Житие преподобного отца нашего Петра Афонского

The Monk Peter was a Greek by birth, with the rank of warrior and the rank of governor. He accepted monasticism on the following occasion. One day Peter, along with other soldiers, was sent to Syria in 3866 for the war of 3867. The Greek army was defeated by enemies; Peter was captured in 3868 and, together with many other captives, was taken to Arabia 3869, to the city of Samara, located near the Euphrates River 3870. There he was imprisoned and shackled in heavy iron shackles. While in prison and carefully discussing his former life, Peter remembered that he had many times thought about renouncing the world and accepting monasticism. He realized then that God was punishing him with this difficult captivity because he did not try to fulfill his good intention. Repenting of his negligence and fervently mourning his former life, Peter patiently endured suffering, which, in his consciousness, he fully deserved. Having stayed in prison for a long time and not hoping to receive deliverance from any of the people, Peter began to send out fervent prayers to the omnipotent God, who is able to free him from prison by His own, unknown to people, ways, as He once delivered Adam from hell (1 Pet. 3:18-19) and as He freed the Apostle Peter, imprisoned by Herod (Acts 12:1-25). At the same time, Peter called for help and asked powerful intercessions before God from the great wonderworker St. Nicholas, a quick helper to those in trouble: Peter had long had, according to God, great faith and love for St. Nicholas and often turned to him for help. Peter added the following promise to his prayer: if he gets rid of his bonds, he will no longer return to the world, will not even go to his home, but will immediately go to where God will direct him to perform his monastic feat. He thought, if only God would free him from his bonds, to go to Rome, so that there, at the tomb of the holy Supreme Apostle Peter, he would take monastic vows and take a vow of renunciation of the world. Praying for this, Saint Peter imposed a fast on himself: he took food every two or three days, and then little by little, and finally gave it up for a whole week. When this week began to draw to a close, Saint Nicholas of Christ appeared to Saint Peter in a sleepy vision and said: “I heard your prayer, accepted the sighing of your heart and asked the merciful and humane God for you. But since you yourself were not quick in fulfilling His commandments, He does not want to quickly free you from your bonds, arranging for you the best for salvation. However, according to the assurance of the merciful Lord, who encouraged us, in the Holy Gospel with the words: “Ask, and it will be given to you... knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9), do not weaken in offering prayers and knocking on the doors of His mercy, so that the Lord, in His mercy, will free you from your bonds and open the doors of the prison for you. Just be patient in prayer, waiting for God’s mercy.” Having said this, Saint Nicholas ordered the prisoner Peter to strengthen his body with food, and he became invisible. Having risen from sleep and tasted food, Peter again and even more diligently began to pray day and night with the good hope of deliverance, constantly calling on his assistant Saint Nicholas. After some time had passed, Saint Nicholas again appeared to Saint Peter in a dream, in the form of a seemingly saddened husband, and addressed him with quiet and meek words: “I, brother, rest assured, have not ceased to beseech the goodness of God for you, but I do not know for what destinies and for what purposes the Lord is delaying your deliverance. However, do not despair of His mercy: the merciful Master has the habit of postponing the fulfillment of our requests for our own good, so that someone, having soon received what he asked, would not neglect His grace. At the same time, the Lord desires prayers for you and others who have pleased Him. I will name you that great man of prayer, whom, if you call for help, you will have as your intercessor, and I believe that if we pray together for you, the Lover of Humanity will hear us.” “Who, holy lord,” Peter asked St. Nicholas, “can quickly beg God for you, - through your prayerful intercession the whole world is saved: after all, the entire Christian race, by resorting to you, through you receives deliverance from its troubles.” “Do you know, Peter,” asked Saint Nicholas, “the righteous Simeon, called the God-Receiver, since he accepted Christ the Lord into his arms, brought to the church, on the fortieth day after his birth?” “I know, Holy Hierarch of God,” answered Peter, “that righteous man who is mentioned in the Holy Gospel (Luke 2:25–36). “We will both move him, you and I, to prayer,” continued Saint Nicholas, “and then everything unfinished will end well: the righteous Simeon has great strength and boldness before God, near whose throne he stands together with the Most Pure Lady the Virgin Mary and the holy Forerunner John.” Having said this, Saint Nicholas left. Peter, having risen from sleep, again devoted himself to fervent prayer and immeasurable fasting, calling for help, together with Saint Nicholas, and Saint Simeon the God-Receiver. When the all-good God, implored by His great saints, wished to deliver the suffering from the bonds, then, by Divine will, Saint Nicholas of Christ appeared for the third time to Peter, and not in a dream vision, as before, but in reality, and not alone, but together with Saint Simeon the God-Receiver. “Be of good cheer, brother Peter,” said the saint, “and, putting aside sorrow, tell about your vows to the common intercessor and my companion of prayer, and give him, according to God, thanks.” Peter, lifting up his eyes, saw Saint Simeon in an honest image, surrounded by radiance, with a golden rod in his hand and dressed in the Old Testament priestly ephod 3871. At the sight of this wondrous old man, Peter was horrified. Saint Simeon said to him: “Is it you who earnestly asked brother Nicholas to free you from your bonds?” Out of horror, Peter could hardly open his mouth and answer Saint Simeon: - I, the servant of God, - who acquired you as my intercessor to God. “Will you fulfill your vow,” Saint Simeon said to him, “to be a monk and lead a virtuous life?” “Yes, Vladyka,” answered Peter, “with the help of God I will fulfill it.” “If you promise to do this, then you can leave here freely and go wherever you want: not a single obstacle can keep you here.” Then Peter showed the saint his feet, shackled with iron, and as soon as Saint Simeon touched the shackles with a golden rod, the iron immediately melted, like wax melts in fire. After this, Peter stood up and, seeing the prison open, went out and followed Saints Simeon and Nicholas. When they were already outside the city, Peter, having considered his situation, said: – Isn’t everything that I see happening in a dream? Then Saint Simeon, turning to him, said: - Why do you recognize the mercy of God, which is clearly shown to you, as a dream? Don't you see well; where are you and who are you following? Having said this, Saint Simeon entrusted Peter to Saint Nicholas, who followed the saint. When the day came, Saint Nicholas asked Peter: -Did you take anything to eat on the way? “No, sir, I didn’t take anything,” answered Peter. Then Saint Nicholas ordered him to enter the garden, which was located not far from that place and said: “You will see a man there who will give you fruit.” Take as much as you want on the road and follow me. Peter actually met a man in the garden who supplied him with fruits, taking them, Peter again followed Saint Nicholas, accompanied by whom he reached the Greek land in a short time. Then Saint Nicholas said to Peter: “Here, brother, you are in your own land and have free time to fulfill your vow. Fulfill it soon so that you don’t end up in Samara prison again.” After these words, Saint Nicholas of Christ became invisible. Peter, having brought praise to God and his intercessors - Saint Nicholas and Saint Simeon, wished to immediately fulfill his intention. He did not go to his home to see his relatives, but went to Old Rome 3872 to “pay his vows to the Most High” (Proverbs 7:14) and to fulfill all that his lips spoke in the days of his sorrow. Saint Nicholas of Christ, having taken Peter under his protection, did not leave him anywhere, and as before, when Peter went from Arabia to Greece, he apparently accompanied him, and during his journey from Greece to Italy he invisibly stayed with him. The Saint of Christ constantly watched over him, encouraging him as a loving father or as a merciful educator, a cheerful and persistent guardian. When Peter was approaching Rome, Saint Nicholas appeared to the pope at night, in a sleepy vision, holding his husband’s hand and pointing to him to the pope, he told in order how he freed him from Samara prison, and also mentioned that this husband had made a promise to take monastic vows at the tomb of the holy Supreme Apostle Peter. The saint also named the name of this husband and ordered the pope to accept him and soon fulfill his wish. Rising from sleep and reflecting on the vision, the pope went to the church of the Holy Supreme Apostle Peter to celebrate the Divine Liturgy, wanting to see in reality the husband whom he saw in the dream. But due to the fact that it was Sunday, a lot of people had gathered in the church, so the pope could not find with his eyes the one he wanted among the large gathering. Then, after a long search, dad exclaimed loudly: - Peter, who came from the Greek land, whom Saint Nicholas freed from prison in Samara - come to me. Peter immediately left the crowd, approached the pope and, falling at his feet, said: - Here I am, your servant, Master. Peter expressed his surprise to the pope that he called him, Peter, by name, while the pope not only never knew him, but never saw him, and Peter himself did not tell anyone about his liberation. “Don’t be surprised at this, Peter,” the great Saint Nicholas told me everything that concerns you. After this, the pope received Peter with love and tonsured him at the tomb of the apostle, as he had promised. After his tonsure, the pope kept Peter with him for a considerable time, teaching and instructing him on the path of salvation, and then, by the command of God, he released him from Rome with these words: - Go, child, where God wants to direct you. May His mercy be with you, guiding you on the path and preserving you from the deceits of the devil. Blessed Peter, falling at the feet of the pope, said: - Save yourself - goodbye - honest father, save yourself, disciple of Christ and accomplice of my wrangler, Saint Nicholas, and pray for me, a sinner. Having accepted the blessing from the pope and said goodbye to the entire clergy, Peter, with the hope of God’s intercession, left Rome, wanting to return to the Greek land. When he arrived at the seashore, he saw a ship leaving for the east, entered it and sailed away. The wind was fair and the voyage began safely. For a long time they sailed non-stop and only a lack of bread forced the shipmen to land near one village. Then the shipmen went to one of the houses of that village to bake bread there, and found the owner and all his household sick. Here they baked bread and, tasting it, said to one of their own: “Take the warm bread and take it to the ship to the helmsman and father.” Hearing about his father, the owner of the house asked the shipmen which father was sailing with them. The shipmen told him that the monk Peter was sailing with them from Rome. “I beg you, my gentlemen,” the owner then turned to the shipbuilders, “ask that father to come to my house to pray for us who are sick and to bless us. After all, you see that we are almost dying from this cruel disease.” The shipbuilders went and reported this to their father. Peter at first, out of humility and not wanting to reveal himself, refused to go to that man; then he set off, convinced by requests and prompted by philanthropy - for he knew that death was really not far from the mentioned person. Entering the door of the house, he said: “Peace to this house and to those who live in it” (cf. Matt. 10:12). According to Peter’s word, the owner was immediately healed of a serious illness and, feeling healthy, quickly rose from his sick bed, as if from sleep, and fell with tears of gratitude at the saint’s feet, kissing them. Everyone who saw the miraculous healing was horrified and glorified God. The owner, having received healing, took the monk by the hand and walked with him around all the beds where the sick were lying. The monk marked each of the sick with the sign of the cross, and they were healed of their illness. After this, Saint Peter hastily returned to the ship, where everyone present bowed to him as a great saint of God. The one who was healed, together with all his household, took bread, wine and oil, and came to the ship to thank the monk for the healing received. The saint praised his zeal, but ordered him to thank God, not him; I didn’t want to accept the offerings. Then that man, falling with tears at the feet of the saint, said: “Beloved servant of Christ, if you do not accept this small offering from our hands, then there will be no joy in our house.” At the same time, the shipmen begged the monk to take the gifts. And then only the monk barely agreed to accept them, then, after blessing, he released the man and those who came with him, and gave what he had brought to the shipmen, without tasting anything from it. During his further voyage, the monk’s food was a bowl of bread, even then in the evening, and his drink was a small cup of sea (bitter) water, which the Lord transformed for him into fresh water. One day the Monk Peter dozed off and in a vision he saw the Most Pure Lady, the Virgin Mother of God, shining brighter than the sun with the light of heavenly glory, and near Her - St. Nicholas, standing before Her with fear. Saint Nicholas, pointing to Peter, said to the Mother of God: “Mistress! You deigned to free Your servant from heavy bonds, You Yourself, and show him the place where he would end his life.” “On Mount Athos 3873,” answered the Mother of God, “he will have peace. This place is My lot, given to me by My Son and God, so that here those who rejected worldly worries and took spiritual exploits according to their strength, calling on My name with faith and love, would spend this temporary life without sorrow and for the sake of their godly deeds would inherit eternal life. I love that place very much and wish to increase the rank of monks, from whom the mercy of My Son and God will never depart if they keep the saving commandments. I will spread monastic monasteries on that mountain to the south and north, and the monks will possess this mountain from sea to sea, and their name will be glorified throughout the entire universe - I will be the protection of those who will patiently labor in fasting on Mount Athos.” The Monk Peter was privileged to see such a vision. Rising from sleep, he gave thanks and praise to Christ God, His Most Pure Mother of God and the Great Father Nicholas. The ship sailed quickly with a fair wind. But as soon as they approached the edge of Mount Athos, the ship became motionless, despite the fact that the wind was blowing the sails and the place was deep. Then the shipmen began to ask each other in horror: “What does this mean?” Peter, seeing their bewilderment, said: - Children, tell me what this place is called. “This is Mount Athos,” the shipmen told him. “I think that for my sake,” the saint told them, “the ship became motionless.” Take me to the shore and leave me there. If you don’t do this, you won’t sail from here. The shipbuilders, not wanting to resist the will of God, lost their holy father with sorrow. They approached the shore and, taking the saint out of the ship, left him there, saying with tears and sobs: – Today we are deprived of great protection and help. “God loves mankind,” the saint consoled them, “He is everywhere and fulfills everything, He will be your Companion and will save you from all evil.” Having said this, the monk gave the shipbuilders a farewell greeting in the Lord, protected the ship with the sign of the Holy Cross, blessed everyone and sent them on their way in peace. He himself went to rocky places, passing through many swamps, abysses and forests, until he found one very dark cave for his habitat, where there were many reptiles and even demons. It is impossible to say how many misfortunes the monk suffered there from demons and how many calamities he endured. Here we recall just a few of them for your edification. The Monk Peter, settling in the aforementioned cave, spent day and night in prayer, completely refusing food for two weeks. The devil was not able to endure such fasting patience: he gathered all his armies and, arming them, as if for war, with arrows and bows, swords and spears, he entered the cave, enraged, with a terrible and strong cry, wanting to drive the saint out of there. Then some of the demons, straining their bows, frightened the saint with arrows, others with spears; others, drawing their swords, intended to pierce his ribs, while others threw large stones with such force that the earth shook and the cave could collapse. The monk, not hoping to stay alive, only repeated: “I will die here, if it pleases my God.” Then, raising his eyes to grief and raising his hands, he exclaimed: “Most Holy Theotokos, Virgin Mary, help me, Your servant.” As soon as the demons heard the terrible and terrible name for themselves, and for us the sweet and gracious name of the Mother of God, they immediately disappeared with a noise, and the saint, calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ with a loud voice - “Lord Jesus Christ, do not forsake me” - drove away those fleeing as if with a whip or a sling. From then on, the machinations of demons ceased for the time being, and Saint Peter, remaining at peace, glorified God and the Most Pure Mother of God. During the first time he lived in the mountain, the monk’s food was bread, which he took in small quantities from the ship, and then, when the bread came out, desert grains and the fruits of wild trees that grew on that mountain. This is how Saint Peter ate until the Angel began to bring him manna from heaven, as we will talk about later. Now we will tell you in order. After fifty days had passed after the aforementioned enemy invasion, the devil again, with his numerous strength, just as the first time, armed himself against the invincible warrior of Christ, for this the devil forced every beast and every reptile that was on that mountain to come to the cave where the monk lived, and with them he himself and his friends arrived there, having also turned into various animals and reptiles Then something terrible and terrible was revealed: some of the animals were crawling at the feet of the saint, others were whistling in a terrible voice, and some, opening their mouths and rushing at the saint, seemed to want to swallow him alive. The monk, protecting himself with the sign of the cross and calling on the name of Christ God and the Most Pure Mother of God, destroyed their power and drove them far away from himself, triumphant and rejoicing in God, his Savior. The monk had to spend the first year of his desert life in frequent struggles with demons. Then the devil began to tempt the saint in other ways. So he took the form of one of Peter’s youths, who served him when he was a commander in the world; in the form of this youth, the devil came to the saint and fell upon him, wanting to kiss the saint, being filled with abomination. Then, crying, he began to say: “We heard, our lord, how you were taken in the war, taken to Samara and there imprisoned in a terrible prison, and how God, through the prayers of our holy father Nicholas, freed you from that prison and brought you to the Greek land. Having learned this, all of us, your family, weeping and sobbing, looked for you everywhere and, going around many cities and villages, asked about you. Not finding and not knowing where you are, we offered up fervent prayers with tears to Saint Nicholas, so that he would reveal to us where you, our hidden treasure, reside. Saint Nicholas, a quick helper to everyone, did not despise our prayers, but revealed to us everything about you, and we, your servants, rejoiced. I, ahead of everyone, hastened to you, my lord, and you, having risen, return to your home, so that everyone who wants to see your face can see you and glorify God for you, who miraculously delivered you from bonds and captivity. Do not worry about silence, since there are monasteries and convenient places for the silence of hermits there, and you can settle in the monastery where you wish. In addition, you yourself judge fairly: which of the two God loves better - a hermitage in the desert, in the gorges of the mountains, which brings benefit only to the hermit himself, or the life of a godly and God-inspired man, who with his teaching turns many to God and instructs them on the path of salvation. Truly, the second is better, as God Himself testifies in Holy Scripture: “If you bring out, he says, precious things from worthless things, you will be like my mouth” (cf. Jer. 15:19). After all, you know that in our city many are mired in the depths of passions and require a person who would be able to call them to repentance. You, my lord, will be assigned a greater reward from God if you, when you come, turn them to God. At the same time, why do you despise us, your servants, who love you with all our hearts, moving away from us and hiding in the desert?” The demon said this and many similar things with tears, so that the saint was a little embarrassed and, tearing up, said to him: “It was not a man, not an Angel, who brought me here, but God Himself and the Most Pure Mother of God, and unless there is a command from them to leave here, I will not leave this place.” The demon, hearing the name of God and the Mother of God, immediately disappeared. The saint was surprised at the machinations of demons, but, protecting himself with the sign of the cross and fixing his mind on God, he remained at peace. After seven years, the crafty enemy again transformed into a bright Angel and, with a naked weapon in his hand, standing near the cave, called out: “Peter, servant of Christ, come to me and I will tell you the good news.” “Who are you,” answered the saint, “who wants to tell me good news?” “I am the chief strategist of the Lord,” answered the crafty charmer, “sent to you.” Be strong, take courage, rejoice and be merry, for God has prepared for you a glorious throne and an unfading crown. Now leave this place and go into the world to benefit many. After all, the source of water that was near you dried up, by the command of God, so that all the animals that feared you would die from lack of water. Saying this, the crafty enemy sent another demon to delay, by God’s permission, the flow of the stream. Saint Peter, out of humility, answered the flattering words of the devil in this way: - Who am I, like a stinking dog, so that the archangel of the Lord would appear to me? “Don’t be surprised at this, servant of the Lord,” answered the demon. “At this time you have surpassed Moses, and Elijah, and Daniel, and Job: you have surpassed Moses and Elijah in fasting, Daniel - in reptiles and beasts, whose mouths you stopped, Job - in your patience, therefore you will be called great in heaven. Get up and look - the water has already dried up - go to the monasteries that are in the world; I will be with you and through you I will save many, says the Lord Almighty. “Let it be known to you,” the saint answered the demon, “I will not leave here until my Helper, the Most Holy Theotokos, and my warm intercessor in my troubles, Saint Nicholas, show me this.” The demon, hearing the name of the Mother of God and St. Nicholas, immediately disappeared. The saint, having recognized the wickedness of the devil, and at the same time his powerlessness, turned to God, saying: “Lord Jesus Christ my God! This enemy of mine, like a roaring lion, walks around, seeking to devour me (cf. 1 Peter 5:8), but You protect me, Your servant, with Your sovereign hand. I thank You because You did not leave me; I pray to You, Most Blessed Master, do not leave me until the end.” After that day, at night, in a sleepy vision, the ambulance of Christians, the humane Lady, the Most Holy Virgin Mother of God, appeared to St. Peter, together with St. Nicholas, and said: “Now do not be afraid of the wiles of the devil, for the Lord is with you. The angel of the Lord will visit you in the morning and bring you manna for food, since he was commanded by God to bring it every forty days throughout your life for your food.” Showing the manna to Saint Peter, the Most Pure Mother of God said: “This food will be offered for every forty days of your life.” Having said this and taught Saint Peter peace, the Lady departed from him. Peter, falling on his face, kissed the place where the feet of the Virgin Mary and Saint Nicholas stood. In the morning, an Angel of God appeared, as the Mother of God announced, brought heavenly food to Peter and, having given it to the monk, departed. Then Peter thanked God and the Most Pure Mother of God, then tasted the manna brought to him by Angelic hands, and was so nourished by it that he could go without food for forty days. After this, after every forty days, the Angel brought manna to the monk, and Saint Peter was refreshed with it for forty days. So the monk spent 53 years in silence, fasting and prayer. At this time, all the machinations of the devil, which especially often confused Peter at the beginning, ceased: ghosts, dreams, fears were driven away by him, with the help of God. Having lived on the mountain for so many years, the monk did not see a human face, had no clothes to cover the nakedness of his body and nothing that human nature needed, only the sky was his cover, and the earth his bed. In the summer he was scorched by the heat of the sun, in the winter he was freezing from the cold: he endured all this for the sake of God’s love and future reward. When the Lord wanted to reveal His servant to people, then, according to His special vision, the following circumstance occurred. One hunter, taking his bow and quiver, went to hunt on Mount Athos. Having passed through rocky places, deep valleys, intersected by high and frequent hills, he reached the place where the Monk Peter conducted the Angelic Life. When the hunter approached this place, he saw a large deer running out of the forest, which was running playfully in the distance in front of him. Seeing a beautiful deer, the hunter chased after it and pursued it, trying to shoot it, all day until the deer, at God’s discretion, reached the saint’s cave, above which it stood motionless. The hunter, watching the deer, then saw, to the right of the beast, a naked man with a thick beard, with hair reaching to his loins, whose body was overgrown with them, like those of animals. Seeing the monk, the hunter was terribly frightened and rushed to run back. Then Saint Peter, noticing that the hunter was rushing back, called out to him in a loud voice, saying: “Brother! Why are you afraid and running from me? After all, I am a person like you, and not a demonic ghost, as you thought. Return and come to me, and I will tell you everything about myself, since the Lord sent you here.” The hunter, hearing the voice, stopped and fearfully approached the reverend father who was calling him. The saint encouraged the hunter, hugged him and kissed him about the Lord and, sitting down, began to talk with him, telling him in detail everything about himself: how he, being a commander, was captured in the war, how he was kept in the Samara prison, how the appearance of Saint Nicholas and the holy God-receiver Simeon got rid of his bonds, how he arrived in Rome and returned from there, how he settled on this mountain and how he fought, what he ate and how many years he lived in in solitude, in a word, he told the hunter his whole life. The hunter was surprised, listening to the saint’s story, was horrified and said with tenderness: “Now I realized that the Lord visited me with Your mercy: He vouchsafed me to see His secret saint - you, father. From this day forward I will always be with you, servant of God.” “Let it not be like that, child,” the monk said to him. - First, return to your home and test yourself: can you perform the feats of fasting and hermitage? Test yourself this way: abstain from meat, wine, cheese and butter, and above all from your wife, give your property to the poor, pray diligently and fast, testing yourself with a contrite soul. So spend a year and after it, come to me, and whatever