Four miles from the city of Egaion, there was a stylite named Symeon. He was struck by lightning and died. Abba Julian the stylite, whose pillar was on the Gulf of Alexandretta, told his disciples to burn incense, not at the accustomed time.

The disciples said to him, "Tell us why, father." He replied, "Because brother Symeon of Egaion has been struck by lightning and is dead. Behold, his soul is departing with great gladness." They were twenty-four miles apart from each other.

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CONCERNING JULIAN AGAIN

Abba Stephan Trichinas told us this too about Abba Julian the stylite. A lion appeared in the area and destroyed many people, both strangers and natives. One day, the elder called his disciple to him; the man’s name was Pancratios. He told him, “Go about two miles towards the north, and you will find a lion in its lair there. Say to it: ‘The lowly Julian says: In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, withdraw from this land.’”

The brother went and found the lion in its lair. He delivered the elder’s message, whereupon the lion immediately and without delay went away, and everybody glorified God.

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THE LIFE OF ABBA THALILAIOS THE CILICIAN

Abba Peter, priest of the same Javra, told us that Abba Thalilaios the Cilician spent sixty years in the monastic life and never once stopped weeping. He would always say: “God gave us this time for repentance; it is indeed for Him that we must seek.”

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THE STRANGE DEED OF AN ANCHORESS AS A RESULT OF WHICH A YOUTH WHO LOVED HER BECAME A MONK OUT OF REMORSE; AND CONCERNING JULIAN AGAIN

When we were in Alexandria, a man who loved Christ told us a story along these lines. He said that there was an anchoress (Hovéotpia) who led a solitary life in her own home, cultivating her soul with fasting, prayers, vigils, and by making many charitable donations. But the devil, always at war with the human race, could not tolerate the virtuous life of the maiden, so he stirred up a cloud of trouble for her. He inflamed a young man with satanic lust for her.

The youth would wait for her outside her house. When she wished to go out, to go from her home to the oratory to pray, the youth would hinder her, forcing his attentions upon her in the way lovers do. The anchoress was so besieged by the attentions of the youth that she could not even set foot outside her own house.

One day, she sent her maid to the youth with this message: "Come into the house; my mistress wants to see you." The youth went in very gladly, thinking that his desires were about to be fulfilled. She was sitting at her loom.

"Sit down," she said to the youth. Seating herself, she continued, "Now, brother, why do you persecute me like this, and why will you not even let me out of my house?" The youth answered, "Oh mistress, I want you so badly! Whenever I see you, I am all on fire, from head to toe."

She asked him, "What do you see in me that appeals to you so that you love me so?" The youth replied, "Your eyes. It is your eyes which have seduced me."

When the anchoress heard this, that her eyes had led the youth astray, she picked up her shuttle and pierced both of her eyes with it, cast them out. When the youth realized that it was because of him that she had put out her own eyes, he was so filled with remorse that he went away to Scété and distinguished himself as a monk.

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THE LIFE OF ABBA STEPHAN, PRIEST OF THE LAVRA OF THE AELIOTES

One of the elders told us that once, when Abba Stephan, priest of the Lavra of the Aliotes, was sitting in his cell, the devil put evil thoughts into his mind, saying, “Go somewhere else, for it is not good staying here.” The elder responded to the devil, “I do not accept what you say; I know who you are. You do not want to see anybody saved, but Christ, the Son of the living God, he will overthrow you!”

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CONCERNING THE SAME

They say that the same elder was once sitting in his cell when the devil appeared to him in visible form and said, "Get away from here, elder, for it is no good for you." The elder replied to the demon, "To convince me that you want me to go away, make what I am sitting on start walking around." He was seated on a wicker-work chair.

When the demon heard this, he immediately caused not only the seat but also the whole cell to move around. Upon perceiving the craftiness of the demon, the elder said, "Now, since you are so fierce and terrible, I will most certainly not go away." He then offered a prayer, and the hostile demon disappeared.

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CONCERNING THE SAME

Three elders went to visit Abba Stephan the priest, and while they remained there talking about what is beneficial to the soul, he stayed silent. The elders said to him, “You are not answering us, Father. It was for the benefit of your counsel that we came to you.”

Then he replied, “Forgive me, but I did not know what you were talking about until just now. However, I can tell you what is the matter with me; I see nothing else, either by night or by day, but our Lord Jesus Christ hanging on the cross.”

They went their way, greatly edified.

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CONCERNING THE SAME

Abba John, surnamed Molybas, told about this elder (I mean Abba Stephan) that when he was lying seriously ill, the doctors urged him to eat some meat. This blessed brother had a blood brother in secular society, a very devout man who lived his life for the living God.

As the brother was eating the meat, his natural brother, who lived "in the world," came to visit him—and was offended when he saw what was happening. He was distressed (he said) that after so long a period of ascetic rigor and self-discipline, his brother should now partake of meat.

He immediately went into a trance and saw one who spoke to him, saying: “Why are you offended at the sight of the priest eating meat? Do you not realize that he ate it out of necessity and obedience? In truth, you ought not to be offended. If you want to know to what glory your brother has attained, then turn round and look.”

He said that he turned round and saw the priest, crucified—just as Christ was crucified; and the apparition said: “You see to what glory he has attained? Glorify Him who glorifies those who truly love Him.”

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THE LIFE OF ABBA THEODOSIOS THE SOLITARY

Abba Anthony, superior and builder of the Lavra of the Eliotes, told us this about Abba Theodosios the solitary. He said: Before taking up the solitary life, I went into a trance and saw a young man whose appearance was brighter than the sun. He took me by the hand and said to me, “Come, for you must fight,” and he led me into an amphitheater larger than words could describe. I could see that the theater was full of men; those on one side were dressed in white, while those on the other side were black-faced ones.

As he led me to the sanded pit of the theater, I saw a black-faced man of exceedingly large stature whose head stood as high as the clouds—strong and ugly. Then the youth whom I saw in the vision said to me, “It is with that one that you must fight.” When I saw the man, I was horror-struck; I began to quake and feel terrified. I started pleading with him who had brought me there, saying, “What man who is merely mortal could strive with that one? Not even the whole human race put together could withstand this fellow.”

But the noble youth said to me, “Go in with confidence, for when you have joined in combat with him, I shall decide the result and award the victor’s crown.” Almost as soon as I had gone into the sanded pit and we had come to grips with each other, the noble umpire came at once, made his decision, and awarded me the crown. The faction of the black-faced ones disappeared with moaning and groaning. The other faction, consisting of those who wore white, shouted their approval of the umpire and of him who had awarded me an auspicious victory.

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Concerning the Same

Concerning this Abba Theodosios the solitary, Abba Cyriacos, his disciple, told us that he spent thirty-five years as a solitary, fasting two days before he ate and keeping completely silent, speaking to nobody. If he said anything at all, he did it by signs. I saw this man myself in the Lavra of the Aliotes mentioned above, for I stayed there ten years.

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CONCERNING THE SAME

When Abramios, higoumen of the new Church of Saint Mary the Mother of God, learned that Abba Theodosios had no garment to wear in the winter, he bought him a shirt. One night, when Theodosios sat down to sleep (for he slept on a chair), some thieves came, stripped him of his monastic cloak, and took it away. When this happened, the elder said nothing about it whatsoever.

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THE LIFE OF A MESOPOTAMIAN MONK, ADDAS THE RECLUSE

The elder also told us this: After Abba David, another monk from Mesopotamia came to Thessalonica, whose name was Adolas. He confined himself in a hollow plane tree in another part of the city. He made a little window in the tree through which he could talk with people who came to see him.

When the barbarians came and laid waste to the countryside, they happened to pass by that place. One of the barbarians noticed the elder looking down at them. He drew his sword and raised his arm to strike the elder. But the elder remained there, rooted to the spot with his hand stuck up in the air. When the rest of the barbarians saw this, they were amazed and, falling down before him, besought the elder to restore their comrade. The elder offered a prayer, healed him, and thus dismissed them in peace.

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THE LIFE OF JOHN THE SOLDIER OF ALEXANDRIA

Abba Palladios told us this too: There was a soldier at Alexandria whose name was John. This was the kind of life he led: all day long, from dawn to the ninth hour, he would stay in his monastery near the steps of Saint Peter’s Church, wearing nothing but a coarse cloak and weaving baskets. He kept his peace and would say nothing to anybody. He used to stay in the oratory doing his handwork, and this was all he would say with his mouth: “Cleanse me, O Lord, from my secret sins (Ps 18:13), that I be not disappointed in my prayer.”

When he had recited this verse, he would remain silent for a good hour; then he would repeat the same thing an hour or more later. He said it seven times a day and never said any other word at all. At the ninth hour, he would remove the rough cloak he was wearing and put on military uniform (in other words, his own clothes) and go on duty with his own unit. I stayed with this man for eight years, and I was greatly edified by his silence and the way he lived his life.

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THE DROWNING OF MARY

Abba Palladios also told us that he had heard a shipmaster telling a story something like this: One day, I was sailing along with passengers on board, both men and women. We came out onto the high sea, and all the other ships were sailing well—some to Constantinople, some to Alexandria, and others elsewhere. The wind stood well for each of them, but we alone could make no headway. We remained stuck in the same place for fifteen days, not moving at all from where we lay. We were in great distress and despair, not knowing why this should be.

As I was the master of the vessel, responsible for both the boat and all who sailed in her, I began to pray to God about the matter. One day, a voice of no visible origin came to me, saying: “Throw Mary out, and you will make good way.” As I delayed, trying to work out what this meant and who Mary might be, the voice came to me again: “I told you: throw Mary out, and you will be safe.”

Then I devised the following procedure. I shouted out, “Mary!”—for I had no idea who Mary was. She, however, was lying in her bunk, and she responded, saying, “Why are you calling, sir?” I then said to her, “Would you please be so kind as to come here?” She got up and came. When she arrived, I took her aside and said to her, “Sister Mary, you see how great my sins are and that because of me you are all going to perish?” She heaved a deep sigh and said, “Oh Shipmaster, sir; in fact, it is I who am the sinner.”

I said to her, “Woman, what sins have you committed?” She replied, “I think there is no sin which I have not committed; and because of my sins, everybody is going to perish.” Then, the shipmaster recounted, the woman said something like this to me: “In fact, Shipmaster, wretch that I am, I had a husband and two children from him. When one of the children was nine years old and the other five, my husband died, and I was left a widow. There was a soldier living near me who wished to take me for his wife, but I sent some people to talk to him. The soldier said he would not take a wife who had children by another man with her. When I learned that he did not want to take me on account of the children, and also because I was very much in love with him, wretch that I am, I slew the children and said to him, ‘See, now I have none.’ When he heard what I had done with the children, he said, ‘As the Lord lives who dwells in heaven, I will not have her.’ In my fear that it might become known what I had done and I lose my life, I fled.”

Even when I heard this from the woman, I still did not want to throw her into the sea just like that. So I equivocated and told her, “Look, I will get into the dinghy, and if the vessel then makes way, know, woman, that it is my sins which are at work in this ship.” Then, he said, he called for the dinghy and ordered it to be launched. But when he got into it, neither ship nor dinghy made any more headway than before.

So he came back on board and said to the woman, “You get down into the dinghy.” She did; and as soon as she set foot in the dinghy, it turned round about five times and then sank to the bottom of the deep. Then the ship sailed on, and in three and a half days, we completed a journey which should have taken fifteen days.

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THE STORY OF THREE BLIND MEN AND OF HOW THEY BECAME BLIND

One day, Master Sophronios and I went to the house of Stephan the Sophist on a business matter, and it was midday. He lived at the Church of the Holy Mother of God, which was built by the blessed Pope Eulogios and was known as Dorothea’s. When we knocked at the philosopher's house, a maid peered out of an upper window and said, “He is sleeping, but wait a while.” I said to Master Sophronios, “Let us go to the Tetrapylon and wait there.” This place, called the Tetrapylon, is held in very high esteem by the citizens of Alexandria, for they say that Alexander (who founded their city) took the relics of the Prophet Jeremiah from Egypt and buried them there.

When we arrived at that place, nobody was there except three blind men, for it was noon. We quietly approached them without creating any disturbance, as we had our books with us. The blind men were conversing with each other, and one of them said to another, “How in fact did you lose your sight?”

This was the reply: “As a young man, I was a sailor. We set sail from Africa, and on the high sea, I developed ophthalmia. As I could not go and get treatment, white spots appeared in my eyes, and I lost my sight.” He then asked the other, “Now, how did you come to be blind?”

The man replied, “I was a glass-blower by trade, and both my eyes began to discharge from exposure to the fire. Then I became blind.” These two now turned to the third man and said, “And you, how did you lose your sight?”

He replied, “Well now, I will tell you. When I was a young man, I thoroughly detested work; so I became a prodigal. When it came to the point where I had nothing to eat, I resorted to theft. One day, after I had accomplished many deeds of wickedness, I was standing in the market-place and I saw a richly decked-out corpse being taken for burial. I followed the cortège to see where they were going to bury the body. They went behind Saint John’s Church and placed it in a sepulchre; then they went on their way.

When I saw that everyone had gone, I entered the sepulchre and stripped the corpse of all its clothes—except for a single shroud. As I was leaving the sepulchre, taking a considerable amount of booty with me, my evil habits urged me, “Take the shroud too; it’s worth the trouble.” So, wretched that I am, I turned back and removed the shroud from the corpse, leaving it naked.

At that point, the dead man sat up before me and stretched out his hands towards me. With his fingers, he clawed my face and plucked out both my eyes. I cravenly left everything behind and fled from the sepulchre, badly hurt and chilled with horror. Now I too have told you how I came to be blind.”

When we had heard all this, Master Sophronios made a sign to me, and we left the blind men. Then he said to me, “You know, abba, I do not think we should do any business today, for we have gained much profit from what we have heard.” We had indeed benefited from that experience, and having benefited ourselves, we have written it down so that you who hear these things might benefit from them too. It is a fact that no evil-doer can escape the notice of God. We heard this story with our own ears from the very man to whom it had happened.

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THE AMAZING MIRACLE OF A DEAD GIRL WHO DETAINED HER DESPOILER AND WOULD NOT LET HIM GO UNTIL HE PROMISED TO BECOME A MONK

When we were visiting Abba John, higoumen of the Giants’ Monastery at Theoupolis, he told us a somewhat similar story: Not long ago, a young man came to me saying, “For God’s sake, take me in, for I want to repent”—and he was weeping bitterly whilst he said this. I could see that he was deeply troubled and perplexed.

“Tell me how you have come to such compunction,” I said. He replied, “Abba, I most certainly am a sinner, sir.” Again, I said to him, “Believe me, child; just as there are many and different kinds of sin, so there are many cures. If you wish to be healed, tell me truthfully what deeds you have committed so that I can apply suitable penances. One does not apply the same treatment to a fornicator and to a murderer or to a sorcerer. Greed is treated one way, lying, anger, theft, and adultery—each has its proper medication. But rather than go on listing sins for you, let me say that just as we see various remedies applied to different physical infirmities, so too for the sins of the soul (which are many), a variety of medicaments is available.”

He heaved a great sigh and smote himself on the breast, breaking into tears and sobbing. So great was the disturbance in his heart that he was unable to speak clearly. When I saw that he was paralyzed and struck dumb by his grief and could therefore tell me nothing of his condition, I said to him, “Listen to me, my child; take a hold of yourself and tell me what has happened. Christ our God himself will grant you his own aid. Of his unspeakable love for mankind and his immeasurable mercy, he endured everything for our salvation. He consorted with publicans; he did not turn away the woman who was a sinner nor did he reject the thief; and, finally, he accepted death on the cross. When you repent and turn to him, he will receive you with his own hands and in great joy, for He desires not the death of a sinner but that he should turn to Him and live” (Ezekiel 18:32).

Then he made an effort to pull himself together. When his tears had abated somewhat, he said to me, “Abba, I who am full of sin, sir, and unworthy of heaven and earth. Two days ago, I heard of the death of the maiden daughter of somebody of first rank in this city; also that she had been buried in many clothes in a sepulchre outside the city. Now, I was already in the habit of doing the forbidden deed of robbing graves. I went to the sepulchre by night and began stripping the corpse. I stripped her of all she wore, not even leaving the innermost little garment but taking that from her too and making her as naked as the day she was born.

Just before I was about to leave the tomb, she sat up before me and stretched out her left hand. She took hold of my right hand and said, “Oh, man, did you have to strip me naked? Have you no fear of God? Ought you not to have had pity on me in death? Should you not respect my sex? How can you, as a Christian, condemn me to presenting myself naked before Christ because you had so little respect for my sex? Is mine not the sex which gave you birth? Do you not outrage your own mother in so using me? Wretched man, what sort of a defence will you offer for this crime against me when you come to the terrifying judgment seat of Christ? As long as I lived, no strange man ever saw my face; and now, after death and burial, you have stripped me and looked upon my naked body. What is there to be said for humanity when it can stoop to such depths? What a heart, what hands you are going to have when you come to receive the all-holy body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ!”

When I heard and saw this, I was seized by fear and dread. Quaking, I said to her, “Let me go—and never again will I do this,” but she said, “You came in here when you wanted to; but you will not go out of here as you will. This tomb shall be shared by the two of us. And do not think that you are going to die right away. Only after many days of torment will you—in evil circumstances—surrender your soul.”

I begged her with tears in my eyes to let me go, making great oaths by Almighty God that I would never again commit that forbidden and illegal deed of grave-robbing. After I had implored her at great length and poured out many tears, she replied in these words: “If you wish to live and to be delivered from this anguish, give me your word that if I shall let you go, not only will you desist from your hateful and profane deeds, but also that you will, immediately and without delay, go renounce the world and become a monk—so that you can repent of your misdeeds and live in the service of Christ.”

I swore to her, saying, “Not only will I do all that you have said, but from this day forward, I will not enter my house. Rather will I go from here immediately to a monastery.” Then the maiden said to me, “Dress me as you found me.” I made her fit for burial again, and then she lay back down and was dead.

I, the unworthy sinner that I am, immediately went out of the sepulchre and came here. When I heard all this from the young man, I comforted and refreshed him by talking to him about repentance and continence. Some time later, I tonsured him, clothed him in the monastic habit, and shut him up in a cave in the mountain within the city, he giving thanks to God and fighting a good fight for his own soul.

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A Tremendous and Stupendous Miracle of the Most Holy Sacrament Under Dionysios, Bishop of Seleucia

When we came to Seleucia (which is not far from Antioch), we met Abba Theodore, the bishop of that same city, Seleucia, and he told us this: In the time of the blessed Dionysios, who was my predecessor as bishop of this city, an event like this took place.

There was a businessman who was both devout and rich; however, he was a heretic of the Severite persuasion. He had a manager, who was in communion with the holy Catholic and apostolic Church. Following the local custom, the manager received communion on Maundy Thursday, placed it in a box inlaid with mosaic, and locked it up in his safe.

Now it happened that after Easter, the manager was sent to Constantinople on business and inadvertently left the holy species in his safe. However, he gave the key of the safe to his master. One day, the master opened the safe and found the mosaic box containing the holy species. This rather upset him, and he did not know what to do with them. He was unwilling to consume them since they originated in the Catholic Church, while he was of the sect of Severus. So, he left them in the safe, thinking that the manager would return and consume them.

When the great day of Maundy Thursday came around again, and the manager had still not returned, the master wanted to burn them so that they would not remain there for a second year. When he opened the safe, he saw that all the holy portions had sprouted shoots. He was overcome with much fear and wonder at this strange and unexpected sight.

He and all his household took the holy particles and, with a cry of "Lord, have mercy," ran to the holy church in search of the saintly Bishop Dionysios. This great and fearful wonder, which defied all reason, was not seen merely by two or three persons or even by a few who could be easily counted. The whole church saw it: townsfolk and countrymen, natives and immigrants, all who traveled by land or by sea, men and women, old men and children, youths and elders, masters and slaves, rich and poor, rulers and their subjects, literate and illiterate, those dedicated to the clerical life and those who had espoused virginity and asceticism; widows and decently married people; those in and those under authority.

Some cried out, "Lord, have mercy," while others praised God in different ways. Yet all gave thanks to God for His extraordinary and unspeakable marvels. Many joined the holy Catholic and apostolic Church on account of their faith in this miracle.

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The Spring Conferred on the Brothers of the Monastery in Skopelos at the Prayers of Theodosios, Their Abbot

We came to the monastery of Abba Theodosios at Skopelos, known as the rock. There is a mountain between inland Seleucia and Rossos in Cilicia. The fathers of this monastery led us up beyond the monastery, about as far as an arrow could be shot. There they showed us a spring, saying that it provided a plentiful supply of excellent water and that it was a gift of God to them.

“It is not a natural occurrence,” they said, “but was given to us by divine intervention. Our saintly father Theodosios the Great fasted at great length and poured forth tears, making many genuflections in prayer to God, that he would grant us the comfort of this water. In former times, our fathers used to draw their water from the wadi. But God, who always does the will of those that fear Him (Psalm 144:19), granted us the blessing of water through the prayers of our father.”

Two years ago, some of the brethren asked the higoumen if they might construct a bath in the monastery. Our higoumen frowned on this suggestion but allowed it as a concession to the weakness of the brethren. The bath was built, but they bathed no more than once; for this beautiful spring, which God had provided, promptly faltered and failed.

We tell you no less than the truth when we say that we fasted a great deal and offered up many intercessions with much tears—and still no water came from the spring. It was dry for a whole year, and we were in great distress. Then our father destroyed the bath—and God gave us water again!

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A Well That Filled with Water When an Icon of the Same Abba Theodosios Was Let Down into It

The same fathers also told us that in those days, a Christ-loving woman from the district of Apamea dug a well. She spent a great deal of money on the project and dug very deep, but she found no water. Having invested so much money and effort into the project, she was very discouraged.

Then one day, she had a vision of someone saying to her: "Send for and bring the picture of Abba Theodosios at Skopelos, and through that means, God will give you water." The woman sent two men at once. They took the icon of the saint and lowered it into the well. Immediately, water began to flow, filling the well shaft up to the halfway point.

The men who drew the icon up out of the water brought us some of it; we drank from it and all gave thanks to God.

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CONCERNING THE SAME

The fathers of that place also told us this about the same elder, John. About twenty miles from the monastery, there is a market town called Lepté Akra, which means "the little promontory." In that market town, there was a ship-owner who had a vessel with a capacity of about 35,000 modif (approximately 750 tonnes) that he wanted to launch. He spent two weeks with many workmen on this task (he said he employed three hundred workmen each day). However, he could neither get the vessel to the sea nor even move it from the spot where it lay, for the vessel was under the spell of men who were workers of evil.

The owner of the ship was very disturbed and at a loss as to what to do next. By the providence of God, it happened that the elder came that way. When the ship-owner saw the elder, who he knew had some knowledge of spiritual matters, he said to him, “Abba, please pray for my ship, sir. On account of enchantment, it cannot be launched.” The elder replied to the shipmaster, “Go, give me something to eat, and God will come to your aid.” The elder said this so that the ship-owner would go away to his own house.

The monk approached the ship alone, made three prostrations before God, and signed the vessel three times with the sign of the cross, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The elder then returned to the house of the ship-owner and said to him, “Go now and launch your vessel.” Putting his trust in the elder, the ship-owner went with very few men, and as soon as they took the strain, the ship was found to be in the sea. Everyone glorified God.

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THE LIFE AND DEATH OF AN ANCHORITE OF THE SAME MONASTERY, A SERVANT OF GOD

The fathers of the same monastery told us this: There was an anchorite in these mountains, a great man in the eyes of God, who survived for many years on the natural vegetation that could be found there. He died in a certain small cave, and we did not know, for we imagined that he had gone away to another wilderness place.

One night, this anchorite appeared to our present father, that good and gentle shepherd, Abba Julian, as he slept, saying to him: “Take some men and go, take me up from the place where I am lying, up on the mountain called The Deer.” So our father took some brethren and went up into the mountain of which he had spoken.

We sought for many hours, but we did not come across the remains of the anchorite. With the passage of time, the entrance to the cave in which he lay had been covered over by shrubs and snow. As we found nothing, the abba said, “Come, children, let us go down,” and just as we were about to return, a deer approached and came to a standstill some little distance from us. She began to dig in the earth with her hooves.

When our father saw this, he said to us, “Believe me, children, that is where the servant of God is buried.” We dug there and found his relics intact. We carried him to the monastery and buried him there.

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HOW THE WHEAT OF THE SAME MONASTERY GERMINATED BECAUSE THE CUSTOMARY ALMSGIVING HAD BEEN SUSPENDED

They also told us this: It used to be the custom for the poor and the orphans of the region to come here on Maundy Thursday to receive half a peck of grain or five loaves of blessed bread, five small coins, a pint of wine, and half a pint of honey. For three years prior to this happening, which we are about to tell, grain had been scarce, and in this area, it was selling at one piece of gold for two pecks.

When Lent came around, some of the brethren said to the higoumen, "Abba, do not make provision for the customary dole to the poor this year, sir, lest the monastery not have enough for the brethren—for grain is not to be found." The abba began to say to the brethren, "Children, let us not discontinue the charity of our father Theodosios. Behold, it is his commandment, and it would be held against us if we disobeyed it. It is he himself who will look after us."

But the brethren continued to argue with the abba, saying, "We cannot give the accustomed charity, for we do not have anything to give." Then the higoumen was deeply grieved, but he said to them, "Go then and do what you will." The customary charity, therefore, was not distributed that Maundy Thursday.

However, on Good Friday morning, the brother in charge of the granary opened up and found that the grain they did possess had germinated. So they ended up throwing it all into the sea. Then the abba began to say to the brethren, "He who sets aside the commandments of his father suffers these afflictions. You are now reaping the fruits of disobedience. We were going to part with five hundred pecks (125 bushels) of grain and, in doing so, to serve our father Theodosios by our obedience. Also, to bring consolation to our brethren, the poor. Now about five thousand pecks (1250 bushels) of grain have gone to ruin. What good has it done us, brethren? We have twice been guilty of wrongdoing: once in that we transgressed the precept of our father, and again in that we put our trust not in God, but in our granary.

So let us learn from this experience, my brethren, that God watches over all humanity, and that Saint Theodosios invisibly cares for us, his children."

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CONCERNING ANOTHER ANCHORITE OF THE SAME MONASTERY

Thomas of Agaion told us this: I was coming away from Agaion after the feast, and as the winter was very severe, I came to the monastery of Abba Theodosios at Skopelos. Whilst I was there, this is what happened. There was an anchorite in that region who survived on nothing but wild vegetation. On the holy Lord’s Day, he would come and partake of the holy mysteries.

On one occasion, the anchorite came, and something offended him; so, for five weeks, he did not make his customary appearance at the monastery—which saddened those who lived there. Then, whilst I was there, he came one Sunday, and the fathers of the monastery rejoiced at the sight of him. They made an act of obeisance to him, and he did likewise to them—and thus, there was peace between them.

He partook of the holy body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, placed himself in the midst of the church, and promptly died, without knowing a moment’s illness. Then the fathers of the monastery realized that the anchorite had known of his impending death. It was because of this that he had come, so that he would not have anything against anybody when he went to the Lord.

