Краткое сказание о жизни и подвигах Старца Саровской пустыни Иеромонаха Серафима с приложением его наставлений

Respecting the memory of the deeply revered, unforgettable elder who labored tirelessly for 50 years in the Sarov desert, we enclose a brief information about this ever-memorable ascetic - Hieromonk Seraphim. He was born in Kursk on July 19, 1759; his father was the Kursk merchant Isidor Moshkin, his mother Agathia, at Holy Baptism he was given the name Prokhor; he was 3 years old when he lost his father; His father was engaged in contracts for the construction of church buildings, and at the end of his life, he began to build a stone church in Kursk in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh, but suffered death and left the final construction of this church in the care of his wife Agathia, under whose supervision it was later completed. One day, during the construction of this church, Agafya went to the top of the building, taking her son, who was then seven years old; when she ascended the church building, the child Prokhor was separated from his mother, and, through negligence, fell from the height of the building to the ground; the mother ran downstairs in fear and thought to find him already dead; but to my surprise and joy I found him standing on the ground completely unharmed; the pious mother saw in this a special action of God's Providence, which preserved the boy, and with tears thanked the Lord God for this. At the age of ten, the boy Prokhor was sent to learn literacy, reading and writing; he was diligent and showed a sharp mind. A fiery zeal was kindled in Prokhor to devote himself to the exploits of monastic life, which is why, in the 18th year from his birth, having received his dismissal, he left his house, estate and mother and set his own path. Before choosing any monastery for himself, he went to Kyiv to venerate the holy relics of the Pleasants of God. Entering the Holy Pechersk Lavra, he fell with tears to the ground before the Miraculous Image of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary and with earnest prayer fell to the shrines of Saints Anthony, Theodosius and other Saints of God resting there, asking that they would guide him on the path of salvation and show him a place to spend his monastic life. Having settled down to fast, he partook of the Holy Divine Mysteries of Christ; Having learned that there was a recluse not far from the Lavra, in the Kitaev monastery, a godly life, with the gift of clairvoyance, named Dositheus, he immediately hurried there, and, admitted to the blessed recluse, fell at his feet, kissed the feet of the active elder, revealed to him his ardent desire for monastic life, asking for a blessing; the perspicacious elder, having foreseen the grace of God in him, pleased his intention, blessed him, and, indicating his place of residence, the Sarov desert, said to him: “Come, child of God, and abide there!” this place will be your salvation.” The youth Prokhor was comforted by the advice; his soul burned with heavenly delight for the beginning of monastic life; Having accepted the blessing of Elder Dosifei, he left the Lavra, placing all his trust in the saving will of God, and in the protection of the Mother of God, and safely reached the God-saved Sarov desert, as assigned to him by God Himself for the passage of monastic life. In 1778, with the help of God, he arrived at this monastery and joyfully entered its gates, as if indicated to him by the finger of God. There he was received with love by the elder builder Pachomius and assigned to the number of novices. He went through various obediences and appeared at church services earlier than everyone else, and in 1786, on the 13th day of August, he was tonsured a monk by the Builder Pachomius and given the name Seraphim. Having accepted the new name of Angel, he turned away his eyes from seeing vanity, and with the most ardent zeal began to take care of drawing closer with love to the Lord, whose name was incessantly in his heart and lips; In December 1787, he was ordained hierodeacon by His Grace Victor, Bishop of Vladimir and Murom. Having accepted this dignity as an altar minister, caring for perfect purity in soul and body, he intensified his zeal and zeal for the Lord God and His Holy Church, so that for five years he was in the daily service of the liturgy, every day he partook of the Holy Mysteries, strengthened by the shrine, straining all his strength for further exploits. Practicing in the thought of God, in the constant praise of God and reading Divine books, and therefore having a mind cleansed of passions, he was repeatedly rewarded with spiritual visions. His whole life was devoted to prayers for the salvation of his neighbors. On September 2, 1793, he was ordained as Hieromonk by His Grace Theophilos, Bishop of Tambov and Penza under the builder Pachomius. Having received the deep grace of the Holy Spirit, he began to struggle for the Lord God with even greater love, with ardent faith, and set his ascent to Him in his heart. Due to his inclination towards a solitary life and his love for complete silence, from the very moment he entered the monastery, his desire was to devote himself to a completely desert life, therefore he began to ask the Abbot Hieromonk Isaiah for a blessing for a desert and solitary life, in imitation of the ancient desert dwellers, and, having received a blessing from the Abbot, in 1794, with unspeakable zeal and joy, retired to a desert cell, located five miles from the monastery in the forest, near the Sarovka River on a mountain. Upon entering the life of a hermit, his bodily exercises consisted of cultivating beds for planting potatoes and other vegetables, as well as preparing firewood for heating his cell; he nourished his soul by reading the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, the works of John Climacus, Ephraim the Syrian, Isaac the Syrian and the Philokalia. His rule in the desert was: every day to read several chapters from the Gospel and the Apostle and to correct all services, except the Liturgy, according to the Church Rule, without any change, without any change; in addition, in the discussion of prayers and reading the Psalter, he strictly observed the rule bequeathed by the Angel to the Great Pachomius. His sleep was very short. The brethren often found him there in deep contemplation of God; he greeted them with only a bow, observing strict silence. On the eve of Sundays and holidays, he always came to the monastery, where he listened to Vespers, the all-night vigil and partook of the Holy Mysteries at the early Liturgy; after the Liturgy, until Vespers, he received in his monastery cell the brethren who came to him for spiritual benefit; He gave useful advice to the elders, and gave fatherly instructions to the younger ones; during Vespers, having taken bread for the week, he returned to his hermit’s cell. He had the custom of always coming to the Monastery during the first week of Holy Great Lent: he ate nothing during the entire week until Saturday, and did not order food to be brought. Living in the desert, he was so overcome with love for abstinence that he asked the Abbot for a blessing to eat only potatoes and other vegetables, which he himself planted at his cell; and after that he ate for three years only potatoes and other vegetables and snitch. Some of the brothers of the Monastery wanted to live with him, but, unable to bear the burdens of desert life and his great labors, they returned back to the Monastery. During his deserted life, he sometimes gave instructions to the brethren who came to him from the Monastery to visit and receive useful advice from him, in accordance with the needs of each, and sometimes, wanting to maintain silence, he withdrew from those who came. The primordial enemy the devil, not tolerating the sight of the valiant deeds of the elder, made him various temptations, during the day and especially at night, during the hours of his standing in prayer, apparently it seemed to him that his cell was falling apart on four sides, and wild animals were coming towards him from all sides with a terrible roar; sometimes an open coffin appeared before him and a dead man rising from it, and sometimes the enemy made such terrible attacks on him that he lifted him into the air and hit him so hard on the floor that, if not for the help of God, his bones could have been crushed from such blows. He always defeated such temptations and attacks of the enemy by the power and sign of the honorable and life-giving Cross of the Lord and, finally, with the help of God he completely won, so that in his silence he remained peacefully, and therefore he used to say to those who demanded his advice to pass through the life of the desert that those who live in the desert should feel as if they were crucified on a cross, and that in the Monastery those living fight against opposing forces, as if with doves, and in the desert - as with lions and leopards - and he did not bless anyone to retire into the desert alone; but he advised two or three like-minded brethren to depart for the desert feat, so that they could strengthen each other with advice and be comforted by mutual, saving conversation. No matter how much the devil tried to hinder this valiant ascetic in his progress and remove him from a solitary life, however, all his efforts remained in vain: for he could not accomplish anything through such temptations; on the contrary, he himself was defeated and retreated in shame. But when the devil himself could not cause any harm to the resolute hermit; then he used evil people as a tool for this. In 1804, three people from neighboring peasants came to the elder. He was in the forest at that time, chopping wood; they approached him and demanded money from him, saying that people come to you with money; he answered them: I don’t take anything from anyone; but they, not believing his words, decided to force what was required by force. One of them first hit the Elder in the head so hard that blood came from his mouth and ears, then they beat him fatally with whatever they could: one with a butt, another with a log, the third kicked him until they considered him already dead. In such an inhumane act, they examined everything in the cell, but not finding anything, they left. From these mortal blows, he could hardly come to his senses; the next day, all wounded, he came to the Monastery with great difficulty; he was covered in blood, his hair was crushed and mixed with rubbish, his hands were beaten, his lips were caked in blood and several teeth were knocked out. Seeing his brethren in such a pitiful position, they were horrified and asked what had happened to him; he asked them to call the Builder to him, to whom he explained everything that had happened to him. This unfortunate event plunged both the Builder and the entire brethren into sadness, and Father Seraphim, until the illness was cured, remained in the Monastery and took advantage of the zeal of the brethren; The peasants who had beaten him were soon recognized, but the complacent Elder, forgiving them, begged the Abbot not to make any punishment from them. He agreed that it would be better for him to be expelled from the Monastery than for any insult to be caused to them. “So he was gentle and let go of insults to his enemies. But the righteous visit of God did not take long to comprehend the villains: the fire soon destroyed their homes, and they, thus admonished, themselves came with repentance of their villainy to Father Seraphim and with tears asked him for forgiveness and prayers. After some time, through the intercession of the Mother of God, as he revealed to one of the brethren, he received healing from the beatings inflicted on him, and with the return of his bodily strength, he asked the Abbot for permission to return again to his hermit’s cell. The abbot, on the advice of the brethren, persuaded him to stay forever in the Monastery, fearing such incidents in the future, but he replied that he was not afraid of such attacks; for he decided to endure all insults, no matter what happened, imitating the martyrs who suffered for our Lord Jesus Christ. He feared only spiritual thieves, constantly keeping in mind the words of the Savior: Fear not those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: fear them more than those who are able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna (Matthew 10:28). The abbot, seeing the strength of his spirit, left him at his request, and he returned to his deserted cell. 1807 The builder of the Monastery, the kind and meek Isaiah, died; His death had a profound impact on the subsequent life of Elder Seraphim. Isaiah, being his adopted Father from the Gospel, when he was tonsured into monasticism, and his spiritual father, was his best interlocutor; He revered Father Seraphim so much and loved to talk with him so much that even then, as a serious dying illness did not allow him to go to the Elder, who lived in a remote desert, in a dense and impenetrable forest, and in his illness he often visited him with the help of his zealous brothers (the brothers with their own hands took him to him in a cart into the desert), and in conversation with him he enjoyed the last days of his earthly life. The deprivation of this interlocutor, Mentor and Chief, struck Father Seraphim with deep sorrow - the thought of the corruption of real life, the hour of death and the terrible judgment of God sank deeply into his soul, and from that time he devoted himself to complete silence, so that, imitating the great Arseny, he avoided all visitors and, when meeting anyone, fell on his face, and did not rise until the person he met had left. from him. He maintained such silence and silence for about three years. Dejected by the years and exhausted from long-term exploits, the elder gradually weakened in his strength, so that he could no longer, as was his former custom, come to the Monastery on holidays to receive the Holy Mysteries. This prompted him to leave his hermit life, and he, with the blessing of the Builder Niphon, moved to the Monastery in 1810, having spent more than 15 years in the desert. The builder and the brethren were very happy about his resettlement, for they hoped to always see him and use the example of his pious life. Always having before his eyes the memory of death, according to the teaching of Jesus son of Sirach: remember your last and never sin (Sir. 7:39), he asked to make himself an oak coffin and place it in the entryway of his cell, where he often prayed. Thus, in his solitude, he always prepared for the exodus from this life to the eternal and sat in his cell, as in a tomb, like a living dead. Few of the brethren could see him and talk with him. All those who came to him from the brethren were preceded by a bow to the ground, especially all those who had faith in him, he taught to go to Church without neglect: to constantly engage in mental prayer, diligently undergo the obedience that will be assigned by the Leader, not to eat food until the hour specified by the charter, to sit at meals with reverence and fear of God, and to eat what is offered with thanksgiving; For this purpose, he recalled the following legend: among the brethren there was one perspicacious Elder, and he saw in his spirit what kind of person he was among those sitting and eating at the table; he saw that some ate honey, others bread, and others bloodworms. The elder marveled at this and prayed to God, saying: Lord, show me this mystery: - at the meal, the same meat was offered for everyone, why did they change - and some eat honey, others bread, and others bloodworms? and there was a voice from above saying to him: those who eat honey are those who sit at the table with fear and trembling, with spiritual joy and pray unceasingly, and their prayer ascends like a censer to God, and therefore they eat honey. But those who eat bread are those who praise the food given to them by God; but those who murmur and say, “This is good, but this is rotten” eat the bloodworm (Prol. Aug. 7). He did not advise anyone to leave the Monastery without a blessed reason, but taught them to patiently endure all temptations that come their way, according to the word of the Lord: he who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22). He especially taught to keep mutual peace: because God dwells only in the dwelling of the world, as it is said: His place is in the world (Psalm 75.3). The holy mysteries for communion with him, with the blessing of the Abbot, were brought to him in his cell on Sundays and holidays, from the early Liturgy. He considered it such a longed-for, necessary and saving duty for himself to partake of the Holy Mysteries of the body and blood of the Lord, that he did not miss a single holiday and Sunday without being worthy of this Sacredness, and he also encouraged others not to miss a single twelfth holiday without clearing their conscience with their confession and without washing their sins with the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. – I certainly advised every Christian to fast during four church fasts. After a five-year silent life, convinced by the requests of some visitors, Father Seraphim began to accept outsiders, and no longer refused anyone who just wanted to accept his blessing and take advantage of his advice; and therefore the number of visitors increased from time to time; many from distant places began to come to him, he blessed those who came and gave them short teachings, depending on the spiritual needs of each. At the same time, he had the habit of distributing antidor, or blessed bread crushed into small particles, to those who came to him; and everyone received them from him with reverence, respect and love; He remained in seclusion for about seventeen years. Beyond the distance of the first cell, he built himself another closer, near the same river Sarovka, at a distance of about two miles from the Monastery, where he had rest after his labors and offered prayers to the Almighty; from that time on, except for holidays and Sundays, he went to the forest almost every day, and was busy either preparing firewood for heating his cell, or cultivating beds for planting potatoes, and in the evening he always returned to the Monastery. He used to carry stones in a bag on himself, and when asked: why does he carry them? - answered: I, according to Ephraim the Syrian, languish the languishing me. During such his solitude, many of the brethren heard him often singing the antiphon - the incessant divine desire is deserted, except for the vain world. This singing was not a simple beating of the air, but an expression of his heartfelt feelings; for he did this in delight of spirit, filled with heavenly joy. Upon leaving the seclusion, to receive the Holy Mysteries, he began to go to the early Liturgy in the hospital church and after the Liturgy he returned to his cell, accompanied by many visitors who wanted to accept his blessing and receive spiritual benefits. From that time on, there were so many people who were zealous for him that every day, especially in the summer, some came to him in a deserted cell, while others waited in the Monastery to see him, receive a blessing from him and hear an edifying word. His memory was strong, his mind was bright, and his gift of speech was abundant, his conversation was so effective and comforting that everyone who heard it found spiritual benefit for themselves in it, and some among the congregation admitted that his conversation warmed their hearts, removed from their inner eyes, as if some veil, illuminated their minds with the light of spiritual enlightenment, and aroused in their souls a decisive change and strength to improve for the better. He based all his words and reasoning on the word of God and on the tradition of his fathers and confirmed them most in places of the New Testament. Due to the purity of his spirit, he had the gift of perspicacity: to others, before explaining their circumstances, he gave instructions that were directly related to their inner feelings and thoughts of the heart. A special quality of his conversations and demeanor was love and humility; no matter who came to him, a poor man in rags, or a rich man in light clothes, even no matter who was burdened with sins, he kissed everyone with love, bowed to the ground to everyone, and blessed, he himself kissed the hands of many uninitiated people; he did not reproach anyone with cruel reproaches or severe reprimands, and did not place a heavy burden on anyone. Bearing the Cross of Christ himself with all his sorrows, he spoke reproaches to others, but meekly, dissolving his word with humility and love; he tried to arouse the action of conscience with advice, pointed out the path of salvation, and often in such a way that the one who listened for the first time did not understand that it was about his soul; after that, the power of the word, salted with grace, produced its effect invariably. Neither the rich, nor the poor, nor the simple, nor the learned, nor the nobles, nor the common people left him without instruction - for everyone there was enough living water flowing from the lips of the humble and wretched Elder; everyone felt his benevolent love and its strength, and streams of tears sometimes burst out from those who had a hard and stony heart; with special vigilance he took care of those in whom he saw a disposition for good, confirmed them with advice, instructions, indicating the path of salvation, and aroused them to love with his love. A certain brother, for his edification, asked Father Seraphim, shortly before his death: why do we, father, not have such a strict life as the ancient ascetics of piety led? He answered this: the reason we don’t go through such a life is because we don’t have the determination to live it; if they had the determination, then they would live like the Fathers of old who shone with deeds and piety, because the grace and help of God to the faithful and those who seek the Lord with all their hearts is now the same as it was before, for, according to the word of God, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today (Heb. 13:8). Approaching old age, a year before his death, the Elder began to feel especially exhausted in his bodily strength, and therefore he began to go to his deserted cell less often, and he also did not always receive visitors in the Monastery. This saddened some; but diligently desiring to see him and take advantage of his instructions, they waited and lived for this purpose in the Monastery for quite some time. A week before his death in 1832, on the day of the Nativity of Christ, the elder unexpectedly came to late Liguria, which was served by Abbot Nifont; Father Seraphim partook of the Holy Mysteries, and after the Liturgy he talked with the Abbot; Having said goodbye to the Abbot, the elder returned to his cell and handed one of the monks, Jacob, the image of St. Sergius, depicting on enamel a visit to the Mother of God with the following words: “Put this image on me when I die, and with it put me in the grave; this image, continued Ot. Seraphim, sent to me by the honorable Father Archimandrite Anthony, Vicar of the Holy Lavra, from the relics of Venerable Serius.” Father Seraphim had a special love for Father Archimandrite Anthony. Before the New Year, leaving his cell to the Assumption Cathedral, the elder measured and designated a place for his grave on the side of the altar. On January 1, 1833, I came to the hospital Church for the last time for the early Liturgy and received the Holy Mysteries. At this time, extreme exhaustion of bodily strength was noticed in him; however, he showed a calm and joyful spirit. The next day, that is, the 2nd of January, during Matins in prayer, he gave up his spirit to the Lord God; everyone was amazed at this news; there was a general cry, expressing strong grief at the separation from the valiant ascetic. The body of the deceased remained unburied in the coffin for eight days; stood in the Assumption Cathedral. At this time, for the last time, many visitors from the surrounding areas gathered to pay their debt to the great Elder, his warm prayer book for endless centuries. Since during his lifetime Ot. Seraphim edified, enlightened, consoled, healed many with word, deed, example and prayer, then even after his death the memory of this great ascetic of Christ is still blessed not only in the Sarov desert itself and in the places adjacent to it, but also in the most remote borders of the Russian Orthodox Church. His words and the glory of his virtues spread everywhere; many from distant countries come with reverence to the Sarov monastery to bow before his tomb, and praying to the Lord for the repose of his soul, they also ask for his prayers for the repose of their hearts from the rebellion of everyday life. Spiritual instructions from Father Seraphim The fear of God is acquired when a person, having renounced the world and everything in the world, concentrates all his thoughts and feelings in one idea of the law of God and is completely immersed in the contemplation of God and in the feelings of the bliss promised by the Saints. It is impossible to renounce the world and come to a state of spiritual contemplation while remaining in the world. For until the passions subside, it is impossible to acquire peace of mind; but passions are not quenched as long as we are surrounded by objects that excite passions. To achieve perfect dispassion and achieve perfect silence of the soul, you need to strive a lot in spiritual reflection and prayer. But how can one completely and calmly immerse oneself in the contemplation of God and learn from His law and ascend with all one’s soul to Him in fiery prayer, remaining amid the incessant noise of the passions at war in the world? The world lies in evil. Without freeing itself from the world, the soul cannot love God sincerely. The Monk Barsanuphius teaches: as long as the ship is at sea, it suffers troubles and the attacks of the winds; and when he reaches a quiet and peaceful haven, he is no longer afraid of troubles and sorrows and the attack of the winds, but remains in silence. So you, monk, as long as you remain with people, expect sorrows and troubles and the battle of mental winds; and when you enter into silence, you have nothing to fear (Vars. rep. 8, 9.). Perfect silence is the cross on which a person must crucify himself with all his passions and lusts. But think about it, our Lord Christ endured so much reproach and insult beforehand, and then ascended to the cross. So we cannot come into complete silence and hope for holy perfection if we do not suffer with Christ. For the Apostle says: if we suffer with Him, we will be glorified with Him. There is no other way. (Vars. Rep. 346). He who has come to silence must constantly remember what he came for, so that his heart does not deviate to something else. Those traveling this path should not listen to extraneous rumors, from which the head can be filled with idle and vain thoughts and memories; but you must be attentive to yourself. Especially on this path, one must observe so as not to turn to other people’s affairs, not to think or talk about them, according to the Psalmist: “My mouth shall not speak of the deeds of men” (16:4), but to pray to the Lord: “Cleanse me from my secrets, and have mercy on your servant from strangers” (Psalm 13:13.14). A person must pay attention to the beginning and end of his life; in the middle, where happiness or misfortune happens, one must be indifferent. In order to maintain attention, you need to withdraw into yourself, according to the Lord’s verb: kiss no one on the way (Luke 10:4), that is, do not speak unless necessary. Elders or brothers you meet should be honored with bows, keeping your eyes always closed. A person's body is like a lit candle. She must burn and he must die. But the soul is immortal; Therefore, our care should be more about the soul than about the body: what good does it benefit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul, or what will a man give in exchange for his soul (Matthew 16:26)? Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, Cyril of Alexandria, Ambrose of Milan and others were virgins from their youth to the end of their lives; their whole life was devoted to caring for the soul, and not for the body. Likewise, we must make every effort about the soul, but strengthen the body only so that it contributes to strengthening the spirit. If we arbitrarily exhaust our body to the point that our spirit is exhausted, then such exhaustion will be unreasonable, even if this was done to gain virtue. If the Lord God wills for a person to experience illness, He will also give him the strength of patience. What should the soul be supplied with? The soul must be supplied with the word of God: for the word of God, as Gregory the Theologian says, is the bread of angels, with which souls that hunger for God feed. Most of all, one should practice reading the New Testament and the Psalter; and this must be done while standing. From this there is enlightenment in the mind, which is therefore changed by the Divine change. You need to train yourself in such a way that your mind seems to float in the law of the Lord, by which you must organize your life, guided by it. When will a person supply his soul with the word of God; then it is fulfilled by the understanding of what is good and what is evil. Reading the word of God must be done in solitude so that the whole mind of the reader is deepened in the truths of the Holy Scriptures, and receive warmth from God, which in solitude produces tears; from them a person warms up completely and is filled with spiritual gifts that delight the mind and heart more than any word. If a person does not care about worldly needs, then he cannot have peace of soul. Peace of mind is acquired through sorrow. Scripture says: I passed through fire and water, and brought us to rest (Psalm 65 and 12). Those who want to please God must go through many tribulations. How can we please the Holy Martyrs for the suffering they endured for the sake of God, when we cannot endure even the fire? Nothing contributes more to the acquisition of inner peace than silence and, as much as possible, a short conversation with others, but with oneself incessantly. There is nothing better in Christ than peace, in whom all warfare of air and earthly spirits is resolved. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers and rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6: I2). A sign of a rational soul when a person immerses his mind inside himself and has action in his heart. Then the grace of God overshadows him and he is in a peaceful dispensation, and through this, in a worldly state: in a peaceful state, that is, with a good conscience; in the worldly, for the mind contemplates in itself the grace of the Holy Spirit, according to the word of God: His place is in the world (Psalm 75:3). About maintaining spiritual peace One must try by all means to maintain peace of mind and not be indignant at insults from others; For this purpose, one must try in every possible way to restrain anger, and through attention, keep the mind and heart from indecent movements. Therefore, we must endure insults from others with indifference and get used to such a state of mind, as if their insults did not concern us, but others. Such an exercise can bring silence to our heart and make it the abode of God Himself. We see an example of such lack of anger in Gregory the Wonderworker, from whom in a public place the wife of a certain harlot demanded a bribe, as if for a sin committed with her; and he, not at all angry with her, meekly said to a certain friend of his: quickly give her the price she demands. The wife, having just accepted an unrighteous bribe, was attacked by a demon; The saint drove the demon away from her with prayer (Thurs. Min. Nov. 17 in his life). If it is impossible not to be indignant, then at least you should try to hold your tongue, according to the Psalmist; confused, and without verbs (76, 5). To maintain peace of mind, one must also avoid judging others in every possible way. Peace of mind is preserved through non-judgment and silence. When a person is in such a dispensation, he receives Divine revelations. To get rid of condemnation, you must pay attention to yourself, not accept extraneous thoughts from anyone, and be dead to everything. To preserve mental peace, you need to enter into yourself more often and ask: where am I? At the same time, one must ensure that the bodily senses, especially vision, serve the inner man, and do not entertain the soul with sensory objects: for only those who have internal activity and watch over their souls receive gifts of grace. Those who truly decide to serve the Lord God must practice remembrance of God and unceasing prayer to Jesus Christ, saying with their minds: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner; By such an exercise, while protecting oneself from distraction and maintaining peace of conscience, one can draw closer to God and unite with Him. For, according to St. Isaac the Syrian, except for unceasing prayer, we cannot get closer to God (fol. 69. fox. 142). Therefore, you should always try not to give yourself over to scattered thoughts; for through this the soul deviates from the memory of God and His love, through the action of the devil, as St. Macarius says: all our adversary is diligence, so that our thoughts can be turned away from the remembrance of God and fear and love (verse 2, chapter 15). When the mind and heart are united in prayer and the thoughts of the soul are not scattered, then the heart will be warmed with spiritual warmth, in which the light of Christ shines, filling the entire inner person with peace and joy. In everything we must thank the Lord and surrender ourselves to His will; We must also present all our thoughts, words and deeds to Him, and try to ensure that everything serves only to please Him. Mere verbosity with those who have opposite morals to us is enough to upset the inside of an attentive person. But the most pitiful thing is that this can extinguish that fire that our Lord Jesus Christ came to bring to earth in the hearts of men: for nothing can quench the fire inhaled from the Holy Spirit into the heart of a monk for the sanctification of the soul, like conversation and verbosity and conversation (Isaac. Sir. ff. 8). They must especially guard themselves from dealing with the female sex: for, just as a wax candle, although unlit, but placed between the lit ones, melts: so the heart of a monk from a conversation with the female sex imperceptibly relaxes, about which St. Isidore Pelusiot says this: if (to the words of the scripture) evil conversations corrupt good customs: then the conversation with wives, even if it is good, it is still strong to corrupt the inner man secretly with nasty thoughts, and if the body is pure, the soul will remain defiled: for what is harder than stone; Whatever the water is softer, otherwise constant diligence and nature wins. Therefore, in order to preserve the inner man, one must try to keep the tongue from speaking too much: for a wise man leads silence (Prov. 11, 12). About thoughts and carnal movements We must be clean from unclean thoughts, especially when we offer prayer, for there is no agreement between the stench and the fragrance. Where there are thoughts, there is addition to them. So, we must repel the first attack of sinful thoughts and dispel them from the earth of our hearts. While the children of Babylon, that is, evil thoughts, are still infants, they must be broken and crushed against the stone, which is Christ; especially the three main ones: gluttony, love of money and vanity, with which the devil tried to tempt even our Lord Himself at the end of His deed. The devil, like a lion, hiding in his fence (Isa. 9:30), secretly lays out nets for us of unclean and ungodly thoughts. So, immediately, as soon as we see, we must dissolve them through pious reflection and prayer. On the position of subordinates in relation to superiors Acquire humility, obedience and obedience, and you will be saved, says the Monk Barsanuphius. And don’t say anything contrary: what is it and what is it for? But be kind, especially to your Abba, who for God’s sake cares about you, and to whom your soul is entrusted (Bars. answer 242). Whoever truly wants to be a disciple of Christ does not have any power over himself to do anything on his own, says the same teacher. For what is done according to one’s own thoughts is not pleasing to God, even if it seems good. If someone knows better what is useful for himself than Abba, then why call yourself his disciple. Reject your will back and maintain humility in all your life, and then you will be saved. Humility and obedience are the eradicator of all passions and the planter of all virtues (Barson. rep. 309. 359. 351. 618. 68. 226). The subject must put himself to death for temporary life in order to have eternal life. He should be like cloth in a fulling mill, according to Pr. Antioch. For, like cloth, a bleacher beats, crushes, scratches, washes, and it becomes white, like snow; so the novice, enduring humiliation, insults, reproaches, is purified and becomes like pure, shiny silver, ignited by fire (Ant. s. 113). He must not enter into the affairs of his superiors and judge them; This offends the majesty of God, from whom the authorities are appointed; for there is no authority except from God, but the real authorities were created by God (Rom. 13:1). One should not resist authority for good, so as not to sin before God and not be subjected to His righteous punishment; If you resist authority, you resist God’s command: but those who resist themselves will receive sin (Rom. 13:2). He who is obedient succeeds greatly in the creation of the soul, in addition to the fact that through this he acquires an understanding of things, and comes into tenderness. About non-judgment of one's neighbor and forgiveness of insults One should not judge anyone, even if one has seen with one’s own eyes someone sinning or obsessing over the transgression of God’s Commandments, according to the word of God: Judge not, lest ye be judged (Matthew 7:1). One should not harbor in the heart malice or hatred towards one’s neighbor who is at enmity, but one must love him and, as much as possible, do good to him, following the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you (Matthew 5:44). So, if we try to do all this as much as we can; then we can hope that the Divine light will shine in our hearts, opening for us the path to the heavenly Jerusalem. Why do we condemn our brothers? because we don’t try to know ourselves. He who is busy knowing himself has no time to notice others; judge yourself and you will stop judging others. So, beloved, let us not observe the sins of others and condemn others, lest we hear: the sons of mankind, their teeth are weapons and arrows, and their tongue is a sharp sword (Psalm 56:5). For when the Lord leaves a person to himself, then the devil is ready to grind him off, like a millstone grinding a grain of wheat. Ambrose of Milan says: I have seen many saved by silence, but not one by many words. And again, one of the fathers says: silence is the sacrament of the future age, but words are the instrument of this world (Dobrotoll. Monk. Callista and Ignatius, chapter 16 hours. 11 l. 54). Just sit in your cell, in attention and silence, and try by all means to bring yourself closer to the Lord; Oh, the Lord is ready to make you an Angel from a man: to whom, He says, will I look, only to the meek and silent and trembling of My words. (Isa. 66.2)? When we remain in silence, then the enemy and the devil will not have time to reach the person who is hidden in the heart: this must be understood about silence in the mind. If it is not always possible to remain in solitude and silence, living in a monastery and performing the obediences assigned by the abbot; then although some of the time remaining from obedience should be devoted to solitude and silence, and for this little time the Lord God will not fail to send His rich mercy upon you. From solitude and silence tenderness and meekness are born; the action of this latter in the human heart can be likened to the still waters of Siloam, which flows without noise or sound, as the Prophet Isaiah says about it: the waters of Siloam flow to the yew (8, 6). Staying in a cell, in silence, exercise, prayer and teaching day and night the law of God makes a person pious; for, according to the Holy Father, the monk’s cell is the cave of Babylon, in which the three youths found the Son of God. (Good chap. 114 and Petra Damascus. book 1 p. 58.) A monk, according to Ephraim the Syrian, will not stay long in one place if he does not first love silence and abstinence. For silence teaches silence and constant prayer, and abstinence makes thoughts unentertainable. Finally, a peaceful state awaits those who acquire this (Vol. 2 p. 59). When the evil spirit of sadness takes possession of the soul, then, filling it with grief and unpleasantness, it does not allow it to pray with due diligence and read the scriptures with due attention, deprives it of meekness and complacency in dealing with the brethren and gives rise to aversion from any conversation. For a soul filled with sadness, becoming as if mad and frantic, cannot calmly either accept good advice or meekly answer the questions asked. She runs away from people as the culprits of her confusion, and does not understand that the cause of the disease is inside her. Sadness is the worm of the heart, gnawing at the mother who gives birth to it. A sad monk does not move his mind towards contemplation and can never perform pure prayer. He who conquered passions also conquered sadness. But one conquered by passions will not escape the shackles of sadness. – Just as a sick person is visible by the color of his face, so one possessed of passion is revealed by sadness. He who loves the world cannot help but be sad, but he who despises the world is always cheerful. Just as fire purifies gold, so sorrow for God purifies a sinful heart. (Ant. verse 25.) Instructions for a new monk While living in a monastery, observe this: while standing in the Church, listen to everything without missing a beat. If you are in a cell and have no handicrafts, be diligent in reading in every possible way, and especially the Psalter, try to read each article many times in order to keep everything in your mind. If there is handicraft, do it; if you are called to obedience, go to it. While doing handicrafts, or being somewhere in obedience, constantly say the prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. In prayer, pay attention to yourself, that is, collect your mind and unite it with the subject of prayer, and do not direct it to anything else. When the Lord warms your heart with the warmth of His grace, then this prayer will flow within you unceasingly, and will always be with you, delighting you. feeding you. When you contain this spiritual food within yourself, that is, conversation with the Lord Himself, then why go to the cells of the brethren, even though you will be called by whom? Truly I tell you that this idle talk is also idleness. If you don’t understand yourself, can you reason about what to teach others? Be silent, always remember the presence of God and His name. Do not engage in conversation with anyone; but be careful in every possible way to judge those who talk or laugh a lot, in this case be deaf and dumb; No matter what they say about you, let it all fall on deaf ears. You can take Stephen the New as an example (Chet. Menaion. November 28 in his life), whose prayer was unceasing, his disposition was meek, his lips were silent, his heart was humble, his spirit was tender, his body and soul were pure, his virginity was immaculate, his poverty was true, and his desert lack of possessions. Obedience is uncomplaining, obedience is thorough, work is patient and work is diligent. When sitting at a meal, do not look and do not judge how much someone eats, but pay attention to yourself, feeding your soul with prayer. Eat plenty at lunch, refrain from eating at dinner. On Wednesday and Friday, if you can, try it once. Every day, be sure to sleep four hours at night: 10th, 11th 12th, and an hour after midnight; If you are exhausted, you can also sleep during the day. Keep this unquestionably until the end of your life: for it is needed to calm your head. And I have followed this path from a young age. We and the Lord God always ask for repose at night. If you take care of yourself in this way, you will not be sad, but healthy and cheerful.