Антоний Новый

Our venerable father Anthony the New, the son of glorious and rich parents, leaving wealth and glory and loving the monastic life, settled in some mountain. There he spent many years in silence, depressing himself with many labors and exploits. After this, he happened to read the Ladder of Divine Virtues one day. At the end of the article on obedience, he found the following words: “If someone who lives in silence recognizes his weakness and, leaving silence, devotes himself to learning obedience, then he, having been blind, without difficulty has received his sight in Christ.” Constantly turning these words into his mind, Anthony said to himself: “After so many monastic labors and exploits, I am still blind! I want to see the light someday.” Leaving his cell and desert life, he set out to enter a community monastery, just as he had gone to school. For this, he came to Bithynia, to a certain monastery located in the mountains, which was very famous for the residence of its monks. He stayed at the hotel at the gates of the monastery, as if one of the passers-by, without telling anyone anything about himself. He stayed here for several days with other wanderers. Not wanting to eat monastic food for free, Anthony went to a nearby mountain, collected firewood from it, brought it on his shoulders, and placed it in front of the monastery gates. The monk in charge of the hotel, seeing this, said to him: “What are you doing, Abba? the monastery does not need your work; those who come here eat monastery food as alms, thanking God.” Anthony answered: “Father! and I know this custom; but, not wanting to remain idle, I do this of my own free will.” He continued to live at the monastery, and did so every day, without telling anyone. The brother in charge of hospitality went to the abbot and told him about Anthony. The hegumen was then Blessed Ignatius, who built this monastery with his labors for the Lord. The abbot told the hotel attendant to ask Anthony what he wanted, staying so long in front of the monastery gates. Anthony, being asked, answered his brother: “I am here on the wrong side; I want, if it is God’s will, to live with you for the sake of my spiritual benefit.” The abbot, having learned this, ordered him to be brought to him, met and became acquainted with him: he heard about his high asceticism. Then the abbot said to him: “Abba! why did you decide to take on the labor and come to us?” Anthony answered: “With the goal of becoming like you in virtue.” The abbot answered: “Having lived so many years on your own, you can no longer live in obedience. Many who lived on their own and corrected some virtues, such as abstinence, fasting, non-covetousness, bodily suffering, then were tested according to the laws of society, turned out to be insufficient due to a lack of humility - turned out to be insufficient even in those virtues with which they previously, in their opinion, abounded.” Anthony answered: “I also learned this from the teachings of the God-inspired Fathers, and, as one who began the path of virtues below, I brought myself to you in order to give myself to you in obedience and to receive from you instruction in the beginning of virtuous living in Christ.” When Anthony said this, he was accepted. The abbot gave him obedience to the church, which was very difficult and unbearable for many. Having spent some time in this obedience, he was not satisfied with it, so he came to the abbot and said to him: “Abba! I came here for achievement, and the obedience given to me is too easy.” The abbot, hearing this, handed him over as an assistant to the monk in charge of the vineyard. Anthony, being ignorant of this obedience, often cut off his fingers; but all the time he was pruning the grapes, he diligently practiced the obedience entrusted to him. Again, when it was time to dig, he worked even harder. When the grapes began to ripen, he was ordered to guard them. Some of the brothers who led an inattentive life, or more correctly, who wanted to tempt him, came and asked him for grapes. He told them: “I am not allowed to do this. Here! the vineyard is in front of you. If you want, then take your own grapes. And again, if you take it, then I need to tell this to the abbot, since I confess my thoughts to him every day.” The brothers, hearing this, left. One day Anthony sat at midday and cleansed his clothes from uncleanness; At this time, demonic thoughts came to him and outraged him, remembering his deserted, or rather unauthorized, life, and wanting to expel him from the school of obedience. He answered them: “When I lived in the desert and silence, you told me that this feat did not bring any spiritual benefit. When I came here, you please and praise my previous feat of silence, wanting to take away from me the crown that comes from obedience.” Shaken by these thoughts, which caused illness to his heart and drew tears from him, Anthony valiantly endured the attack inflicted by demons for the sake of future retribution. When the grapes were harvested, Anthony