The life of our revered father, Pachomius the Great.

The memory of 15 May Pahoomius was born in Upper Egypt - in Fivaida, precisely in the vicinity of the city of Esna [Metaphras and later St. Demetrius of Rostov thought that it was Oxyrius, famous for the piety of his inhabitants, who, according to the testimony of Rufin, had within his limits up to ten thousand virgins and up to twenty thousand virgins.

And when he was come to the house of his master, and had lodged there overnight, he was tempted, and one of the daughters of the master, a very fair maiden, persuaded him to sin against her; and he said unto her, I cannot do this wicked thing; are my eyes dogs' eyes, that I should sin against my sister?

St. Pachomius was not a stranger to literacy. His subsequent activities prove this. His parents were wealthy people, and among the Egyptians there was a love of education. Children were sent to school very early, at the age of five or eight, where they learned to read and write, and moral rules were taught to them: these rules consisted in the most prescriptive.

When Pahomius was twenty years old, he was taken into the army. At this time, Emperor Constantine was at war with a certain "tyrant", probably Maxentius, in 315. Pahomius and his companions, newly recruited soldiers, set out on their journey. By evening, they reached the city of Esna.

The next day Pachomius and his companions went on to the city of Antinoea [a city on the right bank of the Nile, opposite Hermopolis, built by the Emperor Hadrian in honor of his beloved Antinous]. Here many young warriors gave themselves to all kinds of pleasures and sensual pleasures. They wanted to tempt Pachomius, but he became more than tempting and persistently distracted from the evil of his companions. At this time Emperor Constantine had won over his enemies and ordered the disbandment of the army.

In the vicinity of the village of Shenesit Pahomy lived quite a long time. He settled here in the ancient, then empty, temple of Serapis. It should be noted that with the widespread spread of Christianity many pagan temples could be abandoned. The means of subsistence he extracted by hard work, growing vegetables and some palm trees. These vegetables and fruits were very popular for those who came here by chance or deliberately, as well as for the poor who lived in Shenesit.

It is possible that it was the experience of leading his companions that awakened in Pahomi the need for a guide and for himself. Living in the vicinity of Shesent, Pahomi was in many ways useful to the inhabitants of this village. When some terrible, contagious disease began to rage in the village, from which many died, Pahomi served the sick and even delivered to the inhabitants in large quantities of acacia juice from the air, so that they could cleanse them.

In the early years of his life as a heretic, Pachomius was not yet able to distinguish the Orthodox doctrine from heretical fabrications, and he did not know exactly where the true church of Christ was. He was tried on his side by the followers of the heretic Marcion [Marcion, a heretic of the 2nd century, taught that there are two independent principles in the world: good - a good God, and evil - matter under the dominion of the devil]. But he knew that there were other doctrines, different from each other, which were increasingly proving their truth.

The need for a guide prompted Pachomius to leave his residence in the vicinity of Shenesit. The motivation for this was also the desire to devote himself entirely to God, spiritual purification and perfection. Pachomius feared that his constant concern for the various needs of the laity, the concerns most decent to priests and faithful lay people, could tempt weaker monks: they, like Pachomius, could lure her into serving the world and at the same time not be able to keep themselves uncontaminated from the world. Pachomius left the vicinity of Shenesit, living here for three years.

And when he came to him, he said to him, Why do you knock? And he said, I also want to be a monk. And the old man said to him, Go again, that he may test whether he can endure the strict way of life of the disciples of Palammon.

"I must first tell you what the measure of the monastic life is. Here it is. Every time we are awake half the night, meditating on the word of God; very often we stay from evening till morning working with our hands, making ropes to fight against sleep and provide for ourselves with what we need to sustain our bodies; and what is left over we give to the poor. As for whether we eat oil or anything cooked or drink wine, we do not know what it means. We fast every day until the evening of the summer season, but with the old man we fast two or three days in a row. The rule of the general prayers is to pray sixty times a day and walk six times a night, except for those prayers we do every moment and with which we are not convinced.

And he said unto him, I have tried my soul in all things, and I am sure that thy heart shall be at rest toward me by thy holy prayers. And the old man said unto him, Very well. And he was received at once. And he watched for a number of days, and watched very carefully, to test him in prayer. And when the old man was in his bed, he ate one loaf of bread.

After a three-month ordeal, the abbot Palamón dressed Pachomius in monastic clothes, fastened him with a pagan belt [We know about the existence of special pagan clothes in the first time of paganism already from the sayings of St. Anthony the Great. See Archimandrite Palladius's book "Newly discovered sayings of St. Anthony the Great.

And when the feast of the Passover was come, Balaam said unto Pahomiah, Thou shalt eat twice on that day; and when he had prepared it, he poured oil into it; but he would not soften the fast even on the day of the Passover; and he said with great sorrow, My God is crucified for me, and I will eat the oil that gives strength to the body. And he would not eat until the next day. And the old man would not eat until Pahomiah had poured out the salt that contained the oil, and he gave him the salt that was poured out of gold. And Pahomiah asked the teachers with great humility. And they both ate the bread with humility.

He often withdrew to the mountains and spent the whole night in fiery prayer. The place where he prayed in the summer heat, raising his hands to the sky and not allowing himself to lower them, was sometimes covered with mud from the abundant sweat falling from his body. He did not pay attention to the fact that sometimes the thorny needles of a thorn entered his feet. Whatever inconveniences of desert life he encountered, he endured everything with kindness, constantly looking at the torments that the Lord Jesus Christ endured for our salvation. In all their strictness and humility together, Palammon and Palammon did not dare to ask God for signs, which were never known for their righteousness.

And it came to pass, when he was sick, that he sent for a physician, and he said, I will not cure thee, but I will give thee a little food. And he said to the physician, I will not cure thee, but I will give thee a little food.

Do not think that health comes from corruptible food, for strength and health come from Christ; for the martyrs of Christ have let their limbs be cut off, have endured fire and all sorts of torments, until they were finally beheaded. And I! I cannot bear a light illness, I have asked the physician to take care of me; I have used medicines, and after agreeing to use them, I have gained no benefit from it. I have but one thing to do, to resume my exploits; this is the best medicine, and He on whose path I walk will certainly know my intention, and will take better care of me than I could do myself.

One day, Pachomius was walking in the desert, and finally he reached the ruins of Tavennisi, a little south of Shenesit in the Tenter county, where he heard a voice saying, "Pachomius, Pachomius, go and stay in this place; build yourself a monastery, and many people will come to you to become monks around you, and they will benefit their souls".

And the old man said unto his beloved disciple, The Lord will give thee strength and patience to rule over many brethren; and after long prayer they parted. And he was accompanied by some of his disciples who came to see their master.

And it came to pass after a time, that the father of Balaam was very sick; and his disciples sent him for Pahomi. And he went quickly to the elder, and abode with him, to minister unto him until his death. And finally the elder died at the tenth hour of the twenty-fifth day of the month of Abib. And his disciples spent the whole night in reading and singing psalms over the elder. And in the morning they prayed the usual prayer, and carried the body of the deceased to the mountain, a little way from his cell; and they buried him there, and made a fervent supplication once more that the soul of the elder should rest with the saints.

When Pahoemia was alone in Tavennis, his elder brother John came to him, and Pahoemia received his brother with love. Many years had passed since their separation, since Pahoemia had not returned home after being taken into the army.

And when they were asleep, they would sit in their places, but they would not allow themselves to lean on anything, and they would spend the whole day in prayer, until the heat of the hot sun had consumed their bodies.

And when he saw that they had come, he said to them, Behold, I have come to you, and I am with you, and I am with you, and I am with you, and I am with you, and I am with you, and I am with you, and I am with you, and I am with you, and I am with you, and I am with you, and I am with you.

And when he had gone down from the wall in the evening, he prayed a long time, and he was still alive, and he felt his guilt before John, and in the morning he asked forgiveness even more humbly.

The devil was very anxious to make Pachomius vain and proud, but he was completely insensitive to this temptation. Suddenly the devil made Pachomius's cell tremble and wobble as if it were about to fall; but Pachomius was not at all embarrassed and repeated the words of the psalm with the deepest calmness: "God is our refuge and strength, our help in times of trouble.

Once the demons appeared to Pachomius in the form of workers, who were trying hard to move a stone from its place with ropes, but without success. Pachomius' prayer caused them to disappear. Many times when Pachomius sat down to eat meager food, demons appeared to him in the form of naked women; but Pachomius closed his eyes and turned away from the vision and the heart - the demons disappeared. The struggle with the dark forces required more strain from Pachomius and sometimes very tired him. One day the Lord sent him a new comforter in the person of the god Apollo [Arabic "life" calls his name - Amrigabul.

And when the angel of the Lord was gone, he stayed and looked after him, saying, This is the work of the Lord. And when he had gathered a little reed, he went to his dwelling-place. And soon after the angel appeared to him, three men came to the holy man, Pentsatai, Syrus, and Psoii, and said to him, We would be your slaves in Christ Jesus, and we would be your monks. And he took them in, and gave them their holy garments with great joy.

These three nuns, guided by the example and advice of St. Pachomius, are enthusiastic and persevering in their most difficult endeavors. They are struck by his industriousness.

When the first disciples openly expressed their regret for his constant labors for them, he said to them with deep faith: "How can a man tie an animal to a car [of course a hydraulic machine to which an animal is tied to make it turn the wheel that raises water] and neglect it until it does not fall and does not rot? when the Lord sees that I am tired, He will send us people to help us in every good work".

The fame of the piety and wisdom of St. Pachomius spread more and more throughout Egypt. To him belonged some people who were filled with the thirst for the highest feats. Sometimes even hermits who had already reached high spiritual perfection came to give themselves under the guidance of St. Pachomius. So there appeared five glorious hermits who had previously led a hermitage life. These were: Avva Pechosh (Pecucius), Avva Korni, Avva Paul, Avva Pachomius and Avva Ioannis.

St. Pachomius, moved by love of neighbor, with the help of his monks, built a church in the village nearest to the monastery, so that the inhabitants of this village could begin more often to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion and be instructed in listening to the word of God. Due to the poverty of the inhabitants, St. Pachomius took upon himself all the costs of performing the Eucharist. He himself and his brothers read in this church. When the presbyter could not be found, Pachomius came to the church and instructed those present in the reading of the word of God.

The number of monks in the Tavennizian dormitory increased more and more. When it reached a hundred people, Pachomius came to the idea that it was necessary to build a church in the monastery itself. When the church was built, the brothers went, as before, on Saturdays to the church in the village, and on Sundays the presbyter came to the monastery and performed the liturgy here.

And he said unto his brethren, It is good that we should not ask for such a thing, that there should be no jealousy, nor contention, nor disobedience, nor division among the monks, contrary to the will of God.

The monastery's abbot, who was also a priest, was not opposed to the monastery's acceptance of the monks, who were obliged to obey the rules of monastic life and the customs of the monastery.

St. Athanasius, the archbishop of Alexandria, was visiting his flock. He was solemnly received everywhere. Bishops, presbyters, and the people came out to meet him. Some bishops, presbyters, and many clerics accompanied him. He went out to meet the great saint, and Pachomius himself with his monks. They sang psalms until the bishop entered the monastery.

Then St. Athanasius arose, and prayed, and said to the disciples of Pachomius, Greet your father, and say unto him, Thou hast hid thyself from me, and hast avoided that which can arouse envy and contention; thou hast chosen a virtue that shall be with Christ for ever. Our Lord give thee as thou wilt.

With the increase of monks in Tavennisi, it became possible to strengthen the hierarchy of the monastery, to bring all the activities of monks under strict rules of the monastery.

The monastery's head must always prepare and recite three lessons a week. In addition to the three lessons of the head of the monastery, during the Sabbath and Sunday meetings of the monks, it is obligatory in two weekly fasts, that is, on Wednesdays and Fridays, that the heads of their houses recite lessons to the monks.

The Incas used to gather every evening for spiritual conversation and generally liked to teach each other the lessons that each one learned from reading the word of God and observing the lives of these or other people. The Incas liked to repeat the sayings of the saints, the scriptures and meditate on them. Therefore, even in mutual conversations, they could always admonish each other with thoughts and words of the Bible.

And when they came to the monastery, they were met by pious and wise nuns, who met them and gave them their advice for three years before they clothed them in monastic garments, and they kept them safe from all evil.

The sick brothers in Tavennis were very much cared for. They were looked after by monks appointed to serve in the hospital house with their chief, and the monk Pachomius himself was looked after. Special monks served at the brotherly meal. They were changed every three weeks. These monks were required to be constantly diligent, especially since the brothers ate at different times. The monks serving at the meal prepared, distributed and spread bread, various vegetables and olives for three hours. On the permitted days, cheese, eggs, cooked vegetables, baked grain bread were served at the meal.

In general, the fast [Post, Greek νηστεία, meaning complete dislike of food] was not imposed on anyone against their will, according to the original statute. Only the monks closer to themselves were inclined to fast, that is, to abstain from food, on Wednesdays and Fridays. But many monks themselves imposed a heightened fast.

St. Pachomius was of the opinion that every "obedience" in the monastery, performed diligently, brings the monk no less reward than that which a monk would receive if he were zealously to fast, watch, and pray to God. Second, Pachomius desired that zealous workers should have the opportunity to rest after labor even for a while. However, the brothers, who were diligently engaged in the performance of their "obediences", reluctantly agreed to the rest allowed by the great abbess.

The monastery's monastic order was to obey the orders of the abbot, and the monastery's order was to obey the orders of the monastery's abbot. From every monk, no matter what position he held in the monastery, it was required that he obey his abbot completely and unconditionally, exactly. This was the main difference between the life of the monastery's abbot and the life of a hermit in the strict sense of the word.

For the purchase of necessary things and the sale of monastic handicrafts, especially reliable nuns were chosen, adorned with all virtues, so that the world could not tempt them, and they would serve as a lesson to the world.

When the number of monks in Tavennis grew more and more, the various economic institutions had to multiply. The number of people who had to go through these or those "listenings" to satisfy the various needs of the monastery had to multiply. When the number of monks and monasteries in Pahomiyeva kinoviya increased, we saw there were many monks who were entrusted with various duties for the monastery. We see here properly arranged breadbasins, first only in Tavennis, and then in the monasteries of Pevow (mostly) and Fenum. In these breadbasins the monks worked in the deepest silence, which contributed to the work and success of the spirit. There was no discussion.

At one time, the Tavennisy dormitory had 15 tailors, 7 blacksmiths, 4 carpenters, 15 dyers, 20 tanners, 12 camel drivers, 20 gardeners, 15 cobblers, 12 dressmakers, 10 night watchmen and 10 census takers.

The money was kept in one place at the disposal of the treasurer, according to the command of St. Pachomius. This treasurer satisfied all the needs of the brothers. But the monks could not have their own money. Among the monks there were many who came to the monastery as children with their parents.

The monastery's bookshops were enlarged, and every monk could find spiritual food there. In all their dealings with the world, the monks had to be especially careful. On the way they had to repeat and meditate on the sayings of the Holy Scripture that they knew.

