About Anthony the Great, his students and associates

Contents Selected literature. About St. Anthony the Great and early Egyptian monasticism Appendixes about Anthony the Great, his disciples and associates The life of St. Anthony, described by St. Athanasius the Great in his letter to monks staying in foreign countries John Chrysostom about the Egyptian ascetics About the Nitrian hermits About the area called cells The life of hermits in the hermitage desert Paul The Most Simple Ammon of Nitria Bishop Ammon Macarius the Great Macarius of Alexandria The Venerable Paphnutius Abba Pitirion Didimus of Alexandria, the blind Abba Pambo About Eulogy and the crippled Paul of Thebes Hilarion the Great Saint Julian and Anthony the Great From the “Confessions” of Blessed Augustine Selected literature. About St. Anthony the Great and early Egyptian monasticism About St. Anthony the Great and early Egyptian monasticism Agapit, Hierom. The life of our venerable father Anthony the Great and his oral and written spiritual ascetic instructions. St. Petersburg, 1865. Voitenko A. A. Anthony the Great // Orthodox Encyclopedia. T. 2. M., 2001. pp. 659–662. Izvekov M.S. Venerable Anthony the Great // Christian Reading. 1879. Part 2. pp. 66–130; 272–317. Kazansky P. S. History of Orthodox monasticism in the East. Part 1. M., 1854; Part 2. M., 1856. (Reprint: M., 2000.) Kazansky P. S. General outline of the life of Egyptian monks in the 4th and 5th centuries. M., 1872. (Reprint in the book: Sidorov A.I. Ancient Christian asceticism and the origin of monasticism. M., 1998. P. 397–526.) Villager E. Desert: Sketches from the life of Thebaid hermits. St. Petersburg, 1906. (Reprint: M., 1994.) Sergius (Spassky), archimandrite. "Lavsaik" and the History of Egyptian monks // Readings in the Society of Lovers of Spiritual Enlightenment. B. m., 1882. Book. 2. pp. 197–248. Sidorov A.I. Ancient Christian asceticism and the origin of monasticism. M., 1998. Stefan Lobachevsky, priest. Saint Anthony the Great: His life, writings and moral and ascetic teaching. Odessa, 1906. Troitsky I. I. Review of the sources of the initial history of Egyptian monasticism. Sergiev Posad, 1907. Applications about Anthony the Great, his students and associates The life of St. Anthony, described by St. Athanasius the Great in a letter to monks staying in foreign countries You entered into good competition with the Egyptian monks, wishing to either compare with them, or even surpass them with your deeds in virtue, for you too already have monasteries and monks are established. Therefore, this disposition of yours is worthy of praise and for God to perfect it through your prayers. Since you also demanded from me information about the life of Blessed Anthony and, in order for you to acquire his zeal, you wanted to know how he began his ascetic life, what he was like before entering into it, what the end of his life was, and whether everything that was told about him was true, then I accepted your demand with great readiness, because for me there is a lot of benefit in just the memory of Anthony - and you, as I am sure, having heard about him and marveled at him, you will wish to strive towards the same goal that was proposed to them, for the life of Anthony is a sufficient example of asceticism for the monks. Therefore, do not consider it incredible what they told you about Anthony, or rather, remain in the thought that you have only heard a little more; because even this little, no doubt, was difficult to retell to you. If I, according to your conviction, describe what is in this message, then I will tell you only a little that I remember about Anthony. And do not stop asking everyone who sails from here, for from everyone’s stories about what anyone knows, perhaps a complete story about Anthony will be compiled. So, having received your message, I intended to call some monks, especially those who were with him more often than others, so that, having received more information, I could tell you something more complete. But since the time of the voyage was coming to an end and the one leaving with letters was in a hurry, I tried to write to your reverence what I know about Anthony myself, having seen him many times, and what information I could acquire about him when I was his student and poured water on his hands. In everything, I cared about the truth, so that someone else, having heard more than he should, would not fall into unbelief, or, having heard less than he should, would not begin to think disrespectfully about this man. 1. Anthony was an Egyptian by birth. Since his parents, noble people, quite rich, were Christians, he was raised Christianly and grew up with his parents as a child, knowing nothing other than theirs and his home. When he became a youth and advanced in age, he did not want to learn to read or write, nor to get close to other youths, but had only one desire, like a man without guile, according to what is written about Jacob, to live in his own house (Gen. 25:27). Meanwhile, he went with his parents to the church of the Lord and was not lazy when he was a small youth, did not become careless when he began to grow up, but was submissive to his parents and, listening carefully to what was read in the church, observed the benefit he derived from it. Raised in moderate affluence, he did not bother his parents with demands for various and expensive dishes, did not seek pleasure in food, but was content with what he had and did not demand anything more. 2. After the death of his parents, he was left with one young sister and, being eighteen or twenty years old, he himself took care of both the house and his sister. But not yet six months had passed after the death of his parents, he, going according to custom to the church of the Lord and gathering his thoughts together, on the way began to reflect on how the apostles, leaving everything, followed the Savior, how the believers mentioned in the Acts, selling everything they had, brought it and laid it at the feet of the apostles for distribution to the needy, what hope they had and what rewards were prepared for them in heaven. With such thoughts, he enters the church - and in the Gospel read then he hears the words of the Lord to the rich man: if you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and come after Me, and have treasure in heaven (Matthew 19:21). Anthony, taking this as a reminder from above, as if this reading was for him, immediately leaves the church and, what he had in his possession from his ancestors (he had three hundred acres of very good, fertile land), gives the inhabitants his wealth, so that neither he nor his sister will be disturbed in anything; and he sells all other movable property and, having collected enough money, distributes it to the poor, leaving a few for his sister. 3. But as soon as he entered the church again, he heard that the Lord said in the Gospel: do not worry about the morning (Matthew 6:34), - he does not stay in the church for a minute, he goes out and gives the rest to the poor people; Having entrusted his sister to virgins known to him and faithful to him, he gives him up to be raised in their monastery, and he himself, near his home, finally begins to practice asceticism, paying attention to himself and being patient. There were still few monasteries in Egypt, and the monk did not know the great desert at all; Each of those who intended to listen to himself labored, secluded himself not far from his village, so in one nearby village there was then an old man who had lived a solitary life from his youth. Anthony, seeing him, was jealous of his good deed and first of all began to retire to places that lay in front of the village. And if he heard there about some kind of zealot of virtue, he went, looked for him, like a wise bee, and no sooner returned to his place than having seen him. When he received any parting words from him to follow the path of virtue, he went back. Thus, while initially spending his life there, Anthony watched his thoughts so that they would not return to the memory of his parents’ property and relatives. He directed all his desire, applied all his diligence to his ascetic labors. He worked with his own hands, hearing that the idle must eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10), and he spent some for his own bread, and some for the needy. He prayed often, knowing that he must pray in private without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17); and he was so attentive to what he read that not a single word of Scripture fell to the ground, but he kept everything within himself; therefore, finally, memory replaced books for him. 4. This is how Anthony behaved and was loved by everyone. He sincerely obeyed the zealots of virtue, to whom he went, and in each he studied what particularly distinguished him in thoroughness and asceticism: in one he observed his friendliness, in the other - tirelessness in prayers; in others I noticed his lack of anger, in others his love for mankind; in one he drew attention to his vigilance, in the other - to his love of learning; some were surprised at his patience, and others at his posts and reclining on the bare ground; did not leave the meekness of the one and the generosity of the other unobserved; in all, he paid attention to pious faith in Christ and love for each other. Thus, with abundant acquisitions, he returned to the place of his asceticism, combining within himself what he had borrowed from each, and trying in himself alone to reveal the advantages of all. And he did not enter into competition with those equal to him in age, unless it was to be second after them in perfection. And he did it in such a way that he did not offend anyone, but those with whom he competed rejoiced over him. Therefore, all the inhabitants of the village and all the lovers of kindness with whom he was acquainted, seeing such a life of his, called him God-loving and loved him, some as a son, others as a brother. 5. But the hater of good, the envious devil, seeing such a disposition in young Anthony, did not tolerate this and, as he was accustomed to acting, intended to do the same with him. At first, he tried to distract Anthony from the ascetic life, bringing to his mind the memory of property, then caring for his sister, then family ties, then the love of money, the love of fame, the enjoyment of various dishes and other comforts of life, and, finally, the cruel path of virtue and its many difficulties: he mentally imagines the weakness of the body, and the length of time, and in general arouses in his mind a strong storm of thoughts, wanting turn him away from rightful will. When the enemy saw his weakness against Anthony’s intentions, moreover, he saw that he himself was being overcome by Anthony’s firmness, being overthrown by his great faith, being thrown into the dust by unceasing prayers, then, in firm hope in those weapons of his, even at the navel of the womb (Job 40:11), and boasting of them (such are his first intrigues against the young), he advances on young Anthony, confusing him at night and disturbing him so much during the day that their mutual struggle became noticeable to outsiders. One had impure thoughts, the other reflected them with his prayers; one irritated the members, the other, apparently as if ashamed of this, protected the body with faith, prayer and fasting. The accursed devil did not weaken: at night he took on a female image, imitated a woman in everything, just to seduce Anthony; Anthony, thinking about Christ and highly appreciating the nobility and rationality of the soul bestowed by Him, extinguished the coal of his seduction. The enemy again represented to him the pleasantness of pleasures; and he, like one who is angry and offended, brought to mind fiery punishment and a tormenting worm and, opposing this to temptation, remained unharmed. Yet this served to disgrace the enemy. He who dreamed of being like God was now ridiculed by the youth. Great before flesh and blood, he was deposed by a man who bore flesh, because the Lord assisted him, for our sake he bore flesh and gave the body victory over the devil, which is why every true ascetic says: not I, but the grace of God which is with me (1 Cor. 15:10). 6. Finally, since this serpent was not able to overthrow Anthony by this, but, on the contrary, saw that he himself was expelled from his heart, then, according to what is written, gnashing his teeth (Ps. 36:12) and as if beside himself, as he is in mind - this is how he appears in appearance, precisely in the form of a black youth. And since this insidious one was overthrown, then, as if expressing humility, he no longer attacks with thoughts, but says in a human voice: “I deceived many and overthrew even more, but, among many, having now attacked you and your works, I was exhausted.” Then, when Anthony asked: “Who are you, addressing me with such a speech?” - Without hiding at all, he answered in a plaintive voice: “I am a friend of fornication; I am obliged to entice young people into fornication, to incite fornication in them, and I am called the spirit of fornication. I deceived many who wanted to live chastely; He brought a great number of abstinent people to the point of falling by his kindling. For me, the prophet reproaches the fallen, saying: you have been deceived by the spirit of fornication (Hos. 4:12); because I was the cause of their stumbling. I have embarrassed you many times, but each time I was overthrown by you.” Anthony, having thanked the Lord, fearlessly said to the enemy: “That is why you are worthy of great contempt. For you are black in mind and powerless, like a youth. I no longer care about you. The Lord is my helper, and I will look upon my enemies (Ps. 118:7).” The black youth, hearing this, immediately fled in horror from these words, fearing to even approach Anthony. 7. This was Anthony's first struggle with the devil; better to say, and this in Anthony was the action of the power of the Savior, who condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, walking not in the flesh, but in the Spirit (Rom. 8:3-4). But Anthony did not fall into negligence and neglect of himself because the demon had already been defeated, and the enemy did not stop laying nets for him, as if defeated, but again walked like a lion, looking for an opportunity to attack the ascetic. Anthony, knowing from Scripture that the enemy had many wiles (Eph. 6:11), relentlessly practiced his exploits, reasoning that even if the enemy could not deceive his heart with carnal pleasure, then, without a doubt, he would try to catch him in another way, because the demon is a sin-loving man. Therefore, Anthony more and more killed and enslaved the body, so that, having won in one thing, he would not lose victory over himself in another. Therefore, he accepts the intention to accustom himself to a more severe life; and many were surprised to see his work, but he endured it easily. His spiritual jealousy, with its longevity, produced in him a good habit, and according to what others gave him even a small reason for, he showed great care in it. He was so tireless in his vigil that he often spent the whole night without sleep and, repeating this more than once, but many times, aroused surprise. He ate food once a day at sunset, sometimes he took it after two days, and often after four. They served him bread and salt as food and only water as drink. There is no need to talk about meat and wine, because you will hardly find anything similar among other zealous ascetics. During sleep, Anthony was content with matting, and mostly lay down on the bare ground. He did not agree to anoint himself with oil, saying that it is most appropriate for young people to be zealous for exploits and not to seek what weakens the body, but to accustom it to labor, keeping in mind the apostolic saying: when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor. 12:10). Mental strength, he used to say, is strong when bodily pleasures weaken. This thought of his is truly wonderful. It is not by time, as he believed, that the path of virtue and the ascetic life for its sake should be measured, but by desire and will. At least, he himself did not remember the past time, but every day, as if just laying the foundation for asceticism, he made great efforts to advance, constantly repeating to himself Paul’s saying: forgetting those things that are behind, but reaching out to those that are before (Phil. 3:13), and also remembering the words of the prophet Elijah, who says: As the Lord lives, I will stand before Him this day ( 1 Kings 18:15). For, according to Anthony’s remark, the prophet, saying “today,” does not measure the past, but, as if constantly laying just the beginning, tries every day to present himself as he should be before God, that is, with a pure heart and ready to obey nothing else, but God’s will. And Anthony used to say to himself that in the life of Elijah, as in a mirror, the ascetic must always study his own life. 8. So, exhausting himself, Anthony withdrew to the tombs, which were far from the village, and entrusted one acquaintance with bringing him bread after many days; he himself, entering one of the tombs and closing the door behind himself, remained alone in it. Then the enemy, unable to bear this, even fearing that Anthony would in a short time fill the desert with ascetics, comes to him one night with many demons and inflicts so many blows on him that he remains silently lying on the ground from pain; and, as Anthony himself assured, his sufferings were very severe, and blows inflicted by people could not, according to him, cause such pain. But, according to God’s Providence (for the Lord does not leave those who trust in Him without care), the next day the acquaintance who brought him bread comes. Opening the door and seeing that Anthony was lying on the ground as if dead, he took him and carried him to the church that was in the village, and laid him there on the ground. Many of the relatives and residents of the village surrounded Anthony like a dead man. Around midnight, Anthony comes to his senses and, waking up, sees that everyone is sleeping, but only one of his acquaintances is awake. Calling him to him with signs, Anthony asks him, without waking anyone, to take him and carry him back to the tomb. 9 . So Anthony was carried to them, and when, according to custom, the door was locked, he remained alone again in the tomb. From the blows inflicted on him, he is still unable to stand on his feet and prays while lying down; through prayer he loudly calls out: “Here I, Anthony, do not run from your blows. If you inflict even more on me, nothing will separate me from the love of Christ.” Then he begins to sing: even if an army gathers against me, my heart will not fear (Ps. 27:3). This is what the ascetic thought and said. The enemy who hates good, marveling that Anthony dared to come even after the blows dealt him, calls his dogs and, bursting with frustration, says: “Look, we did not pacify him either with the spirit of fornication or with blows; on the contrary, he dares to resist us. Let us attack him in a different way.” But the devil does not find it difficult to express his anger. So now at night the demons make such thunder that, apparently, the whole place began to shake, and, as if having destroyed the four walls of Anthony’s dwelling, they invade, transforming into beasts and reptiles. The whole place was instantly filled with the ghosts of lions, bears, leopards, oxen, snakes, adders, scorpions, and wolves. Each of these ghosts acts according to their outer appearance. The lion, preparing to attack, roars; the ox apparently wants to gore; the snake does not stop wriggling; The wolf strains his strength to rush. And all these ghosts make a terrible noise, revealing fierce rage. Anthony, struck and wounded by them, feels terrible bodily pain, but even more so, awake in soul, lies without trembling, and although he groans from bodily pain, nevertheless, sober in mind and as if laughing, he says: “If you have any strength, then it was enough for one of you to come. But since the Lord has taken away your strength, you are trying to frighten them with multitudes. But even this serves as a sign of your weakness, that you turn into dumb.” And he boldly adds: “If you can and have power over me, then do not hesitate and attack. And if you can’t, then why are you fussing in vain? Faith in our Lord serves as our seal and wall of protection.” So the demons, after many attempts, only gnashed their teeth against Anthony, because they exposed themselves to ridicule more than him. 10. The Lord did not forget Anthony’s feat and came to the aid of the ascetic. Raising his gaze, Anthony sees that the roof above him seems to have opened and a ray of light is descending towards him. The demons suddenly became invisible; the bodily pain instantly ceased; his home was not damaged in any way. And having felt this help, breathing more freely, feeling relief from suffering, he turns with prayer to the vision that has appeared and says: “Where have you been? Why didn’t you come at first to stop my torment?” And a voice came to him: “I, Anthony, was here, but I waited, wanting to see your struggle; and since you stood firm and were not defeated, I will always be your helper and will make you famous everywhere.” Hearing this, Anthony gets up and begins to pray and becomes so strong that he feels more strength in his body than he had before. He was then about thirty-five years old. 11. The next day, leaving the tomb and filled with even greater zeal for piety, he comes to the ancient elder mentioned above and asks him to live with him in the desert. Since the elder refused both due to his years and unaccustomment to desert life, Anthony immediately went alone to the mountain 4 . But the enemy, seeing again his zealous intention and wanting to prevent this, in a dream presents him with a large silver dish lying on the way. Anthony, realizing the cunning of the hater of good, stops and, looking at the dish, denounces the devil hiding in the ghost, saying: “Where does the dish come from in the desert? This is not a big road; there is not even a trace of what passed here. If the dish fell, it could not be hidden, because it is large; the one who lost it would return and, having searched, would certainly find it, for the place here is deserted. This is the devil's trick. But the devil will not hinder my firm intention with this: let this dish with you be ruined (Acts 8:20).” And when Anthony said this, it disappeared like smoke from the face of fire (Ps. 67:2). 12. Then he goes further and sees no longer a ghost, but real gold scattered on the road. Whether it was laid down by the enemy or by some other higher power, which gave both the ascetic a chance to test himself and showed the devil that he did not care about property at all - Anthony did not say this, and we do not know; All that is known is that what he saw was gold. Anthony, although amazed at its multitude, nevertheless, jumping over it, as if through fire, passes by without turning back, and speeds up his procession so much that the place is lost and hidden from view. So, more and more confirmed in the fulfillment of his intention, he strove to the mountain, and on the other side of the river, finding an empty fenced place, filled with reptiles from long-standing desolation, he moved there and began to live there. The reptiles, as if driven by someone, immediately move away. Anthony, having blocked the entrance and stored grain for six months (this is how the Thebans store up grain, and their grain often remains unharmed for a whole year), having water inside the fence, as if hiding in some inaccessible place, he remains there alone, neither leaving nor seeing anyone coming. He labored in this way for a long time, taking the loaves over the fence only twice a year. 13. Acquaintances who came to him, since he did not allow them to enter the fence, often spent days and nights outside it; and they heard that there seemed to be whole crowds in the fence - restless, knocking, plaintively screaming and calling out: “Get out of our places; what do you want in this desert? You won’t survive our intrigues.” Those standing outside thought at first that some people who had entered up the stairs were arguing with Anthony; when, having peered into one well, they saw no one, then, concluding that they were demons, overcome with fear, they themselves began to call Anthony. And he rather heard the words of the latter than cared about the demonic screams. Approaching the door, he begs those who have come to leave and not be afraid. “Demons,” he says, “produce dreams to frighten the fearful. Therefore, seal yourself with the sign of the cross and go back boldly, but leave it to the demons to make a mockery of yourself.” And those who came, protected by the sign of the cross, depart; But Anthony remains and does not suffer the slightest harm from the demons, does not even get tired of the feat, because the frequency of his heavenly visions and the weakness of his enemies give him great relief in his labors and arouse zeal for greater labors. Acquaintances often came to him, thinking to find him already dead, but they found him singing: may God rise again, and may His enemies be scattered, and may those who hate Him flee from His face. As smoke disappears, let them disappear: as wax melts before the fire, so let sinners perish before the presence of God (Ps. 67:2-3); and again: all the nations have gone after me, and in the name of the Lord I have resisted them (Ps. 118:10). 14. Anthony spent about twenty years like this, laboring in solitude, not going anywhere, and during all this time unseen by anyone 5 . After that, since many sought and wanted to imitate his ascetic life, some of his acquaintances came and forcibly broke and opened the door - Anthony comes out as a secret man and God-bearer from a certain sanctuary, and to those who come to him for the first time he appears from his fence. And when they see Anthony, they are filled with surprise that his body has retained its former appearance, has not become fat from lack of movement, has not withered from fasting and fighting demons. Anthony was the same as they knew him before his hermitage. In his soul there was again the same purity of character; He was not depressed by grief, nor was he delighted with pleasure, he did not indulge in laughter or sadness, he was not embarrassed when he saw a crowd of people, he was not happy when everyone began to greet him, but he remained indifferent, because his mind controlled him and nothing could take him out of his ordinary natural state. The Lord healed through him many who were here, suffering from bodily illnesses, and freed others from demons; He also gave Anthony the grace of words: he consoled many who mourned, reconciled those who were in a quarrel, inspiring everyone to prefer nothing in the world to the love of Christ and exhorting them to keep in mind the future blessings and love for us of God, who did not spare His Son, but gave Him up for us all (Rom. 8:32), convinced many to choose the monastic life; and thus, monasteries finally appeared in the mountains, the desert became inhabited by monks who left their property and joined the number of those living in heaven. 15. When need forced him to cross the water ditch to Arsenoe to visit the brethren, and the ditch was full of crocodiles, Anthony says a prayer, then he and everyone with him enters the ditch and crosses it unharmed. Having returned to the monastery, he practices his former strict labors with youthful vigor and, often talking, already increases the zeal of the monastics, while in others, and very many, he arouses a love for asceticism. And soon, by the power of his amazing word, numerous monasteries arise, and in all of them Anthony, as a father, becomes the leader. 16. One day he comes out; all the monks gather to him and want to hear a word from him; Anthony tells them the following in Egyptian: “The Scriptures are sufficient for teaching; however, it is fitting for us to comfort one another through faith and anoint each other with words. Therefore, you, like children, tell your father what you know; and I, as your elder in age, will tell you what I know and what I have experienced. Most of all, let everyone have a common concern that, having begun, they should not slacken in the work; do not lose heart in your labors, do not say: we have been struggling for a long time. It is better, like beginners, to increase our zeal every day, because the whole human life is very short in comparison with future centuries; why the whole time of our life is nothing compared to eternal life. And although every thing in the world is sold for its due price and a person exchanges equal for equal, the promise of eternal life is bought for a small price. For it is written: The days of our years are seventy years, and if we can, eighty years, and we multiply their labor and sickness (Ps. 89:10). Therefore, if we remain in asceticism for all eighty, even a hundred years, then we will reign for a period not equal to a hundred years, but instead of a hundred years, we will reign for ever and ever; and having labored on earth, we will receive an inheritance not on earth, but, according to the promises, we have it in heaven; Moreover, having laid aside our corruptible body, we will take on an incorruptible body. 17. Therefore, children, let us not be discouraged because we have been struggling for a long time or because we have done something great. For the passions of the present time are unworthy of the desire for glory to appear in us (Rom. 8:18), and looking at the world, let us not think that we have renounced anything great. For this whole earth is very small compared to the whole heaven. Therefore, if we were lords over the whole earth and renounced the whole earth, then even this would not be equivalent to the Kingdom of Heaven. Just as he who despises one drachma of copper in order to acquire a hundred drachmas of gold, so he who is the lord of the whole earth and renounces it leaves a little and accepts a hundredfold more. If the whole earth is not equal to heaven, then the one who leaves small fields seems to leave nothing. If he leaves a house or a sufficient amount of gold, he should not boast or be discouraged. Moreover, we must consider that even if we do not leave this for the sake of virtue, we will leave it later when we die, and we will leave it, as often happens, to whom we would not like, as Ecclesiastes reminded us of this (Eccl. 4:8). So, why not leave this to us for the sake of virtue, so that we may inherit for that Kingdom? Therefore, let none of us harbor any desire to acquire. For what is the benefit of acquiring something that we do not take with us? Isn't it better for us to acquire what we can take with us, such as: prudence, justice, chastity, courage, prudence, love, love of poverty, faith in Christ, lack of anger, love of hospitable people? These acquisitions will prepare for us a refuge in the land of the meek before we arrive there. 18. With these thoughts, let everyone convince himself not to be lazy, especially if he considers that he is the Lord’s servant and is obliged to work for the Master. Like a slave, he does not dare to say: since I worked yesterday, I do not work today; and calculating the elapsed time, he will not stop working in the following days, on the contrary, every day, according to what is written in the Gospel, he shows the same diligence in order to please his master and not be in trouble - so we too will continue to be in asceticism every day, knowing that if we neglect one day, the Lord will not forgive us for the past time, but will be angry with us for our negligence. We hear this in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 18:24–26). So Judas, in one night, destroyed the work of the past time. 19. Therefore, children, let us persevere in heroic deeds and not give in to despondency. For in this our helper is the Lord, as it is written: God makes good progress for everyone who chooses what is good (Rom. 8:28). And in order not to be lazy, it is good to keep in mind the apostolic saying: I die all the days (1 Cor. 15:31). For if we live as those who daily prepare to die, we will not sin. What the apostle said has the meaning that every day, waking up from sleep, we must think that we will not live until evening, and also, falling asleep, we must imagine that we will not awaken from sleep, because the measure of our life is unknown to us and is measured every day by Providence. And with this way of thinking, living like this every day, we will neither sin, nor harbor any desires, nor be angry with anyone, nor accumulate treasures for ourselves on earth; but, like those who daily expect death, we will not be covetous and will begin to forgive everyone everything. We will never allow carnal lust or other unclean pleasure to take possession of us, but let us turn away from this as something transitory, remaining in constant fear and always having the day of judgment before our eyes. For strong fear and fear of torment destroys the pleasantness of pleasure and restores a soul inclined to fall. 20. Having entered the path of virtue and begun the procession, let us all the more strain our strength to stretch forward; and let no one turn back, like Lot’s wife, especially heeding what the Lord said: no one lays his hand on his forehead, and in vain turns back, he is ruled in the Kingdom of Heaven (Luke 9:62). Turning back means nothing more than regret and thinking again about worldly things. Do not be afraid when you hear about virtue, do not be embarrassed at its name. It is not far from us, it is not formed outside of us; its work is in us, and it is easy if we only wish it. Greeks, in order to learn verbal sciences, undertake long journeys and cross seas; and we do not need to go far for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven or swim across the sea for the sake of virtue. The Lord said before: The Kingdom of Heaven is within you (Luke 17:21). Therefore, virtue has a need only for our will; because virtue is formed in us and from us. It is formed in the soul, in which rational forces act in accordance with its nature. And this the soul achieves when it remains as it was created; She was created good and completely right. Therefore, Joshua, commanding the people, said: correct your heart to the Lord God of Israel (Joshua 24:23); and John says: make your paths right (Matthew 3:3). For the soul to be right means for its rational power to be in such harmony with the nature in which it was created. When the soul deviates and becomes incongruous with nature, then this is called a vice of the soul. So, this matter is not difficult. If we remain as we were created, then we are virtuous. If we reason badly, we are condemned as vicious. If virtue were something acquired from outside, then, without a doubt, it would be difficult to become virtuous. If it is in us, then we will protect ourselves from unclean thoughts and keep our soul to the Lord, as a deposit received from Him, so that He will recognize His creation in it, when the soul is exactly the same as God created it. 21. Let us strive so that irritability does not rule over us and lust does not prevail over us, for it is written: the anger of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God. Lust, when conceived, gives birth to sin, but sin committed gives birth to death (James 1:20, 15). And with such a way of life, we will constantly be sober and, as it is written, guard our hearts with all care (Proverbs 4:23). For we have terrible and insidious enemies - crafty demons; We have a struggle with them, as the apostle said: Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers, and against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places (Eph. 6:12). There are a great many of them in the air around us, and they are not far from us. There is a great difference between them, and there can be a long talk about their properties and differences; but let such reasoning be left to others who are above us; Now we have an urgent need to find out only their machinations against us. 22. So, firstly, we know that demons are called that not because they were created that way. God didn't do anything evil. On the contrary, they too were created good; but, having fallen from the heights of heavenly understanding and already revolving around the earth, just as the pagans were seduced by dreams, so we Christians, envying, set everything in motion, wanting to prevent our ascent to heaven, so that we would not ascend to where they fell from. Therefore, we need intense prayer and deeds so that, having received from the Spirit the gift of spiritual reasoning (1 Cor. 12:10), a person can learn about demons, which of them are less bad and which are worse than others, what goal each of them is trying to achieve and how they can overthrow and expel each one, for they have many tricks and malicious aspirations. The blessed apostle and his followers were aware of these intrigues, and they say: let us not understand his plans (2 Cor. 2:11). And we, having learned so much from experience about these intrigues, are obliged to protect each other from them. Having acquired partly experienced knowledge about them, I tell this to you as children. 23. So, demons for every Christian, especially a monk, as soon as they see that he is hardworking and successful, first of all undertake and attempt to put temptations on the path. Their temptations are evil thoughts. But we should not be afraid of such suggestions. Through prayer, fasting and faith in the Lord, enemies are immediately overthrown. However, even after the deposition they do not calm down, but soon they attack again insidiously and with cunning. And when they cannot seduce the heart with obvious and unclean lust, then they attack again in a different way and try to eliminate them with dreamy ghosts, transforming themselves into different forms and taking on the likeness of women, animals, reptiles, giants, and many warriors. But even in this case, one should not be afraid of these ghosts, because they are nothing and soon disappear, especially if someone protects himself with faith and the sign of the cross. However, demons are daring and extremely shameless. If they are defeated in this too, then they attack in another way: they take on the appearance of soothsayers, predicting what will happen in a little while; they appear either tall, reaching their heads to the roof, or having excessive thickness, so that those who cannot be deceived by thoughts are caught by such ghosts. If in this case they find that the soul is protected by heartfelt faith and hope, then they bring their prince with them.” 24. And Anthony said that he often saw demons “the way the Lord depicted the devil in the revelation to Job, saying: His eyes are the vision of the star. From his mouth come like burning candles, and like sparks of fire come out: from his nostrils comes the smoke of a furnace of coals burning with fire: his soul is like coal, and like flames comes out of his mouth (Job 41:9-11). Appearing like this, the demonic prince frightens, according to what was said above, with his insidious grandeur, as the Lord also convicted him, saying to Job: for he counts iron as chaff, and copper as rotten wood; He thinks of the sea as a peacemaker, and the Tartarus of the abyss as a prisoner; counted the deep as passing (Job 41:18; 22–23); and again speaking through the prophet: the enemy speaks: I will suffer persecution (Ex. 15:9); and also through another prophet: I will embrace the whole world in my hand like a nest, and like an abandoned egg I will take it (Isa. 10:14). This is how demons generally try to boast and make similar promises in order to deceive the godly. But we, the faithful, in this case also should not be afraid of the ghosts produced by the enemy and pay attention to his words, because the devil lies and does not say anything true at all. And indeed, he, who uttered so many such insolences, the Savior, like a snake, took him out with a stripe, he, like a beast of burden, put a bridle on his nostrils, he, like a fugitive, put a ring in his nostrils, and twisted an awl on his mouth, and like a slave the Lord bound him, so that we would mock him (Job 40:20, 21, 24). The devil and all the demons with him were laid down before us, so that we Christians could tread on them like snakes and scorpions (Luke 10:19). The proof of this is that we now live according to rules that are contrary to him. And now, the one who makes the promise to destroy the sea and embrace the universe is now unable to prevent your exploits and even stop me, who speak against him. Therefore, we will not pay attention to whatever he says, because he is lying. Let us not be afraid of his ghosts: because they too are deceitful. The light visible in them is not real light; it would be more accurate to say that demons carry within themselves the firstfruits and image of the fire prepared for them; what they burn in is how they try to frighten people. They suddenly appear, but immediately also disappear, without causing harm to any of the believers, but carrying with them the likeness of that fire that will accept them into itself. Therefore, in this regard, one should not be afraid of them, because all their undertakings, by the grace of Christ, turn into nothing. 25. They are insidious and ready to turn into anything, take on all sorts of forms. Often, being invisible themselves, they appear to be singing psalms and recall sayings from the Scriptures. Sometimes, if we are engaged in reading, and they immediately, like an echo, repeat what we are reading; and if we are sleeping, they wake us up to pray and do this so often that they hardly allow us to fall asleep. Sometimes, having assumed the monastic image, they present themselves as reverent interlocutors in order to deceive with the likeness of the image and draw those deceived by them into whatever they want. But you don’t need to listen to them, whether they wake you up to prayer, or advise you not to eat at all, or seem to condemn and reproach us for the very thing on which they previously agreed with us. For they do this not out of reverence or for the sake of truth, but in order to plunge the inexperienced into despair. They represent asceticism useless, arouse in people an aversion to monastic life, as the most difficult and burdensome, and prevent them from leading this way of life that is disgusting to them. 26. And the prophet sent by the Lord announced the damnation of such, saying: woe to the one who drunken his girlfriend with muddy corruption (Hab. 2:15). Such intentions and thoughts lead one astray from the path leading to virtue. And the Lord Himself even to the demons who spoke the truth (for rightly they said: You are the Son of God - (Luke 4:41)) commanded silence and forbade them to speak, so that, along with the truth, they would not sow their own malice, and also so that we would learn never to listen to them, even if, apparently, they spoke the truth. It is indecent for us, who have the Holy Scriptures and freedom granted by the Savior, to learn from the devil, who has not kept his rank and has changed in his thoughts. That is why the Lord forbids him to pronounce the sayings of Scripture: But to the sinner God says: How can you tell My justifications, and will you accept My covenant with your lips? (Ps. 49:16). Demons do everything, talk, make noise, pretend, create riots and confusion to deceive the inexperienced, knock, laugh madly, whistle; and if someone does not pay attention to them, they cry and shed tears as if defeated. 27. The Lord, as God, imposed silence on demons; Thus, having learned from the saints, it is fitting for us to act like them and imitate their courage. And they, looking at this, said: when the sinner stood up before me, I became dumb and humbled, and kept silent from good things (Ps. 39:2-3); and again: because I am deaf and do not hear, and because I am dumb and do not open my mouth; and like a man you would not hear (Ps. 37:14). So we will not listen to demons, as alien to us; We will not obey them, even if they awaken us to prayer, even if they talk about fasting; Let us be more attentive to the asceticism we undertake, so that we are not deceived by demons who do everything with cunning. But we should not be afraid of demons, although, apparently, they attack us, even threaten us with death, because they are powerless and cannot do anything more than threaten. 28. Therefore, although I have already touched on this in passing, now I will not be too lazy to say about the same thing in more detail. This reminder will serve for your safety. After the coming of the Lord, the enemy fell and his strength was exhausted. Therefore, although he cannot do anything, nevertheless, like a tormentor, after his fall, he does not remain in peace, but threatens, albeit only with words. Let each of you consider this, and then you will be able to despise demons. If the demons were surrounded by the same bodies that we are surrounded by, then they could say: we do not find people hiding, but we cause harm to those we find. Then we could take cover and hide from them by locking the doors. But they are not like that: they can enter through locked doors; and all the demons, and the first of them is the devil, rush throughout the air; Moreover, they are malicious, ready to harm, and, as the Savior said, the father of malice, the devil, is a murderer from time immemorial (John 8:44). Meanwhile, we are still alive and even lead a lifestyle that is contrary to the devil. So it is clear that demons have no power. And the place does not prevent them from doing evil, and in us they do not see their friends whom they would spare, and they themselves are not lovers of good who could correct themselves; but, on the contrary, they are crafty, their only concern is to do harm to lovers of virtue and the pious; however, since they are unable to do anything, they do not harm, but only threaten. But if they had been able, they would not have hesitated, but would have immediately done evil, having the will to do so, and especially would have done evil to us. But having come together, we now speak against them, and they know that, as we progress, they themselves become exhausted; therefore, if they had power, they would not have left any of the Christians alive, because godliness is an abomination to a sinner (Sir. 1:25). Since they are unable to do anything, they are even more wounded by the fact that they cannot fulfill their threats. Moreover, in order not to be afraid of demons, we must consider the following. If they had power, they would not come in a crowd, would not make dreams and would not take on various images when plotting; but it would be enough just to come alone and do what he can and wants, especially since everyone who has power does not amaze with ghosts, does not frighten with multitudes, but immediately uses his power as he wants. The demons, having no power, seem to amuse themselves at the spectacle, changing their disguises and frightening children with a multitude of ghosts and phantoms. That is why they should be despised most of all as powerless. The True Angel, sent by the Lord against the Assyrians, did not need a multitude, an external ghost, thunder and crashing; on the contrary, he exercised his power in silence and instantly destroyed one hundred and eighty-five thousand. The demons that have no power, such as those who argue with us, try to eliminate them even with dreams. 29. If anyone brings to mind what happened to Job and says: why did the devil come and do everything to him, and deprived him of his property, and killed his children, and struck him with fierce pus (Job 1:15-22; 2:1-7), then let him know that this did not depend on the power of the devil, but on the fact that God handed Job over to him to be tempted; the devil, of course, was unable to do anything, so he asked and, having received permission, did it. And therefore, the enemy is all the more worthy of contempt, who, although he wanted, was not able to do anything even to one righteous person. For if he had the power to do this, he would not have asked. Since he asked, and asked not once, but twice, he turns out to be weak and completely powerless. And it is not surprising that he was unable to do anything with Job, when he could not destroy his livestock if God had not allowed him. The devil has no power even over pigs. For, as it is written in the Gospel, the demons asked the Lord, saying: command us to go into the pigs (Matthew 8:31). If they do not have power over pigs, much less do they have power over man, created in the image of God. 30. Therefore, one should only fear God, and despise demons and not be at all afraid of them. Even the more fears they produce, the more strongly we will strive against them, for the best weapon against them is a right life and faith in God. They are afraid of ascetic fasting, vigils, prayers, meekness, silence, lack of love of money, lack of vanity, humility, love of poverty, almsgiving, lack of anger, and mainly of pious faith in Christ. That is why they use all measures so that there is no one to trample on them. They know what grace the Savior gave to the believers against them, Who said: Behold, I give you power to tread on the serpent and the scorpion, and on all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). 31. Therefore, if they present themselves as soothsayers, let no one cleave to them. They often say several days in advance that the brothers will come, and they actually come. The demons do this not out of concern for those who listen to them, but in order to arouse in them faith in themselves and then, having already subjugated them to themselves, destroy them. Therefore, we should not listen to demons, but we must object to their words, that we do not need them. For what is surprising if someone, having a body, the subtlest of the human body, and seeing those who have entered the path, precedes them in the procession and informs about them? The same thing is predicted by one sitting on a horse, anticipating one walking on foot. Therefore, there is no need to be surprised at the demons. They have no foresight about what does not yet exist. The One God knows all things before they came into being (Dan. 13:42). Demons, like thieves, get ahead of themselves and announce what they see. And now they will let many know about what is happening with us, how we got together and are talking about them, before any of us leaves here and talks about it. But some briskly running youth can do the same, ahead of a slow one. And I precisely say: if someone intends to go from Thebaid or from some other country, then before he sets out on the journey, the demons do not know whether he will go, but as soon as they see him coming, they run ahead and before he arrives, they notify him; and thus those who go after a few days actually come. It often happens that those who set off on a journey return back, and then the demons turn out to be liars. 32. So, sometimes they eloquently announce the water in the Nile River, seeing that there was a lot of rain in the Ethiopian countries and knowing that they cause flooding in the river; Before the water comes to Egypt, they run there and predict. But people would say the same thing if they could move from place to place so quickly, like demons. And just as David’s watchman, having ascended to the heights, saw the current one before he was below, and walking forward before the others, he spoke not about anything that had not yet happened, but about what had already happened and about which the news was already approaching (2 Sam. 18:24-29), so the demons take on the work and let others know, just to deceive them. If Providence wants to do something else at this time with the waters or with the travelers (because this is also possible), then the demons will turn out to be liars and those who listened to them will be deceived. 33. This is how pagan soothsaying originated, and this is how people have long been misled by demons. But this deception finally stopped, for the Lord came and brought the demons and their deceit into inaction. They don’t know anything on their own, but, like thieves, what they see in others, they divulge and guess more than they know by foresight. Therefore, if they predict the truth, let no one marvel at them at this. For doctors, who have learned through experience the properties of diseases, often see the same disease in others, guessing by skill, and predict. Likewise, pilots and farmers, looking at the state of the air, use their skill to predict either bad weather or good air quality. And no one will therefore say that they predict by God’s inspiration, and not by experience and skill. Therefore, if demons, sometimes guessing, also predict, then let no one marvel at them in this and do not listen to them. And what is the use of those who listen to demons to learn the future from them in advance? Or what is the importance of such foresight, even if we knew the truth? This does not constitute virtue and, without a doubt, does not serve as evidence of good morals. None of us is condemned for what we did not know, and no one is blessed for having acquired information and learned; but everyone is subject to judgment as to whether he has kept the faith and sincerely kept the commandments. 34. Therefore, we should not value such foresight highly, and strive and work not in order to foreknow, but in order to please God with a good life. We must pray not to have foresight, and not to ask for this reward for exploits, but to ask the Lord to assist us in our victory over the devil. If, when it is important for us to have foresight, then let us keep our mind pure. For I am confident that the soul, pure in everything and true to its nature, having become perspicacious, can see more and further than demons, because revelation is given to it from the Lord. Such was the soul of Elisha, which saw what was done by Gehazi (2 Kings 5:26), and saw the powers protecting it (2 Kings 6:16–17). 35. Therefore, when demons come to you at night, want to announce the future or say: “We are Angels,” do not listen to them, because they lie. If they praise your asceticism and please you, do not listen to them and do not get close to them at all; it is better to seal yourself and your house with a cross and pray. Then you will see that they will become invisible, because they are fearful and especially fear the sign of the Cross of the Lord. For, having taken away their strength by the Cross, the Savior put them to shame. If they persist, mocking you and taking on different guises, do not be afraid, do not be horrified, do not listen to them as if they were good spirits. For, with God’s help, it is possible and not difficult to recognize the presence of good and evil Angels. The vision of saints is not disturbing. They will neither argue nor cry; anyone below will hear their voices (Isa. 42:2). They appear silently and meekly, which is why joy, gladness and boldness are immediately born in the soul, because the Lord is with the saints, Who is our joy and the power of God the Father. The thoughts of the soul remain unperturbed and undisturbed, and the soul, illuminated by vision, contemplates those who have appeared. A desire for Divine and future blessings arises in her, and, of course, she will desire to be in union with the saints and to depart with them. If others, like people, are brought into fear by the vision of good Angels, then those who appear at the same moment destroy this fear with their love, as Gabriel did with Zechariah (Luke 1:13), and the Angel who appeared to the women in the Holy Sepulcher (Matthew 28:5), and also the Angel mentioned in the Gospel and who said to the shepherds: do not be afraid (Luke 2:10). Fear is felt not from spiritual fear, but from the consciousness of the presence of higher powers. This is the vision of the saints. 36. And the invasion and vision of evil spirits can be outrageous, with noise, voices and screams, like a riotous movement of poorly educated young people or robbers. From this, fear, confusion, confusion of thoughts, sadness, hatred of ascetics, despondency, sadness, memories of relatives, mortal fear and finally - bad desire, negligence of virtue, moral disorder immediately arise in the soul. Therefore, if, having seen what has appeared, you come into fear, but your fear is immediately destroyed and instead of it, unspeakable joy, complacency, boldness, inspiration, equanimity of thoughts and everything else said above, courage, love for God occur in you - then do not lose hope and pray, for the joy and well-being of the soul shows the holiness of what has appeared. So Abraham, seeing the Lord, rejoiced (John 8:56), and John leaped with joy at the voice of the Mother of God Mary (Luke 1:44). And if whose appearance is accompanied by confusion, external noise and worldly pomp, the threat of death and everything said above, then know that this is an invasion of evil angels. 37. Let this also serve as a sign for you: when the soul continues to feel fear, the one who has appeared is an enemy, because demons do not destroy fear, as in Mary and Zechariah - the great Archangel Gabriel and the Angel who appeared among the women in the tomb. On the contrary, demons, when they see people in fear, multiply the ghosts more strongly in order to bring them into greater horror, and when they advance, they already curse, saying: fall, worship (Matthew 4:9). Thus they deceived the pagans, and they falsely recognized them as gods. But the Lord did not leave us to be deceived by the devil, when, forbidding him to produce such phantoms, he said: follow me, Satan, for it is written: Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and serve Him alone (Matthew 4:10). Therefore, more and more let us despise this insidious one for this. What the Lord said to him, he said for our sake, so that the demons, hearing similar things from us, would take flight for the sake of the Lord, who forbade them to do this. 38. But one should not boast of the power to cast out demons and boast of the gift of healings; One should not marvel at the one who casts out demons, and disdain the one who does not cast out. Let each learn from the asceticism of the other; let him either imitate and compete with him, or correct him. It is not up to us to create signs, but it is the work of the Savior. He said to the disciples: do not rejoice, for the souls obey you, but for your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). The fact that names are written in the sky testifies to our virtue in life; and to cast out demons is the grace of the bestowed Savior; Therefore, those who boasted not of virtue, but of signs, and said: Lord, have we not cast out demons in Your name, and in Your name have we created many mighty powers? - the Lord answered: Amen, I say to you, I know you not (Matthew 7:22-23; Luke 13:27), for the Lord does not know the ways of the wicked. Above all, as I said above, we must pray to receive the gift of discernment of spirits, so that, according to what is written, we may not believe EVERY spirit (1 John 4:1). 39. I intended to remain silent and not say anything on my own, being content with only what was said. But so that you do not think that I am saying this simply, but, on the contrary, you are convinced that I am telling you the truth known from experience and the real truth, although I am acting as if it is senseless, however, since the Lord who listens to this knows the purity of my conscience, knows that I am doing this not for my own sake, but for the sake of your love and for your admonition, then I will also say that I found out about demonic undertakings. Many times demons pleased me, and I conjured them in the name of the Lord. Many times they predicted to me about the river flooding, and I asked them: what does it matter to you? Sometimes they came with threats and surrounded me like armed warriors. At other times, the house was filled with horses, animals and reptiles; and I sang: these on chariots, and these on horses: but in the name of the Lord our God we will be magnified (Ps. 19:8), and through prayers the Lord put them to flight. Sometimes they came in the darkness, having a ghost of light, and said: we have come to illuminate you, Anthony; but I closed my eyes and prayed - and immediately the light of the wicked faded away. A few months later they came and seemed to be singing psalms and reciting passages from the Scriptures; I am like deaf people who do not hear (Ps. 37:14). Sometimes the monastery was shaken; but I prayed, remaining motionless in thought. After this, more people came and began to applaud, whistle, and dance; but I prayed and, lying down, sang psalms to myself. Soon they began to cry and sob as if exhausted; and I glorified the Lord, who crushed and shamed their insolence and madness. 40. One day a demon, very tall, appeared with a numerous escort and dared to say: I am God’s power; I am Providence; whatever you want, I will give you everything. Then I blew on him, uttering the name of Christ, raised my hand to hit him and, as it seemed, hit him. And at the name of Christ, this giant with all his demons immediately disappeared. One day, when I was fasting, this insidious one came in the form of a monk, having the ghost of bread, and gave me the following advice: eat and rest after much labor, and you, a man, may fall ill. But I, realizing his machinations, rose up to pray - and the demon could not stand this, disappeared and, going out the door, disappeared like smoke. Many times in the desert the enemy dreamily showed me gold so that I would just touch it and look at it; but I repelled the enemy by singing psalms, and he disappeared. Often the demons struck me, but I said: nothing will separate me from the love of Christ. And after this they began to strike each other with strong blows. However, it was not I who held them back and brought them into inaction, but the Lord, who said: I saw Satan like lightning falling from heaven (Luke 10:18). And I, children, remembering the apostolic saying, transformed it on myself (1 Cor. 4:6), so that you learn not to lose heart in asceticism and not to be afraid of the ghosts of the devil and his demons. 41. Since I have become so senseless that I am talking about this, then, for your own safety and fearlessness, accept the following from me and believe me, because I am not lying. One day, someone in the monastery knocked on my door, and when I came out, I saw some kind of huge giant appear. Then, when I asked: “Who are you?” - he answered: “I am Satan.” After this, to my question: “Why are you here?” - he said: “Why do the monks and all other Christians blame me in vain? Why do they curse me every hour?” And to my words: “Why are you embarrassing them?” - answered: “It’s not I who confuse them; they outrage themselves; and I became weak. Haven’t they read: the enemy has run out of weapons to the end, and you have destroyed cities? (Ps. 9:7). I no longer have a place, I have neither arrows nor a city. Christians are everywhere: and the desert is finally filled with monks. Let them respect themselves and not curse me in vain.” Then, marveling at the grace of the Lord, I said to him: you always lie and never tell the truth; however, now, even against your will, you said this rightly, for Christ, having come, made you weak, and by deposing you, he deprived you of everything. Hearing the name of the Savior and not enduring his scorching power, the devil became invisible. 42. So, if the devil himself admits his powerlessness, then, of course, we must despise both him and his demons. The enemy and his dogs have many tricks; but we, having recognized their weakness, can despise them. And thus, let us not lose heart, nourish fear in our souls, let us not invent motives for fear for ourselves, saying: if the demon had not come and shaken me; He would not have delighted me and cast me down; or would not have attacked suddenly and caused confusion. Let us not give room to such thoughts at all and grieve like those who are perishing. On the contrary, let us always be content and rejoice, as those who are being saved; Let us keep in mind that the Lord is with us, Who has overthrown and brought into inaction the demons. Let us always imagine and think that since the Lord is with us, our enemies will not do anything to us. The way they find us when they come to us is the way they themselves become in relation to us; and whatever thoughts they find in us, such are the ghosts they present to us. Therefore, if they find us fearful and embarrassed, they immediately attack, like robbers who have found an unguarded place, and what we think in ourselves, they produce in greater form. If they see us as fearful and fearful, then they increase the fear even more with ghosts and threats, and finally the poor soul is tormented by this. But if they find us rejoicing in the Lord and thinking about future blessings, containing the works of the Lord in our thoughts and reasoning that everything is in the hand of the Lord, that the demon is not able to overcome a Christian and has no power over anyone at all, then, seeing the soul supported by such thoughts, the demons turn back with shame. So the enemy, seeing Job protected, withdrew from him, but made Judas his captive, finding that he was deprived of such protection. Therefore, if we want to despise the enemy, then we will always think about the works of the Lord. Let the soul constantly rejoice in hope; and we will see that demonic games are the same as smoke, that the demons would rather run away than pursue us, because, as was said before, they are extremely fearful, waiting for the fire prepared for them. 43. And to make yourself less afraid of demons, do this test. When there is any ghost, do not fall into fear, but whatever this ghost is, first of all, boldly ask: who are you and where are you from? And if this is the appearance of the saints, then they will confirm you and transform your fear into joy, and if this is a devilish apparition, it will immediately lose its power, as soon as your thought is firm. For it is a sign of an unperturbed spirit to ask in every case: who are you and where are you from? So the son of Nun asked - and found out who the One who appeared was (Joshua 5:13). So the enemy did not hide from Daniel who questioned him (Dan. 10:11–21).” 44. When Anthony talked like this, everyone rejoiced; in some, the love of virtue increased, in others, negligence was eradicated, in others, conceit ceased; nevertheless, marveling at the grace given from the Lord to Anthony for discerning spirits, they were convinced that they should despise demonic slander. The monasteries in the mountains were like monasteries, filled with the divine faces of psalmists, lovers of learning, fasters, prayer books, who were pleased with the hope of future blessings and who were engaged in handicrafts to give alms, had mutual love and agreement among themselves. Truly, there seemed to be a special area of ​​piety and truth there. There was neither oppressor nor oppressed; there were no reproaches from the tax collector; There were many ascetics, but they all had one thought - to strive in virtue. And therefore, whoever saw these monasteries and such order of monks, he had to exclaim again and say: if your houses are good to Jacob, and your tabernacles to Israel! Like the overshadowing oak groves, and like a garden by the river, and like the tabernacles that the Lord has set up, and like cedar trees by the waters (Num. 24:5–6). 45. And Anthony himself, as usual, secluded himself especially in his monastery, intensified his exploits and sighed daily, thinking about the heavenly abodes, longing for them and turning his gaze to the shortness of human life. When he wanted to eat food, went to bed, and began to fulfill other bodily needs, he felt shame, imagining the rationality of the soul. Often, with many other monks, starting to eat food and remembering spiritual food, he refused to eat and went far from them, considering it a shame for himself if others saw that he was eating. According to the necessary requirements of the body, he ate food, but separately, and often together with the brethren, ashamed of them, but hoping to offer them a word for the benefit. He used to say: “All care should be taken more for the soul, and not for the body, and the body should be given a little time when necessary, but the rest should be devoted especially to the soul and seek its benefit, so that it does not get carried away by bodily pleasures, but rather the body is enslaved to it. This is what the Savior said: do not worry about your soul, what you eat, nor about your body, what you put on (Matthew 6:25). And you do not look for what you eat or what you drink; and do not be exalted. The nations of the world are looking for all of these: but your Father knows that you demand all of these. Rather, seek first His Kingdom, and all these things will be added to you (Luke 12:29–31). 46. For this reason, the Church suffered the Maximian persecution that was happening at that time, 6 and when the holy martyrs were led to Alexandria, Anthony followed them, leaving his monastery and saying: “Let us also go, either to strive, if we are called, or to see those who struggle.” He had a desire to accept martyrdom, but, not wanting to betray himself, he served confessors in mines and dungeons. He had a lot of care: to encourage the ascetics called to the court to be zealous and to take part in those who entered into martyrdom, and to accompany them until their death. The judge, seeing the fearlessness of Anthony and those with him and their guardianship, ordered that none of the monks should appear in court and that they should not remain in the city at all. All the others that day considered it best to hide, but Anthony was so preoccupied that he even washed his outer clothes and the next day, standing in front of everyone in a high place, he appeared before the hegemon in clean clothes. When everyone was amazed at this, even the hegemon saw him and passed by him with his soldiers, he stood fearless, thereby showing our Christian zeal. For, as I already said, it was desirable for him to become a martyr. And he himself seemed to be sad that he was not worthy of martyrdom. But the Lord kept him for the benefit of us and others, so that he could become a teacher of many in the ascetic life, which he learned from the Scriptures, for many, looking only at his way of life, tried to become zealots of his life. And so he again began, according to custom, to serve the confessors and, as if bound together with them, worked in serving them. 47. And when the persecution had already ceased and Bishop Peter 7 of blessed memory accepted martyrdom, then Anthony left Alexandria and retired again to his monastery, where he was daily a martyr in his conscience and labored in the deeds of faith. His labors are numerous and great: he fasted incessantly; he kept his underwear - hair and outer clothing - leather until his death; did not wash away impurities from the body with water; I never washed my feet, or even simply immersed them in water, except when absolutely necessary. No one saw him undressed; no one could see Anthony's naked body until Anthony died and they began to bury him. 48. When he was in solitude and decided to spend time without going out himself, and without receiving anyone, then one military leader, Martinian, came and disturbed him. He had a daughter tormented by a demon. For a long time he continued to knock on the door and ask Anthony to come out and pray to God for his daughter. Anthony did not agree to open the doors and, looking out from above, said: “Why are you crying out to me? And I'm the same person as you. If you believe in Christ, Whom I serve, then go and, as you believe, pray to God - and your request will be fulfilled.” Martinian immediately believed and, calling on the name of Christ, left with his daughter, already freed from the demon. The Lord performed many other signs through Anthony, who said: ask and it will be given to you (Luke 11:9), for many who suffered from demons, since Anthony did not open his door, having only sat outside the monastery, received healing through faith and sincere prayer. 49. When Anthony saw that many were bothering him and did not allow him to remain in his chosen solitude, as he would have liked, then, fearing that either he himself would not be exalted by what the Lord was doing through him, or that someone else would not think of him higher than what he was, he decided to go to Upper Thebaid, where they did not know him; and taking bread from the brethren, he sat down on the bank of the river, looking to see if any ship would come, so that, having entered it, he would leave. When he was waiting for the ship, a voice came to him from above: “Where are you going and why, Anthony?” He was not embarrassed, but, as he was accustomed to often hearing such appeals, after listening to this, he said in response: “Since the people do not allow me to be in peace, I want to go to Upper Thebaid, because of many worries I have here and especially because they demand from me what is beyond my strength.” A voice told him: “If you go to Thebaid, and even, as you intend, to those grazing herds of oxen, then you will endure even greater and more severe labor. If you really want to be at peace, then go now to the inner desert.” To Anthony’s question: “Who will show me the way, since it is unknown to me?” - the voice immediately showed him the Saracens who were supposed to go this way. Anthony, approaching them, began to ask permission to go with them into the desert. The Saracens, as if at the behest of Providence, willingly accepted him. After spending three days and three nights on the road with them, he comes to one very high mountain. Clear, sweet and rather cold water flowed from under the mountain; all around there was a plain and several wild palm trees. 50. Anthony, as if by inspiration from above, fell in love with this place: it was the same one that was indicated to him by the voice broadcasting on the river bank. So, taking the loaves from his companions, he began to stay on the mountain alone at first, not having anyone else with him, and he already recognized this place as his own home 8 . The Saracens, seeing his jealousy, began to pass this way with the intention and joyfully brought him bread; sometimes even from the palm trees he had some small and meager consolation. Subsequently, the brethren, having learned his whereabouts, like children, remembering their father, took care to send him what he needed. But Anthony, seeing that under the pretext of delivering bread to him, others get tired and work hard, sparing the monks in this too, he comes up with a remedy and asks some of those who came to him to bring him a spade, an ax and some wheat. When this was brought, he walked around the mountain and found one very small convenient place, cultivated it and, since there was enough water to irrigate the field, sowed it. By doing this every year, he gets bread for himself from here, rejoicing that he will not bother anyone and will prevent himself from being a burden to anyone. But after this, seeing again that some come to him, he grows a few vegetables on his own, so that whoever comes to him will have at least a small consolation after the labors of such a hard journey. At first, the animals that lived in the desert, coming to drink water, harmed his crops and agriculture. He, with affection, having caught one animal, said through it to everyone: “Why are you harming me, who is not doing any harm to you? Go away and in the name of the Lord come no more here.” From that time on, the animals, as if fearing a ban, did not approach that place. 51. So Anthony remained alone on the “inner mountain,” spending time in prayer and asceticism. The brothers who served him begged him to allow them to come every other month and bring olives, vegetables and oil, because he was already old. How much battle, while living there, he endured, according to what is written (Eph. 6:12), not with flesh and blood, but with opposing demons, we know about this from those who came to him. For even there they heard a noise, many voices and the sound of something like weapons, and at night they saw that the mountain was filled with animals; They noticed that Anthony himself seemed to be fighting some enemies visible to him and repelling them with prayer. And Anthony encouraged those who came to him, and he himself labored, kneeling and praying to the Lord. And it was truly worthy of surprise that he, living alone in such a desert, was not afraid of the demons attacking him and, with so many four-legged animals and reptiles there, was not afraid of their ferocity, but truly, as it is written, he trusted in the Lord, he was like Mount Zion (Ps. 125:1), had an unshakable and untroubled mind, so that the demons fled from him and the wild beasts, according to what is written, they were reconciled to him (Job 5:23). 52. Although the devil watched Anthony and, as David sings, gnashed his teeth at him (Ps. 34:16), Anthony, consoled by the Savior, remained unharmed from the deceit and many different wiles of the devil. So, one night, when Anthony was spending time on vigil, the enemy sends animals at him: almost all the hyenas that were in this desert, emerging from their holes, surround him. Anthony stood in the midst of them, and each gaped at him and threatened him with remorse. Realizing this was the enemy’s cunning, he said to the hyenas: “If you have power over me, then I am ready to be devoured by you. And if you were sent by demons, then do not hesitate and leave, because I am a servant of Christ.” As soon as Anthony said this, the hyenas fled, as if driven by a scourge of words. 53. Then, a few days later, when he was busy with work (for he loved to be at work), someone, standing at the door, pulled towards him what Anthony was weaving then. He made baskets and gave them to those who came for what they brought to him. Anthony stood up and saw a beast that resembled a man up to the loins, and its legs and legs were like those of a donkey. Anthony sealed only himself with the sign of the cross and said: “I am a servant of Christ; if you were sent against me, then here I am before you.” The beast with the demons in it ran so fast that it fell and died from the speed. The death of this beast meant the fall of the demons, who made every effort to remove Anthony from the desert, but were unable to do so. 54. One day, at the request of the monks to come to them and visit them and their place of residence for a while, he set off on a journey together with the monks who came to him. The camel carried bread and water for them, because this desert is waterless and there is no water suitable for drinking anywhere in it, except for that one mountain on which the Anthony monastery was, where they stocked up on water. When on the way their water ran out and the heat was very intense, then everyone was in danger of losing their lives. Having walked around the surroundings and not finding water, they were no longer able to continue their journey, they lay down on the ground and, despairing of their lives, let the camel go wherever it wanted. The elder, seeing that everyone was in poverty, became very sad and sighed, moves away not far from them and, bending his knees and raising his hands, begins to pray; and the Lord soon caused water to flow in the place where he stood in prayer; and thus they all quenched their thirst and revived, filled the bottles with water, began to look for the camel and found it. It so happened that the rope wrapped around one stone and held the camel. So, they brought him back and, having given him something to drink, put the wineskins on him and continued on their way comfortably. When Anthony reached the first monasteries on the way, everyone greeted him, looked at him like a father, and he, as if bringing parting words from the mountain, treated them with words and taught them what was beneficial. Again on the mountains there was joy, competition for success and mutual consolation of each other through faith. Anthony himself rejoiced when he saw the jealousy of the monks and his sister, who had grown old in virginity and was already the abbess of other virgins. 55. A few days later he went back to his mountain. And then many began to come to him; Others and sufferers even dared to come. He constantly gave the following commandment to every monk who came to him: “Believe in the Lord and love Him, keep yourself from unclean thoughts and carnal pleasures and, as it is written in the parables, do not be deceived by the filling of the belly (Proverbs 24:15), avoid vanity, pray unceasingly, sing psalms before and after sleep, repeat the commandments given to you in Scripture, keep in memory the deeds of the saints, so that your soul, remembering the commandments, may have the zeal of the saints as a model for itself.” Anthony especially advised to constantly meditate on the apostolic saying: let not the sun go down on your anger (Eph. 4:26) and think that this is said in general in relation to every commandment - so that the sun does not go down not only on anger, but also on our other sin. For it is good and necessary that neither the sun condemn us for a daytime transgression, nor the moon condemn us for a nighttime sin, or even for an evil thought. And in order to keep yourself from this, it is good to listen and preserve the apostolic word, for it is said: torture yourself, tempt yourself (2 Cor. 13:5). Therefore, let everyone give himself an account of his daily and nightly actions, and if he has sinned, let him stop sinning; if he has not sinned, let him not boast about it, but let him remain in goodness and not indulge in negligence, and not condemn his neighbor, and not consider himself righteous, until, as the blessed Apostle Paul said, the Lord will come (1 Cor. 4:5), testing secret. It is often hidden from ourselves what we do, but although we do not know it, the Lord sees everything, therefore, having left the judgment to the Lord, we will be compassionate towards each other, we will begin to bear each other’s burdens (Gal. 6:2) and torment ourselves, and in what we are deficient, we will try to make up for it. And to protect ourselves from sin, let us observe the following: let each of us notice and write down our actions and mental movements, as if with the intention of communicating this to each other - and be sure that, being ashamed of fame, we will certainly stop sinning and even containing anything bad in our thoughts. For who, when he sins, wants it to be seen? Or who, having sinned, would not rather lie, just to hide the sin? Just as, watching each other, we will not commit fornication, so if we write down our thoughts with the intention of communicating them to each other, then we will more easily keep ourselves from unclean thoughts, ashamed of fame. So, let writing replace the eyes of our companions for us, so that when we write, feeling the same shame that we feel when they look at us, we don’t even have anything bad in our thoughts. If we educate ourselves in this way, we will come to the state of enslaving our body, pleasing the Lord and trampling on the machinations of the enemy.” 56. Anthony gave such instructions to those who came; He was compassionate towards the suffering and prayed with them. And the Lord often listened to his prayers for many. But when he was heard by the Lord, he did not boast; and when he was not heard, he did not complain. But just as he himself always thanked the Lord, he also inspired those who suffered to be patient and to know that healing does not come from him and not from people at all, but from God alone, who gives it when he wants and to whomever he wants. Therefore, those who suffered accepted the elder’s instructions as medicine, learning not to be faint-hearted, but rather to be patient. And those being healed learned to give thanks not to Anthony, but to God alone. 57. One of the courtiers named Fronto, suffering from a severe illness, bit his tongue and was ready to deprive himself of his sight. Arriving at the mountain, he asked Anthony to pray for him. Anthony, having prayed, said to Fronto: “Go and you will be healed.” And when the sick man persisted and remained in the monastery for several days, Anthony stood by his word, saying: “You cannot be healed while you are here; Go, and when you reach Egypt, you will see a sign done on you.” Fronton believed and left; and as soon as he saw Egypt, his illness passed and he became healthy, according to the word of Anthony, as the Savior revealed to him during prayer. 58. One girl from Tripoli Busiris had a terrible and extremely vile illness. Her tears, phlegm and moisture flowing from her ears, as soon as they fell to the ground, immediately turned into worms; her body was relaxed, and her eyes were not in a natural state. Her parents, having learned that the monks were going to Anthony, out of faith in the Lord, who healed the bleeding woman, asked them to go on the journey with their daughter. Since the monks refused, the parents and the young woman remained outside the mountain, with the confessor and monk Paphnutius. The monks came to Anthony and barely wanted to inform him about the girl, when he warned them and told them what illness the girl had and how she walked with them; when they began to ask that the parents and the girl be allowed to enter, Anthony did not allow this, but said: “Go, and if the girl is not dead, you will find her healed. This is none of my business and there is no reason for her to come to me, a poor man; healing comes from the Savior, Who in every place shows His mercy to those who call on Him. The Lord bowed to her prayer, and His love for mankind revealed to me that He would heal the illness of the young woman there.” Thus a miracle happened: the monks went and found the parents rejoicing, and the young woman already healthy. 59. Two brothers were walking, and when they ran out of water along the way, one died, and the other was close to death and, not having the strength to walk, was already lying on the ground and waiting to die. Anthony, who was in grief, calls on the two monks who were then with him and forces them to hurry, saying: “Take the vessels with water and quickly go to the Egyptian road. Of the two travelers, one has already died, the other will die soon if you don’t hurry. This is revealed to me now during prayer.” The monks go, find a dead man lying, give him burial, and bring the other back to life with water and bring him to the elder; the distance was one day's journey. If anyone asks why Anthony did not speak before the other died, then the question will be wrong. The definition of death was not from Anthony, but from God, who determined for one to die, and gave revelation about another. The only wonderful thing about Anthony was that, while in grief, he had a sober heart; and the Lord showed him what was happening in the distance. 60. Once again, while in grief and looking up, Anthony sees someone ascending through the air, to the great joy of those who meet him. Then, marveling and pleasing such a host, he begins to pray that it will be revealed to him what this means. And suddenly a voice comes to him: “This is the soul of Ammon, the Nitrian monk.” Ammon remained an ascetic until old age. And the distance from Nitria to the mountain where Anthony lived was thirteen days' journey. Therefore, those who were with Anthony, seeing the marveling old man, wanted to know the reason and heard that Ammon had (recently) died; and he was known to them, because he was there often and he performed many signs, of which one was like this. One day Ammon had a pressing need to cross a river called Lykos; there was high water then. Ammon began to ask Theodore, who was with him, to move further away so that they would not see each other naked when they swam across the river. Then, when Theodore left, Ammon was also ashamed to see himself naked; but while he was struggling with shame and worry, he was suddenly transported to the other shore. Theodore, also a reverent man, approached and saw that Ammon had preceded him and had not at all wetted himself in the water, and asked to know how he swam across. When he saw that Ammon did not want to say this, he hugged his legs and began to assure him that he would not let him in until he found out. So, Ammon, seeing Theodore’s stubbornness and especially for the sake of the word spoken by him, first asks not to tell anyone about this until his death, and then declares that he was transferred and placed on the other shore and did not walk on the waters at all, for this is completely impossible for people, but perhaps only the Lord and whom He will allow it, as He allowed the great Apostle Peter. Theodore told this after the death of Ammon. The monks, to whom Anthony told about the death of Ammon, noticed the day, and when thirty days later the brethren from Nitria came, they asked them and found out that Ammon rested on the very day and hour at which the elder saw his soul ascending. Both of them marveled greatly at the purity of Anthony’s soul and how he recognized what had happened at a distance of a thirteen-day journey at the same moment and saw the ascending soul. 61. One day Archelaus comes, finding Anthony on the “outer mountain,” and asks him only to pray for Polycrates, the wonderful and Christ-bearing virgin in Laodicea. She suffered from extreme feats with severe pain in the womb and side and was completely exhausted physically. Anthony prayed, and the committee noticed the day on which the prayer was offered, and, returning to Laodicea, he found the virgin healthy. Having asked when and on what day she was freed from illness, he takes out the charter on which he wrote down the time of prayer, and after the healed woman’s answer, at the same time he shows the record; and everyone was surprised to learn that then the Lord delivered her from suffering when Anthony prayed for her and called on the Savior’s goodness to help. 62. Antony often predicted about those coming to him several days, even a month in advance, for what reason they were coming. For some came solely to see him, others because of illness, and others because they suffered from demons. And no one considered the difficulty of the journey a burden for themselves and did not regret the work, because everyone returned feeling the benefit. When Anthony had a similar vision and he told about it, he always asked that no one should be surprised at him, but only marvel at the Lord, Who has given us, humans, the opportunity to know Him to the best of our ability. 63. Once again, having come to the monasteries that were on the “outer mountain”, when they begged him to board the ship and pray with the monks, he alone felt a strong and very disgusting stench. Those on the ship said that there was fish and salted meat here, and that’s why the smell; but Anthony said it was a different kind of stench. While he was still speaking, a young man suddenly cried out, possessed by a demon, who, having entered the ship before the others, was hiding on it. The demon, according to the rebuke given to him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, came out, and the man became healthy, and everyone understood that the stench was from the demon. 64. And another one of the noble people came to Anthony, having a demon in him; This demon was very fierce. The one possessed by him did not know that he was brought to Anthony, and devoured the eruptions of his body. Those who brought him asked Anthony to pray for the demoniac. Anthony, out of compassion for the young man, prays and spends the whole night in vigil with him. Before dawn, the young man suddenly rushes at Anthony and throws him to the ground. And when those who came with him were indignant at this, Anthony said to them: “Do not be angry with the young man: it is not he who is to blame, but the demon living in him. Since a ban was imposed on him and he was ordered to go to places without water, he became furious and did the same to me. Therefore, glorify the Lord, for the young man’s rush towards me was a sign to you that the demon had come out.” While Anthony was still saying this, the young man immediately became healthy and, finally coming to his senses, found out where he was and greeted the old man, giving thanks to God. 65. Quite a few of the monks agreed and said in the same way that Anthony had done many other things similar to this. But this is not so much wonderful as, compared to everything else, the following seems most wonderful. One day, before eating food at about the ninth hour, Anthony stood up to pray, and felt within himself that he was delighted with his mind, and what is most surprising, he saw that he was beside himself and someone seemed to be lifting him through the air. There are some gloomy and scary faces in the air who want to block his path to ascension. Since Anthony's guides resisted them, they demand an account whether Anthony is subject to any responsibility to them, and therefore they want to keep count from his very birth. But Anthony’s guides prevented this, saying: “What was from his birth, the Lord blotted out; keep count from the time he became a monk and made a vow to God.” Then, since the accusers could not convict him, his path became free and unobstructed. And suddenly he sees that he seems to be returning and entering into himself and again becoming the old Anthony. At this time, forgetting about eating food, he spends the rest of the day and the whole night in sighs and prayer, for he was surprised to see how many enemies we have to fight and with what difficulty a person must walk through the air. And then it came to his mind that in this very sense the apostle said: according to the prince of the powers of the air (Eph. 2:2). For the enemy has the power in the air to enter into a fight with those passing through it, and attempts to block their path. This is why the apostle especially advised: take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the day of cruelty (Eph. 6:13), so that the enemy may be put to shame, having nothing to say reproachfully about us (Titus 2:8). And we, hearing this, bring to mind the apostle who says: if in the body we do not know, if apart from the body we do not know, God knows (2 Cor. 12:2). But Paul was caught up to the third heaven and descended from there, hearing ineffable words; and Anthony saw himself passing through the air and struggling there until he found himself free. 66. Anthony also had the following talent. During his stay on the mountain in solitude, if sometimes, having proposed any question to himself, he became perplexed, then, according to God’s providence, during prayer there was a revelation to him about this, and the blessed one, as it is written, was taught by God (Is. 54:13; John 6:45). So, one day he was having a conversation with those who came to him about the state of the soul after death and where its location would be. The next night someone from above calls him, saying: “Get up, Anthony, come out and look.” Anthony goes out (for he knew Who must be obeyed) and, raising his gaze, sees that someone is standing tall, ugly and terrible and touches his head to the clouds and that some others are ascending, as if inspired, and the first one stretches out his hands to the latter and blocks the path of some, while others fly over him and, having passed him, comfortably ascend upward; on the latter, this giant gnashes his teeth, but on those that fall down, he rejoices. Suddenly a voice says to Anthony: “Understand what is seen.” Then his mind was opened, and he realized that this is the passage of souls, that the standing giant is an enemy, jealous of the faithful, and he restrains those who fall under his power and forbids them to go further, but cannot detain those who disobey him, because they pass above him. Having seen this and taking such a vision as a reminder to himself, Anthony began to make even greater efforts to daily succeed in his previous exploits. He announced such visions reluctantly, but since those who were with him, when they saw that he was praying longer than usual and seemed surprised, asked him and pestered him with their questions, he was forced to tell them like a father who cannot hide anything from his children; Moreover, he reasoned that his conscience would remain clear, and his story would benefit them when they learned that asceticism has good fruits and visions are often a consolation in their labors. 67. Anthony was of a patient disposition and had a humble heart. For all his spiritual height, he extremely respected church rules and was ready to give preference to any clergyman over himself. He was not ashamed to bow his head before bishops and presbyters. If a deacon came to him for his own benefit, he offered to speak for his benefit, but left the prayers to the deacon, not being ashamed to learn himself. He often asked questions and wanted to listen to those who were with him; he admitted that he himself benefits if someone says something useful. And his face had a great and extraordinary pleasantness. Anthony also received this gift from the Savior: if he was surrounded by many monks and it was desirable for someone who did not know him before to see him, then the person who wanted to, having passed others, directly approached Anthony, as if attracted by his gaze. What distinguished Anthony from others was not his height and attractiveness, but his good character and purity of soul. Since his soul was serene, his outer feelings also remained undisturbed; and therefore, from spiritual joy, the face was cheerful, and by bodily movements one could feel and understand the calmness of the soul, in accordance with what is written: a joyful heart, the face blooms, but in sorrow I lament (Proverbs 15:13). So Jacob learned that Laban was plotting something bad, and he said to his wives, “Your father’s face will not be as it was yesterday or the day before” (Gen. 31:5). So Samuel recognized David, because his eyes were joyful and his teeth were white as milk. This is how Anthony was recognized, because with peace of mind he was never indignant and with a joyful state of mind he was never gloomy. 68. He was very wonderful in faith and piety. I never had contact with the renegade Meletians 9, knowing their long-standing deceit and apostasy; did not talk friendly with the Manichaeans 10 or with other heretics - except for admonition, so that they would turn to piety. And he thought so himself, and inspired others that friendship and conversation with heretics is harm and destruction to the soul. He also abhorred the Arian heresy 11 and gave a commandment to everyone not to get close to the Arians and not to have their evil faith. When some of the Arians came to him, having experienced and learned that they were ungodly, he drove them away from the mountain, saying that their speech was worse than snake venom. 69. One day the Arians spread a false rumor that Anthony had the same thoughts as them. Then he was indignant and irritated against them, and then, at the request of the bishops and all the brethren, he came down from the mountain and, arriving in Alexandria, condemned the Arians, saying that Arianism is the last heresy and the forerunner of the Antichrist. He taught the people that “the Son of God is not a creature or non-existent, but is the eternal Word and Wisdom of the Father’s essence. Therefore, it is impious to say about the Son: “It was when He was not,” for the Word is always co-essential with the Father. Therefore, do not have any communication with the most wicked Arians, for there is no communication between light and darkness (2 Cor. 6:14). Just as you, pious believers, are called Christians, so they, who call the Son of God and the Father's Word a creation, are no different from the pagans, serving creation more than God who created. Believe, then, that even all creation is indignant at them because the Creator and Lord of the universe, in Whom all things were, are numbered among created beings.” 70. The whole people rejoiced when they heard that such a man was anathematizing the heresy against Christ. All the inhabitants of the city came running to see Anthony. Even the pagans and their so-called priests came to the temple of the Lord, saying: “We wish to see the man of God.” Because that's what everyone called him. And here the Lord, through him, freed many from demons and healed those who were damaged in their minds. Many even among the pagans wanted to at least touch the elder in the confidence that they would receive benefit from this. And indeed, in these few days as many converted to Christianity as at other times converted throughout the year. Others thought that the crowd of people was bothering him, and therefore drove away everyone who came from him; but Anthony, unperturbed by anything, said: “The number of those coming is not greater than the number of demons with whom we are fighting in the mountain.” 71. When Anthony was leaving, and we accompanied him, then, as soon as we reached the city gates, one woman exclaimed behind us: “Stop, man of God! My daughter is severely tormented by a demon. Stop, I beg you, so that I, running after you, will not suffer trouble.” The elder, having heard this and begged us, willingly stopped. And as soon as the woman approached, her daughter was thrown to the ground; but Anthony prayed and called on the name of Christ; Then the girl rose up healthy, because the unclean demon came out of her. The mother blessed God, and everyone gave thanks to Him. Anthony himself rejoiced, returning to the mountain, as if to his own home. 72. He was very intelligent and, surprisingly, without learning to read and write, he was distinguished by the subtlety and insight of his mind. One day two pagan philosophers came to him, thinking that they could tempt Anthony. He was on the “outer mountain” and, guessing from the faces of those walking, what kind of people they were, he went out to them and said through an interpreter: “Why are you so worried, philosophers, for a foolish person?” When they answered that Anthony was not a foolish man, but, on the contrary, very intelligent, then he continued: “If you went to a foolish man, then your labor was in vain. And if you consider me reasonable, then be the same as I am, because good must be imitated. If I came to you, I would imitate you; if you came to me, then be the same as I am; and I am a Christian." The philosophers left in surprise. They saw that the demons were also afraid of Anthony. 73. When others, similar to these philosophers, met him on the “outer mountain” and thought to ridicule him for not learning to read and write, then Anthony asks them: “What do you say: what comes first - the mind or the writing? And what is the reason for what: is it the mind of the writings, or the writings of the mind? Since they answered: the mind is more primary and he is the inventor of writing, then Anthony said: “Therefore, whoever has a sound mind does not need writing.” This answer amazed both the philosophers and everyone who was present; and they left, marveling that they found such insight in an unlearned man, for Anthony was not of a rude disposition, as he had grown and grown old on the mountain, but, on the contrary, was pleasant and courteous. His word was dissolved with divine salt, and therefore no one hated him, yet those who came to him rejoiced a lot about him. 74. And indeed, when after this several more pagan people, revered as wise men, came to him and demanded from him a word about our faith in Christ, and had the intention of entering into a discussion about the preaching of the Divine Cross in order to laugh, then Anthony, after being silent for a while and at first regretting their ignorance, told them through an interpreter who correctly conveyed his words: “Which is better - to confess the Cross or to attribute fornication to the so-called gods among you?” and child molestation? What we preach is a proof of courage and a sign of contempt for death; and what you teach is contaminated with obscenity. Moreover, what is better: is it better to say that the Word of God has not changed and, remaining one and the same, has taken on the human body for the benefit of people and for their salvation, so that, having joined human existence, it can make people partakers of the Divine and spiritual nature, or - to liken the Divinity to the dumb and therefore honor four-legged animals, reptiles and human images? And such are the venerations of your sages! How dare you laugh at us who say that Christ appeared as a Man, when you yourself, bringing the soul down from heaven, claim that it wanders and falls from the vault of heaven into the body? And let it only fall into the human body, and not pass over and move into four-legged and reptiles! Our faith speaks of the coming of Christ for the salvation of man; but you are mistaken because you talk about the unborn soul. We talk about the omnipotence and love of mankind of Providence, because this is not impossible for God; and you, calling the soul an image of the mind, attribute falls to it and talk nonsense that it is corrupt, and finally, due to the corruption of the soul, you admit that the mind itself is corrupt. For whatever the image is, such must be the one whose image it is. Since you think this way about the mind, consider whether through this you are not blaspheming the One who is the Father of the mind. 75. And if we talk about the Cross, what do you recognize as better: to endure the cross through the malice of evil people and not be horrified by any kind of death, or to compose fables about the wanderings of Osiris and Isis, about the machinations of Typhon, about the flight of Cronus, about the absorption of children and about parricides? For these are your wisdom. Why, laughing at the Cross, are you not surprised at the resurrection? For those who said one thing wrote another. Or why, when mentioning the Cross, are you silent about the resurrected dead, about the blind who received their sight, about the healed paralytics, about the cleansed lepers, about walking on the sea and other signs and wonders showing that Christ is not a man, but God? It seems to me that you are very unfair to yourself and have not read our Scriptures with sincere affection. Read and see: the works done by Christ prove that He is God, who came to save men. 76. Tell us your teaching too. What can you say about the dumb, except that they are unreasonable and ferocious? If, as I hear, you intend to assert that all this is said among you in parables and that the abduction of the virgin is an allegory about the earth, and the lame Hephaestus is about fire, Hera is about air, Apollo is about the sun, Artemis is about the moon, Poseidon is about the sea, and in this case you do not honor God Himself, but instead of the God who created everything, you serve creation. For if you composed such fables for the reason that creation is beautiful, then you should only be amazed at creatures, and not idolize them, so as not to give the honor due to the Creator to creatures. Otherwise, you should give the honor that belongs to an architect to the house he built, or the honor that belongs to a military leader to give to a warrior. What do you say to this, from which we could find out whether the Cross really has something worthy of ridicule in itself? 77. Since they were in bewilderment and turned back and forth, Anthony, smiling, said through the translator: “Although at first glance this is obvious by itself, however, since you rely more on evidence from reason and, having mastered this art, demand that our godliness should not be without evidence from reason, then tell me first of all: how is accurate knowledge about things, and mainly knowledge about God, acquired - is it through evidence from reason? reason or through the effectiveness of faith? And what comes first: effective faith or reasonable proof? When they answered that active faith is more primary and that it is accurate knowledge, then Anthony said: “You speak well. Faith comes from the disposition of the soul, and dialectics from the art of its compilers. Therefore, in whom there is the effectiveness of faith, proofs from reason are not necessary, but rather superfluous. For what we understand by faith, you try to affirm from reason and are often unable to express in words what we understand clearly; and therefore the effectiveness of faith is better and stronger than your wise conclusions. 78. So, for us Christians, the mystery of knowledge of God is not in the wisdom of pagan speculation, but in the power of faith given to us from God by Jesus Christ. And my word is true, for now we, without learning to write, believe in God, knowing His providence in all things from creation. And our faith is effective: for now we are confirmed in faith in Christ, and you are in wise debates, and your idols no longer work miracles, and our faith spreads everywhere; and you, with your conclusions and your great wisdom, do not seduce anyone from Christianity into paganism, but we, teaching faith in Christ, turn people away from your superstition, because everyone recognizes Christ as God and the Son of God; With your eloquence you cannot put barriers to the teachings of Christ, but we, in the name of the Crucified Christ, drive away all the demons whom you fear as gods; and where the sign of the cross is, there the sorcery fails, the magic is ineffective. 79. Tell me, where are your soothsayers now? Where are the Egyptian sorceries? Where are the ghosts of sorcerers? When did all this stop and lose its power? Is it not from the time when the Cross of Christ appeared? Therefore, is he worthy of ridicule, or is it more ridiculous that he tramples under foot and exposes him to weakness? And it is also surprising that your faith has never been persecuted, but is honored by people in the cities, while the confessors of Christ are persecuted, and yet our faith blooms and spreads more than yours; and your faith, praised and glorified, is perishing, but the Christian faith and the teaching of Christ, ridiculed by you and often persecuted by kings, have filled the universe. For when did the knowledge of God shine so brightly? Or when did chastity and the virtue of virginity appear in such power? And when did people begin to despise death to such an extent? Is it not from the time of the Cross of Christ? No one will doubt this, seeing the martyrs who despise death for the sake of Christ, seeing the virgins of the church who for the sake of Christ keep their bodies pure and undefiled. 80. And these arguments are sufficient to prove that the faith of Christ is the only true godliness. To this day you still have no faith, seeking proof from reason. And we, as our teacher said, do not look for evidence in the pretentious words of pagan wisdom (1 Cor. 2:4), but clearly convince by faith, which precedes the construction of the mind. Here too there are those suffering from demons” (among those who came to Anthony were those tormented by demons). And Anthony, leading them to the middle, said: “Either you, with your conclusions and whatever art and sorcery you like, call upon your idols and cast out demons from them, or, if you cannot, stop arguing with us, and you will see the power of the Cross of Christ.” Having said this, he called on the name of Christ, a second and third time he sealed the suffering with the sign of the cross, and suddenly they were freed from suffering, became sound in mind and finally thanked the Lord. And the so-called philosophers marveled and were truly amazed, seeing both the prudence of Anthony and the miracle he performed. Anthony said to them: “Why are you amazed at this? We do not do this, but Christ does this through those who believe in Him. Therefore, you too believe, then you will see that we do not have the art of mastering words, but faith, strong through effective love for Christ. If you also had this faith, you would not seek evidence from reason, but would consider faith in Christ sufficient for yourself.” This is what Anthony said. They, kissing Anthony, withdrew in surprise and confessed that they had gained benefit from him. 81. The rumor about Anthony reached the kings. Constantine Augustus 12 and his sons Constantius and Constance Augustus, hearing this, wrote to him as to a father, and wanted to receive an answer from him. But for Anthony the royal letters also meant little; he did not admire these messages, but remained the same as he had been before the kings wrote to him. And when these messages were brought to him, he called the monks and said: “Do not be surprised if the king writes to us, because he is also a man; but marvel more at this, that God wrote the Law to men and spoke to them through His own Son.” Therefore, he thought not to accept the letters, saying: “I don’t know how to respond to such writings,” but the monks imagined that these kings were Christians and might be tempted if the letters were rejected; therefore, he allowed us to read and responded to these messages, praising the kings for worshiping Christ, and gave them saving advice not to value the present highly, but to remember more about the future judgment and to know that Christ is the only true and eternal King; He also asked the kings to be philanthropic, to take care of the truth and the poor. And they gladly accepted the answer. So he was loved by everyone; so everyone wanted to have him as a father. 82. Having already become so famous and after giving such answers to those who came, he again returned to the “inner mountain” and spent his time in his usual exploits. Often, sitting or walking with those who came to him, he was in (inspired) horror, as is written about Daniel (Dan. 4:16), and, after some time, he continued his conversation with the brethren who were with him. And they guessed that Anthony had some kind of vision, for often, while in grief, he saw what was happening in Egypt, and retold this to Bishop Serapion 13, who was then with Anthony and noted that Anthony had a vision. One day, while sitting and doing needlework, Anthony seemed to be in admiration and sighed greatly during the vision. Then, after a while, turning to those who were with him, he sighed and, trembling with his whole body, began to pray, bending his knees, and remained in this position for a long time. Getting up, the old man began to cry. Therefore, those who were with him, brought into awe and great fear, expressed a desire to know his vision and bothered him with requests for a long time until they forced him to speak. And sighing heavily, he said: “It is better, children, to die before the vision is fulfilled.” Since they began to beg again, he burst into tears and said: “Wrath will overtake the Church: she will be betrayed to people who are like dumb animals. For I saw the table of the church of the Lord and all around it there were Muscovites 14 standing around it, kicking at it, as wildly jumping and kicking cattle usually do. “Of course, you noticed,” he continued, “how I groaned, for I heard a voice saying: “My altar will be defiled.” The old man had such a vision. And two years later we discovered the current invasion of the Arians and the plunder of churches, when the Arians, by force, stealing church utensils, forced the pagans to wear them, when the pagans were forced to leave their work and go to the meetings of the Arians, where they, in the presence of the pagans, did whatever they wanted at holy meals. It was then that we all understood that the kicking of the Muscovites had indicated to Anthony exactly what the Arians were now foolishly doing, like beasts. After Anthony had this vision, he consoled those who were with him, saying: “Do not be discouraged, children: just as the Lord was angry, so He will heal again, and the Church will soon again take on its splendor and its usual luminosity. Then you will see that the persecuted will be restored, wickedness will again retreat into its holes, and pious faith will be proclaimed everywhere with all freedom. Just don’t defile yourself with the Arians, because this teaching is not apostolic, but demonic, originating from their father the devil and, better to say, is just as fruitless, unreasonable, devoid of rightful meaning, like the wordless gods.” 83. Such are the acts of Anthony, and we should not be plunged into unbelief by the fact that so many miracles have been performed by man, for the Savior made a promise, saying: If you have faith like the grain of a mountain, you will say to this mountain, “Depart from here, and it will pass away, and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20); and again: Amen, amen I say to you, whatever you ask from the Father in My name, He will give it to you. ...Ask and you will receive (John 16:23–24). The Lord Himself says to the disciples and to all who believe in Him: Heal the sick, cast out demons: eat tuna, give tuna (Matthew 10:8). 84. Anthony healed not with a commanding word, but with prayer and invocation of the name of Christ, wanting to make it clear to everyone that it was not he who was doing this, but the Lord, through Anthony, showing His love for mankind and healing the suffering; Anthony belongs only to prayer and deeds, for the sake of which, while in grief, he was consoled by Divine visions. He grieved that many were bothering him and forcing him to leave the mountain. All the judges asked him to come down from the mountain, citing the impossibility of them themselves entering there with the defendants accompanying them, but in fact only wanting Anthony to come and be able to see him; Therefore, Anthony avoided this and refused to go to them. But they insisted and even sent the defendants forward, accompanied by soldiers, so that, at least for their sake, Anthony would come down. Therefore, forced by necessity and seeing their complaints, he went out to the “outer mountain.” And this work of his was also not useless; on the contrary, his coming served the benefit of many and was beneficial. And he gave useful advice to the judges to prefer truth to everything, to fear God and to know that by the kind of court they themselves judge, so they will be judged (Matthew 7:2). However, most of all he loved being on the mountain. 85. Therefore, one day, when those who needed him strongly urged him to come down from the mountain and one military leader asked for a long time, Anthony came and, having briefly talked about what serves for salvation and about the needs of those in need, hurried to go back. Since the mentioned military leader began to ask him to slow down, he said that he could not stay with them any longer, and convinced the military leader of this with such a witty comparison: “Just as fish, remaining for a long time on dry land, die, so the monks, slowing down with you and spending time in your company, relax. Therefore, just as a fish must hurry to the sea, so we must hurry to the mountain, so that, having lingered with you, we do not forget what is inside.” The military leader, having heard this and much more from him, said in surprise: “Truly he is God’s servant, for how could an unlearned person have such a great mind if he were not loved by God?” 86. One military leader, named Valacius, mercilessly persecuted us Christians out of zeal for the evil Arians. He was so cruel that he beat virgins, stripped and punished monks with whips. Anthony sends to him and writes a letter in the following sense: “I see the wrath of God coming upon you. Stop persecuting Christians, otherwise wrath will overtake you, for it is already ready to strike you.” Valacius, laughing, threw the letter on the ground and spat on it, insulted those who brought it and ordered Anthony to say the following: “Since you care about the monks, I will reach you too.” But less than five days passed before the wrath of God befell him. Balacius with Nestorius, the bishop of Egypt, went to the first overnight stop from Alexandria, called Chaereus; both rode on horses that belonged to Valacius, and these horses were the calmest of all that he had ever kept at his place. Before they reached the place, the horses began to play among themselves, as usual, and the quietest of them, on which Nestorius was riding, suddenly began to bite Valacius and chewed his leg with his teeth so much that they immediately carried him to the city, and on the third day he died. Then everyone was surprised that Anthony’s prediction was fulfilled so quickly. 87. This is how Anthony admonished hard-hearted people; He brought others who came to him into such a state of tenderness that they immediately forgot about legal matters and began to please those who had renounced worldly life. Anthony stood up for those who were offended with such force that one might think that it was he himself who was being offended, and not someone else. Moreover, he was able to speak to the benefit of everyone to such an extent that many of the military people and those with great wealth laid aside everyday burdens and finally became monks. In a word, as a doctor, he was given by God to Egypt. For who, if he came to him sad, returned from him not rejoicing? Who, if he came to him shedding tears for the dead, did not immediately stop crying? Who, if he came angry, did not change his anger to affection? What beggar, having come to him in despondency, and having listened to him and looked at him, did not begin to despise wealth and was not comforted in his poverty? What monk, who indulged in negligence, did not become much stronger as soon as he came to him? What young man, having come to the mountain and seen Anthony, did not immediately renounce pleasures and begin to love chastity? Who came to him, tempted by a demon, and found no peace? Who came to him, troubled by thoughts, and did not find peace of mind? 88. The great fruit of Anthony’s asceticism was that Anthony, as I said above, having the gift of discerning spirits, recognized their movements, and it did not remain unknown to him what the zeal and striving of any spirit was for. Not only was he not mocked by demons himself, but he also consoled those who were troubled by their thoughts and taught them how to cast down the slander of their enemies, telling them about their weakness and deceit. Therefore, everyone left him, strengthened in strength to fearlessly resist the intentions of the devil and his demons. How many virgins who already had grooms, when they first saw Anthony from afar, remained virgins of Christ! They came to him from foreign lands, and together with everyone else, having received benefits, they returned, as if parting with their father. And now, after his dormition, everyone, having become like orphans after their father, is consoled by the mere memory of him, keeping his instructions and admonitions in their hearts. 89. And what the end of his life was like is worthy of reminding me and of listening to you with love, because in this too it must compete with him. According to custom, he visited the monks living on the “outer mountain,” and, forewarned by Providence of his death, he said to the brethren: “This is my last visit to you, and it will be surprising if we see each other again in this life. And it’s time for me to resolve myself, because I’m about a hundred and five years old.” The brothers, hearing this, cried, hugged and kissed the elder. And he, as if returning from a foreign city to his own, talked with them cheerfully and commanded them to work without laziness and not to lose heart in the feat, but to live as if dying daily, and, as said above, try to protect their souls from unclean thoughts, to compete with the saints, not to get close to the renegade Meletians, knowing their evil and vile work, not to have any communication with the Arians, because that their wickedness is obvious to everyone. “And if you see that judges are protecting them, do not be embarrassed, because their false wisdom will cease, it is temporary and will not last. Therefore, keep yourselves especially pure from it, observe the tradition of the fathers, and preferably to all, the pious faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, which you learned from the Scriptures and which I often reminded you of.” 90. When the brethren persistently began to ask him to stay with them and die, he did not agree to this, both for many reasons, which, even if he kept silent about them, he nevertheless allowed to be understood, and especially for the following. The Egyptians have the custom of performing the rite of burial over the bodies of deceased people they respect and especially holy martyrs, wrapping them in shrouds, but not burying them in the ground, but laying them on beds and keeping them in their homes, thinking that this is honoring the departed. Anthony repeatedly asked the bishops to prohibit this for the laity, and he himself convinced the laity and reprimanded the women, saying: “This is illegal and completely dishonest. For the bodies of the patriarchs and prophets are kept in tombs to this day, and the very body of the Lord was laid in the tomb, and a rolled stone hid it until it was resurrected on the third day.” By saying this, he showed that the one who does not bury the bodies of the deceased, even saints, after death, is acting illegally. For what is more honorable and holy than the body of the Lord? Therefore, many, having heard this, then began to bury the bodies of the dead and, having learned from Anthony, thanked the Lord for this. 91. Anthony, knowing this custom and fearing that they would not do the same with his body, said goodbye to the monks who were on the “outer mountain”, hastened to depart and, coming to the “inner mountain”, where he usually stayed, fell into illness a few months later. Then, calling those who were with him (there were two of them 15; they lived with him on the “inner mountain,” having labored for fifteen years and serving Anthony because of his old age), he said to them: “I, as it is written, am going the way of my fathers (Joshua 23:14). For I see that the Lord is calling me. And you, be sober and will not ruin our many years of exploits, but, just as you began now, try to maintain your zeal. You know the malice of demons, you know how cruel they are, but weak in strength. Therefore, do not be afraid of them, but always be more strengthened in Christ and believe in Him; live as if you were dying daily; be attentive to yourself; remember the instructions you heard from me. May you not have any communication with the renegades and especially with the Arian heretics, for you know how much I avoided them for their anti-Christ and heterodox heresy. Try to always remain in unity with each other, and mainly with the Lord and then with the saints, so that after death they will receive you into eternal blood, as friends and known ones. Think about this, hold on to these thoughts, and if you care about me and remember me as a father, then do not allow anyone to take my body to Egypt and put it in their house: to avoid this, I retired to the mountain and came here. You know, how I always condemned those who did this and urged them to leave such a custom. Give my body a burial and hide it underground. Let this word of mine be kept by you, so that no one knows the place of burial of my body, except you alone; because at the resurrection of the dead I will receive it from the Savior incorruptible. Give away my clothes: give Bishop Athanasius one mantle and the clothes placed under me - they gave them to me new and I have worn them out; and give the other mantle to Bishop Serapion; take the hair shirt for yourself. Farewell, children; Anthony is moving away, and he will no longer be with you!” 92. Having said this, when those who were with him kissed him, Anthony stretched out his legs and, as if seeing friends who had come to him and rejoiced at their arrival (for he reclined with a cheerful face), he died and kissed his fathers 16. They, as he gave them the commandment, having completed the rite of burial, wrapped the body, they buried it, and except for the two of them, to this day no one knows where it was buried. Each of those who received the mantle of Blessed Anthony and the clothes worn out by him treasures them as something great, for to look at this means to see Anthony himself, and to wear it on oneself means to carry out his instructions with joy. 93. This was the end of Anthony’s life in the body and this was the beginning of his asceticism. And although this story is insignificant in comparison with Anthony’s virtues, nevertheless, from this you can conclude what kind of man of God Anthony was. From his youth until that age, he observed equal zeal for asceticism, neither because of his old age was deceived by expensive foods, nor because of the weakness of his body, who did not change the appearance of his clothes or even did not wash his feet with water, however, he did not suffer harm in any way. His eyes were healthy and unharmed, and he saw well. Not a single tooth fell out, but they only weakened in the gums due to the old man’s advanced years. He was healthy in arms and legs - in a word, he seemed more cheerful and stronger than anyone who used a variety of foods, ablutions and various clothes. And what was said about him everywhere, everyone was amazed at him, even those who had not seen him loved him, this serves as proof of his virtue and God-loving soul, for Anthony became known not for his writings and external wisdom, not for any kind of art, but for sheer piety. And no one will deny that it was God's gift. For how would rumors have reached Spain, Gaul, Rome and Africa about a man who was hiding and living in the mountain, if God had not made His servants known everywhere, as He promised to Anthony at the beginning? Although they themselves do everything in secret and wish to be hidden, the Lord makes them visible to everyone, like lamps, so that, hearing about them, they would know how the commandments can lead to prosperity, and would be zealous to follow the path of virtue. 94. Therefore, read this biography to other brethren: let them know what monastic life should be like, and let them be convinced that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ glorifies those who glorify Him and serve Him to the end, not only brings them into the Kingdom of Heaven, but even here, no matter how much they hide and try to remain in solitude, makes them known and glorious everywhere, for the sake of their virtue and for the benefit of others. If need requires, read this to the pagans: let them, too, learn in this way that not only our Lord Jesus Christ is God and the Son of God, but also the Christians who sincerely serve Him and piously believe in Him, those very demons whom the pagans regard as gods, not only expose that they are not gods, but, as seducers and corrupters of man, trample and drive away in Christ Jesus our Lord. Glory to him forever and ever! John Chrysostom about the Egyptian ascetics ...And now, if you come to the Egyptian desert, you will see that this desert is better than any paradise; you will see there in human form countless faces of angels, hosts of martyrs, assemblies of virgins; you will see that all the tyranny of the devil has been overthrown, and the kingdom of Christ is shining; you will see that Egypt, once the father of poets, and sages, and magicians, who invented all types of sorcery and passed them on to others, now flaunts itself as fishermen and, despising everything that was before, everywhere glorifies the publican and the monk-maker and boasts of the Cross. And this happens not only in cities, but even much more in deserts than in cities. Throughout this country one can see the army of Christ, and the royal flock, and the way of life characteristic of the heavenly Powers. And you will find this there not only among husbands, but also among women: and they are wise no less than husbands. They do not take shields, do not mount horses, as the glorious Greek legislators and philosophers command, but they enter into a different, much more difficult battle. They, like their husbands, are in a battle with the devil and the powers of darkness, and in this battle the natural weakness of the sex does not serve as an obstacle to them, because the success of such battles depends not on the nature of the body, but on the will of the soul. That is why wives often surpassed their husbands in their exploits and erected the most glorious signs of victory. The sky, speckled with a host of stars, is not as bright as the Egyptian desert, which shows us monastic tents everywhere. Whoever knows ancient Egypt, fighting against God and raging, the slave of cats, who feared and trembled before the garden onions, will be fully confident in the power of Christ. And if anyone has never entered those tabernacles, let him remember that Egypt produced the most glorious man after the apostles - the blessed and great Anthony, about whom everyone speaks incessantly to this day, and let him consider that he was in the same country where Pharaoh was. And yet, this country did not serve him at all to harm, and he was also honored with Divine contemplation, and led the kind of life that Christ’s laws require. Anyone who carefully reads the book containing the narrative of his life, in which he will find many prophecies, will be convinced of this. Thus, he predicted both about those suffering from Aryan evil-doing, and about the harm that would come from them. Then God showed him everything and presented the future before his eyes. And the fact that none of the heresies has such a man serves, along with other things, as the greatest proof of the truth of our teaching. But, in order not to tell you about this, read for yourself what is written in his book, find out everything in detail and learn a lot of wisdom from it. I only ask you not to limit yourself to just reading, but to try to imitate what is written in action, without apologizing either for place, or for upbringing, or for the wickedness of your ancestors. If we decide to pay due attention to ourselves, then nothing like this will serve as an obstacle to us. ... Let us consider ordinary life - and we will find the same difference between monastic and secular life as between a pier and a sea constantly cut by the winds. Look, the very refuges of the monks are already giving rise to prosperity. Avoiding markets, and cities, and the noise of the people, they preferred life in the mountains, which has nothing in common with real life, is not subject to any human vicissitudes, nor the sorrows of life, nor sorrow, nor great worries, nor dangers, nor treachery, nor hatred, nor envy, nor vicious love, nor anything like that. Here they think only about the Kingdom of Heaven, talking in silence and deep silence with forests, mountains, springs, and most of all, with God. Their dwellings are devoid of any noise, and their soul, free from all passions and illnesses, is subtle, light and much purer than the thinnest air. Their occupations are the same as they were in the beginning and before the fall of Adam, when he, clothed with glory, boldly talked with God and dwelt in paradise filled with bliss. These lamps of the world, as soon as the sun begins to rise, even before dawn, rise from their beds healthy, vigorous and fresh (because they are not disturbed by any sadness, nor care, nor headache, nor work, nor a multitude of affairs, nor anything else like that, but they live like Angels in heaven). So, hastily rising from the bed, cheerful and cheerful, they all, together with a bright face and conscience, form one face and, as if with one mouth, sing hymns to the God of all, thanking Him for all his blessings, both private and general... And their clothes correspond to their courage. They are not clothed in long clothes, like pampered and relaxed people, but their clothes are prepared, like those of those blessed angels: Elijah, Elisha, John and the other apostles - some from goat hair, others from camel hair, and for some, only skin, and even that completely worn out, is enough. Then, having sung their songs, with kneeling, they call on the God glorified by them for help in such matters that others would not soon think of. They don’t ask for anything real, they don’t have a word about it; but they ask that they boldly stand before the terrible throne, when the Only Begotten Son of God comes to judge the living and the dead, so that none of them hear that terrible voice: we know you not (Matthew 25:12) and so that in purity of conscience and an abundance of good deeds they can complete this difficult life and safely cross this stormy sea. The father and abbot begin their prayers. Then, when they get up and finish these sacred and unceasing prayers, with the sunrise everyone goes to their work and through their labors they gain a lot for the poor. If you could open the doors of their hearts and see their soul and all the beauty within, you would fall to the ground, unable to bear the radiance of beauty, the lightness of those clothes and the shine of their conscience. We can point to the great and wonderful men of antiquity, but since visible examples have a stronger effect on simple people, I therefore send them to the very abodes of these saints. They have no sorrow, but, as if they had built huts for themselves in heaven, they also live far from the disasters of real life and, having taken up arms against the devil, fight him as easily as if they were playing. Having arranged homes for themselves in this way, they avoid cities, public meetings and houses, because it is not suitable for a warrior to sit in a house, but, as one who intends to immediately move, he must live in a dwelling that is easy to leave. These are all those who live differently from us. Their abode is no worse than heaven, because Angels and even the Lord of Angels Himself descend to them... The table of the saints is free from any excess and full of piety... If they want to prepare their food better, then berries are their delicacy, and there is more pleasure here than at royal dinners... They use simply grass as a bed, as Christ did when he fed the people in the desert; and many sleep without shelter, but instead of a roof they are served by the sky and the moon - instead of a lamp, which does not need either oil or anyone to adjust it; and it’s not for nothing that the moon shines for them alone. Looking at such a meal from heaven, the Angels also rejoice and rejoice. In fact, if they rejoice over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:7), then what will they not do for so many righteous people who imitate them? There is neither master nor slave: all are slaves and all are free. Don't think I'm speaking allegorically. They are both slaves to each other and masters over each other. When evening comes, they have nothing to lament about, as happens to many people when they reflect on the troubles of the day. After supper, they do not need to be afraid of robbers, lock the doors, put bolts, or fear anything else that many are usually afraid of, extinguishing the lamps carefully so that a spark does not set the house on fire. And their conversation is filled with the same calm. They do not talk about things that we are talking about that are completely unrelated to us, for example: this one was made a leader, that one was deprived of his leadership, that one died, and another received an inheritance, and the like, but they always talk and philosophize about the future and, as if they lived in another world, as if they had moved to heaven itself and live there, they always talk about heavenly things: about the bosom of Abraham, about the crowns of the saints, about the rejoicing with Christ; but they have neither a mention nor a word about the present... but they talk about the Kingdom of Heaven, about real warfare, about the machinations of the devil, about the great deeds performed by the saints. From this it is obvious that if someone began to give them a kingdom to guard, they would not agree to accept it; They would have taken it, perhaps, if they had not cared about the greater Kingdom and had not considered the first one a temporary matter. So, why don’t we rush to such great bliss, don’t go to these angels? Why don’t we put on clean clothes and celebrate these marriages, but we remain poor, not at all better than the beggars sitting on the crossroads, and even worse and poorer than them?.. So, knowing this, let us abandon all covetousness and let us acquire incorruptible treasure, delighting with all diligence in the Kingdom of Heaven, because it is impossible, impossible for a lazy person to enter this Kingdom. Oh, that we all, having become diligent and vigilant, would receive it, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. We were also brought to Nitria, where we saw many great hermits. Among them were local residents, while others came here from other places. They surpassed each other in virtues and most of all desired primacy in ascetic deeds. They demonstrated every virtue and tried to surpass each other with their lives: some of them indulged in contemplation, others in action. When some of them saw us from afar walking through the desert, some came to meet us with water, others washed our feet, others washed our cloaks; some called us to a meal, others to the study of virtues, others to contemplation and knowledge of God: what each of them knew how to do, he hastened to offer us. And who could list all their virtues without being able to say anything worthy? They live in a deserted place and have cells at such a distance from one another that from afar one could not recognize the other and nothing could be quickly seen or heard - they spend their time in complete silence, shutting themselves up in their cells. Only on Saturday and Sunday did they gather in churches and (after separation) greet each other. Many of them were found in their cells only on the fourth day (after death), because they see each other only at liturgies 17. Some of the monks came to the liturgy only on the third or fourth call 18: they lived so far from each other. They had such great love for each other and the rest of the brethren that each one was in a hurry to offer his cell for rest to those who came to them in large numbers in search of salvation. We also saw one of the local fathers, named Ammonius 19. He had special cells with a yard and a well and everything that was needed for the household. When a certain brother came to him, seeking salvation, and asked Ammonius to show him a cell to live in, he immediately left his home and asked his brother not to move away from the cell until they found shelter for him. And leaving the newcomer everything he had, along with his cells, he himself shut himself up in a small distant cell. If there were more strangers who wanted to be saved, he gathered all the brethren: one brought bricks, the other brought water, and in one day they completed the construction of the cells. They invited those who were going to settle in these cells to the church to feed them, and while they celebrated there, each brother from his cell brought bread or other necessary things to the new cells, loading them into a mantle or a basket, so that none of the brethren would know the offering of the other. Returning to their cells in the evening, the brothers who were planning to settle there unexpectedly found everything they needed. We saw there a man named Didim, an old man of many years, pleasant to look at. He killed scorpions, horned vipers and adders with his feet. Apart from him, no one dared to do this, but many of those who dared died as soon as they touched these creatures. We also saw another father of monks, named Cronius 20, who lived to a fine old age. He lived one hundred and ten years, and was one of those first hermits who labored together with Anthony. He exhorted and admonished us, imputing himself to nothing - he achieved such high humility in his old age. We also saw three good brothers 21. When they were forced to become bishops for their virtuous lives, out of great humility they cut off their ears. Although they did this boldly, they had a good goal in mind, that in the future no one would annoy them. We also saw Evagrius, a learned and eloquent man, who acquired the gift of recognizing thoughts, having acquired this gift through experience. He often came to Alexandria and silenced the Hellenic philosophers. Evagrius advised the brothers who were with us not to get drunk on water: “For demons usually come to places where there is a lot of water.” He told us many other words about the ascetic life, strengthening our souls. Many of them ate neither bread nor fruits, only bitter herbs. Some of them did not sleep all night, but stayed awake, praying - sitting or standing - until dawn. Having visited many saints and lived for three years in monasteries near Alexandria, where I saw up to two thousand great, very zealous and valiant men, adorned with every virtue, I went from there to Mount Nitria. Between this mountain and Alexandria there is a lake called Maria. It extends for seventy miles. Having crossed it, a day and a half later I came to the mountain from the noon side: adjacent to this mountain is a large desert, stretching even to Ethiopia, the Maziks and Mauritania. Up to five thousand husbands live on the mountain, leading different lifestyles, as they can and as they wish; so you can live there one by one, and by two, and by many together. They have seven bakeries in which they prepare bread for themselves and for the hermits who have retired to the great desert, numbering up to six hundred. Having lived in this mountain for a whole year and received great benefit from the blessed and reverend fathers, such as Orsisius the Great, Putuvast, Agion, Kronius and Serapion, 22 I, excited by many of their stories about the most ancient spiritual fathers, went into the very depths of the desert. In this Nitrian mountain there is only one church, a very large one. Near the church there is a hospice house in which the wanderer is kept during his entire stay in the mountain, even if it lasts two or three years, until he wants to leave the mountain. He is allowed to live idle only for one week, and on the following days he is given work either in the garden, or in the bakery, or in the cookhouse. If the wanderer is a noble person, then he is given books to read, but is not allowed to talk with anyone until the sixth hour of the day. Both doctors and pharmacists live in this mountain. They also drink and sell wine here. They all make their own clothes with their own hands, so in this regard they know no need. When evening comes, you can stand and hear in every cell songs of praise and psalms sung to Christ, and prayers sent up to heaven: another would think that he was raptured and transported to a paradise of sweetness. People go to church only on Saturdays and Sundays. This church has eight elders; but as long as the first presbyter lives, the others do not serve, do not judge and do not speak teachings, but only sit with him in silence. The Great Orsisius and with him many other holy elders whom we saw were contemporaries of Blessed Anthony. Of these, Great Orsisius himself told me that he also knew Ammon of Nitria, whose soul Great Anthony saw when it was received by the Angels and carried to heaven. He also said that he also knew Pachomius of Tavennis, 23 who had the gift of prophecy and was the archimandrite of three thousand men. I’ll tell you about his virtues later. About the area called cells Behind the Nitrian Mountain, further into the depths of the desert, at a distance of ten miles, there is an area that is called Cells due to the many cells scattered in the desert. Only those who are sufficiently prepared for a more secluded life in Nitria retire here. The desert is very vast, and the cells are located at such a great distance from one another that their inhabitants can neither see nor hear each other. Hermits live alone in a cell and in deep silence, in unbroken silence. Only on Saturdays and Sundays do they all come together to church and only then do they see each other, as if appearing to each other from heaven. If someone is not in the congregation, everyone will immediately know that some illness kept him in his cell. Then everyone considers it their duty to visit him - just not all at once, but one at a time, and everyone brings with them something to console the sick person. Under another pretext, no one dares to break the silence of his neighbor, unless one who is endowed with a special gift of edification comes to someone with a sweet word of consolation, just as mighty fighters are anointed with oil in the field of competition. Many of them come to church three or four miles away: their cells are so far apart from one another! But the love between them is so strong, their feelings of affection for each other and for all their brothers are so deep, that they serve as an object of surprise and an example for everyone. That is why, at the first news that someone wants to live with them, everyone rushes to offer their cell. Life of hermits in the hermitage desert We came to Terenufa, to Abba Theodore of Alexandria. The elder told us: “Truly, children, the monks of the monastery have completely weakened the strict life of the monastery, as the elders predicted 24. Believe me, children, me, an old man, that before the skete monks had great love, strict abstinence, and the gift of understanding. And I also found the elders there who did not take food at all unless someone came to them. Among them lived Elder Ammonius, who lived near me. Knowing his way of life, I visited him every Saturday so that, for the sake of my coming, he would taste food. And they all observed this rule: no matter what time anyone came to them, he had to say a prayer, and meanwhile the elders prepared a meal and then ate the food together.” I will now tell you what I heard from the holy servant of Christ Hierax, also from Kronius and many other brethren. A certain Pavel, a rural farmer, extremely gentle and simple in disposition, married a wife who was very beautiful, but of dishonest behavior: she had sinned for a long time, only her husband did not know it. One day, coming home from the field suddenly, he discovered her relationship with a stranger. Providence turned this incident to the benefit of Paul. He leaves that wife, then, without saying a word to anyone, he goes around eight monasteries and, coming to Blessed Anthony, knocks on the doors. Anthony, coming out, asks him: “What do you need?” Paul answers him: “I want to be a monk.” “You can’t,” said Anthony, “you are already sixty years old; Better go back to your village, work and live in labor, thanking God; you cannot bear the sorrows of the desert.” The elder again answered: “I will do whatever you teach me.” “I told you,” continued Anthony, “that you are old and cannot be a monk; go away from here: if you want to be a monk, then go to a communal monastery, where there are many brethren who can bear with your weaknesses. But I live here alone, I eat every five days, and even then I don’t get enough.” With these and similar words, Anthony drove Paul away from him, and in order not to let him in, he locked the door and did not leave him for three days, even for his own needs. But the old man still stood and did not leave. On the fourth day, Anthony, of necessity, opened the door, went out and, seeing Paul again, said to him: “Get away from here, elder; what are you asking from me? You can’t stay here.” “It is impossible for me to die in another place as here,” answered Pavel. Looking at him and seeing that there was nothing edible with him: no bread, no water and nothing else - and that he had been left completely without food for the fourth day, the Great Anthony thought: “Lest he, not being accustomed to fasting, would not die and put a stain on my soul,” and after that he received Paul to himself, telling him: “You can be saved if you are obedient and begin to do everything that you hear from me.” “I will do whatever you order,” answered Pavel. And in the following days Anthony began to lead such a harsh life that he had not led in his early youth. Tempting Paul, he said to him: “Stay here and pray until I come and bring you work”; then, having gone into the cave, he looked at him through the window and saw how he, scorched by the heat, stood motionless in that place for a whole week. Then, having wetted the palm branches, he said to him: “Take and weave a rope like I did.” The elder weaved until the ninth hour and with great difficulty wove a rope fifteen cubits long. Having looked at the weaving, the Great Anthony was dissatisfied with it and said to Paul: “You wove it badly, unweave it and start again.” Meanwhile, Pavel had not eaten anything for four days at such an advanced age! Anthony tormented Paul so that this elder, losing patience, would run away from him and give up monasticism. But he unraveled the rope and began to weave it again from the same branches, although it was already more difficult than before, because the branches were spinning from the first weaving. Anthony the Great, seeing that the elder did not grumble, did not become faint-hearted, and was not at all offended, and did not even change his face at all, took pity on him and at sunset said to him: “Shall we, father, eat a piece of bread?” “As you wish, Abba,” answered Pavel. This touched Anthony even more that he did not run immediately when he heard about the food, but gave it up to his will. “So set up the table,” said Anthony to the elder; he did it. Anthony brought and placed on the table four dry loaves of bread, 25 ounces, six each, and soaked one for himself, and three for him; then he began to sing a psalm that he knew, and, having sung it twelve times, he prayed the same number of times in order to test Paul in this too. The elder prayed with the Great One, and even more fervently than him. After twelve prayers, Anthony said to him: “Go and eat.” But as soon as he sat down at the table and began to take the bread, Anthony said to him: “Sit and don’t eat until the evening, but just look at the bread.” Evening came, and Pavel still did not eat; then Anthony said to him: “Get up, pray and go to bed.” Paul did just that. At midnight, Anthony woke him up to pray and continued his prayers until the ninth hour of the day. Having then prepared a meal, he again invited Pavel to join her, and they sat down to eat late in the evening. Anthony the Great, having eaten one loaf of bread, did not take another; and the old man, eating more slowly, did not yet have time to eat even the loaf of bread he had started. Having waited until he finished, Anthony said to him: “Take another loaf of bread.” “If you eat, then I will,” answered Paul, “and if you don’t, then I won’t.” “It’s enough for me,” Anthony told him, “I am a monk.” “And that’s enough for me,” Paul answered the Great, “and I want to be a monk.” Then they stood up and Anthony read twelve prayers and sang twelve psalms. After the prayers, they fell asleep for a little while in their first sleep, then got up again and sang psalms from midnight until the day. Then Anthony sent Paul to go around the desert, telling him: “Come here in three days.” Having done this and finding several brothers with Anthony, Paul asked him what he would order him to do. Anthony answered: “Without saying a word, serve the brethren and eat nothing until the brethren set off on their journey.” And so for three whole weeks Paul did not eat anything. The brothers asked him: “Why are you silent?” Pavel did not answer. Then Anthony said to him: “Why are you silent? Talk to the brothers,” and he began to speak. One day they brought a vessel of honey to Paul, and Anthony said to him: “Break the vessel, let all the honey flow out”; he did so. “Collect honey again,” said Anthony; and it was done. Then Anthony tells him: “Collect the honey another time in the sink so that there is no debris in it.” Anthony also ordered him to draw water all day. Another time he tore his clothes and ordered them to be sewn, and he sewed them again. This man acquired such obedience that he was given by God the power to cast out demons. The Great Anthony, seeing that the elder zealously imitated him in every kind of asceticism, said to him: “Look, brother! If you can strive like this every day, then stay with me.” Paul answered: “Perhaps you will show me something more over time, I don’t know; but what you have done before in my presence, I do everything easily.” The next day after this, Anthony said to Paul: “In the name of the Lord, you have already become a monk.” Having finally become fully convinced that the servant of Christ Paul, although very simple and unlearned, was perfect in soul, the blessed Great Anthony, a few months later, with the assistance of the grace of God, arranged for him a special cell, a field three or four from his own, and said: “Now you, with the help of Christ, have already become a monk; live alone now so that you may be tempted by demons” 26. After living in solitude for a year, Pavel the Simple, for his high perfection in ascetic virtue, was awarded the gift of casting out demons and healing all sorts of diseases. One day they brought to Blessed Anthony a young man who was extremely possessed; he was possessed by the main fierce demon, who even spewed blasphemies at the sky. Anthony the Great, looking at the young man, said to those who brought him: “This is none of my business; I have not yet received power over this main order of demons; Pavel the Simple has this gift.” Having said this, blessed Anthony went with them to the valiant Paul and, coming to him, said: “Abba Paul! Cast out the demon from this man, so that he can return to his home healthy and glorify the Lord.” Pavel asked him: “What are you doing?” “I don’t have time,” Anthony answered, “I have something else to do,” and, leaving the boy with him, he went to his cell. The gentle old man stood up, prayed fervently and, calling the demoniac, said: “Abba Anthony commands you to leave this man, so that when he recovers, he glorifies the Lord.” The devil cried out with a curse: “I won’t go out.” Paul, taking his mantle, began to hit the demoniac on the back with it, saying: “Come out, Abba Anthony commands.” But the demon began to revile Paul and Anthony even more strongly: “You old parasites, sleepy, insatiable, never satisfied with yours! What do you and I have in common? Why are you torturing us? Finally Paul said, “Go out, or I will go and tell Christ; If you don’t come out, I swear by Jesus, I’ll go and tell Him right away - and then woe to you!” The fierce demon began to revile Jesus too, continuing to shout: “I will not come out.” Angry at the demon, Saint Paul left his cell at midday. (At this time, especially in these places, the Egyptians feel such a fever, as if in a Babylonian cave.) And he stood on the mountain, like a motionless pillar under the open sky, and prayed like this: “Jesus Christ, crucified under Pontius Pilate! You see that I will not come down from the stone, I will neither eat nor drink until I die, unless You hear me now, and cast out the demon from this man, and free him from the unclean spirit.” The simple and humble Paul was still crying out to Jesus, and had not yet finished the words of his pure lips, when the demon cried out below the cell: “I will go out, they are forcibly casting me out; I am leaving this man and will not come to him again; Paul’s humility and simplicity drive me away, and I don’t know where to go.” Immediately the demon came out and, turning into a huge dragon of seventy cubits, went into the Red Sea. Thus, what was spoken by the Holy Spirit was fulfilled: the righteous proclaims revealed faith (Prov. 12:17); and in another place: says the Lord... to whom will I look, only to him who is meek and silent and trembles at My words (Isa. 66:2). (Usually lower demons are driven out by men high in faith, and superior demons are driven out by humble men.) These are the miracles of the simple and humble Paul! He performed a lot of other even greater miracles. The brothers all called him Simple. Among the disciples of Saint Anthony was Paul, nicknamed the Most Simple. This was the beginning of his conversion. One day he caught his wife in the act of committing adultery. Without saying a word, he left the house in deep sadness. Having retired into the desert, he wandered there for a long time with longing in his heart. Having reached Anthony's monastery, he decided to stay here due to the convenience of the area. Appearing to Anthony, Paul began to ask him to show him the way of salvation. Noticing the stranger's simple-heartedness, Anthony told him that he could achieve salvation if he obeyed his suggestions. Paul replied that he would do whatever he was commanded. Anthony wished to test the firmness of his promise. Paul stood at the entrance to the cell, and Anthony said to him: “Pray and wait for me here until I come out.” Having retreated into the depths of the cave, Anthony did not come out for a whole day. Unnoticed by Paul, he often looked at him from the window: Paul prayed incessantly and stood motionless in the indicated place, despite the heat of the sun and the cold of the night. The next day, Anthony came out of the cave and began to instruct him on how he could make his solitude easier by doing handicrafts: “Bodily work is done with the hands, but the work of God requires contemplation of the mind and concentration of the spirit.” Then Anthony ordered him to take food in the evening, but forbade him to eat his fill. In particular, he advised to refrain from excess in drinking water, which excites the imagination, just as the flesh is heated by wine. Having instructed in detail, Anthony settled Paul next door to him, showing him a cell three miles away from his home, and commanded him to strive, fulfilling his instructions. Often visiting him, Anthony rejoiced, seeing that he was doing everything he had been taught with all zeal and cheerfulness. One day the brethren, great and perfect men, visited Anthony. It happened that Pavel came along with them. The conversation turned to deep and mysterious subjects. They talked a lot about the prophets and our Savior. Paul, in simplicity of heart, asked: “Who lived on earth before: Christ or the prophets?” Blessed Anthony, a little embarrassed by the childish simplicity of such a question, with a gentle movement, usual for him when dealing with simpletons, ordered him to be silent and go home. He, fulfilling all the words of Anthony, as the commandments of God, returned to his cell and completely stopped speaking, as if having received a command to do so. Having learned about this, Anthony was perplexed why he decided to remain silent when he had not commanded him to do so. Commanding him to speak, he asked: “Tell me, why do you remain silent?” “You, Father,” answered Paul, “told me to go home and be silent.” Anthony was amazed... Simply the spoken word was so sacredly observed... “Well! - he exclaimed. “He shamed us all.” We do not listen to what is told to us from heaven, but he fulfills every word that accidentally escapes the tongue...” Wanting to teach him complete obedience, Saint Anthony usually forbade him to ask about the purpose and reason for what his obedience was tested. So, one day he ordered him to draw water from the well all day long and pour it on the ground; another time - to unravel and weave baskets again, or to rip clothes and sew them again and rip them again, and much more of the same kind... And Paul learned, without any contradiction, to carry out everything that was ordered to him, even if it contradicted the meaning... In this way Paul reached the heights of spiritual perfection. And pointing to him, Blessed Anthony taught: “Whoever wants to achieve perfection as quickly as possible should neither be his own teacher, nor follow his own desires, no matter how correct they may seem, but, according to the commandment of the Savior, first of all renounce himself and reject his desires. The Savior said about Himself: for I came down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me (John 6:38). Undoubtedly, the will of Christ was not contrary to the will of the Father; however, He who came would not have been obedient if He had done His will. Will we not be even more guilty of disobedience if we fulfill our wishes? This Pavel is a model for all of us! By his obedience and simplicity of spirit, he achieved such a high degree of grace-filled gifts that the Lord revealed through him much greater powers than through his mentor himself...” And so, due to the abundance of Paul’s spiritual gifts, many people began to flock to him from different countries to receive healings. Blessed Anthony began to fear that he might disappear into the depths of the desert, avoiding the annoying crowds. Of course, not many people could come to him there. And he ordered him to remain in the same place, taking upon himself the reception of those who came. Those whom he could not heal, he sent to Paul, as those who had received great grace of healing from God, and Paul healed them. He once received a demoniac who, like a mad dog, bit everyone who approached him. Paul prayed earnestly that he might cast out the demon that was tormenting the unfortunate man. But the healing did not take place... Paul, in the simplicity of his heart, suddenly, like little children, exclaimed: “I will not eat today if You do not heal him!” And God listened to Paul, like a servant of a capricious master, and the demoniac received health. Paul had such faith and trust in the Lord! Abba Paul the Simple, a disciple of Saint Anthony, told the fathers about the following event: one day he came to the monastery to visit and for the benefit of the brethren; after the usual mutual greetings, they went to the holy church of God to perform the usual service. Blessed Paul carefully looked at everyone entering the church, with what disposition of soul they came to the service. For he had such grace given to him from the Lord that he saw in everyone what his soul was like, just as we see each other’s faces. Everyone came in with bright eyes and a cheerful face; An angel walked with each one, rejoicing over him. But he saw one brother gloomy, his whole body was black; demons held him on both sides and dragged him along, putting a muzzle on his face, and the holy Angel walked at a distance with a sad and downcast gaze. Paul shed tears and, sitting near the church, beat himself on the chest and bitterly mourned the one whom he saw in such a pitiful state. The brethren, seeing such an extraordinary and sudden change in the elder, his grief and tears, urged him to say why he was crying - they wondered if he was crying, having noticed some common vice in them. They begged him to go with them to the service, but Paul, rejecting them, sat silently outside the church and wept bitterly for the one whom he saw in such a pitiful state. A little later, when the service ended and everyone was leaving, Paul again looked carefully at everyone, wanting to know in what condition they were leaving the church. And then he sees: a brother comes out of the church, who was previously gloomy and had a whole black body - now his face is light, his body is white, demons follow him from afar, and the holy Angel walks next to him and rejoices brightly over him. Paul jumped up with joy and, blessing God, cried out: “O God’s ineffable love for mankind and goodness!” He ran, stood on a high staircase and exclaimed in a loud voice: come and see the works of God (Ps. 45:9), how terrible and strong they are. Come and see Him who desires for all men to be saved and to come into the understanding of truth (1 Tim. 2:4). Come, let us worship and fall down before Him (Ps. 94:6) and say: “You alone can forgive sins!” The brethren ran hastily, wanting to hear what Paul had to say. And when everyone had gathered, Paul told what was revealed to him when he entered the church and what happened after that. He asked his brother to reveal the reason why God was suddenly pleased to make such a change with him. Convicted by Paul, the brother openly confessed his deeds to everyone. “I,” he said, “am a sinful man, from a long time ago and until now I have indulged in fornication. Entering now into God's holy church, I heard the words of the holy prophet Isaiah, or, better, the words of God Himself, speaking through the prophet: wash yourselves and be clean, take away the wickedness from your souls before My eyes... learn to do good... and even if your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white like snow... and if you are willing and listen to Me, good of the earth demolished (Isa. 1:16–19). “I am a fornicator,” he continued, “struck to the depths of my soul by the words of the prophet, contrite in my heart, I said to God: “Oh, God! You who came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15), fulfill also on me, a sinner and unworthy, what You promised now through Your prophet. From now on I give You my word that henceforth I will not commit this sin, rejecting all lawlessness, from now on I will serve You with a clear conscience! Now, Master, from this hour accept me, repenting to You and promising to shun all sin! With such vows,” said the brother, “I left the church, deciding in my soul not to do anything bad again before God.” They told us that the beginning of desert living in Nitria was laid by Ammon - the same one whose soul, after being separated from the body, was seen by Saint Anthony ascending to heaven, as can be seen from the biography of Blessed Anthony. Ammon was the son of rich and noble parents. They forced him to marry. Ammon fulfilled the will of his parents. The marriage took place. The newlyweds were taken to the marriage chamber and were left completely alone. And then Ammon began to speak to his young wife about chastity and preservation of virginity: “Corruption, without a doubt, will lead to corruption. On the contrary, chastity will give rise to incorruption. It’s better for both of us to keep our virginity than to be molested by each other.” The girl agreed with him, and the secret of chastity was guarded by mutual silence 27. A lot of time has passed. God alone was a witness to their abstinence. United more by spirit than by flesh and blood, after the death of their parents they separated: the husband settled in the nearby desert, and the wife remained at home. Soon she gathered to her many virgins who dedicated themselves to God, and her husband gathered a great many hermits. While he was still in deep solitude in the desert, they brought to him a young man who had become rabid from the bite of a rabid dog. His parents asked to pray for him. “Why are you bothering me? - said Ammon. – What you ask for is beyond my merits. However, I will not hide from you that his healing depends on you. Return the ox you stole to the widow, and your son will receive health.” The parents trembled, seeing that the secret actions they had committed were known to the man of God. At the same time, they rejoiced that he showed the way to the patient’s recovery. The stolen property was immediately returned, and the young man, through the prayer of the man of God, received healing. One day visitors came to him. Wanting to test them, he said that he needed a barrel of water in case visitors came. They promised to deliver it to him. But one of those who came found it painful for himself: “I am afraid for my camel if such a burden is placed on it.” “You have a camel, and I have a donkey,” answered the other. “Your camel won’t carry the load, but do you think my donkey will?!” - “Do as you please! – the first one objected. “If only you knew: I will not destroy my camel.” - "Fine! - answered the second one. “I will put on my donkey the burden that you consider heavy for a camel.” The holiness of the man of God will make the impossible possible.” And, putting the barrel on the donkey, he came to the man of God. The donkey did not feel any weight on himself. “You did well to bring the barrel on a donkey,” said Ammon. “Your friend’s camel has fallen...” And, returning, the man found everything as the servant of God had predicted. God showed many other signs through him. When he needed to cross the Nile River 28 and found it difficult to undress, by the power of God he was suddenly transferred to the other bank. We were reminded that Blessed Anthony was much amazed at his righteous life and spiritual perfections 29 . One brother turned to Abba Ammon, saying: “Say a word to me.” And the elder answers him: “Go and think the way criminals in prison think. For they always ask: “Where is the ruler and when will he come?” - and they cry from anticipation. In the same way, a monk must always remain attentive, expose his soul and say: “Woe is me! How will I appear before the judgment seat of Christ? And how will I justify myself?” And if you reason in this way, you can be saved.” * It was said about Abba Ammon that he killed a basilisk. When one day Abba went into the desert to draw water from a well, he saw a basilisk and, falling on his face, said: “Lord! Either I or he must die." And then, thanks to the power of Christ, the basilisk burst. Abba Ammon said: “I spent fourteen years in the Skete, praying to God that He would grant me [the strength] to overcome anger.” One of the fathers said: “In Kellia there was a certain spiritual elder who dressed in matting woven from reeds. One day he came to Abba Ammon. Seeing the old man wearing matting, the abba said: “This will not bring you any benefit.” And the elder [asking for spiritual advice] asked the Abba: “Three thoughts bring me into confusion: one urges me to spend [all] my time in the desert, another – to go to a foreign land, where no one knows me, and the third – to shut myself up in a cell, not see anyone, and eat in two days.” Abba Ammon replied: “You should not do any of this, but it is better to sit in your cell, eat a little every day and have the word of the publican in your heart - then you can be saved.” It happened that the brothers [suffered] an insult in the place where they were staying, and, wanting to leave it, they came to Abba Ammon. The old man was sailing [somewhere] at that time and, seeing them walking along the river bank, said to the shipmen: “Drop me on land.” Calling the brothers, he said to them: “I am Ammon, to whom you are going.” And, having consoled their hearts, he persuaded them to return to where they had left. For what happened did not harm their souls, but it was [only] a human insult. One day Abba Ammon went to cross the river. He found a ship ready to sail and sat down next to it. At that time, another ship sailed up, heading to the same place, and the people in it began to call: “Sail with us, Abba!” He answered: “I will only board a public ship” 30. [Abba] had with him a bunch of palm branches; he sat down, braiding the rope, and then unraveling it again, [and weaved] until the [public] ship set sail and he crossed [to the other side]. The brothers bowed to him and asked: “Why did you do this?” The elder replied: “So that I don’t always walk around preoccupied with haste.” This is an example for us, so that we may walk the path of God in a [calm] state [of spirit]. One day Abba Ammon went to visit Abba Anthony and lost his way; sitting down, he slept a little. And when he woke up, he began to pray to God, saying: “I pray to You, Lord my God, do not destroy Your creation!” And he saw, like a human hand, hanging from the sky, which showed him the way until he reached and stood at the cave of Abba Anthony. Abba Ammon achieved such prosperity that, due to the abundance of kindness, he knew no evil. When he became a bishop, they brought to him a maiden who was pregnant and said: “So-and-so did this; impose penance on them.” Ammon, having crossed her womb, ordered that six pairs of linen be given to her and said: “I am afraid that when the time comes for her to give birth, she or her child would die; then there will be nothing to bury them in.” And those who were with him insisted: “Why are you doing this? Place penance on them." He answered: “Look, brothers, she is already close to death; what else can I do? And he let her go. So the elder never dared to condemn anyone. They told about him: some people came to him so that he would judge them. But the old man pretended to be stupid, and then the woman standing near him said: “This old man is a holy fool.” The elder, hearing her words, called the woman and said: “How many labors have I done in the deserts to acquire this foolishness, and should I really lose it today through you?” * One day Abba Ammon went to a certain place for a meal. There was one [brother] about whom there was a bad rumor; and it so happened that a woman came into this brother’s cell. The inhabitants of that village, having heard about this, were indignant and gathered together to expel him from his cell. Having learned that Bishop Ammon was here, they came and asked him to go with them. Having found out about this, the brother hid the woman in a large pithos 31. Arriving with the crowd, Abba Ammon learned about what had happened, but for the sake of God he hid the matter. Having entered, he sat down on the pithos and ordered the cell to be searched. When they searched her and did not find the woman, Abba Ammon said: “What does this mean? God will forgive you." Having prayed, he ordered everyone to leave and, taking his brother by the hand, said to him: “Brother, pay attention to yourself.” Having said this, he left. Abba Ammon was asked: “What is the narrow and straitened way?” He replied: “The narrow and cramped path is [constant] coercion of one’s thoughts and cutting off one’s own desires for the sake of God. This is what the words say: behold, we have left everything and followed you (Matthew 19:27).” Abba Pimen reports the words of Abba Ammon: “One man carries an ax with him all the time, but does not find a tree [that he could cut down]. And another, experienced in this matter, quickly cuts down the tree with a few blows.” He says that the “axe” is the faculty of discrimination. Abba Pimen also conveys the following saying of Abba Ammon: “Someone spent a hundred years in a cell, but never learned how to sit in a cell.” I am afraid to narrate and write about those many great and, for an unbeliever, almost incredible feats with which the virtuous life of the holy and immortal fathers Macarius of Egypt and Macarius of Alexandria, valiant men and invincible ascetics, was filled. I am afraid that they will not consider me a liar, and the saying of the Holy Spirit clearly shows that the Lord will destroy all who speak lies (Ps. 5:6). But I, by the grace of the Lord, do not lie, and you, most faithful Lavs 32, do not doubt the exploits of the holy fathers, on the contrary, glorify these illustrious and truly blessed men, who received names corresponding to their holy labors in asceticism. The first ascetic of Christ, named Macarius, was an Egyptian by birth; and the second in time, but the first in monastic virtues, called Macarius, was an Alexandrian citizen and sold snacks. First I will tell you about the virtues of Macarius of Egypt, who lived ninety years and spent sixty of them in the desert. Having come to it at the age of thirty, he, although he was younger in age than others, for ten years endured ascetic labors so courageously that he was awarded a special distinction: he was called an elder youth, because he excelled in virtues beyond his age. At the age of forty he received power over spirits, the gift of healing illnesses and the spirit of prophecy; He was also awarded the venerable priesthood. In the inner desert, called Skete, two disciples lived with him: one of them was his servant and was always with him for those who came to be healed, and the other lived in a separate cell. After a long time, having seen the future with his penetrating eye, the saint says to the disciple who served with him, named John, who later became a presbyter in the place of Saint Macarius (for Macarius the Great was awarded the presbytery): “Listen to me, brother John, and accept my admonition with good will: it will be useful to you. You are in temptation; you are tempted by the spirit of love of money. This is revealed to me. I also know that if you graciously accept my admonition, you will be perfect in the work of God in this place, you will become glorified, and evil will not come close to your cell; If you do not listen to me, the same thing will happen to you as to Gehazi (2 Kings 5), whose disease you are infected with.” It happened that John, after the death of the immortal Macarius, listened to his words, but listened to the one who, through his love of money, led Judas to be strangled. When another fifteen or twenty years had passed, John, who was holding back the property of the poor, was struck by such leprosy that there was no healthy place on his body on which to place a finger. Here is the prophecy of Saint Macarius! It will be unnecessary to talk about what kind of food and drink the blessed one consumed. Then, not only among the monks there, but also among the most careless of those living in other places, it was impossible to find those who indulged in satiety; the reason for this, on the one hand, is a lack of necessary things, on the other, the zeal for God of those who lived there, each of whom tried to surpass the other with various exploits. I will also tell you about other exploits of this heavenly man, Macarius. They say about this saint that he was constantly delighted and spent much more time in conversation with God than in earthly pursuits. They also talk about his various miracles. One dissolute Egyptian fell in love with a noble woman who was married. Not having time to seduce her, because she was faithful to her husband, whom she married as a virgin, the shameless one resorted to the sorcerer and said to him: “Either force her to love me, or use your art to make her husband leave her.” The sorcerer, having received a good payment from him, used his charms and spells. But he could not arouse love in her heart and made it so that to everyone who looked at her, she seemed like a horse. Her husband, coming home, saw his wife in the form of a horse. Calling the elders of the village, he brought them into his house and showed it to them; but they also did not understand the misfortune that befell her. Finally, to glorify God and to demonstrate the virtue of Saint Macarius, it occurred to her husband to take her to the desert to the monk. When they arrived, the brethren stood at the cell of Saint Macarius and, not allowing this woman’s husband, said to him: “Why did you bring this horse here?” The husband answered them: “So that the prayers of the righteous will help her.” They said to him: “What bad happened to her?” He answered: “This horse you see was my unfortunate wife; and I don’t know how she turned into a horse. Now it’s been three days since she’s eaten anything.” The brethren, having heard this, told about this to the servant of Christ Macarius, who was already praying for this woman in his cell, for when they were still going to him, he had a revelation from God. He prayed that the reason for what had happened would be revealed to him, and during prayer he learned everything that happened. When the brethren announced to Saint Macarius that someone had brought a horse here, he told them: “You do not look with your own eyes: this is a woman, as she was created, she has not turned [into a horse], but only appears so to the eyes of the seduced.” When they brought her to him, he blessed the water and, pouring it over the woman’s head, prayed over her head and immediately made everyone who looked at her see a woman in her. Having ordered food to be brought to her, he gave her something to eat and, thus healing her, sent her away with her husband; and they thanked God. And the man of Christ gave her the following instruction: “Never give up going to church; never shy away from partaking of the Mysteries of Christ; the misfortune happened to you because you have not approached the Most Pure Mysteries of our Savior for five weeks.” Here is another act of his great asceticism: for a long time of his life he made an underground passage, extending half a stage from his cell, and at the end of this passage he built a large cave. When many people bothered him, he secretly left his cell for a cave, and no one found him. One of Macarius’s zealous disciples told us that the saint, while walking underground to the cave, performed twenty-four prayers and the same number on the way back. There was a rumor about him that he even raised the dead to convince a heretic who rejected the resurrection of bodies. This rumor was very strong in the desert. One day a demon-possessed young man was brought to this holy man. His mother brought him in, weeping bitterly for him. He was held on either side by two other young men. The demon (who lived in him) had such power that, having eaten three measures of bread and drunk a Cilician bucket of water, he spewed both of them out and turned them into steam. What he ate and drank was consumed as if by fire. (Indeed, there is a special category of demons, called fiery. There are differences between demons, as well as between people, depending, however, on the difference not in the essence, but in the will.) The mentioned young man, when he did not receive enough food from his mother, often ate his own ejection and drank his urine. Since the mother, weeping and lamenting about the extreme misfortune of her son, asked and begged the saint for a long time [to help him], the invincible ascetic of Christ Macarius, taking the young man to himself, fervently prayed to God for him - and after a day or two the demon stopped tormenting him. Then Saint Macarius said to the young man’s mother: “How much do you want your son to eat?” She answered: “I pray you, tell him to eat ten pounds of bread.” The saint, strongly reproaching her for having prescribed a lot, said: “Why did you say that, woman!” Having prayed for the young man for seven days with fasting and expelled the fierce demon of gluttony from him, the saint determined for him a measure of food up to three pounds of bread, which he had to consume while doing his job. Thus, the destroyer of every demonic action, the ascetic of Christ Macarius, by the grace of God and his godly life, having healed the young man, gave him to his mother. Such glorious miracles did God perform through his faithful saint Macarius, whose immortal soul now resides with the Angels. I did not see this saint, for a year before my arrival in the desert this conqueror of insane passions died. The local fathers told us about two Macarii who used to live in that area. Of these, one was an Egyptian native, the other an Alexandrian. The first was a student of Blessed Anthony 33. They shone like two heavenly bodies. Bearing the same name, they resembled each other both in spiritual perfection and in the greatness of spiritual gifts. Both are Macarii 34, both are strict ascetics, both are equally perfect... One was superior to the other only in that he inherited the grace-filled powers and spiritual perfections of Blessed Anthony. One day there was a murder in the neighborhood, and one innocent person was accused of this crime. The accused resorted to the patronage of Macarius. His accusers also came here with evidence. “After all, we will all be in danger,” they said, “if we leave the murderer free and do not submit to the full rigor of the law!” Meanwhile, the accused swore that he was innocent of the blood of the murdered man. A heated argument began between the accused and the accusers. “Where is the dead man buried?” – asked Macarius. They showed him the place. Then he went to the grave with his accusers and, bowing his knees, called on the name of the Lord Jesus and then exclaimed to the crowd: “Now the Lord will show whether you are justly accusing this man.” And, raising his voice, he called the buried man by name - and he responded to his call from the grave... “I conjure you by faith in Christ, tell me: are you really killed by this man who is accused of murder?” – asked Macarius. And from the depths of the grave the answer was clearly heard: “No! This is not the man who killed me!” Struck by the miracle, everyone fell to the ground and, rushing to the feet of Macarius, begged him to ask who the murderer was. “No,” Macarius objected. – I won’t ask about this. It is enough for me to free the innocent, but it is not my business to hand over the guilty.” They told us that one day a certain heretic from the Hierakite sect came to him: this kind of heresy is found in Egypt 35. This heretic with his eloquence confused many of the desert brethren, and finally dared to appear to Macarius and accuse him of wrong-mindedness. The elder began to refute him. The heretic objected to the elder’s simple speeches, responding with cunning twists. The holy elder saw the danger to which the purity of the faith of the brethren was exposed. “Why should we argue with the temptation of the listeners? - said Macarius. “Let’s go to the tombs of the brothers who have already gone to the Lord, and to which of us the Lord will give the power to resurrect the dead, let everyone know whose faith is pleasing to the Lord.” This proposal was gladly accepted by the brethren. We came to the graves. Macarius suggested that the heretic resurrect the deceased in the name of the Lord. “No, sir! - he objected. “You proposed this condition - you must first resurrect it.” And Macarius fell to the ground and began to pray. After a long prayer, raising his eyes to the Lord, he exclaimed: “Lord, show us which of us both believes rightly by resurrecting this deceased!” And he named the name of one recently buried brother. And immediately a voice was heard from the grave. The brothers rushed to tear up the grave. Having removed the burial shrouds from the deceased, they led him out of the grave alive. Seeing this, the heretic, struck with horror, fled. The brothers chased him and drove him out of that country. They told us a lot of other things about Macarius, but it is not possible to write everything down, and his other deeds, moreover, are already generally known. Abba Macarius said: “Once, while passing through the desert, I found the skull of some dead man lying on the ground. When I hit the skull with a palm stick, he said something to me. I asked him: “Who are you?” The skull answered me: “I was the chief priest of the idols and pagans who lived in this place, and you are Macarius the Spirit-Bearer. When you, having taken pity on those suffering in torment, begin to pray for them, they feel some joy." The elder asked him: “What joy is this? And what kind of torment? The skull tells him: “As far as the sky is from the earth, there is fire under us, and we stand in the midst of fire from head to toe. None of us can see the other face to face. We have the face of one facing the back of the other. But when you pray for us, each one sees the other’s face somewhat. This is our joy!” The elder began to cry and said: “Unfortunate day on which a man was born!” The elder asked further: “Isn’t there an even more severe torment?” The skull answered him: “Under us the torment is even more terrible.” The elder asked: “Who is there?” The skull answered: “We, as those who did not know God, have received some more mercy; but those who knew God and rejected Him are under us.” After this, the elder took the skull and buried it. This companion [Macarius of Egypt] in matters of faith, who bore the same revered name, Macarius of Alexandria, was a presbyter in the so-called Cells when I came to him. Having lived in these Cells for nine years, and for three of them keeping silence with Blessed Macarius, I myself partly saw the deeds and signs of his valiant life, partly I learned from those who lived with him, and partly I heard from many others. One day, Saint Macarius, seeing the great Father Anthony's choice of date branches (he himself wove baskets from them), asked him for one bunch of these branches. Anthony answered him: “It is written: Thou shalt not covet as much as is thy neighbor (Ex. 20:17),” and as soon as he said this, suddenly all the branches withered up, as if from fire. Seeing this, Anthony said to Macarius: “Behold, the Spirit has rested on you, and you will subsequently be the heir of my virtues.” There, again in the desert, the devil, meeting Macarius, very tired, says to him: “Now you have received the grace of Anthony - why don’t you take advantage of your advantage and don’t ask God for food and strength for the journey?” Macarius answered him: “The Lord is my strength and singing, but you will not tempt the servant of God.” And so the devil presents him with a ghost: a camel wandering through the desert with a pack containing all sorts of food supplies. Seeing Macarius, the camel stopped in front of him. The saint, thinking that it was a ghost (as indeed it was), began to pray - and the camel was immediately devoured by the earth. This same Macarius once met with the Great Macarius [of Egypt] and, as they needed to cross the Nile, they happened to board a large raft, onto which some tribunes also ascended with great pomp: their chariot was all upholstered in copper, their horses had gilded bridles; They were accompanied by several warrior-bodyguards and youths, decorated with necklaces and gold belts. When the tribunes saw monks in the corner dressed in shabby rags, they began to praise their squalor, and one of them said to them: “Blessed are you for despising the world!” The city Macarius answered them: “Yes! We despised the world, and the world despises you. Know that you did not say this on your own, but prophetically: indeed, we are both called Macarii [blessed].” Struck by these words, the tribune, upon returning home, threw off his worldly clothes and, devoting himself to monasticism, performed many works of mercy. Once they sent Macarius a bunch of fresh grapes, but then he was very hungry. To show his abstinence, he sent this brush to one brother, who also wanted grapes. Having received the grapes with great joy, this brother, in the intention of hiding his abstinence, sent it to another brother, as if he himself did not want this food. But this brother, having received the grapes, did the same with him, although he himself really wanted to eat them. Thus, the grapes passed among many brothers, and no one wanted to eat them. Finally, the last brother, having received it, sent it back to Macarius as an expensive gift. Macarius, recognizing the grapes and finding out how everything was, was surprised and thanked God for such abstinence of the brothers, but he himself did not want to eat it. Such was the asceticism of the great Macarius, which I, along with many others, learned from him! If he heard that someone had accomplished a special feat, then he himself would certainly do the same with ardor. Thus, having heard from someone that the monks of Tavennis ate uncooked food throughout Lent, the saint decided for seven years not to eat anything cooked over a fire, but to eat only raw vegetables or, when it happened, soaked beans. He did not taste anything else during these seven years. Having fulfilled this vow, he, however, abandoned this way of life. Having learned that one monk ate one liter (12 ounces) of bread, this most perfect monk decided to imitate him: breaking all his crackers and putting them in a jug, he made it a rule to eat no more than what his hand could reach. This exhaustion of the body was also great. He told us about this cheerfully: “I used to grab more pieces, but my narrow throat wouldn’t let me take them out - my jug wouldn’t let me eat at all.” For three whole years he labored in such abstinence, eating four or five ounces of bread and drinking an appropriate amount of water; and throughout the year he ate only a sixth of the conga 36 . Here is another feat of this warrior. This adamant intended to overcome sleep. And this is what he said: “For twenty days I did not go under the roof in order to defeat sleep in this way. The heat scorched me during the day, and the cold shivered at night, and since I, he said, did not want to enter the hut and refresh myself with sleep, my brain was so dry that I finally went into a frenzy. At least, as far as it depended on me, I was overcome by sleep, but I gave in to it as a requirement of nature itself.” One day Saint Macarius was sitting in his cell at dawn; A mosquito landed on his leg and bit into it. Having allowed him to drink blood, Macarius, when he felt pain, crushed him. But later he began to repent that he had avenged himself, and for such a sin he condemned himself - to sit naked for six months in a hermitage swamp, which was located in the remote desert. The mosquitoes here are the size of wasps and bite the skin of even wild boars. He was so bitten and eaten away by them that some wondered if he had leprosy. When six months later he returned to his cell, they only recognized by his voice that it was Mr. Macarius himself. One day he wanted, as he himself told us, to go to the grave of Jannes and Jambres 37 - the wise men who lived under Pharaoh - to look at it or even meet with the demons who lived there; and this place was populated by Jannes and Jambres, by the power of their sorceries, with many demons, and the most fierce ones at that. The tomb was erected by Jannes and Jambres themselves, who at that time occupied the first place among the pharaohs, as they surpassed everyone else in magical art. Taking advantage of their great power in Egypt during their lifetime, they built this building from quadrangular stones, erected a tomb for themselves here and put a lot of gold here, planted all kinds of trees and dug a very deep well in this damp place. They did all this in the hope that after death they would enjoy pleasures in this beautiful garden. Since God's servant Macarius did not know the way to this place, he planned his path with the course of the stars, as sailors do. Thus the holy man walked throughout the desert. Having found several reeds here, he placed one reed in each space so that he would know from them how to return back. In nine days he walked all this desert and was already not far from that garden, but as night fell he fell asleep somewhat. The evil demon, always at enmity against the ascetics of Christ, while Macarius was sleeping no more than a mile from the tomb, collected all the reeds and, placing them at his very head, withdrew. Waking up, Macarius found that all the reeds that he had placed along the road for signs had been collected in one place. Perhaps God allowed this, calling Macarius to greater labors, so that he would rely not on the instructions of reeds, but on the grace of God, who led Israel for forty years through the terrible desert through the pillar of cloud. “When I began to approach the tomb,” said the saint, “up to seventy demons in different forms came out of it to meet me: some of them were screaming, others were jumping, some were fiercely gnashing their teeth at me, and others, like winged corvids, rushed into my face and said: “What do you want, Macarius? Why did you come to us? You, along with those like yourself, took possession of our desert, you drove us out of there.” demons related to us. You and I have nothing in common. Why are you going to our places, content with the desert; those who built this place gave it to us, but you cannot be here. Why do you want to enter this domain, where no living person has entered since we buried the brothers who founded it? And the demons made a lot of noise and pitifully screamed. But I,” said Macarius, “told them: “I’ll just go and have a look, and then I’ll leave here.” The demons said: “Promise us this according to your conscience.” The servant of God answered: “I promise,” and the demons disappeared. Entering [the garden],” he said, “I looked around everything and, among other things, saw a copper tub hanging on an iron chain over the well (the tub had become covered with rust over time), as well as apples, completely empty inside, because they had dried out from the sun.” Then, calmly leaving this place, the saint returned to his cell twenty days later. Only a considerable misfortune happened to him: he did not have enough bread and water, which he carried with him; so he ate almost nothing during all those days of wandering in the desert. Perhaps through this he was tempted to be patient, as it turned out to be in reality. When he was already close to exhaustion, someone appeared to him, as he himself said, in the form of a girl dressed in clean linen and holding a jug from which water was dripping. According to Macarius, she was no more than a stage away from him. He walked for three days and saw everything, as if she was standing with a jug and calling him, but he could not overtake her. However, in the hope of quenching his thirst, the saint bravely endured fatigue for three days. After this, many buffaloes appeared, and one of them, with a buffalo calf, stopped right in front of the old man (they are found here in large numbers); according to Macarius, milk flowed from her nipples. “When I approached her,” he said, “I drank my fill of milk. But in order to further show me mercy, the Lord, admonishing cowardice, commanded the buffalo to follow me all the way to my cell. Obedient to His command, she followed me, feeding me milk and not letting her buffalo suckle.” At another time, this valiant man, while digging a well for the benefit of the monks (and all kinds of leaves and brushwood lay near the well), was stung by an asp (this is the most poisonous snake). The saint took the asp by both jaws with his hands and tore it to pieces, saying: “How did you dare to approach me when my Lord did not send you?” The same great Macarius, having heard about the wondrous life of the Tavennis monks, changed his attire and went to Thebaid in the worldly dress of a villager. For fifteen days he walked in the desert. Arriving at the Tavennis monastery, the saint began to look for an archimandrite named Pachomius, a very famous man who had the gift of prophecy. Then the intention of the great Macarius was not revealed to this saint. Having met him, Macarius said: “I beg you, my lord, accept me into your monastery so that I can be a monk.” The Great Pachomius said to him: “In such old age, how can you strive? Here the brethren have been asceticizing since their youth and endure exhausting labor because they are accustomed to it; and at this age you cannot endure the trials of asceticism; you will begin to grumble, and then you will leave the monastery and begin to slander us.” So he did not accept it; the same thing on the second day, even up to seven days. But Elder Macarius stood firm in his intention and spent all his time in fasting. Finally he says to Pachomius: “Abba, accept me; and if I don’t fast like them and don’t do what they do, then they ordered me to be kicked out of the monastery.” The Great Pachomius convinces the brethren to accept him (and to this day there are one thousand four hundred brethren in this monastery alone). So the great Macarius entered this monastery. After a little time, Pentecost came; the elder sees that each monk undertakes a different feat: one takes food in the evening, the other after five days; Others stand at prayer all night and sit at handicrafts during the day. And he [Macarius], having broken a large number of palm branches, stood in the corner and during the entire Lent, until Easter, he did not take bread, did not touch water, did not bend his knee, did not sit, did not lie down, and did not eat anything except a few leaves of raw cabbage, and he ate them only on Sundays, and then so that they would see what he was eating and so that he himself would not fall into conceit. And if he left his cell for any need, he returned as soon as possible and got down to business. Without opening his lips or saying a word, he stood in silence; His whole occupation consisted in heartfelt prayer and weaving branches that were in his hands. Seeing this, the ascetics of that monastery began to murmur against their abbot and say: “Where did you bring this disembodied man to us for our condemnation? Either drive him out of here, or all of us, let it be known to you, will leave you today.” Hearing this from the brethren, Pachomius the Great began to ask about Macarius and, having learned how he lived, asked God to reveal to him who he was - and it was revealed to him that it was the monk Macarius. Then Pachomius the Great takes him by the hand, leads him out and, bringing him to the house of prayer, where they had an altar, kissed him and said to him: “Come here, honest elder! You are Macarius and you hid this from me! For many years now I have wanted to see you, because I heard about your deeds. I thank you: you have humbled my children; let them not become proud of their exploits. Now, I ask you, retire to your place; You have already taught us enough; pray for us." Thus, at the request of Pachomius and at the request of all the brethren, Macarius withdrew. This dispassionate man also told us the following: “When I went through the entire ascetic life that I had chosen, another spiritual desire was born in me: I wanted my mind, for only five days, not to be distracted from God and not to think about anything else, but to be turned to Him alone. Having decided on this, I locked my cell and the vestibule in front of it, so as not to answer anyone who came. I started from the very next day, giving my mind the following order: look, do not descend from heaven - there you are with the Angels, Archangels, with all the heavenly Powers, Cherubim, Seraphim and with God Himself, the Creator of all things; be there, do not descend from heaven and do not fall into sensual thoughts. Having spent two days and two nights like this, I irritated the demon so much that he became a fiery flame and burned everything that was in my cell; The very matting on which I stood was engulfed in fire, and it seemed to me that I was all on fire. Finally, struck by fear, on the third day I abandoned my intention: I could no longer keep my mind undistracted and descended to the contemplation of this world, so that it would not be imputed to me as pride.” One day I came to this spiritual monk, the great Macarius, and found that some presbyter from the village was lying outside his cell. His head was so eaten away by a disease called cancer that the entire bone at the crown of the head was visible. He came to Macarius to receive healing; but this one didn’t want to see him. I began to beg Macarius and told him: “I beg you, have mercy on this sufferer, give him at least some kind of answer.” The saint answered me: “He is unworthy of healing: the Lord sent him such an illness to admonish him. If you want him to be healed, then advise him from now on to refuse to perform the Sacraments.” I told him: “I beg you, tell me why this is?” He answered me: [this presbyter] performed the liturgy in the sin of fornication and is now being punished for this. If out of fear he stops what he dared to do carelessly, God will heal him.” When I told this to the sufferer, he promised with an oath not to perform the priesthood anymore. Then Macarius received him and said to him: “Do you believe that there is a God from whom nothing is hidden?” He answered: “I believe.” Then Macarius said to him: “You shouldn’t have laughed at God?” He answered: “I shouldn’t have, my lord.” The Great Macarius said: “If you recognize your sin and the punishment of God that you have suffered for this sin, then correct yourself for the future.” The presbyter confessed his sin and promised not to sin again and not to serve at the altar, but to become one of the laity. Then the saint laid his hands on him, and in a few days he recovered, grew hair and returned home healthy, glorifying God and thanking the great Macarius. This saint had different cells in the desert, in which he performed feats of virtue: one in the Skete, in the deepest desert; one in Libya, in the so-called Cells, and one in Mount Nitria. Some of them were without windows - they say Macarius spent Pentecost in them in the dark 39 . One cell was so cramped that it was impossible to stretch one’s legs in it; and the cell was also more spacious than the others: in it he received visitors. This God-loving man healed so many demoniacs that it is difficult to list them. During our presence they brought to this monk one noble and rich maiden (from Thessalonica, in Achaia); she suffered from paralysis for many years. Those who brought it threw her down near the cell of Macarius. The saint, taking pity on her and praying, anointed her with holy oil with his own hand; Praying incessantly and more mentally for her, after twenty days he released her to his city healthy. Arriving home on her own feet, she sent rich gifts to the saints. Also, before my eyes, a youth possessed by an evil spirit was brought to Saint Macarius, the spiritual physician of all crazy passions. Placing his right hand on his head and his left on his heart, the saint prayed for him until he hung in the air. The boy swelled up like fur with his whole body, became very heavy in weight, and suddenly, crying out, he began to spew water out of himself with all his senses. But when this was over, he returned to his former measure. Then, having anointed him with holy oil and sprinkled him with blessed water, Macarius gave him to his father and ordered that the sick man should not touch either meat or wine for forty days, and thus sent him away healed. One day, vainglorious thoughts began to bother the great Macarius, trying to call him out of his cell and urging him to go to Rome for the benefit of others, namely, to help the sick there, for in him the grace of the Lord had a strong effect on unclean spirits. These thoughts troubled him for a long time, but he did not listen to them. Then they, armed against him more powerfully, began to drive him out. And so the saint fell on the threshold of his cell; stretching out his legs, he let them out and said to the demons of vanity: “Drag me, demons, if you can; I will not go anywhere else with my feet; If you can carry me away like this, I will go wherever you call.” He swore to them: “I will lie like this until the evening; If you don’t move me, I won’t listen to you.” Lying motionless for a long time, he finally got up when it was already late evening. But as night fell, the demons began to bother him again. The saint stood up, took a basket, poured two measures of sand into it and, putting it on his shoulders, walked with it through the desert. Here Theosevy the builder, a native of Antioch, met him and said to him: “What are you talking about, Abba? Give me your burden and don’t exhaust yourself.” But Macarius answered him: “I exhaust the one who exhausts me; not liking to work, he instills in me a desire to wander.” He walked like this for a long time and returned to his cell, his body exhausted. The servant of Christ Paphnutius, a disciple of this valiant ascetic, also told us. One day, when the blessed and immortal Macarius was sitting in the vestibule of his cell and talking with God, a hyena brought to him her blind cub. Pushing open the entrance door with her head, she entered Macarius, who was still sitting here at that time, and threw the cub at his feet. Saint Macarius took him and, spitting in his eyes, said a prayer - and he immediately began to see; and his mother fed him and left with him. The next day, the hyena brought the skin of a large sheep to Saint and Blessed Macarius. Seeing this skin, the saint said to the hyena: “You tore apart someone’s sheep, otherwise where would you get the skin? I will not take from you what was gained by injustice.” The hyena, lowering its head to the ground, knelt at the feet of the saint and offered him skin. But he tells her: “I said that I won’t take it unless you take an oath that you will no longer eat the poor’s sheep.” At the same time, she lowered her head again, as if agreeing to the words of the saint. The servant of Christ refused this skin to the holy and blessed Athanasius the Great; and the blessed servant of Christ Melania 40 told me that she took this skin from the holy and wondrous man Macarius under the name of the gift of a hyena. And what is surprising if to people who have been crucified to the world, and the hyena, who has been blessed by them, brings gifts to the glory of God and in honor of His servants? He who tamed the lions before Daniel the prophet gave meaning to this hyena. They also say about Saint Macarius that from the time he was baptized, he never spat on the ground; and now sixty years have passed since he was baptized. The faithful servant of Christ and immortal Macarius was baptized in the fortieth year of his life. This invincible ascetic of Christ looked like this (I must tell you about this, servant of Christ; being his contemporary, I, unworthy, knew him well). He was bent and lean. Hair grew only on the lip, and there was also a little on the end of the chin; Because of his excessive ascetic labors, hair did not even grow on his beard. One day I fell into great melancholy and, coming to this saint, I said to him: “Abba Macarius! What should I do? Thoughts confuse me, telling me: you are not doing anything here, go away.” The Holy Father answered me: “Tell your thoughts: for Christ I guard the walls.” Of the many great miracles and exploits of the glorious and valiant Macarius, only these have I described to you, Christ-loving and inquisitive servant of God! This wonderful man told us another miracle: “During the teaching of the Mysteries of Christ (he was a presbyter), I myself never gave an offering to Mark the Ascetic, 41 but I noticed that an Angel took it from the altar and gave it to him; however, I only saw the hand giving him Communion” 42. In the ranks of the saints, like the purest stars shining in the night of this world, like a great luminary, Saint Paphnutius shone with the lightness of knowledge. He was an elder in our congregation, that is, the one that was located in the Skete desert. While staying here, until his last years he did not change the cell in which he settled at first, although it was five steps away from the church of thousands; burdened by years, he was not burdened by the fact that he came such a distance to the church every Saturday and Sunday, and, not wanting to return from there idle, he placed a vessel of water on his shoulder, which was to be used throughout the week, and brought it to the cell. Having passed even ninety years of age, he did not allow this to be done for himself when he was younger. In his youth, he devoted himself so zealously to the rules of society that in the short time he spent on them, he acquired the treasure of obedience and was enriched in the knowledge of all virtues. When, through the mortification of his desires under the science of humility and obedience, he extinguished his passions and succeeded in all the virtues that are required by both the monastic rule and the teaching of the holy fathers, then, inflamed by the desire for the highest perfection, he hastened to penetrate into the innermost places of the desert, so that here, without any entertainment from communicating with people, he could more easily cleave to the Lord, with Whom he would abide. He thirsted inseparably, being among many brethren. Here again, out of zeal and love for unceasing Divine contemplation, he avoided the gaze of others with such care that he surpassed all hermits in this; For this purpose he came to distant desert places and hid from them for a long time, so that even the hermits had difficulty and very rarely saw him. And it was impossible not to believe that he enjoyed the community of Angels there every day. Wanting to take advantage of his instructions, and also confused by various thoughts, in the evening we came to his cell. After a short silence, he began to extol our cause, that is, that, having left the fatherland out of love for God, having visited so many regions, we patiently endure the boredom and poverty of the desert and with such zeal strive to imitate their strict way of life, which those who were born and grew up in need and poverty can barely endure. To this we answered that we carefully sought him for the sake of instruction and teaching, so that we could somehow tune our spirit with his rules and perfections, countless proofs of which we had already seen and knew, and not so as to accept praise for good, which, however, is not in us. Why would we want to hear something that would crush us and humble us, and not something that could lead to self-delusion and pride? Then blessed Paphnutius began to say: “There are three ways of calling, and we also recognize three as necessary for renunciation for a monk, no matter how he is called. We will now reveal these three methods of invocation in more detail. The first of them comes directly from God, the second through man, and the third from need. A calling comes from God when some inspiration, filling our heart, often even during sleep, excites us to seek eternal life and salvation and, through saving contrition of the heart, involuntarily draws us to turn to God and cleave to His commandments. So Abraham, as we read from the Holy Scriptures, was called by the voice of the Lord to the place of his birth, from the pleasant circle of relatives and from his father’s house, because the Lord Himself said to him: get thee out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house (Gen. 12:1). In the same way, as we know, Blessed Anthony was called, who received the first inspiration to conversion from the Divine Himself, for, having entered the church and hearing here in the Gospel the sermon of the Lord: if anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers and sisters, and also his own soul, he cannot be My disciple (Luke 14:26 ); also: if you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give to the poor: and have treasure in heaven: and come after Me (Matthew 19:21), - in the greatest contrition of the heart, he accepted this instruction as if it applied to him, and, immediately leaving everything, followed Christ, without the mediation of human conviction and teaching. The second kind of calling, as we said, happens through a person, when we are inflamed with the desire for salvation by the examples or exhortations of the saints. Thus, we recognize ourselves as called by the grace of the Lord, who devoted ourselves to these occupations and this kind of life, being encouraged to do so by the admonitions and virtues of the mentioned man (that is, Saint Anthony). In the same way, as we read in the Holy Scriptures, the sons of Israel were freed by Moses from the work of Egypt (Exodus 14). Finally, the third kind of calling is that which occurs out of necessity. When we, being attached to the wealth and pleasures of this world, are exposed to unexpected disasters, which either threaten our lives, or amaze us with loss and deprivation of goods, or crush our friends with death, then, as if involuntarily, we are forced to turn to God, Whom we did not want to know and seek during our happiness. We often find examples of such calling in the Holy Scriptures. Thus, when the Lord delivered the sons of Israel into the hands of their enemies for their sins, then, because of their tyranny and cruelty, they again turned to Him and cried out. Of these three methods of conversion, although the first two seem to be established on the best principles, we often find that from the last one, which is lower than the others and does not involve any special heat of jealousy, perfect men emerge, burning in spirit, similar to those who, from a better beginning, began to work for the Lord, and spent the rest of their lives with commendable zeal of spirit; as well as vice versa - very many, having fallen from the highest degree at the beginning, due to cooling, were in the end worthy of condemnation. So, the whole point is in the end, in which one who is awarded a better calling may turn out to be worse due to his negligence, and one drawn by need to accept the rite of monasticism can appear perfect with the help of the fear of God and special zeal. Now let's begin to talk about renunciations, of which there are also three, as confirmed by the tradition of the fathers and the testimony of the Holy Scriptures, and which each of us must certainly commit with all care. The first of them is the one in which we leave all the riches and acquisitions of the world; the second is the one in which we leave behind our former morals and vicious passions, both physical and mental; the third is that in which, distracting our minds from everything present and visible, we contemplate only the future and desire the invisible. The Lord commanded Abraham to make these three renunciations all together when he said to him: get thee out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house (Gen. 12:1). The three books of Solomon are also adapted to these three renunciations. Thus, Proverbs befits the first renunciation, since they cut off the lust for earthly things and sensual vices; Ecclesiastes - to the second, since in it everything that happens under the sun is declared to be vain; Song of Songs - to the third, since in them the mind, rising above everything visible, is immersed in the contemplation of only heavenly things. » We also saw another place where Paphnutius the hermit lived, a great and virtuous man, who recently died in the vicinity of Heraclea Thebaid. Many people said a lot about him. After lengthy asceticism, Paphnutius prayed to God to reveal to him which of those perfect in holiness he would be like. An angel appeared to him and said: “You are like such and such a flute player who lives in the city.” Paphnutius hastily went to that flute player and asked him about his lifestyle and affairs. The flute player told him that he (as in fact was) was a sinful man, drunk and depraved, and that he had recently stopped being a bandit and had become a flute player. When Paphnutius began to ask him what good he had ever done, the flutist replied that he did not know anything good about himself, except that once, while still a robber, at night he delivered from the robbers a Christian virgin whom they wanted to dishonor, and escorted her to the village. “Another time,” the flutist continued, “I met a beautiful woman wandering in the desert. She fled from the mayor's servants and from the judges because her husband owed money to the treasury, and mourned her wanderings. I asked her the reason for her tears. “Don’t ask me anything, sir,” she said, “and don’t be curious about the unfortunate woman, but take me and take me wherever you want, as your slave; for after my husband was beaten many times over the course of two years because he owes the treasury three hundred gold coins, and was imprisoned, and my three dearest sons were sold, I am fleeing, moving from place to place and, since I was often caught and every time They beat her without mercy, now I am wandering through the desert and for the third day now I have been left without food.” I took pity on her and brought her to the cave, gave her three hundred pieces of gold and escorted her to the city. Paphnutius said to him: “Although I do not know that I have done anything like that, you, without a doubt, have heard that I am famous for my asceticism, for I did not spend my life in carelessness. And so God revealed to me about you that you are in no way inferior to me in good deeds. Therefore, when God cares so much about you, brother, do not leave your soul neglected, to chance.” The flutist immediately threw the flute out of his hands and, exchanging the euphony of a musical song for spiritual sweet singing, followed this husband into the desert. For three years he labored as much as he could, spending his life singing psalms and praying; Finally he passed into heaven and rested, numbered among the saints and the ranks of the righteous. Having led this zealous ascetic of virtue to God, Paphnutius began to lead a life more perfect in comparison with his former one, and again prayed to God to reveal to him which of the saints he was like. Again the voice of God came to him: “You are like the elder of the nearest village.” Paphnutius immediately went to him. When he knocked on his door, he, according to custom, came out and received the guest. Having washed his feet and offered him a meal, he asks him to taste the food. But Paphnutius began to ask him about his affairs, saying: “Tell me your way of life, for you have surpassed many monks, as God revealed to me.” He answered him that he was a sinful man and unworthy even of the name of a monk. However, Paphnutius began to urgently question him, and he answered like this: “I had no need to talk about my affairs, but since you say that you came at the command of God, I will tell you about myself. This is already the thirtieth year since I separated from my wife, having lived with her for only three years and having given birth to three sons from her, who serve me in my affairs. I still haven’t given up my love of strangeness. None of the villagers will boast that he received the stranger before me. The poor or the stranger did not leave my house empty-handed, without first receiving what he needed for the journey. I did not let the poor man, depressed by misfortunes, pass by without giving him sufficient consolation. I was not partial to my son at the trial. Foreign fruits did not enter my house. There was no enmity that I did not reconcile. Nobody accused my sons of indecent acts. My flocks did not touch other people's fruits. I did not sow my fields first, but, leaving them to everyone, I myself used only what was left. I did not allow the rich to oppress the poor. All my life I have never upset anyone, I have never condemned anyone. This is what, as I remember, I did according to the will of God.” Hearing about the virtues of this man, Paphnutius kissed his head and said: “May the Lord bless you from Zion, and see the good of Jerusalem. You still lack the most important of the virtues—much-wise knowledge of God, which you cannot acquire unless you reject the world, take up the cross and follow the Savior.” Hearing this, he immediately, without even making any orders regarding his property, followed this husband up the mountain. When they came to the river and did not find any boat here, Paphnutius ordered him to go across the river, which no one had ever crossed in this place because of its depth. They crossed so that the water was only up to their waists. Then Paphnutius left him in one place, and he himself, being separated from him, prayed to God that he might be better than such people. A little time later, Paphnutius saw that the angels took the soul of this man, glorifying God and saying: blessed, he chose him and accepted him; will dwell in your courts” (Ps. 64:5). The saints answered them, exclaiming: there is peace for many who love your law (Ps. 119:165). Then Paphnutius learned that this husband had died. Continuing to constantly pray to God and struggling even more in fasting, Paphnutius again prayed to God to reveal to him who he was like. And again the voice of God said: “You are like a merchant looking for good pearls. Get up and do not hesitate: a man to whom you are like will meet you.” He went and saw an Alexandrian merchant 43. This was a pious and Christ-loving man, he traded for twenty thousand gold coins, having a hundred ships, and was now returning from Upper Thebaid. He distributed all his property and all the profits from trade to the poor and monks, and this time, with his sons, he carried ten bags of vegetables to Paphnutius. “What is this, my dear?” - Paphnutius told him. He answered him: “These are the fruits of trade, brought to God to strengthen the righteous.” “Well,” Paphnutius told him, “you won’t accept ours?” When he admitted that he really wanted this, Paphnutius said to him: “How long will you engage in earthly trade and not take up the heavenly purchase? Leave this to others, and while the time is so favorable, follow the Savior, to Whom you will come a little later.” The merchant, without any delay, ordered his sons to divide everything that he had left among the poor, and he himself went to the mountain, imprisoned himself in the place where two people had labored before him, and constantly prayed to God. A little time passed, and he, leaving his body, became a celestial being. Paphnutius, having sent this man also to heaven, finally himself, not having the strength to continue his asceticism, began to depart. Then an Angel appeared to him and said: “Finally, you too, blessed one, go to the eternal villages. The prophets have come to accept you into their host. This was not revealed to you before, so that you, being proud, would not lose your merits.” Having lived one more day and told everything to the elders who came to him by revelation, he betrayed his spirit. The elders clearly saw how he was received by the faces of the righteous and angels praising God. On the way back from Thebaid, we came across a high mountain on the road, through which a river makes its way. A menacing rock hung over the river. It was scary to look at it... Meanwhile, in its steep slopes one could see caves... Access to them is full of difficulties. Many hermits lived in the caves, and they had an abba named Pitirion. He was a disciple of Blessed Anthony, and after the latter’s death he lived with Saint Ammon. When Ammon died, he settled in this mountain. Abba achieved high spiritual perfection, and he was given in abundance the grace of healing and great power over evil spirits, as if he had inherited the profound spiritual gifts of two great men with whom he had once labored... He edified many, instilling the rules of spiritual wisdom. By the way, he especially instructed in detail how to distinguish between evil spirits: “There are 6 evil spirits that serve only well-known vices, but there are also those who, noticing that the human soul and its dispositions move painfully under the influence of sin, plunge it into the extreme abyss of evil and corruption... He who wishes to acquire power over evil spirits must first conquer sin and passions within himself. And whatever sin or passion he overcomes in himself, accordingly he will receive power over the evil spirit of this sin and can drive it out of those possessed by it. That’s why you should try to gradually overcome your vicious inclinations, so that you can then triumph over unclean spirits.” Abba fortified himself with food twice a week, taking some kind of mash made from flour, and he could no longer eat other food, both due to his old age and habit. Didymus of Alexandria, blind man In the Church of Alexandria at that time there were many holy men and women, perfected in virtue and worthy to inherit the land of the meek. Among them, the blessed writer Didim, completely blind, labored. I myself saw him four times when I went to see him ten years ago. He died at eighty-five years of age. He became blind, as he himself told me, in his fourth year; He did not learn to read and write and did not know any teachers: his natural mind was a faithful mentor for him. He was adorned with such grace of spiritual knowledge that what was said was fulfilled in his deed: the Lord makes wise the blind (Ps. 146:8). He knew every word of the books of the Old and New Testaments, and he studied the dogmas so carefully and expounded the teachings contained in them so subtly and thoroughly that he surpassed all the ancients in knowledge. One day he forced me to say a prayer in his house, and as much as I didn’t want to, he told me this. “Blessed Anthony entered this cell three times to visit me, and when I invited him to say a prayer, he immediately knelt in this very cell, without waiting for me to repeat the invitation - so he taught me obedience by deed itself. And you, if you follow his life, like a monk and a stranger, for the sake of virtue, give up all stubbornness.” He also told me the following: “One day I was thinking about the life of the persecutor, the unfortunate king Julian 44. I was so sad from these thoughts that I didn’t eat anything until late in the evening. And so, sitting on a bench, I fell asleep - and I saw in a vision: riders galloping past me on white horses and shouting: “Tell Didim - this day at seven o’clock Julian died; get up and eat and send the news to Bishop Athanasius at home, so that he too will know about it.” “I noticed,” said Didymus, “the hour and the day, the week and the month: and so it turned out.” In Mount Nitria lived blessed Pamvo, teacher of Bishop Dioscorus, Ammonius and the brothers Eusebius and Euthymius, also Origen, nephew of Dracontius, a glorious and wondrous man 45. This Pamvo was decorated with many great perfections and virtues. But the crown of his great perfections was such contempt for gold and silver as the word of the Lord requires. Blessed Melania told me that, soon after arriving from Rome in Alexandria, having heard from the blessed presbyter Isidore the Stranger 46 about the virtuous life of Pamvo, accompanied by Isidore himself, she went to him in the desert. “I brought with me,” she said, “a box with three hundred liters of silver and asked him to accept this offering from my acquisitions. He sat and weaved branches and, without leaving his work, gave me only a verbal blessing, saying: “God will reward you.” Then he said to the steward Origen: “Take this and use it for the needs of the brethren living in Libya and on the islands: these monasteries are poorer than others”; and of the brethren living in Egypt he did not order anyone to give from this money, because “this country,” he said, “is more fertile than others.” “I stood,” says Melania, “and waited for him to honor me with a blessing or at least say a word in praise for such an offering, but, hearing nothing from him, I myself told him: “My lord, let it be known to you that there are three hundred liters of silver here.” At the same time, he did not show any attention and answered me without even looking at the box: “My daughter! To whom you brought this, you don’t need to tell him how much it weighs. He weighed the mountains and set the hills by weight - especially since he knows the weight of your silver. If you gave it to me, then it would be good to tell about its quantity; but if you brought it to God, who did not reject even two mites, but still valued them more than all other offerings, then be silent and be calm.” This is how the grace of the Lord arranged the economy,” said the blessed one, “when I came to the mountain!” After a short time, the servant of God rested without illness and without any bodily suffering. He wove a basket and sent for me. When the last rod was already woven, he said to me: “Take this basket from my hands as a memory of me; I can leave you nothing else." He departed, giving up his spirit to the Lord, without illness, at the age of seventy. Having wrapped the body of the saint in thin linen and placing it in a coffin, I left the desert, and I will keep that basket with me until my death." They also say that Pamvo, before his death, at the very hour of his repose, said to the steward and presbyter, Origen and Ammonius, men who were famous in life, standing at his bedside: “From the time when I came to this desert, I built myself a cell and began to live in it, I have not spent a single day without handicraft; I don’t remember ever having eaten a piece of bread given by someone for free; to this hour I do not repent of a single word that I said; and now I am going to God as if I had not yet begun to serve Him.” The servants of Christ Origen and Ammonius precisely confirmed this and also told us that when they asked Pambo about anything from Scripture or regarding life, he never answered the question immediately, but said that he had not yet found the answer. Three months often passed without him giving an answer, saying that he still did not know what to answer. Pamvo, out of fear of God, was very circumspect in his answers, so that they were received with reverence, as if the sayings of God Himself. In this virtue, that is, discretion in speech, they say, he surpassed even Anthony the Great and all the saints. Kronius, presbyter of Nitria, told me that in his youth, driven by despondency, he left his monastery and came to the monastery of St. Anthony, who, however, did not live in the monastery, but in the deepest desert near the Red Sea, thirty stades from the Nile River. Having reached the monastery, Kronius spoke, which stood by the river 47 and in which the disciples of St. Anthony Macarius 48 and Matthew stayed, who buried him when he died, I waited five days for an opportunity to see the holy man. I was told that he visits the monastery sometimes after ten, sometimes after twenty, and sometimes after five days, as God puts it on his heart - for the benefit of the brethren who flocked to the monastery. A lot of us gathered then with various needs. Among them was one Alexandrian monk, Eulogius, and with him some cripple. They arrived at the monastery on the following occasion. Eulogius was one of the learned people. Drawn by love for God and desiring immortality, he renounced the world and distributed his property to the poor, leaving himself only a small part of the money, because he could not support himself with handicrafts. Having no disposition for social life, he did not expect, however, to find peace in a completely solitary life. Being in such a state of bewilderment, Eulogius once noticed in the market place a crippled man who had neither legs nor arms, but only his tongue remained intact. Despite the severity of his plight, Eulogius stopped, looked at the crippled man, prayed to God and made a vow: “Lord! - he said. - For the sake of Your name, I am taking this crippled man to me: I will rest him until his death, so that for his sake I can be saved. So, grant me, Christ, constant patience in serving him!” Then, approaching the crippled man, he said: “Do you want, my friend, for me to take you to myself and put you to rest?” “Whatever,” the crippled man answered, “but I don’t deserve it.” “I’ll go,” continued Eulogius, “I’ll bring the donkey and take you from here.” The crippled one agreed to this with joy. Then Eulogius brought a donkey, put the crippled one on it, brought it to his cell and began to look after it and prevent all its needs. The crippled man lived for fifteen years with Eulogius, who looked after him like a father after a son, washed him, anointed him, took care of him, carried him from place to place with his own hands, honored him beyond measure, and took care of alleviating all his ailments. But after fifteen years the demon seduced the crippled man, perhaps with the intention of forcing Eulogius to break his vow and depriving the crippled man of peace, for which he should only thank God. So the crippled man began to quarrel with Eulogius, began to slander and revile him: “Probably you robbed someone, maybe you were a slave, robbed your master and took me to yourself in order to ward off any suspicion from yourself with imaginary charity, and you still want to be saved for my sake!” Eulogius persuaded him, calmed his soul: “No, my friend, don’t say that, but tell me better than how I insulted you, and I will correct myself.” But the crippled man screamed like crazy: “I don’t need your caresses. Take me and throw me into the marketplace; I don’t need your services.” “Do me a favor,” Eulogius told him, “calm down, tell me what’s bothering you?” And the crippled man, enraged like a wild beast, screamed: “There is no way to look at these hypocritical services and this Lenten life is unbearable for me - I want meat!” Eulogius brought meat. The restless crippled man, seeing him, shouted again: “I’m bored with you alone! I want to see the people!” Eulogius answered: “I will now bring many brethren here.” “That’s how unfortunate I am,” the crippled man said, sobbing, “I can’t even look at you, and you want to bring parasites like you to me.” And, shaking, he cried out in a disorderly voice: “I don’t want to! I want to go to the market! What violence! Throw me back where you found me." We assure you that if he had hands, it seems he would have strangled himself or stabbed himself to death - that’s how the demon angered him. Eulogius went to his ascetics who lived in the neighborhood and asked them: “What should I do? The crippled one drives me to despair!” They say: “Why?” - “He behaves strangely; I don't know what to do. I would have left him, but I made a vow to God: I’m afraid to break it. Don’t give up - so he doesn’t give me peace day or night. I don’t know what to do with him.” They answer: “The Great (as they called Saint Anthony) is still alive, go to him. Put the crippled man in a boat, swim to the monastery, wait until the saint comes out of the cave, and bring this matter to his court. Whatever he tells you, do it; because through his mouth God speaks.” Eulogius listened to the advice of the ascetics. He caressed the crippled man, put him in a boat, left the city at night and arrived with him at the monastery of St. Anthony. The saint came to the monastery late in the evening the next day, wrapped in a leather robe. He used to enter the monastery, demand Macarius and ask him: “Are there any visitors?” Macarius answered: “Yes.” - “Egyptians or Jerusalemites?” – Saint Anthony further asked. You should know that Saint Anthony inspired Macarius in advance: “If you notice that the people who came to the monastery do not have much need for me, then answer: “Egyptians,” and when someone more pious and wiser comes, say: “Jerusalemians.” And if Macarius answered him “Egyptians,” then the saint ordered him to prepare a meal, feed them and, having prayed with them, released them; and when Macarius said “Jerusalemites,” the saint spent the whole night with them in conversation about the salvation of the soul. So, the Great, as usual, asked Macarius: “Egyptians or Jerusalemites?” Macarius answered: “A mixture: both.” That evening, says Cronius, the Great Anthony sat down and ordered everyone to be called to him; and although no one told him the name of the learned monk, he called him by name: “Evlogius, Eulogius, Eulogius!” He said this name three times, but Eulogius did not answer, thinking that among those present there was someone else who had this name. Anthony turns to him a second time: “I’m telling you, Eulogius, the one who arrived from Alexandria.” After this, Eulogius answered: “What do you want to order?” - “Why did you come here?” “He who revealed my name to you,” said Eulogius, “will also reveal why I came here.” “I know why you came here,” answered Saint Anthony, “but tell it in the presence of all the brethren, so that they too know.” The servant of Christ Eulogius told everything in detail. “I found this crippled man in the marketplace; he lay there unattended. Taking pity on him, I prayed to God to grant me patience, to make a vow to Christ to follow him, so that I too might be saved for his sake and he might have peace from me. We have been living together for fifteen years now: of course, this too is open to your holiness. But after we had lived peacefully for so many years, now, I don’t know why, he began to bother me to the extreme. I'm thinking of leaving him: he himself is forcing me to do this. This is why I came to your holiness: give me advice on what to do, and pray for me: this man has outraged me excessively.” The Great Anthony said in a stern and stern voice: “Do you want to leave him, Eulogius? But the One who created him does not abandon him! You throw him away - and God will raise up someone better than you and raise him up!” Eulogius was silent and lamented. The Great Anthony, leaving Eulogius, then turns to the crippled: “Sick, dirty, unworthy of either heaven or earth! By annoying this brother, you rebel against God. Don't you know that Christ is serving you? And you dare to contradict Christ! Was it not for the sake of Christ that he enslaved himself to your service?” Having thus made a stern reproach to the crippled man, Anthony began talking with the brethren about their spiritual needs. Then, again turning to Eulogius and the crippled man, he said: “My children! Don't quarrel, go home in peace, don't be separated from each other. Give up all the displeasure that the demon has sowed between you, and with pure love return to the cell in which you have lived until now - because God is already sending for you. This temptation was brought upon you by Satan. He knows that you are both at the end of your race and will soon receive crowns from Christ: he for you, and you for him. So, think no more about anything else, lest the Angel, coming for you, find you in different places and in disagreement, and lest you lose your crowns.” Having heard these words, they soon set off and returned to their cell in perfect love. Less than forty days passed before blessed Eulogius departed to the Lord; A few more days passed - and the crippled body, but the healthy soul, also gave up his spirit into the hands of God. Cronius, having spent some time in the Thebaid desert, visited the Alexandrian monasteries. It happened that at this very time the brethren ruled the fortieth day according to Eulogia, and the third day according to the crippled one. Cronius, having learned about this, was extremely amazed; He took the Gospel, placed it among the brethren and swore to the truth of his story that the Great Anthony foresaw and predicted their death. Cronius added to this: “I myself was the translator of their conversation, since Blessed Anthony does not know Greek, and I know both languages ​​- Egyptian and Greek, then I translated the words of the Great to Blessed Eulogius and the crippled, and their answers to Saint and Blessed Anthony” 49 . For many, the question often remained unresolved: which of the monks initially began to live in the desert? Some, turning their gaze to antiquity, believed the beginning of the desert dwellers to be in blessed Elijah and John. But, it seems to me, Elijah was more of a prophet than a monk, and John began to prophesy even before his birth. Others (with which the majority agree) recognize Anthony as the head of the desert dwellers, this is partly fair. But Anthony was not so much the first desert dweller as the person who aroused the general desire for this way of life. The disciples themselves, Anthony, Amatha (Matthew) and Macarius, of whom the first buried the body of the teacher, testified that a certain Paul of Thebes laid the foundation for desert life, although he did not give it a name - we also agree with this opinion. And some chatter this way and that way, as they please: they say that (the first desert dweller) was a man covered to his toes with hair, who lived in an underground cave, and they invent various incredible things, following which would be tiring; the shameless lies of these stories do not seem worth refuting. Since Anthony has been thoroughly written about in both Greek and Roman style, I decided to write a little about the beginning and end of Paul’s life, more because it had not yet been written about than out of hope for my own mind. But how he lived in the middle of his life, what temptations he endured from Satan, not a single person knows about this. Under the persecutors Decius and Valerian, when Cornelius in Rome and Cyprian in Carthage were condemned to a blessed bloody death 50, a fierce storm devastated many Churches in Egypt and Thebaid. The duty of a Christian then required him to suffer by the sword for the name of Christ. But the cunning enemy, inventing slow murderous executions, wanted to destroy souls, not bodies; and, as Cyprian himself (who suffered from him) says, he did not allow those who wanted to die to die. To show the cruelty of the enemy, I will give two examples for memory. The torturer ordered a certain martyr, firm in faith and who remained victorious among the instruments of torture - wooden horses and iron boards, to be tied up and, having twisted his hands behind his back, to be thrown under the scorching sun, so that the one whom iron frying pans could not defeat would be defeated by the stings of flies. The tormentor ordered another confessor of Christ, blooming with youth, to be taken to a beautiful garden and there, with the sweet murmur of a stream and the quiet noise of tree leaves shaken by the wind, put on a downy bed and tied with soft silk ties so that the young man could not free himself. When everyone had left, a beautiful harlot came to arouse lust in her body and lie on him like a shameless conqueror. The warrior of Christ did not know what to do and where to turn: lust defeated the one whom torment could not defeat. Finally, inspired from above, he bit off his tongue and spat in the face of the kissing harlot - and thus the excessive force of pain suppressed the feeling of lust. At a time when such deeds were being carried out in the Lower Thebaid, Paul, after the marriage of his sister and after the death of both parents, remained the only heir, having about 15 years of age, having received an initial education in Greek and Egyptian; meek in spirit, loving God very much; when the storm of persecution thundered, Paul went to a remote and hidden village. But what does the cursed thirst for gold not do to mortals? Pavlova’s sister’s husband decided to betray the person he was supposed to hide. Neither his wife’s tears, nor his kinship, nor God, who sees everything from above, kept him from committing a crime. Cruelty, taking the form of piety, was inexorable. Having learned about this, the most prudent young man fled into the mountain deserts; and although the end of the persecution was expected, Paul, turning a matter of necessity into a matter of hunting, little by little walked further, then stopped, and after several breaks he finally found a rocky mountain, at the base of which there was a huge cave filled with stones; Having rolled away the stone and, in accordance with the universal human desire to know the hidden, carefully examining the inside of the cave, Paul found a large room, which, with the sky open above, was covered with the wide branches of an old palm tree and from which the purest spring of water could be seen, whose stream, having just burst out, immediately disappeared again into a small well of the earth that gave birth to it. In addition, in the mountain recesses there were many empty dwellings, where there were already rusty anvils and hammers for minting coins. Here, according to the legend of Egyptian books, there was a counterfeit coin workshop at the time when Anthony was in relations with Cleopatra. Having fallen in love with this place 51, as if specially prepared for him by God, Paul spent his whole life there in prayer and solitude; the palm tree provided him with food and clothing. Lest this seem impossible to anyone, I bear witness to Jesus and His holy angels that in that part of the desert that adjoins the Saracens near Syria, I saw monks, one of whom, for thirty years, staying hopelessly in the desert, supported his existence on barley bread and dirty water; the other, imprisoned in an old reservoir (which the Syrians call qubba in their vernacular language), fed daily on five stalks of reeds. This will seem incredible to those who do not believe that all things are possible to those who believe. But let me return to what I started talking about. When blessed Paul had already been living a heavenly life on earth for 113 years, and ninety-year-old Anthony was laboring in another desert, the latter, according to his own consciousness, came to the head of the idea that there was no monk in the desert who would be more perfect than him. But during the night's rest, it was revealed to Anthony that there was another monk, much better than him, and that he should set off on a journey to see this ascetic. And so, at the first rays of light, the venerable old man, supporting his unsteady limbs with his staff, set off on a journey, not knowing where. It was already noon, and, despite the intense heat of the sun, the elder continued to walk, saying: “I believe in my God that He will show me His servant promised to me.” But a greater miracle than this: Anthony sees a strange creature - part man, part horse, which in the language of poets is called hippocentaur 52; Seeing him, Anthony overshadowed his forehead with the image of a saving sign. “Hey,” he said, “in what part of the desert does the servant of God live?” The Hippocentaur, muttering something barbaric and rather distorting than pronouncing the words, in the horror of the old man, who tried to speak kindly to him, stretched out his right hand, showed him the desired path and, rushing across the wide fields with the speed of a bird, disappeared from the eyes of the surprised old man. We do not know whether the devil presented a ghostly creature to intimidate the old man or whether, in fact, in the desert, abundant with monstrous animals, such animals would be born. Anthony, perplexed and reasoning with himself about what he saw, goes further. A little later, in a rocky valley, Anthony saw a small man with a curved nose and horns on his forehead, and the lower part of his body ended in the legs of a goat. Struck by this sight, Anthony, like a good warrior, took on the shields of faith and the armor of hope. The said animal brought him palm fruits for food for the road, as if as a pledge of peace. Seeing this, Anthony stopped and asked the unknown creature: “Who are you?” - received the following answer: “I am a mortal, one of the inhabitants of the desert, whom paganism, seduced by all sorts of delusions, honors under the name of fauns, satyrs and nightmares that oppress during sleep. I am sent to you from my brothers. We ask you to pray for us to the common Lord, Who, as we have heard, once came to save the world and His message went out to the whole earth.” Hearing such words, the elderly traveler wet his face with abundant tears, pouring out from an excess of heartfelt joy. He rejoiced over the glory of Christ and the destruction of Satan and, amazed that he could understand the speech of a desert dweller, striking the ground with his staff, said: “Woe to you, Alexandria, who instead of God honors various wonders! Woe to you, city of the harlot, where the evil spirits of the whole world have flocked. What do you say now? Animals call on the name of Christ, and you honor various wonders!” Before the old man had time to finish these words, the horned animal ran away as if in a flight. So that this story does not seem unreliable to anyone, we will recall an event witnessed by the whole world under King Constantius. A living man of this kind was brought to Alexandria and represented an important spectacle for the people; and then the soulless corpse of this man, to protect it from decomposition due to the heat of the sun, was stuffed with salt and brought to Antioch to be shown to the emperor. Meanwhile (I continue the interrupted story) Anthony kept walking and walking; seeing only the tracks of animals and the vast expanse of the desert, he did not know what to do, where to direct his steps. Another day had already passed. There was only one hope left for the elder - that Christ could not leave him. He spent the whole night, which overtook him a second time on the road, in prayer and at a weak dawn he saw in the distance a she-wolf who, panting heavily from thirst, ran to the foot of the mountain; Following her with his eyes, the old man, when the she-wolf disappeared, saw the entrance to the cave and began to look inside with vain curiosity, because the darkness prevented him from seeing, but, as the Scripture says, perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). With a quiet step and holding his breath, the cautious observer entered the cave and, little by little moving forward and stopping often, began to hear sounds. Finally, through the darkness of the night, he sees a light in the distance and, quickly rushing towards it, stumbling onto a stone, making a noise. Hearing this noise, blessed Paul closed and locked the previously open door to his cave. Then Anthony, knocking at the entrance even until the sixth hour and beyond, asked permission to enter, saying: “You know who I am, where I come from and why; I know that I am not worthy of your seeing, but if I don’t see you, I won’t leave. Receiver of beasts, why do you drive away man? I searched and found it. I push so that it will be opened for me; if my requests are in vain, I will die here at the entrance to your cave; at least you will bury my corpse..." Anthony “insisted so, convincingly, and was adamant. Briefly answering him, this is what our hero said” (Virgil, “Aeneid”): “No one asks with threats; no one speaks evil with tears: will you be surprised that I will not accept you when you came to die? – smiling like that, Pavel opened the entrance; and then both elders threw themselves into each other’s arms, greeted each other by name and together thanked the Lord. After the holy kiss, Paul, sitting down with Anthony, began to speak like this: “Here is the one whom you have been looking for with such difficulty: his members, half-decayed from old age, are covered with ugly gray hair. Here you see before you a man who will soon be dust. But since love endures everything, please tell me how the human race lives now: are new roofs rising in old cities, by what power is the world governed, and is there anyone left who is carried away by the charms of demons? During these speeches, a raven sat on the branch of a tree and, quietly flying away from there, laid the whole bread in front of the eyes of the marveling elders. When he flew away, Paul said: “Behold, the Lord, truly Good, truly Merciful, has sent us dinner. For 60 years now I have received half a loaf of bread every day; but now, for your coming, Christ has doubled the portion for the two of us.” So, having given thanks to the Lord, both elders sat down on the bank of a clear stream. But here a dispute began about who should break bread first, and continued until the evening. Paul referred to the customs of hospitality, Anthony - to the right of precedence. Finally, it was decided to take the bread for both of them together and pull it towards each of them, so that everyone had their own part in their hands. Then, leaning their lips to the source, they drank a little water and, having offered a sacrifice of praise to God, spent the whole night awake. And when the day returned to earth again, Blessed Paul said the following to Anthony: “For a long time, brother, I knew that you lived in these parts, long ago the Lord promised to send my co-servant to me. But since the time of my dormition has come and (in accordance with my everlasting desire to be resolved and to be with Christ) at the end of my life, the crown of righteousness is awarded to me, then you were sent from the Lord to bury my body and bury it in the earth.” Hearing this, Anthony, crying and sobbing, began to beg Paul not to leave him on earth, but to take him with him on the path beyond the grave. But Paul answered: “Seek not other than your own, but your neighbor. It is better for you, having thrown off your bodily burden, to follow the Lamb; but it is useful for the brethren to be edified by your example. Therefore, continue the feat, even if it is painful, and bring the mantle that Bishop Athanasius gave you to cover my body.” Blessed Paul asked for this not because he was too concerned about whether his corpse would decay, covered or naked, whereas for how long he had been clothed only with a plexus of palm leaves; but because he wanted, by removing Anthony from himself, to alleviate his sadness about his death. Anthony, amazed at Paul's mention of Athanasius and his mantle, as if seeing Christ in Paul and honoring the presence of God in his soul, did not dare to object any more, but, kissing his eyes and hands with a silent cry, went back to the monastery, which was later occupied by the Saracens. Although his steps did not match the speed of his spirit, although his body was exhausted by fasting and weakened by years, but with the strength of his spirit he conquered the weakness of the flesh. Finally, tired and barely breathing from fatigue, he reached, having overcome the path, his abode. When two disciples, who had long been accustomed to serving him, came out to meet him, saying: “Where did you delay so long, father?” - Anthony answered: “Woe to me, a sinner who falsely bears the name of a monk. I saw Elijah, I saw John in the wilderness, and truly I saw Paul in paradise.” Then, closing his lips and striking his chest with his hand, he took the robe out of the cell. When the disciples asked him to tell him in more detail what was the matter, Anthony answered: “There is a time to speak and a time to be silent.” Then, leaving the monastery and not taking with him even a small amount of food, Anthony again set off along the same road along which he had come, thirsting for Paul, wanting to see him, contemplating him with his mind and eyes, fearing only that Paul in his absence would not betray his spirit to Christ - which actually happened. Another day had already dawned and Anthony was three hours away when he saw, between the faces of the Angels, between the hosts of prophets and apostles, Paul, shining with snowy whiteness and ascending to the heights. Immediately falling on his face, Anthony sprinkled sand on his head and, crying and sobbing, said: “Why, Paul, are you leaving me? Why are you leaving without my greeting? Why, being recognized late, are you leaving so soon? Blessed Anthony later said that he ran the rest of the way like a bird; and there was a reason for it. Entering the cave, he saw a soulless body, with knees on bended knees, with an outstretched neck, with arms raised up; and, at first thinking that Paul was alive, he turned to him with the same requests, but then, not hearing the usual sighs of the person praying and giving him a tearful kiss, he realized that the corpse of the saint was in a reverent position praying to God, to whom all are alive. Having wrapped and carried the body out of the cave and chanting hymns and psalms according to Christian tradition, Anthony began to grieve that he did not have a spade to dig up the earth. Thinking this way and that, and reasoning a lot with himself, Anthony said: “If I return to the monastery, then three days will pass on the journey; If I stay here, I won't do anything. I will die, as it should be, next to your warrior, Christ, and, falling here, I will give my last breath.” During the elder's thoughts, two lions with flowing manes rushed quickly from the interior of the desert. Seeing them, Anthony was at first frightened, but, again ascending in thought to God, he began to look at the lions as if at doves and remained fearless. Meanwhile, the lions ran straight to the corpse of the blessed old man, waving their tails affectionately, fell at his feet and roared with a strong groan, making it clear that they were crying in their own way. Then, not far away, the lions began to dig the ground with their feet and, quickly scooping up the sand, soon dug out a place convenient for placing one person, and immediately, as if asking for a reward for their work, lowering their necks and moving their ears, they ran up to Anthony and began to lick his hands and feet. Anthony realized that the lions were asking him for a blessing. And immediately, glorifying Christ for the fact that even dumb animals feel that there is a God, the elder said: “You, Lord, without whose wave a leaf is not torn from a tree and a sparrow does not fall to the ground, give to them as if they were weighed.” And with a movement of his hand he ordered them to leave. When the lions departed, Anthony bent his old shoulders under the burden of the holy body, placed it in the grave and, pouring earth on top, built a hill according to custom. Another day came, and the pious heir, in order not to leave any of the property after the old man who died without a will, took for himself his tunic, which he himself had woven from palm leaves like a basket. Returning to the monastery, Anthony told the disciples everything in order and on the solemn days of Easter and Pentecost he always put on Paul’s tunic. At the end of this short essay, I would like to ask those who do not know how to count their income, who cover their houses with marble, who string the property of entire cities on one thread: what did this naked old man ever lack? You drink from precious vessels - he satisfied nature's demand from handfuls; you have gold-woven tunics - he did not have the cheapest clothing of your slave. But for him, the poor one, heaven was opened, and for you, gold-bearers, Gehenna awaits. He, although naked, retained the robe of Christ, but you, clothed in silk, have lost the robe of Christ. Paul lies covered with insignificant dust, to be resurrected in glory - and you, who along with your riches will become the prey of fire, are crushed by your magnificent stone tombs. I ask you, spare yourself, spare at least the riches that you love so much. Why do you even wrap your dead bodies in golden robes? Why does your ambition not subside even during lamentations and tears? Are the corpses of rich people only able to rot in silk clothes?.. I adjure you, whoever you are, reader: remember the sinful Jerome, who, if the Lord had offered him a choice, would have chosen the tunic of Paul with his awards rather than the purple of the kings with their punishments. Starting to describe the life of Blessed Hilarion, I pray to the Holy Spirit who dwelled in him, that He who endowed him with virtues will give me the floor to narrate them, so that the speech would be worthy of the feats described, for the virtues of the figures, as Crispus says, are as great as famous writers could show them in their stories. The great Alexander the Great, whom Daniel calls either a ram, a leopard, or a shaggy goat, approached the tomb of Achilles and said: “Happy are you, young man, that you had a great herald of your merits,” hinting at Homer. And I have to talk about the exploits and life of such a man that Homer himself, if he were alive, would either envy the subject, or would turn out to be insolvent. Although Saint Epiphanius 54, bishop of the Cypriot city of Salamis, who lived with Hilarion for a very long time, wrote praise to him in a well-known letter, it is another thing to praise the deceased in general terms, and another to talk about the virtues that were the distinctive property of the deceased. Therefore, treating with favor rather than with reproach the work he began, we will proceed to continue it, despising the cries of the slanderers. Those who once reviled my Paul, perhaps now revile Hilarion. This one was slandered for his solitude, and this one was reproached for living in society; so that the one who was always hiding is considered non-existent, and the one who lived in plain view of people is considered not worthy of attention. This is what their ancestors, the Pharisees, once did, who equally did not like either the desert and the fast of John, or the treatment in crowds, the food and drink of the Savior. But I will begin my planned work and walk past Scylla’s dogs, covering my ears. Hilarion was born in the village of Tawafa, which lies almost five miles south of Gaza, a Palestinian city. Since he had parents who were idolaters, he, as they say, blossomed like a rose between thorns. Sent by them to Alexandria, he was given to the grammarian. There, as far as his age permitted, he gave strong proofs of his intelligence and fine character, and in a short time acquired general favor and became renowned for his eloquence, and, above all, for his faith in the Lord Jesus. He found no pleasure either in the furies of the circus, or in the blood of the arena, or in the debauchery of the theater, but the highest pleasure for him was the church meeting. Having heard the then famous name of Anthony, which was on the tongue of all the Egyptian peoples, and inflamed with the desire to see him, he went into the desert. And when he saw him, he immediately changed his previous clothes and lived next to him for almost two months, observing the order of his life and the severity of his character, namely: how often he prayed, with what humility he accepted the brethren, how strict he was in reproof, how zealous in exhortation, and how no physical weakness ever diminished his abstinence and the severity of his food. But he could no longer endure the frequent visits of persons who resorted to Anthony regarding various sorrows and demonic slander; found it inappropriate to tolerate urban populations in the desert; he considered it proper for himself to begin as Anthony began; in him he saw a brave warrior who had received awards for victory, and himself as someone who had not yet begun to fight. Therefore, with some monks, he returned to his fatherland. Since his parents had already died, he gave part of his property to his brothers, and part to the poor; He left absolutely nothing for himself, fearing the example known from the Acts of the Apostles, or the execution of Ananias and Sapphira, and especially remembering the Lord who said: Whoever does not renounce all his possessions cannot be My disciple (Luke 14:33). At this time he was fifteen years old. So, naked, but clothed as with a weapon in Christ, he entered the desert, which lies seventh mile to the left along the coastal route to Egypt from Mayuma, the market of Gaza. Although these places were terrible with robberies and people close to him and friends warned him of the impending danger, he despised death in order to avoid death. Everyone was surprised at his courage, surprised at his age. But a certain flame burned in his chest, a spark of faith shone in his eyes. His face was childish, his body was tender and thin, unable to endure adversity of any kind: slight cold or heat could exhaust him. And so, covering his limbs with sackcloth and having outer leather clothing, which Blessed Anthony gave him for the journey, and a rustic cloak, he spent his time between the sea and the swamp in the vast and terrible desert, eating only fifteen figs at sunset. Since the country was disgraced by robberies, he never lived in the same place. What will the devil do? What will he do? He, who boasted before, saying: I will ascend into heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of heaven, and I will be like the Most High (Isa. 14:13-14), saw himself defeated - by the boy and trampled upon even before he reached the age capable of sin. So, he began to tickle his feelings and, as his body matured, fanned the usual flame of lusts. The little ascetic of Christ was forced to think about what he did not know, and to weigh in his mind the sweetness of an object that he had not known from experience. Finally angry with himself and hitting his chest with his fists (as if he could disperse his thoughts with blows of his hand!), he said: “I will do to you, donkey, so that you will not kick: I will feed you not with barley, but with chaff. I will kill you with hunger and thirst; I will lay a heavy burden on you; I will chase you in both heat and cold, so that you think more about food than about bliss.” Therefore he supported the weakened life after three and four days with the juice of herbs and a small amount of figs; He often prayed and sang psalms and dug the earth with a spade, so that through labor he could double the labor of fasting. At the same time, while weaving baskets from reeds, he followed the rules of the Egyptian monks and the saying of the Apostle, who says: if anyone does not want to do something, let him eat (2 Thess. 3:10). He became so thin and his body so exhausted that only his bones remained. One night he heard a child's cry, the bleating of a herd, the mooing of bulls, similar to women's moans, the roaring of lions, the noise of an army and various voices of a completely monstrous nature, so that the sounds struck him with horror before the vision itself. He understood the mockery of the demons; falling to his knees, he marked his forehead with the Cross of Christ and, armed with it, spread out, he fought more courageously. When he was still living in a hut, being eighteen years old, robbers came to him at night: either because they expected to find something to carry away, or because they considered it humiliating for themselves if the lonely youth was not afraid of their attack. But, wandering from evening until sunrise between the sea and the swamp, they could not find the place where he lay. When it was dawn, seeing the boy, they said to him, as if in jest: “What would you do if robbers came to you?” “The naked man is not afraid of robbers,” he answered them. “But you could be killed,” they tell him. “I can,” he says, “I can; but that’s why I’m not afraid of robbers, because I’ve prepared myself for death.” Then, surprised by his firmness and faith, they confessed to their night wandering and blindness of their eyes and promised to improve their lives from then on. He had already lived twenty-two years in the desert and became known to everyone only by rumor; and as soon as they started talking about him in all the cities of Palestine, one woman from Eleutheropolis, seeing herself in contempt from her husband for infertility (because for fifteen years she had not borne any marital fruit), was the first to dare to disturb the solitude of blessed Hilarion. He suspected nothing of the kind when, unexpectedly falling at his knees, she said: “Forgive my courage, forgive my extreme need. Why do you turn your eyes away? Why are you running away from someone who is begging you? Look at me not as a woman, but as an unfortunate one. This sex gave birth to the Savior. Health does not require a doctor, but those who are sick (Luke 5:31).” Finally he turned to her and, seeing the woman after such a long period of time, asked about the reason for her coming and crying. When he learned this reason, he raised his eyes to heaven and told her to have faith; and, having seen her off with tears, after a year he saw her with his son. This was the beginning of his miracles; another miracle glorified him more. Aristineta, the wife of Elpidius, who was later a praetorian prefect, very famous in her circle and even more famous among Christians, returning with her husband and three children from Blessed Anthony, due to their illness, stopped in Gaza. Whether from the depravity of the air, or for the sake of the glory of the servant of God Hilarion (as it was explained later), they simultaneously fell ill with a fever and were all declared by doctors to be in a hopeless condition. The mother was in terrible grief and, running as if between three corpses of her sons, did not know whom to mourn first. Having learned that there was a monk in the neighboring desert, she, forgetting about the usual pomp for noble women (remembering herself only as a mother), went to him, accompanied by maids and eunuchs; her husband barely convinced her to ride a donkey. Coming to him, she said: “I beg you with the most merciful Jesus, our God, I conjure Him by the Cross and Blood - return my three sons; let the name of the Lord the Savior be glorified in the pagan city and let His servant enter Gaza and destroy the idol of Marne 55.” When he refused and said that he did not have the habit of going not only to the city, but also to any village, she threw herself to the ground, crying incessantly: “Hilarion, servant of Christ, give me my sons. Anthony kept them in Egypt, save them in Syria.” Everyone present was crying; He also cried, refusing. In a word, the woman did not retreat until he made a promise to enter Gaza at sunset. Having arrived there, he cried out to Jesus, marking the beds and the burning members of everyone. And, oh wonderful power! Sweat came out simultaneously as if from three sources; During the same hour, they took food, began to recognize the crying mother and, blessing God, kissed the holy hands. When they learned about this and the rumor spread far in all directions, people from Syria and Egypt zealously came to him, so that many believed in Christ and took the vow of monasticism. For at that time there were no monasteries in Palestine, and before St. Hilarion no monk was known in Syria. He was the founder of this way of life and exploits in this area. The Lord Jesus raised up the old man Anthony in Egypt, and the young man Hilarion in Palestine. Fadicia is the name of a suburb of Rhinocorura, an Egyptian city. From this suburb, a woman who had become blind ten years ago was brought to Blessed Hilarion. Introduced to him by the brethren (because many monks were already living with him at that time), she said that she had spent all her property on doctors. He answered her: “If you had given what you lost on doctors to the poor, the true physician Jesus would have healed you.” When she continued to cry out and beg for mercy, he spat in her eyes - and immediately the same miraculous power followed the example of the Savior 56 . Finally, he drove out of his sight one brother who lived almost five miles away from him, because he learned that he was extremely careful and cowardly in taking care of his vineyard and had little money. He, wanting to make peace with the elder, often visited the brothers, and especially Hesychius, whom the elder loved very much. And then one day he brought a bunch of green peas, with shoots, as he grew up. When Hesychius laid it on the table in the evening, the elder shouted that he could not stand its bad smell, and together asked where these peas came from. Hesychius replied that one brother brought the firstfruits of his small arable land to the brothers. Then he said: “Don’t you really hear the disgusting smell and feel the stink of stinginess from the peas? Give it to the oxen, give it to the foolish cattle, and see if they will eat.” When he, following the order, put the peas in the manger, the oxen, frightened and mooing more than usual, broke their leashes and ran away in different directions. The elder had the blessed gift to recognize the demon or the vice to which someone was devoted by the smell of the body and clothes and everything that someone touched. So, seeing in the sixty-third year of his life a huge monastery and many brothers living with it, as well as crowds of people who brought to him various sick people and possessed by unclean spirits, so that the desert on all sides was filled with people of all kinds - seeing all this, the elder cried every day and with incredible love recalled his former way of life. When the brethren asked what it was that was crushing him, he said: “Again I returned to the world and received my reward during my life. The people of Palestine and neighboring areas consider me something important; and I, under the pretext of fraternal economy in the monastery, have some household junk.” But the brethren, especially Hesychius, who revered the elder with amazing love, guarded him. When he had lived like this in tears for two years, the famous Aristineta, whom we mentioned before, who was then already the wife of the prefect, but had nothing of the usual prefects’ circumstances, came to him with the intention of going from him to Anthony. “I would like to go myself,” he told her with tears, “if they didn’t keep me locked in the prison of this monastery and if there was any benefit from the journey. Today is already two days since the whole world lost this father.” She believed him and did not continue on her way. And a few days later a messenger arrived - and she heard about Anthony’s death. Others are surprised at the miracles he performed - they are also surprised at his incredible abstinence, knowledge, and humility. And I am more amazed at nothing than at the extent to which he could neglect fame and honor. Bishops, presbyters, whole crowds of clergy, monks and noble Christian women (a great test!), and not only simple people from all over the cities and villages, but also strong people and judges, came to him to receive blessed bread or oil from him. But he didn’t think about anything other than the desert, so he set a certain day for departure. A donkey was also brought (because, exhausted by excessive fasting, he could barely walk); he used every effort to get on the road. When word of this spread, it seemed as if Palestine was destined for eviction and vacancy: more than ten thousand people of different ages and sexes gathered to prevent him from entering. He remained adamant to the requests and, breaking the sand with his staff, said: “I will not make my Lord a liar; I cannot see churches overthrown, the altars of Christ trampled, the blood of my children shed.” All those present understood that something mysterious had been revealed to him, which he did not want to say, but nevertheless they were guarded so that he would not leave. Then he decided, having announced this publicly, not to take any food or drink until he was released. After this, seven days later, exhausted by fasting and having said goodbye to very many, he finally went to Bethelium, accompanied by countless people; there, having convinced the crowds to return, he chose forty monks who had travel supplies and could set out on the road, observing fasting, that is, after sunset. Having then visited the brothers who lived in the neighboring desert, and stopped for some time at a place called Lychnos, three days later he reached the fortress of Teubatia to see the bishop and confessor Dracontius, who had been sent there into exile. He was incredibly comforted by the arrival of such a husband; and three days later, with much difficulty, he reached Babylon to visit the bishop and also confessor, Philo. Because Emperor Constantius, patronizing the Arian heresy, exiled both of them to those places. Setting out from there, he came to the city of Aphrodite three days later. There, having agreed with the deacon Baizan (who, due to the lack of water in the desert, transported travelers to Anthony with hired two-humped camels), he announced to the brethren that the day of Anthony’s dormition was coming and that he should spend the night in vigil at the very place of his burial 57 . So, they finally reached, after three days of travel through a vast and terrible desert, to a very high mountain, where they found two monks, Isaac and Pelusian, of whom Isaac was Anthony’s translator. Since the opportunity presented itself, and, moreover, by the way, we consider it appropriate to briefly describe the dwelling of such a husband. A stone and high mountain, about a thousand steps in circumference, squeezes out water at its base, part of which is absorbed by the sands, and the other, penetrating further, forms a stream, above which countless palm trees growing on both banks give the place a lot of charm and convenience. “You would have seen the elder walking back and forth with his disciples, Blessed Anthony. Here, they say, he used to sing psalms, here he prayed, here he worked, here he rested. He planted these vines, these trees himself; He built this garden bed with his own hands. He made this pond for irrigating the garden with great difficulty. But with that hoe he cultivated the land for many years.” He (Hilarion) lay down on his bed and kissed his bed as if it were still warm. His cell was no more in length and width than a sleeping person could occupy. In addition, at the very top, where they ascended as if by a twisted staircase and with extreme effort, they saw two cells of the same size: in them he lived, avoiding visits from those who came and the community of students who lived with him. However, these cells were carved from natural stone, and they were given only doors. After that they entered the kindergarten. “Look at this orchard, planted with trees and green with vegetables,” said Isaac. “When, almost three years ago, a herd of wild donkeys devastated him, he ordered one of their leaders to stop and beat him on the sides with a stick, saying: why do you eat what you did not sow?” And from then on, except for the water they came to drink, they never touched a tree or vegetables.” Then the elder asked to be shown the place of his burial. They took him alone and whether they showed him or not is unknown. They explained that, in accordance with the command of Anthony, they were hiding this place so that Pergalius, who was the richest man in that area, would not transfer the bodies to his village and build a martyrium 58. Returning from there to Aphroditeton, he kept only two brothers with him and began to live in the neighboring desert in such abstinence and silence that, according to him, it was only then that he began to serve Christ for the first time. It had already been three years since the rainless sky dried up that area; Everywhere they said that the death of Anthony was mourned by the very elements. The glory of Hilarion did not hide from the neighboring inhabitants of that place: the male and female sex, with pale and thinned lips from hunger, begged for rain for the servant of Christ, that is, the successor of Blessed Anthony. The sight of them caused him great grief. Raising his eyes to the sky and extending his hands high, he immediately asked for what they begged for. But the country, dried up by lack of rain and sandy, after being wetted by rains, suddenly boiled with so many snakes and poisonous animals that countless numbers of those wounded by them died immediately if they did not turn to Hilarion. Why did all farmers and shepherds recover completely by anointing their wounds with blessed oil? Seeing himself there in amazing honor, he went to Alexandria, hoping to go to the most distant Oasis in the desert. Having never stopped in cities since he became a monk, he turned to some brethren he knew in Bruchia, not far from Alexandria. They received the elder with extreme joy. Night was already approaching. Suddenly they heard that his disciples were saddling a donkey and he was getting ready to set off. Falling at his feet, they asked him not to do this and, prostrating himself on the threshold, assured that they would rather die than let such a guest out. He answered them: “I hasten to leave so as not to cause you grief. Then you will be convinced that it is not without a reason that I am leaving so soon.” Indeed, the next day the Gazans entered the monastery with the lictors of the prefect (for they learned that he had come there the day before) and, not finding him, they said to each other: “Is it really true what we heard - that he is a magician and knows the future? and Hesychia 59. Orders were sent throughout the empire to find both. So, leaving Bruchia, he entered the Oasis through the impassable desert and lived there for exactly a year. But since the fame of him reached there, as if unable to hide in the East, where many knew him both by ear and by sight, he decided to sail to secluded islands, so that at least the sea would hide the one about whom the earth was telling. Saint Julian and Anthony the Great At this same time, that all-praised Julian, whom I have already mentioned before, 60 was forced to leave the desert and come to Antioch. When people, brought up in lies and very skillful in weaving slander - I mean like-minded Aryans, began to assert that that great man belonged to their society, then the lamps of truth, Flavian, Diodorus and Aphraates 61, sent to the mentioned praised man another ascetic of virtue, the reasonable Acacius 62, who later ruled the Beria church with the greatest wisdom, and begged him to take pity on countless people, to expose the lies of opponents and at the same time to establish the truth. How many times (on this occasion) he came and left again and how many miracles he performed in the greatest city itself, all this is described by us in the “History of the God-Lovers,” where those who want to know more about this can easily read. And that he attracted the entire population of the city to our meeting, I think no one who studies human nature doubts, because in general the wondrous attracts everyone to itself. The very enemies of truth testify to his great miracles. Anthony the Great did the same in Alexandria long before, during the time of Constantius. Leaving the desert, he walked around that entire city and inspired everyone that Athanasius was a preacher of the apostolic teaching, and the followers of Arius were opponents of the truth. This is how those divine men knew what to do at what time, when to indulge in solitude, and when to prefer cities to deserts. From the Confessions of St. Augustine I confess to You, Lord, my Helper and my Redeemer, and I will tell you how You freed me from the shackles of carnal lust (they tightly entwined me) and from slavery to worldly affairs. I led my normal life, but my anxiety grew; Every day I sighed for You and visited Your church, as far as my deeds allowed, under the burden of which I groaned. Alypius lived with me, relieved of his duties as a legal adviser after he was an assessor for the third time 63; he was waiting for someone to sell his advice to, just as I was selling my ability to speak (if only I could teach him). Nebridius 64 yielded to our friendly requests and went as an assistant to Verecundus 65, our dearest friend, a native of Mediolan. And then one day - I don’t remember for what reason, Nebridius was absent - a certain Pontitian, our fellow countryman, since he was a native of Africa, who occupied a prominent place at court, comes to our home, to me and to Alypius; I don’t remember what he wanted from us. We sat down to talk. By chance he noticed a book on the gambling table that stood in front of us, took it, opened it and unexpectedly came across the Epistles of the Apostle Paul - and he expected to find something from the books that served the teaching that was tormenting me. Smiling, he looked at me in amazement and congratulated me on the fact that these and only these books suddenly appeared before my eyes. He was a faithful Christian and repeatedly prostrated himself before You, our God, praying often and for a long time in church. When I explained to him that I am most interested in the Scriptures, we started talking (he began to talk) about Anthony, an Egyptian monk, fairly famous among Your servants, but unknown to us until that hour. Having learned about this, he began to talk only about him, introducing the ignorant to such a person and being surprised at this ignorance of ours. We were dumbfounded: according to fresh memory, almost in our time Your miracles, performed according to the right faith in the Orthodox Church, have been indisputably attested. Everyone was amazed: we - by the greatness of what happened, he - by the fact that we had not heard about it. From here he started talking about crowds of monks, about their morals, fanned with Your fragrance, about deserts abounding with hermits, about which we knew nothing. And in Mediolan, outside the city walls, there was a monastery full of good brothers, under the care of Ambrose 66, and we did not know about it. He continued talking and we listened attentively in silence. Here he moved on to another story: he and his three other comrades were once in Trevira 67, and when the emperor was watching the circus shows in the afternoon, they went out for a walk in the park that began outside the city walls. They walked in pairs; he and someone else with him separated, and the other two also separated and went in the other direction. Wandering back and forth, they came across a hut where certain Your servants lived, “poor in spirit, such as the kingdom of heaven is” (Matthew 5:3), and found there a book in which the life of Anthony was described. One of them began to read it: he marvels, lights up, reads and plans to rush into such a life - to leave worldly service and serve You. Both of them were secret police agents. And suddenly, full of holy love and pure shame, angry with himself, he turned his eyes to his friend and said to him: “Please tell me, what are we striving for with all our labor, what are we looking for? What are we serving for? Can we, in the service at court, hope for anything more than the title of “friends of the emperor” 68, and then everything is secure and safe? After how many dangers do you come to even greater danger, and when will this be? And if I want, I will become a friend of God right now." He said this, tormented by the birth of a new life, and again plunged into the book: and read, and changed in his heart, which You saw, and renounced the world, as was soon discovered. Reading, overcome with excitement, amid loud lamentations, he separated and determined which was better; has already become Yours and said to a friend: “I am throwing away our previous hopes, I have decided to serve God from this hour, in this place. If you don’t want to, don’t imitate, but don’t object!” He replied that for such pay and in such service he was his faithful comrade. And both are already Yours, they built themselves a tower at a price that suited them: “to leave all that is theirs and follow You” (Luke 14:28). Meanwhile, Pontician and his companion were walking on the other side of the park; looking for their comrades, they came to that very place, found them and began to persuade them to return, because the day was already fading. They told them what decision they wanted to make, how such a desire was born and strengthened in them, and asked that if they refused to join, then not to bother them. Pontician and his companion remained in their former state, although they mourned themselves. Having respectfully congratulated their comrades, they entrusted themselves to their prayers and, dragging their hearts in the dust of the earth, went to the palace, and they, clinging their hearts to the sky, remained in the hut. And both had brides; Having heard about what had happened, they dedicated their virginity to You. This is what Pontician said. But you, Lord, during his story, turned me to face myself: you forced me to leave the place behind me where I settled, not wanting to look into myself. You brought me face to face with me so that I could see my shame and filth, my squalor, my lichens and ulcers. And I saw - and I was horrified, and there was nowhere to run from myself. I tried to look away from myself, but he told and talked, and You again put me in front of me and forced me to look at myself without looking away: look at your untruth and hate it. I had known her for a long time, but I pretended not to know, hid this knowledge and tried to forget about it. And the more ardently I loved those about whom I heard - who, out of a healthy impulse, entrusted themselves entirely to You for healing, the more bitterly, when compared with them, I hated myself, for many of my years had flown by (almost twelve years) since I, as a nineteen-year-old youth, having read Cicero’s “Hortensius”, was inspired by wisdom - but I did not despise earthly happiness and kept postponing the search for it, and meanwhile not only the acquisition, but the search for it alone is preferable to the acquired treasures, and kingdoms, and carnal pleasures, ready for our services. And as a young man I was very pitiful, and especially pitiful on the threshold of youth; I even asked you for chastity and said: “Give me chastity and abstinence, just not now.” I was afraid that You would not immediately hear me and immediately heal me from this evil passion: I preferred to quench it rather than extinguish it. And I walked the “crooked paths” of blasphemous superstition, not because I was confident in it: I seemed to prefer it to other teachings, but did not humbly explore them, but opposed them like an enemy. And I have long thought that, having despised worldly hopes, I was putting off following You alone from day to day, because nothing definite appeared to me where I would direct my path. And then the day came when I stood naked before myself and my conscience screamed: “Where is your word? You said that you do not want to throw off the burden of vanity, since you do not know the truth. And so - it is known to you, but it still crushes you; They, having freed their shoulders, grew wings: they were not tired of searching and ten years (or even more) of reflection.” So, beside myself with burning shame, I reproached myself during Pontitian’s story. The conversation ended, the reason that brought him to us was stated, and he went to himself, and I went to myself. What have I not said to myself? With what thoughts did I not scourge my soul so that it would agree to my attempts to follow You! She resisted, she denied, and she didn't apologize. All her evidence had been exhausted and refuted, but a silent anxiety remained: she was afraid of death, that she would be pulled out of the mainstream of her usual life, in which she withered to death. In this great dispute in my inner home, raised with my soul in the most secluded corner of it - in my heart, I rush to Alypius and with a distorted face in confusion of mind, I shout: “What is this with us? Did you hear? Ignorants rise up and steal the Kingdom of Heaven, and here we are, with our soulless science, wallowing in the mud! Or is it because they are ahead, it’s a shame to follow, but it’s not a shame not to go at all?” I don’t know what else I said in the same way; in my excitement, I rushed away from him, and he, shocked, was silent and just looked at me: my speech sounded unusual. My forehead, cheeks, eyes, complexion, and the sound of my voice spoke more about my state of mind than the words I uttered. At our home there was a garden, which we used, as well as the whole house, because the owner of the house who sheltered us did not live here. In my heartbreak, I rushed to where the hot battle in which I grappled with myself, no one would interfere until the very end - You knew which one, but I didn’t: I was mad to enter into reason, and died to live; I knew what evil I was in, and did not know what good was just about to await me. So, I went into the garden, and Alypius followed me, close behind. His presence did not disturb my privacy. How could he leave me like this? We sat as far away from buildings as possible. My soul groaned dully, indignant with violent indignation at the fact that I did not enter into an alliance with You, Lord, and that it was necessary to go to You - “all my bones” shouted about this (Ps. 34:10) and raised their praises to the heavens. And there is no need for ships, or chariots in fours, or walking: the distance is no more than from the house to the place where we were sitting. You just have to want to go, and you not only go - you are already at the goal, but you have to want it strongly, with all your heart, and not rush back and forth with your half-sick will, in which one desire fights with another and now one takes over, then the other. So I was tormented and sad, showering myself with reproaches that were worse than usual, floundering and twisting in my bonds in order to completely break them off: they were already weakly holding me. And yet they held on. And You, Lord, did not allow me to rest in the recesses of my heart: in Your stern mercy You scourged me with the double scourge of fear and shame, so that I would not retreat again, so that I would break this thin and weak rope that was still holding on, otherwise it would again gain strength and bind me even more tightly. I said to myself: “Let it be now, all of it now,” and with these words I already made a decision, was going to implement it and did not implement it, but did not slip back into the old way: I stopped, not reaching the end, and took a breath. And again I made an attempt, came a little closer, even closer, was about to reach the goal, grabbed it - and was not closer, and was not at the goal, and did not grab it: I hesitated whether to die death or live life. The bad was firmly rooted in me, but the good was not tenacious. And the closer the moment came when I would become different, the more horror it instilled in me, but I did not step back, did not turn away: I froze in place. I was held back by mere scoundrels and mere vanity, these old friends of mine; they quietly tugged at my fleshy clothing and muttered: “Are you abandoning us? From this moment we will leave you forever! From this moment on, you are forever prohibited from both this and that!” “This and that,” I said; But what did they really offer me, what did they offer, my God! Turn this away from the soul of Your servant with Your mercy! What filth they offered, what a disgrace! But I listened to them much less than half-heartedly, and they no longer confidently contradicted me, did not stand in the way, but whispered as if behind my back and secretly pinched the person leaving, forcing him to turn around. And yet they delayed me; I hesitated to break free, shake myself off them and rush to the call; an overbearing habit said to me: “Do you think you can do without them?” Only there was no longer heat in her words, for on that side where I had long ago turned my face and trembled before the transition, Purity was revealed to me in its chaste dignity, in clear and calm joy; the invitation was honest and affectionate to go and not doubt; the hands stretched out to catch and embrace me are pure; good examples are numerous. There were so many boys and girls there, so many young people and people of all ages: both pure widows and virgin old women! And there is purity in all of them, and not at all barren: from You, Lord, her husband, she gave birth to so many joys! And she laughed at me, encouraging me with her mockery and as if saying: “You can’t do what these men, these women could? But could they do it with their own strength, and not with God’s? God their Lord handed me over to them. Why do you rely on yourself? There is no support in yourself. Throw yourself towards Him, don’t be afraid: He won’t move away, He won’t let you fall; throw yourself calmly: He will receive you and heal you.” I was burning with shame because I was still listening to the whispers of those idle women, I hesitated and did not dare. And again it’s like a voice: “Be deaf to the voice of your unclean earthly flesh - and it will die. She tells you about pleasures, but not according to the law of the Lord your God.” This dispute was going on in my heart: about myself and against myself. Alypy, without leaving my side, silently waited for the end of my unusual excitement. Deep reflection brought all my poverty out of the secret abysses and gathered “before the eyes of my heart.” And a terrible storm inside me burst into a shower of tears. In order to fully vent and speak out, I stood up - loneliness, in my opinion, was more suitable for indulging in such crying - and moved away from Alypius: even his presence was a burden to me. I was in such a state then, and he understood it; I think I told him something; I could already hear tears in my voice; I stood up, and he remained in complete stupor where we were sitting. I don’t remember how I fell under some fig tree and gave free rein to tears: they flowed from my eyes in streams - a sacrifice pleasing to You. I did not speak to You in these words, but this was my thought: “Lord, how long? How long, O Lord, is Thy wrath? Do not remember our old sins!” I felt that I was a prisoner of theirs, and I complained and screamed: “Again and again: “tomorrow, tomorrow!” 69 Why not now? Why doesn’t this hour put an end to my abomination?” So I spoke and cried in bitter contrition. And then I hear a voice from a neighboring house, I don’t know if it was a boy or a girl, often repeating in a chant: “Take it, read it! Take it and read it!” My face changed and I began to think hard: don’t children usually sing something similar in some game? I have never heard this before. Suppressing my sobs, I stood up, interpreting these words as a Divine command to me: to open the book and read the first chapter that came to me. I heard about Anthony that he was enlightened by the Gospel verses, which he accidentally stumbled upon: “Go, sell all your property, give to the poor and you will receive treasure in heaven, and come, follow Me,” these words immediately turned him to You. Excited, I returned to the place where Alypius was sitting; I left there, when I left, the Apostolic Epistles. I grabbed them, opened them, and in silence read the first chapter that caught my eye: “Not in feasts or drunkenness, not in bedrooms or debauchery, not in strife and envy: put on the Lord Jesus Christ and do not turn caring for the flesh into lusts” (Rom. 13:13-14). I didn’t want to read further, and I didn’t need to: after this text, my heart was filled with light and peace; the darkness of my doubts disappeared. I marked this place with a finger or some other sign, closed the book and with a calm face explained everything to Alypius. He explained to me in the same way what was happening to him; I didn't know about it. He wanted to see what I had read; I showed it, and he continued reading. I didn’t know the next verse, but it was this: “Accept the weak in the faith.” Alypius took it to himself and revealed it to me. Strengthened by such instruction, he, without any worry or hesitation, made a good decision, in accordance with his morals, which for a long time were much better than mine. Here we go to the mother 70 and tell her that she is happy. We tell you how it all happened; she rejoices, triumphs and blesses You, “who is able to do more than we ask and understand” (Eph. 3:20). She saw that You gave her more in me than she used to ask for, groaning and shedding bitter tears. You turned me to Yourself: I no longer looked for a wife, I did not hope for anything in this world. I stood strong in the faith in which You showed me to her many years ago: You turned her sorrow into joy (Ps. 29:12), much greater than what she wanted. The Life of St. Anthony, described by St. Athanasius the Great in a letter to monks staying in foreign countries Published by: St. Athanasius the Great. Creations: In 4 vols. / Per. from Greek language performed at the Moscow Theological Academy. M., 1994. T. 3. P. 178–250. (Reprint of the 1902–1903 edition) (St. Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria (end of the 3rd century - 373) - one of the few saints who was given the name of the Great, a tireless fighter against the Arian heresy. Appointed bishop in his hometown of Alexandria in 328. Author of many apologetic and polemical works with the Arians. Subjected to severe persecution from the Arians, he was repeatedly expelled from Alexandria by them into exile, he was saved from them by the Egyptian hermits. According to the testimony of Saint Gregory the Theologian, “he had in himself all the virtues; his life and morals are the rule for bishops; his dogmas are the laws for Orthodoxy.” Saint Athanasius visited Anthony the Great more than once, who in turn interceded for him before Constantine the Great. May 2/15.) “The Life of St. Anthony,” written by Saint Athanasius around 357, was not only a model for the hagiographical genre, but also became a teaching book for thousands of followers of the “father of the deserts.” Already before 388, the Life was translated into Latin by Evagrius of Antioch. The notes to the Life in this edition were compiled by the editor. This is how A.S. describes this place. Norov, Russian traveler: “Approaching the picturesque Mount Dzhebelul Teir along the Nile, we looked along the steep cliffs for places to attack - but in vain. The Copts saw us and pointed to the northern cape of the mountain with hand signs. After a long detour, we landed on low-lying rocks. Having reached the height of the mountain, I saw picturesque and extensive quarries. After half an hour's drive from the quarries, along lifeless rocks, we finally reached the monastery. We descended several steps into the depths of a cave cut out of the rock where Anthony is said to have lived, and here there is now an underground church of about 20 arshins square. What a view opens from the coastal cliffs to the edges of the terrible abyss! Between two ribbons of bright green meadows and palm groves, the Nile flows over an immeasurable space in both directions. From the west, the horizon disappeared into the vast desert of the Libyan sands, and from the east of the monastery itself, the ridges of lifeless mountains with sand mounds stretch to the shores of the Red Sea. Around the monastery there is an indescribable deadness - there is not a single plant, not a single source: the monks get water by making a long detour from the Nile or by descending with great danger from steep cliffs" (Norov A.S. Travel through Egypt and Nubia. St. Petersburg, 1853. Part II. pp. 344-349). Published by: John Chrysostom. Interpretation of St. Matthew the Evangelist // Creations. St. Petersburg, 1901. T. 7. Book. 1. pp. 87–89; Book 2. pp. 695, 696, 705–709 (extracts). (St. John Chrysostom (c. 347–407), Patriarch of Constantinople, was an ecumenical teacher, a great preacher and spiritual writer. As a zealous denouncer of wickedness, he brought the disfavor of rulers and some hierarchs against himself and was exiled. He died of illness in Abkhazia, in Komani, on September 14, 407. His memory is January 27 / 9 February, January 30 / February 12, September 14/27, November 13/26.) Published in: History of Egyptian monks. M., 2001. Ch. 11. pp. 71–74. (The authorship of this work of the end of the 4th century has not yet been established. “History ..." describes the pilgrimage of the Olivet monks to the monasteries of the Egyptian desert, the lives and exploits of the fathers of asceticism. This work undoubtedly formed the basis of Rufinus’s “Life of the Desert Fathers”, Palladius’s “Lavsaik” and the hagiographic works of Blessed Jerome, and it itself, like many like it, was written under the impression "The Life of St. Anthony".) Blessed Jerome called Nitria “the city of God” for the angelic life of its hermits. Nitria was the name given to the vast desert located beyond Lake Mareotia, which is located south of Alexandria. Nitria bordered on the Scete Desert, on Libya, on the land of the Mazis, and extended to Ethiopia. Nitria received its name from the neighboring mountain, in the lakes of which there was a lot of saltpeter (nitrate). As Rufinus figuratively writes about this, “truly, according to God’s will, it worked out this way: here, like sewage, human sins are washed away and destroyed” (chapter 21). The founder of the desert monastic life in Nitria is considered to be the Monk Ammon, a companion of Anthony the Great and a disciple, although some sources indicate that hermits lived here already in the 2nd century (see: Kazan P.S. History of Orthodox monasticism in the East. M., 2000. T. 2. P. 8). Nitrian monks used the spiritual advice of Anthony the Great. Contemporaries called them the pillars of monasticism. Rufinus states: “Nowhere have we met such sincere love, such ardent mercy, such zeal for hospitality. Nowhere have we seen such love for the study of the Scriptures, for the thought of God, for spiritual wisdom, so that we felt as if among the orbits of Divine wisdom.” After the death of the Monk Ammon, the main elders of Nitria and Scete - Bishop Serapion, the Monk Macarius of Nitria (the cell attendant of Anthony the Great, who buried him), Macarius the Great and Paphnutius - established monastic rules. By the end of the 4th century, about five thousand monks labored in Nitria in 50 monasteries, cenobitic and hermitic (for more details, see: P.S. Kazansky, Op. cit. Vol. 2, pp. 7–55). Published by: Palladius, Bishop of Elenopol. Love-saik. M., 1992. Ch. 7. pp. 20–21. (Palladius, the future Bishop of Elenopolis, lived among the Egyptian hermits from 388, was a student of Evagrius of Pontus, as well as a student and cell attendant of Macarius of Alexandria. For a number of years he traveled through the monasteries of Egypt, learning asceticism. He described, at the request of the Byzantine nobleman Lausus, the life of ascetics and holy women.) About the area called Kelly Published by: Rufin. The life of desert fathers. Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, 1898. Ch. 22. pp. 92–93 (reprint: 1991). (Rufinus, presbyter of Aquileia, lived for six years among the disciples of Anthony the Great in the 70s of the 4th century. Having left Egypt, he founded a monastery on Olivet, where he labored for 20 years. In 397 he returned to the West. His best works: “The Life of the Desert Fathers” and “Ecclesiastical History.”) Asceticism in the desert of Kellia was also planted by the Monk Ammon, on the advice of Anthony the Great. The Kellia desert was ten thousand steps to the southeast from the Nitrian desert. The monks of Kellia were united in management with the monks of Nitria and were guided by the instructions of Anthony the Great. Among the ascetics and presbyters in Kellia, the first place was occupied by Anthony's student - Macarius of Alexandria, who compiled the spiritual rule for monks. The severity of life in the Kellia desert was such that the hermits ate almost no oil at all, and during Lent they did not take food at all, abstained from sleep, and observed silence. For more details see: Kazansky P.S. Decree. Op. T. 2. pp. 56–78. Life of hermits in the Skete desert Published by: John Moschus. Spiritual meadow. Sergiev Posad, 1915. Ch. 54. P. 71 (reprint: 1991). (John Moschus, together with his disciple Sophronius, the future Patriarch of Jerusalem, made a pilgrimage to the monasteries of Palestine, Syria and Egypt at the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 7th century and described the life of the ancient fathers. He died in 622, was buried in Palestine, in the monastery of Theodosius the Great, in the “cave of the Magi.”) The Scete desert was 24 hours away from Nitria. The road there was determined by the flow of the stars. It was a lifeless sandy desert, where springs could hardly be found, and even then with water almost undrinkable. The founder of the hermitage was Macarius the Great. Some of the Nitrian ascetics, for example the Monks Macarius of Alexandria, Pamvo, Agathon, as well as St. Serapion, had cells in the Skete, where they went for a more secluded and abstinent life. Macarius the Great also visited Nitrian monks. Such communication between the elders - disciples of Anthony the Great - made it possible to have similar rules in the deserts of Nitria, Kellia and Scete. However, asceticism in the Skete was the strictest. The hermits allowed themselves only dry food, and brewed food only on Sundays. Cassian the Roman said that once a certain sick brother wanted white bread, but it was not found in the entire Skete desert, although there were about three thousand five hundred fathers there. Their cells were simple and lined up on one day. The hermits wore clothes made from palm leaves until they became worn out. They slept on the floor, lived by the labor of their hands, and worked only for food. The main thing for the skits was unceasing prayer. Hermits labored here, each of whom was spiritually nurtured by the elder, was in complete obedience to him and revealed all his thoughts to him, therefore the history of the monastery asceticism is a successive series of teachers and students. At the head of the entire Skete was a meeting of elders. The famous presbyters of Skete were, in addition to Macarius the Great, the Monks Isidore and Paphnutius. It was in the Skete that Moses Murin, a former robber, and the Monk Arseny, a former senator and educator of the royal children, as well as such great fathers as Pimen, Agathon, Vissarion, and the holy fool Serapion Sindonite, were saved and achieved holiness. John Climacus noted that the Tavennisiot monks never had as many lamps as the monasteries. Published by: Palladius, Bishop of Elenopol. Love-saik. M., 1992. Ch. 25. pp. 60–65. See also: Sozomen. Book 1. Ch. 13; Pelagius. Book 18. Ch. 20; Rufin. Ch. 31. The Monk Paul the Simple is one of the closest and beloved disciples of Anthony the Great, with whom the teacher himself consulted about spiritual matters and to whom he sent the afflicted to drive away demons. The monk died around 340. His memory is March 7/20 and October 4/17. Published by: Rufin. The life of desert fathers. Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, 1898. Ch. 31. pp. 108–111. Published from: Skete Patericon. M., 2001. P. 45–48. Published by: Rufin. The life of desert fathers. Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, 1898. Ch. 30. pp. 106–108. Venerable Ammon (Ammonius, Amun) of Nitria (con. III – 340/345) – founder of the monastic life on Mount Nitria (see: Socrates Scholasticus. Book 4. Chapter 23); Palladius (chapter 42) and others. Ammon of Nitria not only visited Anthony the Great himself, but also received his visit and a special blessing for the founding of monasteries in the Kellia desert for the monks he cared for in Nitria. Spent 22 years in the desert. Among his students were such famous fathers as Theodore, Elurion, Orsisius, Agios, Putuvist, among his associates: Pior, Pamvo, Origen, Kronius and others. Commemoration of the Monk Ammon of Nitria on September 4/17. – Approx. ed. Published from: Narratives of Abba Ammon // Creations of the ancient ascetic fathers. M., 1997. pp. 21–24. The Monk Ammon, the future bishop (probably Oxyrhynchus) is the successor of the work of Anthony the Great, one of his most beloved disciples, who often headed the monastery on the “outer mountain”, in Pisper, during the absence of the Monk Anthony, and then became abbot there. Born at the end of the 3rd or beginning of the 4th century, he lived a long ascetic life and departed to the Lord as a bishop at the end of the 4th century. He left behind spiritual writings on asceticism (see op. ed.). Instructive stories about him have been preserved, included in the “Ancient Patericon”. This is precisely the Abba Ammon whom Anthony the Great ordered to beat the stone and about whom he said that he would succeed in meekness and the fear of God. Saint Ammon was privileged to hear in the desert the voice of the prophet Moses, explaining to Anthony the Great, at his request, the sayings from the Book of Leviticus. Published by: Palladius, Bishop of Elenopol. Love-saik. M., 1992. Ch. 18. pp. 35–39. Venerable Macarius the Great, or Egyptian, was born c. 300 years. He was a shepherd of his father's flocks of sheep. The example of Anthony the Great inspired him to live a hermit life. At first, he labored not far from his village, but the fame that spread about him forced him to move to a more secluded place. There the enemy raised a slander against him, and when it was discovered and the people rushed to Abba Macarius, he hid in the lifeless Skete desert, in which he spent sixty years in strict asceticism. Soon disciples began to flock to him, but only those who could bear his harsh treatment and the hardships of desert living remained. Thus, according to the story of Socrates Scholasticus, one day a student, tormented by thirst, asked Abba Macarius for permission to drink water. “Be content with the fact that you are under the shadow: many are deprived of this joy,” answered the saint. We can only learn about his hidden life and spiritual struggle from his creations. He himself went to study monasticism with Anthony the Great. Abba Macarius was very friendly with Macarius of Alexandria; together they were persecuted by the Arians and were exiled to an island, where they converted the pagans to Christ. About Macarius the Great and Alexandria, see: Socrates. Book 4. Ch. 23; Sozomen. Book 3. Ch. 14; Rufinus, ch. 28, etc. The Monk Macarius the Great died at the age of 90 in the year 390. His memory is January 19 / February 1. Published by: Rufin. The life of desert fathers. Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, 1898. Ch. 28. pp. 97–101. Published from: Skete Patericon. M., 2001. pp. 327–329. Published by: Palladius, Bishop of Elenopol. "Lavsaik". M., 1992. Ch. 19. pp. 39–50. The Monk Macarius of Alexandria, or City, was from Alexandria, where he lived, engaged in small trade and studying the Scriptures. Having received holy baptism at the age of 40, he immediately went into the desert and, with the blessing of Anthony the Great, began to lead a harsh ascetic life. Rufinus writes that “he loved the desert more than all the fathers. The most distant and inaccessible areas in it were traversed by him” (chapter 29). Soon the fame of his self-destruction and miracles spread throughout Egypt. Macarius of Alexandria had three cells: solitary ones - in the Skete, in the Kellia desert, and also on Mount Nitria - for receiving the suffering. The saint's cells were cramped and had no windows, he did not eat anything during Great Lent, and did not sleep for several weeks, spending time in contemplation of God. He drew up rules for monks. So he spent 60 years in the desert in asceticism and at the same time constantly reproaching himself for negligence. The Monk Macarius of Alexandria died around 394/395, according to other sources - in 404 or 410; His memory is celebrated on January 19/31. Published by: Venerable John Cassian the Roman. 3rd interview of Abba Paphnutius: On the three renunciations of the world // Scriptures. Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, 1993 (reprint of the publication: M., 1892). pp. 203–206. (Reverend John, nicknamed Cassian, the Roman, was born into a noble family, probably in Gaul; in his youth he went to Palestine for spiritual purposes. He entered the Bethlehem monastery and became a monk. After living there for two years, around 390, he and his friend Herman decided to visit Egyptian monasteries. So, for seven years they visited all the famous monasteries of Lower and Upper Egypt, observing life ascetics and being edified by conversations with them. Then they undertook another similar pilgrimage. The Monk John was ordained a deacon by St. John Chrysostom, then returned to Marseille, where he was ordained a presbyter. He established two monasteries here according to the rules of the Egyptian fathers, wrote 12 books on the organization of monastic life, and also outlined his interviews with the Egyptian ascetics - the disciples of Anthony. Great. Died in 435. His memory is February 29 / March 13.) The Monk Paphnutius is a disciple of Anthony the Great, who in his youth entered one of his monasteries. Having established himself in monasticism, he retired into solitude in the desert. Being non-covetous, he never owned more than two clothes. Twice a month he came to the elders to open his thoughts, although he lived twelve thousand steps away from them. Anthony the Great spoke of Paphnutius as an ascetic, filled with Christian love and capable of healing the infirmities of others and saving souls. The Monk Paphnutius became presbyter of the Skete. Together with the Monks Macarius and Serapion, he drew up the rules of monastic life. He was persecuted as a zealot of Orthodoxy, sentenced to work in the mines and blinded in his right eye. Emperor Constantine the Great highly revered him. Together with Athanasius the Great, Saint Paphnutius opposed the Arians. Rufinus, after visiting the monastery of Abba Paphnutius, wrote that “he was the most famous hermit in those places and the most distant inhabitant of the desert in the region of Heracleopolis, the famous city of Thebaid” (chapter 16). Because Abba Paphnutius always reproached himself for everything and did not condemn anyone, an Angel appeared to him with a sword and said that he was inscribed in the book of life (see: Ancient Patericon, p. 148). – Approx. ed. Published by: Palladius, Bishop of Elenopol. Love-saik. M., 1992. Ch. 56. pp. 117–121. Published by: Rufin. The life of desert fathers. Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, 1898. Ch. 13. pp. 72–73. The disciple of Anthony the Great, the Monk Pityrion (Pitirun) of Thebaid, is mentioned by Socrates Scholasticus (book 4, chapter 23); Palladium (ch. 64); Nikifor (book 9, chapter 14). After the death of Anthony the Great, he became a student of Ammon, the future bishop, also a student of Anthony the Great. At that time, Saint Ammon was the abbot of a monastery on a mountain near the monastery of Pisper. After him, the Monk Pitirion became rector. Palladius writes that several thousand hermits were under his leadership. Memory of the Monk Pitirion on Saturday of Cheese Week. Didymus of Alexandria, blind man Published by: Palladius, Bishop of Elenopol. Love-saik. M., 1992. Ch. 4. pp. 16–17. The blind writer Didymus, who was visited by Anthony the Great in Alexandria during the Arian persecution, is mentioned in his works: Blessed Jerome, Socrates Scholasticus (book 6, chapter 25), Sozomen (book 6, chapter 2), Cassiodorus and others. Theodoret writes that “Didimus, who had lost the sense of sight in childhood, nevertheless knew poetry and rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry and astronomy, Aristotle's syllogistic and Plato's eloquence - and he studied all these sciences with one ear, not as sources of truth, but as a weapon that truth can use against lies. He also studied the Divine Scriptures; I studied not just the words, but also their meaning” (Church History. Book 4. Chapter 29). Published by: Palladius, Bishop of Elenopol. Lovesaik. M., 1992. Ch. 10. pp. 26–27. About Pambo, a student of Anthony the Great, see: Socrates (book 4, chapter 23), Nikephoros (book 9, chapter 14); “Skete Patericon”: “Abba Pimen said that Abba Anthony said about Abba Pamvo: “Having the fear of God, he built within himself an abode for the Spirit of God”; “...Abba Pamva asked Abba Anthony: what do I need to do to be saved? The elder told him: do not rely on your righteousness, do not regret what has passed, and bridle your tongue and belly,” etc.” Reprinted from: Christian Reading. 1837. Part I. pp. 158–167 (same: Palladium, ch. 23). Published from: Works of Blessed Jerome of Stridon. Kyiv, 1880. Part 4, pp. 1–12. (Blessed Jerome of Stridon (330–419/420) - translated into Latin and gave an interpretation of the Holy Scriptures. Born in the city of Stridon, received a classical education in Rome, visited Gaul, etc. In 373 he went to the East, began to lead an ascetic life, and was ordained a priest in Antioch. Visited Constantinople, where he listened to St. Gregory Theologian and was engaged in translations. In 382 he returned to Rome and contributed greatly to the correction of morals. In 385 he came to Palestine, where he visited his friend Rufinus of Aquileia, the abbot of the Monastery of Olives, and the Venerable Melania the Elder, the Roman. In 386 he settled in Bethlehem, where, living as a hermit in a cramped cave, he translated the Scriptures. June 15/28.) St. Paul of Thebes (about 228-341) was a great Egyptian ascetic who lived for almost a hundred years, starting from his youth, in strict asceticism and complete solitude in a cave near the Red Sea, unknown to anyone. Just before his death, the Lord gave a revelation about him to Anthony the Great, and he visited this saint, was honored to talk with him and was buried after death. The relics of St. Paul of Thebes were subsequently transferred to Constantinople, then to Venice, and finally to Hungary, to Ofen; part of his honest chapter is in Rome. A monastery with strict monastic rules was built around his cave. The memory of St. Paul of Thebes is celebrated on January 15/28. Russian traveler A.S. Norov writes that the monastery of Paul of Thebes is no more than four miles away from the monastery of Anthony the Great in a straight line, but it is “separated by such a high and steep rock that a walk around it takes a very long time” (A.S. Norov. Travel through Egypt... Part II. P. 378). Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky), who visited the Wadi Deir (monastery) valley with the cave of Paul of Thebes after Norov, wrote in his diary: “Paul went here from the vanities and temptations of this world for repentance and prayers in anticipation of the appearance of a new world. The choice of this place reveals the inclination of his soul towards selflessness and deep solitude. Saint Anthony settled in the best place, from which the Red Sea, the Arabian streams and the nomadic camps of the Arabs were visible, and had disciples. And the Monk Paul alone remained silent in the wildest and gloomiest gorge, from which nothing pleasant was visible” (Travels in Egypt... P. 232). Published from: Works of Blessed Jerome of Stridon. St. Petersburg; Kyiv, 1880. Part IV. pp. 12–15, 18–20, 30–35. Hilarion the Great was as important to Palestine as his teacher Anthony the Great was to Egypt. From the age of fifteen he led an ascetic lifestyle and became famous for his holiness and miracles. The Monk Anthony singled him out among his students and called him his son. Hilarion the Great founded monasteries throughout Palestine and left behind many disciples. He traveled to Jerusalem and the desert of the Dead Sea, and converted many to Christ. I visited the place of the exploits of Anthony the Great three years after his death and spoke about it. Towards the end of his life he wandered through monasteries in different places. He died as an eighty-year-old man on the island of Cyprus in 371/372, having foreknowledge of his departure to God. His memory is October 21 / November 3. Published by: Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrrhus. Church history. M., 1993. Book. 4. P. 169. (Blessed Theodoret of Cyrus is a famous writer and teacher of the 5th century, theologian, Church historian and hagiographer. He is revered by the Church as a teacher of piety and a blessed man among the fathers of the Council of Chalcedon, but his theological judgments are accepted with reservations due to inaccuracies in presentation and language. “Ecclesiastical History” was written by him around 449–450 as a continuation to “History" Eusebius and its clarification.) Published by: Augustine Aurelius. Confession. M., 1991. Book. 8. Ch. 6–8, 11–12. pp. 199–204 and 210–211. (Blessed Augustine (354–430) is a famous theologian and preacher, the author of many treatises and books (“On the City of God”, “On the Trinity”, etc.). In 387 he was baptized by Saint Ambrose of Milan. In 388 he founded in Tagaste (North Africa) one of the first monastic communities there, which included his son Adeodate, friend Alypius (from 395 g. - Bishop of Tagasta, then - Archbishop of Numidia), Severus, Evodius and other ascetics close to Augustine in spirit. Having become Bishop of Ippon (North Africa) in 395, Blessed Augustine gradually transformed the episcopal house into a monastery. The autobiographical book “Confession”, in which he vividly reflected his appeal to God under the influence of the life of Anthony the Great, Blessed Augustine began to write. 397 years old.) The Monk Anthony the Great was born in 251 in Middle Egypt, near Heracleopolis, in the village of Koma, on the western bank of the Nile. – Approx. ed. Arura is an Egyptian measure of land of one hundred cubits, that is, 80 hectares, a considerable fortune at that time. – Approx. ed. In Evagrius’ translation it reads “not far.” Anthony the Great spent about 15 years in a tomb near his village. In 285, he crossed, as it is said further, to the eastern bank of the Nile and lived there as a hermit for almost 20 years in an abandoned fortress on a mountain where only snakes lived. Later, his disciples would settle on this so-called “outer mountain” in the Pisper monastery after his departure. – Approx. ed. The entrance to the cave was blocked. Anthony the Great talked with visitors through a tiny hole, and even then extremely rarely and briefly. He opened access for the suffering to himself only during the persecution of Diocletian. – Approx. ed. One of the most recent persecutions of Christians under Emperor Maximinus Dai (c. 308). – Approx. ed. Saint Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, suffered martyrdom in 311, during the second wave of Maximinian persecutions. The connections of the saint with the Egyptian hermits are evidenced by his essay “On Blasphemous Thoughts,” which has come down to us in fragments. The saint's memory is November 25 / December 8. – Approx. ed. The new place of the exploits of Anthony the Great was located east of the Nile, not far from the Red Sea. It came to be called Mount Antonia, or the “inner mountain.” From the top of this wild mountain, nearly a thousand steps high, the view is vast. To the east are Mount Horeb and Sinai, the desert right up to the sea; to the south – the ridges of the Thebaid Mountains; to the north - lifeless plains; to the west are the fertile valleys of the Nile. At the foot of the mountain, the Monk Anthony built a small cell in which one could only lie down - the so-called “first monastery”. At the top of the mountain there is a second cell, inaccessible to visitors. Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky) describes this place as follows: “The closer we came to the cradle of monasticism, the steeper and more stubborn the path leading to it became. In many places you had to climb from ledge to ledge and cling with your hands. I took a short rest on the rocks four times. Thirst has tormented me. The more I drink water from leather fur, the more I burn and languish from the bitterness in my mouth. I would not have understood how the hundred-year-old elder Anthony descended and ascended through such a difficult place if faith had not told me that he was carried by the omnipotent grace of God.” The cave at the top of the mountain began to serve as the cell of Abba Anthony after his disciples found him at the foot of the mountain. The cave “has the appearance of a spoon with a narrow handle, it is dark and cool, not low, but not high either. Its natural arch, cracked, resembles the peaked roof of a hut.” Next to this cave, a little higher and to the right, there is another, small one, which “is so low and narrow that you can only sit and sleep in it” (Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky). Travel through Egypt and to the monasteries of St. Anthony the Great and St. Paul of Thebes in 1850. St. Petersburg, 1856. pp. 220–222). The ascetic spent the rest of his life in the caves on the “inner mountain” until his death in 355/356. Later a monastery was established here. – Approx. ed. Meletius is a former bishop of Thebaid, who was excommunicated from the Church by the Hieromartyr Peter of Alexandria for renouncing the faith. During the spread of the Arian heresy, Meletius leaned towards Arius. The First Council of Nicea in 325 confirmed the deprivation of Meletius of all episcopal rights. However, traces of the Meletian heresy remained for a long time among his followers in their way of life and in their statutes, similar to the statutes of the Samaritans and Jews (see: Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrrhus. Church History. Book I, Chapter 9). – Approx. ed. Manichaeism is a heresy that arose in the 3rd century and is a mixture of Christianity and Zoroastrianism. The initiator of the heresy is the Persian magician Manes, who was ordained a priest in the Persian city of Egvats. – Approx. ed. Arianism is a heresy that arose from the false teaching of the Alexandrian priest Arius, who did not recognize the Lord Jesus Christ as consubstantial and equal to God the Father and ranked the Creator among the creation. He also blasphemously reduced the Holy Spirit to the creation of the Son of God. This heresy spread quickly, gaining support from many hierarchs. Although she was condemned at the Council of Alexandria in 320, the Arians remained adamant in their false teaching. Then, by order of Constantine the Great, the First Ecumenical Council was convened in Nicaea in 325, at which the heresy was solemnly exposed, and Arius and like-minded people were excommunicated from the Church and exiled. But for a long time the Arians carried out ruin in the Orthodox Church, taking advantage of the favor of some rulers. In the Roman Empire, this heresy existed until the middle of the 5th century, among the Goths, Vandals, and Burgundians - until the 7th century. – Approx. ed. Constantine Augustus (c. 285–337) - Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles King Constantine the Great, son of Caesar Constantius Chlorus and Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Queen Helen, rulers of Gaul and Britain. In 312, under the saving sign of the Cross in the sky, he defeated Emperor Maxentius, who usurped power over Rome and Italy. Having finally believed in Christ, Emperor Constantine in 313 issued the Edict of Milan on Toleration, which granted Christians many privileges. In 323, after the victory of Constantine the Great over the eastern ruler Licinius, who oppressed Christians, the edict was extended over the entire Roman Empire. The Emperor supported the Orthodox Church in every possible way and brought back Christians from exile. He deeply revered Anthony the Great, wrote letters to him, which Sozomen also mentions (Church History. Book 1, Chapter 5). The memory of Constantine the Great is celebrated on May 21 / June 3. – Approx. ed. Saint Serapion, Bishop of Tmuit, is one of the most zealous companions of Saint Athanasius the Great. During the Arian Troubles, he retired to the desert to Anthony the Great, who loved him so much that he revealed his visions to him and, dying, left a mantle as a blessing. From the desert, Abba Serapion was elevated to the See of Tmuit. As a zealot of Orthodoxy and defender of St. Athanasius from the Arians, he was sentenced to imprisonment. Socrates Scholasticus calls him "a man highly respected for his holiness of life and eloquence." Saint Serapion left behind ascetic and apologetic writings (see: Creations of the ancient ascetic fathers. M., 1997). He died around 366, having outlived the great fathers - Anthony, Ammon and Macarius, whom he mentions in one of his letters: “Of you, Abba Anthony, who reached the pinnacle of asceticism, of which you have a life devoted to writing. Of you, Abba Ammon, Abba John, Abba Macarius, shone with such virtues: they performed miracles and presented other evidence of their holiness. By driving away demons by the will of God, treating serious illnesses and various sufferings, they showed that medical science is weak.” The famous “Rule of St. Serapion, the interlocutor of St. Macarius", in the Slavic translation there is "The Life of St. Anthony the Great, described by his disciple Serapion” (“Description of Manuscripts” by Tsarsky. P. 353), in the Coptic language there is “The Life of St. Macarius, described by Serapion." Many legends about him have been preserved in the Ancient Patericon. – Approx. ed. Mski (meski, mshi) – mules, hinnies. – Approx. ed. Having already been more than ninety years old, Abba Anthony agreed to take into the service of his old age two disciples - Amatha (Matthew) and Macarius (see Blessed Jerome about St. Paul of Thebes and Palladius about Eulogius and the Mutilated). – Approx. ed. The Monk Anthony the Great departed to the Lord on January 17/30 in the year 355/356, in the one hundred and fifth year of his ascetic life. – Approx. ed. Literally, “in assemblies.” This refers to blows to the beater. One of the four monk brothers. Kronius (Kronid, Chronius) - probably the presbyter who was the translator for Anthony the Great (see: Palladium, chapter 23); Rufinus notes in him “the immeasurable grace of humility” (chapter 25). These monastic brothers are also known from other sources as Dioscorus, Eusebius, Euthymius, and also Ammonius. Dioscorus was elevated to the bishop of Hermopolis, Eusebius and Euthymius were ordained priests, and Ammonius, in order not to be elevated to the priesthood, cut off his ear and promised to cut off his tongue (Bolotov V.V. Lectures on the history of the Ancient Church. Vol. 4. pp. 161–162). Disciples and associates of Anthony the Great. About Orsisie (Arsisie) - Sozomen (book 6, chapter 30), Nikephoros (book 11, chapter 73). Abba Orsisius, in his youth, acquired such spiritual experience that the Monk Pachomius entrusted him with the leadership of one of the Taverna monasteries, saying: “Orsisius shines in the house of God like a golden lamp.” Anthony the Great called Abba Orsisius “true Israel, seeing the Lord.” He was also highly revered by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria. – Approx. ed. This refers to Pachomius the Great (about 287–347), the founder of cenobitic monasticism in Upper Egypt. Son of a Coptic peasant; became a hermit around 308. In 320–325 he created a monastic community of 9 male and 2 female monasteries, numbering several thousand devotees, on the banks of the Nile in Thebaid, near the island of Tavenna. The charter for monasteries was, according to legend, given to him by an Angel. Anthony the Great spoke about Abba Pachomius to his disciple Zacchaeus: “I have heard a lot about your father, that he lives according to the scriptures, and, truly, he often wanted to see him physically, but, probably, he was unworthy of it. In the Kingdom of Heaven, by the grace of God, we will see each other. <...> At the beginning, when I became a monk, there was not a single monk to educate others; but each of the former monks, after the persecution, labored on his own. After that, your father arranged this good deed with the help of God. Even before him, another, named Lot, wanted to establish the same thing, but since he did not try with all his heart for this, he did not get what he wanted. He rendered a great service by gathering so many brethren.” – Approx. ed. The very large number of monks, among whom were very young, led to the impoverishment of spiritual life in the Skete. Macarius the Great warned: “When you see a cell built near the lake, then know that the desolation of the Skete is near. When you see the tree, it is at the door. When you see the youths, take the coat and leave.” Abba Moses said: “If we keep the commandments of God, the barbarians will not come here, and if we don’t, then the Skete will be devastated.” And so it happened: after the barbarian invasion of Skete, some monks were killed, others scattered throughout Egypt. In the 6th century, the skete monks completely deviated into monophysitism. – Approx. ed. Mount Saint Anthony, or the "inner mountain", was located near Klysma, to the south, near the Red Sea. The site of the cave of St. Paul the Simple has been preserved to this day to the west of the monastery of Anthony the Great. – Approx. ed. A special type of asceticism is abstinence in married life. We have seen this custom since the first centuries of Christianity. Like Saint Ammon, the same life was led by: Saint Magna of Ancyra, the pious Malchus, Anastasius and Theognia, Pelagius of Laodicea, Julian and Basilissa (285), Conon of Isauria and Mary (in the 2nd century), Cecilia and Valerian, a Roman aristocrat (230), Zechariah the shoemaker and Mary (VIII). St. Gregory Dvoeslov speaks about the difficulties of this feat: one priest, having lived with his wife in chastity to a very old age, was already dying. His wife-sister came up to him and blew on his face. Having gathered his strength, the elder said to her: “Get away from me, wife; the fire is still alive - move the straw away.” The Monk Ammon lived with his wife in such abstinence for 18 years. He needed to cross the Nile channel, Lycon, to meet with Anthony the Great, who invited him. “Lycon is nothing more than a deep branch of the huge Nile, and even in a boat I was afraid to cross it” (Palladium, chapter 8). When Saint Ammon crossed the river in such a miraculous way, Anthony the Great was the first to turn to him: “God revealed a lot to me about you and announced your death. Out of necessity, I called you so that we could gain mutual benefit by praying for each other.” Having settled him in a remote place, the Monk Anthony blessed the ascetic to remain in solitude until his death. Note ed. It was probably a rich private ship, and the saint, out of humility, refused to sail on it. – Approx. ed. Pithos is a clay vessel for storing various products. Often pithos were buried in the floor. – Approx. ed. This refers to the Byzantine nobleman, at whose request Palladius compiled his book and in whose honor it was named “Lavsaik”. – Approx. ed. Both Macarii were students of Anthony the Great. – Approx. ed. "Macarius" means "blessed." – Approx. ed. The Hierakites rejected the resurrection of the flesh. – Approx. ed. Conga is a measure of three circles. – Approx. ed. Jannes and Jambres are two Egyptian brother-magicians whose names appear in the Bible in the Second Epistle to Timothy (2 Timothy 3:8), with reference to the Exodus (Exodus 7:11–12, 22), which speaks of the opposition of the Egyptian wise men to Moses and Aaron. According to legend, they were the sons of Valaam. – Approx. ed. “Macarius returned to the populated areas and, showing the fruits to the monks, convinced them to go to the garden. Many fathers gathered with him and said: “Perhaps that garden appeared for the destruction of our souls? If we now taste its sweetness, we will receive our goods on earth. What payment will the Lord give us when we come to Him, or what virtue will He reward?” And they convinced Macarius not to return to that place again” (History of Egyptian monks. M., 2001. pp. 76–77). – Approx. ed. The Monk Macarius spent the entire Lent Day in his cell in the Skete. This area, according to Rufinus’ story about Macarius of Alexandria (chapter 29), “lies in the middle of a vast desert at a distance of a day’s journey from the Nitrian monasteries. There is no path leading there and there are no signs to indicate the way. They get there according to the direction of the stars... There is little water there, and the water that is found has a disgusting smell, it smells like tar, but is not harmful for drinking. Only men who have perfected their spiritual life live there. Who else could live in such a terrible place except people with irrevocable determination and perfect abstinence?” – Approx. ed. Venerable Melania the Elder, Roman, Palestine, Bethlehem - famous ascetic of the late 4th - early 5th century. She was the wife of a noble Roman nobleman. Having become a widow at the age of 28, she went to Egypt, where she began to take care of many spirit-bearing elders, providing them with material assistance and supporting them during the Arian persecutions. In Jerusalem, near Olivet, she founded a convent, in which she became abbess. Palladius writes about her: “Neither the west nor the east, nor the north nor the south was deprived of the benefits and gifts of this immortal wife. Living for thirty-seven years in a foreign country, she supplied churches, monasteries, hospice houses, and prisons from her own property” (chapter 103). In old age, she went to Rome, becoming there the “apostle of monasticism.” In 408, the Monk Melania returned to Olivet. She died in 439. Her memory is December 31 / January 13. – Approx. ed. The Monk Mark the Ascetic lived and interacted with the first disciples of Anthony the Great, and perhaps with himself. From his youth he knew the Holy Scriptures by heart, he himself taught and wrote a lot about asceticism. Palladium communicated with him and considered him “superior to men.” Mark the Ascetic lived for more than a hundred years, “surpassed the Egyptian hermits in modesty and humility,” and rested in the Lord at the beginning of the 5th century. His memory is March 5/18. – Approx. ed. See Rufinus (chapter 29): “Saint Macarius spoke about an even more terrible vision that he had. The brethren began to receive the Holy Mysteries. As soon as others extended their hands to receive the Holy Mysteries, the Ethiopians, as if warning the priest, placed coals on the hands of some, while the Body of Christ, taught by the priest, ascended back to the altar. On the contrary, when the more worthy of the communicants stretched out their hands to the altar, the evil spirits retreated from them and ran far away with great horror. He also saw that the Angel of the Lord stood before the altar, together with the hand of the priest, also extending his hand to the altar and participating in the teaching of the Holy Mysteries. And from that time on, the grace of God rested on him, revealing to him how, during vigils, while reading psalms and prayers, one of the brethren, at the suggestion of evil spirits, would indulge in thoughts. And neither the shortcomings nor the virtues of the brethren who approached the altar were hidden from him.” – Approx. ed. See Rufinus (chapter 29): “Saint Macarius spoke about an even more terrible vision that he had. The brethren began to receive the Holy Mysteries. As soon as others extended their hands to receive the Holy Mysteries, the Ethiopians, as if warning the priest, placed coals on the hands of some, while the Body of Christ, taught by the priest, ascended back to the altar. On the contrary, when the more worthy of the communicants stretched out their hands to the altar, the evil spirits retreated from them and ran far away with great horror. He also saw that the Angel of the Lord stood before the altar, together with the hand of the priest, also extending his hand to the altar and participating in the teaching of the Holy Mysteries. And from that time on, the grace of God rested on him, revealing to him how during vigils, while reading psalms and prayers, one of the brethren, at the suggestion of evil spirits, would indulge in thoughts. And neither the shortcomings nor the virtues of the brethren who approached the altar were hidden from him.” This refers to Julian the Apostate (Flavius-Claudius; 331–363), nephew of Constantine the Great and pupil of Bishop Eusebius. When Julian became the ruler of the Roman Empire (361–363), he issued an edict against Christians, gave privileges to pagans, ordered honoring his image and introduced sacrifices. Died of wounds in the war with the Persians on the Tigris River. Theodoret in “Ecclesiastical History” (Book 3, Chapter 25) writes about his death like this: “Who dealt Julian this righteous blow is still unknown to anyone... But whether a man or an Angel stretched out his sword, whoever did it, obviously, he was only the executor of the will of God. They say that, having received a wound, he immediately took a handful of blood and, throwing it into the air, said: “You have won, Galilean!” At the same time, admit victory over yourself - and dare to commit blasphemy? What madness! – Approx. ed. Dracontius was the abbot of the Ermopolis monastery near Alexandria. He was so respected that many pagans promised to convert to Christianity if Dracontius became bishop of Hermopolis. The humble monk hastened to retire into the desert. However, Saint Athanasius the Great wrote in his letter to him: “Do not believe those who say that being a bishop is a reason for sin and provides an opportunity to sin. And having been a bishop, one can remain in hunger and thirst, like Paul... We know both bishops who fast and monks who eat; We know both bishops who do not drink wine and monks who do; We know both bishops who perform signs and monks who do not. Wherever anyone is, let him strive everywhere; the crown is given not according to place, but according to deeds.” Dracontius obeyed the call of Saint Athanasius. Being a bishop, he could also satisfy his love for the desert: Mount Nitria, a stronghold of monasticism, also belonged to his Church. Dracontius was a glorious defender of the Orthodox faith from the Arians, for which he was exiled to a fortress near Klysma, where he was honored with a visit from Hilarion the Great. In 362, Bishop Dracontius attended the Council of Alexandria along with Athanasius the Great. – Approx. ed. About Isidore, presbyter and stranger of the Alexandrian Church, Palladius writes that “until his death he did not wear linen clothes, did not go to the bathhouse, did not touch meat, and never ate food to the point of satiety.” He spent his youth in the Nitrian desert. Isidore the Host was well known to the entire Senate in Rome, where he went with Athanasius the Great. He had a deep knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and dogmas, and had the gift of mental prayer and tears. He used his wealth for God and gave his sister-maidens to the monastery. – Approx. ed. We are talking about a monastery in the place of Pisper on the eastern bank of the Nile, where Anthony the Great first asceticised on the “outer mountain”, and later his disciples remained. The mentioned Macarius then became the abbot of this monastery. He should not be confused with Macarius the Great and Alexandria. The same translator Kronius (Kronid) also said that Anthony the Great had, on the night when he released Eulogius with the crippled man, a vision of the souls of the dead in the form of birds, which the giant tried not to let into heaven (see: Palladium, chapter 24). This refers to persecutions under the emperor Decius (250 - edict against Christians) and Valerian (in 257/258); Hieromartyrs Bishop Cornelius of Rome and Bishop Cyprian of Carthage, who refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods. The Hieromartyr Cyprian was beheaded with a sword in 258, after persecution and imprisonment. The writings and messages of this zealot of the faith are full of a spirit of meekness and love. Blessed Jerome compared them to “a quiet stream, the purest and most pleasant water.” His memory is August 31 / September 13. – Approx. ed. The cave of Paul of Thebes was located not far from the Red Sea, in the gorge of Mount Kholzim, located on the other side of the same mountain range, among which the “inner mountain” of Anthony the Great rises. In some codes it reads: onocentaur, in others – centaur. Pliny testifies that Hippocentaurs were repeatedly brought to Rome and served as the subject of spectacle. Of course, expensive necklaces, the cost of which was equal to the cost of entire cities. Saint Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, is a Jew from Palestine, who labored for a long time in the Egyptian desert. For several years he was a student of Hilarion the Great, who predicted that he would become a bishop if he left the desert. Around 367, by the direction of God, he was elected to the episcopal see of Salamis. He had the gift of miracles and prophecy. He died in 403 at the 96th year of his life and was buried on the island of Cyprus. His memory is May 12/25. – Approx. ed. An idol that was worshiped by the people of Gaza at that time. Next, Blessed Jerome describes many miracles performed by the saint over many years. – Approx. ed. Hilarion the Great visited the "inner mountain", the site of the last exploits of his teacher Anthony the Great, three years after his death, in 358/359. – Approx. ed. Martyrium was the name of a church built over the tomb of a martyr or confessor. The mentioned Hesychius, a student of Hilarion the Great, later secretly transported the relics of his teacher from Cyprus to Palestine, where he was buried in his own monastery. The historian Sozomen testified in the 5th century that Hilarion the Great “pleased God so much that at his grave to this day many sick people and those possessed by a demon receive healing and, most surprisingly, they are healed on the island of Cyprus, where he was buried by the local inhabitants, who gave him great veneration and revered him.” – Approx. ed. See “The History of God-Lovers” (Moscow, 1996, pp. 26–46). Julian Savva, an ascetic who “in the flesh imitated the life of the ethereal,” lived in the Ozroene desert near Carr. He predicted the death of Julian the Apostate and received a revelation of his death. – Approx. ed. Flavian and Diodorus are ascetics and champions of Orthodox teaching, who left the deserts and preached in cities to fight the Arians (see: Church History. Book 2. Chapter 24). Flavian later became Bishop of Antioch. Aphraates is an Edessa hermit who also came out of the desert to fight the Arians. He converted many to the true faith. Valens did not dare to send him into exile when the saint, when asked by the king why he did not remain in prayerful solitude, as befits monks, courageously answered him: “You threw a flame into our father’s house, and we are running everywhere, trying to extinguish it” (History of the God-Lovers, Chapter 8). – Approx. ed. This Acacius was first a monk, then an ambassador from the Syrian churches in Rome, and then (in 378) bishop of Beroe (Aleppo). In 381 he was in Constantinople. Known for his opposition to John Chrysostom. An assessor is a legal adviser charged with assisting officials on legal matters. Nebridius is a student of Augustine who followed him from Africa. Verekund is a friend of Augustine, with whom he stayed on an estate near Mediolan. Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, is the author of dogmatic and moral works. He owns the hymn “We Praise You God” and the book “On the Positions of the Clergy.” He was elected Bishop of Mediolan (Milan) by special order of God in 374. He contributed greatly to the eradication of Arianism in Italy. He became the spiritual leader of Blessed Augustine, confirming him in Orthodoxy and then baptizing him together with his son Adeodate and friend Alypius. Saint Ambrose died at the age of 57, on April 4, 397. His memory is December 7/20, the day of his installation as a bishop. – Approx. ed. Nowadays Trier is a city on the Moselle River. In the 3rd–4th centuries, emperors who commanded the Rhine army often stayed here. A narrow circle of people close to the emperor, whom he convened to discuss state affairs. In his sermons, Augustine often compared the “tomorrow, tomorrow” (cras-cras) of a sinner who postpones his repentance to the cawing of a raven: “I tell you, while you are uttering this raven cry, destruction will overtake you.” This refers to the mother of Blessed Augustine - righteous Monica, who, having remained a widow in her youth, devoted her entire life to the pious upbringing of her son and prayed for many years for his initiation into Orthodoxy. – Approx. ed.