from: Serge A. Zenkovsky, Medieval Russia's Epics, Chronicles, and Tales. Rvised and Enlarged Edition. (NY: Meridian Books, 1974). The horizontal lines and page numbers inserted in this version of the text correspond to the page divisions of the original.

LIFE OF OUR BLESSED FATHER THEODOSIUS, ABBOT OF THE CRYPT MONASTERY by the Monk Nestor

Commentary: The Life of Theodosius is certainly one of the most significant works of early Russian literature. Written by Monk Nestor in the 1080s soon after the death (in 1074) of this first abbot of the Kievan Crypt Monastery, it has preserved the freshness of an eyewitness account. The details of Theodosius' childhood, for instance, were supplied by his own mother and provide us with a fascinating description of Russian life and monastic habits in the first century of Russian Christianity. Nestor's vivid narrative manner, the wealth of realistic description and skillful use of dramatic effect testify to his literary abilities. Monk Nestor came to the Crypt Monastery some years after the abbot's death and obviously made a careful selection of the brethren's and other witnesses' recollections of Theodosius' life and activities. When he started writing this vita he had already read some early Christian and Byzantine hagiographic works, especially those of St. Cyril of Scythopol and Athanasius the Great. These helped him organize the structure of his biography and supplied a number of rhetorical devices. Yet, the entire style of Russian life was so different from that of the Sinaitic and Egyptian desert fathers that Nestor was bound to write quite an original piece of hagiographic literature. St. Theodosius, together with the real founder of the Crypt Monastery, St. Antonius, was the creator of this oldest and most important Russian monastic center, which also became the cradle of Russian culture and letters. His deep, sincere piety, humility, and meekness, as well as his love and care for men, won him respect in the minds and memories of generation upon generation of Russians; and even after World War II, when the Kiev Crypt Monastery was reopened, many thousands of pilgrims flocked there to venerate his holy relics.

Introduction.

I thank thee my Master, Lord Jesus Christ, that thou hast made me worthy to be the undeserving narrator of the lives of thy holy saints. For lo, when I was first writing about the life, the murder, and the miracles of the holy and blessed martyrs Boris and Gleb, I felt compelled to come to yet another narration, which is above my strength and of which I was not worthy, being ignorant and unlearned, the more so since I had not been taught in any arts. But I recalled, O Lord, thy word, saying: "If you have faith even as a mustard seed, and you say unto this mountain, 'Move and cast yourself into the sea,' straightway it will obey you."

And lo, I, the sinful Nestor, keeping in my mind these words and being comforted with the faith and the trust that all things are possible through thee, I started writing this story, which is about the life of our most blessed father Theodosius, late abbot of this monastery of Our Holy Lady the Mother of God. We celebrate and remember now his day of passing.

For lo, brothers, when I recalled that the life of one most blessed had not yet been written down by anyone, I was gripped for days by sadness and I prayed to God to make me worthy to write down everything in an orderly way about the life of our pious father Theodosius; so that caloyers (1) coming after us, having received the account, having read it, and having seen the deeds of this man, would praise God and, honoring this saint, would be strengthened for greater dedication to God, the more so that in this very land such a man and saint of God had appeared.

For about this the Lord himself prophesied thus: "Many will come from the east and the west and will sit down with Abraham and with Isaac and Jacob in the Heavenly Kingdom." And again: "Many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first." And indeed, this last one has shown himself to be greater than the first fathers, imitating in his life the holy first superior of the monastic order-the great Antonius (2) I mean. And even more wonderful is the fact that it is written in the books of the fathers that the last of the kin will be glorified. And lo, Christ has led this last of the kin to be his follower and a shepherd to the monks.

