OUR VENERABLE FATHER ERASMUS

(24 FEBRUARY/9 (8) MARCH)

The crown of the wise is their riches (Prov. 14, 24). Not everyone is able to cope with his wealth. Some pile up wealth for themselves and, thus, ruin their own souls. Lives of the saints are the best examples of how one should handle wealth. Many of them had substantial riches in the world and knew how to use them not for their own benefit, but for others. Erasmus, a monk of the Caves, was one of them.

Thanks to God’s grace, he gained large wealth. However, realizing that it was not suitable for a monk to keep it, he began to give it away. The saint loved the beauty of the Lord’s House; so he gave much of his property for the adornment of the Cave church and icons. At the same time, he laboured fervently to adorn his own soul with purity and love and all the monastic virtues instead of silver and gold, saying with the prophet, the law of thy lips is better to me than thousands of gold and silver (Ps. 118, 72).

The saint, however, experienced some temptations after he had given away his wealth. The devil first tempted him by suggesting that it was wrong to have spent money on the adornment of the church; instead, he should have given all his money to the poor. Erasmus did not comprehend the temptation; he fell into despair and lived negligent and careless spending his days disorderly. However, generous and righteous God recalling the former virtues of the saint, saved him from the coming downfall. He caused a severe illness to befall St Erasmus. The ill monk had been nearly dead, unable to see or speak, and hardly breathing for seven days. On the eighth day, the brethren came to Erasmus’ cell and saw how difficult his dying was. One of them said, ‘Woe to the soul of this brother, for he lived in laziness and in sins, and now his soul sees something and tarries; it cannot leave the body.’

Then, suddenly the blessed Erasmus arose as if he had not even been ill, sat down and said to the brethren, ‘Fathers and brothers! It is true, as you say, that I am sinful and did not repent, but today our holy fathers Anthony and Theodosius appeared to me and said, ‘We prayed to the Lord God for you and He granted you time for repentance.’ I also saw the Most Holy Theotokos, as on the icon — bearing her Son, Christ our God, in her hands — and a multitude of saints with her. She told me, ‘Erasmus, because you adorned my church (the Dormition Cathedral) and exalted it with icons, I will adorn you and exalt you in the kingdom of my Son, for you always have the poor with you, but you do not have churches everywhere. Arise now, repent and take on the great angelic image; in three days you will be taken from this life.’

Having said this, the blessed Erasmus began to confess his sins to all the brethren; then he arose and went to church where he was tonsured into the great schema and, on the third day, as the Most Pure Theotokos had foretold, he departed to the Lord.

Let everyone know, that decoration of God’s church with icons is pleasing to the Lord and is accepted as a service before God, as it was accepted from St Erasmus. By his prayers, may we be worthy of grace in Christ Jesus our Lord, to Who be glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit unto ages of ages. Amen!