Collectio textuum hagiographicorum, Vol. IV

On the same day, the commemoration of our holy and blessed father Euthymius. This thrice-blessed father of ours, Euthymius, was born in the land of Tao, from believing and God-serving parents, who were later wealthy and noble. And while he was still in the womb, he grew in the bosom of his mother like an immaculate vine, whose father was very valiant and renowned and famous in the ranks. But he became even more famous in the ranks of the evil spirits and among the renowned company of monks. And because he abandoned all worldly affairs and, with the love of Christ, went to foreign and distant lands, and through obedience and humility, he ascended to the height of virtues. And the blessed one was called John when he entered the monastic order. But the blessed Euthymius was taken by his mother to his grandfather, a noble and powerful man, and he raised him with every care. Then, after some time, he went with the child to the royal city for some business before Nikephoros, the God-serving emperor. And since everything was ordained from above, John also went before the emperor and learned of his son, that he was there. And with a divine impulse, he began to ask for him from that nobleman, but he did not consent to give him up.

And there arose a dispute among them, until it was reported to the king, and he decreed thus: that both of them should stand, and each should call out, and whichever one the child went to, that one should take the child. And as they did according to the king’s command, behold a great wonder! For the child, who was small and did not even know that foster-parent and was beautifully adorned, chose and ran swiftly and fell into the bosom of his own father [ ], for everything was ordained by God. And thus the blessed John, as if given by God, brought his own child and clothed him in the monastic habit and instructed him in all learning, for by the sharpness of his intellect and even more by the grace of the Holy Spirit, while still small, he learned all the books by heart and attained the height of wisdom, and breadth of heart and wise understanding, like the wave of the sea, were given to him like Solomon. And again, when he reached maturity, he clothed him in the holy schema by the hand of the venerable Athanasius, of blessed memory, and afterwards raised him to the honor of the priesthood. And thus day by day he progressed in wisdom and in spiritual and physical maturity, and lived as if incorporeal. For he acquired the fear of God, like the mother of virtues, and adorned himself with all virtues, and uprooted every passionate and unseemly thought from its root.

For this reason, the grace of the Holy Spirit dwelt abundantly within him, through which he became an unerring guide and healer of souls, until the fragrance of his virtues spread throughout the whole world. For the mercy of God raised up for us a new Chrysostom and placed upon his lips a tongue of fire, and stirred him to translate the divine books; and, as if with the river of Eden, he watered the land of Kartli, enlightened the churches, and expanded, perfected, and adorned the deficiency of our language. But that blessed one did not hide the talent given to him by God; rather, he multiplied it manyfold and translated many books with great labor and toil, and until his death he did not cease that honorable mouth of his from that divine labor. And he translated not only from Greek into Georgian the profound and difficult-to-translate books, but also some from Georgian into Greek. And the blessed Ioane, by the will of God and with the co-struggle of the holy father Euthymius, built a beautiful monastery and gathered together spiritual brothers; for when he saw the multitude of brothers who were coming, he no longer deemed it fitting to remain in the Lavra of Father Athanasius. And for some time he led those brothers with every ascetic endeavor.

And when God called him, he summoned his son and blessed him with every blessing, as God had given to his own mouth. And he himself entrusted his soul into God's hands within his own hands, and thus with great effort he completed his ascetic labor and the care of his monastery. But the blessed one for a time bore the burden of his parent's commandments, and then entrusted it to another brother, of his own kin, and he himself lived in quietude and devoted himself to the holy service of the priesthood to God, and was diligent in the translation of books, and lived an ascetic life like those first and renowned fathers, until by the command of the rulers, for the sake of calming the rebellion and turmoil of the Holy Mountain, and especially of the Great Lavra, whose governance and care had been entrusted to him by Athanasius, he went up to the kingdom, and for the sake of the Lord's commandment, which is mercy, having been tested like Job by afflictions, he entrusted his all-holy soul into the hands of God.

For when he was in the royal city, on one day as he was going through the districts, a certain beggar rose up to ask for alms, and as he intended to give, the mule on which he was sitting looked at him, and as is the nature of a mule full of vice, when it saw that poor man, clad in rags, it shied and began to flee like one possessed. And as it fell here and there, it severely struck its head and some of the bones of the God-clad Euthymius. And thus struck, after a few days, on the thirteenth day of the month of May, he fell asleep and departed in inexpressible joy to rest before the Lord. But this thrice-blessed father of ours, Euthymius, while he was still a youth, a certain Jew, learned in the law, approached him and wished to engage in disputation with him according to the Jewish custom. But the blessed one found this matter difficult; however, by the command of John, he was compelled to reason with him. And when that Jew began to dispute and question, he explained to him everything beyond understanding. And when he saw his own defeat, that crafty one began to utter words of blasphemy.

It became impossible for that blessed one, and he said: “O wretch, if only you were reading the words of the Scriptures, I would have explained them to you, and if only you were questioning us, I would have answered you, for since the mule speaks of blasphemy against the Most High, let your mouth, which speaks falsehood, be silenced.” And immediately that blasphemous mouth of his became mute, and within a few days his soul departed. Once there was a great drought on Mount Athos. Then the venerable John said to the blessed Euthymius: “Go up, my child, with a litany as far as the hermitage of Saint Elias, which is above the monastery, and take the rain-bringing relics with you.” When the brothers standing there heard this, they were greatly amazed and marvelled. But the blessed Euthymius, as he had unblemished obedience, did according to the word of the elder. And when he had gone up to Saint Elias and began to offer the sacrifice, immediately a great rain came down, and all the others were drenched by the force of that rain, but Euthymius was clothed in his own rain-bringing relics and gave thanks to God for the abundance with the brothers, and blessed his good and blessed father John. In the time of King Basil, the archbishop of Cyprus reposed.

But the king, with great insistence, forced the blessed Euthymius to be convinced, so that he might become the archbishop of Cyprus, for the see of the great Epiphanius is high and honorable. However, that gentle and upright man did not at all accept it, for he had acquired complete humility and had killed pride. It is the custom of the Holy Mountain dwellers on the glorious Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ to ascend to the top of that high mountain, and there they keep vigil and celebrate the liturgy at the proper time, and then return to their own monasteries. Once, on this feast, the holy father Euthymius went up, and, as he was among all the glorious and eminent, they besought him to perform the holy liturgy of the hour on that day. And as they said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” and the following, suddenly there occurred a terrible lightning and a dazzling radiance, and all those standing around fell on their faces, but the blessed one stood like a pillar of fire, unshakable. Then, as if from a strange vision, he said to the prostrate elders: “Do not be afraid, for God has glorified his feast and has enlightened it with his own light.” And from then on, he never again went up to that gathering, for he fled vain glory with all his might.

The warrior of the saints and zealot for the life of men, Beliar, when he saw that spring of immortality flowing from his mouth, which is the translation of divine books, was consumed and inflamed with evil envy. For this reason, he found a certain pitiable man, in the guise of a monk, who was capable of destroying all his power; he entered this man's heart and incited him to kill the saint. For he appeared to him and said: "If you kill my warrior Euthymius, I will do you great good." So he prepared a very large knife and sought a time to kill him. But God made his plan vain, and for the sake of the mercy of our people, he did not allow him to approach him. For one day, when Father Euthymius went up to the cell at the hour of matins, while it was still dark, one of his disciples brought the saint into a cell and himself went out from there and locked the door of the cell, and that blessed disciple of the father entered his own cell. And as he descended a little on the stairs of the cell, he met that wicked monk. Then the blessed brother began to speak to that demonic one, saying: "It is not fitting to go up to the father at such an untimely hour." But the wicked one said: "It is not necessary, as if I were not going up.

And while he was thus contending, that demonic one suddenly cried out and struck the blessed brother and true martyr of Christ with that knife, and himself began to flee. And as he fled, he again encountered another disciple of the monk and also struck him with the sword. And thus those servants of Christ were perfected and, adorned with the crown of martyrdom, departed before God. But that evil and fierce one later confessed that he had been stirred up by the devil, and, worthy of his own wickedness, he became [ ] for the slaughter of the unclean demons and passed away to eternal torment. Again at another time the devil stirred up the gardener of the monastery and incited him to kill the saint. But when he raised his hand and took up the sword to strike, immediately his hand became as dry as wood until he confessed everything. And through the prayer of the saint he received healing. Along with all those virtues which the holy father Euthymius possessed, he also had this great virtue: that without his spiritual father he did nothing at all. For he said: "Trust in oneself and the confirmation of one's own will is the door of perdition and the abyss of hell, while discernment is the guide of life and the gate of the kingdom, as our holy fathers have said." And this rule he kept until his own end.

Our holy father Euthymius was of a calm and upright countenance, of humble mind, and strong in body, and moderate in age. And apart from the testimonies of the Scriptures, he would affirm nothing on his own authority, nor would he speak. And he was diligent in standing in church, for he would stand without a staff and without leaning against a wall, with his hands clasped, like an immovable pillar, and his face and eyes were directed downward, looking toward the ground. But as for his ascetic labors within his cell, who could number them, which only God alone knows! For he also had this great virtue: the concealment of his own virtues. And for this reason, most of his virtues remained undescribed. But beneath his garment he wore a coarse hair-shirt, and over that hair-shirt a heavy chain, and, to speak concisely, whatever commandment one might seek, one would find it fulfilled by him well, fittingly, and loftily. And his virginity was preserved so untouched and immaculate, as if he were among angels and not on earth, which is full of sin. And the translation of books was especially and preeminently the crown and foundation and consummation of all virtues, which is very wondrous: if with so many ascetic labors how could he have written so many translations, or if with so many translations how could he have accomplished so many ascetic labors!

But by the power of God he accomplished both of these things most excellently and gloriously. The holy and thrice-blessed God-clad father of ours, Euthymius, reposed on the 13th of the month of May, in the royal city, from the aforementioned infirmity. And his precious relics were brought up to Mt. Athos and placed in the church of St. John the Baptist, in the Georgian monastery, which had been built by them. And those who approach with faith are filled with the grace of healings, through his boldness before God, to whom belongs glory forever and ever, amen.