Charter of hermit life

Contents External course and external orders of such a life Removal from the world and from cohabitation with people Choosing desert life Cell solitude Cell activities and routines Prayer and genuflection Reading and religious meditation Handicrafts and work in general Food Sleep Clothes All content, the main feature of which is poverty Church worship Correlations Mutual appeal Interview and general use of language In case of absences The structure of inner life The initial beginning of life is jealousy The rule of life is the will of God in the commandments The goal is the glory of God Remembrances are the instigators and supporters of jealousy The producers of success are God’s gracious help and one’s own efforts and exploits Moods of the soul that determine success Feats of the fight against sin Conclusion 1. I give these rules, as the Lord speaks them through my lips, for those who want to bow under the heavy yoke of hermitage. These commandments must be obeyed, and whoever breaks even one of them will be named in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:19). The external course and external order of such a life Removal from the world and from cohabitation with people 2. Whoever wants to be saved (in a world-denying way of life) should not remain in his house and should not live in the city in which he sinned; also let him not visit his parents and his neighbors in the flesh, for this causes harm to the soul and the fruits of life perish (3, 16) 1. 3. Do not return to the city in which you once sinned before God (3:25). 4. Do not go to see how your relatives live, and do not allow them to come to see how you live; and don’t even see them at all (1, 11). The election of desert dwelling 5. Our spiritual fathers assert that the desert is the most suitable place for thinking about death and a sure refuge from being carried away by worldly things that rest the flesh (2, 82). 6. He who lives in the desert and is silent is delivered from three warfares: from warfare through hearing, from warfare through the tongue, and from warfare through seeing anything that can hurt his heart (3:15). 7. Be careful that your thoughts do not deceive you, suggesting that the desert is a place of cooling (2:91). 8. Moving away from the rumors of everyday life, go into solitude and you will become a wanderer. Sitting in a cell will be the same for you as going to a foreign country (2:49). 9 . When you go out, try by all means to quickly return to your solitude in order to indulge in your prayers (3:10). 10. When you go to the harvest, do not linger there, but quickly return to your solitude (1:42). 11. When you visit a brother, do not tarry long in his cell (1:24). Cell activities and procedures 12. While staying in your cell, do the following three things: handicrafts, reading psalms and prayer (1:65). 13. While staying in your cell, this is what you do: reading the Scriptures, praying to God and doing handicrafts (3:45). 14. Fast every day until the ninth hour, 2 excluding Saturday and the Lord's Day. When the ninth hour comes, go to your cell (inner) 3 and before eating, perform your prayer. After eating food, read and pray alternately (1, 3). Prayer and kneeling 15. Perform your prayers at the appointed hours, without missing a single one, so that you do not give an answer for it (1, 6). 16. Perform your prayer at night before you go to church (1, 13) 4. 17. (And always) before you go to church, pray in your cell (1:45). 18. (In general) before and after common prayer with the brethren, always perform prayer in your cell and never be lazy in doing this (3, 68). 19. Kneel often and do not be lazy to do so, so as not to die an evil death (3, 61). 20. When you pray, do not allow laziness, for the prayer of a lazy person is idle words. 21. When you pray and remember God, be like a bird, soaring lightly and high: according to the vow of monasticism and the meaning of your clothes (paraphrase 1, 59). Reading and contemplation 22. Be diligent in reading the Scriptures - and they will pluck you out of uncleanness (or: they will drive away unclean thoughts) (3, 27). 23. If you constantly and diligently engage in reading the Scriptures and fulfilling the commandments, then God’s mercy will be with you (3:66). 24. Meditate on the works of God and do not be lazy to pray (2:63). 25. A monk sitting in his cell with closed lips and not remembering God is like a ruined house located outside the city, which is always full of all sorts of uncleanness, because whoever decides to take uncleanness out of his house takes it there (that is, he is silent with his lips, but he dreams with his mind, indulges his thoughts and is carried away in his heart that everything is sinful rubbish, demons into the soul plunged) (3, 67). 26. The body must be enslaved and tired with long labor (3, 60). 27. Assign yourself some moderate work for your private work - and your heart will be humble (2:50). 28. Force yourself to do the work of handicraft - and the fear of God will take root in you (3:35). 29. Be diligent in your handicrafts and the fear of God will come upon you (3:35). 30. Sitting in your cell, devote yourself to the labors of handicraft, but at the same time do not let go of the name of the Lord from yourself, but constantly rotate Him in your mind, teach Him in your heart and praise Him with your tongue, saying: “My Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me”; or: “Lord Jesus Christ, send me Thy help”; or: “I praise you, my Lord Jesus Christ” (3:28). 31. Set yourself one (and always the same) hour (for eating and take it) to strengthen and maintain your body, and not for pleasure (3, 60). 32. Eat the simplest and cheapest food (2, 83). 33. Eat your bread in silence and with abstinence, and see that your sitting (at the table) is modest (3:7). 34. Don't eat your fill (1:52). 35. Do not be greedy and greedy for food, so that your former sins do not renew in you (1:67). 36. On Wednesday and Friday, do not break your fast (1:21). 37. Don't eat meat at all (1, 20). 38. Do not go near the place where they make wine (1:19). 39. Do not rush into meetings and meals (common meals) (1, 30). 40. If you come to a place where a common meal is established 5, taste and give thanks to God (1:35). 41. Do not add a fourth to three cups of wine, unless due to some great illness (3:23) 6 . 42. Do not immediately stretch out your hand to what is offered to you (1:68). 43. If you are young, do not stretch out your hand before others, because it is immodest (1:79). 44. Sleep little and in moderation - and the Angels will visit you (1, 53). 45. When you are healthy, do not take off your belt (3:22). 46. When you go to bed, do not put your hands inside (maybe inside your bosom), so as not to sin unknowingly (3:21). 47. Day and night be in your doll, and in your robe, and in all your clothing, like a prisoner and a prisoner (1:37). 48. Do not put on clothing with which you can boast and boast (1:43). 49. Take care of your clothes, so that on the day of Judgment you will not find yourself naked among a host of others (3, 5) 7. All content whose main feature is poverty 50. Save nothing more than what you need (1, 12). 51. Poverty is nothing more than moderation in everything, or a state in which one is content with little (2:49). 52. Love reproach more than honor, weariness of the body more than rest, and lack of things (need) more than excess (2:52). 53. The affairs of the church (overseeing the church and worship) must be entrusted to a faithful man who fears God (3:11). 54. As soon as they hit the beater, do not be lazy to go to church immediately (3, 9). 55. Do not give up worship, lest it be a stumbling block and a snare for you (3:26). 56. Do not speak at all in church (1:25). 57. Do not be in church as in a place where a lot of people gather (that is, so that there is no noise and hustle and bustle of many thoughts in the soul) (paraphrase 1, 28). 58. Do not bury your dead in church (that is, do not worry about how to arrange your everyday affairs) (1, 29). 1 a) first and most importantly - to the Abba, to the spiritual father, to the elders and in general to those who have succeeded 59. Do not begin any business, whatever it may be, without consulting with the abbot of the monastery (1, 32) 9. 60. Before your Abba and your superiors, do not multiply words (2:37). 61. Always hold this firmly in your heart to obey your father, and the fear of God will take root in you (3:38). 62. The perfection of your achievement is obedience; and it is good for a person if he bears the yoke of the Lord from his youth - he serves and obeys (2, 92). 63. Do not be disobedient, otherwise you will be an instrument and vessel of all evils and untruths (3, 37). 64. With humility and weeping, ask your father to instruct you in what you do not yet know, and you will not be ashamed (3:47). 65. Always remember the one who gives you good teaching, and from him try to learn the life-giving commandments - and you will lead a prosperous life according to the will of the Lord, as it is written by the blessed Apostle Paul: learn from these, abide in these, so that your progress will be revealed in everyone (1 Tim 4:15) (2, 48). 66. If you have sincerely bowed your neck under the yoke of obedience, listen carefully to what is said to you, and then conscientiously fulfill it to the fullest extent of the commandment (2:53). 67. Do not hide from your father the sin you have committed (3:54). 68. Learn good morals every day from your elders (1:31). 69. Love your spiritual fathers more than your carnal parents, because they care about you for God’s sake (2:38). 70. Live in such a way that the fathers of the monastery, who gave birth to you spiritually, rejoice at your glory in the host of saints (3, 6). 71. Make sure in every possible way that the blessing of the elders of the monastery rests on you (3, 3). 72. Do not reveal your thoughts to everyone, but only to those who can heal your soul (1:41). 73. Do not reveal your thoughts to everyone, so as not to offend your brother (3:34). 74. Have a friendly disposition towards everyone, but do not have everyone as advisers (2:69). b) mutual – all to all 75. Try to make all people bless you (1:57). 76. Take care of your brother and show him kind consideration (2:29). 77. If any brother earnestly asks you to help him, work with him all that day (3:21). 78. Test your friends first and do not make everyone close to you, do not trust everyone, because the world is full of deceit. But choose for yourself one brother who fears the Lord, and become friends with him, as brother with brother. But best of all, cleave to God as a son to his father, for all people have fallen into deceit, except for a few. The earth is full of vanity, troubles and sorrows (2, 70). 79. If you have stopped working under sin, then speak in the name of the Lord and instruct those for whose sake the name of the Lord is blasphemed; and since they are dead and cut off from the living Lord, try so that they fall away from their dead works, become quickened and become worthy to receive glory (2:56). 80. Reprove (and correct) your (spiritual) children mercilessly, because their condemnation will be exacted from you (that is, if they turn out to be worthy of condemnation at the Last Judgment) (1, 51). 81. Reprove without sparing, but with the fear of God. Do not accept anyone’s face, no matter who is here, and excommunicate with words of truth (3, 4). 82. If a brother comes to you and reveals his thoughts, be careful not to tell them to anyone, but pray for yourself and for him, may the Lord save you both (3:1). 83. Do not reject anyone who seeks faith in Christ (1:40). 84. Whoever does not accept your instructions, do not tell them to him (2:68). 85. Do not offer anything to anyone as a rule before you have done it yourself (2:62). 86. The greatest of all disgraces is the disgrace of commanding another to do something that you yourself do not do, for we will not receive any benefit from the deeds of others (2:66). 87. When you get up in the morning every day, take care of the sick you have (1, 2). 88. Go among the sick and fill their vessels with water (1:55). 89. Give everything you can, all that is superfluous, to the sick of the monastery (1, 21). 90. If your Abba assigns you to serve the sick, serve them with all your heart in order to receive a twofold reward from God: that is, for obedience performed with love (2:42). 91. If any brother comes to you, even at the wrong time, receive him with joy, so that he may give thanks to God and not be grieved at you (1:8). 92. If any brother comes to you, humble yourself in everything before him, show him cordiality for the sake of the Lord and be careful not to become proud (2:42). 93. Your face should always be sad; unless when brother pilgrims come to you, then assume a joyful appearance (1, 74). 94. Be modest in all your actions (1:77). 95. In all your behavior and interactions with others, adopt the methods of a poor beggar: do not be proud, either when you are having a conversation, or when you are singing a hymn or song of praise to God. And when you come together with the brethren, let your words be artless (2:78). 96. Do not start a conversation with a boy or a young man, much less make friends and do not accept such people into cohabitation, so as not to give room to the devil (1, 4). 97. Do not speak to the boy at all, for otherwise he will be a stumbling block to you (1:16). 98. Do not take the hand of the brother standing next to you and do not touch his cheeks, whether he is older or younger than you (3:22). 99. With all your might, move away from people who are alien to reason and advice (2, 64). 100. If you love a peaceful life, do not enter the circle of those whose entire concern is with vanities, and if you accidentally find yourself among them, be as if you were not there (2, 71). Interview and general use of language 101. Do not raise (do not emit) your voice (be silent all the time in your cell), except for the prayers prescribed by the rules (1, 44; 2, 35). 102. Flee the battle of the tongue (bridle the tongue). 103. Do not talk too much, lest the Spirit of God depart from you (2:23). 104. It is a glorious thing to remain silent, imitating the Lord, who remained silent despite the rank of Herod (2:57). 105. When you come together with faithful people like you, choose to listen better and understand what others say, with the readiness to do what saves you. This will be much better than talking yourself (2, 54). 106. When you come to someone, let the fear of God be in your heart, and guard your lips, so that you can return to your cell in peace (2:36). 107. A wise husband knows well how to behave, therefore he is not in a hurry to speak, but weighs where to speak and where to listen; on the contrary, an unpunished husband does not keep this secret, controlled control and curbing of the tongue (2, 67). 108. When you sit among the brethren, do not talk too much; and if you ask them anything, say it briefly, with humility (2:39). 109. Let your words be sweet and edifying. Remember that words come both glory and humiliation (2, 32). 110. Do not speak with irritation, but let your words be with wisdom and understanding, as well as your silence. Imitate our wise fathers, whose words were always full of wisdom and reason, as well as their silence (2:27). 111. Let your tongue always follow reason, because words alien to reason are barbed skeletons 10 and needles (2, 61). 112. Flee lies, otherwise they will drive away the fear of God from you (3:22). 113. Your mouth must always speak one truth (2:51). 114. Let the good deeds of the Almighty God be the subject of your conversations - by this you will make yourself worthy to receive even greater benefits from Him (2:57). 115. Do not ask about evil deeds, but keep your attention further from them (2:31). 116. Do not make empty speeches and do not lend your ear to those who start them, lest your soul draw evil from them (2:56). 117. Hate idle speech about everything that is of this world (2:14). 118. As much as possible, refrain from jokes and funny speeches (2, 65). 119. Do not shout or speak loudly or quickly, for it is written: whoever multiplies words is not safe from sin (see Eccl. 10:14) (2:46). 120. Do not be stubborn and do not insist on your word, so that evil (anger, anger) does not enter you (1, 62). 121. Do not swear at all - neither in an undoubted matter, nor even less in a doubtful matter (1, 27). 122. If necessity forces you to go to the city, do not go alone (1, 17). 123. When you go for water or make a journey, read (psalms and memory) and meditate (1, 33). 124. When you travel with the brethren, move away from them a little in order to maintain silence (1:75). 125. As you walk along the road, do not turn to the right and to the left, but reread your psalms with attention and pray to God with your mind. Then, wherever you happen to be, do not fraternize with the inhabitants of that place (1:76). 126. Do not interfere with the crowd of worldly people; but do not imitate the Pharisee, who did everything for show (1:9). 127. Do not allow a woman to approach you and do not tolerate her entering your home (room), because a storm of thoughts follows her (1: 10). 128. Do not eat together with a woman and never enter into fellowship with a boy (3:18). 129. When you have to spend the night somewhere, be careful not to wear the same clothes with someone else (1:80). 130. Do not lie on the same mat with someone who is younger than you (1, 5). 131. Do not let two people sleep together on the same mat, unless extreme need forces you, even if it were a father or a brother - and allow this with great fear (3:19). 132. Don’t stay in monastery hotels (1, 26). The original beginning of life is jealousy 133. Be zealous about acquiring virtues, so as not to attract negligence to yourself (2:15). 134. Beware of the cooling of Divine love (2, 11). 135. Do not turn back from the good deeds you have begun (2:10). 136. Do not turn back from the path of your solitude (2:13). 137. Do not give up the labors that you carry out for the sake of virtue, so as not to become lazy and careless and not to sin at the last hour, but love the Lord to the very end - and you will receive mercy (2, 97). 138. Just as the ruins outside the city serve everyone as a source of stinking impurities, so the soul of someone who lazily and listlessly goes through a solitary life becomes a receptacle for all passions and sinful impurities (1:69). The rule of life is the will of God in the commandments 139. If you have devoted yourself to God, keep all His commandments and do what you are commanded, do it carefully, omitting nothing; because if you think to omit anything, then your previous sins will not be forgiven you; if you firmly resolve to do everything (to the point of your stomach), then be sure that your previous sins have already been forgiven (3:17). 140. Your thoughts must constantly be occupied with the Divine commandments, which you try to fulfill with all your might, leaving none behind, so that otherwise your soul does not become a receptacle for all impurities (3, 63). 141. If you start something and don’t see God’s will for it, don’t do it for anything (2:58). 142. Try in every possible way so that your Father who is in heaven may be glorified (through you) (Matthew 5:16) (1, 50). Remembrances are the instigators and maintainers of jealousy a) about experience and the first heat 143. For the sake of perishable things, do not retreat from God, but remember what you promised when the heat of your desire to please God burned within you (2:98). 144. Try not to forget the meaning of your clothing with which you were clothed at the beginning; Remember also about the tears of your repentance that you shed then - and hastily jump away from the secret thoughts (bad ones) creeping up in secret, so as not to be carried away by them into open deeds (2, 99). 145. Bring constant and sincere repentance - and not for one minute will you give in to negligence and laziness (3, 46). b) about exemplary zealots 146. Do not take your example from someone who is weaker than you, but from someone who is more perfect than you (2, 3). 147. Let those who have loved the Lord with all their hearts and are constantly devoted to good deeds be your model and example; do not be ashamed to ask them for life lessons, because they are perfect in virtues (2, 19). 148. Do not imitate those who care about worldly pleasures, otherwise you will not succeed in anything, but compete with those who for the Lord’s sake wandered (and are wandering) in the mountains and deserts (Heb. 11:38), so that power from on high will come on you (2, 20). 149. If you do everything (commanded), you will receive an inheritance that no eye has seen, no ear has heard of, and no human heart has dreamed of (1 Cor. 2:9) (2, 16). 150. Use the light of knowledge to be worthy to be among the righteous generation while there is time (2:19). 151. Remember that your youth is past (your strength is exhausted), and your infirmities have increased, and the time of your exodus is near, when you have to give an account of all your deeds, and know that there neither a brother will redeem his brother, nor a father will deliver his son (2:75). 152. Always remember the departure from the body and do not let eternal condemnation out of your mind; If you do this, you will never sin (2:81). 153. Think to yourself and say: “I will not stay in this world more than this day,” and you will never sin before God (1:66). 154. Believe in yourself every day that this is one day left for you in this world, and you will save yourself from sins (3:48). 155. Turn your cell into a prison, keeping in mind that everything is already over for you and the hour of your renunciation from this world is about to strike (2, 76). 156. Take care of yourself so as not to be rejected in the next century. Woe to the careless, for their end is approaching and there is no helper for them, no hope of salvation (2:95). Producers of success - God's gracious help and their efforts and deeds a) help from above, attracted by prayer 157. May our Lord Jesus Christ give us help to do everything to please Him (1, end). 158. First of all, pour out unceasing prayer and always send thanks to God for everything that happens to you (1, 1). 159. Strive to continually pour out your prayers with tears, so that God will take pity on you and remove the old man from you (1:70). 160. Don’t stop shedding tears (prayer) - and God will take pity on you and ease all your pains (everything that your soul hurts about) (3, 69). 161. If you want to please God, surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will deliver you and protect you (2:72). b) their exploits and efforts in general 162. Try to undergo the following feats I offer you: labor, poverty, wandering, deprivation (not having anything) and silence. They will make you humble, and humility will bring you remission of sins. Humility consists in a person considering himself a sinner and thinking that he is not doing anything good before God; so that he should remain silent and regard himself as nothing; so that he does not persist in front of anyone, insisting on his word; so that he would put aside his will, lower his face, have death before his eyes, beware of lies, not utter empty words, not object to the abbot, patiently endure insults and force himself to complacently endure all sorts of difficulties and sorrows. Try, brother, to observe these rules so that your life will not be fruitless (1:17). 163. Let us put aside everything that gives peace to our flesh; Let us value this life little in order to live in God, who on the day of judgment will demand from us whether we hungered for His sake, whether we thirsted, whether we endured nakedness, whether we lamented, whether we groaned from the depths of our hearts, whether we tested ourselves, whether we are worthy of God. So, let us be diligent in contrition and lamentation for sins in order to find God; Let us despise the flesh in order to save our souls (3:14). 164. Choose work for yourself, and it, together with fasting, prayer and vigils, will deliver you from all defilements, because bodily labor brings purity of the heart, and purity of the heart makes the soul bear fruit (3, 29). 165. Love mercy, put on faith; do not allow your heart to conceive evil, but compel it to repay good for evil; seek goodness and peace and be zealous for all wonderful deeds (2:33). Moods of the soul that determine success a) abiding in God with fear, cheerful attention and aversion from sin and the world 166. Let your soul be with the Lord at all times, but let your body be on earth like a graven image (2:59). 167. Always stand before the Lord with righteousness (3:8). 168. The fear of God must always be before our eyes; also the memory of death and hostile aversion to the world and everything worldly (2, 13). 169. Die every day that you may live: for whoever fears God will live forever (2:96). 170. Stay awake constantly, so as not to fall into laziness and negligence (2:95). 171. Hate everything worldly and give it away from yourself, otherwise it itself will alienate you from God (3, 70). 172. Hate everything that is harmful to your soul (2, 6). 173. Whatever you do, do it with patience, and God will help you in all your affairs and in everything that happens to you (2:21). 174. Be careful not to be faint-hearted (3, 71). 175. Be complacent in everything you do according to the will of God (2:21). 176. Do not be bored by the thoughts that attack you in your cell, knowing that the Lord will not consign any of your work (for His sake) to oblivion: this will serve you to prosper, and the grace of God will help you (2:18). 177. Courage is nothing more than firmness in the truth and resistance to enemies: when you do not give in to them, they will retreat and will not appear at all again (2, 85). 178. Day and night of pain about your sins (1, 36). 179. Light your lamp with the oil of tears (1:38). 180. Weep unceasingly for your sins, as if you had a dead man in your cell (1, 49) 11. 181. Your face should always be sad so that the fear of God may take root in you (1:74). 182. Do not consider yourself anything, but indulge in weeping for your sins (3:30). 183. Love humility, and it will cover all your sins (1, 61; 3, 36). 184. Be humble all the days of your life and be devoted to everything that is beautiful (2:30). 185. Consider the one who is weaker than you in virtues to be your equal; consider someone equal to you in virtues to be far superior to you in perfection (2:17). 186. Do not envy those who rise, but consider yourself superior to all people, so that God Himself may be with you (2:9). 187. Do not walk with the proud, but walk with the humble (this is about imitation and fellowship) (2, 25). 188. Be humble in everything - in posture, in clothing, in sitting, in standing, in gait, in bed, in the cell and in all its accessories (2, 77). 189. If they begin to praise you for your deeds, do not rejoice and do not take pleasure in them - hide them as much as you can; do not allow yourself to talk to anyone about them and try in every possible way to ensure that people do not praise you (2:79). 190. Be afraid of becoming known for any of your deeds (2, 5). 191. If someone reproaches you innocently for any sin, humble yourself - and you will receive a crown (2:43). 192. Train your tongue to say: “Forgive me,” and humility will come to you (1, 64). 193. Get into the habit of letting your tongue say in all cases, at all times, to every brother: “Forgive me.” For if you always say: “Forgive me,” you will soon achieve humility (3:42). 194. Be ready to say at every word (accusatory) that you hear: “Forgive me,” because such humility thwarts all the machinations of the enemy (1:72). 195. Know that humility is nothing other than to consider all people to be better than yourself. Keep it firmly in your mind that you are guilty of many sins, keep your head down, and let your tongue be ready to say to the one who offends you: “Forgive me, my lord!” Let death be the constant subject of your thoughts (3:49). 196. Love work, submit yourself to everyone, keep your lips closed - and you will achieve humility; humility will attract the remission of all your sins (3, 72). 197. First of all, do not consider yourself anything - and this will give rise to humility in you; humility will give rise to science (experience and common sense); science will give birth to faith; faith will give birth to hope; hope will give birth to love; love will give birth to obedience, and obedience will give birth to unchanging constancy (firmness in goodness) (2, 1). a) first of all with thoughts 198. Drive far away evil thoughts from yourself, surrendering to God, and He will cover you with His right hand (3:33). 199. Do not follow every thought of your own (3:7). 200. Do not fulfill your thoughts and desires (3, 51). 201. Be careful not to let your mind get carried away by the memory of past sins, so that they do not renew in you (1:60). 202. Do not turn back in your mind the sins you once committed, so that they do not recur again. Be sure that they are forgiven you while you have given yourself over to God and repentance, and do not doubt it at all (3:40). 203. Do not remember the pleasures and pleasures that you indulged in during your negligence, and do not start talking about it, saying: “I did this or violated that,” for this may serve as a stumbling block for you (3:44). 204. Do not remember at all the passions with which you worked in the world, so as not to arouse their lusts again and this would not serve as a temptation for you (3:46). b) b) with various vicious wishes 205. The Apostle John combines all human lusts in three things, saying: everything in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of desire and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). The lust of the flesh is the saturation of the belly with many different dishes, followed by the uncleanness of fornication. Lust for desire has as its object material goods, in the possession of which the eye either ascends or puts unclean species into the heart. Pride is a worldly love of noisy glory (a high opinion of oneself, self-praise and thirst for praise from others), which sits in our minds because of some vain and transitory external merits (2, 89). 206. Avoid covetousness and disobedience, and especially gluttony, so as not to become entangled in the nets of your lusts, for they drive out the fear of God from the heart and shame from the face, betraying their lover to base and shameful deeds and alienating them from God (3:58). 207. Put off anger and put on meekness, throw away the corrupt eye and take for yourself a simple (childish, pure) eye (2, 2). 208. Be far from anger and take care of yourself from lust, as well as from all sinful desires (2, 88). c) in particular - with voluptuousness 209. A voluptuous person (who only seeks something pleasant) is not fit for any work (2, 74). 210. Do not be voluptuous, for God does not listen to the voluptuous (2:74). 211. Have your body and its pleasures in hatred, because they are full of evil (3:52). 212. Make your body so emaciated that it looks like a body lying on a sick bed (3:62). d) with anger and its offspring 213. If anger attacks you, quickly drive it away from you - and you will rejoice all the days of your life (2:84). 214. Don’t be angry with anyone and forgive everyone (3, 31). 215. If someone unjustly reproaches you, do not get excited (3:53). 216. Be wise and silence the lips of those who speak ill of you (2:86). 217. Do not be surprised if someone speaks badly of you, because this is one of the tricks of our worst enemies, with which they put obstacles in the way of a person knowing the truth (2:87). 218. Do not be quick to anger and do not bear a grudge against the one who provoked you to anger (3:55). 219. If you receive an insult, do not have hostility towards the one who inflicted it on you, but say: I am worthy to be despised by all the brethren (2:40). 220. Do not complain and do not offend anyone (2, 8). 221. Do not repay evil for evil, nor insult for insult, for by this the Lord Himself humbles you, seeing that you do not humble yourself (2:45). 222. Let both the younger and the older pray, lest they be allowed to fall under the tyranny of anger (2:84). 223. He who gives another cheek to the one who hit him with one, rejoices in his reproach. Our Lord Jesus Christ will never leave him, for He is Good and helps souls who endure for His sake and seek Him, giving them strength and strength until they are established in peace (from passions). So, rejoice when you encounter sorrows and confusion, for sweet fruits follow them (2:93). 224. Do not be afraid of reproach from people (2, 4). e) with other vicious movements of the heart that undermine success: condemnation 225. If you see that any brother has sinned, do not despise him, do not turn away from him and do not condemn him, for otherwise you yourself will fall into the hands of your enemies (1:59). 226. Do no harm to anyone and do not condemn anyone (2:24). 227. Do not lend your ear to hear bad things (about others), but be condescendingly compassionate towards people - and you will live (2:44). 228. Do not judge anyone, for this is your downfall (2:80). 229. Do not reproach your brother, even if you see him as a violator of all the commandments, otherwise you yourself will fall into the hands of your enemies (3:39). 230. Do not condemn any mortal, so that God does not detest your prayers (3:64). 231. Do not expose to anyone any of his shortcomings for any reason (1, 23). 232. Do not reproach anyone for his infirmities (1:47). e) vanity and conceit 233. When you give alms, do not show it off (1:34). 234. If you indulge in spiritual exploits, do not boast about it (1:39). 235. Do not tell anyone in advance about the good deed that you intend to do, but do it (1:48). 236. When you perform any acts of virtue, do not become arrogant and do not say to yourself: “I did this and that,” because if you do this, you will not be wise (2:65). 237. Do not be a lover of glory and do not hold self-praise in your heart, saying: “I did this and that, I succeeded in this and that.” Such thoughts breathe vanity, and whoever is filled with them has become the dwelling place of unclean spirits (3:59). g) people-pleasing and hypocrisy 238. Do not abandon the will of God to fulfill the will of people (2, 7). 239. Do not violate God’s commandment out of respect for human friendship (3:24). 240. Do not be a hypocrite or a pretender, much less a liar (2:26). 241. Not only be righteous before people, but within yourself be wise, meek, good-natured, patient, zealous, and philanthropic (2:28). 242. Do not be proud of your deeds, whatever they may be (1:73). 243. Do not be proud and do not boast (2:46). 244. Drive away pride far from yourself, and consider your neighbor and all people better than yourself (3:53). 245. There is no greater wickedness than to cause grief to someone and to rise above others (2:60). 246. Do not consider yourself wise, otherwise your soul will exalt itself with pride and you will fall into the hands of your enemies (1:63). 247. Do not consider yourself omniscient and wise (that is, do not say: I know myself, I can do it myself); otherwise your labor will be lost and your ship has fled in vain until now (3:41). 248. Whoever does not fulfill everything prescribed will provoke God to anger. I, Anthony, am telling you the truth. So, incline your ear to my words and hide them in your heart - and know that with these commandments I betray you to the Creator. If you keep them, you will rejoice with all the Angels, and you will afflict all evil spirits with sorrow. Walk in these commandments - and God will be with you, and His angels will descend on you; your soul will be filled with the fragrance of the saints, and your face will shine with the light of the blessed, and you will become a sanctuary to God, like all the saints; and you will finally meet the Lord with joy and joy, and you will hear his voice saying: Well done, good and faithful servant: you have been faithful for a little, I will make you ruler over many: enter into the joy of your Lord (Matthew 25:21) (3, 77). 249. Do not deviate from any of these instructions - and our Lord Jesus Christ will give you peace and complete the work in peace that you have begun. Our perfect fathers and those who imitated them became perfect from their fulfillment (2:22). 250. If you want to add any good deeds to what has been said, add; and give unceasing thanksgiving to our Lord Jesus Christ (3:22). 251. Every night, pour your tears over your bed, and wet your bed, and humble yourself before Christ the Lord - may He blot out your sins and renew you again, may He give you help to accomplish good deeds and grant you His eternal Kingdom as an inheritance. To him be praise, honor, glory and worship, with the All-Good Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. The translation and notes (except for specially stated cases) were made by St. Theophan the Recluse. Published by: Philokalia. T. 1. pp. 80–101. In volume 40 “Patrologiae graecae” Migne on p. 1065 are placed Praecepta Antonii in 80 points. Behind them stand the same: “Spiritualia documenta rugulis adjuncta” and “Admonitiones et documenta varia” - both, obviously, as an addition to the previous rule. Since all the sayings contained under these headings are of the same kind both in content and in manner of speech, they are brought together here and placed under special headings, following the natural course of the hermit’s life, under the title “The Rules of the Hermit’s Life.” At the end of each rule it is indicated where to find it in the original. The first numbers mean: 1 – 80-point rule; 2 – first addition (spiritualia documenta); 3 – second addition (admonitiones). The second numbers indicate the points of each collection of rules. These second ones are in the original only in the first article of the 80 rules; The numbering of points for two additions is done according to one’s own account, which anyone can do, for all sayings come in special points. There are 100 of them in the first addition, and 73 in the second. End on p. 1082. The numbers in brackets indicate where to find this rule in the original. For more details, see p. 677. The ancients counted the hours of the day from the rising of the sun, the hours of the night from the setting. In countries located near the tropics, where the increase and decrease of day or night throughout the year is small, the number of hours could not vary significantly from the seasons. (Hereinafter, except where specifically stated, the notes are taken from the editions for which the Russian text is given. See comments.) Until then, work was done under a canopy or in a vestibule, which was sometimes called an outer cell. In the monastery of St. Sava, an hour before Matins, the bell is rung, and everyone in their cells makes the required bows: 1,500 bows at the waist and 150 bows at the ground with the Jesus Prayer. When someone gathered all the hermits and gave them food at the church. This is not in the cell, but at common meals. The wine is usually grape, homemade, of low strength. This instills in us to live as our clothes oblige us. The solitaries lived scattered throughout the desert. In the middle of the space occupied by their cells, there was a church where they gathered for common prayer. The Church was entrusted to a chosen one, one or several. Macarius the Great once, returning to the Skete after visiting Saint Anthony, said to the brethren, in response to their question about what the great Abba commanded them: it’s not good, he says that we do not have an offering, that is, a liturgy. Then they hastened to build a church. This is an example of how Saint Anthony arranged the life of solitaries. The solitaries each lived separately from the others, but their entire fragmented village was something united and had one head, as, for example, both Macarius (the Great and Alexandria), Ammon (Nitria) - respectively, in Skete, Kellia and in Nitria. Mount Nitria is located south of Alexandria, beyond Lake Mareotia. The foundation of desert living in the Nitrian desert was laid by the Monk Ammon, who, with the blessing and instructions of Anthony the Great, organized a monastic life with a stricter rule in Cells. From here the monks, who wanted to remain in complete solitude and silence, went to the Skete desert, 24 hours away from Nitria. Among such ascetics were: the organizer of the monastery asceticism Macarius the Great, as well as Macarius of Alexandria, Abba Pambo, Abba Serapion and others (for more details, see the “Appendices” section). – Approx. ed. Osten – sting, point, nail. – Approx. ed. Another: “how someone cries who has a dead person in his house.”