Saint Paul the Simple as the Rule and Type of Blessed Simplicity (St. John Climacus)

 By St. John Climacus

(The Ladder - Step 24: On Simplicity)

24. The first property of the age of childhood is uniform simplicity, and as long as Adam had it, he did not see the nakedness of his soul, or the indecency of his flesh.

25. Excellent too is that simplicity which is in some by nature, yes, and blessed, but not as much as that which is grafted in with toil and trouble after repenting from sin. For the former is sheltered and protected from much affectation and passion, but the latter leads to the highest humility and meekness. The former has not much reward, but the latter—infinite, infinite.

Saint Moses the Ethiopian, the Black Saint With the Pure White Heart

"The sting of sin, has completely blackened my heart, 

therefore with the tears of repentance, 

make it completely white Father, 

through your intercessions." 

 

(Matins Canon to St. Moses the Ethiopian, Ode 1)

The beloved abba of the Gerontikon, Venerable Moses the Ethiopian, is a unique example of deep repentance who is a counterpart to Venerable Mary of Egypt. Today he could be seen as a hero-figure for many, who admire men that are physically strong and are the "bad boys" of society, while at the same time intimidating people with robberies and threats. He was a gang leader that eventually emerged to be one of our greatest Saints. How did this happen? He came into contact with some sanctified ascetics living in the Egyptian desert, which changed his heart and opened his eyes. God gave him a unique opportunity to orient himself where the true light of His presence is. Moses repented!

The Oldest Christian Monastery in the World (With Frescoes and Greek Inscriptions) Found in Egypt

 

In the Bahariya Oasis, members of a Norwegian-French archaeological expedition discovered a Christian monastic site with frescoes and Greek inscriptions, which is deemed the oldest monastery, perhaps not only in Egypt but also all over the world.

It is a monument that was built around 350 AD in the area of Tal Ganoub Qasr al-Agouz, which is located 370 kilometers southwest of Cairo.

Excavations are being carried out there by the French institution “Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale” (IFAO) and the Norwegian institution “MF Vitenskapelig Høyskole.”

Holy Brothers Maximos and Dometios at Nitria

Sts. Maximos and Dometios the Brothers (Feast Day - January 19)

 

Verses

You were sanctified, young men, by prayer,
Maximos and Dometios, brothers.

Saints Maximos and Dometios were brothers according to the flesh, raised with all the comforts, prosperity and honors given to them by the imperial position of their father, Roman Emperor Valentinian I. Though handsome in appearance, within them they were adorned with the divine virtues. These young men loved God above all else and wanted to dedicated their lives completely to pleasing the Lord, so they left all that the world had to offer them and fled to Egypt to become disciples of Saint Makarios the Great in Nitria.

In Praise of the Desert Fathers of Egypt and of the Renowned Saint Anthony the Great (St. John Chrysostom)

By St. John Chrysostom

And now, should you come unto the desert of Egypt, you will see this desert become better than any paradise, and ten thousand choirs of angels in human forms, and nations of martyrs, and companies of virgins, and all the devil's tyranny put down, while Christ's kingdom shines forth in its brightness. And the mother of poets, and wise men, and magicians, were but inventions of sottish old women, but the real philosophy, and worthy of heaven, is this, which was declared unto them by the fishermen. And for this very cause, together with their so great exactness in doctrine, they exhibit also by their life that extreme seriousness. For when they have stripped themselves of all that they have, and are crucified to the whole world, they urge their course on again yet farther, using the labor of their body for the nourishment of them that be in need. For neither, because they fast and watch, do they think it meet to be idle by day; but their nights they spend in the holy hymns and in vigils, and their days in prayers, and at the same time in laboring with their own hands imitating the zeal of the apostle. For if he when the whole world was looking unto him for the sake of nourishing them that were in need, both occupied a workshop, and practised a craft, and being thus employed did not so much as sleep by night; how much more, say they, is it meet that we, who have taken up our abode in the wilderness, and have nothing to do with the turmoils in the cities, should use the leisure of our quiet for spiritual labors!

