Преставление преподобного отца нашего Анувия Исповедника и пустынножителя Египетского

The Monk Anuvius, who had great faith and love for Christ God, was an Egyptian by birth. During the persecution of Christians instituted by wicked idolaters, he boldly confessed Christ before the pagans, for which he was subjected to torture. But, at God's discretion, he was released from the hands of the pagans and went into the desert; struggling and pleasing God, he wandered in it until he was very old. His death occurred under such circumstances. According to God's dispensation, three hermits once met in one place on the banks of the Nile River, which irrigates the country of Egypt: Abba Sur, Isaiah and Paul. Having asked each other about who was going where, they saw that all three had the same intention; for each of them went to Abba Anuvius. From the place where the hermits converged to the Anuviya monastery, the journey was three days and lay along the water; in this case it was necessary to swim up, against the current. And so the hermits sat down on the shore, waiting to see if any ship would appear to them sailing there, so that they could board it and reach the area where the Monk Anuvius lived. And since the ship did not appear for a long time, they fell into despondency and said to themselves: – Let us pray to the Lord that He, in His mercy, will fulfill our desire and help us overcome the obstacle to the journey we have undertaken. Isaiah and Paul said to Abba Sur: “Pray in particular, Father, for we believe that through you God will grant us what we ask.” Sur commanded them to kneel down with him for prayer, and he himself prostrated himself crosswise on the ground and fell on his face before the Lord. When, after praying, the elders rose from the ground, they noticed a boat standing near the shore. Delighted, they thanked the Lord and sat down in it. Having moved, the boat floated, carried by the wind and controlled by the invisible power of God, up against the current. She swam so fast that in one hour she swam a distance that would have taken three days to swim with great difficulty. When the boat landed on the shore opposite the Anuvian monastery, the fathers went ashore. At the same time, Isaiah said: - Lord, show us the man to whom we are heading, who will come out to meet us and tell each of us his heartfelt secrets! Then Father Paul said to them: “The Lord revealed to me that after three days He would take Abba Anuvius from the world. After this, they went from the shore to the monastery and, when they moved a little away from the river, the Monk Anuvius came out to meet them and, turning to them with greetings, said: “Blessed be the Lord, who has vouchsafed me to see you now in the flesh, just as I saw you before in the spirit.” Having cordially escorted them to his cell, he began to tell each of them their good deeds, unknown to anyone except God alone - namely, who labors in what manner in complete solitude, pleasing their Master - Christ the Lord, and who has what kind of grace from the Lord. After this, Abba Isaiah said to Anuvius: “Since the Lord has revealed to us, honest father, about you that after three days He will take you from this temporary life, we beg you, also tell us about your desert labors and exploits with which you pleased God. Do not think that you will fall into vanity: after all, moving away from this world, you will leave to your descendants the image of your godly life, so that there will be imitators of you. Then the elder told them the following about himself: “I don’t remember that I did anything great or glorious.” This is what I have only retained in my memory, by the grace of my God: from the time when I confessed before the tormentors, during the persecution of Christians, the name of our Savior, no false word has passed from my lips. For, having once confessed the truth, I did not want to subsequently say anything false, and having once loved heavenly things, I did not want to love anything earthly the rest of the time. The mercy of God also helped me in this, for the Lord gave me the strength to never seek any earthly blessings. The Holy Angels brought me the food I needed. But my Lord has not hidden anything from me that is happening on earth. At the same time, my heart was always filled with a thirst for communication with Him. Striving with all my thoughts towards the Lord Christ, Whom my soul loved, in order to always behold Him with my spiritual eyes and enjoy the contemplation of Him, I did not fall asleep either day or night. I also constantly see the Angel of God present with me and showing all the rulers of the world of this age. The light of my mind never faded. “Everything I asked from the Lord, I received immediately. Many times I contemplated the faces of angels standing before God; I contemplated the faces of the holy martyrs and confessors, the councils of monks and all the saints, and especially those who had no other occupation during their life on earth than to always glorify and bless the Lord in the simplicity of their hearts and faith. I also saw Satan and his angels consigned to eternal fire. And again, on the opposite side from those, I saw the righteous enjoying eternal joy. The Monk Anuvius told this and many other similar things for three days to the fathers who visited him, not for vanity, but for the benefit of those listening. For he said this with great humility, compelled by the requests of those who came. At the end of the third day, he peacefully and joyfully surrendered his spirit to God - and as soon as his spirit parted with his body, hosts of holy Angels instantly appeared, took the soul of the saint and began to lift it to heavenly heights. At the same time, the sweetest angelic chants were heard in the air. Thus, the Monk Anuvius moved from earth to the heavenly abodes, having confessed the name of Christ before the pagans and suffering for this 3650 torment. Now he is glorified before the heavenly Angels in the ranks of the confessors of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, honor and glory are given forever. Amen. Death of Rev. Anuviya followed in the 4th century. You might be interested in: