Житие святого отца нашего Епифания, архиепископа Кипрского

The birthplace of Saint Epiphanius, a Jew by origin, was Phenicia 3163: on the banks of the Eleuthera River, flowing from the Lebanese Mountains into the Phoenician Sea 3164, three fields 3165 from the city of Nicaea, there was the village of Visanduk; here the parents of Saint Epiphanius lived, engaged in farming; In addition to their son, they also had a daughter, Callitropia, who was younger than him. When the boy was ten years old, his father died, leaving his wife with the difficult task of raising children: the orphaned family only had enough to feed them, and the children, meanwhile, were still small. The mother was forced to feed them with the labor of her own hands. Several years passed like this. It happened that the widow had a very stubborn and violent donkey. And then one day the mother said to Epiphanius: “My son, take the donkey, take it to the city to the market, sell it there and buy us food.” “You know,” Epiphany answered his mother, “that the donkey is violent, and when the buyers notice this at the auction, they will begin to beat me.” “Go, my son, may the God of our fathers tame the donkey,” his mother told him. Then the boy, obeying his mother’s orders, led the donkey to the city for sale. Here his first buyer was also a Jew. Recognizing the seller as his fellow tribesman, he told him: “My son, you and I believe in one God who loves the truth, and we should not offend each other, so as not to anger our God and then complain about each other.” So, let's evaluate the donkey fairly. “I would not like to sell you this donkey, since he is still untrained, and besides, he is stubborn and violent; Only because of hunger and not having anything to buy food with, my mother decided to sell it. But now I hear from you that it is a sin to cause harm to one’s neighbor for the sake of gain, and I am afraid that God will punish me. Amazed by the youth’s prudence and good character, the Jew gave him three pennies 3166 with the words: “My son, take this, buy bread for your mother and return with the donkey to your house, and if the donkey tames, then keep it with you; otherwise, drive him out so that he does not kill anyone. Epiphanius headed home and on the way near his village he met the Christian Kleovius, who wanted to buy a donkey. But the honest youth refused to sell it. During their conversation, the donkey became stubborn and began to kick with a snort, and then, throwing off Epiphanius, ran out of the road. The fallen youth was so broken that he could not get up and lay there, crying bitterly: his bruised hip was in severe pain. Kleovius, approaching him, felt his thigh and crossed it three times. Immediately Epiphanius recovered and stood up. Then, Kleovius turned to the donkey and said: “In the name of our Lord, the crucified Jesus Christ, I command you to stop, and because you wanted to kill your master, you yourself will not leave this place.” Immediately the donkey fell and died. Surprised by what had happened, the youth asked Cleovius: – Who is, Father, the crucified Jesus Christ, that such miracles are performed in His name? “The Son of God, whom the Jews crucified,” answered Kleovius. Epiphanius was afraid to reveal his Jewish origin to him and went home with the thought of Christ crucified and with the desire to believe in Him. Coming to his mother, he told her about everything that had happened. Meanwhile, the latter, not having anything to eat with her children, sold her field, and ordered Epiphanius to go to the city to learn some kind of craft, so that later he could feed himself and her and her sister. Just as Epiphanius was leaving for the city, the wealthy Jewish teacher Tryphon, who knew his parents well and owned some estates in their village, came from the city to Visanduka. Having learned that Epiphanius’s mother was widowed, and seeing her in poverty, he said to her: - Give me your son, I will adopt him; and if you agree, then from now on let him be considered my son, and you and your daughter eat from my house. With the greatest joy, the widow gave her son to be raised by an unexpected benefactor. And Epiphanius lived like a son in Tryphon’s house, being taught Jewish books. The good-natured pupil's quick receptivity and rare intelligence made him the teacher's favorite. Tryphon even wanted to marry his only daughter to him. But by God's will she died. Soon her parents died, as well as her mother Epiphania. Remaining the sole heir of the entire Trifon estate, Epiphanius took his sister Callitropia into his upbringing, instilling in her the good behests of his named father and teacher. One day Epiphanius went to his native village to see the estate left to him after Tryphon. By God's providence, he met on the way the monk Lucian, who wrote books and sold them to feed himself and the poor. Just during Epiphanius’s meeting with the monk, a beggar grabbed Lucian’s legs and said: “Have mercy on me, man of God: I haven’t eaten bread for three days now, and now I don’t know what to eat.” Blessed Lucian, having nothing in his hands, took off his clothes and gave them to the beggar, saying: “Go to the city, sell these clothes and buy yourself some bread.” Epiphanius, who saw this, was surprised at such mercy of the monk he met and, as if in an ecstatic state, he noticed a shining white robe descending on the monk and covering him. In horror, he quickly got off his horse and, falling on his knees before the monk, said, bowing to him: - I beg you, tell me, who are you? “You first tell me what faith you are, and then I will tell you about myself,” answered Lucian. Epiphany said: Then his interlocutor, a perspicacious elder, noticing the effect of God’s saving grace on the Jew he met, turned to him with the following words: - How do you, being a Jew, ask me, a Christian: who am I? For there is very little in common between Jews and Christians. Now you have learned that I am a Christian, and you should no longer continue speaking with me. – What, father, prevents me from being a Christian? - asked Epiphanius and received the following answer from the follower of Christ: “The only thing that hinders you is that you don’t want to, since every good deed precedes the will.” If you really wanted to, you would be a Christian. Epiphanius was touched by these words: leaving his initial intention to visit his land in his native village, he returned to the city house, having previously begged his interlocutor to go with him. Bringing him to him, he showed him all his property. “Here is my property, father,” the owner said to the guest, “I want to be a Christian and accept monasticism, but I have a young sister, what can you tell me about her?” “Child,” answered the Christian, “you can truly be a Christian, having both earthly wealth and a sister.” Both do not contradict the holy Christian faith. You cannot accept monasticism. First of all, accept holy baptism together with your sister. Then marry her with a sufficient dowry to a Christian. Then, give what you have left to the poor. And then you can be a true monk. “All this, father,” said Epiphanius, “I will actually fulfill all this according to your commandment; just don’t hesitate to include us in the community of Christians. “You should inform the bishop about this,” said Lucian: “without him it is impossible to perform the sacrament of baptism.” So I'll go to him. You remain in constant intention and zeal for Christ our God. And I will return to you soon. Lucian went to the local bishop. Epiphanius, having come to his sister’s room, said to her: – I want to be a Christian and put on the monastic rite. “Whatever you want,” the sister answered her brother, “that’s what I do, and whatever you do, that’s what I’ll do.” Hearing about Epiphanius’s desire to be baptized, the bishop was very happy and said to the good messenger: - Go, teach the young man and his sister the holy faith and instruct them in the law of Christ. When Sunday comes and we enter the church, then bring them to the merciful and philanthropic God, so that we can unite them to Him with holy baptism. When Lucian returned to Epiphanius, the latter and his sister bowed to the ground to the elder, asking him with tears: - We pray to you, father, make us Christians sooner. Lucian, raising them up, began to teach Christian piety: the teaching, accompanied by prayer, continued until Sunday almost continuously, day and night. On Sunday, Lucian brought Epiphanius and Callitropia to the bishop. Having fallen on their faces before the bishop, as before Christ Himself, they asked him for holy enlightenment. Having raised them and having a friendly conversation with them, he announced them. The bishop then went to church, with Lucian behind him, followed by the newly-catechumens. As Epiphanius entered the first step of the church entrance, his sandal 3167 fell off his left foot. When he stepped onto the threshold with his bare foot, the sandal fell off his right foot. Epiphanius did not return for his sandals, but entered the church barefoot: with such great zeal he walked towards God. Looking at Epiphanius in the church, the bishop saw a crown on his head and a glorified face. And the bishop and Lucian led Epiphanius and his sister into the font and baptized them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The successor of Epiphanius was Lucian, and the successor of Callitropia was the holy virgin Veronica. At the Divine Liturgy, the newly baptized received the Mysteries of Christ. Then, by order of the bishop, they dined with him and remained at the bishopric for eight days. Then Epiphanius brought his sister, Lucian and Veronica to his house: here, taking a thousand pieces of gold, he handed them and his sister Veronica, as the head of Christ’s virgin nuns, and released both women. Finally, having distributed money to those in need after selling all his property and leaving himself only 400 gold coins to buy Divine books, the newly baptized man left the city with Lucian to the monastery built by the elder. Ten monks labored in it, diligently writing books and supporting themselves with this. Twenty-six-year-old Epiphanius accepted monasticism and was given under the leadership of the first monk Hilarion according to Lucian, although young in years, but perfect in virtues and adorned with great gifts of miracles. Taking a closer look at his mentor, the newcomer began to imitate his fasting labors. He not only learned, on Lucian’s instructions, from Hilarion to read and write Greek books, but he also learned from him an ascetic life pleasing to God in monasticism. With the assistance of Christ's grace, Epiphanius prospered from strength to strength. After the death of the Monk Lucian, his leader became abbot and began to lead an even more strict life. It seemed that this was not a person, but one of the Angels who always serve God. Hilarion's meal included some bread with a moderate amount of salt and water. And he ate this either every other day, or two, or three, and sometimes he didn’t eat for the whole week. Epiphanius, seeing such fasting, strove to imitate it, and then throughout his life he adhered to the fasting rules adopted from the great faster Hilarion. The Lord rewarded His saint with the gift of miracles. The beginning of his miracles was like this. The monastery was surrounded by a waterless area, and the brethren walked 5 miles to get water, and then at night, due to the unbearable heat of the sun during the day. It happened one day on an extremely hot day that some wanderers passing by came into the monastery to quench their terrible thirst. But the monks could not do this, since not a single drop of water was found in the monastery at that time. The travelers were already expecting their death. Epiphanius, feeling sorry for them, stretched out his hand to the vessel of