was entrusted with the obedience of the refectory, in which he had to work especially hard - every day until the third hour of the morning because of the many who came to the meal at different times. From these coming he was often washed over with dishonor and annoyance, as usually happens with those who labor in this obedience. During this time, his clothes and shoes, which Bishop Paul persuaded him to wear, wore out: during all the years of his stay in the desert, Anthony did not put shoes on his feet. These clothes and shoes are worn out, as we said. Meanwhile winter came; Anthony was in poverty from the cold. The abbot saw this, but did not give him physical clothing, wanting to provide spiritual experience and spiritual success. His legs especially suffered from the cold. The brethren, seeing him in such need and in such suffering, sympathized with him: another spread a sheep's skin under his feet; another gave him sandals so that he could put them on. But the valiant sufferer and citizen of the highest Jerusalem, Anthony, did not accept anything that was given to him: he looked at the abbot and the judge, and said to the brethren: “I certainly know that our father sees my need, and I entrust all my care to him: when God tells him, then he will give me what I need for my humility.” The fierce winter passed, summer came and went, and autumn passed: Anthony remained half naked; The abbot did not pay any attention to his needs. Seeing himself in such nakedness and suffering, and overcome by demonic thoughts, Anthony one day came to the abbot and said to him: “Master! if the monastery is so insufficient that it cannot provide me with what I need, then let me ask my friends for what I need.” The blessed shepherd, hearing this, answered: “My monastery feeds all the brethren in Christ, and can’t it feed and clothe you alone? At first we heard about you that you are an ascetic and patiently endure bodily suffering; now I don’t see in you anything that I heard about you. You squandered all your possessions for the sake of God, indulged in exploits and poverty, remained silent in the desert for many years, valiantly enduring the nakedness of your body and every need; having come to us, you turned out to be cowardly and impatient; Having been subjected to insignificant deprivations for your spiritual education, you immediately began to seek peace, like everyone else who leads a careless life, not at all bearing in mind the great reward of Christ our God.” The sufferer of Christ, Anthony, listening to these cruel words from the abbot, stood and remained silent, imitating Christ’s humility. Having showered him with all sorts of reproaches and annoyances, his father drove him away. Anthony left silently from the abbot, and washed himself with tears every day, depressing his body with various images of heroism. The abbot allowed him to fast and labor as much as he could, so that it would not seem to him that he had lost the abstinence that he had acquired in the desert. For the same reason, he did not sleep on the bed, but slept - very little - sitting on a chair; He also got up before the bell for Matins and sang psalmody. The brothers, seeing that he was capable of any kind of work, took him with them, gave him a shovel in his hands, and forced him to dig the ground. Depressed by labor, constantly washed by sweat and tears, he sighed and mentally prayed to God: “Lord! See my humility and labor, and forgive all my sins” (Ps. 24:18). After a sufficient time has passed, he sees in a dream a certain man in great glory. This man held the scales in his hand; On the left side of the scales were placed all the sins of Anthony, committed by him from his youth, and on the right, all the virtues. At first, both scales stood at the same height; then she began to pull the left one, in which the sins were placed. Then the glorious man, taking the shovel with which Anthony was digging, put it in the right cup, which lifted the weight of the sins, and the glorious man, looking at Anthony, said: “Behold! God showed you the meaning of your labors and forgave you all your sins.” After this, the abbot, making sure of Anthony’s patience, seeing that he had been sufficiently subjected to experiments and training in suffering obedience, that he had decided in his thoughts to endure all temptation and suffering, called him to him and privately said to him: “Father! May God reward you for the spiritual benefit brought to the brotherhood by your coming to us and your life according to God. My brothers have never received such edification as they received through your God-imitating obedience.” Having said this, the abbot gave him clothes, shoes and other needs, along with the rest of the brethren, and from there, when he noticed that Anthony needed something, he himself secretly brought what he needed to his cell. Anthony, coming to his place, unexpectedly found the thing he needed. Having lived a godly life, he died in the Lord and received the crown of obedience 225. You might be interested in: