And after that maiden, through whom Maryânâ had been trodden in the dust, had given birth to her child, her father took the boy to whom his daughter had given birth, and brought it to Maryânâ, and said unto him, “Behold, here is thy son, take him and rear him”; and Maryânâ took the child, saying, “Glory be to God Who can endure and bear with sinners like myself.” And each day he took the child and went up the mountain to the goats of the monastery, and suckled him with goats’ milk, and when the child was suckled Maryânâ returned to the door of the monastery; now he never left the door of the monastery except when he went to give the child milk, and he besought those who went in and those who came out, with tears, to unite with him in making supplication to God to forgive him his sin. And he sat by the door of the monastery for four years, and tears were never absent from his eyes, neither by night nor by day, and every one who heard the sound of his weeping was grieved for his sake. Now after Maryânâ had suffered affliction by the door of the monastery for four years and had shewn the child to every man, saying, “Pray ye for me, for fell into fornication, and this child is the result thereof,” God moved the mind of the archimandrite to bring Maryânâ into the monastery, for His mercy was revealed upon him, and He commanded the archimandrite to bring Maryânâ in.
And as soon as Maryânâ heard that they were going to bring him into the monastery from the man who told him about it beforehand, he rose up straightway, and fell down before the Lord, and said, “Glory be to Thee, O Lord, Who hath not been unmindful of such a [great] sinner as I am! I give thanks unto Thee for all the goodness which thou hast shewn unto me. What have I to give unto Thee in return therefor? For Thou hast brought me into the monastery, by the door of which I had decided in my mind that I must die.” And as soon as those who had been sent to bring Maryânâ into the monastery had done so, Maryânâ fell down before the archimandrite, and before the whole brotherhood of the monastery, now he was carrying the child and was weeping, and sighing, and groaning, and he said unto them, “Forgive ye me, O masters and fathers, for I have angered God with [my] evil works, and you I have afflicted greatly; but pray for me, that God may forgive me the fall wherewith I fell.”
And after many years Maryânâ, having prevailed mightily in the great labours of spiritual excellence, delivered his soul to our Lord, and none of the brethren had ever seen him laugh or smile; on the contrary, he mourned all the days of his life. And when he was dead, the brethren drew nigh to anoint
