Mark the Egyptian

It was said of Abba Mark the Egyptian that for thirty years he did not leave his cell. A priest regularly came and celebrated the holy offering for him. Seeing the elder’s great endurance, the devil devised a way to tempt him into condemnation. So he sent a man possessed by an unclean spirit to the elder under the pretext of asking for prayer. Before saying anything else, the possessed man cried out to the elder, “Your priest has the smell of sin. Do not let him come to you again.”

The elder said to him, “My child, everyone casts impurity outside, but you have brought it in here. It is written, ‘Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.’ Even if he is sinful, the Lord will save him, for it is also written, ‘Pray for one another so that you may be healed.’” After saying this, he prayed, drove the demon out of the man, and sent him away healed.

When the priest came as usual, the elder received him with joy. Seeing the elder’s innocence, the good God showed him a sign. As the cleric was about to stand before the holy table, the elder later related, “I saw an angel of the Lord come down from heaven and place his hand on the cleric’s head, and the cleric became like a pillar of fire. As I marveled at the vision, I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Man, why are you astonished at this? If an earthly king will not allow his nobles to stand before him dirty, but only with great glory, how much more will the divine power purify the ministers of the holy mysteries who stand before the heavenly glory?’” Because he did not condemn the cleric, Mark the Egyptian, the noble athlete of Christ, was counted worthy of this grace.