There lived in a certain monastery a careless monk: he was often late for services, upsetting his brothers and causing the abbot to become angry. The monks grumbled and even asked the abbot to expel him.
And this monk fell ill, the illness intensified, and he was already approaching death. The brothers were upset that the soul of the unfortunate man would perish. They gathered at his deathbed to ease his dying sufferings with their prayer, but what did they see? This monk died the death of a righteous man. His face expressed calm and joy.
When he woke up a little, the brothers asked:
—What consolation did you receive from God? With whom did you talk, as with your close relatives?
And the dying man, gathering his last strength, answered:
“Brothers, you know that I lived unworthily, and then I saw how demons surrounded my bed, in their hands was a charter - a sheet covered with my sins from top to bottom. They approached me, but my Guardian Angel stood in the distance and cried. And suddenly I heard a voice from heaven: “Judge not, lest ye be judged!” This monk did not condemn anyone, and I forgive him!” - and immediately the charter caught fire in the hands of the demons, and they disappeared screaming. An Angel came to me and greeted me, and I spoke to him. Brothers,” he continued, “after accepting monasticism, I did not condemn a single person! Brothers,” he said again, “you condemned me and condemned me fairly, but I, a sinner, did not judge anyone.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru