Monk who never judged

[Anastasios]

Dear in Christ,

On March 30 in the Prologue, St. Nikolai cites the "MEMORIAL TO A MONK WHO JOYFULLY DIED AND WHO NEVER JUDGED ANYONE IN HIS LIFE."
http://www.westsrbdio.org/prolog/my.html?day=30&month=March

I am not familiar with the history of the Prologue, so I am wondering from what source St. Nikolai might have gotten the text?

I am aware of a similar account in the writings of Fr (Elder) Paisios of Mt Athos, but that is not what I am referring to, since this was probably a latter account with similarities to the account St. Nikolai cites (unless I am wrong?)

Thank you for any help you can provide.

Fr. Anastasios

[Salpy]

This rings a bell and I am a bit frustrated that I can't recall where else I have read this.  I seem to recall there being a story similar to this in one of the collections of sayings of the Desert Fathers.  I've been looking, however, and I can't find it.  If I find it, I'll let you know. 

[Salpy]

Look about halfway down this page:

http://subdeaconchristianjohn.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!D39B32AEA6869A7F!580.entry

I don't think I have seen this particular collection of sayings before, but I guess it is a story that circulated about.

[Salpy]

There is something wrong here.  I copied and pasted the link, but it leads to the wrong place.  It's in the same website, but I can't find it when I click on what I pasted.  What I found is a page dated February 27.  It starts out like this:
    

February 27
The Desert Fathers section 6
Many thanks to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese who has made this readily available.
 
The Ancient Fathers of the Desert: Section 6
V. Rev. Chrysostomos, trans.



Then about half way down, there is this story:


* * *
A monk of a large monastery, negligent in spiritual things, fell gravely ill and the hour of his death arrived. The abbot and all of the brothers gathered around him, to give him courage in his last moments. To their surprise, however, they observed that the brother was facing death with great quietude and calmness of soul.
So the abbot said, “My child, all here know that you were not so diligent in your duties. How is it that you leave for the other life with such courage?”
“It is true, Abba,” murmured the dying monk, “that I was not a good monk. I have, however, observed one thing with exactness in my life: I never judged anyone. Because of this, I intend to say to the Master Christ, when I present myself before him, ‘You said, Lord, not to judge, in order not to be judged,’ and I hope that He will not judge me strictly.”
“Go in peace on your eternal journey, my child,” the abbot told him with wonderment. “You have succeeded, without toil, in saving yourself.”
* * *

[Salpy]

Here is the same thing on the Greek Orthodox Church's website:

http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith8140

[ma2000]

The Prologues are much older. I don't know who started writing them, but I guess it was a continuous work throughout the centuries.

In the Preface, Saint Nikolaj writes(translated from the Romanian version):

"These Prologues are called from Ohrid to be distinguished from the ancient Slavonic Prologues which unfortunately, because of the archaic language, have become inaccessible to the Slavic Orthodox people nowadays. The difference between the two Prologues is not an essential one, but more a technical one, which the more experienced readers will easily spot themselves, besides the language difference and the difference of the arrangement of the teaching material, the biggest difference could consist of the including of many saints which came from the different Orthodox people in the last two hundred years, and there is now way they could be in the Slavonic or the Greek Prologues."

So the Prologues have to be at least older than 1700's.

[ma2000]

Also from the preface of the Prologues of Ohrid:

Prologue means Preface or Introduction to the deep and wonderful Christian knowledge and it's a word that our Slavic fathers used instead of another Greek word, Sinaxarion.

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