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.