The saintly Abba Theodore of Adana told us this story.
When he stayed in the vicinity of the holy city, in the coenobium of Penthucla near the holy Jordan, a man from the Provincia Asia came there, wishing to renounce the world. He was received by the hegumen, and after having spent some time there, edified by the orderly life of the coenobium, he took the gold he had with him and gave it to the abbot, saying: “As I am much edified, father, at the orderly life of this place, I desire, God willing, that you shave my head and give me the holy habit, and I shall remain here with you. So please, take this offering and administer it as you want”, and he showed him the gold. The hegumen, who was a praiseworthy man, was, as a matter of fact in no hurry to take the money; rather he said to the man: “We do not need this here, my son: for, as you know, we are not extravagant in our needs, but manage to live cheaply on any trifles, whatever is at hand, living as we do in the desert. Come now, do as the Lord commands, go and give this (money) to the poor, and according to God’s truthful decrees, you will have a treasure in heaven <Matth. 19:21>”. But the brother persisted in his appeal to the hegumen, saying: “Father, I have resolved that wherever I retire (from the world), there and nowhere else shall I give this money”. The old man said to him: “My son. if I take this money, I must give it to the poor, for we have been taught not to amass wealth on this earth”, and (the brother) insisted, saying: “Take it, father, and administer it as you want, whether you wish (to give it) to the poor, or (to dispense it) otherwise, according to your own lights”. So the abbot, unable to dissuade the man, accepted the gold from his hands; and after a short time shaved his head, then, after some more time, he also gave him the holy monastic habit.
According to a plan of the Lord, the abbot did not spend the money, but waited, wishing to see the brother’s progress. And (to guard) against the tricks of the Enemy, he let nobody know that he had kept the gold - not even the brother himself. Now, at first (the brother), in the heat of his (recent) renunciation, fully observed the vow of obedience, and performed any task assigned to him readily and without hesitation. After some time, however, he began to weaken because of the Enemy: he no longer displayed the same zeal, but even took to murmuring, often saying under his breath: “I gave to this coenobium a goodly sum of gold, and I do not eat bread gratis in this place”. Hearing these words, some of the brothers were led astray, especially those who were naturally rather simple. When he learned this, the abbot of the coenobium called the brother and said to him: “Did you not force me to accept the gold from you, brother? Did you not give it for the relief of the poor? Was it not under the agreement that we should not hear you lead astray the brothers with your murmurings? This is not the way (to act), my son, for it is written: ‘Watch out that you do not cause one of these little ones to sin’ <Mark 9:42>”. However, in spite of these words of warning and more, addressed by the abbot to the brother, under the impulse of the devil he did not part from the evil habit of mind that he had acquired. The abbot, perceiving that he could not be diverted from the way that leads to an evil end, one day said to him: “Come, brother, let us go down to the Jordan”. Thus the two men went down alone, and while they walked on the banks of the holy Jordan, the abbot began to reprimand the brother; then he took out the gold in a sealed purse, the same that the brother had given him, and asked: “Do you recognise this?” and he answered: “I do, master”; “And the seal on it?” “It is the same seal, father”. Then the abbot said to him: “Take your gold, my son, and if you wish to give it to the poor, as you had resolved, do so; if you wish to keep it, keep it, according to your own judgement: for I will not dissolve the rule of this coenobium, nor cause the brothers to sin and provoke God’s anger, all because of these coins of yours. For it is inadmissible that you should be made exempt from service while you live with us: (you must do) exactly as the other brothers do and as I did myself in my youth, and am bound to do to this day, according to my strength”.
When the brother saw his gold and heard the abbot’s words, he threw himself at his feet, saying: “Forgive me: I have already given this money to God and cannot take it back”; but the old man replied: “My sons, God does not want this, for His are all created things: instead, he wants the salvation of our souls. So it is impossible for me to keep the money any longer”. But the brother continued to crouch at his feet, saying: “I shall not rise if you do not give me your word, that you will not be scandalised or angry if I take the coins”. The old man, realising the steadfastness of his request, said to him: “Rise, my son; believe me, neither I am angry with you for taking the money and keeping it, nor am I prepared to retain it with men. So the brother rose, and then the abbot unfastened the purse-strings and said to him: “Here are your coins, my son”, to which he replied: “Never speak to me about them again, father, as you have promised”. The old man smiled and said: “No, my son”, and saying these words, he threw the coins into the river under the brother’s eyes. Then he said to him: “My son, we have been taught to despise all these things. Now come back to the coenobium and take up your spiritual struggle at the brothers’ side, performing every task that is assigned to you ‘as one who has no need to be ashamed’ <2 Tim. 2:15>, for the love of Christ, remembering the Lord’s saying: ‘The son of man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many’ <Mark 10:45>”. The brother understood the saintly intention of the abbot and was stricken with fear of God: he went back to the coenobium with him and achieved great humility and submission to all, and by the grace of God died in the same monastery after having become a vessel of election.
(transl. Leah Di Segni)