I highly recommend reading Vladimir Kedreyanov’s novel “Ananaya and Sapphira,” which is dedicated to the famous biblical story about a husband and wife who decided to join a Christian sect, and were forced to give up their personal property in favor of the community (or, more precisely, in favor of apostles).According to this story, at one point, instead of giving all their income to the apostles, the couple decided to keep some of the proceeds for themselves for a “rainy day,” but the Apostle Peter, naturally, found out about this, and both, as the Bible tells , fell dead. It was this story that became the basis for an attempt to reflect all those early relationships of both commoners and early Christian sectarians, and sometimes even intellectuals of their time, supporters of the philosophy of Epicurus. Synopsis from the author: The action of the novel takes place in Jerusalem in the first century AD. 14-year-old Sapphira is married to 19-year-old carpenter Ananias; young people love each other. Soon after the wedding, almost all of the couple's relatives die tragically. Sapphira is expecting a child; The Jewish prophet Benjamin meets her on the street and, mistaking her for a “vile vessel of sin,” beats her. The Roman scientist Titus Roscius Capito, who happened to be nearby, saves Sapphira’s life, but she suffers a miscarriage. 4 years pass. After being injured by the prophet, Saphira is unable to become pregnant again. One day, in the Jerusalem temple, she watches as the head of a recently emerging Christian sect, the Apostle Peter, heals a lame man. The woman decides to turn to a miracle worker for help and meets the Christians Job and Jeremiah. They introduce Sapphira to the immutable rule: those who join the sect must transfer all their property to the apostles. The couple reflect on the difficulty that has arisen, but still decide to meet with Peter. An audience is scheduled. The prince of the apostles, having learned that his guests own a house with a plot, tries to attract them to his sect, but according to religious tradition, he unreasonably accuses them of various “sins”. Ananias and Sapphira are embarrassed, but they accept Peter’s offer to attend the service. The Mass takes place in the basement of the monastery. The apostles John and Peter importantly teach parishioners and punish the careless. Christians begin to speak in “other tongues,” that is, they fall into a trance and shout meaningless sounds. These demons make Ananias and Sapphira feel sick, and they decide not to meet with Christians anymore. Peter dreams of getting a lion as an assistant. He sends Job and Jeremiah after the predator in Jerusalem menagerie, where animals for gladiatorial fights are kept. Having avoided meeting the Roman night watch, Christians try to pacify the lion sitting in a cage with prayers in “other tongues” and, falling into a trance, throw stones at the predator. The enraged beast almost breaks the cage; Job and Jeremiah get scared and run away. In the morning, the Evangelist Mark wakes up the Apostle Peter and coordinates with him his essay, in which he embellishes the personality of Jesus Christ. Petro approves of the text, but rejects Mark’s request to increase his rations. The Apostle calls Job and Jeremiah; they report that “other tongues” only “provoked the cattle” and they barely managed to escape. Peter decides to postpone the capture of the lion for now. Meanwhile, he is alarmed by the three-day absence of Ananias and Sapphira and sends his brother the Apostle Andrew to them First-Called. The spouses receive Andrei and treat him to wine. The Apostle examines the house and is satisfied, but he reproaches its owners for missing services and frightens them with the Last Judgment. The First-Called promises Sapphira to cure her of infertility, but in return demands that the couple join the sect. The couple finally decide to become parishioners. During the day they study theology with Aunt Judith and work for Christians (Ananias as a carpenter, Sapphira in the kitchen and as an alms collector for church needs), but spend the night at home, guarding the as yet unsold house. Meanwhile, the Apostle Peter decides to return to the lion’s project. At night, Ananias, Job, Jeremiah and the “young moron” Hesrom carry the head of the sect to the menagerie on a stretcher made by Ananias. During the journey, the apostle remembers his first meeting with Jesus Christ on Lake Gennesaret. By On their way, the sectarians stumble upon the Roman night watch, which, not finding money from the late townspeople, takes away the stretchers. A riot is brewing in the monastery due to the meager food ration. Stefan, with the help of his cronies and “Hellenistic” widows, seeks from Peter the right to control the funds used for the purchase of food. Finally, the buyer of the couple’s house is found - the moneylender Ezekiel, who in his youth obtained the initial capital through a double murder. The parties agree on the price of the estate. Andrew the First-Called baptizes Ananias and Sapphira. Soon Titus Roscius Capito comes to their home to say goodbye, who after several years of work in the Middle East returns to Rome. An epicurean scientist exposes Christian fairy tales and warns spouses against close ties with sectarians. But young parishioners remain deaf to the words of the Roman. Ananias persuades his wife to give Peter not all the money for the house, but only half the amount, citing the need to have a reserve for a “rainy day.” In the morning, the carpenter takes the denarii from Ezekiel and gives them to the Christians. However, the moneylender's servant Zadok tells Peter the real price of the estate, and the "prince of the apostles" accuses Ananias of "lying to the Holy Spirit" and then kills the "sinner." Soon Sapphira returns to the monastery, having collected “God’s money” on the streets of Jerusalem. Peter becomes convinced that she knew about her husband’s deceit and kills her. Perhaps our distant descendants, from the entire body of Christian legends, will remember only the legend of Ananias and Sapphira - a story about great love and the struggle for their happiness.