Житие преподобного отца нашего Венедикта

Blessed by the name of 1928, Saint Benedict was also blessed by the grace of God. In his mind, from his earliest years, Benedict was already like an old man, and in his moral life, from a young age he was like a man full of perfection. He did not subordinate his soul to carnal and worldly desires, but already in the days of his blooming youth, when he could freely enjoy all the delights of the world, he considered all this to be grass that had dried up along with its flowers. Saint Benedict was born in the city of Nursia in 1929, and he began to study the secular sciences of that time in Rome. But seeing in these pagan schools many corrupt people - how they live according to their passionate lusts - he withdrew from there, fearing that, through little book learning, he would destroy the great mind of his soul and, having become corrupted with vicious people, would fall into the abyss of sin. So, he came out of the schools an unlearned sage and a reasonable ignorant and despised external wisdom in order to preserve internal chastity. However, at this time he left not only the pagan schools, but also the great wealth of his, then already deceased, parents and strived only for the monastic rite and the desert life. A certain honest old woman, his former nurse, a woman who loved him very much for his virtuous life, followed him into the desert. When they reached a place called Effidi, Benedict was kept here by his acquaintances and lived here at the church of St. Peter. The pious people of this area, having loved the blessed young man, treated him with great respect. The old woman who lived with him once begged from her neighbors overnight for 1930 so that she could weed out the wheat with them and, putting them on her table, went away somewhere. By chance, these nochs fell from the table and broke in two. When she returned, she saw them broken, she was very saddened by this and even cried, since the nights were strangers. The blessed young man, seeing that the old woman was crying about her broken nights, took both broken parts and, secluded, threw himself to the ground before God. He prayed for a whole hour and, when he got up from prayer, he found the vessel intact - it was not even noticeable that it had been broken before; Having taken it, he gave it to his companion. The news of this miracle soon spread among all the local residents. They took those nights and hung them on the church wall, at the door, so that those entering the church could see them - to the glory of God, and to the praise of the godly young man Benedict, filled with such great grace of God. But the saint, unable to bear human honor and glory, left there secretly from everyone and, leaving his nourishment, withdrew into the desert. When he came to a place called Dol 1931, located forty miles from Rome, then, by God’s providence, he was met here by a certain monk named Roman: he was coming from a nearby monastery, which was ruled by Abbot Theodotus. Having sat down with this monk, they began to talk about the salvation of the soul. Here Blessed Benedict revealed to him his thoughts and desires of his heart and found in him an accomplice to his intention. Roman in the desert clothed Blessed Benedict in the monastic rank and, having found a cave in one deep jungle, in a very inaccessible place, he settled him there, and he brought him food from the monastery. The monk Roman did not tell anyone about Saint Benedict for three years, but, secretly taking some bread during meals, he took it to the cave on certain days. But since the entrance to this cave from the mountain was inconvenient and, in order to get into it, it was necessary to go around the mountain far, he stretched a long rope from this high mountain and lowered bread along it to Blessed Benedict; a small bell was tied to the end of the rope so that Saint Benedict could hear when the bread was lowered to him. The devil, who hates God’s servants, decided to hinder the good deed of Romanus, so that, by tormenting Saint Benedict with hunger, he would force him to indulge in cowardice. Once, when, according to custom, Roman was lowering bread from the mountain into a cave, the demon threw a stone at the bell and broke it, however, he achieved nothing by this: for the honest monk Roman did not cease to serve Saint Benedict until the time when the Lord wanted to put him to rest from this godly work, and blessed Benedict - this hidden lamp - to be revealed to the world for the spiritual benefit of many. Three years later, the Lord appeared in a vision to a certain presbyter who lived far from this mountain, while he was preparing abundant food for himself on Easter. - Look, you are preparing a lot of meat for yourself, and My servant Benedict is in a certain cave - he also named that place - for the sake of love for Me, he is exhausted from hunger. Then the presbyter, immediately getting ready and taking food with him, set off to look for the man of God. Crossing mountain rapids, streams in valleys and abysses, he finally reached the cave indicated to him, where he found blessed Benedict. Kissing each other in the Lord, they both sat down and began to feed their souls with soul-saving conversations. Then the presbyter said to the saint: – Father, let us taste the food, thanking God, for today is Easter. The man of God answered him: - Yes, today is Easter for me, since I was honored to see you. The monk did not know that the Easter holiday had arrived, for he lived far from people, and no one knew him except the monk Roman. “Truly, father,” the presbyter said to this, “today is the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord, and it is not appropriate for you to fast, for this is why I was sent to you by the Lord, so that we both may now be satisfied with His gifts.” And so, thanking God, they both tasted the food, and the presbyter, consoled by spiritual joy, went to his monastery, glorifying God that he was worthy to see the servant of God. After this, soon the monk’s cave was discovered by shepherds, and then many already learned about him. The people began to flock to him with complaints about their needs, but the holy father consoled them with spiritual food. Seeing such a holy life of Benedict, the devil, burning with hatred, decided to prevent the salvation of the saint. One day he was transformed into one red bird, called kos 1932, and began to fly fearlessly in front of his face, so that this bird could be taken with his hand, if only Saint Benedict wanted it, but he did not pay attention to it. Realizing that this was the enemy’s treachery, he protected himself with the sign of the cross, and that bird disappeared. After her disappearance, immediately, through the action of the same devil, the saint was attacked by such a battle of carnal passion as had never happened to him. The prodigal demon, having transformed into a certain wife, whom the monk had once seen in his youth, appeared before his eyes and kindled such a passion in his mortified body that he almost fell into despair. The thought of returning to the world, inflicted by the evil one, came to his mind, but God’s grace strengthened him and made him a winner over passion. Having calmed down, he saw not far from him a lot of growing nettles and thorns. Having taken off his clothes, Benedict threw himself naked into the thorns and lay among them for several hours, suffering severe burns throughout his entire body, which he continued to do until he saw that he was covered in blood. Having thus freed himself from evil thoughts and lustful warfare, he fervently thanked the Lord. From that time, strengthened by the grace of God, Saint Benedict led such a pure life that the prodigal demon no longer dared to seduce him throughout his life, as he himself later told his disciples, for their edification. When rumors about the monk had already spread everywhere, it happened that the abbot died in one of the monasteries of that country. Then the monks of that monastery went to Saint Benedict and began to earnestly ask him to be their mentor and shepherd. But he refused to rule over them, considering himself a sinner and unworthy of it; at the same time Benedict said to them: - My morals will not agree with yours. But convinced by their requests, he then agreed and, unwillingly, became the abbot of the monastery. Saint Benedict ruled the monastery with zeal. Strictly observing the rules of fasting life, he did not allow anyone to live according to their own will, so the monks began to repent that they had chosen an abbot who was completely unsuited to their corrupt morals. The worst of the monks even planned the following: they mixed poison with wine and, pouring it all into a cup, dared to serve this deadly drink to the reverend father during dinner. With his honest hand, he made the sign of the cross over the cup, and the vessel, by the power of the Holy Cross, immediately broke, as if struck by a stone. Then the man of God knew that the cup was deadly, because it could not withstand the Life-giving Cross; He immediately called the brethren to him and, without any malice and even with a smile on his face, said to them: - Oh, children! May the merciful Lord have mercy on you. Why are you planning to do this to me? Didn't I tell you before that my morals would not suit yours? So, look for another father, I can’t stay with you. And having taught them peace, he retired to the cave where he had previously lived, and remained there alone before the eyes of the all-seeing God. But the Lord, who arranges everything for the better, did not want Saint Benedict to complete the path of his salvation alone: ​​it was fitting for him to instruct others to salvation. And so, instead of a small verbal flock, the Lord gave him a larger one and instead of one abandoned monastery, he gave him twelve monasteries. For when the rumor spread about the life of Benedict as equal to the angels, the faithful began to flock to him from everywhere: some wanted to be worthy of his prayers and blessings, others wanted to nourish their souls with his inspired conversations, and others wanted to settle with him. And many at this time left the world and everything worldly; They built themselves small cells near his cave and began to live, earning food for themselves from the labor of their hands. After a few years, the number of the brethren of Saint Benedict increased so much that that desert wilderness could no longer accommodate everyone. Then the saint divided all the monks into twelve parts, and each part began to live in a separate monastery; at the same time, the saint gave each monastery an abbot from his experienced disciples, and, for the sake of edification, kept the new brethren with him. Some of the glorious Roman citizens also came to the Monk Benedict and, giving their sons to serve God, entrusted them to the Monk for spiritual education and edification. Such was Eutyches, the husband of a famous family; he brought his son, the youth Maurus, to the saint and entrusted him to the saint to serve God; also the patrician Tertullius, dedicating his young son Placidus to God, gave him into the paternal hands of Benedict. The Moor served the saint, helping him in his labors, and the youth Placidas was brought up, enjoying his spiritual food more than his bodily food. In one of the monasteries of the Monk Benedict there was a certain careless brother; During church singing, he used to leave the church, and although the abbot often punished him for this, he did not correct himself. Having learned about this, the Monk Benedict called this monk to him and, having instructed him with a soulful conversation, sent him home, but he still did not correct himself. Then the reverend father himself came to that monastery and, standing during the service in the church, looked at this negligent brother and saw with him a demon in the form of some black youth, who, grabbing the hem of that monk’s robe, was dragging him out of the church. The monk said to those around him: – You see, who is dragging that brother out of the church! They also said: After this, Saint Benedict prayed to the Lord to open the eyes of their souls, and the next day some of them saw a small Ethiopian who was dragging that monk out of the church, and they told the saint what they saw. After the dismissal of the church service, the reverend father, for the sake of saving that brother, having exchanged his gentle disposition for a formidable one, punished the lazy brother not only with words, but also with a rod, and thereby drove away the demon from him, who, as if he himself had taken the beating, never returned to that monk again, and since then he has completely corrected himself. One monastery, standing on a high mountain, did not have water near it, so it was necessary to go into a deep ravine to get it; Thus, water was brought to the mountain, to the monastery, with great difficulty. The monks of that monastery, having once come to the reverend father, prayed to him to move the monastery to another place where they could get water without difficulty. Saint Benedict, commanding them to wait a little, went to that mountain at night with the little youth Placidas and, having knelt and prayed to God, brought out a source of water from the mountain, as Moses once did to Israel who was thirsty in the desert (Ex. 17:1-7). And this source was not only sufficient for the monastery’s needs, but it began to flow down the mountain in a fairly decent stream. In another of his monasteries the following happened: while one brother on the river bank was digging in the garden with a hoe, the iron from the handle fell into the water, and that brother was greatly saddened: the iron part of the hoe could not be taken out of the water, since the river was both deep and fast. At this time, the Monk Benedict accidentally came into that garden and, seeing his saddened brother, performed a miracle similar to the miracle of the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 6:6): namely, he took the wooden handle of a hoe and laid it on the river, in the place where the iron had fallen, and immediately it rose from the bottom and settled on the handle. And the monk gave the brother a whole hoe, saying: One day the monk was sitting in his cell, and the youth Placidas, taking a water-carrier, went to the river for water, but, drawing it from the bank, he and the water-carrier fell into the river, to the fastest place, and were carried far away by the water. The monk, seeing this with his spiritual eyes, called out to the disciple Maurus who served him: - Run, run: Plakida fell into the river and was already carried far away by the fast current. Then the Moor went to the river and, seeing Placidus drowned far from the shore, ran along the river as if in a dry place: he did not even notice that he was running on water, but thought that he was on land. In horror, he came with Placida and told the reverend father about everything. Saint Benedict attributed this miracle not to his prayers, but to the power of the Moor’s unconditional obedience; The Moor thought that this miracle was accomplished through the prayers of the monk. “I saw the saint’s mantle over my head, and it seemed to me that you yourself, father, took me by the hair and took me to land, and on the shore I saw the Moor. At the same time, when the Lord glorified the Monk Benedict with such great power of miracles and people began to flock to him from all sides, a certain presbyter who lived in that area, named Florentius, at the instigation of the demon, hated the holy father and began to blaspheme him with shameful words and reproach him among the people, wanting to deprive him of the reverence that everyone had for him. But he achieved nothing by this: no one believed this shameful blasphemy, and no one listened to the presbyter. Then this wicked man decided to poison the saint; Having prepared a prosphora with deadly poison, he sent it as a gift to the Monk Benedict. The perspicacious husband, although he saw that the prosphora was poisonous, accepted it with gratitude. At that hour at which the monk usually dined, a raven flew to his cell from a nearby forest and fed on food specially prepared for him. The Monk Benedict, taking the poisoned prosphora sent to him from Presbyter Florentius, placed it in front of the raven and said: – In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, take this bread and bring it to such deserted places where no one, neither man nor bird, could find it. The raven, opening its beak and cawing, began to fly around that bread, clearly showing that it wanted to obey the command of the monk, but could not, thanks to the harmful devilish poison in the prosphora. Then the man of God said to the bird again: - Take it, take it, don’t be afraid, you won’t be poisoned by this bread; so, take him into the impassable desert. And the raven, fulfilling what was ordered to him, with great fear, taking that deadly prosphora with his beak, flew away; Returning three hours later, he began to eat his usual food from the hands of the monk. The gentle Benedict, seeing Florence’s anger and enmity towards him, prayed more for him than for himself - may the Lord not put this into his sin, but may he correct him. However, the evil presbyter did not improve at all: he planned even worse. Unable to kill the bodies of Saint Benedict, he planned to kill the souls of his disciples with his satanic cunning. The saint's disciples worked daily in his garden; and so Florentius bribed seven beautiful young maidens and sent them to this garden, so that with songs and dances they would riot before those young monks and thus arouse their young hearts to evil lust. Seeing this, the Monk Benedict was afraid of the spiritual destruction of his young disciples and decided to leave with them from there. So, on the one hand, he left the place because of the anger of Florentius, and on the other, he also led the young away from temptation. Having called the brethren and abbots of his monasteries, he placed an experienced father over them and betrayed them all to the will of God, and he himself, humbly avoiding human hatred and enmity, left there with his youngest disciples. Presbyter Florentius, having learned about the departure of the Monk Benedict from that area, was very happy. But, the God of vengeance, the Lord, avenging His servant, destroyed that wicked presbyter with an unexpected death. When one day he was sitting at home and having fun, the upper room he was in fell, and the hater was crushed by the walls. None of his household was harmed, and he was the only one who died like this. This was immediately known in the monasteries of Benedict, and the beloved disciple of the saint, the blessed Maurus, who had been left in the monastery, without any hesitation, sent for the Monk Benedict. He wrote to him: “Come back, father: the presbyter, who was angry with you in vain, died an evil death.” The monk, hearing about such death of Florence, was filled with great sadness and cried for a long time about him; He was angry with Moor, his disciple, because he rejoiced at the death of Florentius, and imposed repentance on him; he himself did not want to return to the place of his previous exploits, but moved to another place. However, having changed his home, the saint did not part with his former enemy, for the inventor of all evil, the devil, began a more fierce battle with him; but no matter how much he fought against him, the saint of God, with the help of God, remained invincible. The Monk Benedict, leaving the place of his first labors, went to the Campanian country, to a city called Kasin 1934. Here, on a high mountain, he found an idol church in honor of the god Apollo; There was a grove around the church. Saint Benedict immediately smashed the idol, destroyed the church, and cut down the grove and burned it. A short time later, on this site, he erected a church in the name of St. John the Baptist, established a monastery and gathered an even larger brethren 1935. There were many pagans in that area, and Saint Benedict, strong in deed and word, confirming his holy preaching with miracles, converted many to Christ. The demons, unable to bear Benedict’s coming to that area and not tolerating the destruction of their churches, began to openly attack him. As if breathing the flame of rage, they cried out to him in Roman style: When the saint did not answer them anything, they shouted: - You are not Benedikt, but Maledikt, Maledikt! - You are cursed, cursed, not blessed! What do you care about us! And why are you driving us away? Blessed Benedict, with prayer and the sign of the cross, drove them away from him like dust blown by the wind. When the monastery was being built and the brethren working on the construction of the building were erecting a bell tower, at that time the saint, praying one day in his solitary cell, saw a walking demon. -Where are you going, enemy? – Reverend Benedict asked him. - I’m going to the working monks. The saint immediately sent word to the brethren, so that they should beware in every possible way from some unexpected enemy misfortune, since a demon had now come to them. The messenger was just speaking to the brethren when suddenly a wall under construction fell and killed one young boy, and all the monks were very sad: they grieved not because the wall fell, but because their brother died. Having come to the saint, they announced this to him with tears. He ordered the dead young man to be brought to him, but he could not be brought in his arms, since the stone wall had crushed not only his body, but even his bones. The brothers put him in sackcloth and brought him to the cell of their reverend father. Saint Benedict, having ordered to lay him on the mat on which he used to pray, and for everyone to leave the cell, remained alone and with his fervent prayer to God raised the dead young man and on the same day, completely healthy, as if rising from sleep, he sent him to his former work with the monks. In the monastery of Benedict, it was established by the monk himself that the brethren sent to work should not eat food or drink until they returned to the monastery, and this rule was inviolably maintained. One day, some of the brothers sent to work had to be a little late because the journey was very long. Hungry, on the way they went into the house of a pious and virtuous girl, from whom they refreshed themselves with food and drink; It was already too late when they came to their reverend father for a blessing. He asked them: - We haven’t eaten anywhere, father! - they answered. The saint then said to them: - Why are you lying? Didn’t you refresh yourself with food from such and such a benevolent girl? Isn’t that what you ate? And didn’t they drink so many cups? Hearing this, the brothers fell into horror that their perspicacious father knew everything that had been done so far from him; falling at his feet and telling him the whole truth, they began to ask him for forgiveness. Also another brother, who ate secretly on the way, was denounced by Saint Benedict. With his discerning eyes he saw many other things that were done in secret, and therefore everyone was afraid to do or say something foolishly somewhere: everyone knew that in his spirit their father was with him everywhere, that he heard and saw all his words and deeds and denounced those who sinned. Totella, king of the Goths, who at that time owned the Campanian region, having learned about the foresight of the Monk Benedict, decided to visit him. But at first he did not go himself, but sent, under the guise of himself, a certain dignitary named Riga. By this he wanted to test the monk’s perspicacity: would he recognize that it was not the king himself who came to him. And as soon as Riga, as if truly a king, surrounded by boyars and warriors, approached Saint Benedict, the monk, seeing him from afar, called out to him: “Take off, child, these royal clothes in which you have put on: after all, they are not yours, but the one who sent you to me.” Riga, frightened by this reproof, bowed to the saint and immediately returned back. After this, King Totella himself came to the seer of God with humility and bows; The Monk Benedict began to denounce him and reproach him for his cruelty and evil deeds and spoke prophetic words to him. The monk said to the king: - By God's permission you will take Rome, cross the sea, but in the tenth year of your reign you will die. And this prophecy of the reverend father came true in due time. In addition to the gift of prophecy, Saint Benedict also possessed the power given to him by God over demons. A certain cleric of the Aquinian Church 1936, tormented by a demon, on the advice of his bishop Constantius, went to holy places, to the relics of the martyrs, but the holy martyrs, as unworthy, did not give him healing. Then he was brought to the saint of God Benedict and, through his prayers, immediately received healing; Having cast out the demon from the cleric, the saint gave him the following commandment: - Do not eat meat, do not dare to enter the priestly rank: for on the day when you decide to accept the priesthood, you will again be betrayed to the merciless torment of the demon. The healed cleric, returning home, kept these two commandments of the holy father for a long time: he did not eat meat and did not dare to accept the priesthood. But many years later, this cleric, seeing how, after the deceased presbyters, much younger people took their place, he considered this a dishonor for himself and began to seek the priestly rank. And when he was elevated to the priesthood, on the same day, by God’s permission, a fierce demon attacked him and, mercilessly tormenting this cleric, killed him. Thus the prophetic word of the Venerable Father Benedict was fulfilled. A certain noble man named Theoprov, a revered citizen of the city of Kasina, was converted from idolatry to the true faith by the God-wise instructions of Saint Benedict and, thanks to his virtuous life, enjoyed great favor and love from his spiritual father and teacher. One day Theoprov entered the cell of the Monk Benedict and found his spiritual father bitterly crying and sobbing. Standing for a long time and looking at his uncontrollable tears, he was in bewilderment, for he saw him crying not during prayer (and at that time the monk always cried); At the present moment, Benedict not only shed tears, but also, with great sorrow, let out tearful sobs and lamentations. The surprised Feoprov asked about the reason for his crying, and the saint, barely restraining himself from tears and sobs, said: – Do you see this monastery, which I created with God’s help, and everything that I have arranged here for the brethren? All this, according to the judgment of the omnipotent Lord, will be handed over to the pagans for destruction. And I just begged God to save the lives of my brethren living here in the monastery. This prophecy of the Monk Benedict was fulfilled after his repose. One night, when all the brethren were sleeping, the Longobards of 1937 suddenly attacked the monastery. But they did not capture any of the brethren: protected by the prayers of their reverend father, all the monks disappeared unharmed. The Longobards, having devastated the monastery, greatly ruined it; During the life of Saint Benedict, this monastery, protected by the Lord, enjoyed complete contentment. One pious man sent two vessels of wine to Saint Benedict. The sent slave kept one of these vessels for himself and hid it somewhere along the way, and brought the other to the venerable father. But the seer, releasing the slave, said to him: “See, child, do not drink from the vessel that you hid on the way, but pour it out, and you will see what is in it.” Ashamed of the saint’s reproof, that servant bowed to the monk and left. Approaching the hidden vessel, he decided to test whether the saint had told him the truth, and tilted the vessel to pour out the wine, and snakes crawled out of it along with the wine. Being greatly afraid of this, that servant repented of the sin he had committed. Not far from the monastery of the monk there was a certain village; Its inhabitants had previously been in idolatry, but with the coming of Saint Benedict to this country, through his efforts, they all converted to Christianity. A convent was established in this village. Here, to instruct the nuns with the word of God, the Monk Benedict had the custom of sending skilled and experienced brethren. One day one of the brethren was sent to the nuns for such edification. Having fulfilled his duty, when he was returning to his monastery, on the road some of the nuns begged him to take a few towels. The monk took the towels and put them in his bosom. Returning, he came to the Monk Benedict; The saint looked at him menacingly and then said with anger: “Brother, why has iniquity entered your heart?” The monk, horrified and forgetting out of fear the towels hidden in his bosom, did not understand what the reverend father was telling him. “Wasn’t I there with you when you took towels from the nuns and hid them in your bosom?” Hearing this, the monk fell at the feet of the saint and began to ask him for forgiveness for his sin. Once, when the monk, according to his custom, was having dinner in the evening, and it was already quite late, one young monk stood before his meal and, holding a candle in his hands, shone for him; this monk was the son of a rich ruler, and so, with pride in his mind, he began to think to himself: - And who is this, before whom I now stand and, holding a candle, serve him like a slave? And why am I working for this ignorant old man? When the young monk reasoned like this in his heart, this proud thought of his was not hidden from his perspicacious father; He immediately rebuked him in a fatherly manner and at the same time meekly remarked: “Child, mark your heart with the sign of the cross, and why do such proud thoughts nest in you?” Be attentive to yourself. Then calling another novice, he ordered the candle to be taken from his hands. The monk who had sinned left his cell with tears in his eyes. And when the brethren began to ask the monk why the reverend father had sent him away, he confessed to them his proud thoughts. And everyone marveled at the foresight of Saint Benedict, that even the thoughts of his heart were not hidden from him. Once in the country of Campania in 1938 there was a famine, and in the monastery of the monk there were no more than five loaves of bread left, so that for the multitude of brethren this monastery would not have been enough even for one meal. When all the brethren in the monastery were grieving and wondering where to get bread for food during the famine, the saint said to them: “Why are you of little faith so sad because of the lack of bread?” Do you not trust in God, who does not abandon anyone who serves Him faithfully? And don’t you remember the Gospel words of our Savior: “Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you; for your heavenly Father knows what you need before you ask” (Matthew 6:8,33). So, don't be discouraged. Today you have scarcity, but tomorrow you will have everything you need in abundance. And so the next morning, according to God’s providence, two hundred measures of flour were found in bags in front of the gates of the monastery, and no one could say where or who brought such a lot of bread. Then everyone decided that it was the Lord Himself, through the prayers of their reverend father, who invisibly sent them this torment. A certain God-loving man asked the monk to give his blessing to build a monastery in the village of this God-loving man; this village was located near the city of Terakinisky 1939. The monk sent some of his disciples to this village, who were quite skilled builders, and ordered them to clear the place and prepare everything necessary for building the monastery. “I,” the saint told them, “will come to you on such and such a day,” (and at the same time he named this day), “and I will show you exactly where to build each building.” The builders set off and, having prepared everything, began to wait for the arrival of their venerable father. When the appointed day arrived, early in the morning, while the builders were still sleeping, Saint Benedict appeared to them in a dream and pointed out the places where they were to build a church, a refectory, a hospital, cells, and all the other monastic buildings. Having woken up, they told each other their dream and, marveling that they saw the same thing in a dream, began to wait for the Monk Benedict. But the saint did not come either that day or the next, and the builders, appearing to him saddened, said: - Reverend Father! We were expecting your arrival, as promised, in order to show us the place for the monastery buildings, and why didn’t you come? “What are you saying, brothers? Didn’t I come to you?” But the builders refused this and said: - No, father, he didn’t come. Then the monk said: “Have you forgotten that I came to you while you were still sleeping, and pointed out with my hand all the places where you should build each building?” So, go and build buildings in the places where I commanded you in the dream vision. And they, having bowed to the saint, left and fulfilled everything they were commanded. In the same country lived two girls of a noble family. They vowed to observe their virginity and lived by fasting; but, living their lives in purity, they had an unbridled tongue and often condemned, slandered and reproached others. Having learned about this, the Monk Benedict ordered to tell them: - Correct your language, otherwise I will excommunicate you from Divine Communion. But they did not abandon their madness and did not even respond to the fatherly instruction of the monk; a few days later, both of these girls died in their pure virginity and were buried together in the church. When the Divine Liturgy was being celebrated and the deacon, shouting to the catechumens - who could not receive communion - commanded them to leave the church, then some saw how both of these girls came out of their graves and from the church 1940, for they could not stay here during the holy liturgy; and this happened during every Divine Liturgy. When Saint Benedict found out about this, he took pity on them; Taking the prosphora, he ordered it to be taken to the church and offered as a holy sacrifice for the souls of those girls. And after this holy sacrifice was offered, no one saw them ever leave the church, and everyone believed that through this holy Sacrament and the prayers of the saint, these girls received forgiveness from the Lord. One young monk in the monastery of St. Benedict was distinguished by his excessive love for his parents and often, without the blessing of the monk, went to their house. One day he left the monastery, secretly, as was his custom, and as soon as he entered his parents’ house, he fell dead. Having learned about this, the monks took his body and gave it to the usual burial. But in the morning they found his body thrown out of the tomb; then they buried him again and the next morning they also found him erupted from the ground. After this, the parents of the deceased monk fell weeping at the feet of the Monk Benedict and asked him, so that by the grace of God that dwelled in him, he would have mercy on their son, who died with such a sin, and would command the earth to hold his body. The monk, seeing their saddened heart, took a small particle from the Most Pure Mysteries and ordered it to be placed with reverence on the chest of the deceased and then buried. After this, the body remained in the coffin and was no longer erupted into the earth. The monk was very merciful to everyone, merciful, poor-loving and generous. He distributed everything that God sent to his monastery to the poor and generally needy, while he and his brothers remained in poverty. One day, a certain husband, who was truly impoverished, was persecuted by his creditor, to whom he owed twelve gold coins 1941. Then he came to Saint Benedict and with tears began to beg him to give twenty gold coins to pay off the debt, since the lender was threateningly demanding them from him. The monk, not having a single penalty 1942, said to that man: - Forgive us, brother: now I don’t have what you ask, but come in two days. Saint Benedict spent these two days in ordinary prayers and asked God to free the debtor from his debt. On the third day, that impoverished man came again and, bowing to the saint of God, asked him for the promised ransom. At this time, there was a vessel filled with juice in the monastery; and then suddenly, through the prayer of the saint, thirteen goldsmiths appeared at the top of Sochi 1943. Taking them, the merciful father gave them all to the needy man, saying: “Go, child, and give twelve of them to the lender, and take the rest for your own needs.” One day, the man of God and his brothers went to the village to work in the garden; on the road they met a farmer who was carrying his dead little son in his arms; shedding tears, he came to the monastery and there began to look for the Reverend Father Benedict; they told him that the saint was working in the village with the brethren and that he would slow down there. Then the man left his dead son in front of the monastery gates, went to the monk himself and met him already returning to the monastery. At the same time, he began to appeal to him like this: - Give me, father, my son, give me my son! The man of God, surprised, said to him: - Did I take your son? “My son has died, but you go and resurrect him.” Hearing this, the reverend father became very sad and said to the brethren: “Let us run, brothers, we run, for it is not our business to raise the dead, but the holy apostles’. That man, overwhelmed by inexpressible heartfelt grief, swore to the saint that he would not leave him until he resurrected his son. Then the monk, going up with the brethren to the body of the deceased youth, knelt down and cried out to God in prayer: - Lord! Look not at me, a sinner, but at the faith of this man who is praying to you for the resurrection of his son, and give your soul to this body. Before the saint had time to finish his prayer, the body of the deceased began to manifest life within itself, feeling with its hands and moving with its whole body. The saint, taking the youth by the hand, raised him alive and healthy and handed him over to his father. And everyone glorified God, seeing such a glorious miracle. The Monk Benedict did many other wonderful things, which is written about at length by St. Gregory the Dialogue, Pope of Rome, in the 2nd book of his writings, 1944; For our edification, this short narrative taken from the same book is sufficient. Now let's move on to the subsequent narrative from the life of St. Benedict. The Monk Benedict had a sister named Scholastica. Since childhood, dedicated to God by her parents, she led a virginal and fasting life and was thereby pleasing to the Lord. She used to come once a year to her brother, this saint of God. Benedict received her not in the monastery itself, but in one nearby monastery building; going out there to see her, the monk held soulful conversations with her here. In the last year of the life of Blessed Scholastica, when she came to her holy brother as usual, Benedict came to her along with some of his disciples and spent that entire day with her in holy conversations and inspired teachings. In the evening, when the darkness of the night had already set in, a meal was prepared, but even as they ate the food, they did not abandon inspired conversations, and spent a considerable part of the night like this. The holy virgin said to the monk: “I pray you, my brother, do not leave me all this night, so that we can talk about heavenly joy and everlasting life until the morning.” -What are you saying? Should I stay outside my cell all night? At this time the air was so pure and clear that not even a trace of a rain cloud was noticeable. The saint, seeing that her brother did not want to obey her, folded her hands and laid her head on them, in the secret of her heart, with tears, she offered a prayer to the omnipotent God. And as soon as, after prayer, she raised her head, suddenly a terrible thunder was heard with flashes of lightning and such heavy rain that neither Saint Benedict nor the brothers who came with him were not only unable to go home, but it was even impossible to open the door. (So ​​strong was the prayer of the holy virgin before God). Seeing that Scholastica had brought such sudden rain to the ground with her prayer, the monk said to her: -What did you do to me, sister? “I asked you, brother, to stay,” she answered, “but you did not want to listen to me, and so I prayed to my Lord, and He immediately heard me; now, if you want, you can leave me and go to the monastery. And so, Saint Benedict, and unwillingly, remained with her all night without sleep, talking with his sister about eternal life. In the morning, after saying goodbye, they went their separate ways. Three days after this, the monk, standing in prayer, raised his eyes to heaven and saw the soul of his holy sister rising to heaven in great serenity and being received with glory into the heavenly villages. Having learned from this vision about the death of his sister, Benedict was filled with great joy, rejoicing that her soul was worthy of such glory, and, thanking the Lord, he conveyed the death to his brothers. He ordered her body to be transferred reverently to his monastery, like a valuable treasure, and placed it in a coffin, which he had prepared for himself. Soon Deacon Servand came to visit the monk; a man filled with heavenly grace, he was the abbot of a monastery in Campania, built by Patrician Liverius; they spent time in soul-saving conversation about the sweet food of the Heavenly Kingdom; Although they could not yet fully taste it on earth, they had already partly tasted it with their minds directed towards God; when the time came to eat bodily food, they began to accept it with sighs, remembering the incorruptible food. During the night's rest, the venerable father went to his cell, and his guest, the holy deacon Servand, was taken to the cell next to the venerable one. Saint Benedict, having rested a little in the evening, stood up for prayer at about midnight and, praying near the window, suddenly saw a great light emanating from heaven, so that the night itself became brighter than the day; but the most wonderful thing was that it seemed to Blessed Benedict - as he himself later said - that he saw the whole universe, as if it were all under one ray of sunshine. Looking attentively at this light, the monk saw the soul of blessed Herman, Bishop of Capua, ascending to heaven in a circle of fire. Then the Monk Benedict, wanting his guest Servand to witness this terrible vision, called him by name two or three times in a loud voice. Servand, surprised that the saint was calling him at such an unusual time, was frightened and hastily entered Benedict’s cell and saw this heavenly light, but not all of it, but only a small part; and the holy father himself told him about everything else. Then Saint Benedict immediately sent to the city of Kasin, to his beloved disciple, citizen Feoprov, with a request - to quickly send to Capua 1945 and find out about the holy Bishop German. And then the news came from there that he had died. When Benedict learned about the very time of the death of the holy Bishop Herman, it turned out that he died at the very hour in which Benedict saw his soul ascended by the Angels to heaven in a circle of fire. After this, the time soon came for the Monk Benedict to separate from his body and go to the Lord. Having learned the hour of his death six days before, he ordered the coffin he had prepared for himself to be opened and, feeling ill, lay down on his bed. But even then he did not stop teaching the brethren and even wrote rules for the monastic order for them. On the very day of his death, he ordered to be taken to the Church of John the Baptist, which, as stated above, he erected on the ruined church of Apollo. Having partaken of the Divine Mysteries here, Saint Benedict raised his hands to God and, with prayer on his lips, separated from his body, he went to the Lord to the bright heavenly villages, which he was honored to see while still on earth. At that hour, when Saint Benedict was freed from bodily bonds, two monks, one on the road, sent to some service, and the other in his monastery while praying in his cell, were awarded the same vision: they saw the path leading from earth to heaven; it was all covered with the most precious vestments, and on the sides of that path there were many bright candles. Above this path they saw a certain luminous man, whose beauty was indescribable, and they heard His voice that this path was prepared for Benedict, beloved by God, and that along it at that hour he should ascend to heaven. Both brothers received such a vision while being at a great distance from each other, although they saw themselves at that time standing together. Arriving at the burial of their holy father, they told about this to all the assembled brethren. Then monks from all the monasteries of the Monk Benedict came here, and with tears in their eyes they all performed his honorable burial. The holy body of the Monk Benedict was laid in the Church of John the Baptist, which he had created, glorifying the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, One God in the Trinity, glorified from all creation forever. Amen 1946. You were enriched by the grace of God, you made known your rank in deeds, and you appeared, Benedicta, servant of Christ God, filled with prayers and fasting with the gifts of God’s Spirit, and you were a healer of the sick, and a banisher of the enemy, and a quick intercessor for our souls. Benedict (or in Roman pronunciation Benedict - Benedictus) - translated means blessed. Nurcia is a small town in Umbria (Italy). Noshchva or nochva (also noshvitsa) is a tray or vessel similar to a tray, used for cleansing life and other agricultural needs. Dol (i.e. lakeside place); in this desert area (in the vicinity of modern Subiaco) there were formerly the villas of the emperors Claudius and Nero. Kos – (lat. merula) – thrush. The city of Casinum is located on the left bank of the Liris River, at the foot of Mount Cassino (in ancient Campania - northeast of the city of Naples). Now here is the famous monastery of Monte Cassino. It has long served as a center of scientific and theological education and a place of pilgrimage for the entire Western Christian world. The monastery was destroyed by the Longobards; His monks for the most part retired to Rome, where, near the Quirinal, they founded a new monastery. In 720, Pope Gregory II renewed Monte Cassino; the popes who followed him gave him many privileges. The Saracens destroyed it again in 884, but it was later rebuilt; in 1340 the monastery was once again destroyed by an earthquake and restored by Pope Julius II, who assigned it to the congregation of St. Justina. The monastery houses an extensive library and beautiful paintings. The relics of Saint Benedict and his sister Scholastica rest here. Saint Benedict wrote a charter for this monastery, which was subsequently adopted in many monasteries in the West. When drawing up the rules of monastic life, he was guided by the regulations for the eastern monasteries of Cassian the Roman (his memory is celebrated on February 29), but he moderated their severity, applying it to the weak development of monasticism in the West. Nevertheless, Benedict's charter prescribed renunciation of property, unconditional obedience and constant work. The elder monks were also required to teach children and rewrite manuscripts. This last decree turned out to be very beneficial later, since it contributed to the preservation of many ancient monuments from destruction in times of ignorance. And in subsequent times, the Benedictines (the name given to all monks who accepted the rule of St. Benedict or, in Roman terms, Benedict) accomplished much that was useful for the Church through their labors on the writings of the first times of Christianity. Aquino (Roman: Aquinum - Aquinum) is a small town in Italian. the province of Caserta in the Sora district; One of the most famous scholastic theologians, Thomas Aquinas, was born in this district. The Longobards were a warlike people who belonged to the Germanic tribe. Initially, the Longobards lived along the river. Elbe, then moved to the Danube, where they rallied and formed a state at the beginning of the 6th century. In 568, under the leadership of King Albonis, they moved to Italy and settled here. The conquest of Italy by the wild Longobards (with them were no less wild Saxons, Suevi, etc.) was accompanied by large-scale robbery, extermination of the population, destruction of cities and violent seizure of land. In 774, Charlemagne put an end to the Longobard kingdom. At first, the Longobards were Arians; in the 7th century they were converted to the Catholic Church. Campania is a southern region of Italy, located around the Bay of Naples, with the main city of Naples. The city of Terakini is located in the so-called. Church area, near the sea. This happens at the beginning of the 2nd part of the liturgy - “Liturgy of the Faithful.” At this time, the deacon proclaims: the elits of the catechumen, come out... the elix of the faithful, etc. The catechumens - i.e. preparing to receive holy baptism. Zlatitsa – gold, chervonets. Sochivo is a brew made from peas, beans, and vegetables. Here, of course, is the work of St. Gregory Dvoeslov "Conversations about the life and miracles of the Italian fathers." Capua (Sarua) is a city and fortress in southern Italy on the left bank of the Volturno River. In ancient times it was the first city of Campania. Venerable Benedict died in 543. You might be interested in: