Life Pisentius

Be careful to make thy life exceedingly correct.

It (i.e. his look) made me powerless, and I was about to fall upon my face.'

So also was it in the case of the Lawgiver of the New Covenant, Apa Pisentius.

Immediately he made supplication to God on behalf of the brother who was a monk, God did not cause him grief, but fulfilled his petition, even according to that which is written in the Psalm, 'The Lord shall fulfil all thy petitions,'

Thou knowest in what manner thou hast been brought up by me.

Then that shepherd brought several cheeses in wicker baskets, and he said unto me, ' I entreat thee to take these few cheeses from my hands, and to send them to these men who are with thee in thy house ; since I have brought them, be not grieved at me.'

Take thou great care of my parchment books, for thou wilt have great need for them. And thou shalt not escape from this burden.'

Hearken moreover to the account of another great and wonderful thing which took place through the holy man Apa Pisentius, when he was a monk, and before he became a bishop.

Then I answered and said unto him, ' I will not take them without the knowledge of the great man, lest if he find it out he scold me.'

It came to pass on a certain day that he went to the well at which the brethren were in the habit of drinking, in order that he might fill his water-pot.

And that shepherd answered and said unto me, 'I conjure thee by God Almighty to take them from my hands, and to give them to the poor on my behalf.*

And again he turned to Elisha the Presbyter, and said unto him, Elisha, 'Govern thou most carefully the brethren. Lay fast hold upon the things which I have commanded thee, and do thou pne summon the brethren regularly each hour in order that they may recite their offices according to the rules of the brethren, and do good to their souls through thee.'

Now when he had come to the mouth of the well, he (found that he) had forgotten the rope and the leather bucket, and had not brought them with him.

Now when I heard (him mention) the awful Name of God, I felt afraid, and I took them from his hands on account of the oath (which he had sworn) by God.

Then Elisha answered and said unto him, 'My father, I have approached (the time) for going to all my fathers.

If thou art going to die it is better that I should die first, for if the pillar whereon we are all firmly established shall fall, the destruction of the mountain of Tsentei will draw nigh.

And when he had stood up at the mouth of the well he prayed to God according to the custom of the brethren, and he said, 'God, Thou knowest well that it is impossible for me to turn back again into the monastery to fetch the rope.

And I carried them and put them down along with the other cheeses which had been brought unto me that day.

But do Thou command this water to rise up to where I am so that I may be able to fill my water-pot therewith, so that I may serve Thee for the remainder of my days.

And I said in my heart, 'I will not let the great man know about my act at all'

And where shall we find another who will shepherd us as thou hast done, O my lord and holy father, if thou dost depart?

For Thou didst command Thy Apostle Peter, saying, Walk on the water

Thou hast directed and made straight the course of thy ship to the haven which is fair.

And it came to pass at the hour of evening that day, that when the time for repose and meditation had come, he (i. e. Apa Pisentius) rose up in order that he might give some cheese to the clergy.

Now when he had finished his prayer, the water rose in the well until it reached the mouth of the well, and he filled his water-pot with water.

And he said unto me, ' If cheeses have been brought unto thee this day, bring some of them hither to me so that I may send them to the clergy of the Archbishop.

Thou hast prepared thyself, and thou shalt never be disturbed (or, troubled), according to the words of the gentle David, (who said,) I have prepared myself, I shall never be disturbed' (or, troubled).

Then he said unto the water, 'It is the Lord Who doth command thee: Go down again to thy place.

For we shall feel the lack of thee sorely, and we shall be orphans from this day forward.

Then I took all the cheeses, and I threw those which the shepherd had brought with them.

And my father answered and said unto me, 'Verily, five days were given unto me from the third day.'

And when the bishop had looked at them he said unto me, Bring hither to me a platter

Now whilst the water was sinking downwards, a certain shepherd, who was pasturing his flock of sheep among the thorn bushes, directed his steps to the mouth of the well, and he looked in, and he saw the water going down by degrees until it reached its place at the bottom.

Unto whom shall I liken thee, O blessed Apa Pisentius?

and he uttered the following riddle, saying thus : This day, a man whose eyes were open, a man whose eyes had no darkness (in them), and who saw clearly, covered up his eyes by day and by night, and walked about like a blind man, although his eyes possessed the faculty of sight.

And I answered and said unto him, 'What was it that happened unto thee that thou sayest these things to me?'

Verily thou art like unto Moses, the Lawgiver, who made the sea to be divided, one half being on this side, and the other on that, and the children of Israel walked in the midst thereof as upon dry ground

Would not every man who saw him rebuke him, saying, Why is it since God hath given light to thine eyes that thou lovest to adopt the guise of the blind men who walk in darkness at all times?

And he said unto me, 'Before I spake unto thee an ecstasy came upon me, and a man of light came and stood before me.

And he said unto me, 'Pisentius, Pisentius, Pisentius!'—three times

And I confess unto you that when my father had spoken these words to me,

and the water was to them a wall of water on this side and on that, on the right hand and on the left.

prepare thyself, for there remain unto thee in this world five days, and then thou shalt come to me.'

he picked out all the cheeses which the shepherd had given unto me,

It was Moses who spake to the rock, and it sent forth fountains of water.

and he divided them from the others, and placed them on the platter and said unto me, I say unto thee that these cheeses belonged to the shepherd which I caused to be driven forth from me this day ;

And as for thee, O holy man Apa Pisentius, thy prayer entered into the vault of heaven, and it fulfilled the Scripture, which saith, 'It was He Who spake, and they came into being; it was He Who commanded, and they were created

And when he had said these things unto me, he departed.

And now, behold, I must depart the way of all my fathers.'

now when thou hadst thrown him out, why didst thou accept them from his hands?

Thou wast a man of foresight like unto the Prophets, and a man of intellect like unto the Apostles, and thou wast a wise steward.

And when my father had said these things unto me, a great outcry broke forth with tears and sobs in (our) midst; ' Thus are we bereaved of our good father, the consoler of those who were in trouble, who gave penitence to the sinner, who provided the poor with food, and who made it his care to find clothing for their bodies.'

Look now, and consider; whom dost thou resemble?

Therefore wast thou worthy of the Church of the Saints.

God made thee to keep alive a multitude of souls.

Thou resemblest Gehazi, who ministered unto Elisha, who made the man to turn back, and who took from him two talents and two changes of raiment.

And I confess unto you, (O my beloved), here in the presence of God, that from the time when my father heard concerning the Persians, he never applied to his own use any of the things which could be of use to the poor, even to the cap upon his head, but he distributed everything, and gave it in alms to the poor.

Look now also and consider in what manner Elisha cursed him—he made the leprosy of Naaman to grow in his body.

The things which he gave with his own hands, and the things which he commanded me to give, and the things which he sent to the faithful, village by village, and which were distributed to each man according to his need, no man can possibly know the sum thereof.

Thou didst preach the Gospel like Paul, and thou didst preach in wisdom the orthodox Faith. And thou didst cry out in thy discourse like a herald, thou didst shout aloud in thy wisdom like a trumpet.

Who is able to pay unto thee the honour of which thou art worthy, O just and holy man?

Now therefore, rise up, and take thou the cheeses to him wheresoever thou canst find him.

Only God, unto Whom all praise be given, knoweth it.

For thou didst know the things which were hidden before they took place.

Verily (even if thou hast to sit up) until midnight thou shalt not sleep in this place until thou hast given them to him.'

And I said unto my holy father, who arrayed himself in Christ, Apa Pisentius, 'Peradventure, O my father, dost thou think that we shall not again devote ourselves (to the poor), if thou dost not bequeath any possessions which may remain to us?'

My father answered and said unto me, ' We must devote ourselves to the will of God, O my son, and whatsoever thou givest—everything—to the poor,

Then I said unto Apa Pisentius, 'Forgive me, O my father.

Thy discourse which appertained to the things of this world had therein songs and parables ; thy discourse which appertained to the monkish estate (was full of) spiritual explanations.

Thy words were those of a ruler, parables and mysteries.

the Lord will give unto us twofold.'

When I had thrown him out of the door, he swore mighty oaths to me, and I was afraid of the oath which he swore in (the Name of) God, and I took the cheeses from him.'

Thou didst never feel ashamed because of them before any man, according to that which is written, 'My words shall be testimonies concerning Thee before kings, I shall not be ashamed.'

What can I say (more), or what can I relate of the valiant deeds of this just man ?

And Apa Pisentius answered and said, 'Do not attempt to anoint my head with the oil of the sinner.

It was Paul himself, the sweet-smelling tongue who spake in the Epistle which he wrote unto the Corinthians saying, I have written to you in the Epistle: Hold no converse with whoremongers, and not even with thy familiar friend, if he be a whoremonger; have no friendship with him.

But now let us devote ourselves to the consideration of his laying down the body.

Thou didst guide those who came unto Thee, all those who acted faithfully.

And thou didst gather together unto thee every one in the bond of love.

And again (he saith): The whoremongers and the adulterers shall God judge.

Now he passed three days wherein he neither ate nor drank, neither did he speak unto us, nor turn from one side to the other, but he lay stretched out like a dead man in the hall of the large cell.

And again (he saith): Lest there be a filthy whoremonger like Esau. And again it saith : No whoremonger shall inherit the kingdom of the heavens.

Then he cried out, 'John,' and I answered, 'Bless me.'

Thou didst hearken unto the commandment of the Christ, thou didst build thy house upon the rock which is holy.

He said unto me, 'I have come nigh unto my departure, and I shall finish my course at the time when the sun shall set to-morrow, which shall be the thirteenth day.

Get thee gone therefore, at once, and give the cheeses back to him, and peradventure we may be able to deliver his soul from the hand of the Devil ; indeed he is a miserable man.

Thou didst bring forth fruit in patient endurance, and with a heart which is holy and good.

I departed therefore and I gave the cheeses to him on the evening of that same day, and I returned to my place according to the advice of my holy father.

Thou didst see beforehand the Banquet of the Spirit, and because of this thou dost rest (or, recline) at the holy feast.

But take good heed and do not permit any man to carry my body away from the place which shall be dug for it.

Thou didst seek out for the wretched the place where the pasture was good, and for this reason also thou didst take care for the poor always.

Now ye must know that our righteous father Apa Pisentius was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and he was a righteous man, and if (ye imagine) that he was not, hearken ye unto the following narrative, and ye will assuredly be struck with wonder.

During these three days which I have just passed wherein I held no converse with you, I have been standing in the presence of God, and my speech hath been taken away since the ninth hour yesterday.

I tell you that God will shew His mercy unto me.'

Thou didst lay hold upon the ways pe of the ministry of God, and thou wast therefore a steersman in the sea of holy mysteries, and a saint like unto the Three Children.

Now it came to pass again on a certain day that my lord and father sent me on a message, which was urgent, to a certain district of Djeme.

Thou wast a father to multitudes of the poor in our time, and the father of those who were orphans in our days.

And I said unto him, 'Do one act of grace, O my father, and partake of a very small quantity of nourishment, for behold, it is now four days since thou hast tasted anything at all.'

Now it was very late in the day when I started to come back, and before I could get back it was dark night.

Thou didst proclaim like a herald peace unto those who were afar off, O thou God-loving father, Apa Pisentius.