Epiphanius, noticing the sudden transformation of the boy, for he spoke in a language he had not learned, said: "What a miracle! Wondrous is God in His saints!" And Blessed Andrew asked the Lord about this boy, what was really to happen at his request, and a voice appeared to him, saying: "There is no profit in this, refuse this enterprise; but show him what it is, so that he does not condemn you as powerless." And the blessed one immediately commanded the angel standing next to them: "Fill the cup of spiritual joy, from which pours out the grace of the gift given to me." The angel of the Lord did so, and the blessed one said to him: "Give drink to him who sits at my feet." He immediately gave him water invisibly, and the boy began to make signs similar to those made by the God-bearing father, who, looking at him, smiled joyfully. And Epiphanius, seeing what had happened, became anxious, fearing that all the wrath of his father would fall upon him, and said to the blessed one: "I beseech thee, servant of God, not to do this to the servant of my father, lest thou also be treated with contempt, and God be reproached for good, and render me not worthy of hatred and curse before my father. Wherefore I beseech and beseech thee, that thou mayest not reject my request as in vain, but that thou mayest remember the testimony of my love which thy servant, which I once gave thee." And the blessed one, not wishing to leave the request of Epiphanius fruitless, commanded the angel to take away from the boy the gift given to him, and immediately the angel of the Lord took this grace from him, and the boy returned to his former state, in which he had been before. In great sorrow, however, he began to beseech the saint to give him this gift again. The latter answered him: "You told me that I was not able to manifest such a thing in you; see now and know that in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ I can manifest in you even more, if I will; however, your lord Epiphanius came to your defense, and the divine laws "do not allow you to act contrary to the opinion of your master." And then one of the slaves, the boy's companions, called him to his usual service by order of his master.

With the onset of evening Epiphanius persuaded the saint to remain with him. Near the first night watch, all the slaves, having fulfilled their duties, gathered around Epiphanius, seized with ardent love, and since they stood with clasped hands, he ordered them to sit down.

19. ON THE SERVANTS OF EPIPHANIUS.

And so, as soon as everyone sat down around him, Blessed Andrew looked with the spiritual eye of his mind at the actions of each of them, and what sin each of them had committed, and, wishing to bring them to their senses, he began to speak in allegories, recounting a certain parable. And some, heeding the words of the saint, repented, covered with the color of shame, others felt dizziness and trembling, and still others fled in shame. After all, the simple speech of the righteous man decisively exposed the sins of all of them, revealing why, how, and where they were committed. But what is even more surprising is that each of them perceived what was said in his own language; and each concluded: "This man speaks of me." And falling into fear and trembling because in parables he rebuked their sins, they came to repentance. And the vile demon, looking at how the slaves of Epiphanius were reforming, brought with him a multitude of unclean spirits, and, sitting down in the courtyard in front of the house, they began to laugh. The blessed one guessed and smiled when he heard this. Then Epiphanius and those who were with him noticed the righteous man's smile and, considering it strange, wanted to know why he behaved in this way: after all, they did not hear the voices of evil demons, for they did not have such insight. Realizing this, the righteous man, casting a glance to the right, said with a kind of authority: "Lift the veil from the hearts of those who are here!" With these words of his, their spiritual ears were opened, and they heard what the demons were talking about. And they began to ask Epiphanius: "Lord, who are these profligate women, who, standing outside the gates, compete in shamelessness?" And he answered them: "It is the demons who jump joyfully, because we are sinners." And when they heard this, they began to scold themselves. Suddenly, suddenly rising and bowing at the feet of the worthy Epiphanius, they went each to his bed. But as one was leaving, he said to the other, "Have you noticed a strange thing: how did this poor man tell me about my sins?" And the other said: "Believe me, brothers, he has revealed to me all the secrets of my heart!" And some said that he was a saint, others that he was a soothsayer and by the arrangement of the signs of the Zodiac announced what could happen, and still others objected: "He revealed everything to us with the help of demonic power."

Finally, when everyone had fallen asleep, Epiphanius, leaving his bed, according to his custom, lay down on the floor; the saint, pretending to have fallen asleep on the bed of Epiphanius, left him himself, went out into the courtyard and lay down in a dunghill for the rest of the night.

With the onset of morning, he went out, accompanied by Epiphanius, to his spiritual struggle. Then Epiphanius, summoning to him the boy with whom the saint had spoken in Syriac, began to find out from him how this mystery had been created in him. "My lord," he said, "when I entered your room, I was suddenly speechless, for I saw the face of that saint shining brighter than the sun. Astonished, I heard a voice (from whence I do not know) saying to me: "Look, and you will understand how great his foolishness has made for the Lord's sake." Then I began to look: and behold, from the ray that was on the righteous man, a part separated and approached my face, and immediately I began to make his movements — for as long as you saw. Then they took it away from me, and I became what I was before, that is, attached to ordinary worldly things. Now, sir, from now on, be thyself the guardian of my salvation, leading me along the path of God's commandments." Hearing this, Epiphanius was amazed in his soul and felt dizzy. Embracing the boy with tears, he kissed his eyes, which had become witnesses to such mysteries, and said: "The Almighty Lord, Who has shown you His wondrous mysteries, can save your soul also, my beloved brother, and from this day I will dispose of your Affairs, considering you my close friend and spiritual brother." That is why from that time on, Epiphanius fell in love with the boy, becoming his assistant in everything that pleased the Creator.

And Blessed Andrew, after having departed from the house of Epiphanius, wrestled in the hidden places and nooks of the city, where no one knew him, pierced by unbearable cold and fettered by the cold, hated by all, so that even the children of the city beat him, dragged him, beat him cruelly, and, throwing a rope around his neck, dragged him! Thus tormented, he went to the Artopolis to recuperate his strength, for his body had been exhausted by excessive fasting. Some of the Christ-loving people, noticing how exhausted he was, gave him small coins, and since they had not seen him for a long time, they said: "Where have you been until now, idiot, and where have you spent so many days?" And he answered them: "Do you not know, blockheads, that when I was with fools, I fought like a fool? Why, you are fools yourself!"; They laughed at him, not understanding what was said, for he called fools the pernicious demons, with whom he always waged a struggle, fighting for the Kingdom of Heaven. And some gave him small coins, others beans, others bread, others cheese or fruit, each of what he bought. And he, going into the tavern, divided; all this with poor people like him. And often some of the compassionate people, feeling sorry for him and sympathizing with him, gave up the cloak; but other poor people, living like unscrupulous robbers, attacked! they robbed him by night and, having undressed him, and fled, leaving him naked: these are those whom the townspeople usually call the archbishop's boys.

And one day, when he was again relieving himself behind the tavern in front of passers-by, a young man, seeing him sitting without blushing, informed the innkeeper, who, running out and seeing the saint, took out a stick and beat him as best he could. And another impudent man passing by, distinguished by his savage temper, when he saw that the saint was being beaten, seized a stick and, incited by the devil, struck him with this stick with all his might, so that the blow could be heard far away. And the saint, looking at the one who had struck him, groaned bitterly, but rising up and coming closer to him, he began to kiss his feet, praying for him. Some, looking at this, said: "See how this madman, like a dog, stupidly kisses the feet of the one who beat him"; And Blessed Andrew, having received unbearable blows, departed from there and, going into one of the corners of the portico, fell asleep, seized by a short sleep. And people passing by, looking at him, said: "He suffers because of female divination," and others — "because of epilepsy." And God, Who knoweth the secret and foresees from afar the lofty, knew also about the service of His servant, and for what reason he did such things.

20. ABOUT A CART DRAWN BY OXEN.

And so, since the saint used to lie, as it was said, now in the alley, now in the city porticoes, it happened that a cart drawn by oxen passed there. The driver, who was dead drunk, to tell the truth, rode singing songs, and, of course, did not realize what was happening to the righteous man. And it so happened that the bulls, having caught up with Andrew, walked over him, and when the wheels drove over his stomach, the passers-by shouted to the driver, and some began to beat him, saying: "Even if you did not notice him, you should have watched where your cart passed!" He, drunk to the point of stupefaction, answered with difficulty: "And who forced him to lie down in the middle of the street?" And they answered: "May God give you his mind and spirit, which leads to such insensibility!" And the righteous man remained unharmed by the mercy of God. And some said in surprise: "We are at a loss what to say or utter about this touched: is it God who protects him or the evil spirits, mingling with whom he rolls to destruction?" And others: "We think that the demon who possessed him, trying to stay with him, sharply reduced the weight of the cart and kept it unharmed." Still others said: "No, it is not so: it is God, who is merciful, who took pity on his misfortune and sickness and protected him." But He created all this of His own free will, for He despised the world and the things of the world for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.

And another miracle was performed by the righteous man with the permission of God: on summer days, when the sun was unbearably scorching, he pretended to be drunk and, coming to a sultry place, remained there in the scorching heat, lying in the middle of the street without food or drink. Then passers-by, stumbling over him, at the instigation of the devil, and becoming enraged, now beat him with sticks, then kicked him, passing by, some on the run reviled him and trampled him with their feet, and others, seizing him by the leg, dragged him down. When night came, he arose and went from there to the vestibule of the church, and all night he remained there, offering up prayers and petitions to God.

21. At one of the stages of his spiritual service, the following happened to the servant of the Lord...

At one of the stages of his spiritual service, the following happened to the servant of the Lord: having set out on his journey, as was his custom at an odd hour, so that his prayer on the threshold of churches would not become known to anyone, he found himself in the chapel of the Most Holy Theotokos, located in the left portico of the Constantinople Forum. And a boy happened to be walking along this street, carrying out an errand for his master. And when the saint approached the chapel to pray, the boy caught up with him, stepping on tiptoe. The saint did not notice the one who followed him — so God arranged it. And since it pleased God, as I have already said, to reveal what Andrew really was, when he was at the door, and, stretching out his right hand, made the sign of the cross over them, the doors immediately opened of their own accord. Going inside, he began to pray fervently, not knowing that someone was watching him from the outside. For the boy had accompanied him to follow him, for he knew that he was one of the madmen, and when he saw the doors open, he trembled, felt dizzy, and trembled, and said to himself: "This is the kind of servant of God that is truly mad who are called mad! And we, the unfortunates, do not even know who has now shown to those mercilessly beating and insulting him what a saint he really is! Oh, how many secret servants the Lord has, and no one understands or knows what happens to them."

Thus he pondered, standing at the entrance, and coming closer, he began to look out for what was going on inside, and saw how the saint was hovering in the air in front of the ambo and praying. Flashes of flame spread around him, and an incomparable fragrance reached the doors of the temple. Amazed at the sight, the boy withdrew from there to fulfill the order of his master, and the saint, having completed his prayer, went out, and when he was leaving, the doors were again closed with the sign of the cross. He also noticed the boy who was watching him, and he was depressed by this, for he knew in his soul that he had witnessed what he had done. When the boy returned home, the righteous man came up to him and said: "Beware, child, of notifying anyone of what you have seen in this place, and the mercy of the Lord will be with you. If you try to utter a word about what you have seen, I will give orders to the unclean spirit, and you will become a laughing stock in the city. However, it is the will of Jesus! "The angel who guards you will not let you speak: for I will command him, and I need not worry about it." But the boy, not seeing who was speaking to him, was seized with fear, and said, "I will not say, sir." And, amazed, he turned to himself with the words: "What a miracle! There he is, a saint, and we don't know, truly mad! What a wonder! How many secret servants the Lord has, beautiful in their deeds and thoughts, and what we have heard from the lives of the saints, we have now seen with our own eyes."