Blessed Pelageya Diveevskaya († 1884). Pelagia of Antioch, Olivet, Palestine Pelagia memorial day

The life of our reverend mother Melania the Roman Just as good fruits are born on a good tree, so the holy branch vegetates from the holy root. We see this in the example of St. Melania, who descended from pious Christian parents. Her father and grandfather were

The life of our reverend mother Mary of Egypt “It is good to keep the royal secret, but it is glorious to open and preach the works of God” (Tov. 12: 7), - this is what the archangel Raphael said to Tobit when the miraculous healing of his blindness took place. Indeed, not keeping the royal secret is scary and

The life of our reverend mother Athanasius The description of the life and deeds of the saints for the edification of those who read or listen is not only a laudable and saving deed, but also the fulfillment of the Apostolic commandment, commanding to make a remembrance in their honor. This and

The life of our venerable mother Macrina Saint Macrina was born in Cappadocia in the reign of Constantine the Great. Her parents were Vasily and Emilia; she was their first child and was the elder sister of Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa and other brothers and

The life of our venerable mother Euphrosyne In the city of Alexandria there once lived a man named Paphnutius. He was rich, glorious, enjoyed honor, feared God, kept the commandments of the Lord and led a godly life. His wife was also a kind, pious and

The Life of Our Rev. Mother Pelagia We must always give great thanks to our Lord because He does not desire death for sinners, but longsufferingly awaits their conversion to a righteous life. A wondrous event - writes the deacon of the Iliopol church Jacob -

The Life and Labors of Our Reverend Mother Matrona Saint Matrona was born in Perge of Pamphylia, from pious parents. Having come of age, she was given in marriage to a respectable and noble man named Domitiana, and became the mother of an only daughter whom

The life of our reverend mother Melania the Roman Just as good fruits are born on a good tree, so the holy branch vegetates from the holy root. We see this in the example of St. Melania, who descended from pious Christian parents. Her father and grandfather were

We must always give great thanks to our Lord because He does not desire the death of sinners, but longsufferingly awaits their conversion to a righteous life. A marvelous event, writes Jacob, the deacon of the Iliopol1 church, has taken place in our days; Therefore, I am passing it on to you, holy brethren, so that by reading with attention you will receive great benefit.
His Holiness, the Archbishop of Antioch2, summoned eight bishops from the surrounding towns to meet his church needs.
Between them was also a holy man of God, my Bishop Nonn, a marvelous man, who had previously been the most strict monk of the Tavenna Monastery. For his virtuous life he was taken from the monastery and made a bishop4. Nonn came from Iliopol, taking me with him. When the bishops gathered in the church of the holy martyr Julian5, they wished to hear from Nonnas teaching, and they all sat down at the church doors. Nonn immediately began to lecture orally for the benefit and salvation of those who listened. All reverently listened to his holy teaching. At that time, one pagan woman, a harlot known throughout Antioch, walked past the church doors with great pride, dressed in costly clothes, adorned with gold, expensive stones and pearls, surrounded by many maidens and young men in beautiful clothes, with golden necklaces. She was so beautiful in face that the contemplation of her beauty could not get enough of secular youths. Passing by us, she filled the whole air with fragrant incense. Seeing her walking so shamelessly, with her head uncovered and her shoulders bare, the bishops closed their eyes and, sighing softly, turned away, as if from a great sin. And the blessed Nonn gazed at her intently and for a long time, until she disappeared from his eyes, and then, turning to the bishops, he said: “Didn’t you like the beauty of that woman?”
They didn't answer. Nonn bowed his head with weeping and wetted with his tears not only the handkerchief that was in his hands, but also his chest. Sighing from the depths of his heart, he again asked the bishops: “Did you not delight in the sight of her beauty?”
They were silent. Nonn said: “Truly, I learned a lot from her; for the Lord will place this woman at His terrible judgment, and by her will condemn us. How much time do you think she spent in her bedchamber, washing, dressing, decorating herself in various ways and looking around in the mirror, believing all her thought and care to appear most beautifully in the eyes of her temporary admirers? But we, having the Immortal Bridegroom in heaven, whom the angels desire to look at, do not care about decorating our accursed soul, defiled, naked and full of shame, do not try to wash it with tears of repentance and clothe it with the beauty of virtues, so that it appears pleasing in the eyes of God and does not was put to shame and rejected in the marriage of the Lamb.”6
Having finished such moralizing, blessed Nonn took me, his sinful deacon, and we went to the cell, which was given to us at the same church of St. Julian. Entering his bedchamber, my bishop fell face down on the ground and, weeping, said: “Lord Jesus Christ! forgive me sinful and unworthy. The cares of this woman about decorating the body surpassed all my cares about my wretched soul. That woman, in order to please her perishable worshipers, decorating herself, showed so much effort: but I do not try to be pleasing to You, my God, but I am in laziness and negligence. With what face shall I look upon You? By what words shall I be justified before Thee? Woe to me, a sinner! Standing before Your holy altar, I do not offer You that spiritual beauty that You seek from me. That woman, in her vanity, promised to please mortal people, appearing to them in such a magnificent form, and does what she promised: but I promised to please You, my God, and lied because of my laziness. I am naked, for I have not kept thy commandments; I do not hope in my works, but in Your mercy, and from him I hope to receive salvation.
For so long St. Nonnus cried out with sobs. He also prayed for that woman, saying: “Lord, do not destroy the creation of Your hands: may such beauty not remain in depravity, in the power of demons, but turn her to You, may Your holy name be glorified in her: for everything is possible for You.”
After that day and night, after Matins (it was a Sunday), Saint Nonn said to me: “Brother James, listen to what a dream I had that night. It seemed to me that I was standing in one of the corners of the holy altar. And behold, during the performance of the service, a kind of black dove appeared, covered with impurity and filling the air with stench; she flew around me, and I could not bear her stench. When the deacon said, "Come out of the liturgy," the dove flew away, and I did not see it until the liturgy was over. After the celebration of the Liturgy, when we left the church, I suddenly saw again the same unclean dove, which again flew around me. Stretching out my hand, I took it and threw it into the water standing in the porch of the church; in it, that dove was washed from all its impurity, flew out clean and white as snow, and, rising in height, became invisible.
Having told me this dream, blessed Nonn, taking me with him, went with the other bishops to the cathedral church, where, having brought greetings to the archbishop, they performed the Divine service. At the end of the holy service, the Archbishop of Antioch proposed to the blessed Nonnus that he should teach the people. Nonn opened his mouth and taught people by the power of the wisdom of God that dwelt in him. His words were not distinguished by the exquisite wisdom of this world, but were simple, intelligible to all and effective: for the Holy Spirit spoke through his mouth. He spoke of the Last Judgment and the future retribution of the righteous and the sinners. All those present were so touched by his words that they watered the earth with tears.
By the care of the merciful God, this harlot, whom we are talking about and who had never been to church before and did not remember her sins, happened to go into the church at that very time. Hearing the teaching of Saint Nonnus, she fell into the fear of God; thinking about her sins and hearing the teaching of St. Nonnus about eternal torment for them, she began to despair, shed streams of tears from her eyes and, in contrition of heart, could not stop her weeping. Then she said to her two servants: “Wait here, and when that holy man who spoke the lesson comes out, follow him, find out where he lives, and when you return, tell me.”
The servants carried out the order and told their mistress that the saint was living at the church of the holy martyr Julian. Then she immediately wrote with her own hand the following message to the blessed Non: “To the holy disciple of Christ, a sinner and a disciple of the devil. I heard about your God that He bowed the heavens and descended to earth not for the righteous, but for the salvation of sinners. He humbled himself to the point that he ate food with publicans. He whom the cherubim dare not look at, had fellowship with sinners and conversed with harlots (Luke 7:37-50; John 8:3-11, etc.).
My lord! If, as I hear from Christians, you are a true servant of Christ, then you will not reject me, who, with your help, wants to come to the Savior of the world and see His most holy Face.
Having read this epistle, Saint Nonnus wrote in response to her thus: “Whatever you may be, but God knows both you and your intention. Therefore, I ask you: do not tempt me unworthy: I am a sinful servant of God. But if you really have a good desire to believe in my God and see me, then other bishops are here with me; so come and see me with them. You shouldn't see me alone."
Having received and read this, the sinner was filled with great joy, hurried to the church of St. Julian and let the blessed Nonnus know about her arrival. He, having gathered seven other bishops to himself, ordered her to enter. Appearing before the Cathedral of the Holy Bishops, she fell to the ground with weeping and fell at the feet of Saint Nonn, exclaiming: “I beg you, my lord, be an imitator of your teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ, show me your grace and make me a Christian: I am a sea of ​​sins, my lord, and the abyss of iniquities; wash me with baptism.”
All the assembled bishops and clerics, seeing the harlot who came with such repentance and faith, shed tears. The blessed one could hardly make her rise from his feet.
“The rules of the church,” he said, “command not to baptize a harlot without guarantors, for fear that she would not return again to the same prodigal life.”
Hearing this answer, she again threw herself at the feet of the saint, washed them with her tears and wiped her head with her hair, as the evangelical sinner once washed the feet of Christ (Luke 7:37-38).
“You will give an answer to God about my soul if you do not baptize me,” she said. - From your hands, then God will seek my soul, and after you he will write down my evil deeds. If you reject me not baptized, then you will be the fault of the continuation of my prodigal and impure life. If you do not deliver me now from my evil deeds, then I will turn away from your God and worship idols. If you do not now make me the bride of Christ and bring me to your God, then you will not have a share with Him and His saints.
All those present, hearing this and seeing how such a harlot was so inflamed with aspiration for God, glorified the Lover of God. Blessed Nonn immediately sent me, the humble Jacob, to the archbishop to tell him about this. The archbishop, hearing about what had happened, was very glad and said to me: “Go, tell your bishop: honest father, this deed awaited you, for I know you well that you are the mouth of God, according to His word:“ if you bring out the precious from the insignificant, then you will be like my mouth” (Jer. 15:19).
And, having called Mrs. Romana, who was the first deaconess of the church,8 he sent her with me.
When we arrived, we found Pelagia still lying on the ground, at the feet of the blessed Nonnus, who could hardly make her get up, saying: “Rise, daughter, to make your voice known before baptism.”
She got up, and the bishop said to her:
“Confess your sins first.
She answered with tears:
“If I begin to test my conscience, I will not find a single good deed in myself; I only know that my sins are more numerous than the sand of the sea, and there is no water in the sea to wash away my wicked deeds. But I hope in your God that He will lighten the burden of my iniquities and mercifully look upon me.
The bishop asked her:
- What is your name?
She replied:
“My parents called me Pelagia, but the citizens of Antioch renamed me Margarita9 for the sake of those beautiful and precious attire with which my sins adorned me.
Then the bishop read it out, baptized it in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, anointed it with myrrh and partook of the Most Pure and Life-Giving Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins. The spiritual mother of Pelagia was the deaconess Romana; having accepted her from the baptismal font, she led her out of the church into the chamber of the catechumens, since we were there too. Blessed Nonnus said to the other bishops: “Let us eat, brethren, and rejoice with the angels of God that we have found the lost sheep: let us eat food with oil and wine for the sake of spiritual consolation.”
When everyone came and began to eat together with the newly baptized, the demon began to cry out loud. Sobbing in a human voice, he said:
Woe, woe, that I suffer from this talkative wine-drinker! Oh, evil old man! Was not thirty thousand Saracens enough for you, whom you baptized, having stolen them from me? Wasn't Iliopolis enough for you, which you took away from me and brought to your God - and it was once mine, and all those living in it worshiped me! 10 And now you have taken away my last hope. What am I to do, stubborn old man, deceiver? I can't stand your tricks. Cursed be the day you were born, you wicked old man! Streams of your tears have shed on my dwelling and made it empty.
So, weeping, the devil cried out before the doors of the chamber where we were, and all who were there heard his voice. And again, turning to the newly baptized, the demon said:
“What are you doing to me, Lady Pelagia? You imitate Judas. He, honored with apostolic glory and honor, betrayed his Lord, and you did the same with me.
Then the bishop ordered the servant of God Pelagia to protect herself with the sign of the cross. She made the sign of the cross of Christ on her face and said to the devil:
“May Jesus Christ drive you away, delivering me from you!”
When she said this, the devil immediately disappeared.
Two days later, when Pelagia was sleeping with Lady Romana, her spiritual mother, the devil appeared to her, woke her up and began to say to her:
- My dear mistress, Margarita, what harm have I done to you? Have I enriched you with gold and silver? Have I not adorned you with precious stones, ornaments and garments? I beg you, tell me: what sorrow have I caused you? Whatever you tell me, I will do everything immediately, just don’t leave me and don’t make a laughing stock of me.
Protecting herself with the sign of the cross, Pelagia answered:
- My Lord Jesus Christ, who delivered me from your teeth and made me the bride of His heavenly chamber, may he drive you away from me.
And immediately the devil disappeared.
Waking Saint Romana immediately, Pelagia said to her:
- Pray for me, my mother: the evil one is persecuting me.
Romana replied:
- My daughter, do not be afraid of him, for now he is afraid and trembles even of your shadow.
On the third day after her baptism, Pelagia called one of her servants and said to him: “Go to my house, copy everything that is in my gold guards, and all my clothes, and bring everything here.”
The servant went and did as he was ordered. Then the blessed Pelagia, calling on the holy Bishop Nonnus, gave everything into his hands, saying: “Here are the riches with which Satan has enriched me; I give it into your holy hands: do with them what you will, but I must seek the treasures of my Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed Bishop Nonn, having called the steward of the church, gave him, in the presence of everyone, the treasures transferred to him by Pelagia and said to him: “I conjure you in the name of the Holy and Inseparable Trinity not to bring anything from this gold either into the episcopal house, or into the church of God, or into your own house, nor in the house of any of the clergy: but distribute all this with your own hands to the orphans, the poor and the weak, so that what is collected by evil is spent on good, and the wealth of sin becomes the wealth of truth. If you break this oath, let your house be anathema, and your fate is with those who cried out, “Take, take, crucify him” (Luke 23:21).
The servant of God Pelagia left nothing of her property even to feed herself, but ate at the expense of Romana the deaconess: for she swore not to use anything from the wealth of sin. Calling all her servants and maids, she set them free, giving everyone enough silver and gold.
“I free you from temporary slavery,” she told them, “but try to free yourself from slavery to a vain world full of sins, so that we, who lived in this world together, may be able to stay together and in a blessed life.”
Having said this, Pelagia dismissed her servants.
On the eighth day, when it was necessary for her, according to the custom of the newly baptized, to take off the white clothes received at baptism (it was Sunday), Pelagia, getting up very early, took off the white clothes in which she was dressed at baptism and put on a hair shirt. Taking the shabby clothes of the blessed Nonnus, she secretly withdrew from Antioch from everyone, and from that time no one knew where she was. Deaconess Romana mourned and wept for her. But the omniscient God revealed to the blessed Nonnus that Pelagia had gone to Jerusalem, and comforted Nonnus Romana, saying: “Do not cry, my daughter, but rejoice: Pelagia, like Mary, who “choose a good part that will not be taken away from her” (Lk. 10:42).
A few days later, we were released by the archbishop and returned to Iliopol. Three years later I had a desire to go to Jerusalem to bow to the holy resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ,13 and I asked my bishop, blessed Nonna, to let me go. As he let me go, he said, “Brother Jacob! When you come to the holy places, look for a certain monk there, whose name is Pelagius: he is a eunuch14, very virtuous and lives for several years in seclusion. Having found him, talk with him, and you will receive great benefit from him, for he is a true servant of Christ and a monk who has reached perfection.
Nonn spoke of this about the servant of God, Pelagia, who, near Jerusalem, built herself a cell on the Mount of Olives,15 where our Lord once prayed and, shutting herself up there, lived for God. But this Nonn did not reveal to me.
Having gathered, I went to the holy places, bowed to the holy resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and His honest Cross, and the next day I found a monk named Pelagia, as my bishop commanded me; I found his cell in the Mount of Olives. This cell was blocked from everywhere and had no doors; I only saw a small window in the wall, knocked on it, and when it was opened, I saw the servant of God. She recognized me, but did not reveal herself to me. I didn't recognize her. And how could I recognize that one, whose great beauty faded so quickly, as a flower withers? Her eyes were deeply sunken, from much and immeasurable abstinence, the bones and joints of her face were revealed. The whole country of Jerusalem considered her a eunuch, not a single person knew that she was a woman, and I myself did not know that: for my bishop spoke to me about a eunuch - a monk, and I received a blessing from her, as from a monk - a husband. She told me:
“Tell me, brother, aren’t you Jacob, the deacon of the blessed Bishop Nonnus?”
I marveled that she called me by my first name, and recognized in me the deacon of the blessed Nonna, and answered:
- Yes, my lord.
She told me:
- Tell your bishop to pray for me, for he is truly a holy man and an Apostle of Christ.
“And you, my brother,” she added, “I ask you to pray for me.
Having said this, the blessed one closed the window and began to sing the third hour. I made a prayer and departed; the contemplation of the angelic ascetic and her sweet conversation did me a lot of good.
Returning to Jerusalem, I visited various monasteries, visited the brethren, conversed with holy men, received their blessings, and received much benefit for my soul. Good fame about the eunuch Pelagia swept through all the monasteries, and the example of his life was to everyone's advantage. For this reason, I wished to go to him again and console myself with his soulful conversation. Arriving at his cell, I knocked on the window with a prayer, and dared to call him by his name, saying: “Open, Father Pelagia!”
But he did not answer me anything.
I thought that he was praying or resting, and after waiting a little, I knocked again, asking him to open it, but there was no answer; again I waited for a while, and knocked again. I spent three days like this, sitting at the window, and knocked at certain intervals, having a strong desire to see the holy face of Pelagius and receive his blessing: but there was no voice, no obedience. Then I said to myself: “Either he left this cell, and there is no one in it, or he passed away.”
I dared to open the window by force and saw Pelagius lying dead on the ground. I was horrified, and it became very bitter for me that I was not worthy to receive his last blessing. Having closed the window, I went to Jerusalem, and announced to the holy fathers living there that Abba Pelagius, the eunuch, had reposed; and immediately the news spread throughout all Jerusalem that Saint Pelagius, the spirit-bearing monk, had died in the Lord. Monks from all the surrounding monasteries, all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and countless people from Jericho and from the other side of the Jordan came together to bury his honest body. Having broken the window of the cell, they made an entrance sufficient for one person; Entering through the hole thus made, the reverent men carried out the honest body. The Patriarch of Jerusalem also came with many other fathers. When, according to the rite, they began to anoint the body with aromas, they saw that the deceased ascetic was by nature a woman.
“Wonderful God in the saints,” those who were present then cried with tears, “glory to Thee: for Thou hast hidden saints on earth, not only husbands, but also wives.”
They wanted to hide the secret of Pelagia from the people, but they could not: for God was pleased not to hide, but to declare and glorify His servant. And a great multitude of people gathered; nuns also fled from their monasteries with candles and censers, with psalms and church hymns, and, taking the honest and holy body of Pelagia, they carried it with due honor to the same cell where she labored, and buried there.
Such was the life of the former harlot, such is the conversion of the lost sinner, such are her labors and deeds, with which she pleased God. May our Lord Jesus Christ be with her and let us receive mercy on the Day of Judgment! To him be glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever. Amen.
Kontakion, tone 2:
Having exhausted your body with fasts, with vigilant prayers of the Creator, you begged for your deeds, as if you had a perfect abandonment: even you found your mother in reality, showing the path of repentance.

1 Iliopol of Palestine, located in the north of Palestine, in Coele-Syria, in the present Syrian region of Asiatic Turkey, in ancient times was the central point for the entire pagan east, but in the 4th century. became a hotbed of Christianity and had its own bishops; subsequently this city was gradually destroyed.
2 Antioch Syrian - one of the ancient and richest cities of Syria, its capital city; lies at the river. Oronte, 10 versts from its confluence with the Mediterranean Sea, between the mountain ranges of Lebanon and Taurus; founded 300 years before R. Chr. Seleucus Nicator, and is named after Antiochus, his father. For the Christian Church, Antioch is of particular importance, as the second great center of Christianity after Jerusalem, and as the mother of Christian churches from the Gentiles. The famous church of Antioch was originally planted by Sts. App. Paul and Barnabas, and later approved by St. Peter. In Antioch, there were many wonderful councils of the pastors of the church during the heretical (Arian and Nestorian) strife, the Church of Antioch from ancient times enjoyed special advantages, along with the churches of Alexandria, Jerusalem, Constantinople and Rome; its abbots had the title and privileges of the patriarch, which is why in the present place of the life of St. Pelagia should be understood not as an archbishop, but as a patriarch. At present, Antioch is under Turkish rule and is a small and poor town with up to 10 thousand inhabitants.
3 The Tavenna Monastery was the first cenobitic monastery. He was in Tavenna, in Upper (Southern) Egypt, north of his ancient capital - Thebes, on the banks of the Nile; Founded around 340 Ven. Pachomius the Great (his memory, May 15), who was the first to draw up a strict cenobitic monastic charter, which quickly spread in the Christian world. The Tavenna monastery was of such great importance in the history of ancient Christian monasticism, and the success of Pachomius' charter was so great that even before his death, about 7,000 monks gathered in Tavenna and its environs. And later Tavenna, - the name of which belonged at first to one island, on the river. Nile, later moved to the coastal surrounding places of the river, where Ven. Pachomius and his disciples - was famous for its monasteries.
4 Nonnus was previously elected bishop to the see of Edessa, in 448, in place of the deposed Iva; when the Council of Chalcedon in 451 returned the see to Iva of Edessa, Nonnus took the chair in Heliopolis.
5 Here, of course, St. torment. Julian of Tarsus, who suffered at the end of the 3rd century (his memory is celebrated on June 21). In his honor, a church was built in Antioch, where his relics were laid.
6 An expression borrowed from the Apocalyptic mysterious image (Rev. 19:7), under the guise of marriage, the triumph of the Conqueror of Christ and His St. Churches, after the final victory over Satan, the Antichrist and their servants, at the end of time.
7 Publicans were the people appointed by the Romans to collect taxes from the Jews. They used to take charge of the collection of these duties, and used every possible measure in order to extract the greatest advantage for themselves. As greedy and impudent agents of a pagan power, the publicans were considered by the Jews as traitors and traitors to their country and the Lord God. A sinner, a pagan and a publican - they meant the same thing, talking with them was considered a sin, dealing with them - a desecration, although among them there were kind and God-fearing people. But Christ did not disdain them either, for which he was often reproached (Matthew 11:19; Luke 5:30; 7:34; 15:1-2).
8 Deaconess - from the Greek. language: servant. This was the name given to a special kind of officials in the Church, whose establishment dates back to apostolic times (Rom. 16:1; cf. 1 Tim. 5:3-10). Elderly (not younger than 40 years old) virgins or widows were elected to the position of deaconesses. It was their duty to instruct the converting wives and maidens, how they should behave during baptism, to serve the bishop at their baptism and instead of him to anoint other parts of the body, except for the forehead, etc., to observe order and decorum among women during Divine services , visit the sick, the needy, prisoners in prison, serve confessors and martyrs who are in custody, help the poor, etc. Regarding deaconesses, there are several canonical rules, namely: rule 15 of the 4th Ecumenical Council, rule 14 of the 6th, and St. Basil the Great rule 44th.
9 Margarita, translated from Greek, means a pearl.
10 At the beginning of the 5th century, paganism was still quite widespread in Iliopolis, but its influence here was finally undermined by the labors of Saint Nonn. – By Saracens we mean the Arabs, whom St. Nonn converted to Christ during his stay at the Heliopol see in the amount of up to 30,000 people.
11 Pelagia is meant here by the deserted habitation lost to the devil. According to the biblical view, just as a pious person is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 19), so a wicked person is a temple of the spirit of malice. Therefore, the devil calls Pelagia his former dwelling, which was empty for him after her conversion to Christ.
12 That is, with Christ-sellers and God-slayers - Jews. Luke 23:21.
13 That is, the temple of the Resurrection of Christ, built on the site of the Resurrection of the Lord, the tomb of the Lord and other greatest Christian shrines located there.
14 A eunuch is a person incapable of sexual passions, in the highest, spiritual sense - who has killed himself, who has died for passions.
15 The Mount of Olives, or Olivet, is one of the mountains of the Jews, and is called so because of the multitude of olive trees that grew on it, besides various other trees. It lies to the east of Jerusalem, separated from it by the Kidron valley, and higher than other nearby mountains; From the top it offers a magnificent view in all directions. The Mount of Olives is consecrated in New Testament history by various significant events from the earthly life of the Savior, especially the ascension from it of the Risen Lord to heaven. Now this so remarkable mountain, with all its surroundings, presents the saddest sight and is devoid of its former rich vegetation. The cave of prep. Pelagia, located near the very place of the Ascension (the middle peak of the mountain) in the XII century. saw a Russian pilgrim, hegumen Daniel. Western pilgrim Anselm wrote in 1509: “below the place of ascension, descending 20 steps or so, is the place or cell where Saint Pelagia performed repentance.”
16 Rev. 16 Pelagia followed when Nonnus, according to his life, was the bishop of Iliopolis, and he was a bishop from 451 to 458. The conversion of Pelagia took place during the same time of governing his Iliopolis church, next. her death should be attributed to the end of his stay in Iliopol, about 457.

The Monk Pelageya (Pelagia) was born in Syrian Antioch and before her conversion to Christ was a frivolous and dissolute girl. Having a very attractive appearance, she adorned herself with luxurious clothes, gold and precious stones, for which fans called her Margarita, that is, a pearl.

One day the bishops of neighboring dioceses came to Antioch for a council. Among them was Nonn, Bishop of Iliopol, known for his wisdom and righteous life. During a break, the bishops left the temple where they were sitting, and suddenly a noisy crowd of young men appeared in front of them. Among them, one girl stood out for her beauty - with bare shoulders and immodestly dressed. It was Pelagia. She joked and laughed loudly, and the fans hung around her. The embarrassed bishops lowered their gazes, while Saint Nonnus, on the contrary, began to scrutinize Pelagia. When the noisy crowd left, Non asked the bishops: “ Didn't you like the beauty of this woman and her dress?» They were silent. Then Nonn continued: And I learned a lot from her. She made it her goal to please people and how many hours do you think she spent on decorating herself, on taking care of herself, in order to appear more beautiful than other women in the eyes of her admirers! At the terrible judgment, the Lord will condemn us with it, because we, having an immortal Bridegroom in Heaven, neglect the state of our souls. What will we bring before Him?»

Arriving at the inn, Saint Nonnus began earnestly praying for the salvation of Pelagia. On the following Sunday, when Nonnus was celebrating the Divine Liturgy, Pelagia, drawn by a mysterious force, came to the church for the first time. Worship and Sermon of Saint John the Last Judgment so shocked her that she was horrified by her sinful life. When she came to Nonnu, she expressed a desire to be baptized, but she was not sure whether the Lord would have mercy on her: “My sins are more numerous than the sand of the sea, and there will not be enough water in the sea to wash my bad deeds.” The good shepherd comforted her with the hope of God's mercy and baptized her.

Becoming a Christian, Pelagia gathered her property and brought Nonna. Nonn ordered that it be distributed to the poor, saying: "Let the ill-collected be wisely spent." A few days later, Pelagia, dressed in men's clothes, left the city. She went to Jerusalem and there she took monastic vows. She was mistaken for a young man. Having arranged for herself a cell on the Mount of Olives, she closed herself in it and began to lead a severe monastic life in repentance, fasting and prayer. The inhabitants of the surrounding places considered her to be a monk Pelagius, a eunuch. After several years of attaining high spiritual gifts, Monk Pelagius died around the year 457. During the burial, it was discovered that the deceased monk was a woman.

Troparion, tone 8:

In you, mother, it is known that you have saved yourself in the image: having accepted the cross, you followed Christ, and you taught you to despise the flesh: it passes away, lie down about the soul, things are immortal. The same and with the Angels will rejoice, reverend mother Pelagia, your spirit.