He was confessing his sins to Father Iakovos, Dimitrios, but he went to see Saint Porphyrios, and he asked him who is your elder? he said to him elder Iakovos, said to him, with your elder, we talk frequently, how do you talk asked him? I go up and start talking,-Who is taking you what days do you go? because we never heard of that before? in a spiritual way, but the body goes too, don't think it's just the spirit, don't think that I become some kind of ghost, he said to him how does this happen? listen now when you go to see him because he doesn't like to talk about it, he doesn't allow me to talk about that but listen someday you may have to say this, go there where is the go where the cemetery of the monastery is it is the church of Saint David it has a pine tree under the pine tree it has two stacks of stones, one of them father sits and the other me when I asked the holy spirit that I want a person with same issues to talk about. ELDER DO YOU FREQUENTLY GO TO TALK?At least once a week when I need it, Jacob tells him to think, but he doesn't feel the need for that,.but do that for my need, Now Demetrios goes to Iakovos, and tells him you have wishes from Father Porphyrios, thanks like he used to talk to the elder...he told me that he is coming...where is he coming? that he is coming here and you talk together, He told you this thing? no, my child, he does not come But the old man to lie? father porphyrios; but he also told me where you talk, here in Saint Georgios behind the tree, what did he tell you? I TOLD HIM NOT TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT LOUD SPEAKING, THAT WAS MYSTIC ELDER IAKOVOS=-HE COULD TALK TO YOU FOR HOURS ABOUT MIRACLES BUT MIRACLES ARE, IT IS THE MANIFESTATION OR THE OUTSIDE MANIFESTATION OF THE OTHER PHYSICS OF GOD'S PHYSICS
Roman Catholics believe that purgatory is a place where "we atone for our sins" while atonement is the work of our Lord Jesus Christ alone. The Basis of the doctrine of Atonement and Redemption is that man is incapable of paying for the Divine Justice no matter how much he does, suffers, or is punished.
The Holy Bible says,
"Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed" (Rom 3:24-25).
"If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world" (1 Jn 2:1-2).
"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 Jn 4:10).
2. Purgatory is against the doctrine of Salvation
Salvation is only by blood and only by the blood of Christ. The blood of Christ is the only purge. "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 Jn 1:7). 'All sin' refers to every kind of sin mentioned by the Catholics the mortal, the venial, or any other. The only condition is repentance "confess our sins" and "walk in the light" (1 Jn 1:7,9). St Paul says, "But with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption" (Heb 9:12). Purgatory is an insult to the work of the Cross for we say that on the Cross appeared the Divine Love "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (Jn 3:16) How would that love agree with the pain of purgatory for forgiven sins and unintentional sins?
To believe in purgatory is to believe in partial salvation as if Christ came to save us from the shame of sin not from its penalty.
3. Purgatory is against the sacrament of repentance
Repentance blots sin, God forgives it and does not remember it.
"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19).
"I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins" (Isa 44:22).
"And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, nailed to the cross" (Col 2:13,14).
"I, even I, am He Who blots out transgressions for My own sake and I will not remember your sins" (Isa 43:25).
The Coptic Orthodox view on the Prayer for the Departed
We pray for those who departed from this world not because we believe in purgatory but following St. Paul who prayed for Onesiphorus saying, "The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day" (2 Tim 1:18). In that Day meant in the Day of Judgment, as he said "Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing" (2 Tim 4:8). St. Paul was not asking for mercy in the purgatory but on the Day of Judgment when he stands before the Just Judge. We pray for the departure that God may grant them rest in the place of waiting for the Day of Judgment has not come yet. Those departed are awaiting without worry or unrest. The litany for the departed does not mention the purgatory at all. We pray saying, "Sustain them in a green pasture, by the water of rest in the paradise of joy, the place out of which grief, sorrow, and groaning have fled away" This is definitely not the description of the purgatory for the purgatory contrarily is a place of grief, sorrow, and groaning.
Our Church absolves the soul of the departed during the prayer. She absolves her from all the sins she committed while in the flesh. We say to God, 'This soul has departed from us absolved by the church. We do not retain any sin for her...we intercede for her for You O Lord know the weakness of man.
Jesus Christ is Orthodox =Άλλο οι ψευδοθρησκείες που είναι φαντασία των ιδρυτών τους και άλλο ο Χριστός ο οποίος είναι ο Ίδιος ο Θεός! Τα θαύματα Του Χριστού δεν σταματάνε κ γίνονται αντιληπτά κ από αλόθρησκους ακόμη όπως π.χ το Μέγα Θαύμα Του Αγίου Φωτός το οποίο ανάβει τα καντήλια του Πανίερου Ναού Της Αναστάσεως που βρίσκονται ψηλά στο ναό ενώ τα πρώτα λεπτά δεν καίει! Επίσης ο Αγιασμός δεν χαλάει ενώ τα λείψανα των Αγίων ευωδειάζουν θαυματουργούν και πολλά είναι άφθαρτα!----Don't pay attention,to every heretic,deceiver,who tells you about,its not true
Another is the false religions that are the imagination of their founders and another is Christ who is God Himself! The miracles of Christ do not stop and are perceived by even non-religious people such as the Great Miracle of the Holy Light which lights the candles of the Holy Temple of the Resurrection that are high in the temple while the first minutes do not burn! Also, Agiasmos does not spoil while the relics of the Saints smell of miracles and many are indestructible!
Jesus Christ is Orthodox. How do we know this? From the sacred light delivered only to the Orthodox Patriarch Jesus Christ came to earth to build his church and this is the orthodox church. The temperature of the Holy Fire is around forty degrees Celsius for a few minutes after its defeat, so the faithful can take it freely in their hands and "wash" their faces in it during this time because they are not burned, Archbishop Gennady Zaridze, of Orthodox Christian Scientists and Rector of the Church of the Mother of God protective veil in Voronezh region, said in an interview with RIA-Novosti. "I used a pyrometer and recorded the temperature of the Holy Fire immediately after the descent: I immediately washed my face with this Fire (and I did not burn!) And I measured its temperature and it turned out that the average temperature of the Fire I was holding and the fire held by my neighbors was forty-two degrees Celsius. Fifteen minutes later I remeasured the temperature and reached 320 ° Celsius until that time ", the archbishop investigating the miracles using physical-scientific methods for many years a. Fr. Gennady Zaridze used a pyrometer, which uses a non-infrared infrared thermometer to measure the surface temperature of an object to measure the temperature of the Holy Fire. A silver width of five millimeters and one millimeter width was used as an object. Since silver is one of the biggest heat-generating metals, when you place a slab on the fire, you will immediately get the flame temperature. Fr. Gennadi Zardine visited the Holy Land in April 2016 for Easter at the invitation of the St. Joseph Foundation. Andrew and with the blessing of the metropolitan Sergy Voronezh and Liski. "I have no doubt that the Holy Fire is the work of the grace of God, it is a kind of divine mercy in the sinful world that is designed to preserve and strengthen faith," said the shepherd in an interview with RIA-Novosti, adding that there have been cases of healing wonders during the feasts of Saint Photius. that in 2008 Andrei Volkov, a scientist from the Russian Research Center of Russia (Kurchatov Institute), had come to Jerusalem before the conquest of Saint Photius and brought with him an instrument that recorded various electromagnetic spectrum ranges Bolia. That day he was the first man (even before the patriarch went to the believers to fire) to learn that the Holy Fire had collapsed because the bodies showed a very strong electrical discharge. The time that Orthodoxy will prevail is near We know that it is not only the natural laws but also spiritual. Therefore, the wrath of God can not be addressed by cooperative sinners (why double rage will become), but by repentance and adherence to the orders Lord. Elder Sophronius of Mount Athos (1993) tells Essex, England like Saint Paisius: "The Union of Churches is difficult if not impossible for them. speak for the Union Churches do not know the mentality of the heterodox or level Orthodoxy. Saint Paisius the above knowledge, advises everyone to be more restrained because there will be the time when the Lord will present the Marcus Polite and fast palms to gather all scandalished our brethren, to confess the Orthodox faith, to clinch tradition, and give great joy to our Mother. Essentially the elder prophesying a truly Orthodox Synod Perhaps the 8th. Ecumenical Council for which prophesied to become the Holy Nile Myrovlytis: Then he made at the eighth meeting, and wants to choose good from evil, ie Orthodoxy, as the farmer selects the wheat from the chaff. and Then make peace little people again will change the agreement in their evil .... Peace in the world can not come without a peacemaker, living and unadulterated teaching Orthodoxy. Dissemination However, although continued after the fall of City, to a degree, it should be maximized and will officially spread dynamically after the 3rd World War general war as onomastic Agios Kosmas of Aetolia. This will be the period glimpse of Orthodoxy, for a short time, because then again people are lured into evil. believe it or not, there is going to be a glimpse of orthodoxy around the globe Because God wants you to know what the real truth is. Before the ascension of the Antichrist
old lady Lambrini Vetsiu, ascetic in the world vessel of the Lord's elect, from
her youth, talks about the big earthquake in
Athens the Big Bang, this
will come after they insist on giving everyone the new id card, in Athens after the big earthquake,
nothing will stand only-PARAQUES-NOTHING ELSE, for
this the lord told me that will happen only
to Athens, this bang is ready for the end times, from
God, NOTHING HAPPEN WITH NO REASON=Even the
hairs of our heads are counted-there is no such thing as destiny or kismet-God said that
he doesn't want to punish Athens, which you especially accomplish against him by disregarding
his orders, but as not personal God will impose
the spiritual
laws, which was applied to angels and man-taking corrective action explained in Apocalipsis
like now like before pride exists in Sodoma.
The destruction would not be as great as Sodom
but the area would be polluted thus nobody
can stay, in 24 hours time Athens will be empty
As was prophesied before,Avgoustinos katounakiotis.....
they will go into the fields and fight for a potato
in an empty Athens, it concerns all humanity
Abba Macarius took him to be a hermit and said: ‘‘May the Lord forgive you, my child.’’
As they walked along together, Abba Macarius noticed the figure and appearance of the monk and said to him:
‘‘My child, I see you and marvel! How beautiful you are! I have never seen such beauty in a human face. Perhaps you aren’t a man? In the name of God in Heaven tell me the truth.’’
Then the angel bowed to the elder and said: ‘‘Bless me, Father, as you can see I’m an angel and have come to teach you the hidden mysteries which you want to know.’’
The elder bowed too and prayed: ‘‘Lord, I thank you, because you’ve sent me such a guide to teach me about things unknown and mysteries which I desire to learn.’’
The angel said to him softly: ‘‘Tell me what it is you wish to know.’’
ABBA: ‘‘Holy angel tell me, do people recognize one another in the life to come?’’
Just like this life, when people go to sleep and then wake up, they still recognize the people they knew before going to sleep; so it is in the life to come. People will recognize one another speak to each other and be joyous together. This is the fate of the righteous, but sinners aren’t so lucky and are deprived of this ability.’’
ABBA:‘‘Tell me, what happens after the soul leaves the body; and why are memorial services held for the dead?’’ ANGEL: ‘‘On the third day after the soul has been separated from the body, a holy angel takes this soul and ascends to heaven so that the soul can worship our Lord, Jesus Christ. Between heaven and earth, there’s a big ladder and on each step a host of demons stand, acting like gatekeepers. The demons hold a list of our bad deeds and recount them for us, saying, ‘On a certain day you stole, fornicated, or committed such and such a sin ...’ Then the angels reveal the good deeds, such as prayer, charity, liturgies, fasting, and any other such actions that the soul has performed. The angels and demons then weigh these deeds. If there is a surplus of good deeds, the angels take the soul and ascend to the next step. This happens from one step to another as the soul ascends to heaven. Each step up is responsible for a specific type of sin. On each level, the demons are fiercer than the previous ones. Finally, there’s a fierce battle and unimaginable struggle over the miserable soul. The demons reproach and terrorize the soul, saying: ‘Where are you going? Wasn’t it you who fornicated and soiled Holy Baptism? Where are you going now? Turn back. Return. Go to hell, the outer darkness. Go back to the hellfire. Enter where the worm doesn’t die and the fire isn’t quenched.’ Then if that soul is condemned, the demons take it below the earth where darkness, anguish, and woe await. Woe on the day that this man was born. Who could recount for you, Father, what the condemned souls suffer in that place! But if the soul is found clean, it ascends joyfully to heaven and is welcomed by the angels, with candles and incense. They then escort the soul to the judgment throne and worship our Lord, Jesus Christ. Then they see the Holy Disciples, Holy Martyrs, the ranks of the Holy Fathers, and the nine hierarchies of the Holy Angels.’’
ABBA: ‘‘Why and how the memorial services are celebrated?’’ ANGEL: ‘‘Well listen, Holy Father. The first memorial service is held on the third day after death. As we’ve said, the soul does not ascend to worship the Lord until the third day. This memorial service is offered to the Lord for the sake of the soul of the departed. After worshipping the Lord, the soul of the departed, with its escorting angels, returns to this earthly realm. There it is shown the various places it dwelled during this earthly life. It’s reminded of its earthly deeds, both the good and evil ones. The angels say: ‘Here you stole, fornicated, masturbated, censured, murdered, committed perjury, loaned money at exorbitantly, became intoxicated, quarreled, and scandalized.’ Afterwards, the good deeds are shown. ‘Here you have given in charity, there fasted, repented, partook in the Divine Liturgy, prayed, held vigil, gave suppli-cations, kneeled in humility, remained standing during church services, showed self-restraint.’ So it continues, until the ninth day. On the ninth day, they again ascend to heaven to worship, as during the third day. The memorial services held on the ninth day are to help secure the Lord’s leniency towards this soul. It is for this reason that it has been written that these intercessions are of the utmost importance. Hence prayer, charity, liturgies, and memorial services aid the souls of the departed. These actions even can return souls from hell. After the soul has worshipped the Lord a second time, the angels again escort the soul back to the earthly realm. The angels show the soul God’s mercy, paradise, the rest of the righteous, ‘God’s tabernacle’ and ‘the bosom of Abraham’. When it sees this unutterable happiness it is consoled and overjoyed, and beseeches the angels that it may stay here with the righteous. Then it’s shown the hell of the wicked. The angels say: ‘This is the river of hellfire, the worm that doesn’t die. This is the outer and inner darkness where one will gnash one’s teeth. Afterwards, it’s shown the torments of the sinners. Holy Father, there is nothing worse or more frightening than the torments of those who fornicate or steal, especially the fornication of priests and monks. When all this has been shown to the soul, it’s escorted again on the fortieth day to worship the Lord. For this reason, memorial services for the dead are held then. The most merciful God will decide on this day where the soul is to reside. This outcome is dependent on one’s deeds and actions, whilst on earth. Thus, the soul sets off and will stay there until the resurrection to come, so that the body also may be resurrected and receive its just rewards.’’
ABBA: ‘‘Can you please answer me this? Is there any rest or end for the torments of the sinner?’’
ANGEL: ‘‘No Holy Father. Neither the kingdom of the righteous nor that of the sinner will come to an end. Even if one were to remove a grain of sand every thousand years from the sea, you might still one day finish, but the hell of the wicked has no end.’’
ABBA: ‘‘Please answer me this too: which saints are most merciful towards men, so that they can beseech them for their wretchedness!’’ ANGEL: ‘‘All the saints are merciful towards men and have a good disposition. Men are thankless and ungrateful, and it makes them angry towards you. The holy angels are also merciful towards men because they’ve seen the extraordinary acts performed by God, for their salvation. Apart from the saints and angels, our All Holy and Blessed Lady, the Virgin Mary takes care of humanity above all others. Everybody, Holy Father, should have her name on their lips constantly, glorifying her name. It is due to her interventions and supplications that men still exist. But the devil has deceived humans and made them ungrateful. Men have contempt for God and the saints, and so God and the saints show contempt for the fallen nature of man.’’
ABBA: ‘‘Holy Angel, what is the most sinful of all evils?’’
ANGEL: ‘‘Every sin, worthy Elder, severs man from God. But resentment and blasphemy stand above all other sins. This is because these two can throw man into the depths of hell, into the internal depths of the earth and sea.’’
ABBA: ‘‘Which sin does God despise above all other sins?’’
ANGEL: ‘‘God despises above all other sins, the vanity of self-conceit, which is pride. This alone has destroyed all mankind. Adam, the first man, was exiled from paradise because of this. With this, the Pharisee lost the fruits of all his labor. When man falls into this sin, it is very difficult for him to recover his senses.’’
ABBA: ‘‘Which people are tormented the most?’’
ANGEL: ‘‘I have told you, the fornicator and the blasphemer. But I will tell you this also, below all of the other depths of hell there exists a level that is frightful, merciless, and cruel, and is known as oblivion. It’s there that priests and monks that have committed fornication are punished. These perverse and wicked individuals will suffer great punishment and dishonor. For this reason honorable elder, the order of angels that fell, will be replaced by the good priests and monks, and they will be elevated to a position of great honor. This also applies to priests who break the law of God. Such priests are those that accept bribery, are corrupt and deviate from God’s law, and disdain the Holy Services, and their liturgical obligations for secular and worldly cares, even if only a single liturgy. They’ll be obliged to answer for their actions before God. What then can I say about those priests who become intoxicated? Woe to them because frightful punishments await them!’’
ABBA: ‘‘Please can you also tell me about what awaits those who treat Sunday with contempt? Have they any repose in the life to come?’’
ANGEL: ‘‘Woe to them, Holy Father, because a frightful punishment awaits them. Whoever treats Sunday, the holy day of our Lord with contempt, holds the Lord in contempt and the Lord will hold him in contempt. Sunday celebrates the day that our Lord was resurrected, and whoever honors this day honors our Lord. Whoever honors and celebrates the saint’s days will find that saints will help them. The saints have great boldness before the Lord, and if they ask anything of Him, He won’t refuse them. Men have estranged themselves from a holy fear of God and in doing so, neither have God nor any of the saints as their friend. They’re preoccupied with worldly and secular pursuits, which are transitory and perishable. Woe to them. Recognize worthy elder, that every person, be he a priest or monk or layman, if he doesn’t honor Sunday as our Lord’s Day, he won’t see the face of the Lord, nor have hope of salvation. Now, Holy Father, if you would like anything else, please, ask me. For now, it’s time for me to go to heaven and present myself before the Lord, and worship Him.’’
ABBA: ‘‘I beg you, tell me, which prayer is most suitable for a monk?’’
ANGEL: ‘‘If he is educated, the psalms of David; if not, the prayer ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner’ will do! This prayer is the easiest and most effective. Many learned people have renounced their knowledge, and by clinging to this prayer, have been saved. It may be used by everyone: by those advanced in prayer and those who are starting out and inexperienced. Whoever wishes to be saved should hold on to this prayer day and night, whether in his cell or outside walking, it is this prayer that should relied on with willingness and desire, because this prayer is capable of helping anyone who wishes to be saved.’’
ABBA: ‘‘As you have come to teach me a sinner, I beg you please tell me this also: if a man who is still a sinner teaches another, and in doing so, he sets him free from the sin and shows him the true path, has he any reward?’’
ANGEL:‘‘Whoever teaches another and removes him from sins by showing him the proper path saves himself and the other soul. Similarly, whoever directs someone towards evil, not only destroys the other person but also hands his own soul over to the devil. There is no worse sin than to direct another person towards evil deeds. Similarly, there is no better action than to direct someone towards good deeds.’’
When the angel had finished these words of counsel he lowered his head towards the elder and said:
‘‘Bless me Holy Father, and please forgive me.’’
Then the elder fell on his knees and venerated the angel saying:
‘‘Go in peace, appear before the Holy Trinity, and intercede for me.’’
When the angel left, ascending towards heaven, Abba Macarius gave thanks to God and went to his cell, where he gave an account of these events to a certain brother of good faith, for the glory of our Lord unto all ages. Amen.
Gennady Zaridze = The Holy Light is the work of God's grace.
The temperature of the Holy Fire is around forty degrees Celsius for a few minutes after its defeat, so the faithful can freely take it in their hands and "wash" their faces in it during this period, because they do not burn, Archbishop Gennady Zaridze, Orthodox Christian Scholar and Rector of the Church of the Mother of God in the Voronezh region said in an interview with RIA-Novosti. "I used a pyrometer and recorded the temperature of the Holy Fire immediately after the descent: I immediately washed my face with this Fire (and I did not burn!) I measured its temperature and it turned out that the average temperature of the Fire was what kept the "The fire that my neighbors were holding was forty-two degrees Celsius. Fifteen minutes later I measured the temperature again and reached 320 ° C by that time," the high priest explored the miracles using natural science methods for many years a. Fr. Gennady Zaridze used a pyrometer, which with the help of a non-infrared thermometer measures the surface temperature of an object to measure the temperature of the Holy Fire. A silver width of five millimeters wide and one millimeter thick was used as the object. Since silver is one of the largest heat-generating metals, placing a plate on the fire will immediately increase the flame's temperature. Fr. Gennady Zarindze visited the Holy Land in April 2016 for Easter, at the invitation of the St. Joseph Foundation. Andrew and with the blessing of Metropolitan Sergy Voronezh and Liski. "I have no doubt that the Holy Fire is the work of God's grace, it is a kind of divine mercy to the sinful world designed to maintain and strengthen faith," the shepherd told RIA-Novosti. that there were cases of healing miracles during the feasts of Agios Fotios. that in 2008 Andrei Volkov, a scientist from the Russian Research Center of Russia (Kurchatov Institute), had come to Jerusalem before the conquest of the Holy Fire and brought with him an instrument that recorded various spectra of electromagnetic radiation. That day he was the first person (even before the patriarch went to the faithful to fire) to learn that the Holy Fire had collapsed because the bodies showed very strong
The world is under the control of Freemasonry ... this is not an exaggeration, this is a fact. Our world could not be transformed into a sh * thole that is today without Masonry. Masonry is the recruiting ground for all the a-holes, psychopaths and swindlers who currently occupy all positions of power. If
Think about it, this could not be achieved in any other way. Masonic lodges are everywhere ... even in the smallest city with ditches.
Masonry is a secretive and self-police, hierarchical system of masters and slaves. Masons are sworn liars and are obliged to lie and even protect other Christians. They are also required to obey commands that they know are immoral. You must hide all the crimes of your brothers, except murder and betrayal, and these only by your own choice. Correct (falsify), do not tell the whole truth, keep secrets, forget important and key points. A member who withdraws from the shelter advantage will have the reputation and ability to make a living destroyed by his brothers.
If once a noble patron of occult knowledge, today it is simply an exclusive club for the greedy and ambitious. They do all the good work for themselves and violate decent humanity. All police officers now belong to a "charitable" society and most, if not all, firefighters. You can not even get a job as a dog-catcher anymore if you are not a free-mason
"Having been brought to the north of the paradise of delights, far from this world and from the firmament, he [St. Pachomius] saw rivers, canals, and ditches filled with fire; in them, the souls of sinners were being tormented. And while he walked with the angel, contemplating the torments, he saw those above where he was now going suffering much more than those he had seen at the start.
They were delivered up to torturing angels of a very frightening aspect and holding fiery whips in their hands. If some of the souls they were tormenting lifted their heads above the fire, they would whip them hard and thrust them farther into the fire. They would sigh desperately without being able to cry out because of their exhaustion and because of the way they were suffering the great number of torments weighing on them. The souls being tormented were very numerous, even innumerable.
He likewise saw wells and cisterns filled with fire which burned more fiercely still. He looked in and saw that there was only one soul in each cistern. That soul's two feet, which had the appearance of the flesh it wore in the world, were set one on each side of the cistern. And the fire was consuming, one by one, the members with which it had sullied itself in the world.
On looking attentively at one of the cisterns, he recognized the one who was being tormented in it; it was one of those who are marked out in the world, and whom the Scriptures call effeminate.
He likewise saw monks subjected to punishments in that place, and he questioned the angel who was walking with him, 'What evil have these done to be brought here?'
The angel answered, 'Those whom you see are quite pure as regards the body, but they are idlers who go about in places where brothers live as anchorites. They speak evil of the other brothers living near [those they are visiting], knowing that the latter are not on good terms with the former, and thus they think they will find favor on account of their slanders, to get food and drink. And when they leave these [brothers] and go away elsewhere, in turn, they speak ill of those they have been flattering in the ears of those they had just been slandering, again to be well-received by these others. And so for their slanders, they have been cast into these hard torments that never cease.'
The torturing angels were quite filled with joy and gladness... And if the souls they are tormenting beg them to have pity on them, they are full of anger toward them and punish them more with fierce torments. When souls are brought in and turned over to them, they are overjoyed — like one who has made an immense gain — happy over the downfall of the wicked.
As our father Pachomius was looking at the punishments with the angel who accompanied him, one of the torturing angels tugged at him and said joyfully, 'Come, Pachomius, let me show you these other wicked punishments.'
Our father Pachomius, seeing himself gaily dragged by him to look at all these punishments, was amazed at the nature of these pitiless angels and at the way they rejoiced over such evil torments. As for him, he was very sad at the sight of the sufferings in which were found the wretched souls of impious men who were being tormented.
When he had gone on a bit he saw an innumerable crowd of souls of all ages being roughly bustled along by the pitiless torturing angels. Once more he asked his accompanying angel who these souls were and he was told, 'These are the souls of sinners who died today throughout the world, and they are being classified for punishment according to their deserts.'
Having gone on once more toward the west with the angel who was accompanying him and showing him the punishments, he saw down below an opening at the gate of hell. Hell itself is very deep; it is dark and sends out heat like a hearth. This place is the Lord's prison.
When men are brought in, they are hurled into it; they utter loud cries, 'Woe is me for not knowing the God who created me that I might be saved.' Then they cannot speak at all because of the heat and the thick mist of the place. And they no longer recognize each other because of the darkness and the distress that grips them.
Going further on, toward the southwest, he saw there other harsh punishments, of the sort which he had previously seen to the north and by which the souls were being punished.
He was further shown a kind of large house of stone whose length, breadth, and height were enormous. It was full of fire. Into it were thrown all the young people who in this world have sullied their bodies with impurity, unbeknownst to their parents; that is why they are enduring these fierce torments for evil and impure acts that are wicked before God and before men.
It happened that when the angel had finished showing our father Pachomius all the punishments and the sufferings of the torments they entailed by command of the Lord, he counseled him urgently in these terms, 'Pachomius, bear witness to the brothers of all that you have seen, so that they may strive not to fall into such evil punishments. God has sent me to you to show you all this; in turn bear witness of it to the brothers and to the whole world, that they may do penance and be saved.'
From that day on when our father Pachomius assembled the brothers for the instruction, he spoke to them first on the Scriptures because they are the main thing and the breath of God; then he would inform them about all the punishments he had seen and about the sufferings they entailed, and concerning which the angel had given him instructions from the Lord so that they might have the fear of God and might avoid sinning and falling into such punishments and into the tortures which he had seen.
