The time of the ministry of the prophet Nahum refers to the second half of the reign of the Judean king Hezekiah, i.e. to 745714 years B.C. (after the destruction of the kingdom of Israel).

Nothing is known about other circumstances of the prophet's life. According to legend, he died at the age of 45 and was buried in his homeland.

Kontakion, tone 4:

Thy pure heart, enlightened in spirit, the prophecies were the brightest friend: for behold that the present is far away. For this reason we revere thee, O blessed prophet, glorious Nahum.

The Life of the Holy Righteous Philaret the Merciful

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7), said the Lord. This came true in the case of Blessed Philaret the Merciful, who for his great mercy to the poor received from God a rich reward both in the present life and in the life to come, as his blessed life bears witness to this.

Blessed Philaret lived in Paphlagonia [1] in a village called Amnia [2]. His noble parents, George and Anna, raised him from childhood in piety and the fear of God, and his life was adorned with chastity and all other virtues. Having reached the age of maturity, Philaret entered into marriage with a noble and rich maiden, named Theozva, from whom he had three children: a son - John and two daughters - Hypatia and Evanthia. God blessed Blessed Philaret, as in the former times of the righteous Job, both with the increase of his possessions and abundant riches. He also had numerous herds and villages, fruitful fields and abundance in everything; His treasuries were full of all earthly goods, and a great multitude of male and female servants served at his house. And Filaret was known as one of the famous nobles of that country. Possessing such great wealth and seeing how many were at the same time suffering from poverty and extreme poverty, he felt compassion for them and, in tenderness of soul, said to himself:

"Have I received so many blessings from the hand of the Lord only in order to eat them myself and live in pleasure, pleasing my belly?" Should I not share the great riches given to me by God with the poor, widows, orphans, strangers and the poor, whom the Lord at the Last Judgment before angels and men will not be ashamed to call His brothers, since He says: "As you have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it to me" (Matthew 25:40) [3]? And what profit will all my possessions be to me on the day of the Last Judgment, if I, in my miserliness, keep them for myself alone, for at that Judgment those who have not shown mercy will not receive mercy (James 2:13). Will my possessions be immortal food and drink for me in the future life? Will my soft garments serve me there as an incorruptible garment? No, this will not happen! For thus says the Apostle: "We have brought nothing into the world; it is evident that we can bear nothing" (1 Tim. 6:7). Thus, if we cannot take anything of our earthly possessions with us from here, then it is much better to give them to God, as if on loan, by the hands of the poor; But God will never forsake me, nor my wife, nor my children. The Prophet David assures me of this, saying: "I was young and old, and I did not see the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging for bread" (Psalm 36:25).

Thus pondering in his soul, Blessed Philaret became merciful to the poor, as a father to his children: he fed the hungry, clothed the naked, received pilgrims into his home, and with love gave them every peace. And this righteous man was like the ancient hospitable Abraham [4] and the beggar-lover Job [5]. Therefore it was impossible for such a lamp, adorned with works of mercy, to hide under a bushel, and it became famous throughout the whole country, as a city adorning itself on the top of a mountain (Matt. 5:14). In his house, as in a safe refuge, all the poor and wretched hurried to take shelter. And whoever of them asked him for anything: food, clothing, horse, ox, donkey, or anything else - Philaret provided him with benevolent generosity.

But now the time came when the Lord, the Lover of mankind, Who arranges everything for the benefit of man, allowed the righteous Philaret, like His ancient saint Job, to be subjected to temptation, so that the patience of the saint could be manifested like the patience of Job, and so that he, purified by temptation, like gold in the furnace, would appear as a worthy servant of God. It began with the fact that Blessed Philaret began to fall into poverty: however, this did not change his compassion and mercy towards the poor, and he continued to distribute to the needy what was left to him.

At that time, by God's permission, the country in which Philaret lived was attacked by the Ishmaelites [6]; like a whirlwind that crushes and burns with flames, they devastated the whole country and carried off many inhabitants into captivity; all his flocks of sheep and oxen, horses and donkeys were also taken away from Philaret, and many of his servants were taken prisoner. Then this merciful man came to such ruin that at last he had only two slaves, a pair of oxen, a horse and a cow. The rest of Philaret's property was either distributed to the poor by his generous hand, or plundered by the Ishmaelites; his villages, gardens and fields were taken over by the farmers living around, some by requests, others by force. And Filaret had only the house in which he lived, and only one field. Enduring such poverty, deprivation and such misfortunes, this good man never grieved or murmured, and, like the second righteous Job, did not sin in anything before God, not even in the word: "He did not sin with his mouth" [7]. But just as one rejoices in the abundance of his riches, so he rejoiced in his poverty, which he counted as a great treasure, understanding that poverty is a surer path to salvation than riches, just as the Lord said that "it is difficult for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matt. 19:23) [8].

Once, taking two of his oxen, Philaret went to cultivate the field that remained with him. As he worked, he praised and joyfully thanked God that he begins, according to His holy commandment, to eat his bread in the sweat of his brow (Gen. 3:19), and that labor saves him from laziness and idleness, these teachers of all evil.

He also remembered the words of the Apostle, who forbids a lazy person who loves idleness to eat: "If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat" (2 Thess. 3:10). And Blessed Philaret tilled his land, so that he would not be unworthy to eat his bread.

On the same day, a villager was cultivating his field. And suddenly one of his oxen fell ill and fell. The farmer wept bitterly and grieved inconsolably, especially since his oxen were not his own, for he had scarcely begged them from his neighbor to cultivate the field. Then he remembered Blessed Philaret and said: