Home Physiognomy of the face Rev. John the Silent. The meaning of John the Silent in the Orthodox Encyclopedia tree Ivan the Silent: signs, traditions and customs

Physiognomy of the face

Rev. John the Silent. The meaning of John the Silent in the Orthodox Encyclopedia tree Ivan the Silent: signs, traditions and customs

Colonial, recluse, reverend

In the tenth year of John's bishopric, Pazinik, the husband of the saint's sister Mary, assumed power in Armenia. The new ruler began to interfere authoritatively in spiritual and ecclesiastical affairs. Disorders began in the Church. Then St. John went to Constantinople and, through Archbishop Euthymius, asked Emperor Zenon to protect the Armenian Church from gross encroachments.

Flight from the pulpit. Lavra Savva the Sanctified

Depressed by worldly strife, John secretly left the bishopric in the year and sailed to Jerusalem. With tears, he prayed to God to show him a place where he could live and be saved. Appeared bright Star, which led John to the Lavra of St. Savva. John, who hid his episcopal dignity, was accepted into the ranks of the brethren by a simple novice. By order of the holy hegumen Savva Reverend John for more than four years he performed the most difficult work on the construction of a hospice and a monastery for novice monks. Seeing the humility and industriousness of John, Saint Sava considered him worthy of ordination to the presbyter. The saint had to reveal the secret to the Patriarch of Jerusalem Elijah. With the blessing of the First Hierarch of the Jerusalem Church, Saint John took a vow of silence. Soon the Lord revealed the secret of John to Saint Sava. The Monk John spent four years in his cell, receiving no one and not even going out to church.

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Desiring even greater solitude and extreme abstinence, the Monk John left the Lavra and retired to the wilderness, where he spent more than nine years, eating herbs. Here he survived the devastating raid of the Saracens and did not die only because the Lord sent him a protector - a ferocious lion, at the sight of which the enemies, who more than once wanted to kill the monk, fled in fear. Tradition speaks of many miracles performed through the prayer of St. John during his life in the wilderness.

Return to the monastery

The Monk John the Silent spent 66 years in the Lavra of the Monk Savva the Sanctified. By tireless monastic deeds, vigilant prayer, humility of mind, he acquired the grace of the Holy Spirit: many miracles were performed through his prayer; the secret thoughts of the people were clear to the saint; he healed the sick and the possessed; even during his lifetime, he saved those who called on his name from inevitable death; From the seed of a fig tree, thrown by the saint into dry soil, a beautiful tree grew and bore fruit.

Used materials

"St. John the Silent", calendar page on the portal Pravoslavie.Ru:
"St. John the Silent", calendar page on the portal Pravoslavie.Ru:
Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron

December 16 Orthodox Church honors the memory of the Monk John the Silent (Silent) (454-558), who, according to legend, from his childhood was engaged in the study of Holy Scripture.

John was from a wealthy family. At the age of eighteen he was left an orphan. Part of the wealth that he inherited, he distributed to the poor, and spent the other part on the construction of temples. For a long time he served in the Lavra of Savva the Sanctified. From 482 to 491 was a bishop in one of Armenian churches. Last years his life was led by a hermit and lived in a cave.

John had a healing gift. He healed the sick with the power of his prayer. The secret thoughts of people were obvious to him.

Ivan the Silent: signs, traditions and customs

Ivan Silent;
John the Silent;
Day of world silence and muteness.

Our ancestors tried to spend this day in silence. Nobody screamed or sang. People were afraid that devilry take away the vote. They believed that after a pause on December 16, you can get rid of misfortunes and attract good luck. Family lunches and dinners were held in complete silence.

Believers went to the temple, where they silently stood in front of the icon of St. John the Silent, praying "silently." Prayer to him helped to heal even seriously ill people.

During silence, a person can be alone with himself and his thoughts, get closer to God. The people believed that having remained silent on Ivan the Silent next year you will be eloquent.

On this day, they tried to avoid quarrels and conflict situations. It was believed that a husband and wife who quarreled with Ivan the Silent would live in scandals all year.

Otherwise, it was an ordinary and unremarkable winter day. The peasants, having redone their household chores, tried to go to bed early so as not to sit in a dark hut. They did this not only in order to save a torch, but also out of fear of meeting with evil spirit, which many represented in the form of a black cow.

According to legend, the most dangerous night time, when all evil spirits are activated, is from 12 to 3 am. But as soon as the rooster crowed, all the evil spirits immediately disappeared, fearing to be scorched by the first rays of the sun.

Signs of this day include:

Snow falls on the thawed earth - to a crop failure next year.
Firewood crackles in the oven - to be frost.
The bullfinch under the window chirps - to the heat.
If the stars in the sky jump, then there will be a blizzard and a cold.

A person born on December 16, according to the horoscope Sagittarius. These people are consummate dreamers who pay great attention its physical form. They are distinguished by emotionality and strive to conquer unprecedented heights. As a talisman, beryl is suitable for them, which is a symbol of love, prosperity and prosperity. He protects travelers and wanderers, helps in resolving litigation.

Video: December 16 - Ivan the Silent, Silent

On the eighth day of January, and was enlightened by holy baptism. John's parents were faithful Christians, and by their wealth and importance they were famous throughout Armenia; his father was a governor and had great power with the king, as he enjoyed his full favor: the son of such a glorious father was blessed John. This is not said in order to glorify and praise John for his nobility (for the saints are glorified for their virtues, and not for their nobility), but so that it would be known from what glory and to what humility this saint of God came.

John was brought up with his brethren in good examples and fully assimilated the Divine Scriptures. He was still young when his parents went to the Lord, leaving their children a lot of possessions. When this estate was divided among the brothers, Blessed John built a church in the city of Nikopol in the name of the Most Pure and Blessed Virgin Mary for his part. Then he renounced the world, in the eighteenth year of his life, he took on a monastic form and lived at this church with ten other monks, striving for a good feat. Throughout his youth, he made great efforts to enslave the flesh to the spirit, not to be a slave to the womb and not to allow passions, especially pride, to possess him. And he was a marvelous man in virtues, a kind and skillful mentor and hegumen to his brethren.

When John was twenty-eight years old, the bishop of the city of Colonia died. The citizens went to the Metropolitan of Sebaste and asked him to appoint a new bishop. During the election of a person who would be worthy of this dignity, everyone had on their lips the name of John, hegumen of the Nikopol Monastery, as worthy to take the throne of the Colonial Church. Those who knew his great humility believed that he would not wish to accept the episcopal rank; therefore the metropolitan sent for him under the pretext of some ecclesiastical business, and when the saint came, he persuaded him to be a bishop. Then he was consecrated and elevated to the throne of the Colonial Church. Having accepted church government, John did not change his monastic rule and exploits. So, he never entered the bath, and did not even wash his body, out of fear that not only one of the outsiders would not see the nakedness of his body, but even that he himself would never see himself naked: he remembered the nakedness of Adam. To please God with fasting, prayers, purity of body and soul, to purify all your thoughts, to humble in yourself any pride that opposes the mind of God, and to give your mind to obedience to Christ (), - this was all John's care. Thus living virtuously, he was also an example of good living for others; looking at him, and the rest corrected themselves and began to live virtuously. Among these was Pergamon, his brother in the flesh, a glorious man and highly respected by King Zeno, and also by Anastasius, who reigned after Zeno. Seeing that his brother, blessed John, was living a holy life, Pergamon was touched by his soul and made great efforts to please God. Also, the nephew of John Theodore, who later was in great honor with the pious king Justinian, benefited from the angelic life of his uncle. Theodore, with all his household, lived pleasing to God, and was so virtuous that both the tsar himself and the boyars marveled at his honest life and reason, right faith and mercy. In all this, Theodore succeeded, having an example of an immaculate life in his blessed uncle John.

The divine and God-bearing Father John had already been episcopal for the tenth year, ruling for the good of the Church of Christ, when the husband of his sister Mary, named Pasinik, became the ruler of Armenia. At the instigation of the demon, he began to confuse the church entrusted to John and cause harm to it, and to the blessed one grief: interfering in church affairs, he by force removed from the temples those who sought protection from punishment there, and did not allow the servants and builders of the Church to take care of church affairs. Many times Blessed John humbly asked him not to enter into church affairs and not to cause harm and violence to the Church. But the ruler remained inexorable and did not correct himself; after the departure of the blessed sister from the world, he began to act even worse. Deeply aching in his heart about the evil inflicted on the Church, the saint was forced to go to Constantinople to Tsar Zenon, and here he found support for himself in the Archbishop of Constantinople Euthymius, who, with his intercession, helped him with the king.