wine that was with them, and, touching it, said to the brethren: – Believe, brethren, that He who once turned water into wine is now able to turn wine into water (John 2:1-11). And immediately, according to the word of Epiphanius, the wine turned into water. The delighted travelers not only got drunk themselves, but also watered their livestock. After which the water became wine again. Everyone was involuntarily surprised by the miracle and from that time began to especially respect Epiphanius for the holiness of his life. He, unable to bear the veneration of the brethren, secretly left the monastery and took refuge in the Spanidrion desert, feeding on the cereals growing here. After some time, forty Saracens 3168 who were walking through that desert, seeing Epiphanius in monastic robes, began to mock him. Among the robbers, one was crooked, most notable for his brutality and inhumanity. Drawing his sword, he wanted to strike Epiphanius. But as soon as the robber raised his hand to strike, his eye began to see clearly. In surprise, he threw the sword to the ground, pointing to his comrades at his healed eye. Eyewitnesses of such a miracle forcibly took Epiphanius with them, saying: “You are our god, walk with us and protect us from the troubles that befall us.” The saint walked with them for three months. Keeping them from all evil deeds and not allowing them to do anything disorderly before their eyes, all this time he taught them the knowledge of the true God, instilling in them the saving fear of God. “If you do not give up your evil deeds,” he told them, “then you will not prosper on earth and will perish from the punishing, just wrath of the Lord.” However, the meek monk could not long be the leader of the daring robbers. After three months, the incessant instructions and curbs of the Angel in the flesh became completely unbearable for the demons in human form. And if, when they met the miracle worker - a monk, they begged him to walk with them, now, on the contrary, they begged the saint to move away from them to his former place. Taking him there, they arranged a hut for him. Then they said goodbye to him, with the exception of one who believed in Christ and became a worthy disciple of the monk. For a year and a half, the Christ-loving teacher taught the repentant thief the Divine books and instructed him in the fasting life. Then, the mentor went with his student to the monastery of St. Hilarion and asked him to baptize the newly catechumen. The Great Abbot performed this sacrament over him, calling him John. John did not leave his teacher and described his life until his death, which followed before the death of the monk. On the way back from the monastery to the desert cell, Saint Epiphanius and his newly baptized disciple John met a demon-possessed young man wandering naked in the desert. Taking pity on him, the saint, after praying to the Lord God, cast out the demon from him. The demon, leaving his former victim, screamed: “O Epiphanius, you are driving me out of my place, where I lived for twenty-two years, and I will drag you to Persia, where you will appear before the king against your will.” With this the demon disappeared. The young man recovered completely and, falling at the feet of his healer, thanked him. Having taught the healed man to give thanks to God, the saint sent him home. Meanwhile, the expelled demon, having come to Persia in 3169, entered the royal daughter and began to torment her greatly. At the same time he shouted: “If Epiphanius doesn’t come here, I won’t leave this girl.” Epiphanius, a Phoenician by birth, come here and I will marry the king’s daughter. The king, having heard about the Phoenician country, sent his servants there to find Epiphanius. They, asking about him in all the cities and villages of Phenicia, could not find out anything and were almost killed by the natives, who mistook them for spies. After their return to the king with nothing, the devil, who was in the maidenhood, continued to shout loudly: - Epiphanius lives in the desert called Spanidrion, bring him here. Then the king, calling thirty close men, said to them: - Having thrown off your Persian clothes and put on Greek ones, go to Phenicia and look for a deserted place called Spanidrion. There you will find a certain man named Epiphanius. Take him with you and bring him to me. Having changed their clothes, the messengers set off and reached the named desert. They searched here for Epiphanius for a long time. Finally, at the direction of one man, they came to his cell at night, when the saint, according to custom, performed night prayers with his disciple. They knocked hard on his door. But the ascetic of Christ, not wanting to interrupt his prayer rule, stood in prayer, not at all frightened by the knock and as if not noticing it. Having become extremely angry, the Persians finally decided to break down the cell doors. One of them raised his weapon to hit the door. And suddenly his raised hand became stiff and dry. The rest, out of fear, involuntarily moved some distance away from the cell and began to wait for the day to come. At dawn, Epiphanius, who had already completed his night and morning prayers, opened the doors and went out. Seeing the monk, the victim fell on his face before him and said: “Have mercy on me, servant of the immortal God.” -What do you ask from a sinful man? – asked the humble saint of God. “I came to this place healthy,” he answered, “and now my hand has dried up.” “Just as you came healthy,” said the monk, “so be healthy.” With these words, he touched the withered hand, and immediately it became healthy, like the other. Having seen such a miracle, the comrades of the healed man approached the saint and, bowing, revealed to him the purpose of their coming: they begged him to go to the king to heal his daughter. The monk, realizing that the spirit he had expelled from the youth had entered the daughter of the king of Persia, armed himself against the demon with prayer and, with hope in God, set off with the disciple on the camels of the Persian men. Thirty-five days later, the travelers reached Persia and stopped in the city of Urion. Three of the Persians went to the king to announce the arrival of Epiphanius. The king immediately ordered that he be presented to himself. The monk came to him as to a simple man, and not as to a king. The earthly ruler greeted the faithful servant of the Heavenly King, rising from his throne. The saint talked with him about the true God, Christ our Savior, about His invincible power, expelling every demonic race. After the conversation, the possessed royal daughter was brought to the miracle worker. Having prayed to God for the suffering woman, the saint made the sign of the cross over her three times. He barely had time to complete it when the demon left the girl, who after that became completely healthy. Delighted by the healing of his daughter, the king bowed to the monk. One of the Persian magi 3170, who saw the miracle, called out to the monk: - O beloved sorcerer, who came here to correct our teaching, stay here with us and teach us, and all of us, the Persian sorcerers, will listen to you. In response to the sorcerer’s words, the saint looked at him menacingly and said to him with anger: - O enemy of truth! Let your lying lips be stopped, calling me, the servant of my Lord Jesus Christ, a sorcerer. And immediately the sorcerer became speechless. Everyone was involuntarily horrified. The numb man fell at the feet of the servant of the Most High God and bowed to him to loosen his tongue. Upon sufficient instruction, the merciful righteous man healed the punished man. “I have sinned against you, servant of God,” cried the healed man, “forgive me.” Meanwhile, the grateful king ordered a lot of gold, silver and precious stones to be brought to the wonderful healer. The non-covetous monk took nothing for himself. “We do not demand,” he told the king, “these temporary riches, hoping in the future life for the better eternal ones promised to us by our Lord Christ.” You keep yours to yourself; you love acquisitions, and because of them you are destroying your soul, because, being a lover of gold, you steal other people’s property, but do not give it to those in need. He also refused the king’s invitation to dine with him. “One bran bread and a little salt is enough for me to strengthen my weak body,” said the great faster in response to the royal call. When the king, despite the saint’s refusal, ordered him and John to be taken to a special room to a table laden with expensive dishes, the strict ascetic tasted nothing but bread. The true follower of Christ spent ten days in the palace, teaching the king the holy Christian faith. But the seeds of Christian preaching fell on a petrified heart and a mind blinded by evil. At his last meeting with the unbelieving king, Saint Epiphanius preached before him a teaching about righteous judgments, about mercy, about the Magi as demonic servants, and about the impermissibility of him fighting against Christian kings: “If you go to war against them, then you will be an enemy of Christ Himself crucified and you will die in a terrible way,” the righteous man concluded his sermon, escorted from the royal chambers by the sovereign himself. Upon leaving them, the servant of the Living God saw a dead man being carried for burial. Having commanded those carrying him to stop, Saint Epiphanius, looking up to heaven, said: – Son of God, who raised Lazarus four days old from the dead (John 11:39–44), raise also this dead man to the glory of Your most holy name. Having prayed, Saint Epiphanius touched the dead man, and he immediately came to life. Those around were horrified and mistook the miracle worker for one of the gods. The humble monk, calling himself a servant of God, preached to them about the true God, glorified in the Holy Trinity. Since his listeners were not from the sheep of Christ, he hastened to his own country. The king wanted to send a guard army with him to the borders of Persia. But the undaunted warrior of Christ refused. “I have God protecting me,” he said to the king, “and His warriors—the holy Angels.” Then the king, bidding farewell to the hermit, sent him away with the words: - Go in peace, Epiphanius, glory of the Greeks, remember also about us who are in Persia. And the God-protected saint went to his desert cell, created for him by the Saracens. Having arrived there, he again surrendered to silence. There was no water for a long distance around the village. The saint of God, having fervently prayed to the Lord God, produced a source of water from the dry land, just as Moses once did from a stone in the desert (Num. 20:11). Then the hermit, with the help of his disciple, planted a small garden, planted edible grains in it and watered them from a wonderful spring. But the animals that came into the garden ate them. Having once seen these unpleasant visitors in the garden, the monk addressed them, as if to people, with the following speech: “Do not harm the poor and sinful man who has settled here to mourn his sins: I already have little of these grains given to me by God for my sustenance.” And the animals, as if understanding, left in shame and no longer caused harm to the saint. The fame of the holy ascetic of the Spanidrian desert spread throughout Phenicia. She again brought the Saracens to him, who wished to receive his blessing and created three more cells for the numerous disciples gathered around him. Soon a whole monastery was formed here, numbering 50 brethren. Among them was the son of the Roman eparch 3171 Aetius Callistus. He accepted monasticism from Epiphanius for the following reason. Being possessed by a demon in adolescence, he once saw Epiphanius in a dream saying to him: “Do you want, Callistus, for me to drive away the unclean spirit from you?” “Who are you, my lord, who can drive away the fierce tormentor from me?” - asked the boy who appeared. He answered him: - I am Epiphanius, living in Palestine Phenicia, in a desert monastery called Spanidrion. If I drive away an evil spirit from you, will you come to me and live with me in my monastery? “Sir,” the patient said in response, “just drive the tormentor out of me, and I will immediately come to live with you.” “Look, child,” Epiphanius warned Callista, “don’t break your promise.” Waking up, the demoniac felt completely healthy and told his parents about his miraculous healing. After three months, Callistus turned to them with such a request. “Let me go to Palestine Phenicia to find Mr. Epiphanius to stay with him, I’m afraid that the tormentor-devil will return to me.” The parents immediately sent their son to the monk with slaves and a lot of gold and silver. Having come to his healer, the healed man accepted monasticism at his hands and gave him the gold and silver he had brought with him for the monastery building; He sent his own slaves to their parents. At that time, another ascetic of Christ was famous throughout Palestine - the Monk Hilarion the Great, who had his own abode in the desert near Gas Maium. Saint Epiphanius once visited him with his disciple John. The abbot and the brethren kindly received the guests and kept them with them for several days. At this time, the devil, taking on the image of Epiphanius, went to his monastery, as if returning from Hilarion the Great. The transformed demon was seen by one careless and negligent brother who left the monastery unnecessarily. Mistaking him for the real Epiphanius, he bowed to him, and immediately the demon entered him and began to torment him. The brethren, seeing the man who was going berserk, were perplexed as to how this illness happened to the hitherto healthy monk, and they grieved for him. What was incomprehensible to the brethren who were with him, was foreseen by their absent and perspicacious abbot with his spirit. “Father,” Epiphanius said then to Hilarion, “the wolf got into my flock and confused my sheep: I’m going to drive him out.” Having said this, he said goodbye to the great elder and the brethren. Returning hastily to the monastery, he, by his very presence, forced the devil to leave the victim of his deception. The healed man told him how he became possessed. After his story, the saint taught the brethren to guard themselves from the devil’s wiles. Not far from the Epiphanius Monastery, along the path that ran through the desert, there lived a ferocious lion that killed many passers-by, so that travelers walked only in very large crowds. Having gathered one day, they came to the monastery to the monk and reported on the bloodthirstiness of the beast, which had killed many. After listening to them, the monk said to them: “Let’s go, children, in the name of the Lord and look at that lion.” And everyone went. When approaching the lion's den, fear fell on everyone, and everyone wanted to run back. But the saint said: - Show me his place. They showed it to him, standing in the distance. Then the monk went to the beast, calling out: Immediately the lion, hearing the human voice, jumped out of his den; but, seeing the face of the saint, he fell dead. Those standing in the distance, noticing the lion coming out, ran in fear and expected him to tear Epiphanius to pieces. The saint of God shouted to them in a loud voice: “Don’t be afraid, children: come and look at the corpse of the beast.” After much hesitation, they ventured to come to the saint and, seeing a dead lion lying at his feet, were very surprised, glorifying God. Together with the gift of miracles and many others, the Lord rewarded His faithful servant with the great gift of knowledge and interpretation of Divine Scripture. Reading it to the brethren, he explained it clearly and understandably to everyone. One Greek philosopher heard about his erudition and high intelligence. Having come from Edessa 3172 to the monastery of the saint, the philosopher argued with him on the basis of the books of the Hellenic sages: he praised Greek polytheism, and Epiphanius proved by the teaching of the Holy Scripture the truth of the Christian faith in the One God, glorified in the Holy Trinity. The Greek scientist spent a whole year in the monastery of the Christian sage, arguing with him and looking closely at the equal-angelic life of the saint and his disciples. Seeing, moreover, the miracles performed by Epiphanius, the philosopher little by little came to the knowledge of Christ's truth. Finally, the next miracle especially struck him and finally converted him to Christianity. 60 people brought a demoniac tied with chains to the monastery 3173. The monk said to the philosopher: - Listen, philosopher, arguing with the sinful Epiphanius: either you cast out the fierce demon from this man by calling your gods, so that I believe in them; or I will call on my God, the crucified Jesus Christ, and cast out the demon, and then you will turn to our Christian faith. The philosopher was silent, unable to find an answer. Then the saint, calling on the name of God, rebuked the demon and drove him out of God’s creation. After this miracle, the philosopher fell at the feet of the miracle worker, asking for baptism and confessing the One true God, Christ crucified. The monk sent the convert to Hilarion, who baptized him with the name Epiphania. The newly baptized man then became a monk and became a presbyter and abbot of monks. Every day, large numbers of brethren and laity came to the monk from different places. To avoid these numerous and undesirable interlopers of his holy solitude, Epiphanius decided to retire to the Egyptian country. Knowing full well that the brethren would not let him go, he called them and said to them: – I want to go visit the great elder Hilarion. The brothers, realizing the intention of their mentor, fell on their faces before him with a cry and begged him not to leave them. The elder promised not to leave them and remained in his cell. But after 10 days, together with his disciple John, he secretly left the monastery and went to Jerusalem 3174. Having venerated here the Life-Giving Tree of the Cross of the Lord, he prayed at other Jerusalem shrines. Then, he went to Joppa 3175, where there was a sea pier, and boarded a ship sailing to Alexandria 3176. At the entrance to this city, he was met by the Jewish teacher of the law, Aquila, who wished to argue with him about faith on the basis of the Holy Scriptures. The dispute continued for two days. Finally, the Jew, defeated by the Christian, wished to be baptized. The monk brought him to Archbishop Athanasius. The saint joyfully accepted both: the Jew as having turned to Christ, and Epiphanius as having set him on the right path. A short time later, Epiphanius from Alexandria went with his disciple to Thebaid 3177. They were met here by a former student of Anthony the Great 3178 Paphnutius. “Bless us, father,” the monk told him. - Blessed are you by the Lord. After prayer, they sat down and talked: Epiphanius asked him about the life of Anthony, and he told him about it. “I want, father,” he told him after this story, “to live in the Nitrian desert 3179.” “Go,” replied Epiphanius’s interlocutor, “and enjoy conversations with the holy fathers living in Nitria, and collect from them spiritual food, with which you will feed the verbal sheep on the Cyprus island 3180.” The words of Paphnutius were a prophecy about the future bishopric of Epiphanius on the island of Cyprus. Having said the prayer, the interlocutors said goodbye and each went their separate ways. As he approached the city of Leonitopol, Epiphanius heard that near the city there was a monastery where the monk Ierax lived - a pious man in appearance, he was in fact a heretic, since he taught about our body in an unorthodox way. In his opinion, it will not be resurrected, but instead God will give another body in the future life. For it is written: “You are dust, and to dust you will return” (Gen. 3:19). He also said that children would be imperfect in that age. Epiphanius, while still in Palestine, heard about him and wanted to see him. Hierax also heard about the monk in exactly the same way. Arriving at this monastery, the saint saw a multitude of people listening to the teachings of Hierax: everyone considered him virtuous, like a great faster who did not eat oil or drink wine. Seeing two wandering monks, Hierax asked them: “From Palestine,” answered the wanderers. Having then asked their names, he was saddened: Epiphanius, famous in Egypt for his holiness and wisdom, was unpleasant to him. Paying no more attention to Epiphanius, he continued to teach the people. When the heretic in his sermon went as far as the resurrection of the dead and began to teach that human bodies would not be resurrected, Epiphanius, unable to bear his error, addressed him with such words of rebuke. - Let your lips be blocked, so that you learn not to blaspheme our hope. And immediately the deluded man became numb and motionless. Witnesses of such a miracle were greatly horrified. And the wonderworker began to teach about the resurrection of the dead, assuring that they would rise in the same, but only modified, body in which they lived in this world. After several hours of his sermon, the saint said to the punished: – Learn the true faith and teach it to others. And the dumb man suddenly spoke, confessing his error and promising to repent. The monk taught him enough about the right faith, and then went to Upper Thebaid. There was one deserted place called Vuvulie. Having settled in it, the saint stayed here for seven years. But this desert did not save him from visitors. Among them was a native philosopher named Eudaemon, who came to argue with the saint about faith; the philosopher was accompanied by his son, who had one eye that was crooked. After a long argument, the monk, looking at the philosopher’s son, said to the latter: - Why don’t you take care of your son in order to save him from his physical defect? “If in all the heavens,” the questioner answered with a laugh, “there was only one son of Evdemon’s, one-eyed, then I really should have taken care of him.” But since the lonely ones are numerous on earth, let him remain so. - But if in reality, in all of heaven, only your son was crooked, and all other people on earth saw with both eyes, then what would you do to heal him? - Epiphanius continued to ask Eudaimon. “Nothing else,” the philosopher said in response, “except that he would say to himself: there is no more unhappy person in the whole world than my son.” “Do not take what I say as a joke,” said the saint, “but give me your son for healing and you will see the glory of God,” the saint objected. Then he took the boy, made the sign of the cross three times over his eye, and healed him. At the sight of such a miracle, the philosopher and his son believed in Christ. Having sufficiently learned the right faith, Eudemon, along with his entire household, received baptism from the local bishop. The same fame about Saint Epiphanius, which brought many people to him, gave rise to the desire among the bishops of Egypt to forcefully make the monk a saint of some local city. But the saint spiritually saw the intention of the bishops and said to his disciple: - Let's return, child, to our fatherland. And they both went to Phenicia. On the way, they entered the monastery of the great Hilarion, but did not find the elder there: numerous visitors to this monastery prompted him to retire to a deserted place located within the Cyprus city of Paphos 3181. The brothers, weeping for their father who had abandoned them, saw Saint Epiphanius in their presence and were comforted in their sorrow: for forty days he consoled them. Then, he