St. Isaac the Syrian lived in the middle of the sixth century. He came to the Italian city of Spoleto from Syria. The monk asked the sexton's permission to stay in the church and prayed there for two and a half days. One of the sexton began to accuse the monk of hypocrisy and slapped him on the cheek. God's punishment immediately befell the sexton. The demon threw him at the saint's feet and screamed: "Isaac will cast me out!" As soon as Saint Isaac bent over the sexton, the unclean spirit fled.
The news of the incident quickly spread through the city. People began to flock to the monk, offering help and funds for the establishment of the monastery. But the humble monk renounced everything, left the city and settled in a secluded place, where he built himself a small cell. The disciples gathered around the ascetic, and so the monastery was created. When the disciples asked the elder why he refused the offerings, he replied, "A monk who acquires possessions is no longer a monk."
St. Isaac possessed the gift of foresight. St. Gregory Dvoeslov (commemorated on March 12) tells about this in his work "An Interview about the Life and Miracles of the Italian Fathers." One day, St. Isaac ordered the monks to leave all the spades in the garden overnight, and in the morning he asked them to prepare food for the workers. It turned out that the thieves, who numbered as many as the abandoned spades, were going to rob the monastery. The power of God made them change their evil intent. They picked up shovels and began to work hard, so that by the time the monks arrived, the whole earth had been dug up. The Monk greeted the workers and invited them to refresh themselves with food. Then he instructed them to stop stealing and allowed them to always openly come and enjoy the fruits of the monastery garden.
Another time, pilgrims dressed in sackcloth came to the monk and asked the saint for clothes. He told them to wait, and he sent the monk into the forest, where the pilgrims hid their good clothes in a hollow tree, wanting to deceive the holy abbot. The monk brought the clothes, and the Monk Isaac gave them to the pilgrims. When they saw that their deception had been discovered, the extortionists were greatly embarrassed and ashamed.
It also happened that a man sent his servant to the monk with two baskets of food. The servant hid one of the baskets on the way. The monk took the basket he had brought and said softly: "I accept the gifts, but don't touch the basket you've hidden–a snake has crawled into it and if you reach out, it will sting you." So wisely and kindly the saint rebuked the sins of people, wishing everyone salvation.
The Monk Isaac died in 550. This saint should be distinguished from another ascetic, St. Isaac the Syrian, Bishop of Nineveh, who lived in the seventh century (January 28).