Seeing the vanity and rebellion of this world, Blessed John decided to leave the bishopric and, having retired to the holy city of Jerusalem, to work in silence for God. Having performed the divine service, he dismissed the presbyters and clerics who were with him, and he himself, secretly from everyone, retired to the seashore, boarded a ship and sailed to the holy city of Jerusalem. Arriving at the first hospital of the holy city, which had a prayer house in the name of the Holy Great Martyr George, he stayed there for some time, disguised as a beggar. At the sight of the fuss of the people, John greatly grieved, wished for a silent place, and with tears prayed to God to show him a place serene, disposing and convenient for salvation. One night, during a fervent prayer for this, he looked up and saw a bright star suddenly appearing, like a cross; she approached him, and from the radiance of the star he heard a voice: "If you want to be saved, follow this radiance."

The monk immediately joyfully went and was led by a star to the great laurel of our reverend and God-bearing father Sava, in the thirty-ninth year of his life, when Sallust was the patriarch of Jerusalem.

John found the Monk Savva at the head of one hundred and forty desert-dwelling brethren, who were in great physical poverty, but in much spiritual wealth. And the Monk Savva received blessed John, and instructed the steward to entrust the monastic labors to him, not knowing what treasure of divine grace was hidden in John. Although Saint Sava had the gift of clairvoyance, God concealed from him the secret that John was a bishop, that he left his episcopacy for God and came to him as a simple man. Let no one be surprised that even the sagacious do not always see: for they see and prophesy only what God reveals to them, and what they do not reveal, they do not know about. Therefore, the prophet Elisha said to his servant about the Somanite woman: “leave her, her soul is grieved, but the Lord hid from me and did not tell me” () .

Received into the Lavra, John, with complete humility and zeal, fulfilled the various obediences assigned to him by the steward. At that time, a hospice was being built in the Lavra, and Blessed John was appointed to serve those who were working. He cooked food for them, carried water, gave stones and took part in all the work carried out in the building.

Two years after arriving at the Lavra, John was instructed to receive strangers; and here, with humility, meekness, and love, he served his neighbors. Then the Monk Savva began to create kennel for those entering monasticism, so that those who wish to renounce the world would first be instructed in kennel, and then they would be accepted into the monastery.

“Just as the color precedes the fruit,” said the saint, “so the life of the wilderness must precede the life of Cenobium; let the one who enters flourish like a planted tree, with the first fruits of labor in the kennel, and bring the fruits of perfect feats in the laurel.

The Lavra of the monk was in the desert, the kennel was closer to the world, and when it was being built, the blessed John was again appointed to serve at work. Then the reverend industrious worker carried out two services at the same time: he served the wanderers in the hospitable house, and he carried bread and various dishes on his shoulders for the builders of coenobia; the coenobia was more than ten stadia from the hospice. When he labored in such a service for one year, having served the brethren well, the Monk Savva gave him a cell for silence; Blessed John lived there for three years. Five days a week he stayed in the cell without a way out, did not eat anything on these days and did not show himself to anyone, having communion with God alone, on Saturday and Sunday he came to church before everyone else and stood with fear and tenderness; streams of tears constantly came from his eyes during the divine service, and all the brethren marveled at such a gift of tears in him. In those two days he also took food with the brethren. Three years later, blessed John was appointed steward; By his labors and service, with the blessing of God, the well-being of the Lavra greatly increased, for God helped him in everything.

Seeing that John had performed the service of an steward for good, the Monk Savva wished to appoint him to the presbyter, as a worthy monk who had reached perfection. He went with him to the holy city of Jerusalem, told Patriarch Elijah (the successor of Sallust) about the virtuous life of John, and asked him to ordain John to the presbyter. The patriarch called John to the church and wanted to ordain him. Seeing that he could not avoid this, John said to the holy patriarch:

- Most honorable father, I have a certain secret speech to your shrine; order me to have a private talk with you, and if you recognize me as worthy of the dignity of presbyter, then I will not refuse.

When the patriarch stepped aside with him, the Monk John threw himself at the feet of God-pleasing Elijah, conjuring him that he would not tell anyone those words that he would speak to him. The patriarch promised to keep the secret. John said:

- Father! I was Bishop of Colonia; because of the multitude of my sins, I left the bishopric, fled, and, being strong in body, condemned myself to serve the brethren, so that their prayers would help my weak soul.

The patriarch Elijah was horrified, hearing this, called the Monk Savva and said:

- John told me about his secret deeds, which prevent him from being a presbyter; let him be silent from now on, and let no one bother him.

So said the patriarch, and let them both go.

The Monk Savva was very sad. Retiring from his great laurel thirty stades into a certain cave, he fell to the ground before God with tears and said: “Why, Lord, did you despise me, hiding the life of John from me? I was deceived, considering him worthy of the dignity of presbyter! Reveal to me about him at least now, Lord: "My soul is grieving to death"(; ). Is it possible that the vessel, which I considered chosen, holy, necessary and worthy to receive the world, is in front of Your majesty both indecent and unworthy?

Thus Saint Savva prayed all night with tears. Then an angel of God appeared to him and said: "John is not an indecent, but a chosen vessel, but he is a bishop, and cannot be made a presbyter."

So said the Angel and became invisible. And the Monk Savva joyfully hurried to John in the cell, embraced him and said:

- Father John! You hid before me what a gift of God is in you, but God revealed it to me.

- I grieve for this father, - John answered - I wished that no one knew this secret, but you learned it. I can't live in this country.

Savva swore to John that he would not tell anyone his secrets. From that time on, blessed John began to be silent, staying in his cell. He did not even go out to church, did not talk to anyone, and no one came in to him, except for one novice who served him. Only once, on the feast of the Most Pure Mother of God, Ever-Virgin Mary, in whose name the Lavra church was consecrated, when Patriarch Elijah arrived at the Lavra for the feast, John came out of his cell to bow to the patriarch. The Patriarch loved John and highly revered him for his humility. John was silent for four years. After reverend father Savva went to the country of Scythopol and slowed down there, and blessed John, striving for the most secluded desert life, retired, in the fiftieth year from his birth, to the desert called Ruva, and spent nine years in it, eating grass that grows in that desert and called melagria. At the first time of his desert life, once collecting this grass for his own food, John got lost in the wilds and rapids, did not find his refuge and, exhausted from walking, fell barely alive; but suddenly, invisible by the power of God, like once the prophet Habakkuk, was caught up and placed in his refuge. Over time, the monk explored the paths of that desert and found out that the distance from his refuge to the place where he got lost was five fields. After that, a brother came to him and lived with him for a little while. The feast of Pascha was approaching, and the brother said to the elder:

“Father, let’s go to the Lavra, celebrate Pascha there, and then we’ll return.” Such a great holiday, and we have nothing to eat here but these melagries!

St. John did not want to go, because the Monk Savva had not yet returned to the Lavra from the countries of Scythopol, and answered the call of his brother:

- Brother! We must not leave here. Let us believe that the One who for forty years fed six hundred thousand people of Israel in the wilderness will also feed us here and on the feast of Passover will send us not only what is necessary, but also abundant. Scripture says: "I won't leave you and I won't leave you"(); and in the gospel: “So do not worry and do not say: what shall we eat? or what to drink? or what to wear? .. and because your Heavenly Father knows that you need all this. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all this will be added to you.”(). Be patient, child, and walk the path of sorrows; bodily rest and weakening in this world give rise to eternal punishment, and the mortification of the body prepares for endless rest.

The brother did not listen to these admonitions of the monk, left him and went to the monastery. After his departure, a certain person appeared to the monk, completely unknown to him; his donkey was loaded with many goods: there were clean and warm bread, wine and oil, fresh cheeses, eggs and a bucket of honey. The man who came placed all this in front of John and immediately departed. Seeing in this God's visitation, the monk joyfully thanked God. The brother, who had gone to the monastery, lost his way, wandered for three days in the desert and impassable places, was very tired and, hungry and thirsty, exhausted from the difficult walk, could hardly find the refuge of the monk again. He was surprised at the abundance of brashen and drinks sent down from God for the feast of the saint; ashamed of their lack of faith, not daring to look into the eyes of the holy elder; he fell at his feet and begged for forgiveness. The saint forgave him and said:

- Make sure, brother, that God can prepare a meal in the wilderness for His servants.

At that time, Alamundar, the leader of the Saracens, subject to Persia, invaded Arabia and Palestine, attacking the inhabitants with great ferocity and capturing them. A multitude of barbarians then dispersed over the desert where John was, and the news went through the monasteries so that they were ready to meet the invasion of the barbarians. The fathers of the great Lavra informed John the Silent about the barbarians and advised him to return to the Lavra and stay in his cell. But blessed John, although he was somewhat afraid of the barbarians, still did not want to leave his silent sojourn in the wilderness. He spoke to himself: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life: whom shall I fear?(). If the Lord does not protect me or take care of me, then why should I live?

And, in such hope for the help of the Most High, he remained in his place without hesitation. God, who always takes care of His servants and preserves them in all their ways, wished to keep this saint of His healthy and unharmed, and sent him a great and terrible lion as a guardian, who guarded him relentlessly day and night; and no matter how many times the barbarians attacked the saint, this lion always rushed at them with great fury, struck them and put them to flight, and blessed John thanked God, "for [the Lord] will not leave the rod of the wicked over the lot of the righteous" ().

When the Monk Savva returned to his Lavra, he came to blessed John into the wilderness and said to him:

“Here, the Lord saved you from the invasion of barbarians, giving you a visible guard. But still, you must do as other people did: pack up and run, as the other desert fathers did.

The monk spoke many other things to John as an admonition, and persuaded him to leave the wilderness. Having brought him to the great lavra, he gave him a cell, and again blessed John began to live in the lavra, in the fifty-sixth year from his birth.

Except holy patriarch Elijah and the Monk Savva, no one knew the secret of John that he was a bishop - and they hid it. But a lot of time passed, and God was pleased to reveal this to all the brethren. It happened like this. A certain man arrived from the country of Asia, named Etherius, honored with the rank of archbishop; bowing to the life-giving tree of the Lord's cross and holy places and distributing much gold to the poor and monasteries, he decided to return to his fatherland, left the holy city and boarded a ship. After a short voyage, a contrary wind rose into the sea, forcing Etherius to return to Ascalon. After staying here for two days, he wanted to start sailing again, but the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said:

- Before you sail to your fatherland, you must return to the holy city and go to the Lavra of Abba Savva, there you will find Abba John the Silent, a righteous and virtuous man, a bishop, who for God left everything and humbled himself by voluntary poverty and obedience.

Awakening, Etherios returned to Jerusalem, went to the monastery of the Monk Sava and asked about John the Silent; John's cell was pointed out to him. He entered and stayed with him for two days, praying and conjuring him in the name of God to reveal to him about his family, fatherland and bishopric. Seeing in this the will of God, John told everything in detail. From that time it became known to the whole Lavra that John the Silent was a bishop, and everyone marveled at his great humility.

In the seventieth year of the life of John, on the 5th day of December, the reverend and God-bearing father Savva departed to the Lord. John did not have to be at the separation of the soul from the body of Savva the Monk, and he greatly grieved for this in spirit and wept. But Saint Savva appeared to him in a vision and said:

- Do not grieve over my departure, Father John: if bodily I am separated from you, then I am with you in spirit.

John told him:

“Pray to the Lord, father, that he will take me with you.”

“Now this cannot be,” Savva answered, “for a great test awaits the Lavra; God is pleased that you serve to strengthen those who, for the pious faith, will stand against heretics.

This vision and conversation with the Monk Savva filled the blessed John with spiritual joy, but his heart grieved for the impending trial. Then he had a desire to see how the soul is separated from the body; and when he prayed to God about this, he was raptured with his mind in Saint Bethlehem, and saw the death of a wanderer who lived at the church there, whose soul the angels with sweet singing lifted up to heaven. Blessed John saw this with mental eyes. He immediately went to Bethlehem and found the body of the reposed husband, lying near the church, as was revealed to him in a vision: this husband reposed at the hour in which John, sitting in his cell, saw his soul being lifted up by angels with a hymn to heaven. Having lovingly embraced the body and kissed it, John buried it in the same place and returned to his cell.

Two disciples of blessed John, Theodore and John, told the monk Cyril, who described his life, the following:

- Upon the repose of the Monk Savva, we were sent by our father with one assignment to Liviada. When crossing the Jordan, some people met us and said: beware, there is a lion in front of you. But we thought: God is mighty to keep us through the prayers of our father, at whose command we travel. So we said and moved on. Suddenly we saw a terrible lion that was walking towards us. We were afraid, our strength left us, so that we could not run and were, as it were, dead. And suddenly our father, the Monk John, appeared between us, commanding us not to be afraid. Then the lion, as if driven away by a whip, fled from us, and the father became invisible. Rested, we set off unharmed. Having fulfilled the obedience commanded to us, we returned to the father, and at the meeting he said: You see, children, that I was in obedience to you, and even here I fervently prayed to God for you, and He did mercy on you.

Here is what another disciple of John told Cyril. This great abstinent for many years ate only bread, instead of salt he usually used ashes, and ate his bread with the ashes. Once he forgot to shut the window of his cell during his meal; the disciple leaned to the window and saw John eating bread and ashes. The elder was saddened that they saw such a fast, but the disciple, wanting to console him, said: “You are not the only one who does this, Father, but many fathers of this Lavra fulfill the word of Scripture: "I eat ashes like bread"(), - and with this he consoled the old man.

At that time, the heresy of Origen arose. Many were seduced by it and confused the Church of God, while others firmly opposed heresy, and such found support for themselves in the Monk John the Silent, who then left silence and with the word of his mouth, as with a sword, struck down heretics, cutting down and destroying the blasphemous teachings of Origen. About this test, which was to comprehend the Lavra, it was foretold to St. John Savva in a vision: for there was considerable persecution from heretics against the Lavra, so that even many of the ascetic fathers, infected with heretical teachings, fell into doubt and wavered in mind. This is why God deigned that John prosper in that Lavra, for the consolation of the faint-hearted and the strengthening of the weak. At that time, Cyril came to him from the Scythopol district, who later described his life. Cyril describes himself as follows:

“When I wanted to leave my house and go to the holy city of Jerusalem, in order to accept monastic life there in some monastery, my Christ-loving mother commanded me that without the advice and command of blessed John, I should not begin any work for the salvation of my soul, “So that not to succumb to you somehow - she said - to the heresy of Origen and not fall at the beginning of your feat. Having reached Jerusalem, I came to the Lavra of St. Sava, bowed to the blessed John, opened my thoughts to him and asked him useful advice. He told me:

– If you want to be saved, go to the monastery of the great Euthymius.

I departed from him and, as young and foolish, did not listen to his command, but, having reached the Jordan, I entered the monastery, called Arundin (cane). My path was not favorable; I fell into a serious illness, grief and longing took possession of me that I was a wanderer and weak in body. Then the Monk John appeared to me in a dream and said:

- Since you disobeyed me, you are punished with this disease. Now get up and go to Jericho; there, in the hospitable house of Abba Euthymius, you will find a certain old monk, follow him to the monastery of Euthymius and you will be saved.

Immediately waking up, I felt completely healthy and went, at the command of the holy father, to Jericho; there I found, as he told me, an old monk, virtuous and prudent, who led me to the monastery of Euthymius the Great, where I settled. Often I came to the Lavra of St. Sava to the Monk John and received from him great benefit to my soul. Once I was embarrassed and burdened with the thoughts of Satan, but when I confessed them to the monk, I immediately received relief through the prayers of his saints, and peace returned to my heart.

This is how monk Cyril told about himself. Saint John sent this Cyril to the Suki Lavra with books to the Monk Cyriacus the Hermit.

One day Cyril was sitting at the window of the cell of St. John. And then a certain man came, named George, leading his son, tormented by a demon, threw him down in front of the window and himself departed. Saint John knew that the lying and weeping boy was possessed by an unclean spirit; moved by mercy, he made a prayer and anointed him with holy oil, and immediately the unclean spirit left the boy, and from that hour he became healthy.

Abba Eustathius, who labored after Sergius in the cave of the Monk Savva, a spiritual and pious man, told about himself:

- Once upon a time a spirit of blasphemy came upon me and greatly confused me with blasphemous thoughts against God and the divine, and I was in great sorrow. I came to the blessed John the Silent, told him my misfortune and resorted to the help of his holy prayers. John prayed to God for me and then said to me: Blessed be God, my child! A blasphemous thought will no longer approach you. The words of the elder were fulfilled, for since that time I have not experienced a blasphemous thought in myself.

A certain woman from Cappadocia, named Basilina, deaconess of the holy church of Constantinople, came to Jerusalem with her nephew, a nobleman; he was a truly virtuous man, although he kept to the unthinking of the North and therefore was not in communion with the holy catholic Church. The pious deaconess made great efforts to convert him to piety and unite him to the holy Church, and zealously asked each of the holy fathers to pray to God for him. When she heard about St. John, she wished to bow to him as well; when she found out that women did not enter the monastery, she called Theodore, a disciple of John, and asked him to take the man who came with her to the holy elder. She believed that God, through the prayers of John, would soften the hardness of heart of the unthinking and make him worthy of communion with the Catholic Church. Theodore took the husband damaged by heresy, came with him to the elder, bowed according to custom and said:

- Bless us, father!

Then the elder said to the disciple:

I will bless you, but there is no blessing for those who come with you.

“No, father,” the disciple objected, “bless us both.”

The old man replied:

– No, I will not bless another until he renounces the evil heretical wisdom and promises to join the Catholic Church.

The unthinking marveled at the grace-filled insight of the elder; this miracle produced a change in him, and he really promised to join the faithful. Then the elder blessed him, with his divinely inspired instructions he resolved all his heartfelt doubts, shared him with the Most Pure Mysteries and let him go in peace, turning him to orthodoxy. Upon learning of this, the pious deaconess Vasilina was imbued with an even stronger desire to see the holy elder with her own eyes. She decided to put on men's clothes, come to him in the monastery and confess her thoughts. Informed by the Angel of Vasilina's intention, the elder sent to her to say:

“Know that even if you come to me as you planned, you will still not see me; so do not work, but stay where you are now, but I will appear to you in a dream, listen to what you want to tell me, and I myself will say what God will tell me to tell you.

The deaconess was horrified by such perspicacity of the Monk John, that he could foresee human thoughts from afar, and remained, waiting for his appearance. One night the monk appeared to her in a dream and said:

– Here God sends me to you; tell me what do you want?

She confessed her thoughts to him, and received from him the proper spiritual healing. Having instructed her, the monk became invisible, and Vasilina, awakening, gave thanks to God.

The place where the monk's cell stood was stony and dry; the hardness of the soil, completely devoid of moisture, did not allow either a tree or grass to grow there. Once the monk took a fig seed and said to his disciples Theodore and John:

“Listen to me, children: if, by the grace of God, this seed will sprout on this hard rock, put forth branches, and bear fruit, then know that God will grant me a resting place in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Having said this, he planted a seed on a stone near his cell. But God, by whose will Aaron's dry rod flourished, gave moisture to the hard stone, and to the fig seed to sprout, in order to show what grace His faithful servant has with Him. A fig tree grew out of the ground and, gradually rising, even reached the roof of the cell, then it covered the whole cell with its branches, and in time it brought forth fruit - three figs. Taking them off, the elder thanked God with tears, kissed them and ate them with his disciples. After eating the figs of those, he began to prepare for his death, already in deep old age.

Having lived all the years of his life one hundred and four, he died in the Lord our Savior, to Him be glory forever. Amen.

JOHN THE MILCHALNIK

Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "TREE".

John the Silent (Silent), Savvait (c. 454 - 558), b. Bishop of Colonia, recluse, reverend.

Born around 454 in the Armenian city of Nikopol in the family of the military leader Enkratius and his wife Euphemia. The boy began to study early Holy Bible and with all his heart he loved solitude and prayer.

On the part of the estate inherited by him after the death of his parents (472), the young man John built a church in the name of Holy Mother of God. From the age of 18, John, along with ten monks, lived at the church in fasting, prayer and abstinence.

At the request of the citizens of the city of Colonia, the Metropolitan of Sebaste ordained in 482 the 28-year-old John as bishop of the Colonial Church. Having accepted church government, the monk did not change his strictly ascetic way of life. Under the influence of the saint, his relatives also lived in a Christian way - brother Pergamy (a close associate of the emperors Zeno and Anastasia and nephew Theodore (a close associate of the emperor Justinian).

Flight from the pulpit. Lavra Savva the Sanctified

Depressed by worldly strife, John secretly left the bishopric in 491 and sailed to Jerusalem. With tears, he prayed to God to show him a place where he could live and be saved. A bright star appeared, which led John to the Lavra of St. Savva. John, who hid his episcopal dignity, was accepted into the ranks of the brethren as a simple novice. For more than 4 years, on the instructions of the holy hegumen Sava, the Monk John performed the most difficult work on the construction of a hospice and a monastery for novice monks. Seeing the humility and industriousness of John, Saint Sava considered him worthy of ordination to the presbyter. The saint had to reveal the secret to the Patriarch of Jerusalem Elijah. With the blessing of the First Hierarch of the Jerusalem Church, Saint John took a vow of silence. Soon the Lord revealed the secret of John to Saint Sava. The Monk John spent four years in his cell, receiving no one and not even going out to church.

Desiring even greater solitude and extreme abstinence, the Monk John left the Lavra and retired to the wilderness, where he spent more than nine years, eating herbs. Here he survived the devastating raid of the Saracens and did not die only because the Lord sent him a protector - a ferocious lion, at the sight of which the enemies, who more than once wanted to kill the monk, fled in fear. Tradition tells of many miracles performed through the prayer of St. John during his life in the wilderness.

Return to the monastery

When the holy abbot Savva, who had gone to Scythopolis for a long time, returned, he persuaded the Monk John to leave the desert and settle again in the monastery. After that, the Lord miraculously revealed to all the inhabitants of the Lavra that John was a bishop.

When the Monk John was seventy years old, the holy abbot Savva died. The saint deeply mourned for the deceased. Saint Sava appeared to him in a vision and, consoling him, predicted that John would have to work hard in the fight against heresy. And, indeed, John had to leave his cell in order to strengthen the brethren in the fight against the heresy of the Origenites.

The Monk John the Silent spent 66 years in the Lavra of the Monk Savva the Sanctified. By tireless monastic feat, vigilant prayer, humility of mind, John acquired the grace of the Holy Spirit: many miracles were performed through his prayer; the secret thoughts of the people were clear to the saint; he healed the sick and the possessed; even during his lifetime, he saved those who called on his name from inevitable death; From the seed of a fig tree, thrown by the saint into dry soil, a beautiful tree grew and bore fruit.

In the year 558, at the age of 104, the Monk John the Silent departed in peace to the Lord.

The most ancient translation of the life of John the Silent into glory. language - in the Suprasl Menaion of the 11th century.

Used materials

http://www.days.ru/Life/life740.htm

http://www.days.ru/Life/life3059.htm

Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron.

TREE - open Orthodox encyclopedia: http://drevo.pravbeseda.ru

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Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree. 2012

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An excerpt characterizing John the Silent

The regiment of Prince Andrei was in reserves, which until the second hour stood behind Semenovsky in inactivity, under heavy artillery fire. In the second hour, the regiment, which had already lost more than two hundred men, was moved forward into a trodden oat field, to that gap between Semyonovsky and the kurgan battery, on which thousands of people were beaten that day and on which, in the second hour of the day, intensely concentrated fire was directed from several hundred enemy guns.
Without leaving this place and without releasing a single charge, the regiment lost another third of its people here. In front, and especially on the right side, in the smoke that did not dissipate, cannons boomed, and from the mysterious area of smoke that covered the entire area in front, cannonballs and slowly whistling grenades flew out without ceasing, with a hissing quick whistle. Sometimes, as if giving rest, a quarter of an hour passed, during which all the cannonballs and grenades flew over, but sometimes for a minute several people were pulled out of the regiment, and the dead were constantly dragged away and the wounded carried away.