Our Venerable Father Pachomius the Great.
Pachomius was born in Egypt and, in his
youth, was a pagan. As a soldier, he fought in battle with Emperor
Constantine against Maxentius. Following that, he learned of the One
God from Christians and witnessing their devout life, Pachomius
became baptized and withdrew to the Tabennisi wilderness, to the
famous ascetic Palamon with whom he studied the ascetical life for
ten years. Then, an angel appeared to him in the habit of a Schema
[The Great Angelic Habit of a Monk] over the place called Tabennisiot
and gave him a board upon which was written the Monastic Rule
[Constitution] for the Cenobitic Life, ordering him to establish such
a monastery in that place, prophesying to him that in this monastery
many monks will come for the sake of salvation of souls. Heeding the
angel of God, Pachomius began to build many cells even though at that
place there was not anyone except his brother John and himself. When
his brother reproached him for building unnecessary cells, Pachomius
simply said to him that he is following the command of God without
regard as to who will come to live there and when. But soon, many men
gathered at that place moved by the Spirit of God, and began to live
a life of asceticism according to the Rule of Pachomius, which he
received from the angel. When the number of monks increased,
Pachomius gradually established six more monasteries. The number of
his disciples amounted to about seven thousand. St. Anthony is
considered to be the founder of the hermitical life but St. Pachomius
as founder of the monastic cenobitic way of life. The humility, love
of labor and abstinence of this holy father was and remains a rare
example for the imitation of the vast number of monks. St. Pachomius
worked numerous miracles but endured numerous temptations from demons
as well as men. He served men as a father or a brother. He inspired
many to follow the path to salvation and directed many on the path to
truth. He was and remains a great light of the Church and a great
witness to the truth and justice of Christ. He died peacefully in the
year 348 A.D. in the seventy-fourth year of his earthly life. The
Church has included many of his disciples in the ranks of the saints,
such as: Theodore, Job, Paphnutius, Pecusius, Athenodorus, Eponymus,
Sorus, Psoi, Dionysius, Psentaesis and others. Our Venerable Father Isaiah the Wonderworker, Bishop of Rostov.
Isaiah was born near Kiev. In 1077, he
became the second bishop of Rostov, succeeding Leonty of Rostov. As
Christianity was not yet well established in the area, he spent his
tenure converting pagans, destroying idolatry and encouraging the
spread of Christianity. The seat of Bishop of Rostov remained vacant
for more than a century after Isaiah's death. Relics of Leonty and
Isaiah were discovered in 1162 or 1164. In 1474 they were re-interred
in a new cathedral of Rostov. The first historical reference to
Isaiah appears in the Life of Theodosius of Kiev (Russian: Житие
Феодосия Печерского). According to the biographer
of Theodosius, in 1062 prince Iziaslav I of Kiev selected Isaiah, a
monk of Pechersk Lavra, to the newly instituted Demetrios Monastery,
and in 1077 secured appointment of Isaiah as the Bishop of Rostov. In
1088 Isaiah has consecrated St. Michael's church in Vydubitsy; in
1089 Isaiah and metropolitan John jointly consecrated the Church of
Theotokos in Pechersk Lavra. Both these facts are reproduced in the
Life of Isaiah of Rostov; these were actually all the facts available
to the medieval biographer. He converted a routine mention of Isaiah'
presence in Kiev in 1089 into a tale of magical instant flight from
Rostov to Kiev and back. However, the year and circumstances of
Isaiah' death remain unknown. Life of Isaiah of Rostov exists in two
versions; the second and larger version incorporates long quotes from
earlier chronicles and scriptures and does not add anything to
biography itself. 19th century historians attributed the first,
brief, version to 13th century Rostov chronists. According to
contemporary authors, it was actually compiled around 1474, the year
of canonization.
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