For he was from youth adorned with a pure life, good deeds, with faith, and great purpose. Now, from this time I shall begin to narrate the life of Theodosius from his early years. And listen, brothers, with all diligence, for this story is full of benefit to all who heed it. I beg again of you whom I have come to love not to condemn me for my ignorance. For being moved by love of this most righteous one, I have attempted to write down everything about him; and likewise being careful, lest Christ's words about the evil and slothful servant be applied to me: "Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the bankers and at my coming I should have received my own with interest."(3)

And moreover, it is not fitting, brothers, to conceal the miracles of the saints; especially since God spoke to his disciples thus: "That which I say to you in the darkness, tell in the light; and that which you hear in your ears, proclaim in the houses." These things I want to write down for the benefit and the edification of my readers. Praising God for these things, accept the reward offered you. However, wishing to begin the confession, I first pray to the Lord, saying thus: "O my Lord, Almighty, giver of Grace, Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, come to my aid and enlighten my heart to the understanding of thy commandments, and open my lips for the announcing of thy miracles and for the praising of thy holy saint. May thy name be sanctified; for thou art the only helper to those who trust in thee forever. Amen."

II. THE CHILDHOOD OF THEODOSIUS

There is a town called Vasiliev, separated from Kiev, the capital city, by a distance of about thirty miles. In that city lived the parents of the holy one, living in the Christian faith and adorned with all manner of piety. They gave birth to this blessed child, and then on his eighth day brought him to the presbyter of God as is the Christian custom, to give the child a name. The presbyter, having seen the child and with the help of God perceiving that he would from youth wish to devote himself to God, called him Theodosius. Then, when the child was forty days old, they solemnized his Christening. And he grew, nurtured by his parents; and the Grace of God was with him, and the Holy Ghost rejoiced in him from his youth. ...

With his parents our blessed one settled in another city, Kursk (4), the prince having willed it so; and moreover-I say-God had willed thus, so that there also the life of the valiant youth would shine out upon us as is fitting: from the East the morning star rises, gathering around itself many other stars, awaiting the Just Sun, Christ God, and saying: "Here am I, Lord, and the children whom I have nurtured with thy spiritual food; behold, Lord, my disciples! For lo, I have brought to thee those whom I have taught to despise everything worldly, and to love thee, the only God and Lord! Behold, O Lord, the flock of shine Orthodox sheep, for whom thou hast made me the shepherd and whom I have brought to thee, having kept them pure and uncorrupted."

Then the Lord said to him:: "O good and true servant, having multiplied the talent given thee, receive in like manner the crown which is prepared for thee and enter into the joy of thy Lord."

And to the disciples he said: "Come, good herd of the valorous shepherd, Orthodox sheep, who for my sake have hungered and labored, receive the kingdom which has been prepared for thee since the creation of the world . . ."

And likewise let us also, brothers, strive to be zealous followers of the way of life of the blessed Theodosius and his disciples of those whom he sent then before himself to the Lord, so that we too may be made worthy to hear the voice of the Lord Almighty, saying: "Come, therefore, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom which is prepared for thee!"

And now let us return to the primary narration of the life of this holy youth.

Now he was growing in body and in spirit, being drawn to the love of God and going every day to the church of God, listening to the reading of the holy books with great attention. But still he did not draw near to children playing, as is the custom of youth, but disdained their games. His clothing was poor and patched. For this reason his parents many times tried to force him to dress in clean clothing and to go out to play with the children; but he did not obey them in this, but willed even more to be like one of the poor. In a similar manner he wished to enter into the study of the Scriptures with one of the teachers, and he did so; and soon he had learned all of the grammar. Soon everyone was amazed at the great wisdom and understanding of the child and at his rapid learning! Who can tell of his meekness and obedience which was evinced in his learning, not only toward his teacher, but toward the other students as well?

THE YEARS OF SPIRITUAL MATURING

When the blessed Theodosius was thirteen years old, his father came to the end of his life. Thenceforth he began to be more persevering in his works, as when he would go away with the serfs to the country and act with all manner of humility. But his mother would hinder him, not wishing him to do such things; and she would plead with him to dress again in clean clothing and to go out to play with his peers. For she would say to him thus: "Going about in this fashion thou bringest shame upon thyself and upon thy kin."

And because he did not obey her in this, she would often get angry at him and beat him; for she was as strong and solid in body as a man, and, indeed, if someone could not see her but only hear her conversing, he would begin to think she was a man.

Meanwhile, the blessed youth was considering how and in what manner he might be saved. Then he heard again about the Holy Land, where Our Lord Jesus Christ walked in the flesh; and he thirsted to go there and to worship there. And he prayed to God, saying: "My Lord Jesus Christ, hear my prayer and make me worthy to enter into thy holy places and to bow to them with joy."

And when he had thus prayed many times, lo there came pilgrims to that city. Having seen them, the blessed youth was glad, and having hastened, he bowed to them, kissed them lovingly, and asked them where they were from and where they were going. They answered thus: "We are coming from the holy places; and if God wills it, we want to go back."

The holy one begged of them that they take him with them and make him a fellow traveler. And they promised to take him with them and accompany him to the holy places. Then the blessed Theodosius, having heard that which they promised him, was happy and went home.

When the pilgrims wanted to leave, they let the youth know about their departure. He, having gotten up during the night and not letting anyone know, secretly went out of the house, not taking with him anything except the clothing he was wearing, and even that was poor. And in that manner he went away behind the pilgrims. But benevolent God did not allow him, who from the maternal womb had been designated to be a shepherd to the Orthodox sheep in this country, to depart from this land; lest, the shepherd having gone, the pasture which God had blessed should become barren, and thorns and wolves should grow up in it and the herd become scattered.

After three days his mother, having found out and taking with her her other son who was younger than Theodosius, rode hurriedly a long way, and catching up with them, took Theodosius. And from rage and anger his mother grasped him by the hair and threw him upon the ground and kicked him with her feet. And, having severely reproached the pilgrims, she returned home leading her son tied like a villain. Being gripped by such great anger, even when they had arrived home, she beat him until she could no longer. And after this she led him to a room, tied him up, and locked the door as she left. The divine youth, however, accepted all these things with joy, and praying to God, gave thanks.

Then after two days, his mother came, released him, and let him eat. But still being gripped by rage, she placed irons on his legs and allowed him to walk about thus, taking care lest he run away from her again. And she made him walk in that fashion for many days.

After that, however, she again took pity on him and began with entreaty to persuade him not to run away from her, for she loved him very much more than her other children and for this reason could not bear living without him. And when he promised her that he would not leave her, she removed the irons from his legs, allowing him to do as he wished.

And so the blessed Theodosius returned to his former practice and was going every day to God's church. Then, seeing how many times Mass was not said because sacramental wafers had not been baked, he deplored such a condition greatly. Thus he resolved with his humility to dedicate himself to this task, and he did so. For he began to bake the wafers and to sell them; and when his sum would increase, he would give the profits to the poor and buy grain with the rest. Having ground the grain with his own hands, he would again make wafers. For lo, God so willed that pure sacramental wafers be brought into his church by a pure and uncorrupted youth.

Twelve years or more passed in this manner. All his peers would rail at him and reproach him because of his doing such work. But when the devil incited them, the blessed one would accept all these things with joy, in silence and with humility. For the villainous devil, hating goodness first and foremost, seeing himself being defeated by the humility of the blessed youth and not resting, wished to turn him from his good works: and lo, he began to incite the mother of Theodosius in order that she would prohibit his engaging in them. His mother, not being able to bear his being in such a shameful condition, began to speak to him lovingly: "I beg of thee, child, to quit these doings, for they bring censure upon thy family; and I cannot bear to hear from everyone the reproaches against thee because of them. It is not fitting for thee, a youth, to do such deeds."

Then with humility the divine youth answered his mother, saying:

Listen, O Mother, I beg of thee, listens For Lord Jesus Christ lowered himself and was humble, giving us a model so that we for his sake should humble ourselves. And, moreover, he was abused and spat upon and smitten; and he bore it all for the sake of our salvation. Is it not much more fitting that we exercise patience so that we may receive Christ? And listen, my Mother, concerning my works. When Our Lord Jesus Christ lay down at the Last Supper with his disciples, having taken the bread and blessed it and broken it, he gave it to his disciples saying: "Take it and eat! This is my body, broken for you and for many for the remission of your sins." And if Our Lord himself called the bread his flesh, how much more fitting it is that I rejoice that the Lord has made me worthy to be the maker of his flesh!

Having heard these things, his mother was amazed at the wisdom of the youth; and from that time she began to leave him alone .

But the devil did not rest, inciting her to forbid such humility in the youth. After one year, having again seen him baking sacramental wafers and becoming blackened from the fire in the oven, she deplored it greatly. And from that time she began again to scold him, sometimes with caresses, sometimes with terror, and at other times beating him to make him forsake such work. The divine youth was in great sorrow concerning this and was confused as to what to do.

Then, however, having arisen secretly in the night and gone out of the house, he went to another city which was not far away and there lived with the presbyter and did his work according to his custom. After that, his mother, having searched in her own city and not having found him, grieved for him. Then after many days, having come to the aforementioned town and having searched, his mother found him in the house of the presbyter, and taking him, sped away, beating him, to her city.

And arriving home she locked him up, saying: "Henceforth thou wilt not be able to leave me. Because no matter where thou goest, I will come and find thee and will lead thee, tied and beaten, back to this city."

After that the blessed Theodosius prayed to God and went every day to the church.

He was humble in heart and meek toward all, so that even the governor of that city, having seen the youth in such meekness and mildness, grew to love him greatly and ordered that he attend him in the church. And he gave him a new garment to wear when he went. For several days the blessed Theodosius wore it, but it was as if he were carrying some sort of burden upon his back. Then, taking it off, he gave it to the needy, dressing himself in poor clothing. And so he went about in that way. The governor, however, seeing him thus, gave him still another garment which was better than the first, beseeching him to wear it. But he, having taken it off, gave away this one also. He did likewise many times, so that when the judge learned of it, he began to love him greatly, wondering at his humility.

After these occurrences, the blessed Theodosius, having gone to one of the smithies, ordered him to forge an iron chain (5); and taking it, he girded his loins with it and went about thus. And although the iron was tight and gnawed into his body, he remained as though his body were suffering no injury from it.

Then when many days had passed, on a holy day his mother began to order him to dress in clean clothing for the service. For all the notables of that city were attending a dinner at the home of the governor, and it had been ordered that the blessed Theodosius attend and serve. And for this reason his mother persuaded him to dress in a clean garment, the more so since she had heard what he had done.

And so while he was dressing himself in the clean garment, being simple in mind and not minding her presence, she was carefully watching, wishing to see more clearly; and lo, she saw on his undergarment blood, which came from the gnawing of the iron. Having become excited with anger against him and having risen with rage and torn apart the undergarment on him, beating him, she removed the iron from his loins. God's youth, however, as if he had suffered nothing evil at her hand, dressed himself and left, serving before the guests with all manner of tranquillity.

Then, after some time, he heard in the Holy Gospel the words of the Lord, saying: "If one does not leave his father or his mother and follow after me, he is not worthy of me." And again: "Come to me all who labor and are burdened, and I will comfort you. Take up my burden upon yourselves and learn from me, for I am meek and mild in heart, and you will find peace in your souls." And thus, having heard these things, the divinely inspired Theodosius became excited with godly zeal and with love and with the breath of God; and he was considering how or where he might be tonsured and might conceal himself from his mother.

IV. THEODOSIUS EARLY YEARS IN THE CRYPT MONASTERY

By the will of God, his mother went away to the country; and since she would spend many days there, the blessed one was glad. Having prayed to God, he went secretly out of the house, not taking with him anything at all except his clothing and a little bread for his physical needs, and thus he set out toward the city of Kiev.

For he had heard about the monasteries there. However, not knowing the way, he prayed to God that he might find travelers who would direct him to the desired road. And lo, by the will of God, there were coming along the road merchants in wagons with heavy burdens. The blessed one, having learned from them the city to which they were traveling, glorified God and walked along after them at a distance, not appearing to them. And when they would make a stop for the night, the blessed one would not approach within their eyesight, but would rest where he was, observed by God alone. And so traveling in this manner for three weeks, he reached the aforementioned city. Then, having arrived, he went about to all the monasteries, wishing to be a monk; and he begged them to accept him. But they, seeing the simplicity of that youth dressed in poor garments, did not deign to receive him. For God had so willed that he should be led to that very place to which he had been called by the Lord from his youth.

Then, hearing about the blessed Antonius, who lived in a cave and who possessed a winged mind, he set out for that place. And, coming to holy Antonius and seeing him, he fell down and bowed to him with tears, pleading that he might remain with him. The great Antonius taught him, saying: "Child, dost thou see this cave, for it is a sorrowful place and more crowded than others, and I consider that, being young, thou wilt not be able to bear the sadness here."

For not only was he testing him by these words, but foreseeing with prophetic eyes that Theodosius would reward that place and found a glorious monastery for the gathering of a multitude of monks.

And the divinely inspired Theodosius answered him with emotion: "Know, blessed father, that the Omniscient Teacher, God, has led me to your holiness and willed to save me; and therefore, whatever thou orderest me to do, I will do."

Then the blessed Antonius said to him: "Beneficent God, child, has strengthened thee for this endeavor and for this place! Remain here."

And Theodosius again fell down and bowed to him, then the elder blessed him and ordered Nikon the Great to tonsure him, for he was a presbyter and an experienced monk. And he, taking the blessed Theodosius and shaving him according to the custom of the holy fathers, dressed him in a monk's garment.

Our father Theodosius then, submitting himself to God and to the holy Antonius, from that time forth dedicated himself to manual labor. He would remain awake all night praising God, driving away the burden of drowsiness, striving for physical moderation, with his hands doing his work, and keeping in mind constantly the words of the Psalm: "See my humility and my labor, and grant me absolution for all my sins." In this manner he would entirely humble his soul with moderation and mortify his flesh through labor and religious striving, so that the holy Antonius and the Great Nikon were amazed at his humility and obedience, at the great virtue and fortitude and courage in one so young; and they praised God greatly for all these things ....

Meanwhile his mother, having sought very much in her own city and in surrounding ones and not having found him, wept for him as for one dead, beating her breast cruelly. And it had been proclaimed throughout all that country that anyone who had seen the youth should come and let his mother know.

And lo, they came from Kiev and told her thus: "Four years ago we saw him walking in our city and wishing to be tonsured in one of the monasteries."

And having heard that, she, not tarrying or fearing the length of the journey, arrived in that city, walked around to all the monasteries searching for her son.

Later she was told that her son was with the holy Antonius in the cave; so she went there, and there she found him. And, lo, she began to call out the elder with deceit, saying thus: "Tell the holy one to come out, for lo, having hastened a long way, I have come wishing to converse with him and to bow to his holiness so that I also may be blessed by him."

The elder was informed about her, and he went out. And having seen him, she bowed to him. Then when they had sat down, the woman began to be very conversant, and later she declared the sin which was the reason for her coming and said: "I beg of thee, Father, tell me whether my son is here. For I have grieved much for his sake, not knowing whether he is alive or not."

And the elder, being simple in mind and not fathoming her lie, said to her thus: "Thy son is here; and do not grieve for his sake, for he is alive."

Then she said to him: "Why then, Father, may I not see him? For having traveled a long way, I have come to this city only to see my son, and then I shall go back to my own city."

The elder answered her: "If thou wishest to see him, go to thy house now; and I will come and let thee know whether he deigns to see anyone or not. Then on the morrow thou might come and see him."

Having heard this, she went away hoping to see him on the coming day.

The holy Antonius, having gone back into the cave, told all this to the blessed Theodosius, who, having heard it, grieved greatly that he had not succeeded in concealing himself from her.

On the second day the woman came again. But though the elder exhorted the blessed one to go out and see his mother, he did not wish to do so. Then the elder went out and said to her: "I have pleaded with him much, but he does not deign to come out to thee."

Thenceforth she began not to speak to the elder with humility, but cried out with anger: "So! Thou art the monk who has taken my son and hidden him in a cave and thou dost not want to show him to me. Bring my son out to me, monk, so that I may see him; for if I do not see him, I cannot bear to remain alive. Show me my son, or I shall surely die. For lo, I will kill myself before the doors of this cave if thou dost not show him to me."

Then Antonius in great sorrow went into the cave and begged the blessed Theodosius to go out to her. And he, not wishing to disobey the elder, did so. Seeing her son in such sorrow-for already his face had changed much from his great labor and mortification-and embracing him, she wept bitterly. Then having hardly composed herself, she sat down and began to persuade Christ's servant, saying: "Come home, child, and do freely whatever thou requirest for the salvation of thy soul, only do not separate thyself from me. And when I die, bury my body and then return to this cave if thou wishest. For I cannot bear to live not seeing thee."

But the blessed one said to her: "Then if thou wishest to see me every day, come to this city, and having entered one of the nunneries, take the veil. Coming here in that fashion, thou wilt see me. And moreover thou wilt receive salvation for thy soul. If thou dost not do this, then I tell thee the truth: from this time forth thou wilt not see my face."

With these and many other admonitions he spent the whole day exhorting his mother, but she did not wish to obey him in the least. And when she left him, the blessed one, having gone back into the cave, prayed fervently to God concerning the salvation of his mother and the turning of her heart to obedience.

And God heard the prayer of his saint. For concerning this the words of the prophet say: "The Lord is near to those who call on him in truth, and he does the will of those who fear him and hears their prayer and saves them."

For one day his mother came and said to him: "Lo, child, I will do all that thou hast ordered and henceforth I shall not return to my own city but, God willing, I shall go to a convent and there, having taken the veil, shall spend my remaining days. For lo, from thy teaching I have realized how worthless is this passing world."

Having heard this, the blessed Theodosius rejoiced in his soul and went in to tell the Great Antonius, who, having heard it praised God, who had turned her heart to such repentance. And having gone out to her and taught her much that is useful for the salvation of the soul and having informed the princess about her, he admitted her to the convent named for Saint Nicholas. Here she took the veil and was dressed in the nun's habit; and living for many years in good confession, she died in peace.

This is the life of our Father Theodosius from his youthful years up to the time that he came to the Crypt Monastery. His mother related it to one of the brothers, by the name of Theodor, who was a cellarer with our Father Theodosius; and I, having heard all these things from him, have written them down for the memory of those who read them.

After that time a great many people would come to the Crypt Monastery to receive the father's blessing, and by the will of God many of them became monks. .........................

In agreement with the desire of blessed Antonius, blessed Theodosius was ordained priest and every day he celebrated the Lord's Supper with the deepest humility. He was of an uncomplicated, pleasant, and quiet disposition, and he was imbued with divine wisdom and Christian love for his brother monks, who had now reached the number of fifteen. .....

I shall now describe the simple life of these caloyers. Only God knows the suffering which they endured in the narrow spaces of the cave where they lived. The human mind is unable to grasp it. The monks lived only on rye bread and water. On Saturdays and Sundays they had some boiled rye. On some occasions, however, even this food was lacking, and they had to be satisfied with some cooked vegetables. They themselves performed all the manual work, even weaving their vestments and cowls and performing with their own hands all kinds of work. In the city they sold the products of their labor in order to buy rye, and what was bought was distributed equally among the caloyers. At night each caloyer would grind his part of the rye to bake bread, and early in the morning all monks would celebrate matins, and then cultivate their vegetables in the garden. Later, returning to the church to praise God, they would celebrate the hours and offer the Holy Eucharist. Afterward they would eat their small amount of bread and every brother would go back to his work. In this way they lived and worked, imbued with the spirit of charity . . .

Our blessed Theodosius surpassed all other brethren in wisdom and obedience to the rules and used to take harder labor than the other monks, for he was strong and healthy . .

He used to go to church earlier than everyone else; he would never leave his place, and would sing praises to God with a pure mind. He was also the last to leave the church. Therefore he was revered by the caloyers, who loved him as their father and praised his humility and obedience.

After a certain period of time the prince ordered Abbot Barlaam to leave the Crypt Monastery and appointed him abbot of the Monastery of St. Demetrius the Martyr. And the monks who lived in the caves got together and told blessed Antonius that they had elected Theodosius to be abbot of their monastic community. Our Father Theodosius, however, even in this position of authority did not change his habits or his humble way of living, for he always remembered the word of Our Lord: "Whosoever will be the greater among you, let him be your minister. . .."

He built around the church a fence, and around the fence he built several cells, and in the year 6570 (1062) he went with his monks to live in this new monastery. From that time the monastery prospered and became widely famous as the Monastery of the Crypts. .....

After evening prayers Abbot Theodosius would rest in his cell; however, he would never lie down, but sit in a chair, and after sleeping awhile would get up for another night of prayers and genuflections . . .

The prince and his nobles who had heard of the pious life of this monastery used to visit blessed Theodosius to make their confession to him and to receive from him spiritual guidance. Thereafter they gave Abbot Theodosius a certain part of their wealth for the construction of a church to accommodate the monks.

And they even gave the monastery a certain part of their lands, especially the religious Prince Iziaslav (6), who in those years occupied his father's throne and was deeply attached to the blessed abbot and often used to send for him. Or he would go himself to the saint and return home provided with spiritual guidance. And since that time, by the prayers of his saint, God granted the monastic community an abundance of all goods.

The devil once inspired three princes who were brothers to start a feud. The two younger princes started fighting their elder brother, the religious Iziaslav, and forced him out of the capital city of Kiev. When the two brothers entered Kiev they sent for venerable Abbot Theodosius, praying that he would come to dinner with them and participate in their sinful counsel. Abbot Theodosius, who knew of the injustice accorded to Iziaslav, and being inspired by the Holy Ghost, gave an answer according to the Holy Spirit. "I shall not go to the feast of Jezebel and taste the fruit of murder covered with blood." And he added several other words of reproach to his letter and sent the messenger back to the princes.....

One day the abbot wrote Sviatoslav a long message, reproaching him in the following words: "The blood of your brother cries out to God against you as the blood of Abel cried out against Cain." And the abbot quoted many cases of persecution, murder, and fratricide of olden times, and wrote about all these things which befitted the behavior of Prince Sviatoslav. Having read this letter, Prince Sviatoslav became enraged, he cursed the just and roared like a lion and flung the message to the floor. Then the rumor spread that Theodosius would be jailed. The brethren became alarmed and prayed to our blessed Father Theodosius to retract his accusations. Many nobles came to the Crypt Monastery and warned Abbot Theodosius of the prince's wrath and asked him to stop accusing the prince. The nobles said: "Prince Sviatoslav wants to jail thee." Blessed Theodosius, hearing that he would be jailed, was seized by joy and replied: "Brothers, I am filled with joy. Nothing could be better for me in this life. What should I fear? To lose wealth or land? To be separated from my children? or my land (which I do not have)? We have brought no earthly wealth into this world; all of us are born naked, and naked we are supposed to leave this world. Therefore I am prepared to be jailed or to meet death." After that time the abbot would accuse Prince Sviatoslav even more openly . . .

V. ABBOT S DEATH

When Abbot Theodosius came to the end of his life, he was forewarned by God of the day he would go to rest, because death is the rest of the righteous. He asked all the brethren and even those who used to work in the field, or who were absent from the monastery for other duties, to come back to the Crypt Monastery. When all of them came together he told the bailiffs, the stewards, and the servants to fulfill their work with diligence and awe of God in obedience and charity. Shedding tears, he advised all of them on their behavior concerning their salvation and a way of life pleasing to God: to fast, to attend church, to show pious behavior at the church service, to have brotherly love and to obey. He asked the monks to love and obey not only their superiors, but also all who were their equals. Having said these things he permitted them to go.

Then the abbot returned to his cell and began to cry and to beat his chest and cried to God and prayed for the salvation of his own soul, his flock, and the monastery. The brethren walked to the court and started talking among themselves: "What did he say? Perhaps he wants to go away to some unknown place and live alone without us." (They talked in this way) because he already had intended to do this, but had yielded to the entreaties of the prince and the nobles, and particularly to the entreaties of the brethren. And now they thought that he had the same intention. Thereafter the illness of the blessed one became stronger and fever seized his body and he could not do anything but lie on his couch. The abbot said: "God's will be done. Whatsoever is his will shall be done to me. Lo, I entreat thee, my Lord, to have mercy on my soul that it may not succumb to the devil's malice. May thy angel have my soul and bring it to the light of thy mercy through all the trials of the darkness." Saying this, he became silent because he was no more able to talk. The brethren were in great sorrow and sadness because of his illness. For another three days he was not able to talk or look around, and many monks thought he had died. Only a few noticed that his soul had not abandoned his body. After three days he got up and addressed all the brethren who had gathered. "My brethren and fathers, I know that the time of my life has come to an end,

that the time to leave this world has arrived. And this was announced to me by the Lord during Lent when I was in the cave. You have to decide whom you will appoint abbot in my place." Hearing this, the brethren were seized by sadness and wept bitterly. And thereafter the brethren left the cell, held a meeting, and selected the choirmaster of the church, Stephan, as their future abbot. Next day our blessed Father Theodosius once more called the brethren to his cell and asked: "My children, did you decide who is worthy to become your abbot?" And all of them answered that Stephan was worthy to become abbot. And for a long time Theodosius instructed the brethren to obey their new abbot and then let them go, foretelling the day of his death. "On Saturday at the rise of the sun my soul will abandon my body." And once more he asked Stephan to come to him alone and taught him how to be the shepherd of his holy flock. And Stephan no longer left Theodosius, but humbly cared for him, for the abbot's condition was getting worse and worse. When Saturday came and the sun began to rise, the blessed one called all the brethren and began to embrace each one. And the brethren were shedding tears and groaned because they were being separated from their shepherd. But the blessed one told them: "My children and my beloved brethren, I embrace ye most heartily because I am going to the Lord, Our master, Jesus Christ. And here is your abbot whom ye yourselves wanted. Obey him and respect him as your spiritual father and furfill all his orders. Be blessed by God who created everything by his word and by his wisdom. He will protect ye from evil and will help ye preserve your unshakable and firm faith through your unity and mutual love, in order to let ye stay together until your last breath . . ."

After he said these words he sent everyone away, remaining alone in his cell. But one monk who always served Theodosius followed him through a small hole in the wall (and he saw) the blessed one get up, bow deeply, pray, and shed tears to God for the salvation of his soul, asking all the saints to help him, especially praying to Our Holy Lady, Mother of God, and he prayed to her in the name of God, Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to help his flock and his monastery. And once more, after he finished praying, he stretched out on the couch, and after a while he looked to heaven and with a joyful countenance exclaimed: "Blessings to God, for it has happened. I have no more fear and I am happy that I am leaving this world," And one could think that, saying these words, the abbot had a vision, because thereafter he straightened his robe, stretched his legs, crossed his arms over his chest and gave up his holy soul into the hands of the Lord and joined the flock of the Holy Fathers . . .

Our Father Theodosius died in the year 6582 (1074) on the 3rd day of the month of May on Saturday, as he himself foretold. And he passed away after the rise of the sun.

Notes

1. Caloyer: from Greek "kalogeros," a medieval word for a monk of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

2. Antonius: was one of the first monks who settled on the hills overlooking the Dnieper in the vicinity of Kiev. Here can be meant also Anthonius the Great (c. 250-350), the founder of Christian monasticism.

3. A slightly modified quotation of Matthew 25:2~27.

4. Kursk: a city in southern Russia on the border of the prairie and the forest, northeast of Kiev.

5. During the Middle Ages it was a common practice in the Christian West and East to mortify the flesh with a hair shirt, chains, or special mail coat, which was worn directly on the body under the shirt.

6. Prince Iziaslav, son of Yaroslav the Wise, reigned in Kiev from 1054 to 1068 and from 1069 to 1083. He was a great benefactor of the monastery. In 1073 his brothers, Sviatoslav and Vsevolod, drove Iziaslav from Kiev. Iziaslav died in 1078 in the vicinity of Kiev, fighting on the side of his brother Vsevolod against the princes of Chernigov.