Say to Brother John, "Strengthen your heart like a solid stone (I mean a mental stone), so that you may hear what I intend to say to you." Take heed to yourself, lest, when you hear this, you will not be lifted up in your heart and fall away from the spiritual promise; for pomp has ruined many, even of those who have attained to the measure (of spiritual advancement). But prepare yourself for thanksgiving for everything, hearing the words of the holy Apostle: "In all things give thanks" (1 Thess. 5:18), and whether you are in sorrows, or in need, or in oppression, or in illnesses and bodily labors, thank God for everything that befalls you. I hope that you also will attain to His rest (Heb. 4:3); for through much tribulation it behooves us to enter into the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). Therefore, do not doubt in your soul, and do not weaken in anything in your heart, but remember the Apostle's word: "If even our outward man decays, the inward is renewed all the days (2 Corinthians 4:16). If you do not endure suffering, you cannot ascend to the cross. And when thou hast first endured suffering, thou shalt enter into the refuge of His rest; and then you will be silent without any care, having a soul established in the Lord and always clinging to Him, kept by faith, rejoicing in hope (Romans 12:12), rejoicing in love, preserved by the Holy One-in-Essence Trinity; and then shall be fulfilled in thee that which is said: Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth rejoice" (Psalm 95:11). For such is the careless life of the man of God. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit rejoice in the salvation of your soul, my beloved brother.

Answer 3, of another Elder [10] to the same [11], to his request to talk to him.

Say to your brother, 'Forgive me for the Lord's sake,' and I would like to see you, but preserving the consciences of others from (temptation), I find no convenience in doing so. I rejoice in your love for the blessings sent to you from the Holy Elder, and blessed are you that you have been vouchsafed them.

Answer 4. When temptation overtook the monks of the place where Abba John dwelt, before his transfer to the dormitory (Abba Serida), and confusion was ready to arise during his stay there, the Great Elder, foreseeing this in spirit, wrote to him the following:

Write to Brother John: I send you three testimonies from the power of God and from the Scriptures of the Holy Spirit, by which I stir up your mind to Divine vigilance and to the understanding of the Holy Spirit, so that you may know the circumstances of the present time as they are. The first testimony is the following: God said through the prophet Isaiah: "Go, my people, enter into your tabernacle, shut your doors, hide yourselves a little, until the wrath of the Lord passes by" (Isaiah 26:20). The second testimony is: "Depart from among them, and be separated," saith the Lord, "and touch not uncleanness, and I will receive you, and I will be unto you for the Father, and ye shall be unto Me sons and daughters," saith the Lord Almighty (2 Corinthians 6:17-18). The third testimony is: "Take heed how dangerously you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming time, for the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:15-16). But I say unto thee, Hasten to that which is set before thee, and hasten to finish thy work, remembering thy Lord, Who said, Let no man lay his hand on the saddle, and turn back in vain, for he is governed in the Kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62). For I see a silent life waiting for you in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Answer 5, of the same Great Elder to Abba (Serid), who was saddened that Abba John was slow to come to them, and concluded from this that he would not come at all.

Do not grieve, my son, and grieve not for our brother; although he is absent in body, yet in spirit he is here and always abides with us; for he is of one accord with us, and no one will separate him from our love, from now until everlasting.

6. The epistle of the same Great Elder, written to Abba John at the monastery of St. Sava [12], when he, due to certain needs of communal life, was in his own country and was troubled by bodily abuse.

Write to your brother: behold, you are still outside (the abode and silence), laboring according to your strength for the sake of God and for the sake of the souls of your brethren, and more for the sake of our and your own peace and silence. For when the brethren are calmed and covered by our care, then through them we will also find perfect silence. And the word of the Scripture will be fulfilled upon us: "Brother from brother we help, as the city is strong and fenced" (Proverbs 18:19). Give up all the close relationships you have with some, and apologize to yourself for being outside the monastery. Remove from yourself the pretext (for battle), break off close intercourse with anyone, if it draws you back to the former. But if you do not do this, you cannot be silent with perfect silence. And so we did. I hope surely that when you have done this, you will be silent: and thus, with the help of God, your lot and your portion will be with us forever. Do not reveal to anyone what I am now writing to you. If you succeed in your present work, thank God and pray to Him. This is what it means: give thanks in all things (1 Thess. 5:18). Therefore, let us not neglect to give thanks to God, lest we become like the man of whom you once told us, that once, when he was going to church to pray for food to be sent down to him, a man met him, and said, "Dine with me today, and then you will go and pray; then he answered: I will not go (to pray), because I have already received what I went to ask of God. But we, whether we receive or not receive (what we desire), will offer prayer and thanksgiving to God. Strive always to bear the death of the Lord Jesus in your body (2 Corinthians 4:10).

Answer 7, of the same Great Elder, who had to go with his brother to collect (a supply) for needlework and was afraid of the desolation of those places; a reminder to him of his sobriety over himself, against the bodily warfare that disturbs him, and a promise of God's assistance in his striving to withdraw to them into silence.

Say to our sincere and unanimous brother John, who is called from above by a divine command to live with us not only in the present age, but also in the age to come: Our Lord Christ said to His disciples: "Are ye not two birds valued by one assarion? and not one of them shall fall into the earth without your Father. And to you and to you all the heads of the head shall be given the essence. Do not be afraid: you are the best birds. Whosoever hath made Me known before men, let us also praise him before My Father Who is in heaven (Matt. 10:29-32). Therefore, take heed to yourself vigilantly, that you may always have God before you, that the prophetic word may be fulfilled in you also: "I have seen the Lord before me, as I am at my right hand, that I may not be moved" (Psalm 15:8). Stretch out your hands with all your soul to what is set before you, and learn it always, that you may hear the voice of God: "Behold, I will send my angel before you, who will prepare your way before you" (Matt. 11:10).

8. The same brother, having labored hard and not finding (a reserve) for needlework, grieved and wondered why, according to the words of the Elder, an angel was not sent before him, not understanding that this referred to the removal of obstacles that prevented him from withdrawing into silence; on this occasion the Elder writes to him as follows:

Write to your brother: while the ship is at sea, it is exposed to dangers and winds. When he reaches a quiet and peaceful harbor, he is no longer afraid of dangers, sorrows and winds, but remains safe. So it is with your love: as long as you are with people, expect sorrows, dangers, and the influx of mental winds. But when you reach that which is prepared for you (the abode of silence), then you will have no fear. Concerning the words of our Lord, which I have mentioned before: Behold, I will send my angel before you, (know that) he has been sent. As for the fact that you have not found (a reserve for) needlework, (remember) what God said in the Book of Moses: "For this reason I have done thee, and have made thee angry, and have slain thee with hunger" (Deuteronomy 8:3) in the wilderness, in thirst for heat in the waterless (Deuteronomy 32:10); and they shall be understood in thy heart" (Deuteronomy 8:2). Understand what I have said to you, beloved brother, and work unceasingly and without doubt.

Answer 9. The epistle of the same Great Elder to the same one, who, having been absent for the needs of communal life, was exhausted from the great sorrow that met him on this occasion.