Apollo

ON ST. APOLLO, OR APOLLONIUS, ABBOT IN THE THEBAID.

About the year of Christ 395.

Apollo, or Apollonius, Abbot in the Thebaid (Saint)

[1] The most holy Abbot Apollo, or Apollos, or Apollonius (in Greek Ἀπολλώς), is recorded in the Menaea and in Maximus Cythereus on this January 25, and is said to have rested in peace. He is the same Ἀπολλώς whose Life, while he was still living, was carefully written by Timothy, Bishop of Alexandria, as Sozomen, book 6, chapter 29, and Nicephorus, book 11, chapter 34, attest. The feast of St. Apollonius. His words are: Among this number of monks was also Apollo, who lived in the Thebaid. When he began to reach manhood, he devoted himself to the monastic life; and having lived in the wilderness for about forty years, at the divine command he occupied a cave at the foot of a certain mountain near places inhabited by men. He also, on account of the multitude of his miracles, quickly attained great celebrity of name, and presided over many monks. For he employed such useful disciplines of life that he attracted many. But what was the manner of his training and how great and astonishing were the miracles he performed, Life written by Timothy of Alexandria, Timothy, Bishop of the Church of Alexandria, narrates carefully — he who wrote the Lives not only of him but of many others whom I have mentioned, and also of other famous monks. Timothy died, as Socrates reports in book 5, chapter 12, during the first consulship of Arcadius Augustus and Vado, or Bauto, in the year of Christ 385; after which, in the third year, during the second consulship of the Emperor Theodosius, Palladius came to Alexandria and visited this saint, whom he himself calls Ἀπολλώ, and described his life at greater length, By Palladius and others; making no mention of his death. Rufinus also reports the same in book 2 of the Lives of the Fathers, chapter 7. We give it here from Palladius, translated by Gentianus, collated with the other version of Rufinus, in which he is called Apollonius. That Palladius transcribed this for the most part from Timothy, as he did the Lives of very many others, is confirmed by comparing the words of Sozomen with it. Two Menaea especially commend in him his long life in the desert and his victory over the devil, in this distich:

Having lived a devout life until the very end, Apollo crushes every boldness of the Evil One.

[2] Some among the Latins celebrate him on April 18 together with another Apollonius, a Senator, commemoration on April 18, who was crowned with the palm of martyrdom at Rome under Commodus. Peter de Natalibus, book 4, chapter 63, appends this Abbot to that Senator, and among other things says that he converted a young man named Philemon who was mocking him — which is absent from the narratives of Palladius and Rufinus, and was taken, not in good faith, from the Acts of another St. Apollonius the Deacon, which we shall give on March 8. Maurolycus follows Peter on the same day: There was also another Apollonius the Abbot, father of about five hundred monks, who dwelt in a cave near Hermopolis, famous for his miracles. The German Martyrology: Also in the territory of Hermopolis, of the holy Abbot and Confessor Apollonius, who at the age of twelve (fifteen in the Life) withdrew to the desert and, having lived there praiseably for forty years, had five hundred brothers under his discipline, famous for many miracles. He visited and consoled his own brother, who had been captured by the Emperor Julian on account of the worship of Christ; for which reason he himself was also cast into chains. But at midnight an Angel of God freed him together with all the captives. Afterward, by his preaching, he converted many to the faith of Christ. Finally he withdrew again to the desert and rested in peace. In the margin the year of the Lord 360 is noted. Ferrari cites and follows this Martyrology: At Hermopolis in Egypt, of St. Apollonius the Abbot. Baronius in volume 4, at the year of Christ 362, nos. 159 ff., narrates the deeds of Apollonius and calls him a most holy monk. Eulogy. St. Aldhelm presents an excellent epitome of his life in the book On the Praises of Virginity, chapter 21, where he wishes him to have shone with many signs of miracles and prodigies on account of the outstanding glory of his virginity. George Garnefelt also treats of him in book 1 of the Sacred Elucidations on the Lives of the Ancient Hermits, chapter 8.

LIFE FROM PALLADIUS.

Apollo, or Apollonius, Abbot in the Thebaid (Saint)

From the Lausiac History.

CHAPTER I.

The anchoretic discipline of St. Apollonius.

[1] We also saw another holy man in the Thebaid, in the territory of Hermopolis, into which the Savior came with holy Mary and Joseph, Christ dwelt in the territory of Hermopolis: fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: Behold, the Lord sits upon a light cloud and shall come into Egypt; and the things made by hand in Egypt shall be shaken before His face and shall fall to the ground. For there too we saw the temple in which, Isaiah 19:1, when the Savior entered the city, all the idols fell on their faces upon the ground.

[2] We saw there in the wilderness a man named Apollo, who had monasteries upon the mountain. For he was the father of about five hundred monks, and was very famous and celebrated in the Thebaid; and his works were great, and the Lord performed great virtues through him, and very many signs and wonders were wrought through him. For from boyhood he showed great discipline, and in mature age he attained such grace. For when he was eighty years old, he gathered for himself a great monastery of perfect men, There St. Apollo inhabits the desert from the age of 15: who could all nearly perform signs. When he had withdrawn from the world at the age of fifteen and spent forty years in the wilderness and practiced every virtue there, he was afterward seen to hear the voice of God saying to him: Apollo, after 40 years he is called to the conversion of others: Apollo, through you I shall destroy the wisdom of the wise in Egypt and the prudence of the prudent among the nations. But you shall destroy for me, along with them, the wise men of Babylon as well, and remove from their midst every form of demonic worship. And now go to the inhabited region; for you shall beget for me a people of my own, zealous for good works.

[3] He answered and said: Take from me, Lord, arrogance, lest perhaps, being puffed up above the brethren, I be deprived of every good work. He is freed from the demon of pride: And the divine voice said to him again: Put your hand upon your neck, and then you shall seize it and bury it in the sand. And when he immediately put his hand upon his neck, he seized a small Ethiopian; and he buried it in the sand as it cried out and said: I am the demon of pride. And again a voice came to him, saying: Go, for whatever you shall ask of God, you shall receive. And as soon as he heard this, he set out for the inhabited region, in the time of the tyrant Julian; and then he came to the nearby wilderness.

[4] Having occupied a certain small cave, his prayers, he remained beneath the mountain. His practice was, throughout the entire day, to offer prayers: a hundred times by night and as many times by day, on bended knees. His nourishment at that time too, as before, food brought by an Angel, was supplied by God in a wondrous and unexpected manner. For his sustenance was brought to him in the wilderness by an Angel. His garment was a lebiton, which some call a colobium, and a small linen cloth upon his head. These remained with him in the wilderness garment not growing old and did not grow old.

[5] He was in the wilderness near the inhabited land, performing signs and wondrous virtues in the power of the Spirit; miracles, which, on account of the extraordinary greatness of the miracles, no one can recount in full, as we heard from the elders who lived with him, who were themselves perfect men and presided over many brothers. He was therefore immediately famous and celebrated, as though some new Prophet or Apostle had come in our age; and when great renown had spread about him, all the monks scattered in the surrounding area continually came to him and, as to a true father, offered their souls as gifts. Exhortations. He exhorted some to contemplation; others he instructed to pursue the virtue that consists in action, first showing by his deeds the things he urged them to do by his words. For often, showing them his manner of discipline, a meal on Sundays, he would be with them only on the Lord's Day, himself taking nothing more than herbs that grow of their own accord in the earth — eating no bread meanwhile, nor any pulse, nor any fruit of the trees, nor anything that comes into the use of men by means of fire.

CHAPTER II.

Chains endured; the care of the monastery.

[6] When at the time of Julian he once heard that a brother serving in the army had been seized and was being held in custody, he went to him with a group of brethren, He visits a captive brother: entreating and admonishing him to be brave and steadfast in his sufferings, and to despise the dangers threatening him. For he said it was his time of contest, so that his mind might then also be tested by the assault of temptations. After he had strengthened his spirit with these words, a Tribune arrived, he is shut up in prison: who was driven by a certain impulse of wickedness. When someone had informed him about them, he shut the gates of the prison and enclosed him, together with all the monks who were with him, as men who would be fit for military service; and having stationed as many guards over them as sufficed, he returned home, not deigning even to hear their petitions.

