Life Pisentius

And when I had entered on the road which leads into (the mountain), behold, two hyenas came running after me, as I was riding my ass, and they sprang towards the ass wishing to seize her and to pull it down.

And my father answered and said unto me, 'My son, shall I eat anything else after (this) word?

And thou didst exercise (or, train) those who drew nigh unto thee in the doctrine which was sound.

I say that I will not taste any food whatsoever belonging to this world,

In very truth their teeth were within a very little of touching my feet.

And I cried out, saying, 'May the prayers of my father help me and keep me from the mouths of these beasts.'

I shall eat nothing at all until I depart to the Christ, and break my fast with Him.'

Thou wast a well-skilled spiritual merchant, and therefore thou didst bestow graciously thy good gifts upon every one with great gladness and readiness.

Thou didst seek and thou didst find, O God-loving father, Apa Pisentius, thou leader of the truth.

And it came to pass that when the light had risen on the thirteenth day of the month Epep, he said unto me—now there were also certain great men sitting by him—' John, thou knowest all my affairs, and that I have nothing left belonging to the bishopric (or) to the town of Kebt (Coptos) wherewith to bury my body.

And before the words left my mouth, the animals took themselves off in another direction, and they did not do me the very least harm.

Nevertheless, I had one good 'holokottinos' by me, which I had kept since the day when I lived a life of contemplation in my cell and when I was a monk.

Now by reason of the loudness of their panting it appeared to me as if they were fleeing in great haste from some one who was pursuing them

Thou didst knock and it was opened unto thee ; thou didst petition God, and He granted thee all thy petitions.

This I made to yield an increase through the work of my hands, and I have guarded it carefully until the day wherein I should have to clothe my body with the work of my hands, so that I might not leave behind me a matter of unpleasantness for those who should succeed me,

There was great abundance in thy days, and the Christians occupied great and honourable positions.

and they fled as soon as ever they heard the name of the great man, Apa Pisentius.

The Church enjoyed abundance in thy days and in thy generation.

and who would say. Thou hast broken a custom which was seemly.

And when I had journeyed on a little further,

Do thou then, O John, buy a covering for my body, and do not put on me anything except the shroud wherein I am wrapped, and my monk's dress, and my skull-cap, and my girdle, and my tunic—only these—and ye shall prepare me for burial and ye shall bury me.

Thy people rejoiced in thy wisdom, and thy children rejoiced greatly in thy holy mysteries.

The Governors desired eagerly (to hear) thy discourse, and all the proselytes sought eagerly after thy mysteries.

And I think. Behold a garden wherein they will bury me.

And behold, a place full of wolves, but they will throw a wall about [me], each one working at it according to his good pleasure.

Thou didst look upon (?) the man whose name was Anatoles.

Therefore he filled thee with the splendour of the Holy Spirit.

But whatever each man doeth, let no man rebuke him, saying. The wall must be thrown round (the grave).'

And when the holy father Apa Pisentius, the holy bishop, had said these things, he cried out to us, and spake words unto (each) one of us,

Thou didst complete the Ark of the Holy Spirit in its length and breadth, even as Noah (completed his ark).

Thou wast a light which sent out its light into all our province.

and then he opened his mouth, and yielded up his spirit into the hands of God, at the moment when the sun was about to set on the thirteenth day of the month of Epep of this fifth year (of the Indiction).

And we lifted up his holy coffin, and we took it into the holy chamber of the altar of the congregation of Tsentei,

Righteousness and peace made light thy way before thee all thy days.

Moreover, in thy days lived the two forerunners who sent forth light through thy prayers, and through the prayers of the saints who lived in this province, that is to say, Apa Colluthus and Apa Paham, these (two) great saints

and we made it ready for burial according to the instructions which he had given us,

and we passed the whole night in lamentation for him.

Now therefore, by the grace of God, we will tell you about another marvellous thing which I heard from certain men whose whole hope is the truth.

And afterwards we partook of the Holy Offering over him,

Now a certain man from our district spoke to us concerning the holy man Apa Pisentius saying, 'I went in and I received a blessing at his hands this day'

Now when I had come forth from him, I met the holy man Apa Paham, who said unto me, 'Hast thou received a blessing from the hand of Pisentius?'

and we carried him away into the mountain to the place which he had made us dig for him that he might remain in our neighbourhood.

And we buried him on the fourteenth day of this same month Epep. In the Peace of God. Amen. Amen.

I said unto him, 'Yes, my father, | but thou thyself art a holy man'

And he made answer to me, 'He who is truly a holy man is, most assuredly, Pisentius, and if thou didst happen to meet him thou wouldst receive a truly great blessing, for some time ago, when he prayed, the well became filled with water'

Now this man said unto us, 'It came to pass on a certain day that we saw a fire burning in his house, and we said unto each other. Is it possible that Pisentius has lighted a fire? Wherefore hath he done this at this time of the year?'

And (some brethren) got up on the wall and looked over it, and they saw him standing up, and he was praying, and his hands were spread out towards heaven, and his ten fingers were like unto ten lamps (or, torches) of fire which were shining exceedingly brightly'

And again, when God set him apart for consecration into the priesthood, of which he was worthy, because he loved the life of peaceful contemplation he went and hid himself.

And when the God-loving clergy were seeking for him in order to make him take his seat upon the throne of the high priest, of which in very truth he was worthy, they sought for him a long time, and they found him at length in a secret place in the region of Djeme.

And when they had caught him, he cried out and uttered the words of the great John, the Archbishop of Constantinople, saying, 'O the life of peaceful contemplation!

I love it. Will ye not leave me in it?

Finally they brought back the holy man, and they set him upon the holy episcopal throne.

Now it was not he who ran in pursuit of the honour, but it was the honour which ran in pursuit of him, even as those who discovered him confessed unto us, saying, 'He confessed thus to us with his own mouth:

If it were not that I would not be disobedient to those whom ye have sent after me to this place, ye might cut my head of me, or throw me into the sea, before I would obey you, and forsake this life of peaceful contemplation which God loveth.

Have ye never read what is written in the Psalms, 'Be still. Know that I am God'?

And they debated the matter together, saying, 'Who then is there that can command him (to accept)? It is not a man'

Then they took counsel together, saying, 'Let us relate the matter to the holy man Apa Colluthus, who is a great one among men; he shall reveal the matter to him (in its true light), and he will not hide the business from him'

And at length they went to the holy man Apa Colluthus, and they said unto him, 'Father, when we had laid hold upon Apa Pisentius in order that we might have him consecrated bishop, he did not wish to bind himself, or to take any part in the service of consecration.

And behold, we went about very many days seeking for him before we found him in a part of Djeme.

And when we had laid hold upon him he was most anxious to excuse himself from his order.

And afterwards he said, 'If it were not that I would not be disobedient unto him that hath sent you to me, ye might remove my head from me before I would render obedience unto you.'

We now therefore make appeal unto thine holiness to abide with him for a number of days, and do thou question him when thou art alone with him, saying. Who is he that hath sent thee?

This matter is no miracle.

Then the holy man Apa Colluthus questioned him, saying, 'The God-loving clergy (of the town of Coptos) state that pig thy holiness saith: 'If it were not that I would not be disobedient unto him that hath sent you unto me, I would not occupy this position (of bishop) at all.'

Now who art thou (to speak thus)?' And the holy man Apa Pisentius answered and said, ' Before the clergy came unto my most unworthy self I fell asleep for a space, and a voice came unto me three times, saying, 'Pisentius, Pisentius, Pisentius.'

Behold the ordinance of the Church hath come unto thee.

Do not thou excuse thyself from the rank to which they would appoint thee, which is that of Chief of the Apostles, but arise, and follow thou them.