"Where is the the elder?" he asked a certain monk.
"He is down in the 'docheio'. (The docheio is the storehouse of the Monastery where the wine, cheese, fish, etc are kept.)
On that day they had been salting sardines for the whole year in a special storehouse. And of course, in this work as in all, the elder set the first example of service.
"Elder, you are here?" the abbot asked him, going down to the storehouse.
"What can I do, my brother?" answered Fr. Codratus. "Don't you know that the fish rots from the head down?"
As he said this he continued to place the sardines neatly in order, and to throw the coarse salt on each layer with his hands. His words had meaning. He wanted to say that the abbot is obliged to be an example of industriousness and service. to be aware of the deep responsibility of his position and to teach his disciples by his living example. It is the head which directs everything in the Monastery. If the head departs from the right way, then everything in the Monastery will decline towards corruption and decay.
Elder Codratus of Karakallou, Contemporary Ascetics of Mt. Athos.
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