Глава XVIII. О прозорливцах

1. It was once revealed to Abba Anthony in the desert: in the city there is someone like you, a skilled physician, who gives his excess to the needy and every day sings the Trisagion with the Angels of God. 2. They said about Abba Anthony that he was a spirit-bearer, but for the sake of people he did not speak about anything, although he foresaw both what was and what was going to happen. 3. The brother came to the Skete to the cell of Abba Arseny and, looking through the door, saw that the elder was all like fire. The brother was worthy to see this. When he knocked, the elder came out and, seeing his brother astonished, asked: How long have you been knocking and did you see anything? He said: no. And, after talking with him, the elder released him. 4. Abba Daniel said: Abba Arseny told us, as if about some other person, but probably it was himself, that an old man was sitting in his cell and a voice came to him, saying: go, I will show you the deeds of men. He got up and left. The speaker took him to one place and showed him an Ethiopian chopping wood. He cut a large bunch, tried to lift it, but could not. Instead of taking it away, he began chopping wood again and adding it to the bundle. And he did this many times. Walking a little forward, he showed him another man who was standing by the lake. Drawing water from it, he poured it into a leaky vessel, and the water flowed out again into the lake. Then he says to him: go, I’ll show you something else! And he sees a church and two men sitting on horses and holding a tree by the ends one against the other. They wanted to go through the door but could not, because the tree was across it, and neither of them was humble to carry the tree behind the other so that it would pass along, and therefore both remained behind the door. “These are those,” said the companion, who bear the yoke of righteousness with pride and do not humble themselves in order to correct themselves and follow Christ’s humble path, and therefore remain outside the kingdom of God. And the one who chops wood is a person burdened with many sins, who, instead of repenting, adds new iniquities to his sins. The one who draws water is a person who does good deeds, but, having evil in them, thereby ruins his own good. So, a person should always be sober in his affairs, so as not to work in vain. 5. Some brothers experienced grief at the place where they were staying, and they, wanting to leave him, went to Abba Ammon. The elder was sailing along the river at that time and, seeing the brothers walking along the shore, asked the shipmen to disembark him. Calling the brethren, he said to them: I am Ammon, to whom you are going, - he consoled them and disposed them to return to where they came from, for that matter did not cause spiritual harm, but only human sorrow. 6. Our Father Daniel of Faran said: Blessed Arseny told about one wanderer that he was a great worker, but simple in faith and out of simplicity he sinned, saying that the bread that we accept is not essentially the Body of Christ, but only its image. Two elders, hearing about this and knowing that he was great in life, considered that he was saying this in kindness and simplicity, so they came to him and said: Abba! We heard one thing that he says words that are contrary to faith, as if the bread with which we partake is not essentially the Body of Christ, but only its image. The elder admitted: this is what I say. Then they began to convince him: do not keep it like this, Abba, but as the Universal Church betrayed, for we believe that this bread truly is the Body of Christ, and not just its image. Just as at the beginning God, taking dust from the earth, created man in His image, and no one can say that this image of God does not exist, although it is not visible, so about the bread, about which He said: this is My body (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19), we believe that it is truly the Body of Christ. The elder replied: unless I am convinced by the deed itself, I cannot be completely convinced. They said to him: Let us pray to God this week about this sacrament and believe that God will reveal it to us. The elder joyfully accepted this word and prayed to God, saying: Lord! You know that it is not out of malice that I do not believe, but let me not wander in ignorance. Open to me, Lord Jesus Christ. Likewise, the elders, returning to their cells, begged God: Lord Jesus Christ! Reveal this mystery to the elder, so that he may believe and not destroy his work! God heard them. After a week, they came to church on Sunday and stood three in one row; the old man was in the middle. Their eyes were opened, and when the bread was placed on the holy throne, it seemed to all three, but to them alone, a Baby. When the priest stretched out his hand to break the bread, an Angel of the Lord descended from heaven with a knife, slain the Child, and poured His blood into a cup. When the priest was breaking the bread into small pieces, and the Angel was cutting off small pieces from the Baby. But when they began to receive the Holy Mysteries, only the elder was given bloody flesh. Seeing this, he cried out: I believe, Lord, that this bread is Your Body and this cup is Your Blood. And immediately the flesh in his hand became bread according to the sacrament, and he received communion, thanking God. Then the elders said to him: God knows human nature that it cannot eat raw flesh, therefore He hides His Body in bread and His blood in wine when believers receive them. Having thanked God for the elder, that He did not allow him to destroy his labors, all three joyfully returned to their cells. 7. The same Abba Daniel spoke about another great old man who lived in the lower reaches of Egypt, that he simply said that Melchizedek was the son of God. Blessed Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria, was notified of this, and he sent for him. The archbishop, knowing that the elder was a standard-bearer, and that whatever he asked God for, He would reveal to him, and that he spoke this word out of simplicity, used such a wise measure: when the elder arrived, he said to him: Abba! I beg you, since one thought tells me that Melchizedek is the son of God, and the other is not, he is a man, a bishop of God, and since I hesitate in this, I sent for you so that you pray to God, that He will reveal this to you. The elder, encouraged by his virtues, said boldly: give me three days, I will ask God and tell you who Melchizedek was. He went and began to pray to God about this. Three days later he comes to blessed Cyril and says: Melchizedek is a man. The archbishop asked him: how did you know this, Abba? The elder replied: God showed me all the patriarchs: they all, one after another, passed before me - from Adam to Melchizedek, and the Angel said to me: this is Melchizedek, and believe that he is exactly like that. Then the elder, returning, himself began to preach that Melchizedek was a man, and Blessed Cyril was very pleased with this. 8. Holy Bishop Epiphanius said that during the reign of Blessed Athanasius the Great, crows, flying around the church of Serapis, incessantly shouted: beautiful, beautiful... The Greeks, approaching Blessed Athanasius, demanded: evil old man! tell us what the crows cry? He answered them: the crows cry - kras, kras..., and in the Ausonic 24 language “kras” means “tomorrow”. Tomorrow you will see the glory of God. And the next day the news came about the death of King Julian. On this occasion, the pagans came running and shouted at Serapis: if you did not want him, then why did you accept his gifts? 9. He also said that in Alexandria there was a coachman whose mother was called Maria. During the horse race, he fell, but got up, overtook the one who pushed him, and gained the upper hand. Then the people shouted: the son of Mary fell, but got up and won. While this cry was still being heard, rumors spread among the people about the church of Serapis, that the Great Theophilus came, overthrew the idol of Serapis and took possession of the church. 10. Abba Ephraim, while still a youth, had a dream or vision that a vine sprang up on his tongue, grew and filled the whole of heaven. She was very fruitful, and the birds of the air came and ate her vine fruits, and the more they ate, the more her fruits multiplied. 11. One of the holy elders once saw in a vision a host of Angels descending from heaven at the command of God with a scroll in their hands, that is, with a book written inside and outside. They asked each other: who should receive it? And some said - so-and-so, and others - another. They were told: they are truly holy and righteous, but no one can receive this book except Ephraim. And the elder saw that they had given the scroll to Ephraim. Rising in the morning, he heard Ephraim, and it was as if a spring gushed out of his mouth as he made speeches. Then the elder knew that what came from Ephraim’s mouth was from the Holy Spirit. 12. The disciple of Abba Eulogius told us: the elder sent us to Alexandria to sell handicrafts and gave us a commandment not to stay there for more than three days. If, he says, you remain longer, then I am cleansed from your sin. We asked him: how do other monks, treating the laity day and night in cities and villages, not get hurt? Then, opening his honest lips, the elder said to us: believe me, children! After I became a monk, I spent thirty-eight years in the Skete, without leaving. After thirty-eight years, I went with Abba Daniel to Pope Eusebius in Alexandria for one need. Entering the city, we saw many monks and I saw that some were being hit in the face by crows, others were hugged by naked wives and whispered in their ears, others were strangled by boys, also naked, and smeared with human feces, and some others, I saw, came with knives, cut off human flesh and gave it to the monks to eat. From this I learned that whenever a monk falls into passion, such demons hover near him and converse with him in thought. Therefore, brethren, I do not want you to linger long in the city, lest your thoughts, or better yet, demons, trouble you. 13. They said about Abba Zeno that, while living in Skete, he left his cell at night to the lake and, getting lost, walked for three days and three nights. Tired and exhausted, he fell and expected death. But then the boy stood before him, holding bread and a vessel of water in his hands, and said to him: get up and eat. But the elder got up and began to pray, thinking that it was a ghost. He said to him: you did well. And he prayed a second time and a third time. He said again: you did well. Then the elder took it and ate. After this, he says to him: How long have you walked, so far are you from your cell, but get up and follow me. And he immediately found himself at his cell. The elder said to him: come in and say a prayer for us! But when the elder entered, he became invisible. 14. Abba John said that one of the elders saw such a vision in admiration: three monks stood on the seashore, and a voice came to them from the other shore: take fiery wings and fly to me. Two of them took such wings and flew to the other side, but the third remained, crying and screaming bitterly. Then he was given wings, only not of fire, but weak and powerless, and with difficulty and much sorrow, plunging and rising, he reached the other shore. So this race, if it receives wings, will not be of fire, but weak and powerless, barely able to hold them. 15. One elder, entering Abba John’s cell, found him sleeping and the Angel of God standing before him and hovering over him. Seeing this, he left. When the elder got up, he asked his disciple: did anyone come here while I was sleeping? He said: such and such an old man came. Abba learned that the elder was equal to him and saw the Angel. 16. In the Lavra of Epistimium, a distance of fifteen stadia from the Lavra of our holy father Savva, there was one wondrous hermit named John, who lived with his disciple. His disciple, seeing the anxiety and troubles on the part of the Saracens, daily caused to the holy city of Christ our God, asked his father: since I am sure, father, that God does not hide from you anything that he intends to do, then I beg you, tell me, will the city be taken? The elder says to him: how can I know about this, being a sinful man? But the student did not stop asking him, wanting to know about it. Then the elder told him with tears: as I see, child, that you painfully want to know about this, then I will tell you what God showed me. Five days before this, I sat down in prayer about this and saw that I was caught up before Holy Calvary. All the people and the clergy cried out: Lord have mercy! Lifting my eyes, I see our Lord Jesus Christ nailed to the cross, and the Most Holy Theotokos, Lady of the world, diligently praying to Him for the people. But He turned His face away from the people, saying, “I will not hear them, for they have defiled My altar.” Calling for a long time with tears and lamentations: Lord have mercy, we went to the Church of St. Constantine and there we also cried out: Lord have mercy! I went to the church together with the priesthood, that is, with the clergy. When I went down to venerate the place where the venerable tree of the Life-Giving Cross was found, I saw that stinking dung was coming from there into the church. Two sacred elders stood there, and I said to them: Aren’t you afraid of God, that we can’t even pray because of this uncleanness?! Where does this stench that lies here come from? They say: from the iniquities of the clergy of this place. I asked: can’t you clean it out so that we have access to pray? They answered: believe me, brother, what you see here will not be cleansed except by fire. Having told this, the elder began to cry and said to his disciple: this is what I will tell you, child! It was determined that I should be beheaded. I strongly begged God to forgive me, and it was revealed to me that this would certainly come true, but He alone knows that I have never shed human blood on earth. Meanwhile, as they spoke, the barbarians attacked them. The disciple ran away out of fear, and they grabbed and killed the elder, then quickly left. Returning and seeing the elder dead, the disciple wept bitterly and buried him with his fathers. 17. The Holy Fathers prophesied this about the last generation: what do they say we have done? The great Abba Ischirion said in response: we have fulfilled the commandments of God. Others asked: what will those who come after us do? He answered: they will come halfway through our work. They said: what about those who will come after them? And the answer was: people of that kind will not do anything at all, but temptation will come upon them, and those who are skilled at that time will turn out to be better than us and our fathers. 18. They said about Abba Longinus that once the priest 25 brought him gold from the profits from his ships, but he did not want to accept it and said to him: there is no need for this here, but do yourself a favor, mount your cattle and hurry to the bridge of St. Peter, where you will find a young man dressed in such and such clothes. Give him all the gold, asking what happened to it. Navkler hurried there, and when he arrived, he found the young man, as the elder had told him, and asked him: Where are you going, brother? I visited Abba Longinus, and he sent me to you to give you this gold. The young man, having heard about Abba Longinus, told him about his grief: I fell into great debt and, not having anything to pay, I am going out of town to hang myself. And so you believe, here is the rope with me. And, taking out a rope from his bosom, he showed it to him. Navkler gave him the gold and returned it to the city, then, returning to Abba Longinus, he told him about everything. Then the elder said to him: believe me, brother, if you had not rushed and caught him, then both you and I would have been judged for his soul. 19. At another time, when the fathers were sitting in the cell of Abba Longinus and asked him about various things, he suddenly stood up and, without saying anything to anyone, left the cell and rushed to the lake. When he reached the lake, a ship that arrived from the Egyptian borders was moored to the shore, on which there was a holy elder who was going to visit the Abba. They kissed each other in the Holy Spirit and began to pray. The Egyptian said to God: Lord! Didn’t I beg You, so that it would not be revealed to the elder about me and so that he would not bother for me? They came to the cell of Abba Longinus, and the next morning the Egyptian died. 20. Abba Macarius lived in a deep desert and lived as a hermit alone, and a little lower there was another desert in which many brothers lived. One day the elder looked down the road and saw Satan walking in the form of a man and passing by him. He seemed to be dressed in a linen robe that looked like a surplice, which was full of holes, and on each hole hung a pumpkin. The elder asked him: where are you going, great one? He answered: I’m going to visit the brothers. The old man says: why do you have these pumpkins? He said: I bring food to the brothers. The elder asked: and all this with food? He answered: yes, if someone doesn’t like one, I’ll offer another, but he will certainly like at least one of them. Having said this, he went further. The elder continued to look at the road until he returned, and, seeing him, he said: save yourself! He answered: where can I save myself?! The elder asked: why? Because,” he says, “everyone has become like an animal to me and no one accepts me. The elder also asked: why don’t you have a single friend there? He answered: only the monk there is my friend and it’s good that at least he believes me and when he sees me, he spins like the wind. The elder asked his brother’s name, and he answered: Theopemptus, and, having said this, he left. Then Abba Macarius got up and went into the lower desert. The brethren, hearing about this, took the fronds and went out to meet him. Each of them got ready, thinking that maybe the elder would stay with him, but he asked Theopempt and, having found him, entered his cell. Theopempt accepted him with joy. Left alone with him, the elder asked: how are you doing, brother? He said: it’s good with your prayers. The elder also asked: aren’t your thoughts struggling with you? Ashamed to tell the truth, he replied: I think I’m fine. The elder tells him: I have been asceticizing for how many years now and everyone honors me, but I, the elder, am also troubled by the spirit of fornication. Then Theopemptus said: Believe me, Abba, that he did me too. The elder said to himself that other thoughts were also struggling with him, in order to incline his brother to confession. Then he says to him: how do you fast? He said until nine o'clock. The elder said: fast until evening and strive, read also from the Gospel and from the psalms; when a thought finds itself, do not heed it, but there is always grief, and the Lord will soon help you. Having set his brother up in this way, the elder withdrew into his desert. Looking at the road, I saw that demon again and asked him: where are you going now? He answered: to visit the brothers, and went on. When he was returning back, the saint said to him: how are the brethren? He answers: bad. The elder asked: why? And he said: they are all evil, and what’s worse, even the friend who listened to me, and he, I don’t know how, has become corrupted and no longer loves me, but has become the most evil of all. I vowed not to go there again, except for time. Having said this, he departed, leaving the elder, who entered his cell. 21. Abba Macarius spoke to the brethren about the devastation of Skete: when you see a cell being built near the lake, know that devastation is near; when you see a tree, it is at the door; when you see the youths, take your mantles and leave. 22. Abba Macarius told, wanting to encourage the brethren: a demon-possessed youth came here with his cloth and said to her: get up, old man, let's get out of here! She said: we can't go on foot. The boy says: I will carry you. And I marveled at the demon’s cunning - how he wanted to drive them away from here. 23. They said about Abba Macarius that, once going to church for a service, he saw near the cell of one of the brethren many demons, some of whom were transformed into wives and spoke obscene words, others - into boys and also cursed, others jumped and turned into different images. The perspicacious elder, seeing this, sighed and said: of course this brother lives in negligence, and that is why evil spirits surround his cell so disorderly. At the end of the service, returning, he entered his brother’s cell and said to him: I am grieving, brother, and I have faith that if you pray for me, God will ease my sorrow. The brother, repenting before the elder, said to him: Father! I'm not worthy to pray for you. But the elder did not stop asking his brother: I will not leave here until you give me your word to say one prayer for me every night. And the brother obeyed the commandment of the elder, who did this to give him a reason to start praying at night. The brother got up at night and said a prayer for the elder. At the end of the prayer, having come to tenderness, he said to himself: unfortunate soul! You pray for such an old man, won’t you pray for yourself? And he made a diligent prayer for himself. So he spent the whole week, performing two prayers every night - one for the elder, and the other for himself. On Sunday, going to church, Abba Macarius again sees demons standing near his brother’s cell, but very gloomy, and he knew that the demons were darkened because the brother began to pray. Rejoicing, he went in to his brother and said to him: do me a favor and add another prayer for me! The brother said two prayers for the elder, again became moved and said to himself: O bitter soul! Add another prayer for yourself. So for the whole week he performed four prayers every night. The elder, passing again, saw the demons gloomy and silent and, entering his brother, asked him to add another prayer for him. The brother began to perform six prayers every night, adding one prayer for himself as well. When the elder came to his brother again, the demons were furious at him and reviled him, indignant for saving his brother. Abba Macarius, having glorified God for his brother’s success, entered his cell and convinced him not to be lazy, but to pray unceasingly, and withdrew from him. And the demons, seeing the great care that the brother took about prayer, retreated from him by the grace of God. 24. If the King of the Ages richly bestows His benefits to those worthy for the praise and glory of His name and for the salvation of those who trust in Him, then it is righteous, for the sake of benefit, to tell about the deeds accomplished by the Monk Macarius, for he, having achieved the perfection of virtue according to God and having become above all passions, was vouchsafed to contemplate the ethereal powers and heavenly mysteries, being equal to the angels, as some of his disciples said, who heard from him about the revelations that God blessed him to know. They said that when Abba entered the church of Ianni and Jambri, a terrible demon, the inventor of evil - the devil, fought strongly against him, but since he had no success in this battle, the defeated all-sly one appeared to the saint and showed him his various machinations of flattery, for God forced him to confess them, and without wanting to. So, wandering in the deepest desert, the good warrior of Christ Macarius saw an old man who was walking towards him, and was carrying something very heavy. His whole body was hung with vessels, in each of which a feather could be seen, and he wore this instead of outer clothing. Sticking his staff in and looking at the righteous man, he stood face to face with him and asked: What are you doing, wandering into this desert? Saint Macarius answered: wanting to find God, I am running away from delusion. Who are you, elder, tell me, for your appearance is alien to human salvation? Tell me, what is it that you are hung with? Without wanting to, he told him about it, saying: whom you call Satan and the devil is me, and these vessels contain what I use to attract people to me in various ways and try to persuade them to commit evil according to each member, bringing down those who listen to me with the feathers of lust, and I rejoice over the fall of those defeated by me. Hearing this, Abba Macarius boldly said to him: since Christ gave you up to the ridicule of his saints, then explain to me every type of poison that you have, for that is why you appeared, so that we would recognize the many-woven machinations of your evil cunning and, having recognized all the wicked arrows of deception, would not be associated with your suggestions. He said: I will tell you, and without wanting it, my art, for I cannot hide what you see. So, find out the power of each vessel! If I find someone constantly studying the law of God, then I will hinder him by making him dizzy, anointing him from the vessel that is on my head; if anyone wants to stay vigil in prayers and singing, I take it from the vessel that is on my eyelids and draw him to sleep, inducing drowsiness; what you see in my ears is aimed at instilling disobedience, so that those who want to be saved will not listen to the words of truth; with what is in my nose, I incite young men to fornication with fragrant stench; with the charms that are in my mouth, I attract those who listen to me to the phenomena, through which I produce everything I want - every kind of verbiage and foul language and all the seeds of my deeds, from which my lovers cultivate many fruits worthy of me; In order to arouse pride, I charm the highly intelligent with the seasonings that I have on my neck, and from here I get for those who love my deeds in this life the bait to fame and wealth and to everything that seems good for those who have moved away from God; what you see on my chest predisposes me to accept my suggestions, and from this I will intoxicate my hearts with the drunkenness of wickedness, darkening the pious thoughts of those who want to remember the future and taking away their memory with oblivion. The vessels that are on my belly are filled with insensibility, with them I command the unreasonable to live dumbly and bestially, in the likeness of animals; those who are under the womb attract the depraved to confusion and to vile fornication; what you see in my hands is prepared as a service to envious people and murderers, so that they will quickly succeed in my affairs; what is behind me, on my ridge and shoulders, is the darkness of my ambushes, from which I fight mightily against those who attempt to rebel against me, I make forges and overthrow those who trust in my strength; those vessels, which, as you see, are located along my thighs and shoulders, are filled with nets and snares, with which I corrupt the feet of those who walk the path of piety, turning them to my path, for, sitting in the middle of the paths of life and death, I attack those who want to go to the belly and drive them to the path of death, helping them in every possible way to walk along it, and I sow it with thorns and thistles so that they reject the path of truth. You don’t want to listen to me even once, so that I have even a small consolation, but you always scorch me, having a strong full armor. Therefore, I want to run to my servants, for you have a good Master, who meekly talks with His servants and protects you like his own child. Hearing this, the skilled fighter of Christ sealed himself with the sign of the cross and said: Blessed is God, who has given you up to shame before those who trust in Him and who has saved me from your deception, so that, having defeated you, I will receive the crown from my Master! Flee far from here, O Belial, smitten by Christ; do not touch the small number of those who walk the narrow and sorrowful path of salvation! Be content with yours and have mercy on those living in the desert! When the saint said this, Satan disappeared, leaving behind stinking smoke. Then the saint, bending his knees, began to pray, saying: Glory to You, Christ, refuge of those overwhelmed and salvation of those who resort to You. Amen. 25. Once (in Petra) Abba Moses was strongly tempted by fornication and, no longer having the strength to sit in his cell, he went and revealed this to Abba Isidore. The elder urged him to return to his cell, but he did not agree, saying: I have no more strength, Abba! Then the elder, taking him with him, led him to the roof and said: look to the west! He looked and saw many demons, who were in confusion and in violent tension for battle. Abba Isidore again tells him: look to the east! He looked and saw countless holy angels, clothed with glory. Then Abba Isidore said: these are the ones sent from the Lord to the saints to help, and those who are in the west are the ones fighting against them. So, there are many more of those who are with us! Then Abba Moses thanked God, took courage and returned to his cell. 26. Abba Moses, being in Skete, said: if we keep the commandments of our fathers, then, I guarantee you before God, the barbarians will not come here; if we do not observe, then this place will be devastated. 27. Once upon a time the brethren were sitting with Abba Moses, and he said to them: now the barbarians will come to Skete; get up and run. They asked him: Abba, won’t you run? He answered: I have been waiting for this day for so many years, so that the word of the Lord will be fulfilled, who says: for everyone who takes the knife will perish by the knife (Matthew 26:52). They said to him, “We will not run away, but we will die with you.” There were seven brothers, and he answered them: I don’t care about that, let everyone see for themselves what to do. But the barbarians are already approaching the door. The barbarians certainly entered and beat them, and only one of them escaped death, hiding behind the netting, and saw seven crowns descending from heaven and crowning them. 28. Some of the fathers told about Abba Marcellus of Thebaid that his disciple told them: when going to church on Sunday, Abba prepared himself for this by reading by heart some part of the Scripture, and when he read with meditation, his lips did not move, so that no one would hear him, and when he stood in the church, his chest was watered with tears, for he said: throughout the duration of the service, I see I feel like the whole congregation is on fire, which goes away again after the church holiday. 29. They talked about Abba Silouan: when he wanted to go to Syria, his disciple Mark said to him: Father! I don’t want to leave here and I won’t let you leave, but wait, Abba, here for three days. And on the third day he rested. 30. They talked about Abba Pachomius: they carried the body of the deceased. Having met him on the way, Abba Pachomius saw that two Angels were following his coffin. Reasoning about this, he asked God to reveal to him what it meant. Then two Angels approached him and he asked them: why do you, being Angels, follow the dead man? The angels answered: one of us is the Angel of Wednesday, the other is the Angel of Friday. Since this man, until he died, did not stop fasting on Wednesday and Friday, we also follow his body, and just as he observed fasting in our days until his death, we also glorified him, who labored in the Lord. 31. Blessed Paul the Simple, a disciple of Abba Anthony, told the fathers that he once came to the monastery to visit and benefit the brethren. After the usual interview, they went to the holy church of God to perform the usual service. Blessed Paul carefully looked into the face of each of those entering the church in order to find out what kind of health his soul was, for he also had this grace given to him from God - to see what someone is like in his soul, as we see each other’s faces. Meanwhile, as everyone entered with a bright gaze and a cheerful face, and the Angel of each walked with him rejoicing, he saw one gloomy, whose whole body was black, and the demons were holding him on both sides and drawing each one to themselves, attaching a rope to his nostrils and putting a muzzle on his face, and his Angel walked far behind with a sad and drooping gaze. Then Paul shed tears and, beating himself in the chest with his hand, sat down in front of the church, bitterly mourning the one whom he saw in this form. The brethren, noticing this wonderful deed of the husband and his quick change to tears and crying, began to move, asked and begged him to reveal what he had seen, each fearing that he had done something, and asked him to go with them to the service. But he, having rejected their questions and refused the latter, sat outside the church in silence, torn in his heart about the brother he had seen. When the service ended and everyone was leaving, Paul again looked carefully at everyone, so that, knowing how they entered, he would also know how they were leaving. And he saw that brother, previously black and gloomy, coming out of the church, bright in face and white in body, the demons were following him very far, and the holy Angel near him was bright, cheerful and joyful. Then Paul, rising with joy and blessing God, cried out: Oh, the inexpressible love for mankind and goodness of God! Oh, the bounty and ineffable mercy of God! Then, hastily running up the high stairs, he exclaimed: come and see the works of God, how terrible and wondrous they are (Ps. 45:9; 65:5; 119:129; 138:14)! Come and see Him who wants everyone... to be saved, and to come into the understanding of truth (1 Tim. 2:4)! Come, let us worship and fall down before Him (Ps. 94:6), and let us say that You alone can forgive sins! Everyone came running in haste, wanting to hear what would be said. When everyone had gathered, Paul told what he saw before everyone entered the church and what after, and asked his brother to tell the reason why God gave him such a change. The brother, exposed by Paul before everyone, unflatteringly revealed the following to himself: I am a sinner and until this day I have lived in fornication for a long time, but now, having entered God’s holy church, I heard the word of the holy prophet Isaiah, or better yet God Himself, saying in him: wash yourselves, and be clean: take away the wickedness from your souls before My eyes... learn to do good... and if they Your sins are like scarlet, like snow they are white... and if you are willing and listen to Me, you will destroy the good of the earth (Isaiah 1:16–19). I, a fornicator, was touched in my soul at this word, and groaned greatly in my heart, saying: O God! He came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15)! What You have now promised through the prophet, fulfill it in deed on me, a sinner and unworthy! Behold, from now on I give You my word, I promise and confess to You with all my heart that I will no longer do these evil deeds and will reject all lawlessness and that from now on I will work for You in a clear conscience. Now, O Master, from this hour, accept me, who repent and fall before You and have already rejected all lawlessness! With such vows I left the church, deciding in my soul not to do anything bad again before God. All who heard this cried out to God with one voice: for Thy works are great, O Lord: with wisdom thou hast created all things (Ps. 103:24). So, Christian, knowing from the Divine Scriptures and Divine revelations how great goodness God has for those who sincerely resort to Him and correct their previous failures through repentance, so that He again returns to them the promised benefits, without torturing them for their previous sins, let us not despair of our salvation, for as through the prophet Isaiah He promised to wash those mired in sins, to make them white like wool and snow and to grant the blessings of heavenly Jerusalem, so through the prophet Ezekiel he assures us with an oath that he does not want the death of the sinner: as I live, says the Lord Adonai, I do not want the death of the sinner, but to be converted... and I will live to him (Ezek. 33:11). 32. Blessed Paul the Simple said: I had a disciple who fell into various sins, but I did not know it. When he died, I diligently prayed to God and begged the Most Holy Theotokos to show where he was after his death. After sitting down for many days in prayer, I came into admiration and saw that some two were carrying my disciple, who from head to toe was like a petrified shard, had no movement - neither bodily nor mental - and who did not say anything. Struck by this to the depths of my soul, I remembered the word of the Lord, who spoke about one who is not clothed in a wedding garment: having tied his hand and nose, take him and throw him into the outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 22:13), for the binding of hands and feet means nothing more than the extinction and inaction of every thought and desire of evil, not directed according to the will of God in this age. Having recovered from admiration, I began to grieve greatly and lament about him to the point of exhaustion, to do alms and offerings for him, to pray to the Most Holy Theotokos to have mercy on him and to beg the man-loving God for him; He also began to torment himself with asceticism and dry eating, having already reached such an old age. A few days later, I saw the Most Holy Theotokos, who asked me: why are you grieving and so exhausted, elder? I answered: I grieve for my brother, my Lady, for I saw him in a bad state. She told me: didn’t you yourself ask to see him? And now you are satisfied! I answered: truly, I asked, but I did not want to see him like that, for what good would it do me to see him and cry and be torn? The Most Holy Theotokos says to me: go, for your humility and work and love, I will show it to you, so that you do not grieve. And the next morning I saw my brother walking towards me cheerfully and joyfully; he walked by himself and, smiling, said to me: your prayers, father, begged the Most Holy Theotokos, who loves you very much, and She begged the Savior to release me from my bonds, for I was tightly bound by the bonds of my sins. When my brother said this, I was filled with joy and suddenly I saw the Most Holy Theotokos, who asked me: Are you satisfied, elder, even now? I answered: to her, my Lady! And I was very glad to see him at peace. Then She said to me: So, do not cease to remember your brother in prayers, alms and offerings, for alms and offerings for the deceased greatly appease. 33. Once Zechariah, a disciple of Abba Silouan, entered the Abba, found him in admiration with his hands outstretched to heaven, and, closing the door, went out; then he came again around the sixth and ninth hours and found him in the same position. Finally, knocking at ten o'clock, he entered and, finding him resting, asked: what is the matter with you now, father? He replied: I’m a little sick, child! But the disciple hugged his legs and said: I will not leave you until you tell me what you saw. Then the elder said to him: I was caught up into heaven and saw the glory of God; I stood there until now and now I have been released. 34. Abba Phokas from the monology of Abba Theognius of Jerusalem said: when I lived in Skete, in Kellia there was a certain Abba Jacob the Younger, whose father in the flesh was also his spiritual father. There are two churches in Kellia: one is Orthodox, with which he was in communion, and the other is aposchists (renegades), and since Abba Jacob had the grace of humility, he was loved by everyone, both Orthodox and aposchists. The Orthodox said to him: Abba Jacob, would not the aposchists seduce you and draw you into fellowship with themselves? Likewise, the aposchists said to him: know, Abba Jacob, that by communicating with the Diphysites (who recognized two natures in Jesus Christ), you are destroying your soul, for they are Nestorians and slander the truth. Abba Jacob, being simple and constrained by what was said to him from both sides, decided within himself to turn to God in prayer and shut himself up in a silent cell outside the monastery, putting on funeral clothes, as if before death, for the Egyptian fathers had the custom of Leviton and Kukuli, in which they accepted the holy schema, to preserve until death and to be buried in them, putting them on only on Sundays. Holy Communion and immediately tidying up again. So, Abba Jacob, retiring to that cell, prayed to God and, filled with fasting, fell on the floor and lay there, having suffered a lot in those days, as he said later, from demons, especially in his mind. After forty days he sees that the Youth comes to him joyfully and says to him: Abba Jacob! What are you doing here? And he, immediately enlightened and receiving strength from the vision of Him, said: Master! You know what is wrong with me, for some tell me not to leave the church, and others say that the Diphysites are deceiving you. And I, perplexed and not knowing how my mother-in-law was, decided to do this. The Lord answered him: where you are, it is good. And with this word he found himself at the doors of the holy Orthodox and cathedral church. 35. They said about one old man that he once walked through the desert, and Angels walked with him, one on his right hand and the other on his left. They saw a dead man lying on the way, and the old man covered his nose from the stench. The Angels did the same. When they walked a little forward, the elder asked them: do you smell this? They answered: no, but for your sake we also squeezed. We do not smell the impurities of this world, and they do not approach us, but we smell the souls living in sins. 36. Someone said that in the Skete, when the clergy were making the Offering, an eagle, as it were, descended on the Offering, but no one saw it except the clergy. One day someone asked the deacon for something, and he told him: I have no time now. When he came with the presbyter to make the Offering, the likeness of an eagle did not descend, as usually happened. The presbyter asked the deacon: what does it mean that the eagle did not descend according to custom? Either there is some sin in me or in you. So, step away from me, and if he comes down, it will be obvious that he did not come down because of you. As soon as the deacon left, the eagle immediately descended. At the end of the service, the presbyter asked the deacon: tell me, what did you do? He assured him, saying: I don’t know any sin behind me, except that when my brother came to me and asked for something, I answered him: I don’t have time. Then the presbyter said to him: So, didn’t he go down for your sake, since your brother had sorrow for you?! The deacon went and repented to his brother. 37. One elder told about a bishop who, having arrived in a certain village on Sunday, ordered the deacons to call the village priest to perform the Holy and Divine Mysteries. Having found a priest from the villagers, who was very simple, they brought him to the bishop, and he ordered him to perform the liturgy. When the priest entered the altar and, having dressed himself, approached the altar, the bishop saw that it was all on fire, but was not burned. At the end of the liturgy, the bishop took him specially to the deacon room and said: bless me, true servant of God! The presbyter answered: how can a priest who has received consecration from him bless a bishop? But bless me, Master! The bishop said: I cannot bless the one who, while offering the Holy Gifts, stood all in the fire, for in every way the lesser is blessed by the greater. The presbyter asked: does it happen, honest Vladyka, that a bishop or presbyter, standing before the Holy Mysteries, is not completely on fire? The bishop was extremely surprised at the purity and simplicity of this man and, having received great benefit, left. 38. One elder said: someone lived for a long time in the inner desert and acquired the gift of clairvoyance, so that he talked with Angels, and this is what happened: two brothers, monks, having heard about him, wanted to see him and benefit from him. They left their cell and went on foot to look for the servant of God. A few days later, they approached the elder’s cave and saw from a distance someone like a man, dressed in light clothes and standing on one of the hills at a distance of three signs from the elder, who called out to them: brothers, brothers! They responded and asked: who are you and what do you want? He says to them: tell the Abba to whom you are going to talk: remember the consolation. Having come to the elder, they kissed him according to custom and, falling at his feet, asked him to tell them the word of salvation. Having received great benefit from his instructions, they told him about the man whom they saw coming to him, and what he ordered to be told to him. Hearing this, the elder recognized who it was, but pretended not to know and said: no person lives here. But they urged him to tell them who it was they saw, often bowing to him and hugging his legs. The elder raised them and said: give me your word that you will not talk about me like some saint until my death, and I will tell you about it. The brothers promised, and the elder said to them: the one whom you saw in a bright robe is the Angel of God, and he comes here to console me and strengthen my weakness. Having said this, the blessed elder rested, and the brethren buried him with songs and prayers. Let us also strive to be imitators of his virtues through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who wants everyone... to be saved and to come into the understanding of truth (1 Tim. 2:4). 39. Two brothers, agreeing among themselves, became monks. Having accepted monasticism, they built themselves two cells at some distance from one another, and each one became a hermit especially for the sake of silence. The brothers did not see each other for many years, because they never left their cells. One of them happened to get sick, and the fathers came to visit him. In their presence, he fell into a sort of sleep, and when he came to his senses again, the fathers asked him: what did you see, brother? He answered them: I saw that the angels of God came and took me and my brother and carried me to heaven. We were met by opposing forces, but they were not strong against us, and only when we had already passed their area did they say: great is the boldness of innocence. Having said this, the brother rested. The fathers sent to inform him that his brother had died, but the messenger found him already deceased. And everyone glorified God in amazement. 