ON SAINT BESSARION, ABBOT, ANCHORITE IN EGYPT.
TOWARD THE END OF THE 4TH CENTURY.
HISTORICAL COLLECTION
From the Menaea of the Greeks & the Lives of the Fathers.
Bessarion, anchorite in Egypt (S.)
BY THE AUTHOR G. H.
Saint Bessarion the anchorite is inscribed on this day, the 17th of June, in the Roman Martyrology, & in the Notes is alleged the authority of the Greeks, who in the Menologium (namely composed by Sirletus) report his life comprised in a brief summary; Inscribed in the Roman Martyrology. which we set before our longer inquiry, & it is of this kind: On the same day, of our holy Father Besarion: who from boyhood renouncing worldly things, & withdrawing to Scete, with admirable contempt of earthly things, Elogium from the Menologium of Sirletus was at leisure for the study of the soul alone, free from all affection. Detained neither by desire of places, nor by appetite for food, but fortified by hope of future things & firmness of faith, he endured all things: wandering here & there, like some captive, naked in cold & heat, he stood continually under the open sky, so that, standing forty days & nights once in the midst of a thorn-bush, he never lay down, & for forty years he never leaned to one side, but slept sitting or standing. And when
he had led such a life, he flew away to the heavenly homeland.
[2] These things there, which being set first for the sake of clarity, the things published concerning him in the Lives of the Fathers by Rosweide & in the printed Menaea on this 17th of June & the 20th of February, pious from boyhood, we will distribute according to the periods of his age. And first, concerning his birth & adolescence, on the said 20th of February these things are read: He was born in the flesh in Egypt. And when he had been weaned, & instructed in the sacred letters, the holy light shone in his heart from his tender age, & he loved Jesus Christ exceedingly, never in the least defiling by any deed the holy baptism given to him in infancy. And going up into a desert place, he contended as if without flesh; & despising the flesh, as perishable, he subjected the worse to the better, & found God the helper whom he had longed for. The holy Father Besarion was born corporally in Egypt: where he was weaned & instructed in the sacred letters, the divine light illumined his heart, & from his youthful age he vehemently loved our Lord Jesus Christ, nor by any deed ever harmed or defiled the grace of innocence received through baptism. And entering the desert, he contended as if free of body: as a despiser of it, destined for the worms, he subjected the worse part of man to the better; & had God, whom he desired, as helper.
[3] The same things on this 17th of June are thus set forth. This holy man, having renounced while still of youthful age, & having reached Scete, advanced to such asceticism & poverty, that, like one of the birds of the air, or of fish, or of land animals, without disturbance & without care, he completed the whole course of his life. For no care of a house was practiced by him, nor did desire of places seem to have mastered his soul; no satiety of luxury, no possessions of dwellings, no carrying about of books; but wholly throughout he appeared free from the passions of the body, nourished by the hope of things to come, & standing firm in the stronghold of faith he endured, like a captive remaining here & there in cold & nakedness; & burned by the flame of the sun, he stood always under the open sky; piercing himself, in the steep places of the deserts, as a wanderer, & in the broad uninhabited region of the sand, content often to be carried, as on the open sea. That is: This Saint, entering while still of youthful age the desert of Scete, by the exercise of religious abstinence & destitution profited so much, He lives in the desert of Scete with great abstinence: that in the manner of birds or fish or animals, without any care for present things, he passed the whole course of his life. He sought no roof, was touched by no desire of a certain place, or appetite for food; he loved not the use of cells, not the burdens of books; but, freed from all affection whatsoever, he was fed by hope of future things, & safe in the fortress of faith he endured, & like a captive now here, now there, he remained in cold & nakedness. Scorched by the sun, he stood constantly under the open sky, in the precipices of the solitudes he clung like some vagabond. In the sandy & utterly uninhabitable land he exercised patience as if he were tossed on the sea. The same things are reported in the Apophthegms among the Monuments of the Greek Church, published in Greek & Latin by Cotelerius, concerning Bessarion the Abbot, vol. 1, page 407, where then it is thus added. But if it happened that he came to milder places, in which the Monks lead a common & similar life; without roof & wandering through the desert sitting outside the gate he wept, & like a shipwrecked man cast on land he lamented. Then if any of the Brothers, going out, found him, sitting like a beggar, like one of the poor of the world, & approaching said out of mercy: Man, why do you weep? if you lack anything necessary, you shall receive as much as we can: only come in with us, have a common table, refresh yourself; then he would answer that he could not remain under a roof, until he had found the goods of his house, saying that in various ways he had lost much wealth. For I fell among pirates; I suffered shipwreck; I have fallen from the splendor of my family, become base who was reckoned among the noble. But the Brother, if at this speech, lamenting, entering, had handed over a piece of bread, saying: Take, Father, the rest God will give you, as you say, in the likeness of a beggar. the homeland, the family, the riches of which you have spoken; he, mourning still more, with a great groan, would add these words: I cannot say whether I shall be able to find the lost goods which I seek; but I shall be afflicted with still greater evils, undergoing daily dangers unto death, & having no remission from my immense calamities. For it behooves me, continually wandering, to complete the course of my life. All of which things seem to look only to this, that it might be indicated by what means he both explored the charity of others, & excused himself from enjoying it.
[4] Palladius in the Lausiac History, as it is published in Latin by Rosweide (for the Greek of Meursius lacks this & several other chapters), in chapter 116 thus descends to certain particulars: There was a certain old man, he says, lacking possessions & merciful, named Bisarion. He, wearing indeed one tunic in accordance with the Evangelical tradition, & a small mantle: for he possessed nothing except this necessary covering. But he had also always a small Gospel under his arm; either to make a test of himself, whether he perpetually obeyed the voice of the Lord; or rather bearing the word, which he had carried out in deed. For so admirable a life this man used, & without any disgrace, that, like a terrestrial Angel, he lawfully completed the heavenly journey. [So when he had come into a certain village & had seen a naked beggar dead in the marketplace,] immediately stripping himself of his mantle, he clothed the dead beggar with this, he clothed the dead man with it. And again when he had gone forward a little, he met a naked needy man, & stood disputing with himself, & thus reasoning: How is it that I indeed, who renounced the world, am clothed with a garment; but my brother stiffens with cold? If therefore I let him be deprived of life, I shall be altogether the cause of the death of my neighbor. What then? Shall I, stripping off, cut it & distribute a part? or shall I give the whole to him who was made to the image of God? But what use will the cut part be to me & to him? And when he had disputed with himself, he said: Shall we suffer any harm, if we do more than is commanded? the poor man with his tunic. So this noble athlete, with a ready & eager mind, calls the poor man into the vestibule: & when he had sent him away clothed, he stood naked, covering himself with his hands, bending his knees & crouching, having only under his arm the word which makes men rich. But by God's counsel & providence a certain Irenarch passing by recognized the old man, & said to his neighbor & companion: Look there. Is this not the old man Abbot Bisarion? And when he had said, Certainly; & receives a garment from the Irenarch: descending from his horse, he asked the saint, saying: Who stripped you? But he, holding out the Gospel with his right hand, said: This stripped me. And immediately the Irenarch, stripping himself of his own garment, clothed the perfect soldier: & at once, wearing it like a kind of Monk's garment, he withdrew, hiding from the world, declining the praise of him who had seen his rule of life, awaiting the honor which is from the hidden by concealing it.
[5] This same man, after he had rightly carried out every Evangelical precept, he gives the price of the sold Gospel to a poor man: when he had nothing more of this world in mind, for the more perfect execution of the divine sayings; when in passing he had seen a poor man, he hastened at a run to the marketplace: where, when he had stood a little while, he sold the Gospel. A few days afterward therefore, the Abbot's disciple who was with him, Dulas by name, asked the old man, saying: What has been done with the little book, O Abba? To whom the old man placidly spoke a word very beautiful & very wise, saying thus: Do not be afflicted with sadness, O Brother: for that we might have confidence there, on account of obedience I sold the very word, which always said to me: Sell what you have & give to the poor. But there are also very many other things, done out of virtue by this great Father, with whom may we too be deemed worthy to have a part of the grace of Christ, Amen. So Palladius, whom I would willingly have introduced speaking Greek if it had been permitted: meanwhile, that the sense might be held clear, I had to take up at the mark * the line & place it where it now is, between []. But the Irenarch (to add this too for the sake of explanation) is a military Magistrate, who, the protection of the provincials being undertaken, makes the concord of quiet & peace stand throughout the several territories, as is in law 7 of the Theodosian Code "On the Irenarchs."
[6] Moreover I note that, although here it is written Bisarion, it is the same one who by others is called Besarion & Bessarion; for this is clear from the disciple Dulas, concerning whom in book 3 of the Lives of the Fathers, which is attributed to Rufinus, no. 215, these things are read: The disciple of Abbot Besarion, named Dulas, when one day he walked together with him along the seashore, it happened that he greatly thirsted & said to the old man: Thirst wears me out, Father. And B. Besarion, having made a prayer, ordered him to take water from the sea & drink. And when he had done this & found most sweet water, he turns sea-water sweet: he filled the vessel which he carried with him. And when Abbot Besarion had seen this, he said to him: Why have you filled the vessel with water, son? But he said: Pardon me, Father, for I feared lest perhaps I might thirst later. To whom the old man said: May the Lord pardon you, son, because God is everywhere, & can provide you sweet water. The same things in book 6 of the Lives of the Fathers, among the Words of the elders, the translator being Joannes, in booklet 2, no. 1, Dulas himself narrates, & in nos. 2 & 3 adds: he walks on the water: At another time too, when it was necessary for him, he made a prayer, & crossed the river Chrysoroas on foot: but I, marveling, satisfied myself by saying to him: How did you feel your feet while you walked on the water? And the old man said: Up to the ankle I felt the water, but the rest was solid under my feet. Again, as we were going to another old man, the sun came to its setting. And the old man prayed, saying: I beseech you, Lord, let the sun stand until I reach your servant. And it was done so. he stops the sun.
[7] In the Menaea on the 20th of February the same things are thus set forth: God did through him not ordinary signs, On account of which in the Menaea he is compared, but also very marvelous ones; for having kept the "according to the image" with all the power he had, he wrought those things, such as also the great Prophets, who conversed with God visibly. For Moses, the root of all the Prophets, changed the bitter waters into sweetness, through wood representing the cross of Christ, that he might silence the murmuring Jews; & this Blessed one, the murmuring
his disciple once walking on a waterless road, & burning with thirst, by the figure of a cross made in the air, changed the salt & undrinkable sea into sweetness, & made it cold & drinkable; wherefore, being filled from it with many others, they gave thanks to God. Joshua the son of Nun once, cutting down Amalek, stopped the sun from its own course, until he had cut down all; & this Blessed one once, found in a certain place for the benefit of many, & the hour drawing to a close, having asked God, stopped it, until he had completed the whole journey. This man, like Elijah, brought down water from heaven, not once & twice, but also often, when this was asked of him. Elisha the Prophet once with the mantle of Elijah crossed the Jordan dry-shod; but this one, using instead of the Jordan the river Nile, & instead of the mantle the mighty weapon of the cross, changed all the water into the straightness of a path, & walking over so great waters, O the wonder! his soles were dipped only up to the ankles. What is other than these prodigies? what more wonderful? thus also he wrought other various signs by the power of the cross.
[8] God put forth through him not common signs, but altogether rare & wonderful ones. For preserving, as much as could be, the likeness of the great Prophets, of Moses, he effected such things as they did, who conversed familiarly & openly with God appearing to them. Moses, the root of all the Prophets, turned the bitter waters by the wood, which designated the Cross, into sweetness, that he might beat back the murmuring Jews: but this B. Bessarion, his disciple making a journey through dry & arid places & burning with thirst, by the sign of the Cross expressed in the air, softened the salt & undrinkable sea; & of Joshua, & made it become sweet & cold & drinkable: & so both the disciple & others drawing from it satisfied their thirst, & paid due thanks to God. Joshua the son of Nun, when he was pursuing the Amalekites, ordered the sun to halt its course until he should destroy the enemies utterly; & this Saint, caught in a certain place for the salvation of many, when the hour was failing, asked God to delay the sun, until he should measure out the whole way. This same man obtained rains from heaven, like Elijah, not once & again, but often, being asked by others. of Elijah & Elisha. Elisha of old with the mantle of Elijah crossed the Jordan dry: but this one used instead of the Jordan the river Nile, instead of the mantle the sign of the Cross, the most powerful arms, & reduced all the water into the manner of an arch, & walking on his feet over so great a force & abundance of waves, O wonder to be astonished at! the water wetted his feet only up to the ankles. What is greater than these miracles, what more admirable! So he wrought also many other various things by the power of the holy Cross.
[9] Of these & other signs, related in a similar way, one is narrated in book 5 of the Lives of the Fathers, the translator being Pelagius, in booklet 12, no. 3, in these words. Abbot Dulas related, who was the disciple of Abbot Besarion, saying: I once came into the cell of my Abbot, & found him standing at prayer, & his hands were stretched out to heaven. He continued doing this constantly for fourteen days. And after this he called me, & said: Follow me. And going out we proceeded into the desert; & when I thirsted I said to him: Abba, I thirst. But he, taking his mantle, departed from me as far as a stone's throw: & having made a prayer brought it full of water. And we went to the city of Lyco, & came to Abbot Joannes, & saluting him, we made a prayer. Then sitting they began to speak of the vision which they had seen. Abbot Besarion said: That a command has gone out from the Lord, that the temples be destroyed. And it was done so, & they were destroyed. Which things seem to look to the temple of Serapis, most famous in all Egypt, overturned by command of Theodosius the Great in the year 389: concerning which see Baronius, there also treating of the Canopic temples either overturned, or (as Eunapius blasphemes) turned into sepulchers, by the Relics of Martyrs brought there: he even unknowingly expels a demon: whence you may understand that the last age of Bessarion looks to the confines of the 4th & 5th century. Other miracles are held in book 3 under the name of Rufinus, of which at no. 121 & the following these are: When a certain secular man, coming into the church, was held by an unclean spirit, & all had made prayer; & in no way did the unclean spirit go out from him; the Brothers say among themselves: What can we do for this spirit? No one can drive it out, except Abbot Besarion. But if we say this to him, he will not consent even to come to the church: but let us do thus, since he is wont to come to the church before all. Let us make this one who suffers sit, & afterward let us say to the Abbot: Abba, wake this sleeper. They did so. And Abbot Besarion coming, all stood in prayer, & say to him: Abba, wake also this sleeper. But he woke him, saying: Rise & go outside. And soon the unclean spirit went out from him, & he was made whole from that hour. There was a certain man having a paralytic son in Egypt, & he heals a paralytic: & brought him to the cell of B. Besarion the Abbot, & left him over the door weeping, & departed far off. The infant therefore began to weep. And when the old man saw him through the window, he said: Who brought you here, son? To whom the infant answered: My father brought me, & he himself departed. To whom the old man said: Rise & join him. And soon, made whole, he rose, & reached his father. The former is narrated also in book 7 of the Lives of the Fathers, the translator being Paschasius, chapter 14, no. 2, & in book 6, the translator being Joannes, in booklet 2, no. 4, where it is said it was done in Scete: but the second miracle there at no. 7 is attributed to Macarius.
[10] Another is narrated in Rufinus, no. 194, in these words: he marvels at the silence of a monk, Abbot Besarion, while he walked with his disciple through the desert, they came to a certain cave: & entering they found there a Brother sitting, & weaving cords: who neither looked at them, nor saluted, nor spoke anything to them. Abbot Besarion therefore said to his disciple: Let us go hence, because this old man does not wish to speak with us, & they set out to Abbot Joannes. But when they were returning, they came to the same cave, & Besarion said to his disciple: & finds him dead, a woman, & buries her. Let us enter again to this Brother, if perhaps even now God may persuade him to speak with us. And when they had entered, they found only the body dead, & groaning he said to his disciple: Come, Brother, let us prepare it, because on account of him the Lord sent us here. But when they buried, they found that it was a woman, & they marveled, & said: How women too struggle, & conquer demons! And praising together & glorifying God, who is the protector of all, they departed from that place. he acknowledges himself a sinner, The same is reported in Joannes, booklet 3, no. 1, & in Paschasius, chapter 34, no. 3. But in book 5, the translator being Pelagius, in booklet 9, no. 2, this is indicated: That a Brother had sinned, & the Presbyter ordered him to go out of the church. But Besarion rose, & went out with him, saying: I too am a sinner.
[11] he passes the night among thorns, Abbot Besarion said that he stayed forty nights among thorns standing & did not sleep, as is read in Pelagius, booklet 7, no. 4, & more fully in the Menaea on the 20th of February in this manner: For forty days & forty nights he stood unmoved like a column, having his hands & eyes upward, & his soul inseparable from God. For forty days & forty nights, nowhere leaning, he stood like a column, having his hands & eyes lifted upward, but in mind he was never separated from God. But on this 17th of June: He spent forty days & nights, standing in the midst of a thorn-bush, & not sleeping; & having spent forty years without lying down on his side, but sitting & standing. He stood unmoved a whole forty days & nights in the midst of a thorn-bush, he does not lie on his side for a long time, so that he never slept or lay down. For forty years, never lying on his side, he took sleep, but slept either standing or sitting. Which, excerpted thence, are held above in the Menologium of Sirletus. A Brother questioned the old man, saying: he urges humility on the tempted, What shall I do, because thoughts disturb me? Abbot Besarion answered: Be at rest, & do not measure yourself with the great, but be silent in your heart. So among the sentences of the Egyptian Fathers, no. 52. But among the Apophthegms of the same in Cotelerius, page 406, I also read this: He himself admonished, When you live in peace, & are not assailed, then show yourself the more humble; lest perhaps, with a strange joy bursting in, we boast, & be handed over to combat: for God often does not permit, but rather for those having peace. on account of our infirmities, that we be handed over to war & temptation, lest we perish. But in booklet 11 in Pelagius, no. 7, Abbot Besarion dying said: A monk ought to be wholly eye, like the Cherubim & Seraphim. Lastly, as the Menaea in February have: In a fat old age, having served God, he departed to the eternal mansions. When he had served the Lord up to full old age, he dies piously. he went to the eternal mansions: but in June, thus living & conducting himself, he migrated to the Lord; thus living & conducting himself, he departed to the Lord.
[12] Besides his famous memory in the Menaea on the 20th of February & this 17th of June (of which the former is perhaps the day of his death, Memory also on the 29th of November. the latter of the elevated or translated body), again in them is indicated on the 29th day of November the holy Bessarion ending his life in peace: & that the same one is treated these verses indicate, repeated there, & before reported on the 20th day of February.
Of much toil & sweat Bessarion Having died found also much recompense. Of much labor & sweat Bessarion, From death found also much reward.
On the 6th day of June too is celebrated the memory of the holy Bessarion the Wonderworker in the Typicon of S. Sabas, & on the 6th of June. & the Horologium of the Greeks, & also Bisarion the wonderful Abbot in Genebrardus in the Kalendar of the Greeks; likewise the holy Father Bessarion, famous for miracles, in Molanus in the Auctarium of Usuardus & likewise in the Synaxaries of the Russians, & the Figured Kalendar of the Muscovites, everywhere with the title of Wonderworker. Possevinus, the name being badly read, wrote "Vicar." We judge that all the aforesaid things are to be taken of one & the same Bessarion: & that all that diversity of days proceeds from various Relics of the same one,
carried to different places: although it is not so customary to the Greeks as to the Latins to divide sacred Bodies.