God pleases, you will have to do.” Having said this, the saint gave the hunter a prayer and blessing as a betrothal. Then, sending him to his own people, he said to him as a parting word: “Child! Go in peace and do not reveal the secret told to you to anyone: a treasure that is known to many can be stolen.” The hunter bowed to the saint and left, glorifying and thanking God that He was worthy to see in the flesh and talk with such a saint. Arriving home, the hunter did everything that the saint told him. After a year had passed, the hunter, together with two monks and his brother, set off on a ship and stopped opposite the place where Saint Peter was staying. Leaving the ship, they went straight to the upper desert. On the way to the place where the saint lived, the hunter, prompted by ardent love, ahead of everyone, hurried to the cave. He found the reverend father lying dead on the ground: his hands were folded crosswise on his chest, his eyes were prettily closed and the rest of his body was honestly neat 3874. Seeing this, the hunter was horrified and, over the body of the monk, began to sob heavily. When the hunter’s companions came and saw such a wondrous dead man and his friend crying over him, they asked: “Who is this dead man you found, and why are you crying so bitterly for him?” Then the hunter, with tears and sobs, told them in detail the life of the monk, as he himself heard it from the lips of the monk last summer. The story of the wonderful deeds of the deceased father touched the hearts of those listening: they cried bitter tears, regretting that they were not worthy to see such a great servant of God alive and talk with him. The hunter's brother, possessed by an unclean spirit, as soon as he touched the relics of the saint of God, immediately received healing. The demon threw him to the ground with a loud cry: “O Peter! Isn't it enough for you that you drove me out of my den; and now you are driving me out of my real home!” With these words, he came out like smoke from the mouth of a man who lay as if dead. After a little time, he rose with sound body and soul and said to his brother: “I thank you, my brother, since you brought me here for my own good.” Then, falling to the relics of the monk, the healed one kissed them with joy and gratitude. After this, taking the honest relics of the saint of God, they carried them ashore and, placing them on their boat, took them to one fairly famous village, which was under Macedonian rule; Hearing about many healings flowing from the relics of the saint, the bishop of the city with his clergy took the healing remains of Saint Peter, transferred them with honor to his bishopric and, placing them with aromas in a precious shrine, gave them over to burial in the church, after three days and three nights of popular praise to the Most Holy Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit - God glorified by all creation always, now and forever and ever. Amen. Having removed yourself from human cohabitation, you lived in stone caves and crevices, with the Divine desire and love, Peter, your Lord, received the crown from the Worthless: pray unceasingly for us to be saved. Syria is a region on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Arabia is a vast southwestern peninsula of Asia, separated from the Asian mainland by the Persian Gulf and connected to solid land by the plains of the Syrian Arabian Desert. The greatest river of Asia in connection with the Tigris, constituting its main water system. Ephod - the outer garment of the high priest, which consisted of two pieces of cloth woven from gold, fine linen and wool of three colors: hyacinth, purple, scarlet; pieces of cloth on the shoulders were connected by two amices, on which the names of the tribes of Israel shone on 12 stones; At the bottom, the ends of the ephod were tied with ribbons. The priests had a simple linen ephod. This was the name of Rome, located on the Tiber River in Italy, in contrast to New Rome, i.e. Constantinople. Mount Athos (Athos), in Greek. - Holy Mountain - a narrow mountainous peninsula jutting into the Archipelago (Aegean Sea), known as the center of monastic life for the Greek East. Monastic life appeared here in ancient times, although somewhat later than in Syria and Palestine. For the Russian church, Athos was of great importance earlier in the 17th century. The father of Russian monasticism, St. Anthony, took monastic vows here; from here the Studio Charter was taken by the Rev. Theodosius for his (Pechersky) monastery, then transferred, according to the chronicler, to other monasteries; here, in the rich monastery libraries, our monks who went to Athos (for example, St. Nilus of Sorsky) received the most extensive religious education at that time. St. Peter died around 734. You might be interested in: