- With the victory of Constantine, the conscripts were
released, and Pakhom was among them. Remembering the
pledge he had made, he set himself to the task of studying
Christianity, and was baptised about 314 A.D. It was no
doubt an act of divine guidance for in him Christianity found
a prominent leader who left an indelible mark on It
throughout the centuries.
Adopting Christianity with all the ardour of his
soaring youth, Pakhom sought out an aged hermit to be his
teacher. He was called Palamon, and Pakhom lived with him
for three years, serving him lovingly and drinking at his
spiritual fountain, and thus "leading a life of ascetic
excellence, and crowned with the love of God and man".^16
When his teacher was satisfied with his spiritual attainments,
he suggested to him to lead a solitary life, in order to develop
further in spiritual self-discipline. - In compliance with this advice, Pakhom lived by
himself in the region of Tabennisi.^17 In his solitude, he
meditated upon the lot of hermits and solitaries, and the
hardships and inner conflicts they inevitably faced and
contended with. With this came the realisation that the
weaker brothers fell by the wayside and were never able to
tread this thorny pathway, so he kept pondering over the
most amenable way to help them. As he prayed and kept the
strictest possible ascetic regimen, he concluded that veritable
virtue must spring from the depths of the human soul and is
never an external embellishment; and that duty freely
accepted and freely accomplished outweighs any fantastic
heroism. Virtue and duty, however, could be absorbed by
good example, hence communal life would be a good way
for following the ascetic path.
elle
(Elle)
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