Troparion in Tone 1
Dweller of the desert and angel in the body,
you were shown to be a wonder-worker,
our God-bearing Father Sisoes.
You received heavenly gifts through fasting, vigil, and prayer:
healing the sick and the souls of those drawn to you by faith.
Glory to Him who gave you strength!
Glory to Him who grant-ed you a crown!
Glory to Him who through you grants healing to all!
Kontakion in Tone 4
In asceticism you were revealed to be an earthly angel,
continually enlightening the thoughts of the faithful with divine signs.
Therefore we honor you with faith, venerable Sisoes.
Troparion in Tone 5
From your youth you followed the angelic life
And were therefore filled with many godly gifts.
O Sisoes, emulator of the angels,
In the hour of your going forth from this life,
You shone resplendently as the sun
Revealing your glory and illuminating our souls!
Saint Sisoes the Great (+ 429) was
a solitary monk, pursuing asceticism in the Egyptian desert in a cave
sanctified by the prayerful labors of his predecessor, Saint Anthony the
Great. For his sixty years of labor in the desert, Saint Sisoes attained
to sublime spiritual purity and he was granted the gift of
wonderworking, so that by his prayers he once restored a dead child back
to life.
Extremely strict with himself,
Abba Sisoes was very merciful and compassionate to others, and he
received everyone with love. To those who visited him, the saint first
of all always taught humility. When one of the monks asked how he might
attain to a constant remembrance of God, St Sisoes remarked, "That is no
great thing, my son, but it is a great thing to regard yourself as
inferior to everyone else. This leads to the acquisition of humility."
Asked by the monks whether one year is sufficient for repentance if a
brother sins, Abba Sisoes said, "I trust in the mercy of God that if
such a man repents with all his heart, then God will accept his
repentance in three days."
When St Sisoes lay upon his
deathbed, the disciples surrounding the Elder saw that his face shone
like the sun. They asked the dying man what he saw. Abba Sisoes replied
that he saw St Anthony, the prophets, and the apostles. His face
increased in brightness, and he spoke with someone. The monks asked,
"With whom are you speaking, Father?" He said that angels had come for
his soul, and he was entreating them to give him a little more time for
repentance. The monks said, "You have no need for repentance, Father" St
Sisoes said with great humility, "I do not think that I have even begun
to repent."
After these words the face of the holy abba shone so
brightly that the brethren were not able to look upon him. St Sisoes
told them that he saw the Lord Himself. Then there was a flash like
lightning, and a fragrant odor, and Abba Sisoes departed to the Heavenly
Kingdom.
