First article

"It is fitting for the King to keep the secret, but to reveal and preach the works of God is praiseworthy," said the Archangel Raphael to Tobit after his blinded eyes had seen gloriously. For it is fearful and pernicious not to keep state secrets, but if one is silent about the most glorious deeds of God, great harm to souls results from this. "For this reason I, too," says Saint Sophronius, "am possessed by a reverent fear, which forbids me to conceal God's works in silence, remembering from the Gospel the guilt of the lazy servant, the talent given to him for profit, who buried it in the ground, not allowing it to be put into circulation, and was condemned for this by the Lord. Therefore, I will not be silent in any way, I will announce the holy story that has come down to me! Not only let no one be unbelieving in what I write, let no one think that I dare to speak falsely, let him not doubt this great thing. Do not lie to me about the holy! And even if there are some who, having received this scripture, find it difficult to believe, marveling at this great deed, and may the Lord be merciful to it, such people, knowing the weakness of human nature, consider it strange and incredible that something miraculous and most glorious is proclaimed about people. But it is already fitting to begin the story of this thing, which was in our generation. There was a certain elder in one of the Palestinian monasteries, adorned with the morality of life and prudence of speech, well instructed from the very infantile shrouds in monastic labors. The name of that elder is Zosima. He went through all the feats of the monastic life, preserved every rule handed down from the perfect monks, and while doing all this, he never neglected the teaching of the Divine words, but, lying down, and getting up, and having handicrafts in his hands, and eating food (if it is possible to call food that which he ate very little by-little), he had one work that did not cease, never ceasing – this is always praising God, and to instruct the Divine words. Having been given from his very infancy to a monastery, Zosima successfully asceticized in it until the age of fifty-three. But then some embarrassment began to bother him. It began to seem to him that he had already been perfected in everything, that he no longer needed the instructions of others, and he said in his mind: "Is there a monk on earth who could bring me spiritual benefit by showing me an example of fasting that I have not yet made? And is there a man in the wilderness who is more excellent than I am in my deeds?" When the elder was thus thinking within himself, an angel appeared to him and said: "O Zosima! It is good, as only a man can, well have you asceticized, well have you performed your fasting asceticism. However, there is no one among people who would show himself to be completely perfect. There are greater feats that are ahead of what you know. And in order for you to know how many other ways there are to salvation, depart from your land, as Abraham the great among the patriarchs, and go to the monastery located by the Jordan River." And immediately the elder, submitting to the speaker, left the monastery in which he had been a monk from infancy, and reached the Jordan, instructed by him who called him to this monastery, in which God had commanded him to be. Knocking with his hand at the monastery gates, he found the gatekeeper and first of all told him about himself, and he informed the hegumen, who received Zosima. Seeing him in the guise of a monk, who had performed the usual worship and prayer, the hegumen asked Zosima: "Where are you from, brother? And why did he come to us, poor elders?" Zosima answered: "Where did I come from, there is no need to say. For the sake of spiritual benefit I have come, O father! For I have heard of you great and praiseworthy things, which are able to appropriate the soul to God." Then the abbot said to him: "God is One, brother, Who heals the infirmity of the soul. May He teach you and us His Divine wills, and may He instruct everyone to do what is useful. But man cannot use man spiritually, if each does not pay attention to himself and does not do what is useful, being awake in spirit, having God, Who works with him. But if the love of Christ has moved you to see us, poor elders, then stay with us, if for this reason you have come here. And we will all be nourished by the grace of the Holy Spirit by the Good Shepherd, Who gave His Soul deliverance for us." When the hegumen said this, Zosima bowed down to him, asking prayer and blessing and saying: "Amen!" and began to live in that monastery. He saw there the elders, radiant with the creation of good deeds and the thought of God, burning with spirit, working for the Lord. Their singing was unceasing, they stood all-night vigil, they always had work in their hands, and psalms were in their mouths. Not a single idle word was heard among them, about the acquisition of perishable gains, or about any worldly care they did not have the slightest trace. They had only one effort – both the first and the subsequent one – to have themselves dead in body. Their food was the inexhaustible words of God. They nourished their bodies with bread and water in proportion as they kindled more or less to God's love. Seeing this, Zosima received a very great spiritual benefit, extending himself to the podvig that lay ahead. Many days passed, and the time of the holy Great Lent approached. It must be said that the gates of that monastery were always locked and never opened, except when one of the brethren came out, sent for the sake of a common need, for that place was empty, and not only did the laity never enter there, but they did not even know about the existence of the monastery there. There was a special rite in that monastery, for the sake of which God brought Zosima there. On the first week of Great Lent, the presbyter celebrated the Holy Liturgy, and all were partakers of the Most-Pure Body and Blood of Christ our God, then they partook of a little of the fasting food. Then they gathered in church, and, having made a diligent prayer and a sufficient number of genuflections, the elders kissed each other, asking with bows from the abbot for blessing and supplication, who by the power of God could help and co-travel with them. all to the end, and they all went out into the wilderness. One or two of the brethren remained in the monastery as its guardians, and then not to protect the possessions (for the monastery did not have anything stolen by thieves), but so that the monastery church would not be left without Divine service. Everyone crossed the Jordan River, and each carried with him the food that he could and wanted to take with him, according to the bodily needs of each: one a little bread, another figs, a third dates, and another grains soaked in water. And those who took nothing but their body and the rags with which they were clothed; but when his bodily nature compelled him to eat something, he ate such plants in the desert. Thus, having crossed the Jordan, they dispersed far from each other, and one did not see the other fasting, or asceticism. And if it happened that someone saw another walking towards him, he immediately turned aside, and lived alone, always singing to God, and eating very little at proper times. When the entire Great Lent was already over, the monks returned to the monastery for the last Resurrection before Pascha, when the Church accepted to celebrate the Forefeast of Pascha or the Flower-Bearer (which we call the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem and Palm Week). Everyone then returned, having his conscience as a witness to his desert labors, knowing what he had done. And by no means did anyone else ask how and in what way he accomplished that feat of labor. Such was the rule of that monastery. Then Zosima also, according to the monastic custom, crossed the Jordan, carrying with him very little food for the sake of bodily needs and the clothing in which he was dressed. He fulfilled his prayer rule, walking through the wilderness and eating food in need. He had little sleep, and at night he rested a little, bowing down to the ground and sitting down where the night found him. And getting up very early, he walked again. He wished to penetrate into the inner wilderness, hoping to find one of the fathers who labored there, who could bring him spiritual benefit. And desire for desire was added to him. Walking for twenty days, he stopped a little on the way, and, turning to the east, he sang the Sixth Hour, making the usual prayers: he stopped a little on his journey, singing and prostrating each hour. As he stood and sang, he saw to his right a kind of shadow of a human body, at first he was frightened, thinking that this was a demonic apparition, and, trembling, he made the sign of the cross, and, putting aside his fear, already finishing his prayer, he looked in a southerly direction, and saw a certain man walking, naked in body, black with sunburn. The hair on his head was as white as snow and short, reaching only to his neck. Seeing this, Zosima began to flee in that direction, rejoicing with great joy, for in those days he did not see either man or any animal. When that "vision" saw Zosima walking from afar, he began to flee with haste into the inner wilderness. Zosima, as if forgetting his old age and the hardship of the journey, ran quickly, wanting to catch up with the "fleeing", and so this one caught up, and the latter ran away, but Zosima's run was faster than that "fleeing". When Zosima came so close that his voice could already be heard, he began to cry out with tears, saying: "Why do you flee from me, a sinful elder, a servant of the True God, for Whose sake you live in this wilderness? Wait for me, unworthy and weak. Wait, for the sake of the hope of God's recompense for your labors. Stand and give me, the elder, your prayer and blessing, for the sake of God, Who did not abhor anyone." While Zosima was saying this with tears, they drew closer to each other, running to a certain place, which looked like the bed of a dried stream. When both ran to that place, the "fugitive" reached the other side of the stream. Zosima in extreme fatigue, no longer having the strength to run, stopped on this bank and "added tears to tears, wailing to wailing", so that his sobs could be carried far away. Then the fleeing body uttered the following voice: "Abba Zosima, forgive me for the Lord's sake, that I cannot turn around and appear to you: for I am a woman, and, as you see, naked, I have bodily shame uncovered. But if thou wilt give me, a sinful woman, thy prayer and blessing, throw me some of thy garments, and I will cover my nakedness, and, turning, I will receive thy prayer. Then trembling, and great fear, and terror of mind seized Zosima, for he heard that she was calling him by name, although she had never seen him before and had never heard of him. And he said to himself: "If she had not been clairvoyant, she would not have called me by name." And he soon fulfilled her request: he took off his clothes, old and torn, which he had worn, threw them to her, and turned his face away from her. She, taking it, covered the part of her body that was most in need of covering, as much as possible, and, girding herself, turned to Zosima and said to him: "Why did you wish to see a sinful woman, Abba Zosima? What, demanding of me to hear, or what to learn, did you not take the trouble to take upon yourself so much labor?" Then she also prostrated herself, and both lay opposite each other on the ground, asking each other's blessing, and for a long time nothing else was heard from both of them, except: "Bless!" It behooves thee to bless and make a prayer: for thou art honoured with the dignity of presbytery, and having stood before the Holy Altar for many years, thou hast offered the Divine Mysteries to God." These words plunged Zosima into even greater fear, and the elder trembled. Shedding tears and groaning, he spoke to her with exhausted and overworked breathing: "O spiritual mother! Thou hast drawn near to God, having slain all that is sinful in thyself. You are shown by the gift given to you by God greater than that of others: you call me by your name, and you have called him a presbyter whom you have never seen. Therefore, bless yourself for the Lord's sake and give a prayer to him who demands of your accomplishment." Then she, yielding to the diligent request of the elder, said: "Blessed is God, Who desires the salvation of human souls." Zosimas answered: "Amen." And they both got up from the ground. Then she said to the elder: "Why have you come to me, a sinner, a man of God? Why did he want to see a naked woman, who had no virtue? However, it was the grace of the Holy Spirit that instructed you to do some service to my body when it was necessary. Tell me, father, how do Christians live now, as kings and as saints of the Church?" Zosima answered: "Through your holy prayers God has granted lasting peace. But accept the prayer of the unworthy elder and pray for the Lord's sake for the world and for me, a sinner, so that this wilderness walk may not remain fruitless for me." She answered him: "It is more worthy for you, Abba Zosima, as one who has a priestly rank, to pray for me and for everyone, for this is why you have been ordained. However, since we must do obedience, I will do what you have commanded me. Having said this, she turned her face to the east, and raising her eyes and hands to heaven, she began to pray quietly; and it was impossible to make out her prayerful words. Zosima did not understand anything of what she had said, and stood (as he later said) in trembling, saying nothing, and lowering his gaze to the ground. He then called God as a witness, saying: "When she lingered in prayer, I lifted up her eyes a little from the ground and saw that she had risen to the ground one cubit (not less than half a meter) and was standing in the air and praying." Seeing this, Zosima, possessed by even greater fear, threw himself to the ground, shedding tears, and said nothing but – Lord have mercy! As he lay on the ground like this, he was troubled by the thought that it was a ghost and a spirit that only pretended to pray. But she, turning and lifting up the elder, said: "Abba Zosima! Why are you troubled by thoughts of ghosts, which tell you that I am a spirit and pray feignedly? To her, I beseech thee, Blessed Father, let it be known to thee that I, though a sinful woman, am nevertheless protected by holy baptism, and I am not a spirit in a ghost, but earth, dust and ashes, and flesh in every way, since I have never thought of anything spiritual. And having said this, she made the sign of the cross over her forehead, eyes, lips, and forehead, saying thus: "God, Abba Zosima, deliver us from the evil one and from catching him, for his warfare (that is, war) is against us!" the true God, born of a Virgin, for Whose sake thou wearest this nakedness, and hast so slain thy flesh, do not hide thy life from me, but tell me all things, that thou mayest make manifest the greatness of God. Tell me all things for God's sake; For thou shalt not say these things in order to boast, but in order to proclaim all that was with thee to me, a sinner and unworthy. I believe my God, in Whom thou livest, that for this reason he sent me into this wilderness, that all thy things might be made manifest. After all, we do not have the strength to resist the destinies of God. If it had not pleased Christ our God that you and your feats should be known, then He would not have shown you to me and would not have strengthened me on such a difficult path, for I never wanted and could not (without the deliberate instruction of