40. The elder said: we heard how some of the saints who had Christ within them spoke about the mutual agreement of the four elders, who gave each other their right hands with one accord and one mind to live in this age, so that later they could be together in heaven, believing the Master’s voice, saying: if two of you agree among themselves, then whatever you ask will be done for you from My Father in heaven (Matt. 18:19). Three of them, having sat down to asceticism, remained silent in the desert, and the fourth served them in their needs. It happened that two of them died in the Lord and went to their resting place, and two remained - the servant and the silent one. At the behest of an evil demon, the servant fell into fornication, and it was revealed to one of the holy, perspicacious elders that the two deceased prayed to God for the servant, saying: hand over the servant to be devoured by a lion or some other beast to cleanse his sin, so that he too may come to the place where we are, and so that our union will not be ruined. And so, when the servant went, according to custom, to his work and returned from there, a lion met him and wanted to kill him. By revelation, the silent man learned about this, began to pray and asked God for his brother, and the lion immediately stopped. So, while the two fathers who had already died asked God: we pray to You, Master, let him be eaten, so that he too may enter into bliss with us and not hear anyone praying for him on earth, the elder in his cell with all zeal and with tears begged God to have mercy on his brother and deliver him from the lion. God heard the cry of this old man and said to the fathers who were in heaven: it is righteous to hear that old man, for you are already at peace, having escaped from the labors and fasts of life, while he is still bound by the bonds of the flesh and is subject to the warfare of the spirits of evil. Therefore, it is right to give grace to him more than to you. Leo immediately retreated from his brother, and he, having come to his cell, found the elder in tears about him, told him everything that had happened and confessed his sin, and seeing that God had spared him, he repented and in a short time returned to his former measure. Then they both rested in the Lord, and it was revealed to that perspicacious old man that all four, according to the false promise of our Lord Jesus Christ, were in one place. 41. They said: another brother, who went about the affairs of one large cenobia, also fell into the ditch of prodigal uncleanness, and they saw that when he died, his face became black, like soot on a pot. Then the father of the monastery, a spiritual man, gathered the whole brotherhood and said: this brother has left the world, but you know how whole-heartedly he worked on business for our peace and silence. As a man, he slipped through the slander of the evil one, and since because of us he fell into sin, then come, let us work diligently for him and pray to the man-loving God, whose generosity is upon all His works. So, they began to fast and beg God with tears to show His mercy on their deceased brother. For three days and three nights - in fasting, without any food, they cried and grieved over the death of their brother. And it happened that their Abba came into admiration and saw that the Savior had compassion for the work of the brethren, and the devil reviled and shouted: Master! This one is mine, please. He is from our deeds, and I contributed to his sin. Being just, Lord, judge righteously. The Savior answered him: I am just, but also merciful. The limit of My truth is mercy and philanthropy. So, it is not blessed for Me, the merciful and philanthropic one, to despise the prayer of so many holy men for one who is wounded because of those very ones who are praying for his sin. He, too, could have calmly stayed in the monastery and, like everyone else, avoided the arrows of the enemy, but while going about the business of his brothers, he, like a man, fell. Or don’t you see how everyone gave themselves up to death for his sake and everyone is dying for his sake alone? Convince them to stop praying for it and take it. But when so many souls, in danger of perishing from famine, pray with tears and propitiate Me for him, for three days and three nights without retreating from prayers, sighs and kneeling, with their heads covered with ashes, when such a multitude asks for a brother who has fallen into sin not with intention or reasoning, but out of passion, like a man, isn’t it blessed for them to receive their petition?! If among earthly kings it happens that the petition of the entire city for someone already condemned to death changes the royal definition and snatches the guilty person from the hands of the executioner, how much more will I, the truly righteous and philanthropic King, grant to My soldiers their petition, brought for one of their midst?! When the Savior said this, the devil disappeared. Abba, having come to his senses from admiration, told everything to the brothers, and they rejoiced with great joy. After this, the brother’s face began to gradually clear of blackness and, finally, became completely clear. Convinced that God had placed his soul in the inheritance of the belly, they removed his remains and buried him, rejoicing over the wondrous salvation of his brother, for the Lord is near to all who call on Him in truth (Ps. 145:18). 42. One elder spoke about a certain bishop in order to arouse in us zeal for the salvation of the soul: they reported to this bishop, as he himself said, about two worldly wives, as if they were not living chastely. The bishop, suspecting informers, resorted to God in prayer to find out the truth and received what he wanted, for God gave him the ability to recognize the disposition of the soul and the kind of sins someone is subject to by the appearance of those approaching the communion of the Holy Mysteries. And the bishop saw that the faces of the sinners were black, like soot or like a burnt log, and their eyes were fiery and fierce, while others had bright and pure eyes. When they approached the sacrament, for some the Body of Christ seemed to burn, for others it shone and, entering through the lips, made their whole body luminous. Among those and others were both those who accepted monasticism and those who lived in marriage. After the husbands, the bishop went to the wives to teach them the sacrament and to see what they were like in their souls. And among them, some were dark, fiery and fierce, while others were light and pure. Those two wives also approached, about whom the bishop was told, and he saw that their faces were pure and their gazes were bright, and upon receiving the Holy Mysteries, their bodies shone with heavenly light. After this, the bishop again began to beg God to show him the meaning of the revelations he had seen. And an Angel of the Lord appeared to him and commanded him to ask about everyone. The holy bishop first of all asked about those wives: was the denunciation against them fair or false? The angel answered: everything that was said about them is true. The Bishop asked the Angel: how was it that during the reception of the Holy Mysteries their faces were bright and their gazes clear, and after receiving the Mysteries no small light shone on their bodies? The angel answered him: they came to the sense of their sins and propitiated God with tears and sighs, alms and confession, making a firm intention not to fall into such sins again if God forsakes them. God forgave all their sins, and from now on they will live chastely, piously and righteously. The bishop was surprised not so much at the conversion of the wives as at the mercy of God, who not only did not subject them to punishment, but also vouchsafed them such a great gift. The angel said: Are you surprised at this?! There is no sin capable of defeating the mercy of God, for the good and humane God natures those who fall to Him with a contrite heart, confessing their sins, and not only frees them from torment, but also stops anger at them and honors them. God loves the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son for it. Will He not forgive and please His own when, after their fall, they again turn to Him in repentance? The humane God knows our weakness, the strength of passions and the malice of the devil, therefore he is long-suffering towards the fallen, awaiting their conversion, and mercifully accepts those who repent, immediately protecting them with all the gifts of His grace. Next, the bishop asked the Angel: show me now, I ask you, the power of distinguishing other persons? The Angel of the Lord answered him: those who are bright in complexion and pure in gaze are those who live chastely, compassionately and mercifully; the gloomy ones are fornicators and in general slaves of all lust and pleasures; the fiery ones are those who carry malice in their hearts, are angry, abusive and envious. So, the Angel continued, take care of them, for then you are worthy of this revelation, so that by turning them to repentance, you will save their souls and receive for that a great reward in the kingdom of our Lord. 43. They said about a certain brother that one Sunday he got up to go to a church meeting as usual, but suddenly the devil began to inspire him, saying in his thoughts: where are you going? To church?! Communion of bread and wine? And people say that this is the Blood of the Lord? Don't let yourself be deceived! The brother believed the thought and did not go to church. Meanwhile, the brethren were waiting for him in the church, for this was the custom - not to begin services on Sunday until everyone had gathered. After waiting long enough and seeing that he was not coming, they went to him, wondering if he was sick or dead. Entering the cell, they asked him: why don’t you go, brother? The brother was ashamed to tell them the truth, but they, guessing that there was malice of the devil here, bowed to him and asked him to reveal to them the evil spirit and intrigue of the devil. The brother confessed and said: forgive me, fathers! I had already gotten up, as usual, to go to church, but my thoughts told me that what I was going to receive communion was not the Body and Blood, but simple bread and wine, and I did not go. So, if you want me to go to church with you, heal my thoughts about the Holy Offering. The brothers said to him: let's go and we will pray to God to show you the Divine power of the Holy Sacrament. The brother got up and went with them to church. After a long and diligent prayer for his brother, they finally began to celebrate the Divine Liturgy, placing him in the middle of the church, and he did not stop wetting his face with tears until the church holiday. At the end of the service, the brethren asked him: if God has revealed something to you, tell us so that we too can take advantage of it. And he, with tears, rejoicing together and trembling, began to say: when, after reading the Apostle, the deacon went out to read the Holy Gospel, the roof of the church was opened and the sky appeared. At the proclamation of the holy Gospel, the deacon standing at the analogy became all like fire. And I also saw that the earth in the holy altar was revealed and the priests who served the Holy Mysteries stood in fear; I also saw that the sky opened and fire descended from there, and behind the fire were many Angels, and among them were two majestic faces of indescribable beauty, from which came a brilliance like lightning. Angels stood around the Holy Table and the Child in the middle. When the priests approached to break the Showbread, I saw how those two persons at the Holy Meal took the Child by the hands and feet, killed Him with a knife and poured out the blood into the holy cup that stood on the Holy Meal, then they chopped the body into pieces and laid them out among the pieces of bread, and the loaves became the Body. When the brethren began to partake of the Holy Mysteries, the body was taught to them, but with the word Amen pronounced by them, it became bread in their hands. When I began, the Body was given to me, and I could not receive communion. And there was a voice saying in my ears: Man! Why don't you take communion? Isn't this what you demanded? Then I cried: be merciful to me, Lord! I cannot taste the Body. And I was told: if a person could eat the body, he would always receive the Body of God, as you do now. But since man cannot eat the body, our Lord and God was pleased to teach it under the guise of bread. So, if you believe, take communion. I said: I believe, Lord! And immediately the Body that I was holding became bread in my hand, and I, thanking God, received the Holy Mysteries. When the Divine service was over, I saw that the roof of the church was opened again, and the heavenly ranks ascended to heaven. Hearing this, the brethren were touched and with a contrite heart each went to his cell, thanking God. 44. One elder told: I asked a certain virgin, aged in years and successful in the fear of God, about the reason for her removal from the world, and she, sighing, began to say to me: my father was meek and quiet, but weak in body, so that he lay in bed almost all his life. When he was healthy, he worked humbly in the field and patiently collected what he needed for the house. He led such a solitary life that he rarely entered into conversation with anyone in our village, and he loved silence so much that he seemed dumb to those who did not know him. My mother was of a completely opposite disposition: she was curious about everything, even outside of our residence; when she spoke, it seemed as if her whole body was a tongue; she argued and scolded almost everyone; she loved to drink wine, hung out with libertines and ruined the house, but meanwhile she did not know illness and was healthy all her life. When my father, exhausted by illness, died, the air was immediately troubled, there were terrible thunders and lightnings, storms and rains, so that his body could not be buried until three days later. Then everyone in the village, shaking their heads, said: what evil was unknown among us. It is true that he is an enemy of God when creation itself does not allow us to consign him to the ground. But so that his body would not decay and cause harm, although with difficulty, in the rain and storm, they decided to bury him. After my mother, having received her freedom, she indulged in even greater debauchery, but when she died, the weather was clear and everything seemed to favor the grace of her funeral. I remained a child, but when I later emerged from childhood, and passions began to awaken and tickle my inexperienced heart, one evening I sat down and began to think about which path of life to choose: should I follow the path of my father, in meekness, piety and purity, or choose the path of my mother? But, I thought, what benefit did such a life bring to my father? Always sickness and sorrow, and even after death the earth seemed not to accept his body. If God had pleased his life, he would not have suffered so much evil. The mother’s life seemed more correct: she lived according to all the wishes of her heart, was always healthy and was honored with a bright burial. So, the mother’s life is better, because it is safer to trust your own eyes and follow what is known for sure. Meanwhile, night came and sleep overtook me. And so in a dream he appears to me tall, scary in appearance and menacingly asks: tell me so-and-so, what are the thoughts of your heart? Trembling with fear, I could not even look at him, and he, in an even more terrible voice, demanded to tell him what I was thinking about. Foggy with fear, I forgot what I was thinking about and said: I don’t remember anything. He remembered everything to me. Convicted, I admitted it and asked for forgiveness, presenting as an apology the reason that prompted me to think so. Then he said to me: go and see the fate of your father and the fate of your mother, and then choose for yourself what you want. And taking me by the hand, he led me into a garden filled with all kinds of trees with fruits filled with beauty that surpasses all storytelling. When we reached the middle, my father met us and hugged me, calling me a dear child. I asked to stay with him, but he said: now it is impossible, but if you follow in my footsteps, you will come here in a short time. I again began to beg my father, but the Angel who led me there said: go now and see where your mother is. And we entered a dwelling full of darkness and stench, where he showed me a furnace burning with fire and boiling tar. Some terrible faces stood around the cave, I looked down and saw my mother in the fire up to her neck, she was gnashing her teeth, burned by the fire and eaten by worms. Seeing me, she cried out: woe is me, my child! Woe to me for my deeds! Honesty and chastity seemed ridiculous to me, but I didn’t believe in being punished for fornication and drunkenness, and this is what I endure for short-term sweetness. But help me, my child, remember the labors of birth, the worries of upbringing and help your mother! In pity, I stretched out my hand to her, but the fire scorched her. I screamed loudly from the unbearable pain and woke up. Those who were with me in the house also woke up and ran to me, asking about the reason for my fright. I told them what I had seen and, thanks to the Lord’s love for mankind, I chose the path of my father’s life. This is what the honest virgin told me. So, knowing what terrible torments await sinners and how pleasant the dwellings of those who walk the path of God’s commandments are, let us set it in our hearts to shun evil and do good, so that by the grace of the Lord we will inherit eternal life. 45. Some of the fathers said that when Saint Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria, ended, a virgin had a vision and heard a voice saying: Peter is the beginning of the Apostles and Peter is the end of the martyrs. 46. ​​One of the fathers said that three things are of great value for monks, which they should attend to with fear, trembling and spiritual joy: the communion of the Holy Mysteries, the meal of the brethren and their washing. Then he told the following example regarding this: there was one old man, great and perspicacious, and it happened to him to eat with many brothers. Sitting at the meal, the elder listened in spirit and saw that some ate honey, others bread, and others dung. He marveled at himself and asked God, saying: Lord, reveal this mystery to me, for while everyone is offered the same dishes to eat at the meal, they are so variable that some eat honey, others bread, and others dung. And a voice came to him from above: those who eat honey are those who sit at the meal with fear, trembling and spiritual joy, who pray unceasingly, and their prayer, like incense, ascends to God; those who eat bread are those who give thanks for eating what God has given, and those who eat dung are those who grumble and say: this is good, but that is rotten. Meanwhile, one should not think like this, but glorify God and send praises to Him, so that the word of Scripture may be fulfilled: whether you eat or drink, or do anything else, do everything for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). 47. The elder said: often, when the deacon said: kiss one another, I saw the Holy Spirit in the mouths of the brethren. 48. One of the fathers said, while once the elders were sitting and talking about the benefits of the soul, there was one seer among them and saw Angels walking among them and scenting them. When another conversation began, the Angels left and the pigs came, filled with a stench. Then, when they again began to talk about spiritual benefits, the Angels came again and scented them. 49. They talked about the great elder in Skete: when the brethren were building a cell, he went out with joy and, having laid the foundation, did not leave until it was finished. One day, when he went out to build a cell, he was very gloomy. The brothers asked him: Why are you so gloomy and sad, Abba? He answered: this place will be desolate, children, for I saw that a fire had kindled in the Skete, and the brethren, taking the fronds, began to beat them with them and extinguished it; it flared up again, and they again extinguished it, and when it flared up for the third time, it engulfed the entire Skete, and the brethren could no longer extinguish it. That's why I'm gloomy and sad. 50. One old man was very perspicacious. He assured, saying: the same power that I saw during the Enlightenment (that is, Baptism), I saw on the robes of a monk when he takes the schema. 51. One elder, who received the gift of seeing what happens, said: I saw a brother secretly studying in his cell. So the devil came and stood outside his cell. When his brother was studying, he could not enter to him, and when he stopped studying, then the demon entered his cell and fought him. 52. One of the fathers said that two brothers lived next door to him: one a wanderer, and the other a local. The wanderer was somewhat careless, and the local was very jealous. It happened that the wanderer fell asleep, and the old man, being perspicacious, saw many Angels accompanying his soul. When they reached heaven, and they were about to enter, there was an inquiry about him, but a voice came from above, saying: It is true that he was somewhat careless, but for the sake of his pilgrimage, open to him. Afterwards the local also died, and all his relatives came to him. The elder, seeing that the Angel was not with him, was surprised and, falling on his face before God, said: why did the wanderer, being careless, gain such glory, but this zealous one was not worthy of anything like that? And there was a voice to him: this zealous man, when he was approaching death, opened his eyes and, seeing his relatives crying, was comforted in his soul, and the stranger, although he was careless, but not seeing any of his own, groaned and cried, and God comforted him. 53. One of the fathers said: in the Iliopolis desert there lived a hermit, whose needs were fulfilled by one faithful layman. There was a man in the city, rich, but wicked, and when he died, the whole city and the bishop accompanied him with candles and censers. He who corrected the needs of the old man brought him bread, but, finding him eaten by a hyena, he fell on his face before God, saying: I will not rise, Lord, until You reveal to me the meaning of the fact that that wicked one had such glory, and this one, who worked for You day and night, died in this way? Then the Angel of the Lord came and said to him: that wicked man had several good deeds and received a reward for them here, so that no consolation could be found there, but this hermit, although he was adorned with all virtues, but, as a man, he also had some weaknesses, for which he was rewarded here, so that there he could find himself pure before the face of God. Satisfied with what he heard, he went back, praising God for His judgments. 54. They talked about one old man: he prayed to God to see demons, and it was revealed to him: there is no need for you to see them. But the elder did not stop praying about it, saying: Lord! You are able to cover me with Your hand! Then God opened his eyes and he saw demons: they surrounded the man like bees, gnashing their teeth at him, but the Angel of the Lord drove them away. 55. The brother, moved by anger against his brother, began to pray and asked God to show him patience with his brother, so that the temptation would pass harmlessly. And immediately he saw smoke coming out of his mouth. 56. A certain elder said about one holy man that, having not learned either the psalms or the prayers of the communicants, when he was awarded the priesthood for his great love for God, he read everything as if he had learned it. He was very virtuous and performed healings. It was also great for him that for sixty years of his asceticism he did not see a woman, but three days before his death he saw and, calling his disciples, revealed this to them, and three days later he died. 57. There was one solitary man who did not work, but only prayed incessantly, but every evening, entering his cell, he found bread there and ate it. One day another brother came to him with palm branches and taught him how to weave with them. When evening came, the old man, as was his custom, went to eat and found nothing, so he lay down in sorrow, and it was revealed to him: when you were busy with Me all the time, I fed you; When you begin to work, then get food for yourself through your handicrafts. 58. The brother asked the elder: does a name save a person or a deed? The elder replied: I know a brother who, while praying, once came to the following thought: how does the soul of a righteous man and the soul of a sinner leave the body? Not wanting to sadden him, God satisfied his desire in this way: one day he was sitting in his cell and a wolf came in to him, took him by the clothes and dragged him out. His brother stood up and followed him. Having brought him to one city, the wolf left him and went away. The brother entered a monastery outside the city, in which lived an old man who bore the name of the great hermit. He was sick and awaiting his last hour. The brother saw that a great preparation of candles and lamps was being made and the whole city said: God, for the sake of his prayers, gave us bread and water and saved our city for his sake, and if anything happens to him, we will all die. But then the hour of his death approached, and the brother saw a hellish monster with a fiery trident and heard a voice descending from above: since his soul did not give Me peace for a single hour, then be merciless in casting out his soul, for he will never see peace. He, thrusting a fiery trident into his heart, tormented him for a long time before spewing out his soul. After this, the brother entered the city and sat down and wept. Then he saw a wanderer abandoned on the street, who was sick and had no one to look after him. His brother stayed with him for the day. The hour of his death was approaching, and the brother saw that Archangel Michael and Archangel Gabriel had come for his soul and, sitting one on the right hand and the other on the left, consoled his soul and asked it to come out, but since it did not want to come out, Archangel Michael, leaving his body, said to Archangel Gabriel: let her go and let’s go. He told him: We were commanded by the Lord to remove her painlessly, therefore we cannot do violence to her. Then Archangel Michael cried out with a great voice: Lord! Whatever Your holy will desires about this soul, because it does not want to leave. And a voice came to him, saying: Behold, I will send David from the psaltery and all the singers, so that when she hears the sweetness of their singing, she may come out with joy, but do not force her. Everyone came down and surrounded her, and when the hymns sang, she came out and, falling into the hands of Archangel Michael and Archangel Gabriel, ascended to heaven with joy. 59. He said about one old man that one day he came to the city to sell things and sat at the gate of one brother who was approaching death. Sitting in this place, he looked into the distance and saw two black horses and their riders, also black and scary-looking, who had fiery rods in their hands. Having reached the gate, they parked their horses here and entered the house. The sick man, seeing them, cried out with a great voice: Lord! Have mercy on me and help me. The messengers said to him: are you now, when the sun is setting, looking for God’s help? Why didn't you look for her on a clear day? Now there is no hope for you and no consolation. And thus they took his unfortunate soul and left. Ausolian is a Latin language. Nauclear is the owner or commander of ships. You might be interested in: