The Harlot Whom a Subdeacon Drove out of Church

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 are not allowed to enter into the house of God, because you are an unclean woman.” While they were striving together, the Bishop heard the sound of the noise. The Bishop went out to see what was the matter. The harlot said to him, “The subdeacon would not permit me to go into the church.” The Bishop said to her, “You are not permitted to do so because you are unclean.” Having repented within herself, she said, “I will never play the whore again.” The Bishop said to her, “If you will strip yourself of all your possessions, I shall know of a certainty that you do repent.” She brought her possessions. The Bishop took the possessions and divided them in the fear of God among the needy. The woman went to the church, and wept saying, “If it has happened to me thus in this world, what would have happened to me in the next?” She repented, and became a chosen vessel.