Venerable Hellius the Monk (IV)

The Venerable Hellius the Monk laboured in the fourth century. He was given to a monastery as a child, and there the God-loving fathers brought him up in piety. When he came of age the blessed one went to the Egyptian desert and by tireless labour attained spiritual perfection: he was granted by the Lord the gift of clairvoyance, and clearly saw the thoughts and the spiritual state of those he spoke with. With wonderful humility and simplicity joined to great faith, Hellius made even wild beasts obey him. Once, when the father was worn out from carrying a heavy load in the desert, he prayed, called a wild ass, loaded the baggage onto it and had it carried to the monastery. There was a time when the saint had to cross a river, but no boat was to be seen. He called a crocodile out of the water, stood on its back, and so reached the other bank.

A young novice of the monastery asked the blessed Hellius for a blessing to labour with him in the desert. The venerable father warned the young man of the heavy labours and fierce temptations that go with the life of a hermit, but the monk asked so sincerely and insistently that at last the saint agreed. On the very first night the novice, terrified by dreadful visions, rushed into Hellius’s cave trembling all over. The blessed one calmed him, sent him back, sealed his cave with the sign of the cross, and told him that from then on evil visions would not trouble him. The young man trusted his words, stayed in his cell, and by secluded labour attained such perfection that, like his holy teacher, in time of need an angel brought food to him too.

Hellius the Monk commended his soul to the Lord in deep old age.