Первое избиение преподобных отцов в Синае и Раифе

On the 14th day of January, we remember the double massacre of the monks who labored in the monasteries and caves of Mount Sinai 536 and in the coastal desert of Raifa, adjacent to Sinai. The first massacre took place in the fourth century. It is described by Ammonius, an Egyptian monk, an eyewitness to this event. Ammonius talks about it this way: “Once, when I was sitting in my modest cell, in the country of Alexandria, in a place called Canovo, the idea came to me to go to Palestine. I could not calmly watch as Christians endure endless suffering from wicked tormentors, and our holy father, Patriarch Peter, is forced to move from place to place and hide, deprived of the opportunity to firmly control his verbal flock. At the same time, I wanted to worship the holy places in Jerusalem, where our Lord Jesus Christ walked, fulfilling the mystery of His providence for us. Arriving there, I deeply rejoiced at all the wonderful deeds of God and fervently thanked the merciful Lord for deigning me to worship the holy places. Then I went with some monks into the desert and, with the help of God, after eighteen days I reached Mount Sinai and worshiped the holy places there. While remaining there, I enjoyed communication and conversations with the angelic Sinai fathers and every day, for my spiritual benefit, I came to the cells of each of them. They had such a charter: they sat silent all the days in their cells; on Saturday evening, when Sunday arrived, everyone gathered in church and held an all-night vigil together; Having received communion in the morning at the holy liturgy of the holy immortal Mysteries of Christ, each of them again went to his cell. Their appearance was like that of an angel: from strong abstinence and incessant wakefulness, their bodies were exhausted, and they lived like incorporeal beings, not eating anything that could excite and feed passions. They ate no wine, no oil, no bread at all, but were content with only a small amount of dates or acorns and only with this they supported their lives. However, the abbot sometimes had bread for wanderers. A few days after this, the country was suddenly attacked by a multitude of barbarians called Blemmians 537 . They mercilessly beat all the fathers they found in the surrounding area. We, who lived near the pier 538, were confused and alarmed; We hastily gathered in a fortified place, together with our holy father, the abbot, named Duloy - for he truly was a servant of Christ, distinguished among everyone by his special patience and meekness, which is why some called him Moses. The mentioned barbarians beat up all the fathers who lived in Horeb 539, in Tephroville, they killed many saints in Kedar, and devastated the other surroundings of Mount Sinai. They came up to us and, meeting no resistance from anywhere, almost destroyed us. But the merciful God, who shows His help to those who call on Him with all their hearts, sent a great flame to the top of the mountain, and we saw that the whole mountain was covered with smoke, and fire came out of it, rising to the sky. When we saw this, we were in awe and almost died of fear. Falling prostrate to the ground, we prayed to the Lord that the disaster that threatened us would pass. Horror fell upon the barbarians when they saw the fire, and they immediately fled, some even throwing down their weapons and leaving their camels, for the sight of this terrible fire was completely unbearable for them. We thanked and glorified God, who never abandons those who turn to Him. After that we left the pier and found thirty-eight fathers killed in various places with the sword, each of whom was killed where he was captured. There were many different wounds on their bodies - and who could describe the image of their martyrdom? Two of them, Isaiah and Savva, were still alive, but they were very wounded and could barely breathe. We immediately buried the murdered fathers with great tears and took care of the living. And who could be so cruel and unmerciful as not to bitterly mourn so many such fathers - righteous and holy men, pitifully prostrate on the earth? One's head was completely cut off, the other's was only attached to the skin on one side; one was cut in half, the arms and legs of another were cut off, the eyes of one were gouged out, the other was cut in two from head to toe. And who could describe in detail everything that we saw while removing and burying the bodies of the saints? The two still living brothers lay in great pain. One of them, named Isaiah, died at two o'clock in the morning, while the other - Savva - remained alive, and there was hope for his recovery, for his wounds were not particularly severe. He thanked God for his suffering, but grieved that he was not worthy to die with the holy fathers and said with tears: - Woe to me, a sinner! Woe to me, who was not included in the number of holy fathers who suffered and died for Christ! Woe to me, an indecent servant, rejected at the eleventh hour (cf. Matthew 20:6), who was already standing on the threshold of the saving Kingdom of Christ, but did not enter it! With tears he prayed to God and said: - God Almighty, who sent down His Only Begotten Son for the salvation of the human race, the only and good Lover of mankind, do not separate me from the holy fathers who died before, but may their fourtieth number be replenished through me! Deign to do this, Lord Jesus Christ, for from my very birth I have been Your follower and I have loved You alone! In the midst of such prayer, on the fourth day after the beating of the holy fathers, he gave up his spirit into the hands of the Lord. While we were still grieving and crying, one Ishmaelite 540 came to us and reported that the barbarians had killed all the ascetics who lived in the inner desert called Raifa 541. This desert, located more than two days' journey from us, lay in coastal areas, along the shores of the Red Sea. There were twelve springs of water and, as the book of Numbers says (Num. 33:9), seventy date palms, the number of which later increased greatly. We asked this man under what circumstances and how many fathers were beaten, but he could not tell us anything about this, because he himself heard from others only that the fathers who lived in Raif were all beaten, without exception, from the eldest to the youngest. A few hours later, this news was confirmed to us by another. And a few days later one of the monks there came to settle on Mount Sinai. Having learned about him, the abbot of Mount Sinai, Father Dula, began to question him carefully, wanting to learn in detail about everything that befell the holy fathers, as well as how he himself managed to escape. Then the monk said the following: “I, fathers, lived with them for a little while—only about twenty years—but there were also those who lived for a long time: some for forty years, others for sixty, and some for seventy.” This area is very flat and very wide; in length it extends over seventy fields, from the east it is limited by a mountain, as if by some kind of wall, all the way to the Red Sea 542. Many hermits lived there, who, according to the apostolic word (Heb. 11:38), wandered through deserts and mountains, through caves and gorges of the earth. At the foot of the mountain there was a church in which these truly heavenly men gathered weekly. Living on earth, they were similar in soul and way of life to the Angels. They exhausted their bodies so much - as if they were not their bodies, but someone else’s; They adorned their souls not with just one virtue, but with very many. Wanting to depict their suffering and death, in general - all the temptations inflicted on them by demons, I cannot, beloved, tell in order about all their virtues. But I will tell you about one or two fathers, and this will be enough for you to have an understanding of life and everyone else. There was one old man among them named Moses. Coming by birth from the neighboring country of Faran 543, from his youth he fell in love with the monastic life. He was the rector of the fathers who lived there before, having remained in monasticism for seventy-three years. Living in one cave, near the monastery, he truly was the second Elijah the Tishbite 544, for the Lord gave him everything he asked of Him. With miraculous signs and healing of all sorts of diseases, he converted to Christianity all the inhabitants who were within the boundaries of the Paran, as well as the Ishmaelites who lived in this country. Seeing the miracles and healings performed by Moses, everyone was filled with faith in Christ and, receiving baptism, entered the holy Church of Christ. The holy father also healed many people possessed by demons, for, by the grace of Christ, he had power over demons. From the very beginning of his ascetic life, he never tasted bread, although he had a small amount of it for wanderers; the Egyptians who visited him gave him this bread. He himself was content with a few dates and plain water; From the same date palm he also prepared clothing for himself; he spent time in strict silence - like no one else - breaking it only for the sake of those who came to him to confess their thoughts; he received them with attention and meekness. He slept very little, and only after the morning service, and spent the entire night without sleep. Throughout Lent, until Maundy Thursday, he did not speak to anyone. During all this time, his food consisted of approximately twenty dates, his drink - from one mug of water, and this, according to the testimony of his disciple, often sufficed him until the Passion of Christ 545. One day, during Great Lent, Vedian, the leader of an Ethiopian tribe who was possessed by an unclean spirit, was brought to him for healing. When they approached the elder’s cell at a distance of one mile, the unclean spirit threw Vedian to the ground and began to exclaim: - Woe is me! To whom are they taking me? Not for a minute could I seduce and tempt this man! After such words, he left Vedian and he immediately recovered, believing in Christ along with many others, and then was awarded holy baptism. I should tell you much more about this righteous man, but due to lack of time I have to keep silent. He died at the hands of the barbarians who attacked us. This wondrous and blessed father had a disciple of the same name, who was also called Moses. Being from the Thebaid country 546, he lived with him in silence for forty-six years, in no way deviating from the rules of his father, and was an example for other young monks. I initially lived with him, but then, due to his extreme abstinence, I separated from him. Together with the holy fathers, he was also killed. It would be very useful to remember and talk about the life and virtues of each of these fathers. But, due to lack of time, keeping silent about the others, I will say only about one more righteous man. There was one father between them, named Joseph, born Analitin. Living two miles from the sea, he built himself a dwelling with his own hands; he was a man of holy life and truly a wise and virtuous man. He remained in that place for about thirty years; his disciple did not live with him, but not far from him in another cell. One of the brethren once came to this venerable Joseph for instruction. He knocked on the door, but, not hearing an answer, looked through the window and saw the elder standing in the middle of the cell, as if in flames from head to toe. He fell from fear and lay in a daze, as if dead, for up to two hours. Having come to his senses, he sat down at the door of his cell. The elder, immersed in the thought of God, did not know about what had happened. At five o'clock this brother knocked again. The elder let him in and asked: - When did you come, my son? “Four hours or more,” he answered, “have passed since I came, but I didn’t knock until then, so as not to disturb you, father.” The holy elder guessed that his brother knew about what happened to him; He did not say anything to him about this and, having given him soul-helping instructions, released him in peace. But after this brother left, the wondrous old man, fearing human glory, left his cell and disappeared. A few days later, his disciple Gelasius, coming to the elder’s cell, no longer found him. No matter how much later he looked for him in that desert, all his searches remained in vain. With bitter tears, he returned to the elder’s cell and settled in it, so that at least in this he could find consolation for his soul. Six years passed, and then one day, at nine o’clock in the afternoon, someone knocked on the door of the cell. Coming out, Gelasius suddenly saw his Abba standing near his cell. Amazed by his unexpected appearance, he thought whether it was a spirit, but still joyfully said to him: - Say a prayer, my father. The elder said a prayer, kissed the disciple and then said to him: “You did well, my son, that you first asked for prayer, for the devil’s machinations are manifold.” “Why did you want to leave your fathers and leave me, your son, and until now I was in grief and tears?” - My son! - the elder answered, - why I left, only God knows. However, know that in fact, until this very time, I did not leave either this place or you, and there was not a single week in which I did not partake in the church, together with the fathers, of the holy immortal Mysteries of Christ our God. The brother was very surprised that the elder lived among them and no one saw him. - Why have you, my father, now come to me, your son? – he asked. “The time of my death has already come, my son, and I have come for you to bury me.” Having taught his brother many soul-helping instructions and confirmed him in piety, the elder raised his hands to heaven, prayed for him and then rested in peace in the Lord. Immediately, after the brother told us about this, we gathered with palm branches in our hands, and with hymns carried him to the church, and the face of the deceased shone, as in ancient times - the prophet Moses (Ex. 34: 29-30, 35). We buried him along with the saints and Divine Fathers who had died earlier. I could tell you a lot more, but I won’t, because it’s time to start telling the story about the barbarians: I see that you want to know how they killed the holy fathers. So virtuous were these blessed fathers who, living in complete poverty, firmly endured all sorts of sorrows for the Lord and constantly remained in prayer and contemplation of God. There were forty-three people living there among all of us. And then one day two people came to us and reported that many barbarians had sailed across the sea on a ship from the Ethiopian country. “They grabbed us while we were sailing on a boat,” the aliens said, “they took us prisoner and began to say: show us the way to the city, and we will spare your life for this.” We, against our will, had to make a promise, but we ourselves began to wait to see if the south wind would blow so that we could sail away from them. With God's help, we managed to escape at night by boat from their hands. And so we warn you to take care for a while, lest these barbarians discover your refuge and kill you; there are three hundred of them. Having learned about this, we placed watchmen at the sea so that they would notify us when they saw the ship. We ourselves gathered for the all-night service and prayed that the Lord would send us what would benefit our souls. At the first hour of the night a ship appeared with raised sails, heading towards us. The lay people living in Paran prepared for battle to protect their wives and children. There were two hundred of them, not counting women and children. We gathered in our own church, surrounded by a fence. The ship with the barbarians, having reached the pier under the control of the helmsmen, remained throughout the night on the western shore, under the cover of a mountain, near the springs. When morning came, the barbarians, having tied up the helmsmen, removed them, leaving only one on the ship, and so that he would not sail away with the ship, they left their comrade to supervise him. Having landed at the springs, they entered into battle with the local residents, and a lot of arrows were shot on both sides. The barbarians, being more experienced in shooting, won and put the inhabitants to flight, killing one hundred and forty-seven of them; the rest fled - wherever they could, and their wives and children were captured by the wicked barbarians. After that, they rushed like wild animals to our fence mentioned above, expecting to find a lot of gold from us. Having surrounded the walls of the fence, they began to loudly revile us, intending to frighten us with their ferocious cries. In the midst of such disaster and grief, we did not know what to do - we just cried and cried out to God. Some of us bore this grief courageously, others cried, others prayed and thanked God; yet together, consoling each other, they exclaimed: Our rector, Saint Paul, stood in the middle of the church and said to us: - Fathers and brothers! Listen to me, sinner and most unworthy of all. You all know well that, out of love for our Lord Jesus Christ, we withdrew from the vain world and, staying in this harsh desert, were worthy to bear His good yoke in hunger, thirst and extreme poverty. We have despised all earthly vanity in order to be worthy of participation in His Heavenly Kingdom, and we desire nothing else than for death to befall us now. Why should we indulge in sadness and mourn if our Master wants to quickly free us from this vain life and take us to Himself? Shouldn't we, on the contrary, rejoice? We should rejoice and thank the Lord, but not lose heart! What could be more kind and sweet for us than to contemplate the glory of the Lord and see His Holy Divine Face? Fathers and brothers! Remember how we always magnified and glorified the holy martyrs who lived before us, how, telling each other about their suffering for the name of Christ, we burned with a desire to follow them. Finally, the time has come, and our desire - to be with them in the future life - is fulfilled. Therefore, do not be discouraged, do not grieve and do not be afraid, but gather all your strength and be encouraged, accept death with firmness, and God will lovingly accept you into His Kingdom. The monks unanimously answered: “As you said, honest father, this is what we will do, for what will we repay to the Lord for all His good deeds to us? Let us take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord” (cf. Ps. 116:3-4). Facing the east and raising his hands to the sky, our holy father exclaimed: – Lord Jesus Christ, God Almighty, our hope and help! Do not forget us, Your unworthy servants, but remember our misfortune and our sorrow, for our soul is very sorrowful. Strengthen us in this hour of our distress, accept with grace our souls as a pleasant sacrifice, for glory and honor are due to You, now and always and unto the ages of ages. And as soon as everyone had time to say: “Amen,” a voice was immediately heard from the holy altar for all to hear: – “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Fear and horror attacked us from this voice, everyone’s knees and hearts weakened, for although the spirit is willing, as the Lord said (Matthew 26:41), the flesh is weak; so that we already despaired of our lives and only turned our faces to the sky. Meanwhile, the barbarians, without meeting any resistance, climbed over the walls of our fence with the help of long logs. Opening the doors, they rushed inside with drawn swords in their hands, like wild wolves and beasts of prey. At the door of the church sat one saint, a venerable looking old man named Jeremiah. Having grabbed him, they began to demand: - Show us your boss! The elder, not at all