Write, child, to our brother John greetings in the Lord from me and from you and from our brother John (the silent one), and say to him: do not lose heart in the sorrows and bodily labors that you bear, laboring for us and for the sake of our community; for this also means to lay down one's life for one's brethren (cf. 1 John 3:16), and I hope that great will be the reward for this labor. As the Lord appointed Joseph to feed his brethren during the famine (Gen. 47:12) in Egypt, so He appointed you to serve this community, together with our son Serid. And I repeat to you the words of the Apostle, spoken to Timothy: "For thou, child, be able to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit" (2 Tim. 2:1), because I see how thy silence is arranged, and I rejoice with thee in the Lord. As long as you remain outside, you will meet sorrows and bodily labors; but when you reach the abode of silence, you will find rest and peace; for our Lord is not false, Who said: "I will give them a hundredfold in this age, and eternal life in the one to come" (Matt. 19:29).

Therefore, brother, work diligently to gain great love and peace. A ship, before it reaches the pier, is struck by the waves and tossed about by strong winds; but when he enters the harbor, he is at last in great silence. Understand what I say, and keep it: may the Lord give you understanding of all things (2 Tim. 2:7).

Answer 10, of the same Great Elder, moreover, written during the time of the latter's sorrow and illness, which occurred from a concussion of his leg by a stone that fell on it.

I wish my beloved brother John to rejoice in the Lord. For thy bodily labor, endured for our sake, and for the sickness caused by thy injured leg (endured for God's sake), may our Lord God fill thy soul, my beloved, a hundredfold with heavenly blessings. Understand, brother, what I am writing to you, and conceal within yourself: this will prepare you to hear the heavenly joy, the Sovereign, the Divine; for, in the name of the Holy Trinity, I find in you a joint heir of my gifts given to me by God, and as you prosper, I hope that you will soon attain this. One by labors according to God reaches His rest (Heb. 4:3), and the other reaches the same place through humility. And I hope for you that you will receive it for both, when anger dies in you because of the taming of irritability in your heart; and then the word of the Scripture will be fulfilled in you: "Behold my humility and my labor, and forsake all my sins" (Psalm 24:18). And as I have already said, that thou shalt attain this, according to the measure of thy success, consider in the Gospel how and when Christ gave His disciples various gifts: first, the gifts of healing, the casting out of demons, and, finally, as the perfection of gifts, the power to forgive sins, saying: "To whom ye forgive sins, they shall be forgiven" (John 20:23). If, therefore, for thy labour, which I have suffered for God's sake, He forgives thee thy trespasses, this is the measure which I desire thee to attain. If, while reading this epistle, you encounter anything incomprehensible in it, then ask Seris, my beloved son, who is of one accord with you, and he, by the grace of God, will explain to you what is incomprehensible. For I prayed to God for him and for this. But thou, man of God, strive unceasingly along the path prepared for thee, that with joy thou mayest reach the abode of Christ, which we have reached, and hear a voice full of joy, life, light, and gladness, saying unto thee: Thou art good, good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful in a little, I will set thee over many: enter into the joy of thy lord (Matt. 25:21). Rejoice in the Lord, rejoice in the Lord, rejoice in the Lord! May the Lord preserve your soul, body, and spirit from all evil, from all disgust inflicted by the devil, and from every dreaming that stirs up rebellion of thoughts. The Lord will be your light, your protection, your way, your strength, your crown of joy and eternal intercession. Pay attention to yourself; for it is said in the Scriptures: "Those who proceed out of my mouth I will not reject" (Psalm 88:35).

Answer 11, of the same Great Elder to him, containing the advice to always remember what is written to him for the benefit and strengthening of his heart.

Solomon said of his parents: "Who spoke and taught me, Let our word be established in your heart" (Proverbs 4:4). Thus do I say to you, my brother, that my words may be established in your heart, and meditate always on what I am writing to you, as God said through the mouth of Moses: "And I shall bind it on thy right hand, and let them be unshaken before thy eyes, and learn therein, and lying down, and rising, and walking the way, and sitting in the house" (Deut. 6. 8, 7). Do them (my words) in deed, and my God will be with you forever, Amen.

