Глава XVI. О незлобии

1. They said about Abba Gelasius that he had a book in leather, in which the entire Old and New Testament was written, and which cost eighteen gold pieces. It lay in the church so that anyone from the brethren could read it. One wanderer brother, who came to visit the elder, saw her, was seduced, stole her and left. The elder did not chase him to take her, although he knew it. This brother went to the city and, finding someone who wanted to buy it, demanded sixteen gold coins. The one who wanted to buy said to him: first give it to me, I will inquire about it and then I will give you the price. The brother gave him the book, and he took it and brought it to Abba Gelasius to show it and told him the price that the seller had set. The elder tells him: buy it, it is good and worthy of the price you were told. This man, returning, said differently: “here,” he said, “I showed it to Abba Gelasius, and he said to me: it’s expensive, it’s not worth the price you said.” Hearing this, the brother asked him: and the elder didn’t tell you anything else? He answered: nothing. Then the brother said: now I don’t want to sell it anymore. And having come to contrition, he went to the elder, repented to him and asked him to accept the book, but the elder did not want to accept, to which the brother said: if you do not take it, then I will not have peace. The elder answered him: if you do not have peace, then I will take her. And the brother, until his very death, was edified by the work of the elder. 2. They said that Abba Euprepius, when he was once robbed, took out his things himself. The thieves took out everything that was inside, but forgot their staff. Seeing it, Abba Euprepius was saddened, took it and ran to catch up with them to give it back. They did not take it, fearing that something might happen, but the abba, having met those walking along the same path, begged them to give them their staff. 3. Abba Zinon said: whoever wants God to quickly hear his prayer, as soon as he gets up and stretches out his hands, first of all, before praying for himself, must pray from the heart for his enemies. For such doing, whatever he asks God for, will be heard by Him. 4. Abba Theodore was once attacked by robbers. Two held him, and the third carried out his things. When the thief, having taken out the books, wanted to take the Leviton, Abba told them: leave this, but they did not want to. Then the abba, shaking his hands violently, overthrew the two, and they, seeing this, were afraid. The elder said to them: do not be afraid of anything, but divide all this into four parts: take three for yourself, and leave one for me. They made sure that the elder’s portion went to the leviton, in which he went to the meeting. 5. Abba John Kolov once sat in front of the church, and the brethren, surrounding him, confessed their thoughts to him. One of the elders, seeing this and struggling with envy, said to him: Your vessel, John, is full of poison. Abba John answered him: so, Abba, and you said this only because you see the external, if you also saw the internal, then what would you say? 6. They talked about Abba Isidore, the presbyter of the monastery: if anyone had a brother who was weak, or cowardly, or abusive and wanted to drive him away, Abba said: bring him to me. He accepted him and saved him with his long-suffering. 7. Abba Pimen spoke about Abba Isidore: if he spoke to the brethren in church, he only said this word to them: brethren! Let go, and they will let you go (Luke 6:37). 8. The elder said about Abba John the Persian: when the villains came to him, he brought a laver and asked to be allowed to wash their feet. They were ashamed and began to repent. 9. They said about John of Thebes, the youngest disciple of Abba Ammo, that he served the elder for twelve years when he was sick, and was always with him, sitting on the mat. The elder seemed to neglect this and, despite the fact that he worked hard around him, never told him: save yourself. But, approaching death, when the elders were sitting with him, he took him by the hand and said: save yourself, save yourself, save yourself! And he handed him over to the elders, saying: This is an angel, not a man. 10. They said about Abba Longinus that they once slandered one of his disciples for the purpose of expelling him. For this purpose, those who were with Abba Theodore came to him and said: Abba! We have heard certain things about this brother and, if you command, we will take him from you and bring to you another good brother. The elder answered them: I do not drive him away, for he gives me peace. When the elder heard about the reason for this, he said: woe is me! We come here to be angels, and we become unclean, dumb animals. 11. Abba Macarius of Egypt, having caught a man with pack cattle stealing his needs, approaching the stealer, he himself, as if a stranger, began to load the cattle, and with great calm led him away, saying: “We have brought nothing into this world, for we see that we can carry out what we can below” (1 Tim. 6:7); The Lord gave, the Lord gave: as the Lord willed, so it was (Job 1:21). Blessed be the Lord in everything! 12. They said about Abba Macarius that in his absence a robber entered his cell. Arriving at the cell and finding that the robber was loading things onto the camel, he himself took some of the things and loaded them onto the camel along with him. When they finished, the robber began to push the camel so that it would stand up, but it would not rise. Abba Macarius, seeing that he was not getting up, entered the cell, found a small furrow and, taking it out, put it on the camel, saying: brother, the camel was waiting for this. The elder kicked him and said: get up. For the sake of speaking, he immediately stood up, but, having walked away a little, he lay down again and did not get up until all his things were removed from him. Then he went. 13. Once there was a meeting in Skete, and the fathers, wanting to test Abba Moses, humiliated him, saying: why does this Ethiopian come among us? Hearing this, Abba fell silent. When the brothers dispersed, they asked him: “Are you not embarrassed?” He answered: he was confused and speechless (Ps. 76:5). 14. His disciple Abba Isaac (both of them later became bishops) told about Abba Motia that at first the elder built a monastery in Heraclea. Having left there, he came to another place and built more there. Through the action of the devil, one brother was found who was at enmity with the elder and insulted him. He got up and went to his village, built himself a cell and locked himself in it. After some time, the elders of the place from which he had retired went to him to beg him to return to his monastery, and they took with them the brother who had insulted him. Approaching the place where Abba Soriy was, they left with him their coats and their brother, who had upset the elder. When they approached and knocked, the elder came down the stairs, leaned in, recognized them and asked: where are your coats? They answered: over there with the brother who insulted you. The old man, out of joy, took an ax, knocked down the door and, coming out, ran to his brother; the first one gave him throwing and gave him kissing; He brought them to his cell, entertained them for three days, and helped himself, which he was not in the habit of doing, then he got up and went with them. After this he was appointed bishop. And his disciple, Abba Isaac, was also appointed bishop by Blessed Cyril. 15. Paisius, the brother of Abba Pimen, had an acquaintance with someone outside his cell. Abba Pimen did not want this and, running to Abba Ammon, said to him: Paisius, my brother, has acquaintance with something, and I have no peace. Abba Ammon says to him: Pimen! Are you still alive? Go, sit in your cell and put it in your heart that it’s already been a year since you’ve been in the grave. 16. Abba Pimen said: no matter what difficulty comes to you, victory over it is silence. 17. Again he said: evil does not destroy evil, but if someone does evil to you, do good to him, so that through goodness and goodness you can destroy evil. 18. Abba Pimen heard about someone who fasted for six days, but did not learn to spew anger. 19. Blessed Pior, working for someone at the harvest, reminded him of the payment, but he postponed it until time, and the elder returned to the monastery. Another time, when the time came, he reaped from him and worked diligently, but he again did not give him anything, and the elder returned to the monastery. When the third year was completed, the elder, having finished his usual work, returned without taking anything. When the Lord blessed that man’s house, taking payment, he walked around the monasteries, looking for the saint, and, having barely found and given the payment, he fell at his feet, saying: The Lord has been generous to me. But the elder returned the payment so that he could give it to the presbyter in the church. 20. Abba Paul Cosmit and Timothy, his brother, lived in Skete, and there were often disputes between them. Finally, Abba Paul says: How long will we live like this? Abba Timothy said to him: do me mercy, when I attack you, be patient, and when you attack me, I will be patient. By doing this, they had peace the rest of their days. 21. A brother, offended by another brother, came to Abba Siso and said to him: offended by one brother, I want to avenge myself. The elder admonished him: no, my son, it is better to leave the matter of vengeance to God. But he said: I will not stop until I avenge myself. Then the elder stood up and said: Let’s pray, brother! And he continued: God! We no longer need Your care for us. We take revenge on ourselves. Hearing this, the brother fell at the feet of the elder and said: I will no longer sue my brother. Forgive me, Abba! 22. Spyridon, the shepherd of the sheep, had such reverence that he was honored to be a shepherd of people and in one of the Cyprus cities, namely Trimifunt, he was installed as a bishop. Out of great lack of love, he, having accepted the bishopric, continued to tend the sheep. One day at midnight, thieves, secretly approaching the sheepfold, tried to steal the sheep, but God, who protects the shepherd, preserved the sheep too: the thieves were tied up at the sheepfold by invisible force. Morning came and the shepherd came to the sheep. Seeing the thieves with their hands turned back, he recognized what had happened and, after praying, resolved them. Then, having taught them enough and instructing them to live better by their own labors than by untruth, he gave one ram and sent it away, telling them with a welcoming smile: so that your vigil will not be in vain. 23. Once upon a time, a Libyan brother came to Abba Silouan on the mountain in Panethos and said to him: I have an enemy who has done me a lot of evil: he took away my field when I was still in the world, often slandered me, and now he has persuaded the poison-makers to destroy me. I want to hand him over to the boss. The elder tells him: as your heart lies, do so, child! The brother said: yes, Abba! Truly, if he is punished, there will be much benefit for his soul. The elder says: as you think, child, do so. The brother said to the elder: get up, father, say a prayer, and I will go to the boss. The elder stood up and began to read: Our Father..., but when he should have said: and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, the elder said: and do not forgive us our debts, as we do not forgive our debtors (Matthew 6:12). The brother says to him: it’s not like that, father! The elder said: how about it, child? Truly, if you want to go to the boss so that he can exact punishment for you, then Silouan will not make another prayer for you. Then the brother, putting the throwing to the elder, forgave his enemy. 24. One brother forged a key and, using it to unlock the cell of one elder, took his small money. The elder wrote on a piece of paper: dear brother, whoever you are, do me a favor and leave me half for my needs, - and, dividing the money into two parts, he put the piece of paper. He entered, tore the paper and took everything again. Then, when two days later it ended, his soul did not leave it. Then, calling the elder, he confessed: pray for me, father! I stole your money. The elder said: Why didn’t you say this sooner? He prayed, and he betrayed his soul. 25. Another person, betrayed by his slave to torture, going to death and seeing this slave who had betrayed him, took off the gold ring he was wearing and gave it to her, saying: I thank you that you have brought me so many benefits. 26. One hard worker, seeing a man carrying a dead man on a stretcher, said to him: “Are you carrying the dead?” Go and carry the living. 27. They said about one monk: the more someone reproached or insulted him, the more he resorted to it, saying: such are the cause of service for the zealous, but those who please deceive and confuse the soul, for it is written: those who bless you deceive you (cf. Isa. 3:12). 28. Robbers once came to the monastery (cell) of one elder and said to him: We have decided to take everything that is in your cell. He answered them: take, children, whatever you want. So, they took everything they found in his cell and left, but they forgot one bag that was hanging there. The elder took it and, chasing after them, shouted: children! Take what you forgot in our cell. Amazed by the elder’s gentleness, they returned everything to his cell and repented, saying to each other: truly, this is a man of God. 29. The brothers went to a holy elder who lived in a deserted place, and near the monastery they met his children grazing cattle and speaking obscene words. Having revealed their thoughts to the elder and benefited from his vision, they asked him: How, Abba, do you tolerate these children and do not order them not to be indecent? The elder answered them: truly, brethren, for several days now I have been wanting to tell them and I forbid myself, saying: if I do not endure this little thing, how will I endure it when a great temptation comes upon me. And that’s why I don’t say anything, so that I can learn to endure whatever comes my way. 30. They said about one brother who lived next door to the great elder, that when he entered his cell, he stole. The elder saw this, but did not denounce him, but worked even more, saying: perhaps a brother has a need, although at the same time he himself endured great sorrow, finding his bread with difficulty. When the elder approached his death, the brothers surrounded him, and he, seeing among them the one who was robbing him, called: come to me, and, kissing his hands, said: I thank these hands, for through them I will enter the kingdom of heaven. The brother was overwhelmed by this, repented and himself became a skilled monk from the deeds he saw in the great elder. 31. One of the elders said: I heard from some saints that there are young people who guide the elders into the belly, and he said the following: there was one drunken old man who made matting every day, sold it in the village and drank away the price. Then one brother came to him and, remaining with him, also worked on the matting. The elder took this one too and, having sold it, drank away the price of both, and brought his brother a little bread every evening. Three years passed like this, and his brother did not say anything to him. Finally the brother said to himself: here I am naked and eating my bread with poverty; I'll get ready and get out of here. But again he changed his mind, saying: where should I go? I will continue to live here, for for God’s sake I live in common with him. And immediately an Angel appeared to him and said: don’t go anywhere from here, because tomorrow I will come for you. The next day the brother asked the elder: don’t go anywhere, for now my people will come to take me. When the hour came for the elder to leave, he said to his brother: they will surely not come now, child; We were late. The brother said to him: “No, Abba, they will certainly come,” and, having said this, he rested. Then the elder said with tears: alas for me, child! I lived for many years in negligence, and in a short time you saved your soul through patience. Since then, the elder became sober and became skilled. 32. They told about another old man: he had a boy in cohabitation and, seeing that he was doing something that was not good for him, he said: “Don’t do this.” But he did not listen to the elder, and he left the boy to his will, condemning himself. One day this young man, having locked the cell in which the bread was located, left and left the elder without food for thirteen days, and the elder did not ask him: where have you been? Or: where did you go? The old man had a neighbor, who, noticing that the young man was slow, prepared the old man some boiled food, and, giving it to him through the wall, asked him to taste it. If he asked: why did the brother slow down so much? - the elder answered: when he finds time, he will come. 33. Some said: once the philosophers wanted to test the monks. A well-dressed monk was passing by, and they said to him: hey, come here! He became angry and scolded them. Another monk, a Libyan, passes by, and they say to him: hey, monk, evil old man, come here! He approached with haste. They hit him on the cheek, and he gave them the other one. Then they immediately stood up and bowed to him, saying: here is a true monk! Then they sat him down with them and asked: what are you doing in the desert more than us? You fast and we fast; you watch, and we watch; and whatever you do, we do too. So, what are you doing more than ours, living in the desert? The elder answered them: we hope in the grace of God and keep our minds. Then they said: We cannot keep this. And, having received the benefit, they released him. 34. Two monks lived in one place. A certain great old man came to them and, wanting to test them, took a rod and began to crush the vegetables of one of them. The brother, seeing this, disappeared, and when the last root remained, he said to the elder: if you want, Abba, leave it. I'll make some stew and let's taste it together. Then the elder put the throwing on his brother, saying: for the sake of your kindness, brother, the Spirit of God rested on you. 35. One brother in Skete found robbers stealing his cell and said to them: hurry up before the brothers come and prevent me from fulfilling the commandment of Christ, who said: from him who takes yours, do not torture (Luke 6:30). 36. The elder said: if you hear that someone hates or reviles you, go or give him a small blessing according to your strength, so that in the hour of judgment you will have the boldness to say: forgive us, Master, our debts, just as we forgave our debtors. 37. A brother, while traveling, lost his way and asked some to find out about her, but they were villains. They directed him to empty places, and one of them followed him to rob him. They needed to cross a small canal, and when they began to go into it, a crocodile rushed towards the robber. But the servant of God did not despise him and shouted to the villain, pointing out the intention of the beast, and he, out of gratitude for his salvation, did nothing to the elder. 38. One of the Egyptian fathers said: one day I decided to travel and, boarding a ship, arrived in Athens. When I entered the city, I saw one old monk, well dressed with a closed Babylonian sakva (bag), who was running, and others were running after him. When he entered the city, many people gathered around him, and they drew him to the spectacle. I asked one who he was, and he answered: he was from the Hellenes, the best of philosophers, became a Christian, built himself a monastery (cell) and became a monk. Now, fifteen years later, he has entered the city, and we are running to listen to what he will say. I went with them too. The archons came and asked him: tell us if you have something to say. He said: there is no people under heaven like the Christian people, and there is no rank like the rank of monks, but it only harms them that the devil leads them into resentment against each other, so as to say: he told me this, I told him that, and yet he has his own impurities before him, and he does not see them. Hearing this, everyone praised him a lot, and he left. 39. One of the fathers said: if someone reviles you, bless him; if he accepts the blessing, good for both of you, but if he does not accept it, then he will receive reproach from God, and you will receive a blessing. 40. The elder said: if someone comes to the memory of someone who insulted him, or dishonored him, or reviled him, or caused him harm, then he should remember him as a doctor sent from Christ, and honor him as a benefactor, for the very fact that you grieve for what was done to you is a sign of a sick soul, because if you weren’t sick, you wouldn’t have suffered. Therefore, you should rejoice over your brother, that through him you will recognize the disease, pray for him and accept what he inflicts on you as a healing medicine sent from Jesus. If you are grieving, then you seem to be saying to Jesus: I don’t want to take Your medicine, I want to rot in my wounds. 41. He also said: whoever wants to be healed from terrible spiritual wounds and get rid of an illness must patiently endure what the doctor gives him, for even a person suffering from a physical illness not only reluctantly agrees to cutting off or taking a cleansing remedy, but also remembers it with displeasure. However, being sure that without this it is impossible to get rid of the disease, he endures everything the doctor gives him, knowing that with a little trouble he will get rid of a long-term illness. The cauterizer of Jesus is one who dishonors and reviles you, but who delivers you from vanity; The cleansing Jesus is harming you, but delivering you from covetousness. He who runs from healing temptation runs from eternal life. Who would have given Saint Stephen such glory as he acquired through those who stoned him? 42. Again he said: I do not condemn those who condemn me, but I call them benefactors, and I do not reject the doctor of souls who gives the medicine of dishonor to a vain soul. 43. He said again: we see the cross of Christ, we read about His passion, but we ourselves cannot bear even the slightest insult. 44. The elder said that under the Great Isidore, the presbyter of the monastery, there was one brother who was a deacon, whom, for the sake of virtue, he wanted to make a presbyter, so that after death he would be his successor, but out of reverent fear he did not touch the ordination and remained a deacon. One of the elders, at the enemy’s slander, was jealous of this brother and, when everyone was in church at the service, he went and put his book in his cell, then he came and said to Abba Isidore: one of the brothers stole a book from me. Abba Isidore was surprised, saying: this has never happened before in Skete. The elder, who placed the book, said to him: send two fathers with me to search the cells. Let's go, the elder took them to all the brothers' cells and finally brought that brother to the cell, found a book there and brought it to the presbyter. That brother, having challenged Abba Isidore in front of the whole brotherhood, said: I have sinned, give me penance. He imposed penance on him - not to take communion for three weeks. The brother came to every service before the church and fell down to the whole brotherhood, saying: forgive me that I have sinned. Three weeks later he was accepted into fellowship, but immediately the one who had slandered him became enraged and began to confess to everyone: I have slandered the servant of God. The whole church began to pray for him, but he did not receive healing. Then Abba Isidore said to his brother in front of everyone: pray for him, for you have been slandered, therefore it is only through you that he can receive healing. The brother prayed, and the elder was immediately healed. 45. There was a certain patriarch in the city of Feupol 22, very merciful, compassionate towards those who sinned, compassionate and philanthropic. One day one of his servants stole gold from him and, out of fear, fled to Thebaid in Egypt. While he was wandering there, the Egyptian barbarians, fiercer than the beasts themselves, caught him and led him to the final borders of that country. Blessed Bishop Alexander, having learned about this, ransomed him as a prisoner for eighty-five gold coins and, when he returned, received him so kindly, philanthropically and benevolently that someone who then lived in that city said: there is nothing better than to sin before the patriarch of this city. You might be interested in: