Forgive me, and bless me!

Story by Archimandrit Alexander about some Theophil.

Certain Theophil, after graduating from Theological Academy, became an ordinary monk in a monastery. Monastery administration, seeing his abilities, directed him to be a secretary for a bishop in St. Petersburg. Metropolitan, then, seeing his spiritual maturity, gave him a blessing to see all of his visitors, who would come to him with different spiritual questions (but not administrative questions). Theophil was so good with visitors, that they, telling how impressed they were from the visit, created such a reputation about him, that everybody would go not to Metropolitan anymore, but his secretary, doing kind of a pilgrimage.
But Theophil himself came to such a conclusion: "Teaching others is like casting rocks from a bell-tower, but teaching yourself is carrying rocks up onto bell-tower, - who is going to teach me, though?"
Without mentioning other reasons, Fr. Alexander continued:
Theophil decided to return to his monastery. But there they told him: "You are a fugitive!" So it means, he won't be accepted to any monastery. For long time Theophil was trying to prove, that he didn't leave by his own will, but with the blessing of administration, and at last he added: "Everything I have earned under the hierarch (bishop), all seven thousand, I brought back to my monastery".
After long negotiations somehow they accepted him. But the moment Theophil stepped into the church door, the abbot kicked him out with following words:
"This is not a place for Paris gentlemen - get out of here!" (Theophil was dressed in the city-style clothes, as a personal secretary of the Metropolitan)
"Forgive me, bless me!"
Theophil changed into old worn clothes. And again the same thing:
"Why are pretending to be a beggar, are you so poor? - get out of here!"
"Forgive me, bless me!"
He changed into something average. This time he was allowed only to Golgotha (place in the church). But the moment he made a first prostration, the abbot says:
"Is it how they make prostration? Get out of here, wretch! Look at him, wanted to bribe me with his money?!"
"Forgive me, bless me!"
And thus day after day Theophil was oppressed for three and half years, until finally the abbot got sick, and was on his deathbed.
Brethren, foreseeing that the abbot is going to die, came to ask him to bless Thephil to be his successor. But they said without any explanation, or introductory simply:
"Bless, venerable father, for Theophil to be your successor." It was followed by unexpected by anybody reply:
"Why, this wretch will be my successor?! I will die, but will not forgive him!"
Everybody was terrified... , after a counsil everybody decided on the next day to come to the departing after Divine liturgy and service "About enemies who hate and wrong us". Having prayed in the church with fervor, they came to the cell of the sick abbot in their vestments (with intention to commune him).
Conversation about some unrelated subjects was started, gradually it was shifted to the main subject. A thought was expressed approximately like this:
"But we chose Theophil as candidate not because he is academic and more educated than any of us, but because, among us it is impossible to find anybody with such ideal humility and patience... Recall, that even to you he has never said one contrary or argumentative word for three and half years."
"Is that truly so, where is my child Theophil?"
Theophil in all cases was usually standing near the bed of the sick, but so he is not in the sight, because his appearance greatly irritated the abbot. This time he was standing behind the door, and having heard words: "Where is my child Theophil?" realized, that a critical moment came. At once he quickly entered the cell with the intention to fall down before the bed, on which dying abbot was lying. But the abbot went ahead of Theophil, and falling down said with tears in his eyes:
"Forgive me, child... I didn't know!"
"God forgives you, holy father, forgive me, a sinner!"
"God forgives and bless you!"
On Theophil's hands the abbot passed away. The brethren started to get everything ready for the funeral, and Theophil ran to the church. Entering the altar, he fell down before the altar table, and praying and weeping, he said:
"Remember, O Lord, newly departed my spiritual father..." And after that it was difficult to make out words of the prayer... This prayer was heard by the choir conductor, who stayed on kliros for some time. He, puzzled, was asking himself: could really the newly departed abbot be his spiritual father?
The funeral was over. Theophil became the abbot. When monastery's life returned to it's usual pace, choir conductor at some point found a chance to ask Theophil:
"Venerable father, was departed abbot really your spiritual father?"
The answer was:
"Child, I prayed to the Lord God for a long time, so that He sends me a spiritual father, but the Lord knew better than me, what kind of a guide I, the careless one, needed."
At the end of the story fr. Alexander would add:
"The Lord allowed the devil to abide in the abbot, so that to develop patience in Theophil, but nobody suffered from it. He, Himself, didn't allow death without bringing peace".