life.cyrus.02 Chapter 1

This matter hath, however, taken place through the dispensation of God.

and now, behold, God hath fulfilled for me my wish this day.'

And I said unto him, 'My brother, is there any other brother beyond thee in the desert?'

There is nothing beyond me except darkness and the punishments which sinners are enduring.

Sit thou down in this place, O my brother, in this hour, and thou shalt see mighty wonders.'

And when the light of the Lord's Day had spread abroad

I heard voices crying out, ' Thy love is accepted, O Christ; Thou hast shewn mercy unto us.'

And I said unto him, ' My beloved father, what shall we do in respect of these things?

The mountain is crumbling away under us.'

And he said unto me, ' Be not afraid, O my son, that God will come down for the sake of punishments.

He hath commanded the angels who inflict punishments upon souls to give them a respite, for to-day is the Lord's Day, and [the day of] the Resurrection of the Lord.'

And he also said unto me, ' Peradventure the Christ will come into this place to-day according to His wont, and I shall be able to kiss Him, mouth to mouth.'

And whilst he was saying these things, behold, the Christ opened the door of the habitation, and He came in; now the a door opened straightway of its own accord.

And when He had come in, believe me, O my brethren and fathers, I, Pambo, the least of men, saw the Christ go up to that brother and kiss him, mouth to mouth, even as doth a brother who hath arrived from a strange region when he meeteth his friend.

And as for me, Pambo, the least of men, I was not worthy that He should kiss me then, and He went forth from our midst and we did not know whither He had gone.

And I thought that He was a brother monk.

My beloved father, didst not thou tell me just now that no being of flesh hath ever come to thee in this place except myself?

If this be so shew me now who this brother monk was Who came in and kissed thee, I myself being unworthy that He should kiss me.'

And he said unto me, 'Didst thou not know who He was?'

And I said unto him, 'No, my father, I did not. How should I know who He was?'

And he said unto me, 'This was the Lord of the thing's that are in heaven, and of the things that are upon the earth.

This was the Son of Mary, the Holy Virgin.

This was He Who filleth the desert, and every one who calleth upon Him.'

And he also said unto me, 'A great prophet and Archimandrite hath died this day, that is to say, Apa Shenoute the elder

Ⲧhe whole world is punished this day, for he was a very great teacher, and this day is the seventh of the month Epeph.'

And he also said unto me, 'This is the man who did not lie down on his bed, nor slumber, nor sleep until he found the place of the Lord, the habitation of the God of Jacob, his Helper.

Inasmuch as he fought splendidly he conquered the Devil in [this] world and hath departed to his Lord, and he shall be perfect in the kingdom which is in the heavens.

May his blessing and his prayer be with us! Amen.'

And he also said unto me, ‘My beloved brother Pambo, I am sick this day. I beseech thee to do me the favour of praying for me until I journey over the road of fear and terror.'

And I said unto him, 'My beloved father, art thou, even thou, afraid, notwithstanding all the multitude of ascetic labours which thou hast performed in this world?'

He said unto me, 'I have performed a few of the ascetic labours which God appointed for me, it is true, but how is it possible for us not to be afraid of the things which have been indicated to us by very many witnesses, that is to say, the river of fire, and the appearance before the Judge?

And as for that river, every one is bound to pass over it, whether he be a righteous man or whether he be a sinner, and it is right that thou shouldst pray on my behalf until I journey over that terrible road.'

And he spake unto me again, saying, ' If a man's life upon this earth were to consist of one day only, he would not be free from sin. And, moreover, all flesh shall be purged by the fire.'

And it came to pass that at the third hour of the eighth day of the month Epeph he became very ill indeed, and he said unto me, 'I salute thee in the Lord, O my beloved brother.'

and he said unto me, 'I salute thee in the Lord, O my beloved brother.' And thus saying he prayed, and he recited the prayer in the Gospel, and he opened his mouth, and yielded up his spirit, like one who lieth asleep.

And I sat down, and I wept continuously over him. And as I was weeping over him, behold, the Christ opened the door of the cell, and He came in, and He stood up by the body of the blessed Apa Cyrus, and He wept over him and I wept over him.

And I saw the tears of the Christ which fell upon the body of the blessed Apa Cyrus; and the Christ turned away and departed by the door of the abode.

And when He had gone out I saw a multitude of Angels, and Archangels, and Apostles, and all the righteous, standing there.

And one of them came towards me ; now he was lame

and he said unto me, ' Knowest thou who I am?'

And I said unto him, ' Nay, my lord, I do not.' He said unto me, ' Hearken, [and] I will shew thee.

I am Kepha, unto whom they gave the name of Peter.

I am he whom the Christ called in the Gospel 'Bar lona,' that is to say, 'Son of the dove.'

The blessed Apa Shenoute went to his rest yesterday.

He, i.e. Christ, hath taken the soul of the blessed man Apa Cyrus, and [the soul of] Apa Shenoute, the Archimandrite, to the place of rest, even as it is written, 'There are many mansions in the house of My Father.'

May their holy blessing be with us! Amen.'

And after these things, whilst I was pondering in my heart and trying to think what I should do with the body of the blessed man, and whether I should bury it, and where I should lay it, the Saviour came forth from the door of the cell, and closed the door behind Him.

And the Saviour had His hand upon the door of the cell

and He was dragging the body of the blessed man

and He became unto him a place of defence until the day of the Righteous Judgement.

And the Saviour went up into heaven with His angels.

And I walked and came forth to the brethren Apa Pamoun and Apa Hierax, and I told them of the things which I had seen, and they glorified God.

And I remained with them for a few days.

After these things I departed to my monastery in Shiet, and I wrote the life of the blessed man Apa Cyrus

and I placed it in the church of Shiet, for the profit and consolation of those who should hear it [read], and to the glory of the Holy Trinity, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever! Amen.