Память преподобного Иоанна, нареченного Варсанофия

The Monk John was from Palestine; At the age of eighteen he was baptized and took on the monastic image and especially began to strive in fasting. For his virtuous life, he was installed as archbishop in Damascus in 1674. But, having not spent much time in the archbishop's chair, he noticed that the duties of his high position were difficult to combine with monastic exploits, so John left the bishopric and secretly withdrew from Damascus. Arriving in Alexandria in 1675, he renamed himself Barsanuphius, so that no one would recognize him and his real position would not be revealed. From Alexandria he went, like a poor wanderer, to Mount Nitria 1676; Having bowed to the abbot of the monastery that was here, Saint John asked him to accept him for the services of the brethren. The abbot accepted him and gave him a monastic robe. The saint began to zealously serve the monks; during the day he was busy with this work, and at night he remained in prayer without sleep. Early in the morning he collected pumpkins and vessels from all the cells and went to the river; Having drawn water, he brought it and placed a vessel with water in front of each cell. One of the monks, a man of little intelligence, greatly annoyed the saint, either giving him reproachful nicknames or pouring slop on him. Inspired by the devil, the unworthy monk drilled into the wall of the cell where the Monk John lived, and through the hole “made a watery exodus” onto the saint’s bed, so that it began to emit a stench. Having learned about this, the abbot called his brother to him to punish him. But Barsanuphius fell at the feet of the abbot, crying and saying that he himself was guilty of this: “I myself,” said the saint, “irritate my brother and arouse his anger; Forgive him for God's sake. So he spared his brother from punishment. But after some time, John was recognized by the Monk Theodore of Nitria, left the mountain and fled to Egypt. Here he showed the gift of such insight that he even recognized people’s thoughts. He freed the Church from heretics, wrote many soul-helping books and departed in peace in Christ Jesus 1677. To Him, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory forever. Amen. Damascus is the main, richest trading city of Syria, one of the oldest in the whole world; lies northeast of Palestine, near the river. Barada, flowing through it, in a beautiful and fertile plain, at the eastern base of Anti-Lebanon. And currently Damascus, part of the Turkish Empire, is one of the richest cities in Asia and has up to 150,000 inhabitants. Alexandria is a famous city founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, in Lower (Northern) Egypt, at the mouth of the Nile. Alexandria was once the first city in the world and served as a center of trade, industry and especially pagan learning, and in the first centuries of Christianity - a hotbed of Christian enlightenment. Christianity was brought here, according to legend, by the Evangelist Mark (in Turkish and Arabic - Iskander). It is one of the most fortified port cities and the most important trading points on the Mediterranean Sea, with a population of up to 230,000 inhabitants. Mount Nitria is located a day's journey (25–30 versts) from the Nitrian Desert, which lies in the northwestern part of Egypt. This waterless, rocky desert was a favorite place of the Egyptian hermits, famous for their ascetic deeds. Here the monks settled for the strictest solitude and inviolable silence - for the sake of staying in the One God. The Monk John died in the 2nd half of the 5th century. Emperor Leo in 457 informed him, along with other bishops, about the martyrdom of Proterius (see February 28), Patriarch of Alexandria. You might be interested in: