Sisoy the Great
(† 429) - Christian saint, hermit monk, follower of Anthony the Great. The memory in the Orthodox Church is celebrated on July 6 (according to the Julian calendar).
Sisoes was a Copt by origin and lived in the Egyptian desert in a cave in which the Monk Anthony lived before him. According to his life, Sisoes taught humility and hope in God’s mercy. So, when asked whether a year is enough for a monk who has fallen into sin to repent, Sisoy replied: “ I believe in the mercy of God, the Lover of Mankind, and if a person repents with all his soul, then God will accept his repentance within three days.”
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The Life reports the miracles of Sisoy, including his resurrection of the dead:
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Abba Sisoes died in 429, surrounded by his disciples.
Memory
In honor of Sisoy the Great (more precisely, the day of his memory - July 6 according to the church calendar, on which the victory in the Battle of Hogland was won) several ships of the Russian Imperial Fleet were named:
- Sysoy the Great (battleship, 1788)
- Sysoy the Great (battleship, 1822)
- Sysoy Velikiy (battleship, 1849), later converted into a frigate.
- Sisoi the Great (battleship) (1896-1905) - battleship, part of the Second Pacific Squadron, died in the Battle of Tsushima
Orthodox prayer - Orthodox book
1. Abba Sisoes the Great said: “Be dishonored (that is, endure dishonor with complete patience and willingly), completely renounce your will, reject everything that leads to the cares of this world and to absent-mindedness, and you will find peace.” 2. The brother asked Abba Sisoes: “Why do passions not depart from me?” The elder answered: “Their deposits are in you; give them their pledges, and they will depart.” The deposits of passions are their causes. So the reason for the action of the passion of prodigal is to please the flesh, condemnation of neighbors. He who stops pleasing the flesh and condemning his neighbors acquires the power to overcome prodigal passion. 3. The brother asked Abba Sisoes: “I intend to guard my heart.” The elder answered him: “How can we guard our heart when our tongue is like an open door?” 4. The brother said to Abba Siso: “I see that the memory of God (mental prayer) constantly abides in me.” The elder said: “It is not a big thing that your mind is constantly directed towards God; great is it when someone sees himself as worse than every creature.” The elder said this for the reason that the true effect of mental prayer is always based on the deepest humility and stems from it. Any other action of mental prayer is incorrect and leads to self-delusion and destruction. 5. A certain brother earnestly asked Abba Sisoes to tell him an edifying word, and Abba said: “Stay soberly (watchful over yourself) in your cell, and mentally present yourself to God (stand before God, feeling His presence) with many tears, in contrition of spirit, and you will find peace." 6. The brother asked Abba Sisoes about monastic residence. Abba answered: “The Prophet Daniel said about himself: “I have not eaten up the bread I desire” (Dan. 10:3). Monastic life certainly requires the rejection of all carnal pleasures; it cannot take place with them.” 7. Abba Sisoes said: “Whatever temptation happens to a person, he must surrender himself to the will of God and confess that the temptation happened because of his sins. If something good happens, it must be said that it happened according to God’s providence.” 8. Some asked Abba Sisoes: “If a brother falls, should he repent within a year?” He answered: “Cruel is the word.” They said: “And so for six months.” He answered: “A lot.” They suggested forty days, but he called even this period unnecessary. They said: “How much will you appoint? and then say: if a brother falls and a supper of love happens, should he come to this supper?” The elder answered them: “No! he must repent within a few days. I believe in my God: if a brother brings repentance with all his heart, then God will accept him in three days.” 9. The brother said to Abba Siso: “Abba! what should I do? I have fallen." The elder answered: “Get up.” The brother said: “I stood up and fell again.” The elder answered: “Rise again.” Brother: “How long shall I rise and fall?” Elder: “Until your death.” 10. Abba Joseph asked Abba Sisoes: “In what space of time can a person eradicate his passions?” The elder said: “Do you want to know about time (years)?” “Yes,” answered Joseph. The elder told him: “At the time when any passion arises, eradicate it.” 11. The brother asked Abba Sisoya: “How should I spend my life? how to escape? how to please God? The elder answered: “If you want to please God, then leave the world, separate from the earth, leave creation, approach the Creator, unite yourself with God through prayer and weeping, and you will find peace in this and in the next century.” 12. The brother asked Abba Sisoes how he should live? The elder answered: “What you are looking for is found through the strictest silence and humility.” 13. The brother asked Abba Sisoes: “What leads to humility?” The elder told him: “When someone strives to recognize each person as better than himself, then this will give him humility.” 14. One of the elders said: I asked Abba Sisoya to tell me an edifying word; he told me: “A monk’s opinion of himself should be lower than idols.” I returned to my hut, and not understanding what it meant to be lower than idols, after a year I again came to the elder and said to him: “What does it mean to be lower than idols?” The elder told me: “The Scripture says about idols that “they have lips and do not speak; they have eyes and do not see; They have ears and do not hear” (Ps. 135:16-17): this is how a monk should be. Idols are an abomination: and let a monk think of himself that he is an abomination.” 15. A certain layman went with his son to Abba Siso in the mountain of Abba Anthony. On the way, the son died. The father was not embarrassed, but with faith he took him to the Abba and fell at his feet together with his son, as if bowing to him to rest his blessing. Then the father got up, and leaving the boy at the Abba’s feet, he left the cell. The elder, believing that the boy was continuing his worship, and not knowing that he had died, said to him: “Get up and go away from here.” The boy immediately stood up and went out. The father, seeing him, was surprised; Having entered the cell, he bowed to the Abba to the ground and told him about what had happened. The elder, hearing this, was saddened because he did not want to perform signs, and his disciple forbade the layman to tell anyone about the miracle that had taken place until the death of the elder. 16. Abba Ammon said to Abba Siso: “When they read books, I want to notice wise sayings, so that I can have them in my memory in case of need.” The elder answered him: “This is not necessary! one must acquire purity of mind and speak from this purity, placing one’s trust in God.”
Excerpt characterizing Sisoi the Great
- A! Warrior! Do you want to conquer Bonaparte? - said the old man and shook his powdered head, as much as the braided braid in Tikhon’s hands allowed. “At least take good care of him, otherwise he’ll soon write us down as his subjects.” - Great! - And he stuck out his cheek. The old man was in good spirits after a pre-dinner nap. (He said that after lunch there is a silver dream, and before lunch there is a golden dream.) He joyfully glanced sideways at his son from under his thick, overhanging eyebrows. Prince Andrei came up and kissed his father in the place he indicated. He did not answer his father’s favorite topic of conversation - making fun of the current military people, and especially Bonaparte. “Yes, I came to you, father, and with my pregnant wife,” said Prince Andrei, watching with animated and respectful eyes the movement of every feature of his father’s face. – How is your health? “Unhealthy, brother, there are only fools and libertines, but you know me: busy from morning to evening, abstinent, and well, healthy.” “Thank God,” said the son, smiling. - God has nothing to do with it. Well, tell me,” he continued, returning to his favorite hobby, “how the Germans taught you to fight with Bonaparte according to your new science, called strategy. Prince Andrei smiled. “Let me come to my senses, father,” he said with a smile, showing that his father’s weaknesses did not prevent him from respecting and loving him. - After all, I haven’t settled in yet. “You’re lying, you’re lying,” the old man shouted, shaking his braid to see if it was braided tightly, and grabbing his son’s hand. - The house is ready for your wife. Princess Marya will take her and show her and talk a lot about her. This is their woman's business. I'm glad for her. Sit and tell me. I understand Mikhelson’s army, Tolstoy too... a one-time landing... What will the Southern Army do? Prussia, neutrality... I know that. Austria what? - he said, getting up from his chair and walking around the room with Tikhon running and handing pieces of clothing. - Sweden what? How will Pomerania be transferred? Prince Andrey, seeing the urgency of his father’s demand, at first reluctantly, but then more and more animated and involuntarily, in the middle of the story, out of habit, switching from Russian to French, began to outline the operational plan of the proposed campaign. He told how an army of ninety thousand had to threaten Prussia in order to bring it out of neutrality and draw it into the war, how part of these troops had to unite with the Swedish troops in Stralsund, how two hundred and twenty thousand Austrians, in conjunction with one hundred thousand Russians, had to act in Italy and on the Rhine, and how fifty thousand Russians and fifty thousand Englishmen would land in Naples, and how, as a result, an army of five hundred thousand had to attack the French from different sides. The old prince did not show the slightest interest in the story, as if he was not listening, and, continuing to get dressed as he walked, unexpectedly interrupted him three times. Once he stopped him and shouted: “White!” white! This meant that Tikhon did not give him the vest he wanted. Another time he stopped and asked:
Venerable Sisoes the Great: One must acquire purity of mind and speak from this purity
In the church calendar we see days of remembrance of many hermits. There are so many of them that most of the biographies of these fathers remain unknown to us, and after reading, alas, they are soon forgotten. Indeed, they are often very similar: a person lived in the world, then left everything and went into the desert. In the desert, he either labored in one monastery, or moved from one monastery to another (but try to imagine the geography of these movements without ever having been in the desert!). The eventual component is lost when retelling the lives of the fathers. However, she is not the most important thing here. It seems that the most important thing is to understand the principles by which the fathers lived. Yes, they were monks. But the starting point that they chose to assess what was happening, the goal that they set (Salvation) and their internal disposition, in general, can be an example and guideline for every Christian.
The monk labored in the desert for 60 years and considered himself the most unworthy of people. Death is a certain outcome of a person’s life. And this is what it was like for the Monk Sisoy.
Before his death, the Abba's face lit up, and he said:
- Here, Abba Anthony is coming to me.
- I see the face of the prophets! - the old man said a little later, and his face brightened even more.
“Here, the apostles have come,” he began to speak quietly and as if talking to one of the saints.
- Who is he talking to? - the hermits who gathered around the Monk Sisoy to listen to his last sayings were perplexed.
“Behold, the angels have come to take my soul,” and I begged them to wait a little longer so that I could have time to repent... They said: “You no longer need to repent” - “I don’t know if I have started it yet?” “These last words of the Monk Sisoy made it clear to his disciples, who knew about his deep humility, that his virtue was perfect...
Finally, the ascetic’s face shone like the sun, and at the same time he exclaimed:
“Look, the Lord is coming to me,” and with these words he moved to another world.
I think there is a lot to learn from such a person in terms of life. Let us remember what has been preserved about him in legend.
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Abba Sisoes the Great said: Be dishonored (that is, endure dishonor with complete patience and willingly), completely renounce your will, reject everything that leads to the cares of this world and to distraction, and you will find peace.
***
The brother asked Abba Sisoes: Why do passions not depart from me? The elder answered: their pledges are in you; give them their pledges, and they will depart.
***
The brother asked Abba Sisoes: I intend to guard my heart. The elder answered him: how can we guard our heart when our tongue is like an open door?
***
The brother said to Abba Siso: I see that the memory of God (mental prayer) constantly abides in me. The elder said: it is not a big thing that your mind is constantly directed towards God; It is great when someone sees himself as the worst of all creation.
***
Abba Sisoes said: Whatever temptation happens to a person, he must surrender himself to the will of God and confess that the temptation happened because of his sins. If something good happens, it must be said that it happened according to the providence of God.
***
Some asked Abba Sisoes: if a brother falls, should he repent within a year? He answered: cruel is the word. They said: and so on for six months. He answered: a lot. They suggested forty days, but he called even this period unnecessary. They said: how much will you appoint? and then say: if a brother falls and a love supper occurs, should he come to this supper? The elder answered them: no! he must repent within a few days. I believe in my God: if a brother brings repentance with all his heart, then in three days God will accept him.
***
The brother said to Abba Sisoya: Abba! what should I do? I fell. The elder answered: get up. The brother said: I stood up and fell again. The elder answered: get up again. Brother: How long shall I rise and fall? Elder: until your death.
***
Abba Joseph asked Abba Sisoya: in what space of time can a person eradicate his passions? The elder said: do you want to know about time (about years)? Yes, Joseph answered. The elder told him: at the time when any passion arises, eradicate it.
***
The brother asked Abba Sisoes: How should I spend my life? how to escape? how to please God? The elder answered: if you want to please God, then leave the world, separate from the earth, leave creation, approach the Creator, unite yourself with God through prayer and weeping, and you will find peace in this and in the next century.
***
The brother asked Abba Sisoes how he should live? The elder answered: what you are looking for is found through the strictest silence and humility.
***
The brother asked Abba Sisoes: what leads to humility? The elder told him: when someone strives to recognize each person as better than himself, then this will give him humility.
***
One of the elders said: I asked Abba Sisoya to tell me an edifying word; he told me: a monk should have a lower opinion of himself than idols. I returned to my hut, and not understanding what it meant to be lower than idols, after a year I again came to the elder and said to him: what does it mean to be lower than idols? The elder said to me: Scripture speaks of idols, that they have mouths and do not speak; they have eyes and do not see; they have ears and do not hear (Ps. 134:16-17): this is how a monk should be. Idols are an abomination: and let a monk think of himself that he is an abomination.
***
A certain layman went with his son to Abba Siso in the mountain of Abba Anthony. On the way, the son died. The father was not embarrassed, but with faith he took him to the Abba and fell at his feet together with his son, as if bowing to him to rest his blessing. Then the father got up, and leaving the boy at the Abba’s feet, he left the cell. The elder, believing that the boy was continuing his worship, and not knowing that he had died, said to him: get up and go away from here. The boy immediately stood up and went out. The father, seeing him, was surprised; Having entered the cell, he bowed to the Abba to the ground and told him about what had happened. The elder, hearing this, was saddened because he did not want to perform signs, and his disciple forbade the layman to tell anyone about the miracle that had taken place until the death of the elder.
***
Abba Ammon said to Abba Siso: when they read books, I want to notice wise sayings, so that I can have them in my memory in case of need. The elder answered him: this is not necessary! you need to acquire purity of mind and speak from this purity, placing your trust in God.
Based on the book “Works of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov. Volume 6. Fatherland."
Symbol of faith
Sisoes was one of the brightest lights among the desert dwellers and was awarded the fact that the Savior Himself, shortly before his death, called him the chosen vessel of the desert.
At a very young age, he renounced the world and lived first in the Skete under the leadership of Abba Horus. He practiced self-denial and ascetic deeds for several years. When the desert of Skete seemed too noisy to him, he crossed the Nile and retired to the mountain where the monk had died shortly before. Anthony.
The fresh memory of the virtues of this holy patriarch of monasticism kindled his zeal, as if he had seen him alive and heard from his lips the wondrous instructions that the monk gave to his disciples.
And he led the highest spiritual life on the mountain. His ascetic exploits, his stern silence and generally the brilliant example of his monastic virtue earned him the trust of all the monks who had the opportunity to see him, often turning to him for advice. No matter how hard he tried, he could not hide from many visitors and had to sacrifice his love of solitude for brotherly love. Virtue; the one he insisted on most was humility. And he could teach humility all the better because he himself was an example of the deepest humility. A monk once told him: “I believe that I, father, always stand before God.” To this he replied: “It’s a little more, my son. But it would be better if you considered yourself lower than all creatures, because through this you would acquire humility.” To another in a similar case, he said: “Belittle yourself, renounce the indulgence of feelings, rise above the vain worries of the world, and you will find peace of heart.”
Another monk told him that he had not yet reached the heights of St. Anthony.
“Oh,” he exclaimed, “if I had at least one of the feelings of this great man in my heart, then I would be completely enveloped in the fire of Divine love!”
He had such a low opinion of himself that, no matter how harsh his lifestyle was, he considered himself a sensual and greedy person and wanted others to think the same about him. Hermits visited him and asked him to say a few words of instruction to him. He apologized and left them to talk to his student. But the example he gave more than replaced verbal teachings and made a greater impression on them than if he had given them a long speech. During their conversation with his student, in response to some question of theirs, he shouted to them that Sisoi was a glutton who eats without measure and unnecessarily. And the monks, who knew how great his abstinence was, marveled at his humility and returned to their place quite satisfied with their visit.
Of course, only the thirst for contempt by people and the love of reproach made him say so. He not only did not violate the rules of abstinence that were accepted among hermits, but in most cases he directly forgot about food, and his disciple Abraham was forced to remind him about the meal. And at this he was sometimes surprised, believing that he had already eaten. He paid so little attention to bodily needs. If by chance he had to take food with visitors earlier than the appointed time, he then fasted for a long time, forcing the body to pay for the indulgence that he did to him only in order to fulfill the duty of mercy to others. The neighboring hermits knew this custom of his. Once, when Abba Adelphos, Bishop of Nikopoleos, who came to visit him and did not know his customs, invited him to have breakfast with him on the day of his departure, the monk did not want to refuse him. At the same time, several elders came and began to reproach the disciple Sisoy for not prefacing the bishop, since it was obvious that after this breakfast the saint would impose a long and strict fast on himself.
One day the hermits gathered to attend the liturgy. After the sacrament was performed, one of them gave him wine twice. Sisoy drank a little both times, more so as not to upset his brother with a refusal than because he wanted it. But when the monk brought it to him for the third time, he, believing that he had paid enough of the debt of courtesy those two times, refused, saying that wine leads to temptation.
He was so afraid of worldly praise that, sometimes praying with his hands raised, he lowered them as soon as he thought that he could be seen, for fear that they would begin to honor him even more. One day, while praying in the company of another hermit,... he couldn't help but let out a few sighs. But as soon as he calmed down, he regretted it and said with great humility to this monk: “Forgive me, brother! It seems that I am not a true hermit if I sigh like that in front of others.”
Always ready to justify others, if he saw something good in others, he turned it into a reproach for himself. Walking one day on a mountain where he had not seen anyone for ten months, he met a hunter, whom he asked where he was from and how long it had been since he had been in this place. “For eleven months now,” answered the hunter, “I have been walking along this mountain, but I have not met anyone except you.” Then the monk went to his cell and with a feeling of self-reproach, striking himself on the chest, said: “Oh, Sisoy, you believed that you maintained strict solitude, having spent some time alone; but here is a layman who has been in solitude longer than you!”
Three hermits, attracted by the rumor of his holiness, visited him, and one of them said to him: “Father, what must I do to avoid hellfire?” He didn't answer him. “And I, father,” chimed in another, “how can I avoid the gnashing of teeth and the never-dying worm of hell?” A third asked: “What should I do? I am seized with mortal horror every time I imagine pitch darkness.”
Then the monk answered him: “I confess to you, brothers, I never thought about these things; and since I know that God is full of goodness, I hope that he will have compassion on me.” The monks, who had expected a more direct and lengthy answer, left, expressing some sadness. But the saint did not want to let them go dissatisfied, he called them and with great humility said to them: “Blessed are you, brothers, and I envy your virtue: you told me about the torments of hell, and I understand that you are so imbued with the thought of them that they can help you a lot to avoid sins. And I! What should I do with a heart so insensitive that I don’t even think that after death there will be a place of execution designated for punishing the wicked! This insensitivity is, without a doubt, the reason why I commit so many sins.” The hermits, surprised by such a humble answer, asked him for forgiveness and returned home, claiming that everything they had been told about his humility was absolutely true.
He said that for thirty years he had been praying to Jesus Christ: “My Lord, Jesus Christ, do not let me sin today with my tongue.”
“And yet,” he added, “I always sin in this regard.”
And these words could be due to his humility. He strictly observed silence and solitude and constantly kept the cell door locked so that he would not be entertained.
Since meekness is the faithful companion of humility, Sisoi was as meek as he was humble. There was no bitterness in his jealousy. He was not surprised at the mistakes of his brothers and, far from reproaches and indignation, with extreme patience helped them get rid of them.
One hermit who lived in his neighborhood often came to him confessing his sins, and the saint always answered him: “Get up!” “But, father,” this monk once objected to him, “how long will it take me to rise and fall again and rise again?” “Do this,” he answered him, “until death finds you fallen or risen.”
Several monks asked him whether a monk who had fallen into sin should not repent for a whole year. “That seems too long to me,” he replied. “But then,” they said, “at least six months?” “That’s a lot,” he answered. They kept asking, “So, at least forty days?” “And that’s a lot,” he noted. “So,” the brothers objected, “do you think that if the liturgy had been celebrated soon after his fall, he could be admitted to the sacrament?” “I’m not saying that,” answered the monk. “But I think that the goodness of God is such that if he had turned to God with sincere repentance of sin, then the Lord himself would have accepted him in less than three days.”
One cannot help but pay special attention to these bright views of the great ascetic. In our country, not without whimsicality, some lay people notice that Christianity is too “black” and too threatening. In fact, the teaching about the goodness of God, the teaching about the sacrament of redemption in him seems to be obscured by the trembling expectation of eternal torment. From the frightened brain, confused since childhood by the terrible pictures of hellish torment, the image of the meek Shepherd, carrying a lost sheep on his shoulders and leaving the faithful flock to recover one lost sheep, seems to have been erased. So these simple-minded monks, with the questionnaires of St. Sisoya. Instead of strengthening your soul with the memory of the thief, before whom, for the sake of his short dying confession of Christ, the doors of heaven were opened to the first; in memory of the Supreme Peter, who was not prevented from accepting the keys of heaven and becoming the cornerstone of the church by his three-fold solemn renunciation of Christ; with the memory of the sinner who washed the Teacher’s feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair, who received so many unclean caresses, about whose feat of love the Gospel still repeats throughout the world, they inflamed their imagination with the intricate details of hellish torments. One was embarrassed by the “unquenchable fire”, another by the “gnashing of teeth and the worm that never dies”, the third by “utter darkness”. And how wise and how Christianly profound was the monk’s answer, that for the goodness of God and for his faith in God’s mercy he forgot about the torments of hell!
Will we not understand that, due to psychological considerations, it is much more useful for the soul to remember more about the goodness of God than about the threat of hellish torment? In these earthly affairs of ours, we will work with greater diligence for meek and kind people than for a harsh demander. And the eternal intimidation of the soul does not at all correspond to the greatness of Christ’s sacrifice and the work of redemption. Experiencing eternal Easter in our souls, full of feelings of “the joy of salvation,” we will more easily avoid all evil and better preserve ourselves than in constant fear.
Of equal interest is the conversation of the monk with those monks who certainly wish to limit God’s mercy to a certain period and could not understand that an instant breath of grace to God is enough to revive a fallen soul, and having attracted it to oneself by the great movement of the Father’s love, immediately heal everything her wounds. They could not understand that God is, first of all, an unattainable being and that the power of His grace cannot be determined by the insignificant and pitiful measures of our wretched earthly zeal...
Here are a few more cases in which Rev.'s views were expressed. Sisoya. One hermit asked him: “If a robber enters my cell to kill me, then, feeling that I am stronger than him, can I kill him myself?” “No,” answered the monk, “but leave it to God.” For, no matter what danger you are in, you must think that this is a punishment for sins. And when something good happens to recognize, we owe it only to the goodness of God.”
Another hermit asked him if he should stop the counselor if on the road he saw that he was leading him astray from the real path. He replied: “I wouldn’t advise you.” “So,” the hermit objected, “should I be allowed to get lost because of him?” To this the monk told the following parable: “The monks were on the road for twelve hours. Night overtook them, and they became convinced that their guide was deceiving them. However, they did not want to break the silence in order to expose him, and each of them thought in his heart that he would see his mistake when the day came, and then lead them to the real road. So they followed him patiently and walked about twelve miles. When morning came, the guide noticed his mistake and apologized profusely to them. They meekly answered him: “We were wary of this, but we didn’t want to tell you anything.” This man was surprised by their patience, their persistence in maintaining silence, and received great spiritual benefit from this.
The monk had a rule that a hermit should not choose the kind of manual labor that he liked best. He also did not want his brother, who due to old age or weakness needed the help of his brothers, to freely command them. “When people have already done so much,” he used to say, “why bother about us, why should we be ordered anymore?” His disciple, who served him, was forced to make the journey. Many other brothers offered him their help, but the monk patiently waited for his return. To test him, God allowed that the Saracens reached his mountain, that they robbed his disciple and carried away the small supply of provisions that he had. When the barbarians left, the monk and his disciple went to look for some food in the fields, and when the holy elder found several grains of barley, he put some in his mouth, and gave the rest to the disciple.
God exalts those who humble themselves. And he granted Rev. Sisoya is the gift of miracles. But since everything that attracted people's respect to him disturbed his humility, he could not stand anything that fame spread about him; and it was possible to achieve a miracle from him only when they resorted to some kind of trick.
This is what one man did, going to him for a blessing with his very young son. The boy died on the road. But the father, without sadness and deeply believing in the prayers of St. Sisoya, took the deceased to the saint. Entering his cell, he laid the boy at his feet, as if he were not dying, so that he would bless them both. After the saint prayed over them, the father stood up and left the cell, leaving the corpse of his son with the saint. The hermit, seeing that he was not moving, told him to get up and follow his father. The dead man came to life and carried out this order. Then the happy father, rushing into the monk’s presence in delight, announced to him what he had done and glorified him for the resurrection of his son. But Sisoi, who was terribly afraid that no one would find out about his miracles, was extremely saddened by this and ordered that this man be told through his disciple that he should in every possible way beware of talking about this until his death. The Monk Sisoes also delivered this same disciple from a cruel assassination attempt, praying to Christ the Savior in the simplicity of his ardent heart: “Lord, I will not leave You until You deliver him from the temptation that besets him.”
One cannot be surprised that his prayer was so effective, because he put extraordinary heat into it, because his prayers were so sublime that they reached ecstasy. Sometimes his heart was so completely engulfed by the fire of Divine love that, barely able to bear its power, he relieved himself with frequent sighs, without seeing it and even against his will.
The trust that the hermits had in him made him take care of them, and he armed them with extreme care against the innovations of heresies. Several Arians dared to come to his mountain to spread their teachings among the brethren. He did not object to them, but ordered his disciple to read in their presence the treatise compiled by Saint Athanasius against their error. This reading revealed the falsity of their dogmas and shut their mouths. Having thus denounced them, he sent them away with his usual meekness. His disciple Abraham, seeing how depressed he was by age and infirmity, told him that it would be good for him to move closer to inhabited countries, where they could more easily help him. To this he replied: “If you find it necessary, take me to a place where there are no women.” “But,” answered the student, “they are everywhere except the desert.” “If this is so,” he replied, “take me to the desert.”
From the collection of his sayings it can be understood that he yielded to the wishes of the student and went for some time to Klysma, a city located on the shore or near the Red Sea. Several laymen visited him there and wanted to enter into great debate with him, but he remained silent. Then one of them said to the others: “Why are you bothering this good old man: he doesn’t eat, so he can’t talk.” Then the monk spoke and answered them: “I eat when bodily need requires it.”
Abba Ammon also came to visit him and, seeing that he yearned for his solitude, began to prove to him that, depressed by old age, he needed help that he could not have in the desert. But the monk, casting a sad look at him, said: “What are you telling me, Ammon? The freedom of spirit that I enjoyed there did not replace everything for me!” Finally, when this man of God returned to his dear solitude and was already at the end of his life's journey, the hermits gathered around him to receive from him his last thoughts and feelings. His face shone and, as if delighted outside his body, he said: “Here is Abba Anthony coming to me.” A little later he exclaimed: “I see the face of the prophets.” And at that moment his face became even more radiant. He also said: “Here come the apostles!” And he continued to speak quietly, as if he were talking with some holy people. The hermits asked him to explain to whom he was speaking, and he said: “Behold, the angels have come to receive my soul; I ask them to wait a little to give me time to repent.” They answered him: “Father, you do not need to repent anymore,” and he objected; "I'm not sure I've even begun to repent." Finally his face shone like the sun, and at the same time he exclaimed: “See, see. The Savior is coming to me!” He walked away, uttering these words, and his cell at that moment was filled with a heavenly fragrance.
He died around the year 429, at least seventy-two years after he retired to Mount St. Anthony, which shows that he came there very young and died at a very old age.
E. Villager - Desert. Sketches from the life of Thebaid hermits
Memory of our venerable father Sisoi the Great
Memory 6 July
Having loved God from an early age, the Monk Sisoes took upon himself the yoke of the cross and followed Christ with zeal, laboring in the deserts of Egypt through the exploits of fasting; he lived a life equal to the angels, defeating hordes of invisible enemies with humility and prayer. The place of his exploits was a deserted mountain, in which the Monk Anthony the Great labored, and blessed Sisoes himself was an imitator of the life of Anthony. For his humility, he received such grace from God that he even raised the dead, as is clear from the Patericon 4412, where the following is reported about Saint Sisoes.
A certain layman went to Abba Sisoya on Mount Anthony for a blessing, taking with him his son, a young boy. It happened that on the way, having fallen ill, this youth died; but his father was not embarrassed, and with faith carried the dead man to the elder. Entering the monk's cell, he fell at his feet, laying his dead son at the monk's feet, as if he had asked him for blessings and prayers. After the elder prayed and gave a blessing, the layman went out, leaving the child lying dead at the feet of the elder. The elder did not notice that the child was dead and, assuming that he was waiting for a blessing, said to him:
“Get up, child, and get out of here.”
And the dead man immediately rose again and followed his father.
Then that man, seeing his son alive, returned with him to the elder and, bowing, gave him thanks. The elder, realizing that he had resurrected the dead, was very sad, for he did not want to have the glory of a miracle worker, and forbade the man to talk about what happened until his death.
The brethren once asked this inspired father:
– If a brother falls into sin, is one year enough for him to repent?
“This word is cruel,” the elder answered this question.
Then the brothers said:
– So, it is appropriate for someone who has sinned to repent for only six months?
“A lot,” answered the elder.
“Perhaps,” the brothers asked again, “forty days are enough for his repentance?”
“A lot,” the elder answered again.
Then he said:
– I believe in the mercy of God, the Lover of Mankind, and if a person repents with all his soul, then God will accept his repentance within three days.
One brother asked the elder again, saying:
- What should I do, father, since I fell into sin?
“Correct yourself, child,” answered the elder, “and you will be saved.”
“But after correction, I fell again,” answered the brother.
“Correct yourself again,” said the elder.
“How long,” asked the brother, “will my fall and uprising continue?”
- Until your end comes and finds you either in good or in evil; therefore, one must always remain in correction, so that death may also occur in it.
This reverend father had a disciple, Apollos. Due to the power of the enemy’s cunning, among other desires and temptations, the desire for the priesthood appeared in him. In his dreams, demons appeared to him in the form of saints, consecrating him as a bishop. Waking up from sleep, he began to beg the elder to order him to go to the city to the bishop to be ordained as a priest. But the elder forbade him to do this and, teaching him, admonished him not to seek a rank above his dignity. Distressed by the constant teaching and instruction of the elder, Apollos secretly fled from him and retired to relatives in Alexandria, so that, with the assistance of the latter, he would quickly receive priesthood.
When Apollos was walking along the road, he met a demon in the form of an immeasurably tall man. He was naked and black, with a disgusting face, thick lips and iron nails. Having an animal likeness, he at the same time looked like both a man and a woman. Spreading the stench, the demon showed such shamelessness before the eyes of Apollos that it is impossible even to convey it in writing. Throwing himself on Apollos's neck, the demon hugged him with his arms and often kissed him. Apollos protected himself with the sign of the cross and tore himself out of his hands. But the demon said to him:
- Why are you running away from me? Know that you are mine, and I love you, for you fulfill my desires. That is why I came to you, in order to accompany you until I complete all your desires.
Unable to bear his stench and shamelessness, Apollos raised his eyes to heaven and cried out in a loud voice:
- God, through the prayers of my father Sisoy, help me and deliver me from this misfortune!
And so the demon, retreating a short distance from him, transformed into a beautiful naked woman and said to him:
“Come and satisfy your desire, because you have calmed me a lot with your thoughts in your heart.”
“I wanted to make you,” the demon said later, “a priest and a bishop, but the prayers of Sisoes, a voluptuous old man, drive me away from you.”
With these words the demon became invisible.
Overwhelmed by strong fear, Apollos returned to the elder and, falling at his feet, confessed to him everything that had happened and asked for forgiveness. He also told the brethren what suffering he had suffered from the deception of the devil and how the prayers of the venerable father Sisoes helped him.
Truly his prayer was powerful in driving away demons. She also drove away the unclean spirit that tormented him from another disciple of Elder Sisoes, named Abraham. All evil spirits fled from him, not daring to approach the brave and invincible warrior of Christ.
The Monk Sisoes lived in the desert for sixty years. When he was already dying (and at that time his brethren were with him), his face lit up like light, and he said to the brethren:
- Here, Abba Anthony has come.
Then, after a short silence, he said again:
- Behold, the face of the prophets has come.
And again he beamed even more and said:
- - Behold, the face of the Apostles has come.
And his face shone doubly, and he talked with invisible faces.
The brothers begged him, saying:
– Father, tell us: with whom are you talking?
And he said to them:
“It was the angels who came to take me, but I pray to them that they leave me for a short time so that I can repent.”
“You don’t need to repent, father,” the brothers told him.
To this the elder replied:
“Truly, I do not know whether I have even made the beginning of my repentance.
But all the brothers knew that he was perfect in virtues. After this, he again shone even more powerfully and his face became like the sun, and everyone was afraid of this. Then the elder said:
- Behold, the Lord comes, look, everyone. He says: Bring Me a chosen vessel from the desert!
With these words the monk gave up his spirit to the Lord4413. At that moment, lightning appeared and the temple was filled with fragrance.
Having ended his temporary life with such a blessed death, the Monk Sisoes moved into endless life. And now he is at home with Christ and enjoys seeing Him along with those faces of the saints whom he saw at his death.
Through the prayers of our venerable father Sisoes, may we also be worthy of this joy by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Him be glory forever. Amen.
Troparion, tone 1:
Desert dweller, and body angel, and miracle worker, you appeared, our God-bearing Father Siso, by fasting, vigil, and prayer, you received heavenly gifts, healing the sick, and the souls of those who flow to you by faith. Glory to him who gave you strength: glory to him who crowned you: glory to him who brings healing to all through you.
Kontakion, tone 4:
Having labored, you were seen on earth by an angel, illuminating, O Reverend, the thoughts of the faithful with the signs of God: and by the same faith, Siso, we honor you.
