Life of John Kolobos

The life of the great star and apostle, who is complete in all virtues, our holy father the presbyter and hegumenos of Scetis, Abba John Kolobos, which was recorded diligently by the God-bearing philosopher truly, and the scribe of piety, Abba Zacharias, the most holy bishop of the city of Mai Christ, who wrote in the month of Thoth, at the request of some God-fearing and pious men, and they caused him to be translated with great care into this work, which he completed on the day of his holy and honored commemoration, which is the 20th of the month of Paopi. A sublime and extraordinary hypothesis of the fathers, this is the one that follows.

The life of the great star and apostle, who is complete in all virtues, our holy father the presbyter and hegumenos of Scetis, Abba John Kolobos, which was recorded diligently by the God-bearing philosopher truly, and the benefit of our souls especially, that you may perfect the virtues in the midst, O my holy fathers. An image that is engraved of virtue and a pillar of light of piety, that you may marvel at her, and in order that I may speak the word of the apostle in a summary: a perfect man of the whole fullness, a disciple of the perfection of Christ, who was created according to the image of the living God. You exhort my humble self to speak of his orthodox deeds, which are strong, and he who mocked the hypocrisy of this life and wove the strong webs of the darkness of the spirits of wickedness, who steered his intellectual skiff towards the height of the energy of the cosmocrators of the darkness of the air, finding no hindrance of the cause of our accusers of sin in the taking of blasphemy in a firmness of the mouth of his hegemonic, out against the darkness of those there in a good conscience, and in piety he stands out against the villainy of the serpents of falsehood, despising the prudent like myths that were made, and finding no rest that is continuous, especially in a taking of shame that is strong, with a purity of his habits towards the love of Christ God, partaking of the light of purity in a true knowledge, and from this he governs himself henceforth in an angelic labor until his arrival at this great place of the monastery filled with calm, which is the harbor of the Holy Spirit.

and this man of such a kind, O my beloved, will have need of many things from my speech that is brief in a matter external to this alone, that through the proclamation of the good odor of his holy catholic virtues, a great abundance of eternal life will come to all of us at once, we who are under those who hear and the one who speaks, so that in a time of honor and it is fitting for the children that we rise up to his angelic life and the entire exactness of his polity without exception, and within the true and perfect virtue of his great practical strength, which is in the entire catalog of the work of his high virtue, that we may share in his eternal inheritance, and first of all, to praise this saint before us more than the other powers of the holy and incorporeal ones in the ascension and all the spirits of the righteous in the taking up of his old age, this weeping which raised for him a place of teaching and a philosophy of

The truth of the life of the blessed one, as is fitting and proper, from the parts now until the honor of his great struggles through God until the general resurrection and the common one of the whole creation, that he may worthily receive the perpetual crowns through the joy of the cooperation of the Holy Spirit, which enlightens the heart of our weakness through the provision of his holy knowledge, especially on the day of the commemoration of our holy father, whom Christ God we approach through the cycle of the year, but rather through the heartfelt zeal of the synod of this Christ-loving people, those to whom the fragrance of the prayers of this righteous one has been directed toward us on his feast day, so that we may rejoice spiritually for him, and moreover, to dare to Christ God, together with the intercessions of the holy presbyters of our all-holy father, we will hasten with diligence to the preparation of his holy spiritual banquet, as from the gathering within of many fragrances of choice aromas for a single fragrant ointment, and it is honored above all by the virtue of that righteous one, who is hidden before God and his angels. This one, especially, will give a perception and assurance of the truth of the soul of all the God-loving and everyone who wishes to live well in the manner of taking pleasure in a spiritual feast that is abundant, toward the perpetual blessedness.

For indeed we have not cut off the discourse of God and the truth of piety according to the exhortation of the wise apostle Paul, but as from a purity, as from God, before God in Christ we speak. We speak of those things which are his own works, especially his own fruits, which he himself also, according to the manner of the trumpet of truth, will reveal the work to us. In this, the word will adorn the encomium in a setting forth, a consolation for me of our gathering together in the Lord, especially those who have come to us and whom we have found historically, whether in the holy scriptures of the church or in our holy fathers the God-bearing ones who are before us, the ancient ones, who became leaders and guides of the divine service first in the deserts, having become witnesses of the works of the truth and having ministered them to us in writing for a benefit.

...our souls, and also those whom we have heard, and also those whom we have found among us, our holy fathers, in the holy places, in the little time that we have been able to turn ourselves about in their midst, beyond our worth, being taught by them, opening God in knowledge through the philosophy of their holy teaching, those who love the garment of truth and who nourish their souls spiritually through the practice of the virtues of the exercises of the paradoxical deeds of the champions who became strong in virtue before them, those who received the trophy against the adversary within, through the help of the shield and the panoply of the strong power of the saving cross, which they bore in truth. For indeed it is a glorious thing, the meeting of the saints and their good remembrance, and he who will be zealous for this in knowledge will find a great good prepared, especially since we customarily follow the paraphrase of the hymnist David; we will say also, concisely confessing, that those whom we have heard and those whom we have seen, our fathers, spoke before us; they did not hide from their sons until other days, speaking the blessings of God and his mighty deeds and the wonders he performed, so that other sons who were born might know, and they might arise to inform their sons about them, so that they might place their hope in God and not despise the deeds of God, and might seek his commandments.

...our souls, and also those whom we have heard, and also those whom we have found among us, our holy fathers, in the holy places, in the little time that we have been able to turn ourselves about in their midst, beyond But for the most part we have come to know the precision of the one after whom we seek rightly from the book of the holy elders concerning those who have given an account of themselves in it concerning this saint, whose feast we celebrate today. And this book, they gave it another name: "Paradise." And rightly so, according to the manner in which it is written and fittingly, for they called it by this name. For also in the nomenclature of the saints it is written: "This Paradise of souls," which has indeed filled the great Paradise of joy. And still, until now and until the end of this age, this same book will not cease, which prepares some souls also as a gift of God for those who will live well, that they may take from it knowledge in a true discernment, that they may become a vessel of the Holy Spirit and worthy of the inheritance of eternal life through the field of the practices.

...the struggles for salvation of the luminaries who are inscribed upon him, which are these: Abba Paul the Great, and Abba Antony, Abba Palamon, and Abba Pahom, Abba Horsiesi, and Abba Petronius, Abba Theodore, and Abba Mena, Abba Amoun, and Abba Matoy, Abba Macarius the Great, and Abba Macarius again, Abba Isidore, and Abba Pamo, Abba Chichoi, and Abba Amoi, Abba Moses, and Abba Romanos, Abba Joseph, and Abba Chronios, Abba Besarion, and Abba Poemen, Abba Arsenius, and Abba Paphnutius, Abba Hilarion, and Abba Ephrem the Syrian, Abba Euagrius, and Abba Silouanos, Abba Zeno, and Abba Senouthi, Abba Isaiah, and Abba Peter his disciple, Abba Loukios, and Abba Longinos, and our holy father the priest whose feast we celebrate today, the holy hegoumenos Abba John Kolobos, who is also one of them, but rather a chosen one, who is hidden within the synodia of the chorus of these saints, who have set a name and the rest also of all the holy ones, who is also a companion with them in the honor and the crown of the same inheritance of virtue, especially on account of the manner in which he participated in the great graces of virtue, each one of them, in a faithful manner, bearing the great and strong weapon of Christ, which is the ascetic life, in all his works until his end, the whole aim, which is his entire taking of the cross, followed him, which is the establishment of the perfection.

The discourse of the prooimion, let it stop at this point, to draw forth from the treasury of the good of our all-holy father, the blessed one of this entire place. Our thrice-blessed father the priest and hegumenos, Abba John Kolobos, according to what was said, O my beloved. His family, however, was from a village of the district of Pemje, the city called Sōit of the Mareotis of Egypt. His name was Tse, according to the nobility, but he did not receive the height of virtue. He was a metropolitan of the heavens. According to the wealth of this life, he was poor, and he was last, but he said, "The poor of the world, God has chosen them as rich in Christ, doing more than others in the height of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially since virtue is not inferior to a noble who gives Sōit, or one who directs in the wealth of this life, and it is superior to one who is in poverty, but virtue is found in a soul.

The lover of God, this one who is chosen in her character as a virtuous character herself, doing the good at all times in a uniform manner, whether one is poor or one is rich. And this we know from the life of our holy fathers the apostles and the rest of all the saints. Our fathers, this blessed one, O my beloved, according to the manner that was said concerning them, are pious exceedingly, and they fear before the face of God. And these, then, God granted them the gift of two male children. The great one, however, in time and bodily age, he also became a chosen monk at the end, according to the word that will reveal this to us if we proceed forward. The small one, likewise, in time and bodily age, our righteous father Abba John Kolobos, in the wisdom and the endurance that receives, great in the height of virtue, and in the bearing of old age in the knowledge of truth before the face of the schema, giving praise continually in the lofty thought according to God, giving from himself the grace of the Lord according to the intention of his name. This one truly, according to the manner that was said concerning him, as a proclamation indeed, but rather according to a first principle of God, this one who furnishes his gifts to his entire creation without hindrance.

The throne, it purified him, he himself, our all-holy father, from when he was in the womb of his father, he separated him, from when he was in the womb of his mother, and he chose him, especially from when he was eighteen years old. God himself spoke with him spiritually, in an energy of a spiritual perception, saying to him, "Come out from your land and from your family, come to the mountain of the desert, which is Shiet, the place where hearts and minds are woven within it in a true discernment without division, according to the meaning of its name, the place where the spiritual fire that perfects souls is, and the complete peace, the place where wisdom is, and knowledge, and theology of the orthodox dogmas of the triadic and apostolic faith, the place where all the discipline of angelic piety is, the place where the fragrance of the chosen virtues is hidden for me, which are the souls of the saints, these that are pure before me, and again it will be for me from you also, because in these and those that are true through the one who helps them and who takes the lead before them, God, to the holy deserts, he hastened at a suitable time.

of the blessing of the perfect love of the righteous generation and the blessed generation of our holy fathers of the house of Abba Makarios the Great, the generation that seeks the Lord and seeks the face of God, Jacob, according to the word of the hymnographer David. But through the angelic order of their form, which exists in a joyful manner of Christ and the fruit of the spiritual life, which is like a flower of the Holy Spirit, and almost to say in a summary before their extraordinary conduct: "If only the sheep were the courts and the tents of the Holy of Holies like the paradise of joy." But through these holy ones, according to the written manner, he accomplished and increased (13) to a great elder of discernment and was zealous especially in the practical service of God and was capable of using the evangelical laws. And Abba Amoi the hermit was also a namesake among our fathers because of the height of his virtue. But the one who will take up the writing of the life of this saint will certainly need a history that is fully detailed, but also through the two or three virtues of his that we will mention, if the discourse progresses, it will be revealed before all that he is perfect and complete before God and men. And this luminary, in such a manner, our all-holy father Abba John Kolobos took upon himself.

Our holy father Abba Amoi asked him, saying, “My son, what is the need of this great disturbance that you have brought upon us?” Our holy father Abba John answered with great humility, his tears flowing down upon his cheeks, saying, “If it is the will of the Lord, I wish to become a monk as well, and may I be counted worthy to be joined to the chorus of your holiness, for you are a holy and blessed generation in the Lord, and the whole earth is from you. And if you pray for me, the Lord will give you grace, and your heart will be at rest concerning me.” Abba Amoi answered and said to him, “This matter of which you speak, my son, is not a simple thing, but it is fitting for him who will give himself to this good work. First, he needs a right intention, without any deceit at all, in the will of God, and he must take up a perfect yoke, with all the works of the virtues and the undefiled things of the light that shines.

...of the height of the vessels that stand, rising up over the knowledge of my God, while all his works shine in knowledge according to the will of God, in a fitting order and directing the ranks of the powers in the height, wisely despising all the enjoyment of the present things because of the constant taking of the good things. Now these things that our holy father Abba Amoi said to him, he placed him, our holy father Abba John, in a solitary place, and our holy father Abba Amoi himself went to a place and prostrated himself under the whole of that eastern region, in some prayers and supplications from evening until dawn, that he might reveal to him concerning our father Abba John, especially since this is his custom at all times, not to do any work without the will of God, and that he might reveal to him concerning him whom he would see. While he was still praying in some supplications, that he might obtain his request, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared before him and said to him thus: "Abba Amoi, the Lord commands you, 'Receive this brother to yourself with joy, for I am the one who sent him, especially since...'

His head will be raised in glory, and his fruit will become for me a good fragrance, hidden before me for all generations. These things, because the angel spoke them, he revealed himself. When the beginning took place, the holy elder Abba Amoi came to our father Abba John (the 16th). He catechized him in the word of God, likewise urging him into the struggles, to prepare himself in a noble manner for the battle against the invisible enemies, so that he might be watchful and vigilant against the evil thoughts of wickedness, which darken the mind in the deceit of false knowledge. In these things he taught him to bind himself with strength for the war, to gain victory over the entire camp of the adversary. After these things, our holy father Abba Amoi himself put on the garments of the monastic life, and he spent three days and three nights without eating or drinking, standing with our father Abba John upon the garments, praying the 2nd hour. At the completion of the three days and three nights, an angel of the Lord stood before them and sealed the garments three times with the sign of the cross for salvation, and revealed himself to them. When the beginning took place, he placed the garments upon our father.

Abba John received him in spiritual joy, according to his zeal, and then the course of his taking the habit and the discipline of virtue. (17) Well then, our holy father Abba John began himself, O my beloved, in the order of the ministry of the service of God, having set his hand to serving first in the perfect obedience, as a good disciple, acting in true submission, and bearing the strong weapon of humility, which destroys and crushes the entire root of sin, offering himself to our Savior Christ in the same way that He humbled Himself for our salvation, having come to us in the form of a servant, having served us who were in the sickness and wound of sin, and having raised us from the destruction of death in the death of the passions. In this also, knowing the grace of the Holy Spirit, which guides our holy father Abba John, that a teaching that has not been written is not secure, and those who have no one to confirm it will fall like reeds. Therefore, well did our holy father Abba John begin, according to the manner we have already said, especially according to the parable of the holy Gospels. (18) For he who

He who wishes to be great among you, let him serve you, and he who will humble himself, I will raise him up in these things. For Jesus of the ages received the succession of Moses, and also Elijah likewise, for the Spirit of Elijah rested upon him, and also Baruch before Jeremiah. And they are our fathers the apostles, who were worthy of the fellowship of God in receiving the succession after God the Word, and of the house of Clement before these others, according to what we have said. The rest also, our holy father Abba John, he received the succession after them. Therefore, he hastened on the straight path in receiving the bridle of the impulse of his heart's desires, and he followed the entire discipline of his true teacher, like Timothy before Paul, so that he also might say before him, like a vessel in good conscience: "You have walked after my teaching, my faith, my love, my patience, my humility of heart," and the rest that follows after these. As for him, our father Abba John, as he was entrusted with the service of this work by God from the day it happened to him, our father Abba John never ceased to educate him.

him in the law of the Lord, and he will train himself in the taking of the teaching of piety, and he will fast in the monasteries of virtue in the fear of God, whether the psalmodies and the vigils, whether the high ascetic practices and the humble ones, whether the separation and the anchoritic life, whether the prostration to the ground and the casting out, whether the humility and the silence, whether the obedience and the purity, whether the humility and the simplicity. And his entire conduct to fulfill it through the keeping of the counsel, he listening much and also acting especially to guard his senses pure and his heart from the disturbance of the passions, he watching over his mind, especially concerning the fantasy of the taking of the appearance of the spirit, or some forms or some visions, that he might act in a true discernment. He also taught him the taking of the burden of the church in a wisdom, he placing himself as small in a stable condition, he giving his attention especially in the meditation of the scriptures, the works of God, he listening to the apostles in a prayer unceasing, like a rational flock, he drawing the spirit to himself from the honey of the thoughts. He also exhorted him in a great precision to attend to those whom he would hear in the church, he watching in a preparation of some hermits, not finding any thought of the earth.

He also taught him about the greatness of justice with discernment. If he asked him about a matter, or if he consulted him, he would release him with submission, saying to him, "Perhaps we should speak, my son, and come to the middle of a conversation with a stranger, and we should give an account of our soul, especially with great care in the church until he is worthy of the participation in the holy mysteries." While he was in this holy workshop of virtue, our all-holy father Abba John was working toward his goal in the second part, which is the teaching of his teacher, along with the dispenser of the gifts of heaven. It was fitting that he would progress and receive light in the fruits of the Holy Spirit, almost with brevity, according to the parable of our Savior: "The disciple should be like his teacher." After these things, however, our father Abba Amoi was angry, testing our father Abba John, whose light was shining, especially before people in the truth of the deeds that were pleasing to them.

It became for them a path leading into the eternal life, according to the manner that is written concerning him, our father Abba John. Our father Abba Amoi took him out of the place of dwelling once, saying to him, "I am not able to dwell with you; go your own way." And he put him out at the door. But our father Abba John remained, enduring at the door with a sorrowful heart and weeping. The holy elder, the discerned one, especially Abba Amoi, used to come first in the morning with his basket of fruit, and he would follow after him, saying to him, "Forgive me, this is my doing." But our father Abba John would give repentance, prostrating himself with his face on the ground in great humility, with tears flowing before his father, saying to him, "Forgive me, my holy father; I have sinned against you, concerning the Lord and God; do not cast me away from you, O my holy father." He did this for seven days and seven nights, without eating, without drinking, and without going anywhere, remaining in a state of prostration at the door, especially because he would hear him, our father Abba John, that is, our father Abba Amoi, meditating on some words of Scripture, the consolations of God, saying to him alone, "Endure.

For what kind of teaching is it that a father does not give teaching to his son? And again, also, "In your patience you will bear your soul." And also, he who will endure until the end, this is the one who will save. He who persists continually in these things in this manner, in a perfect faith and with a steadfast heart, bearing the evil until the completion of the twenty days and the twenty nights, and our father Abba Amoi came forth first on the holy Lord's day, for he was about to go to the holy church. And when he looked toward the side of Abba John, behold, he saw seven holy angels, radiant, bearing lamps, in a great glory, carrying seven crowns, and they were casting a light downward above our holy father Abba John, and they were placing themselves down upon his head, one after another, and they filled him with great joy. When Abba Amoi saw this marvelous vision, immediately he ran in to Abba John with a great joy, and he received him with a great joy and a holy spiritual embrace, and he also made him sit before him, having placed him by his hand, saying, "From that day, in a fatherly disposition, even if he did not inform him of what he had seen.

After these things, our holy father Abba Amoi was sitting one day with some brothers who were asking him about the monastic life. He called Abba John and said to him, "John, my son, come, teach the brothers about the monastic life." Abba John answered with great humility, saying to Abba Amoi, "Forgive me, my holy father. God and his angels will guide us all." Abba Amoi said to Abba John, "Listen to me, my son." But Abba John, while listening, was completing the command of his teacher. Immediately he stripped off the garments that were on him and placed them at the feet of his sandals, and he stood upon them, being naked. The holy old man Abba Amoi marveled at him and the brothers, and Abba Amoi said to him, "John, what is this that you have done?" He said, "Apart from a man stripping himself of all the glory of this world and humbling himself over all his heart's desires in this manner, there is no ability to become a monk according to the will of God." And the old man and the brothers answered, saying, "Truly, this is the path of salvation. For even according to the saying of our Savior, there is no ability to go astray.

nor did they believe in God. And when they found a multitude, they went away. Again, Abba Amoi was sitting one day in his cell, and some brothers came to him, asking him about the salvation of the soul. And he sent them to Abba John, his disciple, to speak with them. But Abba John, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that was in him, was able to satisfy them all, drawing each one of their hearts, giving them a direction of heart and a foundation in the desert. And as the brothers were gathering around him, a great elder came, especially a discerning one, and he said to Abba John in the midst of the brothers, "John, now you have a prostitute sitting and adorning herself and her bread is abundant." Abba John answered in humility and said to him, "You have spoken the truth, holy father; there is no other like you, for God has revealed this to you." After these things, our holy father Abba Amoi came to him and said to him, "John, surely this word has not disturbed you within?

And Abba John said to him, "My father, but just as the outer man is, so also is the inner teacher through the one who gives me strength, Christ." And again our holy father Abba John was being examined critically by our holy father Abba Amoi, who was taking care to know the condition of his thoughts and the movements of his soul, as to what they were like. And Abba John said to Abba Amoi, "I am like one who sits at the foot of a tall tree, and sees the wild beasts and the birds coming upon him, and he is unable to stand against them, but he flees up into the tree and is saved. In this way, I also, my holy father, sit in my cell and see all the evil thoughts of the enemy coming, and I flee under the shelter and hope of the help of God through prayer, and I am saved from the enemy forever." And he continued to live, spending his days in the abundance of eternal goods. And again, our father Abba John was similarly asked by some brothers in a test, wishing to know where his thoughts were. They said to him, "Abba John, the sun itself, the disk of the sun, the brothers find their work by hand." Abba John answered and said to the brothers, "In this way also, the Holy Spirit, when it comes down upon the soul, makes it shine in the light of virtue." And the brothers said to him, "Where are your thoughts?" And he said,

And they said, "My memory is of the height (27). My heart, however, is below the entire foundation." Our father Abba John, striving in asceticism, was the course of virtue, a good shepherd. He became among all the fathers concerning him, for he toiled in virtue more than many of them, and he wished to know the completion of the work through the experience of the deeds, and to become a herald, then, of the teaching. They did not plant the good tree in a council of all of them, those fathers, and the God-given one of our father Abba Amoi. He was coming to the church one day to receive the offering, our holy father Abba John. A great examiner from among the fathers, and he was high in his polity, arose and gave a slap in the face of Abba John and drove him out of the church, saying to him, "This is the time for you, the church, the Kolobos, the worthless one, to go out. This is what happened to him." Then our father Abba Amoi and some other great elders from among the fathers followed after him to the place of dwelling, to know what he would do, especially concerning the receiving of the slap, whether he would say something to them or do something. (28) And they, the fathers, were saying, "If indeed he remembers any of the things that happened, or if he becomes angry, or...

He found no one like himself except that he took a companion from the mountain or he toiled more than the others. When they arrived at the dwelling place of Abba John, the elder brother came and found a sweet-smelling fragrance, choice and abundant. From this they also heard the chorus of the angels singing and chanting hymns to God in the dwelling place of Abba John, saying, "Keep yourself from evil, and you will see the light of those who are upright." And also, "Glory and grace he will give to those who walk in innocence, and the Lord will not let them lack the good things." And our father Abba John himself was singing among them. The holy elders were amazed, having great joy in a true perception of the vision of this matter. At the end of these things, after they had kept vigil, they knocked on the door of Abba John. After a long time had passed, they saw his face shining like that of an angel of the Lord. The elders, as they spoke with him in a certain manner concerning the elder who had troubled him, said to him, "Truly, we have all suffered because of the manner in which that elder troubled you, and in what way I have seen for you concerning the manner in which you will destroy them.

...all of you, but come with us, and the work will be done. But as they were saying these things to him, the fathers said, "The face of Abba John the Short was cast down to the ground, and he said nothing at all." Abba Amoi, his spiritual father, answered him, saying, "You will not answer us concerning the words we speak to you." But Abba John, through the adornment of the Holy Spirit and the grace of the purity that was within him, said to them, "Forgive me, holy fathers, for I do not know anything of what you are saying. If, however, it has happened as you say, or if this has happened according to an economy of God, let it work for the salvation of my soul through his holy ones." When the fathers heard these things from Abba John, they marveled and said, "Truly, as we have heard, so also we have seen. And they went to the church, giving glory to God with great thanksgiving, and they continued to assemble, especially as they were moved, those fathers, by God, who is the examiner of the brothers in the desert of the service of God, saying with one accord, all of them, "What is the glory of Abba John the Short?" And a great elder, renowned in the practical and gnostic life above all, stood in their midst and said to them, "Abba John the Short has labored more than we, especially through his purity of heart and his true humility; he has surpassed the whole generation in his virtue.

They asked our holy father Abba John about the sitting of the monk in the cell, and he said to them, "If there is a vessel of virtue from God in the soul of the monk, he will sit in the cell in the desert, even if there is a vessel of the world with him, he will endure in the solitude because of the hope of the joy of the eternal goods. And also, if there is a vessel of God in the soul of the man, but there is a vessel of the world with him, or this one, he will sit in the cell also in the desert because of the abundance of matter for a time. But if also a vessel of God is not with the monk, nor is there one of the world, he will sit in the cell also in the desert, but this one is like a ship without a rudder in the middle of the sea of the ocean, without a harbor and a pilot, because he is in danger." They also asked our father Abba John, "What is a monk?

He said thus: "Toil is the monk, disturbance is the monk, enduring violence in every work is the monk, and not to set your desire that is before you, your word in any work." Again, "It is fitting for the monk not to take oaths, and also not to swear oaths, not to set a foot, not to slander, not to love a murmurer, or to be contentious." After these things, however, he saw according to a mystery in the eyes of his heart through the Holy Spirit that dwells in him, the height of the progress of our fathers and the fire of God that came to be in their generation, and also he saw the end of those who come after them, after he had said in an enigma according to a prophecy in a parable and a humility: "An old man," he said, "saw that it was he himself (32) monks bound in the sea, standing, and a voice came to them from the other side of the sea, saying to them, 'Take for yourselves some coals of fire; come to me on the other side.' And two of them took for themselves some coals and went to the other side to the one who called them. But the one remained weeping, crying out, lamenting. At the end, however, they gave him some coals, but they were not of fire, but of work and powerless." For through

A great toil is stretched downward and comes upward in a great tribulation, scarcely by force did it come to the harbor. In this manner he said: "This generation, even if it takes the fire of the coal like the fathers who adorned their life in the commandments of the angelic canons, being kindled to the height in their mind through the grace of the divine coal until they receive the rivers of the sea of this life, and they became with Christ, but scarcely in their negligence did they take some works that are without strength." He progressed, however, in the age of virtue of our holy father Abba John, because of the stretching of his great self-control and the abundance of his practices (33). He came upon a state of mercy and a state of freedom from evil; no passion troubled him at all, according to the manner in which he had asked for this from God, and he became without care. After these things, moreover, through the counsel of our father Abba Amoi, he gave glory to God and cast the passions upon himself again, so that he might struggle and receive a crown, and his reward might be great, for the wars, he said, the soul will receive a reward in the wealth of the grace of God from that day onward.

Our father Abba John said: "I show God concerning this request, but he gives face to the Lord." He was saying: "Lord Jesus Christ, in every work that you will bring upon me, bind me with your power and your patience until the end." Our father Abba Amoi sent Abba John once to draw water to fill a pitcher with water. The well was deep, and its rope was very long. When he reached the well and realized that he had not brought the bucket, he was troubled. But Abba John, having filled from a great faith, said with a loud voice: "Well, my father sent me, saying, 'Fill this pitcher with water.'" (34) And immediately the water rose up to the rim of the well and filled the pitcher with water. Again the water returned to its place. He, Abba John, used to say to the brothers: "The acquisition of obedience, fulfilled according to the manner of our fathers, who counsel in faith, especially humility and purity, the fear of God, and the endurance toward God with a sincere heart—these are higher than all virtues, and they strengthen the soul to receive light from God through these achievements." They testified concerning him.

In one place, our father Abba John, of whom the fathers say, "Like the earth, for it is without pride," so also our father Abba John Kolobos himself, he was unable to enter entirely because of the multitude of his humility. But he, Abba John, the disciple of Abba Amoi of Pemje, who had great obedience, being under the patience of his spiritual father, burning in the fire of the Holy Spirit. On one of the days, Abba Amoi took a green branch for himself and went out on a road, and he delayed his planting in the desert to see the will of God, a million, and he found it there. Then Abba Amoi called Abba John, his disciple, and said to him, "John, my son, bring a water jug from the water daily to this tree until it bears fruit." The water was far from that place where the tree was planted. But he, Abba John, would labor with the water jug at night and take it first. He did this for three years. The tree lived and grew upward and bore fruit. The old man Abba Amoi took the fruit of the tree and brought it to the church and gave it to the elders, saying, "Take and eat from the fruit of obedience." The elders, when they saw this paradoxical thing, were amazed, and they gave.

The glory of God is that they say, "Except that the life of the blessed one, God, came to be in this brother, this mystery will not come to pass through him." Blessed is Jesus Christ, God the Logos, who works judgment marvelously among the saints. For he himself said, "If one does my will, I and my father will be with him, and we will be in him, and all the works that he will do in my name will be for him." And that tree there still exists to this day, a demonstration of the virtue of our all-holy father, shining in these high achievements. Our father Abba John was asked by some brothers, who said, "Is it good, our father, to practice hesychia with men?" And Abba John said to them, "It is good to practice hesychia with our brother, whom God has sent down to us together in this same moment, rather than in the joy of Christ. Let us generate our brother in all purity of the Holy Spirit, and let us practice hesychia in strength, that we may prevail over this enmity which separates us from God." It is also written concerning our all-holy father Abba John that he did not fill...

He never ate bread, nor drank water, nor slept, nor spoke a word of falsehood from his mouth. Therefore, the thought of the flesh never approached him, but he was like an angel in the purity of his self-control. Our father Abba Amoi spent many years dwelling in a place of solitude in the desert, where a small cell was built inside for him. He never allowed his mind to come down to the door of his cell at all, nor to look out to see what was outside, because of the distraction of his mind for the sake of God. And indeed, the Lord would send many to him, but especially he knew with precision concerning John, his disciple, that he had become a tested, chosen, and perfect monk, complete and fulfilled. And he would close his eyes so as not to see him, wondering what he was doing. After these things, the holy Abba Amoi fell ill, and he was troubled for a long time, God testing him like a chosen stone in a fire. Our blessed father Abba John served the holy elder Abba Amoi for many years with great zeal. But because of the severity of the illness, he became somewhat anxious in his heart concerning our father Abba John at that time.

And he never said to himself on any single day, "Eat," for his ascetic practice was strong beyond that of many of our fathers. But when Abba Amoi called Abba John one day, he said to him, "John, my son, when you depart from this world, go and dwell in the place where you found the tree, for you have a sacrifice there that is continually offered, holy and pure before the Lord. It will be in that place through you. For that tree which you brought forth from you is a sign, signifying a mystery of souls that will be saved through you also in that place. They will remember you forever before God." After these things, when our holy father Abba Amoi entered the monastery, the elders gathered around him. He called Abba John, brought him to himself, took his hands, gave them the kiss, and blessed him as Isaac blessed Jacob, and said to him three times, "Eat, eat, eat, O shoot of the King Christ." After these things, he dismissed the elders, saying to them, "Worship this one, for he is an angel on the earth and not a man." After our father Abba Amoi said these things, he opened his mouth and gave up the spirit in the peace of God. Amen, giving glory to our Lord.

When he was alone, our father Abba John went to the place of the tree according to the command of his father, and he made for himself a small cave in which to practice hesychia, and he practiced enkrateia greatly, and he increased his ascetic practices and his politeia. He also made for himself a hidden place beneath the ground in the cave, and he would go down into it, especially when he was constant in prayer with many prostrations and prayers without ceasing. He also made for himself a garment from the palm fibers of the date palms, and he would gird it around himself when he went down there, so that through his great zeal, many times he would spend the entire week there without eating and without drinking, being warmed by the providence of God. And if he came up from that place, the brothers would see him like a burning fire in a furnace, so that through the proclamation of his piety, a multitude gathered to him, marveling at his angelic way of life, which they themselves had come to be under him and his surrounding, which was for all of them a goal of salvation and a type of the truth that shines for all of them.

In love and peace, and being pure toward everyone, in humility he was a lawgiver to those who saw him and to those who heard him, to those near and those far, so that the place of the desert became a city of Christ, and the untilled land became a giver of fruit, in 100 and 60 and 30-fold glory to the holy Trinity. When the brothers multiplied under our father, he had need of a well of water for them, because he saw them weary and thirsty in the heat, filled with water. But our holy father, as if moved by God, sent all the brothers to cut a well for themselves. When the days were completed and they were digging, our father went down to the well and made the whole night in prayer from evening until dawn, and behold, a well of water gushed up, cold and good to drink. And this gift God granted to our father and all his place, beyond the other monks who were in the deserts, as a testimony that is trustworthy, especially in this measure of the virtue of our righteous father. After these things, his great brother also became a monk, according to

In love and peace, and being pure toward everyone, in humility he was a lawgiver to those who saw him and to those who heard him, to those near and those far, so that the place of the desert became a city of Christ, and just as the first ones said before, so also our father Apa John himself transgressed himself in fear of God, drawing himself into the depth of the desert to find his own virtue, giving himself the remembrance of the shame of his poverty in the world, and he would say to him, "My brother, know that we are poor and we are strangers among men. Therefore, let us make ourselves children in the will of God in this world, so that we may receive honor before God and that all the saints of his may give us glory." In these things, with those who were obedient to him, his brother became a chosen monk, our father Apa John giving himself to the work of the good. Our father Apa John, however, would adorn himself in all the virtues, but especially the fear of God was with him at all times: the fear of the hour of death from the body, and the fear of meeting God, and the fear of the day of judgment. And when he would remember, he would flee into the desert. His brother, however, would come out seeking him, and when he found him, he would say to him, "Why, my brother, do you cause yourself such labor? Is your heart not with you? For if you sit...

In the name of God, he became a father. Abba John said to him, "They believe that God is in every place, but I wish to take on more labor so that God may see my struggle, my humility, and my blameless life on the day of judgment, and so that I may not be troubled by the hand of evil, and that I may be worthy to contemplate the glory of God and the saints with him." Our all-holy father Abba John Kolobos, burning in the fire of the Holy Spirit, was always eager to direct himself to the transformation of the powers that are in the heights. He said to his elder brother one day in a spirit of love for God, "I too wish, my brother, to make an effort and to become a servant of God like the angels, without ceasing, for the glory of his honor and the light of his life." And he stripped off his clothes and went out into the desert. When he had completed seven days without eating or drinking, he again presented himself to his brother, especially in a concession from God for the salvation of souls, bearing the fruits of the desert in true repentance. But when he knocked at the door of his elder brother, he did not open for him, saying to him, "Who are you?

He himself said to him, "I am John." And his brother said, "You are John? John has become an angel, he is not among men." And he did not open to him, but he left him at the door from evening until morning. When morning came, he opened the door of the place of dwelling and said to him, "John, know that you are a man and you are still in the flesh. You have need of work so that you may be saved. This labor is fitting for angels." And Abba John gave him repentance, saying, "Forgive me." Through these great virtues, our father Abba John became a great Israelite of Christ Jesus. As he was sitting one day in his cell, some people came and stole all the vessels that were in the place of dwelling, and they made them into a bundle. Abba John was sitting; he did not speak, but those people said to him again, "Get up, stand up for us." But Abba John got up and stood up for them, and when they had gone out, he sat down. When his brother came in, he said, "The vessels have been stolen." And Abba John said, "I do not know.

And his brother said to him, "Tell me the vessels, for I do not know." But he, Abba John, gave him repentance, saying to him, "My brother, forgive me, I am ashamed before you, that you may place in your heart that it is thirty years since you brought me into the monastery." Our father Abba John used to say, "Three wars: with the man, with fornication, and with the devil who seizes him, and with the enemy God from you. If he guards himself from his brother, the other monks will become servants to him. If he takes up with the devil, all the passions will become a snare to his soul. Finally, the sister of our house is our brother." He said, "If I guard the sister, we will build our house, and we will give the crown to his garment." Therefore, our father Abba John rejoiced. If someone vexes him or troubles him, he would enter into him more, saying, "I am a victor over the thorns in knowledge, he who purifies the heart, who finds the true humility, until the soul receives grace in God. The glories and the honors of this world are disturbances of virtue." Because of his great humility and his lowliness, his eyes never looked upward to see the face of any man.

They used to say about him also, "There is no work that he will not do once, whether a deed or a word, without first setting his hand to it again another time. And if he saw or heard of someone who had fallen into a sin, he would weep and take up a lament with great sorrow of heart, saying, 'This one today is myself also, and I am no better than him.' And he would do this at all times. Some brothers asked our father Abba John Kolobos, saying to him, 'Our father, is it good to recite many psalms?' He said to them, 'The spiritual wealth of God exists in the soul through the taking of care for the mind, whether the one who does a little or the one who does a great deal, especially all the works that the monk will do, if the humility walks with them, and the care is not lacking before God.' It happened also on one of the days that he went down to Egypt to give some baskets away, for he was working in the north. And as he was walking in the desert with the baskets loaded upon him, he met a camel driver on the road with his cattle. The camel driver said to our father, 'Give me the baskets so that I may load them for you, father, for I see that you are weary.' Our father, however,

He brought them to the man, and after he had loaded them, he walked. As for the camel driver, he began to speak some words of blasphemy and some vain words of the world. But our father Abba John saw a demon standing around the man (— 42 —) and immediately he exorcised the demons. And he also set him straight again, for our father spoke the word of the Savior: "If a man gains the whole world, what is the gain if he gives up his soul?" Another time also, he went down to Egypt with some brothers to sell their goods, and he went down to the market with the brothers, carrying them on his shoulder, along with the other brothers. There were many crowds of people there, each in his own trade and his own form. And some people came who wished to become brothers. They said to our father, "How much for these brothers, O father?" But our father Abba John looked up to heaven for a long time. When the brothers urged him, they would say to him, "Father, tell us the value of the brothers." Our father answered and said to them, "Tell me, brothers, which of the ranks of the heavens are the greatest and are first before God? The cherubim and the seraphim are. As for them,

He brought them to the man, and after he had loaded them, he walked. As for the camel driver, he began to speak some words of blasphemy and some vain words of the world. But our father Abba John saw a demon standing around the man, and immediately he rebuked the other brothers and stood him up again in his place, our father speaking the word of the Savior: "If a man gains the whole world but gives up his soul, what is the gain?" Another time also, when he went down to Egypt with some other brothers to sell their baskets, and when he went to the market with the brothers carrying them on his shoulder, and the other brothers, there were many crowds of people there, each one in his trade and his appearance. And some came who wished to buy the baskets. They said to our father, "How much for these baskets, father?" But he, our father Abba John, would look up to heaven for a long time. When the brothers urged him, they would say to him, "Father, tell us the price of the baskets." Our father answered and said to them, "Tell me, brothers, which of the ranks of the heavens that are great and are first before God—the cherubim or the seraphim?" They then...

They all marveled and said to him, "What is your thought, our father?" (343) Our father said to them, "They give us laws in the scriptures at all times to seek the things above and to think of the things above, the place where Christ is, and not of those on the earth." And the brothers gave glory to God. But our father Abba John had placed a rope of two hundred and forty cubits into the river once to soak it, and he soaked them into a single cubit without knowing until his birth, to bear witness that his practices were in the heavenly Jerusalem, according to the word of the holy apostle: "We are citizens of no city; we dwell in the heavens; we look out from the heart of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who will change the body of our lowliness into the form of the body of his glory." Once a brother came to our father concerning some ropes. After he had knocked on the door with difficulty, after a long time our father Abba John came out, for he was engaged in prayer, and he said to the brother, "Do you need something?" And the brother said to him, "I need a few ropes, father." When our father had gone inside, he again stood in his thought.

...the height. The brother again cried out after a great while, and the old man came out for the third time (—forty—) and said to the brother, "Take the way for me, for what do you wish?" The brother said to our father, "I have already told you, my father, that I need a few beams." When our father entered for the third time, again they struck his mind to the height. The brother continued beseeching. Our father, the holy Abba John, did this until the third and fourth time. At the end, the old man came out, took the brother by the hand, brought him in, and showed him the beams, saying to him, "If you wish beams, here are beams. Take beams for yourself. I, however, am not concerned with beams." Our father Abba John, whose humility was great, was accustomed to say, even he, with the hymnographer David, "Who is it that I have pointed out to you, O Lord? This one also I will seek until I become in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may see his joy and find the inquiry of his holy face, without the stretching out of hands in the heavens." For our holy father Abba John was also accustomed to pray, and he himself was beneath the brothers like a father. In...

...a great one of the heart's desire gave rest to them all in every work, and if he should become weary, he would bring his whole voice to him entirely (—forty—) until the bending of his hands first, and the brothers give rest to themselves. Afterward, again, he would give rest to himself, saying, "They give a law to us in the scriptures to place our companion in our likeness, especially in an honor. Therefore, if I give rest to the brothers, God will give rest to me also." He was also in the prayer rope with the brothers; he called the name of one of the brothers to perform a service for the brothers. That one, however, called out against our father in anger, saying, "You also have become full." Our father, however, called out against the brother, saying to him, "Forgive me." And immediately our father let down the prayer rope, went away, and gave repentance to the brother, saying to him, "Forgive me, my brother, for the sake of the Lord; forgive me." And he also sent him to the desert to his cell, and he spent that whole year there, dragging three... and bread with salt, and he gave glory to God in a prostration, saying, "Lord, forgive me, for I have caused pain to your creation." This, then, is the custom of our father Abba John Kolobos himself, dragging three... all his time in the prayer rope in an unceasing prayer. In these...

...and his soul would receive light, especially in the rays of the Holy Spirit, through whom the energies within him are wrought by means of signs and wonders, giving glory to the one who gives glory to him, so that according to the manner written concerning him, our father Apa John himself prayed over water in the name of Christ, and when he had sprinkled it upon the man, he made him vomit his bond like that of a serpent, and his first joint turned back upon itself again, and the man was saved, to the glory of God. After these things, moreover, our father was coming up from the boat in the heat of the day, and the brothers to receive a blessing, and he encountered an old woman in the place of walking, lying prostrate upon the ground, and a harsh demon was tormenting her in a merciless manner. Our father Apa John, when he saw her, inquired of her heart, and he made the whole heat of the day while praying over her. The demon cried out from the woman, "Have you come against me, the Kolobos? I left the desert for you, and you have come to stand with me again, leaving me no escape?" And in that very hour the demon came out from her, and she was saved immediately. The brothers who saw what had happened through our righteous father gave glory to God.