God) leave my cell." When Zosima had spoken these and many other words, they raised him up from the ground and said to him: "Father, forgive me, I am ashamed to tell you the shame of my deeds, but since you have seen my naked body, I will also uncover my deeds before you, so that you may know what shame and shame my soul is filled with, not for the sake of praise (as you said) what happened to me, I will tell you: what can I, who have been the vessel of the devil, boast of!? But if I begin to tell you about myself, you will have to flee from me as people flee from a snake, impatient to hear with your ears all the obscene things that I, unworthy, have done. However, I will say nothing, but I beseech thee beforehand, do not fail in prayer for me, that I may receive mercy on the day of judgment.

Second article

Zosima with great desire and with irrepressible tears prepared to listen, and she began to tell about herself thus: "I, father, was born in Egypt, and when I was still twelve years old and my parents were still alive, I rejected their love, and went to Alexandria. I am ashamed to think, not only to tell in detail how I corrupted my first virginity, how I began to commit irrepressible and insatiable fornication; but I will rather say what is necessary, that you may know of the intemperance of my flesh. For seventeen years or more I have spent in public fornication, not for gifts or earnings: from some who tried to pay me, I would accept nothing; I did this in order to attract a greater number of people to me, who would be more willing to hurry to me without money and would fulfill my carnal desire. Do not think that when I was rich, I did not charge money, on the contrary – I lived in poverty, and many times, hungry, I spun flax, but I always had an insatiable kindling – to wallow in the ooze of prodigal; then she also considered life, that she might always do dishonor to nature! Thus living, I saw in the harvest season many men of Egypt and Libya going to the sea. I asked a man I met: "Where are these people going with such diligence?" He answered: "To Jerusalem, for the sake of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross, which will soon be celebrated." And she said to him: "Will they take me with them?" He answered: "If you have a fare, then no one will forbid you." Then I said: "Brother, I have neither food nor money, but I will go to the ship, where they will feed me, and I will pay them for my passage." I wanted to go with them (forgive me, father!), intending to persuade as many people as possible to my sinful passion... Father Zosimo, do not compel me to declare my shame to you, for I am terrified. Zosima, wetting the ground with tears, answered her: "Speak, for the Lord's sake, my mother, and do not cease from the news that is useful to me." Then she continued: "That young man, hearing the shamelessness of my foul words, went away obsessed with laughter, but I ran to the sea, where among those hurrying to the ship I saw about ten young men, who seemed to me convenient for my foul lust. Many have already entered the ship. As is customary, I shamelessly jumped up to them and shouted: "Take me to where you are going, and you will see that I will please you." And adding a few other bad words, she made everyone laugh. And they, seeing my impudence, took me and brought me into the ship, and we set out. And what happened then, as I will tell you, O man of God!! What tongue shall speak, or hear my evil deeds on the way and in the ship? As well as those who did not want to, I, accursed, compelled to sin. It is impossible to depict those impurities, describable and indescribable, of which I was a teacher at that time! Believe me, father, I am terrified and amazed at how the sea has carried my wandering; how the earth did not open its mouth and swallow me alive into hell! After all, I have caught so much in the snare of death! But I think that my repentance was sought by God, who does not desire the death of the sinner, but with long-suffering awaits his conversion! And so, with such deeds and cares I entered Jerusalem, and for several days remaining before the Feast, I stayed there, doing such deeds as before, and sometimes even worse. I was not content with the young men who were with me on the ship on the way, but I also gathered many others, both citizens of Jerusalem and strangers, to the same defilement. When the Feast of the Holy Exaltation of the Precious Cross of the Lord came, I tried to enter the church with the people from the narthex of the church, I was crowded, but I was pushed back and pushed back. Being greatly oppressed by the people, with much difficulty and need I also approached the doors of the church, accursed. When I stepped on the threshold of the door, the others all entered unhindered, but some Divine power prevented me, not allowing me to enter. I tried to get inside the church again, but I was rejected, and stood alone in the narthex, outcast, still thinking that this happened to me because of my feminine weakness. Again I mingled with others who entered the church, and tried to enter, but all my labors were in vain. And again, as soon as my sinful foot touches the threshold of the Church, the Church will receive everyone, forbidding no one, but it will not accept me alone, the accursed one! Like an army set up to bar the entrance, so again and again a sudden force forbade me to enter, and again I found myself in the narthex. Thus having suffered three and four times, and all without success, I was exhausted, and still could not join those who entered. In addition, my body was still aching from the people who oppressed me, among whom I crowded, trying to get into the church. In shame and despair, I finally retreated and stood in one of the corners of the church narthex, and barely came to my senses, realizing what guilt forbids me to see the Life-Giving Wood of the Cross of the Lord! For the light of the salvific mind has touched the eyes of my heart, the bright commandment of the Lord, enlightening the eyes of the soul, showing me that the slime of my deeds forbids me to enter the church! Then I began to weep and weep, and beat my forehead, bringing out sighs from the depths of my heart. Weeping at the place where I was, I saw an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos standing on the wall, and I said from the depths of my soul, irresistibly directing my eyes and mind to it: "O Virgin Lady, Who didst give birth in the flesh of God the Word! I know, I truly know, that it is unpraiseworthy and unacceptable to Thee, that I, an unclean and filthy harlot, having both body and soul defiled, should behold Thy honorable icon, the Most-Pure Ever-Virgin Mary, and it is right for me, a harlot, to be hated and disgusted by Thy virginal purity. But since I have heard that for this reason God was a man, whom Thou didst beget, that He might call sinners to repentance, help me, the only one, who has no help from anyone. Lead me, and I will not be forbidden to enter the church. And do not deprive me of seeing the honorable Tree, on which God is nailed in the flesh, born of Thee, Who also gave His Blood for my deliverance! Command, O Lady, and for me, unworthy, the doors of the church will be opened to the veneration of the Divine Cross. And be Thou my Most Trustworthy Guarantor to Him Who is born of Thee, that never again shall I defile my body with any kind of desecration by any fornication, but when I see the Holy Tree of the Cross of Thy Son, I shall reject the world and all that is in it, and I will immediately go to where Thou Thyself, as the Surety of my salvation, will guide me." Having said this, and as if having received some kind of information, being kindled by faith and strengthened by the hope of the goodness of the Most-Pure Mother of God, I moved from the place where I had been standing, praying, and again joined those entering the church. And no one pushed me away, no one forbade me to be near the doors with which they enter the church. Fear and horror seized me, I trembled and trembled all over. Thus having reached the doors, which had hitherto been closed to me, I entered without difficulty into the church of the Holy of Holies, and was vouchsafed to see the Wood of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross, and saw the Mysteries of God: and how ready I am to receive penitents! Falling to the ground, I bowed down to the precious Tree of the Cross, and kissed Him with fear, and went out, wishing to come to my Handmaiden. Coming to the place where my Handguard is depicted, Her holy icon, and bowing down on her knees before the Ever-Virgin Theotokos, she said thus: "O Ever-blessed Virgin Lady, Mother of God! Thou hast shown me Thy most gracious love for mankind! You do not disdain my unworthy prayer! For I have seen glory, which is truly unworthy for me to see prodigal! Glory to God, Who accepts the repentance of sinners for Thy sake. What do I have, sinner, to think or say more?! It is time, O Lady, to fulfill what I have promised in Thy commission! Where Thou wilt, there instruct me now, from now on be the Teacher of my salvation Herself for the rest of my life, guiding me to the path of repentance." Having said this, I heard a voice coming from afar: "If you cross the Jordan, you will find good peace!" Do not leave me!" and thus crying out, I went out of the narthex of the church and hurriedly marched. A man saw me coming, and gave me three coins, saying, "Take this, mother!" And I, having accepted the coins, bought three loaves of bread with them, and asked the corn seller, "Where is the way to the Jordan?" I walked and cried. Asking the way from those I met, I ended that day on the way, because it was already three o'clock in the afternoon, when I was vouchsafed to see the Precious Cross of Christ, and when the sun had already bent to the west, I reached the church of St. John the Baptist, which is located near the Jordan, in which, having bowed, I immediately descended to the Jordan. And having washed her hands and face with that holy water, she went to church and communed there of the Most-Pure and Life-Giving Mysteries of Christ. After these things I ate half of one of the loaves of bread that I had, and drank the water of the Jordan, and rested at night on the ground. And early in the morning, having found a small boat there, I crossed in it to the other side of the Jordan and again prayed to my Teacher, the Mother of God, that She would guide me to where She Herself pleased. Thus I came into this wilderness, and from there, even to this day, I departed fleeing, and here I dwelt, waiting for God, Who saves me from the dismay of my soul and the storm that turns to Him. And Zosima said to the Nun: "My lady, tell me, how many years have passed since thou dwelt in this wilderness?" Zosima said to her: "What do you find here for your food, my lady?" She said: "Having crossed the Jordan, I brought myself one and a half loaves of bread, which gradually dried up and turned to stone. Eating them little by little, I lived for many years." Zosima said: "How did you stay without water for so many years? And she answered: "Oh, Abba Zosima, you have asked me about what I tremble to answer you, because if I remember all the misfortunes from which I have suffered, if I remember those fierce thoughts that have caused me so much misfortune, I am afraid that they will offend me again. Believe me, Abba, that I have been in this wilderness for sixteen years, struggling with my insane lusts as with fierce beasts! For when I began to partake of food, I immediately desired the meat and fish that I had in Egypt, and I also longed for the wine that I loved: for I drank much wine when I was in the world. Here, even without being able to drink water, I was scorched with a fierce thirst, which was terribly difficult for me to endure. I also had a desire for lustful songs, which greatly confused me and tempted me to sing demonic songs, to which I was accustomed when I was in the world. But immediately, pouring tears over myself and beating my breast with faith, I remembered the vows that I had made when I entered this wilderness. In my mind I fell down before the icon of the Most-Pure Mother of God, my Surety, and at Her foot I wept, asking me to drive away from me the thoughts that tormented my accursed soul. After long weeping and earnestly beating my breast, a great silence came to me. How, Abba, do I confess to you my thoughts that impelled me to sin? They burned like fire in my accursed heart, and everywhere they scorched me, forcing me to sin! When such a thought came to me, I threw myself to the ground, imagining (me) that the Surety Herself was standing and torturing me as a criminal, showing me the torment for my crime. And I did not rise, thrown to the ground, night and day, until again the sweet light shone upon me and drove away the thoughts that troubled me. I unceasingly lifted up my eyes to my Surety, asking Her for help, and truly I had Her Helper and Helper to repentance. Thus I died at the age of seventeen, suffering in darkness, and from that time until this day my Helper, the Mother of God, guides me in everything and for everything." Zosima said to her: "From that time on, did you not need more food and clothing?" And she answered: "Those loaves, as I have already told you, I ran out of bread after seventeen years, and then I ate the grass growing in this wilderness. My garment, in which I was dressed when I crossed the Jordan, decayed from decrepitude. I suffered a lot from the winter cold and from the summer heat, scorched by the sun or shaking from the frost. So many times, having fallen to the ground, she lay for a long time, as if soulless and motionless. Many times I struggled with various misfortunes and misfortunes. And from that time, even to this day, the manifold Power of God has preserved my sinful soul and my despondent body! And thinking only about what evil the Lord had delivered me from, I acquired inexhaustible food – the hope of my salvation. For I am nourished and covered with the word of God, which contains all things! For man shall not live on bread alone. And: "Those who do not have the name of the veil, they are clothed in stone, if they are stripped of their sinful garments!" And when Zosima heard that he remembered the words of the Scriptures, from Moses and the prophets, and from the books of the Psalms, he said to her: "Have you learned, lady, the Psalms and other books?" I have never learned any other animals, I have never learned books, I have not even heard anyone else singing or reading, but the Word of God, living and active, Himself teaches the mind of man. When she said this and finished telling her, the elder rushed to bow down to her and cried out with tears: "Blessed be God, Who does great and terrible, glorious and wondrous and ineffable, of whom there is no number. Blessed be God, Who hath shewed me what He hath given to them that fear Him! Verily Thou dost not forsake those who seek Thee, O Lord!" She did not allow the elder to bow down to her completely and said to him: "I adjure you, father, do not tell anyone all this until God takes me from the earth. Now go in peace, and again next year you will see me by God's grace that preserves us. Do for the Lord's sake what I will tell you with supplication: in Great Lent next year, do not cross the Jordan, as is the custom to do in a monastery." Zosima was amazed to hear that she knew and announced the monastic rite, and said nothing else but: "Glory to God, Who gives great things to those who love Him!" On Holy and Great Thursday, on the evening of the Mystical Supper of Christ, take a portion of the Life-Giving Body and Blood of Christ our God into a sacred vessel worthy of such a sacrament, and bring it and wait for me on the other side of the Jordan, near a secular village, so that when I come, I may commune of the Life-Giving Gifts. For since I communed of them in the Church of the Forerunner, before I crossed the Jordan, even to this day I have not received that Holy Thing. Now I fervently desire and beseech Thee: do not despise my supplication, but without fail bring me that Life-Giving Divine Mystery at the very hour in which the Lord made His disciples and apostles partakers of the Divine Supper. To John, the abbot of the monastery where you live, say: "Take heed to yourself and to your flock," for something is happening there that requires correction; however, I want you not to tell him this now, but when the Lord commands you." Having said this and asking the elder to pray for herself, she departed into the inner wilderness. Zosima bowed down to the ground, kissing the place where her feet stood, gave glory to God and returned, praising and blessing Christ our God. Having crossed that wilderness, he came to the monastery on the day when it was the custom of the brethren to return, and that year he kept silent about everything, not daring to tell anyone what he had seen. Within himself he prayed to God to show him again the face he desired, but he grieved that the course of the year was too long, and wished that the year would become short, like one day, if it were possible. When the First Sunday of the Holy Great Lent came again, immediately, according to the custom and monastic rite, all the brethren went out into the wilderness with psalmody. Zosima was all in the heat from severe pain, which is why he involuntarily had to remain in the monastery! Here he remembered the words of the Nun, that even if he had wanted to leave the monastery at that time, it would have been impossible for him, but only a few days had passed, as he arose from illness and remained in the monastery. When the brethren returned and the evening of the Mystical Supper of Christ approached, Zosima fulfilled what had been bequeathed to him: he put into a small chalice a portion of the Most-Pure Body and Blood of Christ our God, and he also put with him in a basket some dried figs, and dates, and grains soaked in water, and he went late in the evening, and sat down on the bank of the Jordan, waiting for the Nun. But, as she tarried, he had to wait a lot, but he did not doze off, but steadily looked into the desert, expecting to diligently see what he wanted. The elder said within himself: "Perhaps my unworthiness forbade her to come, or perhaps she came earlier and, not seeing me, returned." Thus pondering, he sighed, and wept, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he prayed to God, saying: "Do not deprive me, O Lord, of the vision of that face which Thou hast vouchsafed me to see! Let me not return in vain, bearing my sins for my reproof!" Thus praying with tears, he passed into another thought, saying within himself: "What will happen, there is no boat, how can it cross the Jordan and come to me, a sinner? Alas for my unworthiness! Alas for me, who has caused me to be deprived of such good?" While the elder was thus thinking, the nun came and stood on the side of the river from which she had come. Zosima arose, rejoicing and rejoicing and glorifying God. But he still struggled with the thought that she could not cross the Jordan. And suddenly she saw that she had made the sign of the Cross over the Jordan (the moon was shining all night), and with this sign she descended into the water and, walking on top of the water, went to it! He wanted to bow down to her, but she forbade him even when she was walking on the water, saying: "What are you doing, Abba? Then the elder listened to her, and she, coming ashore from the water, said to the elder: "Bless, father, bless!" Glory to Thee, O Christ our God, Who hast shewed me by Thy servant how far I am from the measure of accomplishment." When he said this, the saint asked him to read the Symbol of the Holy Faith: "I believe in One God, the Father Almighty..." and the Lord's Prayer: "Our Father, Who art in Heaven...". At the end of the prayers, she communed of the Most Pure and Life-Giving Mysteries of Christ and, according to custom, greeted the elder. And raising her hands to heaven, she wept and cried out: "Now lettest Thy servant go, O Lord, according to Thy word in peace, for my eyes have seen Thy salvation." And she said to the elder: "Forgive me, Abba Zosima, I have fulfilled another of my wishes: go now to your monastery, we will preserve it in God's peace, and next year come again to that parched stream, on which you spoke with me first. Come, come for the Lord's sake, and you will see me again, as the Lord wills..." And he answered her: "I would like, if it were possible, to follow you and see your honest face; I beseech you: do one thing that I, elder, ask of you: eat some of the food that I have brought here," and he showed what he had brought in a basket. And she, touching the edges of her fingers and taking three grains, took them into her mouth and said: "This spiritual grace is sufficient, which preserves the nature of the soul undefiled." And again she said to the elder: "Pray to the Lord for me, my father, always remembering my wretchedness." He bowed down before her feet and asked her to pray to God for the Church, and for all the Orthodox, and for him. and even if he wanted to, he could not keep her. She again made the sign of the cross over the Jordan and crossed it again over the water. The elder returned, possessed by much joy and fear. He reproached himself and regretted that he had not learned the name of the Nun, but he hoped to learn it for the next year. After a year had passed, Zosima again went into the wilderness, having fulfilled everything according to custom, and hastened to this pre-vision. Having walked the entire desert along the length and reached some signs of the place he was looking for, the elder looked around to the right and to the left, everywhere keeping a sharp look, like a hunter looking for a good catch. When he found nothing moving anywhere, he began to pour tears on himself, and, raising his eyes to heaven, he prayed, and said: "Show me, O Lord, Thy treasure unstolen, which Thou hast hidden in this wilderness, show me, I pray, an angel in the flesh, with whom the whole world is not worthy to compare." Thus praying, he reached the place where he had marked himself as a dry stream, and, standing on its bank, he saw to the east of him the Nun lying dead. Her hands were, as expected, folded in a cross, and her face turned to the east. To her he flowed, washed her feet with tears, and he did not dare to touch any other part of her body. Having made many lamentations and sung psalms, befitting the time of that need, and also having made a prayer of burial, Zosima said within himself: "Should I bury the body of the Nun, or perhaps it will not please the blessed one?" give the earth to the earth, pray to the Lord for me, who have passed away in the month, in Egypt – pharmacy, in Roman – on the first day of April, on the very night of Christ's salvific Sufferings, after communion of the Divine Mystical Supper." Having read this inscription, the elder thought ahead: "Who wrote it: after all, the saint, according to her, did not know how to read and write?" He also learned that when the nun communed of Christ's Holy Mysteries, she immediately found herself in the place where she had reposed. And the path that he walked for twenty days with great difficulty, she passed in one hour and immediately departed to the Lord! Glorifying God, the elder, and wetting the earth and the body of the Nun with tears, said to himself: "The time is already for you, elder Zosimo, to fulfill the commandment, but how will you, accursed, dig the earth, not having any tool in your hands?" drenched in sweat, but without any success. Sighing from the depths of his spirit, the elder saw a huge lion, which stood near the body of the Nun and licked her feet. When the elder saw the beast, he trembled with fear, but remembered that the Nun had said that she had never seen any beast. And having made the sign of the Cross, he had faith in himself that he would be preserved from all harm by the power of Him Who is lying. The lion began to approach the elder, making gentle movements, as if greeting him. Zosima said to the lion: "This great one has commanded me to bury her body, but I am very old, I cannot dig graves and do not even have the tools necessary for such work, and I am at such a distance from the monastery that I cannot go and bring soon what is needed. Dig a grave with your claws, so that I may bury the body of the Nun." And when the lion heard the words spoken to him, how immediately with his forepaws he dug a ditch quite deep enough to bury the body. Again the elder washed the feet of the Nun with tears and asked her much to pray for all, he covered her body with earth, which was almost naked, only partially covered with that rags, old, torn, which the elder Zosima had given her at their first meeting. And both departed: the lion departed into the inner wilderness, meekly and quietly, like a sheep, and Zosima returned home, blessing and praising Christ our God. And having come to the monastery, he told all the monks about this Nun Mary, not hiding anything that he had seen and heard from her. Everyone was amazed, hearing the greatness of God, and with fear, faith and love, they began to commemorate and venerate the day of the repose of this Nun Mary. Hegumen John, on the instruction of the Nun, found in his monastery something in need of correction, and with God's help he corrected everything. Zosima, having lived a godly life, died in the same monastery a temporal life, being about a hundred years old, and departed to eternal life to the Lord... And may God, who has worked miracles and given great gifts to those who come to Him in faith, give a reward to those who benefit from this story, to those who read it and hear it, and to him who has tried to write this story. And may the good portion of Mary vouchsafe them to this blessed one, together with all those who, by their contemplation of God and labors, have pleased Him from all eternity. Let us also give glory to God the Eternal King, that we also may be vouchsafed mercy on the day of judgment in Christ Jesus our Lord, to Whom is due all glory, honor, and dominion, and worship with the Father and the Most Holy and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen."