Житие преподобного отца нашего Исаака Сирина

Saint Gregory the Dvoeslov, Pope of Rome, in his dialogue with Deacon Peter 2508 tells the following about Saint Isaac. During the time of the ancient Goths, near the city of Spoleto there lived a very righteous man named Isaac; He stayed here until the end of Gothic rule in 2509, and many residents of Rome knew him. Of these, one maiden, Gregoria, who lived in Rome at the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos, especially revered Saint Isaac. In the days of her youth, Gregoria was betrothed, but when the time came for the wedding, she hurried to church, wanting to receive a monastic image; The Monk Isaac delivered Gregoria from relatives who wanted to force her out of the church and, with the assistance of God, tonsured her as a nun; Thus, Gregoria, having despised the earthly groom, was awarded betrothal to the heavenly one. Saint Gregory the Dvoeslov learned especially much about Saint Isaac from the honest Father Eleutherius, who was in close relations with the monk, and what he conveyed about Saint Isaac was fully confirmed by other information about his life. Saint Isaac was not from Italy, but we will describe here only those miracles that he performed in this country. When the Monk Isaac came from Syria to Spoleto, he first of all entered the church; here he asked the sextons to allow him to pray in the church for as long as he wanted, even if he wanted to stay overnight in the church when the church doors were already closed. And, starting to pray, he spent two days and a half in it without rest. Noticing this, one of the sextons, distinguished by his pride - the latter led him to sin, arousing in him an unjust indignation against the monk - began to revile Saint Isaac with abusive words, calling him a hypocrite, who had feignedly prayed for almost three days to gain fame; then, approaching the monk, he hit him on the cheek, demanding that he, like a hypocrite, leave the church with dishonor. Immediately this sexton suffered punishment: by God’s permission, an unclean spirit suddenly attacked him and, causing him severe torment, threw him at the feet of the man of God with a cry: “Isaac will cast me out!” Before this announcement of the name by the unclean spirit, no one knew what the wanderer was called. The monk bent over the tormented man, and the unclean spirit immediately left him. The news of what had happened in the church quickly spread throughout the city, and immediately men and wives, rich and poor, hurried to the church to invite the saint of God into their home; some promised him to build a monastery with villages and estates, others wanted to provide him with food and everything necessary for life. But the servant of the omnipotent God rejected all the promises of those who offered: leaving the city, he found a deserted place not far away, where he created a small cell for himself. Many people began to flock to him here: seeing his virtuous life, some of those who came were inflamed with love for eternal life and, under the leadership of the monk, devoted themselves exclusively to serving God; thus the monastery was created. When the disciples of Saint Isaac asked him to accept the gifts brought to him for the sake of monastic needs, he, firmly maintaining his love of poverty, answered: “A monk who acquires property is no longer a monk; he was just as afraid of losing his poverty as rich misers are afraid of losing their treasures.” Saint Isaac was gifted with a prophetic spirit; Thanks to his miracles and his virtuous life, which shone like light, he became known to all the inhabitants of that country. One day, when the day was already approaching evening, he ordered the brethren to throw into the garden all the spades that were available in the monastery, and when the next day the brethren got up for morning prayer, the monk said: “At sunrise, prepare food for our workers.” After the food was prepared at the indicated time, Saint Isaac ordered to seize it and went with the brethren to the garden; here they found as many workers as there were spades thrown in the evening. The latter were thieves and entered the garden for the purpose of robbery; but, having entered it, they abandoned their bad intention and, taking the spades located here, began to work from the first hour, when they entered the garden, until the time the monk came to them; During this time they dug up all the uncultivated soil in the garden. Approaching them, Saint Isaac said: “Rejoice, brothers! Leave your work because you have worked hard overnight.” Having given them the food he had brought with him, he asked them to refresh themselves and rest from their labors. When they were satisfied, the monk addressed them with the following words: “From now on, leave all attempts to commit evil deeds; if you need something from garden plants, then enter openly, ask for what you need and take it with a blessing; stop stealing." Then the monk ordered them to collect as much spring grain as they desired. Thus, those who entered the garden with a bad intention, burdening the soul with sin, left it without sin, with blessing, bearing the reward for their work. At another time, some strangers, dressed in old rags, came to Saint Isaac and asked him for clothes. Telling them to wait a little, the monk called one of his disciples and said to him secretly: “Go to the grove behind the monastery, there in one place there is a tree with a hollow; take the clothes that you find in it and bring them here.” The brother went where it was indicated and, after searching, he actually found clothes hidden in the hollow; Having captured them, he gave them privately to the teacher. Having received the clothes, the saint of God gave them to the wanderers with the words: “Since you are naked, then take them and put them on.” They took and recognized the clothes as their own, which they had deliberately hidden; They were overcome by great shame, because thinking that they would get someone else's clothes by deception, they were forced to accept their own. It also happened that one pious man sent the saint and his servant two baskets of food, asking the saint to pray for him. The servant hid one basket on the way, and brought the other to the saint of God, conveying the request of the sender. Having silently accepted the basket, Saint Isaac then gave the following instruction to the servant: “I accept gifts, but be careful when you touch the basket hidden on the way: a snake has climbed into it, and if you stretch out your hand without being careful, it will bite you.” These words greatly ashamed the servant and aroused in him, on the one hand, fear, and on the other, joy at the thought that he had learned about a snake from which he could die. This is how Saint Gregory the Dvoeslov tells about the Venerable Isaac the Syrian. A book of “ascetic words” has been preserved from him, containing very useful instructions for monks; During his life, he himself was honored by God with inscription in the book of the eternal life and with the host of saints stands before the animated Word of the Father, Christ the Son of God, to Him with the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory forever. Amen. This dialogue or conversation is contained in the famous work of St. Gregory the Great, “An Interview on the Life and Miracles of the Italian Fathers,” for which it received the name Dvoeslov. The work consists of four books and contains stories about the exploits of pious people, performed by them with the assistance of the grace of God; Saint Gregory borrowed information for these stories partly from his own conversations with the Italian fathers, and partly they were delivered to him by Bishop Maximilian of Syracuse. Approximately until the beginning of the second half of the 6th century, when the rule of the Goths in Italy finally fell. You might be interested in: