Память преподобного отца нашего Иоанна Отшельника

Our venerable father John, having left the world, devoted himself to monastic life and, wishing to remain in a desert hermitage, settled in Palestine, not far from Jerusalem; Here he spent all the days of his life pleasing to God - in fasting and prayer. About his holy life in the book called Limonar 4058, which, as is known, was compiled by our venerable fathers John and Sophronius (after the Patriarch of Jerusalem), the following is narrated: – To us, John and Sophronius, Abba Dionysius, the presbyter and guardian of the holy church located in Ascalon 4059, told us about Abba John the hermit, that this man was great in his life and very pleasing to God. He lived in the vicinity of the village of Sekhust, twenty miles distant from Jerusalem; in his cave this old man had the image of our Most Pure Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary; She was depicted holding in Her arms the eternal Infant Christ our God. And it must be said that when this elder was going to go where: whether into the depths of his desert, or to Jerusalem, to venerate the venerable cross and tomb of Christ, and in general when he wanted to visit one or another holy place in Jerusalem; or when he wanted to pray on Mount Sinai or to those holy martyrs whose relics were far from Jerusalem - for this elder loved to give honor to the saints, so that sometimes he even went to Ephesus - to the tomb of St. John the Theologian, and sometimes to St. Theodore in Euchaites, and even to St. Thekla in Seleucia of Isauria 4060 - in a word, wherever he went When he went on pilgrimage, he always placed a candilo 4061 in his cell in front of this image of the Most Pure Mother of God and, according to custom, lighting it and standing in prayer, prayed to God to bless his path. And at the same time, looking at the icon of the Most Holy Mother of God, he always begged Her like this: - Most Pure Lady Theotokos, since I am setting off on a long and long journey, You Yourself watch over Your chandelier, and, according to my prayer to You, keep it unquenchable until I return; I, having Your help traveling with me, set off on the path I have planned. And only after that did he set off on his journey, staying on the road - sometimes for a month, sometimes for two or three, and sometimes for five or even six; and when he returned, he always found the qandilo full and burning, just as he had left it when he set out on his journey, and never found it extinguished. About this venerable Father John, in the same book Limonar, it is also written that while walking around the outskirts of the village where his cave was located, he once met a large lion. At this place there was a very narrow road: it lay between two thorn hedges, with which farmers usually enclosed their fields. And the path was so narrow that, thanks to this hedge of thorns, it was barely possible for only one person on foot to pass, and even then without any burden. And so, when John and the lion began to approach each other, the elder decided not to give way to the lion, and the lion, due to the cramped space, could not leave the path, so they could not pass each other. Then the lion, seeing that the saint of God did not want to return back and intended to follow the path that was proper for him, stood on his hind legs on the left side of the old man and thus widening the fence with the weight of his body, made the path clear for the righteous man, and thus the old man passed by the lion, touching his back with his back; After this, both the elder and the lion went their own way. One day a certain brother came to this Abba John; not seeing anything in his cave, he said to him: - How do you stay here, Abba, not having anything necessary for your needs? “Child, this cave is a spiritual purchase - it gives and takes: it gives handicrafts, but takes everything needed. This godly father, having lived in his fasting deeds and labors for quite a long time, went to the Lord and was numbered among the saints standing before the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one in the Trinity to our God, to Him be glory forever, amen. On the same day, the repose of the Venerable Varlaam of Shenkursky, in 1462. Limonar (- meadow, pasture) is a very widespread hagiographical work by the Greek monk John Moschus (d. 622). Before his death, John passed this work on to his friend Sophrony, the future patriarch, who already disseminated it among the people. In essence, it was a collection of various stories about the life of Christian ascetics. Ascalon is one of the oldest cities in Palestine, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Seleucia of Isauria, in Cilicia; It was built by Seleukos I Nicanor, the founder of the Seleucid monarchy. Kandilo is a glass bowl in which oil was lit and placed in front of icons. You might be interested in: