Tradition of St. Nile of Sorsky: About how to live, from the holy scriptures

"Tradition" St. Nile of Sorsky is a typicon that sets out the basic rules of monastic life. The author's title of the work is “On Living from the Holy Scriptures” (“On How to Live, from the Holy Scriptures”). This instruction reflects the Athonite experience of the Monk Nile, his asceticism and the teaching of non-covetousness, which influenced the Russian elders and the monastic tradition of the 15th century. The text begins with a confession of the Orthodox faith (Creed). The central part of the work contains the rules of monastic life, inspired by the lives of saints (Mc. Eugenia, St. Pachomius and Euthymius the Great) and patristic works (St. John Climacus, St. Basil the Great, St. Isaac the Syrian, St. John Chrysostom, St. Maximus the Confessor, St. Barsanuphius the Great, Abba Dorotheus). The Monk Neil rejects formal apprenticeship, demanding from monks knowledge of traditions and fulfillment of commandments without excuses. Most of the rules are about non-covetousness. The main topics raised in the essay: 1. Labor and non-covetousness. Monks are obliged to provide themselves with handicrafts (“He who does not work, let him not eat”), avoid the labors of others, do not deceive workers, and reject excess as poison. Alms should be spiritual: a word, consolation, enduring insults. 2. Obedience and monastery. The abbot distributes obediences; without his blessing, the monks should not leave the monastery. Conversations with strangers and brethren for spiritual instruction are allowed in cells. The decoration of the church should be minimal, without luxury, to avoid pride. 3. Food and moderation. There is no communal meal. The monks themselves determine the measure, adhering to the “average benefit”, avoiding satiety, lust and drunkenness. Fasting for the healthy, rest for the weak. 4. Prohibitions. According to Athonite tradition, women and youth are not allowed into the monastery. It is prohibited to keep female livestock. Property should be simple, without valuables. Through the omnipotence of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ and the help of His Most Pure Mother, I wrote a spiritually beneficial scripture for myself and for the gentlemen of my neighbors, who are of the same spirit with me, for that is what I call you, and not disciples. After all, we have one Teacher - our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who gave us the Divine Scripture; There are also holy apostles and reverend fathers who taught and are teaching the human race about salvation - all of them first fulfilled virtues themselves and taught others in the same way. I do not do anything good, but I only retell the Divine Scriptures to those who receive them and want to be saved. And since Scripture says that “we are strangers here and exiles” (see Heb. 11:13), there is also, after death, eternal life and enduring life - either in peace or in torment, as God rewards to whom according to his deeds - then it is fitting for us to take care of that afterlife. And therefore I taught the scripture to my brethren, for the sake of my salvation and for the sake of all who will, raising my conscience for the better and preserving evil and carnally minded people from negligence, vicious life and sins, and from false and vain traditions that came from our common enemy and deceiver and from our laziness. At the beginning, as it should be, I decided to put a word about faith. I believe in one God, in the glorified Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit - the Trinity, consubstantial and indivisible. I also believe in the incarnation of the Son of God, I confess Him as a perfect God and a perfect Man, and I accept and confess all other confessions of the Orthodox faith with my whole soul. Likewise, I confess my Lady, the Holy Most Pure Mother of God, with much faith and love, magnify and glorify; and I honor, accept, glorify all the saints and unite with them by the grace of Christ. And I resort with all my soul to the Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and all the teachings about the Orthodox faith and about the active life, which she received from the Lord and the holy apostles, from the holy fathers of the Ecumenical and Local Councils and other holy fathers of the Holy Church and, having accepted, betrayed to us - I accept and honor all this with much faith and love. I curse all the false teachers, heretical teachings and traditions - I and those who are with me. And heretics will all be alien to us. Since many reverent brothers come to me, wanting to live with us, and I repeatedly refuse them (for I am a sinful and unreasonable person, and weak in soul and body), but rejected by me, they do not leave me alone and do not stop bothering me, which is why we are confused, then I reasoned this way: if it is the will of God that they come to us, it is fitting for them to know the traditions of the saints and keep the commandments God, and to fulfill the traditions of the holy fathers, and not to make excuses, and not to invent excuses for sins (see Ps. 140:4), and not to say: now it is impossible to live according to the Scriptures and follow the holy fathers. But even though we are weak, as much as we have strength, we need to be like and follow the ever-memorable and blessed fathers, even if it is impossible for us to achieve the same measure as them. If anyone does not want this, let him stop bothering my wretchedness; for I send such people away with nothing, as I said before - after all, it is not I who come to them wanting to be in charge, but they, coming to me, force me to do so. If those who stay with us do not strive to keep this and do not listen to our word, which I speak to them from the Holy Scriptures, then I do not want to give an answer for them, because of their arbitrariness, and I am not guilty. And if they want to live like this, we freely and without fear accept them, speaking to them the word of God; although I myself do not fulfill it, yes, perhaps, by the grace of Christ, having received benefit through the prayers, I will be worthy of what was said in the divine “Ladder”: “Some, mired in uncleanness, explained to those passing by how they got mired there, telling them about it for their salvation, so that they too would not get bogged down in the same uncleanness. And for the salvation of these and those, the Lord delivered them from uncleanness.” And Climacus also says: “Do not be a cruel judge of those who teach with the word, seeing that they are lazier in doing, for often the poverty of the deed is made up for by the benefit of the word.” Again, on the other hand, fearing sin, the holy fathers turn away from lengthy teachings, as Saint Maximus said: “We are many who speak, but who do few.” However, no one should hide the word of God through his own negligence, but, realizing his weakness, we should not hide God’s truth, so that, along with the transgression of the commandments, we would not be guilty of misinterpreting God’s words by others. There are so many words from the holy fathers and other creations! And therefore, having studied the Divine Scriptures, we teach them to those who come to us and need them (rather, not us, for we are unworthy, but the blessed holy fathers themselves speak from the Divine Scriptures), and those who stay with us must strive to carefully preserve them - this is how we desire and love. If one of the brethren, due to laziness or neglect, falls away in something from what was taught to him, then he must confess it to the superior, and he, as appropriate, will correct the sin. And thus, whether a sin occurs in the cell or with someone who has left it somewhere, it must be corrected by confession. A lot of caution should be exercised when leaving a cell somewhere; especially, one should preserve what has been taught. For many hate the cutting off of their will for the sake of God, but everyone now unlawfully arrogates to himself justification. About such in the divine “Ladder” it is said: “It is better to expel the novice than to leave him to do his own will, because the expeller often makes the expelled the most humble and henceforth forces him to cut off his will, and whoever thinks that showing condescension towards such is philanthropy, makes them bitterly curse him during their exodus.” The Holy Fathers strictly instructed us that we should acquire daily food and other necessary things that the Lord and His Most Pure Mother would arrange for us from the righteous labors of our handicrafts and work. “He who does not work,” said the apostle, “let him not eat” (see 2 Thessalonians 3:10), for our livelihood and needs must be provided by our own labors. And it is appropriate to do what is possible under the roof. If in hostels, out of necessity, it is commendable in the open air, for example, to drive a team of oxen to plow and do something else heavy with one’s own strength, says the Divine Scripture, then for those living in solitude this is worthy of reproach. If we are not satisfied with our needs from our work, due to our weakness or for some other valid reason, then we can accept a little alms from Christ-lovers - what is necessary, and not unnecessary. But bringing in the gains that we forcibly collect from the labors of others is not at all beneficial to us, for how, having them, can we keep the commandments of the Lord: “Give to the one who wants to sue you and take your shirt and your outer garment” (see Matt. 5:40) and others like that - being passionate and weak? But we must avoid and reject such acquisitions as deadly poison. When buying what we need and when selling handicrafts, it is not appropriate for our brother to suffer a loss, but it is better to bear the loss ourselves. Likewise, those who work with us - if someone happens to be from the world - should not be deprived of their due wages, but even more than that should be given to them with a blessing and let them go in peace. It is not appropriate for us to have excess. “But to give to those who ask and not to reject those who borrow—this is commanded for the wicked,” says Basil the Great. For “he who does not have more than necessary needs should not give alms, and if he says: I have not, he has not lied,” says Barsanuphius the Great. After all, there is a monk who does not need to give alms, who with an open face can say: “Behold, we have left everything and followed You” (Matthew 19:27). Saint Isaac writes: “Non-covetousness is higher than such alms.” For monastic alms are to help a brother with a word in time of need and to console his sorrow with spiritual reasoning, but this is also for those who can. For beginners: to endure grief, insult and reproach from a brother is spiritual alms, and it is as much higher than physical alms as the soul is higher than the body, says Saint Dorotheos. If any stranger comes, we must give him rest as much as we can, and then, if he needs it, give him bread as a blessing and let him go. Exits from our monastery should not be done simply and not as it happens, but only as provided for by the charter, necessary, for it is not appropriate for us to leave our cells untimely and unjustifiably, as St. Basil the Great says. Let the abbot orderly establish the distribution of affairs for the brethren, and also let him command everyone about the way out, appropriate and proper; and let the one sent not refuse to obey the Lord, only let him not consider the service a reason for negligence, but with the fear of God and much sobriety, he should be strengthened, so that both he and those who are with him may benefit. I want that, both while I am alive and after my death, everything that I wrote about in this scripture will be accomplished in this way. In our cells it is appropriate to talk with such brethren and pilgrims, about whom it is known that they conduct conversations for the creation and correction of souls, having the ability to hear and speak useful things with reasoning. All this that I wrote, if it serves to please God and benefit the soul, then let us do it; and if not, let the best be done, what pleases God and is useful for souls. Saint John Chrysostom writes about church decoration: “If someone consults with you, wanting to bring sacred vessels or some other decoration to the church, tell him to give it to the poor. For no one,” he said, “has ever been condemned for not decorating a church.” And other saints say so. The Venerable Martyr Eugene did not accept the sacred silver vessels brought to her, saying: “It is not proper for monks to have silver in their possession.” Therefore, it is not appropriate for us to have gold and silver vessels, even sacred ones; Also, other decorations are unnecessary, but only what is necessary for the church can be brought. Pachomius the Great did not want the church building itself to be decorated. In the Mokhos monastery he created a church and beautifully made pillars from plinth 3 in it; after that I thought that it was not good to admire the work of human hands and to be proud of the beauty of one’s buildings; Taking a rope, he tied the pillars and ordered the brothers to pull with all their might until the pillars bowed and became absurd. And he said: “Let the mind, crawling from skillful praises, not become the prey of the devil, for he has a lot of deceit.” And if this great saint said so and did so, then how much more appropriate is it for us to preserve ourselves in such things, since we are weak, and passionate, and driven by our minds. About food and drink: let everyone satisfy himself according to the strength of his body and soul, avoiding satiety and lust; It is completely inappropriate for us to drink any kind of drink before becoming intoxicated. Let the healthy and young tire their bodies with fasting, thirst and labor as much as possible, and let the old and infirm give themselves a little rest. In our cells, it is not appropriate to have vessels and other valuable and decorated things. Likewise, cell buildings and other property of our homes - everything of little value and undecorated should be purchased, as Basil the Great says, such that can be found everywhere and can be easily purchased. It is not appropriate for women to enter our monastery; and there should not be any dumb females for service or for any other need, for this is forbidden to us. Likewise, youths should not be retained for service and should be protected in every possible way from smooth, effeminate faces. By “Divine” and “Holy” Scriptures, the Monk Nile means not only the Holy Scriptures, but also the works of the Holy Fathers. Plinth is a wide and flat brick. You might be interested in: