178 ST. TRIPHON'S MONASTERY 



Assumption of the Holy Virgin in the hermitage, where I often used 

 to go to turn my thoughts to God in silence." 



Having uttered these words Triphon raised himself from his poor 

 mat of rushes ; and sat up so as to partake of the Blessed Body and 

 Holy Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ ; and then he broke down 

 and suddenly burst into tears. The Abbot asked him : " Holy 

 Father, you forbid us to grieve for you because you joyfully go to 

 your Lord Jesus ; tell us then why do you shed tears ? " And the 

 Holy Man replied : "A heavy trial awaits this monastery, and many 

 will suffer martyrdom from the edge of the sword ; but do not my 

 brethren become feeble in your trust in God ; He will not leave the 

 rod of the sinners to their own fate, because He is powerful, and He 

 will once more build up His monastery." Then he laid down again 

 upon his mat and his face became serene; and as he was dying a 

 smile passed over his features, and then he gave up his soul to the 

 Lord. He was ninety -eight years old, and the date of his dervth was 

 the 15th December 1583. His saintly remains were interred where 

 he had wished, in the hermitage by the Church of the Assumption 

 of the Holy Virgin. 



The Holy Triphon was of low stature, bent, and somewhat bald- 

 headed, but wore a long grey beard. 



Seven years after the death of the Holy Man, Tsar Theodore 

 Joannovich besieged Narva. The besieged Germans directed their 

 guns at dawn towards the tent of the Tsar, wherein the Tsar was 

 still lying asleep. And there appeared to him in his sleep a noble 

 aged man in the garments of a monk, who said : " Arise Sire, leave 

 the tent so that you shall escape death." " Who are you ? " "I am 

 the same Triphon to whom you gave your mantle, so that your 

 benevolence should outstrip the others. The Lord my God sent me 

 unto you." The Tsar awoke and had scarcely left the tent, when a 

 cannon-ball from the town struck the Tsar's bed. The pious monarch 

 was deeply moved by this act of God's mercy, and sent a messenger 

 to the Pechenga Monastery to find Triphon ; but the reply came that 



