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Dear Elena Lemeneva,
St. Pafnuty Borovsky, a fifteenth-century Russian abbot, was very fond of
a flock of ravens which had nested in some woods near the monastery.
Pafnuty forbade hunting of the birds, and when a young prince disobeyed
the order, he was temporarily paralyzed. Pafnuty healed the prince after
receiving his confession of guilt. Another young man went hunting the
ravens with a hawk; this time, the divine wrath was swift indeed,
according to the account, for the hawk perished along with the raven.
These episodes are found the Life of Pafnuty.
I have an article in progress dealing with Pafnuty, though I have had to
set it aside for the time being. If anyone has some information about
ravens and monastics, I would be interested.
T. Allan Smith



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