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The Finding of the Corpse of the Anchorite John the Humble

We went to an estate which was six miles from Rossos, and there, two elders living in the world received us as their guests in the church on their property. This estate lay at the foot of a mountain. They showed us some gravestones in the church and told us, “Christians, a great anchorite lies in this tomb.”

We asked them how they knew this. “Seven years ago,” they replied, “one night, we who belong to this estate saw a light that looked like a fire on the summit of the mountain. We thought a fire had been lit there because of the wild beasts, but we saw it for many days. One day we went up there, but we found no evidence—no lights or anything whatsoever that had been burnt in the woods. Again, the following night we saw the same lights for three months after that.”

Then, one night, we took some local men armed with weapons (on account of the wild animals) and climbed up the mountain towards the light. We stayed there where the light was until dawn. At daybreak, we noticed a little cave where the lights had appeared and found the anchorite dead. He was wearing a hair-shirt and a tunic of sackcloth. He was holding a gospel-book enhanced with a silver cross. Beside him, we found writing tablets inscribed thus: “I, the unworthy John, died in the fifteenth indiction.”

We calculated the time and discovered that he had been dead for seven years, yet he was as though he had died that very day. We carried him down and buried him in the church.

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THE LIFE OF ABBA THOMAS, THE STEWARD OF A COMMUNITY NEAR APAMEA AND THE MIRACLE OF HIS CORPSE AFTER HE DIED

When we were at Theoupolis (Antioch), a priest of the church told us about the steward of a community in the district of Apamea, Abba Thomas. He came into Theoupolis to attend to the needs of the monastery. While he was lingering there, he died at Daphne, in the Church of Saint Euphemia. As he was a stranger, the local clergy buried him in the strangers’ burial-ground.

The following day, they buried a woman and laid her on top of him, which was around the second hour. Around the ninth hour, the earth threw her up. When the local people saw this, they were amazed. They buried her again that evening in the same grave, but the next day they found her remains on top of the tomb. So, they took the body and buried it in another grave.

A few days later, they buried another woman and laid her above the monk, not realizing that he would not allow a woman to be buried on top of him. When the earth threw up this woman too, they realized that the elder would not tolerate a woman being buried above him. They then went to Domninos, the patriarch (546-559), who caused all the city to come to Daphne with candles and with the singing of psalms, to bring forth the relics of that holy man. They buried him in the cemetery where many relics of holy martyrs lie, and they built a small oratory over him.

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THE LIFE OF ABBA GREGORY THE ANCHORITE AND OF THALILAIOS, HIS DISCIPLE

Some of the fathers told us about Abba George (Gregory) the anchorite, who for thirty-five years traveled around naked in the wilderness. They said that when he was in the mountains where the monastery of Abba Theodosios (at Skopelos) is located, he had a disciple who died. As the elder had no tools with which to dig a grave to bury the brother’s body, he went down from the mountain to the sea, where he found a ship riding at anchor.

He asked the shipmaster and the crew to come up into the mountain with him to bury the brother. They agreed willingly and, taking the necessary tools, went up with him. They dug a grave and buried the brother’s body. One of the sailors, whose name was Thalilaios, was very impressed with the virtue of the elder and asked him if he could stay with him. The elder told him that he would not be able to support the rigor of the ascetic life. The younger man replied that he was sure he could endure it.

So, he remained with the elder and was there for a whole year, making a great effort in ascetic endeavor. When the year was up, brother Thalilaios prostrated himself before the elder and said, "Pray for me, father, for, thanks to your prayers, God has relieved me of suffering, and I am no longer afflicted by discomfort, nor does this intemperate weather trouble me. I neither faint with the heat nor shiver with the cold; I am in great comfort."

The elder blessed him, and brother Thalilaios remained with him for two and a half years. Then he perceived that his end was near. He begged the elder, "Take me to Jerusalem so I can venerate the Holy Cross and the Holy Sepulchre of Christ our God; for these are the days in which the Lord will take me to Himself." The elder therefore took him, and they went to the Holy City.

They worshipped at the holy and venerable places and then went down to the holy Jordan, where they were baptized. Three days later, brother Thalilaios died. The elder buried him in the Copratha lavra. Some time later, Abba George the anchorite himself departed this life, and the fathers of the same lavra at Copratha buried him in their own church.

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The Life of Brother George the Cappadocian and the Finding of the Body of Peter the Solitary of the Holy Jordan

Our holy father, Abba George, archimandrite of the monastery of our holy father Theodosios, which lies in the wilderness of the Holy City of Christ our God, told this to me and to brother Sophronios the Sophist:

I had a brother here known as George the Cappadocian. He used to do manual work at Phasaelis. One day, when the brothers were making loaves of bread, brother George was heating the oven. However, when he had heated the oven, he could not find the implement for wiping it out—because the brethren had hidden it to put him to the test. So, he went into the oven and wiped it out with his garment. Remarkably, he came out again not in the least harmed by the fire. When I heard of this, I reproved the brethren for putting him to the test.

The same abba, our father George, also told us this about the same brother George: One day, he was pasturing swine in Phasaelis when two lions came to seize a pig. He took up his staff and chased them as far as the holy Jordan.

Again, this same father of ours spoke to us, saying: When I was about to build the Church of Saint Kerykos at Phasaelis, they dug the foundations of the church, and a monk, very much an ascetic, appeared to me in my sleep. He wore a tunic of sackcloth, and on his shoulders, he had an over-garment made of rushes. In a gentle voice, he said to me: "Tell me, Abba George, did it really seem just to you, sir, that after so many labors and so much endurance, I should be left outside the church you are building?" Out of respect for the worth of the elder, I said to him: "Who in fact are you, sir?" He replied: "I am Peter, the grazer of the holy Jordan."

I arose at dawn and enlarged the plan of the church. As I dug, I found his corpse lying there, just as I had seen him in my sleep. When the oratory was built, I constructed a handsome monument in the right-hand aisle, and there I interred him.

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THE LIFE OF ABBA SISINIOS (WHO DECLINED A BISHOPRIC) AND OF HIS DISCIPLE

This same man, our father Abba George, told us: One day I went to Abba Sisinios the anchorite. This was an elder who abandoned his own bishopric for the sake of God and had come to lead the life of a solitary near the village called Bethabara, about six miles away from the holy Jordan.

When we went to visit him, after much knocking, the door was finally opened to us by his disciple, who said to me: “Abba, the elder is sick unto death, sir, and he has prayed to God not to be taken out of this life until he heard that you had come to this land”—for I had been in Constantinople on monastic business, at the court of the most pious Emperor Tiberius.

The disciple went up to the elder and told him about me. When he came back down some considerable time later, he said to us: “He is at your service.” We went up and found the elder already dead. So I realized that when he heard that it was I who was knocking, it was then that he went to the Lord. As I embraced him, the dead man meekly said to me: “My abba is welcome!”—and he fell asleep again.

Then I let it be known to the household that they could come and bury the elder. They came, and as they were digging the grave, the disciple of the elder said to the grave-diggers: “Of your charity, dig it a little wider so that it can accommodate both of us.” While they were still digging, he lay down on a mat of reeds and died. They buried the two of them together, the elder and the disciple.

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THE LIFE OF ABBA JULIAN, THE BISHOP OF BOSTRA

This same father of ours, George the archimandrite, also told us about Abba Julian, who became bishop of Bostra. After he left the community and became bishop of Bostra, certain affluent citizens who were enemies of Christ wanted to do away with him by poison. They corrupted his butler with money and gave him some poison to drop into the cup when he poured a drink for the metropolitan bishop. The servant did as they told him.

When he had given the poisoned cup to the godly Julian, the bishop received it, but by divine inspiration, he knew of the conspiracy and of those who had perpetrated it. So he took the cup and set it down in front of himself without saying a word to the servant. He sent and summoned all the chief citizens, amongst whom were those who had engineered this conspiracy against him.

Now, the godly Julian did not wish to make a public disgrace of the guilty ones. He said to them all in a gentle voice, “If you thought you could destroy the humble Julian with poisons, look; I will drink this in full view of you all.” He made the sign of the cross three times over the cup with his finger and, with the words, “I drink this cup in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost,” drank it down before them all—and remained unharmed. When they saw this, they cast themselves down before him in an act of repentance.

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CONCERNING THE SAME FATHER AND ALSO JULIAN, THE BLIND ARAB

They also told us this about the same father: There was another elder there, an Arab by race. His name was Julian, and he was blind. This Abba Julian once took offense at Macarios, Archbishop of Jerusalem, and ceased to be in communion with him.

One day, Abba Julian said to Abba Symeon the Stylite, who passed away in 459 on the Wonderful Mountain (which is about nine miles west of Antioch), “I am blind, and I cannot go anywhere by myself, nor do I have anyone to lead me—and I refuse to be in communion with Macarios. But tell me, father, what I ought to do about the brother who was a fornicator and the one who swore an oath to him?”

Abba Symeon replied to Abba Julian, “Do not withdraw from the monastery, nor should you distance yourself from the holy church. By the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, there is no evil there. But this you must know, brother: that whoever celebrates the Eucharist in your community, you have an elder there named Patrick. This elder stands outside the sanctuary, in the lowest place of all, close by the west wall of the church. This man says the eucharistic prayer for everybody, and the holy sacrifice is reckoned to be his.”

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THE LIFE AND DEATH OF TWO BROTHERS WHO SWORE NEVER TO BE SEPARATED FROM EACH OTHER

Abba John the anchorite, 'John the Red' as he was called, said: I have heard Abba Stephan the Moabite say that when he was in the Community of Saint Theodosios, the great superior of the community, there were two brothers who had sworn an oath to each other that they would never be separated from each other, either in life or in death. While they were in the community and a source of edification for all, one of the brothers was attacked by a yearning for fornication. Unable to withstand this attack, he said to his brother, “Release me, brother, for I am driven towards fornication, and I want to go back to the world.”

The other brother began to beg and entreat him, saying, “Oh brother, do not destroy all you have endured.” He replied, “Either come with me so that I can do the deed, or release me to go my own way.” The brother did not want to release him, so he went into the city with him. The afflicted brother went into the house of fornication while the other brother stood outside, taking up dust from the ground and throwing it on his own head, reproaching himself.

When the brother who had gone into the brothel came out again, having committed the sin, the other brother said to him, “My brother, what have you gained by this sin, and what have you not lost by it? Let us go back to our place.” The other replied, “I cannot go back into the wilderness again. You go; I am staying in the world.”

When the first brother had done all he could and still failed to persuade the other to follow him into the wilderness, he too remained in the world with his brother. They both worked as laborers to support themselves. It was about this time that Abba Abraham, who had already founded the so-called ‘Monastery of the Abrahamites’ at Constantinople and who later became Archbishop of Ephesos, built his own monastery, known as ‘The Monastery of the Byzantines’ at Olivet, west of Jerusalem.

The two brothers came there and worked as laborers, for which they received wages. The one who had succumbed to fornication would take both their wages and go off to the city each week, where he would squander their earnings in riotous living. The other brother would fast all day long, performing his work in profound silence, not speaking to anybody. When the workmen noticed that he neither ate nor spoke each day but was always deep in thought, they told the saintly Abraham about him and his way of life.

Then the great Abraham summoned the workman to his cell and asked him, “Where are you from, brother, and what kind of work do you do?” The brother confessed all to him, “It is because of my brother that I put up with all this, in the hope that God will look upon my affliction and save my brother.” When the godly Abraham heard this, he said to the brother, “The Lord has granted you the soul of your brother too.”

Abba Abraham dismissed the brother, who left his cell, and behold! There was his brother, crying, “My brother, take me into the wilderness so I can be saved.” He immediately took him and went to a cave near the holy Jordan, where he locked him up (in which they shut themselves). After a little while, the sinful brother, having made great spiritual progress in the things that are God’s, departed this life. The other brother, faithful to the oath, remained in the cave and eventually he too died there.

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CONCERNING THE SURVIVING BROTHER

Whilst this brother was staying by the holy Jordan after his brother’s death, an elder came from the Lavra of Calamén and said to him: “Tell me, brother: what good has it done you persevering so long in silent recollection and self-denial?” The brother replied, “Go away and come back in ten days’ time, and I will tell you.”

The elder returned after ten days and found the brother dead. He discovered a piece of broken pottery with the following written on it: “Forgive me, father, but I have never let my mind remain earth-bound whilst performing my spiritual duties.”

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THE LIFE OF ANTHONY, AN ELDER AT THE MONASTERY OF SKOPELOS

The fathers of the same monastery told us that in former times there was an elder living there named Ianthos. He spent his whole life going off to Coutila. Once, while he was in the wilderness, some Saracens came into those parts. When they saw the elder, one of them drew his sword and approached him, intending to kill him.

When the elder saw the Saracen coming towards him, he raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Lord Jesus Christ, thy will be done.” Immediately, the earth opened and swallowed up the Saracen. The monk was saved, and he went into the monastery, glorifying God.

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THE LIFE OF PETER, THE MONK OF PONTUS

Again, the fathers of the same place told us that there had been a priest there whose name was Peter, a native of Pontus, who did many great and wondrous deeds. Theodore, who became Bishop of Rossos, told us something about this elder: One day, he came up to me at the Jordan, in the Pyrgia Lavra where I was staying, and said to me, "Brother Theodore, of your charity, come up into Mount Sinai with me, for I have a prayer to offer." Not wishing to deny him, I replied, "Let us go."

When we had crossed the holy Jordan, the elder said to me, "Brother Theodore, let us offer this as an act of penitence: that neither of us will eat anything until we come to Mount Sinai." I confessed to him, "Truly, father, that is more than I am capable of," so the elder made his own resolution and ate nothing until we arrived at Sinai.

At Sinai, he partook of the holy mysteries and then ate some food. In the same way, from Sinai to Saint Menas at Alexandria, he ate no food. There too, he received holy communion and then ate. From Saint Menas, we went to the Holy City, and he tasted nothing whatsoever along the way. He made his communion at the Church of the Holy Resurrection of Christ our God and then took some food. In all that long journeying, the elder only ate three times: once at Mount Sinai, once at Saint Menas, and once in the Holy City.

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THE STORY OF SOPHRONIOS THE SOPHIST ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM ON THE ROAD

When my brother Abba Sophronios was about to make his final profession, I stood by him together with Abba John the Scholasticos, Abba Kérikos, and some other fathers. He said to us: “I set out on my way, and a company of young women danced before me, saying: ‘Welcome, Sophronios; Sophronios has been crowned!’”

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THE LIFE AND QUALITIES OF ABBA STRATEGIOS

The fathers of that same monastery said of Abba Strategios, higoumen of the same monastery of our saintly father, Theodosios, that he exceeded every monk of that generation in three virtues: in much fasting, in many vigils, and in hard labor.

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THE LIFE OF ABBA NONNOS THE PRIEST

At the community of our saintly father Theodosios, Abba Theodosios, who subsequently became bishop of Capitolias, told us about Abba Nonnos. "One night," he said, "before the wooden signal was struck for the night office, I was lying in my bunk and I heard someone saying, 'Lord, have mercy,' in a humble, quiet voice. After counting five hundred repetitions of 'Lord, have mercy,' I wanted to know who it was that was speaking. I looked towards the church from the window of my cell and saw the elder down on his knees. There was a bright star above his head, showing me which elder it was."

Another elder of the same community told us about the same Abba Nonnos: "One night, before the striking of the wooden signal, I left my cell and went to the church. I saw the elder standing before the church with his hands stretched out to heaven in prayer. His hands shone like lamps of fire; I withdrew in fear."

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THE LIFE OF A HOLY ELDER NAMED CHRISTOPHER, A ROMAN

When we were in Alexandria, we visited Abba Theodoulos, who was at the Church of Saint Sophia, ‘holy wisdom', by the Lighthouse. He told us, “It was in the community of our saintly father Theodosios (which is in the wilderness of the city of Christ our God) that I renounced the world. There I met a great elder named Christopher, a Roman by race. One day I prostrated myself before him and said: ‘Of your charity, abba, tell me how you have spent your life from youth up.’ As I persisted in my request and because he knew I was making it for the benefit of my soul, he told me:

“When I renounced the world, child, I was full of ardor for the monastic way of life. By day I would carefully observe the rule of prayer; and at night I would go to pray in the cave where the saintly Theodosios and the other holy fathers were buried. As I went down into the cave, I would make a hundred prostrations to God at each step; there were eighteen steps. Having gone down all the steps, I would stay there until they struck the wooden signal for matins, at which time I would come back up for the regular office.

After ten years spent in that way, with fastings, continence, and physical labor, one night I came as usual to go down into the cave. After I had performed my prostrations on each step, as I was about to set foot on the floor of the cave, I fell into a trance. I saw the entire floor of the cave covered with lamps, some of which were lit and some were not. I also saw two men, wearing mantles and clothed in white, who tended those lamps. I asked them why they had set those lamps out in such a way that we could not go down and pray. They replied: ‘These are the lamps of the fathers.’ I spoke to them again: “Why are some of them lit while others are not?” Again, they answered me: ‘Those who wished to do so lit their own lamps.’

Then I said to them: ‘Of your charity, tell me: is my lamp lit or not?’ ‘Pray,’ they said, ‘and we will light it.’ ‘Pray? I immediately retorted, ‘and what have I been doing until now?’ With these words, I returned to my senses and, when I turned around, there was not a person to be seen. Then I said to myself: ‘Christopher, if you want to be saved, then greater effort is required.’

At dawn, I left the monastery and went to Mount Sinai. I had nothing with me but the clothes I stood up in. After I had spent fifty years of monastic endeavor there, a voice came to me saying: ‘Christopher, Christopher, go back to your community in which you fought the good fight, so that you may die with your fathers.’ And a little while after he told me this, his holy soul went joyfully to rest in the Lord.

Again, the same Abba Theodoulos told us about this Abba Christopher. According to him, the elder said: ‘One day I went up from the monastery to the Holy City to venerate the Holy Cross. After I had performed my devotions, as I was coming out of the ante-chamber of the Holy Cross, I saw a brother standing at the door, neither going in nor coming out. I also saw two ugly crows flying in his face and brushing their wings against his eyes, effectively preventing him from entering the shrine. Knowing them to be demons, I said to him: “Tell me, brother, why do you hesitate in the doorway itself and not go in?” He said: “Forgive me, abba; I have conflicting emotions, sir. One urges me to enter and to venerate the honorable Cross, but the other says: ‘No; make an excuse and make your devotions some other time.’”

When I heard this, I took him by the hand and led him into the shrine; the crows immediately fled from him. I got him to venerate the Holy Cross and the Holy Sepulchre of Christ our God, then I dismissed him in peace. The elder told me these things because he could see that I was much distracted by my duties and he perceived that I was neglecting my prayers.

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ABBA THEODORE’S STORY OF THE SYRIAN MONK, SEVERIAN

This same Abba Theodoulos spoke to us again, saying: There is a hostel here, near the lighthouse, between the Church of Saint Sophia and the Church of Saint Faustus, with a guest-master in charge. One day, this man invited me to go up to the hostel to replace him for a few days. When I got there, I found a monk staying there as a guest, a Syrian by race. His only possessions were a hair shirt, a cloak, and a few loaves of bread. He stood there, in a corner, all the time—night and day—uttering verses of the psalms and greeting nobody.

When the holy day of the Lord came around, I went to him and said: “Brother, will you not come to the Church of Saint Sophia, sir, to partake of the holy and venerable mysteries?” He said he would not, so I asked him why not. He replied that he was a partisan of Severus and was not in communion with the Church. When I heard that he was not in communion with the holy Catholic and apostolic Church—and yet I had seen his excellent behavior and his blameless way of life—I went to my cell in tears. I closed the door and threw myself on my face before God.

For three days, I prayed to Him with many tears, saying: “Oh Master, Christ our God, who of Your ineffable and inestimable love for mankind did bend the heavens and come down for our salvation and was incarnate of our Lady, the holy Mother of God, the ever-virgin Mary: reveal to me who are the right and proper believers; we, who are of the Church, or those who are followers of Severus.”

On the third day, a voice with no visible source came to me, saying: “Theodoulos, go and behold his faith.” So, the next day I went and sat down before the Syrian, expecting to see something in view of what the voice had said. I remained sitting there for an hour, looking at him; and he stood there, uttering verses in Syriac.

And then, children—the Lord is my witness!—I saw a dove, blackened with soot, hovering above his head. It looked as though it had been in a kitchen, for it was plucked and ugly. I realized that this blackened and disgusting dove which had appeared to me was his faith. His blessed soul told us this in all truth, with many sighs and tears.

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THE LIFE OF ABBA GERASIMOS

About a mile from the holy River of Jordan, there is a place known as the Lavra of the holy Abba Gerasimos. When we were there, the residents told us that Saint Gerasimos was walking one day by the banks of the holy Jordan when he met a lion, roaring mightily with pain in its paw. The point of a reed was deeply embedded in it, causing inflammation and suppuration.

When the lion saw the elder, it came to him and showed him the wounded foot, whimpering and begging for healing. When the elder saw the lion in such distress, he sat down and took the paw to lance it. The point was removed, along with much pus. He cleansed the wound well, bound it up, and dismissed the beast. However, the healed lion would not leave the elder. It followed him like a noble disciple wherever he went. The elder was amazed at the gentle disposition of the beast and, from then on, began feeding it, throwing it bread and boiled vegetables.

Now, the lavra had a donkey used to fetch water for the needs of the elders, as they drank the water of the holy Jordan, which is about a mile from the lavra. The fathers used to hand the donkey over to the lion, to pasture it on the banks of the Jordan. One day, while the donkey was being pastured by the lion, it wandered some distance from its keeper. Some camel-drivers on their way from Arabia found the donkey and took it away to their country.

Having lost the donkey, the lion returned to the lavra and approached Abba Gerasimos, very downcast and dismayed. The abba thought that the lion had devoured the donkey. He said to it, "Where is the donkey?" The beast stood silent, hanging its head, much like a man. The elder said to it, "Have you eaten it? Blessed be God! From henceforth you are going to perform whatever duties the donkey performed."

From that time on, at the elder’s command, the lion used to carry the saddle-pack containing four earthenware vessels and bring water. One day, an officer came to ask the elder for his prayers, and he saw the lion bringing water. When he heard the explanation, he had pity on the beast. He took out three pieces of gold and gave them to the elders so that they could purchase a donkey to ensure their water supply and relieve the lion of this menial service.

Some time after the release of the lion, the camel-driver who had taken the donkey came back to the Holy City to sell grain, and he had the donkey with him. Having crossed the holy Jordan, he chanced to find himself face to face with the lion. When he saw the beast, he left his camels and took to his heels. Recognizing the donkey, the lion ran to it, seized its leading rein in its mouth (as it had been accustomed to do), and led away not only the donkey but also the three camels. It brought them to the elder, rejoicing and roaring at having found the donkey it had lost.

The elder had thought that the lion had eaten the donkey, but now he realized that the lion had been falsely accused. He named the beast Jordanes, and it lived with the elder in the lavra, never leaving his side for five years. When Abba Gerasimos departed to the Lord and was buried by the Fathers, by the providence of God, the lion could nowhere be found in the lavra.

A little later, the lion came and searched for the elder. The elder’s disciple, Abba Sabbatios (the Cilician), saw it and said to it, "Jordanes, our elder has left us orphans, for he has departed to the Lord; but come here, eat something." The lion, however, would not eat but continually turned its eyes this way and that, hoping to see its elder. It roared mightily, unable to tolerate this bereavement.

When Abba Sabbatios and the rest of the fathers saw it, they stroked its mane and said to it, "The elder has gone away to the Lord and left us," yet even by saying this, they did not succeed in silencing its cries and lamentations. The more they tried to mollify and comfort it with their words, the more it roared. The louder were its cries, by which it expressed its grief; for it showed through its voice, countenance, and eyes the sorrow it felt at not being able to see the elder.

Then Abba Sabbatios said to it, "Since you do not believe us, come with me and I will show you where our elder lies." He took the lion and led it to where they had buried the elder. The spot was about half a mile from the church. Abba Sabbatios stood above the grave of Abba Gerasimos and said to the lion, "See, this is where our elder is," and he knelt down.

When the lion saw how he prostrated himself, it began beating its head against the ground and roaring, then it promptly died there, on top of the elder’s grave. This did not take place because the lion had a rational soul, but because it is the will of God to glorify those who glorify Him—and to show how the beasts were in subjection to Adam before he disobeyed the commandment and fell from the comfort of Paradise.

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THE LIFE OF A VIRGIN PRIEST AND OF HIS WIFE, WHO WAS ALSO A VIRGIN

When we were on the island of Samos, we went to the community named Charizenos where we met the higoumen, Abba Isidore, a man of distinguished virtue with a great love for all humanity, adorned with simplicity and infinite humility; later, he became bishop of the same city on Samos. He told us this story:

About eight miles from the city of Samos, there is an estate on which there is a church. It had a priest who was a very remarkable man. His parents had forced him to marry against his will. Not only did this man not let himself be led into the temptation of delight (even though he was young and legally married to the woman), he even persuaded his wife to live with him in purity and continence. They both learned the psalter and used to sing the psalms together in church, preserving their virginity into old age.

Now it happened that a false accusation was made before the bishop against this priest. As the bishop was unaware of the true state of affairs, he sent for the priest from the estate and put him in the prison where it was customary to guard and detain clergy who had gone astray. While he was in the prison, as the holy day of the Lord was dawning but while it was still night, there appeared to him an extremely handsome young man who said to him: “Priest, arise: be off to your church and celebrate the Eucharist.” The priest replied, “I cannot, for I am a prisoner.” The apparition said to him, “I will open the prison. Come, follow me.”

He opened the door of the prison and led the way out. When he was out, he accompanied the priest to within a mile of the estate. After the break of day, the jailor went in search of the prisoner. When he could not find him, he went to the bishop, saying, “He has run away from me and I had the key!” Thinking that he had indeed run away, the bishop sent one of the episcopal servants, saying, “Go and see if that priest is on his estate—but do not take any further action against him.”

The servant went and found the priest in the church, celebrating the Eucharist. He returned and said to the bishop, “He is there, and I saw him celebrating the Eucharist.” The bishop became even more angry with the priest and swore to bring him back in dishonorable custody the next day.

The night preceding Monday, the vision he had seen earlier appeared again to the priest, saying, “Come along, we must return to that place in the city into which the bishop cast you.” He took the priest and led him back again, replacing him in the prison without the knowledge of the man who was charged with responsibility for it.

At daybreak on Monday, the bishop learned from this man that, without his knowing how it had come about, he had found the priest back in gaol. The bishop sent for the priest and demanded of him how he had gotten out of the prison and then come back in without the knowledge of the gaoler. The priest replied, “A very handsome young servant, beautifully dressed, who said he was of the episcopal retinue, opened up for me and led me to within a mile of the estate on Saturday night. He came to me again last night and brought me back.”

The bishop brought forward all the episcopal servants, but the priest did not recognize one of them. Then the bishop realized that it was an angel of God who had performed this deed, so that the virtue of the priest should not be entirely concealed—but that all might learn of it and glorify the God who glorifies His servants. He dismissed the priest in peace while complaining bitterly against those who had falsely accused him.

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THE LIFE OF ABBA GEORGE WHO WAS NEVER PERTURBED

This story was told to us concerning Abba George, the higoumen of the monastery of Abba Theodosios, by his disciple— that good, gentle, and humble Abba Theodosios, who became Bishop of Capitolias. He spent twelve years watching the elder to see if he was ever even once upset, but he never saw him upset; and this was in these present times when there is so much negligence and insubordination in vogue.

“Who ever kept his eyes so firmly riveted to the ground as our saintly father George?” said his disciple. “Who ever so shut the doors of his ears as this blessed one? Who was there who kept his tongue a prisoner as did our father? What ray of the sun ever shone on the earth so brightly as this, our father, illuminated the hearts of us all?”

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THE DEED OF A BALD MAN DRESSED IN SACK-CLOTH

When my companion and I were in Alexandria, one day we went to the Church of Saint Theodosios. A bald man approached us, dressed in sackcloth that reached down to his knees. He appeared to be insane. Abba Sophronios said to me, "Give me a coin, and you shall see the virtue of this man who is approaching us." I gave him five coppers, which he took and handed to the man who seemed to be insane. The man received them without uttering a word.

Keeping ourselves out of sight, we followed him. When he turned the corner of the street, he stretched out his right hand, in which he held the coins, toward heaven, raised it high, and then prostrated himself before God. After that, he went his way, leaving the coins on the ground.

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THE LIFE AND DEATH OF LEO, A CAPPADOCIAN MONK

In the reign of the Emperor and most faithful Caesar, Tiberius, we went to the Great Oasis. While we were there, we saw a monk, a Cappadocian by race, who was great in the eyes of God. Many people told us a multitude of wondrous stories about this monk. When we made contact with him and gained some experience of him, we reaped considerable benefits, especially from the humility, the recollection, the poverty, and the charity he showed to all.

This ever-memorable elder said to us: “Believe me, children, I am going to reign.” We replied, “Believe us, abba, nobody from Cappadocia ever reigned; this is an ill-suited thought you are harboring.” But he said again, “It is a fact, children, that I am going to reign,” and nobody could persuade him to abandon the idea.

When the Maziques came and overran all that region, they arrived at the Great Oasis and slew many monks, while many others were taken prisoner. Among those taken prisoner at the Lavra of the Great Oasis were Abba John, formerly lector at the Great Church in Constantinople, Abba Eustathios the Roman, and Abba Theodore, all three of whom were sick. After they had been captured, Abba John said to the barbarians: “Take me to the city, and I will have the bishop give you twenty-four pieces of gold.”

So one of the barbarians led him off and brought him near to the city. Abba John went in to see the bishop. Abba Leo was in the city at that time, as were some others of the fathers; that is why they were not captured. Abba John went in and began to implore the bishop to give the barbarian the twenty-four pieces of gold, but the bishop could only find eight. He was willing to give these to the barbarian, but he would not accept them. “Either give me twenty-four pieces of gold or the monk,” he said.

The men of the fortress had no choice but to hand over Abba John, who wept and groaned, to the barbarian; they took him away to their tents. Three days later, Abba Leo took the eight pieces of gold and went out into the wilderness to where the barbarians were camped. He pleaded with them in these words: “Take me and these eight pieces of gold, and let those three monks go. For, as they are sick and cannot work for you, you will only have to kill them. But as for me, I am in good health and I can work for you.”

Then the barbarians took both him and the eight pieces of gold he spoke of, letting the other three monks go free. Abba Leo went off somewhere with them, and when he was exhausted and could go no further, they beheaded him. And Abba Leo fulfilled that which is spoken in the scriptures: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Then we understood what he meant when he used to say, “I am going to reign,” for reign he did, having laid down his life for his friends.

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AN INJUNCTION OF ABBA JOHN OF PETRA

Together with my colleague, Sophronios, I approached Abba John of Petra and asked him to speak a saying for us. The elder said: "Love poverty and continence. I tell you that when I was at Scété as a young man, one of the fathers had a disorder of the spleen. They tried to find some vinegar in the four lavras of Scété, and not a drop was there to be found, so great were the poverty and the continence of those who lived there. There were about three thousand five hundred fathers there."

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INJUNCTIONS OF ABBA JOHN, THE CILICIAN

Abba John the Cilician, higoumen of Raithou, said to his brethren: “Brethren, as we fled from the world, so let us flee from the desires of the flesh. Let us be imitators of our fathers who lived here in such hardship, skJ/éragdégia, and recollection. Children, let us not defile this place which our fathers cleansed of demons. This is a place for ascetics, not for businessmen. I have come across elders who lived for seventy years and never ate anything but grass and dates. Seventy-six years I have lived in this place, suffering many awful and wicked things from the demons.”

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THE BROTHER WHO WAS FALSELY ACCUSED OF TAKING A PIECE OF GOLD

Abba Andrew of Messenia told us: When I was a young man, my abba and I withdrew from Raithou and came to Palestine, where we stayed with an elder. The elder who was our host possessed one piece of gold, but he forgot where he had put it and began to suspect that I, a young man, had stolen it. The elder said to the fathers of the place, "Brother Andrew took the piece of gold."

My abba heard this. He called me and said, "Tell me, Brother Andrew, have you taken the elder’s piece of gold?" I replied, "Spare me, abba; I took nothing." However, I had a cloak, so I sold it for one piece of gold. I took the coin, went to the elder, and prostrated myself before him, saying, "Abba, forgive me, sir. Satan led me astray and I took your piece of gold."

There was a worldling there, and the elder said, "Go away, child; I have lost nothing." Again, I prostrated myself before him and said, "For the Lord’s sake, take the piece of gold (here, this is it) and pray for me; because Satan deceived me into stealing and causing you trouble." The elder replied, "Child, I lost nothing at all."

Because he could not convince me, the worldling said to me, "Of a truth, brother, when I came yesterday, I found the elder in tears, prostrating himself in great affliction. When I saw him in such tribulation, I asked, 'Of your charity, tell me what is the matter with you?' He said to me, 'I wrongly accused the brother of taking my piece of gold, and look! I have found it where I put it.'"

Then the elder was encouraged by the fact that, although I had not taken the piece of gold, I still brought it back to him, saying, "Take your piece of gold, for it was I who took it."

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A Brother with a Demon, Cured by Abba Andrew

A brother possessed by a demon went to Abba Symeon the Stylite on the Wonderful Mountain to have a prayer offered for him to be rid of the demon. Abba Symeon asked him, "Where do you live?" The brother replied, "At Raithou."

The elder then said, "I am surprised at the toil you have endured and the journey you have undertaken to come to me, a mere sinful man, when you have such great fathers in your own lavra. Go, prostrate yourself before Abba Andrew, asking him to pray for you, and he will heal you at once."

The brother returned to Raithou and prostrated himself before Abba Andrew, as Abba Symeon had instructed him, saying, "Pray for me, Abba." Abba Andrew replied, "Abba Symeon has obtained the gift of this healing." He offered a prayer, and the brother was immediately cleansed. He gave thanks to God.

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THE DEMON DISGUISED AS A MONK WHICH CAME AT THE CALL OF AN ELDER AT RAITHOU

‘When we met Abba Eusebios, priest of the lavra at Raithou, he told us that a demon once arrived at an elder’s cell disguised as a monk. He knocked at the door, and the elder opened up to him and said, ‘Pray.’ The demon replied, ‘Now and for ever and unto the ages of ages, amen.’

Three times the elder said, ‘Pray,’ and each time the demon responded, ‘Now and for ever and unto the ages of ages, amen.’ The elder then said, ‘You are welcome if when you pray, you say: “Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, now and for ever and unto the ages of ages, amen.”’ When the elder said this, the demon disappeared as though it were pursued by fire.

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THE LIFE AND DEATH OF GREGORY, THE BYZANTINE, AND OF ANOTHER GREGORY, HIS DISCIPLE, FROM PARAN

The fathers of the same place told us concerning Abba Gregory of Byzantium and his disciple, Abba Gregory from Paran, that they stayed on an island in the Red Sea. There was no water on that island; they used to bring the water to supply their needs from the mainland. They had a boat in which they would set out and bring back water.

One day, they put the boat in the water and tied it to a stone. That night, a great wave came and broke the rope, sending the boat to the bottom. The fathers were left with no way of providing themselves with water. Eight months later, some monks came from Raithou and found them both dead. They also found a tortoise shell with this written on it: "Abba Gregory of Pharon died after going twenty-eight days without drinking water, but I have gone thirty-seven days without a drink."

They found both corpses intact, took them back, and buried them at Raithou.

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CONCERNING TWO MONKS WHO WENT NAKED INTO CHURCH TO MAKE THEIR COMMUNION AND WERE NOT SEEN BY ANYBODY, EXCEPT BY ABBA STEPHAN

We went to see Abba Stephan the Cappadocian on Mount Sinai, and this is what he told us: When I was at Mount Sinai some years ago, I was in church on Maundy Thursday. When the holy sacrifice was being offered and all the fathers were present, I looked and saw two anchorites enter the church. They were naked, yet none of the other fathers perceived that they were naked, except me.

When they had received the communion of the body and blood of the Lord, they left the church and went away. I followed them outside, and when we were outside, I prostrated myself before them, saying, "Of your charity, take me with you," for they knew that I had perceived that they were naked. They said to me, "You are well installed here: stay where you are."

Again, I asked them to take me with them. Then they said to me, "It is not possible for you to be with us; stay here: this is the place for you." They offered a prayer on my behalf and then, before my very eyes, they walked onto the water of the Red Sea and departed across the sea.

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A Story of the Same Elder

The elder told us this too: Twenty years ago, I came to Porphyreén intending to settle there; I took my disciple, John, along with me. When we arrived, we found two anchorites there and settled near them. One of them was from Melitene, a man named Theodore; the other was from Galatia, Paul by name. Theodore came from the Monastery of Abba Euthymios. They wore shirts made from antelope skins. I stayed there for approximately two years; we were about two stades from each other.

One day, when my disciple, John, was sitting down, a serpent struck him, and he died immediately, with blood flowing from all his members. In my great distress, I went to the anchorites. When they saw me, distraught and distressed, before I could open my mouth, they said to me, “What is the matter, Abba Zosimos? Is the brother dead?” I replied that he was.

They came with me, looked at him stretched out on the ground, and then said to me, “Do not be sorrowful, Abba Zosimos; God is helping.” They called the brother, saying, “Brother John, arise; the elder has need of you.” The brother got up from the ground at once. They looked for the snake, caught it, and cut it in two before our eyes.

Then they said to me, “Abba Zosimos, go to Sinai; it is the will of God to entrust you with the church of Babylon.” We immediately left those parts, and a few days after we had come to Sinai, the Abbot of Sinai sent me and two others to Alexandria. The Pope of Alexandria, the most blessed Apollinarios, kept us there and made all three of us bishops: one for Heliopolis, one for Leontopolis, and me for Babylon (Cairo).

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THE BEAUTIFUL DEED OF ABBA SERGIOS THE ANCHORITE

Some of the fathers of Sinai told us this about Abba Sergios the anchorite: When he was living at Sinai, the steward put him in charge of the mules. One day, as he went his way, there was a lion lying in his path. When the mules and the muleteer saw the lion, they were stricken with fear—and they took to their heels.

Then Abba Sergios took a holy bread-ration (eu/ogia) out of his pack and went up to the lion, saying to it: “Take the ration of the fathers and get out of the way, so that we can pass by.” The lion took the ration and went away.

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THE LIFE OF ABBA GEORGE OF THE HOLY MOUNTAIN OF SINAI AND OF ANOTHER PERSON, ONE FROM PHRYGIAN GALATIA

This story was told to us by Amma Damiana the solitary, the mother of Abba Athenogenes, Bishop of Petra: There was a higoumen at Mount Sinai who was truly great and an ascetic, George by name. As he was sitting in his cell one Holy Saturday, this Abba George conceived a desire to celebrate the holy resurrection in the Holy City and to partake of the holy mysteries in the Church of the Holy Resurrection of Christ our God. All day long, the elder continued in prayer, meditating upon the validity of these thoughts.

In the evening, his disciple came and said, “Father, give the word for us to proceed to the canonical service.” The elder replied, “You go, and when it is time for holy communion, return home and I will come too.” Then the elder stayed in his cell. When it came time for holy communion at the Church of the Holy Resurrection, the elder was found near the blessed Bishop Peter, and he, together with the priests, was given communion by the bishop. When the patriarch saw him, he said to his syncellos, Menas, “When did the abbot of Sinai come here?” The syncellos replied, “With all due respect, my lord, I had not seen him until only this very instant.” Then the patriarch said to the syncellos, “Tell him not to go away; I want him to take food with me.”

The syncellos went and said this to the elder, who responded, “The will of God be done.” When the elder had left the service and venerated the holy sepulchre, he found himself back in his cell again, and there was his disciple knocking at the door and saying, “Father, if you please, come and communicate.” The elder went to the church with his disciple and partook of the holy mysteries. Archbishop Peter was saddened that the elder should have disobeyed him. After the feast, he sent him a letter, likewise to Abba Photios, Bishop of Paran, and to the father of Sinai, telling them to bring the abba to him.

When the carrier of the letters arrived and had delivered them, the abba sent three priests to the patriarch: Abba Stephan the Cappadocian, “the great”; Abba Zosimos, of whom we have spoken above; and Abba Dulcitius, a Roman. The elder sought to justify himself by writing, “My most holy lord, God forbid that I should disregard your holy messenger.” Then he wrote this: “I would have your blessedness know that, six months from now, we are going to meet each other in the presence of the Lord Christ our God; and there I will make an act of obeisance to you.”

The priests went their way and gave the letter to the patriarch. They said it had been many years since the elder had come up to Palestine. They showed him a letter from the Bishop of Paran certifying that for about seventy years, the elder had not departed from the holy Mount Sinai. The godly and gentle Peter accepted as witnesses the bishops who were there and the clergy, who said, “We saw the elder and we all greeted him with a holy kiss.” Six months later, both the elder and the patriarch died, as the elder had foretold.

The same Amma Damiana told us this too: On a Good Friday before I was enclosed, I went to the Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian and spent the whole night there. In the evening, there came an old woman, a native of Phrygian Galatia, and she gave two lepta to everybody who was in the church. I knew her because she had often given me alms. One day, a kinswoman of mine (and of the most faithful Emperor Maurice) came to pray at the Holy City and stayed there for a year. Taking her with me, I went to Saints Cosmas and Damian. While we were in the oratory, I said to my kinswoman, “Look, my lady; when an old woman comes distributing two coins to each person, please swallow your pride and accept them.”

With obvious distaste, she said, “Do I have to accept them?” “Yes,” I said, “Take them, for the woman is great in the eyes of God. She fasts all week long; and whatever she is able to gain by this discipline, she distributes it among those who are found in the church. She is a widow of about eighty years of age; take the coins she offers you and give them to somebody else. Do not refuse the sacrifice of this old woman.”

As we were speaking in this way, the old woman came in and began her almsgiving. In silence and with serenity, she came and gave me some coins. She gave some to my kinswoman too, saying, “Take these, and eat.” When she had gone, we realized that God had revealed to her that I had said, “Take them and give them to a poor person.” My kinswoman, therefore, sent a servant of hers to get vegetables with the two coins. These she ate, and she affirmed before God that they were as sweet as honey. This both astonished her and led her to give thanks to God, who endows his servants with grace.

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The Life of Adelphios, Bishop of Arabessos and Concerning the Blessed John Chrysostom

We visited Abba Athanasios at the lavra of our saintly father, Sabas, and he told us a story which he had heard from Abba Athenogenes, Bishop of Petra, the son of Amma Damiana. It was something like this: My grandmother, Joanna, had a brother called Adelphios, who was the bishop of Arabessos. She also had a sister who was the higoumené of the women’s monastery.

One day, the bishop went to the monastery to visit his sister. As he was entering the inner court of the monastery, he saw one of the sisters, afflicted by a demon, stretched out on the ground. The bishop called his sister and said to her, “Does it please you that the sister is afflicted and troubled by the demon? Do you not realize that, as higoumené, you are responsible for all the sisters?” She replied, “And what have the demon and I to do with each other?” The bishop spoke to her again, “What have you been doing here all these years?” He then offered a prayer and cleansed the sister of the demon.

The same Athanasios also told us this concerning the same Bishop Adelphios, which he had heard from Amma Joanna, his sister: When John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople, was exiled to Coucouson, he stayed at our house, from which we drew much boldness and love towards God. My brother, Adelphios, said that when the blessed John died in exile, it was an unbearable pain to him that such a man, the universal teacher of Christendom who made glad the church of God with his words, should have fallen asleep away from his episcopal seat.

I prayed to God with many tears to show me his present state of existence and whether he was ranged among the patriarchs. I prayed like that for a long time, and then, one day, I fell into a trance and saw a very fine-looking man. Taking me by the right hand, he led me into a bright and glorious place where he showed me the proclaimers of piety and the doctors of the church.

For my part, I looked around for him whom I so greatly desired to see, the great John, my beloved. He showed me them all and spoke the name of each one of them. Then he took my hand again and led me out. I followed, lamenting that I had not seen the saintly John among the fathers. As we were coming out, he who stood at the door said to me, “Nobody who comes here goes forth sorrowing.” Then I said to him, “This grief is upon me because I have not seen my most dear John, Bishop of Constantinople, among the other doctors.” Again he spoke to me, “Do you mean John, the prince of repentance? A man in the flesh cannot see him, for he stands in the presence of the Lord’s throne.”

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ADMONITIONS OF ABBA ATHANASIOS AND HIS WONDROUS VISION

This same Abba Athanasios said: “Our fathers maintained self-discipline and indifference to worldly goods, but we have lined both our bellies and our purses well.” Again, he remarked: “In our fathers’ time, it was very important to avoid distractions. Now our cooking pot and our handwork rule us.”

He also shared this: One day, a thought came into my mind: what difference does it make whether we fight the fight agdaizein or not? I felt as though I fell into a trance when someone came to me and said: “Follow me.” He led me into a place filled with light and stood me before a door, the beauty of which was beyond description. We could hear what sounded like an innumerable multitude within, praising God.

We knocked, and someone inside heard us and cried, “What do you want?” My guide replied, “We want to come in.” The other answered, saying to me, “Nobody comes in here who lives negligently, ea ameleiai. If you want to come in, go and fight the fight, holding nothing to be of any account in the vain world.”

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THE LIFE OF ABBA ZACHAIOS OF HOLY SION

Procopios the lawyer, who came from Porphyreéa, told us this about Abba Zachaios: There was a deadly plague in Caesarea, and I was very worried that my children might die. I did not know what to do. Should I send and bring them home? No man can flee from the wrath of God. Should I leave them there? They might die without me seeing them. Not knowing what was best to be done, I said: “I will go to Abba Zachaios, and whatever he says, that will I do.”

So I went to Holy Sion, which is where he was always to be found, but I did not find him. I came into the inner court of the Church of Saint Mary the Mother of God, and there I found him, standing in a corner of the court. I told him about my sons. When he heard this, he turned towards the east and continued reaching up towards heaven for about two hours without saying a word. Then he turned towards me and said: “Take heart and do not be distraught: your children shall not die in the plague. In fact, two days from now, the plague shall abate in Caesarea.” And it came about as the elder foretold.

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CONCERNING THE SAME ELDER

Abba Cyprian, whose surname was Cuculas and whose monastery is outside the gate of Caesarea, told us this when we went to see him: When that savage and horrendous plague ravaged this city, I shut myself in my cell and prayed for the clemency of God to have mercy on us, to turn aside the wrath which threatened us. A voice came to me, saying: ‘Abba Zachaios has obtained this favour’.

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THE HOLY MONK WHO IMMOBILISED A SARACEN HUNTER FOR TWO DAYS

A pagan Saracen told this to the inhabitants of Clisma (Suez) and to us:

"I went to the mountain of Abba Anthony to hunt. As I went along, I saw a monk on the mountain holding a book and reading. I went up to him intending to rob him, perhaps to slay him too. As I approached him, he stretched out his right hand towards me, saying: ‘Stay!’ For two nights and two days, I was unable to move from that spot. Then I said to him: ‘For the love of the God whom you worship, let me go!’ He said: ‘Go in peace,’ and thus, I was able to leave the place where I was."

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THE LIFE OF THEODORE THE ANCHORITE

When we met Abba John at the Lavra of the Aliotes, he told us this story: There was an anchorite in the region of the holy Jordan whose name was Theodore. He came to my cell and said, “Of your charity, brother John, find me a book which contains all the New Testament.” I made inquiries and discovered that Abba Peter, who became Bishop of Chalcedon, possessed such a book. I went and spoke with him, and he showed me a copy of the New Testament written on extremely fine skins.

I asked him how much it was, and he told me, “Three pieces of gold.” But then he added, “Is it you yourself who wants to buy it, or somebody else?” I said, “Believe me, father, it is an anchorite who wants it.” Then Abba Peter said to me, “If the anchorite wants it, take it to him graciously. Here too are three pieces of gold. If he does not like the book, there are the three pieces of gold; buy him what he wants.”

I took up the book and brought it to the anchorite. He took it and went off into the wilderness. Two months later, the anchorite returned and came to my cell saying, “You know, Abba John, the thought troubles me that I got the book for nothing.” I told him not to worry; that Abba Peter was rich and good and that he was pleased to have done what he had done.

But the anchorite replied, “I will get no rest until I have given him the price.” I asked him if he had anything to pay with, and he answered, “No, nothing at all, but give me a rough tunic to wear” (for he was naked). I gave him the tunic and an old cloak, and he went and worked on the reservoir which the Patriarch of Jerusalem (whose name was John) was constructing at Sinai. He received five copper coins (pholleis) a day, so he came and stayed near me at the Lavra of the Aliotes. He ate no more than ten lupin seeds a day and yet worked all day long.

When he had saved up three pieces of gold out of the coppers he earned, he said to me, “Take the money and give it to him. If he will not accept it, give him back the book.” I went off and told this to Abba Peter, but he would accept neither the book nor the price of it. However, I did prevail on him to accept the price and not to disdain the anchorite’s labor. He took the money, while I went back and gave the book to the anchorite—who went off into the wilderness rejoicing.

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FIVE VIRGINS WHO WANTED TO LEAVE THE MONASTERY AND WERE POSSESSED BY DEMONS

When Brother Sophronios and I visited the Monastery of the Eunuchs by the holy Jordan, Abba Nicholas, the priest of the monastery, told us this:

"In my country (he was from Lycia), there is a monastery of virgins housing about forty persons. Five of the virgins in that monastery conspired to run away from the monastery and to find themselves husbands.

So one night, when all the nuns were asleep, as they were trying to get into their clothes to run away, all five of them suddenly became possessed by demons. This having happened, they never went out of the monastery again; they were always giving thanks to God and confessing their sins, saying: ‘We give thanks to God, the great giver of gifts, who has inflicted this chastisement on us to save our souls from perdition.’"

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THE LOVE OF ABBA SISINIOS FOR A SARACEN WOMAN

Abba John, priest of the Monastery of the Eunuchs, told us that he had heard Abba Sisinios the anchorite say:

One day, I was in my cave near the holy Jordan, and as I was singing the third hour, a Saracen woman came that way and entered my cave. She sat herself down before me and took off her clothes. I was not distracted; I quietly completed the appointed office in the fear of God. When I had finished, I said to her (in Hebrew), "Sit up and let me talk to you—and I will do whatever you wish." She sat up, and I then asked her, "Are you Christian or pagan?" She said she was Christian.

"Do you not know that those who play the harlot go away into perdition?" I asked, and she said she did. "Then why do you play the harlot?" I inquired. "Because I am hungry," she replied. I then said to her, "Stop playing the harlot and come here each day," and I began giving her some of the food that God provided for me to eat until I left those parts.

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ABBA SERGIOS THE ANCHORITE AND A GENTLE MONK WHO WAS BAPTISED

The elder told us this too: When Abba Sergios was an anchorite at Rouba, after he had withdrawn from Sinai, he sent a young monk from there to the monastery to be baptised. When we asked why he had not been baptised, the attendant of Abba Sergios (also named Abba Sergios) said, "When this man came wanting to stay with us in the wilderness, I, as attendant, received him and greatly exhorted him not to commit himself to this way of life without a period of probation."

Having perceived his determination, the next day I took him to the elder. As soon as the elder saw him, before I had said a word, he said to me privately, "What does the brother want?" I replied, "He is asking to become one of us." Then the elder said to me, "Believe me, brother, he has not been baptised. But take him to the Monastery of the Eunuchs, and they will have him baptised in the holy Jordan."

In my amazement at what was said, I asked the brother who he was and where he was from. He said he was from the west and that his parents were pagans. He did not know whether he had been baptised or not. We therefore catechised him and had him baptised in the holy Jordan. He stayed in the monastery, giving thanks to God.

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ABBA SERGIOS' PROPHECY CONCERNING GREGORY, HIGOUMEN OF THE MONASTERY OF PARAN

Concerning Abba Sergios the anchorite, his attendant, Abba Sergios the Armenian, told us that Abba Gregory, higoumen of the Javra at Paran, was very insistent that he should be taken to the elder. ‘So one day,’ said the attendant, ‘I took him to the elder who, in those days, was in the region of the Dead Sea. When the elder saw him, he greeted him with great gladness and, bringing water, washed his feet. All day long, he spoke with him about what is beneficial to the soul. The next day he dismissed him.

When Abba Gregory had departed, I said to the elder, ‘You know, father, you have rather offended me. Of all the bishops, priests, and other people whom I have brought to you, not one of them has ever had his feet washed by you, except Abba Gregory and him alone.’ Then the elder said to me, ‘Child, as for Abba Gregory, I do not know who he is. This thing alone I know: that I have received a patriarch in my cave. I saw him wearing the omophorion and carrying the holy gospel.’ And that is what came to pass. Six years later, God raised up Abba Gregory to the dignity of the patriarchate of Theoupolis (Antioch), as the elder had foreseen.

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THE JUDICIOUS REPLY OF ABBA OLYMPIOS

A brother visited Abba Olympios at the Lavra of Abba Gerasimos near the holy Jordan and said to him: "How can you stay in this place with its burning heat and so many insects?" The elder answered him: "I put up with the insects to escape from the worm that sleeps not. Likewise, I endure the burning heat for fear of the eternal fire. The one is temporary, but of the other, there is no end."

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ANOTHER JUDICIOUS REPLY FROM ABBA ALEXANDER

Another brother visited Abba Alexander, the higoumen at the lavra of Abba Gerasimos, and said to him: “Abba, I want to leave the place where I am settled because I am badly afflicted by accidie.” Abba Alexander replied: “Child, this is surely a sign that you have neither eternal punishment nor the kingdom of heaven before your eyes. If you had, you would not be in accidie.”

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DAVID, THE ROBBER-CHIEF, WHO LATER BECAME A MONK

We came to the Thebaid and at the city of Antinoé, we visited Phoebamon the Sophist for the benefit of his words. He told us that in the district around Hermopolis, there had been a brigand whose name was David. He had rendered many people destitute, murdered many, and committed every kind of evil deed; more so than any other man, one might say.

One day, whilst he was still engaged in brigandage on the mountain, together with a band of more than thirty, he came to his senses, conscience-stricken by his evil deeds. He left all those who were with him and went to a monastery. He knocked at the monastery gate, and the porter came out and asked him what he wanted. The robber-chief replied that he wanted to become a monk, so the porter went inside and told the abbot about him.

The abbot came out, and when he saw that the man was advanced in age, he said to him: "You cannot stay here, for the brethren labor very hard. They practice great austerity. Your temperament is different from ours, and you could not tolerate the rule of the monastery." But the brigand insisted that he could tolerate these things if only the abbot would accept him. However, the abbot was persistent in his conviction that the man would not be able to endure it.

Then the robber-chief said to him: "Know, then, that I am David, the robber-chief, and the reason why I came here was that I might weep for my sins. If you do not accept me, I swear to you and before him who dwells in heaven that I will return to my former way of life. I will bring those who were with me, kill you all, and even destroy your monastery."

When the abbot heard this, he received him into the monastery, tonsured him, and gave him the holy habit. Thus, he began the spiritual combat, and he exceeded all the other members of the monastery in self-control, obedience, and humility. There were about seventy persons in that monastery; he benefited them all, providing them with an example.

One day, when he was sitting in his cell, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, saying: "David, David; the Lord has pardoned your sins, and from this time on, you shall perform wonders." David replied to the angel: "I cannot believe that in so short a time God has forgiven me all my sins, which are heavier than the sand of the sea."

The angel said to him: "I did not spare Zachariah the priest when he refused to believe me concerning his son. I imprisoned his tongue to teach him not to doubt what I said; how then should I now spare you? You shall be totally incapable of speech from this time onwards."

Abba David prostrated himself before the angel and said: "When I was in the world, committing abominable acts and shedding blood, I had the gift of speech. Will you deprive me of it by imprisoning my tongue, now that I wish to serve God and offer up hymns to him?"

The angel replied: "You will only be able to speak during the services. At all other times, you shall be completely silent"—and that is how it was. He sang the psalms, but he could say no other word, big or little. The one who told us these things said: "I saw him many times, and I glorified God."

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INJUNCTIONS OF ONE OF THE ELDERS WHO WERE AT THE CELLS

One of the elders said to the brethren at The Cells: “Let us not enslave ourselves to the pleasures of Egypt, which deliver us into the hands of the wicked tyrant, Pharaoh.” Again, he said: “If only people would care as much for good things as they care about that which is bad! If only they would transfer to a yearning for piety all the attention they lavish on spectacles, magnificent festivals, avarice, vain-glory, and injustice. We are not ignorant of how highly God values us, nor are we powerless against the demons.”

Again, he stated: “Nothing is greater than God; nothing is equal to Him; nothing is only a little inferior to Him. What then is stronger or more blessed than someone who has the help of God?” He continued: “God is everywhere. He draws near to those who live devoutly and fight the spiritual battle; to those whose religion goes further than mere pronouncements and is distinguished by their deeds. Where God is present, who would wish to hatch conspiracies? Who would be strong enough to inflict any hurt?”

Again, he remarked: “The strength of man does not lie in his physical constitution, for that is subject to change. It lies rather in his intention, assisted by God. Let us therefore care for our souls as we do for our bodies, children.” He further encouraged: “Let us gather together the cures of the soul: piety, righteousness, humility, submission. The greatest physician of souls, Christ our God, is near to us and is willing to heal us; let us not underestimate Him.”

Once more, he advised: “The Lord teaches us to be sober, but wretches that we are, we become yet more addicted to the delights of the flesh through soft living.” He encouraged: “Let us offer ourselves to God, as Saint Paul says, as living men returned from the dead (Romans 6:13), neither looking back nor remembering what has gone before, but pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling (Philippians 3:14).”

A brother asked the elder: “Why am I always sitting in judgment on my brothers?” The elder replied: “Because you do not yet know yourself. Someone who knows himself does not see the shortcomings of his brothers.”

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THE LIFE OF THE BLESSED GENNADIOS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE, AND OF HIS READER, CHARISIOS

We visited the Community of Salama, nine miles outside of Alexandria, where we found two elders who claimed to be priests of the Church of Constantinople. They spoke to us about Gennadios, the blessed Patriarch of Constantinople, stating that he was very gentle, pure of body, and very much in control of himself.

They recounted that he was troubled by many complaints regarding a cleric who was leading a very dissolute life, a man named Charisios. The Patriarch sent for him and tried to correct him through exhortation, but when this failed, he proceeded to chastise and discipline him like a father and a churchman. The Patriarch soon realized that this approach was doing the cleric no good; Charisios had begun indulging in murder and dabbling in witchcraft.

Consequently, he sent one of his agents with a message for the holy martyr Eleutherios, in whose oratory Charisios served as lector: "Saint Eleutherios, your officer is a great sinner. Either reform him, or get rid of him." The agent went to the oratory of the holy martyr Eleutherios, stood before the altar, turned towards the apse, stretched out his hand, and addressed the martyr: “Holy martyr of Christ, the Patriarch Gennadios declares to you, through me, a sinner though I be, that your officer is deeply in sin. You are either to reform him or get rid of him.”

The next day, that worker of evil deeds was found dead. All were amazed and glorified God.

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THE VISION OF EULOGIOS, PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA

‘When we were at the Community of Tougara, nine miles outside Alexandria, Abba Menas, who ruled that community, told us this concerning the saintly Pope Eulogios: One night, while he was performing the office alone in the chapel of the episcopal residence, he saw the Archdeacon Julian standing before him. When he saw him, he was disturbed that the man should have dared to enter unannounced, but he said nothing. At the end of the psalm, he prostrated himself; and so too did the one who had appeared to him in the form of the archdeacon.

When the pope got up and offered the prayer, the other remained prostrate on the ground. The pope turned to him and said, ‘How long will it be before you stand up?’ The other replied, ‘Unless you offer me your hand and raise me, I cannot stand up.’ Then the abba put out his hand, took hold of him, and raised him up. After that, he took up the psalm again; but when he turned around, he no longer saw anybody.

When he had completed the dawn office, he called for his chamberlain and said to him, ‘Why did you not announce the entry of the archdeacon, but let him come to me unannounced, and that in the night-time?’ The chamberlain said he had neither seen anybody nor had anyone come in. The pope was not convinced.

‘Call the porter here,’ he cried, and when the porter arrived, he asked him, ‘Did the Archdeacon Julian not come in here?’ The porter asserted with an oath that the archdeacon had neither come in nor gone out. Then the pope kept his peace.

When day dawned, Archdeacon Julian came in to pray. The pope said to him, ‘Why did you break the rule by coming in to me unannounced last night, Archdeacon Julian?’ He replied, ‘By the prayers of my lord, I did not come in here last night, nor did I leave my own house until this very hour.’

Then the great Eulogios realized that it was Julian the Martyr he had seen, urging him to rebuild his church which had been dilapidated for some time and threatened to fall down. The godly Eulogios, the friend of martyrs, set his hand to the task with determination. By rebuilding the martyr’s temple from its foundations and distinguishing it with a variety of decorations, he provided a shrine worthy of a holy martyr.

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THE WONDROUS CORRECTION OF A LETTER WRITTEN BY ‘THE BLESSED ROMAN PONTIFF TO FLAVIAN

Abba Menas, ruler of the same community, also told us that he had heard this from the same Abba Eulogios, Pope of Alexandria: When I went to Constantinople, I was a guest in the house of master Gregory, the Archdeacon of Rome, a man of distinguished virtue. He told me of a written tradition preserved in the Roman church concerning the most blessed Leo, Pope of Rome. It tells how, when he had written to Flavian, the saintly patriarch of Constantinople, condemning those impious men, Eutyches and Nestorios, he laid the letter on the tomb of Peter, the Prince of the Apostles.

He gave himself to prayer and fasting, lying on the ground, invoking the chief of the disciples in these words: “If I, a mere man, have done anything amiss, do you, to whom the church and the throne are entrusted by our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, set it to rights.”

Forty days later, the apostle appeared to him as he was praying and said: “I have read it and I have corrected it.” The pope took the letter from Saint Peter's tomb, unrolled it, and found it corrected in the apostle’s hand.

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THE VISION OF THEODORE, BISHOP OF DARA, CONCERNING THE SAME MOST BLESSED LEO

Theodore, the most holy bishop of the city of Dara in Libya, told us this: When I was syncellos to the saintly Pope Eulogios, I saw a tall, impressive-looking man in my sleep who said to me, "Announce me to Pope Eulogios." I asked him, "Who are you, my lord? How do you wish to be announced?" He replied, "I am Leo, Pope of Rome."

So I went in and announced, "The most holy and most blessed Leo, Primate of the Church of the Romans, wishes to pay you his respects." As soon as Pope Eulogios heard this, he got up and came running to meet him. They embraced each other, offered a prayer, and sat down. Then the truly godly and divinely inspired Leo said to Pope Eulogios, "Do you know why I have come to you?" The other said he did not.

"I have come to thank you," he said, "because you have defended so well, and so intelligently, the letter which I wrote to our brother, Flavian, Patriarch of Constantinople. You have declared my meaning and sealed up the mouths of the heretics. And know, brother, that it is not only me whom you have gratified by this labor of yours, but also Peter, the chief of the apostles; and, above all, the very Truth which is proclaimed by us, which is Christ our God."

I saw this, not only once but three times. Convicted by the third apparition, I told it to the saintly Pope Eulogios. He wept when he heard it and, stretching out his hands to heaven, he gave thanks to God, saying, "I give you thanks, Lord Christ, our God, that you have made my unworthiness a Proclaimer of the truth, and that, by the prayers of your servants Peter and Leo, your Goodness has received our feeble endeavor as you did receive the widow’s two mites."

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JOHN THE PERSIAN’S STORY OF THE MOST BLESSED GREGORY, BISHOP OF THE CITY OF ROME

We encountered Abba John the Persian at the Lavra of Monidia, and he told us this about Gregory the Great, the most blessed Bishop of Rome:

I went to Rome to pray at the tombs of the most blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul. One day, as I was standing in the city center, I saw that Pope Gregory was going to pass by. I had it in mind to prostrate myself before him. The attendants of the pope began saying to me, one by one, “Abba, do not prostrate yourself,” but I could not understand why they had said that to me; it certainly seemed improper for me not to prostrate myself.

When the pope came near and perceived that I was about to prostrate myself—the Lord is my witness, brethren—he prostrated himself down to the ground and refused to rise until I had gotten up. He embraced me with great humility, handed me three pieces of gold, and ordered me to be given a monastic cloak, stipulating that all my needs were to be taken care of.

So I glorified God who had given him such humility towards everybody, such generosity with alms, and such love.

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THE ANSWER OF A MONK OF THE MONASTERY OF RAITHOU TO A SECULAR BROTHER

There were two brothers living in the world, at Constantinople, who were very devout and much given to fasting. One of them came to Raithou, where he renounced the world and became a monk. Some time later, his brother, who still lived in the world, came to Raithou to see his brother, now become a monk.

While he was staying there, the worldly brother saw the monastic brother taking refreshment at the ninth hour. He was offended and said to his brother: "Brother, when you were in the world, you never took refreshment before sunset."

Then the monk said to him: "In truth, brother, when I was in the world, I received sustenance through my ears; for vain glory and the praise of men sustained me in no small way and eased the discomfort of the austerity."

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THE LIFE OF THEODORE WHO LIVED IN THE WORLD, A MAN OF GOD

Abba Jordanes the grazer said: Three of us anchorites went to Abba Nicholas at the Wadi Betasimos. He lived in a cave between Saint Elpidios and the monastery known as ‘the Strangers’. We found a stranger close by him, and as we were speaking about the salvation of the soul, Abba Nicholas said to him, “You say something to us too.”

He replied, “What could I say that would do you any good, I who am a man of the world? Would that I could even do myself some good!” The abba then said to him, “Indeed, you shall say something to us.”

The man of the world continued, “For twenty years, Saturdays and Sundays excepted, the sun never saw me eating. I am the hired servant on the estate of a rich man who is unjust and greedy. I was with him for fifteen years, toiling night and day, and he would not pay me my wages but treated me with considerable harshness. I said to myself, ‘Theodore, if you endure this man, he is going to obtain the kingdom of heaven for you instead of the wages he owes you.’ So I kept my body free of contact with women until this day.”

When we heard this, we were greatly edified.

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ABBA JORDANES’ STORY OF THE SARACENS WHO KILLED EACH OTHER

Abba Jordanes also told us that Abba Nicholas said to him: In the reign of the most faithful Emperor Maurice, when the Saracen leader Naaman was making his raids, I was traveling around Annon and Aidon when I saw three Saracens. They had as their prisoner a very handsome young man, about twenty years old. When he saw me, he began crying out to me to take him away from them.

So, I started begging the Saracens to let him go. One of the Saracens answered me in Greek, “We are not letting him go.” I replied, “Take me and let him go, for he cannot endure servitude.” The same Saracen responded, “We are not letting him go.”

Then I asked them for the third time, “Will you let him go for a ransom? Hand him over to me, and I will go seek and bring whatever you demand.” The Saracen replied, “We cannot give him to you because we promised our priest that if we took a good-looking prisoner, we would bring him to the priest to be offered as a sacrifice. Now be off with you, or we will cause your head to roll on the ground.”

I then prostrated myself before God and said, “O Lord God, our Saviour, save your servant.” Immediately, the three Saracens became possessed by demons. They drew their swords and cut each other to pieces. I took the young man to my cave, and he no longer wished to leave me. He renounced the world, and after completing seven years in the monastic life, he went to his rest. He was from Tyre.

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THE REPLY OF AN ELDER TO TWO PHILOSOPHERS

Two philosophers came to an elder and asked him to say something beneficial to them. The elder remained silent. Again, the philosophers spoke: "Will you not answer us, father?"

The elder said to them, "That you are skilled in the use of words, I am fully aware, but I do testify to you that you are not truly lovers of wisdom. How long will you cultivate the art of speech, you who have no understanding of what it is to speak? Let the object of your philosophy be always to contemplate death, possessing yourselves in silence and tranquillity."

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THE STORY OF TWO MONKS OF THE SYRIANS’ MONASTERY AT SOUBIBA ABOUT A DOG WHO SHOWED A BROTHER THE WAY

At the Lavra of Calamén, near the holy Jordan, Sophronios the Sophist and I met Abba Alexander. There were two monks with him from the Syrians’ monastery at Soubiba. This is what they told us:

Ten days ago, an elder from afar arrived. He came to the monastery of the Besoi at Soubiba and made an offering. He asked the abba of the monastery of his charity to send someone to the neighboring monastery of the Syrians so that they too could come and receive a donation; and he wanted them to pass on the invitation to the monastery of Chérembé, so that those who lived there would come too.

So the abba sent a brother to the higoumen of the monastery of the Syrians at Soubiba. When the brother arrived, he said to him: “Come to the monastery of the Besoi and send a message to the monastery of Chérembé that they should come.” The elder replied: “I have nobody to send. But do you, of your exceeding great charity, go and tell them.”

The brother said: “I have never been there before, and I do not know the way.” Then the elder said to his little dog: “Go with the brother to the community of Chérembé so that he can deliver his message.” The dog accompanied the brother until he stood before the gate of the monastery. Those who told us this story showed us the dog, for they had it with them.

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AN ASS IN THE SERVICE OF THE MONASTERY CALLED MARDES

There is a mountain by the Dead Sea called Mardes, and it is very high. There are anchorites living on that mountain. They have a garden about six miles away from where they live, near the edge of the sea, almost on its banks. One of the anchorites is stationed there to tend the garden.

At whatever hour the anchorites wish to send for vegetables, they put a pack-saddle on the ass and say to it, "Go to the one who tends the garden and bring us some vegetables." The ass goes off alone to find the gardener. When it stands before the door, it knocks with its head. The gardener loads it up with vegetables and sends it away.

You can see the ass returning alone each time, but it only serves those elders; it supplies the needs of nobody else.

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How A DEMON APPEARED TO AN ELDER IN THE FORM OF A VERY BLACK BOY

Abba Paul, higoumen of the monastery of Abba Theognias, told us that a certain ascetic elder had said:

“One day I was sitting in my cell doing my handwork (I was plaiting baskets, actually, and singing psalms) when, suddenly, what looked like a Saracen youth wearing a bread-basket came in through the window. He stood before me and began to dance. As I continued singing psalms, he asked me, ‘Elder, do I dance well?’ I answered not a word.

He spoke again, ‘Do you like the way I dance, elder?’ As I continued to remain silent, he remarked, ‘Oh, wicked old man; why do you imagine you are doing something important? I tell you, you made a mistake in the sixty-fifth, the sixty-sixth, and the sixty-seventh psalms.’

Then I stood up and prostrated myself before God, and he disappeared at once.”

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THE LIFE OF ABBA ISAAC OF THEBES AND HOW A DEMON APPEARED TO HIM IN THE FORM OF A YOUTH

There is a city in the Thebaid called Lycos. Six miles from it, there is a mountain where monks live: some in caves and others in cells. When we went there, we met Abba Isaac the Theban, who said:

"For fifty-two years, I was working at my handwork (I was making a large mosquito net) and I made a mistake. I was very upset about that mistake because I could not find it. I spent the whole day in distress and did not know what to do. While I was so distraught, a youth came in through the window and said to me, ‘You have made a mistake. Give the work to me and I will put it right.’

I replied, ‘Get out of here, you! May it never be that I should do such a thing!’ He answered me, ‘But it will be pain and grief to you if you have done it badly.’ I said to him, ‘There is no need for you to worry yourself about that.’

‘But I am sorry for you,’ he rejoined, ‘because of your wasted effort,’ and I said, ‘Neither you nor those who brought you are welcome here.’ But he replied, ‘Actually, it was you who compelled me to come here, and you are mine.’

I asked him how he could say that. ‘Because three Sundays running you have received holy communion whilst being at daggers drawn with your neighbor,’ he said—and I told him he was lying. He continued, ‘Are you not harboring a grudge against him because of a plate of lentils? I am the one who is in charge of grudges and, from now on, you are mine.’

When I heard that, I left my cell, went to the brother in question, and prostrated myself before him in order to become reconciled with him. When I returned, I found that my visitor had burned the mosquito net and the mat on which I had prostrated myself, because he was so consumed with jealousy for our love."

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THE RESPONSE OF ABBA THEODORE OF PENTAPOLIS TO THE QUESTION OF ABSTAINING FROM WINE

Twenty miles from Alexandria, there is a lavra called Calamén, situated between the eighteenth mile-post and Maphora. There, we met Abba Theodore (Sophronios the Sophist was with us) and asked him if it was permissible to break the rule of abstaining from wine when visiting someone, or when someone paid us a visit. He replied that it was not permissible.

We then inquired why the fathers of old times would sometimes set aside that rule. The elder responded, "The fathers of old time were truly great and highly disciplined men who could loosen the rule and then bind it again. This present generation is not strong enough to loosen the rule and then to bind it again. If we once loosen the rule, we no longer maintain our ascetic way of life."

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THE LIFE OF ABBA PAUL THE GREEK

Abba Alexander of the Lavra of Calamén by the holy Jordan said: One day, when I was with Abba Paul the Greek at his cave, somebody came and knocked at the door. The elder went out and opened it. Then he took out and set before him bread and soaked peas, which he wolfed down. I thought it must be some stranger; I looked through the window and saw that it was a lion. I said to the elder, “Good elder, why do you feed that animal? Explain to me.”

He said, “I have required of it that it harm neither man nor beast; and I have told it to come here each day, and I will give it its food. It has come twice a day now for seven months—and I feed it.”

Some days later, I met him again when I wanted to buy some bottles, for he occupied his hands by making bottles. I said to him, “How are things, good elder? How is the lion?” He answered, “Badly,” and I asked, “How so?”

He told me, “It came here to be fed yesterday, and I noticed that its muzzle was all stained with blood. I said to it, ‘What is this? You have disobeyed me and eaten flesh. Blessed Lord! Never again will I feed you the food of the fathers, carnivore! Get away from here.’”

He would not go away, so I took a rope, folded it up into three, and struck it three blows with it. Then it went away.

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THE REPLY OF ABBA VICTOR THE SOLITARY TO A FAINT-HEARTED MONK

A brother visited Abba Victor the solitary at the lavra of Eleousa and said to him, "What shall I do, father, for I am in the grips of the spiritual disease of faint-heartedness?"

The elder replied, "This is a disease of the soul. Just as those who suffer from ophthalmia have the impression of seeing more light (when their disease is acute) than do those whose eyes are healthy, so too do the faint-hearted quickly take offence at some small neglect and think that neglect to be something of great moment. It is just the opposite with those who are healthy in soul, for they rejoice in their trials."

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THE LIFE OF A ROBBER NAMED CYRIACOS

A friend of Christ told us about a robber named Cyriacos whose thefts were committed in the area around Emius, also known as Nicopolis. He became so cruel and inhuman that they called him "the wolf." There were other robbers with him, including not only Christians but also Judaeans and Samaritans.

One day, during Holy Week, some people from an estate in the region of Nicopolis came up to the Holy City to baptize their children. After the children had been baptized, they were returning to their estate to celebrate Easter Day. However, on their way, they were confronted by the robbers (the chieftain was not present). The men took to their heels. Casting aside the newly baptized children, the Hebrews and Samaritans seized the women and took possession of them.

As the men fled, they ran into the chieftain of the robbers who asked them, "Why are you running away?" They told him what had happened to them. He took them with him and went in search of his companions; he found the children stretched out on the ground. Upon discovering who had perpetrated this atrocity, he beheaded the guilty ones. He had the men take up the little ones (because the women were unwilling to do so on account of their defilement by the robbers), and then he conducted them all safely to their estate.

A little while later, the robber chieftain was arrested. For ten years, he languished in jail, and no one had him executed; finally, he was released. He would say over and over again, "It is thanks to those babes that I escaped bitter death. I used to see them in my dreams, saying to me: 'Do not be afraid; we are putting forward the case for your defense.'"

We met this man—I and Abba John, priest of the Lavra of the Eunuchs. He told us all this, and we glorified God.

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THE LIFE OF A ROBBER WHO BECAME A MONK AND WAS LATER BEHEADED IN LAY CLOTHES

Abba Sabbatios said: When I was living at the lavra of Abba Firminos, a robber came to Abba Zosimos the Cilician and begged him, “Of your charity, for God’s sake, make me a monk, for I am the author of many murders. Make me a monk so that for the rest of my life I may desist from my evil doings.” The elder gave him instruction, made him a monk, and provided him with the holy habit.

A few days later, the elder said to the new monk, “Believe me, my child, you cannot stay here. If the governor hears about you, he will arrest you. Or maybe your enemies shall pass this way and kill you. But pay heed to me; I will take you to a community some distance from here.” He took him to the community of Abba Dorotheos, near Gaza and Maiouma. He spent nine years there, learning the entire psalter and all the conventions of monastic observance.

Then he went back to the lavra of Abba Firminos and said to the elder, “Abba, have pity on me; give me back my worldly clothes and take the monastic habit from me.” Distressed by these words, the elder said to him, “Whatever for, child?” The other answered, “See now, father; as you know, I have been nine years in the community. I have fasted to the full extent of my ability; I have practiced self-discipline; I have lived under obedience with complete serenity and in the fear of God. I believe that, of His goodness, God has pardoned my many evil deeds. Yet every day I see an infant that says to me, ‘Why did you slay me?’ I see him in church; I see him in the refectory, always saying the same thing to me. The vision never leaves me untroubled for an hour at a time. This is why I want to go away, father. I must die for that infant, for I killed it without reason.”

He took his clothes, put them on, and went out of the lavra. He went to Diospolis. The following day he was arrested and beheaded.

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THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ABBA POEMEN, THE SOLITARY

Abba Agathonicos, higoumen of the community of our holy father Sabas at Castellium, said: One day I went down to Rouba to visit Abba Poemén the grazer. When I found him, I told him the thoughts which troubled me.

“When night fell, he left me in a cave. It was winter, and that night it got very cold indeed; I was freezing. When the elder came at dawn, he said to me, ‘What is the matter, child?’ I said, ‘Forgive me, father; I had a very bad night because of the cold.’ He said to me, ‘Indeed, child? I did not feel the cold.’ This amazed me, for he was naked. I asked him out of his charity to tell me how he did not feel the cold. He said, ‘A lion came down and lay beside me; he kept me warm. But I tell you, brother: I shall be devoured by wild beasts.’

I asked him why, and he told me, ‘Because when I was in our homeland—we were both from Galatia—I was a shepherd. I was hostile to a stranger who came by, and my dogs devoured him. I could have saved him, but I did not. I left him to his fate, and the dogs killed him. I know that I too must die in that way.’

Three years later, that elder was devoured by wild beasts, as he himself had foretold.

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SAYINGS OF ABBA ALEXANDER THE ELDER

Abba Alexander, the elder of Abba Vincent, said to the brethren: "Our fathers sought out the wilderness and affliction; we seek for cities and comfort." Again, he remarked: "In the days of our fathers, the virtues of poverty and humility flourished; these days, avarice and pride are in fashion." Furthermore, he observed: "Our fathers never used to wash their faces; but we indulge ourselves at the public baths." He lamented: "Alas, children, we have eliminated the angelic way of life."

Abba Vincent, his disciple, responded: "We are indeed sickly, father." The elder rejoined: "What do you mean, Vincent, by 'We are sickly?' Believe me, child: we are fit in body as Olympic athletes, but we are sick indeed in the soul." He added: "We are able to eat and drink a great deal and to wear fine clothing; but we are incapable of mastering our passions or our pride." Lastly, the elder said: "Oh, Alexander, Alexander! How you are going to be put to shame when others receive the crown!"

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THE LIFE OF A BLIND ELDER AT THE MONASTERY OF ABBA SISOES

There was a blind elder at Soété in the lavra of Abba Sisoés; his cell was located about half a mile from the well. He would never allow anyone else to fetch water for him. He made a rope and attached one end of it to the well and the other to his cell; the rope lay on the ground. When he went to fetch water, he walked along the rope. The elder did this so that he could find the well in that manner. When the wind blew the sand so that it covered the rope, he would take it up in his hand, shake it, and put it back down on the ground to walk along it.

When a brother offered to fetch water for him, the elder replied, “Truly, brother, for twenty-two years I have fetched my own water; do you wish to deprive me of my labor?”

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The Life of a Holy Woman Who Died in the Wilderness

About twenty miles from Jerusalem, there is a monastery called Sampson, from which two fathers went up to Sinai to pray. When they returned to the monastery, they told us:

"After we had performed our devotions at the holy mountain, on our way back, we got lost in the wilderness. For many days, we were borne along in the wilderness as though we were on the high sea. One day, we saw a little cave in the distance, and we made our way towards it. When we came near to the cave, we saw a very small spring with some vegetation around it, and there were human footprints. We said to each other: 'Indeed, there is a servant of God here.'

When we entered the cave, we could not see anybody, but we could hear somebody breathing. We carefully searched the place and found something rather like a manger with someone lying in it. We came near to that servant of God and begged him to speak to us. When there was no answer, we touched him. The body was still warm, but his soul had gone to the Lord.

Then we realized that he had departed this life as we entered the cave. So, we took his body from where it lay and dug a grave for him there in the cave. One of us took off the pallium he was wearing and wrapped the elder’s body in it; and we buried her. But we discovered that it was a woman—and we glorified God. We performed the office over her and buried her.

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THE LIFE OF TWO REMARKABLE MEN, THEODORE THE PHILOSOPHER AND ZOILOS THE READER

In Alexandria, there were two wondrously virtuous men: Abba Theodore the philosopher and Zoilos the reader. We were well acquainted with both of them—Theodore through his lectures and Zoilos because we shared the same homeland and upbringing.

Abba Theodore had no possessions whatsoever, except for a philosopher's cloak and a few books. He slept on a bench whenever he came across a church. He finally renounced the world at the Community of Salama, where he ended his days.

As for Zoilos the reader, he too was equally indifferent to possessions. He had nothing but a philosopher's cloak, a very old suit, and a few books. Calligraphy was his occupation. When he died in the Lord, he was buried at Lithazomenos, in the monastery of Abba Palladios.

Some fathers went to Master Cosmas the lawyer and asked him about Abba Theodore the philosopher and Zoilos the reader: which of the two had progressed farther in the practice of asceticism? He replied, “They both had the same kind of clothing, the same kind of bed, and the same kind of food. They both rejected anything that was in excess of basic necessities. They were equal in humility, poverty, and self-discipline.

But Abba Theodore, who went barefoot and suffered greatly with his eyes, had learned both the Old and the New Testaments by heart. He also had the consolation of the company of the brethren and contact with friends— a not inconsiderable distraction when he was active and when he was teaching.

In the case of Zoilos the reader, not only was his isolation from the world (xeniteia) praiseworthy, but so was his solitude (erémia), his immense toil, and the way he kept his tongue on a leash. He had no friends, nothing to call his own, and no one to talk to. He engaged in no worldly activity, allowed himself no relief, nor would he accept the smallest service from anybody. He did his own cooking and washing, and he allowed himself no pleasure from reading. He was ready to be of service to others; neither cold nor heat nor bodily sickness mattered to him.

He shunned laughter, sadness, inactivity, and relaxation. For all the exiguity of his clothing, he was constantly devoured by lice. Yet this man, in comparison with the first one, had no small consolation from his freedom of movement, for he was entirely free to go wherever he wished, by night or by day. However, even this freedom was of no avail, for so heavy was his toil that he never made use of it.

Thus, he appeared to studiously avoid over-much contact with the world. Each one of them shall receive his own reward, consonant with his toil and the progress he made, his spiritual and mental purity, his fear of God, his charity, his worship, his compunction (katanu.xis), his constancy in psalm-singing and prayer, his persistent faith—and the good pleasure of God, which is hidden and concealed from people.

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THE LIFE OF THE ABOVE-MENTIONED COSMAS, THE LAWYER

Concerning this master Cosmas the lawyer, many people told us varying accounts; some shared one thing, while others spoke of another. However, most people spoke extensively. We shall document what we witnessed with our own eyes and what we have carefully examined, for the benefit of those who chance to read it.

He was a humble man, merciful, continent, a virgin, serene, cool-tempered, friendly, hospitable, and kind to the poor. This wondrous man greatly benefitted us, not only by allowing us to see him and by teaching us, but also because he had more books than anyone else in Alexandria and would willingly provide them to those who wished to read. Yet, he was a man of no possessions. Throughout his house, there was nothing to be seen but books, a bed, and a table. Anyone could enter and request what would benefit him—and read it.

Each day, I would visit him, and I never entered without finding him either reading or writing against the Jews. It was his fervent desire to convert the Hebrews to the truth. For this reason, he would often send me to some Hebrews to discuss a point of Scripture with them, as he would not readily leave the house himself.

One day, I went to the house of Master Cosmas the lawyer, and, as I was quite familiar with him, I said to him: "Of your charity, how long have you been leading the solitary life?" He kept silent and gave no answer, so I asked again: "For the sake of the Lord, tell me." He remained silent a little longer, then he told me: "For thirty-three years." When I heard this, I glorified God.

Another time, I came to him and asked him: "Of your extreme charity, and in full knowledge that it is for the benefit of my soul that I ask you this; will you tell me what you have accomplished in so long a period of solitude and continence?" He heaved a great sigh from the depths of his heart and said to me: "What shall a man living in the world accomplish, especially a man who stays in his own house?" Yet I begged him to tell me, for the Lord's sake, and for the good of my soul. Finally, coerced by my persistence, he said: "Forgive me; there are three things I know of which I have accomplished: not to laugh, not to swear, and not to lie."

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THE DEED OF A RELIGIOUS SHIP-MASTER WHO PRAYED TO THE LORD FOR RAIN

Abba Gregory the anchorite told us: I was returning from Byzantium by ship when a scribe came aboard with his wife; he had to go pray at the Holy City. The ship-master was a very devout man, given to fasting. As we sailed along, the scribe’s attendants were prodigal in their use of water. When we came into the midst of the high sea, we ran out of water and found ourselves in great distress. It was a pitiful sight—women, children, and infants perishing from thirst, lying there like corpses. We endured this distressing condition for three days and abandoned hope of survival.

Unable to tolerate such affliction, the scribe drew his sword, intending to kill the ship-master and the sailors. He said, “It is their fault that we are to be lost, for they did not take sufficient water on board for our needs.” I interceded with the scribe, saying, “Do not do that; but rather, let us pray to our Lord Jesus Christ, our true God, who does great and wonderful things which cannot be counted (Job 34:26). Behold, this is now the third day that the ship-master has occupied himself with fasting and prayer.”

The scribe quieted down, and on the fourth day, about the sixth hour, the ship-master got up and cried in a loud voice, “Glory to thee, Christ our God!”—and he did so in such a way that we were all astonished at his cry. He then said to the sailors, “Stretch out the skins,” and while they were unfolding them, look! A cloud came over the ship, and it rained enough water to satisfy all our needs.

It was a great and fearful wonder, for as the ship was borne along by the wind, the cloud followed us; however, it did not rain beyond the ship.

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A Story About the Emperor Zeno Who Was Much Given to Almsgiving

Concerning the Emperor Zeno (474-491), one of the fathers told us this: He wronged a woman by wronging her daughter. She frequented the Church of our All-Holy Lady Mary, the Mother of God, beseeching her and saying with tears, “Defend my cause against the Emperor Zeno.” When she had continued this for many days, the All-Holy Mother of God appeared to her, saying, “Believe me, woman, I frequently tried to get satisfaction for you, but his right hand prevents me,” for he was a very good almsgiver.

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The Beautiful Story of Abba Andrew About Ten Travellers, of Whom One Was a Hebrew

Abba Palladios told us he had heard one of the fathers, whose name was Andrew (whom we also met), say: When we were in Alexandria, Abba Andrew at the eighteenth mile post told us, saying: As a young man, I was very undisciplined. A war broke out, and confusion reigned; together with nine others, I fled to Palestine. One of the nine was a fellow with initiative, and another was a Hebrew.

When we came into the wilderness, the Hebrew became mortally sick, so we were in great distress, for we did not know what to do for him. But we did not abandon him. Each of us carried him as far as he was able. We wanted to get him to a city or to a market-town so that he would not die in the wilderness. But when the young man was completely worn out and was brought to the point of death by hunger, a burning fever, utter exhaustion, and a raging thirst from the heat (in fact, he was about to expire), he could no longer bear to be carried.

With many tears, we decided to abandon him in the wilderness and go our way. We could foresee death from thirst lying in store for us. We were in tears when we set him down on the sand. When he saw that we were going to leave him, he began to adjure us, saying: "By the God who is going to judge both the quick and the dead, leave me to die not as a Jew, but as a Christian. Have mercy on me and baptize me so that I too may depart this life as a Christian and go to the Lord."

We said to him: "Truly, brother, it is impossible for us to do anything of the sort. We are laymen, and baptizing is the work of bishops and priests. Besides, there is no water here." But he continued to adjure us in the same terms and with tears, saying: "Oh, Christians, please do not deprive me of this benefit."

While we were most unsure about what to do next, the fellow with initiative among us, inspired by God, said to us: "Stand him up and take off his clothes." We got him to his feet with great difficulty and stripped him. The one with initiative filled both his hands with sand and poured it three times over the sick man’s head, saying: "Theodore is baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," and we all answered amen to each of the names of the holy, consubstantial, and worshipful Trinity.

The Lord is my witness, brethren, that Christ, the Son of the living God, thus cured and reinvigorated him so that not a trace of illness remained in him. In health and vigor, he ran before us during the rest of our journey through the wilderness. When we observed such a great and sudden transformation, we all praised and glorified the ineffable majesty and loving kindness of Christ our God.

When we arrived at Ascalon, we took this matter to the blessed and saintly Dionysios, who was bishop there, and told him what had happened to the brother on the journey. When the truly holy Dionysios heard of these things, he was stupefied by such an extraordinary miracle. He assembled all the clergy and posed the question of whether he should reckon the effusion of sand as baptism or not.

Some said that, in view of the extraordinary miracle, he should allow it as a valid baptism; others said he should not. Gregory the Theologian enumerates all the kinds of baptism. He speaks of the Mosaic baptism, baptism in water; but before that, of baptism in a cloud and in the sea. "The baptism of John was no longer Judaic baptism, for it was not only a baptism in water but also unto repentance. Jesus also baptized, but in the Spirit, and this is perfection. I know also a fourth baptism: that of martyrdom and of blood. And I know a fifth: the baptism of tears."

"Which of these baptisms did he undergo?" some asked, "so that we might pronounce on its validity? For indeed the Lord said to Nicodemus: 'Except a man be born again of water and of the spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven' (Jn 3:5)." Others objected: "How so? Since it is not written concerning the apostles that they were baptized, shall they not enter the kingdom of heaven?" To this, others replied: "But indeed they were baptized, as Clement, the author of Stromatés, testifies in the fifth book of Hypotyposes. In commenting on the saying of the Apostle Paul, he opines: 'I thank God that I baptized none of you' (1 Co 1:14) that Jesus is said to have baptized none but Peter; Peter to have baptized Andrew; Andrew, James, and John, and they the others."

When they had said all this and much more beside, it seemed good to the blessed Bishop Dionysios to send the brother to the holy Jordan to be baptized there. The fellow with initiative was ordained deacon.

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THE BAD DEATH OF AN EGYPTIAN MONK WHO WANTED TO OCCUPY THE CELL OF EVAGRIOS, THE HERETIC

Abba John the Cilician told us that while they were staying at the ninth mile-post from Alexandria, an Egyptian monk visited them and said: “A brother from foreign parts came to the Lavra of The Cells and wanted to stay there. He prostrated himself before the priest presbyteros and requested that he might stay the night at the cell of Evagrios. The priest told him that he could not stay there.

The brother replied, “If I may not stay there, I will go away.” The priest said to him, “My child, the fact of the matter is that a cruel demon inhabits that place. It led Evagrios astray, alienating him from the true faith, and it filled his mind with abominable teachings.” The brother persisted, saying, “If I am to remain here, that is where I am going to stay.”

Then the priest warned him, “On your own head be it: go and stay there.” The brother went and stayed there for a week, and when the holy day of the Lord came around, he came to the church. The priest was relieved to see him. However, the following Sunday he did not come to church, so the priest summoned two brothers to go and find out why he was not present. They went to the cell and found that the brother had put a rope around his neck and strangled himself.

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The Life of John the Anchorite Who Lived in a Cave on the Socho Estate

The most holy Dionysios, priest and sacristan of the most holy church of Ascalon, spoke to us concerning Abba John the Anchorite: “This was a man who, in our own generation, was truly great in the eyes of God.” As a demonstration of the extent to which he was pleasing to God, he related this miracle attributed to him.

This elder lived in a cave in the district of the Socho estate, almost twenty miles from Jerusalem. In the cave, he had an icon of our all-holy and spotless Lady, the Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary, holding our God in her arms. Sometimes, this elder would decide to go on a journey, whether it be a great distance into the wilderness, to Jerusalem to reverence the Holy Cross and the Holy Places, to pray at Mount Sinai, or to visit martyrs' shrines many days’ travel from Jerusalem. He was greatly devoted to the martyrs.

He would visit Saint John at Ephesos, another time Saint Theodore at Euchaita, or Saint Thecla the Isaurian at Seleucia, or Saint Sergios at Saphas. Sometimes he would go to visit this saint, sometimes another. Whenever he was about to set out, it was his custom to prepare and light a lamp. He would stand in prayer, beseeching God to make straight the way which lay before him. Running towards her icon, he would say to the Lady: “Holy Lady, Mother of God: since I am about to undertake a long journey of many days’ duration, watch over your lamp and keep it from going out, as I intend that it should not. For I am setting out with your help as my travelling companion.”

Having said this to the icon, he would set off on his journey. When he returned from his proposed trip—maybe a month, two months, three months later, or even sometimes after five or six months—he would find the lamp well cared for and alight, just as he had left it when he set out on his journey. He never saw it go out of its own accord, whether when he awakened from sleep or when he returned to his cave from a journey or from the wilderness.

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CONCERNING THE SAME

This Dionysios, the priest, also told us this about the same man: One day, the elder was out walking in the environs of the Sochas estate, where his cave was located. As he walked along, he saw a large lion approaching in the opposite direction and getting very near. The path along which he was traveling was very narrow, with a hedge on either side; the kind of hedge that farmers use to fence their fields, planted with thorn bushes. The thorns made the path so narrow that it was only just possible for one person—provided he were not carrying anything—to walk through it, and a person passing through would certainly not do so unscathed.

As they drew nearer to each other, the elder and the lion, the elder would not turn back and yield the right of way to the lion, while the lion could not turn around because the passage was so narrow. It was impossible for them both to pass by. When the lion saw that the servant of God intended to go straight forward and that he would under no circumstances retrace his steps, it stood up on its rear paws. When it was upright, it leaned against the hedge to the left of the elder. With its weight and physical strength, it widened the passage a little, allowing the righteous man to continue his journey without interruption. Thus, the elder came through, brushing against the lion’s back. After he had passed by, the lion got down from the hedge and went its own way.

A brother visited Abba John and found nothing in the cave. He asked him, “How can you stay here, father, with no provision for your needs?” The elder replied, “This cave is a wrestling-ring; it is a matter of give and take.”

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THE LIFE OF ABBA ALEXANDER THE CILICIAN WHO WAS BESIEGED BY A DEMON WHEN HE WAS NEAR TO DEATH

The Monastery of Saint Sergios (also known as Xeropotamos) is located near holy Bethlehem, about two miles away. The higoumen there was a very devout man, Abba Eugenios, who later became bishop of Hermopolis in Egypt, situated on the border of the first Thebaid. When we visited that monastery, he shared that when Abba Alexander the Cilician reached old age in the caves of the holy Jordan, he brought him into his own monastery.

For three months, at the end of his life, Abba Alexander was confined to bed. Ten days before he went to the Lord, he fell into the clutches of a malicious demon. The elder began addressing the demon, saying, “Wretch, you have come at evening time. That is no great deed, for I am bed-ridden and immobilized. Without intending to, you have shown me your weakness, fool! If you were able and strong, you should have come to me fifty or sixty years ago. Then, by Christ, who lends me strength, I would have shown you your weakness. I would have beaten down your pride and bowed your stiff neck. This weakness which afflicts me is not of my own making but something that weighs me down. However, I give thanks to God, to whom I am going, and to whom I shall make known the injustice you inflict upon me by your merciless attacks at the end of my life, after so many years spent in rigorous asceticism.”

He would say this and much more besides each day. Then, on the tenth day, he surrendered his spirit to the Lord Jesus Christ in utter serenity and peace.

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The Life of Abba John the Eunuch and of a Young Man Who Resolved Never to Drink and of Another Elder Greatly Given to Prayer

When we were at the ninth mile-post from Alexandria, we visited the monastery of Abba John the Eunuch for the benefit of our souls. There we found a very old man who had been at the monastery for about eighty years. He had more compassion than anybody we ever saw, not only for men but also for animals.

What did this elder do? He engaged in no other work but this: he would rise early and feed all the dogs at the lavra. He would give flour to the small ants and grain to the bigger ones. He would dampen biscuits and throw them onto the rooftops for the birds to eat. Living like this, he left nothing to the monastery when he died—neither door nor window, nor spy-hole, nor lamp, nor table. In brief, he left nothing whatsoever of the world’s goods behind. Not even for one hour did he ever possess books, money, or clothing. He gave everything to those in need, investing his entire concern in those things which were to come.

Those who wished to make known his pity and compassion told us this about him: One day, a farmer came and asked the elder to give him a piece of gold. As the monk had nothing to give (for he never did have gold in his possession), he sent for and borrowed a piece of gold from the monastery and gave it to the farmer—who said he would repay it a month later. When, after two years, the gold had still not been returned (for the farmer did not have the means to pay), Abba John sent for him and said: "Give me the piece of gold, brother." He answered: "As God knows well, I do not have it."

"Then I have found a way in which you can repay me for it," was the elder’s reply. The farmer, thinking that he was to be given some task to perform, said: "Tell me, and I will do it." Then Abba John said: "When you have time to spare and no work to do, come and make thirty prostrations, and I will pay you one keration." He also gave the man something to eat and drink.

So it was agreed that, when he was free to do so, he would come, and when he had performed his prostrations, the elder would give him his reward, that is, one keration. He also gave him something to eat and drink and hardtack enough for the five persons of his household. When he had saved up twenty-four keratia, which is equal to one piece of gold, the elder received that sum from him and sent him on his way with his blessing.

The same John, the Eunuch, told us: "I came up into the Thebaid, to the community of Abba Apollo, and there I saw a young brother whose father in the flesh was also a monk. The young man had made it a rule for himself to drink neither water nor wine nor any other liquid as long as he lived. So he ate chicory, bitter herbs, and those vegetables which had the ability to assuage his thirst. His task was to put the loaves in the oven. After three years, he fell ill and eventually went to the Lord. As he burned with fever and terrible thirst, everybody pressed him to drink a little, but the brother would not hear of it.

The abba of the community summoned a doctor to do what could be done for the dying man; but when he arrived and saw the brother in such a miserable condition, he too pressed him to take a little drink—but without success. The doctor then said to the abba: "Get me a large vessel." He poured four measures of tepid water into it and had the brother put into it up to his thighs, making him stay there for about an hour. The godly elder John the Eunuch assured us (for he said he was present when they took the brother out of the water) that when the doctor measured the water, he found it to have been reduced by one measure.

This is the sort of thing the ascetics endured in gaining complete self-mastery, inflicting hardships upon themselves for the sake of God in order to attain the good things of eternity. The same elder told us: "I went to the cell of a certain elder in that community, and I noticed that where he used to prostrate himself, there was a slab; it was on that slab that he would prostrate himself. Where his hands and knees touched, the slab was hollowed out to a depth of more than four fingers, so often did he prostrate himself."

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The Life of a Faithful Woman Who, With Wondrous Wisdom, Converted Her Gentile Husband to the Faith

On the island of Samos, Mary, the friend of both God and the poor and the mother of Master Paul, the military official attached to the court kandidatos, told us that there was a Christian woman in Nisbis whose husband was a pagan Hellén. They possessed fifty miliarisia.

One day, the husband said to his wife, “Let us lend out that money and get some advantage from it, for in drawing on it a little at a time, we are going to spend it all.” The wife answered, “If you insist on lending this money, come: lend it to the God of the Christians.” He replied, “Well, where is this God of the Christians, so we can lend it to Him?” She said, “I will show you. Not only shall you not lose your money, but it shall even earn interest for you, and the capital shall be doubled.” He said to her, “Come on then; show me Him, and we will lend to Him.”

She took her husband and led him to the most holy church. Now the church in Nisbis has five large doorways. As she brought him to the entrance, where the great porches are, she showed him the poor and said, “If you give to these persons, the God of the Christians receives it, for these are all His.” Immediately, with gladness, he gave the fifty miliarisia to the poor and went back to his house.

Three months later, their expenses exceeded their ability to pay. The man said to his wife, “Sister, the God of the Christians is not going to pay us back anything of that debt, and here we are, in need.” In reply, the woman said, “Yes, He will repay. Go to where you handed over the money, and He will return it to you right away.” He went off to the holy church at a run.

When he came to the spot where he had given the miliarisia to the poor, he went all around the church, expecting to find somebody who would give back to him what was owing. But all he found was the poor, still sitting there. While he was trying to decide to whom he should speak or whom he should ask, he saw at his feet, on the marble floor, one large miliaris lying there, one of those which he himself had distributed to the poor. Bending down, he picked it up and went to his house.

Then he said to his spouse, “Look, I just went to your church, and believe me, woman, I did not see the God of the Christians as you said I would. And He certainly did not give me anything, except that I found this miliaris lying there where I gave fifty of them away.” Then that wondrous woman said to him, “It is He who invisibly provided that miliaris, for He is invisible and He operates the universe with invisible power and an unseen hand. Now, go, sir; buy us something so we can eat today, and He will provide you with something else.”

Off he went and bought bread, wine, and fish for them. He came back and gave his purchases to his wife. She took the fish and began to clean it. When she cut it open, she found within a stone so magnificent that she was struck with wonder at it. She had no idea what it was, but she kept it nevertheless.

When her husband came, she showed him the stone she had found while they were eating and said, “Look, I found this stone inside the fish.” When he saw it, he too was amazed at its beauty, but he did not know what it really was. When they had finished eating, he said to her, “Give it to me; I will go and sell it if I can find a way of getting anything for it.” As I said, he did not know what it was, for he was a simple man.

He took the stone and went to the money-changer, who was also a silversmith. It was time for the smith to go home (for it was evening), but the man said to him, “Would you like to buy this stone?” When the money-changer saw it, he said, “How much do you want for it?” The man replied, “Give me what you will.”

The other replied, “Take five miliarisia for it then.” Thinking that the merchant was making fun of him, the man said, “Would you give that much for it?” The merchant thought the man was being sarcastic, so he said, “Well, take ten miliarisia for it then.” Still thinking that the merchant was making fun of him, the man remained silent, at which the merchant said, “Then take twenty miliarisia for it.” As the man still kept silent and made no response, the merchant raised his offer to thirty, and then to fifty miliarisia, swearing that he would indeed pay that much.

The seller of the stone realized that it must be very valuable if the merchant were prepared to pay fifty miliarisia for it. Little by little, the merchant raised his offer until it reached three hundred large miliarisia. This sum the man accepted. He handed over the stone and went home to his wife with a glad heart.

When she saw him, she asked him how much he had sold it for, expecting him to say five or ten miliarisia. He took out the three hundred miliarisia and handed them to her, saying that for so much he had sold the stone. Filled with wonder at the goodness of God, she said to him, “Oh husband, see how good and generous and affluent is the God of the Christians! Look how He has not merely returned to you the fifty miliarisia you lent Him, together with interest, but in only a few days has given you the capital multiplied by six! Know therefore that there is no other God, neither on earth nor in heaven, but Him alone.”

Convinced by this miracle and learning the truth by experience, he immediately became a Christian and glorified our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, gratefully acknowledging the intelligence of his wife by which it had been granted to him to know God in very truth.

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THE MIRACLE OF SOME WOOD GIVEN TO ABBA BROCHA, THE EGYPTIAN

Athanasios the Egyptian, who was connected with the civil authority, said that Abba Brocha found a spot in the wilderness outside the city of Seleucia near Antioch and tried to build a small cell there. As his building progressed, he wanted wood to build the roof.

One day, he went into the city and found Anatolios, known as ‘the hunchback,’ a magnate of Seleucia, sitting outside his house. He approached him and said, “Of your charity, give me a little wood to roof my house with.” The magnate replied testily, “Look, there is wood over there; take it, and go,” indicating a large mast that he had lying in front of his house, which he had made for a vessel of fifty-thousand bushels.

Abba Brocha responded, “The Lord bless you; I will take it.” Still in a bad humor, Anatolios remarked, “Blessed be God.” The elder grasped the mast, lifted it from the ground all by himself, and put it on his shoulders. In this way, he took it away to his cell.

Anatolios was so taken aback by this extraordinary miracle that he granted him as much wood as he required for his needs. With this, Abba Brocha was able not only to roof his cell but also to do many other things for his monastery.

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A Brief Life of Saint John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople

It was said of Saint John of Constantinople, justly known as Chrysostom (meaning "golden mouth") for the purity and brilliance of his teaching and the splendor of his eloquence, that from the day he received the salutary sacrament of baptism, he neither swore nor required anybody else to swear, nor lied, nor spoke, nor listened to witty words.

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The Story of a Monk of the Monastery of the Godly Pope Gregory, and of How He Was Absolved of Excommunication After Death

A priest named Peter, coming from Rome, told us concerning the saintly Gregory, pope of that city, that when he became pope, he built a large monastery for men and made a rule that none of the monks should have anything of his own whatsoever, not even an obol.

There was a brother there who had a brother in the world. To him, he appealed, saying, “I have no shirt. Of your charity, buy me one.” The brother in secular life said to him, “Here are three pieces of gold; take them and buy yourself whatever you like.” The monk took the three pieces of gold, then went and reported it to his higoumen, who, when he heard it, went and reported it to the most holy pope. When the blessed Gregory heard it, he excluded the brother from communion because he had contravened the rule of the monastery.

A little while later, the excluded brother died, and the pope did not learn about it. Two or three days later, the higoumen came and reported to him that the brother had gone to his rest. The pope was grieved at this in no small way—for not having absolved the brother of the punishment of exclusion before he departed this life.

So the pope wrote a prayer on a tablet and gave it to one of the archdeacons. He told him to go and read it over the brother. It was a prayer absolving the dead man from exclusion. The archdeacon went as he was commanded and read the letter containing the prayer over the brother. That same night, the higoumen saw the dead brother. The higoumen said to him, “Are you not dead, brother?” and he replied, “Yes, indeed.”

Then the abba asked him again, “Where were you until today?” The brother said to him, “Truly, sir, I was in prison, and I was not set free until yesterday.” Thus, everybody knew that he was absolved of his exclusion in the very same hour at which the archdeacon said the prayer over the grave and that his soul had been delivered from condemnation.

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The Wondrous Deed of Charity by the Holy Abba Apollinarios, Patriarch of Alexandria, for a Rich Young Man Reduced to Penury

We were told that the saintly Apollinarios, Pope of Alexandria, was outstanding for his almsgiving and compassion. To demonstrate this, they said that there was a young man whose parents were among the most prominent citizens of Alexandria. When they died, they left him their many possessions in the form of ships and gold, but he was unsuccessful in his management of this legacy and lost everything. He was reduced to absolute poverty, not by eating and wasting his substance in riotous living (Lk 15:13-14) but because he suffered shipwreck and various other adversities. From being one of the great ones, he became small. As the Psalmist says: "They mount up to the heavens above: they go down to the depths beneath" (Ps 106:26), so the young man, having been exalted in his riches, suffered a yet greater fall.

When the blessed Apollinarios heard about this and saw the dejection and indigence which had befallen the young man—since he had known his parents and how well-off they had been—he wanted to do something practical to help him. He sought to give him some small charitable donation to relieve his distress, but he was embarrassed over how to do so. Every time he saw the young man in his office, he was wounded in the soul at the sight of his disreputable clothes and his sad countenance, which are hallmarks of utter destitution.

While the Pope was in this dilemma, one day, by the inspiration of God, he devised a wonderful plan suitable for his blessedness. He sent for the legal officer of the most holy church, took him aside, and said to him: "Can you keep a secret for me, Master Chancellor?" He replied: "By the Son of God, I hope so, my lord. If it be your wish, I shall not tell anybody, nor would anyone ever learn anything you revealed to your servant from my lips."

Then Pope Apollinarios said to him: "Go and draw up a letter of credit against the most holy church in favor of Macarios, the father of the young man, for fifty pounds of gold. Have it witnessed and make an order for repayment, then bring that document to me." The chancellor did what the pope commanded immediately and without delay, then brought the document and gave it to him.

Since the father of the young man had been dead for ten years or more, but the paper was very new, the pope said: "Master Chancellor, go bury this paper in wheat or oats and bring it back to me in a few days’ time." The man went away and came back again after the stated number of days, bringing the document to the pope.

Then the pope said to the chancellor: "Now go and say to the young man: 'What will you give me in return for a document which is to your advantage?'—but see that you take no more than three pieces of gold from him, Master Chancellor." The chancellor replied: "In truth, my lord, if it is your will, I will not even take as much as that." The pope insisted: "No, I want you to take three pieces of gold."

At that, the chancellor went to the young man as he was commanded and said: "What will you give me if I provide you with something that will be of the greatest advantage to you?" The other agreed to pay whatever price was demanded. The chancellor thought for a moment, then said to the young man: "Five or six days ago, I was looking for some papers in my house and I found this document. I remembered that Macarios, your father (who trusted me), had left it with me for a few days. When he died, its fate was to lie forgotten in my house until this day, for it escaped my memory and it never came into my mind to give it to you."

The young man said: "How much do you want me to give you for it?" "Three pieces of gold," was the reply. "And do you know whether the party that is in debt to me is rich?" asked the young man. "Oh yes, rich indeed," the chancellor replied. "Rich and generous. You shall easily be able to recover the debt." The young man said: "God knows I have nothing; but if the debt is repaid, I will give you the three pieces of gold and as much more as you will."

Then the chancellor handed over the document worth fifty pounds of gold (16,380 grams). The young man took the document to the most holy pope, prostrated himself at his feet, and gave it to him. The pope took it and read it. Then he began to make himself look troubled. He said to the man: "Where have you been until now? Your father has been dead for more than ten years. Go away, sir; I give you no response."

He said to the pope: "Really, my lord, I did not have the document; the chancellor had it and did not know. But God was merciful to him, for he has now given it to me, saying: 'While I was looking for some papers, I found this.'" The pope sent him away, saying: "I will think about it, and in the meantime, I will keep the paper here with me."

A week later, the young man came back to see the pope, who again reproached him with taking so long to produce the document and again showed himself unwilling to give him anything. The young man said to him: "My lord, God knows that I do not have enough even to support my family. If God puts it into your heart to do anything, have compassion on me."

Then, pretending that he had just acceded to the man’s request, the saintly Apollinarios said to him: "I will repay you in full; but this, sir, I beg of you, brother, not to demand any interest of the holy church." The youth fell at his feet and said: "Whatever my lord requires of me, that will I do; and if he would like to reduce the capital, let him do so." The pope responded: "No, I am satisfied if you forego the interest."

Then he brought out fifty pounds of gold and dismissed the young man with many expressions of gratitude for having been excused the interest, as he said. This was how the godly Apollinarios worked in secret; this was the kind of beautiful deed he performed and the quality of his compassion. God so blessed that young man that he was able to rise out of poverty and regain his former standing. He exceeded his parents in wealth and possessions and also greatly benefited his soul.

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The Miracle Which Happened to the Boys of Apamea Who Recited the Prayer of Consecration in a Game

This is what was told to us by George, the Governor of the Province of Africa; a man who loved Christ, the monks, and the poor; one who was endowed with all the virtues which are pleasing to God. In my homeland (he was from the district of Apamea in the second Eparchy of Syria, from a town named Thorax), there is an estate called Gonagos, forty miles from the city. Some children were pasturing animals about a mile away from the property. As is usually the case, these children wanted to play games the way children do.

While they were playing, they said to each other, “Let us have a service and offer the holy sacrifice.” They all thought this was a good idea, so they chose one of their number to serve as priest and two others to be deacons. They came to a flat rock and began their game. They placed loaves on the rock, which was to serve as an altar, and some wine in an earthenware vessel. They took their places, the one who was to be priest and the two would-be deacons on either side of him. The priest recited the Prayer of Oblation (proskomidé) while the other two fanned the air with branches.

The acting priest found that he knew the Prayer of Consecration (anaphora) by heart, for in those days it was customary for children to stand before the holy sanctuary during divine worship and to be the first after the clergy to partake of the holy mysteries. As it was also the custom in some places for the priests to say the prayer out loud, children learned it by heart from continually hearing it audibly recited. They did everything according to the custom of the church; but before they divided the bread, fire came down from heaven and consumed all the offerings, burning up the entire stone. Not a trace remained, neither of the rock nor of what had been set upon it.

When the children saw this sudden phenomenon, they all fell to the ground and lay there, half dead. They could neither raise their voices nor get up from the ground. When they failed to return to the estate at the hour at which they usually came back (for they were lying stunned on the ground), their parents went out from the estate to find out why they had not returned as usual. They searched and found them lying there, but the children could recognize nobody; nor could they reply when spoken to.

When the parents saw them half dead like that, each one took up his own child and carried it back to the estate. They were staggered to see the children in such a strange condition, for they could not discover the reason for it. They questioned the children about it often, all day long, but they could get no response from them. It was simply impossible to find out what had happened to them until that day had passed and the night too.

Then, little by little, the children became themselves again, and they told their parents what they had done and what had happened. Then the parents set out with the children and with the proprietors of the estate, and the children pointed out the spot where that extraordinary occurrence had taken place. They also indicated some traces of the fire that had descended. This convinced those who heard the story that it was true, so they went running to the city and reported everything in detail to the bishop of the city. He was amazed to hear such a tall story. He went out to the scene of the event together with all the clergy. He saw the children and heard from them what had happened. He also saw the evidence of the fire from heaven.

He sent the children to a monastery and converted the place where the event happened into a distinguished monastery. He built the church on the spot where the fire had descended and erected the holy altar there. The same Master George told us that he had himself seen one of the children in that very monastery where this wonder had occurred. This is the divine and angelic wonder which was reported by George, the friend of Christ, to have happened in our own time.

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THE REPLY OF SAINT ATHANASIUS, BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA, TO THE QUESTION OF WHETHER ONE CAN BE BAPTISED WITHOUT FAITH

Saint Athanasius, the Pope of Alexandria, was once asked whether a person could be baptized whose beliefs were not in accordance with the faith and preaching of the Christians, and what would be the fate of—or how would God receive—somebody who had been baptized under false pretenses and had simulated belief.

Athanasius replied: “You have heard from those of old how the blessed martyr, Peter, was faced with a situation in which there was a deadly plague and many were running to be baptized for no other reason than that they feared death. A figure appeared to him that had the appearance of an angel and said to him: ‘How much longer are you going to send from here those purses which are duly sealed, but are altogether empty and have nothing inside them?’ So far as one can tell from the saying of the angel, those who have the seal of baptism are indeed baptized since they thought they were doing a good work in receiving baptism.”

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THE STORY OF A SIMPLE ELDER WHO USED TO SEE ANGELS WHEN HE OFFERED THE EUCHARIST

One of the fathers said that there was an elder who was pure and holy; he, when celebrating the Eucharist, would see angels standing to his right and to his left. He had learned the Eucharistic rite from heretics, but as he was unlearned in theological matters, he spoke the prayer in all simplicity and innocence, unaware that he was at fault.

By the providence of God, a brother skilled in theology came to him, and it happened that the elder offered the Eucharist in his presence. The brother, who was a deacon, said to him: "Father, these things which you say at the Eucharist are not in accordance with the orthodox faith; they are heresy, not orthodox but kakadox." Since the elder could see angels while he was celebrating, he paid no attention to what was said and thought nothing of it.

But the deacon continued, "You are at fault, good elder; the Church does not allow those things to be said." When the elder realized he was being accused and blamed by the deacon, the next time he saw the angels, he asked them, "When the deacon speaks to me like this, what am I to make of it?" They said to him, "Pay attention to him; he is giving good counsel."

The elder responded, "Then why did you not tell me so?" They replied, "Because God has ordained that men should be corrected by men." From that time forth, he accepted correction, giving thanks to God and to the brother.

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How A Young Goldsmith Became The Adopted Son Of A Man Of Patrician Rank

One of the fathers told us of a gifted young man who was apprenticed to a goldsmith and became highly skilled in his craft. A person of patrician rank commissioned the goldsmith to make a jeweled cross as an offering to the church. As the youth was very gifted, the master charged him with the work.

The youth thought, “Since the patrician is offering so much wealth to Christ, why should I not add my wages to the value of the cross so that Christ will reckon this in my favor, just as he did that widow’s two mites?” He calculated how much he was going to receive, borrowed that amount, and disbursed it towards the making of the cross.

When the patrician came, he weighed the cross before the precious stones were set in it and found that it weighed more than the mass of gold he had given. He began accusing the youth of having deceitfully tampered with the gold. The youth replied, “He who alone knows the secrets of our hearts is fully aware that I have done no such thing. I saw how much money you were offering to Christ, and I thought I would add my wages so that I could have a share in the offering together with you, and that Christ would accept my offering as he did the two mites of that widow” (Mark 12:42; Luke 21:2).

The patrician was astounded at this. He said, “Did you really think that, child?” The youth answered that he did. “Since you thought like that and dedicated your entire course of action to Christ in order to gain a share in my offering, from this day forward I make you my son and heir.” He took him with him and made him his heir.

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THE LIFE OF A MOST NOBLE MAN OF CONSTANTINOPLE WHOSE FATHER, WHEN HE WAS DYING, LEFT HIM THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AS HIS GUARDIAN

One of the fathers who had gone to Constantinople to attend to some necessary business said: While I was sitting in the church, a man who was illustrious in the worldly sense but also a great lover of Christ came in; and when he saw me, he sat down. He then began asking about the salvation of the soul. I told him that the heavenly life is given to those who live the earthly life in a seemly way.

‘You have spoken well, father,’ he said. ‘Blessed is the man whose hope is in God and who presents himself as an offering to God. I am the son of a man who is very distinguished by the standards of the world. My father was very compassionate and distributed huge sums among the poor. One day he called me; showing me all his money, he said to me: “Son, which do you prefer; that I leave you my money, or that I give you Christ as your guardian?” Grasping the point he was making, I said I would rather have Christ; for everything that is here today shall be gone tomorrow: Christ remains forever.

So from the moment he heard me say that, he gave without sparing, leaving very little for me when he died. Thus, I was left a poor man, and I lived simply, putting my hope in the God whom he bequeathed to me.

There was another rich man, one of the leading citizens, who had a wife who loved Christ and feared God; and he had one daughter: his only child. The wife said to the husband: “We have only this one daughter, yet the Lord has endowed us with so many goods. What does she lack? If we seek to give her in marriage to somebody of our own rank whose way of life is not praiseworthy, it shall be a continual source of affliction to her. Let us rather look for a lowly man who fears God; one who will love her and cherish her according to God’s holy law.”

He said to her: “This is good advice. Go to church and pray fervently. Sit there, and whoever comes in first, he it is whom the Lord has sent.” This she did. When she had prayed, she sat down and it was I who came in at that moment. She sent a servant to call me straightaway and began asking me where I was from. I told her that I was from this city, the son of such-and-such a man.

She said: “He who was so generous to the poor? And do you have a wife?” I said I did not. I told her what my father had said to me and what I had said to him. She glorified the Lord and said: “Behold, the good guardian whom you chose has sent you a bride—and riches, so that you may enjoy both in the fear of God.”

I pray that I might follow in my father’s footsteps to the end of my days.

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THE LIFE OF THE SERVANT OF GOD, ABIBAS, THE SON OF A WORLDLY MAN

One of the fathers said there was a man living in the world who had a pious son, pure and temperate in all things, who, from his childhood, had not drunk wine. It was his intention to withdraw from the world. The father wanted him to become involved in business matters, but the son was reluctant. There were other brothers, but he was the oldest. As his father's wishes and his own could not be reconciled, the father was always reproaching him and casting his temperance in his teeth, saying, “Why are you not like your brothers, and why do you not get yourself involved in business affairs?” The son endured it all in silence; everybody loved him for his piety and his moderation (sophrosuné).

When the father was dying, some of the family, together with others who were friends of Abibas (for that was the son’s name), came together and said, “Perhaps the father will deny the servant of God his inheritance,” for they thought that he hated his son from the way he used to revile him. They resolved to intercede with the father (who was sick) on his son’s behalf. They went to him and said, “We have a favor to ask of you.” He said to them, “What would you ask of me?” They replied, “It concerns Master Abibas. We want to ask you not to despise him.” He said, “You want to ask a favor of me for him?” They said they did, and he continued, “Call him here to me.”

They thought he was going to reproach him as usual. When the son came in, the father told him to come near to him—which he did. The father then collapsed in tears at his feet, saying, “Forgive me, my child, and pray to God that the wrong I have done you may not be held against me. For you were seeking for Christ, and I was burying myself in worldly affairs.” He called his other sons and said to them, “This is your master and your father. Whatever he says you may have, that you may have; and whatever he says you may not have, that you may not have.” They were all astonished. The father then died.

Abibas gave to each brother his share of the inheritance, and he took his own share too, but he gave it all to the poor, leaving nothing for himself. He built a small cell into which he could withdraw from the world, and when the cell was completed, he fell ill. His end was approaching. His monastic brother was sitting with him, to whom the dying man said, “Go and keep company with your household, for it is a holy day” (it was the feast of the Holy Apostles). The brother replied, “How could I go and leave you?” The other responded, “Go; and when the time comes, I shall call you.”

When the time came, he stood at the window and knocked. The brother heard and obeyed the sick man’s signal to come. As soon as he entered, the older brother surrendered his soul to the Lord. Everybody was amazed and glorified God, saying, “His end was worthy of the love with which he loved Christ.”

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CONCERNING ANOTHER WISE WOMAN WHO, BY JUDICIOUS ADVICE, TURNED ASIDE A MONK WHO WAS HARASSING HER

Somebody told of a brother who lived in a community and who used to be sent to conduct the business of his house. There was a devout secular person in a village who used to give him hospitality as an act of faith whenever he came in and out of the village. This man had a daughter who had recently been widowed after living with her husband for a year or two. As the brother came in and out of their house, he began to be troubled by thoughts of her. Being no fool, she realized this and took care not to enter his presence.

One day, her father went into the neighboring city on necessary business, leaving her alone in the house. The brother came, as was his custom, and finding her alone, he asked, “Where is your father?” She replied, “He has gone into the city.” Then he began to be troubled by temptation and wanted to throw himself on her. She prudently said to him, “Do not be troubled; my father shall not return until evening. There are only the two of us here. But I know you monks never do anything without prayer. Get at it, then; pray to God, and if He puts it in your heart to do something, then we will do that.”

This was not acceptable to him, for temptation continued to rage within. She asked him, “Have you ever really known a woman?” He replied, “No; and that is why I want to know what it is like.” She responded, “That is why you are troubled by temptation, for you do not know the bad odour of wretched women.” To cool his ardour, she added, “I am having my period. Nobody can come near me or bear the smell of me because of the stench which mars my body.”

When he heard this and similar remarks from her, he regretted what had happened; he regained his composure and wept. When she realized that he was himself again, she said, “Look, if I had listened to you and given in, we would already have been satisfied—and would have sinned utterly. How then could you have looked my father in the face or returned to your monastery to hear the choir of those holy ones who sing there? Be sober, I beg of you; and do not be so ready to lose all the sufferings you have endured and to deprive yourself of the good things of eternity, just for the sake of a little short-lived pleasure.”

When he heard what she had to say, the brother to whom this happened shared the story with him who now relates it, giving thanks to God who, by the woman’s prudence and temperance, had prevented him from taking an irremediable fall.

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A Stratagem by Which a Great Lady Was Taught Humility

One of the holy fathers said that a woman of senatorial rank came to worship at the Holy Places. When she arrived in Caesarea, it pleased her to stay there in solitary retirement at Aésuchasai. She asked the bishop to give her a virgin who could train her in religion and teach her the fear of God. The bishop selected a modest virgin and gave her to the great lady.

Sometime later, the bishop encountered her and asked, “How is the virgin I gave you?”

“She is fine,” she replied, “but not much benefit to my soul because she is so humble that she lets me go my own way. I need somebody who will stand up to me and not let me do whatever I want.”

So, the bishop took away the first virgin and sent another, a stern one who addressed her as “fool of a rich woman” and heaped similar imprecations upon her. Afterwards, the bishop asked her again how she found the virgin, and the lady replied, “This one is certainly good for my soul,” and she became distinguished for her humility.

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THE LIFE OF AN ALEXANDRINE GIRL WHO WAS RECEIVED FROM THE SACRED FONT BY ANGELS

Abba Theonas and Abba Theodore said that in the time of the Patriarch Paul, there was a maiden in Alexandria who lost both her parents, who had possessed a great fortune. The girl was unbaptized at the time of her bereavement. One day, she went apart into the garden that her parents had left her (for there are gardens in the middle of the city, in the houses of the great ones).

While she was in the garden, she saw a man preparing to hang himself. She rushed to him and said, “What are you doing, good man?” He replied, “Look, leave me alone, woman, for I am in great affliction.” The maiden said to him, “Tell me the truth, for perhaps I may be able to help you.” He told her, “I am heavily in debt, and my creditors are putting pressure on me to repay them. I have chosen to die rather than lead such a woeful existence.”

The maiden said to him, “I beg of you, take whatever I have and give it to them; only please do not destroy yourself.” He took what she offered and paid off his debts. Then the girl began to run into difficulties. Having no one to look after her (because she had been deprived of her parents) and being in great need, she began to prostitute herself. Some people who knew her and were aware of the standing which her parents had enjoyed in society said, “Who knows the judgments of God or why He allows a soul to fall for some reason or other?”

Some time later, the girl fell ill and came back to her senses. Consumed with remorse, she said to her neighbors, “For the sake of the Lord, have mercy on my soul; speak to the pope about making me a Christian.” But they all laughed at her and said, “As if he would accept this woman who is a prostitute!” This caused her great distress.

While she was in this condition and feeling very frustrated, an angel of the Lord stood by her in the form of the man on whom she had compassion. He said to her, “What is the trouble?” She replied, “I desire to become a Christian, and nobody will stand up for me.” He asked, “Do you really want this?” She replied, “Yes, I beg of you.” He said, “Take courage; I will get some people to take you to church.” He brought two others, who were also angels, and they carried her to the church.

Then, they transformed themselves into illustrious personages of prefect rank. They summoned the clergy charged with the responsibility for baptisms, and these asked, “Your Charity will vouch for her?” They answered, “Yes.” Then the clergy did what was called for in the service for those who are about to be baptized; they baptized her in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and they vested her in the garment of the neophyte.

Clothed in white, she returned home, carried by the angels, who set her down and promptly disappeared. When the neighbors saw her all in white, they asked her, “Who baptized you?” She told them of those who had taken her to church, how they had spoken to the clergy, and how the clergy had baptized her. They inquired who those people were, to which she would give no answer. So they went and reported the matter to the pope.

He summoned those in charge of the baptistry and asked them, “Did you baptize that woman?” They admitted that they had baptized her, adding that she had been vouched for by so-and-so of prefectorial rank. The bishop sent for those whom they had named and inquired whether they had vouched for her. They replied, “We are not aware of having done so, nor do we know anybody else who has.” Then the bishop realized that this was divine business.

He summoned the woman and asked, “Tell me, daughter, what good have you done?” She said, “I am a prostitute and a poor woman too; what good could I do?” He asked her, “Are you not aware of ever having done any good deed at all?” She responded, “No, except that I once saw a man about to hang himself because he was being harassed by his creditors. I gave him my entire fortune and freed him of his debt.”

She said this and fell asleep in the Lord, released from both her voluntary and involuntary deeds of sin. Then the bishop glorified God and said, “Righteous you are, O God, and upright are your judgments.” (Ps 118:137)

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THE FINE RESPONSE OF AN ELDER TO A BROTHER BESIEGED BY DEPRESSION

A brother who was in the grips of depression asked an elder: "What am I to do; for I am assailed by doubts which say to me: 'You became a monk in vain: you shall not be saved'?"

The elder replied: "You know, brother, even if we cannot enter the promised land, it is better for our bones to fall in the wilderness than for us to turn back to Egypt."

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THE FINE EXHORTATION OF A CERTAIN HOLY ELDER ON THE WORDS OF THE LORD’S PRAYER: LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION

One of the saints said: When we pray to the Lord and say, "Lead us not into temptation," we are not saying this so that we shall not be tried; that would be impossible. We are praying not to be overcome by temptation to the extent of doing something displeasing to God. That is what it means not to enter temptation.

The holy martyrs were tried by their torments, but as they were not overcome by them, they did not enter into temptation, any more than someone who fights with a beast and is not devoured by it. When he is devoured, then he has entered into temptation. So it is with every passion, as long as one is not overcome by that passion.

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CONCERNING AN ELDER OF GREAT VIRTUES WHO GOT A BROTHER WHO HAD STOLEN THINGS FROM HIM OUT OF PRISON

One of the higoumens said: An elder was living near our community, a good man in spiritual matters. A brother lived near him. When the elder was somewhere else, the brother was incited to open his cell door, go in, and take the elder’s books and vessels. When the elder came, he opened the cell door and found his equipment stolen. He went and told the brother about it, and there were his things right there in plain view (for the brother had stowed them away).

The elder did not want to put him to shame or condemn him, so he pretended that his belly was troubling him. He went out and stayed away for as long as it would take to do the necessary, long enough for the brother to stow away the vessels out of sight. Then the elder returned and began to ask about some other matter and did not accuse the brother.

Some days later, the elder’s equipment was found. They arrested the brother and threw him into prison, but the elder learned nothing about it whatsoever. When he eventually heard that the brother was in prison, he did not know why he was there.

“He came to me,” said the higoumen, “for he visited us frequently, and he said to me: ‘Of your charity, give me a few eggs and some white bread.’ I said to him: ‘Obviously, you have guests today,’ and he said he had.” He was, in fact, taking those provisions to the prison to offer some comfort to the brother.

When he entered the prison, the brother fell at his feet and said: “It is on your account that I am here, abba. It is I who stole your equipment. But look: your book is in such-and-such a place and your vestment is in such-and-such a place.”

The elder said to him: “Be assured, child, that is not why I came; neither was I in the least aware that it was because of me that you are here. But hearing that you were here, I was grieved and came to offer you some comfort. See, here is white bread and some eggs. And I will do everything I can until I get you out of prison.”

He went and interceded with some important people, for he was known to them for his virtue. They sent and released the brother from prison.

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OF TWO BROTHERS WHO EXERCISED MARVELOUS PATIENCE IN DEALING WITH ROBBERS

One of the elders said: “An elder of great virtue visited us, and we were reading the sayings of the holy fathers in the book called Paradise, for that elder was always very fond of going through the sayings. He inhaled them, as it were, and from that seed he produced the fruit of every virtue. We came to the story of that elder to whom robbers came and said: ‘We have come to take everything in your cell.’ When he replied, ‘Take whatever you like, children,’ they took everything and went their way. But they had overlooked a purse that was hanging in the cell.

The story says that the elder took the purse and ran after the robbers, shouting and saying to them: ‘Children, take this from me, which you overlooked in our cell.’ They were so amazed at his forbearance that they gave back to the elder everything that had been in his cell. And they repented, saying to each other: ‘Truly, this is a man of God.’

When we read this, the elder said to me, “You know, abba, this saying has been very advantageous to me.” I asked him, “How so, father?” And he said: “I read this at a time when I was in the Jordan region, and I was filled with admiration for the elder. I said: ‘Lord, let me follow in his footsteps, you who have counted me worthy to embrace this way of life.’ While this desire was still strong within me, two days later some robbers came by. When they knocked at the door, I knew they were robbers. I said to myself: ‘Thanks be to God; the occasion has arisen for me to show the fruit of my desire.’ I opened the door and welcomed them cheerfully. I lit a lamp and began showing them the things that were there, saying: ‘Do not worry; before the Lord, I believe that nothing shall be hidden away from you.’ They said to me: ‘Have you any gold?’

‘Yes,’ I replied, ‘I have three pieces of gold.’ I opened the chest before them; they took the gold and went their way in peace.” With a smile, I asked him if they had returned like the robbers in the saying. He replied without hesitation, “No, God forbid! Nor did I want them to come back.”

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WHY THERE ARE SIGNS AND PRODIGIES FROM GOD IN THE HOLY CHURCH

One of the elders spoke of the divine prodigies that happen in the Church of God even now due to the godless heresies that used to flourish and still do, particularly because of the heresy of Severus Acephalos and the pernicious sects associated with it. These prodigies occur for the assurance and confirmation of weaker souls and for the conversion of the sectaries themselves, should they be so disposed. For these reasons, miracles were performed daily in the Catholic Church of God (as they still are) by the godly fathers and, before them, by the holy martyrs.

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THE MIRACLE OF THE BAPTISMAL FONT IN THE CITY OF COEANA

Sorouda is a village in the vicinity of the city of Coeana. There is a font there that exudes liquid on the feast of the Epiphany. It fills itself up over a period of three hours and, after the baptism, it slowly empties itself again, taking three hours to do so.

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ANOTHER MIRACLE: OF THE BAPTISTRY OF THE VILLAGE OF CEDREBAT

In the village of Cedrebat, in the vicinity of the city of Oenoanda, there is a font that consists of one single piece of stone. At the paschal feast of the resurrection, it suddenly fills up on its own accord and retains the water until Pentecost. Then, suddenly, after Pentecost, the water disappears. Both of these wonders are in the Province of Lycia. If anybody does not believe this, it is no burdensome journey to Lycia, where they can inform themselves of the truth.

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SOME GOOD ADVICE ABOUT NEITHER BEING OBDURATE NOR REMAINING OBDURATE

Once, when J was in the Holy City, a person who loved Christ approached me and said, "There had been a small altercation between my brother and me, and he will not be reconciled with me. You go speak to him and reason with him." I received this commission joyfully.

I called the brother and spoke to him about those things that foster love and peace. It seemed as though he was coming around to my point of view. At last, he said to me, "I cannot be reconciled with him because I swore on the cross." I responded with a smile, "Your oath was equivalent to saying, 'Oh Christ, by the honorable cross, I will not keep your commandments, but I will do the will of your enemy, the devil.' We ought not only to halt what we have set in motion, but also (and even more so) to repent and lament for what we have wrongly instigated to our own hurt.

As the divinely inspired Basil says, 'If Herod had repented and not kept his oath, he would not have committed that heinous sin of beheading John the Forerunner of Christ.' Finally, I presented the opinion of Saint Basil, which he took from the Gospel: that when Christ wanted to wash the feet of Saint Peter, although the apostle obstinately refused at first, he afterwards changed his mind. Some manuscripts add that when he heard this, he was reconciled with his brother.

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THE BEST ADVICE OF AN ELDER: THAT A MONK SHOULD NOT GO NEAR A WOMAN

An elder said: “Children, salt comes from water. But if it comes back to water, it is dissolved and disappears. So the monk comes from a woman; and if he comes back to a woman, he is undone and, insofar as his being a monk is concerned, he dies.”

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How Abba Sergios Pacified a Cursing Farmer by Patience

The higoumen of the monastery of Abba Constantine, Abba Sergios, told us: Once we were traveling with a holy elder, and we lost our way. Quite without meaning to, and indeed without knowing where we were going, we found ourselves in sown fields and trod down some of the seedlings. The farmer was working there, and he noticed what we had done. He began to upbraid us angrily in these words: “You are monks? You fear God? If you had the fear of God before your eyes, you would not have done this.”

At once, the holy elder said to us: “For the Lord’s sake, let nobody say anything,” and he addressed the farmer: “Well spoken, my child. If we had the fear of God, we would not be doing these things.” Again, the farmer spoke angry and abusive words, to which the elder again responded: “You speak the truth, child, when you say that if we were true monks, we would not have done this; but, for the sake of the Lord, forgive us, for we have sinned.”

The farmer was astonished. He came and threw himself at the feet of the elder, saying: “I have sinned, forgive me, and for the Lord’s sake, take me with you.” The blessed Sergios said: “And in truth he followed along with us; and when he came here, he received the monastic habit.”

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THE LIFE OF CONON, PRIEST OF THE COMMUNITY OF PENTHOUCLA

At the monastery of our holy father Sabas, we met Athanasios. The elder told us this tale: When I was in the Community of Penthoucla, there was a priest there who baptized. He was a Cilician, and his name was Conon. He had been appointed to administer baptisms because he was a great elder. He would anoint and baptize those who came there; however, it was an occasion of acute embarrassment for him whenever he had to anoint a woman. For this reason, he wanted to withdraw from the community.

But whenever he thought of withdrawing, Saint John would stand by him, saying, "Persevere, and I will make the struggle easier for you." One day, a Persian damsel came to be baptized, and she was so very beautiful that the priest could not bring himself to anoint her with the holy oil. After she had waited two days, Archbishop Peter heard of it and was very angry with the elder. He wanted to appoint a woman deacon for the task, but he did not do so since this would have been contrary to custom.

Conon the priest took up his sheepskin cloak and went his way, saying, "I will not stay in this place any longer." However, when he got into the hills, Saint John the Baptist met him and said to him in a gentle voice, "Go back to your monastery, and I will make the struggle easier for you." Abba Conon replied in anger, "Believe me, I will not return. You have often made that promise to me, and you have done nothing about it."

Saint John then made him sit down on one of the hills, stripped him of his clothes, and three times made the sign of the cross beneath his navel. "Believe me, Conon the priest," he said, "I wanted you to carry away some reward from the struggle. But since you did not wish it to be so, I have caused the struggle to cease. However, you shall have no reward for this."

Conon the priest returned to the task of baptizing in the community, and the next day, he baptized and anointed the Persian without even being aware that she was of the female sex. For twelve years, he anointed and baptized without suffering any physical disturbance and with no awareness of women’s femininity; thus he drew his life to a close.

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THE LIFE OF A GREAT ELDER

The same elder also told us about a certain great elder of the same lavra who spent fifty years in his cave. He never drank wine, and the only bread he ate was made from bran. He received communion three times a week.

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THE LIFE OF THEOPHANES, HIS WONDROUS VISION AND CONCERNING INTERCOURSE WITH HERETICS

There was an elder residing at the Lavra of Calamén on the holy Jordan whose name was Cyriacos. He was a great elder in the sight of God. A brother came to him, a stranger from the land of Dara, named Theophanes, to ask the elder about lewd thoughts. The elder began to encourage him by talking about self-control and purity.

Having benefitted greatly, the brother said to the elder, "Abba, in my country I am in communion with the Nestorians, sir; which means I cannot stay with you, even though I would like to." When the elder heard the name of Nestorios, he became very concerned about the destruction of the brother. He urged and besought him to separate himself from that noxious heresy and to go to the Catholic, apostolic church. He said to him, "There is no other way of salvation than rightly to discern and believe that the holy Virgin Mary is in truth the Mother of God."

The brother replied, "But truly, abba, all the sects speak like that, sir: that if you are not in communion with us, you are not being saved. I am a simple person and really do not know what to do. Pray to the Lord that by a deed he will show me which is the true faith." The elder was delighted to grant the brother this request. He said to him, "Stay in my cell and put your trust in God that his goodness will reveal the truth to you."

He left the brother in the cave and went out to the Dead Sea, praying for him. About the ninth hour of the second day, the brother saw a person of awesome appearance standing before him and saying, "Come and see the truth." He took the brother and brought him to a dark and disagreeable place where there was fire—and showed him Nestorios, Theodore, Eutyches, Apollinarios, Evagrios, Didymus, Dioscoros, Severus, Arius, Origen, and some others, there in that fire.

The apparition said to the brother, "This place is prepared for heretics and for those who blaspheme against the holy Mother of God and for those who follow their teachings. If you find this place to your liking, then stay with the doctrine you now hold. If you have no wish to experience the pains of this chastisement, proceed to the holy Catholic church in which the elder teaches. For I tell you that if a man practices every virtue and yet does not glorify God correctly, to this place he will come."

At that saying, the brother returned to his senses. When the elder came back, he told him everything that had happened, exactly as he saw it. Then he went and entered into communion with the holy Catholic and apostolic church. He stayed with the elder at Calamén and, having passed several years in his company, he fell asleep in peace.

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A Miracle of the Most Holy Eucharist

About twenty miles from the city of Aégaion in Cilicia, there were two stylites located about six miles from each other. One of them was in communion with the holy Catholic and apostolic church. The other, who had been on his column for a longer time (which was near an estate called Cassiodora), adhered to the Severan sect.

The heretical stylite disputed with the orthodox one in various ways, contriving and desiring to win him over to his own sect. After disseminating many words, he seemed to have gotten the better of him. The orthodox stylite, as though inspired by divine influence, requested the heretic to send him a portion of his Eucharist. The heretic, delighted and thinking that he had led the other astray, sent the required portion immediately without the slightest delay.

The orthodox received the portion that was sent to him by the heretic (the sacrament of the Severan sect) and cast it into a pot that he had brought to a boil. The substance dissolved in the boiling water. Then, he took the holy Eucharist of the orthodox church and cast it into the pot. Immediately, the pot cooled down, and the holy communion remained safe and undampened. He still keeps it, as he showed it to us when we visited him.

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The Life of a Monk of the Monastery of Abba Severian and How He Was Prudently Restrained by a Country-Girl from Sinning with Her

When I was in Antioch the Great, I heard one of the priests of the church saying that the Patriarch Anastasios told something of this sort: A monk from the monastery of Abba Severian was sent to serve in the district of Eleutheroupolis. He put up at the home of a Christ-loving farmer, the father of a daughter (his only child) whose mother was dead.

After the monk had been some days in the farmer’s house, the devil, he who is always contending with humanity, thrust unclean thoughts upon the brother. He became disturbed concerning the maiden and sought an opportunity to have his way with her. The devil, who was responsible for this disturbance, took care to provide the desired opportunity. The maiden’s father went to Ascalon to deal with some pressing business. Knowing that there was nobody in the house but the maiden and himself, the brother approached her with the intention of forcing his attentions upon her.

When she realized how disturbed he was and how he burned with desire for her, the maiden said to him: “Do not be so excited and do not act ignobly toward me; my father will not return either today or tomorrow. But first, listen to what I have to say to you and then, the Lord knows, I will do anything you wish.”

She began to reason with him: “You, brother, how long have you been in your monastery?” He said: “Seventeen years.” She replied: “Have you had any experience with a woman?” He said he had not. The maiden responded: “And you wish to destroy all your labor for the sake of an hour's pleasure? How many times have you poured out tears that you might present your flesh spotless and without stain to Christ? And now you are willing to dissipate all that labor for the sake of a short-lived pleasure? And if I do as you wish and you fall into sin with me, have you the wherewithal to assume responsibility for me and to support me?”

The brother confessed he had not. The maiden replied: “In truth, this is no lie: if you disgrace me, you will be the cause of many evils.” The monk asked her: “How so?” She explained: “You will destroy your soul and, in the second place, you will have to answer for my soul. To make you aware of this, I will convince you with an oath. If you disgrace me, I swear by Him who said ‘Thou shalt bear no false witness’ that I will hang myself. Thus you will be found guilty of murder too, and in the judgment, you will be judged as a murderer. Rather than become the cause of so much evil, go back to your monastery. You will have plenty to do in praying for me.”

The brother regained his composure and returned to his normal state of mind. He left the farm and went back to his monastery, where he fell prostrate before the higoumen with the prayer that he might never again for the rest of his life go out of the monastery. He lived for three months and then passed over to the Lord.

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THE LIFE OF A MONK, A RECLUSE ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES AND CONCERNING THE VENERATION OF AN ICON OF THE MOST HOLY MOTHER OF GOD

One of the elders told us that Abba Theodore the Aeliote said that there was a certain recluse on the Mount of Olives, a great warrior against whom the demon of sexual desire waged battle. One day, when the demon attacked with vehemence, the elder began to give up in despair and said to the demon, “How much longer are you not going to let me go? Desist from growing old together with me!”

The demon appeared to him in visible form, saying, “Swear to me that you will never reveal to anybody what I am about to tell you, and I will no longer wage war against you.” The elder swore, “By Him who dwelleth in the heavens, I will not tell anybody what you say.” The demon responded, “Desist from venerating this icon here, and I will call off my war against you.” The icon in question bore the likeness of our Lady Mary, the holy Mother of God, carrying our Lord Jesus Christ. The recluse said to the demon, “Let me go and think about it.”

The next day, he sent for Abba Theodore the Aeliote (the one who told us this story), for at that time he was residing at the Lavra of Pharén. When Abba Theodore came, the recluse told him all there was to tell and received this reply: “In fact, you were ensnared when you swore, Abba. But you are quite right to speak out. It were better for you to leave no brothel in the town unentered than to diminish reverence from our Lord Jesus Christ and from His Mother.” Abba Theodore strengthened and comforted the recluse with many words and then returned to his own place.

The demon reappeared to the recluse and said to him, “What is this then, you wicked old man? Did you not swear to me that you would not tell anybody? Why then have you revealed everything to the man who came to see you? I tell you, you wicked old man, you will be tried as an oath-breaker at the day of judgment.” The recluse answered, “I know that I gave my oath and broke it, but it was with my Lord and Creator that I broke faith; you I will not obey. As the initiator of evil counsel and of the oath-breaking, you are the one who will have to face the inescapable consequences of the misdeeds you brought about.”

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THE WONDROUS VISION OF ABBA CYRIACOS OF THE LAVRA OF CALAMON AND CONCERNING TWO BOOKS OF THE IMPIOUS NESTORIOS

We once paid a visit to Abba Cyriacos the priest at the Lavra of Calamén on the Holy Jordan, and he told us this story:

One day, in my sleep, I saw a woman of stately appearance clad in purple. After her, I saw two reverend and honorable men standing outside my cell. It seemed to me that the woman was our Lady, the Mother of God, and that the men with her were Saint John the Divine and Saint John the Baptist. I went out of my cell and invited them to come in and offer a prayer in my cell, but she would not agree to my request. I persisted at some length, entreating her and saying, "Oh, let the simple not go away ashamed" (Ps 73:21) and much else.

When she realized that I was importunate with my invitation, she answered me coldly, saying, “How can you ask me to enter your cell when you have my enemy in there?” With these words, she went away.

When I awoke, I began to worry and to wonder if I might have offended her in my thoughts, for there was nobody in the cell but me. I examined myself at some length and could find no fault which I might have committed against her. As it seemed that I was about to be overcome with remorse, I rose up and took up a scroll intending to read it, thinking that perhaps reading would alleviate my distress. It was a book I had borrowed from Hesychios, priest of Jerusalem.

I unwound it and found two writings of the irreligious Nestorios written at the end of it—and immediately I knew that he was the enemy of our Lady, the holy Mother of God. So, I rose up and went off and gave the book back to him who had given it to me. I said to him, “Take your book back, brother, for I have not derived as much benefit from it as it has brought adversity upon me.”

When he asked me how it had caused me adversity, I told him what had happened. When he had heard about it all, he immediately cut the writings of Nestorios off from the scroll and threw the piece into the fire, saying, “The enemy of our Lady, the holy Mother of God, shall not remain in my cell either.”

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A Miracle of the Holy Mother of God Against Gaianas the Actor Who Was Blaspheming Her in the Theatre

Heliopolis is a city of Lebanese Phoenicia. There was an actor there named Gaianas who used to perform at the theatre an act in which he blasphemed against the Holy Mother of God. The Mother of God appeared to him, saying: “What evil have I done to you that you should revile me before so many people and blaspheme against me?”

He rose up and, far from mending his ways, proceeded to blaspheme against her even more than before. Three times she appeared to him with the same reproach and admonition. As he did not mend his ways in the slightest degree, but rather blasphemed even more, she appeared to him once while he was sleeping at mid-day and said nothing at all. All she did was to sever his two hands and feet with her finger.

When he woke up, he found that his hands and feet were so afflicted that he just lay there like a tree trunk. In these circumstances, the wretched man confessed to everybody, making himself a public example, that he had received the reward for his blasphemy. And this he did for the love of his fellow men.

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ANOTHER MIRACLE OF THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD BY WHICH COSMIANA, WIFE OF GERMANOS, WAS COMPELLED TO RETURN TO THE TRUE FAITH FROM THE SEVERAN HERESY

Anastasios, priest and treasurer at the holy Church of the Resurrection of Christ our God, told us that Cosmiana, the wife of Germanos the Patrician, came one night wishing to worship alone at the holy and life-giving sepulchre of our Lord Jesus Christ, the true God.

When she approached the sanctuary, our Lady, the holy Mother of God, together with other women, met her in visible form and said to her, “As you are not one of us, you are not to come in here, for you are none of ours.” The woman was, in fact, a member of the sect of Severus Acephalos. She begged earnestly for permission to enter, but the holy Mother of God replied, “Believe me, woman, you shall not come in here until you are in communion with us.”

The woman realized that it was because she was a heretic that she was being refused entry, and that she would not be allowed in until she joined the holy Catholic and apostolic Church of Christ our God. She sent for the deacon, and when the holy chalice arrived, she partook of the holy body and blood of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ. Thus, she was found worthy to worship unimpeded at the holy and life-giving sepulchre of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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The Life of Abba Julian, the Elder of the Egyptians’ Monastery

Anazarbos is the metropolis of Cilicia Secunda. About twelve miles away is the so-called ‘Lavra of the Egyptians.’ The fathers of that place told us that, five years earlier, an elder named Julian had died there. They testified that he spent about seventy years in one little cave and that he possessed nothing of this world’s goods other than a hair shirt, a cloak, a book of the gospels, and a wooden bowl. They also said this of him: that all his life long he never lit a lamp to give light, for at night-time, a light shone upon him from heaven, sufficient for him to discern the sequence of the letters when he was reading.

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THE LIFE OF ABBA LEONTIOS THE CILICIAN

Some fathers told us about Abba Leontios the Cilician, who served devotedly on the staff of the New Church of our Lady Mary, the Holy Mother of God. For about forty years, he never came out of that church; he was always deep in thought and always kept his own counsel.

They also told us this about him: if he saw an indigent coming towards him, and if it was a blind man, he would give him something into his hand. But if it were one who could see, Abba Leontios would put the coins before the man, perhaps on the base of a column, on a seat, or maybe on the sanctuary steps, and the poor man would take them from there himself.

When an elder asked why he did not give the coins into the hand of a beggar, he answered: “Forgive me, father, but it is not I who gives. It is my lady, the Mother of God, who provides for both me and for them.”

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THE BEAUTIFUL SAYING OF A MURDERER TO A MONK WHO FOLLOWED HIM WHEN HE WAS BEING LED TO EXECUTION

The same Abba, Palladios, told us of something that happened at Arsinoé, a city of the Thebaid. A man was arrested there for murder. After suffering many tortures, he was finally condemned to be beheaded. As he was being taken to where he had committed the murder (a point about six miles outside the city), there was a monk following behind, apparently with the intention of seeing how he would be decapitated.

As he passed along the way to his execution, the condemned man saw the monk who was following and said to him: “Well now, abba, have you no cell, sir, nor any work to occupy your hands?” The monk answered: “Of course I have a cell, brother, and also something to occupy my hands.” The man rejoined: “Then why do you not stay in your cell and weep for your sins?” The monk replied: “Ah, brother, I am very negligent of my soul’s health—and that is precisely why I am coming to see how you die, that by this means I might come to have some compunction.”

The condemned man said to him: “Go your way, abba; remain in your cell, sir, and give thanks to God who saved us. It was because he was made man and died for us that man dies no more the eternal death.”

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ABBA PALLADIOS’ STORY OF AN OLD MAN WHO COMMITTED MURDER AND FALSELY ACCUSED A YOUTH OF THE SAME CRIME

Abba Palladios told us that an old man living in the world was arrested for murder. When he was tortured by the magistrate of Alexandria, he claimed that somebody else had been involved in the murder as his accomplice—a young fellow about twenty years old. Both were severely tortured. The old man said, “You were with me when I committed the murder.” The youth denied having anything to do with the affair and asserted that he had not been with the old man.

After enduring severe torture, both were condemned to be hanged. They were taken to the fifth mile-post from the city, where it was customary to punish such criminals. About one stade away, there was a ruined temple of Kronos. Upon arriving at the place, the populace and the soldiers wanted to hang the youth on the scaffold first. He made a profound act of obeisance before the soldiers and said, “For the sake of the Lord, of your charity, hang me towards the east so that I may look in that direction when I am hanging there alone.”

The soldiers asked him, “Why so?” He replied, “In truth, sirs, it is only seven months since your unworthy servant received baptism and became a Christian.” When they heard this, the soldiers wept for the youth. The old man then called out in great anger, “By Serapis, hang me so I look towards Kronos!” When the soldiers heard the blasphemy of the old man, they decided to leave the youth aside and hang the old man instead.

As they were carrying this out, a mounted messenger arrived from the prefect and instructed the soldiers, “Do not execute the youth; bring him back.” This news brought joy to all the soldiers present. They took the youth and brought him back into the praetorium, where the prefect released him. Having been rescued when he had despaired of salvation, the young man went on to become a monk.

We have written this for the benefit of many, including ourselves, so that we might be aware that the Lord knows how to deliver the godly from temptation.

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THE FINDING OF AN HOLY ANCHORITE ON MOUNT AMANON

One of the fathers in Theoupolis told us: We once went up into Mount Amanon for some reason and I found a cave. When I went in, I discovered an anchorite, kneeling down with his hands stretched out to heaven. The hair of his head reached down to the floor.

Thinking that he was alive, I made an act of obeisance before him, saying, “Pray for me, father.” As he made no reply, I got up and went close to him, intending to embrace him. When I touched him, I found that he was dead, so I left him and went out.

A little further on, I saw another cave. This I entered and found an elder. He said to me, “Welcome, brother; have you seen the other elder’s cave?”

“Yes, father,” I replied, and he asked me, “Did you get anything there?” To which I replied, “No.” He then said to me, “Naturally, brother, for the elder has been dead for fifteen years.” Yet he appeared as though he had died only an hour before. The monk offered a prayer for me, and I went my way, glorifying God.

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THE LIFE OF PATRICK, AN ELDER AT THE ATTRRE MONASTERY OF SKOPELOS

There was an elder living in the monastery of our holy father, Theodosios, who was a native of Sebasteia in Armenia, and his name was Patrick. He was of very great age, claiming to be one hundred and thirteen years old, very humble, and given to silence. The fathers of that place told us that this virtuous elder had once been higoumen of the community at Abazan; he had abandoned that position for fear of the judgment. "It is for great men to shepherd the spiritual sheep," he said. Thus, he came here and put himself under obedience, believing that this would be more beneficial to his soul.

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THE LIFE OF PARDOS, THE ROMAN MONK

The fathers of that same monastery told us about another elder who had been there and had recently died. His name was Abba Paul, and he came from Rome. (As a young man, he had been a muleteer.)

One day, he set out for Jericho with some mules. There was a small child at the inn whom, at the instigation of the devil and without the knowledge of Abba Paul, a mule had trampled and killed. Deeply troubled by this, Abba Paul fled into the wilderness and arrived at Arona, where he became an anchorite. He continually lamented the death of the child, saying: “I put that child to death, and it is as a murderer that I will have to stand at the judgment.”

There was a lion nearby, and each day, Abba Paul would go into its den, teasing and provoking it to jump up and devour him—but the lion did him no harm whatsoever. When he realized that he was not succeeding, Abba Paul said to himself: “I will lie down on the lion’s path; then, when he comes on his way down to drink at the river, he will devour me.”

He lay there, and after a little while, the lion came by. As though it were a human, it very carefully stepped over the elder without even touching him. Then the elder knew that God had forgiven him his sin. He came back to his monastery, where he led an exemplary life that greatly benefited and edified everybody until the day of his falling asleep in God.

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VARIOUS SAYINGS OF AN EGYPTIAN ELDER

I took my lord Sophronios, and we went in search of a particularly distinguished elder, an Egyptian, at the lavra located eighteen miles from Alexandria. I said to the elder, “Abba, say something to us, sir, about the way in which we ought to live with each other, for my lord the sophist here has a desire to renounce the world.”

The elder said, “Well done indeed, my child, if you renounce the world and save your soul. Settle yourselves in a cell. Where does not matter; only that you live there in sobriety and recollection, praying unceasingly. And have a good hope in God, my child, that He will send you knowledge of Himself to illuminate your minds.”

Again he said, “Children, if you wish to be saved, flee from people. Today there is no end to our knocking on doors, our traveling around all the cities and countryside, to see if there is anywhere we can snap up some gratification for our avarice and vain-glory, filling our souls with vanity.”

Furthermore, the elder said, “Let us meet, children, for the time draws nigh.” Another time he said, “Ah, me! How we shall weep and repent for those things of which we do not repent now!”

Again he remarked, “We do not retain the virtue of humility when we are praised to the skies, nor are we able to tolerate criticism. The one increases our vain-glory; the other brings grief to us poor, miserable creatures. No good thing is to be found where there is grief and vain-glory.”

He continued, “Our fathers, who were great and wondrous, were the pastors of many. I, on the other hand, cannot even direct one sheep but am always falling prey to wild beasts.”

Again he said, “This is the way the demons work; after causing a soul to fall into sin, then they cast us into despair to destroy us completely. The demons are always saying to the soul, ‘When will his name die and be destroyed?’ If the soul is one of sobriety, it will answer them and say, ‘I shall not die but live, and declare the works of the Lord.’ Yet since the demons are very impudent, they will turn back on you, saying, ‘Flee as a sparrow unto the hill.’ We must answer them: ‘God Himself is my savior and my helper; I shall not be removed.’”

Again he said, “Be the doorkeeper of your heart. So that no alien may enter therein, say: ‘Are you on our side or the adversary's?’”

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THE LIFE OF MENAS THE DEACON, A MONK OF RAITHOU

Abba Sergios of Raithou told us about a brother from there called Menas, who became a deacon. He went out into the world to perform his ministry, but what became of him we do not know, except that he put aside the monastic habit and returned to the world.

A long time afterward, he went off to Theoupolis (Antioch), and as he was returning from Seleucia, he saw the monastery of the saintly Abba Symeon in the distance. He said to himself, “I will go up to see Symeon the Great,” for he had never seen him. So up he went and came near to the column. When Abba Symeon saw him, he recognized him as a monk and as one who had been ordained a deacon. He called his servant, saying, “Bring the shears here.” Then he said to the man who brought them, “Blessed be the Lord! Tonsure that man there.” With his very own finger, he singled him out, for there were many people around the column.

Menas was astonished at these words and was seized by mighty dread. He patiently submitted without speaking, for he realized that God must have revealed the truth about him to the elder. Abba Symeon then said to him, “Say the deacon's prayer.” When the prayer had been recited, the saint said to him, “Begone to Raithou whence you came.” However, Menas said he was ashamed and could not endure disgrace in the sight of men.

The saint spoke to him again, “Believe me, child, you do not have to feel disgrace for this. The fathers will receive you with smiling faces and gladness at your return. Know this also: God is going to put a sign on you so that you might know His gentle kindness has pardoned this sin.”

When he came to Raithou, the fathers received him with open arms and put him in the sanctuary. One Sunday, as he was carrying the holy and life-giving blood of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, one of his eyes suddenly came out. By this sign, they knew that God had forgiven him his sin, just as the righteous Symeon had foretold.

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THE LIFE OF ABBA ZOSIMOS THE CILICIAN

When I was staying at Mount Sinai, I met Abba Zosimos the Cilician there. This elder renounced episcopal office and returned to his cell. He was greatly advanced in asceticism, and this is what he told me:

"When I was a young man, I left Mount Sinai and went to Ammoniac to stay in a cell. There I found an elder dressed in a short-sleeved shirt of palm-fibre. When the elder saw me, before greeting me, he said: 'Why have you come here, Zosimos? Get away from here: you cannot stay in this place.'

I thought he knew me. I made a prostration before him, saying: 'Of your charity, elder, whence do you know me?' He said to me: 'Two days ago, a being appeared to me who said: “A monk is coming to you whose name is Zosimos. Do not allow him to stay here; it is my will to entrust him with the church of the Egyptian Babylon—Cairo.”'

He fell silent and left me, going about a stone's throw from me. There, he spent some two hours in prayer. Then he came back to me and kissed me on the forehead, saying: 'Naturally, child, you are welcome, for God has brought you here to bury my body.'

I asked him: 'How many years have you been here, abba?'

'I am completing my forty-fifth year,' he replied. It looked to me as though his face were of fire. He said to me: 'Peace be with you, child; pray for me.'

And with that, the servant of the Lord lay down and fell asleep. I dug a grave and buried him. Two days later, I went my way, glorifying God.

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THE LIFE OF A STYLITE

The same Abba Athanasios said that he had heard Abba Athenogenes, Bishop of Petra, mention that in his territory there was a stylite. Everybody who came to him would stand down below to speak to him, for there was no ladder. Whenever a brother said to him, “I wish to tell you a private thought,” the stylite would reply in a gentle voice, “Come to the base of the column,” and he would himself move to the other side of the plinth. Thus placed, they would converse: the stylite on high, the brother down below. None of the others who were standing there could hear what was being said.

According to Abba Athanasios, the bishop also told how there were two grazers who were very attached to each other. They visited the aforementioned stylite over a period of many years, both together; one never came without the other. But one day, one of them came to visit the stylite without the other knowing about it. He knocked at the gate for a long time, but the elder would not allow it to be opened for him. He wearied of knocking and went away. On the return journey, he was met by his friend, who was himself going to see the stylite. So the first grazer returned with the second one so that they could both come to the elder at the same time.

When he knocked at the gate, the elder let it be known that the second grazer was to enter alone. When this one came in, he began begging the elder to let the other one enter too. The elder said he would not receive that one. When the first one continued pleading with him, the elder told him, “God rejects him, child, and I cannot receive him.” They went back to their own parts, and two days later, the first one died.

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ABBA JOHN’S STORY ABOUT ABBA CALINICOS

The same Abba John said: When I was a young man, I had a longing to go to the great and famous elders to receive their blessing and to be edified by them. I heard of Abba Calinicos the Great, the recluse at the Monastery of Abba Sabas. I asked one of them who knew him to bring me to him.

The elder who had brought me sat down at the window and spoke with the elder through the window for a long time. I told myself that, since the elder had never seen me, he would not be inclined to receive me. However, the elder mentioned withdrew from the window, bidding me to enter, to greet the elder, and to be blessed by him.

He said to him: “Father, pray for this, your servant, for it was one of his dearest wishes to come here.” The elder replied: “But of course, my child; I know him. Twenty days ago, I went down to the holy Jordan and he met me on the road and said to me: ‘Pray for me.’ I asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He answered: ‘John.’ I have known him since then.”

When I heard this, I realized that when I had conceived the desire to come to him, God had revealed my name and who I was to him.

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THE AMAZING TALE OF AMOS, PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE MOST SACRED LEO, THE ROMAN PONTIFF

When Abba Amos went down to Jerusalem and was consecrated patriarch, all the higoumens of the monasteries went up to do homage to him, and among them, I also went up, together with my higoumen. The patriarch started saying to the fathers: "Pray for me, fathers, for I have been handed a great and difficult burden, and I am more than a little terrified at the prospect of the patriarchal office. Peter and Paul and Moses, men of their stature, are adequate shepherds of the rational sheep, but I am a person of little worth. Most of all, I fear the burden of ordinations.

I have found it written that the blessed Leo, who became primate of the Church of the Romans, remained at the tomb of the Apostle Peter for forty days, exercising himself in fasting and prayer, invoking the Apostle Peter to intercede with God for him, that his faults might be pardoned. When forty days were fulfilled, the apostle appeared to him, saying: "I prayed for you, and all your sins are forgiven, except for those of ordinations. This alone will be asked of you: whether you did well or not in ordaining those whom you ordained."

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THE LIFE OF ABBA SOPHRONIOS THE SOLITARY AND SOME INJUNCTIONS OF MENAS

Abba Menas, the higoumen of the monastery of Abba Severian, spoke about Abba Sophronios the grazer: "He grazed around the Dead Sea. For seventy years, he lived naked, eating wild plants and nothing else."

Abba Menas also mentioned that he had heard Abba Sophronios say, "I prayed to the Lord that the demons would not come near my cave. I saw them coming to within three stades of the cave, but they were unable to come any nearer."

He advised the brothers in the community, saying, "My little children, let us avoid communications with those of the world, for these can be hurtful, especially to younger monks." He further stated, "Persons of every age, both young and old, need to repent in order to enjoy eternal life in the future with praise and great glory. Young men need to repent because, in the full flood of carnal desire, they have bent their necks beneath the yoke; old men need to repent so that they might change their propensity for evil, which has been reinforced by long habitude."

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THE LIFE OF AN ELDER OF THE COMMUNITY OF THE SCOLARII, A SIMPLE MAN

Abba Gregory, priest of the Community of the Scholarii, told us that at Monidia there lived a monk who was an exceedingly hard worker, but somewhat indiscriminate in matters of faith. He would receive Holy Communion in whatever church he happened to be in.

One day, an angel of God appeared to him and said, “Tell me, elder, when you die, how do you want us to bury you? The way the Egyptian monks bury the dead, or after the custom of Jerusalem?” The elder replied that he did not know, and the angel responded, “Think about it. I will come to you three weeks from now and you shall tell me.”

The elder went to a colleague and shared what he had heard from the angel. The second elder was utterly amazed at this revelation. He stared at the man for a long time; then, inspired by God, he asked, “Where do you partake of the holy mysteries?” The other replied, “Wherever I happen to be.”

The elder admonished him, “Never again should you communicate outside the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, in which the four holy councils are named: the council of the three hundred and eighteen fathers at Nicaea, that of the one hundred and fifty fathers at Constantinople, the first Council of Ephesos of two hundred, and that of the six hundred and thirty fathers at Chalcedon. And when the angel comes, say to him, ‘I wish to be buried according to the custom of Jerusalem.’”

Three weeks later, the angel came and asked, “Which is it to be, elder? Have you given thought to the matter?” The elder replied that he wished to be buried according to the Jerusalem custom. The angel responded, “Very well, very well,” and the elder immediately surrendered his soul. This was done so that the elder would not lose his labor and be condemned as a heretic.

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The Wondrous Deed of David, the Egyptian

Abba Theodore the Cilician said: When I was staying at Scété, there was an elder there called David. One day he went out with some other monks to reap. The Scetiotes have this custom of going out to the estates to reap. The elder went to an estate and offered himself for hire on a day-to-day basis. A farmer hired him, and as the elder was reaping around the sixth hour, it was very hot. So the elder entered a shack and sat down. When the farmer came and saw him sitting there, he said to him angrily, “Elder, why are you not reaping? Do you not realize that I am paying you?”

He replied, “Yes, but the heat is so intense that the grains of wheat are falling out of the husks. I am waiting a little for the heat to abate so that you suffer no loss.” The farmer said to him, “Get up and work, even if everything bursts into flames.” The elder responded, “Do you want it all to burn?” The farmer angrily rejoined, “Isn’t that what I said?”

The elder stood up, and suddenly the field began to burn. In fear, the farmer went to the other part of the field where the other elders were reaping. He begged them to come and intercede with the elder for him, to pray that the fire might cease. They came and made an act of obeisance to the elder, who said, “But he himself said that it should burn.” Yet they were able to convince him.

He went and stood between the part of the field that was burning and the part that remained unscathed. He offered a prayer, and immediately the fire in the field was extinguished. The rest of the crop was saved. Everybody was amazed and glorified God.

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THE LIFE OF Moschos, THE MERCHANT OF TYRE

At the community of the Cave of Saint Sabas, we visited Abba Eustathios, the higoumen. He told us about a merchant from Tyre called Moschos. This is what he recounted while we were in Tyre:

"When I was engaged in commerce, late one evening I went to bathe. On the way, I came across a woman standing in the shadows. I approached and greeted her; she agreed to follow me. I was so diabolically delighted that I did not bathe but went straight to dinner. I did my best to persuade her, but she would not consent to taste a morsel.

Finally, we got up to go to bed, and as I began to embrace her, she let out a tremendous cry and broke into tears, saying, 'What a woeful wretch I am!' I was trembling as I asked her what was the matter. She wept even more and said, 'My husband is a merchant, and he has been shipwrecked. He lost both his own property and that of others. Now he is in prison because of the losses he caused. I am at my wits’ end about what to do and how to get bread for him. I decided, in great shame, to sell my body in order to get bread. They have taken everything from us.'

I asked her, 'How much is owing?' She replied, 'Five pounds of gold' (360 pieces or 1638 grams of gold). I took out the gold and gave it to her, saying, 'For fear of the judgment of God, I have not touched you. Go, redeem your husband with this gold, and pray for me.'

Some time later, certain slanders against me reached the ears of the emperor, claiming that I had squandered my merchandise. The emperor sent for me, seized all my estate, dragged me to Constantinople in my shirt, and delivered me into prison. I lay there for some time in the old shirt. Every day, I heard that the emperor intended to put me to death. I despaired of my life; it was in tears and lamentation that I went to sleep.

I seemed to see that woman whose husband had been imprisoned. She said to me, 'What is the trouble, Master Moschos? Why are you imprisoned here?' I told her that I had been falsely accused and that I thought the emperor intended to execute me. She asked, 'Do you want me to speak to the emperor about you and have you set free?' I asked her, 'Does the emperor know you?'—and she replied that he did. I awoke, confused about what this could mean.

A second and a third time, she appeared to me and said, 'Have no fear; tomorrow you will go free.' At dawn, they took me to the palace on the emperor's orders. When I went in and he saw me in my disreputable garment, he said, 'I am moved to compassion for you. Go, and act correctly in the future.'

I saw that woman standing at the emperor’s right hand. She said to me, 'Take heart and do not be afraid.' The emperor ordered my property to be restored to me, provided me with many goods, re-appointed me to my former position with great honor, and made me his representative.

That very night, the same woman appeared to me and said, 'Do you know who I am? It was upon me that you took pity when, for the sake of God, you respected my body. Behold, I have delivered you from danger. So you see how kindly God deals with men. That is how you dealt with me, and I have extended my mercy towards you.'"

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THE TEACHING OF ABBA JOHN OF CYZICOS ON HOW TO ACQUIRE VIRTUE

When we were going from holy Gethsemane to the Mount of Olives, we came to a monastery known as Abba Abraham's, which was founded by Abraham the Great (of the New Church of the all-glorious Mother of God, the ever-virgin Mary). He became higoumen there after Eudoxios. The higoumen was Abba John of Cyzicos when we were there.

One day, we asked him how one could attain virtues. The elder replied: “Anybody who would attain a certain virtue cannot succeed unless he first hates the vice that is the antithesis of that virtue. If you wish to attain sorrow, then you must hate laughter. Do you long for humility? Then hate haughtiness. Do you wish to be temperate (egkratés)? Then hate gluttony. If you want to be pure, then hate lewdness. If it is poverty you long for, then hate material possessions. If you wish to be an almsgiver, then hate the greed for money.

Anybody who would live in the wilderness, let him hate cities. Anybody who wants to practice the discipline of silence must hate unrestricted speech. Anybody who would be as a stranger, let him hate ostentation. The man who desires to be free of anger must hate all communication with persons living in the world. He who would be forgiving must hate recrimination; he who would be undisturbed (aperspastos) must live alone. He who wants to master his tongue, let him seal his ears so that he does not hear much. He who wishes to live in unbroken fear of God, let him shun bodily rest but love affliction and distress. Thus shall he perfectly serve God.”

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The Life of Two Brothers Who Were Syrian Money-Dealers

Abba Theodore, higoumen of the Old Lavra, told us that there were two brothers, Syrian money-dealers, in Constantinople. The elder brother said to the younger, "Come, let us go down to Syria and take possession of the paternal home." The younger replied, "Why both of us? We would have to leave the business unattended. You go, and I will stay here. Or let me go, and you stay here." They came to an agreement that the younger brother should go.

A little while after his departure, the brother who stayed in Constantinople saw an elder in his sleep who said to him, "Do you know that your brother has committed adultery with the tavern-keeper’s wife?" When he woke up, he was distressed and said to himself, "This is my fault. Why did I let him go alone?" A little later, he saw the same elder again, who said, "Do you know that your brother has forced his attentions on the tavern-keeper’s wife?" The brother was grieved again by this.

A third time, a little while later, he saw the same elder, who said, "Do you know that your brother has destroyed an honest woman and has degraded himself with the tavern-keeper’s wife?" He wrote from Constantinople to Syria, urging his brother to leave everything and return to Byzantium at once, without delay.

When the younger brother received the letter, he immediately left everything and went back to his brother. When the elder brother laid eyes on him, he took him to the Great Church and began to reproach him with a heavy heart, saying, "Did you do well in fornicating with the tavern-keeper's wife?" When the younger brother heard this, he began to swear by Almighty God that he did not know what his brother was talking about; that he had never had sinful intercourse, nor any intercourse at all except with his lawful wife.

When the elder brother heard this, he asked, "Have you then done something even worse?" The younger brother denied it, saying, "I am not aware of having done anything irregular, except that I found monks in our village of the Severan persuasion. Not knowing whether this was a bad thing, I made my communion with them. I have not done anything else, so far as I am aware."

The elder brother realized that his brother's fornication consisted of having left the holy Catholic Church for the heresy of Severus Acephalos, a tavern-keeper indeed. In this, he had fallen into disgrace and besmirched the nobility of the true faith.

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The Life of a Woman Who Remained Faithful to Her Husband, a Merchant, and How God Helped Them Both

We came to the hospice of the Fathers at Ascalon, and there Eusebios the priest said to us: There was a merchant of our city who set sail and lost all his goods and everything else he was carrying at sea. He alone was saved. When he returned, he was seized by his creditors and thrown into prison. Everything in his house was confiscated. There was nothing left to him except what he and his wife stood up in.

Although she was in great distress and anxiety, she made it a rule to at least feed her husband with bread. One day, while she was sitting and eating with her husband in prison, a person of note came in to distribute some comforts to the inmates. When he saw the woman, who was free to come and go, sitting with her husband, he was smitten with desire for her, for she was exceedingly good-looking. He sent a message to her through the gaoler, and she came to him with a light heart, expecting to receive some charity.

He took her aside and said to her, "What is the matter? Why are you here?" She told him the whole story, and he replied, "If I discharge your debt, will you sleep with me tonight?" She, being very beautiful and pure-minded, said to him, "My lord, I have heard the Apostle Paul say that a wife does not have authority over her own body; her husband has. Let me go and ask my husband, sir, and I shall do what he commands."

She returned and told her husband the whole matter. He was a wise man who loved his wife dearly; he did not let the prospect of freedom lead him astray. Sighing deeply and shedding tears, he said to her, "Go and refuse the man, sister, and let us hope in God that He will not abandon us at the last." She got up and sent the man away, saying, "I told my husband, and he was unwilling."

At that time, there was a highwayman who had been thrown into the inner prison. Observing all that passed between the husband and his wife, he sighed to himself and said, "Look at their situation—yet they would not surrender their honor either for money or for freedom. They hold chastity to be of more worth than all riches and despise the things of this life. And what shall I do, wretch that I am, who have never even thought about the question of whether there is a God—and on that account, I am responsible for so many murders?"

He called them over, and through the window of the cell where he lay, he said to them, "I was a robber, and many are the evil deeds and murders I have committed. For that reason, when the governor comes and I appear before him, I shall die as a murderer. Yet when I saw your chastity, I was moved with compassion for you. Go to such-and-such a place by the city wall; dig there, and take the money you find. You are to have it to discharge your debts and to make many charitable donations. Pray for me, that I might receive mercy."

A few days later, the governor came to the city and ordered the robber to be brought out and beheaded. The day afterward, the woman said to her husband, "Is it your wish, sir, that I go to the place revealed by the robber and see if he was telling the truth?" He said to her, "Do what you think best."

She got a small mattock and, in the evening, went to dig at the spot he had mentioned. She found a covered pot filled with gold. She used it very prudently, giving it out a little at a time (as though she were borrowing from this one and that one) until she had discharged all their debts. Then she was also able to get her husband out. The man who told us this story said, "Behold, even as they were faithful to the law of God, so did our Lord and God multiply His mercies on them."

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The Exhortation of an Elder Who Lived at Sceté to a Monk, Not to Enter Taverns

There was a monk living at Scété who went up to Alexandria to sell his handiwork. He saw a younger monk go into a tavern, which troubled the elder. He waited outside, intending to meet the monk when he came out, and indeed, this is what happened.

When the younger monk came out, the elder took him by the hand and led him aside, saying to him, “Brother, do you not realize that you are wearing the holy habit? Do you not know that you are a young man? Are you not aware that the snares of the devil are many? Do you not know that monks who live in cities are wounded by means of their eyes, their hearing, and their clothing? You went into the tavern of your own free will; you hear things you do not want to hear and see things you would rather not see, dishonorably mingling with both men and women. Please do not do it, but flee to the wilderness where you can find the salvation you desire.”

The young man answered him, “Away with you, good elder. God requires nothing but a pure heart.”

Then the elder raised his hands to heaven and said, “Glory to You, O God, that I have spent fifty years at Scété and have not acquired a pure heart, yet this man, who frequents taverns, has attained pureness of heart.” He turned to the brother and said, “May God save you and not disappoint me in my hope.” (Psalm 118:116)

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The Life of Evagrios the Philosopher Who Was Converted to the Christian Faith by Synesios, Bishop of Cyrene

While we were in Alexandria, Leontios of Apamea, a devout man who loved Christ, came from Pentapolis, where he had made his home for some years in Cyrene. In those days of Eulogios, the saintly Pope of Alexandria, the future bishop of the same town of Cyrene came too. When we were all together, he told us that in the time of Theophilos, the blessed Pope of Alexandria, Synesios the philosopher became Bishop of Cyrene.

When he came to Cyrene, he found there a philosopher named Evagrios, who had been his fellow student and had remained his good friend, even though he was strongly attached to the cult of idols. Bishop Synesios wanted to convert him. He not only wanted to, but also made great efforts and put himself to much trouble and care for the sake of the friendship he had held since the beginning. The other would neither be persuaded nor would he accept the bishop’s teaching in any way. Yet, for the sake of his great friendship, the bishop was unfaltering in his efforts, continuing day by day to instruct, entreat, and exhort his friend to believe in Christ and to come to a full knowledge of Him.

This persistent effort had its effect: one day, the philosopher said to him, “You know, Bishop, of all the things which you Christians say, there is this, sir, which displeases me. It is that there will be an end to this world and that, after the end, everybody who existed throughout this age shall arise in this human body and shall live forever in that incorruptible and immortal flesh; that they shall receive their rewards—a body who has compassion on the poor lends to God; that anyone who distributes money to the poor and destitute lays up treasures in heaven and shall receive them back from Christ a hundredfold at the regeneration, together with eternal life. All this seems to me to be deception and a laughing matter; a yarn that is no more than an old wives’ tale.”

Bishop Synesios assured him that all the beliefs of the Christians were true and that there was nothing false or alien to the truth about them. He attempted to demonstrate, with many examples, that this was so. A long time afterward, the bishop succeeded in making him a Christian. He baptized the philosopher, his children, and everybody in his household.

A little while after his baptism, he gave the bishop three gold denarii for the benefit of the poor. “Take these three kenténaria, give them to the poor, and let me have a certificate that Christ shall give them back to me in the world to come.” The bishop took the gold and promptly made out the desired certificate.

The philosopher lived for some years after his baptism, and then he fell terminally ill. At the point of death, he said to his children, “When you prepare me for burial, put this paper in my hands and bury me with it.” When he died, they did as he had commanded and buried him together with the handwritten paper.

On the third day after his burial, while Bishop Synesios was lying down at night, the philosopher appeared to him and said, “Come to the tomb where I lie and take your handwritten paper, for I have received what was owing to me. I am satisfied and I have no further claim on you. To make you quite sure, I have counter-signed the paper in my own hand.” The bishop was not aware that his handwritten certificate had been buried with the philosopher.

The next morning, he sent for the dead man’s sons and said to them, “What did you deposit in the tomb together with the philosopher?” They thought he was speaking to them about money and they replied, “Nothing, my lord, except the grave clothes.” “What then,” he asked, “Did you not bury a paper with him?” Then they remembered, for they did not realize he was talking about a paper. They said, “Yes, my lord; when he was dying, he gave us a paper and said: ‘When you prepare me for burial, lay me out so that I am holding this paper in my hand, and nobody else is to know about it.’”

Then the bishop told them of the dream he had seen that night. He took the sons, the clergy, and some prominent citizens and went off to the philosopher’s tomb. They opened it, and they found the philosopher lying there, holding the bishop’s handwritten certificate in his own hands. They took it from his hands, opened it, and found this, newly written on it, in the philosopher's hand: “From me, Evagrios the Philosopher, to you, sir, the most holy Bishop Synesios, greetings. I have received what you wrote down in this promissory note. I am satisfied, and I have no further claim on you in respect to the gold which I gave you; or rather, by your agency, to Christ our God and Saviour.”

Great was the amazement of those who saw it. For many hours they cried out, “Lord, have mercy,” glorifying God who works wonders and grants such assurance to His servants. Master Leontios assured us that the manuscript with the philosopher’s signature has survived to this day and is lying in the treasury of the church of Cyrene. It is delivered into the safekeeping of each man who is appointed custodian there, together with the sacred vessels. He guards it diligently and will pass it on, safe and sound, to his successors.

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RUFINUS’ ANECDOTE OF SAINT ATHANASIOS AND OTHER BOYS WHO WERE WITH HIM

Rufinus, the ecclesiastical historian, reported something similar that happened a long time ago to children at play. It concerns Saint Athanasios, the great proclaimer and defender of the truth, the bishop of the great city of Alexandria, who shepherded all his charges prudently and according to the will of God.

Speaking of the saint’s childhood, Rufinus shows how his elevation to the episcopate was originally foreshadowed by a revelation from God. Let us trace the history of this man, the kind of life he led as a child, and the manner of his upbringing, insofar as these things have come to our ears.

The saintly Alexander succeeded Achilles as Pope of Alexandria, just as Saint Peter the martyr-archbishop foretold, he who condemned the impious Arius. One day, Alexander was looking out to sea when he saw some children playing on the shore as children usually do. They were imitating a bishop and all the ceremonies customary in church. Paying careful attention to what was going on, he realized that they were acting out some of the secret parts of the mysteries. This troubled him, so he immediately summoned the clergy.

He showed them what was taking place and required them to apprehend all those children and bring them to him. When they arrived, he asked them about the nature of their game and what they were doing. Being children, they were frightened and initially denied everything. However, they then told him every detail of their game: how they had baptized some catechumens by the hand of Athanasios—whom those children had appointed as their bishop.

Then Alexander inquired diligently of them which ones they had baptized, and when he discovered that everything had been performed strictly in accordance with the customs of our religion, he informed his clergy of this, decreeing that those who had been made worthy of that holy bath stood in no need of a second baptism. He sent Athanasios and the others who served as clergy back to their parents, to be brought up in the fear and nurture of the Lord, especially Athanasios, whom he soon afterwards consecrated to God.

Being better endowed with godly attributes, he was advanced to a higher rank by the then-archbishop; such was his distinction. The archbishop summoned the parents of Athanasios and the other children whom Athanasios pretended to have as his priests and deacons in the game, and with God as his witness, handed them over to the church to be nourished therein.

A little time elapsed during which Athanasios was thoroughly educated by a short-hand writer and sufficiently by a grammar school teacher. Then, as a sacred trust committed to them by the Lord, he was handed back to the priest by his parents, and like a second Samuel, he was raised in the temple of God. When Alexander went to visit other bishops in his old age, he would have Athanasios follow him, carrying the vestment of priesthood known as the ephod in the Hebrew tongue.

So great were Athanasios’ exertions against the heretics on behalf of the Church that it might seem as though that verse were especially written for him—the one which says: "I will show him what he must suffer for my name’s sake." The whole world conspired to persecute him; the kings of the earth showed him what he must suffer for His name’s sake. The whole earth moved, kingdoms and armies came together against him.

But he stood fast by the saying of God which states: "Though a host of men were laid against me, yet shall not my heart be afraid. And though there rose up war against me, yet will I put my trust in him" (Ps 26:3). Yet, so many important things are reported of him that they cannot be passed over in silence. Nevertheless, they are so numerous that I am compelled to leave many cases unaddressed.

I find myself in a dilemma, unable to decide what to retain and what to let go. That is why we are recording a few matters which are directly connected with the subject; the rest will be relayed by common report. Common report, however, can be relied on to relay less than the whole truth, for it has neither the ability nor anything to add to the truth.

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The Story of a Jeweller Who, by a Wise Decision, Saved His Life at Sea

One of the fathers said there was a jeweller of the kind known as a gem-engraver. He had some very valuable stones and pearls when he went aboard a ship together with his servants. It was his intention to go do business elsewhere. By the providence of God, it happened that he became very fond of a member of the ship’s crew who was detailed to wait upon him. This servant slept near him and ate the same food as he did.

One day, this boy heard the sailors whispering to each other and deciding among themselves to throw the gem-engraver into the sea to get their hands on the stones he had with him. It was a very disturbed servant who went in to wait on the good man as usual.

“Why are you so subdued today, boy?” asked the jeweller, but the other kept his counsel and said nothing. He asked him again, “Come now, tell me what is the matter?” At this, the servant broke down into tears and sobbed out that the sailors were planning to do this and that to the jeweller.

The jeweller asked, “Is this really so?”

“Yes,” was the reply; “that is what they have decided among themselves to do to you.”

Then the jeweller called his servants and said to them, “Whatever I tell you to do, do it at once and without arguing.” He then unfolded a linen cloth and said to them, “Bring the inlaid chests,” and they brought them. He opened them and began taking out the stones. When they were all set out, he began to say, “Is this what life is all about? Is it for these that I put my life in danger and at the mercy of the sea when, in a little while, I shall die and take nothing with me out of this world?”

He said to his servants, “Empty it all into the sea.” As soon as he spoke, they cast the riches into the sea. The sailors were amazed—and their conspiracy was frustrated.

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HOW A RELIGIOUS WOMAN WHO FEARED GOD RESTRAINED A MONK FROM LASCIVIOUS DESIRE

Somebody said that a brother was bitten by a snake and went into the city to receive treatment. He was taken in by a devout woman who feared the Lord, and she healed him. When he found some relief from his discomfort, the devil began sowing some libidinous thoughts about the woman in his heart. He began wanting to touch her hand, but she said to him, “Not so, father; you have Christ to fear. Think of the sorrow and the remorse in which you shall repent, sitting in your cell. Imagine the sighs you shall utter and the tears you shall shed.”

When he heard this and other similar remarks from her, the war receded from him, and he wished to run away in shame, for he could not look her in the face. She, however, in the tender mercy of Christ, said to him, “Do not let shame get the better of you. You are still in need of treatment. Those sinful thoughts did not arise from your pure soul; it was a dart of the envious devil which caused them.” Thus, without offense being either given or taken, she healed him and sent him on his way, giving him what was needed for the journey.

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How a Holy Bishop Overcame Another One Who Was Opposing Him—by Humility

One of the fathers said that there were two neighboring bishops who had an altercation with each other. One was rich and the other more lowly. The rich one sought to do the other a mischief. The lowly bishop heard of this and, knowing what he was going to do, said to his clergy, "We shall triumph by the grace of Christ." They replied, "My lord, who could possibly prevail against that one?" He said to them, "Wait, and you shall see."

He bided his time, and when his fellow bishop was celebrating a feast in honor of some holy martyrs, he gathered his clergy and said to them, "Follow me, and we shall triumph." They murmured to themselves, "What can he be going to do?"

The lowly bishop approached the other bishop, and as he passed by in the procession, the visiting bishop fell at his feet, together with the clergy, saying, "Forgive us; we are your lordship’s humble servants." The other was amazed at what he had done, and a stab of remorse went through his soul. God gave him a change of heart, and he now grasped his colleague’s feet, saying, "It is you who are my lord and father." From that time on, there was a strong bond of love between them.

The lowly bishop then said to his clergy, "Did I not tell you that we should triumph by the grace of God? When there is any ill feeling between you, do likewise—and triumph." The elder also stated that a humble man has more glory than the emperor himself; for the emperor is only praised in his presence, whereas a humble man is praised and said to be blessed both in and out of his presence.

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