Воспоминание о некоем богобоязненном отшельнике

On this day, we remember a certain God-fearing and pious hermit who lived in a desert mountain located within the Egyptian city of Antinous 1196; many of those who came to him received edification from his conversations and good deeds. The enemy of the human race envied the virtuous life of the hermit and, taking advantage of his fear of God, instilled in him the following thought: “It is not fitting for others to work or serve you, for you are not only unworthy for anyone to serve you, but you yourself are not worthy to serve anyone, and therefore work only for yourself. So, go to the city and sell the baskets that you make, buy everything you need for yourself and leave here, so as not to be a burden to others.” The devil put this thought in the mind of the hermit because he envied his silence and exploits, from which others also received great spiritual benefit, for the enemy of the human race tries to catch everyone in his net. And so, the hermit, respected and glorified by everyone for his virtuous life, heeding this evil advice as if it were good, left his cell, not understanding the cunning machinations of the devil. After some time, the hermit met a woman and after a long conversation with her, due to his mental inattention, he was carried away by lust. Having then, under the suggestion of the devil, come to a secluded place near the river, he finally realized that he had fallen into sin to the delight of his enemy - the devil. In despair that he had saddened the Holy Spirit, the Angels and the holy fathers, many of whom, living in cities, defeated the devil, the hermit intended to throw himself into the river rapids, forgetting that the Lord is always ready to come to the aid of all those who trust in Him and want to be healed of their sins. From such spiritual grief the hermit became weak in body, to the great joy of the devil. And if the All-Merciful God had not come to his aid, he would have died without repentance, to the delight of the demons. Having then come to his senses, the monk began to think about how difficult it would be to undertake the feat of repentance and Christian patience, and to appease God - with tears and heartfelt contrition. And so he again came to his cell and, blocking the entrance to it, began to pray to God and mourn his sin, shedding tears over himself, as if over a dead man, at the same time fasting, grieving and exposing his flesh to exhaustion; but with all this he did not hope to atone for his grave sin. When the brethren, according to custom, came to him for spiritual benefit and knocked on his door, he answered them: “I can’t open it to you, because I made a vow to repent like this for a whole year; You are praying for me, unworthy. This is how the hermit answered them, not finding what to say to them, fearing to seduce them if he told them about his fall, for he was known to everyone as a strict and skillful monk. So he spent the whole year, strictly fasting and repenting of his sin. When the Easter holiday approached, the hermit, on the very night before the Resurrection of Christ, took a new lamp, poured oil into it and, putting it in a new vessel, covered it and began to pray in the evening and said: - Generous and merciful Lord, who wants to save the pagans and bring them to the understanding of truth! I resort to You, I will save our souls: have mercy on me, who greatly angered You and did a lot to the joy of the enemy, so that now, having listened to the enemy, I have become as if dead. But You, Lord, who have mercy on the wicked and unmerciful and teach your neighbor to have mercy, have mercy and mercy on my reproach, for all things are possible for You, the All-Merciful. Show mercy to me, for You are good and merciful to Your creation, and You want to restore even decayed bodies on the day of Resurrection. Hear me, Lord, for my spirit is sad within me, and my accursed soul has melted away, and my body, which I have defiled, has become weak; I can’t even live, because I’m not worthy of it. Now, with repentance, I resort to You and pray for forgiveness of my sins. I sinned greatly, for I fell and despaired; but revive me, a contrite one, and command this lamp to be kindled by Your fire, so that from here I may understand that You, Great in generosity, grant forgiveness for my sins. The rest of my life, which You, Lord, give me, I will remain in Your fear, keeping Your commandments. Thus, praying on the night of the Resurrection of Christ with many tears, the hermit stood up to see if the lamp had been lit, and, opening the vessel, he saw that the lamp had not been lit. Then he fell again on his face and prayed to the Lord, saying: “I know, Lord, that I should have been crowned with a good deed, but I did not heed Your commandments, being carried away by carnal lust, and for this I must undergo torment along with the wicked; but have mercy, Lord, on me, who have sinned against You and who confess my sin before all the Angels and the righteous. And if people had not been tempted, then I would have confessed my sin before the whole world. Have mercy on me, Lord, who repents of my fall into sin, revive me, so that I can instruct others. Thus, having prayed three times, he was heard. Rising after prayer, the hermit saw that the lamp was burning brightly, and he rejoiced greatly and was strengthened by good trust in God. And he marveled at such great grace of God and the love of the Lord for mankind, and rejoiced in spirit that God forgave him for his sins and heard his humble prayer, and said: “I thank You, Lord, that in this temporary life You have had mercy on me, unworthy, by this great and new sign, giving me boldness towards You: for You forgive with mercy the souls created by You. When he offered this thanksgiving to God, the day dawned, and the hermit rejoiced in the Lord and, out of joy, forgot that day about bodily food. He kept the fire of that lamp for the rest of his life, adding oil to it so that the fire would not go out. And again the Spirit of God was with him, again everyone learned about him and received edification from him. When he approached his death, a few days before his death he learned the hour of his death and rested in peace, surrendering his soul into the hands of God. On the same day, the memory of the holy noble Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich. 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