Eucharistus the Secular

Two of the Fathers asked God to show them what measure they had reached. A voice came to them saying, “In a certain village of Egypt there is a layman named Eucharistus, and his wife is called Mary. You have not yet reached their measure.” The two elders rose and went to the village. After asking around, they found his home and his wife. They said to her, “Where is your husband?” She said, “He is a shepherd and is grazing the sheep,” and she brought them into the house. When evening came, Eucharistus returned with the sheep. Seeing the elders, he prepared a table for them and brought water to wash their feet. The elders said to him, “We will not taste anything unless you tell us about your practice.” Eucharistus said humbly, “I am a shepherd, and this is my wife.” The elders kept urging him, but he did not want to say more. They said to him, “God sent us to you.” When he heard this, he was afraid and said to them, “We inherited these sheep from our parents. Whatever income the Lord prospers us to receive from them, we divide into three parts: one part for the poor, one for hospitality, and the third for our own needs. Since I took my wife, neither I nor she has been defiled; she remains a virgin. Each of us sleeps separately. At night we wear sackcloth, and by day our ordinary clothes. Until now no one has known this.” When they heard these things, they marveled and departed glorifying God.