Abba Theonas visited us in our cell, and when evening prayers were over and we had been sitting for a short while on the ground we began to question him in considerable detail as to why they were so careful that no one ever kneel in prayer during all of Pentecost or presume to fast …
When Abba Macarius dwelt in the great desert, he was the only one living as an anchorite, but lower down there was another desert where several brothers dwelt. The old man was surveying the road when he saw Satan drawing near in the likeness of a man and he passed by his dwelling. He seemed …
With the kind permission of Bishop Daniel (the Bishop of St Shenouda Monastery), we, the monks of the monastery, went on a spiritual retreat to the monasteries of Egypt. This retreat was an eye opener in many aspects. For this I thank Bishop Daniel very much. One of the aspects that really came to light …
The blessed man Abraham had a brother who lived close by, and he died, leaving a daughter aged seven. She was left without parents, so she was brought to her uncle, who arranged for her to be placed in a room built on the outside wall of his hermitage. Now there was a certain man, …
A certain brother was engaged in a war against Satan, and he told the matter to Abba Herakles and wishing to strengthen and confirm him the old man told him the following story, “There was a certain old man who had a disciple, and he had been very obedient to him for many years, and …
A certain old man said, there was a harlot who was so beautiful and so rich that all princes flocked to her. One day she went into the church and desired to pass inside the gates, but a subdeacon who was standing at the door would not allow her to do so. He said, “You …
A brother asked an old man, ‘If a monk succumbs to temptation he is grieved because he falls from perfection to a lower level, and he struggles to rise again; while he who comes from the world makes progress as a beginner.’ And the old man answered him, ‘The monk who succumbs to temptation is …
A certain brother came to Abba Arsenius, and said to him, “My thoughts trouble me, and say, you can't fast and you are not able to labor, therefore visit the sick, which is a great commandment.” Then Abba Arsenius, after the manner of one who was well acquainted with the war of devils, said to …
“Silence your lips that your heart may speak… Silence your heart that God may speak…” - The Spiritual Elder How I miss the silence. It was pleasant sunny winter’s day in ancient Wadi Natroun, the ancient desert abode of the Christian monks of Egypt. I was a newly ordained priest halfway through my 40 day …
The Commemoration of the Miracle performed by St. Basil, Bishop of Caesarea, Cappadocia. A young man, who loved his master's daughter, Satan, his enemy and the enemy of the human race, deceived him. Satan made him resort to a magician who made him write a covenant to deny the faith and to surrender completely to …
