Righteous Eulogius the Strange Host.

Church tradition preserved the history of righteous Eulogius, who lived in Egypt and devoted his life to the service of strangers. The plot, which has survived to this day through the records of Skete monks, tells about a dramatic turn in the fate of this man — from a poor worker to the capital’s nobleman and back.

Eulogius earned his living by working stone. Every day he worked until the evening, not taking food, and the earned coin was not spent on himself. In the evenings, the man walked the streets with a lantern, looked for travelers — monks and laymen — and brought them to his house. There he washed the guests’ feet, arranged dinner, and gave the rest of the food to the dogs, leaving nothing the next day.

One day Abba Daniel, the presbyter of the Skete desert, arrived in this village with a disciple. Eulogius accepted them as ordinary wanderers. At night the elder and the owner of the house talked for a long time about spiritual life, and in the morning they parted. The disciple noticed the unusual attitude of the abba to this layman and began to question the mentor.

Daniel for a long time refused to answer, citing the disobedience of the student on the road, but later revealed a story that was forbidden to be told until his death. It turned out that forty years ago the elder met Eulogius and was struck by his virtue. Then Daniel decided to ask God for riches for the stonecutter so that he could expand the business of hospitality. After three weeks of strict fasting, according to the abba, he had a vision: a boy warned that the current situation was more salvific for Eulogius, but Daniel insisted on his own, agreeing to personally vouch for the soul of this man.

Soon Eulogius found a cavity filled with gold in the stone. Fearing confiscation, he smuggled the find home, then hired a ship and went to Constantinople. There, endowing Emperor Justin and the courtiers, he received the post of diocese and settled in luxurious chambers. Weird hospitality was forgotten.

Abba Daniel, realizing the consequences of his act, went to the capital. He spent four weeks at the gates of Evlogiev’s house under snow and rain, trying to talk to a former stonecutter. However, the nobleman twice ordered the servants to beat the elder. Only after a series of events — the change of power in Constantinople, the execution of the former ruler’s associates and the confiscation of property — Eulogius fled back to Egypt. He returned to his old way of life.

A few years later, Daniel visited the village again. Eulogius received it as before — with washing his feet and dinner. In the conversation it turned out that the stonecutter knew nothing about the guarantee of the elder. Upon learning the details, both cried. The Elder predicted that Eulogius would earn exactly one coin a day for the rest of his life.

This story is preserved in monastic records as an example of how a petition for earthly well-being can turn into a spiritual test. The memory of the righteous Eulogy the Strannopriimets is celebrated in the Orthodox calendar. The disciple of Abba Daniel, according to him, kept a secret until the death of the elder.