Память преподобного Исихия Постника

The great saint of God, Hesychius, was taught and raised in virtue from a very young age. Having renounced his attachment to all earthly blessings, he constantly thought about the eternal blessings of the heavenly Zion. For this, he left his hometown of Adrapa and retired to the desert near Adrania in 1734. In order to struggle in solitude, the saint wanted to settle on a mountain called Mayonis; but the demons who lived here, foreseeing their expulsion from the mountain to the saints and not wanting to allow the saint onto this mountain, entered into some two people, John and Hilarion, and, having met the saint of God, asked him: Having learned about his intention, they told him: “Don’t you know that this place is very dangerous?” You are going to certain death, because many carnivorous animals live here; besides, robbers also live here, so you won’t live here even one day. The saint, realizing in spirit that these were the words not of people, but of demons, said: “Because of the multitude of my sins, I have long been worthy of death; That’s why I will go to die either from wild animals or from robbers. Having said this, the saint said a prayer and, having driven away the unclean demons by the power of the cross, continued on his way. Having ascended the mountain, the saint chose a place for himself, built a cell and began to labor in fasting labors; The saint also built a garden here and, cultivating it and sowing seeds, was nourished by the labor of his hands. It happened once that many birds flew into the saint’s garden, eating grains and seeds and destroying the saint’s works. Then the saint turned to God with prayer, and immediately the birds, having tasted of his labors, fell to the ground and, unable to fly, lay with their wings outstretched on the ground; all those birds that touched the seeds could no longer rise into the air, but, as if struck by some poison, lay on the ground; and the place was filled with many birds lying on the ground. After some time, the saint, taking pity on the birds, leaving his cell, said to them: - Get away from here and do not eat up the works of monks any more. As soon as the saint uttered these words, immediately all the birds that were on the earth flew up and from then on never again approached the saint’s garden. Having found a source of water in a certain valley, the monk built a small church here in the name of the Holy Apostle Andrew, where he remained in divine contemplation with his disciples. One day they brought a demon-possessed girl to the saint, whose parents, falling at the feet of the saint, begged him to expel the unclean spirit from their daughter. The monk, having prayed to God, immediately cast out the demon from the girl, and said to her parents: “This is what the Holy Spirit says: in this place, after my death, there will be a monastery of holy women of fasting, whose prayers will drive away all the demonic armies from here.” This prophecy of the saint came true in due time. One day, leaving his cell, the monk saw a certain man with a heavily loaded cart. The cart was being pulled by oxen, and one of them tripped, fell to the ground and could not rise to his feet. The man tried to lift him, but could not; the fallen ox remained motionless, like a large stone; Exhausted from labor, the man began to cry. Seeing this, the monk took pity on him and, going up to the ox, stroked his neck and said to the dumb man, as if he understood the words: - Get up, lazy one, and continue your path, so as not to become an instrument of the enemy’s malice. Having said this, the saint made the sign of the cross over the ox. And immediately the ox got up and calmly dragged the heavy cart. The man was very surprised at what had happened and, bowing to the saint, thanked him and happily continued on his way. The saint, day by day, strived for greater deeds and ascended to more perfect virtues, so that he was honored to be an interlocutor with the Angels. From the Angel of God he learned about his repose, thirty days before his death. Preparing for the exodus, the saint was filled with great joy. Before his death, the saint called the disciples who lived with him to him and taught them a lot. At midnight, a light suddenly shone from the sky, illuminating not only the saint’s cell, but the entire place; The monk, joyfully saying: “Into Thy hands I commend my spirit,” departed to the heavenly villages in 1735. His holy and honorable body was buried in the above-mentioned church in honor of St. Apostle Andrew, in a stone shrine, in front of the holy gates. Subsequently, the holy relics of the saint were transferred by Theophylact, Bishop of Amasia, to the city of Amasia in 1736 and placed on the right side of the altar in 792, during the reign of Constantine and Irene in 1737. And on that deserted place where the monk labored, a convent was built, as was predicted by the saint. Adrapa (or Antrapa) is a city at the same distance from Ancyra of Galatia and Amathia, otherwise Claudiopolis. Adrania is a seaside town (Edrenos in Turkish) in Bithynia. The death of the saint followed around 790. Amasya is located in the northern part of Asia Minor, on the shores of the Black Sea. Constantine VI Porphyrogenitus, Byzantine Emperor, reigned from 780 to 797, and Irene from 797 to 803. You might be interested in: