Our Holy Father Zacharias.

Commemorated March 24 in the Orthodox Christian Menaion

From the Prologue

He was the son of Carion the Egyptian, who left wife and children to become a monk. The father took Zacharias with him, since his mother was unable to provide for him. Although younger than many of the elders in Scetis, he received greater gifts of grace than many of them. He felt as if his whole interior was aflame with the grace of God. Zacharias replied to the question of St Macarius, 'Who is a true monk?' saying: 'He who constantly restrains himself in the fulfilment of God's commandments.' And to the question of Abba Moses: 'What does it mean to be a monk?', Zacharias took off his hat and trod it underfoot, saying: 'If a man be not so broken, he cannot be a monk.' He was a great light among the monks in the desert, and went to his peace in the Lord at an early age.

From The Prologue From Ochrid by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich
©1985 Lazarica Press, Birmingham UK