The memory of our revered father John the Hermit

Our reverend father John, leaving the world, devoted himself to monastic life and, wishing to remain in a desert hermitage, settled in Palestine, near Jerusalem; here he spent all the days of his life in a godly manner, in fasting and prayer.

Before his death, John gave this work to his friend Sophronius, the future patriarch, who had already disseminated it among the people. In fact, it was a collection of various narratives about the lives of Christian martyrs.]

- To us, John and Sophronius, Abba Dionysius - presbyter and vessel keeper of the holy church located in Ascalon [Ascalon - one of the oldest cities of Palestine, on the Mediterranean Sea] , told about Abba John the hermit that this man was great in his life and very pleasing to God.

He lived in the vicinity of the village of Sechusta, twenty furlongs from Jerusalem. In his cave, this old man had an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, represented as holding in her arms the eternal Child Christ our God.

And it must be said that when this elder was going to go anywhere, whether to his desert, or to Jerusalem, to worship the holy cross and the tomb of Christ, and in general when he wanted to visit these or other holy places in Jerusalem; or when he wanted to pray on Mount Sinai or to those holy martyrs whose relics were far from Jerusalem - for this elder loved to honor the saints, so that sometimes he even went to Ephesus - to the tomb of St. John.

Theologian, and sometimes to the reverend Theodore in Evhaita, and even to St. Fecle in Seleucia Isaurica [Seleucia Isaurica, - in Cilicia; was built by Seleucus I Nicanor, founder of the monarchy of the Seleucids.] - in a word, wherever he went to pray, he always placed in his cell before this image of the Most Holy Mother of God a candilo [Candilo - a glass bowl in which deer were burned and icons were placed.] and, as was the custom, he burned it and placed it on the

He prayed to God to bless his journey.

And at the same time, looking at the icon of the Most Holy Mother of God, he always begged her: "Pure Lady of the Mother of God, since I am going on a long and distant journey, you yourself watch over your candle, and, by my prayer to you, keep it unquenchable until I return; I, having your help accompanying me, am going on the way I have planned.

And only afterwards did he set out on his way, staying on the road - when the month was two and three, and sometimes five and even six; and when he returned, he always found the candle full and burning, as he had left it when he went away, and never found it extinguished.

And there was a very narrow way between the two hedges of thorns, which the farmers used to enclose their fields; and the way was so narrow that it was hard for one to pass through, and without any burden.

And it came to pass, when John and the lion were come near one to another, that the old man was determined to keep the way of the lion; and the lion could not go out of the way, because the place was narrow, and they could not pass each other.

And the lion saw that the man of God would not turn back, but would go his way, and stood on his hind legs on the old man's left side, and stretched out the fence with the weight of his body, and cleared the way for the righteous man; and the old man passed by the lion, touching his back of his spine; and after that both the old man and the lion went their way.

And one of John's brethren came to him, and saw that he had nothing. And he said to him, How art thou here, and hast nothing to eat? And the old man said to him, Son, the cave is the purchase of the spirit, it gives and it takes, it gives and it takes.

This God-pleasing father, having lived in his pious deeds and labors quite a long time, retired to the Lord and was counted among the saints, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one in the Trinity to our God, to Him be glory forever, amen.