embarrassed at the sight of their fierce faces and naked swords in their hands, looked at them and said: – Why do you frighten me, enemies of Christ? I won't tell you anything about what you're asking me about. The abbot was standing there nearby. The barbarians were surprised at the courage of this husband - that he not only was not afraid of them, but was even more annoying. Their surprise then turned into rage. They tied his hands and feet, stood him naked in the middle of them, and began to shoot arrows at him. The whole body of the righteous man was wounded by arrows. Having thus courageously risen up against the devil and crushed the head of the serpent, he, first of all, was awarded the crown of martyrdom and showed an example of suffering to old and young. Following this, our holy father Paul came out to the barbarians and, pointing his finger at himself, exclaimed: And the courageous servant of Christ fearlessly gave himself up to his enemies. He did not want to think about the wounds and torments that the wicked would inflict on him before they killed him. - Tell us, where is your gold hidden? - they asked. He answered them quietly and meekly, as he was always accustomed to say: “Believe me, I have not acquired anything earthly in my entire life except these old clothes that you see on my body.” At the same time, taking the clothes in his hand, he showed them. Then the barbarians wounded his whole body with arrows and pierced his head with a stone, saying: “Give up your wealth.” Having achieved nothing, after much torture they cut his head in two, so that half of the head hung on his shoulders, one in one direction, the other in the other. Having received many other wounds, he lay dead at the feet of his previously killed father - the second conqueror of the devil after him. I, unworthy, at the sight of the painful death of the saints, their blood and bodies prostrate on the ground, became frightened and began to look for places to hide and then escape. Noticing that on the left side of the church there were branches of a date palm tree, I ran there and, while the barbarians were busy torturing our holy father Paul, managed to hide under it. At the same time, I thought that one of two things would certainly happen to me: either I would hide here and get rid of death, or I would be found here and killed along with my fathers. The wicked barbarians, leaving the two mentioned fathers when they died, broke into the church; Shouting furiously and waving their swords, they rushed at their fathers and mercilessly killed everyone without exception, from old to young. Telling us about this, the monk wept and sobbed bitterly; his story,” Ammonius reports, “caused loud crying and sobbing on our part. Everyone cried a lot. Tears flowed like streams from our eyes and wet our clothes. “Oh, brothers,” this monk continued his story with tears, “how can I depict or describe everything sad that my eyes have seen!” There was one great father there, named Adam. He had a young student, Sergius, about fifteen years old. From infancy he raised him, teaching him monastic life and the fight against demons. The barbarians took pity on the beauty and youth of Sergius and did not kill him. They led him out by the hand and wanted to take him with them. The young man, seeing that they did not want to kill him along with his fathers and brothers, but that he had to accompany the wicked barbarians, wept and sobbed bitterly. Then, inflamed in spirit and casting aside all fear, he boldly ran up to the barbarian and, snatching his sword, struck one of the barbarians in the shoulder; He wanted to arouse the anger of the barbarians against himself so that they would kill him. His wish came true. Maddened with anger, the barbarians chopped him into pieces. Under the blows of swords he smiled and said: “Blessed be the Lord, Who did not deliver us up alive into the hands of sinners,” and then rested in the Lord. I saw all this and prayed to the all-merciful and humane God that the wicked barbarians would not notice me, and that in this way there would be someone to bury the bodies of the saints. The bodies of the murdered holy fathers filled the entire holy church with blood. They accepted death without fear or sorrow, rejoicing and thanking God for their fate. Their thoughts were turned to their Lord. Through righteous living they made themselves temples for the Holy Spirit. Disregarding the charm and vanity of the world, they followed God alone and finally died for His name among various kinds of torment. Meanwhile, the barbarians, having killed the fathers, began to search the entire monastery, hoping to find a lot of all sorts of riches in it. The wicked did not know that the holy fathers did not care about acquiring anything earthly, but, living in the flesh, were like Angels. While all this was happening, although I did not have a single drop of blood on me, I nevertheless lay as if dead. I was afraid that the barbarians, looking for treasure, might lift the branches. Often I looked out from under them and waited for them to finally come to me and, having found them, kill me like the others. Death stood before my eyes, and I prayed to God to save me, if it pleased Him. Indeed, the barbarians approached the branches, but God blinded their hearts and eyes: this thing seemed to them unworthy of attention, and they left. Then, leaving the dead holy fathers and not finding any booty, they again returned to the pier to set off by sea on their journey. But when they arrived at the place, they found their ship broken, for the helmsman, left to guard the ship, had cut the ship’s rope, secretly from the barbarian who was with him. The wind brought the ship to the shore, and it crashed against it, but the helmsman, having killed the barbarian, ran away and disappeared into the mountains. Having lost the ship, the barbarians did not know what to do or how to return to their land. In despair and fierce anger, they rushed with swords at their captives and killed them all, not excluding women and children, then lit a fire and burned all the date trees. Meanwhile, from the city of Paran many selected warriors came, numbering up to six hundred, for they had already heard a rumor about the massacre of the holy fathers in Raifa. Having learned about this, the barbarians prepared for battle and, at sunrise, entered into battle with the newcomers on the seashore. Many arrows were shot from both sides, and the Faran inhabitants, being more numerous, began to gain the upper hand and had already killed many barbarians. Since there was no hope of salvation for the latter, they defended themselves and held out until the ninth hour. Eighty-four Faran inhabitants were killed by them, not counting many wounded. The barbarians fell in their entirety, without at all surrendering to the enemies and without leaving their place. While this was happening, I, gradually gathering my courage, crawled out of the place in which I was hiding. When I felt the bodies of the murdered saints, it turned out that everyone had already died, except for only three: Domna, Andrei and Orion. Of these, Domnus suffered severely from a serious wound in his side. Andrei, although he had many wounds, were not very severe, which is why he remained alive. Orion was not injured at all. The barbarian struck him in the right side with his sword, and the sword, without touching his body at all, came out through his clothes on the left side. The barbarian, thinking that Orion was killed, left him and turned to others; Orion lay down between the dead and lay as if dead. Now getting up, he walked around the bodies of the saints with me, weeping and sobbing over the disaster that had befallen them. After this, the Faran inhabitants, leaving the bodies of the barbarians near the seashore to be torn to pieces by beasts and birds of prey, collected the bodies of their friends and, weeping, buried them under the canopy of the mountain, where there were springs. Then they returned to us; Their prince Vedian also came with them, whom, as was previously said, the Monk Moses healed of demonic possession. Entering the church with him, we sobbed, beat our chests and wept bitterly, seeing the flock of Christ thrown to the ground, like sheep torn to pieces by wild beasts. The venerable elders, adorned with honest gray hair, seemed young, like Angels, for the virtue of their lives shone on their faces like the light of dawn. The slaves and martyrs of Christ lay covered with terrible and serious wounds: one had a wound from shoulder to stomach, the other lay cut in half; one had his head cut off, another had his eyes gouged out, a third had his arms and legs cut off, and a fourth had a spear stuck in his heart. So they all died with various wounds on their bodies. While they were alive, they always bore in their body the death of the Lord Jesus, so that the life of Jesus might also be revealed in their body (2 Cor. 4:10). After a life lived pleasing to God, they were enlightened at their death by their blood and were therefore numbered among the host of saints. We have collected the bodies of the saints in one place. The pious Prince Vedian, together with others, brought bright clothes from Paran, and we buried thirty-nine holy fathers. Everyone who was there at that time took willows and date branches and carried the holy relics of the saints with the singing of psalms, together with bitter tears. They were all buried together, except for Domna. The aforementioned Domnus, a Roman by origin, was still alive; towards evening he also rested in the Lord. He was buried next to the holy fathers. The holy martyrs of Christ died on the fourteenth day of January, at nine o'clock in the afternoon. Father Andrei and Father Orion hesitated, not knowing what to decide - whether to stay there or leave. I could not bear the sadness and desolate appearance of this place, I could not bear the tears for the murdered fathers, and so I came to you, although the pious Vedian persuaded me to stay there, promising to visit me often and bring us everything we needed. I ask you, fathers, in turn, to tell me about everything that happened here, just as you yourself learned in detail about everything from me. “We,” says Ammonius, “told him about everything that happened here, and marveled at the wonderful destinies of God, how on the same day and on the same date the holy fathers were killed here and there,” and again we all began to cry and sob together. Our Reverend Father Dula stood up and said: - My beloved! The holy martyrs, as the chosen servants of Christ, have truly been awarded, now that they have sealed their exploits with the crown of martyrdom, bliss in the Kingdom of Heaven, great glory and honor. We, who have survived the recent disaster, will take care of ourselves and ask their prayers for us to the Lord, so that we too may inherit the Kingdom of Heaven with them; Now let us sing thanksgiving to God, who saved us from the hand of the barbarians. With these words he encouraged us all, turned the sadness of our hearts into joy and comforted our souls. I, sinful Ammonius, with the help of God returned to Egypt and wrote a story about all this. I did not go again to the previous place called Kanovo, but settled in a small cell near Memphia 547. Living in it, I often remember with reverence the torment and exploits of the venerable martyrs of Christ. Together with them, may the Lord grant us also to be worthy of participation in His Heavenly Kingdom and to enjoy ineffable and incorruptible blessings with all those who love Him, for all glory, honor and worship are due to Him, with His Beginning Father and His All-Holy and Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen. God our father, always deal with us according to Your meekness, do not leave Your mercy from us, but through their prayers guide our life in peace. You have escaped from worldly rumors and gone to a quiet haven, crowned by martyrdom with blood and fasting with labors. In the same way, the martyrs and saints of the same village were shown. Mount Sinai is located in the middle of the Sinai Peninsula; it is actually a group of mountains, consisting of granite rocks, cut through and surrounded by steep and rough valleys; among the Arabs it is now called Mount “Tur” or “Je-bel-Tur-Sina”. In the Old Testament, at Mount Sinai, the Israelites entered into a covenant with God and received from Him the commandments of the law (Ex. 20). In the 4th and 5th centuries after the birth of Christ, Mount Sinai was famous for the abundance of Christian desert dwellers who lived in its gorges and caves. The Blemmians are the present-day Bedouins, a Libyan robber people who lived south and west of Egypt; Even the Roman emperors were afraid of these barbarians, so Diocletian tried to secure himself from them with money and the cession of lands. Pyrg - from Greek. fortress, tower; This was the name given to fortified guard posts in monasteries. Horeb is a mountain in the Arabian desert, the western elevation of the same mountain range, the eastern part of which is Sinai. Here God appeared to Moses in a bush that burned and was not consumed (Ex. 3). Kidar and Tefrovil mentioned here were also located near this mountain. The Ishmaelites are the descendants of Ishmael, the son of the patriarch Abraham. Raifa is a place near Paran on the eastern shore of the Red Sea, two days' journey from Sinai. The Red Sea, or the so-called Red Sea, is a long narrow strait of the Indian Sea that separates the Arabian Peninsula from Egypt and Asia from Africa. Paran is a desert and mountainous country between Palestine, Egypt, Idumea and the Sinai Peninsula. At Mount Paran, God appeared in the Holy Spirit, descending on 70 elders of Israel (Num. 9:10–30); David was hiding here. Elijah the Tishbite - the most glorious of the Old Testament prophets, originally from the Galilean city of Tisbi - in the tribe of Naphtali, the most zealous worshiper of the True God and a formidable denouncer of wickedness and idolatry during the times of Ahab and Jezebel, famous for many miracles. He was honored to talk with God on Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19); After a miraculous crossing of the Jordan, he was taken alive to heaven on a chariot of fire, passing on with his mantle the gift of miracles to his successor Elisha. Those. until Matins of Good Friday, when the passions, that is, the sufferings of Christ, are remembered. Thebaid is the region of the famous ancient Egyptian city of Thebes; By the same name, after the main city, all of Upper (Southern) Egypt was called. Memphi, or Memphis, is the ancient powerful capital of Egypt; - was located in central Egypt near the Nile, between the main river and its tributary, which washed the western side of the city. 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