Fragments John Kolobos

(-rz-) It happened that Apa John was serving the deacons. He went to a solitary place with the brothers. They took their small provisions and slept until morning. In the morning, when it was time, they performed the synaxis. The deacons gave their testimony to him, saying to him, "O our holy father, do the agape and inform John, so that we may give him the letters of the archbishop, that he is not grieved because of him, for perhaps evil has befallen us." Apa John answered, "If my father the archbishop remembers my humility, then I am the one you seek." When they heard these things from Apa John, they fell down at his feet and worshiped him, saying, "Woe to us, our holy father, why have you hidden yourself from us? You did not inform us that you were serving as a deacon for us in the manner of slaves." Apa John answered, saying to them with great humility.

It happened that Apa John was serving the deacons. He went to a solitary place with the brothers. They took their small provisions and slept until morning. In the morning, when it was time, they performed the synaxis. He said, "May it be that I am worthy, O my beloved, of the diaconate for you, for I am the wretched one, and you are the servant and deacon of the great shepherd, and also the guide of our souls. I am not alone, but the whole inhabited world is a partaker at the feet of Christ, my father Apa Theophilus the archbishop, whose fragrance has reached the ends of the inhabited world. He saw some revelations and some wonderful apocalypses in the church of the holy baptism." The deacons answered, saying, "You are our holy father. We have known today that the grace of God is with you. We are worthy of great honor and a blessing, for we have met your holiness." When they had said these things, they gave him the epistle of the archbishop Apa Theophilus. He took it, greeted it, and rejoiced greatly. He said, "Who am I, that my lord should send to me?" When he opened it, the brothers were gathered, and they began to grieve, saying, "Our father the archbishop will take us away from our father, and we will become orphans." And they were greatly troubled, each one before his brother.

The holy Apa John, when he saw them being idle, he consoled them, saying, "Do not grieve, Lord." He gave orders for the work to be completed according to his wish, and he said, "I will keep you until I return to you in peace. I know that you are steadfast in faith and love toward one another. Pay attention to one another, that you may keep yourselves from the counsels of the adversary. Make peace with one another, and the peace of God will be with you." After he sent the brothers away, he gathered them together and performed the synaxis with them. He assembled them all at once, and each one went to his dwelling place in peace. In the morning, when it happened, the brothers gathered and came to the monastery of Apa John. He prepared to set out on the journey according to the will of God. Behold, two venerable brothers were with him, namely Apa Zacharias and Apa John, who were chosen perfect ones. He entrusted to the brothers the care of the monastery and the diakonia for the poor, and they grieved greatly that he was going away and would not remain. And in this way he made all the preparations. He came out of the monastery and took with him a great offering for the ship of the deacons and the sheep that were on the ship. He brought honors for the archbishop, and vestments, and garments that were honorable and fitting for the archbishop. And in this way also they went up onto the ship, while the brothers wept over him, saying, "We seek you, our father, until the Lord makes us worthy to see you again.

The holy Apa John encouraged them, saying, "I trust in God that I will not be separated from you, but he will give me his hand with me wherever I go, and I will also come to you in peace. Pray for me, O my beloved, before the Lord, until I go and come to you in (-212-) health." While the holy Apa John was saying these things, he prayed, he dismissed the brothers, and immediately they launched the boat, they sailed downstream on the river by the will of God. As they were sailing downstream on the river, at the bank of the river, the water was entering into it a little, so that the water carried it entirely except for a little. And when evening came while he was sailing, the fish released the boat, and they moored it until morning came. Behold, a man

Then he came to the river, wanting to fill water. And when he had filled the flask with water, he brought it again to the bank, set it down, and went down into the river because of the labor of the vessel that was within it. But God, wishing that his holy ones be honored in every place, desired that a miracle occur through his servant John, for the name of God to be honored. The man who was in the river, as he was going down—behold, the wicked devil had acted wickedly against the wretched man, causing a great fish to seize the man. The men who were on the bank, standing, when they saw what had happened, they ran and threw themselves down into the river, wanting to save the man from the beast, but they were unable, for it had swallowed him down into the river. The men were weeping and grieving greatly. But the holy Apa John, when he saw what had happened, said to the crowd that was standing, "Do not grieve, brothers; there is power in God that saved Jonah from within the whale, and it can save this other soul from the mouth of the beast.

The holy Apa John left it behind, and the leather bag that was upon him, he took a vessel, tied it to himself, and went down to the river up to his waist. He spread out his hands and prayed to God, saying, "Adonai, Lord God, the Pantocrator, who created everything from nothing, who caused all the heavens and the earth, the sea and the rivers to come into being, who commanded the great whale of the time to swallow Jonah the prophet for three days and three nights, and he was within it, watching over him, and afterwards, by your command, you caused him to be cast upon the shore. Now also, my Lord, command in your holy power that the beast release the man, that the wretched one may be brought to your shore, and that he be placed where it seized him, without any evil, so that the whole multitude may glorify your name." While the holy Apa John stood praying, behold, an angel of God came from heaven, seized the beast, bound it, and lifted the man up onto it, and it swam in the river until it brought him to the shore. And immediately the holy Apa John took hold of him and brought him to the shore. But when the beast released the man, it let go of the breath and died, namely the beast.

The men who were standing there cried out with a loud voice, saying, "One is God, the holy one who is exalted, the ship with us. Truly, he is an apostle of God. A great grace has come upon us today, for we are worthy that the perfect one of God should visit our village." Then they all together brought the holy one up from the water, lifted him up onto themselves, wishing to take him up to their village to enjoy his blessing. Then the monks and the deacons marveled at what had happened and gave glory to God. Then the holy Apa John said to them, "Wait for me, my children, while I pray to Christ that he might save the soul of the wild beast from death, this one which the providence of God has moved, and he gave it a share of his image so that the wild beast might not perish." Then the holy Apa John again spread out his hands to God, saying, "I bless you, my Lord Jesus Christ, who created all things in his wisdom: men, beasts, reptiles, birds of the sky, all that move and all that do not move; who spoke with the holy prophet Ezekiel: 'Prophesy, son of man, over these bones that they might live.' And when he prophesied, a spirit came from the Lord and entered into them, and they all lived. In the same way, my Lord, make this wild beast live again through your holy power, and give it a share of your image so that your holy name might be glorified.

As for the rest, while the holy Apa John stood praying, saying these things, he took hold of the head of the scribe, saying, "God who raised Lazarus from the dead, it is he also who commands you by his holy power to rise from the dead." He gave him a half-day into his image. Immediately the scribe rose up alive, came, and prostrated himself at the feet of the holy Apa John, and he rolled at his feet like a sheep, and he did not cease. The holy one walked in the water near the ship until he entered Rakote, and Apa John would throw him three loaves of bread each day while he followed him. When they entered Rakote, the archbishop came out to meet him with all his clergy and the philosophers, nearly the whole city, singing before him, saying, "Peace, may you receive us," and also, "May your way bring us in the Lord," and also, "You are the priest forever." When they entered the church, the archbishop greeted Apa John, and after the greeting they sat in the sanctuary. The rulers of the city, the rich and the poor, gathered in the church, wishing to receive a blessing from him. Then the archbishop performed a cath...(text breaks off). II. Do not open your mouths, nor leave any garment filled, on that night, nor around the church, and we will come to you. You will see the glory of God and the powers that will be in our martyrion.

I then said to the holy ones, "I entreat you to tell me the day on which you will come to me, that I may prepare the honored freedom of my archbishop, that he may be ready with all the people who are within the church, for your holiness." The holy ones answered, "We will tell you the day that is coming, together with the day of our completion. Write down all the things that you have seen and that we have told you. Now then, the day that is coming to you is the sixth of the month of Pachon, that is, the twenty-sixth of the month of Pashons, the tenth day of the month. This is the day.

...not have completed preparing yourself and all the people and the archbishop, saying, "On the second day of that week, at that night, we will come to you, according to the way the apostle said, 'I am not with you in the body, but I am with you in the spirit.'" When the holy ones said these things to me, I rejoiced. I wrote down all the words they said to me. They blessed me. I departed from them, they seeing me off. They brought to me some provisions which I did not know, and they revealed to me all the days I had spent on the roads while the holy ones walked with me until I came out of the land of Babylon. I came to the land of Thiel. And the holy ones blessed me at the beginning of the spiritual journey, as they were about to withdraw from me. After these things, by the will of God, I came to the region of Egypt. I came to Babylon of Egypt on the twentieth of Parmoute. I spent three days in that city because of the hardship of the roads from which I had come, until I found a ship that was going to the city of Rakote to board it. While I was standing on the river, behold, a ship of the city of Rakote came and moored, it being about to take the cargo and go to the city of Rakote. The sailors who were on the ship, when they saw me, they recognized me.

They cast them upon the shore and embraced him, and they placed their hands upon his head and his hands and his feet, saying, "You have come safely, our father. We give thanks to God that we have been deemed worthy to see you again." I answered them, "My children, is our father the archbishop well?" They said to me, "He is well, our father, but he is grieved in heart because of you, for he has been saying, 'May no misfortune befall you on your journey.' But we give thanks to God that He has brought you to us safely." And when they had said this to me, they came to the place where I was staying, and they brought the small vessels I had brought from the city for the need. We went to the ship and sailed south until we came to the city of Rakote. When we had moored, however, some clerical brothers saw me as I descended from the ship. One of them quickly went and informed the archbishop. And when he heard that I had come, he came out with his entire clergy in great joy, and they embraced me, saying, "You have come well to us, O righteous one and deacon of great worth.

...he who fulfilled the command of the Lord. When he entered the city, the men and women gathered around us and received a blessing from his hand. When we entered the episcopal residence, we sat down. The archbishop spoke with me, saying, "I beseech you, my holy father, to tell me what happened to you, for I was somewhat anxious lest some misfortune befell you on the roads." Apa John said, "My father, evil did not overtake me, but Christ, who serves him, guided me until he brought me to the feet of the saints." Immediately I gave him the letter in which I had written everything concerning him and what the saints had sent to me. When the archbishop received it, he began to read it himself, marveled, and glorified God. When the day came that the saints had informed him they would come to him, he rejoiced greatly and glorified God, saying, "I will spend that day watching." He prepared the place well. And it came to pass on that day...