Saint Anthony and Anchorite Monasticism (Fr. George Florovsky)

 

By Fr. George Florovsky

The monastic movement developed in the early fourth century, although the essential components of monasticism are found in the earliest life of the Church. Individual anchorites were leaving the cities even earlier than the fourth century. During the time of emperor Decius (emperor from 249 to 251), they were hiding from persecution and turned their forced flight into a voluntary "ordeal," a spiritual struggle. They wandered in the wilderness and lived in caves and on precipices. Even in the cities themselves many led a reserved and aloof life — such was the "gnostic" ideal of Clement of Alexandria. In any event, communes of virgins arose quite early, as evidenced in St. Methodius' Symposium or Banquet of the Ten Virgins — Συμπόσιον ή περι άγνείας — although these were only isolated cases. “The monk did not yet know the great desert," says St. Athanasius, if he is the author of the Vita Antonii. One must distinguish, however, between the development of monasticism proper in the fourth century and the features or essential characteristics of that later monastic life which was found in the early life of the Church.

Humility, the Most Beautiful of All the Virtues (St. Syncletike of Alexandria)

 

 

By St. Syncletike of Alexandria

Therefore it is clear that arrogance is the greatest among the evils. And from this its opposite, humility, shows itself. It is difficult to acquire humility. For if one is not far from all glory, one will not be able to value this treasure. Humility is so great that the devil seems to imitate all the virtues but does not know this one at all. Knowing its security and steadfastness, the apostle commands us to be clothed in it, and to be surrounded by it, all doing useful things. For if you fast, and if you give alms, or if you teach, if you are wise and intelligent, it will furnish you again with an impregnable fort. Let humility, the most beautiful of all virtues, reinforce and keep your virtues from dispersing. Look at the canticle of the three holy children, how not mentioning at all other virtues, they included the humble ones with the singers, not mentioning the wise or the poor. For just as it is impossible for a ship to be built without nails, just so it is impossible to be saved without humility.

Life of the Holy Hermits John, Andrew, Heraclemon and Theophilos of Oxyrhynchus

 

Below is continued the Life of Saint Onouphrios the Egyptian by Abba Paphnutios, which follows Abba Paphnutios after the burial of Saint Onouphrios (June 12), with his encounter of some anonymous monks, and this is followed by his encounter with the Holy Hermits John, Andrew, Heraclemon and Theophilos, who are commemorated together on December 2nd.

Life of Saint Onouphrios the Egyptian

By Abba Paphnutios

And when I perceived that it was not according to the will of God for me to remain in this place, I spread out my hands, and I prayed unto the Lord; and behold, the man who had come to me at the first, and who had given me strength, came to me again as he had done before. And he said unto me, "My God, our Lord, informed us this day that thou wast coming to us in this place. Behold, for six years we have seen no man except thyself."

Synaxarion of our Venerable Father Onouphrios the Egyptian

St. Onouphros of Egypt (Feast Day - June 12)

Verses

And the commandment of one tunic Father,
You exceeded having gone about naked to the end.
On the twelfth Onouphrios was removed from life without a tunic.

Venerable Onouphrios was from Egypt, who at first was in a coenobium, which was located in Hermopolis of the Thebaid. Having later heard about the quiet and secluded life of the Prophet Elias and John the Baptist, he left the coenobium and found a home in the desert for sixty years, without seeing another person. The Monk Paphnutios found him, having ventured into the innermost desert, in order to find venerable men, and to be blessed by them.

Venerable Mark the Hermit

St. Mark the Hermit (Feast Day - March 5 and May 20)

Verses

Mark was given a great garden in Eden,
The garden Christ found at his tomb of old.

Venerable Mark the Hermit reposed in peace.*

Notes:

It seems most likely this is the same Saint the Church commemorates on March 5th where he is known as Venerable Mark the Anchorite of Athens, an ascetic who was discovered and written about by Abba Serapion. In the Synaxarion of Constantinople, he seems to be slightly confused with Saint Mark the Ascetic, who authored various texts. In more recent times, it seems, Mark of Athens and Mark the Ascetic were distinguished and both were commemorated together on March 5th, while in the Slavic Churches Mark of Athens is commemorated on April 5th. In reality, however, it seems like he was always commemorated, with no biographical information, on May 5th.

The Role of the Eucharist in the Lives of the Desert Fathers

The Church of Saint Paul the Simple in Egypt

The Cave of Anthony the Great, one of the most revered shrines of the Coptic Monastery of Saint Anthony the Great in Egypt, is located about two kilometers from it, in the rocks at an altitude of 680 meters above the Red Sea. A staircase (1150 steps), by which pilgrims climb up to it, is not easy to climb, especially in the scorching heat, which makes the Church of Saint Paul the Simple midway up a welcome relief. This simple church in which daily liturgies are celebrated by the monks, was constructed during the leadership of the Monastery's current abbot, Bishop Yostos. The cave, in which Anthony the Great labored in asceticism for 44 years (from 312 to 356), is a long (about 10 meters) and narrow (0.5-1 meter) gap deep inside the cliff.

Saint Leo the Cappadocian

St. Leo the Cappadocian (Feast Day - February 29)

By John Moschos

(The Spiritual Meadow, Ch. 112)

The Life and Death of Leo, a Cappadocian Monk

When that man of faith, Tiberius Caesar, was emperor (Tiberius II Constantine, 578-582), we went up to Oasis, where we met a monk called Leo, a man of Cappadocia highly versed in divine matters. Many people had told us many admirable things about him. And certainly, after we had had some intimate conversation with him and experienced the holiness of this great man, we were wonderfully edified, especially by his humility and silence, the meagreness of his possessions and the charity which he showed towards everyone.

Holy Ten Venerable Ascetics of Egypt

Holy Ten Venerable Ascetics of Egypt (Feast Day - August 8)

Verses

The ten offspring of Egypt died,
Who were equal in number to the ten plagues.

The Holy Ten Venerable Ascetics of Egypt met their end in peace.

Venerable Myriad (10,000) Ascetics of the Thebaid

Holy Myriad Ascetics of the Thebaid (Feast Day - August 7)

Verses

Driven from the earth, David says,
Were your ten-thousandfold chariots O Word.

The Venerable Myriad (10,000) Ascetics of the Thebaid met their end in peace.

It is not known exactly who these 10,000 ascetics were or when they lived, or even if it refers to a general number of the numerous ascetics who lived in the Thebaid of Egypt throughout the centuries. If we were to examine the documents for a reference, it could probably refer to the 10,000 monks of Oxyrhynchus mentioned by Rufinus of Aquileia (History of the Monks of Egypt, Bk. 2, Ch. 5); Oxyrhynchus was located in the Thebaid. Rufinus describes them as follows:

Holy Two Ascetics of the Desert

Holy Two Ascetics of the Desert (Feast Day - June 20)

Verses

Both of you with unwashed flesh and sleeping on the ground,
Washed your souls, and dwell in celestial heights.

The Holy Two Ascetics of the Desert met their end in peace.

It is not known exactly who these two ascetics were, as there are a number of possibilities, nonetheless we offer the following beneficial tale about two anonymous ascetics recorded by Palladius in the Lausiac History (Ch. 36), who may or may not be the two ascetics commemorated today:

Who Sold Joseph? (Abba John the Dwarf)

Abba John asked, ‘Who sold Joseph?’ A brother replied saying, ‘It was his brethren.’ The old man said to him, ‘No, it was his humility which sold him, because he could have said, “I am their brother” and have objected, but, because he kept silence, he sold himself by his humility. It is also his humility which set him up as chief in Egypt.'

Abba John the Dwarf
(Sayings of the Desert Fathers)

Holy Three Abbas and Venerable Martyrs Menas, David and John

Sts. Menas, David and John (Feast Day - April 12)

Verses

Three passion-killing Abbas who were servants of God,
Were killed with arrows by man-killers.

The Holy Three Abbas and Venerable Martyrs Menas, David and John met their end by being shot with arrows.

Venerables Theonas, Symeon and Ferbinus

Verses

Receive the three souls without blemish,
In that divine place of unblemished souls.

Venerables Theonas, Symeon and Ferbinus met their end in peace.

Venerable Poplios of Egypt

Verses

In the heavens Poplios you have a great reward,
To which you were taken greatly rejoicing and applauding.

Venerable Poplios lived a life of asceticism in the Egyptian desert during the reign of the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363). Before a military campaign against the Persians, the emperor sent a devil to explore the way for the army to go. Venerable Poplios foresaw the intent of the emperor. He stood in prayer with upraised hands, praying day and night, and blocked the path of the devil.