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.