Venerable Arsenius the Great

Venerable Arsenius the Great, a noble Roman by birth, received a brilliant education and was summoned by Emperor Theodosius the Great to the court in Constantinople as tutor to his sons — the future emperors Arcadius and Honorius. Holding a high position at court, he was universally respected. One day during prayer he heard a voice: "Arsenius, flee from men and you will be saved," after which he secretly left the imperial court and withdrew to the Egyptian desert, where he took monastic vows. He labored under the guidance of experienced fathers, acquiring great humility and discernment, for which he was called "the father of kings who became a servant of the servants of Christ." He became renowned for the strictness of his asceticism, his reticence, and the depth of his spiritual counsels, many of which were recorded by his disciples and included in the Sayings of the Desert Fathers (Apophthegmata Patrum). He reposed peacefully around 449 at about 95 years of age. His memory is kept on May 8/21.