Memorial Day: May 15(28)
The Monk Pachomius the Great, along with Anthony the Great, Macarius the Great and Euthymius the Great, is a pillar of desert living and the founder of the monastic community in Egypt. The Monk Pachomius was born in the 3rd century in Thebaid (Upper Egypt) from pagan parents and received a good secular education. From his youth he had the makings of a good disposition, was chaste and reasonable. When Pachomius was 20 years old, he was drafted into the troops of Emperor Constantine. The recruits were placed in the city dungeon building under guard protection. Local Christians came with food supplies, fed the soldiers and served them diligently. When the young man learned that these people were doing this for the sake of their God, fulfilling His commandment to love their neighbors, it sank deeply into his pure soul. Pachomius promised to become a Christian. Returning from the army after the victory, Pachomius accepted holy Baptism, settled in the secluded village of Shenesit and immediately began to lead a strict ascetic life. Feeling the need for a spiritual leader, he turned to the Thebaid hermit Palamon, was received by the elder with love and began to zealously undergo monastic feats following the example of his mentor.
One day, after 10 years of desert life, the Monk Pachomius, walking through the desert, stopped at the ruins of the village of Tavennisi and heard a Voice ordering him to build a monastery on this place. Pachomius told Elder Palamon about this, and both, taking the words they heard as God’s instructions, went to Tavennisi and began to build a small monastic dwelling. The holy elder Palamon blessed the beginning of the foundation of the monastery and predicted its future glory. Soon the Monk Palamon departed to the Lord. Then an Angel of God appeared to Saint Pachomius in the form of a schema-monk and handed him the rules of monastic life. Soon his elder brother John came to the monk and settled with him.
The Monk Pachomius suffered many temptations and attacks from the enemy of the human race, but the Monk Pachomius valiantly repelled all temptations with prayer to God and patience.
Gradually, disciples began to gather to the Monk Pachomius. All of them were amazed by the hard work of the mentor, who managed to complete all the monastic work: he cultivated the garden, talked with those who came who asked for guidance, and served the sick. The Monk Pachomius introduced the rules of common life, establishing uniformity for everyone in food and clothing. The monks of the monastery had to work in the obediences assigned to them for the common benefit of the monastery. Among the obediences was the rewriting of books. Monks were not supposed to have their own money or accept anything from their relatives. The monk believed that obedience, performed with zeal, was higher than fasting and prayer, and he demanded that the monks strictly observe the rules, severely punishing violators.
One day, his sister Maria came to the Monk Pachomius, who had long wanted to see her brother. But the strict ascetic refused to see her and, through the gatekeeper, gave her a blessing to enter the path of monastic life, promising his help in this. Maria cried, but acted according to her brother’s instructions. The Tavennis monks built a dwelling for her on the opposite bank of the Nile. Nuns began to gather to Mary, and soon a women's monastery was created with strict rules, which were handed down by the Monk Pachomius.
The number of monks in the monastery grew rapidly, which necessitated the construction of 7 more monasteries nearby. The number of monks reached 7000, and all of them were under the leadership of the Monk Pachomius, who visited all the monasteries and ruled them. At the same time, the Monk Pachomius remained a deeply humble monk who was always ready to obey and accept comments from each brother.
Severe and strict with himself, the Monk Pachomius had great mercy and condescension towards monks who were not spiritually mature enough. One of the monks strove for the feat of martyrdom, but the monk turned him away from these aspirations and instructed him to silently fulfill monastic obedience, taming his pride and learning to be humble. However, the monk did not listen to his mentor and left the monastery, after which he was attacked by robbers who, under pain of death, forced him to make a sacrifice to the pagan gods. In complete despair, the monk returned to the monastery. The monk ordered him to pray intensely day and night, observe strict fasting and live in complete silence. The monk followed the monk’s instructions, and this saved his soul from despair.
The monk taught us to be wary of the condemnation of others in every possible way, and he himself was afraid even in his thoughts to condemn anyone.
The Monk Pachomius treated sick monks with special love. He visited them, encouraged the discouraged, convinced them to thank God and place their hope in His holy will. He relaxed the fast for the sick if this was necessary for their recovery. Once, in the absence of the monk, the cook did not prepare boiled food for the monks, citing the fact that the brethren liked to fast. Instead of his obedience, he wove 500 mats, but the monk did not approve of his action; and as punishment for disobedience, he ordered all the mats made by the cook to be burned.
The Monk Pachomius always taught the monks to have hope only in the help and mercy of God. Somehow there was a shortage of wheat in the monastery. The saint spent the whole night in prayer, and in the morning they brought a large amount of bread for the monastery from the head of the city, without taking anything in payment. The Lord granted Saint Pachomius the gift of working miracles and healing diseases.
The Lord revealed to him the subsequent destinies of monasticism. The saint knew that the last monks would not have such zeal for exploits as the first ones, they would walk as if in darkness, not having experienced leaders. Prostrated on the ground, the Monk Pachomius wept bitterly, calling on the Lord and asking for mercy on them. In response, he heard a Voice: “Pachomius, remember the mercy of God. Know about the last monks that they too will receive a reward, for they will have to suffer from a hard life for a monk.”
Towards the end of his life, the Monk Pachomius became seriously ill from the pestilence that prevailed in those places. His closest and beloved disciple, the Monk Theodore (May 17), looked after him with filial love. The Monk Pachomius died around 348 at the age of 53 and was buried near the mountain near the monastery.
Life of the Great Pachomius
At the dawn of Christianity in ancient Egypt, there lived a man who figured out how to organize monastic life. His name was Pachomius. He was born into a poor family near the Egyptian village of Sheneset at the end of the 3rd century. His parents were pagans. At the age of 20, Pachomius went to Thebes and enlisted as a soldier in the army of the Roman emperor who ruled in those parts. The recruits were housed in the city dungeon. Local residents came to visit the soldiers and brought them some food.
Pachomius decided to find out the reason that prompted strangers to help the recruits. This is how he first learned about Christ and the law of God, which commanded him to share a piece of bread with his neighbor. The young man was deeply touched by stories about the life and martyrdom of the Savior, and after serving in the army he decided to devote himself to serving the Lord.
After serving the required time, Pachomius came to the Egyptian Christians and was baptized. Having become a Christian, he settled in the village of Sheneset, where he lived, worked and prayed to God alone. One day, a lonely ascetic felt the need for spiritual communication and came to the well-known hermit monk Palamon of Thebaid in those parts. The elder accepted him as his novice. Pachomius, together with Palamon, prayed to God, honored the laws of God, fasted, and led an ascetic lifestyle.
About 10 years have passed. One day Pachomius went to the desert of Egypt to pray alone to the Savior. The ruins of the village of Tavennisi appeared on his way. At this place, he heard a voice from heaven, ordering him to build a monastic monastery. Pachomius returned to his place and told Elder Palamon about what had happened. The monk immediately realized that this was God’s command and helped his novice build a small monastic dwelling in the place indicated by the Lord.
Palamon, who blessed the beginning of the founding of a monastic monastery in the Egyptian desert, began to live with his novice in the new monastery, headed it, and soon died. Pachomius took his place. People constantly came to the monastic monastery who wanted to devote their lives to serving the Lord. The new abbot received everyone and gave various instructions to the monks.
One day, an angel appeared to the monk in a dream in the form of a schema-monk and handed him a scroll with the rules of the monastic hostel. Pachomius introduced new rules in his monastery, ordering all monks to work under the direction of the abbot, not to have any personal property, to dress the same and eat from the same cauldron.
His brother John also joined the monastic community of the reverend elder. Soon Sister Pachomius, Maria, also became a nun. True, a separate convent was built for her sake, which was soon populated by nuns.
The reverend elder devoted his entire life to serving the Lord and establishing monastic life. Under his leadership, 9 men's and 2 women's monasteries were built. The number of monks reached (according to various sources) up to 3-7 thousand. All affairs in the monasteries were managed by the venerable elder, and ordinary monks had to obey him unquestioningly.
The abbot of the monastic monastery was strict not only with the monks, but also with himself. True, he treated sick monks with indulgence. Sick monks were allowed to work less and observe less strict fasting.
The reverend elder read sermons to his monks, explained the laws of God and taught them to rely only on God. He considered the main activity for monks to be reading prayers. True, the monks who lived in the monastery were, for the most part, illiterate. They prayed only the words of the Jesus Prayer they had learned by heart.
The abbot demanded that after each appeal to the Lord the monks should tie knots on the rope. This is how rosaries arose in monasticism. Pachomius did not live long, only about 60 years. He died in 358, from the plague epidemic that raged in Egypt. The venerable abbot was buried near the mountain near the monastic monastery.
Miracles and veneration of St. Pachomius of Nerekhta
The miracles of St. Pachomius are known. In Nerekhta lived a man devoted to excessive drunkenness. He lost his mind from the wine, raged and spoke nonsense. His relatives cared a lot about him, wanting to heal him from his illness, but in vain. On August 1, during the consecration of water, when the Monk Pachomius was walking to the Gridevka River, relatives led the unfortunate man to the monastery. Having stopped the procession, the ascetic ordered the sick man to be brought to Jordan, where the blessing of water was taking place, and made the sign of the cross over him. The madman threw himself into the water and shouted: “Oh, how painful it is for me: the old man scorched me with fire.” At the same time, he remained in the river, which was shallow, crying and praying at the icons; sanity returned to him. The healed man later said that fire came out of the cross and burned him. After the liturgy, Pachomius gave the healed prosphyra, and he was freed from his illness forever.
The monk Irinarchus, who settled in the monastery during the life of the Monk Pachomius and helped him a lot in setting up the monastery, was a skilled painter. Two years after the repose of the saint, a lustful thought attacked Irinarch and severely tormented him. The monk repented of his sin openly before all the brethren, but this did not help him. He fasted, prayed, and finally turned to the intercession of St. Pachomius, whose grave he visited every day. One night, tired of prayer and returning from the grave, Irinarch fell asleep and saw in a dream a radiant old man, adorned with gray hair, having a long beard, white as snow, and with a staff in his hand. The elder said: “Brother Irinarh! So always pray to the Lord God and the Most Pure Mother of God, the Lord has had mercy on you, do not sin in the future: behold, the Lord will heal you from your thoughts.” At the same time, the miracle worker hit the monk on the left thigh with his rod. Irinarch jumped up in horror and saw the Monk Pachomius in front of him, who said: “Do not be afraid, child! Now you see me: write the image of my likeness, because the Lord has numbered me among the saints.” Having woken up, Irinarch told the abbot and the brethren about his vision and showed the mark of the blow on his thigh as proof. Fulfilling the will of the deceased saint, Irinarch painted his image, which was placed over the tomb of the Monk Pachomius.
In the village of Ivankovo near Kostroma at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries there lived a landowner Protasyev. He suffered from eye pain for a long time and finally went blind. The unfortunate man did not know what to do. But then an old man appeared to him in a dream and advised him to pray to the Monk Pachomius. Meanwhile, Protasyev did not know where his relics lay. One acquaintance told him that the Monk Pachomius was lying in Sypanovo, and the sick man appeared there with joy and hope. Protasyev prayed fervently all day at the saint’s shrine and regained his sight completely. In gratitude for his healing, he made a silver robe for the tomb icon of the saint.
In 1811, painters worked in the Sypanov church. One of them, Sokolov, worked in the dome, but so lazily that the priest wanted to remove him. Suddenly Sokolov fell seriously ill, and his family also fell ill. Feeling the approach of death, the painter repented of his negligence. Then the Monk Pachomius appeared to him in a dream and said: “Get up and don’t do that in the future.” The phenomenon had such a strong effect on Sokolov that, soon recovering, he set to work with diligence and beautifully executed the wall painting.
In 1843 and 1892, the residents of Sypanov were miraculously spared from fire by the intercession of the monk. But especially memorable for the residents of Nerekhta and the entire Nerekhta region is the help of the saint of God during the cholera epidemics of 1848 and 1853. Since the spring of 1848, cholera has spread greatly throughout the Kostroma province. In Nerekhta it began in May and soon turned into a pestilence. The parishioners of the village of Sypanova turned with prayer to the Monk Pachomius, and he delivered them from the deadly ulcer. When they made a religious procession through the village and villages of the parish, the disease immediately stopped; desperate patients immediately recovered. The icon of the saint was brought to Nerekhta at the very height of the epidemic and remained for ten days, and very few of the sick died there - only 9 people out of 300. The icon of the miracle worker was also carried in neighboring villages. Five years later, similar manifestations of God’s mercy were repeated through the prayers of St. Pachomius. In one village an old man was seriously ill with cholera. He lay unconscious, and his relatives were waiting for his death. Suddenly he shuddered and asked: “Are they carrying the saint?” They told him that they were already entering the village with the image. The sick man immediately got up, went to meet the icon and carried it around the houses of the village, completely healthy. Thus, faith in the help of the saint of God was rewarded. But disbelief was punished. One doctor and his wife laughed at the Orthodox adherence to icons and the piety of the people. On the same day they fell ill with cholera and died in terrible agony.
In 1866, through the prayers of St. Pachomius, the loss of livestock in Sypanov stopped.
By 1892, a miracle happened over the peasant woman Elizaveta Fedoseeva. For about two years she had unbearable pain in her legs and lower back; At first the patient could barely walk, then she almost didn’t get up for more than six months. She received a lot of treatment from doctors, but nothing helped. She often prayed, asking the Lord to enlighten her on where she should go on pilgrimage in order to receive healing. Her prayer was heard. “I clearly saw in a dream,” Elizaveta told Syanovsky’s priest, “as if I was praying on Pachomius Day, May 28, here at the Trinity, I was standing in the fence, since there were a lot of people, and when they went in procession, from the icon of St. Pachomius an extraordinary radiance emanated. The monk appeared to me that same night in the form as written on the icon, and ordered me to go and pray for healing in front of his relics. As soon as I woke up, I immediately made a promise to go to Sypanovo to the monk and serve a prayer service; From that day on, my recovery went quickly, and now I am completely healthy. I don’t know how to thank the saint.”
Thanks to numerous miracles, local veneration of the monk in his monastery began soon after his repose, as can be seen from the miracle with Irinarch. The memory of St. Pachomius is celebrated twice a year: on April 5 - on the day of his repose, and on May 28 - on the day of his Angel.
In 1764, during the monastic reform, the monastery of St. Pachomius was abolished and turned into a parish church. Despite the abolition of the monastery, Syanovsky parishioners and numerous pilgrims flocked to the relics of St. Pachomius.
In the early thirties of the twentieth century, the Trinity Church was captured by renovationists, but in 1935 the monastery was returned to the fold of the Patriarchal Church. Later the temple was closed and the abbot was shot. Only in 1944 did the authorities allow the tombstone icon of St. Pachomius to be moved from its shrine to the only church of Nerekhta then functioning - the Exaltation of the Cross. In the sixties, repeated attempts were made to destroy the holy spring of St. Pachomius, which remained a place of mass pilgrimage. Meanwhile, the Trinity Church stood closed, gradually turning into ruins.
By the determination of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on December 22, 1992, the Trinity-Sypanov Pachomiev-Nerekhta Monastery was revived as a convent. On February 17, 1993, the administration of the Kostroma region transferred the buildings of the former Pachomiev Monastery to the Kostroma diocese. Currently, the Trinity Church has been completely restored, and a new sister’s building and an almshouse have been additionally built in the monastery. The relics of St. Pachomius are one of the most important shrines of the renovated monastery and attract numerous pilgrims.
Veneration in Orthodoxy
Christians of all rites remember and honor the memory of the Great Pachomius, who, thanks to the knowledge bestowed by an angel, in the 4th century organized monastic life and created the first cenobitic charter for the community of monks. True, the ancient rules differ from those by which monks live today. The charter of the monastic community of Pachomius the Great became the basis for writing the modern statute.
The venerable elder went down in history as a faithful follower of God's laws, becoming an example to follow for millions of Christians. He was canonized by the Holy Church as a miracle worker. A memorable holiday service in honor of the reverend elder is held annually on May 15 (28) in Orthodoxy and May 9 in Catholicism.
Icon of the Great Pachomius
The veneration of the Byzantine Egyptian monk, the founder of the monastic rule, arose after the spread of his teachings in other countries. Icon painters depicted Pachomius the Great as a gray-bearded old man in monastic clothes. On the icons, the monk holds a scroll with rules for monks in one hand, and with the other he blesses the believers.
Icon painters also captured the scene when an angel in the robes of a schema-monk appears to the monk and hands him a charter describing the order in the monastic hostel. On some icons the venerable elder is depicted in full height in monastic clothing and with a cross in his hand.
What do they ask the saint for?
Christians pray to the reverend elder, who gave the monks the charter of a monastic hostel, to strengthen faith in the Savior and for intercession. Believers ask Pachomius the Great to protect them from the devil’s machinations, to give soul and body saving healing and to forgive all sins.
The saint helps monks who have sworn allegiance to the Lord. The reverend elder is a role model for clergy, a celestial being who helps monks overcome all the difficulties of carrying out monastic obedience in the name of the Savior.
Believers turn to the saint and ask him to pray to the Lord in heaven for the salvation of their souls and forgiveness of sins. The monk helps all Christians who have repented of their sins and live according to the laws of God.
Canon to the Holy Venerable Pachomius the Great, Egyptian, Thebaid
Song a҃.
Irmos:
In the depths of the post and sometimes the Pharaonic army is a supreme power, embodied by the word of universal sin, consumed its glory, glorified where glory I didn't become famous.
I hope for all the goodness of your morals, in your heartfelt song I slavishly proclaim: but my, God's voice, our light with the sunshine, yours Enlighten us with our prayers, smell beyond all measure.
Without passion, warm desires, hold, material, wave passions, smell, and achieve, any Let's look forward, now, this day, blessed, bzhⷭ҇tva.
He was filled with joy, sir, nbⷭ҇nyy ranks, the creator, having known all creation: in the repository of the skill of the ineffable si We will punish you with great punishment.
Bgorodichen:
She was above all, invisible and visible, ever-two, creatures, creators who gave birth to her, who deigned to be embodied in the new world Be yours: I pray with boldness, save our children.
Song of the city.
Irmos:
The prosperity of the desert, the Christians, where the infertile church, by your coming, is not yet firmly established This is my heart.
The skin flowed to the water, likewise, and was sprinkled at the baptismal point, growing up, just like that. Please your heart.
Do not tolerate the hardness of your vision, like the demonic Poltsy, bgonose, abstinent, and seek you various shortcomings.
During his sacred life, he was a faster, a plowman, a lawmaker, and the first leader, who brought him Behold, more glorious, your heart is firmly established in it.
Bgorodichen:
Do the most amazing things, first and foremost, and human hearts: and yours: the same, bcⷣe, in We honor her.
Sedalen, voice and:
Let the rich man drink your tears, O my dear father, the fruitful one of your virtues has pitied the whole class: and the shepherd of the teacher By the way, he raised him in the world of abstinence. At the same time, the resolution of life is glorious, odorous, flamboyant, and lyrical combined with it. Now, for the sake of you, we cry: pray to God, I have sinned and given thy holy memory to all who love.
Bgorodichen:
The sun is darker than the light, the light of the gold-forged lamp, the unfiltered, the unblemished, the all-blameless lord, the darkened one. Ours is the blindness of passions, passionlessness, the dawn of enlightenment, prayer, and my defiled heart of ours, the sweat of our souls, for now And with tears, and with time, I cleanse my affairs, yes love's call: bcⷣe ever-present, pray bgha, sinner has been given to me, for you have hope, thy servant .
Krⷭ҇tobgorodichen:
The lamb and the shepherd, and the deliverer, and the lamb behold the crest, crying and crying bitterly, crying: peace I am glad that you have delivered me, but my tomb is on fire, behold your crucification, who endure for the mercy of mercy. long-suffering, where mercy is abyss, and the source of inexhaustible, merciful, and the gift of sin, given by faith to those who sing your own pages.
Song of the day.
Irmos:
He came not as an intercessor, nor as an intercessor, but himself, where he was incarnated, and he saved all people. That's the call: glory to your power, where.
Ꙗ҆́кѡ и҆зрѧ́дн was є҆сѝ, похѡ́мїе, monastic cathedrals: we see bo, the prem ꙋ́dre ѻ҆́ch҃e, and ҆звѣстслѧ є҆сѝ, good They wanted to erect guardianship.
The dawn of the dawn, the most bright star, the grace of all, was with all, and also guided them to salvation camps of yours.
Your life, dear God, smells most blessed, as it was known to the monastics, and is now alive, yours after that, ch҃e, bzhⷭ҇tvєnym ᲂу҆че́нїєм.
We are attracted by our greatest love, we have extinguished all the passions of the flesh with abstinence, we smell: your whole life, the fragrant scent of sacrifices ꙋ ѡ҆свѧтслє҆сѝ.
Bgorodichen:
This is the haven of salvation, and the wall of the immovable, that is why, all things are faithful: you will save your lives with your prayers ours.
Song є҃.
Irmos:
The intercessor of the god and the person was є҆сѝ, хрⷭ҇тѐ bzh҃e: for you, vlⷣko, to the chief of light, yours, and the night is unknown This is not the case with my mother.
With the love of life, with the greatest demon, he was inspired: and from below we are enlightened, the virtues are perfect in comparison with passions and religion. ѣnіv dеvеrу constructed.
We bring you the prayer book of your faster, however, for the sake of simplicity, enlightenment, the grace of enlightenment, and your everything will always be preserved.
We strengthened the observance of the commandments, aroma, the flesh of your abstinence, and the shepherd showed up. I am a God-loving host.
Bgorodichen:
Your prayer is from the beginning and the end of the day, the last day, for deliverance from the wicked and against the other, and for the sake of the world Give it away.
Song of ѕ҃.
Irmos:
In the abyss of sin, I call upon the abyss, inexhaustibly, with your mercy: I will raise you up.
All the world has trampled down all treachery and deceit, your lords by force, and by the same token as an honest citizen b.
Oh, more than the temporary prologues of the world, the diseases of abstinence were endured by the same, Reverend, and by our builder.
The freedom of the child, immortal and indispensable pleasure, and unspeakable wealth greeted everyone.
Bgorodichen:
Unlikely, two, gave birth to you, and you are two, who are responsible for the true life of yours.
Kontakion, voice v҃.
The lamp of luminaries showed everything in the end, and the monastery of the city created many monastics: crucify yourself, your cross is on the frame We are holding back our bodies and praying for all of us without ceasing.
Ikos:
Most Holy Blessed Memory, another day of salvation for us, the holiness of abstinence, the night of the deepest passions and persecution , and with all-virtuous deeds the light shines, in the same time the sun is shining and the light is shining. We will bring the songs of the spring with joy and the smell of God: from the height, for the sight enlightens us, and gives us peace of everlasting prayer, without ceasing not all of us.
Song z҃. Irmos:
The godly command of the lawless teachers ascended high on the flame: the gods also spread the godly growth of the three I am blessed and glorified.
Fortress is all the more important, since the ashes of voluptuous life have been trampled upon, love conquers imperishable lives, Nowadays we have communed with each other, from the face of a҆gg҃l, ѻ҆́ch҃e, vodvorѧ́ѧsѧ.
The heart is pure, you see the blessing of everything invisible: here is the blessed servant, who was here , blessed and glorified.
Orthodox wisdom you are stijav, three-numbered, trⷪ҇tsꙋ є҆dinosꙋ, predominant, preached є҆сѝ, and words a terrible incarnation, according to the singer of the benefactor, glorified forever.
Bgorodichen:
This is the same time, we will give birth to the unfailing, two unsqualid, and unignorant: all I have exuded everything from your faithful, imperishable life.
Song and.
Irmos:
The furnace is sometimes ignited in the Babylonian day of the division, which burns with the command of the Chaldeans and burns, the faith also improves, I sing Yesh: bless, everything is going where, where.
Lenten imagination, and a҆́ggala on ꙋchivsѧ, mꙋdre, ѿ bzhⷭ҇tvennagѡ commanded, and now we feed on pious food tsy, with songs calling: bless, everything is going where, where.
The skin of lightning shines with great brilliance, life of all, everything, abstinence of yours, to all, the pious creator of the call: bless, all ѧ̑ business whereⷭ҇нѧ, whereⷭ҇а.
Moreover, the unborn is born, before the age is born, Christ, the glory of the preaching of the glorious one, and the spirit of everything, є҆но trⷪ҇tsy є҆stvò ѣ́дй и҆ бжⷭ҇ how.
Bgorodichen:
The door of the world, the two gods of God, piously named, in other words, the united flesh of debauchery, more than nature gave birth to it That's it, first of all: Let's eat all the things where, where.
Song ѳ҃.
Irmos:
Beginning is the parent of the dream, bg҃y and gdⷭ҇, incarnating two, we ꙗ҆вссѧ, ѡ҆mrachє́нnaѧ enlighten, gather wasteful. Thus we magnify everyone.
Through the grace of all, fragrant, blessed servants of God are ahead, and will enjoy the glory of the indestructible. Moreover, we magnify your honest holiday.
Let us weave a crown to you, the victor, the aroma, the life-giving and all-powerful right hand: and now those who sing your memory with glory, in honor Bi, blessed one, read away sins, remember all things.
The fruits of your illnesses are now aroma, joys are enjoyed, and even more so: but petitions and deliverance of your student ѝ, хрⷭ҇та̀ ᲂу҆molѝ, ѧ̀ now are glorious and ҆ that are more glorious.
Bgorodichen:
Ꙗ҆́кѡрꙋно̀, most immaculate, the rain that came in the morning, gave birth to us, the giver of food, the pious one of those who sing, and by all singing and confessing.
Luminous.
I wished for a life, I removed myself from shame, and I conquered my passions, and I also showed everything. I'm sorry.
Orthodox texts
For the glory of the venerable monk, hymns and prayer texts glorifying him are read. Believers remember and honor the saint who gave the monks the charter of a monastic hostel. Pachomius the Great is called a torch that illuminated the dark souls of many people with spiritual knowledge.
Troparion
In the troparion, believers glorify the saint who converted many pagans to the Christian faith. Pachomius "cultivated the barren desert with streams of his tears." The monk is asked to pray to the Lord for the salvation of the souls of sinners.
Troparion of St. Pachomius the Great
Voice 8
With the flows of your tears you cultivated the barren desert, / and those who from the depths of sighs brought forth fruit for a hundred labors, / and you were a lamp of the universe, shining miracles, Pachomius our Father, / pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.
Translation: With your streams of tears you cultivated the barren desert and from the depths with groans you multiplied the fruit of your labors a hundredfold, and became the luminary of the universe, shining with miracles, Pachomius, our father; pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.
Kontakion
In the kontakion, Pachomius the Great is called a bright luminary who illuminated the minds of people and transformed the Egyptian desert into a huge number of monastic monasteries. The reverend monk himself shouldered such a heavy cross and carried it with honor until his death. The saint exhausted himself with fasting, constantly praying for the salvation of the souls of sinners.
Kontakion of St. Pachomius the Great
Content
CHURCH OF CHRIST Stories from the history of the Christian Church
Georgy Orlov
Pachomius the Great
Pachomius was born of pagans and raised in paganism, but from an early age he felt an involuntary aversion to serving idols. They say that once, when they forced him to taste wine from a libation on the idol’s altar, he could not accept this supposedly sacred drink, and immediately after tasting it he threw it out onto the ground. Another time, in his presence, they could not properly make sacrifices to idols, and the evil spirit himself testified about him as an enemy of the gods, demanding the youth’s removal from the temple. In the twentieth year of his life, Pachomius was forced to enter military service, under the banner of Emperor Constantine, who fought with Maxentius. During a difficult campaign, he was seen by pious Christians in one city and immediately wanted to know their faith, and having learned, he immediately pronounced the following vow to the Lord: “Almighty God, who created heaven and earth! If You rescue me from this disaster and show me the best way to serve You, then I will devote all the days of my life to such service! And the word of the young warrior was not idle. Remembering his vow, he overcame all the temptations that presented themselves to him during his military service; and at the end of the war he immediately returned to Thebaid and soon received holy baptism.
At that time, a rumor spread about the exploits of a certain Palemon, who had long lived in the depths of the Thebaid desert and served God with unceasing prayer and fasting. As soon as Pachomius found out about this, he immediately rushed to the hermit. Having found his cell, he quietly knocked on the door, but was met with an apparently unkind greeting from the recluse. "What do you need?" – the elder asked him in a stern voice. “God sent me to you,” Pachomius answered humbly, “to become a monk.” “You cannot be a monk,” the elder objected, “to live as a monk is not an easy task; many came here, bored with life in the world, but did not resist their intention.” When Pachomius continued to beg him for indulgence in his ardent desire, Palemon once again answered him with the same outward severity, trying to dissuade the young man from accepting a burden that seemed beyond his years and strength. “I told you,” he continued, “that you cannot come here; go to another monastery, and if you spend some time there in repentance and vigil, then I will accept you. But know, my son, and think that I have no other food except bread and salt; I don’t use butter, I don’t drink wine; at midnight I am awake, reading psalms or meditating on the words of Scripture; sometimes I don’t give myself rest for the whole night.” The young man trembled as he listened to the old hermit, but firmly promised to share all his exploits with him, and Palemon finally agreed to accept him into his cell.
The new ascetic fulfilled his vows with precision. Fasting, vigil and prayer became constant exercises for his spirit and body, and the work of his hands served as rest for him. He often spent whole nights in prayer, and when he went to sleep, he did not allow himself to lie down or even lean his head against the wall; but, sitting in the middle of the cell, he calmed down for a short time. Loving solitude and complete silence, he often went deep into the desert and there indulged in the thought of God. Looking with good love at his ascetic, the Lord wanted to bless him with the land on which he labored, and making him, like the great Anthony, the father of many spiritual children. One day, during his solitude in the desert (Tavenskaya), Pachomius hears a voice: “Stay here and create a monastery, because many will seek you out of love for salvation, and you will rule them according to the charter that I will give you.” Immediately then an angel appeared and handed him a tablet on which this charter was inscribed. Having reported this vision to St. to the elder and his mentor, Pachomius went with him to the place indicated by God, and there, having set up a small cell, the ascetics began to continue their spiritual studies, taking care, moreover, about the means to fulfill the command of God.
The Monk Palemon soon died. His elder brother, John, came to Pachomius and began to share with him all his concerns; but this associate also soon died. Pachomius was left alone in his desert, amid constant temptations from the evil spirit. However, firmly remembering the command and promise of God, he did not cease to take care of the organization of the monastery. Finally, the angel appeared to him again and announced that the time had already arrived to gather the brethren. Then people from different places began to flock to his monastery, and he, dressing those who flocked in monastic clothing, soon became the leader and father of a large brethren. In a short time, instead of one monastery, nine appeared, and all of them were created under the care of the same great ascetic and were under his paternal control. Despite this, the Monk Pachomius himself tried to serve the monks subordinate to him in everything: he took care of their food, worked in the garden to cultivate the soil, and had special care for the sick, around whom he often spent whole days and nights. Vigilantly observing the behavior of the monks, he sometimes used strict measures, but - rarely and with one goal - correcting those who were weakened; more often he used measures of meekness and condescension, sometimes softening the very rules of his charter for the weak and imperfect. A wise old man, a meek old man, among thousands of those who compete with his life and deeds of piety, distinguished only by the height of humility and love, the great Pachomius rules his spiritual army with complete, but almost imperceptible power: his importance lies in his spiritual greatness alone; his strength lies in the high gifts of clairvoyance, foreknowledge and miracles; his means are the word of grace. He receives commandments from the Lord Himself, through an angel, discerns the states of those subordinate in spirit, foreknows the future, and uses everything for the benefit of the spiritual children given to him. In the deserted Thebaid, life thus flourished around one chosen one of God, who came there as an inexperienced youth to learn Christian virtue, and there received grace from the Lord to be a teacher and father of numerous ascetics.
Out of a feeling of deep humility, the Monk Pachomius himself did not want to accept the priesthood and did not allow any of the brethren to accept it; therefore, priests from neighboring cities came to him to perform divine services, until many of the previously ordained presbyters, whom he did not forbid to perform sacred rites, joined his brethren. In the Church of God, he himself loved to fill the position of reader, and with such tenderness he read St. The scripture that his listeners listened to seemed not to a man, but to an angel. Burning with love for spreading the teachings of Christ among the ignorant and unbelievers, he often went to neighboring villages where poor shepherds lived and preached the Gospel to them, then he built a church for them, which at certain times he later visited with some brethren to read and explain St. Scriptures for the Ignorant Villagers. Loving the pure teaching of Christ with all his heart, the great Pachomius did not tolerate heresies and could not even hear indifferently about heretics.
The fame of Pachomius the Great spread throughout the Christian world, and his name, along with the name of Anthony the Great, was pronounced with reverence everywhere. The great Athanasius, saint of Alexandria, visiting the Egyptian monks, especially wanted to see Pachomius; but, having come to his monastery, he could not distinguish their leader from the brethren. The humble ascetic deliberately intervened among his monks because he was afraid of involuntary ordination from St. Athanasius to the rank of presbyterate; and thus he met the great archpastor with due honor and satisfied the requirement of his deepest humility. He always received other visitors with fatherly love and sent them away with edifying advice and instructions.
In addition to his monasteries, Rev. Pachomius arranged some more: thus, at the request of a certain Bishop Varus, he founded several monasteries near the city of this saint, and on the opposite bank of the Nile he created a women’s monastery for the sake of his sister, who wished to imitate her brother in a godly life. The sister of the great Pachomius first came to him only to see her brother, famous for his holiness and greatness of spiritual deeds, but he refused her a personal meeting and through his cell man gave the following answer: “Sister! This brother will tell you that I am alive and well at this hour; Go in peace and do not grieve that you cannot see me with your bodily eyes. If you want to imitate my life, then think carefully about it. As soon as you find a strong desire and determination for such a thing, I will order that cells be built for you, and I am sure that the Lord, by your example, will attract many wives like you to the monastic life.” Having received such an answer, Sister Pachomia began to cry and immediately decided to devote herself to the service of the one God. A new monastery was soon founded by the brothers of Pachomius: his sister became the mother of the Thebaid nuns.
Meanwhile, the fame of the order of the Tavenian monasteries spread more and more, and the number of their brethren constantly increased. The great Anthony himself told his disciples that Pachomius alone was given the grace to gather and arrange so many children. However, the father of these children, already in his extreme old age, received a sad omen from God that great temptations would befall the brethren, and many would not endure these temptations; the great elder called his disciples and told them about the sad revelation, trying to motivate them to continue their exploits and observe pure faith. However, the Lord did not leave his chosen ascetic without consolation: at the same time, He gave him a joyful promise that, despite the coming temptations and corruption of people, the holy offspring of monks would remain for him. With such blessed hope, the Monk Pachomius the Great departed into eternity. His death followed in 393, on the 14th day of May.
One century has passed since a society of hermits first began to gather around St. Anthony; Not even that much time had passed since the beginning of the monasteries of St. Pachomius, and the entire Egyptian country, from the mouth to the upper reaches of the Nile, was already filled with hosts of ascetics of Christ, forming many, numerous monasteries.
At the beginning of the fifth century, the number of ascetics of Christ extended to almost eighty thousand. In addition, there were many women’s monasteries there and the number of nuns rose well above twenty thousand.
The structure of these monasteries was not exactly the same everywhere, but the Tavenskaya monastery served as a common model for them. The Monk Pachomius divided it into twenty-four communities, each of which had a special house, designated by some letter from the Greek alphabet. These signs had a secret meaning, known only to those in charge of the communities; they expressed the properties and morals of the monks who lived in a famous house; so, for example, beech. i, the simplest in design, meant the simplicity and gentleness of the brethren who occupied the house under such an inscription: and the letter z gave a completely opposite concept about the persons who lived in the department it signified. The Great Abba thus had the opportunity to speak with the leaders of the monastery about the behavior and character of their subordinates, in the presence of the brethren of the monastery themselves. Wishing to see even more quickly and closely the various properties of his spiritual children, the Monk Pachomius established the depiction of these significant letters on the hoods of monks.
Each community was divided into families engaged in one craft; each family consisted of 12 cells, and in each cell there were three brothers. All these departments had special commanders; all the leaders reported to their father and their general superior, the great Pachomius.
Following the example of Tavenskaya, other Pachomius monasteries were built. They also depended on their founder and their main government was concentrated in the first monastery. Twice a year, brethren from all monasteries flocked to Tavenna at the time of Easter, for its general and solemn celebration, and around August 15 for the resolution of the guilty and reconciliation with the brethren of all who felt wrong in conscience and in deed; at the same time, leaders for the monasteries were elected. Thus, the Thebaid monasteries, in their very external relationship, constituted one whole, and fifteen thousand monks were obedient to the will of their leader, to whom the other leaders were only assistants in management.
In the monasteries of middle and lower Egypt we do not see exactly the same, with all the details, structure and order of monastic societies; but the difference between them was not great: everywhere one person had the main supervision over all the brethren; other lower commanders gave him a report on the state of the monastery; the monks lived in twos and threes in one cell; gathered for a public meal at certain times; on certain days they also gathered for public prayer and worship; there was strict subordination in everything, which served as the main condition for both entry into the monastery and stay in it for every monk.
Among the Egyptian monks there were anchorites, hermits and hermits in the closest sense of the word; They lived in complete solitude from monastic societies, chose wild caves and dens for themselves, and there they performed their difficult deeds. Their father is rightly called St. Paul of Thebes; but Anthony the Great himself, who, despite the large number of his disciples, throughout his entire life loved complete solitude and, if possible, remained in it. That is why most of the anchorites were located in middle Egypt, between the Nile and the Red Sea. However, these hermits were not alienated from the brethren; they accepted food from the monastery, attended public meetings for prayer, and were considered, so to speak, members of the same brotherhood from which they came or around which they lived. Anyone who wanted to move from the monastery to solitude did so not without the advice of experienced elders and ascetics and not without the blessing of his father-abbot. In this case, they did not act quickly and without caution; permission and blessing for a hermit's life was given only to those who, based on the experiences of their previous life, were found capable of such a difficult and lofty task. However, with more and more monasteries being built, the number of such hermits decreased, because in the monasteries themselves they tried to combine the desert lifestyle with the social lifestyle
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