Venerable Doulas of Egypt
The Venerable Doulas was a monk of one of the monasteries of Egypt. Distinguished by meekness, humility and obedience, the monk endured for twenty years the mockery and insults of some of the brethren of the monastery. At first it was very hard for him, but later he attained such freedom from anger that he sincerely loved his enemies.
At the end of his life a trial befell the saint: one monk stole the church vessels and hid them. When the abbot with the brotherhood decided to find the culprit, his enemies accused Doulas of the theft. They said that on that very day Doulas had not come to the Midnight Office, whereas at other times no one could come before him. In fact the reason for the saint’s absence from the service was his illness. The venerable father insisted, “I am not guilty of this sin,” but his enemies stood their ground: “We saw it all with our own eyes.” When Doulas saw that no one believed him, he no longer tried to justify himself and said: “Forgive me, holy fathers, I am a sinner!” Then the abbot ordered the blessed father to be stripped of his monastic habit. Doulas sobbed aloud and cried out: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, for Thy name’s sake I put on this garment, and now for my sins I am stripped of it!”
The venerable father was put in fetters. The steward beat him cruelly, trying to wring from him where he had hidden the vessels, but the sinless martyr kept repeating: “I have sinned, forgive me!” Then the monk was handed over to the secular court for trial, where they began to torture him. In vain the ascetic protested, “I have neither the silver nor the lost vessels.” The monks allowed the eparch of the city to deal with the accused as the law required, and Doulas was sentenced to have both his hands cut off. Before the sentence was carried out the governor said to the venerable father: “Tell us where the vessels are, and thou shalt be freed from punishment.” The saint answered: “Dost thou wish to make me say what I did not do? I no longer wish to lie, for every lie is from the evil one.” Doulas was led out to be punished, and then at last the real thief felt the pangs of conscience: he went to the abbot and asked him to stop the executioners.
The venerable father was brought back to the monastery. The monks asked his forgiveness, but he was not angry at all; on the contrary, he thanked everyone for giving him the chance to atone for his sins by enduring sufferings. The saint prayed fervently for his enemies. Three days later the venerable father was found dead: he had commended his soul to the Lord kneeling in prayer. The burial was put off until the abbot and the brethren of the neighbouring lavra should come. Meanwhile the holy body was locked in the church. When all had gathered and gone into the church, they found nothing there but the dead man’s garments and sandals.
By God’s providence those who had insulted Saint Doulas were not given the chance to bury the saint and take their Christian farewell of him.
