John, Antiochus, Antoninus and Moses

Venerable John, Antiochus, Antoninus and Moses were four Syrian ascetics and hermits of the fourth and fifth centuries. Theodoret of Cyrrhus writes of them in chapter twenty-⁠three of the History of the Lovers of God. The Church commemorates them on 23 February.

All four led a life of solitude. John was distinguished by modesty and meekness. For his dwelling he chose a rocky crag lying to the north and swept by harsh winds. By the time Theodoret wrote the History of the Lovers of God (444), the ascetic had lived on the crag for twenty-⁠five years, patiently bearing all the inclemencies of the climate. Giving himself to fasting and prayer, John wore iron chains. A man planted near his dwelling a sapling of almond, which became a tree and gave John shade and delighted his sight. But John ordered the tree cut down, so as not to have even such a consolation.

Moses led a similar life, struggling on a high summit near the village of Rama. Antiochus, having reached old age, made himself an enclosure in a desert place and struggled in it with the labour of a life without a roof. Near him struggled Venerable Antoninus, also an old man, who followed him in everything: in food, in clothing, in vigil, and in the prayers of day and of all night.