Venerable Monk Vitalius

Life

In the time of Patriarch John the Merciful, a certain young monk appeared who, upon arriving, compiled a list of all the harlots in Alexandria. The struggle of this monk was exceptional and unique. During the day he labored at the most difficult tasks, and at night he would go to the houses of ill repute, give his earned money to some harlot, and shut himself in a room with her for the entire night. As soon as they were shut in, Vitalius would beg the woman to lie down and sleep, while he would spend the entire night in the corner of the room in prayer to God for that sinner. In this way he would preserve the sinful woman from sinning for at least one night. The next night he would go to another, the third night to a third, and so on in order until he had gone through them all, and then he would return again to the one with whom he had begun. Through his counsel, many sinful women abandoned their foul trade: some married, others entered monasteries, and still others took up honest work and livelihood. Vitalius forbade all these women from revealing the true reason for his visits. Because of this, Vitalius became a scandal to all of Alexandria. People reviled him in the street, spat upon him, and even beat him. But he endured all things patiently, revealing his virtue to God alone while hiding it from men. When he died, then everything was learned about him. At his grave many miraculous healings began to occur; people from various regions began to bring their sick to his tomb. Spat upon by men, he was and remained glorified by the all-seeing God.