The monks in the monastic houses usually did not eat food. In the extreme case, they ate only what was allowed by the monastic charter. To prevent the world from having a bad influence on the monks through written relations, the letters in the monastery were received by the chief, and if he saw that the letter contained good thoughts, he passed it on to the destination.

Even the monks of the monastery were not allowed to enter the monastery during the common prayers, except if they were Orthodox, and not heretics. The fame of St. Pachomius spread more and more throughout Egypt. Through great miracles, his mother and sister, Mary, who had become a very religious Christian, became acquainted with him. Finally, she went to see her brother in Thessaly.

When she was told that she would not be allowed to go out with the monks, she was told that the life of this world is only a preparation for the life of the next age, and that the life of the world, the monastic life, can provide all the means for salvation. She was told that the nuns would build a private home for her if she wanted to live the monastic life. Then, he said, other women, having settled with her, could devote themselves entirely to the care of her spiritual perfection.

After a short time, a large number of women came to Mary to live with her forever. The sister of the reverend Pahoemia became their mother, an old woman. She guided them on the way to salvation until her death. From her side, the abbot Pahoemia took great care of this monastery.

When the monks were in the monastery, the monks would go to the monastery's head, St. Peter, and the elder would send for the mother, the nun who was to be seen by the monk, and the third monk: they would all sit down, and then the conversation would begin.

If a nun died, the sisters took her to the place of their prayer meetings. The nun's mother clothed her in a burial shroud. The abbot Peter reported the death of the nun to Pachomius. The nuns appointed by him, who led a blameless life, went to the women's monastery. They stopped at the gate of the house of prayer and sang sacred songs.

In another case, the nuns of the Tavennisian men's monastery were very helpful to the women's monastery. When there was a need to repair or rebuild any building in the women's monastery, Pahomius sent the most pious monks to do so. They were there under the constant supervision of the elder Peter.

One of the nuns came out of the monastery and met a lay tailor and asked him why he had come to the monastery. He said that he wanted to have a job. The sister replied that they had their own tailors. The tailors went away. The witness of the conversation was a nun. After a quarrel with the nun, she began to reprimand her and recalled the conversation with the tailor with reproach. The young nun, excited by the false accusation, burst into tears.

And when he heard of it, he said unto them, Behold, I am the LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of your fathers, the God of your fathers, the God of your fathers, the God of your fathers, the God of your fathers, the God of your fathers, the God of your fathers, the God of your mothers, the God of your fathers, the God of your mothers, the God of your fathers, the God of your mothers, the God of your fathers, the God of your fathers, the God of your mothers, the God of your fathers, the God of your mothers, the God of your fathers, the God of your fathers, the God of your mothers, the God of your mothers, the God of your mothers, the God of your fathers, the God of your mothers, the God of your mothers, the God of your mothers, the God of your mothers, the God of your fathers, the God of your mothers, the God of your mothers, the God of your mothers, the God of your mothers, the God of your mothers, the God of your mothers, the God of your mothers, the God of your mothers, and the God of your mothers, the God of your mothers.

Many people came from all over to Tavennisi to submit to him forever. The number of monks in Tavennisi became too numerous. It became very crowded. At the inspiration of God, St. Pahomy went to look for a more convenient place to build a new monastery. A very convenient place was found to the north of Tavennisi, not far from here.

Now there was an opportunity to receive into the dormitory all those who wished to settle here forever. From the old monastery to the new Pachomium many monks moved, besides those who were well accustomed to the order of the dormitory and could be experienced leaders and serve as a good example for the new brothers.

After some time, the two monasteries could no longer accommodate all those who wished to move here. Gradually, seven more monasteries were established. The number of monks in the Tavennisian dormitory reached seven thousand people. Of course, some monasteries were more populated, others - less. And all this multitude of monks, scattered over many monasteries, was a single monastic brotherhood.

The monks of all the monasteries were brought here from all the monasteries. So there were among the monks people who had not yet accepted the holy baptism, but who were preparing for it, were announced. In Pevow they were brought for baptism probably because there were priests, and in other monasteries there were no priests. Of course, this fellowship of all the monasteries was extremely useful for the monks: it bound all the monks of the Pahomi monasteries by the closest bonds of spiritual love, it encouraged the timid, aroused zeal in the weak, and for the diligent and successful monks it was very important that they saw the high examples of the monastic life and learned to compete with them and look honestly at their monastics.

He was willing to obey anyone, he was humble before the lowly, and he would gladly take lessons from the youngest member of the hostel.

When the monastery's monk Pahoemios was weaving his horn, a boy who was performing his turn in this week's service told him that he did not weave as well as ordered by the abbot. Pahoemios listened to the remark of the monk and asked him to teach him exactly how to work. The boy Pahoemios showed him exactly how they work. Pahoemios became the subject of much dispute among the monks who lived nearby.

In order to prevent the northern monasteries from being completely destroyed and the monks from being completely ruined, the monk Pahoemius sends a large number of monks to the northern monasteries. He himself remains in the Pevoe monastery, and his favorite disciple Feodorus is sent with books to read to the monks of the northern monasteries. By sending Feodorus there, Pahoemius consoles him with the hope of God's help. Pahoemius promises - in the event of the removal of the barbarians to send to the church, which they have plundered, wine, books, much wheat and everything else that this church needs.

But the barbarian was so overcome with grief that he could not even pray. And remembering the kindness and wisdom of Pachomius, the barbarian came to him in haste, determined to give it all to the great elder's court. And with deep sorrow he declared to the holy Pachomius that he had not been able to receive forgiveness for a whole month now, because of his transgression of Christ's sacrifice to the false gods, and therefore he could not see God.

When he saw the monk's sincere tears, he suggested to him to pray as much as possible night and day, to fast until evening, never to eat anything cooked, except in cases of severe illness, so that he may receive mercy from God, receive forgiveness and become a faithful servant of Christ again.

For a long time, the Copts [Copts - Egyptians (Christians) ] lived in the Tavennisian hostel. Finally, the fame of St. Pachomius reached the Greeks and Romans. And some of them began to strive for a hostel under the guidance of the wise abbot Pachomius and became monks here. St. Pachomius took great care of them: they were no less precious to him than the Copts.

The great, born near Heracleopolis the great, St. Pymen the Great, who spent his whole life in Lower Egypt, in Scythia, Terenua and northern Diolca, did not speak Greek, and even more difficult it was to meet a Greek-speaking monk in Fivaida [Fivaida - a region in upper Egypt]. In the care of the Greeks, the reverend Pahomius was helped by Theodore, a former member of the Church of Alexandria. But even St. Pahomius himself took care to learn the Greek language.

The humility of Pahoemius was exceedingly great, though he did extraordinary deeds, though he was highly honored by nuns and laymen, and even by bishops, who sometimes sent monks to him to pronounce judgment upon them.

And when the brethren asked him to relate some of his visions, he answered marvelously, and not wanting to speak of his former visions, to warn against the exaltation of the heathen, whom the Lord had endowed with special spiritual gifts, he said, "He who is full of sins will not receive the grace of spiritual visions. But if you desire to have a beautiful and wonderful vision, I will point you to one of them: when you see a pious man, humble of heart, pure, here is the most beautiful of visions: you see the invisible God in this visible man.

And when the great abbot went with his brethren to work, every man with his companion took a certain quantity of bread; and the companion of Pahomi wanted to carry it all alone; but Pahomi refused, saying that the chief should bear the same burden as the brethren.

A brother named Athanasius, who was in charge of the monastic garments, appealed to St. Theodore to give him the abbot's robe when he took it off, and to put another dress in its place, a new and decent one for the chief. Theodoros obeyed Athanasius and replaced one robe with another. But behold, Pachomius was looking for his old robe.

When Pahomius fell ill, Theodoros took him to a place where the sick nuns ate the peas, and prepared a good bread for him. He noticed the brother who was preparing the meal, and said to him, "You can't cook, but give me some water". Pahomius poured the water into the dish, and Theodoros poured water on his hands before he began to eat. Pahomius in turn poured water on his feet.

"The brother who cooked me food prepared it for me with great diligence, and such diligence among men does not last long. And I said to myself, 'I will eat well this time, and tomorrow I will be sick, and I will still expect my brother to feed me well, and for that reason my heart will be in confusion. That is why I spoiled the good food that was given me, so that the next time, if he is careless and not cooked, it will still be good, it will not matter to me.' Theodore asked the old man why he had poured water on his feet. The wonderful St. Paholimus answered him, 'I did it so that if in another world someone would say to me, 'I have poured water on your hands,' I would say to him, 'I have done it in your right hand.'

And when he was sick, he refused to take a good covering instead of his horn, and a handful of date palms. How severe was he to himself! With special love he treated the sick widows. He was most concerned for the salvation of the soul of his sick brother.

And when he had eaten, he said, 'My Lord, if I have eaten, I will surely die.' And when he had eaten, he said, 'My Lord, if I have eaten, I will surely die.' And when he had eaten, he said, 'My Lord, if I have eaten, I will surely die.' And he said, 'If I have eaten, I will surely die.'

When the monk asked the hospital brothers to give him some beef, they did not agree. So the patient asked to take him to the abbot of Pahomi. The great abbot was struck by the extreme scarcity of the abbot and the lack of reasonable compassion in the hospital brothers. He sternly said to them: "You fools, where is the fear of God? For God said, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Do you not see that this brother is almost dead? Why did you not give him what he asked of you?

When the monks saw the sick monk and the unfeeling jealousy of others for the strict observance of the edifice, they could not hold back their tears. Now the monks realized their error. They immediately sent to buy a goat and prepared a meal from it, which strengthened the weakened body of the sick brother and encouraged his depressed soul.

To dispel their fears for the near future, Pahoemius pointed out to them two beautiful carpets donated by a kind person: in the extreme case, they could be sold and the proceeds spent on buying wheat.

And when he came to the gate of the city, he knocked, and he opened it, and he said, 'I have promised to give bread to the needy, and I saw in a dream that the brothers of this monastery are in need of bread, so let someone take the bread.'

And when he saw that the people were in great distress, he gave them bread and vegetables, and blessed them; and the ruler of the city gladly received it, and went away, and was glad that he had helped the servants of God. And the brethren were amazed and rejoiced at the sudden gift of the monk-loving ruler; and he feared that the monks might be addicted to any beauty on earth; and he feared that the beauty of the temple might not amuse the monks; and he earnestly warned his disciples against vanity; and he persuaded the monks to work in secret for the sake of God, and not for the glory of men.

And when he came out of the cell, he was kind to all men, and he did not appear gloomy. And certainly he did not abandon his deeds, for that would please Satan; but he did all things for the sake of God, not giving the devil a place in his heart. And when he continued to act, fearing that he might appear weak and miserable to his brothers, Paho again urged him to relax his efforts.

But the monk did as he pleased, and the prophecy of Pachomius was fulfilled. The vain monk, more and more arrogant with pride because of his outward piety, reached madness, to self-forgetfulness. He was even ready to kill St. Theodore when the abbot sent him to distract this monk from his vain and God-displeasing prayer. Fortunately, his hands, stretched with a tree-cutter, became numb, and he only cried furiously at Theodore, calling him an enemy of God. He was in this state for a long time together. He was finally cured of his madness and of his former stubborn pride.

St. Pachomius was sitting with some of the elders outside the cell one day, talking with them about the word of God. At that time a brother was preparing a horn at the door of his cell. He was working with special diligence, and on that day he succeeded in weaving two horns. He was expecting praise from his father-in-law Pachomius. Seeing his mental state, Pachomius said to his interlocutors: "Do you not see this unfortunate brother? He has lost his job today, because he loved the glory of men more than the glory of God himself; he has wearied himself and deprived his soul of all success and arrival". Pachomius called the idol and sternly rebuked him for his thoughts.

And he said unto him, I pray thee, let us eat two horns instead of one, and let us eat bread and salt, and let us not speak with any man save with one brother, who shall bring him bread, and earnestly ask God's forgiveness for his sin. This punishment was directed directly against the chief passion of the monk: it was to be the punishment of doing what he had done before in vanity. The punishment was to remind him constantly of his sin and should stir up living repentance in his heart. He cherished the praise of Pachomius: of course he could not fail to understand that the great abbot had not without reason punished him so severely, having first exposed him to all.

And he said unto them, A heretic may cross the river upon the surface of the water, as they do on the land, by the permission of God, and with the help of Satan, that he may establish him in his ungodly belief, and lead others to it; and now go and say unto these men, The servant of God, Pachomius, saith, My labors and my cares are not to cross the river on foot, but to escape the chastisements of God, and to cross the river of fire, through which we all men must pass before the throne of our Lord Jesus Christ.

St. Pachomius saw in the proposals of the heretics the machinations of Satan, who wished by a miracle to shake the faith of the monks and to stir up vanity in them. He persuaded the disciples never to incline to anything like this and not to yield to vanity. When in any hermit there was at least one virtue not corrupted by vanity, St. Pachomius rejoiced in this small success of his brother and carefully nurtured his virtue, seeing in it his salvation.

One day when St. Pachomius was returning to the monastery where he lived, the brothers came out to greet him. Upon meeting him, a young man loudly told him that since the day when Pachomius left them, they had not prepared anything for them, neither grain nor vegetables. St. Pachomius answered him gently and kindly: "Do not be sad, my son; from now on I will take care of your affairs and take care of your food". When he entered the monastery and prayed in the church, Pachomius went straight to the kitchen. Cooking the roast, Pachomius asked the chief cook: "How long have you not prepared bread for your brothers?

The chief cook replied that the brothers, out of love for their feats, did not eat bread, contenting themselves with a small amount of vegetables and oil; before, the bread prepared with oil was thrown out; now he appointed a brother to bring olives, vegetables, vinegar to the table, and he and others with him worked on making horns. During this time, five hundred horns were prepared in the kitchen.

"As for me", said St. Pachomius, "I would prefer to prepare all kinds of food and cook all kinds of fruit, and put all this before the brethren, so that if they restrain their desires and voluntarily, for the sake of fortitude, abstain from eating it, they may do a great and good thing before God.

What a correct view of the matter! What a prudent severity toward the violators of the rules, what a care for the maintenance of order in the dormitory, what a love for the weak brothers is heard in this rebuke to the cook who broke the rules of food out of excessive zeal for abstinence! St. Pachomius always meant that extreme severity could lead some pilgrims to despair. To the novice, inexperienced monks, he treated them with special caution and tenderness, seeing in them "young plants" requiring care and support. Pachomius rebuked his beloved disciple Theodore for his severity toward his brother Paphitunius. Only Pachomius's love and wisdom restrained Paphitunius in the monastery.

A monk of this monastery was eagerly seeking a position he was not worthy of. The monk once replied to his request that Pachomius had advised him not to give him this position because he was unworthy of it, although Pachomius did not say so. The selfish monk almost dragged his father to the monk for explanations. The pale, deeply thoughtful chief followed the monk, confused by his unbridled anger. They found Pachomius building the monastery walls.

The monk, however, continued his quarrel. When the monk realized his mental state, he calmly replied: "Forgive me, I have sinned; and you have never sinned?" The monk's anger subsided. Then Pahomi took him to the head of the monastery and asked him what was the matter. The abbot gave him this advice: "Listen to me and fulfill his request to deliver his soul from the hands of the enemy". The head of the monastery followed this advice.

And when he came to him, he said to him, "God knows that if you had not been gracious to me and said one rude word to me, I, a sinner, would have left the monastery and become a layman again. Be blessed, O man of God, because the Lord has revived me through your generosity".

"Do you not see those women who weep for the dead, whom they cannot raise up? How much more should we, who are called monks, weep for our souls who have died for our sins, and whom Christ will raise up in His humanity? At any rate, tears are commendable if they are shed with good intentions. The Most Reverend Pachomius and his monks rejoiced not only for their own salvation and well-being, but also for the salvation of their neighbors and their true well-being. Wrong teachings confuse believers, cause unrest and divisions in the Church: St. Pachomius grieves over this. The Orthodox triumph, heresy weakens: a joy that fills the hearts of the tavernicians with the head of a monk like St. Paul the Great in Egypt!

And when the famine was in Egypt, he fasted, and prayed for the people's affliction, and he prayed earnestly for them, and prayed earnestly for them all, and prayed earnestly for them all, and prayed that the Lord might make them holy, and that the Lord might make them holy, and that he might make them holy in the sight of the Lord, and that he might make them holy in the sight of the Lord.

The great Abba prayed for those who were still enslaved to sin or darkened by heresy, that the Lord would give them repentance. He prayed for kings and all rulers, that they might live in love with God and all men, that they might do justice to the offenders, that they might not follow corruptible glory, that they might be like those kings who did the will of God and were pleasing to God, such as King David. Pahoemia prayed for the shepherds, that the Lord might help them to be faithful successors of the apostles, to walk in all the commandments of the Lord blamelessly, to adorn themselves with true knowledge, firmness, apostleship, faith, purity and godliness.

St. Pachomius, who prayed for the welfare of the world, gave help to all when possible. Many people were converted to good life under the influence of his holy life and his gentle instead of firm word. Many monks were saved under his close guidance.

Dionysius, a priest, brought to the monastery a woman who was bleeding, and who received no help from anyone, and was now perfectly healed by touching the edge of St. Pachomius's garment. St. Pachomius healed her by anointing her with the oil brought by a man to his daughter, and told her father that she was not a virgin, and commanded her to be chaste through her father. Another man brought to St. Pachomius his son, who was possessed by an unclean spirit.

When he came to Pachomius, he prayed with tears for his healing, pointing out that many lay people are healed. Pachomius replied to him: "The faith of the laity gives healing to their bodies, and through the healing that God gives them, they are disposed to do good. As for us, the servants of Christ, our faith is the imperishable healing that God gives us in the other world; without disease, without sorrow we would obey the same commandments". This advice comforted Pachomius against the sick monk.

And all the brethren praised the Lord, who cares for his servants and arrange their salvation. Though the Lord performed many healings by the hand of Pachomius, the great abbot always considered the healing of the soul from idolatry, from falsehood, from fornication and uncleanness of every kind, and from every sin, to be the highest and most necessary. And healing the body, he always sought to heal the soul of man. Great were the fruits of the work of St. Pachomius.

And he was clothed with a coarse garment of wool, which he wore only before the sacraments, and afterwards he put it off immediately; and it became his garment throughout his life; and he ate no food prepared on the fire; and with his usual table of bread and vinegar, he ate only in the evening, and that until he was full; and he thought not at all of the rest of his body, and even in sickness, even when he was near death, they could not persuade him to go to the hospital: he considered himself unworthy to enjoy the service of others.

And when he was in his seat, he lifted up his hands and his feet, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed.

As a leper, he lived far from others, eating only bread and salt, and even after two days in the evening. Like all the monks of the monastery, he daily slapped his horn, although his hands, damaged by leprosy, were stained with blood from work. During the day he never allowed himself to lie down to rest. Little by little he memorized sections of the Holy Scriptures. Before leaving the horse he prayed long and at midnight he went to the common brotherly prayer.

But the patient Athenodorus, imbued with the consciousness of the importance of labor for every man and especially for the monk, told his benefactor that he could not cease to work. The heart-sick brother advised him to rub his hands with oil, so that they might be a little softer and stop cracking. Athenodorus followed this advice. But his hands became lighter from the oil; he was already feeling even more pain during the work.

And he wept for a whole year over this sin. So strict were the nuns of Pahomi's hostel toward him. St. Pahomi knew whom to be strict and whom to be lenient. Once two young men came to Pahomi. They both wanted to become monks. One of them, Sylvanus, a young man of sixteen or seventeen, was still living in physical uncleanness. Pahomi received them with the thought, "I will make them monks, and if a young man who has led a bad life brings repentance, I will keep him; but if he does not repent, I will banish him".

And when he had spoken with him privately, he confessed his sins, and said, I will be a different man, and I will not sin any more: but after a while he was converted, and he would cast him out, lest his example should corrupt any in the monastery.

The next day he intended to announce to Sylvanus his decision to expel him from the monastery, but it was the night before that the grace of God had touched the heart of the young man, and he resolved to change his way of life and correct his heart. The night before he got up from bed, he found his brother, who had accompanied him to the monastery, and sat down beside him and wept bitterly.

And in the morning St. Pachomius came to this monastery with two monks, and he secretly called Sylvanus to him, and talked with him from morning till seven o'clock, and in this conversation he revealed to the young man his state of mind, and indicated to him his great guilt, and declared that he could no longer keep him in the monastery.

Then he called the godly monk Sanammon and charged him to take care of Sylvanus, and told him about the behavior of this young man, asking him to keep quiet about it. Pahoemius warned this monk that he would have a lot of work to do in correcting Sylvanus, and only handed over the young man to him when the good martyr agreed to carefully care for his spiritual rebirth. Then Pahoemius called Sylvanus and gave him instruction, promising to always be with the old man, to imitate his life, to not deviate from him and not to do anything without his permission.

He eats only once a day and drinks water only until his thirst is completely quenched. He prays earnestly and even spends most of the night in prayer, and when he is overcome by sleep, he sits on his horn, not allowing himself to look at the wall. All this he does without any vanity, with the greatest modesty, intending only to purify his heart, giving up the vices and striving for perfection.

And in a little while Silvanus was perfectly pure in spirit, and Pahoemius himself was glad to see the spiritual prosperity of the young monk, who had brought forth the fruit of repentance.

And when he was come to them, he said unto them, Behold, I am the Lord your God; I am the Lord your God; I am the Lord your God; I will not leave you nor forsake you; for I am the Lord your God.

And when the Lord had opened unto him the future of the Gentiles, many of the brethren went with him to cut down a reed, and certain of the Gentiles did go with them, and among them was the beloved disciple of St. Theodorus.

When they had loaded the boat with reeds, Pachomius saw something very dreadful: he imagined that some of the monks were trapped in the mouths of lions, others in the mouths of crocodiles, others in the midst of the fire, and some under the mountain on which the waves press, and they were trying to get to heaven, but their efforts proved to be in vain. "The Lord has lifted up all their prayers to us, and they have begged for help, and the Lord has begun to lift us up in the earth, and the earth is not so hard!"

And when all the nuns saw this, they also cast off their burdens, and began to pray. And the intense prayer of many nuns continued until evening. And it was revealed to Pachomius that this vision was for the time when he would no longer be alive. And at the supper, Pachomius ate nothing. And St. Theodore, who had been sent to gather the reed with a nun for some business, knew nothing of what had happened. Then they told him of the vision of Pachomius.

The old man himself, not to grieve his beloved disciple any further, ate the food offered by Theodore, although the grief was still very strong in his heart. In the last years of his life, St. Pachomius had another vision concerning the fate of paganism. One day, locked in his cell, Pachomius prayed from eleven o'clock (according to us: from five o'clock in the evening) until midnight. Suddenly a bright light illuminated his room. He hears a voice: "The generation that will follow you will lead such a life that will please God as in these days". Then it was revealed to him how widely the monasteries spread. But in his admiration he saw some very deep, steep and gloomy ravine.

And when he came to himself, he perceived that in this vision the future state of the souls of the heathen was revealed to him, who behaved themselves wickedly, whether by their own negligence or by the fault of their bad leaders. And he cried out with great sorrow to God, asking His mercy for the monasteries and the monks, and he was almost despairing for them. And in answer to his cry to God, he heard a voice, saying, "Pachomius, do not forget that all depends on mercy".

And they will be in the midst of darkness, and they will compete with one another in it, and they will be few in number, and they will not be guided, and they will not be commanded to do good, but they will be given a share like the share of those before them, and they will be given a share like the share of those before them.

When the brothers were gathered for prayer, the abbot went with them to the church, where, after the prayer, he offered a touching talk to the assembled nuns.

The life of this world, he said, passes quickly, and death draws near to us. Death can come upon us suddenly when we are not quite ready. Therefore, man should always diligently fulfill the commandments of God, leaving none out of sight. The thought of the blessings of the righteous and the torments of the sinners should always be with us. When we see the graves of our brothers, we cannot but think of man's corruption, of the fact that this life does not contain anything to be proud of, to which one could be attached.

When the monastery was in decline, Theodore and his sons lovingly ministered to him. The great fever lasted for many days. He gradually weakened. The fever was unusual. However, the old man for three days did not take food or water at all. He continued to fight with his brothers. Theodore was forty years old when Theodore was in hospital.

The old man was afraid that this might lead someone into temptation. Then Theodore took off his veil and clothed him with others, as well as all the sick. After teaching the monks and especially their chiefs many useful instructions, St. Pachomius died on the fourteenth day of the month of Pashon [the month of Pashon corresponds to our month of May, beginning on April 26.

- Truly, we are today orphans. Tramp, voice 8: Your tears with the ripples of the barren desert brought you up, and from the depths, exhausted in a hundred labors, you made you fruitful, and you were the lamp of the universe, shining miracles, Pahomie our father. Prayers of Christ God, save our souls.