In 1893, in the Great Skete of All Saints, the monk Father Arseny (photographer) died. Fr. Hegumen Gabriel gave his blessing to bury him in the same skete, where he had lived and asceticized for many years. They began to dig a grave for him next to Jerusalem Schemamonk Cleopas, who died in 1816, a former disciple of the great Elder Paisius Velichkovsky, the worker of the Jesus Prayer and in general an elder of high spiritual life. During the digging of his grave, the novices suddenly felt a strong and intense fragrance, which was felt by everyone and further on, which they were very surprised. When their work was nearing completion, a human skull fell out of the side of the grave, clean, of dark wax flower. The fragrance intensified even more. The brethren then sent for the elder Fr. Theophilus, who at that time was the administrator of the skete. The latter came and gave orders to summon Hieroschemamonk Alexis and the other skete elders. Father Alexis hastened to come to the grave, and when he saw the skull and felt a wondrous fragrance, he took the skull in his hands with great joy and said to the brethren who were gathering: "This is the head of the holy elder Schemamonk Cleopas." And he said to the head, as if addressing a living person: "Father Cleopas! Christ is in our midst!" — and, crossing himself, kissed his head several times with love, and for a long time everyone admired the pleasant appearance of the head and delighted with the wondrous aroma, and after this, at the desire of all the skete elders, they served a pannikhida for the blessed elder Hieroschemamonk Cleopas, and, carefully placing his head in their place, covered it with earth. Hieroschemamonk Cleopas, as is known, came to Valaam in 1811, and reposed in the Lord in 1816.

2. ON THE WISH FOR THE DEATH OF FR. ANTIPAS I

Schemamonk Antipas I

When the elder Hieroschemamonk Fr. Antipas, who had lived in the skete of All Saints for 17 years, approached death, having led an ascetic and prayerful life, asceticizing early on Athena, it was said that his cell rule began at 12 o'clock at night and ended at 12 o'clock in the afternoon. When he fell ill and became weak, the brethren of the skete and monastery came to visit him and bid him farewell. The owner of the skete, the monk Fr. Theophilus, also came and, wishing to amuse the sick elder, as is usually done with very sick people, comforting him, said: "Never mind, elder, do not lose heart, you will still live with us, you will not die soon; I wish you to recover, and then again, as before, you will live in good health." — "What are you, why do you say this, Father Theophilus! "In vain do you wish me to recover, for I have not lived long in this world, and have endured everything for God's sake: sorrows, misfortunes, and pains." No, it is enough for me to live, I wish to die, it is time, it is time for me to end my earthly life, so that, by the mercy of God, I may rest from everything and be inseparable from Christ forever. Do not wish and do not pray to God that I recover," concluded the elder Fr. Antipas good-naturedly, "it is time for me to depart to my fathers!"

Soon the elder peacefully reposed in the Lord on January 10, 1882. Such is the attitude of the good ascetic monks to death, they wish to be quickly separated from the bonds of the forest, in order to be united with Christ forever, and their souls are torn from this vain and much-sorrowful world as if from a foreign country to their homeland, having departed for another better world, to which they have long striven with all their being, both soul and heart, as a thirsty deer yearns for water, so they also thirst to see their Lord.

3. ON THE FASTING OF THE ELDER HIEROSCHEMAMONK FR. ANTIPAS I

About the same Elder Hieroschemamonk Father Antipas said that, being a faster, he did not eat at all during the first week of Great Lent until Saturday, and then, after communing of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, he broke his fast. The elder adhered to this rule for many years, but once, as he himself later said to a monk who was close to him in spirit: "It was as if I were mentally proud of my podvig, and at the onset of Lent I did not ask the Lord for help for this podvig, but, presumptuously relying on my own strength and many years of experience, I began the Holy Forty Days. And so, from the very first day I was so weak and exhausted that, with all my desire, I could no longer fast, but on the second day of the fast I was forced to eat a little food and thereby tame my exhausted body. Thus the Lord humbled me, and I knew and was ashamed that without God's help we can do nothing good."

4. THE DEATH OF THE ELDER HIEROSCHEMAMONK ANTIPAS I

It was also said about the late blessed elder Hieroschemamonk Fr. Antipas of Athena, that he tried daily and unfailingly to read the Akathist of the Mother of God. In addition, by reading himself, he also persuaded others to read this akathyst to the Queen of Heaven daily, believing that whoever would read the akathyst of the Mother of God every day would not die a natural death. His disciples tried to fulfill this old man's command as much as they could. When the elder himself fell ill and began to approach death, guided by all the Christian mysteries, then his disciple, the monk Fr. Agapius, came to visit him. Seeing that the elder was no longer in the mood for talking, since he had already become very weak, and remembering the elder's instruction to read the Akathist every day, and realizing that it was no longer possible for the elder himself to read it because of his complete exhaustion, he decided to read it for him himself. Knowing the Akath by heart, he began to read it aloud. The dying man, apparently, listened attentively to his beloved akathist. His face took on the appearance of complete calm; The breath became quieter and quieter, and on the 7th kontakion. when Fr. Agapius pronounced the words of the Akathist scholar, "I desire that Simeon may depart from this present age, the lovely one," the elder peacefully gave up his spirit to God, departing from "this lovely age" into the spiritual and blessed world for eternal joy and peace.

5. ON THE CLAIRVOYANCE OF THE ELDER FR. ISAIAH

Hieromonk Father Isaiah died in 1914, having lived in the monastery for 60 years, of which he lived the last 20 years in the Forerunner Skete. The elder led a harsh ascetic life. His non-acquisitiveness was instructive — handicrafts combined with prayer — always. Some of his feats were amazing, for example, when he lived in a separate cell, he did not heat the stove in winter, so the water in his cell froze, and he, for God's sake, endured the cold. His other secret feat was learned only after his death, when they began to tidy up his body, it turned out that he had never cut his toenails, after which they were so large that they reached some two versheks in length, others, bent, as if rooted into the body. One can think that the elder experienced terrible pain because of this, but silently, for God's sake, without showing anyone his sufferings, he secretly performed his podvig from the praise of people. Many cases of his amazing perspicacity are told, of which we will cite at least one. Thus, once the Skete Schemamonk Fr. Isidore happened to be justly offended by a monk who lived in the same skete, who, being considered his spiritual son, deliberately insulted his spiritual father and did not come to him in order to humble himself and ask forgiveness, according to the monastic custom; in the meantime, the time for communion came, and the offender had to come to O. Isidore willy-nilly. The latter, offended, decided not to accept him for confession, but to send him to another confessor. "I have just thought about it and decided to do so," Fr. Isidore himself said, "how in church the elder Fr. Isaiah came up to me and said to me with conviction:

"No, father, no, don't drive him away from you, it was he who did it in his simplicity, and the enemy attacked him. He will reform, accept him and do not be troubled," the elder finished and left me. I was utterly surprised, thinking how it was so, why could he foresee my intention and know my thoughts? Of course, after this I received the mentioned monk with love, and the last thing I did after this incident was completely reformed."

6. ON THE POWER OF THE WORDS OF THE ELDER HIEROMONK ISAIAH

Once upon a time, a very venerable-looking general came to the Forerunner Skete on a boat with a guide from the monastery. The owner of the skete, O. I., approached him with a command. The general announced to him that he, with the blessing of Father Hegumen, had come in order to confront the elder Fr. Isaiah; Then the owner of the skete answered him: "What can Father Isaiah say to you in particular, that he is a simple, uneducated man, and you can hardly learn anything interesting from him?" The general seemed to be in disarray and embarrassedly objected: "I have been told that the elder Fr. Isaiah is an ascetic of holy life." To these words of the general, the host replied: "Yes, all the living brethren here are ascetics. But only for you, as an educated person, Fr. Isaiah, as a simple elder, is not suitable for consultation. You'd better go down to our skete church; take a walk around the island, here we have wonderful picturesque places." — "Yes, no! That's not why I came here," the general replied to him embarrassedly, "I need to calm my soul, whoever he is, your father Isaiah, and since the Hegumen has blessed me to be mad with him, then I beg you to humbly accompany me to him!" Behold, Brother Nicholas will accompany you to his cell."