18. The disciples of the enlightened elder, Theodore and John, told me, saying that after the dormition of Sava, who was among the saints, the elder sent us to Liviad for the sake of an answer, and on the way, after crossing the Jordan, some people met us, saying: "Look, there is a lion ahead of you." We thought that God had the power to preserve us for the prayers of our abba, for we do not fulfill this commandment of our own free will. Thinking this, we continued our journey, and suddenly a lion came out to meet us; We were very frightened and had no strength left. But immediately we saw an elder praying in the midst of both of us and commanding us to be bold. Then the lion, as if driven by a whip, departed, fleeing from us, and we, having made the journey unharmed, came to the elder, who, meeting us, said: "You see how I have found myself with you in need; but even here I have prayed much to God for you, and behold, He has shown mercy."

19. One of the disciples also related the following: "For many years he ate only bread and mixed ashes from a censer with it, and so he ate. I found him doing this in the following way: once he forgot to lock the latch at his door, but I, although I had given him water and wine, took hold of the door, opened it and found him pouring the censer into a cup. When he was greatly grieved by this, I, wishing to console his sorrow, said: "You are not the only one, father, who do this, but also the majority in this Lavra, fulfilling the scripture that says: "Ashes are like bread" (Ps. CI, 10). And with difficulty with these words I was able to console the elder."

20.

And so, having come to Jerusalem and having performed the consecration of the new church of the All-Sung Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, I arrived at the Lavra of Blessed Sava, and having visited this divine elder, I told him about myself and asked him to receive God-pleasing advice from him; and I heard from him: "If you want to be saved, then settle in the monastery of the great Euthymius." I, being young and vain, disobeyed his commandment and went down to the Jordan, wishing to settle in one of the monasteries there. And not only did I not make a safe journey, but I also fell ill with a serious illness for six months in the Kalamonova Lavra. When I was in great sorrow and fear, for the sake of wandering and illness, and because I did not fit in with the retinue, this enlightened elder appeared to me in a dream, saying thus: "Since you have disobeyed my commandment, you have been punished sufficiently. Now, having arisen, go to Jericho and find a certain elder monk in the hospice of the monastery of Abba Euthymius; follow him and you will be saved." Rising from my sleep and immediately strengthened, I communed of the Most Pure Mysteries, and having tasted the food, I went on foot to Jericho, so that the fathers were amazed at the slight sudden change. And so, having arrived, I settled in the monastery of St. Euthymius, in the month of July, on the sixth indiction, and from that time I often went to the elder, confessing to him everything about myself.

As a result, I also came to him with great boldness and enjoyed his exhortations and prayers, especially now, when he commanded me to leave my stay in the new Lavra and settle in the old one, which I did, pleasing to God. But more on that later.

21. After a long time, I came to the holy elder, being burdened with a certain satanic thought, and having confessed it to him and accepted a prayer from him, I immediately received deliverance. And when I was sitting near his door and enjoying his divine teaching, a certain George brought his demonic son to him and, throwing him down before his door, departed. And when the lad lay and cried out, the elder, learning that he had an unclean spirit, took pity on him and made a prayer for him, and, anointing him with the oil of the Holy Cross, restored him to health, and since the evil spirit immediately departed, the lad was cleansed from that hour.

22. Abba Eustathius, who a few days ago had taken over the hegumen of Blessed Sava, after Sergius, a man distinguished by the grace of Christ for his spiritual sense, and for his right teachings, and for his chaste life, told me, saying, "Once I was greatly overcome by the demon of blasphemy, and having come to Abba John the silent, I told him my thoughts and asked him to receive a prayer from him. The elder got up, made a prayer to me and said: "Blessed be the Lord, child, the blasphemous enemy will no longer come near you"; And so it happened according to the word of the elder, and from that time I no longer felt this evil and blasphemous thought.

23. A certain woman, a Cappadocian by birth, named Basilina, a deaconess of the great Church of Constantinople, came to Jerusalem, having with her a nephew invested with the office of governor, who, being humble in other respects, did not associate with the Catholic Church, having accepted the heterodoxy of Severovo. The deaconess tried very hard to change his thoughts and unite him with the Catholic Church, as a result of which she asked every righteous man to say a prayer for him. This woman, hearing of the grace of this divine John, wished to worship him; but learning that it was not customary for women to enter the Lavra, she sent for his disciple Theodore and asked him to take his nephew and take him to the holy elder; she believed that for the sake of his prayer God would change his hardness of heart and grant him communion with the Catholic Church. The disciple Theodore, taking it, came to the elder and knocked on the door, according to custom: when the elder wanted to open it, both bowed, and at the words of the disciple: "Bless us, father," the elder opened it and said to the disciple: "I bless you, but this one without a blessing." When the disciple said: "Not so, father," the elder answered: "In truth, I will not bless him, until he departs from the teaching of the schismatics and confesses that he will be a communicant of the Catholic Church." He, hearing this, was struck by the clairvoyant gift of the elder and, having changed as a result of the miracle, vouched for it, promising to commune with the Catholic Church. Then the elder, having blessed him, for the first time taught him the Most-Pure Mysteries, and he blotted out from his heart all duplicity.

24. Basiline, hearing this, had an even greater desire to see the holy elder with her own eyes, and she thought, dressed in a man's dress, to come to him to Laurus and tell him about herself. And when this was revealed to him by an angelic vision, he let her know, saying: "Know this, that even if you come, you will not see me; do not be alarmed, but stay, and wherever you are, I will appear to you in a dream and tell you what God will give me." Hearing this and believing, she received a vision in reality: behold, the holy elder appeared to her in a dream, saying: "Behold, the Lord has sent me to you, tell me, what do you want?" I heard this from the deaconess Vasilina herself.

25. The place where this holy elder was imprisoned has a very high cliff to the west, which occupies the site of the wall, and the roof of the cell is attached to it. The stone of the cliff is very dry and waterless, so that it does not bring any moisture to the cell. Once, this holy elder, taking the seed of a fig tree, said to his disciples Theodore and John: "Listen to me, children, if God's love for mankind grants to this seed and to this stone the power to bear fruit, then know that God will grant me the Kingdom of Heaven." And having said this, he stuck the seed of a fig tree to this hard stone. And God, Who deigned that Aaron's dry rod should vegetate, commanded that this hard and dry stone should grow for the demonstration of future generations, such grace as His servant received. And the holy elder, seeing the sprout, thanked God with tears; this sprout, gradually rising upwards, reached the roof, which was opened; In short, after three years, he brought three figs. The elder took them and kissed them with tears, tasted, thanking God Who had confirmed him, and gave them to his disciples a little. And behold, the tree cries, testifying to the virtue of the elder. From the time when this God-bearing elder ate figs, he began to prepare for the exodus.

26. When the saint reached extreme old age, his disciple opened his dwelling to serve him. And I, entering it and seeing the terrible miracle of the plant, carefully considered how it took root and the stone was cracked, but I could not find it, and in amazement I said: "O depth of the riches and wisdom and understanding of God! For His judgments have not been tried, and His ways have not been searched" (Rom. XI, 34)! And those who have been acquainted with the Lavra of Blessed Sava for a long time know that neither a fig nor any other tree will be born either openly or in the garden, because of the great heat and dryness of the air of the Lavra. If anyone mentions the trees of the small Lavra community, growing along the way, let him know that this is the work of the prayer of Blessed Sava, who found deep earth and an abundance of rainwater from the stream, as well as the work of the fathers of this small community, who to this day water the trees throughout the winter with the water of the stream. Even when many tried to plant near the stream, where the ground is deep and watered throughout the winter, they could hardly preserve what they planted for only a year, because of the great, as they say, dryness of the air and the intensity of the heat.

27. Having chosen this little, I have given it to writing, omitting the narrative of his exploits for the faith, which he showed in the struggle against the teachings and champions of Origen and Theodore of Mopsuestia, and the persecutions that he endured, according to the Gospel, for the Apostolic commandments. But I leave his asceticism to other writers, for I know well that many, as befits him, after his death will try to describe his exploits and persecutions, and the dangers that he endured for the true faith, and the victories and his glorious life, in all his life, so to speak, with us, when he became glorious and famous for his life and the splendor of his virtues.

28. As I have heard from his own holy lips, he was ordained bishop in his twenty-eighth year, as stated above, and fulfilled nine years in the episcopacy, and remained in the Lavra for the first time twelve years, of which he was in obedience for six and silent for six, and remained in Ruva for six years, and being shut up in a cell in which he is silent to this day, fulfilled with God forty-seven years. And so, he had reached the one hundred and fourth year of his life, and was very old, bright in face and soul, cheerful, and filled with divine grace. Let us pray, the poor, that the Lord may strengthen him more and more and complete his course in the world, and through his prayers have mercy on us poor and sinners, who have written these things forever and ever, Amen.

This holy Elder John the Bishop died on the seventh day of the month of December, into the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is glory and power unto the ages of ages. Amen.