About the book: year / Venerable Neophyte, recluse of Cyprus (1134 - not earlier than 1220). Days of remembrance: January 24 (February 5) (Greek), September 28 (October 10). Born in 1134 in the village of Levkara in Cyprus. Wanting to avoid the marriage to which his parents forced him, at the age of eighteen he entered the monastery of St. John Chrysostom in Kutsuvendi as a novice. As Neophytos himself admits in his “Testament” of 1214, from the beginning of his monastic life day and night, as during agricultural both in his work and in his sleep he was tormented by a strong desire for a silent life. Around the end of 1158) he arrived as a pilgrim in Jerusalem, and for six months he visited Palestinian monasteries and the homes of ascetics, wanting to find someone who could teach him how to live as a hermit. However, the search did not bring results. But one day, in a divine vision that he had, Neophyte received confirmation that “his love for silence is at the same time the will of the Supreme Providence and that he will succeed elsewhere.” Having received the revelation, he returned to his homeland and found shelter in the mountains near the source of the river 9 kilometers northwest of Paphos. On June 24, 1159, on the feast day of St. John the Baptist, he entered the Enklister cave, which he chose for his asceticism. With many efforts, he expanded it for almost a whole year, finishing the work by September 14, 1160. He completely blocked the eastern entrance to the cave and left only one entrance from the south. Inside he divided the cave with a wall, in the depths of it he built a cell with a prepared grave, and closer to the exit of the cave he built a holy throne from a marble slab. He dedicated the cave to the Holy Cross. The ascetic lived in solitude, which he so desired, for eleven years. But the Paphos bishop persistently persuaded him to become a priest and take on a student. In 1170, Bishop Basil Kinnam of Paphos (1166–1205) ordained the venerable father to the priesthood. From this time on, the hermit's home gradually began to turn into a monastery with a small number of brethren, and then into a communal monastery, living by the ideals of hermitism. Around 1187, Neophytos wrote the first charter of the monastery. For more than 60 years, the ascetic tirelessly read and studied books that he borrowed from the bishops of neighboring dioceses - Paphos and Arsinoia, also composing spiritual works. But since his education was not complete - in the monastery of Kutsuvendi Neophyte received only elementary education - these works were written not in the high church style of that era, but in colloquial Greek. In addition, the Monk Neophytos wrote in the Cypriot dialect, being the first to turn to this dialect in written works. His extensive literary heritage makes him the greatest Greek author of medieval Cyprus. The Monk Neophyte the Recluse took as an example the “Laural and communal schools of philosophy”, which the Monk Savva the Sanctified founded in the places where he visited. In his Paphos monastery, the ascetic laid the foundations for that culture of upbringing and systematic spiritual education, which presupposes a small number of monks. The glory of Neophytos attracted so many pilgrims that in 1197–1199 he carved a cave in the rock above the Church of the Holy Cross - the Upper Shutter, or “New Zion,” as he himself called it, from where he observed the construction and painting of the monastery. Here, in his new cell, he continued his ascetic deeds, and only on Sundays he went out to instruct his students. Here he wrote most of his books, and again found the silence he loved so much. In 1214, the Monk Neophytos compiled the last edition of the charter - “Testament”. After 1220, no evidence is found about the ascetic. The enklystra of Saint Neophytos was not only the most influential monastic center in Paphos, but also the center of church art. After the death of the Venerable Neophyte the Recluse, traditional monastic life continued in the monastery of the Holy Recluse, and the monks were primarily engaged in rural activities.