Chapter XXVIII (continued), Life of Pachomius, Book 1a

Pachomius appointed Peter, an outstanding monk of a venerable old age, to visit these sisters from time to time, so that he might support them with his holy instructions. He was a man who had mortified all his passions, and whose speech was well seasoned with salt, as the Apostle said (Colossians 4.6), and was most chaste in mind and body. Again and again he spoke to the virgins of Christ on the holy Scriptures, pointing out to them what was necessary for salvation. And Pachomius wrote Rules for them whereby they might together guide the direction of their lives. Except for the sheepskin cloak which women did not wear, the shape of their rules was exactly the same as for the monks.
If one of the monks wanted to visit a sister or some other close relation in the women's monastery, an older monk of proven integrity was appointed to go with him. This man would first of all approach the woman in charge, after which, in the presence of them and other older women, the monk could then see his sister or relation in all propriety and holiness. They were not allowed to give each other anything, for neither of them had anything of their own to give. It was sufficient for them that they were able to visit each other and bear in mind the hope of future everlasting bliss. If the women needed any building work done by the monks, the work was entrusted to men of proven character who would oversee the brothers' work as they laboured in the fear of God. They would not be given anything to eat or drink by the women, but would return to their monastery when it was time to eat.
There was only one Rule observed daily by both women and men, except for the sheepskin, as we have said. When any of the virgins died, the others carried out the necessary burial rites and carried the body down to the river which separated the two monasteries, singing the customary psalms. The monks then would cross the river bearing branches of palm and olive, and singing the psalms would carry her back to bury her with joy in their own cemetery.

Chapter XXIX
This way of life began to be noised abroad far and wide, and the name of Pachomius became well known everywhere, giving rise to universal thanksgiving towards God. Numbers of people were renouncing the affairs of the world and turning to this extraordinary monastic way of life and its spiritual search. Theodore was numbered among them, and this is the story of his conversion. He was a young man of nearly fourteen years of age, of Christian parents, highly respected in the world. On the eleventh day of the Egyptian month Tybi, that is, the eighth day before the Ides of January,  [Jan 6, at that time the feast of the Baptism of our Lord, sometimes associated with the Nativity. Today, the Feast of the Epiphany.]  a certain Egyptian festival was being celebrated as usual. He was giving thanks to God, aware that he had a large and splendid house and an abundance of possessions of all kinds, when he suddenly felt compunction in his heart.
"What will it profit you, O Theodore," he began to wonder, "if you gain the whole world (Mark 8.36) and enjoy all its worldly delights, at the price of being excluded from the good things of eternal and immortal life? No one who lives only for present pleasure can expect the reward of unending glory."
In a great turmoil over these thoughts he went into an inner chamber of his house and fell weeping on his face.
"Almighty God, who know the secrets of our hearts," he prayed, "you know that there is nothing in this world that is more important to me than your love. So I beg you in your mercy to guide me in your will and enlighten my miserable soul lest in the darkness of my sins I fall into eternal death. Grant that by the gift of your redemption I may praise and glorify you for ever. "
As he was praying thus his mother came in and saw his eyes were full of tears.
"Why are you so sad, my beloved son?" she asked. "And why are you hiding away from us? We have been worried and upset, looking for your everywhere so that you can share our festival banquet."
"Go and have your banquet, mother," he said. "For my part I could not eat a thing."
She continued to beg him, but in vain. He would not come and join them in the feast. Daily while going to school to learn his letters he began to fast at least until vespers, though he would often fast for two days at a time.  He abstained from all rich and fancy foods for a period of two years, striving to attain to perfect continence, in so far as his young age would allow. He began to wonder whether he should seek out a monastery and bind himself to a holy Rule. He gave up all that he had and sought out some religious men living a godly life together, and went to live with them, progressing daily in the fear of God.

Chapter XXX
These monks had a holy custom of gathering together after the evening prayers to meditate on the divine wisdom, and it so happened one evening that Theodore heard one of them talking of what the tabernacle of the old Testament and the holy of holies signified for people of the present day.
"As regards those whose foreskins were circumcised," he said, "the outer court of the temple signified the early Jewish people, but the inner court, the holy of holies, prefigured the vocation of all the gentiles, that is, a vocation to be found worthy of entering into the more sacred place in order to participate in the greater mysteries. Instead of the animal sacrifices, the manna in the ark, the flowering rod of Aaron and the tables of the Law, the thurible, the table, and the propitiatory candelabra, God himself has mercifully made himself known to us in the person of his incarnate Word, and enlightened us with the light of his presence, and has become himself the propitiation for our sins. Instead of manna he has given us his own body for food.
"This teaching I learned from our holy father Pachomius," this same brother went on to say. "He has begun to gather monks together in his monastery of Tabennisi, and by God's help I made great progress while I was among them. And I bear in mind that through this great man all my sins were forgiven."
Theodore found his heart burning as he listened to this, and he prayed silently.
"O Lord God, if this is what a righteous man on earth should be like, grant that I may see him and follow in his footsteps in obedience to all his commands, that so I may be found worthy to enjoy all those good things which you have promised to those who love you."
And he wept freely, overcome by the wound of divine love.
A few days later the venerable Pecusius, a man of a distinguished old age, came to visit them, desirous of knowing how they did. Theodore earnestly begged him to take him as his companion and guide him to the holy Pachomius. Without any argument he freely agreed to do so, and when they arrived there Theodore worshipped the Lord.
"Blessed are you, O Lord," he said, "for answering so quickly the prayers of sinners. You have deigned to grant me what I asked."
And as soon as he entered the monastery and saw Pachomius he wept for joy.
"Don't weep, my son," the venerable father said, "for I am only a sinful human being, trying to do the work of God."
Having said that, he introduced him into the monastery. Theodore's mind lit up when he saw how many brothers there were, and he flung himself with great zeal into the round of daily worship. In the course of time he made great strides in virtue. God showered great gifts upon him; he became practised both in good works and good words, with a wonderful humility and heartfelt contrition, meticulous in his fasting, wide awake in his vigils, earnest in prayer, losing no opportunity to seek after ever greater gifts of spiritual grace. He was able to give great comfort to those who were in some distress, and knew how to correct with humility and good will those who had strayed into some misdemeanour. Pachomius could see what a brilliant and shining example he was, and took him to his heart and loved him deeply.

Chapter XXXI
As soon as his mother heard that he was with Pachomius, she got the bishops to write a letter requesting that she should be reunited with her son, and armed with this she hurried to visit him. She lodged with the virgins in the monastery which, as we have said, was at some distance from the men, and sent the bishops' letter to the holy Pachomius, with an earnest request that he would allow her to see her son. Pachomius summoned Theodore to him.
"I have to tell you, my son," he said, "that your mother is here and wants to see you. She has even brought letters to us from the bishops. So make haste and satisfy your mother, especially seeing that she brings a letter which the holy bishops have written."
"Venerable father," he replied, "I have gained some knowledge of spiritual things. Before I do as you ask please first assure me that if I do see her I will not have to answer for it in the day of judgment. Like anyone else in the world I have given her due respect according to the commandments of Christ. But in the times before the manifestation of Christ's grace, the sons of Levi turned their backs upon their own parents in order to fulfil the righteousness of the law (Exodus 32.26-28, Leviticus 21.11, Deuteronomy 33. 8-9). Is it not even more incumbent upon me, who have been made partaker of such great gifts, to put the love of God before love of parents? The Lord says in the Gospel, 'He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me' (Matthew 10.37) ".
"If you have decided it would not be right to see her," Pachomius replied, "I will not bring any pressure to bear on you. Those who utterly renounce this world do need to deny themselves completely. Monks especially ought to flee from all idle and worldly meetings and meaningless conversations, and associate seriously only with those who are members of Christ. For if anyone governed by some worldly passion says, 'My parents are my flesh. Therefore I ought to love them', he should pay attention to what the blessed Peter the Apostle says, 'A man is in bondage to anyone who overcomes him' (2 Peter 2. 19)."
When Theodore's mother realised that he was not going to meet her, she decided to stay permanently in the monastery with the virgins of Christ, saying to herself, "If the Lord wills, I may at least catch sight of him among the other monks, and I shall also bring benefits to my own soul for as long as I persevere in this way of life. It is certain that those who maintain a strict discipline for Christ's sake and not for the sake of vainglory will acquire virtue upon virtue, and in a short space of time will give offence to none."

Chapter XXXII
We have shown his zeal in encouraging those who had a desire to seek after better things; so now we think it is right to describe those who were negligent, by way of a warning to our readers. For there were some monks living after the flesh and making no attempt to put off the old man (Colossians 3.9), about whom Pachomius was very worried. He frequently spoke to them with words of salutary advice, but could never see any signs of improvement in them. Worried and sad, he besought the Lord ever more earnestly.
"O Lord, Ruler of all," he prayed, "You have commanded us that we love our neighbour as ourselves (Leviticus 19.18, Matthew 19.19). You know the secrets of our hearts. Turn not your face away from me as I cry out to you for their salvation. Have mercy on them, fill them with the fear of God, that knowing your power they may serve you truly, strengthened in all they do by hoping in your promises; for my soul is greatly troubled because of them, and my whole being is in distress."
After a few days he could see that they had not improved a bit as a result of his prayers. Once more he stood in prayer, praying for them to the Lord, and he also gave them some private and personal rules of prayer and behaviour, in the hope that by applying themselves to obey rules like slaves they might little by little aspire to the gift of loving him as sons. They found that they were not going to be able to follow their own desires and went in mortal dread of Pachomius, inspired by fear of him rather than moved by his purity. They fell utterly into error and departed from the monastery, following Satan and rejecting the wonderful way of life followed by Pachomius.
But once they had gone, the whole flock was restored to a state of integrity, increasing more and more in virtues, just as the good grain is able to flourish in the field when the weeds have been rooted out. I have told you all this to show you that although there is nothing against worldly people embracing a monastic life, nevertheless their venerable profession will be of no use to the monks if they persist in being negligent, for neither paternal prayer nor understanding will be able to help the idle.

Chapter XXXIII
The sometime confessor Dionysus, presbyter and oeconomus (that is, steward) of the Church of Tentyri, was someone whom the holy Pachomius loved dearly. Learning from somebody that Pachomius would not allow people coming from another monastery to eat with his own brothers, but kept them separate in another place outside the monastery, he came to see Pachomius in some agitation.
"It is not right, abba," he said, more in anger than in gentle admonition, "that you don't treat everyone with the impartial charity that brothers deserve."
Pachomius took this reproof with great patience and resignation.
"The Lord knows what my purpose is in doing this," he replied, "and your fatherly nature must also accept that I don't want to upset anybody, much less despise them. Why should I do that, provoking my Lord into being angry with me, when he has clearly said in the Gospel that 'what you do unto the least of these my brothers you do unto me' (Matthew 25.40)? So listen to my explanation, venerable father. It is not that I wish to shun or despise anyone who comes to me that I do what you say I do. My own flock are gathered together in the coenobium. I am aware that many of them are so far unlearned in the monastic way of life that they have not yet even received the monastic habit. Some of them are quite young, and so ignorant that they hardly know their right hand from their left. So I thought it better that brothers from another monastery should be received with all honour and respect in a different place. I hardly think that this constitutes any insult to fathers and brothers who change over to us. On the contrary they are received with more than due reverence, especially seeing that they come together with us at the regular hours to worship God, after which they each go to the place allotted to them, where they work in silence. I am careful before God to supply them with everything they need."
Having listened to all this, Dionysius the presbyter agreed that Pachomius was worthy of great praise, and said that he was sure that everything was being done according to the will of God. Much enlightened by the explanation that the holy Pachomius had given him, he went back to his own place.

Chapter XXXIV
There was a woman in the city of Tentyri who suffered from an issue of blood and had struggled with this disability for many years. She had heard that Pachomius worshipped God in a most marvellous and holy way, and was moreover aware that Dionysius the presbyter was a dearly beloved friend of his. She begged him to have pity on her and ask Pachomius to come and visit him on some business or other. He was moved by the woman's prayers and acted without delay. When Pachomius came to the church and greeted Dionysius after the prayers, she was seated nearby. As they were talking to each other, she summoned up her faith, believing she could hear Christ saying, 'Be of good comfort, my daughter. Your faith has made you whole' (Matthew 9.22). She came up quietly behind him and touched the cowl with which he covered his head. Immediately she was cured. She fell face down and worshipped the Lord, glorifying his mercy that through his servants he bestowed such great benefits on those who believe in him. The holy Dionysius realised what had happened and gave a blessing to the woman, who forthwith went back to her home.

Chapter XXXV
It was decided once that the monastery should be protected by being enclosed with a palisade and ditch, and Pachomius himself cheerfully played a great part in the work which the brothers undertook.
A little later, a presbyter-monk who was the father of many brothers paid one of his frequent visits to the holy Pachomius, this time bringing with him a brother who was the cause of some dissension in their monastery. For this brother, since the time when he had arrived, had greatly pestered him to be given the dignity of being ordained but the presbyter judged him to be unworthy of such a gift, and had been putting him off with various excuses. It got to the point where he could no longer abide his importunity, and came to the holy Pachomius to lay the whole matter before him, confident that he was the only one who could settle such disputes. Once Pachomius had fully grasped what it was all about, he gave the presbyter his opinion.
"Now you have come to me to discover what is the will of God, haven't you? My opinion is that you should give him what he asks and don't worry about it. It is quite probable that by exercising this office his soul will be freed from the power of the devil, for it often happens that when a bad man is given great blessings he amends his life. A desire for betterment is often the occasion for the growth of a genuine devotion and it becomes possible for at least some souls to cultivate the virtues which they have hitherto neglected through laziness. So I think it is right for the brother to do this, and it will be pleasing to God."
The presbyter accepted this opinion and acted upon it. And the brother who had had his wish granted came to the blessed Pachomius in a most tranquil and self-effacing frame of mind and fell on his face before him.
"O man of God," he said, "you stand most high in God's favour. For you have discerned what is necessary for salvation and turned evil into good. For if you had not been kind and understanding towards me but treated me sternly I might have discarded my habit and been lost to God for ever. But now, blessed are you in the Lord, for you have saved my soul."
The old man lifted him up from the ground and earnestly entreated him to live worthy of the dignity which would be conferred upon him, lest being negligent he suffer the pains of future torment. He embraced him and went with him as far as the monastery gates before sending him on his way in peace

Chapter XXXVI
While Pachomius was still standing there, a man who had come from some distance away ran towards him and followed after him, begging him for the love of Christ to cure his daughter who was possessed of a demon. Pachomius left him outside and sent back a message to him through the gatekeeper.
"It is not our custom to speak with women," he said, "but if you have got any of her clothing with you, send it in to us and we will bless it in the name of the Lord and give it back to you straight away. We trust in Christ that by this means your daughter will be freed from the attacks of the enemy."
A tunic belonging to the girl was brought to the holy man, which he examined very gravely.
"This is not hers," he said.
"Yes it is," said the father. "Truly it is."
"Yes, I know it is really hers," said Pachomius. "But although she is a virgin dedicated to God, she has not maintained her holy purity. It was for this reason that having inspected her tunic, and sensing that she had been neglectful of her holy chastity, I declared that it was not hers. Let her promise to you in the sight of God that from now on she will be continent and Christ will have mercy on her and restore her to health."
Grieving and angry, the father interrogated his daughter, and she at last confessed to him that it was even as the holy Pachomius had said. She swore with an oath that she would not ever behave like that again, and the blessed man prayed for her to the Lord and sent her some blessed oil. Anointing with the oil immediately effected a cure, and she glorified God anew for delivering her not only from the demon but also from a repugnant practice. And for the rest of her life by Christ's help she was liberated to practise continence.

Chapter XXXVII
The reputation of this holy man was spreading everywhere so rapidly that it is not surprising that another man who had a son possessed by a demon should with great lamentation have begged Pachomius on bended knee to pray for his son to the almighty power of Christ. He was not able to bring his son to the monastery, but Pachomius prayed for him and gave him some blessed bread, with exact instructions that his son should take a little bit of this medicine before a meal.
When it was time for his son to eat he gave him some of this bread, but the unclean spirit would not at all allow him to eat it, though he picked up other bread which was put in front of him and ate that. So the father broke the bread into smaller bits, took the stones out of some dates and put pieces of the bread inside them. He placed nothing else besides the dates in front of him, hoping that all unwittingly his son might receive a blessing. But he opened the dates up, pulled out the pieces of bread, cursed the dates and refused to eat anything at all. So the father kept him entirely without any food for several days, until at last, faint with hunger, he did eat some of the blessed bread. He immediately fell into a deep sleep, and was liberated from the evil spirit. And the father took the son with him to Pachomius, praising and glorifying God, who through his servants does such great and glorious things without number.
This most blessed man did many other healings in the power of the holy Spirit, but never got conceited or took any credit to himself, for he had this gift from God that he always treated everyone the same, and never let his mind stray away from the discipline of Christ. And if he ever asked anything from God and his petition was not granted he was never in the least cast down but bore it patiently, knowing that whatever the divine mercy prescribed was right for him as well as for everybody else. Sometimes, with the best of intentions we ask for the wrong things, which are not granted because the goodness of God sees fit to overrule them. It is a great mercy of God not to grant our petitions when they are veiled in the night of our own ignorance.

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