VI. ПОДВИЖНИЦЫ КОНСТАНТИНОПОЛЯ И ЭЛЛАДЫ

St. Olympias, Candida and Gelasia The wondrous Olympias came from an aristocratic Constantinople family and was very rich. Her father was senator Anisius Secundus, and her mother was the daughter of the pious Eulavius, prefect of the praetorium under the blessed Constantine. She lost her parents at a young age. Therefore, the guardianship of her estates was entrusted to her uncle Procopius, and Theodosia, the aunt of St. Amphilochios and St. Gregory of Nazianza, intelligent and virtuous, to whom she was entrusted by her father. Since she was rich and learned, many sought her hand, and while still young she was betrothed to Nebridius, the prefect of the capital. Beautiful poems were sent (in 384) by the wondrous Saint Gregory as a gift to Olympias, who was entering into marriage. But 20 months after the betrothal, Nebridius died, leaving Olympias a widow and at the same time a virgin. Many after that sought the hand of the Olympics. The imp. Theodosius the Great proposed that she marry Elpidius, a young Spanish aristocrat, a relative of the king. But she rejected the offer. “If the Lord wanted me to be a wife, he would not have taken Nebridius from me,” she answered. Theodosius repeated his offer, but also received a refusal. The emperor was offended and, going to war with Maximus (388), ordered the prefect of the capital to take custody of her estate until she was 30 years old. The prefect, while serving Elpidia, acted insultingly towards Olympias: she was forbidden to visit bishops, and she was not allowed into the church of God, just to force her into marriage. The Olympics endured everything complacently. She wanted to embarrass herself even more. She wrote to the emperor: “Sire! You have shown me mercy, which is worthy not only of a sovereign, but also of a bishop; Trusteeship of the estates frees me from many worries. For my greater happiness, deign to command that everything be distributed to the churches and the poor. For a long time I have been afraid of the inclinations of vanity, which so easily arise when distributing estates. Temporary blessings, perhaps, could tear my heart away from true blessings, spiritual and eternal.” Theodosius then lived in the West, and when, after a three-year absence, he returned to the capital, he returned (in 391) all the estates to its full disposal. “Such a virtuous and intelligent girl knows better than us how to use the blessings of time,” said the sovereign. Having received freedom from her estates, blessed Olympias squandered her funds on works of mercy with a generous hand. There was no city, no village, no desert where they did not enjoy the favors of the famous Olympics. She delivered offerings to churches, monasteries, cathedras, hospices, prisons, and places of exile. It is impossible to count those slaves to whom she granted freedom by paying money to their masters. St. Chrysostom compared her mercy to an abundant river that carries its waters to the very borders of the earth and enriches the sea. And he convinced her, and she humbly obeyed, to limit her generosity, to measure it not by requests, but by needs. Despite her wealth, Olympias led the life of a humble servant of God. Brought up in pomp and luxury, she abandoned all the pleasures of the world and led a simple life. She never ate meat or took baths, which are so necessary in a hot climate. Night vigils became a habit for her, and her time was devoted mainly to prayer. Her behavior with others breathed Christian modesty and sincerity. “Her appearance is open,” her disposition is sincere, her clothes, even dressed in rags, would seem worthless; Her meekness was such that it surpassed the simplicity of the children themselves, says an eyewitness. St. Chrysostom, consoling her in her sorrows, wrote to her from captivity: “You have received by nature the most tender and weak body; the noble breed provided you with all the ways to luxuriously nourish it, but you so exhausted it with various sufferings that it is now no better than dead. You have voluntarily created in your body such a kind of disease that neither the art of doctors nor the power of medicine can cure them... You are not overcome by a passion for carnal pleasures, and therefore there is no difficulty for you to abstain from them. You have trained your body to accept so much bread and drink just to avoid dying. I’ll say a few words about this simplicity and unrefinement that you observe regarding the dress. It seems that this virtue is lower than others, but if you carefully examine it, you will find that it is very majestic, that it requires for itself an intelligent soul, worth everything in life, soaring to the sky. For this reason, not only in the New, but also in the Old Testament, God forbade the passion for clothes and said: “the daughters of Zion have been exalted and walked with their necks high and their eyes darkened and their feet treading, dragging their garments along the floor and playing with their feet, and the Lord will humble the chief daughters of Zion... And instead of a stench there will be... a stench, and instead already girded on their belts” (Is. 3:16–23)... Paul, speaking to secular women, not only turns them away from wearing gold attire, but does not allow them to dress in valuable clothing (1 Tim. 2:9). For he knew, knew well, that panache is a serious illness of the soul; a disease that is difficult to fight is the surest sign of a bad heart.” Also St. Nektarios, Patriarch of Constantinople, dedicated St. Deaconess Olympics. What were Olympias's activities as a deaconess? The first concern is looking after suffering and unhappy wives. “At dawn you can see: many old women and widows crowding around the dungeon; even the famous ones serve the prisoner and spend the whole night with her; delicious treats are brought and holy books are read to them,” this is how the pagan wrote about Christian deaconesses. Deaconesses taught the female sex the law of God, especially during preparation for baptism. The Fourth Council of Carthage decreed: “Widows or initiates elected to the ministry at the baptism of wives must be so prepared for the position that they can teach simple rural women with clear and ecclesiastical rules how to respond to the woman being baptized and how to live after baptism.” Deaconesses served women during the sacraments, during baptism, during communion, during confession, during marriage; they supervised the decorum of the wives in the house of prayer, decorated the churches and monitored their cleanliness. Serving the sacraments and the sisters was a pleasant experience for Olympias. An eyewitness of her life wrote: “She nourished the priesthood, respected the clergy, helped widows, fed orphans, visited the sick, cried with sinners, returned the lost to the path of good, many wives who were married to the pagans, instructed them in the faith and gave them the means to subsist.” The virtues of Olympias were the subject of wonder and consolation to the whole church. Famous saints of that time spoke about her with deep respect. St. Amphilochius, St. Epiphanius, St. Peter of Sebaste, St. The optat bishop took advantage of her generous charity and praised the Lord for her. She covered the eyes of the dying P. Nektarios and Bishop Optat with her own hands. She also did good to those archpastors who were not distinguished by high morality, such as Akakios, Antiochus, Severian; she respected their high rank. A storm of troubles arose on St. The Olympics from the time the persecution of Chrysostom began. Chrysostom's first enemy, Theophilus of Alexandria, was the first enemy and blessed. Olympics. She lovingly received him in her house when he was in the capital, treated him and gave him gifts. When she accepted, as she accepted all the monks and sufferers, the great brothers driven out of Egypt by Theophilus’s pride, Theophilus began to disgrace her with vile slander. The empress’s anger, which persecuted Chrysostom, also raged against Olympias, who respected Chrysostom and was respected in the world and the Church. Especially when the fire devastated the St. Sophia Church and the Senate, the anger of Chrysostom’s enemies fell upon those who defended Chrysostom. They said that the fire was their business. Prefect Optatus, a pagan, took Olympias for interrogation. “Why was this fire started?” - he asked her. “My life, which I have led until now,” answered Olympias, “frees me from the suspicion expressed by you. Whoever gave away so much money to build churches, of course, is not in a position to burn them.” The prefect ordered the innocent person to contribute a commensurate (huge) amount of money to cover the damage to the treasury. Weighed down by sorrows, Olympias fell into illness, which tormented her all winter. At the beginning of spring she was ordered to leave the capital. For a long time she wandered from one place to another, not knowing where to lay her head. In mid-autumn 405, she was ordered to return to the capital. Even now she was accused of causing discord in the church. She could not help but consider Chrysostom innocently exiled, and the suffering of the great saint caused deep suffering to her soul. But all the more so did she honor his commandment and did not separate from the church, according to his will. “She submitted to her bishops with all piety,” says a contemporary and adds: “No one close to her ever noticed that this Christ-bearing woman reproached anyone.” She was called to trial many times, shameless servants disgraced her and tore her dress. Some of her estates were sold at public auction, others were ruined by the mob, and for others they dragged her through the courts. Her own servants, to whom she did good as a mother, rebelled against her at the instigation of her enemies. Her soul suffered greatly. St. Chrysostom wrote to her: “Stop crying, stop tormenting yourself with sadness; do not look at these misfortunes that come towards you incessantly, coming one after another without an interval; think about freedom, which is so close, close; think about the ineffable rewards that your misfortunes will bring you... What does it mean to be thrown out of your fatherland, to be transferred from place to place, to be a captive, to be persecuted everywhere, to live in exile, to be dragged through the courts, to receive insults from people who have received thousands of benefits, to be tortured by both slaves and freemen - what does all this mean when the reward for all this is the whole sky.” “She taught many other wives,” writes Hercules about St. Olympics, and St. Chrysostom wrote to the Olympics itself: “I am especially pleased that you, having freed yourself from litigation and assignments, put an end to them worthy of you. You did not cowardly reject them, did not delay them in vain, did not humiliate yourself in the courts and troubles associated with litigation.” Like the words of Heraclides, so the words of Chrysostom make it possible to see that in recent years his blessings. Olympias was the abbess of the sisters of nuns. By cutting off ties with the world, the blessed one wanted to protect herself from the squabbles of the court, as well as from the accusations that rained down on her indiscriminately, as if she, the first deaconess, was the reason that many did not want to know the new Patriarch. The world doesn't like to blame itself for anything; he is always right in his eyes, and only others are to blame: blind from passions, he sees neither himself nor others. Therefore, the anger of the world haunted Olympias in her solitude. Under Attica, the community of sisters of Olympias was expelled from the capital to imprisonment in Cyzicus. St. Chrysostom wrote then for the Olympics: “How glorious is virtue, which despises all the upheavals of real life! Through those trying to humiliate her, she makes her ascetics stronger, higher, more invincible... This is how, my most God-loving lady, you should amuse yourself and those who are fighting with you in the present glorious struggle! This is how you approve the thoughts and spirit of all (virgins), setting up your squad.” The holy virgin Olympias remained in captivity until her death, which followed in 410. “The best inhabitants of Constantinople,” wrote Palladius in 420, “count her among the confessors and are confident that she, who suffered for the truth and for God, inherited a blessed life. Her holy body, laid in the church of an unknown town, performed miracles. 200 years later, savages burned the church, but the saint’s body remained unharmed. When he was transferred to Constantinople, blood flowed from him as if from a living person, as a sign of the innocent suffering suffered in earthly life. The relics were placed in the monastery founded by the saint. “In the footsteps of the Olympiad,” says Palladius, “blessed Candida, the daughter of the commander Trajan, led her life well. She achieved high purity, wisely decorated churches, out of reverence for the mysteries of Christ, she honored bishops and respected the entire clergy. Having taught her daughter the rules of virgin life, she gave her to Christ as a gift from her heart. Then she herself, having distributed her property, followed her daughter and spent her life in purity and chastity. To exhaust her flesh, she worked whole nights, grinding flour with her own hands and baking prosphora. “Since fasting alone is not enough,” she said, “I add to it a grueling vigil in order to crush Esau’s lust.” She did not eat animal meat at all, but ate only fish, butter and vegetables, and that was only on holidays; at any other time she was content with water mixed with vinegar and dry bread. Having led such a harsh life, this illustrious wife fell into a blissful sleep and now enjoys the eternal blessings prepared for those who love a virtuous life.” Like this pious wife, the glorious Gelasia, the daughter of a tribune, zealously walked the path of righteousness and piously bore the yoke of virginity. This wonderful virgin had a special virtue that “the sun never set on her anger” on a slave, or on a maidservant, or on anyone else (Eph. 4:26). Gelasia was afraid to remember the insult or trouble caused to others. ““Forgive and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37) such is the will of God,” she told herself. Without loving your neighbor, you cannot love the Lord, and there is no love in someone who is angry with another, who does not forgive him for everything. Anger is the work of a corrupt soul. “Anger” is a madness (Proverbs 27:4). “Wrath rests in the heart of a fool” (Eccl. 7:10). Unfortunately, no one’s “wrath” is as ugly as the anger of a woman (Sir. 27:33). Further, further from it, is it a matter of childish kindness: it is so pleasing to the Lord. He told us: “If you do not turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven... Whoever humbles himself like this child will more in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3-4). In this way, through childish kindness, the blessed one entered into the blessed life. Pulcheria was the daughter of Emperor Arcadius. Her brother Theodosius was 8 years old when (in 408) he was declared emperor; his guardian was Anfimius, an intelligent and virtuous nobleman. Pulcheria was only two years older than her brother, but she far surpassed him in mental gifts and firmness of good will; from a young age she sincerely loved piety; Despite all her immaturity, she was her brother’s mentor and tried to pass on to him the best rules of life. Fluent in Greek and Latin, she had extensive knowledge - historical, philosophical, theological. In 414 she was declared Augusta, co-ruler of the emperor. The eastern empire was vast, but its affairs were not in order. That is why the smart and kind Anfimius considered it necessary for such a sister as Pulcheria to be a co-ruler with her brother. And she gave better direction to things. What Pulcheria lacked in experience in management, she made up for with the vigilance of her mind and desires for good. She tried most of all to convince her brother that without faith, without piety, the best talents are useless, and politics without faith is a stupid, harmful policy. This is how she directed the affairs of the empire. She did not resolve matters without prayers and advice from conscientious people. The internal unrest of the empire - matters of human passions - were calmed; peace was maintained or restored with neighboring powers, tax collection was put in order; The army and navy are in good condition. Sciences are given ways for their success. The empire was happy, just as it was not happy under Arcadia. Pulcheria was also the teacher of her two younger sisters, Arcadia and Marina; she remained with them continuously, unless she was distracted by administrative matters. She assigned them subjects to study and gave direction to their thoughts and feelings. “Beauty is deception and beauty is vanity; a woman who has the fear of the Lord is worthy of all praise,” said the divinely inspired sage (Proverbs 31:30). Pulcheria firmly studied his lessons for herself and the sisters. She made a vow before God to remain a virgin until the grave. And she commemorated this vow with a monument: in the cathedral church there was a throne made of gold and precious stones, with the inscription “Vow of Virginity.” She had the consolation of seeing that her sisters also decided to devote themselves to serving God. With her, the imperial palace was a truly Christian home, which it had not been for a long time: there was no place for luxury, idleness, or distraction. Pulcheria performed feats of repentance and prayer with her sisters. No man set foot in their rooms. The co-ruler received petitioners and ministers only at certain times and publicly. All this had useful consequences for the life of the empire; the vows of the princesses blocked the path to the intrigues of the court’s thirst for honor and power. Considering her body to be the church of the Crucified Lord, she pacified the unclean movements in it with strict fasting and labor. When brother Theodosius reached full age, 20 years old, Pulcheria became concerned about finding a bride for him. Her choice fell on Athenaida, the daughter of the Athenian philosopher. Athenaida came to Augustus with a request to return her father’s estate, taken away by human injustice. During the conversation, it turned out that Afenaida was well educated and smart. According to outside information, it turned out to be the same. Athenaida was declared the emperor's bride. This should have amazed many and offended others: the choice fell not on the aristocrat. Pulcheria wanted nothing but good. Since Athenaida was still a pagan, she was baptized and named Evdokia. The marriage took place on June 7, 421. Two years later, Evdokia was declared Augusta. Pulcheria remained as co-ruler, but tried to pretend that the emperor was alone in the empire. Commands went to the empire on behalf of Theodosius, matters were decided on his own behalf. Clever Pulcheria gave a memorable lesson to her brother at this time. Theodosius, good-natured and trusting, began to sign the deeds without reading them and not even always asking about their contents. The nobles, taking advantage of this gullibility, allowed themselves to rob the treasury and oppress the innocent. Pulcheria, without wasting words, presented a report to the emperor. Theodosius, without asking about the contents, signed and gave the paper to his sister. Then Pulcheria calls Evdokia to her and, talking with her, keeps her with her all day. In the evening they call Evdokia to the king. Pulcheria did not let go. They'll come another time. Pulcheria said with a smile: “Report to the king that Evdokia is my property, by his will.” Appearing then to her brother, she handed him a letter signed by him. He read it, and Pulcheria meekly said: “You see, sir, how dangerous it is to sign papers without reading! You, out of your kindness, do not think that they could deceive you. But on earth there are not Angels, but people of all kinds. You are the father of the fatherland. Be careful that your fatherland does not suffer from you.” Theodosius, stricken with shame, gave his word to be careful. According to the conviction of the pious Pulcheria, Theodosius sent a lot of money to Jerusalem to distribute to the poor and a golden cross with expensive stones to erect it on the place of execution. The grateful archbishop sent the king the right hand of Archdeacon Stephen. When the relics were in Chalcedon, the First Martyr appears in a dream to Pulcheria and says: “Behold, your prayer has been heard, and I am already in Chalcedon.” The princess and the king came out to meet the relics, and Pulcheria built a magnificent church to the First Martyr in the capital, where his relics were placed. No matter how strong Patriarch Nestorius was in his connections with the nobles of the empire, no matter how cleverly he acted for his own benefit, in 431 an Ecumenical Council was held in Ephesus; The Council lasted a long time due to the intrigues of the defenders of Nestorius; Theodosius was drawn into unjust orders: but the teaching of Nestorius was condemned as heresy, and Nestorius was exiled to prison. The pious and intelligent Pulcheria served as the defense of Orthodoxy. The blessed one paid tribute to the great Saint Chrysostom: his relics (in 438) were transferred from captivity and solemnly placed in the capital, in the Church of the Apostles. The following year, an earthquake terrified the capital for a long time. 20 days before Easter, a public prayer was held: the Tsar, the Princess and the Patriarch walked on foot through the city. By singing the angelic song “Holy God,” the disaster was stopped, and the song was introduced into public and private worship. In 444, Pulcheria buried her sister Arcadia, who, in her opinion, retained her virginity to the grave. At the court, Anthimus's place was taken by the eunuch Chrysaph, whose whole dignity consisted in the fact that, although a giant in body, he was a fairly capable commander, otherwise he was a man without any rules and greedy for money. Pulcheria stopped Chrysaph in his bad deeds. Chrysaph aroused envy of Pulcheria's power in Evdokia. Evdokia and Chrysaph began to act together against Pulcheria. Theodosius, kind but weak and short-sighted, at first did not take part in their plan, but then became involved in it. He demanded that Patriarch Flavian of Constantinople ordain Pulcheria as a deaconesses. The saint declared that he could not initiate anyone against his will, and the happiness of the empire required something completely different. The emperor stubbornly insisted on his demand. St. Flavian replied that he would appear at court at another time. He hastened to let Pulcheria know about the malicious plans of her enemies. She decided to retire into solitude and in 447 she left the court. In the empire and in the church, by the will of Chrysaph, things began to happen, some more terrible than others. Persecution was raised against Flavian. Eutyches the heretic became a favorite of the court. Diodorus and the Eutychians began to carry out villainous violence. At the Council of Ephesus in 449, Flavian was strangled. The heresy of Eutyches appeared under the protection of the emperor. Chrysaph was a villain in the empire, robbing and killing. Blessed Pulcheria thanked God for her solitary life. She did not want to think about the ingratitude of Evdokia, who owed her everything, or the ingratitude of her weak brother, and even less thought about the base Chrysaphe. She wanted to forget everything and be forgotten by everyone, she was engaged only in prayer, reading books useful for the soul, and feats of repentance. Meanwhile, disasters increased from day to day. Popular unrest arose in different parts of the empire. Pulcheria saw this with deep sorrow. It was hard for her that her good brother was drawn into taking part in terrible things. She decided to try to help the empire and the church. Appearing at court, she asked the emperor for permission to see him. She was not refused. Then she opened her brother’s eyes to the state of affairs. He saw with horror the abyss on the edge of which they placed him. Chrysaph was exiled to the island and there he was punished by death for his crimes. Evdokia, feeling her sins, with the permission of the emperor, went to worship in Jerusalem. Pulcheria again took part in the administration of the empire. In 449, Pulcheria's sister Marina died as a virgin, and the following year Emperor Theodosius died. Pulcheria was left alone as ruler of the empire. She did not want to think that she was able to rule the empire alone. She decided to find a capable emperor. Her choice fell on the commander Marcian: he was an experienced ruler, loved the pure faith of Christ and sincerely loved all that is good. He was a widower: the daughter of his first marriage, Euphemia, was the wife of Anthimius, later the Western Emperor. When Pulcheria elected Marcian as emperor, she announced to him the condition: “I choose you from the entire Senate as the most worthy; but give me your word - to respect my virginity, which I promised to God.” Marcian accepted and fulfilled the condition. Marcian and Pulcheria lived like brother and sister, in purity of chastity. In 451, the Ecumenical Council was convened in Chalcedon. At the Council, Eutychianism was condemned and rules were established, among other things, about virgins who dedicated themselves to the Lord, about deacons and about mixed marriages. The Fathers of the Council more than once, in continuation of their deeds, proclaimed Pulcheria the defender of orthodoxy and the glory of the churches. The decisions of the Council were joyfully accepted in the empire. Only in Egypt and Palestine did the stubborn Eutychians create disorder. Pulcheria wrote two letters to Palestine, with a detailed justification of the decisions of the Council and with an explanation that the Council did not at all think of taking the side of Nestorius. The blessed empress founded many charitable institutions in the capital, hospitals and hospices. She built three famous churches of the Mother of God: Blachernae, Hodegetria and Chalcopratia. The icon of the Mother of God, painted by the Evangelist Luke, was delivered from Palestine by the Empress Eudoxia. Now this icon was placed in the Church of Hodegetria. A modern historian says: “With what zeal did Pulcheria perform the works of piety, how many magnificent churches she built, how many houses she erected for the poor and strange, as well as monastic monasteries, assigning a constant amount of money for the maintenance of these institutions, and a certain amount of bread for those living in them. It would take a long time to list all this.” Preoccupation with the affairs of the empire did not prevent her from engaging in matters of piety, prayer, reading, visiting the poor and sick: she served the latter with her own hands. The queen's piety was rewarded with heavenly revelations. St. appeared to her three times. the martyr Firs and announced to her about the relics of the 40 martyrs of Sebaste, hidden in the ground; the martyr declared his will so that the relics would be added to his relics in his church. Seven martyrs, dressed in light clothes, also appeared to her. According to precise research, it turned out that, indeed, the Macedonians hid the relics of the martyrs in the indicated place. The relics were found and placed with triumph in the church of St. Firsa. Before her death, Pulcheria bequeathed that all her property should be used for the benefit of the poor. Marcian fulfilled his will to the fullest extent. She died on September 10, 453, in the 55th year of her life. Her memory was established to be celebrated during the reign of Emperor Leo the Great (457–473). Good virgins of a famous family arrived as pagans in Constantinople from Carthage, under Nektarios ( 397); with them came three more pagan girls, their servants. Their ardent desire was to accept Christianity in order to live according to the rules of pure heavenly faith. Nectarius had a special heavenly notice about them. Therefore, he not only baptized them, but also ordained Domnik and Mavra as deaconesses, and the Emperor of Theodosius gave them lands outside the city. Domnica founded a monastery in honor of St. Zechariah, and Mavra built a monastery with a church in honor of the martyr Mavra. Many virgins, and mainly their fellow tribesmen, from African Carthage, which was then under the rule of the Greek Empire, gathered with both of them. Emperor Theodosius turned his power to weaken paganism in the far corners of the empire, and the monasteries of Domniki and Moors were schools for young Christian women. Blessed Domnika devoted herself to Christian deeds with fiery zeal; not sparing her sinful body, she exhausted herself with fasting and labor, courageously struggling with corrupt nature in order to do the will of God with a full soul. “You showed your heartfelt desire with tears, you moistened the glorious earth with tenderness and wiped the hair of Christ’s footstool. You have declined the mercy of the flesh. You were adorned with virtues.” Through hard and long labors she ascended to a wondrous degree of spiritual perfection. By the mercy of God she healed the sick. She showed power over the elements, prophesied the future, thereby turning carefree residents of the cheerful capital to concerns about eternity. “Enriched with the gift of prophecy, she predicted about emperors, patriarchs and many other things.” “You saved the overwhelmed swimmers in the sea,” the Church sings, “you saved them, throwing oil into the sea with a blessing, and putting the overwhelming state into silence.” “You appeared as a stream of healings, extinguishing the fire of passions and providing saving healing, Divine Bride of God.” Domnica's holy life was very long: she lived until the time of Emperor Leo II ( 474). She knew in advance the day of her death. “By the omnipotent beck of God, foreseeing the resolution of her body, with a pure soul she offered up a grateful song to the Author of everything and gave up her pure spirit to God.” Blessed Mavra preceded her death by moving to a happy eternity for her. Her monastery later became famous for raising the most shameful cruelty of Copronymus against itself. Fierce against monasticism, he converted the monastery of St. The Moors turned to the place of the most vile orgies, razed the church of the martyr to the ground, the nuns, who did not have time to hide, handed over their servants to the violence of scoundrels, and the place of pure prayers was a slaughterhouse of people. It is clear in itself that the monastery was subsequently restored as a monument to the martyrdom of pure souls. The daughter of pious parents who lived in Perga was given, not at her request, in marriage to a nobleman. The husband went to serve in the capital. The young wife, having met one ascetic, became eager to attend public worship and its premises as often as possible. Her husband not only prevented her from doing this with offensive reprimands and suspicions, but often beat her. She lived with such a husband for ten years. Exhausted by mental suffering, with an unquenchable and intensifying thirst to live for the Lord, she, dressed as a eunuch, hid in the monastery of Blessed Bassian, who had up to 300 brethren. She was tonsured into monasticism with the name of Vavila, and she worked diligently and calmly for the Lord. Several years passed like this. At the monastery they found out that the eunuch Vavila was his wife. Rev. Vassian strictly denounced Matrona in front of the brethren. “You are bringing trouble to our monastery,” the abbot told her and kicked her out of the monastery. Matrona's situation was sad. The monk saw her fiery zeal to serve the Lord, and he also saw the obstacles to that. What could I do to calm her down? The Apostle wrote: “Do not turn away from one another, except by agreement, for a time, to practice fasting and prayer” (1 Cor. 7:5). According to this rule, a wife and husband, by mutual agreement, can leave the common bed for a while, can both take a vow of purity and strive in the monastic life; but if the husband does not agree to lead a pure life, the wife, even if she wanted to, should not take a vow of purity. St. Basil Vel. wrote: “If (the wife retreated from her husband) because she was beaten and did not endure the blows, then it is more fitting to endure than to be separated.” This is how St. reasoned. Chrysostom, but he also pointed out a possible case: “If,” he said, “a husband forces his wife to deviate from pure faith, then in order to preserve the most important duty of conscience, let the wife leave such a husband.” According to the instructions of the Savior (Luke 16:18), the adultery of a husband gives the wife the right to leave her criminal husband. What was Matrona's husband like? Did he break fidelity to his wife and St. faith? Not visible from the life of Matrona. But in his attitude towards his nun wife, it is clear that he was a man imbued with pagan thoughts about the unlimited rights of a husband over his wife. After his wife became a nun, according to civil law he had the right to take another wife and live in peace. But he, as a pagan, is convinced that he, the husband, can drive his wife away from him for a hundred reasons, and the wife has no right to leave her husband for any reason. He is chasing the Matrona Nun in the capital, in Emesa, and in Palestine. Pagan beliefs about the rights of a husband over his wife were still in force at that time; they were found both in life and in the laws of the empire. We see an example of a suffering wife who suffered from the pagan rights of her husband over his wife during St. Matrons in another person. A hieromonk's wife and son were found on a deserted island. According to her story, raised as an orphan in the house of a virtuous nobleman, she, according to his wishes, became the wife of his son. The father soon died. The young aristocrat's relatives did not give him peace; Every day they told him: why doesn’t he marry a noble and rich wife? Why does he keep with him one who dishonors his family? To save the good husband from his difficult situation, the young wife secretly left his house and hid on the island to perform the labors of a hermit. Here, 8 months later, a son was born, and she lived for 30 years in feats of severe self-denial, until the Lord sent a hieromonk to her to baptize her son. The peculiarity of Matrona’s condition was that she had already taken a vow of monasticism. At the council of the elder brethren of the Vassianova monastery, they decided not to return Matrona to the world, but to hide her in the women’s monastery. With the assistance of Rev. Vassiyan, Matrona was accepted into the Emesa convent. Here she labored with all her determination. Pursued by her husband, she visited Jerusalem and Sinai - places of saints, dear to a pious soul, but Matrona could not stay either there or here for long. How hard this homeless life is! After all, bliss. Matrona is not like any person who, with noisy statements about her genius, tangibly reduces the capital of the forces of society. Matrona, with her pious life, managed to bring several pagan women to St. faith. The husband died, to the peace of the blessed one, and Matrona returned to Constantinople to listen to the instructions of St. Vassian. He also summoned her Emesan sisters to her. Emperor's wife Leo the Great (457–473), having learned about her high life, visited her. Matrona, although she lived very poorly, did not ask the empress for anything, but only talked about spiritual salvation. Surprised by this, the empress began to respect the ascetic even more. Having healed the widow of the eparch, the monk received from her funds to build a monastery, whereas until then she lived with her sisters in very cramped and, moreover, rented cells. Many lay people came to the great ascetic for advice. “Oh, if only people,” she said, “cared as much about virtue as they, to their own detriment, care about emptiness! Let this passion for spectacles and harmful fun, let our women’s passion for clothes, the passion to please a man, be replaced by zeal for piety: what successes there would be in spiritual life!” In the capital at that time there were still few women's communities of prayer, and there was a lot of debauchery, difficult for souls who had any understanding of themselves. Instructions of St. ascetics, strong in sincerity and experience, attracted many to her. Those exhausted by worldly life found rest in her, and the sick found health. Her monastery became very crowded. Under her leadership, many pure virgins were raised for heaven. St. Joseph sings to her: “For the benefit of many, you have erected a sacred dwelling, being yourself a church of the Spirit in the purity of your soul. You guided them through the exploits of the saving fast and brought them whole to the Lord, like a marriage vein. We honor you with them sincerely, Matrona.” But these are still turbulent times. The predator of the throne, Basilisk, issues (in 476) a decree against the Council of Chalcedon. In 480 Constantinople was struck by a terrible earthquake. Emperor Zeno thought with his edict (482) to reconcile the Orthodox with the Monophysite heretics; His edict was dictated in the spirit of indifference (indifference in faith), which is so unreliable either for earth or for heaven. In the West, a decisive condemnation of the peace charter was pronounced. From 491, Emperor Anastasius launched a severe persecution against those who did not accept this charter. “The monasteries of Vassian, the Everlasting and Matrona, who most separated from those who accepted Zeno’s conciliatory letter and with all firmness endured persecution, were especially forced to a peace agreement. The Venerable Matrona, who stopped all communication with her nuns who accepted Zeno’s peace letter, performed many miracles when the deacon of the great church, Chrysavius, forced her to do so.” Having encountered unyielding firmness, they left the saint, like the other monks, alone. This is how she united with her spiritual children before her death. “Young girls,” sings St. Joseph, those who obey your teaching have loved the Bridegroom Lord. Conquering bodily weakness with the strength of spirit, they tamed passions with jealousy; together with you, Matrona, they are brought into the heavenly, sacred palace, and they always have fun.” The monk lived in monasticism until she was only 75 years old and rested for 100 years, in November 492 for 9 days. Even in her youth, given to the Constantinople monastery of pure virgins, blessed Elizabeth, having taken vows of virginity in adulthood, fulfilled them with fiery zeal - she spent her life in fasting, labor and prayer. In winter and summer she wore only one piece of clothing - a coarse hair shirt; her body was numb from the cold, but her soul was burning with love for the Lord. What, they will say, violence of nature! Yes, violence, but legal. What do you order to do when nature is bad and cannot be brought closer to a normal state other than by force? Otherwise, don't you want to go to hell? If you want, you can get there. The pious Emperor Justin (518–527) and his wife Sophia, having laid the relics of St. Martyrs Cozma and Damian in the church, generously built, a women's monastery was opened here. In this monastery the abbess was Blessed Elizabeth. The saint’s struggle with herself did not weaken until the grave. She ate only plants, without eating bread; She didn’t even add butter to the raw food. Her fast at times lasted up to 40 days. For three years during prayer she did not raise her eyes to heaven, following the example of the humble publican. She had not washed her body all her life. Thus she humbled both her voluptuous body and her pride of spirit through variable exploits. At the same time, she zealously cared for the salvation of her sisters in the Lord. An experienced ascetic, who knew a woman’s heart well, instilled in sisters and wives to especially beware of lying guile and slander, which are very common sins among women. “We are weak both in body and in mind,” she reasoned. The Wise One says: “I found one man (smart man) out of a thousand, but I didn’t find a woman (smart) out of all of them (out of a thousand)” (Eccl. 7:28). The prophet speaks of Israel in reproach: “Children are the leaders of my people, women rule over them” (Is. 3:12). And with such weakness, we think to be strong, sometimes with cunning, sometimes with an evil tongue. But our cunning, as inseparable from lies, puts us directly under the influence of Satan. He is the father of lies and acts bravely where they love lies. Whoever, dodging in a lie, thinks that he is showing intelligence and strength, he he is mistaken to the point of pity - he is an obedient tool of Satan, the father of lies, the Father of darkness brings darkness to such a soul, it does not recognize its sins, does not see its dangerous baseness and remains insensible. Women's talkativeness is all the more sinful because, with a lack of prudence and irritability of heart, we most often waste emptiness, lies, slander, frivolity, which is harmful to ourselves and others. “The heart of the righteous answers, but the lips of the wicked pour forth a river of evil,” says the wise man (Proverbs 15:28). What does chatty slander reveal? The anger of pride, raging from the consciousness of its weakness. In poverty, a woman, out of envy, denigrates others; the rich humiliate others out of pride. How much trouble, how much suffering comes from this for people! How detrimental all this is to the immortal soul! Love one another, and do not be angry, we are told. The blessed abbess was full of love for others. She had help ready for the poor and widows; She defended the offended from those who offended them before their superiors, looked after and raised orphans. “Although our outer man... is decaying, yet our inner man is renewed day by day,” teaches the apostle (2 Cor. 4:16). “I love those who love Me, and those who diligently seek Me will find Me,” says the Lord (Prov. 8:17). Purified by the long sorrows of asceticism, St. Elizabeth was a vessel of the Holy Spirit. In night prayers she was illuminated with heavenly light. In her earthly life she was called and was a wonderworker: through her prayer a snake died and a bleeding wife was healed. Russian admirers of the shrine: Stefan the Novgorodian in 1350 and Hierodeacon Zosima in 1420 - venerated the relics of St. Elizabeth in the Constantinople monastery of Sts. Kozma and Damian. Blessed Eustolia, the daughter of pious parents, devoted herself to fasting and prayer from a tender age. Burning with love for the Lord, with imp. Mauritius (582–602) she left Rome and came to Constantinople. The best people of the West even then felt the need to get acquainted with the East as closely and as often as possible; they felt that even then Christian life was weak in the West and showed a lot of sadness. And how could one not feel it when St. Ambrose, Jerome and Augustine had to fight with Jovinian and others like him, who showered abuse on the best Christian life and warmly praised a life that cares only about earthly interests? St. Gregory the Conversator, who fought so hard against the pride of the modern West in order to introduce Eastern worship in the West, this is what he writes about his aunts, contemporaries of St. Evstolia: “My father had three sisters: Farsilla, Gordiana and Emiliana; all three of them took a vow of virginity on the same day, with the same ardor of soul, and lived together. Farsillah and Emiliana grew from time to time in their love for the Lord, firmly contending with their infirmities. Gordiana lived differently. She grew cold in piety, and worldliness appeared in her soul. Farsilla often said with deep sorrow: “I see that our sister Gordiana is no longer ours, she is given over to dispersion and is not faithful to the calling of God.” Both sisters amicably tried to persuade their sister to refrain from frivolity and frivolity in her actions. After such reminders of love, Gordiana seemed sedate for a while, but then she returned to her former lightness, became friends with worldly girls and distanced herself from those who lived for the Lord. Farsilla was constantly in prayer and led a strict life. With her life like this, her grandfather St. appears to her in a dream. Felix, dad, shows her the bright place of his rest and says: “Go, I accept you into this bright home.” Soon after, she began to suffer from fever and approached death. Noble relatives gathered to the dying woman, including my mother, adds St. Grigory. “The sick woman raises her eyes to the sky and says loudly: “Go away, go away, the Lord Jesus is coming.” And in those same minutes she died. When they began to clean her up for burial, they saw that her skin on her knees and elbows had become rough and thick, like a camel’s, from her prayerful labors. She died on the eve of the Nativity of Christ. After this holiday, Farsilla, in a dream vision, appeared to her sister Emilian and said to her: “Go! I celebrated the Nativity of Christ without you, but with you I want to celebrate the Epiphany.” Emiliana, greatly concerned about the spiritual salvation of her sister Gordiana, said: “If I go, who will I leave my sister with?” She, as Emiliana said, with a mournful look, said: “Go alone; your sister belongs to the children of the world.” After this, Emiliana became ill and died on the eve of Epiphany, as Farsilla had predicted. Gordiana, remaining in complete freedom, quickly began to change and finally, forgetting the fear of God, losing all shame, married a tenant of the land.” St. Gregory talks about this both in his history of pious people and in one Conversation on the Gospel. He was so struck by the example of weakness shown by the virgin aunt! Here and here he repeats in conclusion: “Be careful to stand, lest you fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). This Roman event, contemporary for Eustolia, was undoubtedly one of the motivations that forced Eustolia to leave weak Rome and go to Constantinople, with the hope of seeing examples of a better life in the East. In Constantinople, she visited shrines and monastic monasteries, with a thirst for spiritual perfection. In the Blachernae church another thirsty soul met her, and still young, the daughter of the emperor. Mauritius, Sopatra. The young soul, having met someone who was already quite mature in spiritual life, persistently asked Evstolia to be a spiritual mother-mentor for her. Eustolia agreed, especially since she wanted to stay in the East. Sopatra, leaving the royal court, accepted monasticism. The daughter asked the good father to establish a monastery of prayer, and the request was fulfilled. The pious emperor bought the huge house of the patrician Carian. First of all, a church of prayer was built here; then cells for virgins appeared; a room for the elderly was also opened here. Blessed Sopatra first began to accustom herself to the gospel life. Her aunt Damiana was the abbess of the Jerusalem monastery and then lived as a recluse. Sopatra traveled to Jerusalem to worship its holy places and lived for a year with her aunt, listening to her lessons about spiritual life. “At one time,” says Blessed Damiana, in John Moschus, “my niece, the daughter of the Emperor Mauritius, came to the holy city and spent a whole year here. One day, taking her with us, we went to St. Kozma and Damian. Standing in the church, I say to my niece: “Look, lady, when the old woman comes and gives you two numuls (two half coins), take them, don’t be proud.” She said with a sigh: “How will I accept this?” I told her: “Accept it. This wife is great before God. Every week she distributes her numuls to those in the church, being 80 years old. Accept your contributions; Having accepted, you will give them to another, just do not reject the zeal of the old woman.” While we were talking about this, the old woman suddenly came up and gave it to me quietly, without telling me anything; but, giving it to my niece, she said: “Take it and eat.” When she left, we realized that the Lord had revealed to her what we were talking about. Having sent one of the servants to buy beans for two mites, the niece ate them and testified to God that these beans were sweet like honey; she marveled and glorified God, who gives grace to his slaves.” Sopatra heard another lesson useful for herself at the same time in Caesarea. One of the fathers spoke about one noble woman from the senatorial house, as a contemporary Moschus writes, who went to worship holy places: “Having come to Caesarea, she decided to stay here and turned to the bishop with the following request: “Give me a girl to teach me the fear of God.” The bishop assigned a humble girl to her. Some time later, the bishop, when meeting her, asks her: “How is the girl I assigned to you?” “She is good,” the woman answered, “but she is of little use to my soul, because she allows me to do my will, and this is because she is humble, and I need her to scold me and not allow me to do what I want.” The bishop instead gave her another, with a rather rude character. She began to scold her, calling her a stupid rich girl and similar names. After some time had passed, the bishop again asked her: “What is this girl like?” “She truly brings me benefit,” answered the wife. And she became very meek.” Blessed Sopatra subordinated herself to St. Eustolia to teach oneself self-denial. Quite a number of other virgins joined them and spent their time in labor and prayer. The ascetic Evstoliya, having lived for many years in monasticism, peacefully moved to the Lord. Sopatra ruled the community after her, strictly following the rules of her spiritual mother. Having achieved spiritual perfection through her exploits, she died peacefully on November 9th, around 610. Remembering the fate of the other children of Mauritius, worldly people must admit that happy is Sopatra, who with her good will chose the monastic life. The bloodthirsty Phocas, having killed the good Emperor Mauritius and his three sons, his wife and three daughters (Anastasia, Theoktista and Cleopatra), locked him in a monastery, where after three years he put him to death. Was it not better to choose the silence of solitude by choice than by choice? Isn’t it better to voluntarily give up the unenviable vanity of the world than to be imprisoned in a grave against your will? And you can do a lot of good in the world! Yes, you can smoke hearts and skies! Humble souls do good, not proud and arrogant souls. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). “The kingdom of heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it by force” (Matthew 11:12). Daughter of the Emperor Iraklia, blessed Fevronia, from a young age wished to serve the one Lord. Her two sisters, Augustine and Martina, were adorned with the title of Augusta, and Fevronia labored in solitude, caring only about how not to lose the eternal glory prepared for everyone by the suffering of the Son of God. The Holy Apostle teaches: “The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord, so that she may be holy in body and spirit” (1 Cor. 7:34). Here are two lofty thoughts about the virgin: a virgin who devotes herself to God cares about the glory of God, then she also cares about the sanctification of soul and body. Who is so sincerely and completely devoted to the glory of the Lord as that soul that is not amused by anything earthly? “A married woman is concerned about the things of this world, how to please her husband” (1 Cor. 7:34). Intelligently pleasing your husband is a proper thing; this is not like serving passions and sinful will. But earth and sky are not the same thing. Serving your husband and serving the Lord are different in subject, dignity, and consequences. Direct and complete service to the Lord is the highest occupation and the most worthy of human desires. Illumination of the soul and body is another subject of concern for the virgin. Purity and innocence are properties of God-created human nature. With nature upset by sin, the innocence of heaven is not available on earth, but it returns gradually, piece by piece, with the help of God’s grace. And so, the maiden sighs for the return of this innocence; she tries to assimilate it through her exploits. With power over the desire for the other sex, man places himself above the animal. The beast is irresistibly attracted, follows the attraction of the bodily nature. Man is given reasonable freedom to dominate matter. Honor to him, glory to him, if he triumphs over matter. Paganism itself respected virginal purity: and it appointed pure virgins and young men to serve famous deities, although with poor success. The body of a Christian is the property of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:15, 19, 3:16–17); it is terrible to abuse its members (1 Cor. 6:18); Marriage is indicated only to curb the sinful flesh (1 Cor. 7:2-3). The pure are promised high happiness (2 Cor. 7:1; 1 Cor. 7:35). “Nothing brings us closer to God than good, chaste and godlike purity, which gives honor and makes us able to stand before the Lord without entertainment.” It is more than likely that St. John, Patriarch ( 595), wrote for St. The princess's "Message to a virgin devoted to God." Let's read some passages from this extensive, beautiful message. “Although you succeed in virtue, do not be proud of your kindness, lest God turn away from you for vanity... If you are ever caught by the eyes, like David, who opened the windows poorly; If your eyes trouble your soul, close your eye that looks evil with sighs. Otherwise, the sinful habit leads the one who stumbles to the worse. If you have clean clothes, do not wear them everywhere, so as not to somehow get dirty... Practice constantly in the Holy Scriptures. Just as wine, when one drinks it, stops sadness and produces joy in the heart, so spiritual wine, when one drinks it, produces joy in the soul... Everything real is weaker than a cobweb, more deceptive than dreams. The Savior pleases those who mourn, so that the pleasure of the pleasant does not hold in its power those addicted to it. Just as Abraham, having heard the words: “Get out of your land” (Gen. 12:1), went out, we too will leave our usual inclinations, so that, practicing mortification, we will move to a mountain city; Let us always bear the death of Jesus in our body and remember the words: “Be sober, be vigilant” (1 Peter 5:8)... There were many merchants who, having become poor, became rich again and, after a shipwreck, continued to trade and improved their condition. Has God really prepared fire for us? No, for the devil and his angels; just let us not light that fire ourselves... If you cannot be the sun, at least be a star, just rise from the earth to the sky, begin to be jealous of the bright stars... The ascetic does not anoint himself with myrrh, for this is the concern only of the deposed. What is the benefit of a bed framed with ivory or silver? Concern about this is unnecessary and brings down anger from heaven... Have you desired virginity? Keep the commandments, and the Lord will keep you. If, while praying, you say: “Keep me, O Lord, as the apple of your eye” (Ps. 16:8), He will also say to you: “Keep My commandments and live, and My words are like the apple of your eye” (Prov. 7:2). If you are so disposed, the Lord, having taken charge of you, will say: “Touch you as the apple of my eye” (Zechariah 2:8). Many virgins suffered martyrdom. If others have suffered death, can you really not overcome your lusts? We must control not only lust, but also anger. Your tongue should not say much... Be careful that your tongue does not destroy you: “the tongue,” says James, “infects the whole body” (James 3:6); when the whole body is infected, the mind must also be damaged... The tongue is enclosed by two barriers, teeth and lips, so that, like a chaste maiden, it does not utter anything reckless... A night's sleep is sweet, but be sure that there is nothing sweeter than the singing of psalms. Is it hard for you to sleep on the ground? But remember that the martyrs were cast onto burning coals. Do you have a very bitter taste in your mouth from fasting? But Christ tasted gall for you. Are you crying for yourself? But you never cried, like Paul, for the salvation of others. Lighten your work with hope; joy follows sorrow.” According to these rules, with such thoughts, St. asceticised. Princess Fevronia. Pure in soul and body, she rested in 632, when her father, the emperor, fought with the Persians. Her memory is honored by the Greek Church on October 28th. St. Anfusa, eldest and youngest The eldest Anfusa, leaving her parental home, first labored in solitude in caves, moving from one to another; then, having met the elder, the ascetic Sisinius, she continued her exploits on his advice and achieved so much in spiritual life that many virgins in Mantinea gave themselves over to her management. Those who thirsted for salvation turned to her advice and were not left without benefit. Her high life gained her the respect of the best of the worldly people of Hellas. Imp. Constantine Copronymus persistently wanted to be what Luther later was: through fear and deception he forced (in 753) to justify at the Council the Mohammedan (i.e. stupid) aversion from St. icons, the veneration of saints was passed off as superstition, vows of virginity as a perversion of nature. Having heard that Anfusa in her monastery reverently and without fear of people honors St. icons and even persuaded her brother to join the ranks of the defenders of St. icons, he ordered the brave abbess and all her 90 sisters to be presented to him. The proud and depraved despot demanded that they abandon their way of thinking; he thought that the deserted abbess would easily yield to his proud will, just as the seekers of his parts and cool life yielded. “The Christian conscience,” answered Anfusa, “does not allow us to fulfill the unjust royal will: the worship of St. icons is a holy matter, justified by the constant practice of the Holy Church, and living to satisfy only bestial needs does not mean living worthy of a person; one must cry that even without the orders of the authorities there are so many unfortunate people who love a dirty life.” Copronymus ordered to beat her with whips without mercy. The will of the despot was fulfilled. Copronymus gave the order to send the abbess and her sisters to prison. At this very time, the empress suffered terribly from the pangs of childbirth. The venerable woman said out loud to everyone that the empress would give birth to twins, a son and a daughter, and indicated the fate of the twins. Having been born with twins, the empress began to honor St. She made many donations to Anfus as a spiritual mother and for her monastery. Blazh. Anfusa soon gave up her spirit to the Lord, in old age, in 759. Daughter of Copronymus, born according to the prediction of St. Anfusa, was named Anfusa. And a saint also appeared in life. “The father wanted,” says Menolog about the younger Anfusa, “to marry off his daughter, but she refused the offer. After his death ( 775), having received freedom, she distributed her property: some she squandered on the poor, others she used to build churches and monasteries; She used the golden clothes she wore to decorate shrines. She was a mother to many orphans: collecting abandoned babies, raising and giving them a home; if others died, she entrusted them to God, and those who remained alive, she placed them in a nursing home. Blessed Queen Irina (780–802) more than once invited her to participate in the administration of the empire, but she declined. Then she was tonsured a nun by Patriarch Tarasius (784–816) in the monastery of St. Euphemia, in the same one that her pitiful father “was turned into an arsenal and a public toilet.” According to other news, the saint, even then, as she lived in the palace, wore a hair shirt under the princess’s magnificent clothes, was content with bread and water, and occupied herself with reading sacred books. Her father’s life was ugly, and his death was terrible: he shouted that he was burning and was being punished for blasphemy against the Mother of God. Life with its ugliness, and death with its horrors, without a doubt, most of all disposed the princess to lead a pious life. Having taken monastic vows and becoming the abbess of the Omoneya monastery, she, full of humility and love, herself carried water for the sisters and performed other services. In the capital of the empire, as in Tavenna, the convent was afraid to accept real estate for itself. “Greek monks do not have slaves, but Latin monks do,” said the western Archbishop of Canterbury. The community of Anfusa virgins earned bread and other support for themselves through handicrafts, and the royal daughter-abbess herself served the sisters with humble love. Abbess Anfusa especially strictly followed the ancient rule in relation to herself and others - not to leave the monastery into the world, since otherwise the soul is upset by worldly impressions, and others are given the opportunity to be tempted. The resolution of the Trullo Council on this subject meant a lot to the blessed one, and even more so the noise that was raised against the monasteries under her father. The Ecumenical Council stated: “A monk or nun should not leave his monastery and go to another” (Rule 21). Yes, blessed one. Anfusa herself did not step foot beyond the fence of the monastery, nor did she allow the sisters to appear in the world unless absolutely necessary. The reverent abbess firmly followed another rule of the Council: “Neither a wife in a monastery nor a husband in a nunnery sleeps”; especially since the contemporary Council confirmed this rule to the extent that it forbade a monk and a nun to speak alone, and in the capital’s nunnery, special caution was required regarding visitors to the monastery. The blessed abbess did not allow into her monastery that simple-minded custom that was condemned by the Council of 692. In some women's monasteries, those who accepted monasticism dressed up as brides, and in this form came to the church for tonsure. Forbidding it, Constant. The Council of 691 wrote: “It should not be that, by her own free will, she has already put aside all worldly pleasures, has loved life according to God, established in it with unyielding thoughts, and returns in memory to what has already been consigned to oblivion, and because of this she would appear wavering, indignant in her soul, as if from waves drowning and throwing here and there; sometimes even shedding tears, she does not show heartfelt contrition, and even if a tear of sincerity falls, the audience thinks that it is not so much from zeal for the monastic feat, but from separation from the world and from what is in the world.” Prayers of St. The enfusas were tireless and the standing at vigils unrelenting; Tears of contrition constantly flowed from her eyes. “A beautiful branch of a bad tree, honest Anfusa has blossomed for earthly life” April 12 811, in her 57th year. The island of Aegina is one of the islands of the Aegean Sea, closest to the Hellenic mainland, south of Salamis. St. was born here and labored here. Afanasia. Her parents, Nikita and Irina, were rich, noble and kind Christians. They gave their daughter a good education. From her youth, the daughter did not find consolation in the pleasures of earthly life: her soul sought to serve the Lord alone. But a good Knower of the Heart knows which measures can most conveniently lead a soul to salvation, and uses the most useful ones. Her parents married Afanasia against her wishes to a military man: a brilliant match! But on the 17th day of the marriage, the Arabs attacked the island, and Afanasia’s husband was killed in a fight with them. Athanasia was glad that she could enter the monastic life. But the decree of Emperor Mikhail Zaika ordered that young widows be married to young military men. And Afanasia was married to her second husband, again against her wishes. Fortunately for her, her husband was a man disposed to goodness; His wife, with her selfless kindness, gained influence over him. With the permission of her husband, she devoted most of her time and money to merciful deeds: she helped the poor, visited the sick, and often stayed in hospitals to serve the suffering; for widows and orphans she was the most tender mother. She provided some with food, others with clothing. Such high Christian love for others and the Lord produced a decisive change in the husband. He retired to a monastery, as his wife wished. Afanasia, remaining free, sold the lands that constituted her inheritance and distributed most of the money to the poor. She turned her house into a house of prayer for souls sighing for heaven. Quite a few virgins had gathered to see her. After 4 years, they begged her to become abbess. She labored ardently. She wore a hair shirt on her body, she slept on stones, her food was barley bread, she ate fish only twice a year - on Easter and on Christmas Day. The blessed abbess urged the sisters to repent sincerely before the Lord and, out of false shame, not to hide any spiritual ulcer before their confessor, to their own destruction. She reminded them of the ancient law of God regarding priests. “According to the law that they will teach you, and according to the decree that they will tell you, do not deviate either to the right or to the left from what they tell you. But whoever acts so boldly that he does not listen to the priest who stands there in ministry before the Lord your God, or to the judge, he must die” (Deut. 17:11-12). The saint was still strict with herself, but she became even more humble and kind to others. The rumor about her asceticism spread throughout the island. The sick were brought to her monastery, and they received health here. But the glory of the saint’s name weighed heavily on her for many reasons, among other things, because those who visited took away the time needed for prayer and conversation with their souls, and while bringing their vanity into someone else’s soul, they did not pay with a sigh for themselves. She retired to Constantinople. Here, too, they soon learned about it. Queen Theodora wanted to listen to her advice. Although, according to the state of affairs of the church at that time, Athanasia’s stay in the capital was useful for many, the struggle of court passions was too noisy, and the deserted soul suffered in such an atmosphere: she grieved that people drove her out of her quiet abode. Finally, the Aegina sisters came to her with persistent requests to return to their monastery. She was glad about that. But her death was already close: 20 days after returning to her monastery, she rested in the Lord, as peacefully as if she had fallen asleep in an ordinary sleep. It was August 14th 860. Before her death, she bequeathed to feed the poor for up to 40 days in her memory. The sisters served the meal for 9 days, then stopped. Appearing on the 40th day, she said: “My will was broken in vain. Commemoration for the dead, performed in the church for up to 40 days, or feeding the poor at the same time greatly helps sinners in the afterlife, and performed for the righteous brings down heavenly blessings on those who perform the commemoration.” The one who appeared stuck her abbot's staff into the ground and ceased to be visible. The left rod turned out to be a living tree the next day. We consider it appropriate and proper to cite here the narrative of Agapius, a Cretan monk, about an event concerning issues that occupied the soul of the blessed one. Afanasia. It must be said that Emperor Michael the Zaika (820–828) lived like a pagan, without faith in a future life; for him all faiths were of the same foam - unimportant, he did not allow immortality and the existence of spirits, and a dirty, carnal life was for him a sinless life. This explains the significance of the afterlife sermon of St. Athanasius, as well as the event recounted by Agapius. “There was,” he writes, “a kind and pious woman. She gave alms, fasted and did other good deeds. But, poor thing, she committed one serious sin and did not confess it. More than once she tried to reveal her sin to her confessor - and, while she talked about other sins, she was ashamed to say so, and so left her confessor. She often prayed with bitter tears before the icon of the Mother of God and asked for Her protection. Finally she died without confessing her sin. Her relatives, and especially her sisters, wanted to bury her in another place, and the burial took place on the third day. When the funeral service was being held for her in the church, suddenly the dead woman stood up, sat down on her bed and said: “Great is your power, O Lady Immaculate!” Calling her confessor, she confessed her hidden sin to him. Then she said out loud to everyone: “Poor me, out of shame I did not confess one sin, and so I died; but every day with deep contrition I prayed to the Most Holy Theotokos not to incur punishment for my sin. When my unfortunate soul was separated from my body, dark evil spirits reproached me for secret sin and rejoiced, considering me their prey. But the Queen of Angels appeared and with her light dispersed the spirits of evil. She told them indignantly: “The Lord has not given you power over this soul.” Then she brought me to the Lord and asked Him to show His mercy on me; “She,” she said, “showed a lot of love and faith.” The Lord said: “Let this soul unite with its body and, as it should, confess its sin.” Then my Guardian Angel revived me. I ask you, dear sister, and all my relatives not to cry for me - this will not bring me any benefit, but let liturgies be celebrated and alms given for me.” Then she rested in the Lord again.” St. Cyril Alex, at one time, denounced those who said that “there is no need to make sacrifices for the dead.” If, he taught, there is no point in serving anything and it is useless to honor the dead with our offerings, then there is no need to remember them in our simple prayers. If you trample on the laws of love and, counting the dead for nothing, leave them to perish, then you turn out to be soulless stones and inhuman people. Then he repeats the Gospel story about the healing of the centurion’s son and says: “Look, here is one healed for the faith of another. Why do you reproach us for covetousness, when we, innocent of it, try to attract heavenly mercy to those who have fallen in faith and offer for them the Mysterious Sacrifice, so beneficial, from which death fell and hope for endless life shone? St. Chrysostom wrote: “It is not in vain that the apostles legitimized the commemoration of the dead at the Terrible Mysteries. They knew that this would be of great benefit to the dead.” Another great teacher of the Church said: “One should not deny that the souls of the dead receive relief from the piety of living relatives, when the sacrifice of an Intercessor is made for them or alms are given in the church for their benefit... Truly, there is a way of life that is not so honest that it does not require it after death, and not so bad that it does not serve him in favor after death. There is a way of life so honest that it does not require help, and there is a way of life so bad that it cannot help him after death. To whom prayers are useful, then they are useful either so much that there is complete remission of sins, or so much that condemnation is tolerable.” Blessed Theodora, the daughter of the noble Paphlagonian house, which gave many talented people for the empire, being the wife of Emperor Theophilus, kept her husband as much as she could from persecuting Orthodoxy; secretly worshiping St. icons in her chambers, she fervently prayed to the Lord that He Himself would calm the storm of iconoclasm. When Emperor Theophilus died (in 842), she, due to the infancy of her son, having accepted the rule of the empire, immediately began to restore the peace of the church: many sufferers, sent into exile for confessing the pure faith, were returned to the places of their deceased life, the false archpastor was deprived of power and imprisoned in a monastery, and St. Confessor Methodius was elevated to the patriarchal throne. At the same time, it was established to celebrate the Triumph of Orthodoxy every year on the first Sunday of Great Lent. Patriarch Methodius proposed to the queen: “It does not serve the honor of the empire if the glorious Patriarch Nicephorus, who was expelled from the throne and died far away for defending the pure faith, remains neglected; it is necessary for his body to return to the capital.” The Empress, agreeing with this, said: “Fulfillment will be an honor for me and my children.” And the holy body was solemnly transferred (March 13, 846) to the capital. All the best people paid respect to the queen for managing the civil affairs of the empire: the empire owed her clever orders and firmness (in 852) successes in relations with Bulgaria. But her evil and power-hungry brother Varda rebelled against her. The queen was forced (855) to give up control and at first lived alone in her country palace, which was later called the palace of St. Theodora. Providing assistance to all poverty, she sought ways to restore deanery in the monasteries that suffered so much from iconoclasm; She summoned experienced elders, abbess, such as St. Athanasius of Aegina, for conversations about the structure of spiritual life. The blessed queen did a lot for the Holy Church by instilling in her son Emperor Michael strong devotion to the Holy Church. Orthodoxy. How much and how long the Church had suffered until then from the Mohammedan hatred of the supreme rulers of the empire towards St. icons! The mother wanted her son’s moral behavior to be worthy of the throne and useful to the empire. She used everything in his youth to give him the best education: Mikhail’s mentors were gifted people with good desires; St. Kirill, the enlightener of the Slavs, was Michael's fellow student. But Mikhail showed by his example that the most diligent education does not overcome the corruption of nature in us: the corruption remains and is revealed in life by one or another bad inclination. The mother tried to be useful to Tsar Michael with advice. But Mikhail was only offended by good advice and led a riotous life in the company of bad people. The mother suffered. After many useless attempts to reason with her son, she saw that she could only betray her son to the will of God, especially since he was already 17 years old. She broke off all contact with the world and entered a monastery. Now her activities were prayer, fasting, reading spiritual books; The Gospel written by her hand is now known. By strict observation of her soul she was purified and elevated in spiritual life; the beautiful qualities of her soul, free from the squabbles of the world, were revealed according to the Gospel law. So she spent eight years in feats of self-denial and died peacefully on February 11, 867, and soon after her son was killed. The Theodora ascetic of Thessalonica was born on the island of Aegina, from pious parents, zealots of pure faith. She got married and had a daughter. An enemy invasion forced her and her husband to move to Thessaloniki. Here she gave her daughter to a monastery, and then, after the death of her husband, she herself accepted monasticism in the monastery where her daughter lived. The corruption of our soul is so great that the counterweight that remains for us to fight it, the counterweight of reason and conscience, is not strong enough to protect us from the most evil deeds. What should we do with ourselves? Pray and pray that the grace of God will revive and strengthen us, the sick. This is what the blessed one did. Theodora. This is why she locked herself in the monastery, to pray and pray, to pray with a prayer that is not scattered by the world, with all-soul prayer. And so, strengthened by grace, she pleased the Lord so much through the works of obedience and humility, fasting and self-denial, prayer and praise that after her death, which followed in 879, she performed various miracles. When, after some time, the abbess of the monastery died and the latter’s coffin was placed near the relics of Theodora, blessed Theodora, saluting the abbess of the monastery, moved as if alive and gave space to the deceased abbess. A fragrant and healing ointment flowed from her body, and Theodora was called myrrh-streaming; the ointment healed various diseases. When the Turks (in 1427) took Thessaloniki, they desecrated the relics of St. Great Martyr Demetrius, the same fury of fanaticism “was shown over the relics of the holy and myrrh-streaming Theodora, threw them to the ground and crushed them into pieces.” Those who know only animal, bestial life cannot bear to see tangible signs of the victory of the immortal spirit over matter. Pathetic people! “God cannot be mocked: whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. He who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal. 6:7-8). The island of Lesbos is one of the islands of the Aegean Sea, neighboring Cape Mission. His Mytilene was visited by St. Paul (Acts 20:14), and on its northern bank is the city of Methymna. It was considered part of Asia Minor. Paros, one of the Cyclades islands, famous for its marble, belonged to Hellas. On the island of Lesvos, in the city of Mephimne, blessed Theoktista was born. From a young age, wishing to lead a pure life, she was sent by her family to a nunnery. At the age of seventeen she was tonsured a monk. It happened that she left the monastery to meet her sister. At this time, unexpectedly for no one, Arab pirates attacked the island. Having captured many prisoners, they also captured Theoktista and her sister. The robbers then landed on the island of Paros and settled down here to evaluate the prisoners. Theoktista, trembling not so much for her life as for her purity, rushed to run. They chased her for a long time, and finally she, fleeing from them, disappeared into the desert in the middle of the island. Theoktista saved life and purity from human violence, but the island turned out to be completely deserted. There was only a stone church on it, empty. Theoktista surrendered herself to the will of God. She ate the seeds of a local plant, sunflower. The psalms that she studied in the monastery constituted her food and consolation. The clothes in which the pirates captured her subsequently became worn out, turned to rot, and she was left naked. Either the summer heat brutally scorched her, or the cold of winter numbed her body. She endured and prayed. The place of her prayers was the porch of the empty church. She lived like this for 35 years. It happened that hunters arrived on the island to catch animals. Among them was a God-fearing man, he walked alone, watching the animals. Seeing the deserted church, he entered it to pray. After praying, he sees a small hole with water and wet sunflower seeds in it. “It’s true,” he thought, “the servant of God, a hermit, is laboring here.” In order not to lose his squad, he hurried to leave the church. The next day, the thought of the hermit again brought him to the empty church. This time he saw on the right side of the porch what looked like a plant, swayed by the wind and covered with thick networks of cobwebs. He wanted to come over and see what it was? But I heard a voice: “Stop, don’t come near me, good man!” I’m ashamed to appear naked to you.” He trembled and wanted to run, but he gathered his courage and asked: “Who are you and where are you from?” - “Throw me some clothes so that I can cover myself, and then I’ll tell you.” He fulfilled her wish. Having wrapped herself in the hunter's outer clothing and protected herself with the sign of the cross, she went out to the hunter. Her hair was white, her face was blackened, only skin covered her bones, and the whole thing looked more like a ghost than a living person. She told about herself, how she got to the island and how she lived here. Then she asked the hunter to bring her Holy Communion. Since the hunters, setting out on a long and dangerous journey, then stocked up on the Holy Gifts of the Eucharist, he hastily brought a vessel with the Holy Gifts. After praying, she took communion of the Holy Eucharist and offered thanks to God. When the hunter came to see the wondrous hermit again, he found her deceased. Having dug the best grave he could, he reverently laid down the suffering remains of the ascetic. The attack of sea robbers, African Arabs, on the island of Lesbos took place in 846; then they plundered Rome. Adding to this year of robbery the saint’s 35 years of stay on the deserted island of Paros, we find that the wondrous ascetic died in 881. She labored as a virgin under the Emperor. Basil the Macedonian. Expensive, high wealth - virgin purity. How to comply with it? We must fervently pray to the One for whom all things are possible and who, in His goodness, is ready to help and loves to give purity (Phil. 4:12; James 1:5). One must be afraid of pride and arrogance: with these dispositions one easily falls into impurity. Practice moderation in food and drink (Rom. 13:13). Protect your senses, sight, hearing, touch: “the eyes are the doors of death.” Look at the holy, and the holy will be in your mind and heart. Beware of dealing with the other sex, reading seductive books and voluptuous paintings. “He who loves danger will fall into it” (Sir.3:25). Physical labor tames lust a lot. The fear of God, the fear of death and Gehenna, is especially saving. The Virgin Mary of God, who labored mightily for purity, rested in a godly manner around 886. Blessed Feofaniya-Queen The fruit of the prayers of her mother, who had been childless for a long time, the daughter of the nobleman Constantine Martinakia and Anna received an excellent education; her parents loved Feofania dearly and spared nothing for her upbringing. Imp. Basil the Macedonian chose her as the wife of his son Leo, and with the marriage crown, the royal crown was placed on Feofania, as the wife of the heir to the throne. But happiness did not caress Feofania for long. Theodore Santavarin, an evil and treacherous man, advised Leo to carry a sword under his clothes in case of danger for the king-father, and also slandered the king that his son was impatiently waiting to sit on his father’s throne, and intended to kill him with a sword hidden under his clothes. Leo and his wife were locked up in a fortress and spent three years in heavy imprisonment. On the day of the prophet Elijah, at the request of the nobles who vouched for the innocence of his son, Vasily returned freedom to his son and daughter-in-law. But Feofania’s health, upset by the unexpected misfortune, never returned to her. She had only one daughter, and she died as soon as she was born. The blessed one saw that the earth was pushing her away from itself with sorrows and that she had to look for peace, but not on earth. Where is the peace so desired by the soul? The soul itself knows where its peace is: created in the image of God, it yearns for Him, its God, there is its light, there its joys. Temporary blessings, changing earthly images seduce the soul, carry it along with them, but this is only seduction, deception: after it there is only emptiness and bitterness in the soul. So the blessed one turned with all her soul to her Lord. She diligently practiced prayer and read the Holy Scriptures. Dressing in royal clothes for the sake of decency, she wore a hair shirt on her body. Her bed was royally luxurious, but she slept on the bare floor. Her food consisted of bread and vegetables. She treated those who served her kindly and meekly; no one heard a word of anger from her. She did not like secular idle talk, nor did she like the gaiety of forgetful absent-mindedness. Concerns about poverty served as a consolation for her. Everything she received from the court was used to help orphans, unfortunate widows, and monasteries and churches. She lived in thoughts of eternity and died peacefully on December 16, 892, having been married for 12 years. Her husband, imp. Leo, knowing the holiness of her life, built a church and wanted to dedicate it to her name; but, on the advice of others, the church was consecrated in the name of All Saints, and a convent was founded here. “Respecting his first wife, Blessed Theophany, Leo created a monument in her name near the Church of St. Apostle, where he laid her body,” says the Greek historian. A Russian admirer of shrines wrote in 1342: “I went to St. Constantine, to the convent: here lies the body of St. Archbishop Clement and Queen Feofania." St. Callias and the Patient Widow “Blessed are the merciful: they will obtain mercy,” said the Lord (Matthew 5:7). “Whoever sows sparingly, the harvest is sparing; and whoever sows generously, for him the harvest is also bountiful. God loves a cheerful giver,” teaches the Apostle (2 Cor. 9:6–7). We see all this fulfilled over St. Kallia. She is glorified on earth and in heaven for her deeds of sincere mercy. Her husband was a rich merchant. From her youth, Callia loved to do good to the poor: her husband’s wealth provided her with the means to help poverty. But her husband was as rich as he was greedy for money. Once he sailed on the sea for three whole years, engaged in trade transactions. His merciful wife generously distributed alms without him. She firmly remembered and faithfully followed the instructions of the Lord: “sell your property and give alms; prepare for yourselves sheaths that do not wear out, a never-failing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and where moth does not destroy” (Luke 12:33). “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what ransom will a man give for his soul” (Matthew 16:26). The returning husband, seeing that his wife had wasted a lot of money for the needy, so much of what he loved, became so furious with his wife that he tortured her to death. God glorified the generous wife by the incorruption of her body. Blazh. Patriarch Anthony (893–895) built a nunnery for the relics of Saint Callia. “Chromia and the sick bow to her tomb and are healed,” says a Russian admirer who worshiped the squirrel Callia in 1420. This is what wealth is squandered on the poor. But patient and godly poverty is also close to the Kingdom of Heaven. About the same time that Callia lived, the poor widow complacently endured bitter poverty and zealously kept the commandments of the Most High. The priest was called to her, who was dying, to communicate the Holy Mysteries; at the same time they called him to the rich prince for the same thing. He neglected the poor widow and went to the rich man. Returning from the prince, he found a new messenger to call him to the dying widow. Proud and selfish, he did not go to poverty. His deacon, God-fearing and pious, asked him for permission to go and give communion to the dying woman. Arriving at her house, to amazement, he sees the Most Holy Virgin here, and the pure virgins dress the poor sick woman in clean clothes. To new amazement, the Heavenly Queen reverently bowed to the Most Holy Body of Christ. The pure virgins fell to the ground before him. Standing up, the virgins let the deacon know so that he could perform his service. When the sick woman received the Holy Mysteries, the virgins accepted her holy soul and ascended to heaven. The deacon then went to the rich man's house. Here he sees terrible dark spirits at the bedside of a dying man, and one of them forcibly pulled the soul out of the sinful body. In horror, the deacon fell to the ground. The Most Holy One appears and says: “Do not be afraid, beloved servant! Keep the commandments of My Son, and the spirits of evil will have no power over you; The Kingdom of Heaven is ready for you.” The deacon fell before the Queen of Heaven, and She left. “Blessed is the man who endures temptation, because he, having been perfected by temptation, has received the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love Him” (James 1:12). We “even glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces endurance, and endurance produces experience, and experience produces hope, and hope does not disappoint” (Rom. 5:3-5). “If... you remain without the punishment which is common to all, then you are neither legitimate children nor sons” (Heb. 12:8). This is the teaching of the word of God! Theodora was a wealthy citizen of Constantinople. After the death of her husband, she devoted herself to serving others and prayer. When Blessed Basil began to live in the house of the pious Constantine, in the neighborhood of Theodora’s house, Theodora, at the invitation of Constantine, served Blessed Basil with full zeal, as a servant of God. If anyone came to see the recluse Vasily, Theodora reported this to Vasily, and Vasily in Theodora’s cell talked with those who came to him. “Whoever receives in the name of the righteous will receive the reward of the righteous” (Matthew 10:41), said the Lord. “Each of us should please our neighbor for good and edification,” taught the Apostle (Rom. 15:2). Theodora was also a zealous prayer book. This was at a time when, in the same capital, St. Simeon the Theologian zealously inspired the ascetic with instructions about the love of God. Preaching about pure love for God, he taught together: “You must fast in three fasts. During Great Lent, fasting is intensified, except for the Great Holiday, Saturday and week, and on the other two - every other day. On other days of the year you should eat once a day, except Saturday, week and holiday, and not when you are full.” This means that pure love for God is not a dreamy love, content with the delights of feeling and thoughts of self-will, but a hardworking love, a strict follower of the commandments of God and the statutes of the Church. This is how blessed Theodora lived. Before her death, she accepted monasticism and died on December 30, 940. Vasily’s student, Gregory, earnestly asked his mentor to reveal where and how the deceased Theodora was? Through the prayers of Vasily, Gregory was shown in a dream in images the states that Theodora went through until she reached peace; It is also shown that the prayers of the righteous man served as a great help for Theodora in her afterlife. St. Martha of Monovasia and three unknown ascetics St. Martha was the abbess of the Monovassian monastery of the Holy Mother of God. Morea was occupied by the Slavs from the 7th century, and Monovassia, for which the saints were known from the 8th century, was established in Slavic land in the 8th century. Blessed Martha, like the preachers of the faith of her day, had to, among other things, confirm the faith and piety of recent pagans. Christian life in itself is light, only in its exact form it is not easy for us, the weak. St. Basil V. wrote to the noble nun Theodora of his time: “It is not an easy feat for one who promises to fulfill his promise. It is the duty of everyone to choose the life of the Gospel law. But, as we know, not many succeed in doing everything to the smallest extent and not neglecting anything written in the Gospel. It is necessary to bridle the tongue and eyes enlightened by the Gospel teaching; It is necessary that the hands should be done to please God, and the legs should move, and each member should be used as the Creator originally intended for us. One must observe modesty in clothing, caution in relations with men, moderation in food, and not have excess of necessary things. All this seems just a small thing, but requires a great feat when carried out, as we find out in practice. We must maintain humility so as not to remember the nobility of our ancestors, not to be proud of the natural gifts of body or soul, not to be exalted by the good opinions of others about us. The life of the Gospel requires all this; In addition, we need: constancy in abstinence, diligence in prayer, compassionate love for others, generosity towards those in need, humility in thoughts, contrition of heart, integrity in faith, indifference in sorrows, constant remembrance of that Last and inevitable Judgment, which we are all approaching and which, however, few remember, carefree about its decision.” Blessed Martha herself labored vigorously on the path of the Gospel law and zealously urged her sisters to deeds of piety. Then she suffered a painful death with three sisters at the end of the reign of Constantine Porphyrogenet. The note about her, now known only from a fragment, does not explain on what occasion and from whom this death occurred, but since, on the one hand, together with St. Martha and the three sisters suffered “men famous for piety,” as happens when attacked by enemies; on the other hand, the only enemies of the Greek government in Morea were then the Slavs, some of whom were still pagan, it is more than likely that St. Martha and her sisters suffered from the pagan Slavs. The same blessed Paul, Bishop of Monovasia, who wrote about St. Martha, left the following news about three contemporaries of St. Martha. “I was,” he says, “sent to the East on royal business. On the road I came across a deserted monastery, and I wanted to visit it. The abbot and the monks came out to meet me, and after saying hello, we sat down on the mountain. There were fruit trees here. And so the birds, flying in, broke the branches with fruits and quickly carried them away. I asked the abbot why the birds don’t eat the fruits, but carry them away somewhere with the branches? He answered: “This is already the eleventh year that they have been doing the same thing every summer.” “Here in the mountains,” I said, out of some inspiration, “either men or wives live, and they bear fruit for them.” As I was saying this, a raven flew in and broke the branch with the fruit. I told the abbot: “Let’s go after him,” and off we went. A raven with fruit flew ahead of us and, having reached the cliff, laid down a branch. When we approached him, he took a branch and flew into the hole, and there, leaving the branch, he returned without everything. Arriving at the gap, we threw a stone down. And then someone shouted: “If you are Christians, don’t kill us.” - “Who are you?” – we asked. “If you want,” was the answer, “to see us, throw away three garments, we are naked wives; walking along the mountain, you will see a path, and along it you can go down to us.” Hearing this, the three monks took off their clothes and, wrapping them around a stone, let them down. Having found the indicated narrow path, we walked down it with difficulty to the saints. The three wives, seeing us, bowed to the ground to us, and, having said a prayer, we sat down. One of them also sat down, and two stood. Then the abbot asked the woman who sat down: “Where are you from, lady mother, and how did you come here?” “I am from Constantinograd,” she answered, “my husband served under the emperor and died young; I remained a widow for 20 years and cried bitterly, both about widowhood and about the fact that I had no children. A few days later, a nobleman sends servants to me in order to forcibly bring me to him. The servants, not listening to anything, wanted to lead me. I prayed to the Lord Jesus to deliver me from the one who is ready to defile my soul and body. Then she said to the servants: “I am glad to go to your master, so glorious; but now I am very sick, the blood is constantly flowing, just be patient until I recover, and then I will gladly go.” “Okay,” they said, “the master will wait up to 40 days.” After they had left, I called my servants and, having given them money, set them free, and left with me only the two maids you see. Then, having invited one relative, a Christ-loving man, under oaths I bequeathed to him to sell my villages and house and distribute the money to the poor. So I was left without the worries of everyday life. At night, taking my maids, and now my sisters, I entered the ship with them, and we came to this place where you see us. This is the eleventh year since we have seen a single person except you. Our clothes have worn out and fallen apart.” The abbot said: “Where, madam, do you get your food?” “The good and philanthropic God,” she answered, “who fed his people in the desert for 40 years, sends food to us, His unworthy servants. Every summer birds bring every vegetable, even to the point of excess. And nakedness does not burden us; we are not afraid of the cold in winter, nor of the heat in summer, glorifying the Holy Trinity.” We listened to this in amazement. The abbot said: “If you order, my lady, I will send my brother to the monastery to bring food, and we will eat with you.” She answered: “Order the priest to come, let him pray in advance, and we will partake of the Holy Mysteries: since the time we left the city, we have not been worthy to receive the Holy Mysteries.” The abbot sent a monk to the monastery to call the presbyter and bring food. The presbyter, having arrived, performed the service, and God’s servants received the Holy Mysteries. Then they ate with us. “I pray to your sanctuary,” said the saint, “to stay here for three days.” The abbot made a promise. The blessed one stood up, prayed fervently and quietly reposed before the Lord; Having performed the funeral singing, we buried her. The next day, another died just as peacefully, and on the third, a third. Having buried them, we returned, glorifying Christ God, who works miracles.” You might be interested in: