THE LOVE OF ABBA SISINIOS FOR A SARACEN WOMAN
Abba John, priest of the Monastery of the Eunuchs, told us that he had heard Abba Sisinios the anchorite say:
One day, I was in my cave near the holy Jordan, and as I was singing the third hour, a Saracen woman came that way and entered my cave. She sat herself down before me and took off her clothes. I was not distracted; I quietly completed the appointed office in the fear of God. When I had finished, I said to her (in Hebrew), "Sit up and let me talk to you—and I will do whatever you wish." She sat up, and I then asked her, "Are you Christian or pagan?" She said she was Christian.
"Do you not know that those who play the harlot go away into perdition?" I asked, and she said she did. "Then why do you play the harlot?" I inquired. "Because I am hungry," she replied. I then said to her, "Stop playing the harlot and come here each day," and I began giving her some of the food that God provided for me to eat until I left those parts.