Originally from Egypt, Bessarion from his youth gravitated towards monastic life. He wanted to learn as much as possible about the exploits of hermits and monks, so he visited many holy places. He visited Jerusalem, on the Jordan River, visited many hermits and monks in monasteries. The journey only confirmed his desire to take tonsure. As soon as Bessarion returned to Egypt, he immediately became a monk. He chose hard exploits: he ate little, they say that he did without food for 40 days. He slept little, and in his sleep he did not want to go to bed, so that he would always be ready for prayer. Wearing rags in all weather.
For piety and holiness, the Lord rewarded Vissarion with the gift of miracle-working. In every well, the bitter water was purified through his prayer. For his thirsty disciple, he turned sea water into spring water.
As in the time of Joshua, through the prayer of the saint, the sun stopped in the sky when he did not have time to reach his destination.
He was like the prophet Elijah. He prayed the Lord’s Prayer and it rained in the drought. Egypt is a dry land, so that Vissarion repeated this feat not once, not twice, but dozens of times.
As Elisha crossed the elder of the river, he sometimes walked on water, and sometimes created a dry way. He cast out demons with his word. But he did all this secretly, he was very modest, always asserting that it was the Lord who worked miracles, not him.
One day, he left the temple with a monk exiled for sins, claiming that he had even more of them.
Vissarion loved to wander through deserted places, so that nothing would distract him from thinking about the Kingdom of Heaven and the great sacrifice of Christ. He was so moved by the sacrifice of Christ that he cried constantly thinking about it.
The saint lived to a very old age and went to heaven, not to weep, but to rejoice.
Remembrance days
June 19
The Holy Land Charitable Foundation
Lives of Saints
