As for his disciples, who, under the guidance of the monk, ascended to the heights of virtue, I do not know how to worthily tell and how to tell about their battles and feats. The first of them was St. Gerasimos, who came from Euripus, as I have already said. Afterwards he became a disciple of the most holy Patriarch Isidore, and he was of great benefit and deserved his praise, for from the very beginning he was well taught by the divine Gregory virtue and the life befitting a monk. This wondrous man imitated the ancient Monk Gerasimus (of Jordan), and just as he walked the apostolic path and tamed the Jordanian wilderness, having erected honorable monasteries in it, so this new Gerasimus, filled with Divine grace and enlightened by God, came to Greece. Like the Apostles, he went around it and saturated all those who hungered and thirsted for the word of God with the sweetest teaching of Virtue, enriching as much as possible with the riches of sanctification and piety. But Gerasim himself, thanks to his diligence and diligence, gathered around him a multitude of disciples and, with the help of God, founded a heavenly dwelling and a monastic monastery, passing on to the brethren the rules of a strict angelic life, taught them, being an example of virtue, as the Monk Gerasim had done in antiquity. Likewise, this new Gerasimus was vouchsafed to behold Divine visions in silence, and spent his life in spiritual feats, worthy of astonishment, after which he reposed in the Lord.

 The second disciple of the monk was Joseph, a compatriot and companion of Gerasimos, who fought with courage for Orthodoxy, resisting the Latins, and extracted many from this wickedness, by the grace of Christ bringing them to Orthodoxy. Few of those known and successful in external wisdom were able to do as much for Orthodoxy as Joseph did, for he had inner and true wisdom – the grace of the Holy Spirit, with the help of Whom even those fishermen, the divine apostles, were glorified and shamed the external wise men. Thus the wondrous Joseph was glorified by God and put the Latins to shame. Of his other virtues and famous and humble life, who can deservedly tell? I will keep silent about this too.

 You, O listener, meditate on another disciple of the saint, the wondrous Abba Nicholas, an elder of eighty years old, from Athens, who was worthy of reverence not only for his respectable age, but also for his prudence and modesty of morals. He bravely endured for Orthodoxy numerous persecutions from the Latin-minded Michael Palaiologos: he was exiled, his estates were plundered, and many times he was imprisoned in gloomy prisons. At a time when the divine Nicholas was preaching the word of God in his homeland and teaching the people to preserve the Orthodox faith, not accepting the vicious teaching of the Latins, the emperor sent his cruel and inhuman Latinizing servants to punish him. Obeying the order of the tsar, they tied Nicholas tightly with ropes, put chains around his neck and hands; in order to shame them, they shaved their beards and, cruelly beating them with sticks and feet, led them along the roads everywhere for show. The superstitious did not know that by doing so they only flaunted their malice, and for Nicholas they were the cause of greater glory. But since, by the mercy of God, peace had come to the Church of Christ at that time, and the persecution of the Orthodox had ceased, the Ecumenical Patriarch, His Holiness Joseph, tried various ways to ordain the divine Nicholas as bishop. The latter, humble-minded, did not agree to become a bishop, and, desiring silence, came to the Holy Mountain. The then archpriest of the Holy Mountain took great love of Nicholas, adorned with all virtues and piety, and appointed, against his will, ecclesiarch in the honorable monastery of Kareev. After a while, Nicholas met with the wondrous Gregory and, having heard his sweetest teachings, with all his soul he wanted to become his disciple.

 Just as a magnet with its tremendous natural power attracts to itself the hardest iron, so our divine teacher Gregory with his spiritually beneficial words (which every prudent person would justly call the words of eternal life, and truly with a Divine voice) attracted to himself all who saw him or conversed with him.

Thus did Abba Nicholas, who not only forsook the honours and glory of man as a vain and superfluous burden, but also despised his own old age, throwing himself at the feet of the monk. He joyfully accepted the podvig and the labor of obedience, as if he had acquired some great treasure. Listening to the sweet words of the monk, absorbing his instructions, he was tempted in every virtue, and especially in humility, surpassing in this all his brethren.

 One should also marvel at how the divine father treated his novices. When he wanted to correct a sinful disciple, then, having pondered with clairvoyant spiritual eyes how to benefit the novice, he suddenly began to revile him, calling him evil and vicious, saying that he had grown old in evil, and had done nothing good. The monk called him a lazy man, who neglected the salvation of his soul and often ordered some monk to drive the sinner out of the refectory with a stern look. With all this, the monk was concerned in every possible way for the salvation of his brother's soul. Hearing of all this, the ascetic of Christ, Abba Nicholas, fell down with great humility at the feet of the saint and began to weep. And I myself, who is telling this, my heart shrinks and tears flow with abundant amazement when I imagine the venerable elder stretched out at the feet of his teacher. You, listener, ponder and marvel at this story. Having thus scolded the sinning disciple, Gregory instructed him and, having forgiven him, dismissed him with great spiritual benefit for him. What I have just told you about is only a tiny particle, since it is not possible to tell in detail about all the feats of the monk.

 And you, beloved, look at another disciple of the divine Gregory, the wonderful Mark, who was a native of Clazomene. Coming to Thessaloniki, he was tonsured a monk in a monastery called the monastery of Lord Isaac. Finding himself on the Holy Mountain, he asceticized with great zeal and diligence, having acquired mental prayer, sobriety, and he was extremely fond of unceasing prayer. Although Mark became a precious repository of all virtues, he loved humility and obedience so much that he wanted to zealously serve, as far as possible, not only to the superior, but also to all the brethren in Christ. He was very displeased if he could not serve, like a slave, all the monks who came there. Truly, by his deeds he unhypocritically fulfilled the commandment of Christ: "Whosoever will be first among you, let him be your servant" (Matt. 20:27). There was no one who did not marvel and praise the divine Mark, and did not feel his spiritual fragrance. Having seen him only once, any person received his sanctification from him and took from him an example of humility. This divine ascetic, having come to a very old age, with great joy wanted to perform the same feats as in his youth, not thinking at all about old age, or about impotence, or about anything else that could hinder him. He zealously fulfilled his obediences in the kitchen and never neglected his duties, under any pretext. For this reason God, Who blesses the humble in heart, seeing such humility of his mind, raised him to such glory that, shining with Divine grace, he became the brightest instrument of the Holy Spirit. Having reached a serene and quiet harbor, he united his aspiration with God, conversing with Him alone and inexpressibly rejoicing in His brightness, bringing spiritual benefit to many from his teachings and holiness. In this way I also came to know him, and had the opportunity to experience him for a long time, because I began to live with him, having one thought and one desire in everything, by the grace of the Holy Spirit. From the very beginning, when I first met him, I fell in love with him with all my heart, revering his friendship unusually highly. And although he commanded me not to divulge about the virtues that God had given him, but since the praise of the saints refers to God, I judged it fair not to hush up his feats in the least, about which they speak and listen with joy and gratitude, and which incline the listeners to imitate the ascetic. Deciding to return to the honorable Lavra, our divine father Gregory so united us, one with the other, with his teachings and instructions, that it seemed that we had one soul in two bodies. Commanding us to remain inseparable to the end, moved by the grace of the Holy Spirit, he told us about many good things, including the fact that if we remain in unity, then we will be vouchsafed the Kingdom of Heaven. We, however, having made the usual bow and received the blessing of prayer, remained together and were inseparable, thinking and doing everything in the same way. We didn't know what "mine" and "yours" were, but we lived together for twenty-eight years. If someone called Callistus, then Mark was with him. If anyone called Mark, then Callistus also came. All the fathers who lived with us in the skete saw in us a commendable example because of the good harmony that existed between us, by the grace of Christ. And if sometimes there were disagreements and disputes among some of the brethren, out of devilish envy, they often remembered our God-pleasing example.

 Then, I don't know how, Mark had a bodily illness. For this reason, we came to the Holy Lavra for healing. Knowing his great virtue, the fathers there did not want to let him go, for it would have been unbearable for them. I, moved by God, came to the honorable Iveron Monastery, and although it seemed to some that we were separated from each other bodily, staying in different places, but in the soul, by the grace of God, uniting and holding back the good, we continued to be together. Wherever we were, we were always connected to each other, and each of us kept the memory of the other with great love. Blessed Mark was glorified by God, receiving great glory every day with the gifts and enlightenment which he was vouchsafed from Him.

 And now we will tell you about another disciple of the saint, the praiseworthy James. With the help of the teachings and instructions of the divine Gregory, he ascended to such a height of virtue that he was vouchsafed to accept the episcopal dignity, becoming bishop of Serve.

 A little later, Aaron came to the Holy Mountain, and was received by the Monk Gregory, who pitied him very much, because he was blind. The saint told him that in His extreme goodness God became Man in order to call upon our forefather Adam, who fell through disobedience, to free him from the tyranny of the devil, to bring him to the first initial state of nobility and to raise him up from the corruption of death. Blindness of the body not only cleanses the eyes of the soul, but also gives eternal light to those who endure it with thanksgiving and undoubtedly hope in God. When we, with the help of God and His grace, purify our hearts with fervent prayer and unceasing supplication, then our mind and thought, which are, as it were, the two eyes of the soul, are enlightened. When our spiritual eyes are enlightened and opened, then man, who has become spiritual in God, sees naturally, as Adam saw before the transgression.

 Hearing such instructions and knowing them with his mind, Aaron began to beseech God with heartfelt contrition: "O Lord my God, Who hast bowed down to the ground, Who hast healed the paralytic with a single word, Who hast opened the eyes of the blind, look upon me with Thy indescribable kindness, and do not despise my unfortunate soul, bent down by the mire of sin and lying on the ground, with despair. O Lover of mankind, open the eyes of my heart, that Thy fear may dwell in it, that he may understand Thy commandments and do Thy will." Praying to God in this way from the depths of his soul, Aaron was heard and his spiritual eyes were opened, so that not only did he no longer need a guide, but, sitting in his cell, he sometimes predicted what was going to happen, for example: "Let us go out into the street, because (so-and-so) an elder or (so-and-so) brother is coming to us." Surprisingly, this is exactly what he predicted, and it happened. When the day of remembrance of some great saint or the Lord's feast was to come, he spoke about it long ago, having not been taught by anyone and having received no such information from anyone. When asked how he knew about this, Aaron replied that before the feast a great sanctification and glory descended into his soul from God, and from God all his knowledge. Thus, one day, when they were going with Jacob to a certain monk and were at a distance of two miles from his cell, enlightened by God, Aaron said to James: "The monk to whom we are going holds in his hands the Holy Four Gospels and reads this verse from it." When they went to the cell and questioned the monk, they found that he had indeed read the verse that Aaron was talking about.

 It is necessary to tell about the other disciples of the monk: Moses, Longinus, Cornelius, Isaiah and Clement. They began to live according to God with great zeal and labored much in sweat and labor, in order to acquire all the virtues. Constantly practicing in the salvific practice of mental prayer and having gained a multitude of disciples, they died peacefully, having given up their souls into the hands of God. Since I have remembered the wondrous Clement, it is only fair to tell you a little about what God gave him.

 This Clement was a sheep shepherd, a native of Bulgaria. One night, while he was watching over the sheep, he saw a strange strong light illuminating the entire flock. Greatly delighted, he began to wonder where such a light could have come from: perhaps the sun had suddenly dawned and risen, while he had taken a short nap on his staff. While he was thus pondering, the light began to recede little by little and ascended to Heaven. And again there was night and darkness. Greatly surprised at this, Clement came to the Holy Mountain and, finding in the skete Morfinus, a simple monk, but pious and virtuous, became a novice with him, but learned from him only the prayer: "Lord, have mercy." After a while, that light began to appear again little by little and filled the soul of Clement with Divine grace. Clement was a very simple and unsophisticated man, and he listened only to God. Since the elder ordered him to confess all his thoughts, he told him about the vision that had occurred to him, asking him to reveal what it meant. Unable to do this, the elder together with Clement went to the divine Gregory, to whom they told everything, fervently asking to receive them and enroll them in their brotherhood. Imitating Christ and desiring salvation for all, the monk received them with joy and, separating them from all, taught them all that was necessary for the salvation of the soul, commanding them to have patience, humility, and everlasting hope in God, from Whom all good is for men, never to despise the rule given to him and to constantly think about death. Accepting with great humility what was commanded by the divine father, Clement promised to tirelessly fulfill everything. He began to asceticize in his work according to God with such zeal and diligence, that soon his mind was enlightened by the light of Divine grace, and he ascended not only to the contemplation of existence, but, ascending from contemplation to contemplation, he attained the state of the supernatural. If a soul that is simple by nature truly begins to work for God and zealously devotes itself to Him, it becomes God-like, receives rest and enters into a state of higher nature. Clement related that when the divine Gregory sent him to the Holy Lavra, then every time the fathers who asceticized there reverently began to sing "More honorable than the Cherubim...", a bright cloud descended from Heaven and miraculously covered the Lavra until the singing ended, after which the cloud again rose into Heaven.

 Clement received great spiritual benefit from the teachings of the monk, and not only he, but also all those who heard his divine words and accepted them with love and reverence. Almost all the monks came to him, being completely unable to remain without his teachings, for the monk was vouchsafed to receive from God great spiritual wisdom and grace, which benefited his listeners, as I was told by those who experienced it themselves. That God-bearing father offered his disciples spiritual and God-pleasing conversations, which were accompanied by Divine grace. When he began to speak about the purification of the soul and about the fact that man becomes a god by grace, then a wondrous and excessive Divine love came into our souls. Just as when the great Peter taught the centurion in the house of Cornelius, and the Holy Spirit descended upon them, so it happened to those whom the divine Gregory taught, according to the testimony of his disciples themselves. The ever-blessed one exerted many efforts to persuade all the hermit fathers and coenobitic fathers to engage in mental prayer and the preservation of the mind.