Life of Saint Theodora. Theodora of Alexandria the Younger. According to St. Demetrius of Rostov

According to St. Demetrius of Rostov

The Monk Theodora was a Greek by birth, had great wealth and lived at first in a Christian marriage. After the death of her husband, she, according to the commandment of the Lord, "took up her cross" and accepted the monastic rank in order to follow Christ (Mark 8:34; Matt. 16:24). This was in the reign of Roman 1 during the life of the Monk Basil the New 2, who lived in Theodora's house, in a prayer cell deliberately arranged for him and under whose guidance she led a pious life. Having thus lived to old age, she passed away on the thirtieth day of the month of December. And when the soul Saint Theodora, after separation from the body, she was carried by the holy angels, then the Monk Basil gave them a warning, to help her soul, as if some kind of capital for ransom, taking out the ark from his bosom.

That Basil had a disciple named Gregory, who prayerfully asked Basil:

Where is Theodora?

And then one day, when Gregory was sleeping, a young man of bright appearance appeared to him and said:

Go quickly, St. Basil is calling you to show you Theodora.

Gregory was immediately caught up to the gates of paradise, then he was led into the holy places, and there he saw the Monk Basil and Theodora, and they all rejoiced together. And Gregory asked:

Miss Theodora! - how did you endure the terrible hour of death and how did you get rid of the evil spirits?

She said in order:

When my soul was separated from my body, I saw terrible Ethiopians who showed me a scroll with the outline of all my first deeds and squealed like pigs, gnashing their teeth at me. Then the Angels took me and carried me through the ordeals. The first ordeal was - deceit; the second is slander; the third is envy; fourth - false resentment due to pride; the fifth is anger with fury; the sixth is pride; seventh - scolding and shame; eighth - covetousness and flattery; the ninth is vanity; the tenth is the love of money, the eleventh is drunkenness; the twelfth is rancor; the thirteenth, sorcery; the fourteenth - sorcery and the use of talismans; the fifteenth, gluttony and idolatry; the sixteenth is adultery; seventeenth, murder; the eighteenth is theft; the nineteenth is fornication; the twentieth is mercilessness. And if in any ordeal for my justification the testimony of only my good deeds was not enough, then the Angels added to my good deeds from the gift of good deeds of St. Basil. So I went through all the ordeals without hindrance and was introduced to this blissful place. If the soul is sinful, then it will be betrayed by those Ethiopians, and they, tormenting, will bring it into torment.

And immediately Gregory woke up and told us what he saw and what he heard in the state of his sleepy admiration. We, hearing this, were surprised and thanked the great God and our Savior, who vouchsafed Theodore His property in heavenly abodes.

On September 24, the church commemorates our reverend mother Theodora, who labored as a man in the Egyptian monastery.

Her life and deeds, described by St. Demetrius of Rostov, make us look at our own life, and at the sins we have committed - in a different way.

« ABOUT chi of the Lord is ten thousand times brighter than the sun, and look at all human ways, and penetrate into secret places. He knew everything before it was created” (Sirach 23:27-29).

Theodora, a noble woman who lived in Alexandria, did not know this truth. She believed the enemy, the devil, who secretly inspired and convinced her that a sin created in darkness, a sin that the sun does not see, will not be recognized by God. But when she realized from her own experience that nothing can be hidden before God, oh, how great repentance she showed then!

Living honestly in marriage with her husband, Theodora fell into such a temptation. One rich man, young and frivolous, prompted by the devil, had a lust for her and tried in every possible way to persuade her to adultery: he sent her valuable gifts, promised even more expensive ones, and deceived her with words. But not being able to do anything himself, he hired one temptress - a sorceress, so that she would seduce the chaste Theodora, inclining her to the evil deed he had planned. And this temptress, having Satan as an accomplice, seized a convenient time and began to speak to Theodora about the young man.

Theodora said:

“Oh, if only I could get rid of this man who has been bothering me for a long time!” If I obey him, then the very sun that shines on us will be before God a witness of my sin!

“In that case,” the temptress advised, “when the sun sets and a dark night sets in, you will fulfill the desire of the young man in a secret place, and no one will know your deeds and there will be no witness before God, for the night is deep and darkness will cover everything.

Theodora said:

“Oh, it would be nice if God did not recognize the sin committed at night!”

“So it will be,” answered the temptress, “for God sees only those sins that the sun illuminates, but what is done in darkness, how can He see?

Theodora, as a young, ingenuous and inexperienced woman, succumbed to such allurements of the temptress; The demonic temptation also helped a lot, for its strength is great, but our nature is prone to passions and our strength is weak. So, Theodora listened to the crafty advice and committed iniquity in the darkness of the night. But with the appearance of the morning dawn, the light of God's mercy immediately shone in her heart: for, realizing her sin, she began to lament, beat her face, tear her hair, began to be ashamed of herself, became disgusted with herself. So the mercy of God, not wanting the death of a sinner, for the sake of her former chastity, moved her to speedy repentance and correction; for God sometimes allows a person to fall a little, so that a person who has risen will show an even greater feat and correction, and even greater zeal for God, who forgives sins.

Regretting and weeping for the sin she had committed, Theodora tried to calm herself a little, thinking:

– God does not know my sin; however, if he does not know, then even then shame on me and grief.

Trying to calm her grief, Theodora went to one convent to the abbess, with whom she was familiar. Seeing her mournful face, the abbess asked:

“What is your sorrow, my daughter? Has your husband offended you?

Theodora replied:

- No, ma'am; but I myself do not know why my heart is grieving.

The abbess, wishing to console her, at the suggestion of the Spirit of God, began a spiritual conversation with her and began to read divine books. When she read one word (a teaching), she came to such an evangelical saying: “There is nothing hidden that would not be revealed, and secret that would not be known. Therefore, what you said in the darkness will be heard in the light; and what you said into the ear inside the house, it will be proclaimed on the roofs” (Luke 12:2-3; Matt. 10:26).

Hearing these gospel words, Theodora hit her chest, exclaiming:

- Woe to me, cursed! I have perished now, I have been deceived, thinking that God will not recognize my sin.

And she began to beat herself, crying and sobbing.

Then the abbess realized that Theodora had fallen into sin, and began to question her, what exactly had happened to her?

Theodora, from tears, barely speaking, told the abbess everything in detail, and falling at her feet, she exclaimed:

- Have mercy, madam, on me who died and teach me what to do? Can I be saved or am I already forever dead? Should I hope for the mercy of God, or should I despair?

The abbess began to speak to her:

- You did not do well, my daughter, listening to the enemy; you thought wrong, thinking to hide yourself before God, who tests hearts and wombs, who knows from afar the thoughts of men, and sees what has not been done with his eye: neither night, nor any hidden and dark place can hide a sinner from His all-seeing eye. You did not do well, my daughter: you angered God, and you did not keep your fidelity to your husband, and you defiled your body, and damaged your soul. Why did you not tell me about this before, when you were deceived, so that I would help you and teach you how to beware of the enemy's snares? But since this has already happened to you, at least now correct yourself and fall down to the mercy of God, praying with contrition, that He will forgive you your sin. Do not despair, my daughter: although you have committed a great sin, however, the mercy of God is even greater, and there is no sin that overcomes the love of God; only you encourage, and you will be saved.

Speaking to her these and similar words, the abbess enlightened, taught her and set her on the path of repentance, and at the same time reassured her, telling her about the mercy of God and about His inexpressible goodness, with which He is ready to receive the penitent and forgive the sinners. She also reminded her of the gospel wife, a sinner, who washed the feet of Christ with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head, and received forgiveness of her sins from God.

Theodora, having listened to all the words of the good teacher and summing them up in her heart, said:

“I believe in my God, mistress, and from now on I will not commit such a sin, and I will take care of what I have already done, as far as I can.”

Having received some consolation to her heart, she returned to her house. But since her conscience rebuked her, she was ashamed to look her husband straight in the face and thought about how she could propitiate God: she wanted, it was, to enter a convent, but she knew that her husband would not allow her. And so, in order to hide from her husband and from all her acquaintances, she came up with the following.

When her husband left the house on some business, late in the evening, having cut her hair, she dressed in men's clothes and, surrendering herself to the will of God, secretly left the house and went quickly, like a bird flying out of a net. Having reached some desert monastery, called "Octodekat", eighteen miles away from the city, she knocked on the gate and, seeing the gatekeeper, said:

- Show love, father: go, tell the abbot to accept me, a sinful person, into the monastery, for I want to repent of my evil deeds, and therefore judgment has come, so that I will wash your holy feet and serve you day and night in everything, what do you order me.

The porter went and reported to the abbot. The abbot said:

- It is necessary to test - did God instruct him to come to us? So, do not give him an answer until morning and do not let him into the monastery; if he does not leave, but remains patiently at the door of the monastery, waiting for mercy, then we will know that he truly and with zeal came to serve God.

The gatekeeper did so, and did not pay attention to Theodora, despising her as an indecent slave. She sat at the gate and wept. Night fell, and animals began to walk by (for that desert was full of animals); but Theodora, by the grace of God, remained unharmed, armed, as it were, with a shield, the sign of the cross and prayer.

In the morning the porter, looking through the window, saw that Theodora was sitting near the gate, and said:

– What are you waiting for here? We will not accept you, for you are no good for us.

She answered:

“If I had to die here at the gates, I will not leave until you have mercy on me and admit me to the monastery.

Then the gatekeeper, seeing her patience and humility, opened the gates and brought her in to the abbot. The abbot asked her: where is she from, what is her name, and why did she come? She answered:

- From Alexandria, father, my name is Theodore, I am full of sins and iniquity; but, having come to his senses and knowing his sins, he wanted to repent: and so he came to your shrine, so that you accept me into your rank and save a perishing sinner. So, accept me, Father, as the Lord accepted the robber, the publican, and the prodigal son.

Then the abbot began to point out to her the monastic labors and deeds and said:

- You will not be able to endure this, child, for I see that you are young and brought up in worldly pleasures; our monastery does not have any joy, our order requires a difficult life and stay with us - great abstinence and fasting. Our brethren in obedience carry out great works, not leaving and church rule, such as: Midnight Office and Matins, Hours and Vespers, and many cell prayers and prostrations, as well as frequent all-night prayers. You are accustomed to the peace of the flesh and you cannot bear the burden of monastic deeds with us. Although I see that you have come with zeal, I am afraid that you will not change your intentions, for many often start a good deed with zeal, but soon, unable to endure, leave a good undertaking and become the laziest. So I advise you to return to the world, and may God arrange your salvation as He pleases.

Then Theodora, falling at the feet of the abbot, said with tears:

- Do not reject me, father, from your holy abode, do not deprive me of angelic cohabitation with you, do not drive me into the world from which I flee, like the Jews from Egypt, and I will never return. Do not be embarrassed by my youth, for with your holy prayers I will get used to any abstinence and, with the help of God, I will bear all the labors and everything that you command me, I will do with zeal and diligence - just accept me, who wants to repent of my sins.

Yielding to such her prayers, the abbot accepted her and ordered her to go through all the monastic obediences. So, a wife began to live among husbands in the image and under the name of her husband, and no one knew this secret, except for God alone. And who can tell about her difficult life? The brothers saw her work in obedience, patience in abstinence, humility in obedience - but her innermost and secret deeds, her all-night prayers, heartfelt sighs, tears, kneeling, uplifting of hands, only God Himself saw: day and night she resorted to His mercy like a harlot who washed the feet of the Lord with her tears. And her repentance was greater than the sin she had committed: for by humility she put to death all her passions and lusts, humbled herself before everyone, conquered her will by self-sacrifice, and became, as it were, an angel in the flesh. Her body, once defiled, but now cleansed by feats of repentance and abundant tears, has become the holy temple of God, the abode of the Holy Spirit.

After eight years, there was a shortage of oil in the monastery, and Theodora was sent with camels to the city of Alexandria to buy oil. Meanwhile her husband, not knowing where his wife had gone and what had happened to her, searched for her for a long time. Not finding her, he complained day and night, and diligently prayed to God to reveal to him where his wife was. And then one night he saw an angel who announced to him:

Do not grieve over your wife, for she works for God in the midst of His servants. If you want to see her, go in the morning and stand at the church of St. Peter, - there you will see her: for whoever passes by the church and greets you, that is your wife.

Theodora's husband rejoiced at such an angelic vision, which informed him about his wife and how he would see her. Early in the morning he hurried to the church of St. Petra, and standing there, began to look to the right and to the left, expecting to see what he desired. At this time, the blessed Theodora, dressed in a male monastic robe, passed with camels; her husband did not recognize her, and it was impossible to recognize her: on the one hand, due to men's clothing, on the other, due to a change in her face; once she had a beautiful face, but her beauty faded from fasting and monastic deeds. Theodora, recognizing him from a distance, imperceptibly shed tears, and said to herself:

“Oh, woe to me, a sinner! For the sin against my husband, I lost the grace of God!

Passing by him, she bowed to him and said:

- Good afternoon, Mr!

And he also bowed to her, saying:

- Be healthy, father!

And so they parted. Having stood almost all day, Theodora's husband returned home, grieving that he had not received what he wanted, and considering the angelic vision to be a deception. At home, he again began to pray with tears:

- God! You see my sorrow, hear my prayer and reveal to me whether my wife is alive or not? Is she on a good path or on an evil one?

And on another night, he again sees in a vision an angel saying:

- What are you crying about? Did you not see your wife yesterday, as I told you?

He said:

“I didn’t, my lord.

The angel said:

“Didn’t I tell you that the one who, passing by, bows to you and greets you, is your wife?”

Then the husband, realizing that he had seen his wife, but did not recognize her, thanked God that his wife was alive and serving God; he hoped to save himself by her prayers. And the blessed Theodora thanked God that she had seen her husband and that her husband did not recognize her. Returning to the monastery, she was diligent in her salvation, fasting first one day, then two, then three and four days; sometimes for a whole week she remained without food, diligently praying for the remission of her sin.

Near that monastery there was a lake where a beast lived - a crocodile, which often came out of the lake and devoured people and cattle passing by. Eparch Gregory, appointed by Tsar Zinon to rule the city of Alexandria, placed guards on the road passing by the lake so that no one would pass that road. Wishing to know the grace of God dwelling in Theodora, the abbot called her and said:

“Brother Theodore, we need water; take a water carrier, go draw water from the lake and bring it to me.

Theodora, like a good novice, took the water-carrier and went. The guards who met her said:

- Do not come here, father, for water, for the beast will tear you to pieces.

She also objected:

- My father hegumen sent me, and I must do what is ordered.

When she came to the shore of the lake, a crocodile came out and carried her on his back to the middle of the lake. When she drew water, the beast again brought her to the shore. She cursed the beast so that from that time on it would not harm anyone, and immediately the beast turned out to be dead. The guards, seeing such a miracle, announced to the hegumen and the eparch, and everyone glorified God. The brethren were surprised that the beast did no harm to the blessed one and praised the power of obedience.

But some of the brethren, incited by the devil (for no one is free from enemy temptations), did not believe what happened and began to hate Theodora, saying:

“We have lived in the monastery for so many years and do not work miracles, but he only came yesterday and is already working miracles; doesn't want to be bigger than us? Was it by magic that he killed the beast?

A few versts from this monastery stood, in a deep desert, another monastery. The haters secretly wrote a letter from their hegumen in the name of that monastery and, arriving late in the evening to the cell of blessed Theodora, said to her:

“Brother Theodore, the abbot orders you to take this letter to that monastery as soon as possible.

Theodora got up, took the letter and went to the monastery at night. And the haters did this so that she would be torn to pieces by animals on the road, for there were countless animals there, and therefore no one could pass that way at night. The haters argued among themselves thus:

“Let’s see if this holy man, whom the animals obey, returns intact?”

When Theodora was walking that way, a huge beast met her and, bowing to her, turned back and went ahead of her, escorting her to the monastery gates. Pushed the beast into the gate; the gatekeeper opened them, and Saint Theodora went with a letter to the hegumen. But since the gatekeeper did not shut the gate, the beast entered the monastery and, seizing the gatekeeper, began to torment him.

The gatekeeper cried out:

“Woe, woe, help me!”

Everyone was awakened by that scream. Upon learning of what had happened, the saint returned from the hegumen's cell and went up to her brother, who was being tormented by the beast. Grasping the beast by the throat, she freed the gatekeeper and said to the beast:

– How dared you attack the image of God and wanted to kill him? Die yourself.

And immediately the beast fell at the feet of Theodora and died. She anointed her brother, tormented by the beast, with oil, invoking the name of Christ, overshadowed his wounds with the sign of the cross and made him healthy and unharmed. Seeing the miracle that had taken place, everyone bowed to the blessed one and glorified God, who subdued the wild animals to his servant Theodore. Being released from that monastery, Theodora returned very early to her monastery and, having come, did not tell anyone where she was and what she had done.

The next day, the monks came to that monastery with some kind of offering and, having told what had happened to the abbot and all the brethren, they bowed to the abbot, thanking him that his disciple Theodore had saved the gatekeeper from the teeth of the beast and healed him from wounds, and killed the beast himself. Hearing this, the abbot and all the monks were very surprised. Having dismissed the brethren who had come, the abbot gathered all the monks and asked them:

– Who sent brother Theodore to that monastery?

All refused, saying:

- We don't know.

The abbot also asked Theodora, saying:

- Who sent you, brother, at night to that monastery?

Not wanting to reveal her haters who sent her, Theodora said to the abbot:

- Forgive me, father! I took a nap in the cell and I don’t remember who came up, ordering me in your name to quickly carry the letter to that hegumen, and I went, fulfilling my obedience.

Then the haters, knowing the grace of God in the blessed Theodora, began to repent of their malice and, falling down to her, asked for forgiveness. She, being mild-mannered, was not at all angry with them for that, she did not even tell anyone about them, but on the contrary, she humiliated herself as sinful and unworthy of the love of the brethren.

Once, when Theodora was fulfilling her obedience, a demon appeared to her, saying with anger:

- You, a nasty adulteress who left her husband, did you come here to arm yourself with me? I will use all my strength to force you to renounce not only monasticism, but also your faith in the Crucified One, and flee from this place! And do not think that I am not here, for I will not leave you alone until I have netted your feet and thrown you into a hole you do not expect.

Theodora, making the sign of the cross, said:

“God break your strength, devil!”

And the demon became invisible.

Some time later, blessed Theodora was again sent with camels to the city of Alexandria to buy wheat for the needs of the monastery.

Letting her go, the abbot said:

- If, child, you are late on the road, then turn to the Enatsky monastery, and spend the night there with the camels (for there was a monastery called “Enat” on the way there near the city.

Having set off, Theodora was really late on the road and, according to the order of the abbot, went to the Enatsky monastery and, bowing to the abbot of this monastery, asked for a blessing to let the camels rest until the day came. The abbot gave her a place in the hotel, where there was a corral for camels. At this time, a girl, already elderly, was in the hotel, the daughter of that hegumen, who had come to bow to her father and visit him. Seeing a young monk (i.e., blessed Theodora), the maiden, at the instigation of the devil, felt lust for him, came at night to Theodora, who was sleeping near the camels, and not knowing that this was a woman, began to pester her shamelessly and incline to sin . But Theodora said:

“Get away from me, sister, for I am not accustomed to such a thing; besides, I have an evil spirit in me and I am afraid that he will not kill you.

Departing in shame, the girl found another guest, with whom she committed iniquity and conceived in the womb. Meanwhile, Theodora, when the day came, went to the city and, having fulfilled her obedience, returned to her monastery and continued her exploits for her salvation. Six months later, it was discovered that the girl was pregnant and the family began to beat her and interrogate: who made her like that? She, at the instigation of the devil, accused the blessed Theodora, saying:

- The Octodecan monk Theodore, going to the city with camels, spent the night in a hotel, at night he came to me, and I conceived from him.

Hearing this, her father, hegumen Enatsky, sent his monks to the Octodekat monastery with a complaint to the hegumen that his monk had dishonored the maiden.

The abbot, calling Theodora, asked her:

“Do you hear what these people are saying about you, saying that you dishonored a girl and she is now pregnant?”

Theodora replied:

“Forgive me, father, but God is my witness that I am innocent of this.

The abbot, knowing the pure, angelic life of Brother Theodore, did not believe what the monks told about him. When that girl gave birth to a son, the monks from Enat came to the monastery of Octodekat and abandoned the child in the middle of the monastery, reproaching the brethren living there and saying:

- Raise your baby!

Then the abbot, seeing the baby, believed that it really happened as they said, and was very angry with the innocent and pure in soul and body Theodora. Gathering the brethren and calling Theodora, he asked her:

"Tell us, damned one, what did you do?" You brought dishonor on our monastery and reproach on our monastic rank! You are not afraid of God. We considered you as if an angel, and you turned out to be an accomplice of demons. So, confess your iniquity.

Blessed Theodora, marveling at the misfortune that had happened, said with humility:

- Forgive me, holy fathers, I am a sinner!

After consulting among themselves, the monks expelled her from the monastery with dishonor and beatings, giving her the baby. so great was the miraculous patience of the blessed one! With one word, she could prove her innocence, but not wanting to reveal the secrets that she is a woman, she took on someone else's sin as retribution for her previous crime. Taking the baby, she sat down at the monastery gates, weeping like Adam, expelled from paradise. Opposite the monastery, she built a small hut for the baby and, begging milk from the shepherds, fed the baby with it for seven whole years; she herself endured hunger, and thirst, and nakedness, and cold, and heat, drinking sea water and eating wild herbs.

Unable to endure such patience, the devil planned to seduce Theodora in another way: he assumed the form of her husband and, entering the hut where she was sitting with the baby, said:

Are you here, my lady? So many years I've been toiling, tearfully looking for you, and you don't think of me, my lady? Don't you know that for your sake I left my father and mother, and you left me? Who persuaded you to come to this place? Where is your complexion? Why did you exhaust yourself so much? So come, my beloved, let's go to our house. For if you wish, you can remain chaste at home: I will not hinder you. Remember my love, lady, and go with me to our house.

The blessed one did not recognize that it was a demon, but she thought that it was really her husband, and said to him:

“I cannot return to you in the world from which I fled for my sin; I'm afraid I won't fall into big sins.

When she raised her hand with the sign of the cross to prayer, immediately the demon became invisible. Then the blessed one knew that it was the devil and said:

“You almost deceived me, devil.

She repented that she had entered into a conversation with the devil, and from that time she began to carefully protect herself from demonic wiles. But the devil did not stop arming himself against Theodora. So he gathered a lot of demons, which, taking the form of different animals, attacked her, shouting in a human voice:

- We will tear this adulteress to pieces!

Theodora, crossing herself, said: “They surrounded me, surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I brought them down” (Ps. 117:11), and the demons immediately disappeared. Then the devil, wanting to seduce her with the love of money, showed her a lot of gold and people collecting it, but all this disappeared from the sign of the cross.

Then the devil took the form of a prince; and many horsemen, in front of him, passed by Theodora's hut and shouted:

The prince is coming, the prince is coming!

Then they said to Theodora:

- Bow to the prince.

She answered:

- I bow to the One God.

Then they, pulling her out of the hut, forcibly led her to the head of darkness (God allowed them to touch the saint, so that she would be tempted, “like gold in the furnace” (Ps. 3:6) and forced to bow to him. But she did not want to, saying :

- I worship the Lord my God and serve Him alone.

Then the demons began to beat her without mercy and, leaving her barely alive, left. The shepherds, having come to Theodora, found her lying as if dead, and, thinking that she had died, they brought her to the hut and laid her there. They also announced this in the monastery, saying:

- Your Monk Theodore died; take his body and bury it.

The abbot with the brethren came to Theodora's hut and, noticing that her soul was still in her, said:

Leave him alone, for he will live.

And they returned to the monastery. Theodora, having come to herself at midnight, began to cry and beat her breast, exclaiming:

Woe to me, a sinner, woe to me, helpless! Oh, how God will execute me for my sins.

And, raising her hands to the sky, she cried out with a great voice:

- Merciful God, deliver me from the hand of the devil and forgive me my sins!

The shepherds who spent the night near that place, hearing that the blessed Theodora, whom they considered dead, was praying, were surprised that she was still alive, and glorified God.

After this, the abbot ordered to take the baby from her to the monastery, which Theodora was very happy about, for she was freed from labor and care for raising the baby. She herself continued to wander in the desert. Her body turned black from cold and heat, her eyes dimmed from bitter tears, and she lived with animals that, like sheep, obeyed her and were meek.

Once again, the devil encroached on her. Seeing her very hungry, he appeared to her in the form of a warrior who brought good food, and said:

“The prince who beat you now repents of this and sent you this food, asking you to forgive him and accept it from him.

Theodora, knowing the charm of demons, signed herself with the sign of the cross and said:

- May God destroy and destroy your deceit, enemy! God is my helper, and you will not deceive me.

From that time the devil ceased to tempt her.

After seven years of such a difficult life of Theodora, the monks took pity and came to the abbot, saying:

– Father, have mercy on brother Theodore, for he has already done repentance for his sin; forgive him and accept him into the monastery.

The abbot replied:

“Brother Theodore, God has forgiven you the sin you committed. Live with us in a monastery and strive; do not go anywhere else from the monastery, so that again the devil does not plunge you into temptation; educate your son also, so that he is a zealot for your deeds.

And the abbot gave her a cell, freeing her from all monastic labors, so that she would calmly pray to God and rest after such great labors. And Theodora came to life in that cell for two years with her imaginary son Theodore, teaching him literacy and the fear of God, as well as humility, obedience and other monastic virtues.

One summer there was a great drought, so that the wells in the monastery dried up, and the lakes also dried up. Then the abbot said to some of the brothers:

- No one else will beg God to give us water as soon as Father Theodore, for he is filled with the great grace of God.

Calling the blessed one to him, the abbot said:

- Father Theodore, take a vessel and draw water for us from the well.

The well was dry and did not have a single drop of water.

- Bless, father! - said Theodora, and went to the well.

Putting a vessel into the well, she filled it clean water and brought it to the abbot with the brethren: seeing this, they were all amazed. Immediately they went to the well, in which the water had dried up long ago, and looking in, they saw that it was full of water, and glorified God. That water was enough for every monastic need, until the rain came and filled all the dried-up reservoirs with water.

Blessed Theodora, being humble in spirit, said to the brethren:

“This happened not for my sake, but for the sake of our father hegumen who sent me, who has a firm, unshakable faith in God — and I only fulfilled what was ordered to me, hoping for the prayers of our father.

And Theodora continued to live in her cell, praying to God and raising her imaginary son.

One evening, taking the youth with her in full view of everyone, Theodora locked herself in his cell with him and began to teach him. The hegumen, on the inspiration of God, sent some of the brethren to quietly listen at the cell, about which she was talking with her youth. Theodora, pressing the boy to her breast and embracing him, kissed him, saying:

- My beloved son! My time has come, my end has come and I am leaving you; do not weep for me and do not say to yourself: “I am an orphan,” for you have God as your father, covering you with His grace, to whom I (if I gain boldness before Him) will pray for you. Listen to my last words and imprint them in your heart: love God more than any creature and more than yourself, cling to Him with all your heart, do not stop glorifying Him and praying to Him with your mouth and heart, tongue and mind. Never leave the rules of the general, but go to church with other brethren: at the hours - the first, third, sixth and ninth, at Vespers, Midnight Office and Matins. May all your prayers be combined with contrition of the heart, with tears and sighing. Weep before God every day, may you be blessed with eternal consolation. Obey the hegumen and the brethren, renounce your will, keep your innocence from now until the end of your life; shut your mouth with silence; try not to judge anyone and not to laugh at someone else's sin, but when you see a sinner, pray for him to the One sinless God, may he correct him, and may he save you from the falls and temptations of the enemy. Do not say anything idle, or abominable, or blasphemous: let not such a word come out of your mouth, for which you would have to answer on the day of judgment; be meek and humble in heart, regard everyone as your fathers and benefactors, and consider yourself below all. If you hear that one of the brethren is sick, do not be lazy to visit him and minister to him with zeal, and fulfill every obedience entrusted to you without grumbling. Love poverty and poverty as if it were a valuable treasure. Remember my life, how I wandered with you: what did I get in my hut in front of the monastery fence? food or clothing? utensils or what treasure? Nothing else but God. For what is more important for a person than God and His Divine love? He is our treasure, He is wealth, He is food and drink, He is clothing and cover, He is our health and strength, He is joy and joy, He is our hope and hope; Try to get it, my son. If you gain Him, it is enough for you, and you will rejoice in Him more than if you had gained the whole world. Try to keep your purity: as now you are pure in body and soul, so remain until the end of your life. Take care of yourself, my child, so as not to offend the Spirit of God and not to remove him from you by lust and carnality. Kill your souls, do not give rest and indulgence to your body: like a disobedient donkey, humble him with hunger, thirst, work and wounds, until you present your soul to Christ as a pure bride. Keep yourself carefully from demonic wiles, be sober and vigilant: for the devil does not sleep, seeking to devour everyone who serves God. May the help of God protect you from this enemy! Also, my child, make a remembrance of me, so that I may find mercy with the righteous Judge, who will judge not only obvious sins, but also secret ones, and to whom I now depart.

The lad, being wise, said:

“Really, my father, are you leaving me, leaving me an orphan?” What will I do without you? Alas, poor me! Woe to me, an orphan, that I lose you, my good father!

Theodora, comforting him, said:

“After all, I told you not to call yourself an orphan, because you have God as your guardian, taking care of you: He will be your father and mother, teacher and mentor, patron and guide to salvation.

After this, Theodora got up and began to pray with tears, saying:

- God, knowing my sins and repentance! You know the sadness of my heart - you know how I constantly lamented that I had angered You, Lord! You know my labors, with which I humbled my sinful body, because I dared to do iniquity and grieve Your goodness, You know the sorrow of my soul, you know that my soul, from the time I recognized my sin, all the time never ceased to mourn and mourn bitterly that she had angered You. So, now hear my groaning, listen to my prayer, see my heart melting like wax, try it, look at my tears and have mercy on my wretched soul! Leave my iniquities, forgive my sins, do not remember my evil deeds: “By Thy mercy, remember me, for the sake of Thy goodness, Lord!” (Ps. 24:7). Accept my repentance. accept my prayer and my lamentation, accept my soul also!

So she prayed for a long time, and not everything could be heard from what she said - only her crying and the beating of her chest could be heard. The lad also wept with her, weeping over his orphanhood. She comforted him again and prayed again. Finally, she happily said:

– I thank You, my most merciful Creator, that You heard and had mercy on me and delivered my soul from death and my eyes from tears.

Having uttered other words of gratitude and rejoicing in spirit, Theodora fell silent. One might have thought that she had given her holy soul into the hands of her Lord, for her words were no longer heard, only the crying of the lad was heard. At that hour they began to preach the gospel for matins. The monks, who heard everything that Theodora said, went to the hegumen and told him everything. The abbot, having listened to their story, began to say with tears:

- I, my children, this night saw a vision that two luminous men, having appeared, led me to a heavenly height, from where a voice reached me saying: “Come and see what blessings I have prepared for my bride Theodora.” And I saw a luminous paradise, the beauty and splendor of which cannot be described. The men who appeared, having led me inside paradise, showed me the halls and in it a golden bed prepared, and an angel, standing by it, guarded it. I asked those who were leading me: “For whom is this chamber and couch prepared?” And they said to me: "Wait a little, and you will see the glory of God." Soon I saw ranks of angels, martyrs and saints, walking with pleasant singing, the sweetness of which cannot even be told; in the midst of them I saw a beautiful woman, in great glory; having brought her to the chamber, they put her on a bed, singing sweet songs; I bowed with reverence to that honest wife. And the angel said to me: “Do you know who this is?” I answered: "I do not know, my lord." He said to me: “This is your monk, Theodore; by nature he was a woman, but he was a man only in appearance. Having lived a little in marriage, Theodora left the world for the sake of God and worked in your monastery and, being slandered for the girl who gave birth to a baby, did not reveal that she was a woman; as if a real father, she took the baby and raised him. Being expelled from your monastery, she suffered a lot, eating grass and sea water, enduring cold, heat and poverty, and enduring many adversities from demons. For all this, the merciful God so exalted her: for He loved her as His bride and made her an heir of His Kingdom with all the saints. Hearing this, I began to weep that I did not know this secret and, believing the lie, offended the saint, driving her dishonorably from the monastery; I woke up while crying. So, my children, at the present time my heart is filled with joy and sorrow. I rejoice that I have been vouchsafed to see a glorious vision, which the human eye has not seen, and to hear the sweet sounds of saints in song, which the ear has not heard; I grieve and weep that we did not know the servants of God and His beloved bride who lives among us, and, not knowing, insulted her for a long time.

After this, the abbot, having gathered the brethren, went to the cell of blessed Theodora and, pushing at the door, said:

- Father Theodore, bless!

But there was no answer, for Theodora had already reposed in the Lord. The lad, weeping over her, fell asleep, and they could hardly wake him up. Entering the cell, the brethren saw the blessed Theodora lying on the ground; her hands were folded on her chest and her eyes were closed, but her face shone with beauty, like the face of an angel. When they began to prepare her honest body for burial, the abbot opened her chest, dried up from a long fast; and everyone knew that it was a woman. The hegumen commanded the brethren that they should not reveal this secret to anyone until those who had slandered the venerable girl in dishonor were invited, and sent the brethren to the Enata hegumen, saying:

- We pray your love, father: come to us with your brethren, for today we have a great holiday and we want you to celebrate with us.

And the abbot of Enat came along with his monks; and they brought him to the holy body of the blessed Theodora, saying:

“Father, your daughter’s husband is dead.

Showing him the body of the reverend, they asked:

Isn't that Theodore?

And the abbot of Enat said:

“Indeed, it is him.

They also asked the monks who came with him, saying:

– Do you know him?

They said:

- And we know well: this is the deceitful brother Theodore, who defiled the maiden; May God reward him according to his deeds!

Then the Octodecate abbot opened her chest and, showing her female nipples, said:

Is this a man's body? Yes, we were mistaken fathers: we thought it was a man, but in fact it was a woman; having changed appearance and accepting male name, she, like an angel, lived among us sinners who did not know this secret, and suffered many misfortunes from us. But now her death has shown what she was and what she is, for she is righteous and reverend and pleasing to Christ our God, since I saw her rejoicing in heavenly chamber in glory and great light with the faces of angels and with all the saints.

Then all those present were horrified and marveled at this great secret; those who slandered her for the sin of which she was innocent were very ashamed, and they all wept much, exclaiming:

Woe to us that we have offended the servant of God for so long!

And, falling down to her holy relics, they said with tears:

“Forgive us, servant of God, that in ignorance we have sinned against you!”

After this, an angel of God appeared to the Octodecan abbot, saying:

“Take a horse and go to the city, and whoever you meet first, take him and bring him here.”

The abbot immediately set off, and seeing a man walking towards him on the road, he asked him:

- Where are you going?

He replied:

“I heard that my wife died in some monastery, and I am going to see her.

The abbot, taking this man with him and putting him on a horse, returned to the monastery and led him to the holy body of the nun. Seeing Theodora, her husband began to weep bitterly and inconsolably before her relics. - The countless host of monks living near the Octodecate Monastery, having heard about everything that had happened, gathered with candles and censers and, having adorned the holy body of the Monk Theodora, they buried it with honor in the monastery, in which she labored well. And they celebrated brightly for many days, glorifying Christ God and magnifying His beloved bride, the Monk Theodora. Her husband, after her burial, asked for a cell in which his wife lived, or, rather, the bride of Christ, and, having taken the monastic vows, labored in it in fasting, prayer and tears, remembering the exploits of the Monk Theodora, and, after a little time, went to the Lord. And the lad Theodore, whom the nun had instead of a son, inherited the character, deeds, and all the virtuous life of his imaginary father, or, better to say, his mother, the venerable Theodora. He reached such perfection that after the death of the igumen he was chosen by all the monks to take his place, he was a good father, instructing his children on the path of salvation, and he himself followed the same path in the footsteps of the Monk Theodora and settled with her in the abodes of heaven.

Through the prayers of Thy saints, O Lord, do not deprive us of Thy heavenly Kingdom. Amen.

Pre-beautiful Fe-o-do-ra Alek-san-driy-sky and her husband lived in Alek-sandria. In their family, tsar-ri-whether love and con-glance-this, and it was hated-wist-but spa-se-niya enemy. In-boo-yes-e-my dia-vo-crowbar, one god-ga-th man-lo-age was flattered by the beauty of that mo-lo-doy Fe-o-do-ry and on -chal all-mi spo-so-ba-mi to incline her to pre-lu-bo-de-ya-niyu, but for a long time did not have success. Then he drank wives-schi-well-common-ni-tsu, someone-paradise led him into delusion to-ver-chi-wu Fe-o-do- ru, saying that sin, co-per-sha-e-my but-whose, God does not count in vi-nu. Fe-o-do-ra from-me-ni-la to her-husband, but soon she came to her senses and, realizing the vileness of pa-de-nia, rose-not- na-vi-de-la se-bya, mercilessly bi-la se-bya in the face and tear-la on the go-lo-ve in-lo-sy. The conscience doesn’t give-va-la to her, and Fe-o-do-ra from-great-ve-to-know-to-my yoke-me-nii and told-for-la about with -ver-shen-nom pre-stup-le-nii. Igu-me-niya, seeing from-cha-i-nie mo-lo-doy of a woman-shchi-ny, voz-boo-di-la in her faith in the Divine space -nie and remembrance of the gospel parable about the sinner, washing the tears of the feet of Christ and getting better from Him about -shche-tion of their sins. In hope-de on the mi-lo-ser-die of God Fe-o-do-ra said-for-la: "I believe God can-e-mu and from now on I won’t commit such a sin, and co-de-yan-ny in an old-ra-I am for-stroking. In the same mi-well-tu pre-added Fe-o-do-ra re-shi-la go to mo-na-stir to cleanse yourself in motion and mo-lit-ve. She tai-but-ki-nu-la se-mu and, re-dressing in a man's suit, went right to the man's mo-on-stay ryu, for I feared that her husband would find her in the women's obi-there. Igu-man obi-te-whether it was not bless-go-slo-vil to let her go even into the yard, is-you-y-y-y-y-y-y-strong alien. Pre-beautiful Fe-o-do-ra remained but-che-wat at the mouth. In the morning, having fallen to the feet of the yoke-me-na, she was called Fe-o-do-rum from Aleksandria and asked-si-la to leave her in mo-na-sta -re for in-ka-i-niya and other-che-s-move-gov. Seeing a chi-hundred-ser-dech-noe on-me-re-an arrival, Igu-men with-gla-strength.

Yes, the experienced foreigners were surprised by the all-night-to-le-but-pre-clo-nen-ny mo-lit-you, smi-re-niyu, ter-pe-niyu and sa-mo-from-ver-the-same Fe-o-do-ra. The holy one hung in the mo-on-hundred-re for seven years. Her body, once desecrated pre-lu-bo-de-i-ni-em, became vi-di-my co-su-house of bla-go-da-ti God -she and together with the Holy Spirit. Once upon a time, the saint would be sent to Aleksandria to buy bread. Blessing her on the way, hegu-men on-ka-hall in the case of holding tea on the way, stop-but-wind-sya in the neighboring Enat mo- on-st-re. In the go-sti-ni-tse Enat-sko-go mo-na-sta-rya pro-zhi-va-la then the daughter of Igu-men-na, who came to-go-to-stay from father . Pre-flattered beauty with that mo-lo-do-go-ino-ka, she began to incline the pre-beautiful Fe-o-do-ru to sin-hu-lu-bo- de-i-niya, not knowing that there is a woman in front of her. Having heard the refusal, she committed a sin with another guest and for-cha-la. Pre-beautiful, having bought bread, returned to his abode.

After some time, the father of the shameless devi-tsy, for-me-tiv-committing a crime, began to do-che-ri, who flattered her. De-vi-tsa uka-za-la on Fe-o-do-ra-mo-na-ha. The father immediately-len-but co-generalized on-a-hundred-I-te-lyu mo-on-stay-rya, in some-rum under-vis-za-be-for-beautiful Fe- oh-do-ra. Igu-man called Fe-o-do-ra and told him about-we-not-nii. The monk firmly answered: “God is a witness, I didn’t do this,” and Igu-men, knowing the purity and sanctity of life Fe-o- do-ra, didn’t believe kle-ve-te. When lu-bo-dei-tsa ro-di-la, Enat mo-na-khi brought the baby to the mo-to-stir, where they lived in motion -tsa, and began to reproach the monks in an unclean life. This time, the igu-man believed the cle-ve-te and raz-angry-val-sya on the nevi-new-no-go Fe-o-do-ra. I’ll tell the young den-tsa-chi-be-be-good-and with the devil you drove her out of the monastery. Fe-o-do-ra humble-ren-but in-ko-ri-was-in-my-is-py-ta-niyu, usmat-ri-vaya in it redeem-le-ne-fore-not- wow. She sat down with re-ben-com ne-da-le-ku from obi-te-li in sha-la-she. Pas-tu-hee from pity-lo-sti yes-va-li mo-lo-ko for the baby-den-tsa, and sa-ma pre-additional pi-ta-las only di-ki -mi tra-va-mi. In those seven years, ne-re-but-sya adversity, the saint moved on-to-go-di-losing out of exile. Finally, at the request of the monks, the higu-men asked her to return to the monastery with the baby, where she was for two years lived-la in for-you-re, teaching re-ben-ka the fear of God. Igu-men obi-te-li-chil from God from-kro-ve-nie that the sin of a foreigner Fe-o-do-ra is forgiven. Bless-go-give God pre-would-va-la on foreign-ke Fe-o-do-re, and soon all mo-na-khi became sw-de-te-la-mi know -me-nia, co-ver-shiv-she-go-sya mo-lit-va-mi in motion-ni-tsy. Once upon a time, in that place, during the time for-su-hee, all the sources of water were re-dry. Igu-men told the brethren that only Fe-o-dor could avert disaster. Calling on the pre-beautiful, the igu-men told her to fetch water from you-dry-she-go-boat. By the blessing of the yoke-me-on the pre-beautiful Fe-o-do-ra brought-la water-du, after which water-yes in co- lod-tse is no longer pe-re-sy-ha-la. Humble-ren-naya Fe-o-do-ra go-vo-ri-la, that chu-do co-ver-shi-elk according to the prayer and faith of their yoke-me-on.

Before death, pre-beautiful Fe-o-do-ra for-you-ri-la in the cell with the father-ro-com and for-ve-shcha-la him to love Bo -ga, in-vi-no-vat-sya yoke-me-nu and brethren, keep the thread silent, be kind-hearted and meek, run away badly -words and idle-words, love-to-beat carrying-ty-zha-tel-ness, remember their ski-tal-che-sky life. After that, having become a prayer, for the last time she asked the Lord for forgiveness of sins. Together with her, she prayed and ot-rock. Soon the words of the mo-lit-you died on the lips in a move-ni-tsy, and she calmly went to the mountain world († c. 474-491).

The Lord opened the yoke-me-nu about the spiritual co-perfection of the foreigner Fe-o-do-ra and about his secret. Na-sto-ya-tel, in order to remove the glue-ve-tu with the chiv-she, in the presence of the hundred-ya-te-la and the brothers of the Enat obi-te-li races -said the hall about vi-de-nii and for udo-ve-re-niya opened the per-si pre-do-no. The Enat yig-men and the brethren co-treated from horror for their great transgression and, having fallen to the holy body, with tears of pro-si-whether pro-shche-niya at pre-dob-no Fe-o-do-ry. The news of the saint in a move-nice-went to the su-pru-ga pre-beautiful Fe-o-do-ry. He took a haircut in the monastery, where his wife was sparing. From-rock, re-pi-tan-ny pre-dob-noy, also followed in the footsteps of his receiving ma-te-ri. Subsequently, he became the yoke-me-nome of this mo-on-stay.

See also: "" in from-lo-same-nii svt. Di-mit-ria Rostov-sko-go.

The Monk Theodora of Constantinople lived in Constantinople in the first half of the 10th century. She was married, but soon became a widow and led a pious life, serving the poor and wanderers, and then she became a monk and lived under the guidance of the Monk Basil the New (Comm. 26 March), who lived in her house in a solitary cell. The saint died at an advanced age in 940. Student Saint Basil New, Gregory, after the death of Saint Theodora, with a prayer, he asked the saint to reveal to him the afterlife fate of the old woman. "So you really want this?" - asked St. Basil. "Yes, I would very much like to," Grigory answered. The monk said: "You will see her today if you ask for it in faith and if you are deeply confident in the possibility of fulfilling your request." Grigory was greatly surprised and reasoned with himself how and where he could see the one who had gone into eternal life. When Gregory fell asleep that same night, a handsome young man approached him and said: "Get up, the Reverend Father Basil is calling you to visit Theodora together; if you want to see her, then go with him and you will see." Gregory immediately went to the monk, but did not find him. Those present told him that Saint Basil had himself gone to visit Saint Theodora. The grieved Gregory was shown the path along which the monk had gone. Grigory followed it until he found himself in an unknown labyrinth. A narrow and uncomfortable road led to a locked gate. Seeing through the hole that there was a courtyard behind the gate, Grigory called out to the woman who was sitting there. She explained that this courtyard belongs to Father Vasily, who came here to visit his spiritual children. “Open to me, I am also a child of St. Basil,” asked Gregory. But without the permission of St. Theodora, the maid did not open the door. Gregory started knocking hard on the door. The Monk Theodora heard and gladly let him in, saying: “Here he is, the beloved son of my master, Basil!” Welcoming him, the saint asked: "Brother Gregory, who instructed you to come here?" Then he told in detail how, through the prayer of Saint Basil, he had achieved the happiness of seeing her in the glory that she had acquired through her ascetic life. Gregory began to ask the reverend to tell him, for the sake of spiritual benefit, how she parted with her body and passed by the slanderers into this holy monastery. The reverend answered: “How can I, dear child Gregory, tell you everything? After what I experienced in fear and trembling, I forgot a lot, especially since I saw such faces and heard such voices that I had never seen or heard before. throughout my life. What I can say is that I would have met a fierce death for my wrong deeds committed on earth, if not for the prayers of our father Vasily. Only his prayers made my death easy. " After this, the Monk Theodora began to tell how many evil spirits suddenly appeared and frightened her at her death. They brought big books, in which the sins of all life were recorded and reviewed impatiently, as if waiting for the arrival of some judge from minute to minute. Seeing all this, the reverend was in such awe and horror that she was completely exhausted and looked around in suffering, wanting to see someone who could drive away the demons. Being in such a painful state, the nun saw two angels standing on her right side. The evil spirits immediately moved on. "Why do you, the gloomy enemies of the human race, confuse and torment the soul of a dying woman? Do not rejoice, there is nothing of yours here," said the Angel. Then the shameless spirits began to remember everything that the saint had done from her youth, whether in word, deed, or thought. At the same time, they added a lot of themselves, trying to slander the reverend. Finally death came. She poured something into a bowl and brought the saint to drink, and then, taking a knife, cut off her head. “Ah, my child,” continued the story of the Monk Theodora, “how bitter, bitter I felt then! sets her free." The luminous Angels accepted the soul of the saint and began to depart with her to Heaven, while the body of the saint remained lying on the ground, like discarded clothes. When the holy angels held the soul of the saint, the evil spirits attacked again, saying: "We have many of her sins, answer us for them." And then the Angels began to remember all the good deeds that the saint had done: her mercy, peacefulness, love for temple of God, patience, humility, fasting and many other feats that the reverend suffered in life. Having collected all this, they opposed the sins with good deeds, which atoned for them. Evil spirits gnashed their teeth, wanting to steal the holy soul and plunge it into the abyss. At this time, the Monk Basil suddenly appeared with his spirit and said to the holy angels: “My patrons, this soul served me a lot, calming my weakness and old age. I prayed to the Lord for her, and He granted me this blessing.” At the same time, St. Basil gave the Angels some kind of ark, adding: "When you want to pass the ordeals of the air, redeem her by taking from this ark and giving it to the crafty and evil spirits." Having handed over the reliquary, the saint departed. Seeing this, the evil spirits remained for a long time in bewilderment and voiceless, and then suddenly, exclaiming loudly, they yelled: "Woe to us! We labored in vain, watching her, how and where she sinned." Saying this, they instantly disappeared. Then the Monk Basil appeared again and brought with him many different vessels with aromas, which he handed over to the Angels. Opening one vessel after another, the angels poured fragrances on Saint Theodora. She was filled with a spiritual fragrance and felt that she had changed and became very bright. The Monk Basil said: "My patrons! When you have done everything necessary for her, then, having brought her to the monastery prepared for me by the Lord, leave her there." Having said this, he departed. The Holy Angels took the Monk Theodora and went up to Heaven, ascending, as if through the air.

And on the way, the first ordeal, which is called the ordeal of idle talk and foul language, suddenly met. The tormentors demanded an answer to everything that the Monk Theodora had ever spoken badly about someone, accused of indecent laughter, ridicule, bad songs. The saint forgot all this, for much time has passed since she began to lead a life pleasing to God. But the angels protected her.

Above was the ordeal of Lies. The evil spirits that were there were very vile, disgusting and ferocious. They furiously began to slander the saint, but the angels gave them from the ark and passed them without trouble.

When the reverend reached the third ordeal - Condemnation and Slander, an older one came out from the evil spirits and began to tell with what bad words the reverend slandered someone in her life. He showed much that was false, but it was surprising with what detail and accuracy the demons remembered what the reverend herself forgot.

The servants of the fourth ordeal - Obsession and Drunkenness, as if predatory wolves were ready to devour the saint, remembering how she ate in the morning without praying to God, ate before lunch and dinner and without measure, broke fasts. Trying to snatch the reverend from the hands of the angels, one of the evil spirits said: “Didn’t you promise at holy Baptism to your Lord God that you would renounce Satan and all his works and everything that belongs to Satan? Having made such a vow, how could you do what did you do?" And the demons even counted all the cups of wine that St. Theodora drank throughout her life. When she said: “Yes, it was, and I remember it,” the Angels again gave a piece from the ark of St. Basil, as they did at every ordeal, and went on.

"Do the people on earth know what awaits them here and what they will meet after their death?" - asked the Monk Theodora Angelov. “Yes, they know,” answered the Angel, “but the pleasures and delights of life affect them so strongly, absorb their attention so much that they involuntarily forget about what awaits them beyond the grave. Good to those who remember Holy Bible and do alms or do any other good deeds that can subsequently redeem them from the eternal torments of hell. But woe to those who live carelessly, as if immortal, thinking only of the blessings of the womb and pride. If death suddenly befalls them, it will completely destroy them, since they will not have any good deeds in defense of themselves; the souls of those people, the dark princes of these ordeals, having severely tormented them, will take them to the dark places of hell and will keep them until the coming of Christ. So you, Theodora, would have suffered if you had not received from the saint of God Basil the gifts that saved you here from everything bad. "In such a conversation, the Angels reached the fifth ordeal - Sloth, where sinners are tortured for all the days and hours spent in idleness Parasites, lazy in holidays go to the temple of God. In the same place, despondency and neglect of both worldly and spiritual people are tested, and each one’s carelessness about his soul is examined. Many from there fall into the abyss. The angels made up for the shortcomings of the saint with the gifts of St. Basil and set off further.

The sixth ordeal - Theft they passed freely. Also, the seventh ordeal - Love of Money and Avarice The angels passed without delay, because, by the grace of God, the nun was always content with what God gave, and diligently distributed what was available to those in need.

The spirits of the eighth ordeal - Likoism, tormenting bribery and flattery, gnashed their teeth in anger when the Angels passed from them, for they had nothing against the reverend. The ninth ordeal - Untruth and Vanity, the tenth - Envy and the eleventh - Pride Angels also passed freely.

Soon the twelfth ordeal - Wrath - met on the way. The eldest of the spirits, filled with the wrath of rage and pride, ordered the servants to torment and torture the reverend. The demons repeated all the true words of the reverend, spoken by her in anger, they even remembered how she looked at her children with anger or severely punished them. To all this the Angels answered by giving from the ark.

Like robbers, the evil spirits of the thirteenth ordeal - rancor jumped up, but, finding nothing in their records, wept bitterly. Then the saint dared to ask one of the angels how the evil spirits knew who and what had done evil in life. The angel answered: “Every Christian at Holy Baptism receives a Guardian Angel, who invisibly protects him from all evil and instructs him in all good things, who records all the good deeds done by this person. On the other hand, an evil angel watches over evil ones throughout his life. deeds of people and writes them down in his book. He writes down all the sins in which, as you saw, people are tested, going through ordeals and heading for Heaven. These sins can forbid the soul from entering Paradise and lead directly to the abyss, in which evil spirits themselves And there these souls will live until the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, if they do not have behind them good deeds that could snatch them out of the hands of the devil. Holy Trinity Those who partake as often as possible of the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ the Savior ascend directly to Heaven without any obstacles. And the holy angels of God are protectors, and the holy saints of God pray for the salvation of the souls of people who have lived righteously. But no one cares about the wicked and evil heretics, who do nothing useful in their lives, and the Angels cannot say anything in their defense. ", beat on the cheeks or with some kind of weapon. And this ordeal the Angels passed freely. Suddenly they found themselves in the fifteenth ordeal - Enchantment, charm (witchcraft), poisoning, invoking demons. Here were serpentine spirits, the purpose of whose existence is to lead people into temptation and "By the grace of Christ, the nun soon passed this ordeal. After that, she asked if for every sin that a person commits in life, he is tortured in ordeals, or is it possible to make amends for the sin even during his lifetime in order to be cleansed of it and not suffer during the ordeals. Angels they answered the Monk Theodora that not everyone is tested in such detail at ordeals, but only those who, like her, did not confess frankly before death. “If I confessed to my spiritual father, without any shame and fear, everything sinful, and if I received forgiveness from my spiritual father,” said the Monk Theodora, “then I would go through all these ordeals without hindrance, and I would not have to be tortured in a single sin. But since I did not want to honestly confess spiritual father my sins, then here they torture me for it. Of course, it helped me a lot that throughout my life I tried and wanted to avoid sin. Those who diligently strive for repentance always receive forgiveness from God, and through this, a free transition from this life to a blessed one. afterlife . The evil spirits, who are in ordeals along with their writings, having opened them, find nothing written, for the Holy Spirit makes everything written invisible. And they see this and know that everything written by them has been blotted out, thanks to confession, and then they grieve very much. If the person is still alive, then they try to enter some other sins in this place again. Truly great is the salvation of man in confession! She saves him from many troubles and misfortunes, gives him the opportunity to go through all the ordeals without hindrance and come closer to God. Others do not confess in the hope that there will be time for both salvation and the remission of sins. Others are simply ashamed at confession to express their sins to their confessor - such and such people will be severely tested in ordeals. There are also those who are ashamed to tell everything to one spiritual father, but choose several, and reveal some sins to one spiritual father, and others to another, and so on. For such a confession, they will be punished and will suffer a lot during the transition from ordeal to ordeal. "The sixteenth ordeal - Fornication imperceptibly approached. The torturers were amazed that the saint reached them without hindrance, and when they began to say what she had done in life, they gave many false testimonies The servants of the seventeenth ordeal - Adultery did the same. The Monk Theodora soon passed in. When they rose higher, the Angels said to her: “You saw the terrible and disgusting ordeals of fornication. Know that a rare soul passes them freely. The whole world is immersed in the evil of temptations and filth, almost all people are voluptuous, "the thought of a man's heart is evil from his youth" (Genesis 8:21). There are few who mortify carnal lusts and few who would freely pass by these ordeals. Most of them, having reached here, perish. The authorities of prodigal ordeals boast that they alone, more than all other ordeals, fill the fiery kinship in hell. Thank God, Theodora, that you have passed these prodigal torturers with the prayers of your father, St. Basil. You will no longer see fear." mercy, they are thrown from here into hell and shut up until the general resurrection. Like annoying bees, the servants of the cruel demon flew up, but, not finding anything in the reverend, they departed.

Joyful angels led the saint through the heavenly gates. When they entered into Heaven, the water that was above the earth parted, and behind it reunited. A jubilant host of angels met the saint and led her to the Throne of God. As they walked, two Divine clouds descended on them. At an inexplicable height stood the Throne of God, so white that it enlightened all who stood before it. “Everything there is such that it is impossible to understand or explain; the mind is clouded with bewilderment, and the memory disappears, and I forgot where I am,” St. Theodora said. She bowed to the Invisible God and heard a voice commanding her to show her all the souls of the righteous and sinners, and after that to give her rest, where the saint Vasily indicated. When all this was shown to her, one of the Angels said: “You know, Theodora, that there is a custom in the world: on the 40th day after death, the survivors create a memory for the dead. So, there, on earth, today Vasily commemorates you reverend." “So,” St. Theodora finished the story, “now, my spiritual child Gregory, after 40 days of separation of my soul from the body, I am in this place, which is prepared for reverend father Our Basil." After that, she led him through the heavenly monastery, where Gregory met the Monk Basil at the palace at a meal. Then the saint led him into the garden. Struck by the blessings, Gregory began to inquire about them. but it goes to the one who endures many sorrows and misfortunes in earthly life, who guards the commandments of the Lord and fulfills them exactly. yet. His spirit was joyful, his feelings and thoughts were pure. He wanted to return from the garden, which the reverend showed him, to the palace. When they returned, there was no one at the meal. Bowing to the reverend Theodora, Gregory returned home, and at that very moment, woke up and began to think where he was and what was all that he heard and saw. He was afraid that this was not a demonic delusion, and came to the teacher. Then the Monk Basil himself told what Gregory had seen, and asked him to write down everything seen and heard for the benefit of others.

Saint Theodora lived in Constantinople in the first half of the 10th century. She was married, but widowed and led a pious life, serving the poor and wanderers, then she became a monk and lived under the guidance of St. Basil the New (Comm. 26 March). She died at an advanced age. The disciple of Saint Basil, Gregory, with a prayer began to ask the elder to reveal to him the afterlife of the holy old woman Theodora. And for the sake of his persistent requests, through the prayer of the elder, a wonderful vision was revealed to Gregory in a dream: he found himself in a holy, beautiful garden, where he met Theodora and could ask her about how she parted from her body and how she came to this holy monastery. The nun answered: “How can I, dear child Gregory, tell you everything? After what I experienced in fear and trembling, I forgot a lot, especially since I saw such faces and heard such voices that I had never seen or heard in my entire life. What I can say is that I would have met a fierce death for my wrong deeds committed on earth, if not for the prayers of our father Vasily. His prayers alone made my death easy.” After this, the Monk Theodora told how many evil spirits that suddenly appeared at her death frightened her. They brought large books in which the sins of her whole life were written, and they looked over them impatiently, as if they were expecting the arrival of some judge any minute. Seeing this, she was in such awe and horror that she was completely exhausted, and, looking around in suffering, she wanted to see someone who could drive away the demons. Being in such a painful state, the reverend saw two angels standing next to her, the evil spirits immediately moved away. “Why do you, the gloomy enemies of the human race, confuse and torment the soul of a dying woman? Do not rejoice, there is nothing of yours here,” said one angel. Then the shameless spirits began to remember everything that the saint had done from her youth, whether by word, deed or thought. At the same time, they added a lot of themselves, trying to slander the reverend. Finally, death came, she poured something into a bowl and brought the saint to drink, and then, taking a knife, cut off her head. “Ah, my child,” continued the story of the Monk Theodora, “how bitter, bitter I felt then! At that moment, death plucked out my soul, which quickly separated from the body, just as a bird quickly jumps off the hand of a catcher if he sets it free. The luminous angels accepted the soul of the saint and began to depart with her to Heaven, while the body of the saint remained lying on the ground, like discarded clothes. When the holy angels held the soul of the saint, the evil spirits, having approached again, said: “We have many of her sins, answer us for them.” And then the angels began to remember all the good deeds that the saint had done: her mercy, peacefulness, love for the temple of God, patience, humility, fasting, and many other feats that the reverend suffered in life. Then the Monk Elder Basil also appeared and began to speak to the angels: “My patrons, this soul has served me a lot, calming my weakness and old age. I prayed to the Lord for her, and He granted me this grace. At the same time, St. Basil gave the angels some kind of ark, adding: “When you want to pass the ordeals of the air, redeem her by taking from this ark and giving it to the crafty and evil spirits.” The angels took the Monk Theodora and went up to Heaven, ascending, as it were, through the air. And on the way, the first ordeal, which is called the ordeal of idle talk and foul language, suddenly met. The torturers demanded an answer to everything that the Monk Theodora had ever spoken badly, they accused her of indecent laughter, ridicule, bad songs. The saint forgot all this, for much time had passed since she began to lead a life pleasing to God. But the angels protected her.

Above was the ordeal of Lies. The evil spirits that were there were very vile, disgusting and ferocious. They furiously began to slander the saint, but the angels gave them from the ark and passed them by. When the reverend reached the third ordeal - Condemnation and Slander, an older one came out of the evil spirits and began to tell with what bad words the reverend slandered someone in her life. He showed much that was false, but it was surprising with what detail and accuracy the demons remembered what the reverend herself forgot.

The servants of the fourth ordeal - Obsession and Drunkenness, like predatory wolves, were ready to devour the saint, remembering how she ate in the morning without praying to God, ate before lunch and dinner and without measure, broke fasts. Trying to snatch Theodora’s soul from the hands of the angels, one of the evil spirits said: “Didn’t you promise at holy baptism to your Lord God to renounce Satan and all his works and everything that belongs to Satan? Having made such a vow, how could you do what you did?” And the demons even counted all the cups of wine that St. Theodora drank throughout her life. When she said: “Yes, it was, and I remember it,” the angels again gave a piece from the ark of St. Basil, as they did at every ordeal, and went on.

“Do the people on earth know what awaits them here and what they will meet after their death?” asked the Monk Theodora of the angels. “Yes, they know,” answered the angel, “but the pleasures and delights of life affect them so strongly, absorb their attention so much that they involuntarily forget what awaits them beyond the grave. Good for those who remember the Holy Scriptures and do alms or do any other good deeds that can subsequently redeem them from the eternal torments of hell. But woe to those who live carelessly, as if immortal, thinking only of the blessings of the womb and pride. If death suddenly befalls them, it will completely destroy them, since they will not have any good deeds in defense of themselves; the souls of those people, the dark princes of these ordeals, having severely tormented them, will take them to the dark places of hell and will keep them until the coming of Christ. So you, Theodora, would have suffered if you had not received from the saint of God Basil the gifts that saved you here from all evil. In such a conversation, they reached the fifth ordeal - Sloth, where sinners are tortured for all the days and hours spent in idleness. Parasites, who are too lazy to go to the temple of God on holidays, are immediately detained. In the same place, the despondency and neglect of both worldly and spiritual people are tested, and the negligence of each about his soul is examined. Many from there fall into the abyss. The angels made up for the shortcomings of the venerable one with the gifts of St. Basil and went on.

The sixth ordeal - Theft - they passed freely. Also, the seventh ordeal - the love of money and avarice - the angels passed without delay, because, by the grace of God, the nun was always content with what God gave, and diligently distributed what was available to those in need.

The spirits of the eighth ordeal - Likoism, tormenting bribery and flattery, gnashed their teeth in anger when the angels passed from them, for they had nothing against the reverend.

The ninth ordeal - Untruth and Vanity, the tenth - Envy, and the eleventh - Pride - the angels passed freely.

Soon the twelfth ordeal was met on the way - Wrath. The oldest of the spirits, full of anger and pride, ordered the servants to torment and torture the reverend. The demons repeated all the true words of the reverend, spoken by her in anger, they even remembered how she looked at her children with anger or severely punished them. To all this the angels answered by giving from the ark.

Like robbers, the evil spirits of the thirteenth ordeal - Rancor, jumped up, but, finding nothing in their records, wept bitterly. Then the reverend dared to ask one of the angels how the evil spirits know who and what has done evil in life. The angel answered: “At holy baptism, every Christian receives a guardian angel who invisibly protects him from all evil and instructs him in all good things, who records all the good deeds done by this person. On the other hand, an evil angel watches over the evil deeds of people throughout his life and writes them down in his book. He writes down all the sins in which, as you saw, people are tested when they go through ordeals and go to Heaven. These sins can prevent the soul from entering paradise and lead directly to the abyss in which evil spirits themselves live. And there these souls will live until the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, if they do not have good deeds behind them that could snatch them out of the hands of the devil. People who believe in the Holy Trinity, partaking of the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ the Savior as often as possible, directly ascend to Heaven without any obstacles. And the holy angels of God are protectors, and the holy saints of God pray for the salvation of the souls of people who lived righteously. No one cares about the wicked and evil heretics who do nothing useful in their lives, and the angels cannot say anything in their defense.

In the fourteenth ordeal - Robbery, which the angels reached, everyone was tested who pushed someone with anger, beat on the cheeks or with some kind of tool. And the angels passed this ordeal freely. Suddenly they found themselves in the fifteenth ordeal - Sorcery, charm (witchcraft), poisoning, invoking demons. There were serpentine spirits here, the purpose of whose existence is to lead people into temptation and debauchery. By the grace of Christ, the reverend soon passed through this ordeal. After that, she asked if for every sin that a person commits in life, he is tortured in ordeals, or is it possible to make amends for the sin even during his lifetime in order to be cleansed of it and not suffer during the ordeals. The angels answered the Monk Theodora that not everyone is tested in such detail at ordeals, but only those who, like her, did not confess frankly before death. “If I confessed to my spiritual father, without any shame or fear, all that was sinful and received forgiveness,” said the Monk Theodora, “then I would go through all these ordeals without hindrance and I would not have to be tortured in a single sin. But as I did not want to sincerely confess my sins to the father, here they torture me for this. Of course, it helped me a lot that throughout my life I tried and wanted to avoid sin. Those who diligently strive for repentance always receive forgiveness from God, and through this, a free transition from this life to a blissful afterlife. The evil spirits, who are in ordeals along with their writings, having opened them, find nothing written, for the Holy Spirit makes everything written invisible. And they see this and know that everything written by them has been blotted out thanks to confession, and then they grieve very much. If a person is still living, then they try to write in this place again some other sins. Truly great is the salvation of man in confession! She saves him from many troubles and misfortunes, gives him the opportunity to go through all the ordeals without hindrance and come closer to God. Others do not confess, hoping that there will be time for both salvation and the remission of sins. Others are simply ashamed at confession to express their sins to their confessor - such and such people will be severely tested in ordeals. There are also those who are ashamed to tell one spiritual father everything, but elect several and reveal some sins to one, others to another, and so on. For such a confession, they will be punished and will suffer a lot in the transition from ordeal to ordeal.”

Imperceptibly approached the sixteenth ordeal - Fornication. The torturers were amazed that the saint reached them without hindrance, and when they began to say what she had done in life, they gave many false testimonies, citing names and places to confirm. So did the servants of the seventeenth ordeal - Adultery.

The eighteenth ordeal is Sodom, where all unnatural fornication sins and incest are tortured, all the most vile, secretly committed deeds, about which, according to the word of the apostle, it is shameful even to speak, the Monk Theodora passed quickly. When they climbed higher, the angels said to her: “You saw the terrible and disgusting ordeals of fornication. Know that a rare soul passes them freely. The whole world is immersed in the evil of temptations and filth, almost all people are voluptuous, the thought of the human heart is evil from his youth (Genesis 8:21). Few are those who mortify carnal lusts, and few are those who freely pass by these ordeals. Most of them, having reached here, perish. The authorities of prodigal ordeals boast that they alone, more than all other ordeals, fill the fiery kinship in hell. Thank God, Theodora, that you have passed through these prodigal torturers with the prayers of your father. You won't see fear anymore."

At the nineteenth ordeal—Idolatry and all kinds of heresy—the reverend was not tested in anything. In the last, twentieth ordeal - Unmercy and Hardness of Heart - all the unmerciful, cruel, harsh and hating were recorded. The soul of a person who has not followed the commandment of God about mercy is thrown from here into hell and shut up until the general resurrection. Like annoying bees, the servants of the cruel demon flew up, but, not finding anything in the reverend, they departed. Joyful angels led the saint through the heavenly gates. When they entered into Heaven, the water that was above the earth parted, and behind it reunited. A jubilant host of angels met the saint and led her to the Throne of God. As they walked, two Divine clouds descended on them. At an inexplicable height stood the Throne of God, so white that it illuminated all who stood before it. “Everything there is such that it is impossible to understand or explain; the mind is clouded by bewilderment, and memory disappears, and I have forgotten where I am,” said St. Theodora. She bowed to the Invisible God and heard a voice commanding her to show her all the souls of the righteous and sinners and then give her peace.

After the story, Theodora led Gregory through the Heavenly monastery, led him into the palace, into the garden, where he, amazed by the blessings, wanted to learn more about them, but the reverend only said that all this is unearthly and goes to the one who endures many sorrows and misfortunes in earthly life. who guards the commandments of the Lord and fulfills them exactly. So, bowing to the saint, Gregory returned home and at that time woke up and began to reflect on what he had seen. Fearing that this was not a demonic delusion, he hurried to the teacher, the Monk Basil, but he, having warned him, himself told everything that Gregory had seen and asked him to write down what he saw and heard for the benefit of his neighbors. We think that every penitent Christian will find great benefit for himself in this story, think with fear about what awaits him after his repose, and wish, while there is time, to soberly reassess his life, his actions, words, thoughts, and rather confess everything sinful without concealment, rejecting indecision.