The memory of our revered father , Sisoy the Great

6th of July Memory And in his youth having loved God, St. Sisou took upon himself the yoke of the cross and followed Christ diligently, exerting himself in the deserts of Egypt by the feats of fasting; he led an equaling life, <unk> humbly and in prayer defeating hordes of invisible enemies.

For his humility he received such grace from God that he even raised the dead, as is revealed in the Patericus, where the following is reported about St. Sisoe.

A certain layman went to the Abbey of Sisos on Mount Antony for a blessing, taking with him a son, a young boy. It happened that on the way, the young man fell ill and died; but his father was not embarrassed, and with faith carried the dead man to the old man.

After the old man prayed and blessed, the man left the child lying dead at the old man's feet. The old man did not realize that the child was dead, but assumed that he was being blessed.

When the old man realized that he had resurrected a dead man, he was very sad because he did not want to take credit for the miracle-worker and forbade the man to tell about what had happened until he died.

And the elders said unto him, Is it not six months? And he said, It is enough. And they said to him, Forty days. And he said, It is enough. And he said, I believe in the mercy of God, and if a man repent sincerely, God will receive his repentance in three days.

And one of them said to the elder, What shall I do, father, seeing I have sinned? And the elder said to him, Repent, my son, and thou shalt be saved. And the elder said to him, Repent, and thou shalt be saved.

Until thy end come, and it come upon thee, whether for good or for evil; therefore thou shalt always be in correction, that thou mayest also die in him.

And when he had awakened out of sleep, he said unto the chief priests, Go to the chief priests, and be consecrated unto them. But the chief priests forbade him, and admonished him not to seek a place above his dignity.

But as he was going along, a spirit of evil came on him. It was like a beast, with a body like a man and a body like a woman. The spirit was so violent that it could not even write a word. The spirit fell on him and embraced him and kissed him.

While Apollos was holding on to the sign of the cross, the devil ran away from him. The devil said to him, "Why are you running away from me? You know you are mine, and I love you. You have done everything I wanted. That is why I came to you. I wanted to accompany you until you had everything you needed".

O God, by the prayers of my father Sisay, help me and deliver me from this evil. And behold, the demon departed from him a little distance, and took the form of a beautiful naked woman, and said unto him, Come and satisfy thy desire, for thou hast comforted me much with thy thoughts in thy heart. I would have made thee, said the devil, a priest and bishop, but the prayers of Sisay, the pleasant old man, drive me from thee.

Then the spirit left him and he fell at Paul's feet. He told them everything that had happened to him. He told them how he had been tormented by a demon and how God had healed him through the prayers of his father.

His prayer was indeed powerful in casting out demons. They and another disciple of the elder Sisay, named Abraham, cast out the evil spirit that tormented him. All the evil spirits fled from him, not daring to approach the brave and invincible soldier of Christ.

And he said, Behold, the face of the prophets is come. And he shone more brightly, and said, Behold, the face of the messengers is come, and his countenance shone brightly, and he talked with the invisible.

And he said, Behold, the Lord cometh; behold, all of you. And he said, Bring me a vessel of choice out of the wilderness.

With these words the monk gave up his spirit to the Lord. At that moment a lightning appeared and the temple was filled with a sweet odor. Having ended his temporal life with such a blessed death, the monk moved to eternal life.

By the prayers of our holy father Sysous, may we also rejoice in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever. Amen.

The angel on the earth was seen, illuminating, reverend, the thoughts of the faithful with the signs of God always: the more weighing faith, Sisou, we honor.