...continued from part five.
11. Stories About the Temptation of People to Sin by the Devil
1. In the Lausiac History it is related that one ascetic named Valens, having lived for a long time in the desert, greatly exhausted his flesh and was a great ascetic throughout his life, but then, deceived by the spirit of self-conceit and pride, he fell into extreme arrogance, so that he became the plaything of demons. Having become puffed up with the pernicious passion of self-conceit, he finally began to dream, in self-delusion, that Angels were conversing with him and serving him in every matter. The devil, convinced that Valens had completely given himself over to his deception, took on the form of the Savior and came to him at night, surrounded by a host of demons in the form of Angels, with lighted lamps. And behold, a fiery circle appeared, and in the middle of it Valens saw what he believed to be the Savior. One of the demons, in the form of an Angel, approached him and said: "You have pleased Christ with your exploits and the holiness of your life, and He has come to visit you. So, do nothing else, but only, standing at a distance and seeing Him standing in the midst of the whole host, fall down and worship Him, then go to your cell." Valens went out and, seeing a multitude of spirits with lamps, fell down and worshiped the Antichrist. The deceived one extended his madness to such an extent that, coming to church the next day, he said in front of all the brethren: "I have no need of communion: today I have seen Christ." Then the holy fathers, seeing that he had fallen into a frenzy, bound him with chains and completely healed him in the course of a year, destroying his pride with prayers, various humiliations and austere life, as they say: "Diseases are cured by their opposites."
2. One of the Elders of the Thebaid said about himself that he was the son of a priest of idols, that when he was a child he sat in the temple and saw his father offering sacrifices to the idols. One day, after his father had left the temple, the son secretly entered the temple and saw Satan there. Satan was sitting on the throne; a large army stood before him. And behold, one of his princes came and worshiped him. Satan asked him, “Where are you from?” The prince answered, “I was in such and such a country, and stirred up war and great confusion there, and caused bloodshed, and I came to tell you.” Satan asked, “In how long did you do this?” He answered, “In thirty days.” Satan ordered him to be beaten with whips, saying, “So much have you done in such a long time!” And behold, another came and worshiped him. Satan asked, “Where are you from?” The demon answered: “I was at sea, raised a storm, sank ships, killed many people, and came to tell you.” Satan asked: “In how many days did you do this?” He answered: “In twenty days.” Satan commanded that this one too be beaten with whips, saying: “Why have you done so little in so many days?” And a third came and worshiped him. And to this one he said: “Where are you from?” The demon answered: “I was in such and such a city, a wedding was being celebrated there: I stirred up quarrels and caused much bloodshed; moreover, I killed the bridegroom himself and came to tell you.” Satan asked: “In how many days did you do this?” The demon answered: “In ten.” Satan commanded that this one too, because he had not acted zealously, be beaten with whips. And another demon came to worship him. Satan asked: “Where are you from?” The demon answered: “From the desert: forty years have passed since I wrestled with one of the monks there, and I barely gained the victory over him: I plunged him into adultery this night.” Satan, hearing this, rose from his throne, began to kiss the demon, took off the royal crown that was on his head, placed it on the demon’s head, and seated him next to himself on the throne, saying: “You have accomplished a great and glorious deed.” Seeing and hearing this, the priest’s son said to himself: “The monastic rank must mean a lot to God.” He accepted Christianity and entered monasticism. (Paterikon)
3. Once the Venerable Nephon saw that the devil approached a man who was working in the field, whispered something in his ear, which the worker did not notice at all, and walked away; then he approached another man working nearby and said something in his ear. Both of these workers, leaving their work, came together and began to talk; at first they spoke calmly and kindly, then they began to quarrel, and finally they quarreled violently (December 23).
4. Saint Nikitas, Bishop of Novgorod, was a native of Kiev and from his youth entered the Caves Monastery. Striving for higher achievements, he soon decided to become a recluse, despite all the advice of the abbot about the prematurity of such a difficult task for a young monk, and indeed, he was subjected to a bitter temptation in seclusion. At the suggestion of the devil, who appeared to him in the form of an Angel of Light, Nikitas completely stopped praying to God, devoted himself entirely to reading the books of the Old Testament, began to receive those who came to him, give them advice, utter predictions, and through this acquire vain glory for himself. No one was able to compete with him in knowledge of the books of the Old Testament, and he not only did not read the Gospels and other books of the New Testament, but never wanted to see or hear them. The combined prayers of the fathers of the Caves, among whom were Abbot Nikon, Matthew the Seer, Saint Isaac, Gregory the Wonderworker, Pimen the Faster and Nestor the Chronicler, freed the unfortunate monk from the charms of the tempter, and Nikitas, leaving his seclusion and suddenly deprived of all the knowledge of which he had gained in vain, began to study again in the monastery, both literacy and monastic life. This time he followed the path of true humility, abstinence and obedience, and little by little he surpassed everyone in his virtue. For his high virtue, the ascetic was elevated to the rank of Bishop of Novgorod (in 1096) and for 11 years he did not cease to serve as a model of piety for his flock. The Lord honored His Saint with the gift of miracles even during his lifetime: he twice saved Novgorod from disasters - once, with his prayer, he brought down rain from the heavens during a long drought; another time, with his prayer, he stopped a terrible fire that was destroying the city. (Kiev Caves Paterikon)
5. In the form of not only an Angel, but even Jesus Christ Himself, the devil once tempted Saint Isaac of the Caves, a wonderful ascetic who had spent seven years in solitary seclusion and was in unceasing prayer. One prosphora and a little water were his daily food. This wonderful ascetic never went to bed, but rested while sitting. And so, one day, when at the onset of night, tired from singing the Psalter, he put out the candle and while sitting in his place, he saw an extraordinary light in the cave, and two demons appeared to him in the form of radiant youths, saying: “We are Angels, and behold, Christ Himself is coming to you.” The monk did not guard against the tempting, proud thought of seeing Christ, did not overcome this thought with the humble thought of his unworthiness, and did not protect himself with the sign of the cross, but thoughtlessly fell and worshiped Satan in the image of Christ. As soon as this happened, the demons joyfully exclaimed: "Our Isaac!" Immediately surrounding the monk with timbrels, flutes, and gusli, they seized him, began to jump with him, and tormented him so much that in the morning he was found unconscious and after this he remained in a state of spiritual and physical weakness for several years. (Kiev Caves Paterikon)
6. Once a demon came at night to the cell of Saint Makarios of Alexandria (d. 394 or 395) and said to him: “Get up, Abba Makarios, and let us go to church for the service.” Makarios, being filled with the grace of God, understood the temptation of the devil and answered him: “O liar and hater of good! What participation can there be on your part in the service and what can you have in common with the assembly of saints?” The devil said: “Do you not know, Makarios, that without us there is not a single church service or monastic assembly; go and see our deeds.” The elder answered: “May the Lord forbid you, unclean demon.” And turning to prayer, he asked the Lord to show him whether what the devil said in boasting was true. When the time for the midnight service came, he went into the church, asking God within himself to reveal and show him whether what the devil had said was true. And behold, he saw throughout the church, as it were, certain little youths in the form of Ethiopians, quickly going around the church and flying. In that monastery there was a custom: one brother read psalms, and the others sat and listened - and behold, next to each of the brothers sat those Ethiopians and laughed at them. Whoever they touched to the eyes with their fingers, he immediately began to doze, and whoever they put a finger on the mouth, he immediately woke up; before some they walked in the likeness of women, and before others they did something else. And what they presented before someone, he thought about it in himself. But from some, as soon as they began to do something like this, they were immediately driven away and removed by some force, and they could no longer stand before them, or even pass by. And some of the weak brothers, not paying attention to the prayers, sat on their necks and shoulders, mocking them. The Venerable Makarios, seeing this, sighed from the depths of his heart and said: “Look, O Lord, and do not remain silent; arise, O God, so that your enemies may disperse and flee from your presence, for our soul is full of mockery.” At the end of the service, the Venerable Makarios, calling each brother one by one, asked what he had thought about during the service, and each revealed his thoughts. It turned out that each was thinking about what the demon, mockingly, presented before him (January 19).
7. A young monk, who was struggling in a monastery, wanted to live as a hermit and asked the abbot to let him go to a remote place in the desert for a solitary life. God blessed the monk’s intention and showed him a special sign that showed him the very place for such a life: when on the way the future hermit, exhausted, fell asleep together with the monks accompanying him, an eagle flew in and, beating its wings, woke them up; then the eagle flew away from them and sat down on the ground in front of them. The monks accompanying him said to the young monk: “Here is your Angel, get up and follow him.” He got up, said goodbye to the brothers, followed the eagle and went to the place where the eagle was sitting. Then the eagle rose up, flew on further and sat down again, and the monk followed it; and again the eagle rose up and flew away not far, and the brother followed it. This continued for three hours. At last the eagle turned aside to the right and was no longer seen. The monk followed him and saw three palm trees, a spring of water and a small cave. He said to himself: "This is the place which the Lord has prepared for me." And the young monk began to be silent here, eating dates for food and drinking water from the spring; he lived here for six years as a hermit, seeing no one. But behold, the devil came to him in the form of a worldly young man and began to examine him from head to foot. The hermit asked him: "Why do you look at me like that?" He said: "Do you not recognize me? I am your father's neighbor," and he named the hermit's father, mother and sister. Then he said: "Your mother and sister have been dead for more than three years, and your father died only recently, making you his heir; before his death, your father asked everyone to find you, so that you would come home, take possession of your property and distribute it to the poor for your soul and your father. Many went to look for you, but did not find you, but I, having come on my business, recognized you; do not delay, go and fulfill the will of your father." The hermit answered: "I shall not return to the world." But the devil, with various seductive suggestions, persuaded the hermit to leave his cell, accompanied him to the city where his father lived, and there left him. The monk entered his parents' house with the certainty that his father is no longer alive; and behold, the father himself came out to meet him, alive and well. At first the father could not recognize his son, and the son was ashamed to explain the real reason why he left the cell, but said that this reason was his filial love and affection for his father. So he remained in the world, finally betraying his monastic vows.
12. Stories About the Victory of Christians Over the Temptation of the Devil
1. One of the holy ascetics relates: “Among the hermits there was a venerable elder. Grieving from demonic temptations, I once came to him for advice. He was sick and lying down; after greeting him, I sat down next to him and said to him: 'Pray for me, father; I am greatly tormented by demonic temptations.' He, opening his eyes, looked at me intently and said: 'My son, you are young; God will not send temptations upon you.' I said to him: 'Yes, I am young, but I bear such temptations as mature people bear.' He said to this: 'So God wants to make you wise.' I said: 'How will He make me wise? I taste death every day.' He said: 'Be silent, God loves you, He gives you His grace.' Then he added: 'Know, my son, that I fought with demons for thirty years, and for twenty years I was completely without help; but when five years had passed after that, I began to find peace; with the passage of time it increased; after seven and with the approach of the eighth year, it increased still more. And when the thirtieth was passing and was already approaching its end, the peace increased so much that I do not know the measure of it.' And he added: 'When I wish to stand up for service, I can only speak words. However, if I stand for three days, I am in such rapture with God that I do not feel the least fatigue.'”
2. “This is what happened to me once,” says Saint Theodosius of the Caves. “I was standing in my cell at prayer and singing the usual psalms. Suddenly a black dog stood before me, so that I could not bow down. Since he stood before me for a long time and bothered me, I wanted to hit him, and he became invisible. Then fear and trembling seized me, so that I wanted to run away from that place. But the Lord helped me; having come to my senses from horror, I began to pray diligently to God, to make frequent prostrations and kneel. Then fear left me, and from that time on I was no longer afraid of what appeared before my eyes” (From the book Lives of the Saints by Archbishop Philaret Gumilevsky, May 3).
3. Once, in the form of not only an Angel of Light, but even in the form of Jesus Christ Himself, the devil appeared to Saint Pachomios the Great and said: “Rejoice, elder, who has pleased me so much! I am Christ and have come to you as to My friend.” Saint Pachomios was amazed and, looking at the apparition without timidity, began to reason: “Christ’s coming to a person is accompanied by joy; the heart does not feel any fear, all thoughts immediately disappear; the mind becomes the eyes of a seraphim and is completely fixed on the vision of the glory of the Lord; the soul forgets time; a person then becomes incorporeal, but now I am confused, afraid ... No, this is not Christ!" Then, protecting himself with the sign of the cross, he said with boldness: “Get away from me, spirit of evil! Cursed be the wickedness of all your undertakings.” Instantly the phantom disappeared, and the temple was filled with stench, the wind rustled in the air.
PART SEVEN
11. Stories About the Temptation of People to Sin by the Devil
1. In the Lausiac History it is related that one ascetic named Valens, having lived for a long time in the desert, greatly exhausted his flesh and was a great ascetic throughout his life, but then, deceived by the spirit of self-conceit and pride, he fell into extreme arrogance, so that he became the plaything of demons. Having become puffed up with the pernicious passion of self-conceit, he finally began to dream, in self-delusion, that Angels were conversing with him and serving him in every matter. The devil, convinced that Valens had completely given himself over to his deception, took on the form of the Savior and came to him at night, surrounded by a host of demons in the form of Angels, with lighted lamps. And behold, a fiery circle appeared, and in the middle of it Valens saw what he believed to be the Savior. One of the demons, in the form of an Angel, approached him and said: "You have pleased Christ with your exploits and the holiness of your life, and He has come to visit you. So, do nothing else, but only, standing at a distance and seeing Him standing in the midst of the whole host, fall down and worship Him, then go to your cell." Valens went out and, seeing a multitude of spirits with lamps, fell down and worshiped the Antichrist. The deceived one extended his madness to such an extent that, coming to church the next day, he said in front of all the brethren: "I have no need of communion: today I have seen Christ." Then the holy fathers, seeing that he had fallen into a frenzy, bound him with chains and completely healed him in the course of a year, destroying his pride with prayers, various humiliations and austere life, as they say: "Diseases are cured by their opposites."
2. One of the Elders of the Thebaid said about himself that he was the son of a priest of idols, that when he was a child he sat in the temple and saw his father offering sacrifices to the idols. One day, after his father had left the temple, the son secretly entered the temple and saw Satan there. Satan was sitting on the throne; a large army stood before him. And behold, one of his princes came and worshiped him. Satan asked him, “Where are you from?” The prince answered, “I was in such and such a country, and stirred up war and great confusion there, and caused bloodshed, and I came to tell you.” Satan asked, “In how long did you do this?” He answered, “In thirty days.” Satan ordered him to be beaten with whips, saying, “So much have you done in such a long time!” And behold, another came and worshiped him. Satan asked, “Where are you from?” The demon answered: “I was at sea, raised a storm, sank ships, killed many people, and came to tell you.” Satan asked: “In how many days did you do this?” He answered: “In twenty days.” Satan commanded that this one too be beaten with whips, saying: “Why have you done so little in so many days?” And a third came and worshiped him. And to this one he said: “Where are you from?” The demon answered: “I was in such and such a city, a wedding was being celebrated there: I stirred up quarrels and caused much bloodshed; moreover, I killed the bridegroom himself and came to tell you.” Satan asked: “In how many days did you do this?” The demon answered: “In ten.” Satan commanded that this one too, because he had not acted zealously, be beaten with whips. And another demon came to worship him. Satan asked: “Where are you from?” The demon answered: “From the desert: forty years have passed since I wrestled with one of the monks there, and I barely gained the victory over him: I plunged him into adultery this night.” Satan, hearing this, rose from his throne, began to kiss the demon, took off the royal crown that was on his head, placed it on the demon’s head, and seated him next to himself on the throne, saying: “You have accomplished a great and glorious deed.” Seeing and hearing this, the priest’s son said to himself: “The monastic rank must mean a lot to God.” He accepted Christianity and entered monasticism. (Paterikon)
3. Once the Venerable Nephon saw that the devil approached a man who was working in the field, whispered something in his ear, which the worker did not notice at all, and walked away; then he approached another man working nearby and said something in his ear. Both of these workers, leaving their work, came together and began to talk; at first they spoke calmly and kindly, then they began to quarrel, and finally they quarreled violently (December 23).
4. Saint Nikitas, Bishop of Novgorod, was a native of Kiev and from his youth entered the Caves Monastery. Striving for higher achievements, he soon decided to become a recluse, despite all the advice of the abbot about the prematurity of such a difficult task for a young monk, and indeed, he was subjected to a bitter temptation in seclusion. At the suggestion of the devil, who appeared to him in the form of an Angel of Light, Nikitas completely stopped praying to God, devoted himself entirely to reading the books of the Old Testament, began to receive those who came to him, give them advice, utter predictions, and through this acquire vain glory for himself. No one was able to compete with him in knowledge of the books of the Old Testament, and he not only did not read the Gospels and other books of the New Testament, but never wanted to see or hear them. The combined prayers of the fathers of the Caves, among whom were Abbot Nikon, Matthew the Seer, Saint Isaac, Gregory the Wonderworker, Pimen the Faster and Nestor the Chronicler, freed the unfortunate monk from the charms of the tempter, and Nikitas, leaving his seclusion and suddenly deprived of all the knowledge of which he had gained in vain, began to study again in the monastery, both literacy and monastic life. This time he followed the path of true humility, abstinence and obedience, and little by little he surpassed everyone in his virtue. For his high virtue, the ascetic was elevated to the rank of Bishop of Novgorod (in 1096) and for 11 years he did not cease to serve as a model of piety for his flock. The Lord honored His Saint with the gift of miracles even during his lifetime: he twice saved Novgorod from disasters - once, with his prayer, he brought down rain from the heavens during a long drought; another time, with his prayer, he stopped a terrible fire that was destroying the city. (Kiev Caves Paterikon)
5. In the form of not only an Angel, but even Jesus Christ Himself, the devil once tempted Saint Isaac of the Caves, a wonderful ascetic who had spent seven years in solitary seclusion and was in unceasing prayer. One prosphora and a little water were his daily food. This wonderful ascetic never went to bed, but rested while sitting. And so, one day, when at the onset of night, tired from singing the Psalter, he put out the candle and while sitting in his place, he saw an extraordinary light in the cave, and two demons appeared to him in the form of radiant youths, saying: “We are Angels, and behold, Christ Himself is coming to you.” The monk did not guard against the tempting, proud thought of seeing Christ, did not overcome this thought with the humble thought of his unworthiness, and did not protect himself with the sign of the cross, but thoughtlessly fell and worshiped Satan in the image of Christ. As soon as this happened, the demons joyfully exclaimed: "Our Isaac!" Immediately surrounding the monk with timbrels, flutes, and gusli, they seized him, began to jump with him, and tormented him so much that in the morning he was found unconscious and after this he remained in a state of spiritual and physical weakness for several years. (Kiev Caves Paterikon)
6. Once a demon came at night to the cell of Saint Makarios of Alexandria (d. 394 or 395) and said to him: “Get up, Abba Makarios, and let us go to church for the service.” Makarios, being filled with the grace of God, understood the temptation of the devil and answered him: “O liar and hater of good! What participation can there be on your part in the service and what can you have in common with the assembly of saints?” The devil said: “Do you not know, Makarios, that without us there is not a single church service or monastic assembly; go and see our deeds.” The elder answered: “May the Lord forbid you, unclean demon.” And turning to prayer, he asked the Lord to show him whether what the devil said in boasting was true. When the time for the midnight service came, he went into the church, asking God within himself to reveal and show him whether what the devil had said was true. And behold, he saw throughout the church, as it were, certain little youths in the form of Ethiopians, quickly going around the church and flying. In that monastery there was a custom: one brother read psalms, and the others sat and listened - and behold, next to each of the brothers sat those Ethiopians and laughed at them. Whoever they touched to the eyes with their fingers, he immediately began to doze, and whoever they put a finger on the mouth, he immediately woke up; before some they walked in the likeness of women, and before others they did something else. And what they presented before someone, he thought about it in himself. But from some, as soon as they began to do something like this, they were immediately driven away and removed by some force, and they could no longer stand before them, or even pass by. And some of the weak brothers, not paying attention to the prayers, sat on their necks and shoulders, mocking them. The Venerable Makarios, seeing this, sighed from the depths of his heart and said: “Look, O Lord, and do not remain silent; arise, O God, so that your enemies may disperse and flee from your presence, for our soul is full of mockery.” At the end of the service, the Venerable Makarios, calling each brother one by one, asked what he had thought about during the service, and each revealed his thoughts. It turned out that each was thinking about what the demon, mockingly, presented before him (January 19).
7. A young monk, who was struggling in a monastery, wanted to live as a hermit and asked the abbot to let him go to a remote place in the desert for a solitary life. God blessed the monk’s intention and showed him a special sign that showed him the very place for such a life: when on the way the future hermit, exhausted, fell asleep together with the monks accompanying him, an eagle flew in and, beating its wings, woke them up; then the eagle flew away from them and sat down on the ground in front of them. The monks accompanying him said to the young monk: “Here is your Angel, get up and follow him.” He got up, said goodbye to the brothers, followed the eagle and went to the place where the eagle was sitting. Then the eagle rose up, flew on further and sat down again, and the monk followed it; and again the eagle rose up and flew away not far, and the brother followed it. This continued for three hours. At last the eagle turned aside to the right and was no longer seen. The monk followed him and saw three palm trees, a spring of water and a small cave. He said to himself: "This is the place which the Lord has prepared for me." And the young monk began to be silent here, eating dates for food and drinking water from the spring; he lived here for six years as a hermit, seeing no one. But behold, the devil came to him in the form of a worldly young man and began to examine him from head to foot. The hermit asked him: "Why do you look at me like that?" He said: "Do you not recognize me? I am your father's neighbor," and he named the hermit's father, mother and sister. Then he said: "Your mother and sister have been dead for more than three years, and your father died only recently, making you his heir; before his death, your father asked everyone to find you, so that you would come home, take possession of your property and distribute it to the poor for your soul and your father. Many went to look for you, but did not find you, but I, having come on my business, recognized you; do not delay, go and fulfill the will of your father." The hermit answered: "I shall not return to the world." But the devil, with various seductive suggestions, persuaded the hermit to leave his cell, accompanied him to the city where his father lived, and there left him. The monk entered his parents' house with the certainty that his father is no longer alive; and behold, the father himself came out to meet him, alive and well. At first the father could not recognize his son, and the son was ashamed to explain the real reason why he left the cell, but said that this reason was his filial love and affection for his father. So he remained in the world, finally betraying his monastic vows.
12. Stories About the Victory of Christians Over the Temptation of the Devil
1. One of the holy ascetics relates: “Among the hermits there was a venerable elder. Grieving from demonic temptations, I once came to him for advice. He was sick and lying down; after greeting him, I sat down next to him and said to him: 'Pray for me, father; I am greatly tormented by demonic temptations.' He, opening his eyes, looked at me intently and said: 'My son, you are young; God will not send temptations upon you.' I said to him: 'Yes, I am young, but I bear such temptations as mature people bear.' He said to this: 'So God wants to make you wise.' I said: 'How will He make me wise? I taste death every day.' He said: 'Be silent, God loves you, He gives you His grace.' Then he added: 'Know, my son, that I fought with demons for thirty years, and for twenty years I was completely without help; but when five years had passed after that, I began to find peace; with the passage of time it increased; after seven and with the approach of the eighth year, it increased still more. And when the thirtieth was passing and was already approaching its end, the peace increased so much that I do not know the measure of it.' And he added: 'When I wish to stand up for service, I can only speak words. However, if I stand for three days, I am in such rapture with God that I do not feel the least fatigue.'”
2. “This is what happened to me once,” says Saint Theodosius of the Caves. “I was standing in my cell at prayer and singing the usual psalms. Suddenly a black dog stood before me, so that I could not bow down. Since he stood before me for a long time and bothered me, I wanted to hit him, and he became invisible. Then fear and trembling seized me, so that I wanted to run away from that place. But the Lord helped me; having come to my senses from horror, I began to pray diligently to God, to make frequent prostrations and kneel. Then fear left me, and from that time on I was no longer afraid of what appeared before my eyes” (From the book Lives of the Saints by Archbishop Philaret Gumilevsky, May 3).
3. Once, in the form of not only an Angel of Light, but even in the form of Jesus Christ Himself, the devil appeared to Saint Pachomios the Great and said: “Rejoice, elder, who has pleased me so much! I am Christ and have come to you as to My friend.” Saint Pachomios was amazed and, looking at the apparition without timidity, began to reason: “Christ’s coming to a person is accompanied by joy; the heart does not feel any fear, all thoughts immediately disappear; the mind becomes the eyes of a seraphim and is completely fixed on the vision of the glory of the Lord; the soul forgets time; a person then becomes incorporeal, but now I am confused, afraid ... No, this is not Christ!" Then, protecting himself with the sign of the cross, he said with boldness: “Get away from me, spirit of evil! Cursed be the wickedness of all your undertakings.” Instantly the phantom disappeared, and the temple was filled with stench, the wind rustled in the air.
PART SEVEN
