|
THE FOURTH MONTH IN THE NAME
OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, On this day died the holy father Abba Bakimos.
This holy man was a man of the city of Fas, in the province of
Masil, in the north of Egypt; and when his days were twelve years he
guarded and shepherded his father’s sheep. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in the form of a
young man, and said unto him, “Wilt thou come and go with me, and become
a monk?” And he said,
“Yea”; and the two agreed together, and they rose up and went to the
desert of Scete. And they
found three elder monks [there], and Abba Bakimos dwelt with them for four
and twenty years, when the elder monks died.
And after this Abba Bakimos went a long journey into the desert, a
distance of three days. And
Satan appeared unto him in the forms of wild beasts, and pigs, and
serpents, and they opened their mouths to seize him, and they surrounded
him, and he knew by the Holy Spirit their intent; and he blew out breaths
at them in the might of God, and they were scattered.
Then again he found a valley and he lived in it for three years
fasting a week at a time, and at the end of the week he would fill his
hand with dates from that valley and eat them, and drink a little water.
And he prayed two thousand four hundred prayers during the night
and two thousand during the day; and his prayer was “Our Father, Who art
in heaven.” And for a period of four and twenty years he fasted forty
days at a time, and at the end of the forty days he would eat.
On one occasion he fasted eighty days, and at length his skin
became stretched tightly over his bones; and straightway the angel of the
Lord brought him bread to eat, and water to drink.
And he lived for many years, and that bread and that water did not
come to an end until he died. And the angel of the Lord God appeared in a
vision of the night to Saint Abba Bakimos, and commanded him to return to
his city. And he rose up and
departed and came to the outskirts of his city, and he built himself a
small cell there, and he dwelt therein alone; and he was a refuge and a
harbor unto everyone who came to him, and the good hope of all men.
And they dwelt there and were comforted by him and his doctrine,
and they emulated his service, and his righteousness, and his spiritual
fightings. And one day the
angel of the Lord lifted him up and brought him to the land of the
Euphrates (?), for the people had transgressed and had gone out of the way
of righteousness, and he converted them all to the True Faith, and
returned to his cell. And one
day as he was going through the city carrying some baskets to sell in
order to obtain food, the weariness of the road overcame him, and he set
down the baskets and sat down himself to rest a little; and the power of
the Lord lifted up him and his baskets and carried them where he wished to
be. And at that time Abba
Sinoda saw an exceedingly high pillar made of pearl-stone, and he was
astonished, and said, “What is this great pillar?” And the angle of the Lord appeared unto Abba Sinoda and said
unto him, “This is Abba Bakimos.”
And straightway Abba Sinoda rose up, and walked on his feet until
he came to the city of Abba Bakimos--now up to that time he had never seen
him--and when the two men met they embraced each other.
And Abba Bakimos wished to cook a little [food] for the morning,
and he said to Abba Sinoda, “Take this pot and go, and draw water, and
fill it, and bring it to me.” And
straightway Abba Sinoda rose up, and lifted the pot upon his shoulder, and
he drew water, and filled it, and brought it to him, and he found the food
boiling and cooked. Then he
knew that the man was Abba Bakimos, and he saluted him a second time, and
embraced him, and then he told Abba Bakimos that he had seen a vision
concerning him; and he abode with him for a few days.
One day when the two of them were walking together, they found the
head of a dead man, and Abba Sinoda tapped it with his staff, saying,
“Rise up, O dead man, that thou mayest tell me and make me to know what
thou hast seen.” And God
commanded the soul of the dead man, and the soul returned to the skull,
and became a body, and the man rose up from the dead. And the dead man did homage to them and told them everything
about Sheol, and about those who are punished therein, each in their
degree, and he told them about himself and that he was a pagan.
And he said unto them, “Below with us there are some men who were
Christians and who believed in the Name of Christ, but who did not perform
His commandments, and who walked in the ways of the Gentiles, and who
dwelt in the uncleanness of the pagans.” And the saint said unto him, “Lie down now and sleep”;
and the dead man turned and lay down as he was at first. Then Abba Sinoda embraced the blessed Abba Bakimos, and they
returned to his mountain. And
when the time of the departure of Saint Abba Bakimos drew nigh, and he was
about to leave this world, he called his ministrant who was with him, and
informed him about the time of his death; and he commanded him to bury his
body in the place wherein he then was.
And he became a little sick with the sickness of fever, and he saw
the companies of the saints coming to him, and straightway he delivered up
his soul into the hand of God; and the angels took it, and they sang as
they went before it until they brought it to the Jerusalem, which is in
the heavens. And all the days
of the life of Abba Bakimos were seventy years; twelve years he lived in
the world, and eight and fifty years he passed in the strenuous spiritual
fight of the ascetic life. Salutation
to Bakimos. And on this day also is commemorated Saint Bartholomew the
bishop, and Batlan the martyr. Salutation
to our father Bartholomew. Glory
be to God Who is glorified in His Saints.
Amen. |
||