went to his monastery of Spanidrion, where everyone rejoiced at his return. That year there was a famine in Phenicia due to drought. Having learned about the return of the great wonderworker, many people came to his monastery, earnestly begging him to ask God for rain, so that the earth would give its fruit. “Why are you bothering me,” the monk told them, “I am a sinful man.” But they asked him for a long time and tirelessly. Finally, the saint, shutting himself up in his cell, began to pray the desired prayer. And suddenly the sky, hitherto completely clear, became covered with thunderclouds, from which heavy, incessant rain poured down throughout Phenicia for three days. Then the people began to ask the saint of God to stop the rain. Through the prayer of the saint, it stopped, and that year there was a great abundance of earthly fruits. The more the saint’s fame increased, attracting countless crowds of visitors to him every day, the more he thought about leaving Phenicia again. His intention soon turned into a decision. In Lycia 3182, the place of the baptism of Saint Epiphanius, a bishop died, and the saints of the surrounding cities gathered to choose a new bishop, while they remembered Saint Epiphanius. Among those present at the council was the young, but perfect in life, chaste and virtuous monk Poluvius, who knew the monk. The bishops ordered him to ride on horseback to the monastery of Spanidrion as quickly as possible and secretly find out whether Epiphanius had really returned from Egypt and whether he was in his monastery. “Do not reveal the commission to anyone, not even Epiphanius himself,” the fathers of the cathedral told Poluvius. The latter found the saint in the monastery and greeted him. - Why did you come here, my son? – the saint asked Poluvius. The latter replied: – I came to visit your holiness. “You, child, came,” the seer objected to him, “to see my insignificance, whether I’m here.” Do not hide from me what I have commanded you, for it is a sin to tell a lie: tell the truth, because God is in our midst—be truly a servant of the truth, while Epiphanius the sinner moves from place to place, groaning and fearing the multitude of his sins. But listen, Poluvius: stay here, and send the horse to the bishops. Let them look for someone they know as a worthy husband for the bishopric; I will remain unknown to them. Poluvius listened to the clairvoyant: having sent away his horse and servant, he himself remained with the monk. When night fell, Epiphanius, together with his constant disciple John and the newcomer Poluvius, left the monastery secretly for everyone. First, he visited Jerusalem to venerate the Life-Giving Tree of the Holy Cross and other shrines in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. After a three-day stay in the holy city for Christians, Saint Epiphanius said to both of his disciples: “I heard, children, that our great father Hilarion now lives in the Cyprus country, not far from the city of Paphos; Let us therefore go to him and receive a blessing from him. Having said this, he went with them to Caesarea Philippi 3183, located in Palestine, to board a ship there sailing to the island of Cyprus. Having landed on the Cyprus coast, he went to the Paphos desert to the great ascetic Hilarion. Upon meeting after a long separation, both hermits were filled with great joy. Seeing Hilarion's grief over his numerous visitors and his intention to move to another place, Epiphanius decided to leave his hospitable host two months later. When saying goodbye, Hilarion asked his guest: -Where do you want to go, Epiphanius? “I’ll go to Ascalon and Gaza 3184 and beyond until I find a silent place somewhere in the desert.” In response to this, Saint Epiphanius heard the following advice from the seer: - Go, child, to the city of Salamis 3185, located on the island of Cyprus. And you will have a good stay in this city. Epiphanius did not want to hear these prophetic words, which contained a prediction that he would be an archbishop in the named city. Then the holy soothsayer repeated his wish to him, saying: “I’m telling you, child, that you should go to that city and live in it.” Therefore, do not contradict me, so that disaster does not befall you at sea. Having said goodbye to Hilarion, Epiphanius and his disciples went to the sea pier. There were two ships standing there: one sailing to Ascalon, the other to Salamis. The Reverend sailed on the first. A few hours later a great storm suddenly arose at sea. Strong waves were ready every minute to break and sink the ship in the depths of the sea. Everyone despaired of their lives. This disaster continued for three days. Finally, on the fourth day, the waves washed the ship to the city of Salamis. Coming out of the ship, the travelers, exhausted from prolonged fear and severe hunger, lay down on the ground as if they were dead. A three-day stop was required both to rest the tired swimmers and to repair the damaged ship. And only on the fourth day the ship was ready to sail. The monk also thought about continuing the sea route. But God judged differently. Just at this time, the election of an archbishop was taking place in the city. The bishops who gathered on this occasion prayed for several days to God to show them a man worthy of such a great rank. Among them was the perspicacious, elderly Saint Pappius of Cythera 3186, who had been a bishop for fifty years and endured much torment for the name of Christ, together with Bishop Gelasius of Salamis. To this confessor of Christ, revered by all the Cypriot bishops as a father, it was revealed by God that Saint Epiphanius had arrived in Salamis, whom he was ordered to appoint as bishop of the city. Then it was autumn time and the time had come to harvest grapes. “Let’s go, children, to the city,” Epiphanius said to his disciples, “and let’s buy ourselves some grapes for the journey.” When they approached the grape seller at the auction, Epiphanius, taking two large brushes, asked him: -What do you want for them? – then suddenly, with surprise, he noticed four bishops approaching him. The elderly Pappius, who was among them and supported by two deacons, recognized the monk by the Holy Spirit as he looked at him and said to him: - Abba Epiphanius, leave the grapes and come with us to the holy church. The invitee, remembering the words of David: “I rejoiced when they said to me: let us go to the house of the Lord” (Ps. 122:1), left the grapes and went with the bishops. As the saint entered the church, the entire council of bishops greeted him with the words: - God sent you to us, Abba, so that you will be the archbishop of this city and the entire island of Cyprus. The saint, calling himself a sinner and unworthy, refused to bear such a great dignity. But the bishops, not heeding his requests, began to elevate him successively through the degrees of the priesthood. The one being consecrated wept bitterly, considering the burden of priesthood unbearable for himself. Seeing the tears of the grieving protege, Pappius said to him: “It is fitting for us, child, to remain silent about the revelation that has happened to us about you, but since I see you grieving and crying, I need to tell you what God has been pleased to reveal to us.” These assembled holy fathers, bishops, blamed my unworthiness for the election of an archbishop, saying to me, a sinner: “Pray diligently to God, for we believe that God will show you a husband worthy of the archbishopric.” I, having shut myself up in my bedchamber, prayed to the Lord of the Savior for this, and suddenly a light shone around me like lightning, and I heard a voice speaking to me, a sinner: “Pappius, Pappius, listen!” - Frightened, I said: - What do you command, my Lord? - and a voice said to me quietly: “Get up and go to the market and you will see there a monk buying bunches of grapes, similar in face and head to the prophet Elisha and having two disciples with him.” Having taken him, consecrate him as an archbishop; The name of that monk is Epiphanius. - And so I got up and did what I was commanded. But you, child, do not resist God’s will, “take heed to yourself and to all the flock, over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers” (Acts 20:28). After Pappius’s speech, Epiphanius bowed to the ground and, obeying the Lord’s will, accepted his consecration as a bishop. After which the rejoicing bishops went home. The newly installed archpastor began to shepherd the verbal flock of Christ entrusted to him in the spiritual pasture, not only with his teaching word, but also with the example of his virtuous life. At the beginning of the archpastoral activity of Saint Epiphanius, one noble Roman named Eugnomon was put in prison because of a hundred pieces of gold to the Salamisian citizen Draco. And there was no deliverer for the prisoner: since he was far from his fatherland Rome 3187, no one wanted to vouch for him. Hearing about this and feeling compassion for the debtor, the saint went to the rich and stingy pagan Dragon to ask him for release from the bonds of Eugnomon. The saint's request brought the idolater into great anger. - A stranger to our city! - he answered angrily, - if you want me to release your debtor, then go and bring me a hundred gold pieces. Blessed Epiphanius gave him one hundred gold pieces from church gold and thus freed the debtor from both bonds and debt. The proud and evil deacon Karin began to murmur against the saint regarding the gold distributed, and aroused murmurs against the saint among other clergy. “You see this stranger,” he told them, “he wants to plunder everything in the church, and we will be guilty of plundering the church treasure.” Karin, who was a rich man, sought through this a reason to expel Saint Epiphanius from the archbishop's throne in order to sit on it himself. All the clergy, prejudiced by him against the merciful act of the archpastor, said to Epiphanius: “Is the holy honor you have accepted insufficient for you?” But you are also squandering the church property like a wanderer and stranger who came here poor and naked. So, either give the church one hundred gold pieces, or leave from where you came from. The saint endured in silence. Freed from his bonds, he went to Rome, sold all his property and returned to the saint with a lot of gold. Having entrusted everything received from the sale into the hands of Epiphanius, he gave himself to the service of God and His bishop and lived under Epiphanius until his death. The saint, taking 100 pieces of gold from the gold brought to him, gave it to Karina, saying: “Here is church gold, borrowed to free the debtor.” Karin took it. Meanwhile, the saint distributed the rest of the gold to those in need. And Karin, having called the clergy, proudly boasted before them. “Here,” he told them, “is the gold squandered by Epiphanius, which I demanded from him.” But the clergy began to revile Karin, who caused them to sin by murmuring and insulting the saint, and angrily ordered him to return these gold coins to the saint: “For the saint,” they said, “has the power to spend the church’s wealth on works of mercy.” Karin caused the saint of God many other troubles, but he endured everything with meekness. One day, when the saint was at dinner, at which all the clergy were present, he was interpreting some of the mysteries of the Holy Scriptures, a raven flew to the window and began to caw. And Karin, laughing at the saint’s teaching, said to the other clergy: - How many of you know what this raven says when it caws? Since everyone listened attentively to the teaching, no one answered the deacon’s question. And for the second and third time Karin asked: – Who would be intelligent enough to understand the raven’s speech? But no one still heeded his words, continuing to listen to the divinely inspired conversation of Saint Epiphanius. The impudent deacon finally asked the saint himself: “If you are wise, then tell me what this raven is talking about, and if you tell me, then have all my property.” The saint, looking at him, said: “I know what the raven says: he says that from now on you will not be a deacon.” And immediately, from the saint’s word, horror fell upon Karin, and, moreover, some kind of illness seized him, so that he could no longer sit at the table and was taken home by his slaves. The next morning he died. All the clergy came into great fear and from that hour they fearfully submitted and revered Christ’s Saint Epiphanius. The God-fearing and childless widow of the punished man brought the property left behind by her husband to the bishop for church and dedicated herself to serving God; one arm was in complete paralysis, which befell her ten years ago; Having made the sign of the cross over the widow’s sick hand, powerless even to hold anything, Saint Epiphanius made her completely healthy. He then appointed the widow a deaconess 3188 as chaste and worthy of church service. The great bishop of God, Saint Epiphanius, also had the grace from the Lord to see, during the offering of a bloodless sacrifice, the influx of the Holy Spirit on the offered Holy Gifts and usually did not finish the prayer of offering until he was worthy to contemplate the descent of the Holy Spirit. One day, while saying the prayer of exaltation, the bishop who was officiating the liturgy did not see the sign. He repeated it twice from the very beginning, but there was no vision; then the saint with tears prayed to God to indicate the reason for such a sorrowful phenomenon. Looking at the deacon standing on the left, he noticed that his face was black and his forehead was covered with leprosy 3189. Taking the ripida from him, the saint meekly said to him: – Child, do not now receive the sacrament of the Divine Gifts, but go to your home. After he left the altar, the monk saw the grace of the Holy Spirit descending on the offered gifts. After the liturgy, the saint, calling the distant deacon to him, asked if he had any special sin on his conscience. The deacon revealed that the previous night he had been united with his wife. Then the saint, having called all his clergy, said: - O children, who have been worthy of altar service, put off the boots of wordless carnal passions - do not enter the Divine altar, bound by lusty lusts, listen to the Holy Apostle, who says: “They who have wives must be as if they have not” (1 Cor. 7:29). From that time on, Saint Epiphanius of Christ appointed only pious monks and blameless widowers as deacons and elders, and by no means allowed married people. And his Church, adorned with pure servants, stood out like a beautiful bride. Until this time, the life of the Monk Epiphanius was described by his disciple John, who died in the priesthood. The rest of the story about the life of the saint was already written by another of his disciples, Poluvius. He starts like this. - Glory to God, who gives life and glorifies those who glorify Him, as He glorified with the miraculous grace of His saint Epiphanius, whose miraculous deeds I, too, was honored to be part of a describer. Blessed Presbyter John, a disciple of our holy father Epiphanius, fell sick to the point of death, called me to him and said: - What do you tell me, father? – I asked him. To this John replied: - Since our father Epiphanius forbids putting into writing the miracles performed by God through his holiness, then take these charters, in which I have secretly written down to this day everything that I saw done by him; write also what you will see from now on, for God says that “years of life will be added to you” (Proverbs 9:11), and you will remain under his priesthood throughout your entire life. I am setting off on a journey that is inevitable for all earthly beings. Look, don’t be lazy to write, for I am moved by God to write this... go and ask your father to come to me,” he added later. I went and called the bishop of God. Coming to the sick man, he said: “You are too lazy, John, to pray to God for the sinful Epiphanius. “It is more fitting for you, father,” the sick man objected, “today it is more fitting to pray for me, your servant.” After the saint’s prayer over the sick man, he said to the saint: - Come closer to me, father. “Put your hands on my eyes, father, and kiss me with your last kiss, for I am already leaving,” said the dying man. And as soon as the bishop laid his hands on his eyes and kissed him, he gave up his spirit to the Lord. After weeping bitterly for his beloved student, the teacher-bishop gave him an honorable funeral. After that, the monk had the intention of creating a new church on the site of the previous small and very dilapidated one. He turned to God for help and during prayer he heard a voice from above, promising help and commanding him to begin the business he had planned without hesitation. The false word of the Lord was not slow in coming true. – The aforementioned Greek Dragon’s son was ill for a long time. The parent, who called the most skilled doctors to his son, did not bring him any benefit, and finally he himself fell ill. The saint, coming to his house, healed with prayer first his son, and then his father. Then the Dragon, having believed and been baptized along with his entire household, gave five thousand gold coins to build the church. And a large stone and beautiful church was created for the glory of God. Another citizen of the same city, the wealthy pagan Sinisius, had his only thirteen-year-old son Eustorgius die: the disease twisted his neck and thus strangled him. A great cry arose in the house of the Greek rich man. Hearing him, the neighbor, Christian Ermias, said to the mother of the deceased: - Madam, if the great Epiphanius had come here, he would have resurrected your son. She, believing the words of her neighbor, asked him to bring Epiphanius to them. Ermias called the bishop of God to their house. When the welcome guest entered, the hostess fell at his feet, saying: – Great healer of Christ, show your healing art on our brainchild and raise him from the dead. If you do this, then immediately with our whole house we will come to your Christ. “If you believe in the Crucified One,” the saint told her, “you will see your son alive.” “I have nothing else in my mind,” she answered, “as soon as I believe in Him: will I see my child alive?” Then the saint, going up to the bed of the deceased, rubbed his neck with his right hand and with a bright gaze turned to him, quietly said: The youth immediately opened his eyes and sat up on the bed. At such a great miracle, everyone in the house was horrified in amazement. And the parent of the resurrected man, together with him, with his wife and his entire household, was baptized in the name of Christ and gave the saint three thousand gold pieces. But the miracle worker said to him: “I don’t demand this, but take it to the church builders.” And the newly created church of Sinisia was splendidly decorated with gold, and it received Polubius, a disciple of the saint, as its presbyter. One day a certain deacon came to the island of Cyprus from Jerusalem and told the saint about Bishop John of Jerusalem as a money-lover who despised the poor. John was once Epiphanius's roommate in the monastery of the great Hilarion. He wrote an admonishing letter to his friend about merciful treatment of the poor. But the money lover did not heed the admonitions of the saint of God. A few years later, the Archbishop of Cyprus said to his student Poluvius: “Let’s go, child, to Jerusalem to venerate the Holy Cross and the Holy Sepulcher.” And having bowed we will return. And they sailed from Cyprus to Caesarea Philippi, and from there they went to Jerusalem. After venerating the holy places there, they came to Bishop John, who was very happy to meet with Epiphanius. The Cypriot saint told him: – Give me, brother, a room for sleeping, as I want to stay here for a while. The Bishop of Jerusalem fulfilled his guest's request. Having given him a wonderful home, he called him to him every day for a meal. The invitee, seeing many silver vessels brought with food and drinks, on the one hand, and hearing, on the other, the murmur of many beggars about John’s stinginess, thought about how to lead him to mercy. And then one day he said to his rich master: “Give me, Father John, these silver vessels for a while: honorable men have come to me from Cyprus and I want to place them with me so that I can boast before them of your kindness and your silver in your house, given to me for peace.” This will be to your glory, for, having returned to their place, the men who came will begin to tell other honorable people how great your love is for me and how great the glory, honor and wealth of your house. So, give me all this silver just for a short time. I will soon return it to you with gratitude. John brought him many different silver vessels. Then Epiphanius asked: - Do you have even more, father? “That’s enough for you,” answered the selfish, fame-loving man, “that’s enough.” “No,” said Epiphanius, “but give everything that is most precious and best that you have, so that the guests will marvel and there will be the greatest glory for you.” John brought him the best vessels, saying: - Take whatever you want, Father Epiphanius. The saint took from him about 1500 liters of 3190 silver and took them to his chambers. At that time, a silver merchant named Asterius arrived in Jerusalem on business from Rome. The monk sold the silver given to him by the local bishop to the merchant for the right price. Having bought it, Asterius went home. The saint of God, day and night, distributed the money received from the sale to the poor - to the last mite. A few days later John said to Epiphanius: - Give me, father, the silver that I gave you. “Be patient, father,” answered the Archbishop of Cyprus, “I will give you everything: I once again want to treat my guests.” After a few more days, the Bishop of Jerusalem, in the church where the saving tree of the Holy Cross is kept, again reminded the monk of the return of the silver. “Give me back,” he told him, “the silver that you took from me.” “I told you, father,” Epiphanius answered quietly, “I will give everything, just be patient a little.” After such an answer, John, filled with rage, grabbed Epiphanius by the clothes and, squeezing them, said threateningly: “You won’t come out of here, you won’t sit down, you won’t rest until you give me my silver.” O evil and treacherous man! Give me back what you took, give back what you took from the church. Epiphanius was not indignant at the behavior of the angry man. He still looked meek. While the indignant Bishop of Jerusalem annoyed the monk for two hours. Everyone present in the church, hearing his cruel words addressed to the saint of God, were amazed. And the scolded one, seeing the indomitable anger and rage of the scolder, blew on his face, after which he immediately went blind. Unwittingly frightened by the miraculous punishment, along with all those who were to come, John fell prostrate before the saint, asking him to pray to God for his insight. “Go and venerate the honorable tree of the Cross of the Lord,” the saint of God answered his request, “and you will receive insight.” But the punished man did not retreat from Epiphanius, never ceasing to ask him. Then the great saint, opening his God-wise lips, taught the covetous man for a long time about poverty and almsgiving. Then, after praying and laying his hands on him, he opened his right eye. The half-healed man asked the miracle worker to make his left eye sighted. But the saint answered him: “This is not my business, child, but God’s: since God closed the eye, God will open it so that you can come to