Житие преподобного отца нашего Павла Фивейского

When the Monk Anthony lived with his disciples in the Egyptian desert, 596 it once occurred to him that there was no other monk who was as perfect as he, no one who had settled before him in the desert and chosen such a solitary life. He himself later said that when he thought this way, he heard a voice in a vision that said: - Anthony! There is one servant of God who came here before you and who is more perfect than you. If you want, you can find him in the distant desert; just go to him quickly before he goes to the Lord. Hearing this and coming to his senses, the elder immediately took his staff and hurried into the desert, passionately wanting to quickly find the one about whom it was revealed to him. It was midday, and it became so hot that even the stones became hot from the heat of the sun; the elder was exhausted in body, but his spirit was cheerful, and he did not think of turning back from the path he had taken. Although he did not know where to go next, he remained firm and said: – I believe that God will show me, as He promised, His servant. Walking through this harsh and inaccessible desert, the elder saw nothing but the tracks of animals; Having been on the road for the second day and spending the second night in prayer, he did not know where to go next. At dawn on the third day, he suddenly saw a she-wolf walking along the edge of the mountain and howling. Following her from afar, he approached the cave in which the holy saint of God Paul lived 597. The old man was overjoyed at the sight of the cave; but its occupant, noticing Anthony’s approach, locked the door. Approaching, the elder knocked, but there was no answer, and he continued to stand outside and knock unsuccessfully. Seeing that the doors were not opened for him, he fell to the ground in front of the entrance to the cave and prayed until the sixth hour, so that he would be honored to go inside and see the one whom he had found with such difficulty. - Unlock it for me, servant of Christ, unlock it! After all, you know who I am, where I came from and why, for God revealed it to you. I myself know that I am unworthy to see your holy face, nevertheless, I will not leave here until I see you. Do not hide yourself, if God has revealed you to me: you accept animals, why do you reject man? I found you after a long search, and now I’m knocking for you to open the door for me. If you don’t open the door, then I will die on your threshold, and you will bury my corpse here. He told him many other things in tears and reproached him for his severity. Then the saint of God answered him from inside the cave and said: – Is it possible to ask with threats or reproach with tears? You are surprised that I do not open the door for you; this is because you boast that you came to die here. With these words the saint opened the door, and they hugged each other and kissed each other, calling each other by name, because God revealed to each of them the name of the other. When they sat down, the Monk Anthony said. – Rejoice, Paul, chosen vessel and pillar of fire, inhabitant of this desert! “It’s good that you have come, the sun that illuminates the entire universe, the mentor of those who are being saved, the mouth of God, who populated the desert and drove the devil out of it!” But why did you undertake such great work, coming to me, a sinful and insignificant person? Here you see before you a decrepit old man, randomly covered with gray hair, you see a man ready to turn into dust and decay. But love knows no obstacles - and you came; Tell me, I beg you, how do people live now, what is the state of the world? Are there still idolaters, and at the same time, does persecution of believers continue? “Through your prayers,” answered Anthony, “the world is in prosperity, persecution has stopped, and the Church glorifies the True God; but since you mentioned persecution, I ask you, tell me, for God’s sake, about yourself and reveal why you left the world for this distant desert? “I was born 598 in Thebaid 599,” St. Paul began his story, “and I had a sister, whom my parents married off during their lifetime. Being Orthodox themselves, they, having given me a secular education, also instructed me in the truths of the Orthodox faith. When they died, they divided their rich estate between us. After their death, my sister’s husband, out of covetousness, decided to appropriate the next part of my property for himself and intended to betray me, as a Christian, to be tortured by the wicked prince, so that, having destroyed me in this way, he could take possession of my inheritance. Decius 600 was then king. He persecuted all Christians, and the whole Thebaid trembled in fear of the cruel torments he imagined. At that time, one Christian youth was taken by wicked persecutors. They tortured him for a long time in order to persuade him to renounce the faith of Christ, but in vain. Finally, they brought him into a flowering and fragrant garden and, laying him on his back on a luxurious bed, tied his arms and legs to it with soft ropes. When everyone left the garden, they let one young girl in with the young man so that she could seduce him into sin. The shameless girl hugged and kissed the young man, trying in every possible way to seduce him. What did the valiant sufferer do after having already endured so much torment? - Seeing himself in danger of carnal seduction, he bit off his tongue with his teeth and spat it out in the face of the harlot; With terrible pain, he overcame passion within himself, spit blood on the face and clothes of the harlot, but he himself, with the help of the grace of Christ, remained pure. Another young man, who remained firm in the Christian faith, after many torments was stripped and, having smeared his entire body with honey, they stood him with his hands tied at the shoulders in the heat of the sun; they thought that, stung by bees, wasps and hornets, he would not endure it and would agree to make an idol sacrifice. But the courageous sufferer, although his whole body was bitten and covered with blood to such an extent that he lost even his human image, did not, however, renounce Christ. Seeing all this, as well as the ever-increasing anger of my sister’s husband, which neither my sister’s tears nor my kinship could tame, I left everything to him and ran away into this desert. With God's help, I gradually reached this place. Having found this cave with a source of water inside it, I realized that the Lord Himself had assigned me a place to live here. I settled here and live by eating dates and making clothes for myself from the leaves. As the saint was telling this, a raven suddenly flew in, holding bread in its beak; quietly placing the bread in front of them, he flew away and disappeared into the air. Seeing the amazement of Blessed Anthony, Saint Paul said: – It was the Lord, the most merciful and philanthropic, who sent dinner to us, His servants. For sixty years now I have been getting half a loaf of bread. But on the occasion of your coming, Christ the Lord doubled the gift and sent His soldiers whole bread. Having taken this bread, the great saints of God began to ask each other to bless and break it, each placing the other above himself in honor. Saint Paul wanted to honor the Monk Anthony as a guest, while the Monk Anthony wanted to honor Saint Paul as the master of the house and the eldest in age; and for a long time they argued with each other with love. Finally, blessed Paul took the bread from one end, and put the other into the hands of the Monk Anthony: the bread itself immediately broke in the middle, and everyone received their half. Sitting down at the source, Christ's servants ate and were satisfied; then they drank from this spring, which had clean and very pleasant water. After performing the prayer of thanksgiving, they sat down again and talked all night until the morning. As the day approached, Saint Paul said to Abba Anthony: “I have long known, my brother, that you live in this desert, and I would like, living with you, to serve our Lord together.” But since the time has come for my death, which I always awaited with joy, wanting to “be resolved and be with Christ” (Phil. 1:23), the Lord sent you to me so that you would bury my humble body and commit the earth to the earth. Hearing this, Anthony exclaimed with tears: “Don’t leave me, my father, alone, but take me with you!” “You do not need to worry about yourself,” answered Saint Paul, “but about the good of your neighbor. If it would be good for you to, freed from the burden of the flesh, follow the Lamb to heaven, then the benefit of the other brethren requires that you still instruct and strengthen them.” I ask you, go quickly to your monastery and bring the mantle given to you by Bishop Athanasius to cover my body with it. St. Paul did not ask for this because he needed the mantle. He did not care whether his corruptible body, which he had dressed for so long with date leaves, would be buried naked or covered in the ground; he only wanted his soul to be separated from his body in the silence of solitude, which is why he sent the Monk Anthony away from him to the monastery. Anthony was very surprised by what he heard about Athanasius and the mantle. Seeing in Paul, as it were, Christ Himself and honoring God abiding in him, he did not dare to object to him anymore; for a long time, silently and with tears, he kissed his eyes and hands, and then hastened to fulfill the order: against his desire, he went to the monastery, exhausted in body, but in spirit conquering the infirmities of his old age. When he approached his cell, two disciples met him and asked: – Where have you been for so long, our father? “Woe is me, my children,” answered Anthony, “woe is me, a sinner, an imaginary monk.” I myself only call myself a monk, but I saw the one who truly is Elijah, John in the desert; I truly saw Paul in paradise. The disciples wanted to hear more about this and began to ask him to tell him. Anthony, covering his mouth with his hand, said: – For every thing there is a time: a time to speak, and a time to remain silent (Eccl. 3:1-7). And taking his robe with him, without resting at all, without even taking food with him for the road, he went out and again hastily set off into the desert in order to find Saint Paul still alive, for he was afraid that if he slowed down, he would die without him. The next day, at about three o'clock, while on the road, Abba Anthony saw in the air the ranks of Angels and the councils of the prophets and apostles, and in the midst of them - the soul of Saint Paul, which, shining more than the sun, ascended into heaven. Saint Anthony, falling to the ground, sprinkled sand on his head and exclaimed with sobs: - Why did you, Pavel, leave me? Why are you leaving without a last kiss? “I didn’t know you for so long, and so soon, when I found out, you leave me!” Subsequently, Blessed Anthony said that he then walked the rest of the way at such a speed as if he were flying on wings through the air, so that from fast walking he did not even feel the ground under his feet. Soon he reached the cave and, entering it, saw the saint kneeling with his arms outstretched and his face turned upward. Thinking that he was alive and praying, Anthony began to pray with him. An hour passed, and since neither words nor sighs of prayer were heard from Saint Paul, Blessed Anthony came closer to him and, seeing that he was already dead, he realized that the body of the holy man, even after death, renders worship to God, before Whose Face everything is alive. For a long time he cried and sobbed, kissing the holy body of the saint; then he wrapped him in the mantle he had brought with him and, according to Christian custom, began to sing the psalms used during burial. But he could not figure out how to bury the saint, since he did not bring a spade with him to dig the grave. – Should we return to the monastery for a weapon? - he thought. “But it’s a three-day journey there.” Should I stay here? But without a spade I can't do anything. “I’d rather stay here and die as I should, breathing my last breath near Yours, O Christ, warrior!” As he was thinking about this, suddenly two lions come from the depths of the desert, roaring and as if crying over the loss of the saint. Anthony was somewhat frightened at first, but then, when he saw that meek animals, like lambs, were lying near the body of the saint and were roaring pitifully, as if they were crying, he was amazed at the meekness of these animals. They began to dig the ground with their claws and, having dug a hole of considerable depth, again fell to the body of the saint with a strong roar, as if bidding farewell to him; then, approaching the Monk Anthony, they began to lick his hands and feet, as if asking for blessings and prayers. The monk, seeing that even the animals bow before God, glorified Christ and said: “Lord, without Your will, not a leaf from a tree or a bird falls to the ground, give, as You know, Your blessing to these animals.” Then, pointing his hand to the desert, he ordered the animals to go there. When they disappeared, Abba Anthony buried the honorable body of the holy and venerable Father Paul, the first desert dweller, who died 113 years old 601. The Monk Anthony spent the entire night following the burial over the saint’s grave in tears and prayer; When morning came, he went back to his monastery, taking with him the saint’s clothes woven from date leaves. Arriving at his monastery, he told his disciples about everything in detail, for their edification; the clothes of St. He cherished and honored Paul so much that he wore it only twice a year: on the feast of St. Easter and Pentecost. Through the holy prayers of the Venerable Fathers Paul and Anthony, may Christ our Lord grant us the lot of His saints, to Whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory forever, amen. Venerable Anthony the Great is the first founder of monastic life. His memory takes place on January 17. The cave in which he labored was located in southern Egypt, in a wild and uninhabited place of Thebaid, on the eastern bank of the river. Nila. Rev. Cave Paul, on Mount Kholzim, in a straight line from Mount Antonia, is no more than four miles away, but it is separated by such a high and steep wall that a walk around it is very long, which is why Rev. Anthony had to spend about two days on the whole journey. The year of birth of Paul of Thebes is determined from his life as follows. When Anthony came to Paul, he had already been in the desert for 91 years, into which he had retired for 22 years. Next, he was 113 years old. Anthony, born in 251, came to him at the age of 90; track. Rev. Paul was born around 228. Thebaid is the region of the famous ancient Egyptian city of Thebes; By the same name, after the name of the main city, all of upper (southern) Egypt was called. Decius - Roman emperor, cruel persecutor of Christianity, reigned from 249-251. Rev. Paul of Thebes died in 341. His body, by the will of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel Komnenos (1146–1180), was transferred to Constantinople and placed in the monastery of the Virgin Mary Periveleptus; then in 1240 it was transferred to Venice and, finally, to Hungary in Ofen; part of his head is in Rome. You might be interested in: