(43) There was in the Laura an old man, who had spent his life in bringing to perfection many monastic virtues: he came from Bithynia and was called Anthimus. At the beginning, the man had built himself a small cell on the other side of the ravine, to the east, in front of our holy father Sabas’ tower. After having lived there for 30 years, in his old age he fell sick and became bed-ridden. The blessed Sabas, seeing that he had reached a very advanced state of physical illness, time and again urged him to take a cell near the church, in order to make it easier for somebody to assist him. But the old man refused, saying: “I have-faith in God, that He, the creator of my soul, will take-it to His bosom in the same cell, where I was deemed worthy to abide from the very beginning.” One night some time later, the holy man (Sabas), having risen before the hour of the signal, heard a sound of psalm-singing, as though a great crowd was chanting. He thought that for some reason the canonical office was being held in the church, and was surprised that such an (unusual) thing should be done, contrary to custom, without his approval. He hurried down, but found the church closed. So he went back upstairs to his tower, and again he heard a choir chanting with a sweet melody this one verse: ‘I shall pass through the place of the wonderful tabernacle to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival’ <Ps. 42:5>. Then (Sabas) understood where the sound of psalmody came from: he roused the director of the divine Office ordered him to sound the signal, and went with incense and candles to the old man’s cells: he found nobody there, except the old man himself, lying dead. And those who had accompanied the Elder were amazed; and after having attended to the venerable body, they took it into the church, celebrated the usual service upon it and laid (the remains) in a holy burial, glorifying God who glorifies His saints.
(44) A brother from blessed Theodosius’ monastery, an Asian by birth, Aphrodisius by name, who had been put in charge of the muleteers, was capable of lifting from the ground, alone, the load of a mule, that is 12 modii of corn, and putting it on his own shoulders: indeed, in stature he surpassed all the members of the coenobium. Once, on the road, he hit the head of a mule with his fist in anger, and shattered it. The mule at once fell dead, and Aphrodisius, taking up the load of the beast and the pack-saddle and carrying them on his shoulders, went back to the monastery. He was expelled by the great Theodosius because of the killing of the beast, and, having descended to the Jordan, laid his fault in front of John the Egyptian, now with the saints, then projecting the rays of his virtues in Choziba. The answer given to Aphrodisius was this: “If you want to be saved, go to our Abba Sabas and do whatever he orders you to do.” So he hastened to Sabas, confessed his fault and begged to hear a word of salvation. Our father Sabas gave him a cell, saying: “Keep to your cell, visit no other cell, nor go out of the Laura, control your tongue and your belly, and you will be saved.” Aphrodisius accepted this commandment and never disobeyed it: for 30 years he did not go out of the Laura, nor did he visit any other cell, never owned a pot, a kettle, a stove or a pallet, he did not drink wine or eukratos, did not possess two tunics, but would sleep on a bed of straw, on a mat and a patchwork cover. He would take palm-leaves from the steward and bring to the hostel keeper (xenodovco") full 90 baskets each month. He used to take the leftovers: cooked vegetables, pulse or porridge <?> and put everything in one bowl; every day he would take a little food from the bowl and be content with it. And, if the food in the bowl smelled or developed maggots, he would not throw it away, but only would add more leftovers (on top of it). His all-night long weeping would not let his neighbours rest. Thus, after he had spent 30 years, as I said, in such life, never being taken ill, or discouraged, and with his digestion unimpaired, he was deemed worthy of the grace of clairvoyance and had foreknowledge of his own death a week in advance. So he went to the church and asked our father Sabas to let him go for one day to the monastery of blessed Theoclosius. The old many knowing that his day had come, sent with him Theodoulus, Gelasius’ brother, who was a priest, with a message for the blessed Theodosius: “Behold, I received Aphrodisius once as a many now by Christ’s grace I send him back to you as an angel.” The blessed Theodosius received (Aphrodisius) with joy, embraced him and amicably invited him to share a meal; then he dismissed him in peace. Aphrodisius came back to the Laura; after a while he was taken ill and joyfully died. The fathers attended to his body and buried it with the priests: and blessed Sabas ordered (them) to lay his venerable remains crosswise, so that they might be recognised after a time and venerated by the fathers who went down into that burial-vault.
(45) Madaba is a city across the Jordan to the east, subject to the provincia Arabia, whose inhabitants used to come to our holy father Sabas and draw many spiritual benefits (from his conversation), at the same time offering corn and pulse to his coenobia and laurae. One of these (citizens) was a certain Gerontius, who, being taken ill <while on a visit in Palestine>, was detained for this reason in the holy city, and conceived a desire to pray in the (church of the) holy Ascension. He went out with his servants, riding on a mount. But on the ascent of the mountain the beast for some reason shied, and Gerontius fell and fractured his bones so awfully, that the unguentary [khrwmativth" a therapist who cured with ointments] who came (to see him) despaired of being able to cure him. A younger brother of Gerontius, Porphyrius, without saying a word to anybody, went down to the Laura and begged holy Sabas to go and visit Gerontius. The Elder was very sorry to hear about the misfortune that happened to Gerontius. Immediately he ascended to the holy city, went to Gerontius and, after having prayed earnestly for him and anointed him with the oil of the holy Cross, restored him to health, so that all marvelled at such a great and sudden change and at such an incredible miracle.
(46) A long time after this event, the son of this Gerontius, Thomas, arriving at the hostel of the Great Laura in Jericho late in the evening, in the time of the famine, found there holy Sabas, Theodore and Paul, the administrators of the monasteries of Castellion and Spelaion. Blessed Sabas, seeing him, was overjoyed, and he said to the hostel-keeper: “Give us supper.” While they supped, the hostel keeper, being asked if he had wine, answered that he had none, but said that he had a pumpkin (full) of vinegar to season the pulse. The holy man said: “Bring me the pumpkin, and blessed be the Lord, that we shall feast with it!” <Sabas changes the vinegar into wine. Thomas takes the miraculous pumpkin home to Madaba.> This story was recounted to me by Abba Gerontius, now in charge of the administration of St. Euthymius’ monastery, who is Thomas’ son and Gerontius’ grandson. He added to his story also the following words: “We had this pumpkin in our house for many years, and whenever somebody was sick, the family would fill the pumpkin with water and sprinkle it on the sick person, and this sprinkling by itself would relieve the sufferer of all physical disease.
(transl. Leah Di Segni)