[7] At midnight, an Angel appeared carrying a lamp before the guards, the guards terrified by an Angel, illuminating with his light all who were in the prison, so that the guards stood open-mouthed with amazement. When they had risen, they begged them all to depart, having opened the gates for them; for they confessed that it was better to die for their sakes than to despise the freedom that had come to them divinely, since they were being detained without reason. And so the Tribune, coming with the magistrates in the morning to the prison, urged that the men leave the city; and when the Tribune's house collapsed, he is freed: for he said that his house had collapsed in an earthquake and the best of his servants had been crushed. They, hearing this and giving thanks to God, departed into the wilderness; and they were all together, as the Apostle says, having one heart and one soul. Acts 4:32.

[8] He teaches the method of resisting thoughts. He taught them to adorn themselves daily with virtues and to repel the devices of the devil in their thoughts at the very outset. For when the head of the serpent has been crushed, the whole body is dead. For the Lord commands us to watch the head of the serpent — that is, not to admit evil and shameful thoughts at the beginning, against obscene thoughts, not merely to blot out the obscene fantasies of our mind, but to strive to surpass one another in virtues, and that no one should seem inferior to another in these praises. But this, he said, shall be the proof to you of your progress in the virtues: when you are free from passions and desires; and against proud ones: for these are the beginning of Christ's gifts. But when someone receives from God a manifestation of miracles, let him not swell up overmuch, as though he had made sufficient progress; nor be puffed up in thought, as though he were already more honored than others; nor make a display of having received such grace; otherwise he deceives himself, being deluded in mind, and will be punished with the loss of that grace. He had therefore this great teaching in his discourses, which we ourselves also often afterwards heard from him; but in his deeds he accomplished greater things, for every petition of his was immediately granted by God.

[9] Moreover he saw certain revelations: for he saw his eldest brother, he sees his own brother who had died in the desert among the Apostles: who himself had also been perfected in the wilderness and had surpassed him in that beautiful way of life, and with whom he himself had lived for a long time in the wilderness. He seemed, therefore, to see him sitting on the same throne with the Apostles, since he had left him the inheritance of his virtues; and thus he interceded on his own behalf, asking God that his translation might be swift and that He might grant him rest in the heavens with his brother. But the Savior appeared to have told him that he must yet remain on earth for a little while for the perfecting of many, until many became emulators of his virtue. For a great people of monks would be entrusted to his faith, and a pious army, that he might obtain glory from God worthy of his labors.

[9] He becomes Abbot of five hundred brothers: This he saw, and it came to pass; for when many monks from every quarter had assembled to him by report and through his teaching and way of life very many had altogether renounced the world, a community of brothers was formed, with about five hundred brothers living the common life together with him and sharing one table, all clothed in white garments; and in them was fulfilled the Scripture that says: Rejoice, O barren desert; break forth and cry out, you who do not travail; for many are the children of the desolate one, more than of her who has a husband. Isaiah 54:1. For this prophetic word was fulfilled by the Church gathered from the nations; but it was also perfected in this Egyptian wilderness, which presents more children to God than the inhabited land. For where in the cities are there as many flocks of those who are saved as the deserts of Egypt present to God? For as many peoples as there are here, so many are the monks there in the deserts. Romans 5:20. And it seems to me that the saying of the Apostle was also fulfilled in them: For where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more. For once there abounded in Egypt a great and impious worship of idols, to such a degree that in no nation was it greater; he explains the reason for the many gods in Egypt: for some worshiped dogs and apes, others garlic and onions, and they considered many common vegetables to be gods — as we heard the holy Father himself narrating and giving the reason for their former ignorance. For the ox, he said, the Gentiles who formerly dwelt among us reckoned among the gods, because through it, practicing agriculture, they provided their sustenance; and the water of the Nile, because it irrigates all the fields; they also worshiped the earth, as being more fertile than all other regions. But the remaining abominations — dogs and apes and all the rest of the disgraceful worship of animals and vegetables — they venerated insofar as the use of these had been for them an occasion of salvation at the time of Pharaoh, an occupation that held them back when Pharaoh, pursuing Israel, was drowned. For each one referred to the gods that thing in which he had been engaged, when he had not followed Pharaoh, saying: This was my god today, through which it came about that I did not perish together with Pharaoh. These things St. Apollo used to say in his discourses.

CHAPTER III.

The conversion of many Gentiles.

[10] But before his discourses, we must write of what he accomplished in his deeds. Gentiles carrying an idol in procession. For at one time Gentiles were dwelling nearby in all the surrounding places, and ten villages that were nearest to him worshiped demons even more. There was a very large temple in one village and a most notable idol; this statue was made of wood. They conducted a procession, carrying it through the villages — the wicked priests who reveled with the multitude, as though celebrating mysteries for the rising of the river. It happened that at that time Apollo was present there with a few of the brethren. He renders them immobile. After he saw the multitude suddenly raging demonically through the region, kneeling before the Savior, he caused all the Gentiles suddenly to become immobile. When they could not advance from that spot, shoving one another and being scorched by the heat all day long, not knowing whence this had befallen them, their priests said that a certain Christian dwelling in their territory near the wilderness was causing this — speaking of Apollo — and that it was necessary to supplicate him; otherwise they would fall into danger. After those who lived at a distance, hearing the cries and lamentations, approached and asked them: What is this that has suddenly happened to you? How has this come about? They said they did not know, except that they suspected a certain man, saying that it was necessary to appease him. Together with the idol itself: Others testified that they had seen him passing by; and so they begged them to give them aid quickly. When oxen were brought, they attempted to move the idol, but it remained as though immovable, together with the priests themselves. When therefore they found no means of escape, they sent an embassy through the neighboring inhabitants to Apollo, that, freed from there, they might depart from their error. He frees them and leads them to the faith: When these things were reported to Apollo, the man of God descended with the utmost speed; and when he had prayed, he released them all from their bonds. They all then, with one accord, went to him, believing in the Savior of all and in the God who does wondrous things, the idol being immediately consigned to the fire. He instructed them all with catechesis and added them to the Churches. Many of them live in monasteries to this very day. The fame of this event spread to all parts, and many believed in the Lord, so that no Gentile is any longer named in his territory.

[11] Not long afterward, two villages began to wage war with each other, contending over their fields. When Apollo was informed, he immediately went down to them to make peace between them. Those on the opposing side, however, would not obey, but spoke against him, He quells a rustic war: relying on one leader of brigands, as a man most skilled in war. When Apollo saw him speaking against him, he said to him: If you will obey, friend, he converts a brigand, I shall ask my Lord to forgive your sins. When the man heard this, without hesitation he threw down his arms, fell at his knees as a suppliant, and, peace being made through his intercession, sent his men home. When they had made peace and departed, their outstanding champion thereafter followed Apollo, openly demanding the fulfillment of the promise. Blessed Apollo, taking him up in the nearby wilderness, admonished and exhorted him to be patient and steadfast in spirit, for God was able to pardon him. When night came, and a wondrous vision shown to both, both saw in their dreams that they were standing before the tribunal of Christ; and both contemplated Angels adoring God together with the just. And when they too had prostrated themselves with them, they adored the Father; and a voice of God came to them, saying: What fellowship has light with darkness? Or what part has the faithful with the unbeliever? Why does a murderer stand with a just man, since he is unworthy of such a vision? But go, O man; for this late-born fugitive has been entrusted to you. When they had seen and heard many other wonderful things, which speech dares not tell nor ear hear, they awoke and told those who lived with them. And the greatest wonder seized them all, since both narrated the same vision. He admits him to the monastery. He who was no longer a murderer remained with the ascetics until death, correcting his life, changed from a wolf into a gentle and innocent lamb. In him too was fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: The wolf and the lamb shall feed together; and also Ethiopians. and the lion and the ox shall eat straw together. Isaiah 65:25. For it was possible there too to see Ethiopians exercising themselves with the monks and surpassing many in virtues, and the Scripture was fulfilled in them that says: Ethiopia shall stretch out her hand to God. Psalm 67:32.

[12] At another time the Gentiles were contending against the Christian peasants over their boundaries. There was a multitude of armed men on both sides, to whom Apollo presented himself, making peace between them. He foretells death to a contentious Gentile leader. But the leader of the Gentiles in battle resisted him — a grave and fierce man — and he affirmed and said that he would not grant peace until death. Apollo said to him: So be it to you as you have chosen. For no one besides you shall be killed. But when you are dead, the earth shall not be your tomb, but the bellies of wild beasts and vultures shall be filled with you. Soon fulfilled: And indeed the prayer immediately obtained its effect, since from both sides no one was killed except the leader. Even though they had buried him in the sand, in the morning they found his limbs torn apart by hyenas and vultures. He converts the rest. When they had seen the miracle and the fulfillment of what he had said, all, believing in the Savior, proclaimed him a Prophet.

CHAPTER IV.

Provisions divinely procured. Hospitality. The Eucharist.

[13] St. Apollo was still previously in the cave of the mountain with five other brothers, who were his first disciples, having recently come from the wilderness. When the feast day of Easter had arrived, He obtains that food be divinely supplied to his monks; and they had completed the worship of God, they were about to eat whatever could be found; and there were some dry loaves and some stored vegetables. Apollo said to them: If we are faithful, O sons, and true children of Christ, let each of you ask from God whatever is pleasing to his soul to eat. But they deferred entirely to him, deeming themselves unworthy of such grace. When he had prayed with a joyful countenance and all had said Amen, immediately during the night certain men entirely unknown came to the cave, saying they had come from a distant region; and they brought all things, even those of which they had never heard, and which do not grow in Egypt — garden fruits of every kind: grapes, and pomegranates, and figs, and nuts, all out of season; and moreover certain honeycombs newly found, and a jar of fresh milk; and large dried dates, and clean, warm loaves from a foreign region. Those who had brought them, having merely delivered them as though sent by a great and wealthy man, immediately departed in haste. When they had consumed the food, it sufficed for them until Pentecost, so that they themselves marveled and said that it had truly been sent from God.

[14] A certain one of the monks asked the Father to pray to God for him immediately, that he might obtain some grace. To one he obtains humility and meekness: And when he had prayed, the grace of humility and meekness was given to that monk, so that all marveled at his being so gentle. The brothers who were with him narrated these virtues of his to us, with many other brothers also attesting to them.

[15] For not long before, there had once been a famine in the Thebaid; in time of famine he feeds the people, and the peoples dwelling in those regions had heard that the monks who were with him were fed daily beyond all hope and expectation. They had come to him with one accord, with their wives and children, seeking both a blessing and food. He, fearing not at all that food would ever fail him, gave to all who came, to each one enough for the day. When only three large baskets with loaves remained, and the famine was growing worse, he ordered the baskets to be brought into their midst — the ones the monks were going to eat that very day — and, with all the brothers and the multitude of the people listening, he said with a loud voice: Is not the hand of the Lord powerful enough to fill these? And this says the Holy Spirit: and he foretells that the bread will not fail from the baskets: The bread shall not fail from these baskets until we are satisfied with new grain. And all who were then present affirmed that the loaves sufficed them for four months. Likewise also with oil and grain — so much so that Satan came and said to him: Are you perhaps Elijah, or one of the other Prophets and Apostles, that you do these things? And he said to him: What then? Great confidence in God: Were not the Apostles and Prophets, who handed these things down to us, holy men? Was God present then, but has He now gone abroad? God can do these things always, and there will be nothing that He cannot do. If therefore God is good, why are you evil? He feeds 500, with the food not diminished. And why should we not also tell what we saw? — namely, that the brothers entered with baskets, bringing loaves to the tables, and when the five hundred brothers had eaten to satiety, they received them back again full?

[16] It is fitting also to relate another miracle, at which we were astonished as witnesses. For when we had come to them after a journey of three days, we were recognized from afar by the brothers, who had heard from him of our coming to him. He foreknows the arrival of guests. They came running swiftly to meet us, chanting psalms — for this is the custom among all the monks. And when they had prostrated themselves on the ground in adoration, they kissed us, pointing us out to one another and saying: Behold, the brothers have come, of whom our Father spoke three days ago, saying: After three days, three brothers will come to us, traveling from Jerusalem. And some led us forward, while others followed behind us, chanting psalms, until we came near to him. When Father Apollo heard the voice of those chanting, he came out to meet us, as was his custom with all the brethren; and when he saw us, he receives them kindly, he was the first to bow down, stretching himself upon the ground; and when he had risen, he kissed us; and after he had brought us in, he prayed and washed our feet with his own hands, and invited us to take refreshment.

[17] He did this for all the brothers who came to him. For the brothers who were with him His monks receive the Eucharist daily did not take food before they had communicated in the Eucharist of Christ; and this they did at the ninth hour of the day. Then, after they had eaten, they sat listening to him teach all the precepts until the time of the first sleep. From there some of them withdrew into the wilderness, reciting the Scriptures by heart throughout the entire night; others persevered there, praising God with unceasing hymns until daybreak — whom I saw with these eyes, having begun the hymns at evening, not ceasing from song until morning. Many of them indeed came down from the mountain only at the ninth hour, and, receiving the Eucharist, by which alone some live for a long time, they ascended again, content with spiritual nourishment until the next ninth hour. Many of them did this for many days.

CHAPTER V.

Various admonitions. The holiness of his disciples.

[18] It was possible to see them rejoicing in the wilderness, to such a degree that no similar rejoicing could be found anywhere on earth — He commends joy to his monks: nor was it a bodily joy. For there was among them no one gloomy or sad; but if anyone appeared to show signs of sadness, Father Apollo immediately asked him the reason, and declared what was hidden in each one's heart. He used to say: It is not fitting to be sad on account of salvation, since we are to be heirs of the kingdom of heaven. Let the Gentiles be sad, he said; let the Jews weep; let sinners mourn; but the just shall rejoice. And those who turn earthly things over in their minds rejoice in earthly things; but we, who have been judged worthy of so great a hope, how should we not rejoice perpetually? — since the Apostle urges us always to rejoice and in all things to give thanks. 1 Thessalonians 5:16. But who could describe his grace in speech, and the rest of his virtues, which we have passed over in silence on account of their supreme wonder, heard certainly from him and from others?

[19] After he had often discoursed privately with us at length concerning ascetic discipline and the way of life, he also often spoke about receiving monks, hospitality, saying that one ought to adore the brothers when they arrive: For it is not them, he said, but God that you have adored. Have you seen your brother? You have seen the Lord your God. And this, he said, we have received from Abraham. And that it is necessary sometimes to compel brothers to take refreshment, we have received from Lot, who compelled the Angels. And that monks should, if possible, communicate in the Sacraments daily. Frequent Communion. He who removes himself far from them, God also withdraws far from him. But he who does this constantly, constantly receives the Savior. For, he said, there is this saving word: He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. John 6:55. This benefits monks who continually make the commemoration of the saving passion — to prepare themselves daily as well, that at every time they may be worthy to receive the heavenly Sacraments; since in this way too they obtain the remission of sins. The fasts of the Church: But the catholic and general fasts may not be broken without urgent necessity: for on the fourth day of the week the Savior is betrayed, and on the day of preparation He is crucified; he therefore who breaks them betrays the Savior along with them and crucifies Him. But if a brother comes to you who needs refreshment on a fast day, set the table for him alone; but if he is unwilling, do not compel him — for we have the common tradition.

[20] He greatly reproached those who wore iron chains and grew their hair long. For these, he said, make a show of themselves and seek to please men, when they ought rather to dissolve the body with fasts and to do good in secret; but they do not do so, but display themselves to all. He reproves austerities assumed for show: And what need is there of more? For all his teaching is like his way of life, which no one could write or describe.

[21] Having therefore discoursed with us privately on very many matters, often for a whole week, he at length dismissed us, saying: He sends guests away with guides for the journey; Have peace among yourselves, and do not separate on the road. And having asked those brothers who were with him which of them wished to escort us to visit other Fathers, St. Apollo, having selected three men who were strong both in speech and in their way of life and were versed in the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian languages, dismissed us with them, ordering them not to leave us until our desire to see the Fathers had been satisfied — for if one wished to see them all, a whole lifetime would not suffice to behold them. Having therefore blessed us, he sent us on our way, saying: The Lord bless you from Zion, and may you see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of your life.

[22] As we were walking at midday through the wilderness, we saw the track of a great serpent, these brothers fearlessly pursue a serpent of fifteen cubits, which was drawn through the sand like a beam. When we saw it, great fear seized us. But the brothers who led us encouraged us not to be afraid but to be of good courage and to follow the serpent's track: For you shall see our faith, since we ourselves shall overcome it with our own hand. For we have killed many serpents and horned vipers with our hand, they said, as it is written. For in them was being fulfilled the saying: I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Luke 10:19. But we, who were carried by unbelief and were seized with even greater dread, begged them that we might not go along the serpent's tracks, but by the direct road. One brother from among them, however, with great eagerness of spirit, leaving us in that place, went into the wilderness seeking the beast. When he had found it, not far from its den, he cried out with a loud voice that the serpent was in the cave and called them to come and see what would happen; and the other brothers encouraged us not to be afraid. With great fear we went to see the beast. But one of the brothers suddenly came to meet us and took us by the hand to his monastery, saying that we could not endure the assault of the beast, especially since we had never yet seen such a thing, but that he himself had often seen that beast of such vast size — for it was more than fifteen cubits long. When he had bidden us stay in the place, he went to the brother and told him to withdraw from the cave; for that one was endeavoring not to leave the spot until he had killed the serpent. Having persuaded him, he brought him to us as he reproved us for the smallness of our faith. Resting then with that brother, who had a monastery about one mile away, we were sufficiently refreshed.

LIFE OF ST. MARES, ABBOT IN SYRIA,

from the Philotheus of Bishop Theodoret, chapter 20.

Fifth Century.

Mares, Abbot in Syria (Saint)

From various sources.

[1] There is a certain village of Homer, which is called by us Netis. When the divine Mares had built a small dwelling there, he remained enclosed in it for thirty-seven years. St. Mares enclosed for 37 years in a damp and unhealthy cell. From the nearby mountain it received much moisture, and in the winter certain drops of water seeped into it. How much damage this causes to bodies is known by both city-dwellers and country people; for the diseases that arise from it are evident even to those who dwell in the fields. Yet not even this persuaded that sacred head to change his dwelling, but he remained bravely and steadfastly until he had completed his course.

[2] Moreover, he had also spent his earlier life with the labors of virtue; Always a virgin: whence he preserved chastity of both body and soul. And this he plainly signified to me himself, teaching me that his body had remained whole and uncorrupted, just as it had come forth from his mother's womb — and this though as a young man he had celebrated many feast days of the Martyrs, and had charmed the people with the beauty of his voice. For he persevered for a very long time in chanting psalms, and was of remarkable bodily beauty. Yet neither the beauty of his body, nor the clarity of his voice, nor his frequent contact with many people, brought any detriment to the beauty of his soul; but living in the manner of those who are enclosed, he took care of his soul. And he increased his virtue also by the labors he endured while enclosed.

[3] I often enjoyed his company, for he ordered the door to be opened for me; He opens the door to Theodoret. indeed he embraced me when I came and used lengthy and copious discourse on the spiritual life. This man too was distinguished for his simplicity and utterly abhorred diverse manners. He loved poverty more than the greatest abundance. At ninety years of age he wore garments woven from goat hair. Bread and a little salt fulfilled the needs of his nourishment. Having long desired to see the spiritual and mystical sacrifice offered, at his request, the Eucharist he asked that the oblation of the divine gift be made there. I gladly complied, and ordered the sacred vessels to be brought — for the village was not far away — and using the hands of the Deacons in place of an altar, I offered the mystical, is celebrated in the hands of the Deacons, divine, and saving sacrifice. He was filled with every spiritual pleasure and thought that he was seeing heaven itself, and said that he had never experienced such great joy. Since I was greatly loved by him, I thought I would do him an injustice if I did not praise him even after death, and others an injustice if I did not set before them this excellent spiritual discipline for their imitation. Having now prayed that I may obtain his aid, I shall put an end to the narrative.