Saint Arsany | Arsanious

The Teacher of Kings’ Children

21st May – 13th Bashans

St. Arsany was born in Rome, about 350 A. D. His parents were Christian & very rich.. They taught him the different subjects concerning Church matters. He was later nominated as a Deacon. He was familiar with Latin, Greek knowledge, & Christian virtues in general.

The Teacher of the Kings’ Sons

One day, king “Theodosios the Great” asked for a virtuous wise man to teach his two children “Anorious” & “Arcadious”, and he found nobody like St. Arsany, who was full of wisdom & virtues. He did a good job in teaching them Christian and knowledge in general..

The way to Egypt.. to Holiness

St. Arsany used to pray in tears always for God in order to teach him His righteous way.. His way of salvation. Then, one day he heard a voice clearly saying: “Arsany.. Arsany.. Run away from people, and you’ll be saved.”

He was about Forty of age at that time when he -secretly- left Rome with all its glory, left his great positions there, his name, belongings, in short, ALL his past life, and came to Alexandria, Egypt. Then to “Sheheat Wilderness”.

The Beginning of His Monastic Life

From the beginning, St. Arsany showed great eagerness for learning. * Once while he was asking an old monk about something, another monk came and asked him: “How come do you; Father Arsany, who knows much about the great Greek & Roman knowledge, ask this illiterate monk about your thoughts?!”.

St. Arsany told him with true modesty: “You’re right about my great knowledge of Greek & Roman literature.. But the “Alpha Vita” that this Egyptian knows very well, I have not learned yet..!”. (He meant the way to virtues).

Learning

It is said that St. Arsany was very intelligent and nimble, he did not need a direct guidance, but he learned from every single event that happened.

* It was not the monks’ habit to select the good beans from the ones ruined by mite.. Once upon a time, St. Arsany was eating beans with other monks, and he was selecting the good beans to eat. When the head of the monastery noticed that, he did not like it.. so he wanted to teach St. Arsany a lesson.

He picked one of the monks and excused him saying: “Please endure what I am going to do to you.. Go and sit beside Arsany, and choose the good beans from the bad”. The monk obeyed directly, and did what he has been told. Then the head of the monastery came to him and slapped him on his face saying: “How come do you choose the good beans for yourself and leave the bad for your brothers?!!”.

Then St. Arsany bowed to him & to the monk saying: “This slap was not meant for you, but it was addressed to Arsany’s cheek!”. Then added: “Here he is: Arsany, the teacher to the kings’ sons, don’t know how to eat beans with the Egyptian monks”!!

Some Other Stories About St. Arsany

* A messenger came to him from Rome with a will from one of his deceased relatives, giving him all his possessions.. Then St. Arsany asked the messenger:

- “When did this man died?”

- “A year ago.”

- “But I died 11 years ago!! And the dead doesn’t inherit the dead!!”.

* He used to repel Satan’s wars by praying a lot.. So, one day the devils came to him in the shape of angels, blessing him for his holiness and determination (in order to make him commit the sin of pride). But he cried for God: “Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord, make haste to help me.

Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil..

“Oh Lord.. Don’t let me down.. for I did not do you any good at all.. But give me the strength now to do your own will, and to start doing what is right.”

Just then all the devils evaporated in the air.. And St. Arsany always used to ask God to show him the right way, then he heard the same old voice again: “Arsany.. Keep your serenity, and go away from people, then you’ll be saved”.

# He used always to remind himself saying: “Arsany.. Arsany.. Remember what you are out for”. In order not to lose the way, and never deviate from the hard way..

# His routine was:

+ when the sun rose, he started to pray

+ then worked in braiding palm leaves till 6:00

+ then he engaged himself in reading till 9:00

+ then again to prayer

* In Sundays & in the Feasts, he used to stand in the desert, giving his back to the sun, and started praying with his hands up till the sun rose over on his face!!!

* A noble women once came to him from Rome after hearing about his holiness, and before she was leaving after talking with him for a while, she asked him to remember her in his prayers.. But St. Arsany said to her: “I hope God erases your memory from my mind!”.

She was very angry and sad because of these words, so she went to Pope Theofelos telling him about that. The Pope explained to her that what St. Arsany’s words meant, was his fear that the devil could use her against him.

* He was very cautious of talking, and when he was asked about it, he answered:

“Often have I spoken and regretted, but for silence I never did”.

* St. Arsany was very humble, and lived over what he was getting from selling his own hand work (braiding palm leaves), and gave the rest of the money to the poor.

He used to cry a lot (to repent his sins...), and in the church he used to stand behind a certain pillar crying, till that column had a small gully from his tears!

And his eyelashes started to fall from crying too much!!

(P. S.: this pillar still stands here in Egypt; at El-Baramous Monastery).

* It was said that when he used to stay at the royal palace in Rome, nobody wore more precious clothes than him.. Whereas after getting to the way of monasticism, no one wore less than he did!

* When braiding palm leaves, one had to wet them in order to be soft enough. The water must be changed regularily, but St. Arsany used to change this water only once a year! And whenever it was less, he just added water over that rotten water. (as a kind of austerity!).

When St. Macarious the Alexandrian came to him once, he asked him about that, St. Arsany answered: “Truly I say unto you, that I can’t stand this smell too, but I over burden myself with this bad smell instead of the pure smells that I got pleasure of using them in the world!”.

* He told his disciples a vision, which was seen by another monk :

“One day while an old monk was sitting in his room, he heard a voice telling him: “Go out, and I’ll show you the peoples’ deeds”.

“When he went out he saw a black man cutting firewood, and when he started to lift it up he couldn’t. And instead of lessening the weight, he added on it!! So he couldn’t hold it again, and so on..!

“Then he walked a little while and saw another man beside a well, taking water out of it and pouring it on a punctured pot, so the pot was never filled!!

“Again he saw two horsemen holding a column together, and every one of them was holding it from his side, but when they came to the door, no one of them humbled himself to go behind or after his friend in order to enter the column vertically, so they stayed out!!!”

Then St. Arsany started to explain this vision: + The firewood holder is like a man full of sins, and instead of repenting, he does more and more sins!

+ The man who was trying to fill the pot, is like a man who is used to giving donations, but that money is taken from people by force, so his reward is wasted!!

+ And the people who were holding the column, are the ones who are holding our Lord Jesus Christ’s yoke, with no humbleness or modesty, so they stay out of the Kingdom of the Lord!!!

* Once two strangers came to “Cheheat wilderness” to see St. Arsany, they knocked, and St. Arsany opened the door for them, but he kept silent all the time.. till they were sad, and went away..

On their way back, they went to the place where St. Moses The Black lived (who used to be a thief). They knocked, and he met them very well, talked to them, and fed them too…

When they left him, one asked the other about the saint he preferred. The stranger told him that the Egyptian satisfied him better.

Another monk heard that, he was very confused, and prayed a lot for God to tell him the right thing saying: “Please Lord.. Uncover this matter to me.. Some people run away from people for the sake of Your Name; and others accept and meet them, for the sake of Your Name too?!!!”

Then he saw a vision showing two ships, and on board of one was St. Arsany sailing in serenity accompanied by the spirit of the Lord.. And on board of the other ship St. Mosses, accompanied by God’s Angels, and they were feeding him honey.

His Last Days

When St. Arsany became older, about 97 years old, there came the time of the Holy Fast, so he went to his special room to stay there these 40 days, eating a little every three days..

While he was praying and meditating, the devils were very angry because of that, and they wanted to enter his room, but they couldn’t because he was praying, so they started to make a bad noise outside to disturb him, but he scolded them saying: “Why do you make this noise you enemies of truth?! If you have the power, then come.. enter.., or else fade away.. I am the servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, who destroyed all your powers”. And when he said that, the devils ran away with disgrace.

After that, he was visited by the Divine Care, then he started to study the Bible more, praying a lot, and crying.. And in Lazarus Saturday, he was visited by his disciples, and he opened to them, and talked to them..

When he knew that his departure was soon to come, he went out to visit his disciples as usual, and he told them: “Dear sons.. Let it be known unto you that my time had come. And I advise you not to care for anything but your own salvation”. His tears were flowing.. So everybody cried a lot, and bid him farewell..

After seven days, while his disciples were beside him, he started to cry telling them that his hour had come.. But they were very surprised of his terrified shape, so they asked him: “Even you Father fear death?!!” He answered: “The truth I say to you: the fear of this hour is with me since I’ve came to the monasticism”.

Then he crossed over his body, and peace returned to his face, and died.

After that a great light column appeared over the place, and his face shone.. Everybody then knew about his death, and many people came (monks and laymen) to take the blessing from his body, and a lot of sick people recovered.

He died on the 13th of Bachance, (May, 21st 445 A. D.)

The Departure of St. Pachomius (Pakhom), the Father of the Spiritual Communal Monastic life (Cenobitic life).

22nd May - 14 Bashans

On this day, of the year 64 A.M. (348 A.D.), Abba Pachomius, the father of the spiritual communal life (Cenobitic life), departed. He was born in Thebes (Luxor) from pagan parents, who forced him to worship idols. He rejected and mocked this worship, then became a monk with St. Balamon (Palaemon). He lived in submission to him for many years, and he mastered well the ways of the monastic life. Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him and commanded him to establish a communal and holy monastic life. Many monks gathered together to him, and he built for them many monasteries and established for them a system of manual labor, the times of prayers, and eating. He was the father of them all, with an Abbot in every monastery. He visited all the monasteries, from Aswan to Edfu to Donasa to the end of Upper Egypt to the north. He did not permit any one of his sons to become a priest for the sake of the vainglory of this world, and not to overlook the purpose of their monastic life of worship by being away from the world. He invited a priest from outside for each monastery to officiate the Divine Liturgy When Pope Athanasius wanted to ordain him a priest, he fled from him. St. Athanasius asked his disciples to tell him that he who built his house on the rock that can not be shaken, and fled from the vainglory of the world, is blessed, and his disciples are also blessed. He desired once to see Hades, and he saw in a night vision the habitation of the sinners and places of torment.

He remained the father of the Cenobites for forty years. When the time of his departure drew near, he called the monks, strengthened their faith, and appointed someone to take over his place after him, then departed in peace.

May his prayers be with us. Amen.

The Commemoration of St. John The Evangelist.

24th May - 16th Bashans

On this day the church commemorates St. John the Evangelist and his preaching in Asia Minor, the city of Ephesus, and the cities that are around it. Commemorates, the afflictions that he suffered and what befell him from the evil men who worshipped idols until he brought them to the knowledge of God and delivered them from the error of Satan by his teachings. The miracles that God performed through him. The writing of his Gospel, uttering in it with the eternity of the Son and His incarnation. His ascension to heaven in the Spirit, he saw the heavenly ranks and heard their praising and wrote about it in the book of Revelation.

This was during the reign of Emperor Domitianus (Domitian), when he exiled St. John, after he placed him in a cauldron filled with boiling oil, and was not harmed, to the island of Patmos, where he wrote the book of Revelation.

After Domitian had been killed in the year 96 A.D., St. John returned to Ephesus. He found some heretics of the Nicolaitans (Rev. 2:6) who taught that Christ’s birth was a natural birth from both Joseph and Mary. For this reason, he wrote his Gospel to refute their heresy. St. John had ardent zeal for the salvation of sinners. Once he saved a youth, delivered him to the bishop, and told him: “I entrust you with the safe keeping of this soul,” but the youth, because of his bad conduct and the evil company that he kept, spoiled his morals and he became the head of a band of robbers. When St. John returned, he asked the bishop about the young man, who expressed his sorrow to St. John for the condition that became of this young man and told him what had happened. St. John rode a horse, took with him a guide, and travelled to his place. When he arrived to that place, he was caught by the thieves and they took him to their leader. When the leader saw St. John, he knew him, and was ashamed and tried to flee. St. John told him: “My son, be merciful to yourself, because the door of hope is still open for your salvation, and I will be your intercessor before the Lord Christ.” Then, the young man wept, returned repenting, and St. John administered to him the Holy Communion to strengthen him. The biography of St. John is written under the 4th day of Tubah. This feast is a commemoration for his evangelism, and also because on this day a church was consecrated after his name in the city of Alexandria. May his prayers be with us and glory be to God forever. Amen.

Reflections on the Holy Bible readings

The fifth Sunday of Pentecost John 14: 1-11

In My Father’s house are many mansions John 14: 2. The Lord promised His disciples to go and prepare a place for them … one, a place has been prepared by the Lord, He will come again and take them to this place, as where the Lord is so they will be … This is an amazing promise which had always echoed in the disciple’s ears all their lives … they believed and trusted it to the extent that; the traditional greeting at their time to one another was “the Lord is at hand” (Philippians 4:5) … He is coming and will not delay His arrival … they must have remembered the parable the Lord told them about the servants who stay awake awaiting the arrival of the master, despite not knowing when the master of the house arrives … it is the exactly the same feeling the saints felt after them … they (all) await the coming of the Lord … it is the excellent ending the book of revelations is sealed with :Amen, come Lord Jesus (Revelations 22: 20) … and when they prayed, they stood facing east where the Lord has ascended (to heaven) (Acts 1: 9-11) … and whre He shall come again … even, they (the saints) used to bury their dead facing east in readiness to receive the Bridegroom … they lived with this amazing thought (in mind) and their spirits were lifted to heaven while they lived on earth physically … and because they took pleasure in meditating on the life in heaven even though from far, their physical bodies on earth no longer cared for hunger, thirst, and life’s trouble, thorns and illnesses … even, the buildings of their churches were condensed adaptation of heaven where the Lord dwells surrounded by His angels and saints … looked upon us by the saints through their icons happy and triumphant and encouraging us to continue in the way to heaven …

For awaiting the Lord … awaiting His coming on the clouds (of the skies) … this gives amazing joy and edification to )every( soul … encouraging the sinners to repent so that he or she might have a part in meeting the Lord in His (second) coming and to have a place in My Father’s house … also, it gives the troubled and the distressed peace and comfort … for the time of salvation is at hand … and gives assurance that one has a place where the Lord will wipe away ever tear from their eyes … and He will give the repentant and fighter strength and trust to continue one’s struggle (against sin) … for the time of triumph is near … and one will have a place among the mansions of the righteous and saints … let us learn how to await the Lord and let us make of awaiting His coming a source of grace, strength and time for growth in our lives and spirituality …

+ I go and prepare a place for you …

How beautiful is this promise, how great it is … for it is a joyful promise … strengthening and edifying to the weak and spiritual …?

Poor is the man (or woman) who hears this promise and continues in a life of sin … how miserable and sad is such a person when the Lord comes again and the person has no place with Him in the saints’ mansions … Many had built for themselves prestigious mansions in this world (on earth) … but they will have no place in the heavenly mansions … it was said of man who was just about to die and one of those waiting on him asked to be forgiven by him, so he said “how can I do this when I my self for forty years had been refusing repentance” …

A story was told of a young man who was very much attracted to a young woman (of sinful ways), so he took her to his palace and lived with her without accepting the advice or directions of anyone, and when later in life when got very ill, he was visited by one of the church servants and he asked him “what do I do to gain salvation” which pleased the servants and he advised to pay all his debts and return any charges trusted with him to their original owners … and forgive those who have trespassed against him and confess his sins and declare his repentance … the young man accepted all this gladly … and finally the servant asked him to let this sinful woman go who he lives with her … then the young man sighed and said, you asked what I cannot do … the servant tried to make him see the beauty of the glorified life in the kingdom of heaven )with no avail( … then tried alarming him of the misery of hell and what awaits sinful people … still with no avail … and this poor man gathered all his strength and got up to hug this sinful woman and breathed his last in her arms and thus died in his sinful ways without true repentance …

Often, evil people will receive death with cursing and threats instead of regret and repentance in a contrite manner … see how the thief on the left (of Christ in the crucifixion(, the sinful and evil ways has taken hold of his heart and did not think of repentance at all … even in his few moments and before the greatest chance ever offered to a sinful person, he still was cursing and taunting the Lord Jesus … so he died on his cross and between him and paradise just one sentence of 6 words (remember me Lord when I come into Your heaven) … It was said of (Emperor) Julian the Apostate, that he breathed his last screaming and saying “You have overcome me, Galilean” … compare this to St Stephen … who as he breathed his last, was asking for the forgiveness to those stoning him and he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7: 55-60) … here is the Lord who he awaited and rejoiced in Him is ready to receive him …

Compare this with St Pauls yearning to the heavenly life … “having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” (Philippians 1:23).

The Lord in the old testament dictated that no sacrifice be offered with the little owl … the fisher owl … and the screech owl (Leviticus 11:17), some have commented on this that the little owls like the darkness of the night like the devil who is active in the darkness and the fisher )owl( will not scream ravaged sound except at it’s death and the screech has a bad and rotten smell in its mouth, which becomes a perfumed smell at its death thus both simulate the repentance of a sinner at death trying to offer a perfumed smell to cover the stench of all his (or her) life with no success for he or she did not know how to repent and the heart was not prepared of repentance … How poor is the person who toiles in this earthly world to build for himself or herself mansions (on earth), monumental pyramids and great wealth and forgets his or her everlasting life … one who does not prepare to meet the Lord … and does not prepare a place in heaven …

The Lord has gone to prepare a place for us … do you have a place among them?? The Lord is coming (soon) … when He comes (again) will He take you with Him or dictate that you will be cast into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30) …

+ I will come again and receive you to Myself

We await the (second) coming of the Lord … He will come on the clouds and will be seen by every eye … and there will be much joy and praise … and also, there will be those who will be saddened and say to the mountains, Fall on us and to the hills, Cover us (Luke 23:30) … and there are those who will ascend to heaven with Him … and those who will stand petrified … cannot utter )a word( … Beloved … do you know that you will rise again once more in this body which we lived with on (this) worldly earth … but this body will have a glorified powers and will not ever die again … just imagine that every sin you committed and did not repent for it, in this body, will have it’s scares on this body … all the evil action you practiced and did not offer repentance for committing it will produce an obscene smell from your body … and you will not be able to cover your body with anything … because there are no deception on the day of judgement … you shall stand exposed showing all the shame of your sins and evil doing … what shall you say?? What shall you do?? But the righteous will be adored with their good deeds … and their good works will be a pure perfume before God … He will be pleased with them and call them sons and His people … and He is delighted to take them where He is … to the mansions which He prepared for them in heaven … beloved … remember this … every sin, evil doing and every trespass which you do not offer a true repentance for will leave a scare and awful smell in this body …

How can you receive the heavenly Bridegroom who will come to take you … in such stench and this awful smell emitting from you …?

Are you still angry with your brother or sister?? Are still refusing to reconcile (your differences)?? How then can receive the Loving God who died for and have forgiven your sins … are you still diminishing your responsibilities?? Are you still disregarding your salvation?? But even are still thieving?? Yes, I mean theft … do take what is not yours?? Do you cheat and lie and assume different names to gain monies by deception?? Do you invent ways to avoid paying what is due to others and run away from your responsibilities??

Know this, this judgement will be on you and will testify against you on the terrifying day of judgement … do you still let your eyes submerge in the deceiving views of the world and desire the beauties of this fading world and fill your heart with sinful thoughts?? Such an eye which is packed with the dust (of the earth), how can it see the lights of heaven??

Do you still kill?? Don’t you know that you commit a great crime every time you gossip about some one else … do you still search in their news and ways, driven by your curiosity to insist on knowing all their secrets, then start spreading the same to others … in fact, you are killing and devouring their flesh as a cannibal …

What shall you do with all this devoured flesh when you stand before God on the day of judgement?? + I am the way, the truth and the life … Beloved, haste and come to God and purify yourself and life … hast and prepare the wedding dress to receive Bridegroom who will come and take you to heaven … He is the only way … and He the clear truth … and in Him is the everlasting life … do not delay … for the time for repentance is very short … and open way before you is not open without end … for the light is with you for a little while longer… walk while you have the light (John 12: 35) … Have you recognised the Light?? Have you known the Father?? He has been with you so long … and till now, you have not known Him … walk in the Way … let the Truth free you … enjoy the life and the Holy company in Jesus Chris … Amen, come (soon) Lord Jesus (Revelations 22:20).