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The life and exploits of our holy father Martin, Bishop of Gaul, who shone forth in the 4th century Saint Martin lived during the time of the Roman kings Gratian and Valentinian and was a skilled military man. In 381, he was appointed to the post of archangel and fifty thousand soldiers were subordinate to him. One day this large army went on a campaign against the barbarians, who began a war with the Romans for the possession of their regions. When Martin and his army approached the enemy camp, countless enemies frightened the Roman legionnaires. While Martin was in bewilderment and grief, not knowing what to do, a certain beggar in torn clothes appeared before him and began to beg for alms. The merciful and merciful archangel took pity on the unfortunate man and brought him into his tent. There he cut off a piece from his chlamys (expensive officer's clothing) and dressed the beggar, then gave him bread, wine and money to purchase the most necessary things. On this day, from intense grief and heavy thoughts, Martin lay down to rest without dinner. In a dream, in the form of that beggar to whom the military leader showed mercy during the day, our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to the archangel, dressed in a piece of his mantle. – Why are you so sad, Martin? – the Savior asked him. “Because I can’t resist so many enemies, and I don’t know what to do,” answered the warrior. “Take courage, do not be sad at all, and do not be afraid of your enemies, for because you, having seen Me naked, clothed me, gave me drink to the hungry, and fed the thirsty one, I will reward you and save you from your enemies.” When they see My face, they will be greatly afraid, they will fall at your feet, and with many promises and gifts they will ask for peace. So, with great glory and honor you will return to Rome. “Besides, I will help you all your life, and after death I will honor you with My Kingdom,” the Almighty encouraged the military leader, who immediately woke up. In the morning, Martin ordered all the soldiers to arm themselves and go out to battle, but they told him in fear that they could not resist so many barbarians. “I’ll go to battle alone, you stay here, and then we’ll see if you can escape from your enemies without the leadership of a military leader,” the archangel told them angrily. Not expecting such an answer, the soldiers fell at the feet of their leader and began to ask him to stop being angry, because the entire army was ready to follow him to certain death. The warriors took up their weapons and went out to battle. But as soon as the enemies noticed them, they were greatly frightened, because they saw around the Roman army armed terrible giants, sitting on countless chariots and horses - these were the ranks of the Heavenly Powers, whom the Almighty sent to help Martin, in order, according to His promise, to protect him from enemies. The barbarians immediately sent envoys to the archangel to make peace, but the military leader did not agree. Then other ambassadors came to him with many gifts and promises to be subordinate to the Romans. They were barely able to convince the archangel to make peace and end hostilities. Having subjugated the barbarians to Roman power, Martin returned with great joy to Rome, where he was greeted with glory and honor as a conqueror by the kings themselves with many of their nobles. Having told the kings about his vision and the glorious victory, Blessed Martin said: “It was not I who stopped that terrible war, but Jesus Christ, the Invincible Power of Christians.” He ensured our victory, so I ask you to allow me to spend the rest of my life serving God, who helped me. “We want you to be with us, and we will reward you with great dignity and honors for your victory,” saddened by this request, the kings tried to dissuade their favorite. “Permission to go into silence, to take care of the salvation of my soul, will be above all rewards and honors for me,” Martin was adamant. Surprised by his praiseworthy and godly goal, the rulers allowed the archangel to act according to his heart’s desire. The ever-blessed one distributed all his property to the poor and, renouncing the world, came to a quiet place where he became a monk. For days on end he studied the Holy Scriptures and after seven years, thanks to the practice of deeds, he achieved the highest virtues. By the revelation of God and against his will, Saint Martin was ordained bishop of the city by Constance of Gaul. Having accepted the heavy burden of episcopacy, the saint, like a true shepherd, feeding the verbal sheep of Christ in the saving pastures of His commandments and watering them with the waters of His Divine teaching, became a model of virtue for everyone. Martin was given the grace from God to predict the future, raise the dead, cast out demons, and perform signs and wonders worthy of wonder. Of these, to ensure the truth of many others, we will talk about only a few. One day the monk was walking along the road and met a funeral procession. But one lawless slanderer did not allow the dead man to be buried, claiming that he owed him three hundred gold pieces. - Why don’t you let the dead man be buried, who, I heard, gave you this money with interest? – the blessed one asked the wicked man. “He didn’t give me anything, because if he had repaid his debt, then I would have given him a receipt,” the liar insisted. “Vladyka, he is lying because he received his money with interest.” However, wanting to slander us, he did not give us the receipt, justifying himself by saying that he had lost it,” the widow of the deceased objected to these words. “You got your money, and now let me bury the dead man,” Martin tried once again to reason with the man who had lost his conscience and continued to insist on his own. - And if the dead man rises and proves that you received your money, what will happen to you? “If he rises again, as you say, then let me die, but he lives.” Of course, he said this because he did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. “There was no need for the dead to be resurrected, nor for you, unfortunate one, to descend into hell, but since you yourself, in your shamelessness, preferred death to life and do not allow the dead to be buried, let it be as you want,” Bishop Martin responded to these speeches, approached the dead man and prayed like this: - Lord our God, the True Witness and Savior of the offended, the Resurrection of the dead and the Teacher of life, the only One who knows the depths of the heart and gives life to those who trust in You, commanded in Your holy and terrible name to resurrect this dead man to the knowledge of the truth and the conversion of those who are to come, as Your wondrous sight, glorified You, our One True God forever. Amen. Then, taking the dead man by the right hand, he pulled him slightly and - lo and behold! - the dead man immediately rose again, sat down on a stretcher, saw the slanderer standing opposite him, and said: “Go, evil man, to the dark place of torment prepared for you because you disturbed me, who died well.” But the righteous and holy Martin, with his prayer to God, took me from there so that I would expose you for the money that I gave you, and you did not want to give me the receipt, expecting my death. God is righteous, rewarding everyone for his deeds, and quickly avenging those who are offended. With these words, he stood up from the stretcher and, approaching the ascetic, bowed to the ground, and the slanderer, immediately falling to the ground, gave up his ghost. His wife shouted: - Woe is me! What a terrible and bitter exchange took place! Saint of God, return my husband alive to me, and I will give back the receipts of three hundred gold pieces with interest, and even more. “You’re shouting in vain, woman, for the Lord Himself, who raised this one, commanded him to die, as he himself wanted,” said the bishop, while everyone else glorified God. Another time, walking through the city, Martin saw a certain young man who had hanged himself. “This evil happened to him from the action of the devil,” the monk said to those present and, turning to the east, began to pray for a long time to the Almighty, and then said: “You unclean and evil soul, who prompted this young man to hang himself, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, appear before everyone so that they can see you.” And immediately a demon appeared in the form of a little little black who was holding a rope in his hands. His eyes sparkled with fire, his lips were black, his teeth were white, his arms were long, his legs were crooked, and his tongue hung out of his mouth like that of a mad dog. “You unclean and crafty soul, what is your occupation?” - My boss, Satan, has appointed me to push people to hang. - Why did you encourage this young man to hang himself? “This man was previously an idolater, and then he became a Christian, but he did not live according to the commandments, but did his own will, without thinking at all about eternal torment. He bowed his neck under the yoke of sin and, being wounded from head to toe, lost hope of salvation. Here I found the opportunity to push him so that he would hang himself and drag him with me to torture, which is why my feat was great. - Crafty murderer, enemy and accuser! You yourself persuaded him to surrender to the power of darkness and destruction, brought him into such a pitiful state, and now you accuse him? For this, Jesus Christ commands you through me, the humble one, to go to the edge of the universe and be there until the end of the age, then go down together with your minions into hell, prepared for you. At that very moment the demon became invisible, and the saint approached the dead man and said a prayer: - Lord my God, having immeasurable compassion and an indescribable abyss of mercy, do not abandon the creation of Your hands, but, as You are Good and Lover of Mankind, look down from Your holy heights and raise this dead man, so that Your holy name may be glorified forever and ever. Amen. At that very moment the dead man rose and, falling at the feet of Bishop Martin, began to thank the blessed one for the fact that, through the prayer of the saint, the Lord did not leave him in a terrible and sorrowful hell. “Child, since this night you tasted hellish torment and saw the great evil that deeds of unrighteousness produce in a person, repent worthily, mourn your sins, abhor them and from now on abstain from them,” the ascetic consoled the saved one, gave him suitable teaching and, instructing him in deeds of repentance, sent him away in peace. One day, Saint Martin was called to come to another city and teach the inhabitants salvation. Leaving his diocese, he set off and on the way found a man who had been killed by a dragon that lived in that place. “This evil was created by our enemy the devil,” said Martin. Since that night the venerable one saw in a dream how one terrible dragon ascended to Heaven, and he prayed to God and cast him to the ground, then, leaving his path, Martin went to where he lived. Seeing the blessed one, the dragon rose into the air, becoming like a vault, and opened its mouth, wanting to devour the miracle worker. But the saint spat in his face, and - lo and behold! – he fell to the ground and gave up his ghost. - “You will step on the asp and the basilisk; You will trample on the lion and the dragon” (Ps. 91:13), - stepping on his head, the ascetic said, then he went up to the dead man and, taking his hand, prayed: “Jesus Christ, who has risen from the dead and gives life to the dead, may He also raise you.” After this miracle was performed, the resurrected one asked the saint to make him a Christian, because he was an idolater. Having instructed him, Martin baptized him in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and then he communed the Most Pure Mysteries and, having taught him everything necessary, sent him away. The ascetic continued his journey and on the way to the appointed city he met a beggar who asked him for alms. The Bishop ordered the deacon, appointed to distribute alms, to give all the money he had, but the clergyman gave only half to the sufferer, and decided to distribute the other half to other beggars who were staying overnight with a very rich female idolater, whose house was located near the road. Seeing the saint with his companions, she joyfully received them and set a rich table. But the blessed one did not touch anything, but prayed all the time for the salvation of her soul. At midnight the woman came to the monk and, falling at his feet, asked to make her a Christian, saying that she saw in a dream a certain Terrible Judge, sitting on a high throne, surrounded by many warriors. Many bound convicts were brought to Him, and He ordered some to be thrown into the fire, others to be cruelly tortured. Among them, bound and trembling, was she, but one of the Judge’s soldiers approached her and asked: – Why are you convicted and tied up? “I don’t know,” the woman answered. – What will you give me if I free you? he asked. “I don’t need it, but give me a promise that you will become a Christian, and then I will free you from the bonds and torment that you must undergo.” And the woman, in order to avoid punishment, promised and swore by the God of Christians to accept the Sacrament of Baptism. Only after this was she released from her bonds and released. - Therefore, I ask you, make me a Christian and teach me how to be saved, so as not to fall into the hands of That Terrible Judge, Who judges righteously and does not look at gifts or faces. Hearing the request, the saint rejoiced and, having instructed her and everyone at home, baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity. Having taught them everything that was necessary, he was about to leave, but the woman began to ask her to accept as a gift a golden vessel of four liters and four hundred gold pieces. In order not to sadden her, and for the sake of the poor, the blessed one accepted these offerings, and then, blessing her, he left. On the way, Martin asked the deacon how much money he had given to a beggar he met along the way. “Two hundred gold,” answered the companion. - Little faith, why didn’t you give four hundred, as I told you? Therefore, now you received from the woman four hundred gold coins and four liters of gold, and if you had given him four hundred, you would have received eight hundred coins and eight liters of gold. By your disobedience you harmed both the woman, depriving her of a fourfold reward, and yourself. When they finally arrived in the city, they heard songs and music. The ascetic listened for a long time, and then said sadly: – You see what the devil does: he does not want to look cruel, but always pleasant in everything, so he invents deception through which he destroys many souls. With the help of melodies produced by musical instruments and songs, he delights the human mind with remembrance of God. Many leave spiritual chants and come to listen to demonic songs. Having the sweetest psalms of David, the inspired words of the prophets, apostles and hymns of our Church, they leave this spiritual help and run to do the will of the devil with the help of instruments and songs. At this time, a certain woman passed by him, adorned with many jewels, fragrant with peace and aromas. With great shamelessness she stopped on the road and, smiling, invited passers-by to debauchery. – If this harlot adorns herself like a bride, striving to seduce people and draw them into destruction in order to please the devil, how much more should we adorn our souls with virtues and keep ourselves undefiled from all sin in order to please our Bridegroom Jesus Christ? “So we will be worthy to enter His eternal bridal chambers and will reign with Him endlessly,” the saint said in tears. From these words, that woman became moved and, approaching, fell at Martin’s feet. - Lord, do not turn away from me, pitiful and unhappy, do not leave me in the mud of my iniquities. I ask you, unworthy of this life, burdened with an endless multitude of sins, condemned to eternal hellish, bitter and cruel torment, have pity on me, a sinner and despairer, and save me,” she began to pray. Raising his wife from the ground, the miracle worker set her on the right path and urged her never to despair, because the mercy of God, the Lover of Mankind, is limitless. “I will fervently ask Him for your salvation, but you just repent with all your soul and with all your heart.” I promise you that the Most Merciful God will accept you as His prodigal son, and as our Physician, he will heal all your spiritual ulcers. From that day on, the woman not only turned away from her sins and hated them, but completely renounced the world, confessed her sins to Bishop Martin, distributed all her property to the poor, after which she closed herself in a small cell and began to mourn her previous iniquities. – What sources and what rivers can wash away my countless impurities? What sobs and tears can beg the Righteous Judge God to forgive me my iniquities? – the woman reproached herself. With all her heart, she asked the Almighty to forgive her previous sins: - God, be merciful to me, a sinner, and do not destroy me, O Lord, with my iniquities. Do not bring me into the depths of hell for the sake of my sins, but, as you are Good and Lover of Mankind, save me in the abyss of Your mercy, for You are the one who takes away the sin of the world. And Blessed Zoya (that was the name of this woman) showed such repentance that for twelve whole years she labored incessantly with tears in fasting, lying on the bare ground, vigil, kneeling and prayer, leading many by her example to salvation. The most merciful Lord granted her the grace of healing; through the intercession of the Venerable Zoya, many suffering people received healing. Having lived a godly life, she joyfully rested in the Lord. And Saint Martin, while he was in that city, constantly sowed the seeds of the Divine word into the withered and embittered hearts of the townspeople, both in front of all the people and in private conversations. The bishop collected many great fruits: he made the rude soft, the angry - meek, the unmerciful - merciful, the drunkards and dissolute - chaste, the wicked - pious, he taught the ignorant Divine literacy, they began to strive to attend divine services, and in general he brought all sinners to repentance and corrected them. After this, rejoicing and blessing God, he returned to his diocese. One day, while walking around the city, the saint saw a poor man who was greatly oppressed by creditors: he owed them three hundred gold pieces. Taking pity on him, the bishop asked the lender to wait a little, after which, raising his eyes to Heaven and raising his hands, he said: “Lord, who rained down manna from above in the desert and fed His people for forty years, and through Your Apostle Peter took the statir from the mouth of the fish, now from on high sent down to this poor man his debt for the glory of Your holy name, for You are the One God, glorious and wondrous throughout the entire universe, and glory is due to You forever. Amen. And - oh miracle! - A dove immediately flew from Heaven and sat on the shoulder of the blessed one. When he took it in his hands, it turned into gold. The monk took her to the goldsmith: “Take her as collateral, and give me three hundred gold pieces.” Surprised by the skill with which the dove was made, the jeweler with great joy gave him three hundred gold pieces, hoping that the dove would remain with him. Having taken the money, Saint Martin gave it to the lenders and freed the poor man from his debt. The next day, Christians came to the ascetic from afar to receive instruction in the faith and gave him a lot of money to distribute alms. Having joyfully received the Christians, the bishop taught them the word of God and instructed them in the path of salvation, after which, after blessing them, he released them in peace. “Take, child, three hundred gold pieces and another thirty in addition for the good that you did for us, and return my deposit to me,” he said to the jeweler. Saddened, the master took the money and gave him the golden dove. “I thank you, Lord, for hearing my prayer,” Martin turned to the Almighty, and then released the dove to where she lived. When the dove took off, the jeweler fell at the feet of the worthy one and began to ask him to accept three hundred and thirty pieces of gold for the poor: “It’s enough for me that I was honored to see this great and strange miracle.” Having accepted the money, the saint blessed him: - May the Lord have mercy on you, child, on the Day of Judgment. After this, Martin went to a country where many Greeks lived to teach them the word of God and bring them to the knowledge of God, but on the way he met a Greek who was standing over a dead donkey: – In vain do Christians preach the resurrection of the dead. How is it possible for a dead person, whose body has decomposed in the ground, to be resurrected? - the pagan thought. - Friend, why do you think that the dead cannot rise again? – the blessed one turned to him. - How is it possible for those who died, decayed and became dust to be resurrected? – With God everything is possible, and nothing is impossible for Him. “If you raise this donkey, then I will believe that the dead will also be raised, because the One who raises this animal can raise the dead.” – God will not resurrect dumb animals, because they will not go to Judgment and will not be worthy of resurrection, but will only resurrect people in order to judge them and demand an answer for their good or evil deeds, and to reward everyone for them. – Who is this God about whom you say that He will do all this? – Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the salvation of people. - Why didn’t He take revenge on those who mocked Him? – He did not take revenge immediately because He expected their repentance, due to His extreme goodness and long-suffering, but He will take revenge in the future. - What's the point of talking too much? If you resurrect this donkey, then I will believe your words. Raising his hands to the sky, the saint began to pray in these words: - Lord my God, having been the Author of salvation to all people, resurrect this animal too for the conversion and knowledge of this person, for through this miracle he will know Your omnipotence and believe in You. As soon as Blessed Martin said these words, the donkey was resurrected and walked. Seeing this strange miracle, the Greek fell at the feet of the ascetic. – Now I know that this is the True and Almighty God. I ask you, servant of God, show Him to me so that I can hear His voice and believe in Him. - He who listens to us, His humble servants, hears Him, because we do not see God with bodily eyes, but we understand with spiritual eyes, which are the mind and thoughts. You, child, if you want to see Him, believe in Him, and then with your intelligent eyes you will see Him and you will live forever. - I ask you, lord, come to our country and guide us on the true path. This is exactly what Martin wanted, so he went to that country with a Greek and a resurrected donkey. Listening to the word of God preached by Martin and learning that the monk had raised a donkey in the name of Jesus Christ, the idolaters believed in Christ, numbering up to a thousand men, not counting women and children. Having instructed them, the saint baptized them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. He stayed with them for a long time and constantly taught them until the other idolaters were moved and were baptized along with their wives and children in the name of the Holy Trinity. Bishop Martin had conversations with them about death, resurrection, future Judgment, torment, the eternal blessings of the Kingdom of Heaven, and returned to his native land. Martin performed a miracle in his hour of death. This event became a great joy and consolation for the residents of the entire diocese. There was a severe drought in their area, and everyone was in grief and bewilderment. Having called his flock, the bishop gave people many instructions and urged them not to despair. - Do not be sad, my children, because of the drought. Tomorrow the Lord will send you the rain you desire. Then, having prayed to God and transferring them under His protection, the saint reposed in the Lord on November 10. Then all the bishops, priests, all the clergy and Christians gathered from nearby countries and held an All-Night Vigil. At dawn, taking Martin’s body, with candles, incense and psalmody, they left the city and buried the ascetic at a distance of one mile, in the Church of the Martyrs. When they returned back, the sky was filled with clouds, lightning began to flash, and such heavy rain fell in that area, as the blessed one had promised. From then until now, there have been many healings at his grave for those who approach him with faith in the glory of God, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. The life and exploits of our holy father Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria, who reigned in the 4th century The great teacher of the Church, Saint Cyril, was born in Alexandria and came from a pious and noble family. He was the nephew of the Patriarch of Alexandria Theophilus. Kirill received an excellent education and became very skilled in philosophy. The future saint always practiced not only external wisdom, but also spiritual wisdom; the reverend’s favorite pastime was reading and studying the Holy Scriptures, which forced His Beatitude Theophilus to number his nephew among the church clergy and ordain him as an archdeacon. Upon the death of Patriarch Theophilos, the entire clergy and flock unanimously decided to appoint the divine Cyril as primate. And as soon as he headed the Patriarchal throne, all the heretics and schismatics, called Novatians, who considered themselves pure and righteous like the Pharisees, were expelled from Alexandria. As a sign of their “pure” life, they wore white clothes. The Novatians argued that someone who has fallen into mortal sin after Baptism is no longer a member of the Church; the sin committed can only be forgiven by a new Baptism. The heretics did not allow a second marriage, calling it fornication, but they baptized for the second time those who had already been immersed in the font once. Holding other heretical thoughts, they were called Novatians - after the name of a certain Novatus, the leader of this schism. Once upon a time, under King Decius, this man was a priest and carried out obedience in Rome. He wanted to become Pope, however, contrary to his desire and hope, after the martyrdom of Pope Fabian, Blessed Cornelius was elected head of the Roman Christians. Then the proud Novatus broke away from the Catholic Church and began to quarrel with the divine Cornelius, who again accepted Christians into the Church during the days of persecution out of fear of the torment of those who renounced their faith. In this, Cornelius imitated Christ Himself, who, after sincere repentance, restored Peter to the apostolic rank. The proud Novatus condemned Pope Cornelius, calling him a “companion” and “comrade” of idolaters and, uniting with like-minded people, proclaimed himself the second Pope of Rome. In addition to expelling schismatics from the Alexandrian Orthodox Church along with their bishop Theopemptos, Saint Cyril waged a tireless struggle against pagan demons. Not far from Alexandria there was a place called Kanovos, and next to it - Manufin, where from ancient times there stood an altar that served as the abode of demons. Patriarch Theophilus more than once wanted to cleanse this place by building a monastery here to glorify God, but due to many obstacles and his imminent death, he was unable to make his dream come true. Theophilos' successor, blessed Cyril, took care of this. One day, in a subtle dream, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said that demons would leave Manufin after the honest relics of the unmercenaries Cyrus and John were transferred there. And as soon as this command was fulfilled, the unclean spirits retreated, and the former church became a source of healing. After the saint drove out invisible demons from Alexandria, he took care to drive out visible demons from here as well - the Christ-hating Jews who had taken a liking to the ancient city back in the days of Alexander the Great. Over time, they multiplied greatly and did not cease, according to the custom of their clan, prone to rebellion, secretly and openly plotting evil against Christians. Due to their irreconcilable hatred of the Savior, they became the cause of many unrest, riots, bloodshed and murders. Having called the leaders of the synagogues to him, His Beatitude Patriarch Kirill advised them to restrain their people from bad deeds and come to their senses, but they began to act with even greater malice. Thus, in Alexandria there was a beautiful large church, called Alexandrov, because it was built by Bishop Alexander. Having decided to kill the Christians, the wicked Jews armed themselves and one night began to run noisily through the streets and shout under the windows of the houses where Christians lived that the Church of Alexander was burning. Hearing the screams, the Christians immediately rushed to put out the fire, but as soon as the man ran out into the street, the villains pounced on him and killed him - some with a sword, some with a knife, some with a spear... Many townspeople died during this massacre. In the morning, having learned about what had happened, Saint Cyril was greatly saddened, and called on Orestes, the eparch of the city, to judge the Jews according to the law. But he, although he was a Christian himself, out of hatred for the monk, helped the Jews and hid the murderers. Then, filled with Divine wrath, the primate took many Christians with him and himself drove the Jews out of Alexandria, destroyed their houses, and closed the synagogue. For his complete arbitrariness, the eparch became angry with the patriarch and began to do evil to the relatives and friends of the saint. For example, he ordered to publicly tear off the clothes of Hierax, the secretary of the most blessed, a well-known and respected man, and beat him mercilessly. From that time on, great discord and disagreement arose between the eparch and the ascetic: the saint defended Christians, and the eparch defended Jews. Both of them separately wrote to Tsar Theodosius the Younger about this matter and waited for what order would follow. Meanwhile, in Alexandria there was another circumstance that became the cause of murders and strong indignation. There lived in the city of Alexandria a maiden philosopher named Hypatia, the pious and virtuous daughter of the philosopher Feona. Bishop Sinesius of Cyrinx writes that in her wisdom she surpassed all philosophers of that time. She maintained the purity of her virginity, not wanting to get married, on the one hand, mainly for the sake of love for Jesus Christ, and on the other, in order to calmly indulge in reading philosophical books. Every day priests and nobles from different countries came to her in Alexandria; all the people revered her and listened with love to her soulful advice and instructions. The Virgin Philosopher wanted to reconcile the patriarch with the eparch and with humility and meekness came first to one and then to the other. With her reasonable words, she convinced both of them to reconcile, although His Holiness the Patriarch had previously sought peace with the eparch several times, but he, due to his evil disposition and rancor, did not want to hear about anything. One afternoon, when the maiden philosopher was returning home in a chariot, some rebels, who did not want peace between the eparch and the saint, unexpectedly attacked her, dragged her from the chariot and, tearing her clothes, began to mercilessly beat her until she was killed, but even this did not satiate their anger. What inhumanity and brutal cruelty! Having rushed on the body of the maiden, they cut it into pieces and burned it in a place called Kinaros. Having learned about this tragedy and misfortune, all the Alexandrians were greatly saddened, and the monks living on Mount Nitria, filled with jealousy, descended to Alexandria to help and protect their primate. There were about five hundred of them. By chance, on the way, they met an eparch sitting on a chariot, they began to make noise, blaspheming him and calling him an idolater - he had previously been a Hellenic and had recently received Baptism in Constantinople. One of the most irritated monks, Father Ammonius, threw a stone at the eparch and hit him in the head. The gathered people pulled the monks away from the eparch. Suspecting that it was the saint who sent the monks against him, the eparch became angry and subjected Ammonius to such cruel torture that he died. Having learned about this incident, Cyril was saddened and sent for the body of a monk, whom he buried with honors. These events emboldened the Jews. They built themselves a new synagogue, and then, to outrage and shame the Savior and Christians, they dared to commit the following lawless act: they built a long cross, caught a Christian child and, having exposed him, crucified him on him, not with nails, but with thin rods. Having abused him, they spat in his face and mocked him, just as their fathers mocked the Lord, and beat him so severely that the child died. So that blessed child became a communicant and imitator of the Passion of Jesus. The Divine Cyril informed the king about this attack and wickedness, and the ruler, although with delay, passed a fair judgment. He ordered the Jewish leaders to be severely punished, and the eparch Orestes was deprived of his position. After the cessation of disturbances and temptations, the saint began to diligently and godly shepherd his verbal flock, enjoying peace for a certain time. The next test for the Alexandrian Christians and the entire Church was the blasphemous heresy of the wicked Nestorius, who became Patriarch of Constantinople after Sisinius. At the beginning of his patriarchate, he did not preach anything contrary to the faith and outwardly seemed pious. But in his soul this unfortunate man was a heretic, calling the Lord Christ only “High Man” and not God, and the Lady Theotokos - not the Mother of God, but “Christ Mother”. The first to sow this heresy, like thorns among the wheat, were Bishop Dorotheos and Presbyter Anastasius, who were like-minded with Nestorius and lived with him. Once, while teaching the people in the Cathedral of Constantinople, Dorotheus uttered the following blasphemous word: “Whoever calls Mary the Mother of God, let him be anathema.” And Anastasius said during his sermon: “Let no one call Mary the Mother of God, because Mary was a man and a woman. How can God be born from a human body?” When the people heard these blasphemous words, they became indignant and with their bewilderment they came to Patriarch Nestorius. Then this nasty one, like-minded with the Jews, could no longer conceal the heretical poison in his heart, and openly vomited the following blasphemies against Christ and the Mother of God: “I do not call God the One who was conceived in the womb of a Woman, and waited days and months until he was born. And I do not call that Woman who gave birth to a carnal Man from her own nature the Mother of God.” From that time on, disputes and divisions began among the people, because some opposed the heresy of Nestorius and turned away from it, while others had fellowship with him and agreed with his wickedness. But these divisions occurred not only in Constantinople, but almost throughout the entire universe, since Nestorius, together with his followers, wrote down his heresy in books, which he distributed everywhere, even in the deserts where the monks lived. And so many clergy, monks and laity were drawn into this error that, just as Arius had previously torn the woven robe of Christ from above, so Nestorius divided the entirety of the Church into many parts. Having learned about everything, Saint Cyril of Alexandria was greatly saddened and, as a faithful servant of Christ and the Mother of God, he armed himself to fight for Their honor. Like a true shepherd, he prepared to drive the mental wolf out of the fold of verbal sheep. First, the primate of the Alexandrian Church wrote a letter of edification to Nestorius, in which, with brotherly love, he advised him to renounce these heretical opinions and, turning to piety, correct those whom he himself had led into wickedness. However, having received the letter from the blessed one, the wicked Nestorius not only did not correct himself, but became even worse, and tried to spread his false teaching even more, and tortured the clergy and monks who opposed his error in various ways. He became very angry with the divine Cyril and slandered him before all the people. When Saint Cyril saw that Nestorius was not correcting himself, he wrote to him another, more severe letter, in which he denounced his heresy; The monk also addressed letters to the clergy of Constantinople, to the king, and then to Pope Celestine and other patriarchs. In the same way, Cyril wrote to various cities and countries to bishops, rulers and archons, to many hermits and other monks. The First Hierarch of Alexandria proved on the basis of Holy Scripture how terrible and soul-harming the error of Nestorius was, and urged everyone to beware of this heresy, as if it were a deadly poison. Finally, since the heresy of Nestorius multiplied day by day and many bishops had already been seduced into it, the pious Tsar Theodosius, wanting to calm down temptations and cleanse the Church of Christ and the wheat of faith from the thorns and thorns of Nestorian error, ordered in 431 to assemble the Third Ecumenical Council in Ephesus, to which more than two hundred bishops gathered from all over the universe, and those who, due to some obstacles, could not come themselves, they sent their representatives in their place. Pope Celestine was represented at the Council by Patriarch Cyril of Alexandria - he was the first leader (the second was Juvenal of Jerusalem, the third was Memnon of Ephesus). The blessed one, together with other fathers, preached and taught that our Lord Jesus Christ is One in hypostasis, and One and the same - Perfect God and Perfect Man, and not one and the other. And the Most Pure Virgin, who gave birth according to the flesh, is the Lady and truly the Mother of God. And there was great joy among all the Orthodox, and all the people of the city of Ephesus solemnly applauded and said, not as before: “Great is Artemis of Ephesus!” (Acts 19:28), and “great is the Most Pure Virgin Mary, Mother of God!” The nasty Nestorius, as a blasphemous heretic, was anathematized and defrocked by the fathers of the Council, but since he did not calm down, but again began to preach his heresy, he was first exiled to Fas, near Theophani, and then to the Egyptian oasis, in Turkish called Ibis. While there, the wicked experienced divine wrath, because, as Evagrius writes, the schismatic’s blasphemous tongue rotted and was eaten by worms; just as Kedrin and Nicephorus claim, his whole body rotted. The unfortunate man, like Arius in the upper Thebaid, suffered a terrible death: the Angel of the Lord struck him, and all his entrails fell into a vessel with sewage, when he went to relieve himself and began to blaspheme Christ and the Mother of God. There, as Saint Herman of Constantinople says, the evil one gave up his spirit. This is how the Jewish heretic Nestorius was subjected to such dishonor and punishment. Saint Cyril received great honors and privileges from the Third Ecumenical Council. The wonderful John Zonara, in a eulogy dedicated to this ascetic, describes the following rewards: the fathers of the Third Council granted the divine the right to be called “Judge of the Universe” and during worship to wear a thin cloth in the form of a cloth on his head. The name “Judge of the Universe” indicates the wondrous ecumenical judgment carried out by the primate of the Alexandrian Church, who, through Orthodoxy, united the entire universe, divided into many parts by the heresy of Nestorius. The thin cloth signifies the subtlety of the saint’s mind, for he compiled the doctrine of the hypostatic unity of Christ. With the help of this term both one Person in Christ and His two natures are represented. In addition, the divine Cyril was also called “papa.” Perhaps this was due to the fact that he replaced Pope Celestine at the Council. Others interpret the above privileges differently, because all the Patriarchs of Alexandria, successors of St. Cyril, retained the title of “Pope” and “Judge of the Universe,” as well as the right to wear two crowns and two stoles, perhaps pointing to the thin fabric granted by the Synod. It is known that before the convening of the above-mentioned Council, designed to strengthen the Orthodox faith, the blessed one suffered many labors, temptations, and was subjected to lawless slander and attacks from heretics who were of the same mind as Nestorius. Enlisting the help of worldly rulers, they held their own conference and falsely declared St. Cyril a heretic, like Apollinaris, who denied the true humanity in Christ and considered Him only Divinity. Slanderous letters aroused the king's anger against the ascetic; he, along with Memnon of Ephesus, was put in prison and chained in iron. Having studied the matter in detail and learned about the false accusations of the heretics and the innocence of the saint, the king humbled the heretics with exile, and strengthened his blessed one, together with those who were like-minded, on their high priestly thrones, appeasing their patience and meekness with praise. To understand how hated the Mother of God was the blasphemous heresy of Nestorius, against which St. Cyril fought so hard, as a digression we will present here the story told by the fathers of the “Spiritual Meadow” - Sophronius and John. One day they went to Abba Kyriakos, presbyter of the Kalamon Lavra, which is on the Jordan, and the monk told them the following. “Once in a dream I saw the Lady Theotokos with a bright face, dressed in purple, accompanied by two godly men, who stood near my cell. I learned that this was the Lady, the Mother of God, and two men with her - Saints John the Baptist and John the Theologian. Then I left the cell and, bowing to the Most Pure Virgin Mary, began to ask to come in and bless my cell, but She did not agree. “Let Your servant, O Lady, not return, ashamed and humiliated by You,” I begged the zealous Intercessor. “You have My enemy in your cell, how are you asking Me to come in?” - The Mother of God answered me and became invisible. When I woke up, I began to cry and grieve, but since there was no one else in my cell, I wondered if I had sinned in my thoughts against the Most Pure One, for which She turned away from me. However, he found nothing, and continued to be in bewilderment and sorrow. To console myself, I began to read the book of Hesychius, presbyter of Jerusalem, which I asked him some time ago. At the end of this book I discovered two blasphemous words of the wicked Nestorius. That’s when I realized that he was the enemy of the Mother of God who was in my cell. “Brother, take your book, for I received more harm from it than good,” I said to Father Hesychius. When he found out the reason, for I told him about the vision, he was filled with Divine jealousy and at the same hour tore those two blasphemous words from the book and burned them, so that there would be no enemy of our Lady Theotokos in his cell. “It is characteristic of God alone to be sinless and free from all passion,” writes Gregory the Theologian in his funeral homily to Basil the Great, so we should not remain silent here about the sin of the great Cyril of Alexandria. The saints of God, no matter how holy they are, like all people, are subject to human weakness and some small passions. The saint corrected his passion in an amazing way. Since the great Cyril was the nephew of Patriarch Theophilos, the enemy of John Chrysostom, he believed in the truth of false accusations against the saint not out of malice, but out of simplicity: “a gentle man... believes every word” (Prov. 14:15) and he developed an unkind prejudice against our divine father Chrysostom. He was angry with him not only during the life of the archpastor, but also after his death, and did not want, as is usually customary, to remember Blessed John in diptychs among other pious patriarchs. The next primate of the Church of Constantinople, Atticus, after Arsacius, wrote to Cyril that he himself was an enemy of Chrysostom, but then, reflecting, he realized that that holy man was innocent, so he repented, numbered the saint among the saints, strictly began to commemorate the deceased, and fraternally advised the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria to do the same. But the divine did not listen to him, apparently not wanting to condemn the Council against Chrysostom that took place under Theophilus. Then Saint Isidore Pelusit, his relative and eldest in age, also turned to the ascetic. He boldly and with great courage denounced Cyril for his unjust and unreasonable anger at the sinless John Chrysostom. “One should not condemn a person,” wrote Pelusit, “before his guilt and sin have been examined in detail, because God, who, although everything knows before it happens, and foresees the future as the present, according to the Holy Scriptures, came down from Heaven on the cities of Sodom to see whether it was true that the Sodomites had sinned or not: “the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sin is very heavy; I will go down and see whether they are doing exactly what the cry is against them, rising to Me, or not; I will know” (Gen. 18:20–21). The Lord did all this to show us an example: we should not immediately believe the words of the accusers, but first we need to study all the circumstances ourselves and check the rumors.” “So you too,” he said to the divine Cyril, “must first think, and then, if you find a reasonable basis for anger, be angry, because many of those who were with you at the Council in Ephesus openly accuse you of unfairly opposing the innocent John, and that, being a relative of Theophilus, you imitate him in everything.” And just as he publicly showed his madness by driving out the sinless, holy and beloved John from the throne, so do you, accusing and slandering the persecuted one, although he has already died. Examples from the Holy Scriptures frighten me and motivate me to write to you. If I am a father to you, as you yourself call me, then I am afraid of the condemnation that the priest Eli received under the Old Law for not admonishing his sons who had sinned as they should. If I am your son, which I myself know, then I am afraid that the punishment of Jonathan, the son of Saul, will overtake me, who could have prevented his father from turning to the sorceress, but did not keep him from sin. That's why he was killed first in the war. So, in order not to be condemned by me, I tell you what serves for your benefit, so that you too will not be convicted by the Impartial and Righteous Judge. “Listen to me, put aside your anger against the deceased, and do not disturb the Church of the living by causing unrest in it,” Isidore admonished Saint. – Are you asking me why and how John was exiled? But I will not answer you in detail, so as not to find myself blaspheming and condemning others, but I will only say that many lawless people unjustly took out their anger on him. I will briefly tell you about Egypt. Egypt denied Moses and worked for Pharaoh. He scourged the humble, and tormented the Israelis who worked. They built cities for him, and he gave wages to the workers. Indulging in such matters, Egypt raised Theophilus, who revered gold as a god. He, along with those who were like-minded, hated and persecuted the beloved of God and the preacher of God, John. But the house of David, as you yourself can see, is expanding and strengthening more and more, and the house of Saul is shrinking and weakening,” Pelusite addressed the first hierarch of the Alexandrian Christians. Thanks to such messages, the divine Cyril began to recognize his sin and correct himself. However, to the end he clearly realized and made amends for it after a vision in which he was in a beautiful place, filled with indescribable joy, where Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and other wondrous and glorious men of the Old and New Testaments were. When the blessed one entered the bright church filled with people, he saw the Lady Theotokos praying and shining with indescribable glory, surrounded by a host of Angels. John Chrysostom stood near the Mother of God in great honor and held the Book of his teachings in his hands. Along with him were many glorious men, ready to take revenge for the slandered archpastor. When the great Cyril wanted to venerate the Ever-Virgin Mary, Saint John and his guards attacked him with anger and not only prevented him from approaching the Mother of God, but completely kicked him out of the church. While the primate of the Alexandria Church stood in horror, reflecting on what had happened, the voice of the Mother of God was heard. The Queen of Heaven asked John Chrysostom not to drive Cyril of Alexandria out of the church, because he had an unkind prejudice against him not out of malice, but out of ignorance: - Out of love for Me, forgive him, for he labored a lot for the sake of My honor, disgracing My scoffer Nestorius, and proclaimed to people that I am the Mother of God. After these words, Chrysostom immediately calmed down and, hugging Saint Cyril, kissed him in a friendly manner. Thus, through the mediation of the Most Pure One, in a vision the two saints were reconciled with each other. Having woken up and thought carefully, the blessed one repented and began to blame himself for having been subject to vain and reckless passion for so long in relation to the holy man so pleasing to God. He immediately gathered all the bishops of Egypt and arranged a great celebration in honor of Chrysostom. He included his name in diptychs and began to commemorate him among the great saints, every year pleasing his memory with words of praise. Cyril wrote the first life of John, which formed the basis of the life of St. John Chrysostom, compiled by George the Alexandrian. From that time on, for the rest of his life, the divine Cyril tended his verbal flock in life-giving pastures, always leading believers along the path of salvation, wisely delivering the lost from the devil’s delusion. To prove his skill, we will present the following story for sweetness to the listeners, and with this we will end the story. Abba Daniel tells in the Fatherland that one venerable elder lived in Lower Egypt. He was righteous, but rather simple and even rude in mind. So, he thought and said that Melchizedek is the Son of God. This was reported to Saint Cyril. The Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria invited the monk to his place, and having learned that he performed signs, wonders, and whatever he asked from God, He revealed to him, he used his wisdom, meekly saying to the elder: – Ava, I am overcome by doubts. One thought tells me that Melchizedek is the Son of God, and the other tells me that he is a simple man and a bishop of God. That’s why I called you, ask God to reveal the truth to you, and you tell me. “Give me, Vladyka, three days for this, and whatever God reveals to me, I will tell your holiness,” the Abba answered boldly, trusting in the holiness of his life. The monk left and, secluding himself in his cell for three days, began to fervently pray to the Lord to reveal to him about Melchizedek. “Master, Melchizedek is a simple man, not the Son of God,” the elder proclaimed at the end of the allotted time. - How do you know this? – asked the great Kirill. – God showed me all the patriarchs from Adam to Melchizedek. who passed before me, and when Melchizedek passed, the Angel of the Lord said to me: “You see, here is Melchizedek.” So, Master, I found out that this is so. Then, thanking the Lord, the saint was very glad that he had delivered the elder from error and sent him away in peace. From that day on, Abba began to preach to everyone that Melchizedek was a simple man, and not the Son of God. This is how, with the help of his wisdom, the ever-blessed one, famous for his struggle for the purity of Orthodox teaching, led the simpleton to the knowledge of the truth. Having remained on the throne of Alexandria for thirty-two years, Saint Cyril compiled many soul-helping books for the Orthodox, of which the most famous are “Treasures” and his Commentaries on the Old Testament. His memory is celebrated on June 9, the day of his repose in the Lord, and also on January 18, when the day of his arrival from Alexandria to Ephesus is remembered. This flight of the saint was considered worthy of celebration, because it caused many benefits for the Church of Christ, because thanks to it the Third Ecumenical Council was convened, the heresy of the blasphemous Nestorius was condemned and the Orthodox faith was preached throughout the universe. This is evidenced by other historical documents, in which the following verses are written under the date January 18: “Kirillov’s flight is now commemorated, And not the death of the blessed action.” If in the printed Menaion we find “silence” instead of “flight”, this is a typographical typo, because in the manuscripts of the Synaxarion there is a signature under the date June 9: “Cyril, Pope of Alexandria, has died, All masters moved to the Lord. Kirill was found in the earthly tomb on the ninth day.” At the death of the great Cyril of Alexandria, the Lady and Lady Theotokos Herself was present. The Mother of God visited Her servant because during his lifetime he, too, worked faithfully for Her, striving for Her honor. And now he is in Heaven and rejoices with the faces of the Angels, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, hierarchs and with all the saints. With his beloved friend, the divine John Chrysostom, he stands at the Throne of Christ God and His Most Pure Mother, Whom he defended and for Whom he suffered. He continually asks the All-Holy and Consubstantial Trinity for all Christians, so that they too may be worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven, which may we all achieve by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom belongs all glory, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. (From the works of Nikephoros, Sozomen and other church historians) The life and exploits of the Monk Andronicus and his wife Athanasia, who labored in the 5th century This reverend father Andronik came from Great Antioch. He was very virtuous, God-fearing and rich not only in worldly goods, for the whole region knew him as a silversmith, but also in spiritual ones. He took himself an equally modest and God-loving wife named Athanasia. After consulting, they decided to divide their wealth into three parts, and from one they generously gave to the poor, from the other they lent without interest to everyone in need, and the third they kept for their living. Having given birth to two children, a boy and a girl, they no longer wanted to unite with each other, but lived a chaste life and always cared about salvation if possible. They often prayed, went to church services, visited the sick, cared for strangers, clothed the naked, freed prisoners from prison, and performed other good and godly deeds. After twelve years of marriage, their children, being at an age when their parents could not get enough of them, suddenly died on the same day. Blessed Andronicus did not show any cowardice, did not weep uncontrollably, as the majority usually do in such cases, but, having grieved moderately, as befits the laws of nature, he endured this misfortune, exclaiming in the blessed voice of Job: “naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked I will return” (Job 1:21). And his wife Athanasia mourned inconsolably for the children, and after their burial near the church of the holy martyr Juliana did not want to leave the grave, saying that she also wanted to die and be buried with her children. To console Andronicus, the patriarch took him to his Patriarchate, and Athanasia, in grief, could not move away from that place and remained near the church of the holy martyr Julian, crying and sobbing with many sighs and cries. And in the middle of the night, the martyr Julian appeared to her in the form of a monk and asked: – Woman, why are you crying and giving no peace to those who are here? - My lord, do not be angry with your servant. My heart hurts a lot, because I had two children, and now I buried them, so I’m crying now. - Don't cry for your children. I assure you that just as the body needs food and will not rest until food is given to it, so your little children who have died ask God for Heavenly blessings, saying: “Lord, Righteous Judge, instead of the earthly blessings that we have lost, give us Heavenly ones.” And it is impossible that God would not give it to them. Hearing this, Afanasia came to her senses and, moved, changed her sadness to joy, saying: “My children are alive and rejoicing in Heavenly blessings, then why am I crying and grieving? She turned around, looking for the monk who had spoken to her, but after searching the entire church, she found no one. Then the woman turned to the servant with a question: – Where is the monk who just came here? – You see, all the doors of the church are closed. How can you ask where the monk is? However, the servant realized that the woman had a vision. Afanasia, frightened, went home and told her husband everything, and then began to ask to enter the monastery. Blessed Andronik joyfully accepted her words, because he himself wanted the same thing, which he confessed to her. And so both decided to renounce the world and become monks. Andronicus immediately distributed most of their property to the poor and set all the slaves free. He left the rest of the estate to his father-in-law, ordering him to set up hospitals and hotels with this money, and they, taking a little money for the journey, left the house at night. Looking at the house from afar, blessed Athanasia raised her eyes to Heaven and said: “O Lord my God, You who said to Abram and Sarah: “Get out of your land, from your kindred and from your father’s house... to the land that I will show you” (Gen. 12:1), lead us also in Your fear, for we too have left our home for the sake of Your name. We pray to You, do not close the doors of Your Kingdom to us.” They cried and left their hometown. Arriving in Jerusalem and worshiping the holy places, they met the holy fathers and talked with them for many days. Leaving from there, they came to Misiri to the famous Abba Daniel and told him about their intention, asking him to lead them to the path of salvation. Abba Daniel placed Athanasius in the Tavenisiot nunnery, and kept Andronikos with him. After testing him for some time, he tonsured him and clothed him in the image of an angel. So Andronicus remained with the Abba for twelve years, obeying him in everything. After twelve years, Andronicus began to ask Abba Daniel to let him go to Jerusalem to venerate the holy places. Having given the blessing, he released him. Walking along the road, the Monk Andronicus sat down under a tree to rest from the heat, and at this time, according to God’s dispensation, his wife also came there under the guise of her husband, renamed monk Athanasius. She, too, was heading to holy places. When they greeted each other, she recognized Andronik, but he did not recognize her, because her beauty had faded from excessive exploits, and she looked like a blackamoor. She asked him: - Mister Abba, where are you going? Andronik answered: - Do you want to go together? As you wish, just let’s walk along the road in silence, so that it won’t be seen that I’m walking with you. “As you wish, let’s go in silence.” Then Afanasia asks him: - Aren’t you a student of Abba Daniel? – Isn’t your name Andronik? - Yes, I call myself Andronik. – May the prayers of the elder accompany us. So the two of them came to Jerusalem, bowed to the holy places and silently returned to Alexandria. There Athanasia asked Andronicus: – Do you want us to live together in a cell? “As you wish, but first I will go to my elder to ask for permission and prayers.” - Go, I will wait for you in the town of Oktokedekaton. If you can live with me and not talk, as you did on the way to the Holy Land, then come. If you can't, don't come. Andronik came to the elder and told him everything, asking, if he considered it reasonable, to allow him to live with the monk Athanasius. From the words of Andronicus, Abba Daniel understood that Athanasius was very successful in virtue, so he allowed it, finally saying: “Go, love silence and stay with that brother, because he is a real monk.” So Andronicus returned to the appointed place and lived with Athanasius for twelve years, not knowing that it was his wife. It is impossible to adequately describe how many and what kind of feats they took upon themselves. Abba Daniel visited them many times, talking on spiritual topics and discussing the salvation of the soul. One day, when Abba Daniel came to them again and, having already talked enough, said goodbye and set off on his way back, Abba Andronik ran after him and, having caught up, said: “Abba Athanasius has fallen ill and will soon go to the Lord. Hearing this, Abba Daniel returned and discovered that the patient was having a terrible attack. Seeing Abba Daniel, Athanasius began to cry, and the elder said to him: - Instead of rejoicing that you are going to God, are you crying? – I cry because Abba Andronik is left alone. I ask you, father, show love. After my death you will find a small plaque near my head. Read what is written there and let Abba Andronik read it Then all three prayed, Blessed Athanasia received communion of the Most Pure Mysteries and rested in the Lord. Then Abba Daniel read the tablet, and they learned that the blessed Athanasia was the wife of Andronicus. This became known throughout the Lavra. Abba Daniel sent a message to the brethren, and all the fathers who lived in the inner desert, from all the Alexandrian Laurels, from all that area and from the monastery, gathered for her burial. The skete put on white clothes, because it was their custom to put on white clothes for the burial of the brethren, as if they had defeated three enemies: the flesh, the world and the world ruler, the devil. The venerable relics of St. Athanasia were carried out with the branches of the frond and, glorifying God, who gave the saint such patience, they buried them with great reverence and praise. And Abba Daniel remained there to perform seven funeral services for the saint, after which he wanted to take Abba Andronik with him, but he did not want to leave there, saying: “I want to die here, together with my mistress Athanasia.” Then, having said goodbye to him, Abba Daniel set off on the road, but a certain brother caught up with him on the road and said that Abba Andronik was having an attack. And again Abba Daniel returned and sent to tell the monastery that the Monk Andronik was following the Monk Athanasia. All the brothers gathered again and found him still alive. After they received his blessing, he rested in the Lord. And between the brethren who lived in Oktokedekaton and the monastery, a dispute arose over the honest relics of the Monk Andronik, who would take them. Abba Daniel managed to quell this dispute with force, and the Monk Andronik was buried together with his associate, the Monk Athanasia, glorifying and blessing God above all. Amen. The life and exploits of our holy father Andrew, Archbishop of Crete, a Jerusalemite who shone in the 8th century The birthplace of this divine father of ours, Andrew, was the famous Damascus, now called Siam by the Turks. The monk was born from God-fearing and virtuous parents George and Gregory and was mute until he was seven years old, so they were very sad, thinking that he would remain so forever. After seven years, when one day he went to church with his parents and received communion of the Most Pure Body and Blood of the Lord, a miracle happened. His tongue was immediately released from its bonds, and the boy began to speak freely. Then his parents sent him to school to study the sacred sciences. Possessing a sharp mind, Andrei devoted himself to his studies with great willingness and zeal, and, practicing his subjects with extreme desire, succeeded in all sciences. Having experienced teachers, he mastered everything perfectly. His tongue cleared, and Andrei began to speak skillfully and pleasantly. He made his soul capable of acquiring virtue and truth, and his mind to succeed in the contemplation of heavenly things. Then, having studied the Holy Scriptures, he was so enlightened in thought that he passionately fell in love with the truth and Divine wisdom, only striving for it entirely. Thinking that there was no other way to connect with Divine wisdom except by freeing himself from earthly material things, he asked his parents to dedicate him to God, for he had no inclination and love for everything worldly. Moved, of course, by God, his parents brought him to the Life-Giving Sepulcher of the Lord and dedicated him as an acceptable sacrifice to God. The Patriarch of Jerusalem was then Theodore, a man of holy life, who with great joy accepted the young man and made him his spiritual child (for one like him always loves one like himself). Having clothed him in the monastic image, he ordained Andrei as a deacon and began to take full care of his progress, trying to raise him in virtue and raise him “to a perfect man, to the measure of the full stature of Christ” (Eph. 4.13). Having before him, as it were, good land - the soul of a young man, the patriarch also had good hopes that with the help of the Divine word and the good example of his own virtue, his soul would bear a hundredfold fruit. But the elder could not fully enjoy it, because he was released from his bodily bonds and, having joyfully died in the arms of his spiritual child, went to the Lord Christ to accept bright crowns for his good governance of the Church. And upon his death (in addition to making him the steward of the Church), he appointed the divine Andrew the ruler and trustee of the entire Church, because due to his young age he could not leave him as successor to the Patriarchal throne. Regardless of his age, in virtue, care, supervision and the benefits he brought, Andrei was not inferior to any other patron of the Church, but was for the Jerusalem Church a father, a teacher, a steward, a servant, and a shining example of all goodness. By order of the pious king Constantine, the grandson of Heraclius, the Sixth Ecumenical Council then met in Constantinople, which solemnly rejected the Monothelite heresy and compiled a sacred code of dogmas. Letters from the Tsar were sent to all Churches, in which he approved the Council Rules and urged all believers to follow them. When this letter arrived in the Jerusalem Church, it filled it with spiritual joy and was evidence that piety, against which the heretics had previously rebelled, was again gloriously strengthened. The best people of Jerusalem decided that it was necessary to send a person to Constantinople who could prove that they too agreed with the dogmas of the Divine Council; At a general meeting, it was decided to send the great Andrew for this purpose along with two other clergy, since he was taught the dogmas of piety and succeeded in them more than any other by the power of the word and the Holy Spirit. So, taking with him two outstanding clerics, whom he himself had chosen, Andrew came to Constantinople. He no longer found the king alive, and his son Justinian II, Rhinilat, became the heir to the kingdom. He conveyed to him the confession of the Jerusalem Church, and made up for everything that was missing in it with beautiful speech. Arousing astonishment at his holiness and wisdom, he managed well the affairs of the embassy entrusted to him and sent the clergy back to Jerusalem to inform others how the embassy ended, while he himself remained in Constantinople to get rid of church affairs and lead a solitary life in silence. Having prepared himself internally, free from all concerns, benign and unseemly, he completely devoted himself to the study and contemplation of the Divine, laboring through fasting, vigils and tears. Thus, he was cleansed in body and soul, enlightened in mind and, becoming in everything as if like God, mysteriously united with Him, having received a pre-betrothal to future benefits. After spending a long time in silence, the saint was able to absorb the perfect measure of virtue and subsequently did a lot of good for everyone who came to him. But since this glorious man in deed and word could not hide for long under the cover of silence, both the king and the Church became aware of him. Forcibly separated from silence, he was placed against his will in the service of the Great Church. Then he was entrusted with the care and management of orphanages. Having mastered obedience perfectly, he became the father and nourisher of the orphans and the poor. Diligently caring for both orphanages in Constantinople, he not only achieved an increase in funds for their maintenance, but also built new and extensive premises for the orphans. Having found himself worthy in everything, he accepted greater care, being elevated to the high episcopal throne of the metropolis of the famous island of Crete, and it was his service on this island that allowed him to become the shepherd and teacher of the entire Church of Christ. In his diocese, he immediately set to work, making every effort to increase and save his flock. First, he wisely addressed the priests with a very meek word about order during divine services, showing what a priest should be like, who is not only honored to approach the First and Impregnable Light - God, but is obliged to enlighten others, reconciling them with God, that is, the priest himself must shine and be pure, like a mirror, in order to receive the rays of Divine light and shine on others. Then the monk put in order the institutions for the maintenance of virgins and monasteries, writing a Charter for them. After this, he began to take care of the laity, teaching them to cleave to God, and not to the flesh and the world, to despise worldly pleasures, to keep the commandments of God and to strive for their salvation. He taught chastity to the young, returned sinners to repentance, gave hope for Divine mercy to the repentant, persuaded those who strive to do deeds of virtue, helped those overwhelmed by passions, supported those who were in danger of falling into sin, raised the fallen, for the weak he was a strength, for the sad - a consolation, for widows - a protector, for orphans - a father, for the poor - a treasure, for the hungry - a nourisher, for the naked - a covering. And why talk too much?... “He became all things to all, in order to save” all (1 Cor. 9:22). And just as the Lord in the next century will become for the saints Light, and Life, and Glory, and Food, and Clothing, and Joy, and all the other blessings of bliss, so this great Andrew was for the inhabitants of his diocese every good thing - not only spiritual, but also physical, with which it was possible to live real life without sadness. He opened the good treasure of his heart and brought out good words from it, and, widening the mouth of his thoughts, filled them with the grace of the Holy Spirit (Ps. 45:2). With wisdom, reason and Divine inspiration, the monk compiled books through which he appears as a capable rhetorician and divinely inspired clergyman. In his “Words” for various Mother of God feasts, he solemnly praises the Most Pure Mother of the Son and Word of God, praises the Life-giving Cross of the Savior, on which the Impassive God endured blissful suffering and free death, making us partakers of His Kingdom and glory, and also praises many other Master feasts. In addition, the monk gave praise to some saints, making their torments seem like his own with his praises. He bestows special praise on the great John the Baptist. The Monk Andrew compiled many canons and troparions, with which he not only decorated the holidays and inspired Christians to spiritual joy and joy, but also evoked tenderness, causing those who sang and read them to shed springs of tears; he compiled that praiseworthy Great Canon, the reading of which not only evokes repentance and tenderness, but also gives extensive knowledge, since it teaches Christians the disposition with which they should read the stories of the Holy Scriptures, and how to make them the cause of the highest moral contemplations (Great Canon of Andrew of Crete). The Monk Andrew not only with words, but with deeds and great deeds adorned his flock and brought joy to other Christian Churches. He renovated the destroyed churches of God, providing generous assistance to the builders, and in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Ever-Virgin Mary, he erected a beautiful church, calling it Blachernae. The monk also built hotels where they gave rest to the elderly, treated the sick and provided shelter for wanderers and the poor. To all those in need, he not only generously distributed what was necessary, spending money wisely and godly, but, as in everything else, imitating his Master and Teacher Christ, he served the weak and strange with his own hands, washed their hands, feet and heads, cleansed the wounds of the sick - so the love for God and neighbor burned in him. It is worth mentioning here the two miracles of the saint in order to show the holiness and boldness that the divine Andrew had towards God. One day, Crete was attacked by an army of barbarians who wanted to capture and destroy the saint’s flock, for which they used all military means, subjecting the island to a long siege. But the godly prayers of Saint Andrew not only saved his flock from danger, but also instilled such fear in the barbarians that they fled on their own, not persecuted by anyone. Moreover, because of this hasty and disorderly flight, many of them died either in the sea waves or at the hands of Christians. Another time it was at the beginning of summer. The sun scorched the earth, there was no rain, and all the crops withered, so there was a danger of famine. From fear of starvation, parched, without water, scorched by the sun, people were already completely desperate. But how did the compassionate and merciful soul of the saint act in such a misfortune? Perhaps he despised his flock, who were in mortal danger? No. Raising his hands to the sky and raising his eyes, he with all his soul called on God to shed rain on the earth. And - lo and behold! – the sky filled with clouds and rain poured down. The plants were saturated with moisture and bore abundant fruit, so that the people calmed down and were comforted. And another time there was a plague in his diocese, which killed many. The saint’s prayers and tears to God prevented the spread of the deadly disease. The great Andrei performed many other miracles, which, if told, would not be enough to tell in a lifetime, because, having God in his soul, he was for the inhabitants of his diocese the cause of all blessings from Him, delivering them from all evil. To God, as a pleasant and precious sacrifice, he offered the souls of the people he saved. One day, out of necessity, the saint needed to go to Constantinople. Arriving there, he was received with great honor and respect both by the entire Church and by the king and all the archons. After spending some time there, he distributed Heavenly bread to the thirsty - words of teaching, and gave the thirsty the life-giving water of the Holy Spirit to drink, and did not shy away from material goods - he offered bodily food to the hungry, helped the offended, protected widows, orphans, and comforted the mourning. Finally, he got ready to return to his diocese and, although he already knew that he would no longer see his flock, he nevertheless surrendered himself to the Holy Spirit who moved him. Having boarded the ship, he sailed to Crete, but, having reached Mytilene, the ship stopped. When the saint asked what the name of this place was, he was told that Eressos. Then he said: “Here I must convey to God the image that he gave me, here I will die.” And so it happened. Having resolved his bodily bonds, he ascended in joy to the Desired God and, shining from the Impregnable Light of His Divinity, enjoys the ineffable benefits of His Kingdom. And his sacred relics were placed in the church of the holy and victorious martyr Anastasia, as an inestimable treasure and a source of miracles, ever flowing to the glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. (Written by Macarius of Macrius) The life and exploits of the holy and righteous Evdokim, who shone in the 9th century The story of the life of the righteous Evdokim brings great benefit to both the narrator and the listener. And not only because the saint passionately loved virtue, like many other ascetics, but more for the reason that, being among the worries of everyday life, carried like a ship on the sea of life, plunging into troubled waves and pestered by various visions of the devil, he calmly saved himself from all passions arising from anger, and kept his soul pure and undefiled - and from passionate lust, and from the slightest thought. And the blessed one acquired all the virtues with which he offended the demons more than those who labored in the deserts for fifty or sixty years and for whom he became an example of virtue. But he became the highest role model for those virtuous who live in the world, and they, turning their gaze to him, could safely go through their lives and be saved. And now the time has come to offer the story to pious listeners, as a kind of meal at which Spiritual dishes that never diminish or spoil are served. This wondrous Evdokim was from Cappadocia, the son of pious parents. His father's name was Vasily, and his mother was Evdokia. They were of noble family, owned large property and held high positions. Evdokim's father, Vasily, was a patrician. Although Evdokim was of such a glorious family, he was not so much revered for his famous origin as they were glorified and amazed at his exploits, which the ever-blessed one zealously indulged in of his own free will. The offspring of noble parents, in order to become famous (maybe even occupy high positions), for the most part, remain in the world. But to be in the world and to lead a virtuous and unusually chaste life, where one indulges in pleasures and bliss, is very difficult. This blessed youth, sent by his parents to study literacy, did not need to be forced to study through fear of punishment with rods, for he himself forced himself to study with all diligence, reading the Holy Scripture day and night, the study of which that blessed soul rejoiced more than those who sit at a luxurious meal and feast with dances and timbrels. The prophetic saying suited this saint: “How sweet are Your words to my throat! better than honey to my lips” (Ps. 119:103). He loved to go to the churches of God, listen to sacred services and the words of God, trying in every possible way to become a pure church of the “Living God,” in the words of the great Apostle (2 Cor. 6:16). And the enemy of truth persuaded many young men, Evdokim’s peers, to force him to go with them to feasts and spend time pleasantly hunting and in joy, but this ever-singing one had for himself only one feast, luxury and pleasure - prayer and reading soul-helping books. And not as some do, who pray, although their mind does not listen to prayer, and read without delving into either what they themselves read or what others read to them. But this true servant of the Lord, both when he prayed and when he read, clung to the sacred words with all his mind and all his thoughts. And the blessed one loved chastity and purity, the most precious of all other virtues, making a person equal to the Angels, so much with his soul that he could boldly say, together with the righteous and much-victorious Job, that “my heart never followed my eyes” (Job 31:7). But the greatest thing is that the ever-snotted one decided not to look at women’s faces while he is in this life. And throughout his entire life, he did not look at other women or girls except his mother and did not talk to them. Along with chastity, he also combined mercy, accompanied by quietness. Through chastity a person is adorned before God, and through mercy the soul is nourished by the grace of the Holy Spirit. The monk was distinguished by such mercy that he even distributed what he himself needed for life to the poor, and not only money, but also everything that others needed. He helped the poor so much that if he had to sell himself into slavery in order to free others, he would gladly agree, for the blessed one knew that mercy is the fruit of love. He was a father of the orphans, a steward for widows, a clothing for the naked, a supply for the hungry, a comfort for the sorrowful. This wonderful man, for his virtues and against his own will, was awarded royal dignity, but at the same time he did not stop thinking about Heavenly beauties. Moreover, thinking that this dignity was given to him as a gift from God, he began to work even more and devoted himself to Divine love. This saint was even made stratopedarch (military leader, field marshal) of Cappadocia in a diocese called Charsiana. As a reasonable economist, he did not spend money for the sake of his own honor and glory, as the majority do, for having received some title, they try to become famous for their madness and have privileges, and do not think, unfortunate ones, about the terrible Judgment that the Righteous and Terrible Judge will carry out on them. Blessed Evdokim devoted all his care and attention to ruling the small and great in honor and truth, and would lay down his very soul, if it were required, for his subjects. And what's the point of talking a lot? Blessed Evdokim was perfect in every virtue: in fiery love for God, in inimitable love for his neighbor, for the sake of which he avoided all slander. And he not only kept himself from condemnation, but also prevented others in every possible way from saying anything against their neighbor. He taught that everyone should be able to listen more than talk. With such a blessed life, Evdokim was a chosen vessel, a teacher in word, an example in deed, and a living model for those who communicated with him. And this continued until he approached the blissful end of his life there, in Cappadocia, having lived thirty-three years, being young in age, but old in reason and knowledge. Having foreknowledge of his impending death, the righteous man was not embarrassed, because his whole life was concerned with death. The only thing he was missing was his mother, who was far away at that time and could not be present at his death. So, his last hour had come before going to the Lord. Many came to visit him at this hour. After the words he said about remembering death, he bequeathed to bury him in the clothes that he was wearing, and not to do to him what is usually done for other dead people. Then he gave a sign and, as soon as everyone left, began to pray to God in these words, which some heard and later said: “Lord my God, just as during my life I did not want to show others how I live, so at my death, I ask that there be no sign, so that no one would think that I pleased You.” After his words: “In Your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit,” his holy soul departed. Those present there, out of reverence for the saint, preserved not only the clothes that he was wearing, but also the bed on which he slept (it was made of roughly hewn boards), placing it in the grave. However, the sun could not hide behind a cloud, and the lamp could not be hidden, because the more the blessed one hid, the more the Lord revealed him for the benefit of many. A certain Elijah, possessed by a terrible demon, many days after the death of the saint, was passing near the place where his relics lay, when the demon suddenly began to torment him and, shaking him violently, threw him to the ground as if he were dead. And so the demon came out, and the man was freed. The Lord glorified his servant, and the rumor about the miracle that happened to Elijah spread everywhere like the sound of a trumpet. Many people began to flock to the relics of Evdokim; they brought people sick with various ailments, who were healed at the saint’s tomb. A certain wife had a child with paralyzed arms. As soon as they approached the saint’s tomb, that same day the child was healed. And the other child had paralyzed not only his arms, but also his legs. Coming to the tomb with the same faith as those before him, he also received healing. Even the lamp over the saint’s tomb was a source of healing, because everyone who suffered from any ailment was anointed with oil from it and was healed. And one wife had an unclean spirit in her. As soon as she approached the saint’s tomb, the demon came out. Another wife suffered for a long time from a terrible and incurable disease. Having come with faith to the saint’s tomb, she took the earth, mixed it with tears and anointed the wound with this mixture, immediately receiving the desired health. And the soil from the saint’s grave helped not only those who came here, but also those who were far away and could not come. It was sent to the sick, and after being anointed with it, they, by their faith, gained health. It is impossible to describe all the miracles of the saint. And now the time has come to talk about the transfer of his honorable body from Charsian to Constantinople. The rumor about the miracles of the saint spread throughout all cities and countries, so that many were surprised and perplexed how a young man, who was among the temptations of the world and had a high rank, was able to achieve virtues that ascetics barely achieve in the deep desert, and retained such purity and chastity. Hearing about the countless and rapid miracles, everyone was amazed, but the majority only talked about the saint. When rumors of his death and miracles at his grave reached his parents, they were saddened by the first, but received consolation from the second and really wanted to see it with their own eyes. Overcome by love for her son, the saint’s mother did not think about the distance, nor about the labors and dangers of the path, but, driven by a strong desire, she went to the tomb of her dear and holy son. Seeing there many people who came with great reverence, and the miracles that were performed from the sacred tomb, when those possessed by demons and suffering from other diseases were quickly healed, she fell to the ground and hugged the tomb. The mother cried for the deceased, at the same time marveling at the grace of performing miracles that he received from God. Mixing crying with praise, she said this: “My sweetest child, the light of my eyes, the indescribable beauty of our parents. Where do you get such grace of healing? Of course, this grace is given by God to those who live in purity and asceticism, hiding their works and virtues. This grace is given by God to His true servants, as a harbinger of future blessings of the Kingdom of Heaven. For your sake, my child, they call me blessed and blessed mother. I will no longer cry and weep as a mother, but as a friend and beloved of God I will offer spiritual songs and songs. I will no longer call you the fruit of my womb, but the son of God by grace. I gave birth to you in the flesh, and now I myself am born of you in spirit and am not ashamed to call you my father. For for the sake of your virtues, your Father is the Heavenly Father Himself, your relatives are holy Angels and faces of saints. Do mercy, my love, to us, your parents, who are more depressed by grief for you than by old age. Give payment for your upbringing to me, your carnal mother, make me related to your Heavenly Father. Reward also the father who gave birth to you according to the flesh, and rest his old age in Abraham’s bosom. This prayer is addressed to you, my blessed child, the old age of the father, and the illnesses of the mother’s womb, and the milk breasts, the image of which he fed, and your relatives. I know that if you ask God about your parents, who have a commandment to honor their children, he will listen to you. For the honor given to parents for their children goes back to God, who is the Father and Creator of all.” With these words, the saint’s pious mother ordered the gravestone to be raised and the coffin with the holy relics taken out. And a strange miracle appeared, sufficient to confirm everything that had been said. Eighteen months have passed since the saint was buried, and, having been in the ground for so long, the honest relics did not suffer at all what usually happens to the bodies of the deceased. Neither the complexion had changed, nor were there any signs of rot or the slightest deterioration of any member. The holy body did not even turn black, but the face of the saint was cheerful, blooming and pleasant, like the face of a man who had not died, but was sleeping. And there was just no movement in him to make it seem that the saint was alive. Even the clothes in which he was laid in the coffin did not decay. And we all know what happens to the bodies of the deceased: in addition to the bodily stench, a heavy smell of mold and decay emanates from the clothes. But this blessed one both his body and his clothes emitted a wonderful fragrance. It was pleasant to look at him and smell him. It seemed as if they had opened not the coffin of a dead man, but some beautiful garden with fragrant plants and flowers. There was one hieromonk named Joseph, who took the holy body to put it on its feet. And as soon as he touched the saint, he himself stood up as if alive. In great fear, Joseph fell at the feet of the saint and asked him, as if he were alive, to allow him to take off his clothes. First, he took off his tunic and put on another, then he took off his shoes, so easily that it seemed that the saint himself was helping with this. Having finished all this, Joseph again brought him to his previous position, together with those who were there, glorifying God, who glorifies those who glorify Him. From this we can conclude that the saint’s tomb was opened providentially so that the great grace with which God glorified him would appear, supernaturally preserving the saint’s body incorruptible. When it was revealed, the demons trembled and ran away, driven as if by lightning. Of course, even when it was hidden in the ground, they were afraid of it and abandoned people; how much more they feared it when it appeared, shining in the glory of holiness. After this, a dispute broke out between the saint’s mother and the local residents, because the mother wanted to take the holy relics with her to Constantinople, saying that “this star shone from my womb,” but the locals in response argued that “it really did shine from you, but it reigned among us. How can you deprive us of such grace, which spread the rays of so many miracles here? Yes, the grapes are from you, but they bore fruit of grace from us. So God was pleased not to contradict God’s decision. Do not envy us because of God’s blessings, do not deprive us of so many mental and physical benefits. The glory that you are the mother of such a saint is enough for you.” Hearing this, she wisely went home. Many days passed after this, and that hieromonk Joseph, being in that area, seized the time and stole the treasure, leaving so that the locals did not notice him. Although Joseph left with the holy relics secretly, this became known from the peace that flowed from them, and from the miracles that occurred along the way. Thus, one demon-possessed wife, who was led along the road by several people, found herself next to the holy relics. Then the demon flew into a rage and she, forced by him, began to scream, blaspheming the saint and jumping around disorderly. The demon came out, driven out by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and the wife recovered and returned home, glorifying the Lord. And another certain virgin, having a terrible illness, as soon as she approached the holy relics with faith, immediately received healing. This is how the saint, by working miracles, rewarded his parents with a precious gift. The God-loving and child-loving mother made a silver shrine for the holy relics, which she placed in the beautiful church of the Most Holy Theotokos, which had been built before. And every day there were countless events... And this is the kind of grace Saint Eudokim received from God for his extraordinary mercy, for the fact that his desire to give was much stronger than those who asked to receive. The blessed one abundantly sowed temporary things here, and now he is reaping thousand-fold eternal fruits in the Kingdom of Heaven, which may we also be worthy of through the intercession of this blessed Evdokim. Amen. (Written by the divine Symeon Metaphrastes) The life and exploits of our venerable and God-bearing father Paul, called Xiropotamian, who shone forth in the 9th century This reverend father of ours, Paul, came from Constantinople. His father was King Michael Kuropalat, also called Rangave, who, being a peaceful and God-fearing man, could not calmly look at the everyday unrest that was happening then, renounced the kingdom and became a monk in the Miralaon monastery he founded. Having lived a godly life, he rested in the Lord. The mother of the monk was Procopius, wondrous in virtue, daughter of Tsar Nicephorus and sister of Tsar Stavrakis. When she was pregnant with the saint, on the night before giving birth, she had a dream as if she gave birth to a lamb on a sheaf of wheat. When he came down from the sheaf, two lions came and wanted to tear him to pieces. The Lamb began to fight with them. Seeing this, the queen rushed to his aid and, when she was already close, she saw that it was not a lamb, but a boy holding a cross in his hands, with the power of which he killed the lions. Rising from sleep, the mother gave birth to blessed Procopius, because that was his name in Holy Baptism. And the dream had the following meaning: the lamb meant the goodness and meekness of the child, the male gender - courage, the killing of two lions figuratively showed the mortification of passions, that is, that he would become a monk, lifting the Cross of Christ and many sorrows onto his shoulders, and with it he would defeat and kill two terrible lions and the two greatest enemies of the monk - the devil with all his powers, and the world with his glory and plantings. The sheaf of wheat meant that with his teaching word and example of angelic life he would feed many hungry souls, and make many useless ones, like chaff, worthy of Heavenly granaries and pleasant bread to God. And there was great joy throughout the whole city about the birth of a child, because from an early age it was clear that he was destined to become great. As soon as the baby was weaned, his father renounced the kingdom and Leo the Armenian began to rule in his place. Fearing that Procopius, when he came of age, would want to take the throne away from him, he sent servants to castrate the child. When Procopius reached the age of twelve, then, working diligently with his natural abilities, he completely devoted himself to the study of the sacred sciences, so that he surpassed all the sages who were then, as can be seen from his writings: “Words for the Feast of the Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos”, eight canons on the voices of the Forty Martyrs and the iambic canon of the Holy Cross. Tsar Roman also testifies to this in his speech, calling him the best of philosophers. When the monk came to such perfection, he also achieved blissful contemplation, which followed from the virtue in which he had worked since childhood. Reflecting on the vanity of the world and turning his mind to the saying of Saint Macarius: “If the soul does not get rid of worldly cares, it cannot truly love God, nor truly abhor the devil,” he decided to leave home. Besides this, there was one more reason: every day the wondrous Procopius was on everyone’s lips: some praised him for his love for everyone, others for his humility, others for his wisdom, others for his abstinence, mercy, contempt for worldly glory and splendor; praises of Procopius were heard daily and hourly. It was in order to avoid human praise that the blessed one left Constantinople. Putting on an old torn cassock, in the guise of a beggar, like a thirsty deer, unrecognized by anyone, he rushed to the Holy Mountain. Having walked around the whole of Athos, he came to the monastery of the ever-sung queen Pulcheria the Virgin, the one that is now called Xiropotamian. Shortly before these events, it was destroyed by the Arabs who came to the Mountain as a bandit; they destroyed other monasteries, and martyred many monks, as in ancient times in Sinai and Raifa. Seeing the beautiful location of the monastery and the silence of the area, the monk made a small pot on the destroyed monastery wall, and began to live alone, talking with the one God. Not far from this place lived a remarkable man of holy life named Cosmas, from whom he received monastic tonsure with the name Paul. From that time on, the monk made it his rule to maintain exceptional order and discipline. He fasted, prayed, slept on the bare ground, placing a stone at his head. His handicrafts were tenderness, tears, love for everyone, and boundless humility. The monk believed that in order for a monk to come to perfection, he needs to acquire the fruits of the Holy Spirit, as the Apostle Paul says: spiritual love, “joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, mercy, faith, meekness, self-control” (Gal. 5: 22–23). Working to achieve these qualities, the monk became known to all the fathers, and everyone was surprised and praised him. The Monk Athanasius of Athos also praised him, as can be seen from his life. And although the wise Paul pretended to be an illiterate barbarian and a hillbilly, it turned out that everyone noticed him as a city standing on the top of a mountain, and, in the end, his fame reached the prot (the head of a group of monasteries). The Monk Paul had the custom of going to the Kelliot monastery, called Protsky, three times a year, on three Great Feasts. When one day he came to this monastery, according to custom, the priest asked him in private who he was and where he was from. In a quiet voice and with a pleasant face, Paul answered: “I am a poor monk, as you can see, holy father, from an old village called Xiropotamus.” Therefore, he was nicknamed Paul of Xiropotamia, and from him the monastery of Pulcheria, which he renovated, began to be called Xiropotamian. It was updated like this. During his reign, the ever-memorable Emperor Romanus the Elder, who was a relative of the saint, sent his people to find the saint, who was discovered on the Holy Mountain. After many requests and even persuasion, Father Paul obeyed and came to Constantinople. Oh, who can describe the joy of relatives and the whole city when they saw an angel in the flesh and a teacher of words. The archons threw away the royal regalia and bowed to that wretched man who had nothing but an old cassock and a cross. This is the admirable virtue that makes those who work for it so. It happened then that Tsar Roman was lying sick with a fatal illness, but as soon as the monk came and laid his hands on him, a miracle happened! The king recovered, as he himself writes in his imperial charter. This further glorified the saint, who, after many requests from the king, remained in Constantinople, but continued to follow his monastic routine and performed ascetic labors, while simultaneously teaching the king’s children. When the time he decided to stay in the capital ended, Paul came to the king and said: “Just as a fish taken out of water dies, so a monk, if he leaves the pot, it is impossible for him to work in the commandments of God. Therefore, I leave you and return to my cell to always be with my King God.” Hearing this, the king was greatly saddened, but could not interfere, because he had great favor towards him. He only said: “I would like, Father, that we would never be separated while I am alive, that you would console me and be my teacher in salvation. However, I can't hold you back. I only ask one thing: take as much wealth as you want to give to the poor for the salvation of my soul.” The saint answered him: “I don’t need wealth, and I don’t know how to give away, but you have plenty of beggars here too, give away as much as you want. I will only tell you one thing: if you want to have eternal remembrance for yourself, renovate the destroyed monastery of the ever-blessed Queen Pulcheria.” The king accepted the words of the monk with great joy and immediately sent people, providing them with the means to rebuild the holy monastery from the foundations in a beauty incomparable to its former one. Then he sent his own son Theophylact, who was the patriarch, to consecrate the church. When Saint Paul wanted to leave the city, the king brought him to the treasury. The king’s own words must be cited, as they are written in his charter: “I entered with some of the synclite into my royal treasury, where there was the greatest of all and worthy of wonder shrine - a particle of the Honest Trees of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, which still preserves the memory of the Master’s suffering - the holes from the nails with which the Divine flesh of the Lord was pierced, and on which, in the cleansing of our sins, the Most Pure One was poured out His blood (the height of this particle is approximately one cubit and one palaest, the width is about two fingers, the thickness is one finger, the total weight is one hundred drachmas. Having taken in my hands this holy treasure - the terrible banner of the Heavenly King, which appeared in Heaven as the sign of the Son of Man, who has to judge the living and the dead, I reverently handed over this Divine instrument of our salvation into the holy hands of the Most Reverend Paul of Xiropotamia, so that until the coming of the Lord it would be an inalienable gift to the above-mentioned most honorable of our royal monastery, giving it church and secular accompaniment so that this gift may be laid at the holy altar of the monastery for its consecration and approval.” Taking the Honest Tree, Blessed Paul came to the Holy Mountain and, after the monastery had been completely renovated and consecrated, the patriarch placed the Honest Tree, according to the royal command, in the holy altar. Since the fame of the saint spread throughout the whole earth, many monks working in virtue began to come to the monastery. Avoiding embarrassment, the monk left supervision of the monastery to another brother of virtuous life, and he himself went to the foot of Athos, where he began to spend his life in silence. However, many came there for him, so that the desert became like a city. This time about sixty disciples gathered around the Abba. Fearing that they would not be enslaved or killed by the Arabs, who often attacked the Holy Mountain, the monk, with the help of pious kings, built another monastery in honor of St. George, which to this day retains the name of the monk, called the monastery of St. Paul. When the construction of this monastery was completed, Pavel was already quite old. Having foreseen from Divine revelation about the time of his death, the monk called all his disciples: both from the Xiropotamian monastery and from the new one, and began to teach them with soul-helping words: “Children, in two days I am leaving my unfortunate body. You know how I lived in this holy place and how I kept all the commandments of my fathers from my youth. This is how I ask you, my dears, to keep them until death. During my youth, when there was the heresy of the iconoclasts, I struggled so much that I was ready to shed blood for the love of Christ, and I endured many beatings and wounds until this vile heresy was destroyed with the help of evidence from the Holy Scriptures and paternal testimonies. I am telling you this not out of pride, but so that, expecting crowns from God, you can generously endure every temptation and sorrow.” Hearing this, all the brothers were bitterly saddened and said with tears: “Father, do not leave us orphans, deprived of your spiritual teachings. We, experiencing great love for your shrine, thought that you would never die, and now, having heard these bitter words, our heart grieves, because you were for us a consolation in sorrows and a helper in temptations, we knew you as a father, and as a mother, and as a brother.” Hearing such words, the monk began to cry, because he was easily moved by emotion, and all his life he had the grace of tears. So, one day, when one brother asked what he should do to win tears of tenderness, Paul replied: “Always think about the Last Judgment Seat of Christ, about your sins, and then your tears will never dry up.” Having burst into tears, as we have already said, the monk turned to those present: “Do not cry, brothers, but forgive me, because the time has come for which my soul has always expected, but my flesh has feared.” Getting up, he put on his robe, and after a long prayer he received communion of the Most Pure Mysteries. Instantly his face shone like the sun, so that all those present fell on their faces, unable to bear the radiance emanating from the saint. After communion, he sat down and said the usual prayer, which he always said: “My hope is the Father, my refuge is the Son, my protection is the Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity, glory to Thee,” after which he again began to instruct the disciples, saying: “Have, children and brethren, love, prayer, humility and obedience, because the monk who does not have these virtues should not be called a monk, but a layman. And at the end he said: “Woe to that monk who communicates with the beardless, because such a one will never see the face of God.” Then the monk stretched out his legs, assumed a graceful position and, raising his hands and eyes to heaven, gave the blessed soul into the hands of God. This happened on July 28. The monks of the monastery, with hymns and spiritual songs, carried his sacred relics to the ship to send them to Lonkos for burial, as the saint ordered. It was evening, and the ship, heading at night to Lonkos, in the morning - oh Thy miracles, Christ the King! - turned out to be in Constantinople. Having learned about this, the Tsar, the Synclite, the Patriarch and the entire Church clergy, dressed in priestly vestments, with candles and much incense, raised the relics of the saint, and with hymns they laid them in the Great Church, kissing them with great reverence and thanking the Lord, who had enriched them with such a treasure. The saint’s disciples, having venerated the saint’s relics and called upon him in prayer, bought hot bread and boarded the ship to sail back. During the voyage they were talking about the holy, when suddenly, after a short time, how wonderful are Your works, Lord! - they were already at the monastery pier and, having arrived at the monastery, they told the fathers about what had happened, showing them the bread, which was still hot. Those who heard this were amazed at the great boldness that the ever-singing Paul had towards God, to whom is due all glory, honor and worship, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. The life and miracles of our venerable and God-bearing father and healer Theodosius the New, born in 862 The birthplace of this blessed father of ours, Theodosius, was the famous city of Athens; he was born in 862 from noble and God-fearing parents, and was raised in “the teaching and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). When he was sent to school to study the sacred sciences, being naturally capable, he quickly comprehended them. This blessed one was distinguished by great reverence for God and, attending church services, hearing about the exploits of the saints, he was amazed at their zeal and patience. Wherever he found it, he carefully read the lives of the saints, and was very willing to imitate their exploits in order to achieve the same virtues, which happened later. A little time passed, and his parents passed away. After the burial, Blessed Theodosius without delay distributed all his property to the poor and, renouncing the world and everything in the world, left his homeland to visit one spiritual elder. At the elder's, after all sorts of trials, he adopted a monastic lifestyle and devoted himself to spiritual exploits. Theodosius was so successful in living according to Christ that after a short time he wanted to go into silence so that he could converse with the one God in mental prayer. Moving from place to place in search of silence, he ended up in Morea. In the Argos diocese, the monk finally found a secluded place suitable for silence, where he remained. And immediately this good worker began to apply labor to labor, feats to feats, living an almost immaterial and incorporeal life with extreme abstinence, and long fasts, all-night vigils, kneeling, lying on the bare ground, unrelenting prayers, during which he stood like an unshakable pillar, constant crying, superhuman non-covetousness, elevating to heights humility, meekness, purity of soul and body, firm faith, strong hope and the crown of all virtues - love. The monk was a wanderer in this world, a heavenly man and an earthly angel. For this he was awarded the Divine vision. One night, the Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John appeared to Theodosius and, greeting him, encouraged him in spiritual endeavors, ordering him to build a church. He promised that he would help with this and would be a companion throughout his life. Feeling filled with spiritual joy, the saint glorified God with all his heart, thanked the Honest Forerunner, and was unusually encouraged for the feat ahead of him. Having started the work, with Divine help, he built a monastery in the name of the Honest Forerunner, which, by the grace of God, has survived to this day in the same place, exuding spiritual fragrance and causing tenderness in those who come here with faith. Having created an ascetic school, he waged war not against flesh and blood, that is, not against servile people, but, as the divine Paul says: “against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12). Due to the brevity of the presentation, I do not describe all his exploits, but it is easy to understand what kind of struggle the courageous Theodosius endured against terrible and insidious enemies, how all his life he oppressed his body in order to subordinate the lesser to the greater, the body to the soul, and the flesh to enslave the spirit. Truly, he achieved this goal, and with the help of Divine grace and demons he defeated and conquered the body. Having become spiritual, completely divine, the monk was honored to receive from God a guarantee of future blessings: the grace of miracles and healings, because of which he was nicknamed a miracle worker and healer. The news of his virtuous life spread everywhere, since God also wanted to reveal and glorify His servant, as He Himself says: “I will glorify those who glorify Me” (1 Samuel 2:30). The more the saint avoided the world and its glory, the more, cooperating with God, he aroused surprise and reverence, for those tormented by various diseases came to him from everywhere and soon received healing. Some of them, having listened to the spiritual instructions of the monk, who healed spiritual infirmities, that is, sins (for in most cases bodily illnesses arise from them), they took care of healing them too. Having received double healing - soul and body, they greatly thanked God, and upon returning home, they solemnly proclaimed the Divine grace and boldness that the saint had with God. Others, under the influence of the saint’s instructions, stripped themselves of carnal sensuality along with bodily weakness. Having renounced the world and what is in the world, they became monks, and having before them the example of the saint’s life, they diligently walked along the narrow and cramped path, listening to his soul-helping teachings and imitating his Divine virtues. Thus, under the guidance of the saint, a corral of verbal sheep was formed there, by the grace of Christ. But the evil and envious devil, the enemy of our salvation, could not bear this. Using as an instrument of his malice several hypocrites, who outwardly seemed pious and well-behaved, but in reality were envious and depraved, he convinced them to go to the then Bishop of Argos, His Holiness Peter the Standard-Bearer, whose memory is celebrated on May 3, and slander the Monk Theodosius before him, saying that he is a magician and a flatterer, and with his magic he seduces people who revere him, which can lead to death for many. Having heard such opinions about the saint, carried away by the deceptive words of envious people, the bishop decided to expel the saint from the diocese, but at that time he received a letter from Constantinople from the patriarch, who called on him to come to the Council as soon as possible and resolve an urgent Church issue. Divine Providence prevented Theodosius from exile, for the patriarch immediately went to Constantinople and decided to exile the monk immediately after his return. But God again prevented him from doing this and arranged it so that the virtue of His servant Theodosius and the boldness that he had towards Him were even more manifested to his greater glory. After considering the Church issue together with the Patriarch and the Holy Synod, Peter prepared to return to the diocese, but at night, in a dream vision, the Monk Theodosius appeared to him and said: “Vladyka, why are you unfair to me and want to drive me out of the diocese, although I have not done anything bad to your holiness or to anyone else? Know, if you drive me away, you will not cause me any harm, but you yourself will fall into sin and destroy those guilty of this slander, and those who are saved, by the grace of God, will suffer great harm, because those terrible slanderers, out of envy, falsely accused me. Don’t treat me unfairly, because I, too, am a servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, I serve Him alone, and since childhood I have pinned all my hopes on Him for my salvation. If you stop this senseless persecution, fine. If not, the Lord will take revenge on you for me.” Hearing such words, the bishop asked: “Who are you to talk to me like that?” Theodosius replied: “I am the servant of Christ Theodosius, living in your diocese.” Blessed Peter woke up in fear and, reflecting on what he saw in his dream, repented of his decision. At this time, the patriarch's servant came to him and called him to the patriarch, because Theodosius appeared in a dream to the patriarch, told him everything and said: tell Peter not to treat me unfairly, so that he does not anger God and harm many Christians. When the patriarch asked who he was, he answered: “I am the servant of Christ Theodosius, living within the Argos diocese. Waking up. the patriarch ordered to be called immediately and asked him if there was a certain Theodosius in the diocese, and if he had offended him in any way. “Yes,” answered Peter, “holy Master, there is in my diocese the servant of God Theodosius,” and he told him in detail about everything, as well as about what he saw in a dream. Then the patriarch told him his dream. So they both learned that Theodosius was holy and that he had great boldness towards God, after which they glorified God, who worthily glorifies those who glorify Him. Then the patriarch ordered the divine Peter to go to his diocese and, in the name of the patriarch, bow to the saint and ask to intercede for him to the Lord. The Patriarch repeated his command on the day when Blessed Peter was about to leave Constantinople. Having reached Morea, the divine Peter decided first of all to visit the Monk Theodosius in order to fulfill the command of the patriarch and ask the saint for forgiveness for his intention to exile him due to the slander of liars. The saint foreknew about the coming of the bishop, because he was honored to receive from God, along with other gifts, the gift of clairvoyance, put lit coals in his dome and, taking incense in his hand, went out to meet him. Approaching, he put incense on the coals, while an indescribable fragrance spread, and - lo and behold! - the doll did not burn at all, but the monk began to burn incense with it, and Peter, surprised by this strange miracle, realized that it was the venerable Theodosius in front of him. Having dismounted, he rushed to kiss the monk, who, letting go of the doll from his hands, bowed low to the bishop of God and received him with reverence. Then, glorifying God, the divine Peter asked the monk for forgiveness for the past and, bowing on behalf of the patriarch, conveyed all his words to Theodosius. He answered with great humility both in words and in gestures, which kindled in the bishop even greater love for God for himself. Without delay, he ordained him as a deacon, and then as a priest, although the monk, out of his extreme humility, refused to be ordained. From that time on, for the wise bishop Peter and his entourage, after they learned in practice how much truer the eyes are than the ears, the monk was a model of virtue. The fame of the saint spread more and more throughout the world, for those healed by him from various diseases talked about it everywhere, and the divine Peter and even the Ecumenical Patriarch himself praised the holiness of the saint and his boldness towards God. There was not a single sick person who, without faith calling on the monk for help, did not receive quick healing. Thus, the monk became known to everyone and loved by everyone, turning out to be an essential helper in their illnesses and needs, and the reason for the salvation of their souls. But when the saint came to extreme old age and had, as a man, to pay off the common debt (i.e. die) and receive rewards for his many exploits and sweat, three days before his death, God revealed to him that he was leaving this world. Having called his disciples, he instructed them for a long time in living according to God, and then, informing them of his imminent death, he began to console them, promising that he would always be with them in spirit. They cried a lot and lamented that they would be deprived of an interview with the angel. When the third day arrived, he kissed the disciples, thanked and glorified God, finally raising his hands to Him, and said: “Lord, in Your hands I commend my spirit.” With these words, Theodosius gave up his blessed soul into the hands of God on the seventh day of the month of August. Having learned of his death, the divine Peter came along with all the clergy and a great multitude of people. They prepared everything necessary for burial and reverently buried his sacred remains in front of the Church of the Honest Forerunner. And from then on, all the sick, who bowed before the tomb of the saint and with faith called on him for help, got up healthy, glorifying God and thanking the saint, in whose name the church was built. From that time to this day, miracles and healings constantly occur in that church of God; I will only tell you about a few who love virtue for spiritual joy. After a long time, the number of monks who labored began to decrease little by little, because the saint’s disciples went to the Lord, and others did not settle for the reason that it was impossible to find the place needed for the body here. The area was deserted, and there were no monks left here at all. However, the Christians who lived nearby, who had a strong spiritual love for the saint, constantly came here and every day glorified the Lord and the saint with hymns, psalmody and spiritual songs and performed the Divine Liturgy. One day, the priest and pious Christians from Nauplia, taking everything they needed, left their village early in the morning and came to the church of the saint. Approaching the church, from afar they saw a sacred elder standing at the church door with a staff in his hands. Deciding that he was reading the order of the hours and was going to serve the liturgy, they were saddened, thinking that the elder had gotten ahead of them, but they found no one in the church and thought that it was a vision from God, since the church was full of an indescribable fragrance. Thanks to God and the saint, they were very happy, but while the priest was preparing for the service, other Christians came, in greater numbers than the first, and demanded that their priest serve the liturgy. Those who came first, moved by zeal for the holy and inflamed by the vision, began to resist. They quarreled for a long time at the entrance to the church, and then two young men, one from one group and the other from another, pulled out swords and rushed at each other. But with the help of God and the grace of the saint, a dove flew up between the two swords, as if released by someone specially for this purpose. She took the blow, and two lumps fell to the ground between the young men, but they themselves remained safe and sound. Seeing this miracle and thinking about visiting the saint, the young men threw their swords to the ground and, hugging each other, kissed each other, glorifying the saint, who miraculously delivered them from danger. Both priests and the people were moved with emotion, and, with warm tears thanking God, they entered into an agreement that one priest would serve in the church of the monk, and the other in the church of the Venerable Forerunner. After this, in harmony, love and with general thanksgiving to God, they returned to their villages. And this strange miracle that happened to them became an example for others, and if henceforth two groups of Christians with two priests came there, they no longer argued with each other, but lovingly agreed that one priest would serve in one church, and the other in another. One noble man from Nauplia named Nicholas, one afternoon, while in his house, suddenly became half shrunken. Part of his head shrank, along with his ear, eye, shoulder, arm, half of his body and leg. And these members of him became completely insensitive and motionless, so that he was a pitiful sight. His wife, brother and other relatives, feeling sorry for him, invited the best doctors, but no matter what they did, they could not cure him. Finally, after consulting with pious and virtuous men, the relatives decided to resort to the healer Theodosius. Having laid the sick man on the bed, they brought him to the church of the monk. Having performed the All-Night Prayer and Doxology, and the Divine Liturgy the next morning, they with faith called on the saint for help. In the evening they carried the sick man back to Nauplia. When they put the bed on the ground to rest a little, the sick man suddenly rose from the bed, saying: “Saint Theodosius, help me!” Having risen to his feet, he – lo and behold! - I realized that I was completely healthy, and there was no trace left of the disease. With his own feet he entered Nauplia. Glorifying God and the saint, he remained in health until the end of his life, walking many paths both by land and by sea in different places, announcing to everyone about the amazing miracle that the great Theodosius performed on him. A pious priest from Nauplia named Anthony became seriously ill and lay in bed for a long time, as a result of which a severe tumor formed in his right side, causing him terrible pain. The swelling also caused his leg to rot, and the priest became lame. Desperate for human help, he resorted to the help of the monk, but since he was unable to go to him with his own feet, he was brought to the church on a stretcher. After the usual All-Night Vigil and Divine Liturgy, the relatives were ready to return home, when suddenly the patient felt some kind of strength in himself and, trusting in the grace of the monk, reluctantly, little by little, began to step on his feet. Strengthened by faith in the monk, he reached Nauplia with his own feet, and the further he walked, the more he became stronger, until he felt completely healthy. Shortly before, paralyzed, he unhindered walked a distance of over six miles from the church of the monk, constantly praising God. Another pious and God-loving resident of Nauplia named Michael, one day, sitting at the table with his wife and children, suddenly saw that his wife’s eye was red and her upper eyelid was swollen. He asked what happened to her, but she didn't know what it was. After some time, the tumor grew larger and began to hang over the eye, resembling a red grape, which worsened vision. The experienced doctors invited were unable to help her. Michael, despairing of getting help from them, ran to the church of the healer Theodosius along with his wife and other laymen and clergy, where they performed the All-Night Prayer and the Divine Liturgy. After the service, the husband immediately fell asleep at home, and the wife, looking at the icon of the monk that was opposite, with all her soul called on him for help. And at that same moment, the wonderworker Theodosius, quick to help, appeared to her, emerging from the icon and holding a rod in his hand. Approaching, he wiped the swelling with the edge of his doll and said: “Woman, you and your husband came to my church with faith to ask for help, so I came to your house to give you health.” With these words he became invisible, and she immediately felt that the tumor had completely disappeared. Having touched the eye with her hand and finding that it was completely healthy, she called her husband. When he woke up and asked what happened, she replied: “The Great Theodosius now appeared to me and healed me.” Mikhail immediately jumped out of bed, turned on the light and, seeing the miracle performed by the saint, immediately ran to tell the priest about it, after which he asked to open the church. Together with many priests and laity, they brought candles, oil and incense, and they thanked the saint all night. The next morning, after the Divine Liturgy had been celebrated, Michael called everyone into the house and generously treated them, distributing abundant alms, telling everyone about the saint’s miracle and glorifying God. A certain Albanian suffered greatly from dysuria and could not relieve himself for many days, causing his bladder to swell, causing unbearable pain. The unfortunate man tried many medications, but did not get any benefit from them, and the more time passed, the more severe the pain became. Then he came to the saint’s church and, after staying there for three days and three nights, with warm tears he prayed to the monk for healing. On the third night, the wonderworker Theodosius appeared to him in a dream and, touching the sore spot with a rod, said: “Quickly leave my church and urinate.” Having woken up, the patient ran out of the church in fear and took a long time to relieve himself. After this, the tumor went away, the pain stopped and the former patient, thanking God and the saint, returned home healthy. Another man had sick legs, but with faith he called on the saint for help and prayed to God, he received healing, and in gratitude he made silver legs (the size of his own) and donated them to the saint’s church, so that everyone would always remember the miracle. A certain noble Venetian, who held a government position, having learned about the numerous miracles performed by the saint, came to Nauplia with his barren wife. Grieving greatly over their childlessness, he and his wife came to the saint’s church and, having prayed to God with faith, asked the saint to give them a child, promising to name him Theodosius. The saint heard their prayer and gave them a child. They named the child Theodosius, to the glory of God, glorified in His saints, and he was the only one among the children of the Venetian nobility with that name. And in our days (says the author of the life) one noble inhabitant of Nauplia, George, from the house of Puzikiev, a courageous experienced warrior, terrible for enemies, but loved by the Venetian aristocracy, became famous for his amazing and great victories. During the war between the Venetians and the kings of the West, he was awarded the rank of general for his exploits. One day during lunch, when both troops were resting after the battle, one enemy general, a German, enormous in stature, strong, filled with envy and malice against Puziky, galloped into the Venetian camp in full armor and shouted: “Who is George Puziky here? Come out, we’ll fight you.” As soon as George heard this call, he, having strong faith in God and Saint Theodosius, immediately stood up, bared his head, crossed himself three times and said with all his heart: “My great Theodosius, come this very hour from Nauplia and help your servant.” After this, having armed himself and mounted his horse, Puziky rushed into battle. The German, unlike Puzikia, lowered the visor of his helmet, and they rushed at each other. Seeing that Puzikia's forehead was open, the German hit there with a spear, and tore off the skin in that place, slightly catching the bone, but could not knock him out of the saddle. Puziky shouted: “God, Theodosius, help me,” and with these words he hit the German in the chest, throwing him to the ground. Having dismounted, he cut off the German's head and, tying him by the legs to the horse, ordered the servant to drag the German along the ground so that both troops could see. He himself, holding in his hands the remaining part of the spear, which broke from a blow on the German’s chest, rode around both formations on horseback in triumph. Later, he ordered a silver lamp to be made in the size of the remainder of the spear and, together with other suitable gifts, sent it with great gratitude to the monastery for the decoration of the church of St. Theodosius. There lived in the vicinity of Argos one Hagarian called Voivoda. One summer, while walking around the sown fields with his clerks, he collected tithes and wrote everything down in books. When they arrived in the small village of Zalevis and completed everything necessary, it was time for lunch. But since the place for food and rest was unsuitable, when he saw the church of St. Theodosius, the Hagarene said to his clerks (and they were Christians): “Let's go to your church, let's eat and rest until the heat subsides, and in the evening we will return to work again.” They entered the church, set the table and began to eat. The Hagarene really liked the beautiful lamp that hung in front of the icon of the saint, and he said to the slave: “Take that glass bowl, wash it thoroughly and bring it to me, I will drink wine from it.” One God-loving scribe named Le Havre, having a strong reverence for the saint and driven by zeal for God, said to the Hagarene: “Do not take anything that belongs to the saint, so that no evil befalls us.” To which he replied: “What can this dead monk do to me, a living person, and a master at that?” Le Havre began to object even more, and the Hagarene justified himself by saying that he had the power to take it. Then Le Havre rose from the table and said: “If you are determined to take her, then let me go home, and then do what you want, for I am sure that the saint will not let us leave.” Seeing that Le Havre was so ardently defending the saint’s lamp, the Hagarene mockingly said to his slave: “Leave it alone, let’s not tempt our clerk.” However, when they were about to leave, the Hagarene secretly ordered the slave to take the lamp so that no one would see, and bring it to his house. The slave did what he was commanded. When the Hagaran, having returned home and had dinner, went to bed, in a dream he saw that dead monk, that is, the Monk Theodosius, alive, with a bright face and a terrible look, who stood over him, holding a rod in his hands. Touching the Hagarene’s chest, the saint asked: “What do you think, did you take this thing from a living person or from a dead person? Behold, I have come to show who you are and what your power is, and who are the servants of my Christ, who even the dead are alive by the grace of Jesus Christ, and are able to put to death you, who thinks that you are alive, but is dead in soul.” With these words, he squeezed his throat, the Hagarene’s eyes became swollen, his face turned black, his tongue fell out of his mouth, and he himself began to squeal like a pig being slaughtered. Hearing the screams, his family immediately ran to him, and seeing such a pitiful sight, they asked: “What’s wrong with you?” However, he could not answer anything except to call Le Havre with great difficulty. The servants ran after him and brought him to the Hagarene. When Le Havre arrived, he asked: “What happened?” The Hagarian, barely coming to his senses, answered: “I took the monk’s lamp, and he came to kill me with a rod. Take a vessel with oil, candles, a lamp and quickly go to him and ask him not to come here anymore, not to be angry with me. I will always help his church from now on.” “Didn’t I tell you not to take the lamp so that no evil would befall us?” But you took it, and now you are in danger. “I realized that I did something bad from what happened to me.” And now, I ask you, take what I told you about, and together with your companions, quickly go to the church. - How can I go now, when it’s night outside, I’ll go at dawn. The Hagaran shook all over and shouted: “Woe is me, this night he will come to kill me!” Seeing that the barbarian was seized with exorbitant fear, Le Havre took oil, candles, a lamp, and at the same hour placed everything in the church of the monk. So the wicked one got rid of his fear and danger, and from then on, even seeing the honest church from afar, bowing to it, he left. “I wanted to end my speech with this, but my duty to the saint,” says Saint Malaxos, “forces me to add to these the miracles that the wonderworker Theodosius performed with me and my relatives.” I had a son, Andronik, who suffered seriously from his throat. It was so swollen that he had difficulty breathing. Since no medicine helped, his mother, praying to God with warm faith, decided to resort to the help of the saint. Reverently taking his icon that we had at home, she placed it at the child’s head and with tears begged the saint to visit her child. After some time, the child shuddered and called his mother. She heard his voice and asked: “What happened?” Weeping, he answered: “A sacred monk came to me and lightly hit me on the throat with his staff. He broke through the tumor and all the pus flowed out.” The mother immediately turned on the light and - lo and behold! - I discovered that the tumor seemed to be cut with a razor, and the child’s clothes were stained with pus mixed with blood. The boy himself, who had previously not spoken due to illness, could speak calmly. Thus, by the grace of God and the saint, he was delivered from a fatal illness. One day I needed to sail to Venice. As soon as we sailed, a strong storm began, which kept getting worse. Desperate for human help, with tears we called on God, the Most Holy Theotokos and all the saints for help. I, having gone to where I slept, began to read the canon of the Mother of God and call on the saints, one after another. Remembering the countless miracles of St. Theodosius, I asked with warm faith and a contrite heart for his help, so that he could perform a miracle on us too. So I fell asleep with requests, and in a dream I saw that I was in a beautiful church along with other priests. We prayed to God with reverence and tenderness. There I saw a certain child and his mother selling lamp oil for the church. Approaching me, the child gave me a vessel with oil and said: “Pour this oil into the lamp of St. Theodosius and with his intercession he will help you and your companions, and the storm at sea will stop.” Suddenly waking up, I saw a miracle. The strongest storm subsided and turned calm. Glorifying God, I thanked the saint who miraculously delivered us from mortal danger. And another time, the saint, through his speedy intercession, unexpectedly saved my eldest son Stavrakis from an unrighteous death. These and other countless miracles were performed and continue to be performed by this wondrous and great Theodosius, for which he was deservedly called by all the faithful a healer and wonderworker for the glory of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the one God of all, to Him belongs glory and power, forever and ever. Amen. (Written by Saint Nicholas Malaxos, Archpriest of the city of Nauplia) The life and exploits of the venerable wonderworker our father Luke the New, who labored in the Styrian Mountains in Greece in the 10th century This divine father of ours, Luke, was a branch, or better to say, an adornment of Greece. The ancestors of the saint came from the island of Aegina. Unable to endure the frequent raids of the Hagarians, they left their homeland and moved to Greece, to the region of Phocis, which is now called Salon, to the village of Kastorium, where Blessed Luke was born. His father's name was Stefan, and his mother's name was Euphrosyne. As a child, Luka did not like to play, laugh, or run around randomly, like other children, but he behaved quietly, decorously, and showed a strong old mind in everything. He loved abstinence so much that since childhood he did not eat meat, cheese, eggs, or any other fatty and enjoyable food, or fruit, but ate only barley bread with water, vegetables and beans, and on Wednesdays and Fridays he fasted until sunset. And the most amazing thing is that no one taught him to fast like that or live such an ascetic life, but he himself turned away from any food that pleased the larynx, and loved hunger, labor and everything that serves to oppress the flesh. One day, when the divine Luke was dining with his parents, they, thinking that he abstained from food not for the sake of God, but out of vanity and ignorance inherent in children, decided to test him. In one pot they cooked meat and fish and served them for a meal. Not knowing this, and thinking that his father was giving him fish, Luka began to eat. But feeling the taste of meat in his mouth and realizing his parents’ cunning, he became very upset and spat out what he ate. As proof of his patience, the monk spent three days without food, all this time mourning his involuntary sin. Since his parents understood that his intention was not from man, but from God, they allowed him to live the way he wanted. Luke respected his parents very much and, obeying them, in imitation of Abel, Jacob and Moses, tended his parents' cattle. The blessed one was so merciful and compassionate towards the poor that he did not care about himself at all. When Luke’s parents sent him to do his usual work, meeting beggars along the way, he gave them his food, but he himself remained hungry, because for him the food was to feed his hungry brothers. He did the same with clothes: if he found naked people along the way, he took off his clothes and gave them to them. Often returning to his father's house undressed, the monk did not care at all about the cold he endured, nor about the shame, nor about the condemnation and humiliation from his relatives. Several times his parents beat him for this, but the blessed one did not even grieve, but when they beat him, he was sure that he was receiving honors, crowns and gifts. Many times he was left naked for a long time and was not given clothes, so that he would give up the blessed philanthropy that he showed to the poor. However, blessed Luke counted all these punishments as Heavenly rewards, because when the soul is captivated by the bonds of Divine love, it never considers the punishments that it suffered for its beloved God, but rejoices in suffering. And when she suffers for her Beloved, then she thinks even more about suffering, and runs away from peace and pleasure as torment. The reverend’s love for mankind was clearly manifested in what I want to talk about now. When the monk was sent to sow his father’s fields, he distributed more than half of the grain to the poor, but for the mercy shown to the poor, there was a reward from God, because the fewer seeds Luke sowed into the ground, the more fruit they bore. A little time passed and the saint’s father departed to the Lord, and the blessed one dedicated himself to the Heavenly Father. Having abandoned the care of livestock and lands, he devoted himself only to prayer, reading and studying the Holy Scriptures. The monk succeeded in prayer, as many testify, especially his mother, which is important, for her words amaze everyone who listens to her story. Wanting to see with her own eyes how her son prayed at night, she once hid next to the place where the monk prayed, so that she herself could see, but was not visible to others. And she saw something terrible and great, as she later assured under an oath, that her son was praying in front of God, with extraordinary reverence and concentration, but his feet did not touch the ground at all, but were at a distance of one elbow from it, and in some way ascended to God. The mother saw this strange vision not once, not twice, but three times. Other witnesses also saw this miracle, and they told us about it. Since the saint had long desired a silent monastic life, he chose a convenient time and went to Thessaly. On the way, he was captured by soldiers who were ordered to catch runaway slaves and put them in prison. Noticing that the saint was almost no different from the runaway slave both in his thin clothes and in his movements, they asked him whose slave he was, where he came from and where he was going. The saint answered them that he was a slave of Christ and was going where he promised to go to God. Thinking that he was laughing at them, hiding his condition as a slave, they beat him severely, forcing him to say whose slave he was. Luke, out of love for the truth and out of genuine generosity, thought that it would be cowardice to tell a lie, that he was someone’s slave, just so that he would not be beaten. As a result, he was beaten and put in prison. The devil thought that in this way he took revenge and punished the monk because during the battle, with the help of which the bad man armed himself with great shamelessness against the monk through thoughts and passions, he strongly resisted him and won. Soon, some of his friends, who knew the monk well, testified that he was not a slave, he was freed from prison, and he returned to his family again. However, they began to greatly humiliate and condemn him, which was much worse than the blows of the soldiers. Knowing that the devil prevented him from going to God, the monk did not cease to beg His Mercy to fulfill the desire of his soul, which the Helper is always for good and accomplished in the following way. Two monks from Rome stopped for the night at his mother's house. When the monk saw them, he, full of love for God, again desired the monastic life. Talking with them, he asked them to take him with them to the monastery. They did not agree because of his youth and inexperience, and also because if his parents and relatives had found out, the monks would have been punished. But after the monk told them that he was a wanderer and no one would look for him, they agreed to take him with them. Secretly leaving the village, they headed to Athens and stopped at a monastery there. Entering the church of the Most Pure Mother of God, they prayed, and handed Luke over to the abbot so that he would tonsure him after a while and count him among the other brethren, while the monks themselves went to Jerusalem. Many times the abbot of the monastery tried to find out where Luka was from and who his parents were, but, having achieved nothing, he clothed him in the small schema. However, the saint’s mother, unable to bear the separation from her dear son, was sad and wept bitterly. Out of great grief, she complained to God, the Lord of all, saying: Woe to me, Lord, Witness of my widowhood and loneliness. You, who first put to death the husband you yourself gave to me, and made me a widow, which is harder for a woman than death itself, again took from me the one who was my consolation in this grief. I no longer see true light in my miserable life. Why did you remove your beloved son from me? Maybe I prevented him from indulging in conversations with You and prayer? Maybe I forced him to leave Your service and take care of me? Maybe I taught him to prefer the material to the immaterial, and the temporary to the eternal? How could I, who was well taught by my parents to be a mother to their children not only in the flesh, but also in the soul, do this? How could I, who prayed that my son would love his soul more than his body, do this? I only wanted to always see my dear son, or at least to see him once in so many years. It would be enough for me if I heard about his good deeds, so that my soul would rejoice and I would begin to be diligent about it. King of all, do not despise my tears, but lay them before You, as the divine David says, and dispel the darkness of my sorrow, which You can do if You bring my son back to my eyes. Then I will call people from everywhere and will glorify Your greatness and praise You all the days of my life.” Praying in this way, the saint’s mother persuaded the Lover of Mankind to show mercy and compassion, and what happened? God, Who creates everything with His wave, helped her too. Luke’s mother appeared in a dream to the abbot of the monastery and began to sternly accuse him: “Father, why did you inflict such torment on me, a widow, and add a wound to my other wound? Why did you, merciless, deprive me of the only consolation of my widowhood? Why did you kidnap my son, the reposer of my old age? Give it back to me quickly, give me back my light and my only hope. If not, I will not stop asking God, the King of all, and I will summon you to trial, because I have suffered a great offense from you.” This vision greatly confused the abbot. At first he thought that it was a ghost and a temptation from the enemy, but since twice, and thrice, and many times he saw a woman who cruelly reviled him, he decided that the vision was from God and should not be despised. So, after some time, the abbot called the young man and sternly told him: “Why didn’t you tell me about yourself when I asked so many times? Tell me, why did you say that you have neither parents nor relatives? How did you dare to accept this holy monastic schema, being full of cunning and hypocrisy? If you had simply revealed the whole truth about yourself from the very beginning, then it would not have been revealed now against your will. Go away from us and from the borders of Athens, go to your mother, who has been causing me great anxiety for three nights in a row.” During this speech, Blessed Luke stood in fear, lowering his gaze to the ground, he did not say anything, but his tears and his whole appearance showed that he was greatly grieved because he was being separated from the monastery and the brethren. Noticing this, the abbot softened his anger, touched by the great humility of the divine Luke, but said to him: “At the present time it is impossible for you not to return to your mother. After you have accomplished this, no one will be able to prevent you from taking care of the salvation of your soul anywhere. From everything it is clear that your mother’s prayer is very godly and has defeated your own.” As soon as the divine Luke heard this, he did not object, since he was very shy and, out of his reverence, respected everyone. Having bowed and asked for the abbot’s prayers, he reluctantly left the monastery and went home to his mother. When he entered the house, his mother was sitting on the ashes in great sadness. Seeing her son, she was filled with surprise and at the same time joy and rose from her seat. Reflect on the virtue of a woman, for it was precisely such a tree - the mother - that was supposed to bear the same fruit - a son. After all, this blessed one, suddenly seeing her son, did not immediately rush to hug him or look at him, considering this a second thing, but first turned her eyes to God and, raising her hands, confessed to Him this good deed, thanks to which she again found her lost son. She hugged her beloved with the words: “Blessed is God, who did not turn away my prayer and did not remove His mercy from me.” Returned to his mother in this way, blessed Luke served her and showed the honor and obedience befitting a mother from a son, but after a month he was again overcome by an irresistible love for God and silence, forcing him to forget about everything and become his own only to God. Then the mother did not interfere with him, not considering it contempt for herself, because she knew that although any son should prefer his parents to everything else, but God - even to the parents themselves. Taking his mother's blessing, he went to Mount Ioannitra. Walking around the part that goes down to the sea, he found the church of the unmercenary saints Cosmas and Damian and built a hermit’s cell there. How many wars and battles the saint endured there, fighting hunger, sleep and the inhuman demons that fight against us through these passions, no one can verify or tell, due to the superiority of this subject. But if it is necessary to show with a few examples the exploits of the saint, how one can describe a lion by its claws, and the quality of the water of a source by the taste of a small amount of water, then it would not be a sin to add the following stories to the stories about his virtues. One disciple of the monk did not believe him and suspected that the monk was only pretending to devote himself to prayer and vigil, but in fact spent most of the night sleeping. And this suspicion arose in the student because the monk did not indulge in the study of science at night and did not read the books of Holy Scripture, but was allegedly very ignorant. This is what that disciple said about the monk. Wanting to check whether everything was really so, one day, when the door to the saint’s cell was closed, the disciple came close to it and leaned his head to listen to what the monk was saying. Having stood there until the morning, he returned to his cell, filled with surprise and free from the previous thoughts of unbelief that tempted him. And he learned, when he was at the door of the monk, the following, as he himself told about it after Luke’s death: “I heard that the monk, kneeling and touching his face to the ground, said every time: “God, be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). The more the monk warmed up, the more bows he made, until he exhausted all his bodily strength and could no longer follow the desire of the spirit. Then he fell to the ground and lay motionless for a long time. But even on earth he did not remain inactive, did not just lie there and not sleep, but raised his hands and raised his mental eyes to heaven, earnestly proclaiming: “Lord, have mercy.” After giving his body a little rest, he got up again and prayed until dawn.” These are proofs of the saint’s secret exploits and his ardent love for silence. One day the monk came to one of his holy life friends, the abbot of the monastery. Having stayed with him for three days, he felt a strong desire to return to silence in his cell. Luke began to ask to leave, but the abbot did not let him go, because he loved the monk and could not bear to be separated from him, for the love of friends in God is stronger than natural love. Since the monk did not agree to stay, wanting to return to his kaliva, the abbot, under the pretext that a big holiday was coming soon, said: “How long will you resist like a peasant and prefer the desert to the church meeting, and besides, there will be a general holiday soon, and if you do not hear the sacred words and chants, you will cause yourself the greatest harm.” To this, God-bearing Luke, with his usual blessed simplicity, answered: “Good teacher, blessed shepherd, you command well, however, what benefit do canons, readings and Church services bring to a person? What is their purpose? Hearing the question, the abbot did not know what to answer. The monk, noticing his bewilderment, again answered with his characteristic simplicity: “Good teacher, blessed shepherd, psalmody, readings and any service bring the virtuous into the fear of God, as you teach. But for those who diligently strive to acquire this fear of God in their hearts, is all that you are talking about really necessary?” The abbot of the monastery was greatly surprised when he heard this, and no longer began to restrain the monk, but allowed him to return to his cell. Near his kaliva the monk planted a small garden in order to exercise his body and distribute to the brethren what they needed. There were various trees in the garden; he also grew vegetables, which he distributed to those who came to him every day. Sometimes, after collecting the fruits of his garden and loading a mule with them, he took them to nearby villages. Having secretly unloaded, he left the fruit in the middle of the village and returned to his cell. So the monk generously distributed other fruits of his labors. However, deer from the mountains began to come to this garden of the monk, trampling the plants with their hooves. The monk drove them away sometimes with stones, sometimes with a shout, but they continued to come and harm the plants. One day, seeing one deer, which was larger than the others, the monk began to quietly speak to him, as if he were talking to a person: “Why do you offend me and spoil the fruits of my labors, although I have not offended you in any way? Both you and I are slaves of one Master and Creator God, but I, created in the image of God, have power over all His creations. So, God commands you, do not leave this place where you stand, but accept the condemnation worthy of Him.” And at the same moment the deer fell and remained motionless. Hunters who were nearby, seeing a deer lying motionless, came running and wanted to kill it. The reverend did not like this. He took pity on the unfortunate deer and, approaching the hunters, meekly said: “Brothers, you have no right to kill this deer, because you did not chase after it and did not work. It is clear that this animal that fell needs more mercy and help." With these words, he convinced the hunters, and they not only left the deer, but also helped the monk raise it, after which they released it. The hunters were only amazed at the great compassion and meekness of the monk. It is impossible not to tell about the following case. Although the monk subjected his body to torment with so much labor, constant vigils, countless genuflections, meager food, because he ate only barley bread and water, and then in moderation, sometimes he ate vegetables and beans that came across, he froze in the winter from the cold, and in the summer he burned from the heat, suffered from many lice (I leave behind all the other sufferings he experienced: standing at night, unceasing prayer, loneliness, desert, which usually makes a person rude and hardens his soul), he, however, did not offend anyone, but was always friendly, cheerful and gentle with those who came to him. He offered them both bodily and spiritual food, eating with them until they were satisfied, not holding back anything from the food, and not leaving anything in reserve, because he knew that God, who feeds livestock and birds, will not leave without His care those who constantly call on His divine name in truth. Since the monk very much desired to accept the great angelic monastic schema, he was rewarded with this by Divine Providence in this way. Two elderly monks of magnificent appearance and holy life, on the way to Rome, passed through the places where the monk lived, as if someone had sent them. Receiving them with great friendliness, the monk revealed to them his strong desire to become a great schema-monk and fervently asked them to tonsure him. Seeing that the monk was a vessel worthy of the schema, the monks did not hesitate, but, having performed the required sacred rites, clothed him in this angelic image with new, strict vows of self-sacrifice on the narrow and sorrowful path leading to life. Everyone rejoiced at this: God, the Angels, and people. Only the devil was very sad and frightened, because he saw a new warrior of Christ and a true ascetic, clothed in the weapon of the Holy Spirit and breathing courage and nobility, preparing to fight against him with even greater ardor than before. To treat the monks, who became the cause of great good for him, the monk had nothing but ordinary meager food. Because of this, the monk was very sad. But God, who opens His generous right hand and satisfies every animal with His bounty, created a miracle here too. When at dawn the monks were sitting on the shore and admiring the quietly splashing waves and the view of the bright sun, suddenly a huge fish jumped out of the water and fell right at their feet, it was quietly beating, as if asking to be taken. Seeing this, the monks marveled at God’s Providence and thanked the Lord, but He, the Generous One, as if not content with one fish, sent them another one. And immediately another fish, just like the first, jumped out of the water onto the land, as if asking him to take it too and thank God even more. This is how God revealed to the monks how great Luke was, and they, having received more benefit from him than they themselves had given him, left. Having perceived the spiritual weapon of the great angelic image and reflecting that now for the first time he was recorded as a warrior of Christ and must fight the devil, and for this it was necessary to perform even more feats than before, the monk added fasting to fasting, tears to tears, lived in even greater silence and spent time in even warmer and more extended prayer. For this, he received great help from God, the grace of healings, knowledge of the past and future, and what is happening secretly in the present. Thus, he consigned the Bulgarians, who had captured almost all of Epirus, to destruction with his prayers to God, but many days before he predicted that they would cause a lot of evil. He said this vaguely, so that people would not glorify him for his foresight, for some heard him say: “Hellas will be captured, and war will be waged against the Peloponnese.” The saint's kaliva was built artlessly, but not in order to protect him and store anything in it, because he had nothing but his own body, but in order to hide his ascetic labors, which he did not want anyone except God to know about. In order to always remember death, he dug a deep hole in the kaliva and entered it as if into a grave. Having gotten a little sleep, he got up and uttered the words of David: “I went ahead in hopelessness and cried,” and then: “My eyes anticipate the morning watch, so that I may delve deeper into Your word” (Ps. 119:147–148). What words can be used to tell about the great compassion and kindness of the saint? Although in previous stories we talked about these qualities of his, for he had mercy and was a benefactor not only for people, but also for livestock, birds, and even poisonous reptiles. This blessed one fed two snakes for a long time, remembering the commandment of the Lord, which says: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27) and these snakes did not cause him any harm. Many times he fed the small birds of the field, being merciful, as the divine David says: “he has mercy every day and lends” (Ps. 36:26). As the saint's fame spread everywhere, one day two brothers came to him. After the monk received them and they enjoyed the conversation, the brothers said that their father had buried money in the ground before his death, but they did not know where exactly, so they asked the monk to reveal this place to them. They were poor, deprived of the most necessary things, and what is worse, they fought each other over this money, accusing each other that it was their brother who stole the money. Having heard all this, the monk, in his humility, reflected that there was no need to even give an answer to their words, so he immediately left. They, hoping to find money with his help, went to him a second time and began to ask again. The monk refused, saying that he did not have such Divine grace. But since they asked him for a long time, promising that they would not leave until he granted their request, he reluctantly agreed to help them, but did it in a skillful way. Just as someone who wants to hide what he knows acts, he told them: “You know the place where your father hid the money (for such and such a reason). Why do you come and put me to rest in vain?” Having heard the answer, they immediately went to the place indicated by the monk. There they found confirmation of his words, and, taking the money, divided it among themselves, and announced the miracle to all the people who were