They also said, O my beloved, concerning our all-holy father, that he went down one day from the cell, weaving with the brothers in the cell, while he was still suffering from the heat. He went out from the water to rest a little from the labor. They brought him a young man in whom there was a demon, tormenting him greatly. And when our father saw the shamelessness of the unclean spirit and how it was tormenting him, he looked up to the sky, sighed, and took the water that he had brought out from within him, made the sign of the cross over it in the name of Christ, and sprinkled it on the young man. And immediately the unclean spirit came out of him in the form of smoke, and the young man was healed, glorifying God. All the fathers would divide the weaving into two parts: one part for the agape and one part for the need. And likewise, it is what they would do in the value of their handiwork. Our father, however, Abba John himself, would go to the desert, saying, "I am with the poor, with the widows, and with the orphans in the streets." And he would go out from the weaving of his own basket to give to some prayers and some unceasing supplications, continuing until his death.

The manner of the first time also. In this way also he used to act. If he turned away from the elders or did some other work simply, at any rate. In these things, however, his brother went to him, being perfect in piety in every way, and he also was for him a brother in the order of discipleship. He himself also, Abba John, as a true guide of souls to God, used to teach this type, saying to him, "My son, let us honor each one alone before the whole God with fear and trembling, and all will give glory to us. But if in negligence we despise it, we will fall into destruction. We have there a help and a strong strength, invincible, which is God. Let us cleave to him in knowledge (53) and he will save us. For he is good, and his mercies are poured out abundantly upon his whole creation. He will do this mercy with us, our love. We have there, my son, holy powers, invincible, of angelic ranks, and armies of archangels, and cherubim, and seraphim, the thrones, the dominions, the powers, and the rest that come after these.

All the saints and the eternal tabernacles, let us place our thought among them and let us contemplate their honor and the adornment of their glory, and their receiving of gifts, giving us a perfect garment, so that we may flee from the passions. For our father Abba John used to say, "The holy ones are the trees of paradise, bearing the fruit of life, being like a light in the blessing and glory through the true salvation of the Holy Spirit, which nourishes them all." Through these great accomplishments of our ineffable father Abba John Kolobos, according to the written manner, the Lord sent him an angel as a consolation, or rather to reveal to him the one who would do him wrong, and to show him the Lord, and to be a protector for him, according to the word of Scripture which says, "The angel of the Lord encamps around everyone who fears in his heart, and he will save them." Still, on another day, our father Abba John was sleeping, and an old man came to his cell, and he saw an angel of the Lord above our father Abba John, watching over him. When Abba John awoke from

The old man said, "Whose old man is this?" And Abba John understood that the old man had seen the angel, because that old man had also drawn near to the greatness of our father Abba John. The angel was coming to him again on another day from the Lord, filled with all spiritual joys. And our father said to the angel, "Why do you turn away in such great measure this time, coming to me with such joyful haste?" The angel said to our father Abba John, "We stand now before God, we serve his glory for all the hosts. A great censer of choice incense of all the saints went up before God, and the Lord rejoiced over the hidden fruits for him of his works. And a voice came forth from the throne of the Pantocrator, praising the whole creation in these and in many prayers and petitions, especially the labors and the disciplines in purity of a love of his chosen ones. And we too rejoiced and marveled, especially over the good things prepared for you. The Demiurge sent each one of us for the one who is his among the saints, that we might give you strength. Therefore...

We do not receive the sheep and rejoice when we see the holy ones in the world. But these consolations and these revelations will be enjoyed by our holy father Abba John, who gave himself continually, completely, to the end, to some great ascetic practices, bearing a heavy burden for them, speaking the word of the holy apostle: "He who struggles, perseveres in every work." And again: "He who has virtue, he who has honor, these thoughts about them, these are what have taught you about them, and you have received them, and you have heard them, and you have seen them within you. Do them, O God of peace, that he may be with you." And again: "The sorrows of this time are not worthy of the glory that will be revealed to us." In these things, moreover, he first received a spirit of prophecy, seeing from the beginning and speaking with the brothers in enigmas of things that have happened and things that will happen and things that exist now, interpreting the word of the gift of the Lord in a rich manner, so that a brother might come to him, our father Abba John, at the hour of the evening to ask him for a need of the soul, and they spoke of virtue until the dawn came at the first hour of the morning. Then

First, then, it happened that our father came out, having honored the brother. Again, our father came, speaking with the brother (number 57) from the first until the third hour of the day in the spiritual place. In the evening, he brought the brother inside, and they ate in an agape, and he honored him in peace. He would speak boldly in the glory of the holy cross and the sufferings of Christ, our all-holy father and spirit-bearing Abba John, who is dead to sin but alive in Christ Jesus our Lord, and who walks in that which is pleasing to his blessed will, purified by the wings of the Holy Spirit, especially in his giving of testimony. They made him a presbyter, and they were still to ordain him by the hand of the holy archbishop. A voice cried out from heaven concerning him three times, saying, "Axios, axios, axios." When he had completed the holy liturgy of the mysteries through the interpretation of the grace of heaven, he became new again in the course of virtue, especially as a pure priest of the holy sanctuary, without bloodshed, of the altar of God, which takes away the sin of the world.

He rested in the wisdom of God, our holy father Abba John saying, "The law of the priesthood is equal to that of the cherubim and the seraphim, who are first in relation to God beyond every other order of all the ranks, and they also are the first to partake of the life of his knowledge and the splendor of his blessed and glorious glory which continues forever. Therefore, the holy Scripture commands us to walk according to the honor of this grace, saying, 'Everyone who has this hope from him purifies himself according to the manner in which he is holy,' and again, 'Become holy, for I also am holy,' said the Lord. In these matters, moreover, the great and holy Abba John was the one who served the Holy Spirit of God, filling himself inwardly with the need of this order, also serving as a good minister and steward, being a priest fulfilled in every truth according to the word of Scripture, 'Your priests will put truth upon themselves.' And he himself, our holy father, receiving from the gift of the Holy Spirit and drawing to himself the splendor and the radiance of his glory to shine forever, especially the perfection of the ancient form and the healthy character and the true likeness which he completed within himself according to...

The manner in which he was skilled concerning it, he would see all the things that are in man, like a form that is in a mirror. Our holy father Abba John, after this elevation of this grace, came more and more into humility, like the wheat when it ripens and bows down its head to the ground, lowering itself beneath the whole creation. And if they revealed to him concerning one who had sinned in a transgression, or another whom the passions were troubling, as a good father, and especially in a time of discernment according to a good Christian manner, he would teach them catechetically, acting wisely towards each one. Each one of them he would examine concerning the counsel that is fitting for them to benefit. This he did with zeal, to bear the burden of the honorable yoke of repentance, to heal his conscience, that he might be reconciled with God in purity and with vigilance also. Likewise, he would teach him to receive the medicines that destroy evil and all its energies, through self-control and steadfastness in God. He acted in this way as a physician and surgeon of souls, our all-holy father, who would break and cast out the devil and his evil demons, so that he might crush their fangs and pour out their venom into the air, saying, "You have troubled Jesus and those who are not yours.

Now when our all-holy father Abba John Kolobos saw these things, he opposed the deception of his cunning and destroyed the evil-doing of the envy of his wicked jealousy and his evil wrath through the mediation of Christ, having conquered in the stadium of virtue, especially. He made a path for himself out of hard stones, and they are rough, from this side and that, and it is a place of difficulty and a place of strength. And if the law of nature seizes him by force, he would give a little breath within it from this side. Simply, he sat, and his face was turned away from him, especially because of the evil of those who tempt in fantasies. Now our father used to speak a parable to the brothers concerning self-control, saying, "It is like a king: if he wishes to take a city, he first establishes its water sources and cuts off its provisions. If they are shaken under the wall...

and the shame of those who dwell within it, they seek to cast him out, and he becomes a burden upon them. This is also the way of the monk: if he takes the bridle of the impulse of the passion of the belly within him through the self-control of the jaws of eating, he will conduct himself in a philanthropic and ascetic manner, invisibly, but rather through the restraint of the appetite of the pleasures of the loins, he guards himself, especially when he acts with boldness against evil and destroys every passion of the dragon within him in peace. But he himself, our blessed father Abba John, if the wars of the passions of the enemy rage among the brothers, and our father who is inclined towards him gives a prayer over him, he is the one who heals the evil energies among the brothers in a philanthropic manner, giving himself to all of them through the energy of the Holy Spirit that dwells within him. It was also said about him, O my beloved, that our all-holy father said, "He took a few measures of wheat to Egypt once to bake them into a few loaves of bread for himself, especially the need of the body. And when he had baked them,

When he had filled the basket with the loaves from the price of the jars, while he was still preparing himself, our father went to walk in the desert. There came walking on the road an old woman, and she was a poor widow, and a blind man was following her, being led by her, and this was her son, whom she had borne in this manner. Our father Abba John, giving heed to them as they walked, heard the little blind boy saying to his mother, “God, give us bread today that we may eat it, O my mother.” His mother sighed and wept, saying to him, “My Lord, may he look and have compassion upon us, my son, through his mercy.” Our holy father, the luminary and spirit-bearer, when he heard these things from the little blind boy and his mother, the compassions of the mercies of Christ which were in him were moved. He called to the woman, saying to her, “Come to me.” When she came, our father said to her, “Do you have need of these little loaves, my mother?” She said to him, “Yes, indeed, my father.” Our holy father, as one moved with mercy towards all, and he was accustomed to do his own work for the salvation of many others, gave the basket of loaves to the woman.

He hoped in himself for the one who lives within him, Christ, and he arranged for himself in the second part. The woman, having received the loaves with joy and acceptance, according to an economy, as if moved by God, she was filled with great faith. The woman said to our father, "My holy father, I see that you are a saint of God, and this little child whom you see is my son, whom I have begotten in this manner. I take refuge in your holiness, that you may place your holy hands upon his eyes, that he may receive from your blessing." Our holy father, having raised his eyes upward to the sky, sighed in a heart filled with compassion and said (64), "Christ, God, the provider of all good things, the lord of all that exists, Jesus Christ, you are the same yesterday, you are the same today, you are the same forever, unto the ages that have no end. In the act of granting grace, Lord, at this moment, from outside the blind one, through the impulse of your will that is powerful and perfect, and through the grace that is yours, now, Christ, God, let it be fulfilled for us, the gift of your holy will in all good things, for the salvation of your creation. For the glory is yours, and your good father, and the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen." When our holy father had said the "Amen," he placed his hands upon the eyes of the blind one and made the sign of the cross over them.

In the name of Christ. Immediately then, in that hour, the blind man saw. And because of the joy and the miracle that had happened, his mother cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Blessed is the Lord God of this holy blind monk." And through her voice, a multitude gathered to the spectacle. In these things, our father began to withdraw from one side and another, fleeing from the glory of men, and he did not reveal himself, for Christ was walking before him. But our holy father Abba John was also exhorting everyone to guard themselves from all sins, especially from slander and from the judgment of others, saying, "These things make a man a stranger to God, like fornication and idolatry." And the holy apostle takes up all these things, saying, "Those who do these things in this manner will not inherit the kingdom of God." And because of this, he also told us a parable: "There was a poor man and a poor woman, and they were naked, having no clothing because of their poverty. And when a feast day came in a certain place, they were ashamed of their nakedness, so that they might cover themselves.

...they finished, and they saw those who were in that place. But her husband, because of their nakedness, made for himself a basket of palm leaves, and he put the mat downward upon it, and he hung them on a boat and sailed with them. When they reached the village, one came up from the basket from among them, and she went onto the dung heap, and she gathered a crowd of mulberry leaves, and she made a garment, and she covered her nakedness, and she went and stood near the crowd (—). She saw all those who were there. But the other one, as she looked out from the leaves while she was still in the basket, saw her companion in the midst of the crowd. She said to her husband, "Do you see that prostitute? She is not with her shame, that she might be ashamed, that these rags of clothing are on her, while she has covered the nakedness of her modesty herself, and her poverty, down into the basket, that wretched one who does not reveal herself at all because of her poverty before the people because of her nakedness, and she judged her sister. But her husband said to her, "Be mindful of yourself, and think of what you are like. This one also found some mulberry leaves and covered her nakedness, but you also do not reveal yourself at all before the face of any person. Why do you judge your sister?" This one, he said, is our way: to cover the nakedness of our own sins ourselves.

And we judge our brother likewise. He said, "The love of man, which God prepares for us in his forbearance on the path of salvation, through his opening the door of repentance for us if we wish, we will rest." And he also spoke a parable about this matter, saying, "It is like a harlot who had many companions of bread, and a king heard of her, and he saw her, and he took her as a wife. And the fear of the king did not allow her to continue to give the bread to the poor, saying, 'Henceforth, not again, lest they kill them,' but they would drag them to the outside of the house and do shame to her. When she heard them, she would flee inside to her chamber and close her door to them because of the fear of her husband and the honor she had attained, lest she lose it again." This one also said, "It is like a soul: when it casts off its defilements and flees into purity and the shelter, the hope of the love of our God, that the fear of the punishments and the joy of the good things of the kingdom of the heavens become for it a fortress and help for the taking of salvation from the evil energies and the passions of wickedness.

After these things, the brothers were eating together at an agape meal. He was sitting with them in the refectory, namely our holy father Abba John (68). He saw a brother who was mocking while eating in the refectory, and Abba John wept, saying, "Alas! The thought of this brother is not where it ought to be. Rather, he should weep and receive communion with gratitude because he has eaten an agape meal." On another day also, while our father was eating at the table with a multitude of monks, they revealed to him through the spirit, and he saw a distinction of this kind among the brothers who were eating. Some of them were eating vegetables, some of them were eating bread, and some others were eating earth. Our father, pondering this mystery, a voice came to him from heaven, saying, "Those who eat vegetables are those who eat with fear and trembling and spiritual joy, praying with humility, their conduct being in the heavens, their prayer rising upward like the incense of a censer. Therefore they eat vegetables. Those who eat bread are those who eat with gratitude, giving glory to God for his great works and his gift which he has prepared for them (69). Those who eat earth are those who eat with greed.

and they would begin to judge and condemn, saying, "This one is this, or that one is good." It is not fitting for us to think such things or to speak such things at all, but rather the one who is most chosen is the one who gives glory to God and blesses him with a great thanksgiving, fulfilling the commandment of the apostle: "Whether you eat, whether you drink, whether you do any other work, do all things to the glory of God." The great one, indeed, is discerning and most wise, our holy father Abba Poemen, who became a new Paul in his generation, whose wisdom is true. Especially he recorded great achievements, luminous like many stars among the fathers, ministering the works of the Holy Spirit's extraordinary gifts that exist among the fathers for the benefit of our souls. He himself, the truly wise and holy Abba Poemen, wrote many achievements of that one who is our father Abba John Kolobos, especially teaching us explicitly in those which he wrote about him, that he confirmed him critically in the practice of perfection as a son of God according to a grace that produces a fruit of salvation from the Holy Spirit.

He would say concerning him, our father Abba John, that because of his purity of heart and the humility of his character, a wall of fire of the Holy Spirit was built around him, burning all the evil thoughts and all the evil energies of the devil, not allowing any of them to approach him at all. For in these things he said, our father Abba John established the commandments of the apostle, which are these: Love unites the heart; love brings together; love does not envy; love does not make distinctions; love does not exalt the heart; love does not receive honor; love does not seek after those who are evil; love does not become angry; love does not think of evil; love does not rejoice over injustice; love rejoices over truth; love unites the heart in every matter; love trusts in every matter; love perseveres in every matter; love does not fall into eternity. These things our father Abba John fulfilled with all diligence, and he taught everyone to practice them. Also our father Abba Poimen spoke of the living ones concerning these things about our father Abba John, saying that Abba John Kolobos exerted all his strength in the commandments of the Lord and fulfilled them all, so that he himself sat in the last days to judge the world.

According to the manner in which it is written, that the saints who will judge the world, each one of them among the holy ones, will set his generation before the tribunal of Christ. But through these great accomplishments of this grace, the Lord assigned to him two divine powers of a cherubic nature, to protect him at all times, nourishing him spiritually in the enjoyment of the hidden mysteries of the Holy Spirit, because of the fragrance of his great purity. Each one of the cherubim would say to the other among them in a respectful manner, "Cast, O my sister, your heart upon him a little, for he is pure of the Lord Sabaoth." Many times when our holy father Abba John would perform the holy offering, he was worthy to behold the presence of the Holy Spirit upon the place of the altar, while he was breaking the bread into a body and the cup into blood, and they would hide from him also those who were not worthy to partake of the holy mysteries, and those who were not worthy, so that they would also hide from him by God.

The whole people were astonished. He began to offer, and he was about to lead them to partake of the holy mysteries. He looked out among the brothers and saw an angel of the Lord standing in their midst, having a drawn sword in his hand. And if anyone among the brothers spoke at all, or thought of things that were not fitting, the angel threatened him, wishing to strike him with the sword that was in his hand. But the grace of our father and the goodness of God prevented him. He was looking for a place. Those who stood among the brothers kept silence with fear and trembling and vigilance, giving their attention to them in the church. No earthly thought could be found. Our father also saw rays of wondrous light of the glory of God coming from the place of the holy altar, entering into the heart of the soul of each one of the holy brothers, and they were being filled from the knowledge of the holy Trinity. Hear also another wondrous narrative of our all-holy father according to the manner in which we found it historically. It happened in the time of our thrice-blessed father Abba Theophilus, the archbishop of Rakote, when he adorned many martyria, establishing them in various places of prayer of the Lord God.

And he also built, in the same manner, a glorious coemeterium in the name of the three holy youths who were cast into the furnace of fire in Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, the tyrant king, Ananias, Azarias, and Misael. And he was showing forth in a great zeal, being eager to place their relics in the holy place, especially for the honor and glory of God and his saints. And this martyrion is called by the name of the saints to this day: the Three Youths. Our father the archbishop, however, was persisting in the zeal of this spiritual testament, in a request (— in the codex —) and with some faces, being eager before God that he might bless the blessing of his saints. It was revealed to him through an angel of the Lord, saying to him, "There is no one who will perform this true service except the holy one, Abba John Kolobos, the priest of Scetis." And our most holy father Abba Theophilus sent for him with great haste. He brought our holy father Abba John, and he told him what was in his heart. Our father Abba John, however, his heart being strong like that of...

A lion in the faith of Christ the God said to the archbishop Apa Theophilus, "Give me your prayers, and Christ will show me the way." And he, the holy father Theophilus, prayed over our holy father Apa John, and released him in peace, saying to him, "May the God of our fathers prepare your way safely." When our holy father had gone out of the city a little, as it was said, he stood still and offered a prayer. Immediately, a chariot of fire took him and set him down in Babylon, at the place where the bodies of the holy three youths, the athletes of Christ the God, lie. When our holy father saw the perfect gift of the tabernacle of the saints through the light of the Holy Spirit that showed the way before him, he prostrated himself on the ground three times before he reached them. When our father had drawn near to them, he placed his face upon them, making a prostration over the holy relics, in a perception of many tears flowing, crying out, saying, "O my holy fathers, bless me." Then immediately a voice came from the bodies of the holy three youths, saying to him, "The Lord God, the true and eternal one, is constant.

and the uncreated, without beginning and without end, the demiurge of all that exist, he will bless you, he will save you, he will give glory to you, the good brother, the hegumenos and the oikonomos of the Lord Sabaoth, God of Israel. When they had said these things to him, the voice ceased. Our holy father, filled with joy from the spiritual blessing, again said to them, "My holy fathers, martyrs of Christ the God, the father of the covenant, he built a martyrium in memory of your holy name (—O—, in Cod. O—), and he sent it to be a sign in some places, so that your holy relics and the healing and salvation of all who believe in Christ the God, especially the city of Alexandria and the whole land of Egypt, might be within it." They, the saints, with one voice said to our father, "The Lord God will give you the reward of your labors in the coming life, the eternal and perpetual glory, according to his good providence. But these things you have said to the archbishop, concerning our bodies, we are not able at all to have them moved; you must go to have them remain within it, until they are taken out from this place where they are now, according to the command of the creator God, for thus it was ordained until the day.

he will raise up the whole creation. Nevertheless, concerning the struggle of his labors and his perfect faith and your disturbance toward us, we will not leave his labor fruitless, but let them adorn the place of the tomb, the whole Pamphania, with oil and incense, and let him gather there the entire people and the clergy, even in the evening. Then we will place in it a power and a blessing of the Lord, a sanctification of the house of God (the Oz), whose name is honored throughout the whole earth, and every knee bows to him, the heavens and those upon the earth and those also beneath the earth, for there is none who is late for his perfect prostration, and in the power of God the Father, the Son, we will be in it spiritually through signs and wonders that glorify the blessed one forever for the salvation of the souls that still live, as the archbishop is alive, and after him we will also stand before his successor as diadochos after him. And after these things, chaos will come upon the whole earth, for men will not know the honor of the beneficence of God to save one by his holy name, by the corruption of his place of worship. We ourselves will leave behind the place that was built for us, and we will go out.

...in his heart, not to be filled in his heart. But these and those which are outside, which were told to our father Apa John Kolobos by the holy little child, again our father prostrated himself downward, asking to receive a blessing from them before he went away from them. And they said to him, "The Lord God, the King of the ages, will watch over you until the end, through the help of his protection, without fail. But find strength and power in yourself, for you have there some small struggles and some labors in this life. Afterwards, you too will come to eternal life, salvation and peace with you in the Lord." When our holy father Apa John Kolobos had worshipped them with great spiritual disposition, he went out from them rejoicing in the Lord. When our father Apa John Kolobos had left them a little, the old woman seized him again until she brought him down outside Rakote. When our father Apa John Kolobos had met the archbishop, he informed him of all the things that had happened and all that the saints had told him. Then the archbishop gathered together the entire clergy and some other holy bishops and nearly the whole city at the martyrion of the saints because of their holy bread. In the evening of the vigil...

...in his heart, not to be filled in his heart. But these and those which are outside, which were told to our father Apa John Kolobos by the holy little child, again our father prostrated himself downward, asking to receive. A great light came to be in the holy place, and a great holy fragrance came to be in the air, especially above the city of Rakoti and the dwelling place of the holy ones, when the whole epiphany was filled from its beginning, giving fragrance in abundance, almost as if the whole place had become fire. All these things came to be as a sign of the arrival of the saints into the city. Then the archbishop and all the multitude with him, when they saw this marvelous and extraordinary thing, were praising and giving glory to God with great choirs filled with spiritual joy. But the holy Theophilus was contemplating the holy little child, how they were sanctifying the place together with him, and he was receiving blessing from them. And many also from the people who were worthy saw this vision of such a kind, filled with wonder—whether bishop, cleric, monk, or layperson. When morning came, the archbishop performed a synaxis, rejoicing spiritually, together with the whole city, and he gave to them from the holy mysteries, according to the manner that was told, especially through other ancient histories which we found, that great healings came to be among those who were sick of every kind on that day.

...there, and the whole congregation of the place spent six days and six nights without sleep, and the lamp and the incense also continued without ceasing in the holy place (—in the codex, p. 82—) working for the salvation of everyone, especially during the great feasts, until the council of the Jews, which took place in Chalcedon, and they divided the holy church in their impiety, taking up a blind madness full of stumbling blocks throughout the whole world through their deceitful faith. And in these things they became strangers to the grace of heaven, according to the word of Scripture which says, "My spirit will not be in these men, for they have become flesh." After these things, our holy father Apa John received a blessing from the archbishop, and he also went down to the desert in peace. And he also spoke with the brothers about the great things of God for the salvation of souls. After these things, again Apa John said to the brothers, "Forgive me, brothers, for I have heard today that there is a great multitude in Rakoti, and I have not seen the face of any man there except the archbishop alone." The brothers who heard these things were troubled and said to the old man, "Is the city perhaps empty, our father?" Our holy father Apa John answered and said to them, "It is not so, but do not think that I have seen the face of any man except the archbishop alone, for I have raised my eyes upward to see.

...strengthen you, O brothers, in the preservation of your senses, that your heart may become pure at all times, so that you may become companions of the Holy Spirit and a dwelling place. When the brothers heard these things, they rejoiced greatly. Our holy father Abba John was walking from strength to strength, through the height of his virtue, especially as he was becoming rich in many graces in God. After many days, when he had come out from Rakote, the barbarians made an attack with deeds of lawlessness and tyranny, just as it was said, destroying the constitution and the way of life of the fathers with a bestial fury, pursuing them and destroying the holy places. Our holy father Abba John, however, was meditating on the word of the Lord which was within him, saying, "If they pursue you in this city, flee to another." And in these circumstances, our father Abba John resolved to leave the place (—p. 82, in Cod. p. 84—) if he should...

...strengthen you, O brothers, in the preservation of your senses, that your heart may become pure at all times, so that you may become companions of the Holy Spirit and a dwelling place. When the brothers heard these things, they were amazed at the words of the holy father. And he continued, saying, "The flood, especially according to the economy of God, that some other souls might be saved through him, also in that other place, because the seventy-two idols were still hidden in that place. But our holy father was about to depart from the place, perhaps according to the manner that was said, and all the brothers turned to him with tears, saying to him, 'Our father, are you also going to leave us? Do you not fear the heart of the barbarians?' Then our holy father Abba John answered them, saying, 'In the name of Christ, the God, I do not fear, but the perfect good before God is this: that man should not seek only his own salvation, but rather, according to an angelic need, that man, especially the pious one, should do all his works while looking to his neighbor and his brother in a single equal manner. For this barbarian, even if he separates from me in my faith, yet he is an image and a creation of God himself, like me. If I stand firm and this barbarian kills me, he will incur punishment because of it.' And with these words, he set out with the rest of the God-bearing fathers, with Christ leading the way before him, to the mountain of the great Antony, within the flood, a day's journey. And he came to rest upon a rock.

...strengthen you, O brothers, in the preservation of your senses, that your heart may become pure at all times, so that you may become companions of the Holy Spirit and a dwelling place. When the brothers heard these things, they marvelled greatly. Beyond the river, in a cave which he had made for himself out of stones, according to the pattern of the one within which he also dwelt in Scetis, he sat within it, continually praying to God, especially in a knowledge which was full, concerning his ascetic practices and his disciplines, as if now already he had begun in the renewal of his heart. But God, who cares for all times for his creation, and especially for his holy ones, appointed a certain faithful layman, a kosmikos and a pious man, to serve him there, in that village, where he had a complete faith towards all the holy ones in that mountain, especially our most holy father, counselling him in a spirit of love for God for the salvation of his soul. For great is his discipline, as it is said (in Cod. p. 84, p. 82), he was a virgin from his youth, continually praying to God with prayers and severe ascetic practices. And he was also worthy of holy visions from God. And this man was a deacon of our holy father Abba John. Once a week he would go to our father concerning a necessary need, and he would bring him the holy Eucharist, as it is said.

Our father also, for his part, was coming to the village many times, and they were stirred up against him by God, especially because the energies within him were many kinds of healing. But most of all, for the purification of their souls from the error of the Greek preparation of abominations, through the taking of the light, his virtue also increased in that place like a lamp. For he became for them a guide on all the paths leading to salvation. And because of this, they partook of the benefit from our father. When they heard that he had come down from the mountain, the whole multitude of the village came out to him, all ages, to receive a blessing from him. He did good for the whole mountain, for the souls that he had rescued from the hands of the enemy who was tyrannizing them, in many ways, angering God, especially those in the service of the idols. He purified the whole place, down to a single man with his whole house. And this, according to what was said to them, was a very rich man, being severe in a tyrannical and audacious manner because of the abundance of his wealth, for he had many idols of gold, silver, and bronze in his house, and he worshipped them according to the will of the devil. And this one also used to give many torments.

of the faithful orthodox, for the most part, however, those who were to be healed from the polluted worship, entering into the knowledge of the light of Christ, he gave them great pains and afflictions, and in the manner that was said, he was in the hand of a multitude of times to do evil to our holy father through the envy of the devil, who was plotting against him and gnashing his teeth in wrath at all times to take his life from upon the earth. But God, the protector and guardian of the saints, did not allow an evil work to befall his servant, but rather, through a wisdom that works, especially for his salvation, through the prayers of our father Abba John, he brought a disease upon him of some boils on his body that gave him great pain, so that in this he became blind in his eyes and he was drawn away from him. His enemies, however, and all who were his, were rejoicing and exulting, clapping their hands at their gods of gold, calling out to each one of them to save him. And there was no help for that wretched one from anyone, but rather death prevailed over him more, as he became like a withered tree. While he was in this torment, he said in his distress, with difficulty and pain

They heard his voice saying, "Quickly, bring John to me." "These are not the servant of God of the Christians," they said, "for he has not healed us; salvation will not come to me." But immediately, those who were all his sons and all his servants, with great joy, ran to the feet of our father Abba John on the mountain. (p81) When they had knocked at the door of his ascetic cell, the sign of souls and bodies came out. But those who had sent them were afraid of the multitude of our father, that he might inquire about them. Our father said to them, "Unless he renounces his humanity and takes light from the light of the holy Trinity, he will not be saved." Those whom he had sent heard this and went away. They said to the one who was in danger. He cried out, saying, "Let him release me from this scourge, and I will do all the things he wishes." But when our most holy father Abba John heard this from those whom he had sent, he walked with them on the road, rejoicing like an apostle sent by God. When our father arrived at the place where that man lived, the idols in his house fell down at that hour, and the demons that were bound to each one

One of them fled and they cried out from the air, saying, "Woe to us, for they have driven us away from this place" (in the Codex, f-) and they took the places from you. Our father, however, being filled with the Holy Spirit, pursued them, persecuting their error, especially with a strong habit of the sign of the cross of salvation, sanctifying the entire place of dwelling through the form of his holy prayers and some fervent supplications. In these, the man cried out, saying, "Help me!" Our holy father, being filled with all compassion, catechized him and his entire household in the word of eternal life and made him confess the one divinity of the Holy Trinity, uncreated, undivided, without beginning, without end, and also to confess the economy which He accomplished for our salvation, the one from the Holy Trinity, the only-begotten Son and Word of the Father, who took flesh in a holy spirit according to a hypostasis from the holy virgin Mary, becoming a perfect man, who suffered in the flesh, rose from the dead on the third day, ascended to the heavens (-pth-), and is coming in

...his glory, judging the living and the dead. In these things, the man renounced Satan, anathematizing him and his demons. After these things, our all-holy father gave him and all his house a blessing in the name of the holy, consubstantial Trinity, uncreated, indivisible, without any addition of time, and he made him shine in the light of the new creation. And a marvelous wonder happened at that time. For when he took up from the holy mystical waters, tears fell from his eyes like streams, and he saw from that hour and was healed in all his members. And all the multitude of the eastern village were marveling, giving glory to God. There was for all of them, then, a great spiritual joy and gladness; they rejoiced with exultation, especially in the house of that faithful Christian, he and all his household, over the healing that had come to them through the Lord and his servant John. (— in the Codex, f—) In receiving these great gifts, and his...

...the truth of the holy mysteries, he scattered great sums of money to the poor in that place, and abundant gifts to the church of Christ, especially for the salvation of the one who had attacked him. And the golden and silver idols, he made them into vessels and patens and the rest of the sacred implements for the service of the church, especially for the adornment of the place of the holy altar. As for those who had received healing on that day from our holy father, the man, his wife, his children, his servants, and all who were his, they all became one soul in hope. In the act of purifying the entire place through the grace of giving the gift of heaven in the distribution of his labors, he delivered them to the Lord, the good shepherd, who is full of compassion, through the wise apostle Paul, who went to them bearing the gifts of salvation to his sheep in joy as a worker full of the love of the vine of the Lord Sabaoth.

And when our all-holy father went to his hesychasterion, he shone in the crowns of the contests, to know God as patriarch, as prophet, as apostle, especially as martyr many times, in the hidden and the revealed, as confessor, especially as ascetic in all works of goodness. He made a planting on his land well, for his cell was purified, and the fruit of his labor was completed. This one blossomed like the light, and he became glorious in the knowledge of God, to his end and before the faces of the generations, the place where his heart was at all times, according to the tradition of our Savior. And when our all-holy father was taking rest, to depart and be with Christ, this one especially gave testimony in the knowledge of God, to give rest to his servant from all his labors. A sickness befell our father. When he became powerless in his body, the fearful deacon who had first attacked him was always coming to him. Our father was sleeping, being watchful in the night, especially because of the bitterness of the pain of the sickness.

... And according to the manner that was said, the great Anthony came in to him, and Abba Jichoi the great, and Abba Makarios, and Abba Amoi, and they gave strength to our father in many multitudes, comforting him especially in the hope of the coming age which is prepared for him, and they said to him, "Find strength in the Lord, and be strong, and be prepared, for we will come after you first on the Lord's Day, and we will embrace you at the eternal life according to the command of the Lord." These things that the holy ones said to our father, they blessed him and they became invisible from him. Now on the day of preparation, our father sent the beloved of God, the deacon, to Egypt, as if for a necessary need, but he wished to do this so that nothing would hinder him when he was about to lay down his body. At the hour of the cockcrow on the holy Lord's Day, behold, many angelic ranks came, and the whole chorus of the holy ones from God, in glory and honor of the Lord, to receive their fellow servant. When our father saw the brightness and their joyful countenance filled with spiritual joy entering into him, they filled him with the chosen incense of heaven and the grace of the worthy one of the eternal goods, especially through the glory and brightness of the presence of the Lord of all, and our father prostrated himself on his face in great worthiness, for he wished to worship, to rejoice in the love of the Lord and his chosen ones.

At that hour, he gave up his spirit into the hands of the Lord on the twenty-eighth of the month of Phaophi, in a peace of God, and he remained for one year according to what was said, and he remained in the midst of the holy choirs there, drawing his blessed soul upward to the Lord of glory, the holy choir, with hymns of joy of the Holy Spirit, that he might be under the right hand of the Most High, until the light of those who live in the land of perpetual immortality, from the enjoyment of all good things, for they found him worthy like gold in a place of purity, like a jewel of a precious stone. He took it upon himself, God (the Father, in Cod. 6th) in the time of his finding the shrine, he found him shining, for his soul had been illuminated by the Lord according to the word of wisdom, and also in his taking of his veil, he appeared before him likewise, being complete in an untroubled life and a good old age, without infirmity, blooming in forms adorned in the purity of virtue. Still, he himself was coming to the mountain, the God-loving deacon.

...that he was dwelling in the village according to the manner that was said, he heard some hymns of the saints being sung above him, he looked up to the height of the air, he saw the parade of the angels, he saw the saints also, being in ranks, each rank in great glory, and our father in their midst in a wonderful wonder, and he saw a great one in his place before them all, shining like the sun, delivering a eulogy to our father, and the whole assembly of the saints responded after him. But that holy deacon there, being amazed by this vision of a great sight, was greatly troubled, especially to know who then is this great luminary who is drawing above this multitude and delivering a eulogy to our father. Immediately, the angel of the Lord came to him and said to him, "Since you wish to know a good thing, listen to me: those whom you see, all of them are angelic ranks and the choir of the saints whom the Lord sent after his servant John to release him from the prison of this life full of suffering and to give him inheritance in the places of rest which are in heavenly Jerusalem, and this great man who is drawing before them all, shining in glory, this is the great...

...the Antonians and Pachomians, the great ones who followed him, the great Abba Makarios the spirit-bearer, and the rest of the other monks who followed them, all of them. But the angel himself, each one of them, all of them, the holy ones, he was informing him, saying to him, "Since he has attained the blessed life that exists in a single generation, the holy Abba John has been established, and he has followed a certain discipline, he received a lot with them in this same season before God, and you also, O good servant, O blessed one, because you have striven for the glory and honor from God and his saints." And these things that the angel said to him, he revealed himself to him. When the God-loving deacon of that place went to the cave, he found the thrice-blessed father Abba John, who was bowing down on his knees and on his face, as if he were worshiping God, and he was weeping in his holy prayer, and a sweet fragrance of paradise was coming forth, and he also worshiped over his holy body, lamenting and weeping. And when he had straightened up, he wrapped himself in a linen cloth, fully, and he began to sing psalms with fear and sorrow, having uncovered his holy body, and he placed it in a place in the cave, and he buried it, and he went to the village and gave them news, saying what had happened.

Then at that hour, when they heard, they all hastened with eagerness and faith that was complete, from their small to their great, and they ascended the mountain to the place of their benefactor, weeping, all the mountains, and many crowds of cattle, being grieved in heart because they had been deprived of their savior after God. And they carried him upon cattle, and they brought him into the chosen village of a certain cemetery. Many wonders and powers came to pass through his holy body, according to what was said. And as they were bringing him into the village, behold, a madman came out among the crowd, with whom an unclean spirit was, crying out from within him, the demon saying, "Why have you come with me, Kolobos? You have troubled me, pursuing me out of my house." And as the demon was saying these things, the madman rushed with a great cry, and he did violence to the holy honor of our all-holy father. Immediately, the madman fell upon the ground and emitted a foam.

like a flash of lightning from the mountain, and when he opened his mouth, the evil spirit came out of him like a flame of fire, and he was healed in that hour. They also said, O our beloved, concerning our all-holy father (-︦ⲏ︦-), that while he was still in the midst of a funeral procession for him, he was like a child of seven years, as if he were a youth in his hands and his limbs from his birth, and his fathers carried him, bearing him with great faith, and they laid him out upon the bier of the holy body of our father Abba John. Immediately after, the man arose and stood upon his feet, and he began to take the Eucharist and to bless God, who gives glory among the saints in all times, and he performed many miracles, especially according to what he himself had said, the Lord saying, "Amen, I say to you, he who believes in me and does my will, the works that I do, he also will do them, and great things he will also do." When they had laid out our holy father with great honor, singing and chanting spiritual hymns, and when they had completed the holy offering over him, they made a tomb and placed him in it with honor.

and they also placed him among other saints of his kind, such as the holy martyr Athanasius, and Abba Jichoi, and Abba Pijimi. And the grace of God would work in the bodies of these saints abundantly, through extraordinary deeds, especially those of our holy father Abba John, for the healing and salvation of all, until the synod of the devil took place in Chalcedon, and it troubled the whole world with a false dogma, like a harlot or like a plague of death that destroys souls and drags them down into the abyss of perdition. In these matters, God himself said to his chosen ones secretly, "Do not give the holy things to the dogs, nor place the true ones before the unworthy." A shame and a disgrace to all the heretics who cry woe, and a strength and a glory and an honor to all the faithful who believe in Christ God. For in this, the death of our thrice-blessed father Abba John Kolobos became honored and hidden before God, as he completed his course, preserving the faith, wearing the crown of righteousness from Christ God, and he was with God according to the manner.

and he also said, "The place where I am, let it be there with me, of my service." All these, O my holy fathers, whose memory we have made at this place, according to a sequence, are those I have found historically, whether those who were told to us or those we heard from some faithful men, especially those who have not hidden them, as we first said a little from among a multitude of the virtue of our all-holy father, who has sown them for us like a great wealth or inheritance, abundant, that each one of us might make use of it for our salvation and eternal life, according to what is fitting and the grace of each one. Also, likewise, we know especially that they will certainly and accurately lack nothing of the need of this work, having found no obstacle, according to the testimony of the scriptures and the trumpet of the wonderful deeds of the life of our cross-bearing father, who cries out to us in the work, "Be, and you will imitate me, and you will be like me, as I have been like Christ." And he said, "He has set us in every good work as deacons of God with great patience and a spirit of honor.

in humility with me, in trembling and in necessities, in sorrows and in anxieties, in tribulations and in disturbances, in labors and in vigils, in fasts and in ascetic practices, in purity and in a way of life, and in the fear of God, in hunger and in thirst, in knowledge and in wisdom, in goodness and in kindness, in gentleness and in patience, in prayers and in psalms, in joy and in compunction, in meekness and in humility, in discretion and in wisdom, in faith and in hope, in confession and in silence, in vigilance and in perseverance, in philanthropy and in charity, in truth and in the power of God, in peace and in unshakable love toward the entire creation, the sum of all good things. And if we do these things with those who are with us, and we rightly despise those who oppose these things in a genuine manner, then our light will shine, not only before men, but before God and his angels and all his saints, in holy fruits, in the receiving of the spiritual gifts; and we will also rejoice in the spiritual gifts.

through the imitation of the sufferings of the passion of our all-holy father and hegoumenos, in the receiving of the grace of his faith in the work and the word, he will hasten his prayers before the Lord down upon us, as if he has the power now to do this, and it is fitting for him to pray for us, that our life be ordered according to that which is fitting for him, according to the will of God in this world, and that all the blessed may be gathered together, saying, especially God and all the saints, that in the midst of the feasts, truly they are genuine children of Abba John Kolobos. In these, as they have become a protection for us before the Lord, rather the intercessions of our righteous father, he will hasten his mercy down upon us, also Christ the Lord, in many petitions, offering a good thing for the completion of all our requests, chosen in the truth of salvation according to the word of the hymnographer David: "The mercy of the Lord is upon those who fear his heart, and his truth upon the children of the children of those who keep his covenant and remember his commandments." For this reason, especially in the coming age, we will certainly rejoice in the lot and portion of our father in the kingdom of the feasts, which will be for all of us, that we may be worthy.

We will not be able to reach her through the holy intercessions of our all-holy father Abba John Kolobos, by the grace and the compassion and the philanthropy of our Lord and our God and our Savior Jesus Christ, this is the glory of the father with him and the life-giving Spirit with the times of all and unto all eternity. Amen.