FOR AVVA GRIGORIE THE TEOLOGIAN
1. Avva Grigorie said that these three things is God asking from every man who has the Holy Baptismal: the right faith from the soul, the truth from the tongue and defeating the passions, meaning cleanliness, from the body.
2. He said also: the whole man’s life is one day to the ones who are passionate with desire.
FOR AVVA GHELASIE
1. Some said about avva Ghelasie, that he had a book in membranes (1) whose price was of eighteen monies. And in it was written all the old and the new Scripture, and it was placed in the church so that any of the brothers who would want, to read it. And as a foreign brother came, as soon as he saw it, he desired it, and stealing it, he went out. And the old man did not run after him, to catch him, although he realized. So, that one going through the town, looking to sell it, and finding the one who wanted to buy it, he was asking the price of sixteen monies. And the one who wanted to buy it, was telling him: give it to me to try it, and thus I will give you its price. So, he gave it to him. And taking it, he brought it to avva Ghelasie, so try it, telling him the price that was asked by the one who was selling it. And the old man said: buy it, for it is good, and it is worth the price that you said. And upon coming, the man said differently to the one who was selling it, and not what the old man told him, saying: here, I sowed it to avva Ghelasie and he told me that it is expensive, and it is not worth the price that you said. That one, upon hearing, said to him: did the old man said nothing else to you? And he said to him: no! Then he said: I do not want to sell it anymore. And humbling himself, he came to the old man, repenting and asking him to accept it back. And the old man would not take it. The the brother told him: should you not take it, I have no rest. The old man told him: if you have no rest, there, I accept it. And that brother remained there until his end, because he benefited from the work of the old man.
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(1) Thin skins, or pergaments, which used to be used in the old days instead of paper.
2. To this avva Ghelasie was left a cell from some old man, who was also a monk, having his dwelling around Nicopolis. And this cell also had an orchard. So, some worker of Vacat, the one ruling over Nicopolis, the one from Palestine, being a relative of the deceased old man came to Vacat and was asking him to take that orchard. For it seemed to him that according to the law, he should inherit it. And being rapacious, he was pondering to take the orchard with his hands, while Ghelasie, not willing to give to the lay people the monk cell, did not want to leave it to be taken. So, Vacat watching avva Ghelasie’s animals, who were carrying olives from that orchard, and taking the olives with his own hands, he forcefully took them to his house, and only later, with insult allowed the animals with their people. And the blessed old man did not take not even a bit of the fruit, and he did not allow for the orchard to be taken, for the reason mentioned above, from which Vacat became inflamed. And because he also had other reasons which pulled him, for he was a lover of trials, he went to Tarigrad, traveling afoot.
So, arriving in Antiohia, when there shone like a great light saint Simeon si hearing about him, for he was above man, he desired, like a Christian, to see the saint; and seeing him from the pillar, for he immediately entered the monastery, saint Simeon was asking him: where do you come from and where are you going? And he said: I am from Palestine and I am going to Tarigrad. And the saint again said to him: and for which need? Vacat answered to him: for many needs and I hope, with your holiness’ prayers to return and to bow to your holy marks. And saint Simeon said to him: you do not want to say, hopeless man, that you go against the man of God? But your way will not be well, and neither your house will you see again; and if you will listen to my advice, return from here and repent towards him, if you will arrive alive. So, immediately getting caught by fever, and being placed on a stretcher by the ones who were with him, was going according to the word of saint Simeon, to return and to repent in front of father Ghelasie, but arriving to Virit he died and he did not see his house again, according to the saint’s prophecy.
These ones were also said by his son who was named with the same name, meaning Vacat, after the death of his father, to many men worthy to be belived.
3. And also this one have many of his disciples recounted, that once a fish was brought to them and the cook fryied it, took it in the cellar, and the cellar master needing to go, went out of the cellar leaving the fish down in a bowl, ordering a small child of the blessed Ghelasie, to guard it for an hour until he will come back. And the child, out of gluttony, started to eat the fish, without any shyness. So, as the cellar master came in and finding him eating, getting angry on the child who was sitting down, pushed him with his foot without measure, and out of whichever devilish work, being hit over the heart, fainting, he died. And the cellar master, being taken by fear, put him in his bed and covering him went and fell to the feet of avva Ghelasie, telling him what had happened. He ordered to no one to tell, and also ordered this, that when evening will fall, and all will settle down, to take him in the altar room, and to put him in front of altar, and to get out of there. And the old man entered the altar room, he sayed in prayer. And during the chant of the night, as the brothers gathered, the old man came out and the child following him, nobody knowing aside from him and the cellar master, until his end.
4. It was said about avva Ghelasie, not only by his disciples, but also by many others whom often were going to him, that in the time of the Calcedon Council of all world, Teodosie whom started Dioscor’s split in Palestine, running ahead of the bishops who wanted to return to their churches – for that one was also in Tarigrad, having been sent away from his country, for he was always enjoying in disturbances – he went, I say, all the way to avva Ghelasie, at his moastery, telling him of the Calcedon Council, that it would have entered into Nestorie’s dogma, trying with this to kidnap the saint into helping with his shrewdness and his split. And he, from the laying of that man and from the understanding that he had from God, understood the shrewdness of his reasoning and not only that he was not kidnapped with his distancing from the right faith, as most of the ones at that time, but it is due he shamed him and sent him away. For bringing forth the child who he raised from the dead, was saying with honest face and in righteous way: if you want to speak about faith you have this babe, who hears the ones said by yourself, and he will answer to you, for I do not have time to listen the ones that you are said by yourself. Having gotten ashamed of these, and going to the Holy City, he kidnaps the whole order of the monks, as if in godly zeal; he also kidnaps the emperess, as she was there at the time; and thus having help, he forcefully grabs Jerusalem’s seat, first with killings, taking this he also did other lawless and unrighteous deeds, which even today many are remembering. Then, as he grabed it, and he fulfilled his desire, grabing before hand also the seats of the bishops, as those did not come yet, he also brings avva Ghelasie and orders him with threaths and forcefulness to enter in the altar room. And after he entered, he says to him: place anatema on Iuvenalie. And he, not getting afraid not even a bit, says to him: I do not know another bishop of Jerusalem aside from Iuvenalie. Getting afraid of that, Teodosie, so that others do not do the same to his zeal for the right faith, orders to hurriedly take him out of the church. So those where were in his split grabbed him, and gathering wood around him to burn him, they were terrifying him. But seeing that he does not concede even from this, nor was he afraid in any way, but rather those one have even more became fearful of the raising of the people, so it should not be against them, for the blessed one was well known and shown everywhere. And this was more forcefully from the care of the One above; so they released the martyr unharmed, for as for himself, made of himself a burnt offering to God.
5. Some tell about him that in his youth he was living the life without treasure. So, there were in that time also many others in the same places, loving a life like that, among which there was some old man, very un-knowledgeable and un-gathering, spending his time in a cell till death, although he had disciples in his old days. This one together with the ones who were with him tried to guard that they should not have two coats, nor should they care about the next day, till death. So, when out of Godly providence it happened to avva Ghelasie to set up the monk’s communal life and they were bringing him many a thing, he also got the ones needed for the communal life, as they were bringning him many animals and oxen. For, the One who has helped to the Godly Pahomie in the first place to set up the monk’s communal life, has also helped this one to the whole setting up of the moastery. So, seeing him in these, and having true love for him, the above-mentioned old man told him: I am afraid, avva Ghelasie, that your mind would get attached to villages and to other treasures of the monastery. And he answered: your mind is more attached to the needle that you work with, than the mind of Ghelasie to those treasures.
6. It was said for avva Ghelasie, that being many times troubled by thoughts, that he should go inside the wilderness, and in the end when he saw that he cannot oppose them, he started to tempt his thought, if he is able to live in the wilderness and getting up, was walking outside of his cell, not eating bread, nor vegetables, neither entering under a cover, and saying to himself: the ones who are in the wilderness, do not have all of these. And spending three days like that, he got tired and he berated the thought that was troubling him, with rebuke, saying: if you cannot do the things that are needed in the wilderness, stay in you cell, patiently crying your sins, and do not move from place to place. For everywhere the eye of God sees the deeds of the humans.
FOR AVVA GHERONTIE
1. Avva Gherontie of the rock said that many, getting upset on the bodily desires, and not getting close to bodies, have commited adultery with the mind. And having preserved the virginity of their bodies, they commit adultery with their souls. Because of this, it is good, oh beloved, that everyone should do what it is written and with with all guard to defend their heart. (1)
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(1) Proverbs IV:23