your senses.” After the punishment, John corrected himself, becoming merciful to the poor and the righteous in all matters. Upon returning from Jerusalem to his bishopric, Epiphanius met two buffoons who wanted to mock him in the following way. Seeing the saint from afar, one of them pretended to be dead. Another, as the saint approached, said to him: “Father, visit the dead man and cover his naked body with some clothing.” The saint, looking at the pretender, stood facing the east to pray for the deceased. Having prayed, he took off his clothes and, covering the dead man with them, went his way. After he left, the living one said to the supposedly dead one: - Get up, brother, this simpleton has already left. But the latter did not answer. Calling him a second time and pushing him, he found him truly dead. The buffoon, full of horror, ran after the bishop of God. Having caught up with the great wonderworker, he fell at his feet, asking for forgiveness for his sin and begging him to remove his clothes and the shackles of death from the one he had punished. “Go, child,” answered the saint, “bury your dead man: for he died before you began to ask me for clothes to cover him.” Upon the arrival of the Bishop of Cyprus in his cathedral city, messengers from Rome came for him with a request to heal Proklisia, the daughter of King Theodosius the Great 3191 and the sister of Arcadius and Honorius 3192, who had been married to an eminent patrician, from some long-term and incurable illness. The news of the arrival of envoys from the king reached the local honorable and very rich pagan Favstinian, who harbored strong enmity towards Saint Epiphanius. Favstinian invited them to his house and treated them daily. During their entire stay with him, he almost incessantly blasphemed the saint. “Why do you believe in this seducer as God,” he told them, “why do you listen to his vain words?” He speaks nothing but false words and is committed to very bad customs. But it happened that Saint Epiphanius, accompanied by the Romans, and Favstinian found themselves together on the same church building. Before their eyes, as they stood in a church under construction, one stumbling carpenter, falling from above to the ground, struck the saint’s enemy with his feet. To the surprise of everyone, the fallen man was not hurt at all and immediately got up; bruised, Favstinian fell dead. Epiphanius, approaching him and taking his hand, said: - Get up, child, in the name of the Lord and go healthy to your home. And immediately the dead man came to life, stood up and went home. Favstinian's wife, having learned about the death and unexpected revival of her husband, brought his healer 1000 gold pieces. “Give it not to me,” the monk told her, “but for a church building and you will have treasure in heaven.” Then, the saint of God went to Rome. Here, through prayer and the sign of the cross, he healed Proklisia, resurrected her newborn son, baptized him and both royal sons Honorius and Arkady. Then the great wonderworker was invited to Constantinople by Tsar Theodosius the Great himself, who suffered from an incurable and unbearable disease of his legs. Saint Epiphanius healed him in one hour with the sign of the cross, for which he enjoyed the special favor of Theodosius. One year there was a great famine on the island of Cyprus. The poor and the poor died in large numbers from him. The stingy rich man Favstinian, with his numerous granaries filled with wheat, barley and other livestock, sold bread at a very high price. “Good friend,” the saint once said to him, “give me wheat from your granaries to feed the poor, but I will be in your debt.” “Pray to your Jesus, in whom you believe,” the hard-hearted pagan answered him with an evil smile, “that he will give you wheat to feed your beggar friends.” But what was said in mockery became reality. Saint Epiphanius had the pious custom of visiting the tomb of the holy martyrs every night and here praying to God to send down what was needed; Saint Epiphanius supported his prayer with the request of the holy martyrs to intercede with Lord, and always received what I asked for. And now, according to custom, Saint Epiphanius went at night to the tomb of the holy martyrs, where with tears he prayed to the merciful God for the deliverance of those perishing from hunger. While he was praying, he heard a voice saying to him: - Epiphany! Go without fear to Dieva 3193 the idol and the doors will open before you and you will find gold and silver inside; Having taken this, buy millet, barley and other grain from Favstinian and feed the poor. It should be noted that this idol, called the “Dieva Fortress,” was locked since the Christian sovereigns, who took possession of the country, closed and sealed all the idols with royal power, so that the godless demonic sacrifices would no longer be performed in them. There were rumors among the people, held by the pagans as a firm belief, that none of the people could approach and touch the mentioned idol: such a person would (as if) face sudden death right there on the spot. And everyone bypassed the idol, especially since the demons frightened people with insurance and even killed those Christians over whom they had, by God’s permission, the same power as over their pagan worshipers. Obedient to the command of God, Saint Epiphanius immediately went to the idol, whose doors immediately opened before him; here he found a lot of gold and silver. With these miraculously acquired riches, he began to buy grain from Favstinian. The money-loving rich man happily sold to Saint Epiphanius all the supplies of bread in the house, which, through the alms of the merciful bishop, ended up in the homes of the poor and beggars. So the hungry found food, but the rich house of Favstinian was deprived of it and famine set in. Ashamed to ask the monk for food for his home, the rich man sent his friend Longinus with gold and eleven ships to Calabria 3194. But on the way back, the ships filled with grain were unexpectedly broken a hundred furlongs from the city by a strong storm. Having learned about his misfortune, Favstinian, in great sadness, blasphemed the Almighty and His saint. “Look,” he said, “what dirty tricks this Christian sorcerer is doing to me: not only on land with his deception did he take away food from my house, but also at sea he destroyed my bread, sinking my ships through demons.” Meanwhile, the turbulent sea threw sunken grains onto the Salamis coast. They were collected by beggars. This is how the words of the psalm came true: “The people of Skim are poor and suffer hunger, but those who seek the Lord do not lack any good” (Ps. 33:11). Almost dying of hunger, the wife of the punished rich man sent gold to the saint with a request to sell bread for her house, and the monk sent the gold back to her with the words: “Now take from me freely as much as you need, and give back when the harvest comes.” The rich man himself, embittered against the saint, persuaded the malicious deacon Rufinus to kill the saint, promising him to help him with his wealth and connections in elevating him to the episcopal throne. But God preserved His saint from the wiles of the wicked. The latter prepared a sharp knife, with which he secured it, end up, in the high bishop’s seat standing in the church; then he covered the seat with an ordinary veil: he did this in such a way that the saint, having sat down on the seat at the appointed time during divine services, would receive a mortal stab wound. But then the time came when the bishop, in accordance with the order of the liturgical rite, had to sit on a high place; Approaching the latter, Saint Epiphanius said to Deacon Rufinus: - Take, my son, the veil from the seat. But Rufinus did not listen, although the saint repeated his order three times. Then Saint Epiphanius himself took off the veil, and the knife fell and stuck its tip into the deacon’s right leg. Understanding the deacon’s insidious plans, Saint Epiphanius said: “Leave your machinations, my son, so that no greater misfortune befalls you; now leave the church, since you are not worthy to partake of God’s Mysteries. The deacon, having come home, fell ill and died on the third day. Favstinian was soon accused before the king of blasphemy against him and was put in prison in Constantinople. Loving his enemies, the saint wanted to petition the sovereign for the release of the prisoner. But the latter, in irritation, forbade the saint to make any intercession on his behalf. The saint remained silent and after a little time mourned the unexpected death of Favstinian in prison. After the death of her husband, Favstinian's wife gave all her wealth to the church and, according to her desire, was ordained a deaconesses by the saints. Among the eighty monks who were in the bishop's house of St. Epiphanius, there was Deacon Savin, distinguished by his virtuous life, intelligence and art of composing eloquent books. He among other things described the life of Saint Epiphanius; in his narration he talks about his prayerful all-night standing, kneeling and miracles. Taking into account the rare qualities of this hierodeacon, the archpastor appointed him a judge in spiritual matters. One day, a rich man who spoke the truth and a poor man who gave false testimony appeared before him for trial. The judge, compassionate for the poor man, defended him. During the trial, the saint came secretly and, hiding in a secret place, came out as soon as he heard the judge justify the unjust poor man. “Son,” the archbishop said to the judge, “go, write books and ponder the words of Scripture in order to learn to judge righteously, for it is written: “Do not do unrighteousness in court; do not show partiality to the poor and do not please the person of the great; Judge your neighbor with righteousness” (Lev. 19:15). From that time on, Saint Epiphanius himself always judged everyone who came to him. Having great concern for his flock, he defeated heretics with words and miracles. He made the heretic bishop Aetius 3195 mute, who died on the sixth day, and many of his followers, at the sight of such a miracle, converted to Orthodoxy, falling at the feet of the miracle worker. In addition, a zealot of the right faith wrote to the king about all the unrepentant heretics. The king gave him the power to expel them from Cyprus. Thanks to all this, the good shepherd's verbal flock was safe from the predatory wolves. Having bore the heavy burden of priesthood for many years and having reached a ripe old age, Saint Epiphanius approached his blessed death. Not long before her, he had to go to Constantinople for the following reason. Eudoxia, the wife of King Arcadius, who reigned in the east after her father Theodosius the Great, having agreed with Theophilus of Alexandria, Patriarch 3196, to expel the Constantinople Patriarch John Chrysostom, prompted Epiphanius with their crafty letters to come to Constantinople for the council. Theophilus slandered John that he was a heretic who shared the views of Origen 3197. In his simplicity, the saint believed them and went to Constantinople. During his meeting with the king, the latter received a blessing from him and asked him how old he was from birth. “I was sixty years old,” answered Saint Epiphanius, “I accepted the rank of bishop, and I remained in the bishopric for 55 years and three months.” Thus, in total I am 115 years and three months old. The Tsar honored his honest gray hair and his magnificent face. Queen Eudoxia, calling the saint to her, said to him: – Father Epiphanius, you know that the entire Roman kingdom is in our hands: and today I will give you all church power if you listen to me, and heal the sorrow of your heart and do what I think. “Speak, my daughter,” answered the saint, “with our strength we will try to do what will be for the salvation of your soul.” Then the queen, thinking to bend the saint to her plan with wickedness, began to speak to him like this about Saint Chrysostom: - This John has become unworthy to rule the Church and bear such a great dignity, since he rebelled against the king and does not give us the honor due to us. In addition, many say about him that he has long been a heretic. To do this, we decided to assemble a council and, having defrocked him, put in his place another who could build the church well, so that from now on our kingdom would be peaceful. Saying this, the queen trembled with great anger. “There is no need,” she continued, “to bother many fathers by calling them here to the council; but let your holiness, father, determine to expel him from the Church and replace him with another whom God will show you. I will arrange for you to be listened to. “My daughter,” the saint answered her, “listen to your father without anger!” If John, as you say, is a heretic, and if he does not repent of heresy, then he will be unworthy of the patriarchal rank, and we will do with him as you command. If you want to expel him for the only crime of blaspheming you, then Epiphanius will not give his permission for this. For it behooves kings to be unforgiving, but kind, meek and forgiving of blasphemies against themselves, since you also have a King above you in heaven and want forgiveness from Him for your sins. “Be ye therefore merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). After these words of his, the anger of the proud queen intensified even more. She was in tears from intense irritation and said angrily: - If you create an obstacle to the expulsion of John, then I will open idol churches and make sure that many, having apostatized from God, will begin to worship idols, and the last will be worse than the first. Epiphanius, surprised by her strong anger, said: - I am clear of condemnation of that. Having said this, he left the royal chamber. In the city, rumors spread everywhere about Epiphanius’s conference with the queen regarding the eruption of John and about his agreement with her. This rumor reached the person it was closest to. The Constantinople saint immediately wrote the following to Epiphanius: - Brother Epiphanius, I heard that you gave advice on my exile; know that you will no longer see your throne. Saint Epiphanius responded to this: - Passion-bearing John, if you are offended, overcome, but you will not reach the place to which you will be expelled. And the prophecy of both came true. Seeing the desire to unrighteously condemn Saint John, Saint Epiphanius did not want to be a participant in such a lawless trial. Having secretly boarded the ship with his entourage, he returned home. While sailing on the sea, feeling his senile exhaustion and foreseeing his impending departure to God, he began to talk with his disciples like this: - My children, keep my commandments, and the love of God will be with you: you know how many sorrows my life passed through, and I did not count them in sorrow, but always rejoiced in them according to God, and God did not abandon me, but kept me from every hostile adversity: “all things work together for good to those who love God” (Rom. 8:28). One day, my beloved, when I was living in the desert and praying to Christ God to deliver me from the wiles of the enemy, suddenly, by God’s permission, many demons approached me; hitting me on the ground and taking me by the legs, they dragged me along the ground; some of them beat me. They did this to me for ten days and then disappeared. And from that hour I did not see them all my life. Only evil people, heretics, caused me trouble. Be careful, my children, and listen to the words of Epiphanius the sinner. Do not covet riches, and many riches will be added to you. Do not hate any person, and you will be loved by God. Do not slander your brother, and the devil’s envy will not possess you. Flee, like poisonous snakes, the heresies that I wrote to you about in the book Panarius 3198. Turn away and save yourself from worldly lusts, which inflame both body and mind. Know that they are a satanic trick, for even if the flesh of the unwary does not raise a fight, however, the mind still dreams of evil. If our mind is sober and remembers God, then we can easily defeat the enemy. After these and very many other spiritual admonitions to his disciples, the monk predicted to Poluvius that he would soon be the bishop of the city of Rinokirsk, located in the Upper Thebaid. He predicted to the shipbuilders about a very imminent storm, and ordered them not to be horrified, but to hope in God. He said to one of them: - Do not tempt, lest you be tempted. The saint said all this at 11 o’clock in the afternoon. When the sun set, a great storm arose, which lasted two days and brought all the swimmers into great fear. The saint, on his deathbed, prayed to God for the preservation of the ship and everyone in it. And on the third day, he ordered his disciples to light coals, put incense on them and pray to God. Having then prayed himself, he hugged them all, kissed them and said these last words: - Save yourself, children, for Epiphanius will no longer be with you in this life. After pronouncing them, he surrendered his spirit into the hands of God 3199. His death combined sorrow with joy. His disciples and shipbuilders, bitterly mourning the deceased, were delighted by the sudden and complete cessation of the storm at sea. At the same time, the shipbuilder, to whom the saint said: do not tempt, lest you be tempted, out of his curiosity wanted to know whether Epiphanius was circumcised or not. When he began to expose the honest body of the saint, the deceased wonderworker, raising his right leg, struck it so hard in the face of the curious man that he fell far from the body and died. Everyone was seized with fear, and the fellow shipmen, feeling sorry for the punished man, laid him at the feet of Epiphanius. As soon as his body touched them, the dead shipman came to life. And there was even greater horror for everyone. Having sailed to Salamis, the saint's disciples announced his death in the city. And immediately a multitude of people flocked from everywhere, crying and sobbing. Having taken the honest body of their father, the orphaned children brought it into the church he created. At the tomb of the saint, many miracles were performed for those suffering from all ailments. By the way, three blind men received their sight. On the tenth day, saints, priests, abbots and countless people came from all over the island and with honor buried the honest remains of Saint Epiphanius in the same church, remembering the works, miracles and divinely inspired teaching of the reposed archpastor and glorifying the One God in the Trinity, to Him be glory forever. Amen. Let us dutifully praise the wondrous duo, together with Herman of the Divine Epiphanius: these are the burning tongues of the godless, the wisest dogmas laid down on all who sing the great sacrament in Orthodoxy. Phenicia is a country along the Mediterranean coast northwest of Palestine; Its inhabitants were famous as sailors and traders. The field was approximately 690 fathoms. Penyaz is the sixth part of a drachma. Sandals are a type of footwear. They consisted of a leather or reed sole attached to the foot with a belt. Saracens are inhabitants of Arabia. Initially, this name was used to refer to a nomadic bandit tribe, and then Christian writers transferred this name to all Muslims in general. Persia occupies the western part of the Iranian Plateau. In ancient times, the name Magi meant wise people who had extensive knowledge, especially knowledge about the secret forces of nature and the heavenly bodies. They observed natural phenomena, interpreted dreams, predicted the future; For the most part, they were also priests and enjoyed great respect at the royal courts and among the people. Eparch is the head of the region. Edessa, present-day Urfa, a city in northern Mesopotamia on the Euphrates River, from 137 BC the main city of the newly formed Ozroene or Edessa state; in 217 A.D. it was turned into an eastern colony by the Romans. Christianity spread early in Edessa; in the 4th century St. Ephraim the Syrian founded a theological school here, which in the 5th century leaned towards Nestorianism, in favor of which the teacher of the Edessa school, Presbyter Iva, was especially active. In 641 Edessa was conquered by the Arab caliphs; in 1098 Count Baldwin took possession of it, making it the main city of the Principality of Edessa; in 1144 it was conquered by the Turks and from that time on passed from hand to hand until in 1637 it finally fell under Turkish rule. Jerusalem, from Hebrew - the home of the world, the oldest and most famous city of Palestine. It lies at the source of the Kidron stream, not far from the Jordan and the Dead Sea, on the slopes of three spurs of the Judean mountains of Acre, Zion and Moriah. The existence of Jerusalem is traced back to the time of Abraham, believing that it is the city of Salyut, where Melchizedek was king and high priest (Gen. 14:18). This city, known as the center of historical events of the chosen Jewish people in the Old and New Testaments, is immeasurably dear to every Christian as the place of the suffering and resurrection of the Lord Jesus and the cradle of the Christian church, from where the word of the gospel spread throughout the universe. Joppa (present-day Jaffa) is one of the oldest Asian cities on the northwestern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It was a Jewish harbor during the reign of Solomon. Alexandria is an important port city of Egypt, founded by Alexander the Great in 332 BC on a cape protruding into the southern shore of the Mediterranean Sea somewhat south of the current city of the same name; was once the center of science and the first trading city in the world; at the beginning of the 4th century it became the center of Christianity and the residence of the patriarch. The area of ​​the famous ancient city of Thebes; the whole of Upper (southern) Egypt was called by the same name after the name of the main city. The desert located here was the favorite abode of eastern hermits of the 4th and 5th centuries. St. Anthony the Great, the first founder of monastic life, an Egyptian by birth, labored on the eastern bank of the Nile River, near Thebaid. There, wearing a hair shirt, eating only herbs and roots, he lived in constant labor and prayer for 20 years in obscurity, overcoming with the grace of God the seducing spirit that troubled him with temptations and fear. Finally, the holiness of life and miracles attracted many ascetics to Anthony in the desert; they settled near him and took the rules given by Anthony as a model, which was the beginning of monastic life. St. reposed Anthony is 105 years old, in 366. His memory is January 17. Of course, the hermits who lived in the Nitrian desert, adjacent to Mount Nitria, located in the northwestern part of Egypt. The island of Cyprus lies at the northeastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. In ancient times, there were two cities with the name Paphos or Paphos on the island of Cyprus: Old, on its western shore 10 stadia from the sea and constituting the Phoenician colony of New (present-day Baffo) 15 versts to the northwest. from the old one. Ruins from both cities remain. In the vicinity of which of them did St. live? Epiphanius is unknown. Lycia was, in all likelihood, the main city of the mountainous region of the same name on the southern coast of Asia Minor. Caesarea Philippi or Panea is a city in the very northeast of Palestine near the sources of the Jordan. It was named Philippi after Herod’s son Philip, who received it as his inheritance and in contrast to Caesarea Palestine, which lies on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea Ascalon and Gaza are one of the main Philistine cities on the Mediterranean coast. Salamis, the largest and fortified of the cities of Cyprus, lay on its eastern shore. It had an excellent harbor that could accommodate an entire fleet. Salamis began to fall under Trajan (98–117) during a Jewish uprising that destroyed a large part of it. The subsequent earthquake under Constantine the Great (306–337) completely destroyed it, destroying almost the entire population. It was restored by Constantius (337–361), giving it his name "Constancia". Its ruins are located near Famagusta. Cythera or Kythera, as well as Cythera, is the main city on the southern coast of the same name and the southernmost Ionian island in the Mediterranean Sea. Rome is the main city of Italy, located on both banks of the Tiber River, where it flows into the sea. A deaconess is a church servant of widows or elderly maidens in the ancient Christian Church. The ministry of deaconesses was expressed primarily in certain church responsibilities towards women. These are, for example: preparing women for baptism, teaching them the proper answers to the questions of the baptizer, assisting the bishop in performing this sacrament over them, anointing parts of the body with the exception of the forehead, teaching proper behavior after baptism, observing their orderly standing in the church and the presence of bishops, presbyters and deacons at conversations with them. Then, the deaconesses took care of the poor and sick in need of charity and care. Leprosy is one of the most contagious, terrible and, for the most part, fatal diseases. Usually there are three types of it: white, black and red or elephanthias. The most contagious is the last one. These names correspond to the three different colors of its spots on the body, which precede the appearance of putrefactive scabs on it. A liter is a unit of weight equal to 72 spools. A silver liter cost up to 42 rubles, and a gold liter up to 506 rubles. Theodosius the Great reigned from 389 to 395 in the East, and from 392 to 395 in the West of the Greco-Roman Empire. He dealt the final blow to paganism: in 392 he became a sovereign. Theodosius passed a law according to which serving the gods was recognized as the same crime as lese majeste. Arcadius, Eastern Roman emperor, son of Theodosius the Great, upon the death of his father (395) received the so-called. the Eastern Empire, while his brother Honorius received the Western; born in 377 d. in 408. Throughout his reign, the state was ruled by people who knew how to subordinate the weak-willed emperor to their influence. Thus, at the beginning of his reign, the state was ruled by Rufinus, who increased the already enormous burden of taxes, multiplied the number of fines, and thereby brought terror to the empire. After the death of Rufinus, his place was taken by the eunuch Eutropius, and when the Empress Eudoxia achieved his execution (399), Arcadius completely submitted to the influence of his wife, known for her hostility towards St. John Chrysostom, who was then Patriarch of Constantinople. Under Emperor Arcadius, missionaries, equipped with his letters, preached Christianity in those parts of the provinces where pagans were still located. Honorius, brother of Arcadius, was a Western Roman emperor. At the beginning of his reign, the administration was headed by the smart politician and famous commander Stilicho, who more than once repelled attacks on the empire of the West Goths, Vandals, Suevi, and Burgundians. After his fall and execution, the empire's affairs took a turn for the worse. In 408, the leader of the West Goths, Alaric, besieged Rome and forced him to pay a heavy tribute, and in 410 he captured the city and gave it to his troops for plunder. After the death of Alaric, his brother-in-law Ataulf made peace with Honorius, after which the West Goths retired beyond the Alps. Under Honorius in 411, a council was convened against the schismatic Donatists, who separated from the Church because it accepted repentant apostates during persecution; because in their opinion the Church ceases to be holy if there are sinners among the members. By order of Honorius, all remaining pagan temples were destroyed, and the pagans themselves were removed from government positions. This idol was called Dieva from her dedication to the pagan god Dius or what is also Zeus. Calabria is the ancient name of the island of Poros in the Saronic Gulf. Aetius or Aetius - Antiochian deacon mind. 370, after Arius stood at the head of the Arians, who denied the consubstantiality of the Son of God with God the Father and therefore openly affirmed the inequality of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity with the First. Theophilus occupied the patriarchal throne from 386 to 412 Origen - the famous Christian teacher of the Alexandrian Church 254), - a miracle of his age in the enormity of his mind and the depth of his learning. Many of the most remarkable Fathers of the Church had deep respect for the theological works and merits of Origen; but subsequently, during his lifetime, at two local councils of Alexandria and, after his death, at the local council of Constantinople in 543, he was condemned as a heretic. Without expressing his non-Orthodox opinions as immutable truths, Origen, nevertheless, thought incorrectly about many of the truths of the doctrine of the Christian Church, which is why some considered his firmness in the most important Christian dogmas doubtful. Developing the non-Orthodox doctrine of the pre-existence of souls, he thought incorrectly about Christ, believing that God created a certain number of spiritual beings of equal dignity, capable of understanding the Divine and becoming like Him; one of these created spirits rushed to the Divine with such fiery love that he inextricably united with the Divine Word, or became His created carrier; this, according to Origen, is the human soul through which God the Word could be incarnated on earth, since the direct incarnation of the Divine, in his erroneous opinion, is unthinkable. Holding a heretical view of the incarnation of God the Word and the creation of the world and man, Origen also understood the death of Christ in a non-Orthodox sense, representing it as something repeated spiritually in the spiritual world and having there an effect on the liberation of Angels and attributing too much in the matter of salvation to the action of ordinary forces with which our nature is endowed. Origen thought wrongly in some points of his teaching about the resurrection and the future life, for example, that the devil can be saved, and in his interpretation of Holy Scripture he exaggeratedly understood too much in a mysterious sense, thereby destroying the historical meaning of Scripture. His works Panarius (pharmacy, box of medicines) are a presentation and refutation of 20 pre-Christian and 80 Christian heresies. Another work of Epiphanius is devoted to the denunciation of heresies, entitled “Ankorat” - an anchor, in which the Orthodox teaching about the Trinity, the Incarnation, the resurrection of the dead and the future life is revealed, mainly against the heretics of the Arians, Semi-Arians, Doukhobors and Apollinarians. The following works also belong to Saint Epiphanius: a) “On Stones,” explaining the 12 stones on the breastplate of the Jewish high priest; b) “About 22 prophets of the Old Testament and three of the New Testament and about 12 apostles and 70 disciples of Christ”, there are many valuable oral church-historical traditions here; c) “The Book of Weights and Measures (Biblical), containing, in addition to information about biblical measurement, some information about Greek translations of the Bible; d) a note to the book “The Physiologist” (observations on the properties of biblical animals), and e.) there may be 12 sermons, the authenticity of which is disputed. Creations of St. John Chrysostom became very famous throughout the Christian world back in the 4th and 5th centuries: they were kept like a jewel in the royal palaces and written in gold letters. Many of his creations have not reached our time, however, as many creations have been preserved from him as are not left from any father and teacher of the Church. According to the Greek book of hours, all the works of John Chrysostom that have reached our time number up to 1447 and letters up to 244. Most of all, sermons and church conversations from John Chrysostom have been preserved. Sermons of St. John is striking in his harmony, depth of thought and variety of content. “I’m not talking about others,” wrote St. Isidore about Chrysostom, Livanius himself, so famous for his eloquence, was amazed at the language of the famous John, the elegance of his thoughts and the power of evidence. The best of the sermons of St. John Chrysostom is rightly considered to have conversations with the people of Antioch about statues, a word about Eutropia, a word “for the poor,” a word on his departure from the capital and upon his return to the capital, words of praise to the Apostle Paul. In his sermons, Teacher Chrysostom offered instructions on almost all particular subjects of Christian activity. Moreover, throughout his public ministry, he explained the Holy Scriptures, mainly the New Testament, in conversations. Each of Chrysostom’s explanatory conversations consists of two parts: in one he explains the texts of the word of God, in the other he offers moral instructions. St. John Chrysostom has few actual dogmatic works, and they all breathe with his concern for the moral correction of believers. Among the latter type of works, we should note the book by Stagirius, which addresses the question of why suffering befalls the righteous, despite the existence of God's Providence? Also worthy of attention are 6 words about the incomprehensible, spoken in denunciation of the Anomean heretics, who sought, on the basis of their own speculations, to understand the relationship of God the Father to God the Son and taught that the Son of God is a created being and was created by the Father from nothing. In addition, John Chrysostom’s book about St. Spirit according to the doctrine of the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father. In the essay against the Jews and pagans, the Divinity of Christian teaching is proven by the fulfillment of prophecies and the actions of the Christian gospel on the hearts of people, and in the 8 words against the Jews it is shown that Jewish rituals have been abolished, and therefore to perform them now means to act contrary to the will of God. St. John Chrysostom is also famous for having established a special rite of liturgy, which now bears his name. St. Proclus, a student of Chrysostom and subsequently one of his successors in the See of Constantinople, writes about this establishment of the saint: “St. Basil (the Great), treating people as if they were sick, presented the liturgy in an abbreviated form. After a little time, our father, the golden-tongued John, on the one hand, as a good shepherd, zealously caring for the salvation of the sheep, on the other, looking at the weakness of human nature, decided to uproot every satanic pretext. Therefore, he, omitting much, instituted a very abbreviated celebration of the liturgy.” The liturgy shortened by John initially did not have all the hymns that it now has, but they did not change the essential order of the liturgy. In general, Epiphanius was a very learned man who, according to Jerome, knew the Hebrew, Syriac, Greek and Latin languages ​​and was “an excellent shepherd in his knowledge.” The Seventh Ecumenical Council calls him not only the father of the Church, but also its teacher. The saint died in April 403 and was buried on May 12. You might be interested in: