The order of monastic tonsure: the view of a recluse

Annotation. The article examines the question of the saint's attitude to the rite of monastic tonsure. In his works, Theophan the Recluse explains the nature of monasticism, monasticism and schema-monasticism, and answers the question: is monasticism a sacrament or not? Defines the meaning of monastic vows. Saint Theophan has special authority regarding the meaning of monastic tonsure. He translated the main body of monastic literature into Russian: the Philokalia, Invisible Warfare, Ancient Monastic Rules, Miterikon. In his works and letters, he does not discuss the formation of the order of tonsure, but in his instructions he expresses an important opinion about the essence of monastic tonsure. We will consider three modern rites: taking monasticism or wearing a cassock and kamilavka, tonsure into the minor schema or monastic tonsure, and tonsure into the great schema. These ranks were not always present in the practice of the Church. A sufficient amount of literature is devoted to the issue of forming the ranks of acceptance into monasticism, so we will not dwell on it in detail. It is only worth saying that Mikhail Arrantz, in his study of the Constantinople and Russian traditions, describes 13 ranks of tonsure, forms them into 5 groups, establishes dependencies between them, and builds a genealogy of the modern tradition. That is, the history of the formation of the rank of tonsure is quite complex and ambiguous. And there are differences in the modern practice of Local Churches. Athonite monasticism often does not have the rank of minor tonsure. In the Russian tradition, the great image, the schema, is a rare phenomenon. The translation of “Ancient Monastic Rules” by St. Theophan contains the first evidence in the history of Christian writing about the acceptance of monastics into the monastery. This is a description in the charter of the monastery of Pachomius the Great. This charter was preserved in the works of Blessed Jerome, as well as in Cassian the Roman. In the Russian edition these texts are revised. Theophan the Recluse proposes to expand the charter of St. Pachomius, preserved in the translation of St. Blessed Jerome, into groups according to content, and supplement it with evidence from the text of St. Cassian the Roman, the lives of the founders of the Tavennisiot monastery, and texts of teachings from the Fatherland. According to the thought of the Right Reverend Bishop, a presentation of all known texts in order will help to form an idea of ​​the rules of the monastery. In the “Ancient Monastic Rules” the saint describes the reception into the monastery according to the rules of St. Pachomius: “Although the monasteries of St. The Pachomios were crowded; however, their reception was not so quick and indiscriminate. When someone, having approached the gates of the monastery, expressed a desire to renounce the world and join the brotherhood of the monastery, he was not immediately brought inside, but after letting Abba know about him and receiving instructions from him regarding him, they left him outside for several days, without any supervision or attention. St. Cassian notes that they not only ignored him, but treated him with contempt, reproached him verbally and pushed him away in order to test that his intention was not some fleeting one, but firm, and that he was ready for all temptations. In the charter of Rev. John Cassian, he once again cites these words in a book dedicated to the procedures for admission to the monastery, but having already changed: “Whoever comes with the desire to join the brotherhood is tested for ten or more days outside the gates, insulted and vilified. He must fall on his knees with repentance in front of everyone, when they accept, take away any property, so that he does not “rush to run away” out of embarrassment, they do not accept anything from the newcomer: a) so that he does not become arrogant, b) so that, having cooled down, he then demands it back. He also takes off his worldly clothes in the meeting of the brethren and puts on the monastic clothes from the Abba. The worldly clothes remain with the steward, so that if he does not withstand the test, they will take away the monastic clothes and expel him in his worldly clothes.” We see that the saint retells the statute of Pachomius, using several sources and the principle of compilation and completeness. Thus, Theophan the Recluse was well acquainted with the ancient traditions of admission to the monastery. In one of his letters, the saint conveys his deepest understanding of each rite. Schima is an angelic image, because those who receive her died to the world and live as if resurrected. Monastic tonsure below the schema. The saint calls it “become a mantle.” Monks are people with a high level of purity, successful in the fight against passions, never tempted and defeating the enemy. The saint describes “Rassophory” through a beautiful image: monasticism is a mark on a sheep, a monastic flock. Here the struggle is just beginning, and its result depends on the work of the monk. The saint echoes the ancient tradition, excluding monasticism from the monastic “rank”. The modern rank of ryassophore is called in some Euchologies a proschema or pre-image. This rite is found in ancient manuscripts that have preserved the full ranks, following the traditions of St. Fyodor the Studite, having the proschema and the schema itself, i.e., only one acceptance of the angelic image. He praises his spiritual child for conscientiously accepting the ryassophore for full tonsure, but warns: “You are all almost the same as a squirrel in a black dress. The real tonsure will take place when they give you the mantle. The Passover lamb was chosen 3-4 days in advance and designated for sacrifice and the Passover supper. But he was not yet a victim, until the very time of the slaughter. So you have just been targeted for sacrifice; and wait for the slaughter when it comes. When it comes, then it will be done; and what has been done now is worth little. Perhaps you are not fit for sacrifice, and you will again be thrown into the common herd. Look and be afraid! In modern literature one can find discussions about what monastic tonsure is: a sacrament or entry into the “monastic rank.” Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) devoted his report to this topic at the conference “Monasteries and Monasticism: Tradition and Modernity” (Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, September 23, 2013). In it he writes: “I am deeply convinced that tonsure is one of the sacraments of the Church.” In support of this position, a quotation from St. Rev. is often given. Theodore Studite, a famous practitioner and theorist of monastic life, founder of the modern monastic tradition: “Do not give the so-called small schema, and then, as it were, the great one, for one schema is like Baptism, as was the custom of the holy fathers.” There are other arguments that we will leave outside the scope of this study. The saint believed a different approach to accepting monasticism. He says clearly and simply: monastic tonsure is not a sacrament. He calls it acceptance into the rank of monastic. What then happens to the person tonsured, for what purpose is monastic tonsure performed? “It means a lot to the one being tonsured; for it brings his moral energy into greater tension, and for the future provides a way to maintain it through the recollection of the vows pronounced during tonsure.” The saint compares the pronouncement of monastic vows with the presentation of thoughts on paper: while they are in the head, they are formless, when they are set out on paper, they take on a stable form. Dressing in monastic robes with the adoption of a military uniform and the obligation to act like a warrior in one's rank. In the context of his system of thought about monastic tonsure, the saint allows for two extraordinary phenomena: monasticism without tonsure or vows and secret monasticism. His Eminence Bishop calls his spiritual child a half-laywoman, half-nun, and says that if she continues to be in solitude and spiritual affairs, she will remain a real nun. The saint allows secret monasticism and praises: “I missed one thing - you mentioned secret tonsure, and that you really want this. This is possible. This tonsure will not interfere with your path; on the contrary, it will give you energy, so accept it. God bless! But take care to keep this a secret.” Thus, in relation to the rite of monastic tonsure, the saint focuses on the internal energies of the tonsured person. In this context, the saint’s instructions to the nun, who secretly accepted the great image, i.e., the schema, are interesting. He considers it important to remember feelings and dispositions in preparation for acceptance, and to preserve the internal state: maintain solitude of the heart, consult with a confessor, beware of conceit, and so on. Speaking about the internal energies of monastics, the saint often turns to vows. What is the meaning of monastic vows? In the comments to the ascetic instructions of St. St. Theodore the Studite the saint writes that for the sake of leaving the world and taking vows, the tonsured person accepts the power to live a godly life with the adoption of monastic vows. This is the Lord’s response to the deeds of the tonsured person, which presupposes gratitude to the tonsured person by becoming a monk. In “A Reminder to All-Honorable Nuns of What Monasticism Requires of Them,” the saint speaks about the vows of monastics in two aspects. Firstly, monastics need to kindle within themselves zeal for the fulfillment of vows, i.e., the Right Reverend Bishop is not talking about grace acting through the power of vows, but, on the contrary, about the fulfillment of vows as the acquisition of this internal energy. Secondly, the saint considers the fulfillment of monastic vows as an act of repentance, the vows of which are a repetition of the vows of the sacrament of Baptism and the renewal of grace. But the saint notes: “For all Christians make vows to God in the sacrament of Baptism, and those who enter into monasticism add new vows to those common to all, which rest exclusively with them alone.” Saint Theophan, in his reflections on monasticism, devotes the main place to the vows made by a person before God. The saint considers monastic tonsure a rite of acceptance into the rank of monk, and not a sacrament, and focuses attention on the moral energy of the tonsured person and the recollection of the given vows. 1. Arranz Mikhail. Selected works on liturgics. Volume 4. Byzantine monastic tonsure. – M.: Institute of Philosophy, Theology and History of St. Foma, 2003. – 290 p. 2. Ancient monastic charters of St. Pachomius the Great, St. Basil the Great, St. John Cassian and etc. Benedict, collected by Bishop Theophan / Edition Athos. rus. Panteleimon Monastery. – M.: type. I. Efimova, 1892. 428 p. 3. Hilarion (Alfeev), Metropolitan. Monasticism as a Sacrament of the Church. [Electronic resource] URL: https://bogoslov.ru/article/3513905 (access date: 12/20/2019). 4. Theodore the Studite, St. Messages. Book 1. M.: Publishing house. Parish of the Church of the Holy Spirit of the Descent, 2003. 500 p. 5. Theophan the Recluse, St. Letters to various persons on various subjects of faith and life. Typolitography by I. Efimov. M., 1895. 465 p. 6. Theophan the Recluse, St. A reminder to all-honorable nuns of what monasticism requires of them. Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra. 80 s. 7. Theophan, the Recluse, St. Collection of letters. Vol. 3.4. M., 1994 – 264 p.