The Emperor and the Monk

On the Internet, people talk of their brushes with greatness – the celebrities they have encountered in real life. Often, people will arrange to take selfies with them, to prove they have been in contact with a well-known actor or politician. There’s a frisson that comes with these encounters, as though some of the magic dust that makes the celeb famous has rubbed off onto us. It’s a boost to the ego. But for the desert monks, who sought to dial down the ego, encounters with the rich and famous were much more fraught. Today’s story entails a surprise visit from an Emperor to a monk who is living alone, minding his own business outside of the center of the Roman empire, Constantinople ( now known as Istanbul). 

An Egyptian monk was living in the suburbs of Constantinople: and when the Emperor Theodosius II passed that way he left his train of courtiers and came unattended to the cell. The monk opened the door to his knock, and at once recognized that he was the Emperor, but he received him as though he was only one of the imperial guards. When he had come in, they prayed together and sat down. The Emperor began to ask him, “How are the hermits in Egypt?” The monk answered, “They are all praying for your salvation.” The emperor looked around the cell to see if he had any food, and saw nothing except a basket with a little bread, and a flagon of water. Still, the monk said to him, “Will you take a little to eat?” He put the bread in front of him, and mixed oil and salt, and gave him that to eat and drink. The Emperor said to him, “Do you know who I am?” He said, “God knows who you are.” The Emperor said, “I am the Emperor Theodosius.” The monk at once fell down before him and did humble of obeisance. The Emperor said, “Blessed are you, for you have a non-troubled life, without thought of the world. I tell you truly, I was born an emperor and I have never enjoyed bread and water as I have today: I have eaten with real pleasure.” He began to do honour to the monk, so the hermit went out, and fled back to Egypt.

This nameless monk has devoted his life to avoiding everything this Emperor represents: power, fame, ego. Anyone else might be flattered to have such a visit. But to the monk, it is like the worst of the world has landed in his cell. Note that the monk does not want to make a big deal out of this visit. He is hoping the emperor can be humble, come and go. So, the monk doesn’t let on that he knows who the Emperor is; he treats him like a regular person. He does what monks should do, by offering food, being a good host. A truly humble Emperor ( if such a thing can exist) would not have announced his identity, and just experienced the monk’s humble lifestyle for a few minutes. Alas, the Emperor is used to being the most important person in the room, and has to let the monk know it. He was probably surprised that the monk fled the meeting when he sought to honour him. For the monk, having the most powerful man in the world pay homage is like having the devil himself drop by to flatter him. How can you stay humble if the Roman emperor of all people is praising you? No wonder the monk took off back to Egypt.

Not every brush with greatness is great. Peace.

-Rev. Stephen Milton, Lawrence Park Community Church, Toronto

Quotation source: The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks, Translated by Benedict Ward, ( London, 2003), p.164.

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