Moscow Metochion of the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius 2003

Palladius, Bishop of Helenopolis.

Lavsaik, or the Narrative of the Lives of the Holy Fathers.

Preliminary notice for publication in Russian

The writer of this book, Palladius, a Galatian by birth, first traveled for several years to various countries of Egypt, then went to Palestine, from where he arrived in Bithynia, where he was ordained bishop of Helenopolis and had close communion with Saint John Chrysostom. But, defending the saint from the attacks of his enemies, he himself was forced to hide for eleven months in a solitary cell. After that he was in Rome. All the above-mentioned travels of Palladius, as can be seen from the contents of the book, relate to the time from 388 to 404 after the birth of Christ.

In the course of these travels, Palladius with great zeal collected information about the lives of the holy and blessed fathers and some women, and he offered the collected information in this book, as he himself says in the Preface, "in order to arouse zeal for imitation in men who wish to lead a heavenly life... and as an example of love for God for women who wish to adorn themselves with the crown of abstinence and purity."

This book was written at the desire and conviction (as can be seen from the Preface) of a certain famous man, who held a very important position at the imperial Byzantine court [1], named Lavsa, therefore the book is dedicated by the author to him and in his name received the name "Lavsaicus".

In the fourth book of his Ecclesiastical History, after speaking briefly about the Egyptian Fathers, those who wish to know more about them point to a book written by Palladius, and says thus: "Whoever wants to know how they (the fathers of the Egyptian deserts) lived, what they did, what they said for the benefit of those who heard, how the beasts also obeyed them, there is a special book compiled by the monk Palladius, a disciple of Evagrius. In this book, he offered detailed information about them, mentions also about wives who are similar in their lives to those husbands mentioned above."

The Orthodox Church gives its testimony to the importance of this book for its children by the fact that from ancient times it has decreed as a rule at Matins of Great Lent to borrow two readings from among the four prescribed readings from the "Lavsaik" on all days of the Holy Forty Days, except Saturdays and Sundays.

Preface

This book describes the virtuous asceticism and wondrous way of life of the blessed and holy monastic fathers and desert hermits in order to arouse zeal for imitation in men who wish to lead a heavenly life; also described are the memoirs of old wives and God-pleasing mothers, who with courageous zeal undertook the labors of virtuous asceticism, as an example of love for God for women who wish to adorn themselves with the crown of abstinence and purity, – described at the request of one most honorable husband, and in the mind of many knowledgeable, and in the disposition of the quiet, and in the heart of the pious, and generous to those in need, and for the honesty of morals raised to the very top of virtues, preferable to many excellent men, and undoubtedly preserved by the power of the Spirit of God. He entrusted us, or rather, to tell the truth, our minds, slow to contemplate the best, stirred up to emulation and imitation of the ascetic virtues of our venerable and immortal spiritual fathers, who lived in pleasing God and in great exhaustion of the body, – he instructed us, having described the lives of the invincible ascetics, to send this description to him with a depiction of the strict virtues of each of these great men. The lover of this God-pleasing and spiritual desire is the most excellent man Loves, who by the will of God has been appointed the guardian of the God-enlightened and pious kingdom.

However, he described, as if in abbreviation, only the highest deeds and signs of valiant ascetics and great men, and not only famous men who led an excellent life, but also blessed and honest women who asceticized in a lofty life. I was vouchsafed to see the sacred faces of some of them personally, and the heavenly life of others, who had already been accomplished in the field of piety, I learned from the God-bearing ascetics of Christ. For a pious purpose, with great zeal, I walked through many cities and very many villages, as well as caves and all the deserted tabernacles of the monks. And after I myself have seen and described some things, and heard others from the Holy Fathers, having depicted in this book the feats of great men and women who conquered nature through hope in Christ, I send this description to your ears, loving the word of God, the adornment of the best and God-loving men and the glory of the most faithful and God-loving kingdom, sincere and Christ-loving servant of God Loves!

With my characteristic brevity I inscribed the famous name of each of the ascetics of Christ – men and women, then of the many and very great feats of each I spoke only about a few and very briefly, and for most of them I indicated the origin, and the city (domestic), and the place of residence. I have also mentioned those men and women who, having attained to the highest virtue, through arrogance and vanity have fallen into the deepest abyss, to the bottom of hell, and who had been acquired by long and many labors, they lost their ascetic perfections from pride and arrogance in an instant, but by the grace of our Saviour, and by the care of the holy fathers, and by the compassion of spiritual love, they were snatched from the snare of the devil, and through the prayers of the saints they returned to their former ways virtuous life.

Letter Written by Bishop Palladius to the Governor Laus