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On this day our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified On this day our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, in the year from the creation of the world 5541. Rev. John, writer of the Ladder There is no reliable news about the place of birth and upbringing of the Monk John, as the writer of his life, the monk Daniel of Raifa, says. There is, by the way, an assumption that he received his significant education in Constantinople, and that he and his brother George were the sons of that pious nobleman Xenophon and his wife Mary, who are remembered on January 26th. It is known that in the 16th year of his age, John left the world and arrived at Mount Sinai, where asceticism flourished at that time (at the end of the 5th century). “In the country that was formerly called Arabia, and is now called Third Palestine,” says the historian Procopius, who lived during the time of Emperor Justinian, “there is a vast desert, waterless and devoid of fruitful plants. In this desert, not far from the Red Sea, there stands a lonely mountain called Sinai, which is very difficult to climb.” This emptiness and silence has always attracted hermits; They were also attracted by memories of the great events that took place here in ancient times. Finally, in the middle of the 4th century, when monasticism was established and extremely strengthened in Egypt and spread from here to all countries, ascetics came to Sinai in large numbers from Egypt and from other countries, seeking even greater solitude and silence, and loved to live and die there in the Lord. “On this mountain, Sinai,” continues Procopius, “hermits live who spend their lives in harsh labors, in feats of repentance and constant remembrance of death. Here they unhinderedly enjoy the deep solitude that they value more than anything else in the world. Emperor Justinian, not finding anything to do for them, because they did not want anything, being most concerned about gaining the spirit of complete non-covetousness, about mortifying the body and about removing themselves from all attachment to everything corruptible and transitory, built for them a church in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos, so that they would offer up their prayers in it and perform the sacraments.” And the wondrous ascetics became famous in the Sinai desert. In the second half of the 4th century (370–373), the Egyptian monk Ammonius was in Sinai and left evidence of the life and exploits of the Sinai hermits that has survived to this day. According to his legend, these fathers led a very harsh life and, based on their exploits, could be called angels rather than people. Their bodies were dried out by fasting and vigil. They ate neither wine, nor oil, nor bread and ate only dates and acorns. Only for visiting pilgrims and pilgrims did the abbot keep a few pieces of bread. The monks spent six days of the week silently in cells scattered throughout the mountains and valleys. On Saturday evening they gathered at the Kyriakon, that is, the Church of the Lord, built on the site of the appearance of the Burning Bush, held an all-night vigil and in the morning received Holy Communion. Then they each went to their own cells. There were also young ascetics among them, who in their virtues were equal to the experienced and wise elders in monastic life. It was here, to Sinai, that young John arrived, attracted by the glory of the monastic life of the Sinai hermits. First of all, he took care to entrust himself to the guidance of one experienced ascetic, named Martyria, and, treating this guidance with unconditional obedience, he quickly began to succeed in spiritual life. Having experienced and gone through all the degrees of obedience through his own experience, this is what John later wrote about this virtue: “those who came out of Egypt had Moses for their leader, and those who fled from Sodom had an angel. So those who want to leave spiritual Egypt and escape the mental Pharaoh have a need for a certain Moses, an intercessor to God, who would raise his hands to God for them, so that they cross the sinful sea and put spiritual Amalek to flight. A child who does not have the strength to climb a mountain, in the arms of his father, can reach its very top... Soon the perspicacious elders began to see in John the future great ascetic. When, three years after his arrival at Sinai, he was tonsured to the monastic rank, Abba Strategius, abbot of the monastery, St. Theodosius, who was present at the burial ceremony, prophetically said about John that this would be the great star of the universe. One day Martyrius and John came to Anastasius Sinait. Anastasius, seeing John, asked Martyrius: “Where did you get such a student?” - I cut his hair! - answered Martyrius. – You tonsured the abbot of Mount Sinai! – Anastasy said with surprise. It also happened that Martyrius came with John to John Savvait in the Guddian desert; Then John washed the feet not of Martyrius, but of his disciple John, and kissed his hand. Stefan, a student of John Savvait, asked the teacher: “Why did you wash the feet not of the teacher, but of the student?” “I don’t know who this young monk is,” answered John, “but I received the abbot of Mount Sinai and washed his feet... All these predictions came true in due time. For nineteen years John lived with Martyrius. After this time, Martyrius died, and John decided to asceticize in the strictest solitude and, after consulting with the Monk George Arselaite, after long prayer, he retired to the most secluded desert, called Thola, which was in the deepening of the valley, at the foot of Sinai. From here he went to the church, which was two hours away from his cell, every Saturday and Sunday - to receive the Holy Mysteries. It would be difficult to depict all the exploits of John in this desert, where he lived a truly angelic life. Without a doubt, at that time he himself went through all those degrees of moral improvement and ascent to God-imitating dispassion, which he showed and depicted in his creation, called “The Ladder Leading to Heaven.” Repentance and heartfelt tenderness were so strong in St. John that his prayer was constantly accompanied by tears 277. These holy tears produced wonderful consequences in his soul, as can be seen from his own words; in one place of his “Ladder” he says: “just as fire burns and destroys brushwood, so a pure tear washes away all impurities, external and internal.” And again: “those who have received the gift of tears spend every day of their lives in spiritual celebration, and their sorrow contains consolation and relief as inevitably as wax in a honeycomb contains honey.” John was constantly vigilant over his heart, over its slightest movements and excitements, not allowing any sensual desire to enter into it, and this made it possible for him to ascend to God in unceasing prayer without hindrance and in complete freedom. His holy prayer was both strong and effective. Here is one of those cases when the influence of the God-pleasing prayer of a righteous man was wonderfully expressed... John had a disciple named Moses. One day John ordered him to move soil in the garden from one place to another, more convenient for vegetation. While doing this one day at noon on a hot summer day, Moses, suffering from excessive heat, lay down to rest under the shade of a large cliff. The Monk John was at this time in his cell, and after prayerful work he rested in a light doze. And so, it seemed to him that a respectable-looking man approached him, who woke him up and reproachfully told him: “How are you, John, calmly resting here, while Moses is in danger?” John immediately woke up and began to pray for his disciple. When his disciple returned in the evening, John asked him: had anything bad happened to him? He answered: “No, but I was in great danger; I was almost crushed by a large piece of stone that came off the cliff under which I fell asleep at noon; To my happiness, I imagined in a dream that you were calling me, I jumped up and rushed away from this place, and at that time a huge stone fell with a noise on the very place from where I ran away." It is known about the lifestyle of the Monk John that he shied away from any peculiarities. He ate for food everything that was not prohibited by the rules of fasting life, but in moderation. He did not spend nights without sleep, although he slept no more than enough to maintain his strength, so as not to destroy his mind by incessant wakefulness. “I did not fast,” he says about himself, “and did not indulge in intense night vigil, did not lie on the ground, but humbled myself... and the Lord soon saved me.” In the biography of St. John, the following feature of humility is remarkable. Gifted with a high mind and wise with experience, he lovingly taught everyone who came to him, leading them to salvation. But when some appeared, out of envy, reproaching him for his many words, which they explained in the sense of vanity, John imposed silence on himself: in order not to give rise to condemnation, he remained silent for a whole year: the envious people who were tempted by him then realized their error and themselves approached him with a prayer not to deprive them of the spiritual benefit that his conversation brought. In order to better practice the deeds of virtue and at the same time to more conveniently hide them from people, John at times secluded himself in a cave; but, no matter how he hid himself from human glory, the rumor of his holiness spread; Visitors of all ranks and conditions came to him, thirsty and edified by his conversation. John spent 40 years in the desert in this way. He was already 75 years old when the brethren, after the death of the Sinai abbot, approached him with a prayer to leave solitude and be the abbot of Mount Sinai. Having accepted this unanimous election, Rev. John cared with all his soul for the spiritual good of his brothers and himself - in this service to the good of others he acquired all the highest perfections. In his “life” it is said that he, “like Moses, ascended Mount (Sinai), perceived the incomprehensibility of God and, so to speak, approached God through ascents of the mind and received the God-written law; opened his ears to receive the word of God; He attracted the spirit to himself and poured out good words of salvation from the good treasure of his heart. He watered the souls with abundance with the waters of his God-wise teaching, and they flowed not only through the Sinai desert, but also irrigated the surrounding area and then irrigated the entire Church: at the request of his contemporary John, abbot of Raifa, he set out in writing the truths of the teaching and for the edification of the Church and for its benefit, he left behind a beautiful creation called “The Ladder leading to heaven.” The Monk John ruled the Sinai monastery for about four years, but shortly before his death he again retired to his desert (Fole), where he departed in peace to God, having been about 80 years old (about 563). The work of St. John, “The Ladder,” which represents the true path to achieving the highest Christian perfection, made his name known everywhere and gave him the name Climacus. The purpose of this work is to teach that achieving salvation requires labor, self-sacrifice and intense feats on the part of a person. The ladder contains thirty degrees or labors: 1st, the cleansing of sinful impurity, the eradication of vices and passions in the old man; secondly, the restoration of the image of God in man. They are joined by several more degrees of preparatory or initial feats. The Ladder, although it was written specifically for monks and therefore has always been a reference book for monks living in a hostel, and the fathers of monastic life, among others, Joseph of Volokolamsk and others, referred in their instructions to the Ladder as the best book, nevertheless, a Christian living in the world can find saving guidance in it. The first step of the ladder is renunciation of earthly attachments, and at its very height the union of three virtues is indicated - faith, hope and love. Here is the content of one of the “degrees of the ladder” (XXII - the degree or feat of exterminating diverse vanity). “Vanity is expressed with every virtue. When e.g. I keep a fast - I become vain, and when, hiding the fast from others, I allow food, I again become vain - with prudence. Having dressed in light clothes, I am overcome by curiosity, and having changed into thin clothes, I am vain. Will I talk? I fall into the power of vanity. Do I want to remain silent? I surrender to him again. Wherever you turn this thorn, it will all become spokes towards the top. A vain person is a Christian idolater. In appearance, he honors God, but in reality he tries more to please people than God... He who pleases us deceives us, says the prophet (Isaiah III). People of high spirit endure insults complacently and willingly; and only saints and immaculate people can listen to praise and not feel any pleasure... When you hear that your neighbor or friend, in your eyes or behind your eyes, is slandering you, praise and love him... It is not he who shows humility who scolds himself: how can one be intolerable to oneself? but whoever, dishonored by another, does not diminish his love for him.... Whoever exalts himself with natural gifts - a happy mind, high education, reading, pleasant pronunciation and other similar qualities that are easily acquired - will never acquire supernatural gifts. For whoever is not faithful in little things will also be unfaithful and vain in many things. It often happens that God Himself humbles the vain, sending unexpected dishonor... If prayer does not destroy vainglorious thoughts, we will bring to mind the exodus of the soul from this life. If this does not help, we will frighten him with the shame of the Last Judgment. Be exalted and humble yourself even here, before the age to come. When praisers, or better yet, flatterers, begin to praise us, we will immediately bring to mind all our iniquities and find that we are not at all worth what is attributed to us.” About the feat of evasion from the world (step III) Rev. John Climacus, among other things, says: “We go into the desert not because we hate our household or the places we inhabit, no, but to escape the harm that comes from them. As in all cases, so in this especially, Christ Himself is our Teacher; since He also, apparently, abandoned His carnal parents many times. He, having heard from some: Your Mother and Your brothers are looking for You, - like our good Lord and Teacher, immediately showed His immaculate hatred towards them with these words: My Mother and My brothers are doing the will of My Father who is in heaven... May the one who can or wants to work with you to remove your sins from you be your father. Let heartfelt contrition be your mother, able to wash you from your uncleanness. Let the one who helps you on your journey to heaven and labors with you in it be your brother. Have mortal memory of an inseparable servant with you. Dear children, let your heart lament. Have your body as a servant, and the intelligent Heavenly forces as your friends. Addiction to someone at home or strangers... can again attract you to the world and little by little extinguish the fire of heartfelt contrition for sins. Having ascended to this degree, do not look either to the right or to the left." Examples from the life of Rev. John of the Climacus serve as an example of that holy zeal for one’s spiritual salvation, which is necessary for every person who wants to live piously, and the written presentation of his thoughts, which constitute the fruit of many and subtle observations of his soul and deep experience, contained in the work “The Ladder of Paradise” that he left behind, serves as a guide and a great aid on the path to truth and goodness. The degrees of the Ladder are the transition from strength to strength along the path of a person’s striving for perfection, which cannot be achieved suddenly, but only gradually, just as “the Kingdom of God is taken by force, and only those who use force take it away” ... (Gospel of Matthew 11:12). Holy New Hieromartyr Zechariah, Bishop of Corinth A small reason is enough to inflame the ever-excited mood of the Mohammedans against the Christian population, but in the present case, without any reason, it was only through his pastoral virtues that the “good and God-fearing shepherd of the flock of Christ, who shone in his pulpit like a lamp on a candlestick,” as the descriptor of his life puts it, aroused the hatred of the Muslim population. The Turks slandered him in secret correspondence with the “Franks,” whom the bishop allegedly called to Corinth and promised to help them take possession of the city. The people, excited by such news, furiously attacked the home of the Christian bishop and, chained, showered with beatings and curses, Zacharias was brought before the judge. He, without any questioning, invited the saint to convert to Islamism. - God save me from such madness! - answered the bishop, - God forbid that I should deny my Lord Jesus Christ, the true God! No, I believe in Him, Almighty God, Creator of the whole world, and I am ready to shed my blood for His holy name! The resumption of beatings was a response to these words of the new confessor of Christ; then he was imprisoned, where he was subjected to such cruel tortures as Mohammedan fanaticism is capable of. The patience of the martyr, however, turned out to be higher even than the cruelty of the tormentors, who finally came up with the most painful death for their victim - to pierce the sufferer with a skewer and roast him like a lamb on the fire... However, with the help of a larger ransom, the Christians, outraged by such a sentence and devoted to their saint, managed to save him from such a cruel death. The sentence was commuted and Bishop Zacharias was beheaded in his diocese on the third Sunday after the Week of the Cross, in 1684. Venerable Zosimas, Bishop of Syracuse He was ordained a bishop by Pope Theodore (641–649) from the abbots of one monastery, in which he was a monk for thirty years, and then for forty years - abbot and presbyter. In the bishopric, Rev. Zosima was especially merciful, so one day he took off his clothes to give the money he received for them to the poor; he led his flock both by word and example; decorated the Church of the Mother of God. Struck by a dying disease, he lay on a rough bedding, covered with thin clothes, and when Eupraxius, the bed-keeper of Emperor Constant II (642–668), who lived in Syracuse for the last six years of his reign, gave the sick man a rich bed, he, after lying on it for a while, ordered it to be sold and the money to be used for the impoverished poor. After 13 years of leading his flock, St. Zosima died around 662. Many sick people were healed at his death, with one touch of his tomb. Saint Cephas the Apostle, from seventy Saint Cephas the Apostle, from seventy. According to legend, he served as bishop in Icopia. The Apostle Paul mentions him, saying that after the resurrection Christ appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve (1 Cor. 15:5). See 4 Jan. in the cathedral 70. Venerable Monaca of Alexandria. 4th century Venerable Monaca of Alexandria. IV century. This is a virgin, admonished in her pride and covetousness by Macarius, the overseer of the almshouse for the crippled. See March 3 about Saint Piama. Long after his death they showed a very narrow cave, the place of his secret exploits, nicknamed the tear chamber because it was watered with the tears of the monk.