there. One day some people came to the monk. He said out loud: “A man is coming towards us with a heavy load.” After these words, the monk left everyone and went up the mountain. Those who heard his words began to wonder who the one walking with the heavy load could be, and what kind of load it was. And so, as the monk predicted, a man came to them, but without a load. He began to ask about the monk, saying that he needed his help. People asked him to wait, since the saint had left shortly before. The man began to wait, saying that he would not leave here until he met the monk. So seven days passed, and as soon as the monk left his secret refuge on the mountain and saw the man, he said in a stern and unusual voice for his meekness: “Man, what have you come to seek in the desert? Why did you leave the cities and come here to the mountains? Why have you left bishops, teachers, confessors and are looking for illiterate hermits? How are you not afraid of Divine condemnation, being guilty of so many sins?” Hearing such words, the man trembled, and out of fear his tongue was tied so that he could not speak, but only cried. The saint continued: “How long will you remain silent and not confess your sin to everyone, revealing the lawless murder you committed, and at least a little appease God, who hates evil?” And he, as it turned out, was the murderer, forcing himself, with a ragged breath, and said: “Man of God, what else do you want to learn from me, for you have already learned everything from the grace that dwells in you, even before I told you everything? However, I obey your command and confess to everyone the evil I have done, and all those present will be witnesses of my secret sin.” With these words, he openly confessed his sin, indicating in detail the place, method and reason for the murder of his comrade, denouncing both himself and the sower of sin - the culprit of all evil. Then he fell at the feet of the monk and began to ask him for correction and deliverance from the snares of the enemy. Compassionate for him, the monk lifted him from the ground, consoled him, gave him advice and a rule so that he could do it wherever possible. At the same time, he ordered him to go to the grave of the murdered man, shed streams of tears and make three thousand bows, generously performing the required commemorations. All his life he had to mourn his sin and constantly remember it. After this, after instructing him a little more, the monk put into his mind the condemnation of sin and commanded him from now on to show strong repentance and confess his sins to his spiritual father in order to receive forgiveness. One day, the owner of a ship named Demetrius, who was a friend of the monk, was fishing near the place where Luke lived, and decided to send him fish. He worked hard but didn't catch anything. Finally, he threw the nets into the sea, calling on the name of the monk for help, and - lo and behold! - immediately a large fish was caught on the hook, as if someone had pulled it. Seeing this, Demetrius was surprised, but again tried to throw the hook in the name of the monk; with the same ease as the first time, another fish was caught, only a little smaller than the first. But here the father of envy, the devil, did the same thing to the owner of the ship that he once did to Cain. He convinced him to keep the large fish for himself and give the monk the smaller one, which he took with gratitude and good wishes, pretending that he did not know about the trick. However, so that the owner of the ship would not be left without correction, and would henceforth offer gifts to God with reason (for what he gave to the saint, he thought he was giving to God), the monk quietly said to him: “Why do we, people, sin of our own free will and foolishly anger God, as Cain once did, and then Ananias and his wife? Cain chose his own pleasure over God, and Ananias and his wife stole the money they had dedicated to God. Perhaps a similar thing happened with this fish, for man was given greater preference than God.” From these words, the owner of the ship understood that the monk had the gift of clairvoyance and learned about the sin he had committed. Immediately repenting of his unworthy act and asking for forgiveness, Dimitri promised not to act like that in the future. Having received the monk's forgiveness, he returned home. Having prepared the fish, the monk’s disciple offered it to the teacher as something very desirable. But God, who knows that for the monk pleasure and bliss is caring for one’s neighbor, sent several Christians at that hour. Seeing them, the saint said to the disciple: “God ordered this fish to be given to the brothers as food, not to me, so serve it on their table.” So those Christians ate fish, and the monk fed on his love for them. After spending seven years on Mount Ioannitra, the monk was forced to leave it because the Bulgarian prince Simeon, in violation of the treaty with the Roman kings, started a war in Epirus: he took the lives of some residents, and freedom of others. Out of fear of the Bulgarians, some took refuge in the cities, others went to Euripos and Morea. The peasants who lived next to the monk sailed to the nearby islands. But even there, an envious enemy put them in danger: the Bulgarians noticed them sailing in a boat, and, suddenly attacking, almost killed everyone; Only those few who knew how to swim were saved. Among them was St. Luke. Later, with his family and friends, he sailed to Corinth. There he wished to learn to read and enrolled in school, but this brought him little benefit, because, seeing that the children were naughty, he left there, preferring to remain illiterate rather than learn something unkind. Hearing that there was then a venerable pillar of high life in Patras in Achaia, he wanted to meet him. At the same time, that stylite, who was in Zemen, sent a man to Luke with a request to come to him, to be his roommate, and to serve him, if it would not be difficult for him. Having accepted this word with great joy, because the monk loved to submit more than to subjugate, for it is more useful for young people, and he knew what a great gain comes from submission and humility, he went to serve the stylite. And from that time on, the blessed one tried to perform every service for him, because he considered it a great dishonor and harm for himself if anyone did it in his place. He carried firewood, water, took care of the meal and kitchen, mended nets, caught fish, and did all this not for one, not two, or three years, but for ten whole years, imitating the humility of Jesus Christ, Who, as He Himself says about it, “came not to be served, but to serve” (Matthew 20:28). The monk not only showed obedience to the pillar, but also showed love that surpasses the love of a carnal son for his father. One day he heard one of those who like to judge others blaspheme and condemn his elder; This seemed very offensive to him and he was inflamed with such jealousy that he forgot about his inherent meekness and shame, and was forced to say harsh words against that shameless one. However, he, being inhuman and cruel, having considerable and difficult to heal passions, needed more admonition. Unable to bear the reproof of the monk, he struck the saint with his vile hand, but at the same time received a blow from the demon, fell to the ground, began to shake and emit foam. But the most terrible thing and worthy of tears is that until the end of his life he remained possessed by a demon, punished by Satan “for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit might be saved,” as Paul says (1 Cor. 5:5). Everyone who does not hold their tongue should remember this. This is how the one who was supposed to be a teacher and mentor to others because he was a priest, and to give advice to others both in word and in his life, turned out to be so unreasonable that he became an example of mental harm and a clear disgrace to priestly dignity. But, a hater of goodness, unable to bear the fact that the divine Luke remained in submission to the stylite to the end and gained many benefits from this for his soul, he made every effort to bring him out of there. The head of the ports of that area did not allow ships to sail to Central Greece due to the invasion of enemies. And it so happened that in one of the boats he met the monk, who just wanted to sail there. For this, the boss beat him very badly. From that time on, the monk decided to live alone and went to the monastery of St. Procopius, where he became silent. But one day there was heavy rain, which destroyed the small cell where the monk lived, and he was forced to leave there. Perhaps God arranged it this way so that, while staying in Morea, he would not be deprived of his homeland for a long time, because a little time passed when the wicked Bulgarian Simeon died, power went to his son Peter. Hating wars and bloodshed, the new king made peace with the Romans, and all the refugees returned to their homeland. The divine Luke also returned to the desired silence on Mount Ioannitra, continuing his exploits and raising even greater works of virtue, taking care of the resolution of the labors of travelers, showing them hospitality out of philanthropy. One day, on his way to Constantinople, the bishop of Corinth stopped to rest not far from this place. The monk came to him, bringing him the best vegetables that were in his small garden. Having learned who he was, where he lived, and what his life was like, the bishop wanted to go and see his kaliva himself. Seeing the free and unprecedented poverty of the monk, he was surprised and ordered the closest of his people to give him gold. The monk did not want to take the gold, saying that “I wish to accept prayers and teachings, Master, and not gold, for what good is it to me, who lives so poorly? Give me what I greatly thirst for and what I need so much, teaching me, rude and uneducated, salvation.” Then the bishop was saddened, thinking that the monk had despised him and did not take the gift, not because it was not needed, but because he didn’t like it. With pain in his heart, the bishop said: “Why did you turn away from my gift? And I am a Christian, although a sinner, and a bishop, even if unworthy, how could you, who imitate Christ in everything, not imitate Him in this? For He accepted the will and gifts of those who wished to receive Him in their home, the ark is a witness to this. If you do not need my gift, give it to someone who needs it. And now it seems to me that the commandment of mercy is a vain and meaningless thing for you, for you are harming your God-loving and humane dispensation. In short, you are overthrowing what can be a comfort to the poor and a way to salvation for many.” As soon as the monk heard this, he no longer resisted, so as not to look proud and not upset the bishop. He accepted the gift and repaid it with the wealth of his prayers. Then, with great humility, he said: “Tell me, Master, how we can partake of the Divine Mysteries because, due to our sins, we are in the mountains and deserts. We are deprived not only of Divine rites, but also of a priest.” Having praised the monk for his question, the bishop replied: “Father, it is good that for the sake of good you are asking about a good thing. For good will not be good if it is done in an unkind way. There must be a priest to teach you the Most Pure Mysteries. If there is no priest, then, if necessary, place the Monstrance with the Presanctified Mysteries at the Holy Table - this is if in church. And if in a cell, then spread out a small cloth on a clean bench and put particles of the Most Pure Mysteries on it, then go ahead, say the usual psalms, the Trisagion, the Creed, make three bows and, folding your hands, partake of the Divine Mysteries, saying “Amen.” Instead of water, drink a cup of wine, but this cup should not be used for anything else. Collect the remaining particles in a cloth and place it in the Monstrance, making sure that not a single particle falls to the ground and is trampled underfoot.” Having heard this, the monk thanked the bishop greatly. It was the custom of the monk to take the divine weapon of the Holy Cross in his hands on the Vai Feast and climb to the top of the mountain in the morning, exclaiming all the way: “Lord, have mercy.” When he was ascending like this one day, the hater of goodness envied him and, wanting to interfere, forced a viper to crawl out of the nest, which stung Luke on his toe. Out of his goodness and love for God, the monk immediately bent down and, taking the viper, said: “Neither you offend me, nor I you, but we will each go our own way, because we are the creations of one Creator, who, if he does not want something, we cannot do it ourselves.” After this, the viper crawled into the nest, and the monk did not suffer any harm from its bite. Once a special official was sent from the king to the Gallic borders, but when he reached Corinth, money given for official expenses was stolen from him. He sent people everywhere to look for the thief; He interrogated and punished all suspicious people who were caught. However, everything was in vain and there was no hope left that the money would be found. The messenger was so grieved that he wanted to die from grief. The princes consoled him in various ways, telling him to trust in God, who often shows a way out of a hopeless situation. By this they tried to bring to their senses someone who was threatened with death from grief. And one of the princes, standing in the midst of everyone, said: “No one can reveal this theft except the divine Luke, who shines in our times with many miracles.” All the Corinthians confirmed his words and praised the monk greatly. Hearing about the monk, the royal envoy was encouraged and somewhat calmed down. At the same hour he sent for him, but he, running away from human glory, did not want to go, however, having learned about the excessive sorrow of the unfortunate man and having compassion for him, he went along with the messengers. When he entered the house, the royal official himself came out to meet him and, having shown him the due honor, said that he himself should have gone to the monk, but due to severe grief he could not. Then he told the saint about the theft. To calm him down a little and make a good start to his joy, the monk said: “For now, let’s pay tribute to the womb and rejoice together. Mighty is God, who has given us to drink the wine of tenderness and sorrow, and He will also give us to drink the cup of joy.” The official joyfully accepted the word of the monk and ordered his servants to prepare a “meal in sight of his enemies,” according to the divine David (Ps. 22:5). After they had sufficiently tasted and enjoyed the memories of God, the monk suddenly raised his eyes and, looking at one of the slaves standing there, called him to him, calling him by name. When he approached, the monk asked: “Why did you want to bring death on yourself and danger on your master. daring to steal the Tsar's money? Go quickly and bring them here if you want to receive mercy and forgiveness.” Hearing this, he became speechless, because his own conscience also convicted him. Immediately falling at the feet of the saint, he confessed his sin, asking for forgiveness. Having received it, he immediately went out and brought the money, placing it in front of everyone. And now, beloved, think about how many benefits came from this one miracle of the monk: the mourner rejoiced, the sinner was corrected, the dark deed was exposed and as a result the evil ceased. The devil, the author of all evil, was put to shame, and Christ was glorified through His servant. One day the monk went to the God-loving Anthony, who was the abbot of the monastery in front of the city of Thebes (the monk had the custom of going to God-fearing and pious men). It happened then that the son of the first nobleman of that country fell mortally ill, and there was no longer any hope that he would survive. His parents, all his relatives and friends stood around him in sadness, expecting his imminent death. One of them told them about the monk and offered to call him, because if he visited the sick man, he would be able to save him from his illness. The sick man's father immediately ran to the monk, who was in the monastery, fell at his feet and with hot tears asked him to visit the sick man. But since he alone could not convince the monk, he made a sign to the abbot so that he would help him in this. The abbot fervently asked the monk to visit the sick man, but he did not agree, saying: “Who am I, and what good is found in me that you have such respect for me? You are being deceived, only God is able to deliver from death, but a corruptible person and subject to sin cannot perform such a miracle.” After such words, the patient’s father returned back in sadness and despair. When evening came, talking with the monk, Anthony said: “I think, honest father, that we acted badly and contrary to the commandments of God by not visiting the sick person, especially after we were asked about this with many tears. Therefore, we will rightly hear: “I was sick... and you did not visit Me” (Matthew 25:43). Imagine the grief the parents and relatives of the patient fell into? In my opinion, our refusal is very ruthless and far from philanthropic.” To this, the divine Luke replied: “Healing the sick is characteristic only of God and His grace, comforting the sorrowing is characteristic of those who have the gift of speech and reason, but I am deprived of both. What benefit will I bring to the one who asked me to come? But if you, father, consider this act good and pleasing to God, then you go first, and I will follow you.” After that, they got up and when they entered the sick man’s house, it was already late evening. They found the patient speechless, insensitive, only his breathing could be heard, showing that he was still alive. Those present there quietly cried, only the father of the patient said to the monk, who sat down next to the bed: “Pray, honest father, for the servant of God, my son, and do a sign for good on him, if only I could see him healthy by the power of your prayers to God.” To this the monk replied that he could not perform such miracles. But the sick man’s father began to ask him again, and the abbot joined his requests. With great difficulty they were able to convince the monk. Standing up, he raised his hands and, in the hearing of everyone, began to pray to God for the sick man, and after prayer, together with the abbot, he went to the monastery. The next morning the monk went up the mountain, fleeing from human glory, for he knew what his prayer had accomplished. The abbot, wanting to know whether the saint’s prayer had brought any benefit to the sick man, sent his man to ask about it. The messenger returned back and told what was terrible to say, but also bad to keep silent, for he saw the one who had recently been numbered among the dead on horseback; he was in perfect health on his way to the bathhouse. Another time, when the monk sang Matins together with the brothers who were with him and the service was approaching the end, he said to the refectory: “Take care, child, to prepare food and serve it for the brothers who are coming to us.” The refectory lit a fire, but fell into confusion as to who would come to them, which is what he asked the monk: “You told me to prepare a meal, but no one is there. Who came and told you that the brothers were coming?” Then, pretending that he did not know, the monk answered him: “Forgive me, child, the demons deceived me, so I said so.” Having heard such an answer, the monk did not begin to prepare anything, but when dawn broke, those brothers came about whom the monk had told him earlier. Seeing them, the monk began to condemn himself for his lack of faith and marveled at the gift of the monk’s foresight. He prepared food for the guests, but secretly left some for himself, which, however, did not hide from the monk. Having sent him for water, the monk took this part and put it on the table along with the rest of the food. The brothers ate everything and left. When the refectory wanted to eat what was hidden, he found nothing and, upset, accused the saint of offending him. At the same time, the refectory said: “Am I not worthy of being taken care of as guests? And if you don’t need food, then why are you depriving us of what we need?” To this the saint quietly answered him: “Brother, God prepared this food for the brethren who came to visit us, and not for us. Of course, if it were for our benefit, then God would feed us with this food.” Hearing this, the refectory repented of his words and, falling at the feet of the monk, asked for forgiveness. Since in the place where the monk lived, he was greatly disturbed by people constantly coming to him, disturbing his silence, he decided to go to another, more deserted place. However, not wanting to do this of his own free will, he sent his student Herman to Corinth to the then famous in virtue and wise teacher Theophylact to ask what he should do. He ordered to tell him to follow the example of Saint Arseny the Great, to whom God said: “Arseny, run and save yourself.” And again: “Arseny, run, be silent, remain silent.” Hearing these words, the divine Luke left Mount Ioannitra and went to another, calm and healthy place, Kalamion, laboring as he wished, in complete silence, spiritually having fun and rejoicing. Three years passed since the monk settled there, and the Hagarian people rose up and began to ravage Greece with raids. Therefore, the monk, together with other local residents, crossed to the nearest island of Ambelon, devoid of water and covered with dried vegetation. His stay on the island became for him a school of virtue and the cause of good fruits. The monk carried water on a boat, distributed it to the people, and when he had wine and food, he distributed them too. Sometimes he caught fish and also distributed it. The inhabitants, hoping that Greece had already freed itself from the Turks, asked him to transport them to Morea, but he prevented them, saying: “Brothers, this spring cloud will soon dissipate, and peace will shine for us again,” as happened later. Greece became free from the Hagarites, and the people returned to their homeland. The monk spent three years on the island and often had neither bread nor water, because when strong winds blew, he could not cross to the mainland by boat, and remained on the island, burning with thirst. In addition, the enemy brought him an illness: he developed an unbearable and terrible itching in his reproductive organs, so that he was ready to cut them off. The monk began to ask God and the saint, whose relics were on the island, to heal him. One day in a dream that saint appeared to him and pointed to the plant, saying: “With it you will find healing, but know that in this case you will lose your reward for patience.” Upon awakening, the monk preferred to suffer temporarily from his illness rather than lose his eternal reward. So, seeing his extreme patience, God healed him. The saint’s sister, a nun, once brought bread to him, who was suffering on the island. Taking them, the monk praised her for her good will, but said: “I should not eat a single one of them, because God prepared them not for me, but for other brothers, and after a while you will see them and marvel at how necessary these loaves will be.” She was also perplexed and expected to see the brothers he told her about. After some time, the monk himself began to worry and seemed to have compassion for some brothers who were in danger. Then it seemed that he was straining his ears to hear a voice speaking to him from some place. And finally, it became noticeable that he was encouraged, greatly rejoiced and thanking God. And the reason for the reverend’s behavior was as follows. A ship was coming from the West, which was overtaken by a storm and was in danger of drowning, from which it got rid of through the intercession of the monk and, sailing to the island, dropped anchor. And since the sailors knew where to look for the monk, they came to him and told him about the danger that had befallen them, and that they had already despaired of salvation, not knowing that they were saying this to someone who knew about their danger, and with his prayers to God delivered them from it. Out of his love for humanity, the monk offered them the bread brought by his sister, and showed concern for the sailors in every possible way, comforting them in word and deed. He had such jealousy that if it had been possible, he would have opened his heart and placed them there, so extraordinary was his love for people. This is the command: to give cheerfully and have the soul of Abraham, that is, to receive guests without any sadness and with a greater desire to give than to receive. The time has come to talk about how the monk left the island and settled in Mount Steria, where his holy relics still remain. The Christians who found refuge on the island with the saint, after returning to their homeland, remembered his good deeds and, knowing how great he was in virtues, wished that the monk would settle next door to them. Leaving the island, they persuaded him to go with them just to see the area and, if he didn’t like it, then return to the island again. When the monk saw that the place was calm, with a temperate climate, pleasing to the eye, free from people and abundant in water, he decided to settle there. Having cleared the approaches to the water from the forest that grew around and cultivated the land, the saint built a beautiful garden, planting various trees. He built his cell not nearby, but at a distance, so that it could not be seen. His goal was to always cut off all vanity, so that people would consider him as if dead. However, the envious devil did not stop fighting against the saint: sometimes in his thoughts, sometimes with temptations from evil people, sometimes appearing to him in the form of ghosts in a sensual way. One day he appeared at the door to his cell in the form of a nasty black man and said: “You burned me, monk, but wait a little and you will find out who burns harder.” Having created the sign of the Honorable Cross, the monk replied: “May the Lord destroy you.” And at the same moment he became invisible. After this, his acquaintance, the monk and friend Gregory, came to the monk, to whom he said: “Did you meet Konidarios on the way?” (The monk usually called the devil by this name in mockery). Gregory, perplexed, asked: “Who is this Konidarios?” “A short blackamoor came and frightened me that he would soon burn me, and then he left. Then Gregory understood who the monk was talking about and said to him: – Father, may God deliver us from his snares through your holy prayers. He cannot do anything to you, because God protects you. While spending the holy days of Pentecost with the monk, this Gregory did not cease to ask to be delivered from his illness (he suffered greatly from his stomach). And although the monk assured that this was beyond his strength, Gregory, with pain and boldness (for he knew what boldness the saint had towards God), kept asking him, until the monk could no longer resist him. And then he said: “Humble Gregory, because of you this night the demons laughed at me, I don’t know what to tell you.” Believing that the vision of the monk was from God, Gregory began to ask to reveal to him what he saw. The Monk Luke then related the following: “It seemed to me that I saw a man, terrible in appearance, who stood next to me and was decorated with golden and light clothes. You stood next to me and looked at me. Pointing to you, I asked the one who had appeared: “Why is he bothering me? I ask you to have mercy on him, or relieve me of the anxiety that he gives me.” The one who appeared answered: “Leave him, because he wants to become a monk.” I said: “He, as you can see for yourself, has already become a monk,” and at the same time pointed his finger at your schema. The one who appeared objected: “I am telling you about the measure of monastic perfection, and not about the schema, for a true monk is visible not by his clothes, but more by his actions and success in virtue. If the real sign of perfection in virtue is crucifixion and self-mortification for the world, it is clear that bodily weakness also leads a person to perfection and is the main school of virtue. Bodily weakness is very useful for someone who wants to become a true monk.” This is what the one who appeared meant when he said: “Leave him, because he wants to become a monk.” After this, Gregory did not say anything, but only sang the thirty-ninth psalm: “I firmly trusted in the Lord, and He bowed down to me and heard my cry” (Ps. 39:2). However, the saint did not completely despise him, but appeared to him in a dream in the form of a doctor and pretended to give him medicine for his stomach, and then said: “Go, humble Gregory, in health, and you will no longer have a stomach ache from food.” This actually happened, because he is still alive and testifies to this incident. At that time, an uprising was being planned against Tsar Constantine Porphyrogenitus, and therefore everyone who was a member of a seditious organization or was under suspicion was detained in Constantinople. But the wife of the main military leader of Greece, Pothos, in a letter asked the general to return to the capital as soon as possible, because the king really wanted his presence there, and, in addition, their child was in mortal danger. The general was very sad and did not know what to do, because the danger that threatened the child forced him to go to Constantinople, but the unrest there frightened him and he did not want to go. He was especially embarrassed by the fact that it was not the king who wrote the letter, but his wife. While the general was in doubt, one prince advised him: “If you tell the divine Luke about your business, then you will have no doubts about what to do, and you will clearly know what will serve your benefit.” Hearing this, the general immediately took care of meeting with the monk, who told him: “Go, Mr. Military Leader, to Constantinople without sorrow and without fear, and God will correct all the unevenness and difficulties and make them easy, for the king wants to see you, and besides, he will give you great honors. And you will see your child healthy.” Without hesitating at all after these words of the saint, the general went to Constantinople, and everything happened exactly as the saint had predicted, which he began to announce to everyone with surprise. Another famous archon, Krinit, went to rule Greece and reached Larissa. Having heard about the exploits of the monk, he wished to see him and talk with him. Arriving in Thebes, he sent people for the monk, and he immediately followed the messengers. He found the Archon at the table, for it was lunch time. The monk also sat down at the table, and when everyone got up from the table, the monk stood up with them, not being honored to hear a single word from the archon who had so called him to come. The monk was saddened, but not because of himself, because no one else loved dishonor as much as he did, but because of the archon, who despised the venerable monastic image and his name. Saint Luke was about to leave, but upon leaving he turned to the servant: “Without any embarrassment, convey the following words from me to your master. “Why did you force me to leave my cell and come here, why did I put up so much wasted effort because of you? Why did you force the desert lover to come to the city without honoring me with a single word or greeting me? You did not act like a pious man who loves virtue. Did you really call me just to dine, thinking that this would be a pleasure for me? What spiritual speeches or what useful readings did you delight us with during your meal filled with laughter and obscene words? How did you present yourself to those you treated? Why did you not sit on a throne or anything else, decently and decorously, but lay on the carpet ungirt, throwing your belt far away, no different from a pagan? Or is it the same for Christians and those who do not have God in their minds and do not desire salvation?” After leaving the meal, the monk went to the monastery to the Monk Anthony, who was located a little further in the same country. The servant told the strategist everything, and he immediately realized that he had treated the monk unworthily and began to blame himself for negligence where diligence was required. And since he was in fact humble and meek, he jumped on his horse and, without taking any servants with him, rode off to the monk. At first, with ardor and pain in his heart, he confessed his sin, and then, having received forgiveness, he ordered everyone who was there to leave, after which he talked with the monk until the evening. The saint became so close to him that his soul clung to him at the word of David, and he did not want to be separated from him even for a short time. Therefore, in any need that arose for the saint, the archon readily helped, assisting him and spending money on the construction of the church of St. Barbara. When Krinit’s time in power ended, he came to the monk, asked him for prayers and asked him never to forget. The monk, by God's revelation, predicted to him that at the present time he would not see the Reigning City, because God wanted him to be the ruler of the Western regions, which later happened. When the archon returned to Constantinople and reached Larissa, the saint’s prediction came true. Krinitus had to turn back, since he received the royal letter and was installed as ruler of the Seas. All the saint’s predictions are worthy of surprise, but the prediction about Crete seems almost incredible, especially since it turned out to be true. Twenty years before the prediction came true, Luke, by God's revelation, predicted that the island would be liberated during the time of a certain king. He clearly said that King Romanus would take Crete. Since the elderly Roman Lecapen reigned at that time, someone asked the monk if this was not the Roman who reigns now. The saint answered that not this one, but another, the grandson of the elderly Roman. One rich and noble woman from Thebes became seriously ill, and her husband, having spent a lot of money on doctors, could not help her. Their last hope was the divine Luke, who prayed to the Lord, and, having compassion on her husband and comforting him, called his disciple named Pancratius, telling him: “Take this vessel with oil and go to the sick woman, anoint her whole body with it.” The monk, without reasoning, because he was simple and adorned with the good morals of his elder, went to the woman. At first she considered it indecent and did not agree to be anointed. But then, having considered together with her husband how great the saint was who sent him, and forced by necessity, they agreed. Pankratiy, like a son of obedience, obeying the elder’s commandment, anointed her from head to toe. Think about what fruit he received from his obedience, because even with a bad thought he did not harm himself by touching the woman’s body. Think also about the strength of faith of those who asked the monk for help, because as soon as the sick woman was anointed, she immediately received health and glorified God. This Pancratius told me: “At the time when the pagans attacked those places, my spiritual father and I hid together in a cave, and at sunset two women also came to us for shelter. Taking pity on the frozen refugees, the monk accepted them and showed all possible care. When it was time to sleep, he ordered me to sleep on one edge, he lay down on the other, and placed them in the middle. And just as a child touches his mother, or as someone touches a stone or a tree, and no carnal thought comes to him, so the monk was embraced by simplicity and dispassion. Another disciple, the monk Theodosius, had a lay brother named Philip, a spafarius (bodyguard of the emperor), who often came to the monk. One day, when Philip wanted to come, the saint said to Theodosius: “Prepare everything for the meeting, because your brother is coming to dine with us.” Hearing this, Theodosius was delighted and at the same time marveled at the monk’s foresight. While waiting for his brother, he looked at the road. As evening fell, Philip also arrived, bringing with him everything he needed. A meal was prepared, and together with the monk they all sat down and, for the sake of common love, partook of it equally. After they finished their meal and read Little Compline, they went to bed. However, after a short time the monk woke them up for Matins, and they began to read Matins, and Theodosius, knowing that his brother was unaccustomed to vigils and standing, allowed him to sleep until the end of the Matins hymns. At this time, Philip did not sleep because of his thoughts, since he began to consider the monk a glutton and a drunkard, only pretending to be pious, but in fact deceiving people. These thoughts were, of course, from the assistance of the devil, who sows evil seeds into our souls, as well as from his cowardly mind, which judges everything only by appearance, unable to think about something greater and higher, for eating food was not a sign of gluttony, but of the greatest economy. On the one hand, out of excessive love, the monk despised small things in order to acquire greater things, for what is abstinence from food next to love? Naturally, it is insignificant. On the other hand, the monk showed people even more extreme humility. Philip was confused by his messages, sinning against the truth, as was shown by testimony from Heaven. While he was tossing and turning in bed to fall asleep, he was delighted and saw two beautiful and bright young men, who, looking at him with a stern and hostile gaze, said: “Why do you embarrass yourself with such thoughts, why do you condemn the innocent? Lift your eyes upward, you who see only below, and you will see what glory the one whom you consider a seducer, a hypocrite and a blasphemer of the monastic image has been awarded by God.” Raising his eyes upward, he saw a precious purple piece spread out on the ground, and the monk stood on it. His face and clothes emitted a wondrous and indescribable light, and he himself was truly light. Philip woke up in fear and went to where the fathers in the congregation were praising God. Having told the monk everything - both about his thoughts against him and about what he saw supernaturally in a dream - Philip asked for forgiveness and received it. Having stayed on Mount Styrian for seven years, the monk, by revelation of God, foreknew that his death was approaching, but he did not tell anyone about it. Leaving the cell, he walked around all his friends and neighbors and said goodbye to them, kissing everyone and saying: “Pray, brothers, for me, pray, because we don’t know whether we will see each other again.” Then, returning to his cell, he lived for another three months: at first he became slightly ill, followed by a more severe attack, and after eight days everyone learned that he was going to God, Whom he loved so much. As soon as all the Christians living in the area found out about this, even though it was winter and so much snow had fallen that the roads were blocked, they all came to the monk. They stayed next to him until the ninth hour, did not even remember about food and did not go home, but they all looked at the cheerful face of the saint, listened to his sweetest voice and his last words, not wanting to be separated from him. Tears flowed from their eyes like rivers, which testified to the sorrow that took possession of them due to separation from the monk. After he said goodbye to everyone and wished them all the best, they left. Then the monk asked Presbyter Gregory, who was standing nearby, what time it was, and, hearing that the sun would soon set, he realized that he, like a bright star, would soon set. The monk asked Gregory to quickly read Vespers, after which Gregory asked him where he wanted to be buried. The monk said: “Aren’t you ashamed to ask me about this, don’t you know that I should be tied at the feet with a rope and thrown into a ditch to be devoured by wild beasts.” Gregory, without hesitating tears, began to fervently ask him to tell him where he wanted to be buried, since he did not want to do anything against his will. Then the monk said: “Dig in this place where I lie, and you will find a stone. Raise him and bury my ashes in the earth. Then place the stone on top, because God, who weighs destinies, will glorify this place until the end of this world. Many Christians will gather here and glorify His holy name.” With these words, having kissed the presbyter and those with him, he raised his eyes to heaven and said: “Into Your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.” And so he gave up his blessed soul to God. The next morning, calling Christians from nearby villages, Gregory asked them to dig a grave. Having prepared the saint's body for burial and having read the prescribed Sequence, he buried the saint's holy relics. Then, covering the grave with a stone, he left. After six months, a certain monk, a eunuch from the village of Paphlagonians, named Kozma, decided to go to the Western countries. His path ran near the Styrian Mountain and then, during a short stop, he saw a strange dream, which he told the local residents about. The inhabitants of this place explained that the will of God commanded him to stay here, and because of this the Lord brought him here. Without any hesitation, the monk came to the monk’s cell, as if led by someone’s hand. Seeing that the area was calm and pleasant, he promised God to settle here. Immediately the monk began to take care of the saint’s grave, lifted it out of the ground, covered it with slabs, and put a fence around it so that no one would enter here except those who come for the sake of piety. Then, two years later, the disciples of the monk, observing the healings and miracles that constantly took place at the tomb of the monk, decided that they would be unkind children of a good father if they did not fully repay their debt to their spiritual father, and with zeal they began to build a church and cells. First, they completed the construction of the Church of St. Barbara, decorated it, and then built a sufficient number of cells and various buildings necessary for the needs of the community and receiving guests. Then they gave a completely different look to the cell where the saint’s tomb was, building a beautiful church in the shape of a cross. So the saint’s prediction about the glorification of this place came true: both about Christians coming to him, and about miracles happening daily. We must tell about several of these miracles for the glory of God and the saint. One woman's arms and legs were completely immobilized and she could not move them. The most difficult thing was that her son, who should have consoled her in her illness, was himself possessed, and the demon often threw him to the ground. Out of compassion, her relatives hoisted her onto a donkey and in this position brought her to the saint’s grave, left her there with her son, and left. But marvelous are the judgments of the Lord! The monk left her unhealed for a long time. The woman became weak from the long wait and completely despaired of her healing. But - oh Your inexplicable goodness, Lord! - shortly before this, fragrant myrrh flowed from the saint’s coffin. The altar boy came and poured it into the lamp, hanging it directly above the saint’s coffin. The son of the paralyzed woman, taking advantage of the time when no one was around, said to his mother: “I want to drink myrrh from the lamp.” His mother did not allow him, saying: “Child, don’t do this, because the altar boy is angry and can drive us out of here.” However, the son repeated: “I want a drink.” He immediately took the lamp and drank myrrh. At that very moment he fell to the ground, began to roll and foam. The mother, feeling sorry for her son and wanting to help, suddenly - lo and behold! – with her own feet, she ran up to her son, took him by the hands and lifted him up. At that same moment, the son came to his senses and was freed from the demonic action. Surprised by the double miracle, the woman glorified God and the saint and, falling to his grave, reverently and with tears began to kiss it, singing songs of thanksgiving and announcing to everyone about the double miracle of the saint. Another woman had two children: a boy and a girl. They could not walk because they were lame. Because of this, the mother constantly lamented and cried, not knowing what to do. Hearing about the saint’s miracles, she and her children came to his tomb. With warm tears, the mother began to beg God and the monk for help, expecting that He would heal her children. Eight days passed, there was no healing, and the woman in despair decided to return home, saying out of great humility: “For my many sins, I turned out to be unworthy for the monk to hear me and for God to heal my children.” For this humility, she received a blessing in an amazing way, for the very minute she entered the house, a miracle happened. She saw that both of her children were healthy and walking on their own feet. This surprised others and filled the mother with immense joy. She thanked God and the saint with hot tears, then called her friends and relatives, and together they sang praises to the Lord. Another woman had an incurable ulcer on her face that caused her extreme pain and shame. Doctors tried to help her, but they failed and she only wasted her time and wealth on them. Desperate, she came to the tomb of the saint and, washing it with tears and praying to the Lord, asked to heal her. Having anointed the sore spot with oil from the lamp over the saint’s tomb, she was completely healed of her illness, so much so that not the slightest trace remained on her face. There lived in Boeotia an elderly woman, rich and noble. Her eye hurt badly, causing not only terrible pain, but fluid was constantly leaking from it, like from an evil source. The woman tried many medications and they did not bring her any benefit. Having tried all means, the woman went to the monastery of St. Luke. Having fallen to his coffin with warm faith, she fervently prayed to God and anointed her eye with oil from the lamp, mixed with the myrrh from the coffin, after a few days she received her sight - the eye was completely cleared, and not even a trace of the disease remained. A certain man named Nicholas suffered from leprosy, being struck by it from head to toe. Stinking pus constantly flowed from his wounds, so everyone turned away from him. Desperate to receive help from people, he came with faith to the sacred tomb of the saint, prayed to the Lord, and anointed himself as if with medicine with oil from the saint’s lamp and with myrrh from the tomb. One day, sitting by a vessel filled with divine myrrh, and joyfully watching the blessed myrrh flow out of the tomb, he, unwillingly (but not without the Divine will), fell into this vessel and, as soon as he fell, a miracle happened. Who will not rejoice, or who will not marvel at this new miracle? The patient was cleansed from leprosy as easily as from ordinary bodily uncleanness. Another man, who had suffered from demons for many years and was severely tormented by them, since they often threw him to the ground, came to the saint’s tomb and remained there for several days. Realizing that God was in no hurry to give him healing, what was this God-lover who revered God up to? He returned home, but again and again he came and asked the Lord and the monk for healing. After waiting for three or more days, he returned home again. So, one day, when he again asked the monk together with the fathers of the monastery, the saint appeared to him in a dream and, calling him by name, said: “Open your lips.” When he opened his lips, the saint breathed into them and said: “Go in health and tell everyone about the miracles of God.” Waking up, the patient realized that the dream was true, and he got rid of the demon. Talking about the miracle, he moved everyone to glorify God and His servant. A certain John suffered from a dark demon for many years. He also came to the tomb of the divine Luke for healing and used the same medicine - oil from the lamp and myrrh flowing from the saint’s tomb, with which the monk Pancratius anointed him (he had compassion for the suffering and anointed them). Meanwhile, many days passed, and the sick man was not healed, however, showing great patience, he prayed to the Lord and did not hesitate at all, but came to the tomb without thoughts of unbelief and cowardice. He waited six months until the monk appeared to him in a dream and drove out the unclean and evil spirit from him. In addition, the monk revealed something to him that he ordered not to tell anyone until his death. Another man, also named John, also suffered for many years from the action of demons. He came to the tomb of the monk and called upon him with tears. At night, the monk appeared to him in a dream, touched his head, opened his mouth and placed a hook there that went down to his throat. He pulled the hook and pulled out the demon, after which he said: “Behold, you have been healed by your faith. Having rid yourself of the evil spirit, walk in peace.” And immediately the word became deed, because as soon as the patient woke up, he discovered that he was free. Thanks to God and the saint, he returned home with joy. A certain lover of Christ was blind in both eyes. He came to the saint and, entering the church, began to fervently ask, saying: “Holy One of God, resolve the darkness of my eyes. Heir of the True Light, deliver me from the dark night, so that I may see Your holy icon and the sacred tomb of the saint, let me enjoy the beauty of the divine church, and fill my lips and tongue with joy and joy. I will preach Your wonders to everyone.” He prayed for a long time, but without immediately receiving healing, the man became faint-hearted and went home. However, the divine Luke did not despise him, and on the way back he gave him the light of his eyes, not immediately, but gradually, the light for him became brighter and the darkness receded. Therefore, at first the blind man did not believe that this was really happening, but then, when he began to see as clearly as the others, he was filled with both joy and surprise, and greatly thanked God and the monk. John from the island of Tervenii was bedridden due to severe pain in his legs. Having heard about the miracles of the great Luke, he wanted to visit his tomb in order to fall to him, but there was no way for this to happen. What did he do? He mentally went to the monastery, mentally came to the miraculous tomb and called on the monk, exclaiming: Yes, “my prayer will come before Your face; deliver me according to Your word" (Ps. 119:170). If you heal me with the power received from God, then I will come to thank you and bow to your holy tomb at my feet.” This is the request the sick man made to the monk, and he soon healed him, freeing him from the weakening of his legs and making him healthy, so that after some time he came to the monastery on his own feet and fell at the miraculous tomb of the monk with the words: “I thank you, holy one of God, that you have delivered “my eyes from tears and my feet from stumbling” (Ps. 115:8). Then, having told the fathers of the monastery about his illness and that the monk had quickly healed him, he joyfully returned home, glorifying God and the monk. Dimitri Kalonas, a young man with a strong body, was digging a hole in his house to store grain. The hole was already deep when he encountered a huge stone. Deciding to pull it out, Dimitri grabbed the stone with both hands. But because the weight of the stone exceeded his strength, he developed a hernia in his groin, so large that he was unable to move. With great difficulty, his relatives pulled him out of the hole and laid him languishing in pain on the bed. None of the people could help him, but God sent him mercy in the form of the compassion of St. Luke. Just at this time, an acquaintance from the Styrian Mountain came to Demetrius, who had the myrrh from the tomb of the saint. He gave it to a sick man, who anointed his hernia with it and after three days was completely healed. When his health returned, he began to glorify God and the saint and preach His miracles to everyone. Constantine, originally from Thermopylae, was troubled by a demon who not only threw him to the ground and shook him, but also filled his soul with darkness and fear, harassing the sufferer in every possible way. What then did Constantine do? He despised help from people and resorted to God and the divine Luke, the servant of God. Having gone to his church, he fell down to the tomb and began to wash it with hot tears, and then anointed himself with myrrh - a cure for every disease. Day and night he prayed constantly, bowed down, cried and, in anticipation of God’s love for mankind, was anointed with myrrh mixed with hot tears. But God, the Lover of Mankind, hesitated and did not perform a good deed, apparently for the sake of some benefit for his soul and salvation, for God does everything for us for our own benefit. But good Konstantin did not hesitate all this time, did not extinguish the warmth of his soul, did not despair of faith in hope, did not think of returning home, which would be understandable, but unworthy of surprise. Konstantin’s healing lasted for six whole months, as long as there was patience in his heart, so that he would not only get rid of the demon, but also be honored with the salvation of his soul. Six months later, Constantine got rid of demonic tyranny, and he will receive a reward for patience and faith in the next century. The same thing happened to another man, a native of Euripus: he was troubled by a severe demon, so he also came to the miraculous tomb of the monk. One of the civil servants named Christopher, out of reverence, came to the church of the monk and, venerating his honest tomb, asked the fathers to allow him to spend the night at the tomb. The fathers allowed him, but said that someone possessed by a demon would sleep here. Christopher objected: “Let the demoniac sleep in another place that night, because I want to sleep alone at the tomb.” The fathers allowed this too, and Christopher remained alone at the tomb. And the sufferer, who was assigned another place to sleep, was very sad that he would not receive the grace of the saint, and considered this a dishonor for himself. But the Lord, who comforts those who mourn, not only consoled him, but also miraculously delivered him from the evil demon. Surrounded by a shining light, the monk appeared to him in a dream, looked at him with a cheerful look and, calling him by name, ordered him to open his mouth. When he put his fingers into his mouth, it seemed that he took out a black hair from which a scarab beetle hung. Having driven him away, the monk asked the sufferer: “Do you see your enemy? Behold, you have freed yourself from the one who tormented you.” Thus the saint showed him his love for mankind, and suitably presented the demon in the form of a scarab beetle, and showed his powerlessness in the form of a hair. The man's health returned, and he joyfully went home, announcing to everyone about the miracles of God and the saint. One cleric from Diavlia, named Nikolai, fell ill with dropsy and spent a lot of money on doctors, but did not receive healing, and the illness worsened, so that he was in danger of death. Leaving the doctors and medicines, he turned with a request to the common benefactor of Greece, to free and true healing - the miraculous tomb of St. Luke. Monk Pankraty, who was there, saw that Nicholas was sitting at the coffin, and took pity on him, deciding to provide him with some help. He wet a sponge with water and wiped the sacred tomb with it, and then anointed the sick person with it from head to toe and - lo and behold! - he became healthy. In addition, another Nikolai, who came from a village in Coronia, called by everyone Rastamites, for unknown reasons, bubbles appeared all over his face, reminiscent of smoldering coals. From the pus flowing from them, the face was not only dirty, but also burned as if on fire. Nikolai spent a lot of money on doctors without getting any benefit, because as long as he gave them money, they said that he would recover. If he gave more, he heard from them that very soon his illness would disappear and his health would fully return. When he ran out of almost all his money and stopped spending it on doctors, then they told him the truth. Those who had previously, out of profit, convinced him of his recovery, now finally said that his illness was incurable by earthly doctors, and that Divine help was required, exceeding all human art, for only God is possible what is impossible for people. Hearing this, unfortunate Nikolai began to accuse himself of madness and was very sad, because along with his money he had lost hope of recovery. Unexpectedly, being in such grief and bewilderment, he met an acquaintance who had oil from the lamp of St. Luke. Knowing about the Divine power that was contained in the oil, he told the sick man about the people who were healed from illnesses with his help. The acquaintance ran home, brought oil and, with prayer and strong faith in healing, anointed the sick man’s face, as well as his own. During this anointing, both called on God and the divine Luke for help. What followed? After a few days, the strength of these blisters weakened, and the flow of pus from the wounds completely disappeared, and soon not the slightest trace remained of the wounds on the face. Just as it is impossible to count the sand of the sea, it is also impossible to accurately count with precision the countless miracles of the saint, who to this day has not ceased and will not cease to perform miracles. Therefore, we have cited only a few as proof of the holiness and boldness that the saint had towards God. The Monk Luke lived only fifty-six years: at the age of fourteen he left the world and became a monk. For the first seven years and all the time after returning from the Seas, that is, twelve years, he lived on Mount Ioannitra, served the stylite of Zemena for ten years, spent three years in Kalama, three more on the island and seven years in the Styrian Mountain. He accepted the end of his temporary life on the seventh day of February and went to the Desired God, to Whom be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. (Written by Simeon Metaphrastes) The life and exploits of our venerable and God-bearing father Euthymius the New, who labored in the 10th century This reverend father, Euthymius, was from Iveria, from the city of Tao, the son of pious, famous and wealthy parents. When Father Euthymius renounced the temporary and transitory nobility and glory of this world, preferring poverty that enriches in Christ and putting on the angelic monastic image (with the name John), he went to Constantinople. Euthymius, while still very young, remained with his grandfather, a husband famous in glory and virtue. His grandfather raised him in “the training and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). A little time passed and the grandfather, taking Euthymius with him, came to Constantinople to find his son John. Having found him, the grandfather, crying, persuaded his son to return to his homeland, but he not only did not listen, but tried in every possible way to keep his son Euthymius with him, which made the father greatly saddened. Since a dispute arose between them: John wanted to keep his son with him, but his grandfather did not allow this, King Nicephorus, who learned about the dispute, ordered both to come to him and bring Euthymius with them. When the three of them appeared before the king, and he heard the whole story, he ordered not to pull the child by force, each to himself, but to leave the judgment about this to God. To whomever the child wants to go himself, let him go. As soon as the child was released, he immediately ran up to his father, whom he had never seen and did not know until that hour. The child's action caused amazement and tears among those present. Having received his son as if from the hands of God, blessed John immediately clothed him in the monastic image and sent him to study. The good Euthymius not only had a sharp mind, but also had great ardor and diligence, so that he soon studied both external wisdom and internal divine wisdom, incorporating spiritual teachings into himself. Soon he fell seriously and very ill, but with the care and help of our Most Holy Lady Theotokos, after some time he got rid of the disease. He continued to excel in virtue, wisdom, grace and many other things worthy of wonder, from which it became clear to everyone what a wonderful husband he would be. Therefore, we will tell about one of the miracles of Euthymius to assure the truth of many others. One day a Jew came to Euthymius to talk with him about faith. Blessed Euthymius did not want to talk to him, since he was convinced that it was in vain to talk with Jews. However, succumbing to his father’s persuasion, he nevertheless agreed and was forced to refute the words of the Jew with evidence from the Old Testament. Unable to bear the defeat, the vile Jew began to blaspheme our Lord Jesus Christ, and blessed Euthymius was inflamed with divine jealousy and said: “Let the lips be stopped that speak blasphemies against our Lord and God.” And - lo and behold! - the Jew immediately became speechless, fell to the ground, emitting foam from his blasphemous lips, and lay there, presenting a pitiful sight. The next day he spewed out his vile soul. This miracle caused fear and surprise in everyone, making the wondrous Euthymius famous throughout Constantinople. Hating human glory, as contrary to the glory of God, the blessed one immediately left the capital and went with his father to the Holy Mount Athos. Having met the Monk Athanasius there, they all wanted to settle with him in the Holy Lavra, but the divine Athanasius, seeing with the discerning eyes of his soul according to God's revelation the grace of the Holy Spirit that dwelt in Euthymius, convinced him to accept the priestly rank. At first he did not want to, citing his unworthiness, but later he obeyed the monk and was ordained a priest. After this, the saint added feats to deeds, abstinence to abstinence, and multiplied in himself all the blessings that he had, becoming a divine vessel of the Most Holy Spirit. He translated the Holy Scriptures into the Iberian language, wrote many teaching books, built many churches and hospitals, and decorated the entire Holy Mountain with monasteries. Who can adequately tell about his noble attitude towards people, about his incomparable humility, thanks to which he looked after his weak father for fourteen years and helped the great Athanasius? When both of them departed to the Lord, Blessed Euthymius took care of the Holy Lavra, and not only about it, but also about all the monasteries of the Holy Mountain. He was zealous and quick in caring for the souls and bodies of his brothers, and his divine lips always poured out rivers of wisdom and teaching for the glory of God. However, his love for extreme silence prevailed, and he appointed his relative George as abbot of the Lavra, and he himself began to struggle alone, pleasing God day and night. And no one knew about his spiritual exploits and fruits, because the monk tried to perform them in secret, so that only God would know about them, who made his exploits known, which will be discussed further. One day the monk came to Thessaloniki and was received with great courtesy by the local bishop, who was marvelous in virtue, but himself, in turn, was amazed at the life of the monk. The bishop was friends with one Jew who served him, so the bishop, as a reward for his friendship, always advised and convinced him with many teachings to believe in Christ. However, he did not listen at all. All the time that the monk was with the bishop, the Jew also came to him. The bishop gave him saving advice that did not convince the Jew, and during conversations about faith, he used words full of shamelessness, humiliating and imputing the words of the bishop into nothing. One day, the bishop asked the monk to refute the arrogant Jew with his wise speeches, but the true disciple of the meek and humble Jesus Christ said that he was earth and ashes, and that it was appropriate for the bishop to persuade the Jew, not him, but the bishop asked him again and again and the monk was forced to agree. Blessed Euthymius refuted the words of the Jew with evidence from the prophets, forcing him to remain silent, clearly preached about the economy of our Lord, so that the Jew, unable to bear the shame, began to speak blasphemous words against Christ. Looking at him, the saint said: “Let your wicked lips be stopped, speaking lies and blasphemy against the Creator and Lord of all Christ.” At that same moment, the Jew became speechless and fell to the ground, while his eyes squinted and his mouth curled to the side. Seeing this, all the Jews and Christians who were there were amazed and very afraid. Having fallen in prayer to the monk, they began to ask him to take pity on the Jew and heal him. Hearing their prayers, Saint Euthymius took pity on the Jew and, overshadowing him with the sign of the Life-giving Cross, healed him, making him healthy, as before. After this, the Jew began to loudly proclaim that Jesus Christ is the True God and Creator of everything, the Guardian and Provider of all living beings, and then he was baptized not only himself along with his household, but also all the Jews who were there who were present at this miracle, and many other Jews believed in Christ. In gratitude, the healed man brought the monk a lot of money, but he did not accept it and ordered it to be distributed to the poor. One day there was a strong lack of rain on the Holy Mountain, and all the fathers were overwhelmed with grief due to the drought. They began to ask the monk to pray to God and only with great difficulty were they able to convince him. The Monk Euthymius went up to the Chapel of the Prophet Elijah, which is near the Iveron Monastery, and with tears began to pray to the All-Merciful God, offering Him a Verbal and Bloodless Sacrifice. And - lo and behold! - immediately it began to rain so heavily that it watered the earth to its full, and everyone glorified God, who glorifies those who glorify Him. From ancient times, it was customary for the Svyatogorsk monks, on the bright feast of the Transfiguration of the Savior, to climb to the top of Mount Athos, serve the All-Night Vigil, and the next day, after the Divine Liturgy, to go down. One day, on this holiday, the divine Euthymius climbed to the top along with many other brothers. When they wanted to celebrate the Divine Liturgy, they unanimously began to ask the monk to do so. Euthymy obeyed with great humility and began to serve. When he said: “Singing the song of victory, crying out, crying and saying,” and the brothers answered: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts,” suddenly an unbearable light enveloped everyone, and the earth shook. All the brothers immediately fell to the ground face down, only blessed Euthymius stood motionless, looking like a pillar of fire. This miracle made him even more famous everywhere. Therefore, when the Archbishop of Cyprus departed to the Lord, the then king of the Romans sent people to the saint with a letter, fervently asking him to take charge of the archbishopric. The monk did not want to hear about it, saying that he was unworthy of such care, and that he deserved only to be nourished, and not he should care for others, for the mother of all virtues, humility, was rooted in his heart. The apostate devil, who always envies and fights against good and godly deeds, could not calmly look at the godly deeds of the saint, which he performed every day, for the glory of Christ our God, and burned even more with envy and malice. Having found a monk who was such only in appearance, but in his heart - vile and unclean, worthy of the dwelling of the devil, he entered it and inspired him to kill the monk, whispering to the monk, as he once whispered to Eve in ancient times: “If you kill the monk, you will receive a great reward.” And that unfortunate man zealously set to work, preparing a knife and ascending to the tower where the saint’s cell was. The saint’s disciple, noticing that he was completely subjugated to the demon and was holding a knife in his hand, closed the door of the cell, preventing him from entering. Not finding the monk to quench the rage he was causing in him, the murderer plunged a knife into his blessed disciple. Having fled from there with disorderly screams and noise, he met another disciple of the monk, whom he attacked in the same way. Then, run a short distance. the monk fell face down on the ground, and with demonic speeches on his lips he spewed out his vile soul. And the saint, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, having learned about what had happened to his disciples through the action of the devil, hastily descended from the tower and tonsured both of his disciples into the great schema, after which both of them soon departed to the Lord. The shameless and dirty dog ​​the devil could not look at the deeds of the saint for the glory of God, and again persuaded a certain gardener to kill the saint. He prepared a knife, approached the saint and stabbed him in the stomach. But - lo and behold! - the saint did not suffer any harm, the end of the knife became like wax, and the hand that hit the saint dried up and remained motionless. Then the gardener, falling with tears at the feet of the monk, confessed to him the devil’s plan and asked for forgiveness and healing. Taking pity, the saint prayed to God for him, and his soul and body were granted health. What words can adequately describe the saint’s virtues? He was compassionate, cheerful, without anger, humble, spent all his nights in unceasing prayer and standing before God, observed poverty in both food and clothing, treated his body harshly, for he wore heavy chains. Simply put, he was an angel in an earthly body and a lamp in the world, having the word of life. But since temptations pursue us everywhere, because the earth is primarily a place of temptations, some happened on the Holy Mountain. For this reason, the fathers asked the saint to go to the reigning city in order to eradicate temptations from their midst by royal decree and ensure lasting peace in this place. Having obeyed them, the monk went to Constantinople. The king and the entire synclite of archons received him with reverence, greeted him friendly and immediately fulfilled his request. While in the capital, the monk once rode with a monk on a mule for some need to that part of the city called Platia. On the way they met a beggar asking for alms. Seeing him, the saint took pity and wanted to give him something, but suddenly the mule became frightened, became furious and, tugging strongly at the monk, ran, clattering his hooves unruly, and did not stop until he threw Saint Euthymius to the ground, causing him to be badly broken. Christians ran up, picked him up and took him to where he lived. A few days later the monk gave his holy soul into the hands of God on the thirteenth day of May. During his burial, many healings and miracles occurred as proof of the saint’s holiness and boldness towards God. Subsequently, the holy relics of St. Euthymius were transferred to the Holy Mountain and placed in the monastery of the Honest Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John, which he himself built, and which was called Iveron for the glory of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the One Divinity and Kingdom, to whom glory, honor and worship are due, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. The life, exploits and stories about the miracles of our venerable and God-bearing father Lazarus, who asceticised on Mount Gallicia in the 12th century This venerable Lazarus came from a village in Asia, near Magnesia. His noble, God-fearing and virtuous parents were called Nikita and Irina. At the moment of the saint’s birth, an unusually bright cloud appeared in the house, which indicated that the baby was destined to become a son of light and a vessel of divine illumination. The women who came to visit the woman in labor were so frightened at the sight of the strange sight that they ran out of the house. Later another miracle happened. After a sufficiently long time, when the cloud had already lifted and the women entered the house again, they saw that the baby was standing on his own feet with his arms crossed on his chest, facing the east. From then on, everyone began to say that that baby would be very famous and famous in everything. When the monk grew up, his parents sent him to study the sacred sciences, which he comprehended with ease. However, the boy disgusted his teacher with all his soul, because the mentor was enslaved by the passion of love of money. For this reason, Lazarus gave any thing that belonged to the teacher that fell into his hands, or money, to the poor. And although the teacher constantly scolded him for this and beat him, the monk continued to give gifts to the poor, for his mercy for the poor and hatred of the love of money forced him to endure insults and beatings. Despite the reproaches and beatings that the teacher rewarded the student for taking things and money from him to distribute to the poor, he admired the mercy and praised it in front of everyone. Having reached a more mature age and having achieved more perfect knowledge, Lazarus desired to leave his homeland and go to worship at the Holy Sepulcher and other holy places in Jerusalem. However, no matter how many attempts he made, his family always prevented him. To prevent him from running away secretly, his parents sent him to the nearby Orovo Monastery, where he could indulge in sacred sciences and practice virtue, but most of all because he was under supervision there. Inflamed by love for God, blessed Lazarus did not calm down, but always thought about escaping. Having one day seized such an opportunity, he and one of the monks, unnoticed by his parents and relatives, rushed to Jerusalem with all their zeal. Passing through Khoni, the place where the miracle of the Archangel Michael took place, he entered the church dedicated to the Archangel and asked him for help on the way. Then the travelers headed to Attalia. However, the monk who accompanied him on the journey planned to sell Lazarus into slavery to the Saracens. When the monk (if one can be called a monk) was already bargaining with the Saracens in Armenian about the price, a Christian who knew this language happened to pass there, which was nothing other than the action of Divine Providence. The Christian understood the monk's intention and reported it to Lazarus, who immediately left from there. There was a monastery nearby, and Lazar found there a venerable hieromonk, an old man of age and intelligence, to whom he told about his homeland, about his parents, about his desire to venerate the holy places of Jerusalem, about the plan of the monk who accompanied him, and about everything that happened to him along the way. After this, the hieromonk asked whether Lazarus was still thinking about going to Jerusalem. Having learned that the monk really wanted this, the venerable elder said that the young man, who can easily be overcome by the devil, should not go wherever he wants, since following his thoughts is a great evil, for the self-willed person becomes a victim of the enemy, who has placed his destructive nets everywhere. If, for the benefit of his soul, the young man listens to his advice, then he must stay in this monastery, where the elder was abbot, become a monk, live for a long time until he reaches adulthood, and only then will he be able to go out without fear. Having heard the good advice, the divine Lazarus accepted it with great joy and remained in the monastery. Having put off the old man along with the worldly clothes, he put on the new, Christ, putting on monastic clothes, and from that time on he devoted himself to ascetic deeds. The blessed one loved fasting, which refines the body and calms the passions rising in the soul, just as carnalists do not love pleasure and overeating. Working diligently, Lazarus acquired obedience - the basis of monastic life, and humility - the highest of all virtues, becoming for everyone a model and example of these two virtues. And what can we say about vigil, about the drying of the body and other harsh feats undertaken by him to refine the flesh? Let us only say that, being healthy by nature, he also acquired a good deed, and therefore had every virtue in himself, as if he were not earthly, but heavenly, for a good nature gives strength to the soul, and a good deed leads spiritual strength to a good completion. There was no one who would not be surprised at the exploits of the divine Lazarus, would not praise him and would not tell others about him. But most of all, his spiritual father, the abbot of the monastery, whom the monk served and who taught him spiritual feats, set him as an example to others. The Monk Lazar had already spent quite a long time in the monastery, when one day the elder said to him: “Son, in a short time I will go to the land, the common mother of all, and I dedicate you to the common Lord Christ, He will take care of you.” At these words, the monk groaned from the depths of his soul and wept bitterly, because he did not want to hear about separation from the elder. But a little time passed, and his elder departed to the Lord. Having mourned his death, the divine Lazarus left the monastery three days later and, coming to one cave, which was located in a hard-to-reach place, he remained there to talk alone with the one God. It is difficult to convey in human language how many exploits and oppressions of the body this patient soul devoted itself to. But the more he tried to hide his virtues from people, the more he became known to everyone, because the one who works virtues, it opens to the eyes of people, no matter how carefully he hides. Crowds of people came every day to see the monk and receive his blessing. Neither the distance of the journey, nor the difficult terrain, nor any other reasons stopped people. To make the path to his cave easier, they even built a road: they collected large quantities of brushwood and firewood, lit a fire on the rocky road, then poured vinegar to soften the hard stones, and smashed them with metal tools. After this, the road leading to the monk became easy, for the desire for good in God encourages people to undertake the almost impossible. This is the kind of love that many people felt for the monk, and the local bishop, having heard about him, wanted to go up to Lazarus’s cave to talk with the monk. Because of the large number of people who came to him, the saint decided to build a church in this place in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos and cells for brothers who wanted to become monks, for many renounced the world and wanted to live with the monk. And since many readily responded and began to help this godly cause with all their might, the Monk Lazarus built a wonderful monastery there, and each of the Christians there experienced great joy at the thought that he was fulfilling the command of the monk. One day a man came to him and said that he wanted to go to a steep cliff to collect wild honey there. The monk, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, could foresee and understood that the man could perish (and the place was truly precipitous), and he said to him: “Child, for your own good you do not need to see this place, because a great danger hangs over you, and you may perish if you do not move away from it. If you want to avoid danger, abandon your intention." However, that man did not listen to the advice of the monk and, together with his companions, went to the rock. Having tied himself with a rope, he began to descend with the help of his friends. Think how bad it is not to listen to the advice of those who give it for our benefit. Before the unfortunate man had time to descend halfway, the rope broke, and he fell down, giving up his breath even before he touched the ground, from many blows on the protruding stones. So he reaped the deadly fruit of his own crazy thoughts. From that time on, everyone began to listen to the words of the monk, as to the words of a prophet, without contradicting them at all. One day a man came to the monk, confessed his sins, and at the end said that he earned his living in a convenient and reasonable way that did not require knowledge of the craft. He went into other people's houses at night, took everything he found and hid it in a secluded place. When the owners began to look for the loss, he told them that the saints, revealing to him many secrets, also discovered the place where the thieves hid their things. Having placed the Honest Cross or an icon of some saint on his shoulders, he walked along with the owners, showing them where to dig. So everyone found their things, and he was revered as a friend of God, worthy of witnessing Divine revelations, and as a reward they gave him part of the things found. Having heard this, the monk said: “And using such a bad craft, you, child, say that you earn your living in a reasonable and skillful way? Woe to you, darkened in mind, because you are deceived and ridiculed by the devil, considering his teaching reasonable, which you learned to the destruction of your soul, mistaking darkness for light. If you do not stop from this sin, then woe to you, as the prophet Isaiah says (Isaiah 3:11), who takes bitter for sweet, because soon the punishment and wrath of God will come upon you.” Hearing all this, he fell at the saint’s feet and with tears began to ask for forgiveness of sins, promising in the future that he would not believe the devil’s flattery, but would cease from sin and would work toward virtue with all his might. Having received forgiveness from the saint, he, with the help of God and the prayers of the saint, kept his promise. And although with his instructions and actions the saint brought great benefit to many, raising those who had fallen into sin, and strengthening those who stood in virtue, he really wanted to leave from there to Jerusalem in order to avoid human glory (the monk knew what a great obstacle it was for those who walk along the high and Heavenly path), and thus fulfilling the desire that he had from a young age to venerate the holy places of Jerusalem. Having announced his intention to the monastic brethren and, as much as possible, comforting them (for they were very sad at separation from him), he commanded them to observe the vows of the monastic title, and also to take care of their salvation with all their might, after which he left for Jerusalem. Having venerated the wondrous shrines there and the Holy Sepulcher, the monk a few days later came to the Lavra of Saint Sava, where he decided to stay for a long time in order to strive in exploits together with the venerable fathers who lived there and receive great benefit from them. Nothing moves people to virtue more than good competition with those who live in virtue. Just as stone rubs against stone and as a result becomes smooth and shiny, so the virtuous, competing with the virtuous, becomes more prosperous and becomes brighter. Joyfully received by the brethren, the monk remained in the Lavra and received the obedience of the paraecclesiarch (one of the lowest ranks in the rank of sexton). He fulfilled this obedience for six years, asceticizing on a par with the first and chosen monks of that monastery, who constantly strived to achieve the state of disembodied angels. But the divine Lazarus labored not only on an equal footing with them, but also surpassed them in everything, and his exploits aroused astonishment. He was recognized as worthy of the rank of priest and the abbot of the monastery persuaded him to accept the rank. At first the monk refused, saying that he was unworthy of such a rank, but since the abbot continued to persuade him (for he knew what Lazarus was like in virtue and what title he was worthy of), the monk, so as not to seem impudent, decided that it was unreasonable to resist any longer. He obeyed and was ordained a priest by the then Patriarch of Jerusalem, after which he spent another six years in the monastery. Then, seeing that the monks who were most successful in virtue in the first week of Great Lent, according to the old custom, leave the monastery into the desert, and on Vaiy Week they return back to the monastery, bearing the good fruits of their deeds, he also wanted to go into the desert. Without revealing his desire to the abbot, he secretly left the monastery, and not because he neglected the abbot (for who else showed greater obedience to elders than blessed Lazarus?), but because he was overcome by the sweetness of silence, which he had desired for many years, and for the sake of which he had used so many methods. After spending the prescribed days of Pentecost in the desert, he returned to the monastery along with other brothers. But if all the others were accepted and taken care of, because the monks were tired from long desert labors, then the divine Lazarus, the only one, was expelled from the monastery by order of the abbot, not even allowing him to cross the threshold. Lazar wept for a long time at the door of the monastery, asking for forgiveness, but not receiving it, he went to Jerusalem to the steward of the great Jerusalem Church, who was his old friend, so that he would ask the abbot for him. As soon as the steward listened to him, he immediately went to the Lavra and for a long time asked the abbot to forgive his friend Lazarus, after which the monk received forgiveness from the abbot and was again numbered among the Lavra brothers. When the next Great Lent came, seeing how other monks were again leaving for the desert, the monk did not think about the wrath of the abbot, nor about possible expulsion from the monastery, nor about other consequences, but he also went, for for one who at least once tasted the sweetness and honey of silence, it becomes forever desirable, forcing him to despise everything else and strive for it alone (silence). Having tasted this honey once, the monk was unable to remain in the monastery and lose such a great benefit. Therefore, having come to a silent place, he did not want to return to the Lavra and completely surrendered to silence. He built a pillar on a very high place and, completely renouncing everything material and earthly, ascended it like a warrior, free from all burdens, to wage a great “warfare, not against flesh and blood... but... against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12). He spent many years on the pillar, courageously struggling against demons, and achieved great victories over them. One day, leaving the pillar and walking across the plain, the monk heard a voice saying to him: “Lazarus, you must return to your homeland.” Surprised, he looked around and, seeing no one, thought that it was the demon who said it. But the next time he happened to pass this place, he heard the same voice and thought that it could be Divine Providence. To be sure of this, he stayed there for a while longer and heard the voice again. Then the monk went to the ascetics who lived nearby, who had spent their entire lives in the deserts, from youth to old age, and told them about the voice he had heard and asked what he should do. When they told him that the voice was from God, he went to Jerusalem and, taking as his companion a monk of virtuous life named Paul, he came to Sebastia. There they separated: Paul went to Trebizond, and the Monk Lazarus went to Rome, where he had long wanted to go to venerate the two supreme apostles. Walking along the road through some thickets, he met huge bears. Very frightened and not knowing where to run from danger, he resorted to the help of God. Raising his eyes and hands to Heaven, he said the words from the psalm of David: “My God, “do not depart from me, for sorrow is near, but there is no helper” (Ps. 21: 12). Save me, Lord, from the mouths of bloodthirsty beasts and pluck my soul from death.” As soon as he uttered these words, he (lo and behold!) saw that the bears bowed their heads and, humbly turning to one side of the road, gave way to the monk as their master, for virtue inspires respect even in animals. Although the man of God remained unharmed by the sensual beasts, the mental beast, the devil, unable to bear this, turned into a huge black dog and ran after the monk. Sometimes he ran ahead and threatened to tear him to pieces with his teeth, and sometimes he ran behind and barked angrily, pretending that he was going to grab him by the legs. The damned one did this for three days. When the monk needed to go into the village to buy food for the road (he did not have bread with him, for he never cared about tomorrow), the dog began to interfere with him. With a long bark, he attracted the village dogs, and, provoking them, he was the first to rush at the saint, and after him everyone else rushed at him. The monk was forced to remain hungry all day and all night, because he could not approach the village because of the demons that were pestering him. However, with the help of God, the monk got rid of this temptation; the enemy was tired of resisting the great soul and, ashamed of his weakness, was driven away, as if with a whip. By the providence of God, having become above the temptations of the enemy, the monk reached Ephesus, where he came to the local bishop and in a conversation with him revealed his intention to go to Rome. Marveling at the saint’s meekness, his simplicity, the sweetness of his words and the grace of the Holy Spirit that shone through him, the bishop was captivated by his love for him and began to object to his journey to Rome. Then the monk, on the advice of the bishop of Ephesus, abandoned his intention, but he did not agree to give up silence and live with the bishop. Having left the bishop, he came to the Orovog monastery from where he once went to Jerusalem. At the beginning of his stay there, the monk hid who he was, but then the brothers began to ask him to tell him about himself, because they themselves did not recognize him. Then the monk said that he was the Lazarus who had left them some time ago. Immediately the news that Lazar had returned to the monastery again spread throughout the surrounding area, and everyone rushed to the monastery to look at him, especially his mother, who had already mourned the death of his father. The gentle face of the saint and his soul-helping words aroused spiritual delight in people, for, along with other virtues, his word, according to the Apostle (Col. 4:6), was “always with grace, seasoned with salt.” The blessed one spoke tenderly, with great kindness, so that he could soften a soul as hard as a stone. Therefore, many of those who listened to the divine speeches of the wondrous Lazarus cried with joy. However, crowds of people disturbed his peace, and Lazar decided to leave the monastery for a quiet place. Having stayed in his homeland a few more days in gratitude to his mother for her love (for he saw how sad she was at being separated from him), he left in search of a quiet place. Having learned that opposite the Gallician mountain there is a small monastery with a church of the holy martyr Marina, he went there. The place was very quiet, and in the monastery he found two of his brothers. The Bishop of Ephesus was very happy when he learned that his beloved Lazarus had come there, since he had always wanted to communicate with him. Arriving at the monastery, he joyfully greeted Lazarus and appointed him abbot, and commanded his brothers to obey the monk as a father, and never, even in the smallest matter, oppose him. In silence, the divine Lazarus began to indulge in even more severe deeds and cared with even greater zeal for the acquisition of all virtues. He liked it that no one knew about his exploits, for he rightly reasoned that performing feats of virtue for show and for the sake of pleasing people was the same as not performing them at all. He said that those who practice virtue for the sake of acquiring human glory will not receive any reward, as the Holy Gospel says: “You will have no reward from your Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). Many people, if there were no people praising them, of course, would not even try to be virtuous, but those who do virtue in secret from people and are known only to God will receive multiple glory. So, how much higher is the glory of God than the glory of man (because the first is eternal and imperishable, and the other is temporary and perishable and does not accompany a person constantly, for before the death of such people their hypocrisy is revealed), so much higher is the one who does virtue in secret. And although the monk hid his virtues for this very reason, showing himself to be the lowest of all in his speeches and actions, everything turned out just the opposite. Just as someone, standing on a market platform, calls everyone together with the sound of a trumpet and therefore becomes noticeable, so the divine Lazarus, although hidden, was still visible to everyone, but not because of the sound of a trumpet, but because of his deeds of virtue. And in the monastery, countless crowds of people constantly came to the monk. And his first task was always to nourish the souls of those who came to him with the saving word, and then with bodily food. And he always did this, even if there was not enough food for himself and his brothers, even if there was only one loaf of bread for everyone, and this caused amazement in everyone. The monk was distinguished by such philanthropy that he surpassed the most famous men in this virtue. They gave alms from their surplus, or allocated a little from their needs and distributed them to the poor, but only as much as needed to be given, so that they themselves did not depend on others. And only the monk generously gave to others the food that he himself needed to strengthen his weakened fast and body tired from work, without caring about himself and considering as his food what he fed the needy. This is, in the proper sense of the word, alms. For a philanthropic disposition does not consist in giving from excess, but in giving what you yourself need and voluntarily distributing to the poor what you yourself lack. The two brothers could not bear such philanthropy of the monk, who grieved greatly and constantly grumbled, believing that the monk was giving the visitors the food that was intended for them. They tried to convince Lazar, but, having achieved nothing, they left the monastery, leaving the monk with several disciples. The disciples, with the consent of the monk, sowed beans not far from the road, and since the land was good and fertile, the beans bore abundant fruit, but everyone passing by the field picked the fruits, ate them, and even took them home. Noticing that the fruits of their labors were being eaten by travelers, the saint’s disciples were greatly upset, but the saint himself did not grieve, but consoled his disciples, trying to cheer them up with joyful words. When the harvest time came, he sent them to collect the beans, but they did not want to go and work in vain, because they knew well that there were almost no fruits left there, for they checked the pods by touch. The monk, partly by force, partly by requests, nevertheless convinced them to go to the field. They collected the remaining fruits and brought them to the threshing floor, but when they read the prayer prescribed for winnowing the grain, a miracle happened. There were so many beans in the winnower that you would have thought that all the stalks had turned into beans. Very happy about this and remembering the words of the monk, which he spoke to them in consolation, they ran to tell him about the miracle, at the same time asking forgiveness for showing resistance, not wanting to collect the beans. The monk immediately forgave them, because he knew that they did it not out of malice, but because they did not know what could happen through prayers to God. After some time, the monk, realizing that he was not receiving benefit, but only harm from constant worries, went to one virtuous old man who lived opposite the Gallician mountain, who told him that on the top of the mountain there was a cave very convenient for exploits, since that area was deserted due to the inaccessibility of the mountain, devoid of all consolation, and demons cruelly attacked everyone who came there. In that cave, Paphnutius, great in virtue, performed ascetic labors. Then the divine Lazarus decided to settle in that cave. But as soon as he began to climb there, the demons, realizing that their destroyer and warrior was coming, decided to scare him and began to disturb the area with incomprehensible and terrible sounds. The monk fearlessly sang psalms and walked with even greater boldness, knowing that all demonic enterprises are just ghosts that actually do not exist. When he finally climbed the mountain, he discovered a cave. He finished singing the psalms, made the sign of the cross and also crossed the stone that was in front of the cave. And - lo and behold! - a cross immediately appeared on the stone, which was carved so deeply and beautifully, as if it had been carved by some skilled stonecutter. From this miracle, the monk concluded that his coming here was providential, and that a good beginning should be followed by a good end, and thanked God and entered the cave. Seeing that it was comfortable, as he wanted, and water was even dripping from one stone above, which could quench his thirst, the monk decided to remain here in silence in order to constantly talk with God. Who can describe the unbearable temptations that the monk suffered from demons while in the desert without his brothers? All the days that the monk was in the cave, the damned did not stop tempting him in various ways, frightening him with various ghosts, just to force him to leave. But the saint bravely accepted the battles, never tired of defeating their temptations. So he spent many years in silence, talking alone with the one God. After this, six monks (no one knew where they learned about the monk, because no one except that elder knew where he labored, and that elder, at the request of the monk, did not reveal this to anyone) came to him and with tears asked to be allowed to stay and live with him. Seeing their strong desire, the monk accepted them and gave them the rules of monastic life. For a long time he had wanted to build a small church in the name of the Lord Christ near the entrance to the cave, but he could not do it alone, and now, having found helpers, he decided to carry out his plan. The monk did not have funds for construction, but by Divine Providence one rich woman of virtuous life was found in Ephesus, who paid the expenses, and the church in the name of Christ the Savior was built. After this, six more brothers came, and there were twelve in total. The place was narrow, which did not allow them to build a house, or even just a shed or anything else, so they lived in the open air. Then the monk climbed with his brothers to the top of the Gallician mountain and built a church there in the name of the Mother of God, and around there were enough cells for the brothers. Then he built cells behind the monastery, at a great distance from one another, so that the brothers could enjoy silence in them. Once in the summer, when there was intense heat, and the monk was in one of these cells, reading the sequence of the sixth hour, he became so thirsty that he almost died of thirst. Not finding water, blessed Lazarus fainted and fell to the ground and lay with his hands raised to God, asking Him for help. Quick to console and quick to help, the Lover of Mankind, God did not despise His servant, who was in danger, but sent His Angel to the disciple of the monk who lived there with a vessel filled with water, telling him to run to the elder. Having come running, the disciple revived his spiritual father with water, thereby saving him from death. But our enemy the devil did not rest on this, but, taking the form of a huge black serpent, crawled into the saint’s clothes in order to frighten him. Knowing the tricks of Satan and having experience in fighting him, he was not at all afraid, but baptized him with the Honorable Cross, and he immediately disappeared. From that time on, the monks began to increase in number, but the monastery could no longer accommodate everyone (when the monk built it, he did not think that so many of them would gather, for the place was harsh, devoid of water and everything else necessary for life). For this reason, the monk once prayed with tears for many days in a row to God to reveal to him whether it was His holy will to build a larger church and monastery, capable of accommodating all the brethren who came, and where to lay the foundation for the future church. While he was praying like this, one night he heard a voice commanding him to leave his cell. The monk went out and saw a pillar of fire reaching Heaven, and the Angels of God descending to earth and sweetly singing: “Let God rise again, and let His enemies be scattered” (Ps. 67:2). He immediately realized that God wanted him to build a church in the place where the pillar appeared. The monk began construction with great zeal, erecting a monastery around the church, no worse than any other, both in size and in the beauty of the building. It would be good to tell how the monk, without even an obol (coin) to his name, found funds for expensive construction, completing such an extraordinary and great work in a short time. The then king of the Romans, Roman, was at enmity with Constantine Monomakh, one of the first archons of Constantinople. For various reasons, and most of all because he suspected him of intending to seize the kingdom, Romanus was very angry with Constantine and exiled him to the island of Mytilene. Hearing about this, the divine Lazarus, out of compassion for Constantine, became very sad, because punishment befell him who had not done any evil. The monk sent people to Constantine to console him in his suffering and to give him good hopes that he would become the successor to the kingdom of the Romans, for Lazarus foresaw this by Divine grace. A short time later, Roman died and, according to the saint’s prediction, Constantine became king. Then he sent Lazar a lot of money, precious vessels, shrines, and gifts so that he could completely complete the construction of the monastery. With these funds the monk built the Church of the Resurrection and a huge famous monastery. The construction of the monastery began after a Divine vision, and the means were found through Divine Providence. Thanks to the glory of the saint, the monks constantly multiplied, and soon there were more than seven hundred of them. One of them was the brother of the divine Lazarus, who, having learned from him the monastic life, became so successful in virtue that he began to surpass all others except his brother. After the death of the monk, by decision of all the brethren, it was he who took over the management of the monastery, commendably succeeding in the position of abbot. Upon completion of the construction, the saint built near the church, behind it, a pillar without a roof, difficult to climb and very cramped, because its width was only three spans. He climbed onto it in leather clothes, with his head uncovered, with bare feet and with heavy chains on his body. There the monk endured all the misfortunes of winter: heavy rains, snow, cold, severe frosts, from which the blessed one became almost transparent. Likewise, he endured the heat and unbearable heat, spending his life on the pillar as if incorporeal. One day there was such heavy rain that the water carried away huge stones, killing many animals and damaging the fruits. One goatherd, who was not far from the monastery, unable to bear such a flood, ran to the monastery to escape danger. Approaching the saint and asking him for help (Oh, who can worthily tell about the greatness of Your miracles, Christ God!), he saw the Most Holy Theotokos standing in the air above the pillar, protecting the saint from the rain. Who has ever seen or heard of such a miracle? Although Abba Macarius of Egypt was guarded by a Cherub, and Paisius the Great was guarded by an Angel of the Lord, I think no one has seen or heard such a miracle, that the Queen of Angels Herself covered Lazarus like a cloud, keeping Her servant and servant unharmed. Listen to another miracle similar to this. A rumor spread throughout the surrounding area that the pillar of the saint was not touched by rain, hail, or snow, and the vagaries of the weather did not cause him any harm. While some believed in this miracle without any doubt, the ruler of that area did not believe until he saw it with his own eyes. In winter, when the snow fell in flakes and hit him in the face, so that he could not even breathe freely, strongly forcing himself, the ruler with great difficulty climbed to the monastery and, approaching the pillar, saw an amazing miracle. The snow that fell with such force, approaching the pillar, split in two and fell to the ground, so that not a single snowflake touched the pillar. Surprised by this miracle, the ruler asked the monk for forgiveness for his previous doubts. Having received forgiveness, he returned home, telling everyone about the miracle he had seen, and everyone believed what was said about the saint. For some reason, a disciple of the saint once went to a nearby village, and a harlot followed him, trying to seduce him in various ways. He is, oh, easily crushed human nature! - I thought about falling into sin. And at that moment, when he was ready to commit it, he heard the voice of the monk, who frightened him with eternal torment. The disciple was so frightened by this voice that he trembled and turned away from the harlot, thereby freeing himself from sin. The monk knew nothing about this miracle until the student himself told him. God, glorifying His servants, called to the disciple in the voice of the Monk Lazarus, saving him from danger. During the war between the Romans and the Persians, the saint's old friend, Philippicus, was captured. Together with others, he was taken into slavery in a barbarian land and thrown into prison, chained in iron. Severely suffering from hunger and other troubles, he asked God to send him death in order to get rid of such a miserable life. Suffering and not receiving help from anywhere, the unfortunate man spent many years in prison. But one night, remembering the great Lazarus and the miracles he performed, with warm tears he began to ask the monk to deliver him from his bonds and misfortune. And - lo and behold! - the monk appeared to him in the middle of the night, and as soon as he touched his chains, they fell off their feet, after which he ordered him to follow him. So, together, they set off and walked for the rest of the night. When it dawned, it turned out that both of them were climbing the mountain. The monk immediately became invisible, and Philippik was left alone. When he came to his senses and realized that it was Mount Gallicia, he glorified God for the freedom he had received. Arriving at the monastery and telling about the miracle, he thanked the monk for a long time. Not wanting to return to his family anymore, Philippicus became a monk and spent the rest of his life pleasing God. Once, having quarreled with the monk, the steward of the monastery built a monastery with monastery money in another area, pleasant and healthy: it was not cold here in winter, and not hot in summer, there was water in abundance. The housekeeper wanted to attract the monks with the beauty of the place and take them away from the monastery of Lazarus in order to deprive the monastery of the saint of people, and to become famous himself. This act could not hide from the monk, although the steward made every effort to hide his act. Having learned about the construction, the monk called the housekeeper, asked him to stop construction and not quarrel with him. The housekeeper not only did not want to obey his spiritual father, but also answered him rudely, continuing the matter with even greater zeal, or, better said, ignorance. After the monk asked him twice and three times, and he still stood his ground, Lazarus said: “Child, God Himself will take care of correcting you.” And immediately, according to the word of the monk, God brought the disobedient one to reason. Before he reached his cell, he pitifully cast out his soul, thus reaping the worst fruits from his bad disobedience. There is no worse passion than disobedience, since death follows it. Proof of this is the disobedience of Adam and Eve, which gave rise to death. Another time, some brothers were transporting wine to the monastery on mules. Arriving at the inn, they unloaded the animals and sat down to dinner. When it was time to drink, one of them, raising the vessel, said: “Bless, father.” And - lo and behold! - he immediately heard the voice of the monk answering him: “God bless you, child.” The same voice was heard by another brother sitting nearby. The next day, when they brought wine to the monastery, the saint ordered them to drink a little of it. The same brother raised the vessel and said to the monk: “Bless, father.” The monk answered him: “Son, you received a blessing yesterday, but your friend did not.” And at that very moment they realized that the voice they heard yesterday actually belonged to the monk. Thus, thanks to his spiritual eyes, the saint knew everything, and nothing could be hidden from him, for those whose spiritual eyes are pure from passions can look at the Mental Sun - Christ, and be illuminated from Him by the knowledge of secrets hidden from others. Once, an old friend of the monk sent him and his slave two vessels with good wine. The slave hid one vessel along the way, and brought the other to the monk. Knowing about the theft, the monk told him: “Be careful, child, do not get close to that vessel that you hid on the road, so as not to expose you to danger.” The same one did not attach any importance to the words of the monk, but joyfully went to take the hidden vessel. At the same moment, a huge and terrible snake jumped out of the vessel and attacked him. If he had not called the saint for help, he would not have been saved from danger. One day there was a severe drought in those places: the earth dried up, the springs and rivers dried up, the plants withered, the fruits and everything that grew on the earth died. In the monastery of the monk, the drought was even worse, because due to its location on the top of a mountain, the monastery was deprived of water not only during drought, but also during rain. When the monk saw how severe the drought was, his eyes did not dry out from the streams of tears pouring out, he was so saddened by the misfortune that befell everyone. He fervently asked God to have mercy on His creation and to water the land parched from lack of rain. And what did God, who works everything for good, do? He did not despise the saint’s prayer, but he did not completely condescend to his request, because he asked for rain for the whole earth, and God did not want to pour rain on the whole earth, perhaps in order to bring sinners to repentance with this punishment. It rained only on the monastery, and in a very surprising way. When the night passed and the sun began to shine, a cloud suddenly appeared from one side of the sky, which rose above the monastery and shed rain only on the monastery; the whole land around was still languishing without rain. Only the brethren of the monastery enjoyed the water and filled the tanks with it; then the sky became cloudless again. Seeing this miracle, the residents of nearby villages ran to the monk in sadness and with warm tears asked him to take pity on them and beg God for mercy. Having compassion for them, the monk began to ask the Lord more strongly than the first time, and the Lord heard His servant and stopped the drought, and the fields began to turn green again after the rain. Through the saint’s prayer to the Lord, one day the heavy downpour stopped. There was a case when the monastery experienced a severe shortage of bread. The monk blessed only three small loaves of bread that he had left and fed them to more than seven hundred monks, for for the monk pure in faith it was possible, and nothing was impossible for him. After this, the monk, who was dead in body, developed a strong and terrible illness. Suffering grievously, he joyfully awaited death, because he had long been ready for it, and he himself, according to the Apostle, wanted to be released from the bonds of the body “and be with Christ” (Phil. 1:23). Many disciples gathered around him, grieving and mourning the death of their spiritual father, and ready to give their lives for his sake. Their lamentations and cries could bring tears to even the most hard-hearted. Therefore, their divine father, although already at his last breath, himself began to cry out of pity for his children. Sad over their future orphanhood, he asked the Mother of God, his usual Helper, Protection and Refuge, for them. The monk prayed to Her that he would be given life, but not for himself (how could one who died for the world and always wanted to die to be with Christ ask for himself?), but for his spiritual sons. And the Virgin Mother, who gave birth to Life Itself, the General Salvation of the human race, who protected the monk from all troubles, and at the end of his life became his Helper and prevented death. She asked Her Son, who has power over life and death, to add another fifteen years to the life of the monk. While in a frenzy during his illness, the monk saw the Mother of God asking Her Son for this, which was fulfilled, because the monk lived for another fifteen years. After this incident, fourteen years passed, during which the monk labored even more intensely and oppressed himself than when he was young and strong in body. For seven days in a row he could eat nothing, and then he ate only vegetables. Having exhausted himself with such labors, he could no longer stand on his feet and sat on his pillar, for he no longer controlled his legs, which hurt and were covered with terrible ulcers. Although he was sitting on the pillar and his feet were not touching anything, he experienced even more severe pain than before. Pus flowed out of it and flooded the surface of the pillar. The monk suffered like this for a whole year. Thus fifteen years passed, which God, through the intercession of the Mother of God, granted him. He learned about his death from the Lord, but did not reveal it to any monk (they would have started crying and sobbing a lot). With his own hands, the monk made a will and hid it in his bosom. So at the end of his life, throwing off the dusty man and parting with the lower prison and suffering, he moved to God, being seventy-two years old. After his death, amazing phenomena followed: as soon as his divine soul separated from his body and ascended to Heaven, a bright cloud, similar to the one that appeared at his birth, descended down, indicating the death of the blessed one and calling everyone to the saint’s pillar with its strange light. It also called the saint’s disciple, Gregory, who was silent then in the church of the Mother of God that the saint had built for twelve monks. Everyone who saw the cloud ran to the pillar. At the sight of the dead body of the monk, they began to cry and sob inconsolably, calling him father, mourned their orphanhood and, unable to bear separation from him, wanted to die with him. They wept bitterly, thinking that he had died without leaving a spiritual will. However, Gregory was saddened most of all, who, thanks to his closeness to the monk, turned to him as if he were alive: “Father, why have you saddened us so inconsolably? Why did you cause us grief that we cannot bear? Why didn’t he want to make a will with instructions about what we should do, but hid his death from everyone? Don’t you feel sorry for us, your children, don’t you see what grief for you has done to us. Thus, sobbing, Gregory spoke, turning to the monk, and a miracle happened. The lifeless dead man, as if alive, raised his hand, lowered it into his bosom and, taking the will, gave it to Gregory, after which he became lifeless again. Gregory began to carefully read the will and saw that it was not signed, according to custom, with the name of the saint. Then he again turned to the dead man: Father, if you do not certify what is written with your signature, then we, your children, will not be able to bury you as we should.” Then the monk - oh, a terrible miracle! - He stood up again and signed the will with his name in front of everyone, certifying what was written, and then rested in a sweet sleep. His body was buried near the pillar where he performed his supernatural feats, so that this place and the grave of the ascetic would be clear evidence and proof of his feat in the name of the Lord. Thus, the monk was, as it were, divided in two. His holy relics were left to the lower and earthly - as an inexhaustible source of healing, a cure for various diseases, a refuge from demons, a generous gift of saving benefits and deliverance from all harm. His divine soul, accompanied by the Angels, flew to Heaven, to where the Church of the Firstborn is, where the ranks of Angels are, the faces of the apostles and prophets, the regiments of martyrs, the councils of teachers, the hosts of ascetics, the assembly of the saints and the unceasing song of the Holy Trinity, to which belongs all glory, honor and worship, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. (Written by Gregory, His Holiness Patriarch of Constantinople) The life and exploits of our venerable father Cyril Phileot, who labored in the 11th century This blessed Cyril came from the regions of Thrace, from a place called Philea, in the diocese of Derko. He was born of noble parents and was named Cyriacus in Holy Baptism. Having studied sacred literacy from childhood, he surpassed all his peers in mental acuity and intelligence, for this child was enlightened by God Himself. When Cyriacus grew up, he was made a reader by the local bishop, and from that time on, being dedicated to God, he studied day and night “in the law of the Lord” (Ps. 1:2). He constantly read holy books, sang psalms, prayed to God, while doing a lot of kneeling. The young man avoided communication with dissolute peers and with his silence healed and corrected verbosity, and with silence he corrected the confusion that the soul experiences after useless communication. During the Divine Liturgy, he stood with extraordinary reverence, his gaze directed downward, and in his thoughts he turned to God, asking Him for help with faith and hope. And, fervently believing, he received help from the Lord. This young man, with a mind similar to an old man, was seen shedding streams of tears, observing silence in God, who is the mother of wisdom, for sorrow not only contributes to success, but with the help of humility preserves what has been achieved. Grief is sorrow for God, which is generated by repentance. Therefore, seeing the young man who led such a life, the virtuous rejoiced and revered him immensely, calling him a young old man, as they once did with Saint Sava. Hearing such reviews, the young man said: “Run away, Kyriak, from praise and be ashamed of condemnation, then you will not think about vanity, seeking human praise, for let him not hope for a reward from the Lord.” And the bad accused him, trying with their accusations to cool his jealousy, but the blessed one looked only at God, not rejoicing in honors, and not being offended by the dishonor caused. Just as a dead person feels neither honor nor dishonor, so a Christian should not perceive either glory, praise, contempt, or insult. It is impossible not to be angry when you are insulted and accused, or to overcome the temptation that occurs in tribulation with long-suffering, unless you consider yourself inferior to everyone and do not possess extreme humility. Asking God to grant him patience when he was condemned, the young man said: “Put a guard, O Lord, on my lips, and guard the doors of my lips; do not let my heart turn aside to evil words to excuse sinful deeds” (Ps. 140: 3-4). Seeing his good will, the Lord, the Knower of the Heart, added desire to desire, and jealousy to jealousy, so that the monk was “like a green olive tree in the house of God” (Ps. 51:10), trusting in the mercy of God. The blessed one had a custom of coming to church services before everyone else and leaving later than everyone else. He read and sang in such a pleasant voice, and served God so earnestly that all the lovers of God asked him to become a priest, because neither the fragrance of virtue nor the stench of sin can hide from the All-Seeing One. So the Bishop of Derkon often asked him to be ordained, because he wanted to have such a sober cleric, chaste, teacher, knowledgeable of the Holy Scriptures, focused, not money-loving, calm, quiet, God-loving, a lover of the poor, not angry, not vindictive, not vain, inaccessible to flattery, persistent and diligent in instructing his neighbor. But the humble Cyriacus, although his conscience did not condemn him in anything, considered himself unworthy of the high priestly rank and continued to remain in the rank of reader, to which he was called. He said this: “It is good to extend a helping hand to someone who is falling if you yourself can not fall with him. If then the one who had compassion for others suffers, then let him prefer his own benefit to the benefit of another, because a person has no one closer than himself. He who can correct others, let him communicate with the evil and correct them. And let him who is weak, like me, run away from evil, so as not to be an accomplice of malice and harm to others. Saint Basil the Great says that the one who wants to raise the fallen must himself be stronger than him. If he falls, then someone else is needed to raise him. One father said that if you have no deeds, do not talk about virtue, because just as Jesus began to create and teach (John 7: 14-17), so we must, being successful in words, have a corresponding life. Since we are passionate, we must submit to others and ask God to cleanse us of passions, for only with God’s help will we be able to anticipate passions. “The wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not listened to,” says Ecclesiastes (Eccl. 9:16). How can one rule over others in accordance with Divine decrees who cannot rule over himself? Not all of us have to save others, but we certainly all have to save ourselves.” When Kirill reached the age of twenty, he took himself a legal wife, but not for pleasure, but for procreation. She was his assistant and a zealous, courageous collaborator on the path to virtue. And they both were united, both in thoughts and in the way of action, pushing each other to fulfill the commandments of God. After their son was born, the blessed one began to talk to her about chastity: “It is unfair for us to be more foolish than dumb animals, because they meet with females once a year at a certain time, and we, being reasonable, often do this for the sake of voluptuousness, which I call debauchery. If we cannot lead a chaste life, then let it be two, three or four times a year. Although this is not appropriate for abstinents, I hope God will forgive us as weak and not condemn us for debauchery. Chaste is not the one who abstains from forbidden pleasures, but from permitted ones. Since we have come to life through Holy Baptism, we will make our members weapons of truth and sanctification, because God Himself is holy and rests in the saints. We should not be afraid of the heights of abstinence, but rather fear the depth and abyss of intemperance. Sensual abstinence is when a person abstains from all unreasonable actions that act through the body. Mental abstinence is when the mind withdraws from enjoying passionate thoughts. But it is impossible to achieve abstinence of feelings without thinking and without maintaining abstinence in thoughts, which must be inextricably linked with the soul.” Having listened to his arguments, his wife agreed with him and from that time on remained in abstinence and chastity, no longer seducing him with her appearance, for the beginning of carnal love is sight. The hope of pleasure increases passion, memory nourishes it, and habit preserves it. Thus, passionate love is born from sight, from it comes agreement, which is followed by sin itself. Knowing that it is impossible for one who himself is overcome by gluttony to overcome carnal passions, the monk, according to the Divine canons, began with dry eating on Wednesdays and Fridays, ate food late and drank only water. Then, as time passed, he also began to eat dry food on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and on Saturday and Sunday he ate all kinds of food and drank a little wine. Moreover, the monk consumed food and wine in moderation and at certain times, observing the ascetic rule on the Lord’s holidays. Then the monk began to completely abstain from wine, because wine, according to Gregory the Theologian, never makes nature chaste, but inclines it towards pleasure. He avoided filling the belly, for it is impossible for one who satiates himself with food to acquire dispassion. Dispassion is not called the state when someone abstains from committing sin by deed (this is called abstinence, not dispassion), but when someone eradicates passionate thoughts from his heart. This is also called purity of heart. The monk tried to spend all his time, and especially on holidays, in vigils, psalmody, prayer, and readings, for he knew that vigil refines the mind, which becomes capable of contemplating what is beneficial to the soul, while long sleep fattens it. Seven times a day the saint sang the psalms of David with many genuflections and often said: “Alas,” “woe,” shaking his head, striking himself hard on the cheeks and pulling his hair, because his heart was kindled by the grace of God. Therefore, this brave man did not feel pain during the exploits he performed, but in his sorrows for God he rejoiced more than those subject to passions rejoice in carnal pleasures. His chaste wife, to the best of her ability, tried to follow him in his exploits, and the blessed one encouraged her to move forward and not look back, reflecting on the path of virtue traveled, but to endure exploits to the end for the sake of the Lord. Seeing that she followed him jealously, the monk thanked God. Hearing about the exploits and virtues of true monks, he fell in love with monasticism extraordinarily and greatly desired to renounce the world and what is in the world, in order to work for God in monastic life and silence. Since the beginning and foundation of monastic life is obedience, Cyriacus wanted to test whether he could observe it and cut off his own will. For this purpose, he devoted himself for three years to complete obedience to a certain owner of the ship, so that, without complaining and zealously carrying out the orders of the shipowner and his companions, he would know by the very fact whether he could obey his spiritual father and observe the rules of monastic life. It is better to obey a student than to live as you want, reaping the worthless fruits of your own will. Blessed Kyriakos served the shipbuilder and his comrades as the angels of God, doing everything that was ordered to him, honorable or dishonorable, being for everyone like a slave who does not contradict, does not argue, and does not disobey. And although the madmen mocked him and often reviled him, he endured everything with joy, and on the contrary, when he was not reviled, he was sad, as if he was losing a treasure, because he looked with hope at future reward. Believing that reproach and dishonor are the cure for pride, he asked God for those who dishonored him, as if they were actually his doctors. And although the foolish condemned him for hypocrisy, false piety and fasting, he never violated it. They ate fatty meat and fish, enjoying all types of food, and the monk, looking at them, experienced joy, eating onions with bread or garlic, or wild herbs. Content with this, he said: “I, brothers, am weak and cannot temper my flesh with fatty food, because it kindles the flame of passions in me.” Every time the ship touched land, the blessed one went out onto land to collect firewood or draw water, or for some other need, and then went to where no one could see him and prayed to God, making many bows. Then he mercilessly beat himself on the thighs, on the shoulders, sometimes with a rope or a stick, and sometimes with a thorny thorn. After such beatings, blood from the cut thighs even poured into his ankles, as he himself told the author of his life, but by the grace of God, his wounds did not become inflamed. When he beat himself, he cried pitifully, calling on God for help. And he did this at the moment when he was tormented by some passionate thought of lust or anger. One day, when they were returning from the Danube cities, where they had sailed on some trade business, the saint was sitting in the corner of the ship. Reflecting on his sins, he mentally said: “How long will you hesitate to please God, unfortunate one? What age are you expecting? You are not a young man of twenty, but a perfect man, and if you neglect this now, putting it off from day to day, you will never succeed. In this way you will deceive yourself until your end comes. Strive in the feat, because the feat is here and now, and you cannot hesitate.” Reasoning in this way, he could no longer restrain himself, but began to cry loudly, hit himself in the face and scratch mercilessly, because his heart was burning like fire. The sailors began to ask what was happening to him, and what he was thinking about if he was crying like that. Unable to silence them, he said: “If you had as many sins as I have, and you remained unrepentant, you would cry even more than I do.” They answered him: “We are also sinners, but none of us cries like that, so we decided that you were grieving for something else.” Groaning from the depths of his heart, the monk said: “This river that you see comes, as I heard, from paradise, and surrounds the whole earth. I imagined it in the form of paper on which all my sins were written, which fill and defile the universe. That's why I'm crying. When the foolish heard this, they began to mock him, and the sensible said with a groan: “Woe to us! If you, who fast, watch and incessantly pray to God, serving us, unworthy, like a slave, remain in such misery because you have sins and cry like that, then we, hard-hearted and unrepentant, who add sin to sin every day, how will we suffer on the Terrible Day of Judgment? Woe to our insensitivity, because we spend our days in vanity!” One day the blessed one was ordered to climb the mast. Being tired from fasting and cold (for he wore only light clothes and was barefoot), suffering from unbearable beatings and wounds, he tried to climb up, but could not. Bowing to his comrades, the monk said: “Forgive me, brothers, for the sake of the Lord, because if I force myself to climb the mast, I will not be able to resist and will fall into the sea, because I am sick and have lost my last strength.” The sailors took pity on him and suggested: “Get away from us, man of God, we are afraid that God will drown us in the sea, seeing your humility. If you don’t leave the deck, then at least sit quietly and pray to God for us. He will give us strength to do your work." They managed to persuade him not to work until the ship arrived at his home port. There Kyriakos went home and, telling his wife about what had happened, said: “I must do one of two things: either go to the monastery or stay here, but then I will be useless due to bodily illness.” His wife answered him with tears: “Stay here with us, my lord, and I will feed the children with the little that we have. I believe that God will not allow us to lose what is necessary for life.” Kiriak built himself a tiny cell in his house, in which he bowed and prayed, and spent many years in it in silence, indulging in fasting, psalmody and prayer. He did handicrafts, weaving nets for his neighbors, but did not charge for them. At the same time, the monk said: “If your hands are busy with work, your tongue should sing songs, and your mind should pray, because God requires of us as a duty that our mind and thoughts should always be occupied with Him. If you want the creations of your hands to please God and not the earth, then give them to the poor.” The monk wore iron chains on his body, which squeezed him so that an unbearable stench emanated from the wounds. However, he endured everything with joy, saying: “For those who love work and truly want to repent, this is insignificant and easy, although it seems difficult and causes laughter among those who love the flesh and are carefree, for the apostle says that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth anything in comparison with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18). To console him in his labors, the Lord gave the monk the gift of tears, through which he received rest and consolation. Since he loved silence very much, he left his cell at night and went to a deserted place near a lake, where he fasted for two or three days, and sometimes for a whole week, eating nothing at all, and sometimes he quenched his hunger with grass. From excessive fasting, extreme silence and many tears, he killed his bodily feelings, awakening the inner powers of the soul. Since his mind shone from the incessant remembrance of God and constant prayer, he was delighted in the contemplation of God, which is why the monk experienced pleasure. Often leaving mental contemplation, he said to himself: “Leave the high, unclean one, because every lawless and proud person is unclean before God. Descend with your mind into hell to contemplate there those like you, to whom you, unfortunate one, will soon be included, and to their terrible torment. There is an Angel sent from God at the door, why are you sitting? Oh, how can you endure the never-ending worm and endure the unquenchable fire? How will tangible darkness envelop you, how will God separate you from the righteous and place you with the demons whose deeds you have created? I was not afraid of God, I was not ashamed of people, I did not have mercy on myself, who will have mercy on you? God is righteous, and His judgments are righteous, therefore He will reward according to your deeds.” And again and again, grieving, with tears and sobbing, he said the following prayer: “Have mercy, have mercy, have mercy, O Christ, my Heart-Knower, I have sinned, do not judge me. Accept my sobbing from the sorrow of my soul, heal the passions of my soul with Your Passions, heal the wounds of my mind with Your wounds, cleanse me with Your Blood as if you were weighed, and make me a partaker of Your Divine Body. The gall of bitterness, which you were given to drink from your enemies, my Christ, deliver me quickly. With Your body, spread out on the Tree of Your Cross, stretch my mind to Your contemplation. With the head that you bowed on the Cross, may this head of mine be exalted above my opponents. Let Your most pure hands, nailed, lead me to You from the pit of destruction. Strangled and spat upon by the damned, may this face of mine, defiled by iniquity, illuminate Your holy face. The soul that You gave to Your Father on the Cross, let this lead me to You by Your grace, so that I can get rid of the food of joyful and sadness. May Your holy will be my food, O my Christ, always, now and forever.” Praying like this, complaining and reproaching himself, he did not want to look at what was above, but day and night he reflected on his sins. When there was no winter, he often went into the desert and labored, as we have already said, and then returned home again to his wife and children. The monk had a custom of caring for the sick. One day, having come to a bedridden old woman and finding her in great sadness, he asked her about the reason for this state. She replied that in another village, eighteen miles away, she had a daughter who had fallen ill and was dying. The old woman decided to send her sister to her, but since she was still young, she was afraid to let her go alone, lest anyone harm her. Hearing this, the monk also became sad and said to the old woman: “If you want, I will take your daughter to her sister.” She answered: “Yes, I want it, because I am giving it not to a person, but to an angel of God.” Kiriak and the young woman came to their sister, who was still alive. Having joyfully greeted her sister and the monk, the sick woman surrendered her soul into the hands of God. Three days later, Kiriak returned with the girl to her mother. This is how compassionate and humane the blessed one was. And that night, when he brought the girl back to her mother, he saw in a dream a beautiful maiden dressed in light clothes. Her cloak covered almost the entire sky. In surprise, he asked her: “Who are you, Mistress, and why did you come here?” She answered him: “I am called the grace of God and I came to you.” The maiden hugged him and covered him with her cloak. Feeling the indescribable fragrance emanating from her, the monk was filled with joy and joy, for he realized that God thus glorifies those who glorify Him. The monk was so merciful to the brothers that he gave even the most necessary tools to those who needed them, and with such joy as if he had received them. There is no need to talk about bread and other food, he distributed them so generously, especially when the sick needed them. His wife rejoiced at this as if she had given it away herself. At the same time, the monk said that one should have mercy with reason, and only those who are worthy of mercy, but one must not give what was acquired through unrighteousness. If someone does not show mercy, then he must at least endure the injustice of those who offend him, begging God for them. The one who has been pardoned must also be merciful. And if he sees or hears something that saddens his brother, and his heart also becomes sad, then God counts it as mercy. If someone scolds or scolds someone, and he, being ashamed, does not turn against him and does not sadden him, but treats him with meekness and long-suffering, then this is the same as true mercy. The monk said to his wife this way: “He who does good to others likens himself to God. Love for one's neighbor is recognized not only in the distribution of money, but much more in words of comfort and physical service. It is good to do good to everyone, but most of all to those who cannot repay. Abraham, sitting in front of his tabernacle, invited travelers without any distinction and showed them hospitality. Therefore, he was honored to receive not only the Angels, but also their Lord. If someone can do someone a favor and does not do it, then he offends him, and brings himself under the condemnation of the Lord. So, we should zealously do good to everyone.” One day bad weather happened: lightning flashed, thunder roared, heavy rain fell, and at that time the monk was sitting in front of the house. One traveler, tired from the road and the cold, approached him and, looking at him, asked: “Sir, where is the house of Cyriacus the Merciful?” Surprised by his words, he said: “I am Kyriakos, but who is merciful, I do not know. Answer me for the Lord’s sake, why did you say that?” And that pious man answered: “Since I unexpectedly fell into many temptations and in madness plunged into the depths of thoughts of selfishness, I asked God to despise my sins and show me an image of protection and salvation. Immediately a warrior appeared to me, beautiful in appearance, on a horse, and said: “Do not be sad, because God will take care of you. Go to the village and ask the house of Kyriakos the Merciful, he will give you peace.” This is what the warrior told me, but I don’t know anything else, that’s why, my lord, I asked you.” The monk entered the house and poured water into the washbasin to wash the guest’s feet, but he, understanding his intention, did not give it. The monk remarked to this: “Think, brother, Who washed the feet of His disciples, and what terrible words were spoken to Peter, who out of piety did not allow the Lord to do this.” After these words, the guest obeyed, and the monk washed his feet, as he was accustomed to do with guests. He also gave him a change of clothes and, having set the table, treated the guest and rejoiced with his entire family, glorifying God. One day the monk was silent in his cell, and his daughter was playing with her friend. Not without the devil's instigation, the girl threw a stone and knocked out her daughter's right eye. Her mother, greatly frightened, began to become indignant and scold the girl and her parents. Coming out of his cell, the monk did not utter a single bad word, but thanked God with warm tears, considering himself the culprit of such a misfortune. His wife called him hard-hearted, and the wondrous Cyriacus began to instruct her, citing many sayings from the Holy Scriptures and the lives of saints. Thus, with the help of God, he managed to soften his wife’s anger and bring her into a peaceful dispensation. He convinced her to reconcile with the parents of the one who blinded their daughter, and to forgive the girl who did not do it on purpose. The reverend loved visiting churches. Throughout the year, every Friday he walked to Constantinople to venerate the Blachernae Church of the Most Holy Theotokos and kiss Her holy icon, and at the end of the night's doxology he returned home again, walking about thirty or forty miles. “The monk told me,” says the author of his life, “how happy he was to walk along that road in the spring and autumn, and how he suffered in the winter. He also added the following: “Woe to the one who suffers from two winters, from cold and hunger. If he is oppressed by chains and he oppresses himself with vigils, then this misfortune becomes three times worse.” One day, in the country where the monk lived, a severe famine began, from which many died. Soon he, too, was deprived of the most necessary things; only a little bread remained for his wife and children, and Cyriacus went hungry to Constantinople. Having walked eighteen miles, he was weakened by his previous post and the difficulties of the journey. Then the monk began to ask God to give him the strength to live not only on bread, but also on the spiritual word of God. And the philanthropic Lord, who said: “Behold, those who work for me eat and drink and rejoice,” pointed to the monk the fresh bread lying on the stone and a vessel of water. Having said a prayer, he sat down, ate bread and drank water, after which he stood up and thanked God. Arriving at the Blachernae Church of the Mother of God, he thanked Her and the Son with tears and spiritual joy. The monk had the custom of taking on the appearance of Christ for the sake of the holy fool. One day, returning from the Church of the Virgin Mary, he came to the city of Naples. When asked by the ruler who he was and where he was coming from, the monk remained silent, pretending to be dumb. The question was repeated twice and three times, and the ruler, having received no answer, hit Kiriak with the words: “Tell me who you are?” The monk pointed to the sky with his head and hands. Angry, the ruler hit him again, and then, deciding that he was a spy, threw him into prison, ordering him to be put in wooden stocks. After two days the saint spent in prison, by God’s dispensation, his friend happened to pass there. Having visited the monk in prison, he asked in surprise: “Man of God, what evil have you done that you are in such a place?” To this the monk answered: “It is not the place that exalts virtue, but the place that exalts virtue, for God is not ashamed to seek an ardent spirit and a chaste soul. I have not committed any evil, but, by the will of Christ and the ruler, I am sitting here. When my Christ wants, then he will bring me out of here.” Hearing this, the ruler fell to his knees before the monk, asking for forgiveness, after which he released him in peace. Another time, having heard that a virtuous and prudent monk named Hilarion lived in Constantinople, the monk came to him to ask him whether he was following the path of virtue in vain. Hilarion joyfully received him and, after listening to his story, praised him for all his deeds, except for wearing chains, about which he said that if some of the fathers wore chains for the sake of humility of the flesh, then they were stylites, hermits, hermits, but not those who live in cities and villages. Although such people try to hide wearing chains from people, they cannot do this for long, which is why they are called “verizhniks.” And in fact, everyone called the saint that way until his death. Abba Hilarion also told him that the virtuous greatly honor those who wear chains, but from this honor is born vanity, which steals virtue. The careless, in turn, condemn those who wear chains, and because of this condemnation of those who do not have self-reproach, other condemnations are born, and everything that follows. Those who are courageous in soul endure all condemnation and look only to God, avoiding any accusation or human praise. However, many, unable to bear the dishonor of people, were deceived and fell, because not everyone is capable of not paying attention to those who reproach him and mock him. Hearing such wise words from Abba Hilarion, the humble Kyriak at that very moment fell at his feet and asked to command him to remove the chains, saying: “I hate work that brings damage.” Taking off the chains and throwing them at the Abba’s feet, the monk again said: “Behold, the dog has been released from his bonds. Pray, father, that I may find protection from the devil’s wickedness, so as not to harm either myself or my brothers. If you think it is fair, then let me tie myself with a rope, so as not to leave the flesh free.” With the consent of Abba Hilarion, he did so. The elder, seeing the unbearable wounds on the body of the ascetic, was surprised at the humility that God gave him, for humility is not the conviction of conscience and self-reproach, but the knowledge of the grace of God. Reflecting on the zeal of this holy man and his ingenuous disposition and simplicity, Abba Hilarion said to him: “God gives grace to the humble. May He see your humility, your labors and lift you above carnal thoughts and bring you “to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13) for the sake of the freedom of your soul, and will give you the Holy Spirit to endure everything with gratitude.” After this, he asked Cyriacus to go with a letter to one of the most famous women from the Komnenos family, who at that time was not yet a queen, because the pious Michael Ducas was then reigning. And the blessed one went with this letter to the addressee. The woman, having read the letter, recognized Kiriak by his clothes, gait, gaze, yellowness and dryness of his face. Falling at the feet of the monk, she asked for his blessing, but the monk also fell to his knees, asking for her blessing. The woman insisted, and the monk blessed her with the words: “May the Lord God grant you to see the sons of your sons, and may your children possess cities and nations, and may their name become famous and terrible for all their enemies.” And this blessing was later fulfilled. And Komnena turned to him with these words: “Tell me, servant of God, the word of salvation.” And the monk answered: “As long as someone is enslaved by passions, he is not considered a servant of God, because the prophet says that everyone “will be taught by the Lord” (Is. 54:13). Listen to what Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar: King, “May my counsel be acceptable to you: atone for your sins with righteousness and your iniquities with mercy toward the poor” (Dan. 4:24), and David says: “he spent, he distributed to the poor; his righteousness endures forever” (Ps. 111.9) and Solomon: “He who does good to the poor lends to God” (Prov. 19.17). And St. Basil the Great teaches: “If you did not show mercy, then you yourself will not have mercy, if you did not open the door of the house, you will be expelled from the Kingdom, if you did not give bread, you will not receive eternal life.” Then Komnena said to him: “I want to reveal my thoughts to your holiness, but I’m afraid that I will not fulfill your words and will sin before God.” “It is impossible for anyone who truly fears God to feel fear.” As Solomon writes: “Besides Him (God), fear no one else.” If someone opens their thoughts to spiritual men, then this is a sign that such a person wants to correct his life. Hiding one's thoughts means that a person is subject to passions, for the one who communicates with thieves will never betray them, because he loves passion. The one who asks, listens, and when he shows disobedience, but at the same time condemns himself for it, he humbles himself and from humility gains a little mercy. And the one who does not ask, does not listen and shows disobedience does not humble himself and does not gain mercy. Just as a sick person is disgusted by food brought to him, but then there is food that he accepts with pleasure, eats it and gets better, so a fearful soul, although he listens many times and disobeys, however, after a certain time, comes to shame. Thus, having heard a good word that pleases her, she acts according to it and is saved. Having heard this, Komnena said: - This is actually true. But let it be known to you that I am more afraid of sins that seem small, that is, idle talk, slander, ridicule and the like, than large ones. – Do not believe that those who do not care about small sins care about big ones. The big sin is the one that overcomes a person, and the small sin is the one that defeats the person himself. If the devil neglects small sins, he will not be able to plunge a person into another greater sin, since greater sins are born from lesser ones. Why are great sins born? Yes, because the little ones did not correct them properly. Keep yourself from small sins and, by the grace of Christ, you will not fall into big ones. Hearing this, Komnena was moved and confessed to him most of her most pressing thoughts, asking for advice on how, when and which thoughts should be given preference over others. Since blessed Kyriakos answered all her questions in a proper manner, she was very glad that she had found such a godly adviser. Loving the monks, she gave him some money, which the monk did not want to accept. However, she cursed him in the name of God, he obeyed and took it, because he was very afraid of the name of God. Having blessed her and her children, the monk left them, and distributed most of the money to the poor on the way home. One day the Monk Kyriakos wanted to go to Khoni, where the Archangel Michael performed a miracle, to venerate his holy icon. On the way, Kiriak stopped to spend the night at an inn. Gostinnik turned out to be a thief, and began to ask him many questions: “Who are you and where are you coming from, for your eyes are like the eyes of a thief, and your speech betrays you?” What's in your bag? - By the grace of Christ, I am not a thief and I am going to Khoni to bow to the Archangel Michael. In my bag I have the necessary funds for the trip from home, so as not to beg. Being a thief, the hotel owner took the bag and began to take off his clothes. Calling on God for help, the monk told him: - Man, fear God, do not undress me in front of these women, but if you want, undress me in the corner of your house, so as not to reveal my shame. The same bestial and cruel one nevertheless stripped Kiriak, but when he saw the wounds from the rope with which he was tightly tied, and felt the strong stench emanating from the wounds, he took pity, dressed him again and let him go. The monk said to himself: “If you, Kyriak, endure this robbery with gratitude, you will receive the same reward as you would have received if you had given these funds to the poor. When he had already walked away a little, the hotel owner began shouting after him. Hearing the scream, the monk stopped. The hotel owner came up and gave him the money he had taken. Having asked the monk for forgiveness and blessing, he said: “Now I have learned that you are a man of God.” Having taken the hotel owner’s money and forgiven him, the monk instructed him thus: - Brother, aren’t you a Christian and haven’t you heard the words of the Lord: “I was a stranger, and you accepted Me; I was naked, and you clothed Me? (Matthew 25: 35,36) And again: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire... for... I was... a stranger, and they did not accept Me; I was naked, and you did not clothe Me?” (Matthew 25: 41–43) But you, undressing those who are dressed, as you enter the church of God, as you kiss this holy icon of Christ, are you not going to die, will not the Lord reward you according to your deeds? Listen to me, repent and confess your sins to your confessor. Follow the rule he gives you and abstain from your sins. Having given him many other pieces of advice and blessing, the monk set off on his journey, rejoicing and thanking God for the unexpected change in the hotel. Arriving at the church of the Archangel Michael and bowing to his holy icon, he asked to continue to keep it unharmed from visible and invisible enemies, and so returned again to his home. One day he wanted to inspect the few vineyards that he had and the workers who then worked there. Seeing from a distance that they were not working, but were lying on the ground, he also fell to the ground and lay there for three hours. Then he began to be bothered by the thought of somehow shaming them, but the monk resisted him, saying: “If you believe that God is looking after you, why do you care about yourself, because “only one thing is necessary” (Luke 10:42). Unhappy, you are happy that the vineyard begins to bear fruit, but you do not care that your soul is not left without fruit. Why then do you live and occupy the land?” (Luke 13:7) “Cast your sorrow upon the Lord, and He will nourish you” (Ps. 54:23), “trust in the Lord and do good” (Ps. 36:3). But since his thoughts again reminded him that the strangers who come to his house feed from his estate, and if he remains in negligence, he will deprive them of food and shelter, he said to himself: “Let the apostle comfort us, who said: “I am not looking for yours, but for you” (2 Cor. 12:14). If we cannot provide benefits to the brethren physically, then let us do them spiritually. Then God will definitely count this to us as a virtue, for He Himself says: “Do not strive for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life” (John 6:27). The true food that endures to eternal life is meekness, humility, carelessness, kindness, brotherly love, and the like.” So telling himself, the monk did not rise from the ground until he saw that the workers themselves got up and went to work. The blessed one did this because he did not want to shame them by accusing them of laziness. This is why I brought this story to show the self-reproach, meekness, carelessness and love of the monk for his neighbors even before he became a monk. The monk had a younger brother, completely illiterate, but enlightened by God, zealous, brotherly, lover of silence, God-loving, chaste and more pure than anyone else. He wanted to go to Rome to venerate the honest relics of the holy apostles. The monk also went with him. Both brothers went together barefoot, taking with them neither a staff, nor a bag, nor a change of clothes. They ate in the evenings, and even then only bread and grass. On the way, they decided not to greet other travelers, but to remain silent. From intense labors on the way, the monk fell ill and lay down not far from one village, under a tree, waiting out the heat and heat of the day and having no other consolation than God, on whom he placed all his hopes. His brother tearfully asked him to agree to visit a doctor who would take care of him, begged him to eat something boiled or drink a little wine. But the blessed one did not agree to anything, saying: “Brother, if you want, anoint me with oil from the lamp from the icon of my Christ, for the Lord will not allow us temptation greater than that which we can endure, as the divine Paul says” (1 Cor. 10:13). A few days after he anointed him with holy oil, the monk, by the grace of Christ, became stronger, and they set off on the road again. Arriving in Rome, they venerated the tombs of the holy apostles and, having brought great benefit to many with their conversations, returned to their village. And near their village there was one ancient church, dilapidated and abandoned, consecrated in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Having taken monastic vows there and renamed it from Michael to Matthew, the saint’s brother, with the help of God and his labors, turned it into a monastery and gathered the brethren here. The monk also came to this monastery to visit the brethren, who arranged their way of life and put psalmody and prayer in order. Kiriak himself had an open disposition, used force on himself in everything and had a conscience that did not condemn him, and advised his brothers to be the same. From the monastery he returned home, where he remained silent in his cell with his wife and children, which was, to tell the truth, very strange and alien to the monks. Once upon a time, pagans attacked those lands, causing harm to Christians. Out of fear of them, everyone took refuge in the cities. The saint’s brother did the same, and together with the monks of his monastery he took refuge in the city of Derkos. Blessed Kyriakos did not want to leave with everyone, because he avoided the disturbance caused to him by the multitude of people. He went to a deserted place near a lake and, having built a small kaliva, remained there until God drove out those barbarians. From that time on, he no longer wanted to return to his home, but went to the previously mentioned monastery of Christ the Savior and there he became a monk, receiving the name Cyril. The area where the monk wanted to build a cell for himself was overgrown with thorns, but between the bushes he saw a column. He asked what kind of column it was, but the brothers answered that they saw nothing and were very surprised. Since this was repeated twice and three times, the monk realized that it was a sign from God. He willingly built himself a cell and, entering it, said: “This is My rest forever: here I will dwell, for I have desired it” (Ps. 131: 14). At the beginning, he sang chants and prayed with his brothers. The monk went to meals with them, but did not eat anything; he read the lives of the saints. After three years, he began to come to church only on Saturdays, Sundays and Bishop's holidays. Near his cell, the monk fenced off a small place to grow vegetables, and he stopped going out anywhere except his cell, because he was very fond of silence and solitude. Loneliness is the mother of silence, and silence, in turn, is the mother of thoughts about God and contemplation, through which the mind unites with God. For three years the monk remained in silence, not speaking to anyone except the monk who served him, for he mentally conversed with God. The saint constantly reproached himself for his loneliness, saying: “And now, who should you serve, whose feet should you wash, whom should you become lower than? Whom to show mercy to, how to practice patience when no one resists your will? Woe to the one who falls into negligence, carelessness or anything else, because there will be no one to lift him up. For this reason, before you are condemned by the righteous court of God, judge yourself and your thoughts at the judgment seat of your heart, examining them, which of them are your own and which are from your enemies. Keep your good thoughts as a treasure in the depths of your heart, and cut the nasty ones with the rod of your mind and drive them out of your heart, leaving them absolutely no place or refuge there. It is better to say, cut them with the sword of prayer and meditation on the Divine, so that the first thief - the devil - will be afraid when he sees that his other comrades, thieves and evil thoughts, are put to death. Our judge is conscience, so do not neglect it, because when it does not convict you, it teaches you the knowledge of the Divine. If you neglect it, then you will be filled with darkness. Thus the monk thought in his cell, mourning himself day and night. The Monk Kirill also worked with his hands, weaving woolen kamilavkas (the headdress of the priesthood), some of which he sold, others he gave, and others he simply gave to the brothers in the monastery, so as not to be a burden to them. Sometimes he also worked to drive away carelessness and carelessness, for carelessness is born when the mind is scattered everywhere. Dispersion of the mind comes from idleness of hands, from vain conversations, from abandoning reading, from overeating and from great feats and works according to God. Patience demonstrated in labor drives away negligence. And if someone wanted to come to him for benefit, then the monk would give him his handicrafts and say that peace and idleness are destruction for the soul and can cause more harm than demons. He advised the monastic brethren, according to the commandment of God, to cheerfully receive strangers who came to them, not considering the anxiety they caused as an obstacle to their silence, so as not to violate the law of love. We definitely need to look after them as much as possible, and as if we were receiving mercy from them, and not providing it ourselves. However, there is no need to present guests with various dishes or speak refined words to them, but to take care of them with a meager amount of food and words. If they turn out to be wiser, then the brothers should remain silent, but if they are equal to them, speak in moderation. However, the best thing is to consider everyone bigger than themselves. Those who move from place to place should not be accepted at all, but not because of hatred towards them (let there not be!), for “everyone who hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15), but in order to avoid harm from their presence. “Bad communities corrupt good morals” (1 Cor. 15:33). There is no need to be impudent with them, since such people harm not only themselves, but also their simpler brothers. There are, however, those who wander for the sake of the Lord, or for some spiritual reason, or for the desire of a pilgrimage to the saints. He who accepts such accepts Christ Himself, for “as you did it to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). One day the monk gave a certain merchant from Anchialos eleven kamilavkas so that he would sell them and bring him wheat. The merchant forgot about the request and did not sell them, but brought them back in sadness, asking for forgiveness. The monk told him that this did not happen because of him, but Christ wanted it this way: “For I saw in a dream a man in light clothes with a terrible appearance, who said to me: “Abba, why did you give your kamilavki not to me, but to the merchant? If you gave them to me, I would easily feed you.” I asked him: “Who are you, sir?” And he answered: “My name is Elpidy.” Then I said to him again: “I hope in God that if you accept them, then from now on I will give them to you and not to anyone else.” Since then, this has been the custom: the monk gave all the kamilavki he made to the poor, saying to himself: “Give to receive.” If he made a kamilavka, but had no one to give it to, then he threw it over the fence of the monastery for passers-by to take, for the saint’s desire to have nothing was as great as that of others to possess. One day he hung his clothes outside his cell and saw how a beggar secretly took them. The monk hid so as not to put his brother into shame, saying to himself at the same time, “I myself should have given the clothes to some beggar for the sake of Him who said: “Whoever has two clothes, give them to the poor” (Luke 3:11), but since I did not fulfill the commandment, God sent a beggar to help me fulfill another commandment: “from the one who took what you have, do not demand it back” (Luke 6:30). But even now I did not fulfill the commandment, because the clothes were not mine, but those of the Christian who gave them to me.” That’s how humble the monk was, for he always considered his will to be erroneous and lost. When the saint was still in the world, he read the Book of Hours that the monks read on Mount Olympus. When he came to the monastery, he diligently tried to memorize the Psalter. Having memorized half of it, he gave the book to a beggar who asked for help. That night, having chanted half the Psalter and made five hundred prostrations, as he was in the habit of doing every night, the monk, crushed by the rope and suffering from unbearable wounds because of this, lay down on the mat. However, he was sad only because he did not have time to memorize the entire Psalter. It seemed to him that he had fallen asleep and had a dream that someone in white robes appeared to him and said: - Ava, why don’t you sing? To which the monk replied: “God knows that he sang all the psalms and prayers that he knew.” – Why don’t you sing the Psalter? - Get up, let's sing the Psalter together. And so they sang the entire Psalter twice. Then the one who appeared disappeared. Whether that vision was real or in a dream, and who it was who taught the monk the Psalter, he could not say for sure, but from that time on he knew the Psalter so well that he could explain many psalms to some brothers. When the monk took monastic vows, his son was fourteen years old. One day he came to the monastery. Seeing him, the monk said: - I am with God, I am a monk. If you, child, want to become a monk, fine, but if not, then next time you won’t see me. – If I become a monk, will I see you? - Yes. And from that time you will be with me and with Christ. “But I won’t see my mother and sister again?” – You will see them outside the gates of the monastery when they come to the monastery. If you fulfill my word, then you will be with Christ both in this life and after death. He Himself said: “Let the little children come and do not hinder them from coming to Me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:14). And then his son agreed to become a monk. That night the monk saw a dream: a man in white robes with a shining face came to him and asked him for a sacrifice, which he held in his hands. And the monk gave it to him. Having come to his senses, he understood what that dream meant, and wanted to test his son twice and three times to find out how attached he was to his family. His mother and sister called him to return home with them, but he did not go, saying: “I want to be with my Christ and with my father, and not with you.” The monk left his son in the monastery for another forty days, and he, after the expiration of the term, again did not want to return to his mother. Only after this did the saint order to tonsure him as a monk; The youth, together with other brothers, began to eat dry food without butter on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and did not leave the monastery. Eighteen months later, the boy, having become slightly ill, gave up his blessed soul into the hands of God. The monk glorified the Creator because his son went to the Lord as a monk. One day the monk happened to talk with an Armenian; with his godly words, he tried to convince him to renounce his heresy and unite with the Catholic and Apostolic Church. He told him that “a person must have not only faith, but also virtue, avoid all evil, conquer passions and follow the commandments of Christ. For only such a person is a real person.” Having thus strengthened him in the Orthodox faith and given him many instructions, the monk released the convert in peace. After some time, it happened that the children of the Armenian, together with his wife, by God's permission, were sold into slavery. The Armenian, coming to the elder, told him about his misfortune. Taking pity on him, the monk asked some Christ-lovers for money to ransom the enslaved. Having taken the money, the Armenian wanted to quickly return to his homeland by land, but the monk advised him to sail by sea with his acquaintances as believers, so as not to fall into the hands of robbers along the way, who would not only take the money, but also kill him himself. But the Armenian argued that it would take a long time to sail, since there was no favorable wind, and he hurried to return home by land. The monk did not want to let him go, saving him from the danger revealed to him by Divine Providence, but the Armenian said: “Pray for me, father, and the will of the Lord be done.” – The will of the Lord is His commands. The will of rational nature is to do the will of God. The carnal will is a violation of God's law. The will of God is also called the will of His servants, from which you have deviated, but may I be innocent of this. If you want, go, and God will arrange everything for the benefit of our souls. However, I know that all judgment and manifestation of a person's own will is unreliable. Having gone down to the village, the Armenian accidentally met two warriors who were planning to go the same way. On the way, they began to ask him who he was, where he was from and why he was in such a hurry. He told them the whole truth. Having learned that he had money with him, the soldiers killed him and took the money for themselves. These are the fruits of disobedience. If anyone says that the monk uttered a prophecy, he will not sin at all. At that time, the Scythian tribe attacked and ravaged the Thracian lands, and therefore all the inhabitants of these lands took refuge from danger in the cities. The monk did not want to take refuge in the city of Derkis because of concern from the people, and went to a monastery located near the Black Sea, where he was joyfully received by the brethren, and especially by the abbot, who was distinguished by his virtuous life; Many from near and far villages, and even the nobility of Constantinople, came to this abbot for spiritual benefit. The abbot allocated a cell for the monk where he could remain silent. However, the fame of the saint spread everywhere, and those who came to the abbot also went to the Monk Cyril. After talking with him, everyone began to treat him with great reverence and love. But the all-evil devil aroused envy in the abbot against the saint (for there is no righteous person without sin, just as there is no sinner without some virtue). Unable to overcome this envy within himself, the abbot went to the saint and, as if caring about keeping the commandments of God, said to him: “It seems to me, Father, that you do everything in your life for the sake of pleasing people. Why do you wear rags, walk barefoot, eat dry food without oil, drink only water, don’t want to eat boiled food, and call yourself a “verizhnik”? I don’t know if you wear chains, but your name is so famous that many ignorant monks think that you are better than me, me, who worked for God for so many years. It’s strange that you don’t agree to eat with me, although I called you so many times, fulfilling the Lord’s commandment. Don't you know that your life is different from us, and this shows your arrogance? So, take my advice, become like all the brothers, because, as the fathers say, the high comes from demons. Stick to the middle path, do not seek either the higher or the lower, and then you will get rid of your insensibility, which is born from lack of fear of God, from extreme inattention and sin. It’s not me who says that, but the divine fathers. I ask you to come to your senses so that you can live a blissful life, because to know that you do not know is already knowledge. If you want to know God, first know yourself. He who believes that he is nothing knows himself more than others. Don't you know that he who does not expose his brother's sin is cruel? For God says: “Reprove your neighbor by reproach, and you will not accept sin for him.” Reproof is twofold: the one with malice and revenge, and the one with the fear of God and the truth. But let it be so, I do not reproach you with malice. Seeing how you languish your body and do not receive rewards from God, I feel so sorry for you because of your intractability that I will pray to God to lead you to the knowledge of the truth. But you cannot come to the knowledge of the truth unless you abandon self-will and stop trusting yourself. Because whoever is firm in his will is infected with pride, and “God opposes the proud” (James 4:6). It is better to be called a disciple of a disciple than to live according to your own will and reap its worthless fruits.” Having heard such words, the monk humbly threw himself at the feet of the abbot and said: “I thank God and your shrine that you not only recognized the uncleanness of my soul, but also rebuked me in a fatherly manner and taught me as I should. For I listened to your words as the words of God, and not of man. In addition, you said that you would pray to God to bring me to the knowledge of the truth. I ask you to fulfill this, according to the commandment of the Lord, who will give you a hundredfold reward for your love, for He says that “whoever plucks out the worthy from the unworthy, he will be like My mouth.” That is, the one who turns a person from error to truth, and from sin to virtue, imitates Him. You, father, fulfilled all your duty, leaving me unrequited.” Seeing that the monk was not indignant at his teaching, but with self-reproach and humility fell to him, asking for his prayers in order to come to the knowledge of the truth, the abbot was touched and fell silent. Having praised the saint’s God-given patience, he returned to his cell, accusing himself and saying: “Woe to me, the hypocrite, having a beam in my eyes, I instruct the servant of God in small things and judge him, being myself condemned! I do not think about the fact that those who judge and harshly examine the actions of others will not receive forgiveness for their own sins, because God will judge us with the same judgment with which we judge others. Woe to me, insensitive!” Having thought about everything that had happened, the abbot went to the monk and bowed to him, asking him for forgiveness. The monk also said to himself: “To be condemned by many evil people is a lie that does not bring harm, but to be condemned by a righteous person is a truth that brings benefit. Woe to you, that the darkness of deeds darkens the hearts of the saints.” Praying to God, the monk said: “My God, do not leave me. I have not done any good before You, but let me, in Your goodness, make a beginning, because my salvation is based on Your mercy and love for mankind, for Yours is the glory forever and ever. Amen". That night the monk saw in a dream that he was standing on a high tower, and beneath him a plain stretched without end and edge, and a huge dragon was attacking him, with its mouth open and whistling, wanting to swallow him. Not knowing what to do, the monk looked around and saw a stick under his feet. He took it and struck the dragon. He immediately fell and died. Falling, the dragon split in two, and such a stench came from it that, unable to bear it, the monk came to his senses. Reflecting, he realized that the dragon is the demon of pride, the stick is humility, and since he tolerated the abbot and endured his reproof with self-reproach, then by the commandment of Christ he got rid of the dragon’s throat. The monk glorified God, because if he had begun to contradict the abbot, he would have been consumed by pride. From then on, all the time that the monk spent in the monastery, he fell at the feet of the abbot with great humility and, as far as possible, watched himself so as not to give rise to temptation. After some time, bowing before the abbot, he left the monastery. Returning to his cell, the Monk Cyril continued to remain silent, struggling in the feats of prayer, so that his conscience would not condemn him, for the feats of fasting, vigil and patience purify it. Next to the monk’s cell there was one spring with lukewarm and dirty water, which did not taste very good, but that was what he drank. Many came to the spring for water, and so the monk once crossed the spring, prayed, and everyone who drank that water began to be healed of various diseases. “I once tasted this water, or, better to say, this sacred and Divine gift,” says the author of the life, “because from an attack that happened to me, I could neither eat nor speak for seven days due to severe pain in my stomach. On the seventh day, I sent to the monk to tell him about my illness and asked him to send me water as a blessing from him. Towards the end of the day they brought me water, and as soon as I drank it, at that same hour, God knows, I got rid of my illness.” Another time, when I was with the monk in his cell, one monk, his friend, came and said: “Abba, when I was sad in my cell about the many sins of my own and about my lack of repentance, suddenly, unexpectedly, without difficulty, I was given crying and incessant tears, so that for two days I did not remember about bread, but with a warm heart, with sweetness and inexpressible pleasure, with sadness and bitter joy grieved for his sins. Sometimes I confessed to God, sometimes I prayed to Him, thanked or praised Him. Being in such a state and constantly thinking about my sins, I turned to my Guardian Angel: “Most Holy Angel, I adjure you by our Creator God, and I pray to you, protect me, for you see what danger threatens me. I lived my life in vanity, and you are probably protecting me in vain.” I said this three times, and sat down from fatigue; My mind was at that time in deep silence, peace and remembrance of God. Therefore, I can’t say for sure whether I was delighted with the dream or not, but suddenly I saw a thin hand, white as snow, which not strongly, but not weakly, hit me on my right cheek. The fragrance of this hand remained on my face for seven days, and during these seven days I did not want to eat any bodily food. I ask you, Abba, tell me how to understand what happened to me, is it from God or from demons?” Having listened attentively to the story, the Monk Kirill answered him like this: “Usually a kind and child-loving father who has two children: a perfect, brave and loving husband and a lisping baby, if he is forced to be away, entrusts the younger brother to the care of the older one, so that he will protect the baby from any danger until his return. And the elder brother, out of respect and love for his father, out of his good will and out of love for his brother, protects him with his own strength. The younger brother runs around everywhere, stumbles and breaks his legs until they bleed. However, the elder tries to protect him from falls and makes sure that animals do not attack him. Not wanting to bind his brother’s will, he only gives advice, allowing him to walk according to his own will, hoping that with age he will come to his senses. The younger brother, not realizing his ignorance and not recognizing the wisdom and knowledge of the older brother, with the help of which he tries to keep him unharmed, or his love for him, says: “I conjure you, the father who gave birth to us, protect me well, because you see what dangers threaten me,” and at the same time shows him the few wounds that he has. The good brother, who honestly protected him, loving and wanting to reason with him, hits him on the cheek and says: “Conjure yourself and order yourself not to walk in steep places, I’m innocent of that.” The same story happened to you, brother, and the hand that appeared to you was not demonic. This is clear from the fact that it was whiter than snow and fragrant, and that you changed and did not want to eat for seven days. Changes that occur due to the action of demons do not bring peace to mental and physical feelings, nor can they evoke supernatural feelings.” The divine Cyril possessed such reasoning according to God that he could instruct the weak in virtue. Once, when the monk was praying, he felt a smell as if coming from smoking incense. Reflecting on this fragrance, he suddenly heard someone singing in a pleasant and gentle voice: “For I will go to the place of a wondrous settlement, even to the house of God, in the voice of joy and confession of the noise of the celebration” (Ps. 41: 5). He immediately hit the beater, because when he called, he was used to using a wooden beater instead of his voice, and his disciple came, whom the monk asked: “How is our sick brother? It seems to me that he went to the Lord, because I heard such a voice. Come quickly and take a look.” The student went and discovered that his brother had died at that very hour. At this news, the monk said: “Now you are releasing Your servant, O Master, according to Your word, in peace, for Mine eyes have seen Your salvation” (Luke 2:29–30); “How numerous are Your works, O Lord! You have done everything wisely” (Ps. 103:24). So the brother who had fallen asleep in the Lord came to the monastery three years ago and served the brethren with meekness and unfeigned humility, and obeyed the monk in everything. One day, relatives came to this brother in the monastery to consult on one everyday matter, but the blessed one answered them: “I cannot simultaneously be a dead man and control the living.” Truly, whoever does not act according to his own will has died to everything worldly, and his soul, freed from attachment to the world, cries out with David: “He has taken off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness” (Ps. 29:12). This is how divine Cyril was, for he could make spiritual people out of carnal people in a short time, which is what happened with this brother. Another time, when the monk was sitting on a mat, he heard a voice: “When wealth increases, do not put your heart [on it]” (Ps. 61:11). Reflecting on these words in the morning, he saw that Constantine, the butcher, who had great reverence for the monk, was coming towards him. After the greeting, they talked a little about the salvation of the soul, and he said to the monk: – I transfer my lands, which are located next to the monastery, to your shrine along with all the animals. Let everything belong to the monastery. If you don’t want to own them yourself, then sell them and give the money to the poor for the sake of saving my unfortunate soul. The monk answered him like this: “We promised God to be free not only from our possessions, but also from our very bodies, in order to acquire spiritual purity. Therefore, we should not accept what is alien and bind ourselves with heavy material ties, because those immaterial things that hunt us are lighter than eagles. If we burden ourselves with worldly things, we will move more slowly and therefore the enemy will easily catch us. Hearing these and other godly words, the Christ-loving Constantine was surprised and glorified God, who covers and makes His servants wise, after which he said to the monk: “You really do not need my riches, because the one who has acquired true wealth hates and turns away from these false and deceptive goods.” Having asked for a blessing, he left. When the pious Tsar Alexius Komnenos went to war against the proud Latin Bohemond, some said that the king would win, others that Bohemond. The author of the life, who was with the saint all this time, asked him: “Who is really worthy of winning this war?” The monk replied: “Only God knows what is worthy and true, and what I saw a few days ago, I don’t know whether it was from God or from demons, but now I will tell you. As soon as I, unworthy, completed my nightly praise, then, following my custom of remembering the king in prayer, I began to pray to God for him with tears (who wouldn’t pray for such a Christ-loving husband?). I said the Trisagion, subsequent prayers, then said out loud: “Lord! The king rejoices in Your power and rejoices immensely in Your salvation” (Ps. 20:2) and, thinking, sat down on the mat. Soon I fell asleep and saw that in a dream I was walking along a bright plain. Looking around, on the right I saw the royal tent, which looked like a church. A great many warriors stood around the tent, and inside, on a high throne, sat the king himself. On his left side was a huge sea, and many small ships sailed in it. The sea broke them and threw them ashore. There was also a huge black dog with bloody eyes, looking towards the king. He was held on a chain by a certain bright warrior. A little later, he forcibly dragged him and threw him at the feet of the king. I think that the king will conquer Bohemond." And so, with God’s help, this actually happened. Once a monk from a cenobitic monastery came to the monk and said: “Abba, what should I do with my sins, how to be healed, how to get rid of evil, and what should I do to become worthy of God?” And the monk answered him: “My lord (for that is what he used to call everyone), you must go through evil days and nights, and even after that, I don’t know whether your ship will reach the saving pier. If you are looking for a cure, take care of your conscience and do what it advises you, then you will benefit. Know that malice or passion are not inherent in human nature, because the Lord created in us not passions, but many virtues, which include the following: mercy, for even the Greeks show mercy and love, just as foolish animals often cry when separated from each other; faith, because with our words we inspire trust and believe in the words we hear; hope, because when we lend, or travel, or sow, we hope that we will receive. So, love for us is a natural virtue, “love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13:10). Virtues are inherent in our nature, and let those who say that they do not have the strength to perform virtues be ashamed. In addition to these natural virtues, there are also virginity, freedom from anger, humility, prayer, vigil, fasting and constant contrition of the heart. But you, if you want to get rid of evil, fight your enemies to cut off passions, and then strive to acquire virtues and preserve them. This is the meaning of the saying: “Blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments” (Rev. 16:15). If you want to become worthy of God, do not do anything unworthy of Him.” Having heard these and many other instructions from the monk, but not coming to his senses, the brother after some time left the hostel because he did not want to obey and cut off his will. He came to the desert and settled in a small prayer house, as if to work for God. After some time, he made friends with the robbers and, becoming a leader, committed a murder. This is exactly how demons pay those who do their will. Once, when I was visiting the monk, some irritation arose between the abbot and the brethren, so that everyone began to shout loudly. Having called them, the monk said to the abbot: “Is this how you teach your children? A father is called a father because he protects his children. Anyone who does the opposite should be called differently. If you acquire all the virtues, but neglect the souls of those who are given to you by God, then you will not benefit from your virtues, but you will be condemned for the neglect with which you treat your brethren. Do not be harsh in reprimands (threats), because neither strict reprimand nor complete impunity brings any benefit. Do not be quick to reprove and do not do it with passion, for this is shamelessness. Do not judge your brothers strictly for small sins, but correct those who have sinned in a fatherly manner, as the apostle says: “Brothers! Even if a person falls into any sin, you who are spiritual correct him in a spirit of meekness, watching each one of you, lest you be tempted” (Gal. 6:1). Compel the disorderly not to violate the proper order and certain laws.” The abbot answered: “I am a sinner, “God says to the sinner: “Why are you preaching My statutes and taking My covenant in your mouth?”” (Ps. 49:16) That’s why God gave us you, so that you could guide us, because if it weren’t for you, then I definitely would not have been able to create this small monastery. According to the will of God and your holiness, lead us, because you know that we obey your words. “Brother, you said that you are a sinner, but in your deeds you do not consider yourself such. One who considers himself a sinner and guilty of sins does not argue with anyone, does not fight, is not angry with anyone, but considers everyone better and wiser than himself. If your thoughts laugh at you, how can you consider yourself a sinner? How can they move your heart against those who are better than you? Pay attention to yourself, brother, because what you say is not true. We have not yet reached the point where we consider ourselves sinners. If you were a sinner, how would you blame your brother? You say that because of him you have sorrow, but do you not know that everyone is tempted by his own conscience, and it is this that causes sorrow? Leave your excuses, and if you say anything, don’t say “okay, I said it.” If you come up with something, don’t say: “what a good idea I came up with.” Okay, okay, but where is it, is it good? We must think about not saddening anyone, either by word or deed, and God will help us with this. As our brothers who serve for God's sake, so we must bear "one another's burdens" in order to fulfill the "law of Christ" (Gal. 6:2). When someone is embarrassed, grieves and is angry with his brother for a supposedly plausible and spiritually beneficial reason, it is already clear that this is not from God. Everything that is from God brings peace and brings a person into humility and condemnation of himself, and not of his brother, arousing anger against him. The monk said this and much more to the abbot, and then turned to the brothers and said: “A monk who has obedience imitates Jesus Christ, and one who obeys imitates the Angels. The one who argues and resists makes himself a stranger to Jesus and becomes a friend of the devil. I ask you, my children, to acquire unquestioning obedience, for obedience is the mother of eternal life, just as disobedience is the mother of destruction. Let none of you be an idle talker, or a talker, or a slanderer, or a scolder, or a murmurer, because all these and the like are the fruits of the devil. If you want to please God, then you must cut off all self-will and submit to the ruler placed over you by God as Christ Himself. And let there be no Judas among you, but be like the apostles who submitted to Christ. Those who resist will incur great condemnation. Do not condemn each other, and especially not your spiritual father, because the one who condemns will go to destruction. Love the elder as your father, but also fear him as the one who has authority over you. You should not ignore him or be afraid of him out of great love, just as you should not dislike him out of great fear. He who is a true disciple loves his elder and obeys him to death, is edified in everything he does, not daring to reason about what he is doing, without asking questions about why and why. If you ask this, then you are not students, but judges of your elder. All evil comes from the damned own will. Do not be mistaken, brethren, in doing your own will, for your own will never leads to good. When you leave your will to God, then God creates as He wants.” With these and other pieces of advice to the abbot and the brethren, the monk, with God’s help, brought them to agreement and reconciled them. Another time, when I was talking with the monk, a certain brother from a cenobitic monastery came to him and said: “Father, I heard from the doctor that it is good to eat figs in the morning, and that’s why I eat them.” “Woe to the doctor who encouraged you to do this, and you are unlikely to benefit.” If you do not conquer your belly, brother, then why are you taking up space (Luke 13:7) and relaxing the ascetics? Haven’t you heard what St. Basil the Great commands monks: out of twenty-four hours a day, they should spend one hour on food, and the rest of the time engage in mental work. For what you give to the body you immediately lose, but what you give to the soul you will always have. So, without bodily necessity, do not eat or drink, and do not let this commandment seem heavy to you, because in fact it is not so. Leave your will and do the will of the primate. Cut off addiction and tie yourself to the love of God - the true doctor of souls and bodies. Whoever follows his own doctor will not only be enslaved by gluttony and eat like a pig from morning to morning, but along with gluttony he will fall into all unclean passions. Then, since it was Friday, the monk asked the monk: – Today we ate “holy” stew. – What kind of “holy” stew is this? – Onions and other vegetables with aromas are placed in water, this is called “holy” stew. Then, groaning, the monk said: - Woe, brother, you didn’t notice that this is not just a “holy” stew, but a “holy” stew for gluttons. Haven't you heard the story from Fatherland? A certain elder came to one brother and saw that he was eating. When the eating brother saw the elder, he hid what he was eating behind the door. When the elder asked what he ate, he replied: “Forgive me, father, I cut dates, and my throat was dry from the heat. So I put a little salt in the water and moistened the bread, because I could not eat it dry.” Hearing this, the old man shouted: “Come and see Esau eating the stew.” He said to his brother: “If you want to eat stew, go to Egypt.” Do you see, brother, what a “holy” stew that monk ate, and even then with shame. I think that brother was a beginner. Woe to us, gluttons and sensualists, but we think that we have retained the residence of the ancient fathers. I ask you, brother, if you cannot stop this custom, then at least do not call this stew “holy,” because by doing so you are blaspheming the saints. If we blaspheme ourselves, we don’t feel it. The abundance of food gives rise to many thoughts and bad dreams. These were the words of the monk, and it is not surprising that he spoke so, for for more than fifty years he himself had not eaten food cooked on fire, neither grapes nor any other fruits, nor drunk wine, and only sometimes ate quince. I asked him: “Abba, why don’t you allow yourself to eat food with butter even on the Lord’s holidays?” He answered me: “I am weak, and if I allow myself, I will no longer be able to hold on. Those who can allow and bind themselves are free from passions and the work of the belly.” This is how the monk spoke with humility. He also said: “Saturation with bread and water makes a person desire various dishes. To whom bread tastes sweet, and who drinks water with abstinence, he will never want various foods and drinks, because hunger and thirst forget the taste. I’m not so much worried about hunger as I am about thirst.” The monk not only experienced hunger and thirst, but also did not wash his feet or face, and did not even have two clothes, even when he was in the world. He wore only shoes on his feet, and only in winter. He slept leaning on his right side, and sometimes fell asleep a little where he was sitting. Instead of a mattress, he had a thin bedding and a soft bearskin. When the monk went to sleep, he said: “My God, do not leave me, but deliver me from this mortal body.” And he repeated the instructions of Basil the Great: “You sleep, but time is ahead of you, you are awake, but your mind wanders in vanity, life is shortened, although you do not understand it. Of course, most of all we lack time, because our life is short, and the art of salvation must be studied long and hard, and the end of our life is near. Stay awake, O careless one, do not go to sleep until you have examined what you have done during the day: what commandments of God you have transgressed, what deeds you have done pleasing to God, and what you have not performed as you should. If you did something bad, then grieve and torment yourself with lamentations, tears and bitter repentance. If you did well, then rejoice and thank God who helped you. If you want to escape evil, you must first hate everything in the world, because it is impossible to simultaneously love the world and not participate in the evil that comes from worldly things.” Every day he uttered these beautiful words: “I ask you, my legs, do not flow to evil, but until you can no longer stand and move, and before you are bound and become motionless, stand with zeal in prayer to God. You, my hands, do not be filled with blood and iniquities, but stretch out to God in reverence and truth, because the hour will come and you will be motionless, connected to one another. You, my eyes, do not look at evil, but before your eyelids close, look at the creation of God for His glory. You, my ears, do not listen to vain things, but only to everything that is salutary and useful. You, my lips, do not utter evil and poisonous things, but study in the law of the Lord day and night, so that the grace of God may be poured out on you, and you may rejoice when you sing to God. You, my tongue, do not become a sharp knife, but a scribe’s cane, learning from the truth of God. And you, my body, before we are separated and distanced from each other, for I will go to hell and you will crumble into dust and stench, stand courageously and worship God. Before others carry you dead, carry me, so that I may glorify God and confess to Him. As if you wanted to lie blissfully on the bed and sleep, you did not condemn me to eternal torment, for the time will come when the current sweet dream will turn into eternal bitterness. If you are my body, listen to what I tell you, then we will inherit eternal life together. If not, then why did you connect with me? Woe is me, because my soul has been united with you for a long time. Woe to me, for because of you my soul, unfortunate, will be condemned! If you listen to me, you will become the church of God, and God will give us greater knowledge and lead us to all truth. If you do not listen to me and do not submit to me, I tell you the truth, then know that I will not cease to be at enmity with you and will subject you to torment in every way until, with the help of God, I put to death your deadening deeds and resurrect myself from passions with pain. Although God will resurrect us at His second coming, He also requires from us another resurrection - a new life in this life, which can be achieved by changing our behavior and disposition. When the careless and sleepy person becomes zealous and cheerful, and from a doer of lawlessness and evil becomes a doer of truth and virtue, then he will be resurrected here and receive a resurrection, which will serve as the threshold of an eternal resurrection for him. How can this resurrection happen? Through the mortification of sin and the resurrection of virtue, when the old life collapses and a new, angelic life begins. But you, body, cannot stay awake all night singing psalms. Stay awake, chanting troparia, kneeling, saying prayers. Stay awake, grieving and mourning your sins. Stay awake, praising God and spending time reading the scriptures. You can’t watch all night, watch half of the night, but just don’t relax and don’t darken me with a long sleep, don’t make my mind fat: “Look, hear me, Lord my God! Enlighten my eyes, so that I will not sleep the sleep of death” (Ps. 12:4), so that I too can boldly say like David: “I lie down, sleep and get up, for the Lord protects me” (Ps. 3:6); “The poor man betrays himself to you; You are a helper to the orphan” (Ps. 9:35); I will sing and glorify Your most holy name, now and forever. Amen". Then he spoke to the dream: Having gained a little sleep, the monk immediately got up and glorified the many-sung name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. He also told me: – Since I became a monk, I don’t remember spending at least one day without psalmody, prayer, handicrafts and tears, which are the gift of God. - What, you can have them whenever you want? – Yes, but know that tears are caused by jealousy, desire, mortification of the body and pure, undistracted mental reflection. Tears cleanse the soul of passions. It has been eighteen years since God gave them to me, according to what was said: “my tears were bread for me day and night” (Ps. 41:4), because at the end of Compline, Midnight Office and Matins I cry. During the day, with God’s help, I cry as much as I want. - Forgive me, father, but what do you remember when you cry? “Sometimes I remember my sins, sometimes the sorrows of the poor and orphaned, sometimes the Passion of Christ, and very often I remember the sorrows endured by dumb animals, because they also have an unreasonable soul and therefore they suffer. Don’t you know that the more the heart of someone who grieves and cries, becomes heated with tears, the more it is cleansed of passions and enlightened? Then such a person begins to regret and grieve for all intelligent and irrational creatures, and even plants. But how can you convey in words the sweetness of honey to someone who has not tasted it? There are tears of slavery and at the same time tears of gratitude from fear of wounds and torment, there are tears from love, and there are tears from demonic action. And these last ones, I do not call tears of gratitude, but only tears of slavery - may the Lord abolish them. First come tears of fear, as the fathers say. They inflame the heart, sometimes moderately, and sometimes excessively, and dry out the body. If a person maintains goodwill (which is life according to reason and knowledge, because this is what gives rise to and preserves a sorrowful state), strives intensely in silence and works for God, then, regardless of whether he has these tears or not, the door of the secrets of His love opens to him from God. What is from God will come to him of its own accord; such a person will not need to think about it in advance if his heart is pure. From love come prayerful and consoling tears: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). Consolation is the grace of God, which comes into the hearts of those who cry from the divine illumination of the Holy Spirit. The face of such a person will flare up with joy, as if from intoxication (as someone once thought about me, insignificant, that I was drunk), because along with the heart, the body also flares up. Such a one then no longer has fear, but love. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). – How can you find out if you have achieved this love? – When a person remembers God, his heart is immediately filled with love for Him, and tears flow abundantly from his eyes (for in love it is common to shed tears from the memory of a loved one). The one who loves God always has tears, because he has a reason that makes him constantly remember God, so that even in a dream he talks with Him (after all, the one who loves does the same with his beloved: he wants to kiss him with a holy kiss and is ready to sacrifice his very life for his friend). He wants to be alone in order to talk alone with God, and then a force rises in him that gathers his mind and leads him, as it were, into a frenzy. And although a person thinks about Heavenly things, he does not stop sweet contemplation and frequent indescribable conversation. His external feelings are outside this world, because he is intoxicated with divine love and regards even the most terrible death as nothing. “Taste and see how good the Lord is! Blessed is the man who trusts in Him” (Ps. 33:9). It is said: “taste,” and do not be satisfied, because now we see the truth only in part, as if reflected in a mirror “fortune-wise” (1 Cor. 13:12), but the time will come when the present betrothal and taste of grace will turn into the perfection of pleasure. These are the fruits of silence according to God and frequent abstinence of the belly from bread and water, as well as many conscious sorrows in which patience is strengthened. Patience, in turn, is strengthened by unfeigned self-reproach, and from self-reproach, as from a source, flow tears for God, which make us whiter than snow. It was those who were whitened in this way who entered the Sabbath and into rest, for true rest for Christians is freedom from sinful passions and the fullest and most effective indwelling of the Holy Spirit in a pure heart, which is why the apostle says: “Let us therefore strive to enter into that rest” (Heb. 4:11). Many have found this grace of weeping and tears, and then lost it, because they had boldness in their hearts, approached the world ahead of time and were defeated by its flattery and pleasures, suffering justly. Everything acquired without labor is not valued, and therefore remains in disgrace, be it an active or contemplative gift, for such a person thinks that he will easily acquire it again. His mind does not observe his feelings, and therefore falls into sins through them. I asked the monk again: – Abba, why didn’t you talk about the tears that occur due to demonic action? – Is there really a need to talk about useless things? If you want to know, then I will tell you everything I know. These tears happen differently to lay people and differently to monks. When people are deprived of any of the blessings of this world, they complain and cry because of the love they have for them, and sometimes they cry from intoxication. Monks, proud of their virtues (although in fact they are nothing) and unreasonably justifying themselves, exalt themselves over careless monks because they supposedly have zeal for reason, and sometimes denounce and rebuke even saints, crying and grieving because of them, although they themselves are worthy of many tears. Very often they cry about their sins, but do not feel them, because if they felt that they were heavier than kantari (about 57 kg) lead, then they would not cry because of the sins of others. Such people think that they have Divine love. When the devil inflates arrogance and pride in them, bringing them into tenderness in order to kill them, and multiplying their tears, they are ready to cry, tirelessly fulfilling their rule, which does not in the least hinder the demon, but assists him until he plunges them into any sin. Happy is the one who is not overcome by such tears, but is honored to enjoy slavish tears of gratitude, and those that come from love. Another time I came to the monk again and found him greatly lamenting and crying. When I asked what happened to him, he replied: “The demons burned my heart, and I burned them with my body.” I almost burned the veins that held my limbs together and did not begin to crawl on the ground like a snake, as I should have, if God had not protected me. - For God's sake, tell me the reason for all this? “You know that I have a student priest who takes confession.” One day he told me, without naming names, the thoughts of certain sensualists, and I immediately understood that my heart and body were delighted by them. Therefore, I was saddened and, angry with myself, took the coals and put them on the shameful ouds. As the wise Nile says, “a confessor who wants to cleanse the actions of those who confessed to him, of necessity accepts some defilement from them. He who talks about carnal passions and cleanses others from defilement cannot himself remain undefiled, for, naturally, even the memory defiles his mind.” With these words he unsheathed his ouds, and I saw a terrible sight, because the first hole he made was so large that a hand could fit in there, and the other hole was smaller, for he fainted from severe pain. – Is God really happy about this? - Of course, he rejoices, because, according to Gregory the Theologian, a person cannot serve God as much as through suffering, and repay His love for mankind with tears. Martyrs are not only those who accepted death for the faith of Christ, but also those who died fulfilling the commandments of Christ. We must treat sorrowful thoughts without rancor and enmity, and resist and fight against those who love voluptuous thoughts. But no one can win if he is afraid, just as a warrior, if he is afraid of death, will not be able to accomplish a feat. As Saint Isaac says: a little sorrow for the sake of God is better than a great deed without sorrow, because free sorrow tests our faith and love. I believe, for this is the truth, that the martyrs of their own free will gave themselves up to planing, burning and suffering for the sake of love for Christ, stronger than which there is nothing in this world. Yes, and Christ Himself willingly suffered for us, therefore we must suffer for ourselves, so as not to lose His love, as the Apostle says: “If we endure, we will also reign with Him” (2 Tim. 2:12). - Woe to us who love the flesh! For for the sake of love for the body we become enemies of God. Smiling, the monk said: “When the demon made me feel a little happy, he laughed at me for a long time and appeared in the form of a well-fed pig. However, now the damned was ashamed and sighs bitterly, having been burned more than me. At the same time, he again frightens me, gnashing his teeth like a withered and weak boar. But now I laugh at him, and rejoice, and say that my Christ has angered you now, and again let His will be done. - You say well, father, that you laugh at him and rejoice, Because the one who conquers the passions that attack him in a rage, rejoicing in victory, forgets the pain with joy. Another time, when I again came to the divine Cyril, I saw him, leaning on his elbow, collecting grass. Gathering an armful, he knocked with his staff and a disciple came, to whom the monk said: “My lord, take this herb and give it to some animal (the monk is used to doing this sometimes). “I’m surprised that you have mercy on dumb animals, but are unkind to yourself.” Aren't you experiencing bodily pain? “Do this, and you will be called righteous, as the Holy Scripture says: “Blessed is he who has mercy on cattle.” One day there was a severe famine, from which many people died. And the monk sometimes gave half of the bread that he received in the monastery to an orphan, sometimes to someone else, and in this way saved many from hunger and death, saying: – If you have only one bread, and a beggar comes to you to ask for alms, take the bread in your hands and, looking at the sky, say: “Lord, You see that I have only one bread, and I am perishing from hunger, but I consider fulfilling Your commandment more important than saving my life. Therefore, as I give this bread to my hungry brother, so give it to me. I know Your goodness and trust in Your power, for You do not slack in Your grace, but generously distribute Your gifts.” If you do this with the bread that you give out of your poverty, then it will become for you like a seed that produces abundant fruit. Many of the orphans considered the monk their breadwinner, and one of them told me that one day, when they came to him for alms, they found him crying and beating himself in the face with his hands, while the monk said: “Woe is me, woe! I, who am God’s enemy, eat every day, but the children of God eat once every two days.” After this story, I said: “Saint Isaac says: “Consider him a man of God, who, out of much mercy for others, gives them what he himself needs to survive, and at will kills himself, giving greater preference to his brother’s needs than to his own. Such a one has Christ who cares for him.” He who becomes poor for the sake of Christ finds for himself an inexhaustible treasure. Although God has no need for anyone, He rejoices when someone gives rest to His image - man, and honors him for His sake. To him be glory forever." The monk had a custom, when he wanted to taste food, to greet the Most Holy Theotokos and the Precious Cross with these words: “Rejoice, O Cross of my Christ, scepter of the King of kings. Rejoice, Cross, who sanctified the ends of the universe. Rejoice, Most Honest Cross, Seraphim and Cherubim, because it was not on them that my Lord was stretched naked during His suffering, but on you. Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice, because he who takes you on his shoulders and believes in your power with a sincere heart will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” And he addressed the Mother of God like this: “Rejoice, my praise, my hope, my refuge, my strength, my strong tower, protecting from enemies, I will dwell under Your roof, for with You “the poor will not be forgotten” (Ps. 9:19), and You are always my song! How terrible You are to the enemies, You, my sovereign help, fill my lips with praise, so that I may sing Your glory in all the few days of my life, for the Most Holy Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is glorified.” Saying these words, he left the food, and continued to greet and praise the Mother of God. If his heart warmed up even more, he immediately stood up, made many bows and glorified God for a long time. Sometimes he cried out for a long time, because he could no longer restrain himself, glorifying the most holy name of God, for the Spirit of God living in him did not allow him to remain silent. When the monk finished speaking, he sometimes sat down and ate his bread, and sometimes he forgot about food from the voice of his sighs and was content only with spiritual food. And his face at that moment was like the face of an Angel. The monk avoided meeting people, and especially archons and princes. As great as he was, he humbled himself, but God, who gives grace to the humble, glorified him so much that he brought kings to him. The pious Tsar Alexy, who loved monks, once came to a certain monk who was a close friend of the monk. In a conversation with the king, the monk accidentally remembered the words of the monk, and then the king asked: – Who is this Abba Cyril you are talking about, and why don’t I know him? - Who am I, senseless, to tell you about him. Eyes are more reliable than ears. As for me, I believe, and God is my witness, that Cyril is His true servant. Having listened to the monk, the king was very happy and immediately sent his brother-in-law Michael Augustus, who was also distinguished by his love for monks and was God-fearing, to the monk. Michael came to the monastery where the monk labored late in the evening. At his knock, the goalkeeper opened the door and immediately took him by the hand and led him along, so that none of the brethren would hear that the dignitary had arrived and would not be embarrassed. Arriving at the saint’s cell, Michael knocked on the door and said: - May God bless you. He knocked again and said: “I told you, God bless you.” Then Mikhail knocked a third time: - Let it not be that you are my son, damned one. Go to your father Satan. “Abba, I am a man, not a demon, and I came to you for a blessing.” “I know well who you are, and I am surprised at your shamelessness, because despite my curses, you continue to bark.” - Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us. Avva, I am Mikhail August. Hearing these words, Kirill immediately stood up and opened the door. Having made a prayer, the monk said: – If you are a human, cross yourself and say a prayer. When he had done everything, the saint greeted him and, after they sat down, asked: – Who are you and why did you come here to a sinner who has no spiritual activity, but acts according to his own will, alien to God? - If only I, Abba, could have the same work as you, and a will “alien” to God, and would not be of a noble family and would not have power, titles and other vanities of this world. “I am not worthy of heaven and earth, but may the Lord give to you according to your heart, and may it be unto you according to your faith.” If you want to be saved, always take care of eternal glory, because the glory of this world is false and has led many astray. Since you are a man, remember the common misfortune of all people, that there is nothing reliable in the human race, none of the people lives the life they want, and try to always remember your end. Truly noble is the one who despises pleasure, wealth, fame, life and loves the opposite of this: pain, poverty, disgrace and death. He is truly rich who has many friends - holy Angels and all the saints, and he is truly poor who leaves a friend - his Guardian Angel. The greatest title is not one in which you have many honors, but to be worthy of honor. And the archon and ruler is the one who rules over himself and subjugates soul and body to reason. If any passion prevails over the archon, then he will not be able to pass just judgment. Know that one who is worse than his subjects should not rule over others. And you, if you want to be a friend of God, do not be overcome by gifts, friendship, enmity or anything else when you pass judgment, which is the judgment of God, but judge correctly and according to the laws. That is why David says that “your friends, O God, were exceedingly honorable” (Ps. 139:17). The pious is not the one who has mercy on many, but the one who does not offend anyone, and the one who does not punish the wicked is unjust to the good. Those who punish those who commit violence prevent others from doing injustice. You be the judge of those who commit violence against others. To those who inflict violence on you, be compassionate. From the first you will acquire a name as one who observes the laws, and from the second you will show your philanthropy and compassion. Today we see that the opposite is happening. If you want to have that “alien” will that I spoke about at the beginning, and if God wants, He will make you a monk - nothing is impossible for Him. And now work for God with fear, according to your strength, which you always force to do good. If my Christ sees this, he will come to you, as he did to Zacchaeus, and say: “Come down quickly” (Lk. 19:5), and so you will leave the fig tree and follow Him. If, to your great joy, He stays in your house, then you will give half of your property to the poor, and if you have offended anyone, you will repay him fourfold. Then you too will hear: “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9) and you will be able to hate this world. Having heard these and many other soul-helping words of the saint, Michael wanted to see his face and said: “Abba, order him to bring light.” The monk knocked with his staff, and a disciple came, whom he ordered to bring light. The student remarked: “You haven’t brought light into your cell for forty years, and now you’re telling me to bring it?” - Do you see how disobedient you are? Go and bring the light. Surprised that the monk also abstained from light, Michael asked: - Why don’t you turn on the light? Doesn’t it help with reading and psalmody? – For everyone, the church is their mind and heart, and that’s where we should worship. In the same way, no matter where you are, if there is a service in church, go, and if not, read the psalms, the Apostle, or the Gospel. If I had light, I would count the logs on the roof of my cell. Moreover, light is a sign of those who have a bright life, and that is why I sit in darkness, praying to God for my sins, since I have done and continue to do things worthy of darkness. If, instead of the temporary light that I do not see, in the next century I am worthy to see a ray of that non-evening light, which I hope for, let there be glory to the Holy God. If not, it doesn’t matter - may glory be to His righteous judgment. It’s already a lot for me to see the light of the sun, which is why I never cease to thank God, who “commands His sun to rise on the evil and on the good” (Matthew 5:45). After the light was brought and Augustus saw the monk, he began to ask him about many things that he did not know. The monk answered everything with the knowledge and wisdom of God, instructing him overnight with many soul-saving advice. When it began to dawn, Michael rose, kissed the hands and lips of the monk and, having accepted his holy prayers, left him. Having asked the brothers if the saint had any relatives who were still alive, Mikhail learned that his daughter and mother were alive. He immediately ordered that everything they needed be sent to them, after which he left with joy, thanking God, who had vouchsafed him to talk with such a wonderful man. When Michael Augustus came to the king, he told him this: “Truly, holy king, everything that we heard about, we saw.” The monk is a sacred old man, a kind husband, peaceful in disposition and balanced. Why talk too much? It is adorned with all blessings and filled with divine love. His appearance is similar to the prophet Elijah. Michael Augustus lavished such and many other praises about the venerable pious king, who, as soon as he heard everything, was filled with great joy and soon came with his entire household to the venerable one. After they exchanged a kiss in Christ, the monk asked: “Why did you come here, most pious king, to me, an old man who has nothing good behind him?” Has your Majesty really heard about my hypocritical words and deeds, which led you to my badness? And you, in your Divine humility, honor me, unworthy, like our holy fathers. I am a pathetic hypocrite, how will I justify myself before the All-Good God, how will I repay your kingdom for such work? – Abba, “the lesser is blessed by the greater” (Heb.7:7). Since I have been entrusted with such power by God, although undeservedly, I constantly indulge in worries about it and am in such confusion that I do not remember God. How can I then not honor those who fear Him, not go to them for their holy prayers for the enlightenment of my darkened soul and the successful outcome of the military campaign? You know that “the fervent prayer of the righteous can accomplish much” (James 5:16), and I, due to my negligence, although I do not act on your holy prayers, nevertheless believe that they contribute to my strengthening. I am sure that those who live a hermit and monastic life are preferable to those who live in the world with many people, even if they are more modest than others. Monks with silence pacify those passions that in the worldly people are inflamed by constant spectacles and make them worse, although they do not feel their harm, because for a long time they have already become accustomed to them, as to many years of warmth that secretly devours them (people). – And I agree with your words, but know that, as Saint John Climacus says, it is impossible for everyone to become dispassionate, but it is possible for everyone to be saved and reconciled with God. As the divine John Chrysostom says: “I promise and assure that if a sinner leaves past sins and with all his heart promises God not to sin again, then God will not demand anything else from him in return, because he loves mankind. Just as a woman in labor pains desires to give birth, so God desires to shower His mercy upon all.” As Gregory the Theologian says: “The one who is in the world and has achieved small virtues has far surpassed the one who is free, but has not achieved everything. It is more strange to see a man bound in chains who walks a short distance than one who, having no load, walks a long one; and it is more surprising to see one who stubbornly walks through the mud and is a little dirty with it, than one who is clean and walks on a clean road. Proof of this is the harlot Rahab, who was justified by hospitality alone, although for all other deeds she was not praised; The publican was elevated only by humility, and there is no evidence whether he had other virtues. Why? And so that we learn not to despair. You said, my lord, that because of worldly cares you do not remember God, but I tell you that, by the grace of my Christ, you always remember Him. - How can you know this, Abba? – The memory of God is a pain of the heart that comes from piety, as St. Mark says, therefore the care that you have about strengthening our faith, churches, monasteries and the world that God has entrusted to you is a pain of the heart that comes from piety. “You speak well, father, and I, with God’s help, take care of the kingdom to the best of my ability, but I don’t know if I have the memory of God, because I am enslaved by voluptuousness, love of fame, love of money.” How can I get rid of them and please my Lord? – Indeed, these are the three firstborn daughters of Satan and his wives, the evils that give birth to all wickedness in us. With them Satan thought to tempt our Lord after His Baptism, but our Lord defeated them and became an example and image for us, according to His words: “For I gave you an example, and you did the same things that I did to you” (John 13:15); “Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). Meekness calms the angry part of our soul, and humility frees us from vanity. Whoever has these virtues will not be enslaved by either voluptuousness or love of money. A true king is recognized not by purple, a belt and a crown on his head, but by royal virtue. But he who is ruled by passions and who is a slave of sin is not worthy to rule over others. The true king is the one who conquers passions and rules according to the laws of God, and guards the freedom of his soul. The signs of a free soul are ingenuity, meekness, love of mankind, courage, justice, chastity, leniency, generosity to judge not by grace, but by right. Such a king will not say to the person asking: “Leave now, and come later, then I will give it to you,” but gives to everyone according to his need. So you, by the grace of God, did and are doing, especially with the orphanage of St. Paul. You feed the hungry, you give water to the thirsty, you give shelter to strangers, you clothe the naked, you visit the sick, you ransom the captives, and not only from the sensual pagans, but also from the mental ones - demons. Because many, enslaved by the pagans, gave up their souls along with their bodies to eternal death, because they mixed with the pagans and learned to do their deeds. And the one who redeems these captives not only visibly fulfills the commandments of Christ, but also mentally, for they are truly hungry and thirsty listeners of the word of God. They are strangers, deprived of Christian habitation, whom God wants us to clothe and warm. They are the sick who are in danger of losing their life-giving faith. They sit in the dark prison of godlessness and want to get out of it and see the light of the Sun of Truth. The one who fulfills this, by the grace of God, is equal to the apostles. If I remember those whom you brought to God from every nation with your godly tongue, then I will not have enough time to tell. Especially about the Scythians, because with the assistance of God and victory over them you made sheep of those who were previously wolves, and through Holy Baptism you included them in the flock of Christ. And one acquired soul, as St. John Chrysostom says, can often destroy the load of sins and become for us a means of salvation on the Day of Judgment. And if alms are given in money, then this is the reason for so many crowns, so many awards, that how can all these benefits not be where souls benefit? For such a person will be the mouth of God, according to the saying of the Holy Scriptures. By doing this, Christ-like king, are you also saying that you do not remember God? In general, you are doing well to say this in order to teach us, the bad ones, not to think highly of ourselves, for which you will also receive a reward on the Day of Judgment. The all-blessed king talked with the monk about this and much more about the salvation of the soul. Delighted by such a pleasant and sincere conversation, the king said: – Just as someone who carries aromas, even if he doesn’t want to, is recognized by their fragrance, so someone who has the Spirit of the Lord is recognized by his words and humility. Whose monastery is this, Abba? “We inherited this church from our ancestors, this monk lived here before me,” said the saint, pointing to his brother, “who, with the help of God and his own labors, formed this small monastery, where we now live, unworthy, praying to God for our own salvation and for the power of your holy kingdom, and for the whole world.” – Who owns the place where the monastery is located? And, hearing that this was a state place, he said: - From this hour I give it to the monastery, for your holy prayers, and what debts, if any, are owed to the monastery, I forgive and issue my chrisovul (letter), so that this place remains free. This happened later. Then, having received the blessing of the monk, the king gave him five liters of gold to distribute to the poor and one liter for the monastery, and so, in joy that he was honored to see such a holy man and talk with him, he left. This king loved the monks very much and revered them, so very often, when he sat on the throne and was told that a certain virtuous monk had come, he immediately asked for a belt, girded himself and went out to meet the monk. Having bowed, he kissed him and remained standing with his arms crossed. And if the monk did not sit down, then he also did not sit on the throne. If he happened to be eating when the monk came, he would say: “Clean up, clear away the table,” after which, having washed, he stood up and kissed the monk. And during illness, if a monk was sitting at his feet, the king tried not to stretch them too much, so as not to hurt the monk, as if he were a holy icon. If sometimes, having forgotten himself, he touched the monk with his feet, he immediately pulled them away, as if burned by fire. The king said: “I believe that all the blessings that God has given me were given to me through the prayers of my holy elders, and for my love for them, as I have been convinced of this many times.” But let's get back to our story. After the king, the pious queen and the children said goodbye to the monk, they experienced such joy that they gave all their clothes to the poor, and not only they, but also everyone who accompanied them. The beggars sold these clothes to them again, for who could buy such expensive clothes? And there was great joy in that country, because at that time there was a severe famine, and a rumor spread throughout the country that Abba Cyril was distributing money. A lot of beggars immediately gathered in the monastery, and after five liters of gold were distributed, a crowd of beggars who had received nothing began to shout, asking the monks for money. The monk ordered to give back the liter that the king gave for the monastery, but other beggars continued to scream. Then the monk asked the brothers: – Does anyone have any money received from the sale of handicrafts? - We have eighty coins. But even when these forty coins were given, other beggars continued to scream. The monk ordered to give twenty more coins, but the beggars kept screaming, then ten, but other beggars still screamed. Then the monk turned to the brothers: – If you want, accept my sinful prayers, and give the remaining ten coins, maybe Christ will tempt us. But the monks did not want to give the money because they needed it to buy church oil. The monk remarked to this: – The passion of the love of money manifests itself when they take with joy and give with sadness. The Divine Maxim says that “there are three reasons for the love of money: voluptuousness, vanity and unbelief, which is worse than the other two. The voluptuous person loves money in order to pay for his evil lusts with it, the vain person - in order to become famous, and the unbeliever in order to save it in fear of poverty, or old age, or illness, or wandering, and hopes more in them than in God, the Provider of even the smallest animals. There are also the fourth, who saves money to give to those in need. Whoever considers the need of another as his own will never lose money. "So I ask you, be thrifty in order to get rid of lust, vanity and unbelief. Do you not know that God, according to His economy, brought kings and their retinue here so that even they would give their clothes to the poor? It doesn’t belong to us. We brought nothing into this world, so we can’t take anything out of it. As I already told you, give the remaining ten coins and God will give you a hundredfold alms. After the brothers gave away these coins, the other beggars still continued to scream. Then the monk called several of them and said: “Believe me, brothers, there is no more money, for they gave away what they had from the sold needlework.” So the beggars left, thanking the saint of God. A few days later the monks began to feel the need. They came to the monk and said: - Where, Abba, is the hundred-fold alms you spoke about? - Why are you talking like crazy? I trust my Christ that He will send us everything we need. After some time, a relative of the king came to the monk and gave him a large bag of money. Then, calling the monks, the monk said: “You see, you of little faith, you shouldn’t have hesitated!” Take, dear ones, what belongs to the earth, and, having satisfied your needs, give the rest to the poor, so that you too may have mercy and receive the grace of our Lord, to whom be glory forever. In the village of the monk there lived one pious and virtuous man named Melimavras, his friend. One day he went to another area and spent the night at an inn. As soon as the hotel owner’s wife found out that he was from the homeland of St. Cyril, and also his friend, she began to exclaim: “Thank God that I have gained the opportunity to tell about the miracle that happened in my house according to the righteous judgment of God, for if I remain silent, then I will have no part with the truth and with God. A few days ago, a warrior, young in age and in mind, spent the night here, who did not cease to revile the Monk Cyril. And the reason for this, according to him, was that he went to bow to the monk, but he did not want to see him. My husband and I asked him for a long time to stop blaspheming the saint, but he did not listen, became even more angry and cursed. Seeing his complete shamelessness and insolence, I don’t know how, but I told him: “Man, stop insulting Abba Cyril, because you are not insulting him, but the God whom you serve. The whole world proclaims him to be a true servant of God; behold, God will not tolerate you and will strike you through His Angel.” After some time, the warrior began to have a terrible pain in his stomach, he screamed, and not even an hour had passed when (oh! miracle) all his insides fell out, and the warrior died.” Melimavras told me about this incident, and I considered it worthy to write it down for the sake of Him who said: “What you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops” (Matthew 10:27). At the age of ninety, the monk fell ill, and although he was exhausted by old age and tired of illness, he did not abandon his previous feat, but lay like adamant, as if someone else was suffering, or as if he were incorporeal. The monk conquered the dominant belly and achieved extreme dispassion, eating bread, grass, water and a little of that for sixty years. He himself said: “Since I became a monk, I have not drunk enough water. And since my tongue stuck to my larynx, before putting the bread in my mouth, I moistened the edges of my lips with one or two drops of water so that I could swallow it.” When the king heard about his illness, he came to him with his whole family. Seeing his torment, the queen began to feed him with her own hands (she brought food with her) and gave him a little wine to drink. Since the monk was already somewhat hard of hearing, the king ordered his servant to ask whether he would do the right thing if he now went east to fight the godless Turks. After thinking a little, the monk said: “You will accept my advice, and now you will not go to the east, but when God is pleased, you will go, and He Himself will prepare your way” (Mark 1:2). Hearing this, the king stood up and, bowing to God, said, “Amen, may it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Then, having received his holy prayers, the king left the saint’s cell. Seeing that the monastery church was falling apart, he ordered it to be destroyed to the ground and rebuilt, which was fulfilled. And God fulfilled the prophecy of the saint when the king, after some time, went to the east and subjugated the so-called Solympalos. After the church was built, as the monk wanted, he ordered the sheep to be given to the builders. One of them, when he was eating it, began to complain that it was supposedly not very fat and pushed away the piece. The other builders told him that in this way he was rejecting the blessing of the monk. But that ungrateful soul was dissatisfied. And then a miracle happened: under the influence of the demon, he turned his face backwards, fell to the ground, began to have a fit, began to grind his teeth and emit foam. Seeing this, his comrades ran to the monk and told how it happened. The monk answered them: “My Lords, God bears all human sins, but He does not bear the sins of the murmurer and the ungrateful and punishes him.” Then he filled a glass with water and gave it to them with the words: “Go and pour it on his head, or give him something to drink, and then, in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, he will be healed.” As the reverend said, so they did. When the murmurer came to his senses, he fell at the feet of the monk, thanked him and asked for forgiveness. Having given him instructions, the monk finally said: “Sin no more, lest anything worse happen to you” (John 5:14), and so from that hour, by the grace of God, he was healed. There lived in the monastery a young monk, the nephew of the monk. Since young people have a lot of jealousy at the beginning, he also wanted to imitate the monk not only in food and clothing, but also to surpass him; Cyril often advised him to refrain from everything excessive and not to try to put his foot on a higher rung of the spiritual ladder of virtues, but to start from the first, for in this way, little by little, one can ascend to the peak, which is the love of God, and what is beyond measure comes from demons. After many instructions, the monk ordered the young monk to follow the middle path and eat once a day, so that later he would not start eating many times a day, and thus cut off his will. However, the young man answered St. Cyril: “Father, it behooves me to fast all week, but eating every other day is nothing to me.” - Brother, who wants to maintain true humility should not rely on himself in anything, for this is true humility. The one who does not want to cut off his will and fasts for a week, then, faint-hearted from the assistance of demons, comes to the point that he eats many times a day indiscriminately. This happens to those who do not want to maintain patience and humility, but rely on themselves. And now the time has come to talk about the death of the saint. St. Cyril was thirty years old when he began the feat in which he spent more than sixty years, and until he was ninety-three years old he never had pain in his eyes, teeth, or any other members. In the last three years of his life, he sometimes became slightly ill. At ninety-three years old, the monk was bent over from extreme old age and many years of asceticism, which is why he rarely rose. Seeing him in such a state, our enemy the devil was jealous that he would not end his life in a good old age. So listen to what this bad guy is up to. The king's nephew, John Augustus, often came to the monk for a blessing. Knowing this and seeing that the monk was bedridden, the devil showed him in a vision that in the monastery next to his cell there was a tent, in it there was a bed covered with red carpets, John Augustus was sitting on it, and there were many servants around him. After this, as if to continue the vision, Augustus entered the monk’s cell and began a conversation with him. And as soon as he spoke, the monk’s thoughts darkened, and the more the damned Augustus spoke, the more the monk’s mind darkened, until the monk almost went crazy. The poisonous words of the devil, with God’s permission, can do not only this, but even more. Then the demon said to the monk: “You know what reverence I have for you, so I want the liturgy to be celebrated in your cell and you to receive communion.” The monk, not understanding what he was saying, said: “Here is the cell, and do as you wish.” Immediately, in the monk’s cell, the Holy Meal, an altar, a paten with a chalice, and coverings appeared in a visible way, and priests entered inside and began to perform the liturgy. The monk stood in another corner of the cell and listened to what the servants were saying, but could not understand what they were saying. They read both the Apostle and the Gospel, but from the answers, the monk did not hear anything except “Amen,” “Amen.” Then, when these wicked priests said: “Come,” Augustus from the vision came up and received communion from their shamelessness and wickedness. Everyone who was with him did the same. The monk wondered whether he should go and take communion. However, he did not go, saying to himself: “If there is a reason for it,” the will of God, then Augustus will tell me, and if not, then who am I, unworthy to receive communion?” The all-merciful God did not despise his humility, but delivered him from his enemies and did not allow him to receive communion, for if he had received communion, he would have gone completely crazy. When their nasty liturgy was over, Augustus (who was actually a demon) left and went to the tent. The monk, tired of meaningless standing, sat down with a very embarrassed and gloomy look. He knocked, and a student answered the knock and asked: - Aren’t you Christians and you don’t need to die, why don’t you feel sorry for my old age and don’t see my torment? Is it possible for the worldly to bother me so much and to arrange a liturgy in my cell? - Forgive me, Abba, I don’t know what you’re talking about. – If you don’t believe my words, then believe my deeds. “Didn’t you see Augustus with his people and his tent?” - and he told the student about everything that had happened. “I haven’t seen anything of what you’re talking about.” The monk pointed with his hand to the corner of the cell: – Don’t you even see this paten with a chalice and shrouds? Raising his glass, the student asked: “Isn’t this the glass you drink from?” Then the student began to hit him in the face, saying: - Woe, you have lost your mind, Abba. “You’re the one who lost your mind, and I’m fine.” So they argued for a long time, and sometimes the monk came to his senses. At one such moment, the brothers suggested to the monk: – Do you want us to bring that monk (possibly the author of this life) to you so that he can help you? That monk came and, bowing, asked the monk: – As my brothers say, it’s bad. When the monk told about everything that happened, the monk said: – Glory to the Lord, who helped you, because if you had partaken of their filth, then you would have completely lost your mind. – Is it certain that what I saw was flattery and vision? I can't believe it. – With God’s help you will believe, and don’t say no. If you don’t believe me, then I will bring you the real John Augustus, and he will confirm my words to you. Don’t you remember, father, how many stories in Fatherland there are about people who were deceived by Satan in one way or another. - Yes, I remember, but what should I do now? “You just have to believe in our testimony, because there are many of us, witnesses, and we know for sure that Augustus did not come here at that time, and nothing that you saw in the vision happened.” Unable to deceive your mental eyes, just as the demon deceives the eyes of mine and those like me, he deceived your feelings, and this is proof of his weakness. Believe that you saw all this with the assistance of demons. Sometimes even a good captain’s ship sank, and very rarely does one walking along the road not stumble. You know, father, that the virtuous, even if sometimes they fall into sin, can get up again and not be faint-hearted. Hearing this and much more, the monk came to his senses and began to cry, repeating: “Woe, woe is me, for my soul would have gone to hell if the Lord had not become my Helper.” Woe is me, for I could lose everything without gaining anything. My Christ, my Christ, do not leave me. You know that I am not afraid of the torment of hell, but I am afraid of being separated from Your Sweetest Face and from my brothers, and I will not be able to venerate Your Honorable Cross and Your holy icon, I will not be able to partake of Your Most Pure Body and Blood. All this for me is worse than any death and eternal torment. I would experience all this in this life if I were left by You in the company of demons, and in the future I would be condemned with them to dark and unquenchable fire and separation from You, my Christ. Forgive me, Lord, my sins, may I rest in peace with a message from You before I leave here. Have mercy, my Christ, on my old age, have pity on my torment, have pity on me, the lost one, and free me from the manifold snares of the enemy, for You are the God of the repentant and show me all Your goodness. Save me, the unworthy, according to Your great mercy, and I will always praise You in all the few days of my life. Having thus confessed to God with tears, the monk stood up and bowed before the brethren with the words: “Forgive me, who am lost.” The brothers, moved and shedding tears, persuaded him to partake of the Divine Mysteries the next day, because he had not received communion for a long time. I told him that this Sacrament is called Communion because it unites us with Christ and makes us partakers of His Kingdom. One Jewish magician named Daniel, when they wanted to burn him, shouted: “Behold, the Angel of the Lord is torturing me so that I tell the Christians what I did not want to say. I swear on my dying hour that my magical art has never had any effect on a Christian who takes communion every day.” Hearing this, the monk said to God: “I thank You, my Lord, that “You have prepared a table before me in the sight of my enemies; anointed my head with oil; my cup is overflowing” (Ps. 22:5). Having prayed like this, the monk received communion of the Divine Mysteries, and his face became like a flame. A little later, with a smile and joy of soul, he said: “Weeping may endure in the evening, but joy comes in the morning” (Ps. 29:6). Truly the Lord humbles and exalts, “and raises up all those who are cast down” (Ps. 145:14). Woe is me, while I have fellowship with the enemies of God, what fellowship can I have with God? To condemn myself, I receive communion, which is why the priest says: “Holy to the holy,” and not “unclean.” If I am holy, then who are these enemies who are working for my destruction? Blessed is the one who approaches the Divine Mysteries with fear and trembling, thinking that he is accepting eternal life. I am surprised how, by God’s permission, demons can give people one thing for another, and I think that if there were no protection of God over people, then from the strong rage that the demons have towards us, they would throw us all into the sea, like a herd of pigs.” After some time, the demon in the form of Augustus again came to the monk, who, looking at him, immediately recognized the demon and wanted to hit him, but the demon became invisible. The monk struck his hand against the wall, and then showed everyone his hand, which had turned black from the blow. Having completely freed himself from this temptation, with the help of God, the saint temporarily received physical health. Then he got sick again and I came to see him. Seeing that he was lying on a bare mat, I asked him to put at least a little grass in order to have some small consolation. He obeyed and put the grass down, and we covered it with a hair blanket on top. The monk lay down and said with a groan: “Oh, Cyril, what have you come to, lying on a soft bed and eating delicious food,” calling grass a bed, and boiled beets a delicious food. When he reached the age of ninety-five, he became even weaker and sicker. We barely persuaded him to eat fish and drink wine, because only at the age of ninety did he begin to eat boiled food on the Lord's holidays, but without oil. At the age of ninety-two he began to eat oil. At ninety-six years old, the monk was completely weak, both from illness and from extreme old age. Having foreknowledge of the imminent end of his life, he ordered us not to bury him in the church of the Lord, considering himself unworthy, but to bury him in the grave of his brother. We had to put a stone on his head and cover his body with earth. Striving for many more days in fasting, he gave up his blessed soul into the hands of God, and we buried his holy relics with honor and reverence in the year one thousand one hundred and eleven from the Nativity of Christ, on the second day of December. Eleven years after the death of the saint, out of great reverence for him and a desire to kiss his holy relics, I dared to open the tomb and, with the help of God, found his holy head, filled with divine fragrance. Having placed it in a casket, I placed it in the monastery church for the healing of the soul and body of those who kiss it with faith, for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Melimavras, who was described earlier, having heard about the death of the monk, came to the monastery and, seeing his holy head, kissed him with strong faith and hugged him with great love. Rejoicing and having fun, he said: “Where I, unworthy, could not even hope to see the holy head of my good father, all of whose benefits I cannot even enumerate, not only during life, but also after death.” Then he said, turning to me: “Abba, have you heard about the miracle he performed for me?” And he began to talk: “I once lifted a large anchor from my boat to put it inside, and I got a hernia. I barely made it home and, from severe pain and immense sadness, I wished myself death. Remembering the monk, I came to the monastery and fell at his grave, asking with faith to have mercy on me. I took some soil from his grave and put it on the sore spot, when suddenly a miracle happened. A day later I was healthy through his holy prayers, so that not a trace of the illness remained. Therefore I glorified God, who glorifies His servants. One day such an incident happened. A certain widowed wife named Foka cried day and night because of her widowhood, the orphanhood of her children and severe poverty, and lost her sight from her tears. Continuing to cry day and night, she called on death to get rid of all this torment. Foka went to see a doctor, but the desired vision did not return to her; she suffered greatly. But one night Foka saw in a dream a modest-looking woman who told her that she could only be healed by the head of the monk. Foka immediately came to the monastery, and as soon as the priest began to perform the liturgy (O Thy ineffable judgments, O Christ the King!), the holy head of the saint by Divine grace stuck to the woman’s eyes (before that the head had been placed on top of her eyes) and until the end of the liturgy it remained in sight to the surprise of everyone who saw this miracle. After this, the blind woman began to see little by little until her vision completely returned, after which she glorified God and the saint. The grandson of the aforementioned Melimavras, eighteen years old, once saw a fly fly into his nose, and a demon immediately entered into him. The young man fell to the ground, began to roll around, foam and grind his teeth. So he suffered for a whole year, calling on many saints for help. Not finding healing, he turned to St. Cyril for help. He immediately placed his holy head on his forehead. And - lo and behold! - she stuck to the forehead, and then, under the influence of the Divine grace that resided in her, she herself sank onto the chest of the sufferer, who was healed from that hour. One of the residents of the nearest village to Derkis, along with his wife and children, was paralyzed due to the magic of a certain evil person (with God's permission, demons can do this too). Having prayed to God, they resorted to the help of the saint and, having received sacred oil from his head, anointed themselves with this oil, after which the paralysis passed and they glorified the much-chanted name of God and the grace He had given to the saint. Many say that miracles happen not for believers, but for non-believers, and that today's Christians cannot become saints and perfect, which is why the grace of miracles has become scarce. And there is clear proof of this, for we have no Christian deeds, because we are careless, we think about worldly things, and therefore the grace of God does not work. Grace is the Holy Spirit, Who is not powerless, but omnipotent. He does not move away from us, but is present everywhere, and manifests itself and acts according to our faith, and according to how we keep the commandments of Christ, to Whom belongs all glory, honor and worship, together with His Beginning Father and the Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. (Written by Rev. Nicholas Kataskepinos) The life and exploits of our holy father Gregory, Bishop of Assos, who shone in the 12th century This same saintly father, our father George, came from the island of Mitelen from a village called Akorni. His pious parents George and Maria for a long time, with tears, asked God to give them a child. The Lord heard their prayer and gave them this divine Gregory, who in Holy Baptism, like his father, was named George. The child was raised with great diligence, teaching him sacred literacy. At that time, the king issued a decree that the children of noble parents should be sent to the palace, where they were raised for three years, and then returned to their homeland, from where others were brought to replace them. Therefore, at the age of fourteen, this good George was sent along with other children to the palace. Manuel Porphyrogenitus was then king. During his three years of study in the palace, blessed George did not indulge, like other children, in vanity, indecent games, or carnal, soul-harming lusts, but tried not to give rest to his body, killing and torturing it with fasts and harsh treatment. Very diligently devoted to the study of sciences, he succeeded quite well in them, having the great Agathon as his teacher. However, the monk was diligent not only in the sciences, but tried with all his might to acquire the necessary virtues. He even distributed the weekly food he received to the poor, leaving for himself only as much food as was necessary to maintain life in his body. When the time came for the children to return to their homeland, the worthy Georgiy, while others were preparing to meet their parents, began to reflect on the impermanence of the world and the vanity of everything temporary, and the confusion and concern associated with this. Constantly thinking about this, he wisely decided to choose a quiet and serene life in order to be free from the cares of the world and to listen with his whole being to the eternal and enduring blessings of Heaven, only to think about them every day and try to taste them. This Heavenly residence can be achieved only through the narrow and sorrowful monastic path. Having renounced his homeland, parents, wealth, worldly vanity and all carnal pleasures, he left Constantinople along with his teacher, the wondrous Agathon, and went east to the monastery built by his Abba. Having become a novice there, in accordance with the rules of monastic life, the monk settled on a mountain close to the monastery, where he spent three years, striving with all rigor in all virtues. Then, since his heart burned with divine love, he planned to go to Jerusalem to venerate the holy places and enjoy conversations with spiritual and virtuous men, learn from them strict monastic life and put on the holy angelic schema. Having announced his intention to Saint Agathon, the monk realized that he agreed with him. And then he went to Jerusalem with great desire. With God's help, having arrived there, he reverently bowed to the Holy Sepulcher and other shrines, and then went into the Jordan desert. Having found wonderful ascetics there, he talked with them for quite a long time on spiritual topics, communicated with them, and saw their superhuman feats. Surprised, Georgy was afraid and was already thinking about not trying to live such a life at all. Then he went to one of the most virtuous and experienced elders and revealed his thoughts to him. Having, in turn, heard from him everything that was necessary, the monk banished all fear from his heart and, with hope in the Lord, devoted himself to this elder, becoming his novice. The young man was clothed by him with the angelic schema, renamed Gregory and remained with him, eating the grass of that desert. Who can tell about the ascetic labors and exploits that the blessed one undertook there? Seeing his exploits, haters of goodness, envious demons began to wage cruel abuse against him in various ways. But they worked in vain, for, having intensified their feat even more and constantly beseeching the Lord with faith and tears, the divine Gregory, by the grace of God, repulsed all the demonic attacks. Having become the conqueror of evil demons, the monk put on a tunic of joy and was elevated in spirit, having acquired the fruits of the Most Holy Spirit, as the divine Paul says. Having spent fifteen years in the desert, Gregory again remembered the divine Agathon. Having left there, he came to the previously mentioned monastery and settled in his old cell on the mountain, practicing superhuman feats, through which he shone for everyone like a bright star, illuminating everything with his deeds and appearance. That’s why both monks and lay people came to him to listen to his saving and soul-helping teachings. And the divine Agathon, seeing and hearing about the exploits of holy Gregory, rejoiced in spirit, glorifying the Chief and Performer of all good things - God, and testified before everyone that Gregory had already come “to the measure of the full stature of Christ” (Eph. 4:13) and became perfect in virtue. At that time, one episcopal see in the east, called Assos, was widowed, and the clergy, together with the archons of this bishopric, asked the hierarchy of the Great Church for a worthy shepherd. When the patriarch and bishops began to look for someone worthy of serving in this department, the great Agathon just happened to be in the capital. Being an acquaintance of the patriarch and the entire Holy Synod, he told them about the exploits of the divine Gregory. And then the king and the patriarch sent letters to the great Gregory, inviting him to come to Constantinople. Not knowing why he was being called to the capital, Gregory came there and, against his own will, was ordained bishop of Assos by the Metropolitan of Ephesus, after which he was sent to his throne with great honors from the king and the Great Church. Having accepted the great burden of being a bishop, the monk began to devote himself more to exploits. As a true shepherd, he cared for his flock in a godly manner, considering it necessary to constantly teach them the word of God, while at the same time commanding everyone to keep the commandments of God and abstain from all evil. From his belly, as it were, rivers of living water flowed, because he had only one concern and one concern: how to win human souls and bring them to God. Sometimes he used severity with spiritual prudence, fulfilling the commandment of the apostle, who says that a spiritual steward must know the disposition of everyone: to comfort one, to reproach another and to reprove “in season and out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2). He was very diligent in spiritual management and did not ordain anyone without careful testing, so as not to be a participant in the sins of others. Thus, by honoring the Sacrament of the Priesthood and showing how great its dignity is and what a priest should be, the saint multiplied the talent given to him by God. He taught not only in word, but also in deeds, becoming a model and good example of all virtues for everyone. But, seeing such deeds of the saint, the devil, a hater of good, could no longer endure them. He raised up restless and inactive clergy and priests against Gregory. The archpriest of the bishopric had a son named Leo, whom he gave to the divine Gregory. The saint, taking him under his wing, constantly taught him the fear of God. And since he turned out to be reasonable, faithful, experienced in everything and lived virtuously, the saint entrusted him with the management of church property. Driven by envy, the mentioned clerics wrote a paper full of lies and slander accusing the saint and sent it to the Council of Holy Bishops. But no one believed these accusations, because everyone knew about the virtuous life of the saint. Meanwhile, the divine Gregory also came to the Council. As soon as the envious people saw him, all the accusations disappeared like spider webs. Convicted by their own conscience, the accusers repented and fell at the feet of the saint, asking for forgiveness for the unfair accusations. As a true disciple of Christ, the righteous man forgave them and returned in peace to his diocese along with his opponents who had defamed him, who, following his instructions, obeyed him for some time. But the crafty demon, which came out of them during their repentance, wandering through waterless places and finding no peace for itself, returned to them again. Finding them careless, he entered them along with seven even more evil spirits, and again raised even greater abuse against the saint with the help of these clerics. Having completely surrendered to Satan, these people again wrote a paper against the saint with accusations greater than the previous ones. They brought this paper to the Great Church and, having given it away, shouted against the saint. The patriarch and bishops drove them away, cursing them for obvious lies and slander. But what did the good ascetic, the divine Gregory, who knew how to fight only with demons, and not with people, do? He ordered his disciple Leo to take his robe and book and follow him. Leaving the bishopric at night, they boarded a ship and sailed to Tenedos, where there was a most beautiful monastery with many monks. There the monk remained silent for some time, and there he tonsured his disciple a monk, renaming him from Leo to Leontius. Then they moved to Mytilene and climbed the mountain. Wanting to see his parents, the monk went to his village in Akorni. There he accidentally met his mother, who was heading to the bathhouse. Not recognizing him, she greeted him and asked for his blessing. The saint answered her: “God will bless you and make you worthy to see the one who is in your foreign land.” Having fulfilled his desire, he immediately left from there and, climbing Mount Priant, remained silent there with Leontius. Having found a remote and wooded place called Small Levkopedi, by Divine inspiration, the monk came to the owners of that area and asked permission to clear it of the forest and establish a monastery there. The owners were delighted with this offer and gave him these lands, enclosing a written document on the transfer. This area was completely useless for them, because it was filled with demons. The saint said a prayer, and as soon as he got down to business, the demons rose up against him, causing great indignation and noise: “You offend us, Gregory, leave our home.” Raising his mental eyes to heaven, the saint prayed to the Most High God to deliver him from evil spirits. Having received help from Him, the monk drove them away with prayer. But these damned ones came to the owners of that area and threw them into confusion, because when they saw that the place had been carefully cleared and tidied up, they repented that they had given it away with the document. They drove the saint away from there, although he worked and endured so much to clear this place. Some of them, being evil heretics, having heard that the saint preached the Orthodox faith, treated him with hostility and, attacking him with sticks and stones, beat him half to death. Taking him by the legs, they threw him at the foot of the mountain. And in this place (oh Thy miracles, Lord!), where they threw the monk, nothing has grown yet, but it looks burnt. The divine Gregory was miraculously healed by the Lord and glorified God. One day, entering a garden with a disciple, he stuck his hazel staff into the ground, on which he had leaned for twelve years, and said: “Brother Leonty, if God grants us the Kingdom of Heaven, then let the staff sprout and become a tree, and bear fruit, like other trees.” And a miracle happened! It was the month of September when he planted the staff, and it was dry all winter. When March came, the staff sprouted and bore fruit, and its fruit healed all diseases, to the glory of Christ and in honor of the saint. A certain madman Mikhail said that this was all magic, not a miracle. Running to the tree, he shamelessly cut off all the branches of the staff, but his own members immediately became dead. He fell to the ground and was a pitiful sight. The relatives picked up the unfortunate man and brought him to the house, where, punished by illness for his unbelief and shamelessness, he lay bedridden as long as the saint lived. After his death and burial, many sick people came with faith to the tomb of the saint, which exuded blessed water, and, after drinking it, they were healed. Michael was also brought there by his relatives, who with faith and warm tears prayed to God and called on the saint for help. And a miracle happened! As soon as the sick man drank that holy water, he immediately became healthy, glorifying and blessing God and the saint, and announcing to everyone about the miracles that had happened to him. But let's get back to our story. Having learned about Gregory’s miraculous healing from the Lord and his great patience, the owners of that area changed their cruelty to meekness and (oh wonderful God!) changed their character and repented of what they had done. They fell at the feet of the saint, asking for forgiveness, which they immediately received. From now on, they allowed the saint to calmly do whatever he wanted with that area. Having planned to build a church, but not having animals to deliver everything necessary for construction, the saint one day met a woman, a widow, in a gorge. Having told her about his need, he gave her three gold pieces as a blessing. And then she respectfully told him: “Father, I have many animals, but they are all wild. If you can, gather the whole herd and I will give them to your shrine.” Having said a prayer, the saint ordered the servant to climb the mountain where the animals were grazing and choose the two best, who, having obeyed the word of the saint, immediately calmed down and followed the servant. With their help, the saint brought timber and built a most beautiful church in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos, and then built cells and founded a monastery. Having learned about the exploits of the saint, the people who gathered here in large numbers then accepted monasticism and went into obedience to Saint Gregory, for he was a vigilant shepherd and a wise steward in everything. However, there was no water in that area and the monks grieved greatly. Then, raising his hands and raising his mind to Heaven, the saint with faith and tears prayed for a long time to the Most High God to give water. An Angel of the Lord descended from heaven to him and revealed his impending transfer to Heaven. Showing the saint the place of his burial, the Angel said that the sweetest water would flow out of it. Having uttered these words, the Angel ascended to Heaven. Calling his disciple Leontius and other brothers, the divine Gregory announced to them what he had heard from the Angel. Having sufficiently instructed them, he commanded them to do everything that befits monastic life, after which he devoted himself to prayer and thus departed to the Lord. His sacred and honorable remains were buried where the Angel of God designated, and where a church was later built in the name of the saint. In the middle of the church there is his tomb, from which flows a source of sweet water, which to this day heals every disease of those who come with faith, to the glory of God and the saint, through whose intercession we too may be delivered from all evil and be made worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen. You might be interested in: