OUR VENERABLE FATHER TITUS THE PRESBYTER

(27 FEBRUARY/12 MARCH)

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth (Rom. 1, 18). And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4, 7).

The Lord clearly demonstrated this through his servant, the blessed Titus the presbyter. St Titus, a monk at the Cave Monastery, was honoured with the priestly rank, and he lived a life worthy of the joy of the saints.

This blessed monk had a spiritual brother, a deacon, Evagrius by the name. St Titus bore a strong and unfeigned love for the deacon. Their harmonious and sincere disposition was a source of inspiration for other monks.

The enemy of mankind, because of his hatred of all good, worked long and hard to sow weeds among the wheat (Mt. 13, 25). He succeeded in rising up anger and bitterness between the two friends. He darkened them with such hatred, that if one of them approached while censing the church, the other would turn and walk away from the incense, or if he failed to walk away, the one censing would walk by without censing his former friend. They remained in this spiritual darkness for a long time, and even dared to serve and to bear the Holy Gifts and take the Communion without reconciliation. The brethren constantly begged them to reconcile, but they did not even want to hear of it.

At length, Fr Titus became seriously ill. Realizing that he was approaching his last day, he began to weep over his sins and sent for Fr Evagrius with the words, ‘Forgive me, brother, for the Lord’s sake for having offended you with my anger.’

Not only did the deacon refuse to forgive the presbyter, but he even began to curse him with cruel words. The brothers saw that Fr Titus was approaching his last breath and they dragged Fr Evagrius by force to the dying monk’s cell to make amends with him. When the deacon was brought in, the ill priest immediately drew himself from his bed and fell at the feet of his former friend, tearfully beseeching, ‘Forgive me, father, and bless me!’

Fr Evagrius, being unmerciful and inhuman, tore himself away from the brothers and loudly declared to everyone present,

‘I will never reconcile With him, neither this age nor the other!’

Hardly had he said these words, as he fell to the floor. The brothers tried to raise him up but they saw that he was lifeless. They could neither bend his arms nor even close his lips and eyes. At the same time, Fr Titus rose to his feet completely well.

Terror fell upon everyone at the sight of this sudden dreadful death accompanied by such a miraculous healing. The brethren began to ask the healed monk what he had seen. The saint related in detail what had happened and what had been revealed to him, saying,

‘When I was ill, still ensnared in anger, I saw angels shrinking back from me and weeping over the ruin of my soul. The demons, however, were rejoicing over my anger. Because of this, I begged you to ask the brother for forgiving. When you brought him to me, and I bowed to him, he turned away from me. I saw an unmerciful herald standing nearby holding a fiery spear with which he struck the unforgiving man who then fell dead, That very angel gave me his hand and raised me to health.’

The fearful brethren wept over Fr Evagrius and his woeful death, and buried him, his eyes and lips still open, his arms stretched out. After that, the brethren began to vigilantly guard themselves against anger, forgiving each other any offense or quarrel (Col. 3, 13), and because of this special revelation, vividly reminding the words of the Lord, Everyone who continues in anger with his brother or harbours malice against him, shall be unable to escape judgment (Mt. 5, 22).

St Titus himself, seeing that as a result of seeking peace with his brother he found peace with God, began to reject the thought of anger. He rooted it out and acquired in its place a never—ending love in God for all the brethren (Col. 3, 14). The perfect peace of this righteous struggler clearly reflected the Promise of the Apostle, God’s Kingdom is not food and drink but truth and peace (Rom. 14, 17). Through this peace, St Titus was made worthy of a heavenly repose. His relics rest in the caves.

By prayers of St Titus, may we too become worthy of forgiveness and free from anger, and receive peace from Christ our Saviour; for He is God of love and peace. Amen!

OUR VENERABLE FATHER ARETHA

(24 OCTOBER/6 NOVEMBER)

It is righteous to always thank God for both favours and misfortunes. Not only righteous (like Job the Prophet) benefit from such thanksgiving, but it also sanctifies great sinners. The latter can be exemplified by the life of our holy father Aretha, whose story was related by the blessed Bishop Simon, an eyewitness.

There was a monk named Aretha at the Cave Monastery, a native of the town of Polotsk. Being a monk he kept a considerable treasure in his cell. He was so obsessed by miserliness that he never gave a single small coin to a beggar and never spent anything for his needs either. Once, at night, thieves stole all his possessions from the cell. The monk fell into such grief that he almost killed himself. He suspected innocent people; many of them suffered unjustly from him. The brethren begged him to cease the accusation saying, ‘Brother! Upon the Lord thy care and he will sustain you (Ps. 54, 23).’

He listened to no one and molested people with cruel words. In a few days, he fell seriously ill and was near to death, but he did not cease his grumbling and blasphemy. However, the man-loving Lord Who wishes salvation for all people, showed His mercy to Aretha. While the ill monk was lying almost dead on his bed, after a long silence, he suddenly began to cry out loudly,

‘Oh Lord, have mercy! Oh Lord, save! Oh Lord, I have sinned! It is Yours and I do not regret that it has been stolen!’

Then, arising from his bed, he told the brethren of his vision.

‘I saw,’ he said, ‘angels and a regiment of demons approaching me and I heard them arguing about my stolen wealth. The demons said that I did not praise God but blasphemed Him, therefore, ‘You are ours, Aretha, and you must be given over to us.’ The angels said to me, ‘Oh accursed man! If you had thanked God for the theft of your possessions, that would have been imputed to you as alms, as it was with Job. For, if anyone gives alms voluntarily, then it is a great deed before God. If anyone is deprived of wealth against his will, then it is a temptation from the devil, who arranges the stealth wishing to lead a man into blasphemy. A grateful person would leave everything to God and the loss would be imputed him as alms.

After these words of the angels, I cried out what you have heard, ‘Oh Lord, have mercy! Oh Lord, forgive! Oh Lord, I have sinned! It is Yours and I do not regret that it has been stolen.’

The demons vanished immediately. The angels rejoiced, accounted my stolen silver to me as alms and left.’

Brothers glorified God Who instructs sinners into the way of repentance. From that time forth, St Aretha, taught by God, changed both his mind and temper to the good. Everyone was amazed by such a virtuous transformation recalling the words of the holy Apostle, Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound (Rm. 5, 20).

Previously no one could restrain Aretha from blasphemy, but now he began to glorify and thank God as Job had done, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed is the name of the Lord (Job. 1, 21)!

Thus, Aretha repented of his other sins, caring sincerely for the poor, maturing in obedience, cleansing his inner self, Struggling in prayer, fasting, and in many other virtues, thanksgiving, in particular. Thus, he became rich not in silver and gold, but in the virtues of God Himself; after many such toils he reposed in Him. His honourable relics were placed in a cave where they remain uncorrupted, showing the way of repentance to all who come to them.

By prayers of this saint, may we be made worthy of God’s mercy and His thanksgiving in the heavenly kingdom in the eternal ages. Amen!

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!

OUR VENERABLE FATHER NICHOLAS SVYATOSHA PRINCE OF CHERNIGOV

(14/27 OCTOBER)

The present form of this world is passing away. The Lord hath cast down the thrones of proud princes, and set up the meek in their stead (1 Cor. 7, 31; Sir. 10, 14). The blessed and faithful prince, Nicholas Svyatosha, understood the fragility and temporal greatness of earthly power. He was the son of David Svyatoslavovich, Prince of Chernigov, and the grandson of Svyatoslav Yaroslavovich, the Great Prince of Kiev and Chernigov, who founded the holy church for the Kiev Cave Monastery.

Prince Nicholas had ascended to his throne, but he soon realized that permanent kingdom is only possible in heaven; it abides eternally and is filled with ineffable joys prepared by the Lord for those who love Him. For the sake of this eternal, heavenly kingdom, Prince Nicholas left the glory, wealth and honour of his earthly princedom. The saint came to the holy Cave Monastery and took the angelic image of monasticism. He matured in obedience, working for the brethren in the kitchen, chopping wood and carrying it from the riverbank to the monastery. The evangelical radiance of his life caused all those around him to glorify God.

When Prince Nicholas’ brothers, Princes Izyaslav and Vladimir, learned of the saint’s life, they tried to lead him out of the monastery. However, this true novice begged them with tears to be left alone to continue his soul-saving labours for another year. The brothers agreed, and Nicholas stayed at the monastery for the next three years. He served the brethren at the kitchen with diligence and reverence. After that, he was given the obedience of a gatekeeper. He spent three years at the gatehouse going nowhere, except to church. From there he was assigned to serve at the refectory.

After he had thus been perfected in obedience, the abbot instructed him in hesychia and sent him to his cell to practice the stricter hesychasm. As an anchorite, he planted a garden near his cell and was always occupied either with it or with other work. St Nicholas always had a prayer in his heart, ‘the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.’ He only ate from the common table of the refectory. Whatever else he received both from his garden and from relatives, he gave to the poor and to pilgrims, or donated for building of the church.

Whenever the saint fell ill while he was still on his throne, this blessed prince had a highly skilled Syrian physician named Peter who also came with him to the monastery. When he saw his master in such voluntary poverty, he moved to Kiev, and began a practice of medicine. He often visited the saint at the monastery and continually admonished him to take more care of his health. Moreover, the saint’s brothers had instructed the physician to implore their brother to care for himself, to eat more and to work less. Peter continually strove to make St Nicholas fast less strictly and to accept gifts, so he would not live in such poverty. ‘If you continue with such a life of deprivation, you will fall ill and die before your time,’ Peter admonished. The saint responded with words from the Holy Scripture, ‘Brother Peter, I have discerned that it is not necessary to be gentle to my flesh, lest it become covetous of the spirit and raise a struggle against me. Let it be humbled and weakened. And if it does become weakened then the Apostle has given us the Lord’s own promise, My grace is sufficient for you: for My strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12, 9). The same Apostle said, the sufferings of this present life are not worthy of beeing compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us (Rm. 8, 18). However, this all is impossible without fasting and toil, for fasting is the mother of chastity and purity. It is said, He humbled them in the labour of their heart (Ps. 106, 12). Thus, I thank God that He freed me from worldly work and made me a slave to His slaves, these blessed monks. For, being a prince, I work in a monastic image for the King of kings. Let my brothers worry about themselves, for every man shall bear his own burden (Gal. 6, 5). It is enough for them to have my authority which I forsook in the earthly princedom for the sake of the heavenly kingdom, and I have suffered the loss of all things that I may win Christ (Phil. 3, 8). And why do you threaten me that in my abstinence and labour I might die? For to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil. 1, 21).

Peter would prepare medicinal herbs and bring them to him. But St Nicholas never took medicines, and, at times, he would already be made well by God before the physician even arrived. Once, the physician himself fell ill and the saint sent word to him saying, ‘If you do not take your medicines, you will become well in three days, otherwise you will suffer much.’ Peter did not obey and, consequently, he nearly died. Only the prayers of the saint saved him.

Later, the physician became seriously ill and St Nicholas again sent word, ‘You will be well on the third day if you do not take any medication.’ This time Peter obeyed and recovered on the third day.

St Nicholas sent for the healed one and said to him, ‘Peter, you should be tonsured into the monastic image and work for the Lord in this monastery together with me; I shall depart from this world in three months’ time.’

At these words, Peter fell at the feet of the saint and began to weep with inconsolable grief. He begged the saint to pray to God to prolong his life. ‘Where shall I go, to whom shall I turn, my prince, if you depart from here? Let me die instead of you and you remain in this life.’

The blessed prince raised the weeping physician and told him, ‘Do not weep Peter; it is good to hope for the Lord, rather than for princes. The Lord knows how to care for His creatures. Let my brothers in the flesh not weep over me, but over themselves, and their deeds in the lamentable valley of this world, that they may be joyful in the future life’.

The saint took the physician to the cave and there they made the place ready for his coffin. Then turning to Peter he said, ‘Which of us loves this place more?’ The other replied with tears, ‘I know that if you wish, you can beseech the Lord that He extend your life, and place me here.’

The saint told him, ‘Let it be as you wish, if this is pleasing to God. Receive the monastic image.’ Soon after that, the physician, upon the blessed friend’s advice, was tonsured and remained in prayer day and night for three months, shedding tears. Then, the saint, comforting him, said, ‘Brother Peter, do you want me to take you with me?’ He replied with tears as before, ‘I wish that you allow me to die for you and you remain here and pray for me.’ ‘Be ready then, brother,’ replied the saint, ‘for on the third day, according to your desire you will depart from this world.’ In three days, Peter, having communed the Divine and Life-giving Mysteries, lay down on his bed and gave up his spirit into the Lord’s hands.

After the repose of the physician, the blessed prince lived thirty more years never leaving the monastery. Having attained a truly holy life, he reposed to eternal peace with all the saints.

On the day of his repose, nearly all Kiev citizens gathered to give him the last kiss and ask for his prayers. Brothers of the deceased saint, Izyaslav and Vladimir, wept for him more than anyone. Izyaslav sent to the abbot and besought him to give him the cross of his late brother, his pillow and a pad for bowing, as a blessing and consolation. The abbot gave the things to Izyaslav saying, ‘According to your faith be a help to you from these things.’

Several months later, Prince Izyaslav fell ill and was at death’s door. The prince’s wife, children and all the boyars were near him awaiting his demise. Having dozed in his bed, the prince raised himself a little and asked for water from the Cave Monastery’s well. When he had said this, he became completely numb and could not utter a word. Water was brought from the Caves along with the hair shirt of St Nicholas Svyatosha sent by the abbot.

When the messenger entered the house with the water and the hair shirt, the prince cried out, ‘Nicholas! Nicholas Svyatosha!’ After the prince drank some water and put on the hair shirt he immediately became healthy and everyone glorified God and His saint. Thereafter, Izyaslav put the hair shirt, on every time he became ill. He willed to be buried in it when he reposed.

By prayers of holy the prince, St Nicholas Svyatosha, may we too find healing for our bodies and souls. Amen!

OUR VENERABLE FATHER ATHANASIUS THE RECLUSE

(2 /15 DECEMBER)

At the raising of Lazarus, Christ our Saviour said, I Myself am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes inMe, though he dies, yet shall he live (Jn. 11, 25). These words of the Lord were demonstrated in the life of St Athanasius the recluse of the Caves.

This righteous man was a monk at the Holy Cave Monastery. After a long and God-pleasing life there, he fell ill and reposed. The brethren washed his body and wrapped it, as usual, but the burial was delayed for two days due to neglect. At night, the abbot had a vision and a voice said to him, ‘The man of God Athanasius has been lying unburied for two days now; do not be careless about that.’

In the morning, the abbot and the brethren came to the place where the deceased had been laid in order to perform the burial ceremony. However, they found the saint sitting and weeping. The monks were terrified at this resurrection and they asked, ‘How did you return to this life? What did you see and hear?’

He answered nothing but only repeated many times, ‘Save yourselves.’ The brothers asked all the more, ‘Tell us so that we might benefit from it too.’

Then the saint told them, ‘If I tell you, you will neither believe nor obey me.’

With an oath, the brethren promised to keep to his words no matter what he said. At this, the resurrected saint advised them, ‘Have obedience to the abbot in everything, repent every hour and pray to the Lord Jesus Christ, and His most pure Mother, and our holy fathers Anthony and Theodosius; end your life here at the monastery, and become worthy of burial with the holy fathers. These three things are more important than all the other Virtues. If anyone fulfils all this, he will be blessed. Please, do not ask me anymore, but I pray you all, forgive me.’

Having said this, the saint went into a cave. He locked the door and spent twelve years there, never going out and never seeing the sun. There he wept unceasingly, day and night, fasting, and eating only a little bread with some water every other day. During the whole period of twelve years, he did not say a word to anyone.

The saint felt the approach of his final repose, and he called forth all the brethren. He repeated his earlier advice about obedience and repentance, and reposed peacefully in the Lord. His honourable relics were placed in the same cave where he had struggled. Many miracles came forth from these sacred relics. A monk named Vavila (Babylos) who had suffered from hip illness for many years, was the first to receive healing from the holy relics. Vavila related how St Athanasius had appeared to him,

‘As I was lying in bed, crying out from the pain, the saint suddenly came in and said, ‘Come to me and I will heal you’. I accepted his words and asked to be brought to his cave and now I am healed.’ Father Vavila had been brought to the relics of the saint, embraced them and received healing from God. He was never ill again in his whole lifetime.

From that time, the brothers understood that the blessed recluse Athanasius had pleased the Lord. By prayers of this holy elder, may we too become worthy of resurrection from the death of sin to a life of God-pleasing repentance and of eternal life in Christ Jesus, Who has given us life. To Him be glory, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen!

OUR VENERABLE FATHERS KUKSHA THE PRIEST MARTYR AND PIMEN THE FASTER

(27 AUGUST/9 SEPTEMBER)

Words are redundant where deeds speak clearly for themselves. The holy Martyr Kuksha was one of the elders of the Kiev Cave Monastery. He set out to bring Orthodoxy to pagan Vyatich tribes and baptized many of them into the Holy Church. He was a great wonderworker and preacher.

The blessed man and his disciple were taken captives by the pagans and endured terrible tortures from them. Finally, the martyrs were beheaded.

At the same time, the Holy Righteous Pimen the Faster was struggling at the Cave Monastery. For his asceticism, the Lord granted him the gift of healing and prophecy.

The martyrdom of St Kuksha had been revealed to St Pimen before it occurred. On the day of his death, St Pimen stood in the middle of the monastery church and loudly proclaimed, ‘Our brother Kuksha has been killed this day.’

St Pimen himself reposed that very day together with his spiritual son Kuksha. Thus, thrice-blessed saints entered into the ineffable joy of the All-Holy Trinity, to Who be Glory, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen!

OUR VENERABLE FATHER NIKON THE DRY

(11/24 DECEMBER)

Remember those who are in bonds as if you were bound with them (Hb. 13, 3). These words of the Apostle call the miracles of the blessed prisoner Nikon to mind. The blessed man originated from an eminent Kiev family. He came to the Cave Monastery, devoted his mind and the entire self to the obedience towards Christ and became a diligent monk. When the Polovtsian tribes made a raid on Kiev, the blessed Nikon and St Eustratius were taken captives to the Polovtsian lands and imprisoned in irons. A Christ-loving citizen of Kiev came to the Polovtsian camp offering to ransom the captives. Nikon did not seek the benefactor’s aid and the man assumed that the saint had wealthy relatives who were expected to ransom him. The person paid the ransom for many people and returned with them to Kiev where he told of the blessed Nikon. The saint’s relatives heard the story and came to ransom the saint. The blessed Nikon, however, responded them the following,

‘Do not waste your wealth in vain. If the Lord wanted me to be free, He would not have committed me into the hands of these lawless people, for He commits to captivity those who He wills. But His hands shall restore them.’

His family reproached him and returned with all their wealth home. When the Polovtsians saw that they were not going to receive gold for the captive they began torturing him. He was forced to serve a heavy enslavement. He had been tormented daily for three years. His hands and legs were kept in chains. He was often burned with hot iron or coals or cut with knives. They starved the saint for one to three days. In summer, he was often left in the hot sun and in winter the saint was exposed to the snow and cold. The Polovtsians did all this in order to make the saint seek ransom from his relatives. However, St Nikon thanked the Lord and unceasingly prayed to Him for his tormentors.

At length, he said to his torturers,

‘Christ will deliver me from your hands. My brother Eustratius appeared to me; you sold him to Jews to be crucified and you will be judged for your deed. The brother informed me of my coming liberation. He told me that in three days I should be in the monastery due to the prayers of Sts Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves. And you, wretched men, will be tormented with Judas who had betrayed Christ.’

When they heard that, the Polovtsians thought that the saint planned to escape; so they severed the tendons on his feet and legs and put him under guard. Three days later, while the guards were watching, the saint suddenly became invisible and the guards heard nothing but a voice saying, ‘Praise the Lord from heavens.’

Thus, St Nikon was invisiny transported to the Cave church of the Most Holy Theotokos just at the time when the serving priest was beginning the preparatory prayers for the Divine Liturgy. All the brethren immediately gathered around St Nikon and asked how he came. At first, he wanted to conceal that great miracle, but the brethren, seeing him bound in chains and his body putrid from wounds, and blood oozing from the cut tendons, beseeched him to tell the truth. Then, the blessed man told all that had happened to him, but he would not allow the iron chains to be removed from his hands and feet.

The abbot told him, ‘Brother! If it were pleasing to the Lord to see you in these chains, He would not have delivered you from captivity. Therefore, listen to us now.’

They removed the iron chains from his body and reworked them into appurtenances for the sanctuary.

Many years later, there was a peace treaty concluded with the Polovtsians. A group of them visited the Cave Monastery on an occasion and the warrior who had held Nikon captive saw the saint and recognized his former prisoner immediately. He told the abbot and brethren what had happened in detail. The brethren glorified God; the Polovtsian warrior was so moved in spirit that he and his companions got baptized and tonsured soon. They served the blessed Nikon and ended their lives in repentance at the Holy Cave Monastery.

The blessed Nikon was called ‘he dry’ because he was so withered and drained of blood by his sufferings that he could truly say with David, My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue has cleaved to my throat. The congregations of evil-doers have surrounded me; they have pierced my hands and my feet (Ps. 21, 15—16), and we, looking in wonder at the life and miracles of this earthly angel, say with the Apostle, we have this treasure in earthen vessels (2 Cor. 4, 7).

His dryness withered all passions so that the saint burned with a fire of love for God being enlightened by good deeds. For the physical corruption he suffered in this life, he received of incorruptibility in the world to come.