Answer 12. The same John entrusted a certain brother with a task, and as he did not quickly fulfill it, he reprimanded him, and seeing that the brother was offended by this, he decided not to say anything at all to any of the brethren. To this the Elder announced to him the following:

Say to Brother John: Our time is weak, and it is hardly with great difficulty that a person with a firm heart can be found in this time. Hold fast to the words of the holy Apostle, who said: "Rebuke, rebuke, beseech with all patience and teaching" (2 Tim. 4:2).

Answer 13. A building took place in the dormitory, the same John, being skilled in architecture, drew a plan for it, and some of the brethren, thinking to correct the plan, secretly added something to it and thus partially spoiled it; Abba John was troubled and saddened by this, to which the Elder announced to him the following:

Say to our like-minded brother John: I write much to you by the hand of our sincere and beloved son, [13] who with all his soul equally loves the three of us with perfect love. And all this I write not of my own free will, but by the command of the Holy Spirit, for the correction and benefit of the soul and conscience of the inner man, for the oppression and punishment of the body, and for the contrition of your heart. First of all, beware of the spirit of despondency, which gives birth to all evil and various temptations. For if I write to you about the temptations I have endured, surely your ears will not yet bear them, and perhaps no one else at the present time. I hope that you will later attain (this measure), and you will not only attain them, but you will also see them in yourself, and you will be delivered from them by the grace of Christ, through faith. Why does your heart weaken and faint (for the sake of the sorrow inflicted upon you) by the sheep of Christ? Or do you not know what a headache a kind teacher endures from children until he sees their success?.. And all the more so since you have heard from me this apostolic word: "Rebuke, rebuke, beseech with all patience and teaching" (2 Tim. 4:2). Listen attentively to what I tell you: long-suffering is the mother of all good things. Look at Moses, who chose for himself: "It is more than to suffer with the people of God, than to have the temporal sweetness of sin" (Heb. 11:25). And when the demon troubles you, suggesting a thought against a person, with long-suffering say to the thought: Do I obey my God so that I may enslave others to myself? And this thought will depart from you. Strive forward firmly and unceasingly, remembering my words, or rather the words of the Lord, so that you also may overtake us in Christ Jesus our Lord: let it be, let it be!

Answer 14, of the same Great Elder, moreover, when the latter heard and could not bear indifferently, how one of the brethren, humiliating him, said: "Who is he and where does he come from, what else is he offended?"

Say to your brother: As the Archangel Michael argued about the body of Moses, so I will strive for you until you get rid of the old man. And the Jews murmured against the Saviour, saying, "Is not this the son of Joseph?" Do we not know His mother and brethren (John 6:42)? Bring this to mind and endure to the end.

Answer 15, of the same Great Elder, moreover, when this one was not yet completely freed from his former sorrow.

Say to your brother: I have remembered the prophecy of the holy prophet Jeremiah, who says: "Who will give water to my head, and let me clean up the fountain of tears?" And I weep day and night for these people (Jeremiah 9:1)! I thought to nourish you with solid food, but I see that you need milk again. See what is said: "Cleanse me from my secrets" (Psalm 18:13). Beware lest the wicked serpents rob thee, and poison thee with their poison: it is deadly. No one will ever do good by means of evil, because he himself is overcome by evil; on the contrary, evil is corrected by good (Romans 12:21). You stand in disgrace: therefore you must fight with the beasts, like the Apostle in Ephesus (1 Corinthians 15:32), who boasted when he had conquered the beasts. Thou hast been cast into the storm of the sea: wherefore thou mustt endure many dangers, and, like us, strive against the storming of the waves; and having conquered, with the help of God, Thou shalt enter with us into a quiet refuge in Christ Jesus our Lord, to Whom be glory for ever. Amen.