The famous elder, Archimandrite Paul (Gruzdev) told the following story about himself.
One day, old and half-blind, he came to the big city. Together with one metropolitan he served there. The Metropolitan gave Father Paul money for the return road, and they parted. Before the train, Father Paul decided to eat lunch.
He goes to the cafe, and the girl is
The stand says to him:
— You better go, Grandpa.
poorly dressed.
And he looks at his feet. And on the feet of Father Paul — valenki, when he left his village, there were frosts, and came to the city, there was a thaw, and from the boots to the wall.
There’s mud on the floor. Father’s coat is also old, worn, and the suitcase in his hand is wiped, with priestly vestments inside. The girl must have thought it was some kind of tramp. Father.
Paul’s gone. He goes to another cafe, more like a dining room, and they say,
«We have complex lunches here!»
“Well,” Father Paul replies, “that’s good.” He put a suitcase at the table, took a tray, received a complex lunch for it — the first, second and compote. I put dinner on my table, I was just about to eat, I forgot a spoonful with a fork! He went for a spoon with a fork, comes back — and at his table there is a man sitting and eating his first. So much for a complex lunch. Father Pavel.
And without saying a word he began to eat his second. I ate the second one, spread the bread in my pockets, and the compote was shared equally with the man.
Here the man gets up and goes to the exit. Father Paul looked under the table, and
There’s no suitcase! That greedy guy stole it. He ate half of his lunch and took his suitcase. Father Paul got up from the table, ran after the thief, suddenly looking at his suitcase. Just at the other table. And the lunch is pristine.
I got it wrong!!! And the men are cold. Here Father Paul even had a headache – that’s what a humble man turned out to be, did not say a word when Father Paul ate half of his dinner.
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